#like if i’m training someone or at a conference i’m gonna talk about my love of Appalachia and literature not my metal music and communist

[vampire-rodeo]

unfortunate side effect of not caring what others think about me anymore: all my acquaintances think i’m boring asf

[hoe4sports]

“Three is perfect, but four is too many”

Jenni Hermoso x Alexia Putellas x child reader

A/N: Pretend that Jenni never left Barça <3 I’m also very nervous because I usually don’t write this kind of imagines.

Jenni had always been so attentive to you. She was always making sure that you were comfortable. That you felt loved. That you knew how she proud she was of you, her little girl. Things hadn’t always been like this. When you were first born, Jenni wasn’t your only mama. You had another mama, but she had left you and Jenni in the middle of the night claiming that having a baby wasn’t for her as her career as a dancer was on a rise. Jenni promised herself to never let disappoint you like that. She had brought you with her everywhere. To training, to camp, to press conferences. It wasn’t really a problem as someone was always injured, and you were so loved by the team. The same team that had seen red when Jenni brought you in strapped into your car seat and told them what had happened. How could their friend who they had spent so much time gotten to know, leave her child and her fiance? But to Jenni, that didn’t matter. She had promised herself that she was gonna love you enough for two parents. She had made arrangements within the Barcelona team and was allowed to bring you as often as she’d like. You were her pride and joy, and if the team didn’t let her bring you? Then she would find a team that would. No medals could ever compare to the joy you gave her.

“Mami!” You giggled as you bounced up and down in her big bed. Jumping as high as your little 3 year old legs would let you while the bright morning sun shines through the curtains. “Ah, mi princesa! Come here and give mami a hug” she said as she reached out and caught you mid air while hugging your tightly. You loved mami hugs. They were big, strong and safe. Her arms holding around your tiny frame allowing you to feel little. “Si, mami! te amo mucho!” You giggled as she placed kisses all over your face. You loved mami so much. She was the best mami, always letting you sit on her lap, always allowing you to be carried, always stopping if you needed her and always protecting you from bad guys. “I love you most, my favourite girl” she said as she blew raspberries on my cheek causing me to giggle again. You liked how mami always had time for you, always saying how you were the most important girl in the whole work. Even more important than football, and mami loved football a lot.

“pequeña, how about some breakfast no?» mami said as she looked down onto you while stroking your already ridiculously long hair. You had long blonde hair, much like your tummy mommy when she was your age. “Si, si, si!” You said as you jumped out of mami’s embrace and ran towards the door as fast as your tiny feet let you. You were fast for your age, the teams physicians and physios were amazed by your balance. Mami always made sure to practice with you, always doing everything right. She would make little tracks for you to climb, jump and crawl through in a hidden attempt to help your balance. She made sure to talk to you early, allowing you to be able to express yourself from a young age. Mami jumped out of bed and chased after you. “Mami is gonna get you, pequeña princesa!”. You started laughing hysterically as your little feet rhythmically tapped on the wooden floors in the hallway. Mami quickly caught up and scooped you up while throwing you up in the air. “más mami, más!” You squeal as your innocent laughter rang throughout the house. Mami shook her head as she held you close and kissed your cheek. “Breakfast now mi sol, then we go to the arena and see aunties” Jenni said as she carried you while walking down towards the kitchen. Mami placed you on the counter to let you help with making pancakes. You loved when Mami let you help in the kitchen. Her warm embrace making you feel safe as eggs, milk and flour became pancakes.

“Alright princesa, we are here” Mami said as she pulled up in the big parking lot in your black suv Lexus. You squealed as you held on to your favourite toy. A donkey named Alo because it was given to you by your tia Alexia. She wasn’t your real tia, but you didn’t care. She was still tia. Alexia had been the most scared when you started joining the team as she was generally scared of hurting anyone’s children. You on the other hand, had always smiled as her even as a newborn placed in your stroller or car seat next to the pitch. Alexia couldn’t help but love you. You really had grown onto her. Mami hopped out of the car and got you out as she held you close while walking to the busy parking lot. People was always greeting Mami, but you didn’t understand why. You settled with the thought of that it was because she was the best Mami ever.

“Hola tia! Look, look! I bringed Alo” you said as you waved towards the blonde. “Hola mi Sol, hola Alo! I have something for you” she said as she smiled. You loved Alexia’s smile. It was crooked and funny, but you loved her regardless. «Wow, look Princesa, tia is spoiling you!” Jenni said as she sat you down and squatted next to you and Alexia. “You know how tia had to go to England? To dress up and take pictures?” She said as you nodded attentively. “With tia Ingrid?” You said as you tried your best to remember. “Si, you are so cleaver!” Alexia confirmed as she kept going.

“And you remember how you had those really big feelings when I left? And I promised I would bring you something back?” Your eyes widened. Alexia had grown to be mami’s best friend. You loved Alexia, and she loved you (and Mami) like her own. “Yes, I remember tia! I do, i do remember” you squealed as you jumped up and down with excitement. Your little blinker sneakers blinking rhythmically. “I got you this” she said a she pulled out a wrapped gift from behind her back. It had princesses on the wrapping, and it was pink. You two favourite things! “Wow! It’s prettiest tia! I hang up in my room!” You said as you bounced up and down with the gift not realising that the wrapper wasn’t the gift. “Mi Sol, you need to look inside the gift” Jenni said as she laughed and shared a look with Alexia. Your eyes widened, “there’s more?” You said as you carefully unwrapped the gift trying your best not to break the paper. As you opened up the paper, you saw it infront of you. A big bunny and a farm animal play set. You had seen nothing like it and your tiny jaw dropped in shock. The bunny was soft and cuddly, you immediately gave it a big hug as you kissed it nose. You picked up the farm set with two big horses and one tiny baby sheep. You studied it closely from the packing. “You have unicorns in England?” You said as you had the box close to your eyes. Alexia giggled “no, no, princesa. It’s a horse! It’s not unicorn. Unicorns have horns” She said as you nodded. You were like a sponge always sucking up any knowledge that people would present to you. “horsies?? Like on tv??” You said as you looked over at Alexia and threw yourself at her. “Thank you mama, you are the bestest! Almost as bestest as mami! I love bunny and not unicorn!” You said as you didn’t realise what you had said. Alexia looked at Jenni, and Jenni looked at Alexia both blushing. “Alright, let’s go to the warderobe, si?” Mami said as she stood up. You grabbed mami’s hand and Alexia’s hand as you walked in together.

“Look! Look! Mapo! I have bunny and not unicorn!” You said as you rushed over to greet her at her cubby. She put you on her lap and nodded. “Wow, aren’t you a lucky girl!» She said as her eyes looked attentively at the bunny and the not unicorn you had showed in her face.

“Alright, princesa, do you wanna wear your sneakers or your cleats today?” Mami said as she held your bright tiny pink cleats up. You loved wearing cleats. You felt like Mami. “Cleats! Cleats!” You squealed as you rushed over with your new toys and your tiny pink backpack with pencils, a book to draw in, a book and your plastic animals. Mami always made sure to make you feel comfortable. She had given you a lot of jerseys. Probably more than 6. You couldn’t count so you weren’t sure, but you had a lot. Today you were wearing your pink jersey with your white shorts. The name Hermoso on the back. Jenni had changed your name as soon as she was allowed to, not wanting your tummy mom to have anything to do with you. Mami helped you put your cleats on as she held out your tiny team Norway Nike jacket that Ingrid had gifted you when she went to play Finland. She had your blonde hair up in a bun and you smelled like sunscreen. You ran out on the pitch finding the spot where you would always be when the practice was taking place.

It was a big blanket set up by the team’s assistant with water, apples and crackers so that you wouldn’t get cold or dirty. You sat down with a pop and took out your new reindeers from their packaging. “This is mami” you mumbled as you took the not unicorn out of the packaging. “This is me” you repeated as you pulled the little not unicorn out. You grabbed the last not unicorn and looked at it for a while. Who was the last not unicorn? Tia? Or Abuela? “This is tia” you said as you looked at Alexia and smiled. Alexia waved at you making you giggle. You sat there and played with the not unicorns making them walk all over the blanket while you were talking to yourself. You loved when mami had practice because you could spend hours playing outside with your toys using your imagination.

The coach’s whistle was loud and you held your hands infront of your ears while it rang marking the end of the workout session. You quickly put your not unicorns in your backpack at the speed of lighting according to you. You hopped up and grabbed the cuddly bunny. “Mami!” You said as you got up and your feet started running. Your backpack in your hand and your team norway jacket with your tia Ingrid’s name written on your back bouncing with you. «Mi sol, Lets get lunch!” Jenni said as she picked you up. Mami was all sticky and smelly, but you didn’t care. You just loved Mami.

As you sat on a chair next to Mami, you looked around you. Mami was talking to Alexia, Ingrid, Mapi and Lucy. You thought Mapi was a little bit scary, but she would let you color on her tattoos so you decided to keep it to yourself. You slurped up spaghetti and the red sauce. It was your favourite and the abuelas at the canteen would always make you an extra special lunch while the adults had salads and fish. As you were trying to slurp up a spaghetti, it slipped and fell onto your face. “Oh pequeña” Alexia said as you looked at her in shock. She quickly grabbed her napkin and carefully wiped it off your face. “Gracias tia» you said as you decided you were finished eating. «I go play?» you asked as you looked hopefully at mami. She nodded and pushed your chair out so you could climb down. You grabbed your not unicorns and sat down in the corner that the abuelas in the canteen had made for you with pillows and blankets. The pillows were soft and you suddenly felt tired, it was normal as it was your expected naptime. Your laid down and closed your eyes as you jawned, blinking slower and slower until you fell asleep. Drifting away into dreams about bunnies, donkies, not unicorns, mami, tia and this weird place called England.

“Ai no, go away! You don’t get to see her!” Your dreams were interrupted by the sound of your mami’s voice ringing through the hallways. You thought you were dreaming because Mami never yelled. She never raised her voice. “Jenni, pot favor, you can’t decided that! I’m also her moth-“ an unfamiliar voice pleaded back. “You don’t get to call yourself that, not after leaving us for two years. Get the fuck out of my sight before I kill you!” You sat yourself up and rubbed your eyes trying to feel more awake as you yawned. “Hola sol, Come here! Let’s go on an adventure!” Some familiar voice said from behind you. You turned your head and as soon as you saw the person, she picked up with one hand while grabbing your backpack and not unicorns with her other. It was Alexia. You trusted Alexia. She was kind, pretty and funny. She also made mami smile and laugh, so that meant that she was a good person. She held you close, your face meeting her chest as she jogged with you in the opposite direction of mami. It had you confused, but you didn’t think much of it. Alexia had a hand underneath your butt and one hand on your back leaning you towards her to support you. It was funny, Alexia’s jogging made you bounce making your laugh. After some running, you slipped into an unfamiliar room with a bench and the room smelled minty. Alexia shut the door and locked it while she moved towards the bench. “How about we read a book, si?» she mumbled as she rumbled through your pink backpack. The book she pulled out was about two mom families. You loved it, you had gotten it from Ingrid and Mapi after you had asked if they were gonna get married. “Si, si, please! Read book Ale” you said as you popped yourself down on Alexia’s lap. She started reading while stroking your hair attentively. “There once was a girl named Clara, who loved a girl named Mia very much..”

Just when your book was finished, Mami came into the room. “Gracias, Alexia. So much. We are gonna head home now peanut” she said as she looked serious. You pouted because you wanted to be with Alexia. “Mami, i wanna be with Alexia? Can she come home?” You asked up and stomped one of your little feet. “Princesa, she has to go back to training” Mami said as she attempted to pick you up but you slipped out of her reach and hid behind Alexia’s legs. The tall brunette putting a hand on your head and picking you up. “It’s fine Jen, I’ll come with you. They’ll understand” she says as she kisses the top of your head. You all walk towards the exit, but not your usual exit. This exit is weird, and narrow. It’s not bright and full of players on the walls. It’s grey and the door has a green beam. Your thoughts cannot seem to understand why you have to leave through this exit. This exit dosent have the nice canteen abuelas waving at you. You don’t get to say goodbye to Ingrid. Walking out of this door is different. This different isn’t a good different. And you don’t understand why it has to be different.

[viceroywrites]

reunions and opportunities - chapter 4

gary x fem!reader

both of you didn't get the ideal high school experience it would make sense that you both would be dreading the reunion.

little did you know how many doors would open after that.

ao3 version here - chapters on tumblr are slightly rewritten and restructured.

content warning: fic contains smut in later chapters. discussions of mental health including trauma and potential ptsd (aka gary is traumatized).

chapter 4

Gary headed up to his room, changing out of his baggy gray sweatpants and his black “My leader went to the Calamity Conference and only got his best henchman this lousy t-shirt” into his classic blue plaid button-up, black t-shirt and a pair of dark wash jeans. He got up and looked at himself in the mirror.

“I seriously don’t see what she sees in me sometimes…” he sighs to himself, straightening out his button-up. While he had definitely bulked up and gotten a lot stronger these past few years, Gary still felt insecure about his body. Maybe it was the years of bullying and teasing; maybe it was the fact that no one in the Horde took him seriously till he became “Two-Ton 21”

He quickly shrugged it off, grabbing his wallet and keys, and headed downstairs, hoping to make it out the door without the Monarch or Dr. Mrs. noticing. 

A curse slipped out of his lips as he heard Dr. Mrs. the Monarch’s deep rumbling voice calling his henchman number from the kitchen. He begrudgingly headed over, peeking his head in the doorway.

His eyes widened to see supper already set out, and Dr. Mrs. the Monarch and the Monarch sitting at table, eating together. It was an image he hadn’t seen in quite a while, especially since they had moved into the Monarch’s childhood home and Sheila had gotten so involved in rebuilding the Guild as a councilwoman.

“21, are you going to join us for supper?” His female leader’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he realized the pair of villains was looking at him inquisitively, an empty plate already set out for him. Gary bit his lip, unsure what to say to his leaders, “W-Well, actually, I have plans tonight.”

The Monarch continued to chew away at the Italian takeout his loving wife had picked up, “What plans could you possibly have tonight, 21?” Gary hesitated a bit, his cheeks flushing as he thought of you. 

The Monarch quickly picked up on it and a shit-eating grinning spread across his face, “Lemme guess, you’re seeing that girl you met at your high school reunion... the one you’ve been using up all our minutes talking on the phone with? Don’t think I didn’t notice! You sly dog! Also… that might be coming out of your paycheck for this month, sorry, 21.” He teased his henchman.

Dr. Mrs raised her eyebrows inquisitively, turning around to face Gary, “Are you seeing someone, 21? I didn’t even know that… Jeez, I didn’t think I’ve been away that much to not know that.” She muttered more to herself before turning to the henchman, “You know Guild law states…”

Gary sighed and rubbed his temples, “I know, I know… If a henchman is to enter in a relationship with a civilian, he must keep the activities and identity as a henchman a secret so as not to compromise his or her leader. Trust me, I’ve read that freaking handbook too many times since it’s like the only reading material you had when I was going number two in the Cocoon.”

The deep-voiced villainess blinked at how quickly Gary had snapped at her, “Oh… Well, as long as you know that, it’s none of my business…” Her blue eyes looked up at her henchman’s sullen expression, “But… it does seem like an archaic rule the Sovereign probably put in place in the late 50s so I’ll bring it up at the next Council meeting to see if we can repeal it.” She cleared her throat.

Gary’s expression lightened up a bit, hearing Sheila say that. 

“Well… I’m gonna head out, I’ll be back later. See ya!” Gary quickly disappeared through the front door, running to the subway station to catch the train.

As their henchman quickly disappeared, Sheila put down her fork, staring down her husband. “How long have you known about 21 seeing this girl?”

The Monarch sighed, “I don’t know a few weeks… why does it matter?” He pushed his food around the plate a bit, a hand underneath his chin and his expression turning grumpy. 

“I joined the Guild after one date with Hamilton, a lot can happen in a few weeks.” Sheila rasped with Malcolm’s expression turning sour at the mention of her wife’s former beau. 

“It’s like his first date with this chick! It’s not like they’re going to elope to Vegas tomorrow and have some Elvis impersonator officiate their wedding!” He threw his fork down, raising his arms in the air in exasperation. 

Sheila placed a hand on Malcolm’s arm which caught his attention. The Monarch took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and looked over at his wife, “It’s harmless… plus 21 hasn’t had anything to do around the place since we lost the Cocoon and I can’t arch Venture. We’re not his parents, let him do what he wants.” 

The dark haired villainess sighed in exasperation, “Alright, alright… I’m sorry for doubting you… I’m just a little upset that I didn’t even know about this. God, I’m so tired of this Blue Morpho bullshit! It’s driving me a fucking wall and keeping me away from you and 21!”

“Aw pookums, we understand… soon it will all be over with and we can go back to our normal lives: us, 21, the Cocoon up and running, a new Horde and arching Venture…” The Monarch stood up, embracing his wife tightly.

He was going to make sure all of that came true and she would never have to know he was the Blue Morpho.

--

You sat on a bench in Central Park, going through your agenda for tomorrow’s reconnaissance work on Dr. Venture as you waited for Gary to arrive. You decided to dress up a little more tonight but still kept it casual, not wanting to make it seem like you were too eager.

Your eyes look up to see Gary approaching you and an excited grin spreads across your face. While the conversations you had over phone and text were amazing, you had been craving physical interaction with him.

You quickly pocketed your phone and ran over to him, hugging him tightly. Gary quickly reacted, wrapping his bulky arms around you, and smiled down at you. It was so nice to finally see you again, especially after the stress filled weeks that he had been experiencing. 

“So, where are you taking me? You said you had something in mind?” You asked, grabbing Gary’s hand and intertwining your fingers with his.

His cheeks flushed a bit at the contact, worrying if his palms were sweaty or his hands were too cold. But as you squeezed his hand tighter, his tense shoulders relaxed. 

Honestly, he had always been awkward around girls and making the first move was always terrifying to him – however, you often took initiative into your own hands and it made him feel more at ease when you were in control of the PDA.

He grinned down at you, “Oh, you will not believe this place even exists. But I’m sure you’ll like it.” Gary squeezed your hand back and led the way.

--

“Okay… I want to know how you even found out about this place…” You gawked at the setting, seeing all the waiters dressed up at ninjas.

Gary laughed at the look of disbelief on your face, pleased that he picked out this place. He was on the fence between bringing you to a more traditional date setting but he knew you’d appreciate it.

“I will not disclose my sources but I told you it was something special.” He teased with a grin, beckoning you through the sliding doors into the booth.

“It really is… and I absolutely love it!” You slid inside the booth, still looking around before letting out a scream as a red-headed lanky waiter dressed as a ninja dropped down from the ceiling. 

Due to your training under Wide Wale, it was natural instinct to attack when provoked as your reflexes kicked in, punching the waiter straight through the screen doors. 

“Holy shit!” Gary’s eyes widened at how easily you knocked the waiter onto the ground, not realizing how strong you were.

“S-Sorry, you scared me there!” You suddenly stuttered, rushing to help the server up. You cursed under your breath, hoping Gary didn’t think that was too out of the ordinary.

“N-No, my apologies! I guess my ninja skills aren’t as honed as I thought.” The redhead chuckled, quickly jumping to his feet. 

You awkwardly slid back into the booth, looking down at the menu quite embarrassed and flustered. Gary noticed this and reached over to squeeze your hand, “Hey, it’s a natural reaction. I almost shit my pants the first time I came here too.” He chuckled.

You smiled and mouthed a ‘thank you’ before your waiter, named Jared, took your drink orders – both of you ordering the Virgin Deadly Colada just for the novelty of the rubbing throwing star. 

“I didn’t realize you were that strong. Like I know that guy wasn’t as big as me but you sent him flying!” Gary grinned, intertwining hands with you.

“Sorry again, I’m just a little twitchy is all.” You chuckled nervously, still quite embarrassed.

“No, don’t apologize! That was badass, dude!” Gary assured you with a smile, “I bet you could take out like half the guys here!”

You giggled and smiled, squeezing Gary’s hand. “Thanks, I appreciate it a lot.” 

You both got your drinks, occasionally sipping on them as you caught up on how life has been.

“So how’s work going? Anything interesting you’ve had to do?” You ask, playing with the rubber ninja star in between your fingers.

Gary visibly freezes and bites his lower lip, looking away. All the memories of killing Harangeutan came flooding back to him and his palms started to sweat, his shoulders tense.

You quickly notice and slowly run your thumb across his palm, “Are you okay?” You ask, the sound of your voice soothing him a little. 

He nods and chuckles nervously, “Y-Yeah… just had to do a job I really didn’t want to do.” Your eyebrows quirked a little but you didn’t question it, wanting to be as supportive as you could. You knew he had been under a lot of stress recently, ranting to you at how unrelenting his boss was but you didn’t realize it was to this extent.

He visibly relaxed and squeezed your hand, his line of vision trailing a bit behind you and blinking as he saw from a distance a figure with messy blonde hair and… was he wearing Michael Jackson’s outfit from the Bad music video?

“What are you looking at?” You ask, peering behind your shoulder a bit. At that moment, Gary’s eyes make out his face. It was Hank Venture. “O-Oh, nothing just spacing out!” he quickly stammered out, trying to get your attention.

Someone else beat him to it instead.

“[Your Name], is that you?” A female with a thick Jersey accent’s voice interrupted your thoughts and you whipped your head around. Your eyes widened as you saw who the owner of the voice was. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck! Sirena, not now!’ you curse in your head.

The brunette approached your booth and you started to panic, your mind racing to get her away. If Gary got any inkling of you being linked to the life of villainy you were leading, he might never talk to you again. Thoughts of him calling you a freak and completely ghosting you after tonight overwhelmed you.

“Oh my god, it is! I haven’t seen you in forever, what are you doing in a place like this?” Serena quickly embraced you in a tight hug, which you reluctantly returned. “Those fucking ninjas scared the shit out of me!”

Gary glanced over at Serena, quite confused on who she was. You chuckled nervously and gestured to Gary, “I’m actually on a date, Serena.”

“Wait seriously? A date?” Serena looked legitimately shocked which you glared a bit at her for. “Okay, don’t give me that look, miss ‘married to her job’!” She grinned.

Your eyes widened when she mentioned your job, fearing she’d mention her father or the Guild. You quickly looked over to the drink at the edge of the table, and you tipped it over, staining her pants, as you tried to play it off as you grabbing the cup.. 

“Oh no, I’m so sorry! I’ve just been so clumsy tonight! I’ll help you clean up.” You interrupted Serena before she could say anything and shot up from your seat. Before heading with Serena to the bathroom, you hurriedly told Gary to order the food.

The henchman blinked in confusion at what just unfolded in front of him but he was given little time to process his thoughts when a pair of hands slammed onto the table in front of him. His eyes quickly shot upwards to see Hank in his face, clearly wearing a full black leather outfit.

“Okay, dude, I am on a date so anything involving my Pops or Brock or anything like that can wait till later.” Hank warned, pointing his finger in Gary’s face.

Gary rolled his eyes, sighing, as he knew Hank was still a bit bitter about him going back to the Monarch. “Listen Hank, I’m not here on Monarch business. Hell, if you haven’t noticed, we aren’t even arching your dear old dad anymore. I’m here for the same reason you are – I’m on a date too.” 

The blonde shaggy-haired teen looked at Gary incredulously and Gary sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He did not have time to deal with this especially since you could come back in a matter of seconds.

“Look Hank, I promise you I am not doing reconnaissance on you tonight, okay? Scouts honor.” Gary put three fingers up. Hank sighed and uncrossed his arms, “Okay, I believe you. But I got my eye on you.” He slowly walked back to his table, his eyes glued to Gary the entire time.

Gary let out a sigh of relief and checked the time on his phone. It was getting late and he knew you had work early the next day. An idea quickly popped up in his head and he hastily ordered the food to go.

--

“Damn… So he doesn’t know anything about daddy or the Guild… Nothin?” Serena asked, sitting on the counter of the bathroom sinks, trying to dry up her pants.

“Nope, nothing. I really want to keep it that way, Serena. He’s sweet… and you know for a fact that I have not had the best luck in finding a sweet guy.” You grinned at the brunette.

“But I need normalcy in my life… I need something stable. He keeps me stable and sane cause I would be going nuts with this whole Blue Morpho shit.” You rolled your eyes at the thought of it, “I like him… a lot. And I know he won’t hurt me.”

Serena grinned, “Damn, never thought I’d hear any of this from you. I get it though. The blonde guy in the all leather get-up – that’s my date. He’s a total dork… but he’s all right. I’ve done more with him in these last couple days than I have my entire life with daddy and Rocco breathing down my neck.” 

You rolled your eyes, remembering how you used to sneak Serena out constantly for her just to go to the mall without having a dude dressed up like a whale lice following her around. “How is Rocco, by the way?” you asked.

“He’s doing good… he’s been super protective over me without you there to check him when he’s being overbearing. Pretty sure he’s tailing me right now.” Serena sighed, twirling a stray piece of her hair. You shook her head at the thought but gave an encouraging smile to Serena, “I’ll talk to him about it. Now, let’s get out of here before both of our dates start wondering where we went.” 

-- 

You blinked as Gary was waiting in front of the restaurant, carrying a bag of takeout in his hand. “Why did you get it to go?”

“Well, I know you have work early in the morning and I wanted to spend more time with you… So I got it to go and figured we could go to your place, watch some Game of Thrones while we eat?” Gary suggested with a smile.

Your lips formed into a bright grin and you quickly took Gary’s hand, leading him down the alleyway, “I love the way you think. I’ll lead the way.” 

You walked down the dark and dreary alleyway into the neon lit sidewalks of the city, heading towards the subway station. The entire ride to your apartment, you and Gary’s hands were intertwined tightly.

Getting off at a stop a few blocks away from your apartment, you walked ahead of the redheaded henchman. His eyes trailed up and down your body, hypnotized by the way your hips swayed with each step you took. He bit his lip, trying to suppress any inappropriate thoughts. 

You two walked a few blocks and you took the elevator up to your condo on the 7th floor, unlocking the door. 

“Make yourself at home, I’m gonna go change into something more comfortable.” You say as you hold the door open for Gary. He walked inside, admiring the spacious but modest space. 

You disappeared into your bedroom and Gary walked around your place, shocked at how you could afford a place with such nice utilities and a big space with a secretary office job. He settled down on your couch in the living room, setting up the food on the coffee table in front of him.

Stuffing your Guild uniform in the closet, you changed into your most comfortable set of pajamas. You stepped into the living room to see Gary admiring your collection of comic books lined along the walls. 

He quickly redirects his attention to you and gulps, finding you even more stunning in casual wear. “You look great.” He stutters out and you giggle. 

“Thank you, liking the comic book collection? There’s more in my closet but I decided to frame my favorite series and editions.” You take a seat next to him, licking your lips at the delicious food in front of you.

Gary noticed your hunger and chuckled, “Go ahead, dig in.” You quickly pick up the chopsticks and a take-out box full of noodles, opening it up and eating greedily out of the container.

The red-headed male followed in suit, eagerly eating a container full of beef fried rice. You giggled as Gary got grains of rice on his stubble and you reach to wipe some of it off. 

You reach for the remote and turn on the TV, going to your recordings but not before looking over at Gary. “You’re caught up on Game of Thrones, right?” He had a mouthful of rice so he eagerly nodded.

“Hell yeah, that means I can watch the new episode!” You grin excitedly, snuggling up to the bulky male as you scrolled through your recordings and selected the most recent episode of GoT. Gary blushed, feeling you pressed up against him but slowly relaxed, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and bringing you closer into his chest.

You smiled, snuggling into the warmth of his broad chest. Gary was quite amused at all your reactions to the drama that often ensued in the series, watching you throw your arms up in frustration or yell at the TV. He was half-watching but most of the time he was simply gazing down at you, stroking the small of your back.

He had already watched the episode so he was roaring with laughter as he saw your reaction to the major character death at the end of the episode. “What the hell?! No!” You exclaimed in frustration, shooting up from your seat, “There are too many unexplained questions left!” 

“Hey, hey, calm down – there’s like a 75% chance they’ll come back.” Gary chuckled, grabbing your wrist, trying to pull you back onto the couch. He tugged a bit too hard, causing you to topple on top of the henchman. “S-Shit are you okay?” he cursed, his face flushing at the position you were in.

You were straddled on top of Gary, your legs on the opposite sides of his thighs. Your chest was pressed tightly against his and your noses were touching, your breaths intermingling. 

Gary bit his lip, his large hands resting on your hips as he eagerly swooped in, capturing your lips in a kiss. Your eyes widened quickly before slowly closing, wrapping your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. 

His warm hands slid up the back of your sweater, massaging circles on the small of your back. You let out a soft moan of approval against his lips, breaking this kiss to gasp for air. Gary looked up at you, looking for your approval to move forward.

You nodded, kissing him deeply, and he grinned, hoisting you up and wrapping your legs around his waist as he carried you to the bedroom, not breaking your passionate kiss.

Gently placing you down, he kissed your lips softly and chastely before pulling away. You look at him in confusion, biting your lip as you feel like you’re being rejected. Gary quickly notices this and shakes his head, “No, no it’s not that.”

He takes a seat beside you on the bed and squeezes your hand, “As much as I want to move further… I want to take this slow. I know you’re busy… and you’re focused on your career. I still want to be with you and go on dates… but we don’t have to move further and we don’t have to put a label on it.” He admitted.

You let out a sigh of relief and smile at Gary, “Thanks for being honest with me. I know you’re busy too and life gets hectic and stressful. Maybe holding off and not putting a label on it for now makes our lives a lot happier and less complicated.” You squeezed his hand in a similar fashion as he did, “But I would love for you to spend the night.”

Gary’s lips form a huge smile and he nods, “I would love to, m’lady.” 

He removed his button-up plaid shirt and jeans hesitantly, only wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of Star Wars boxers. Still self-conscious about his body, he tensed as you giggled but you quickly reassured him, “It’s the boxers.” 

He looked down at his Darth Vader boxers and chuckled, “Honestly, I forgot I wore these. Okay, you need rest – you’re the one who has to work early.” You nodded, slipping underneath the sheets. Gary followed in suit and wrapped his arms around you tightly, nuzzling the top of your head. 

As you drifted to sleep quite quickly, Gary gazed up at the ceiling, unable to sleep due to the stress and trauma from his PTSD. Looking down at your sleeping form, he sighed and thought to himself, 

‘I have to tell her the truth soon or I might lose her for good.’

[glittery-ishfish]

Hetalia Drama CD Vol.7: Let’s Talk About the G8 Members☆, Part Four

(tw: swearing, lots of it)

P1,

P2 (tw: Brief poor Ukraine characterization, swearing)

P3

P4 (Hello)

P5 (tw: Poor Ukraine characterization)

P6

P7 (tw: Poor Ukraine characterization)

P8

P9 (tw: Poor Ukraine characterization)

P10 (End)

[Start scene, footsteps entering the room]

Narrator-san: And thus, the G8 conference drew its curtains open without any guidance from Italy, the host country of the meeting.

Eng: So, today's agenda is about us. 

Jap: Thinking about the G8 members, right England-san? 

Ame: AAAAAGH! I WAS GONNA SAY THAT, JAPAN! 

Jap: R-Really?! I'm sorry, America-san. 

Ame: And on an unrelated note, when are ya gonna export that game about the two tied-up girls, and that manga with my president in it?

Jap: Uh…When I return, I will inform my boss and take care of it. 

Ame: Okay! I'll leave it to you! 

Eng: I’M THE ONE TALKING ABOUT THE AGENDA, SHUDDUP YOU GUYS!

Can *at the same time as England*: America is turning the G8 meeting into his...My house is--

Eng: Anyway, let’s start with my opinion. It's time for the G8 to get out of the rut it's in. Don’t you think it’s time we ‘shape up'?

Ame: WHADDYA MEAN ”SHAPE UP”!? YOU TELLING ME TO QUIT HAMBURGERS AND MILKSHAKES?! YOU CAN’T MEAN SOMETHING CRAZY LIKE THAT!! IF I DO THAT I'LL DIE!!

Eng: I’Ｍ NOT DOING THAT!! I MEANT IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE! STA~RE…

[England glares directly at Russia with 'staring arrows']

Rus: Don't stare at me so~ much!

[Russia grabs the staring arrows and breaks them]

Eng:…Don't break people's sight lines without permission!

[Dark aura sounds, Belarus edition, take three]

Bel: You harassed big brother, you harassed big brother, my big brother…MY BIG BROTHER… 

Eng: Er-

Bel: Big brother-- the guy who harassed big brother…*hissing/gurgling*

Eng: R-Russia, stop your little sister.

Rus: Ufu! I'm afraid I can’t. Anyways, I think we're fine with just the eight of us, but what about you guys? How about you, Canada-kun?

Can: Eh? Um…I, uh, my opinion. I think that before this…

Kumajiro: Who’re you? 

Can: I'm Canada! Let's see…So, I think we should--

Bel: ATCHATCHAHATCHAO

[Poor Canada keeps talking in the background]

Fra: If you're talking about getting 'stuck in a rut', I wonder if a position will be given to someone new. Spain, for example, is my best bet right now.

Ame: No way, not him! Whenever he sees me, he tries to attack me with his knees!

Ger: Hm…Spain, huh? I agree with France's opinion.

Ame*upset*&Fra*pleasantly surprised*: Ehhh?! Germany!

Ger: HOWEVER, the G8 is still the G8 and only eight other countries will be considered. We will congratulate Spain for joining and thank you, for all you've done up until now…France.

[Cartoony shock sound]

Fra: EEEEEH??! MEEEE?! W-What the hell!? I thought we were getting to know each other a little better these days!

Is that a German joke or something? Huh?? You know what? I'll only drive a Peugeot if you keep talking like that, how does that sound~?

Ger: I'll give you an example of what you've done for us so far, France.

Fra: Don't go on at all if you don’t like meee!!

Ame: *AmericanLaugh.exe*

Fra: GODDAMMIT, STOP LAUGHING! *sniffle/whimper* You're making big brother cry...

Rus: Isn't this great? You love vacations, don't you, France-kun?

Fra: *annoyed* Well, you see, strikes are supposed to be for the betterment of the workplace, not to pile on whatever the hell you want!

Rus: *(probably) not paying attention* I see! I just love to take vacations, and I like to take vacations to museums, trains, palaces, and so~ on!

Fra: ENOUGH! I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT! THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! BIG BROTHER’S NOT LISTENIIINNNGGG!!!

Rus: But those are all things I really like about you, France-kun.

Fra: THAT’S NOT REALLY ME YOU’RE TALKING ABOOOUUUUTTT!!!!

Can: Um…I heard...about this invention--

Ame: *AmericanLaugh.exe*

[America (I assume) runs off]

Eng:…It's definitely Russia who should leave.

Jap: Um, if you want, would you like to look at the history of each nation from the last 10 years?

Eng: Huh? Okay, let me see. 

[England flipping through pages]

Eng: Mm-hmm *page-flip*…

Jap: What do you think?

Eng: Hm, Well...*page-flip* In terms of statistics and current performance, Italy--

[Germany knocks documents out of England's hands]

 

Ger:…Please. Pretend you didn't see that.

Eng: Germany…

Jap: Germany-san!

[Sparkly sounds]

Eng: Understood! I guess it can't be helped!

Jap: It doesn’t hurt to be a little lenient, does it~?

[More sparkly sounds]

Ger: I'm sorry…I'm so very sorry…

[Sounds of France getting bullied]

(T/N: From what I could pick up, I believe that France may have said something along the lines of "Evil, evil! I'm surrounded by evil!")

Jap: So, Germany-san, since everything ended up unchanged, please do your usual thing.

Ger: O-Of course, *ahem*...YOU BASTARDS! 

[Germany slams hands onto the table]

Ger: LET’S GET THIS MEETING OVER WITH FIRST! You each have eight minutes left! AND NO SIDE CONVERSATIOONNSS!!!

[End scene]

[purplesurveys]

1573

When was the last time you found yourself somewhere you didn't want to be? May I ask where that place was? This morning when I went to church with family. I can even tell you the next time I’ll be in such a situation lol – I was assigned to attend a full-day conference slash leadership training tomorrow. FULL DAY. I already cannot wait for Monday to be over. Do you like coffee? If so, What’s your favorite brand and roast? I love coffee but I’m not a connoisseur in any way; I’m not at all knowledgeable about beans and have no clue how to work coffee machines haha – I just like ordering them and enjoying the already-finished product. Have you ever got a voucher for clothing or food? Yeah, largely from work because from time to time we’ll have internal activities or contests wherein winners are given vouchers.

Do your eyes ever twitch? They don’t, actually. I imagine this happens to others when they’re stressed – but when stress happens to me my usual symptom is usually nausea.

Do you get excited when you get something in the mail that isn't a bill? I never receive anything other than the merch I order. How about when a parcel comes for you? Is that "exciting?" It is. Buying my merch is one of the few joys I have these days hahaha. It’s always a thrill unboxing my orders and pulling my random photocards :) What was the last thing you wrote by hand? A short good-luck note for an influencer that we were sending a gift to ahead of her thesis defense.

Why did you last feel exhausted? My eyes weigh 500 pounds right now because a) I am running on three hours of sleep, b) I had a very heavy dinner, c) it’s just what Sunday evenings do to me.

When did you last offer to do something that you really didn't want to do? A week ago when I volunteered to go to said conference. I never wanted to be a part of it but nobody else was gonna fucking go lol so I just swallowed it and offered to do it myself.

When did you last feel forced into something? Again, this morning when I went to church.

Have you ever used emotional blackmail to get your own way? Yeah this was the gist of my previous relationship. Has anybody ever used emotional blackmail on you? Yes.

What was the last piece of non-fiction that you read about? The most recent Weverse Magazine piece that talked about the LGBT sector of the K-pop fanbase.

When navigating through a computer do you tend to use the mouse or keyboard? Trackpad. I’ve never liked using a mouse.

Assuming you have any, is your hair soft today? It’s not the softest right now since my last shower was yesterday afternoon, but it’s also not in the most terrible shape.

Who did you last worry about and why? This answer is gonna be delulu as fuck, but Jin. Poor guy is gonna have his military training in the snow on his birthday, and it makes me feel all the shittier knowing that he had wanted to enlisted in the summer in the first place if not for the Busan concert.

Who did you last feel sorry for and why? The one terrible driver we encountered this morning. Is there a name that you can't stand but it's the name of a loved one? I don’t think so.

When are you next at work? Tomorrow.

Do you enjoy your work? Not as much as I used to.

Are you currently looking for a new place to live? No.

When was the last time you ate/drank something gross just to be polite? Oh, I’m not sure...I would typically eat anything and find it delicious hahaha. The only time I imagine struggling would be if someone prepared fruits for me but fortunately that’s never happened.

Can you see any toys from where you're sat? No, no toys in my room.

Last time you heard a growl, who or what did it come from? From Cooper this afternoon.

Have you ever been embarrassed by something you've said or a noise you've made during a "moment of passion"? I’ve definitely had a few clumsy moments with dirty talk when I was younger.

Does it bother you when you forget something that you should know? Who wouldn’t be bothered when this happens?

Last time you couldn't sleep; what did you do? I can’t even tell you the last time I’ve had a hard time falling asleep. I end the day feeling super exhausted all the time now haha.

What was the last thing to surprise you? Realizing that I’ve developed a happy crush in the span of like, 30 minutes.

What was the last thing you put off doing? Replying to a question that my associate sent me this afternoon.

When did you last make up a baby's bottle? I’ve never even made a baby’s bottle before.

What was the last thing you cooked? No idea.

Who or what was the subject of the last photograph you took? Me and my sister. Do you eat your dinner at a dining table, coffee table or just off your lap? Dining table.

Why did you last ache? Overate.

When did you last see the sea? April.

Which would you prefer as a view; mountains or the sea? The sea. Do you have a mouse for your laptop? (Assuming you have a laptop) Nope.

Do you apologise a lot? No, only when it’s necessary. If there is any bad habit I’ve learned to let go from my past relationship, it’s overapologizing for things I shouldn’t even be fucking sorry for.

Why did you last feel "icky"? Today because I am on my period.

Do you have any framed black & white photos in your home? Who are they of? No, not a fan of the style.

[babyboibucky]

The Match - Part 8

Pairing: CEO!Bucky x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Summary: You get a preview of what it’s like to be working with Mackenzie.

Warnings: I apologize as there is no smut in here lmfao but there is a stubborn Bucky lols

A/N: The jitters just never go away whenever I post a new part for this ajkcnjasncakjcnakj I find this part boring tbh but uhh things will start picking up again in the next part I promise

The Match Masterlist || MAIN MASTERLIST

Bucky decided to push through with his partnership with Wilson Enterprises. It was a big one, so it definitely required the entire team's effort and perseverance. Apparently, this is the company's biggest, most major project yet so this was going to look really good in your resume. It would also provide you with more credibility to further excel in your career.

Except that Bucky actually hired a marketing consultant to take over the entire project as his revenge.

"Any questions? About the project or about Kenzie?" Bucky asked, standing in front of the conference room, next to Mackenzie.

You confidently raised your hand when no one else did. Bucky tilted his head, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. He knew you were affected, of fucking course you were!

"Yes?" he called out.

You stood up and sighed softly, "I mean this in the most respectful way, Mister Barnes." you said, emphasizing his name. "But as the head of marketing, what exactly is my role here? Given that Mackenzie was hired to spearhead the marketing aspect of this project." you said, giving Mackenzie a passive aggressive smile.

"I don't want to overstep on some boundaries here, that's why I'm asking. I just want clarity, that's all." you said.

Bucky was about to respond when Mackenzie stopped him, grabbing his arm and squeezing it before taking over the floor. You narrowed your eyes at how her slender fingers were wrapped around Bucky's arm.

"Honey..." Mackenzie started. "There's nothing to worry about, this is a collaborative work between you and I. So think of yourself as my assistant, someone to help me out with the project." she responded.

Bitch.

"I'm not an assistant, Mackenzie." you said, smiling at her.

Mackenzie laughed, "I'm sorry, my bad. I shouldn't have used that term. Oops." she said. "Although, I believe I have more experience in this area so maybe consider me a mentor?" she suggested.

Bitch!

Bucky cleared his throat, "If you have certain ideas, you can discuss it with her. She is a consultant after all. Given her impressive experience in the field, I'm sure you'll learn a thing or two from her."

The meeting was wrapped up by noon and you simply couldn't wait to get yourself out of the conference room. You didn't feel like talking to Bucky anymore in all honesty, not after what he was doing. You knew this was just to spite you, get you to cave in first and give in to him.

All the more that you wouldn't, especially not when he actually used your job against you.

Everyone started rushing out of the conference room, ready to head out for lunch. As soon as you reached the doorway, you overheard the short conversation between Bucky and Mackenzie.

"Hey Bucky, we still up for lunch?"

-

The bathroom was empty when you stepped inside and thank god for that because you couldn't hold back your emotions any further. Tears gathered in the corner of your eyes, not because you were hurt. Fuck no, you were angry and frustrated. So fucking angry at yourself for getting into this mess, at Bucky for being such an entitled prick, at the entire world for plotting against you.

You groaned in irritation as you wiped away your tears, sniffing as you looked at yourself in the mirror.

You worked your ass off for this job, for your position. You risked your dignity when you let Bucky fuck you. You weren't going to let someone take that away from you.

You quickly fixed yourself when the door opened, followed by the loud clacking of someone's heels.

"Omg, are you crying?" Beverly gasped, rushing over to you.

You snickered, "No." you lied, "My eyes are itchy." you huffed out before noticing that Beverly was holding a sandwich in her hand.

"Why did you bring your sandwich here?" you curiously asked.

Beverly shrugged, "The pantry's full and the other girls don't exactly seem to like me...so..."

You shook your head and sighed, "Come with me, let's have lunch out. I need to get out of this fucking place anyway."

"Yay, omg! I knew you were nice! You're like, the only girl who actually talked to me nicely." Beverly said, tagging behind you as you exited the bathroom.

"Oh, there you are!" Mark called out. "I was looking for you. Wanna grab lunch? Oh...who's this?" he asked, noticing the blonde girl trailing behind you.

"I'm Beverly! I'm Sir James' new secretary." she introduced excitedly.

You sighed, "Don't ask me why." you said when Mark turned to you with a confused look, still not sure what happened to Bucky's previous secretary.

"So, lunch out? With Bev?" you asked.

-

You were completely zoning out during lunch despite the ongoing conversation between Mark and Bev, something about yoga? You honestly couldn't care less, not when you were feeling so conflicted about your current situation.

Would Bucky actually go that far just to get you back? Or does he actually hate you for saying no to him and is basically using his authority to make your life a living hell?

"So I heard about the new girl." Mark said, that snapped you out of your trance.

"Huh?" you asked.

"I find it weird for Mister Barnes to hire someone when you're here." Mark pointed out. "I mean, are you okay with that or..."

You snorted, "Fuck no. Look, I'm not gonna be the bigger person here. I was offended as fuck." you admitted.

"Yeah, it's super weird because she was hired through Tinder or something. Is that even legal?" Beverly pointed out as she scrolled through her phone.

You and Mark turned to her abruptly, "Tinder? Wait, what?" you asked.

Beverly chuckled, "I heard them talking this morning and Kenzie was like, 'It's so funny that we matched on Tinder and ended up doing business there you know' and I'm like omg Sir James has Tinder and I have one too but I never saw him there, bummer."

"Motherfucker." you hissed out.

Mark made a face, "Are you okay?" he carefully asked. "You've been really tensed since last week."

Apparently, Bucky never deleted his Tinder and have been swiping right on women. And that's how he met Mackenzie who just happened to be a marketing consultant. Now you were just furious, was he fucking her too? Has he been fucking other women this entire time?

"Hey, Bev..." you said, a plan hatching inside your mind. "Can I ask you a favor?" you asked nicely.

Beverly nodded, "Um duh, you're basically my office BFF now."

"If you ever hear Mister Barnes and Mackenzie talk about hmm, I don't know...something interesting. Maybe about the project...me 'cause you know, I'm the head of marketing and Mackenzie’s in the same field...let me know, will ya?" you asked.

Mark chuckled nervously, "I don't know what's going on but isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

"She's not going to eavesdrop, Mark. She'll just...listen closely." you explained.

"Bev might get in trouble if Mister Barnes finds out." Mark warned.

You waved a hand, "She'll be fine, Mark. She's his secretary, she has to know everything. Besides, I'm not going to let her get in trouble, if she does then I'll take care of it."

Beverly squealed in delight, "Omg, you are not my office BFF. You're like my office mom! You and Mark are literally my office parents." she said, lifting her phone up in the air.

"Selfie! This one goes to the 'gram." she said, taking a quick photo of the three of you.

She then proceeded to edit the photo while you and Mark continued eating lunch.

"Bev, you should really put your phone away and eat first. We have less than half an hour left for lunch break." Mark called out.

Beverly groaned and rolled her eyes, "Way to get into the role, Mark. You're such a dad."

You snorted, "Yeah. Loosen up, daddy." you teased.

"Playing family after just one date, huh."

Bucky's presence in the same restaurant should've really intimidated you, most especially that he just witnessed you tease Mark like that. But you were too mad at him to even care, what was the point even? He didn't believe you even when you told him the truth that Mark was just a friend.

Why even try now?

"Hi Sir James." Beverly greeted happily.

"Mister Barnes." Mark acknowledged.

Bucky ignored them and kept his eyes on you. You didn't falter under his gaze and simply stared back at him with blank eyes. It's as if a staring competition took place when the both of you merely looked at each other, neither of you looking away nor attempting to do so.

"How was that date last Friday, Jim?" Bucky asked, his eyes still trained on yours.

Mark made a funny face at the name that Bucky called him but shrugged anyway. Before he could even respond, you decided to answer on his behalf. If Bucky wanted to spite you, you'd give him a taste of his own medicine.

"It was actually great. We might go on another one this Friday." you said.

"We are?" Mark asked in a whisper.

Bucky's hand landed on Mark's shoulder, "Don't count on it, Andrew. She's going to be doing a lot of work on Friday due to the project." he said through gritted teeth.

You shrugged, "Oh, but I thought Mackenzie's doing all my work?"

"I'm ready to head back, Buck."

Speak of the devil herself. Mackenzie weaved through the tables and approached Bucky, her face brightening up when she saw you, Mark and Beverly.

"Oh, hey you." she greeted you. "Look, I think we may have started off on the wrong foot earlier. I'm not here to take your job, just here to spice things up a bit. Improve your ideas, give Bucky some assistance." she chuckled, holding onto Bucky's arm yet again.

You fought back the urge to grab your glass of water and throw it at her face. As the saying goes, kill them with kindness. So you merely shrugged and extended an arm for a handshake.

"Of course. I would love to improve your ideas as well, you know. Just a healthy discourse between two marketing professionals. We good?" you said.

Mackenzie forced out a chuckle and reached for your hand, "We’re good. I look forward to working with you." she said before turning back to Bucky who was still gazing at you.

"Let's go?" she asked sweetly.

Bucky smirked at you before wrapping an arm around Mackenzie's waist, guiding her out of the restaurant the same way he did to you. You were too focused on Bucky's body language around Mackenzie that you failed to notice that Mark was watching you closely, your expressions and how you reacted towards Bucky.

"I think I know what's happening."

-

"You what?!"

"Shhh!" you hushed Mark and peeked out of the empty pantry to make sure the coast was clear.

Mark noticed the tension between you and Bucky and he came to a conclusion that the both of you dated at one point. He wasn't really wrong but he wasn't right either. So you decided to tell him everything, from the moment you matched with Bucky on Tinder until your last conversation with him last Saturday.

"I honestly thought you were dating, I didn't know there was sex involved. No wonder he had been calling me weird names." he said incredulously. "Was that you and Mister Barnes that Janet reported to the HR?" he asked, stifling his laughter.

You groaned, "Yes. Ugh, gave me a panic attack when I found out about that incident report." you said.

"Hey..." Mark called out. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this. Your secret is safe with me." he reassured.

You nodded, "I think it was about time that I told someone about us anyway. This whole situation is driving me crazy and I don't know what to do next. And I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, I shouldn't have said that we were going out again. I don't want you or your job getting compromised because of our petty fight." you exhaled.

You had to admit, you felt so much better now after confiding with Mark. It somewhat alleviated the weight on your shoulders, knowing that there was someone aware of what you were going through. Who would've thought that this person would end up being Mark? You did have friends outside of work of course, but you felt like they all wouldn't really understand the situation.

Half would hate you for rejecting Bucky and the other half would hate you for even swiping right on him.

"Do you mind an unsolicited advice?" Mark asked.

"Not at all." you said.

"Ignore him. Don't let him or Mackenzie get to you. Do what you do best, you're great at your job and you'll be fine. That might get him to realize that you're not a prize to be won. And if he still doesn't see that, then that's his loss. You're more than just that hot marketing girl at work." Mark said.

You laughed at his last statement, "Hot marketing girl at work?" you asked, shaking your head.

"It's true. So if in any case you decide to ditch the CEO and move on, you know where to find me." he joked, throwing a wink your way.

-

You wanted to finish all your reports so you could focus on the huge project so you decided to work until around nine in the evening. The floor was already empty by the time you were done. Bucky seemed to be working too, given that he was still replying to e-mails at this hour. Wanting to get all the reports over with, you decided to submit it to him before going home.

During the elevator ride to Bucky’s floor, you couldn’t help but wonder whether he was alone in the office. Would Mackenzie be there with him? Even at this hour? Your grip on the folder tightened at the thought of catching them in the act.

But did you have any right to feel this way though?

Brushing off the thoughts, you exhaled loudly and prepared yourself for whatever it was you were to witness. Upon reaching the door to Bucky’s office, you slightly turned your head to listen to anything. It was quiet. No hushed whispers nor strained grunts-- they weren’t fucking, thank goodness for that.

You decided not to knock and just walk inside like you used to, reminding yourself of Mark’s advice.

Don’t let Bucky get to you.

When you saw Bucky hunched over his desk, typing away on his e-mails instead of bending a certain brunette somewhere in his office, you had to admit that you were relieved. He looked up and his eyes looked dead tired, you almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

“You should really learn how to knock.” Bucky called out, slamming his laptop shut.

“Look, Bucky. I was just rushing to submit these reports so I can go home.” you explained and placed the folder on top of his desk.

Bucky frowned, “I said to call me Mister Barnes.”

You huffed out, “I honestly don’t care, Bucky. I’m not playing your damn games anymore.” you said and turned around.

A hand on your arm pulled you back, harshly turning you around to face Bucky. He was fuming, as usual. At this point, you were no longer fazed.

“You think I don’t know what you’re trying to do?” he asked.

You clenched your jaw and pulled your arm back, “I’m not doing anything. You bring in Beverly or Mackenzie or whoever it is that you have up your sleeve. I don’t fucking care. I just want to focus on work.” you said and stepped away.

“And you should too, Bucky.” you added.

“I don’t believe you.” he said.

You sighed, your shoulders dropping from exhaustion at this whole shenanigan. “I’m done, Bucky.”

And with that you turned around to exit his office, leaving Bucky unsure whether you truly meant what you said. A victorious smirk graced your lips as you walked back to the elevator.

You were far from done.

-

The Match Special Tags:

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[august-reads]

"Either you have my back. You're at my side. Or you're in my way. Be Lilith. Never Eve"

𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓯𝓪𝓵𝓵

Author: Penelope Douglas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

These are the emotions I felt while reading this book : 🤯🥵😤😖😭🥳🛐🙈

Synopsis :-)

EMORY

They call it Blackchurch. A secluded mansion in a remote, undisclosed location where the wealthy and powerful send their misbehaving sons to cool off away from prying eyes.

Will Grayson has always been an animal, though. Reckless, wild, and someone who was never bound by a single rule other than to do exactly what he wanted. There was no way his grandfather was going risk him humiliating the family again.

Not that the last time was entirely his fault. He might’ve enjoyed backing me into corners in high school when no one was looking, so they wouldn’t catch on that Mr. Popular actually wanted a piece of that quiet, little nerd he loved to torture so much, but…

He could also be warm. And fierce in keeping me safe.

The truth is… He has a right to hate me.

It’s all my fault. Everything.

Devils Night. The videos. The arrests.

I’m to blame for all of it.

And I regret nothing.

WILL

I never minded being locked up. I learned a long time ago that being treated like an animal gives you permission to act like one. No one has ever looked at me any other way.

Their only mistake is believing anything I do is an accident. I can sit in this house with no Internet, television, liquor, or girls, but I’ll come out of here with something far more frightening to my enemies.

A plan.

And a new pack of wolves.

I just didn’t expect one of my enemies to come to me.

I don’t know who smuggled her in or if they meant to leave her here, but I can smell her hiding in the house. She’s here.

And as the security detail leaves the supplies, the gates close, and the door to my gilded cage opens, giving me free reign of the house and grounds for another unsupervised month, I remember with a smile…

Blackchurch houses five prisoners. I’m only one of her problems.

Review ^_^

I'm fucked up! My brain is not working now, I want to say so many things but my lack of words isn't capable of doing it. So, let me take a deep breath and start......

Okay, so, this is about the 4th and last Horseman, William Grayson lll. And can we take a moment of silence, for him??!! This man was considered a sweetheart and happy boy. I really love the conference on teenage Will, and, how he said to Emmy that no one will send him to blackchurch because everyone loves him! I love this man so much! Will was meant to be for Emmy. At first, I was so anxious about how Emmy will fell for Will. After reading 40% of the book, I seriously doubt that Emmy is Will's enemy. I got the fear that they might not even gonna be together. But, as we see the end, she was in love with Will since high school. And it literally melts my heart. Emmy is my girl. I love dominating women in books.

The way Damon mentioned her as a "cunt" on Kill Switch, I thought that she might be very awful. But oh boy, she's really one of them. Can we talk about the train scene?!?!?!?! Man! My heart was hammering at the scene where Emmy sucked Alex's clit!! And everyone was following Em, goddamn! It was unexpected.

Also on the blackchruch, Aydin holds Alex and Will holds Emmy, this part is my favourite!!!! I never saw it was coming!!

I also love Damon's humour though, he was a funny guy and how he melts every time Winter does something. It was great to see this side of him.

Also, I never thought that Pen would show the wedding of all the Horsemen, love this part so much.

Fuck Evens Christ and Martin Scott. Mainly fuck Martin bitch. He's not a brother. He's a psycho and a monster. How could he do this so Em?! In some of the parts, I lose my temper and all I wanted to do was dig inside the book and fucking murder him. I couldn't hold this anymore.

I loved the friendship between Damon and Emmy so much!! Best friendship ever!!

Anyway, imma 'bout to cry cause Devil's Night series is fucking Finished and I don't think I'll be okay anytime soon. This is my favourite series undoubtedly.

Ps. Can we talk about the greenhouse sex between Will and Emmy, God! I'll get down on my knees for Will 🛐. Also, my eyes were wide in the shower scene, Will is Damon's BFF indeed.

Ps.ps.I'm gonna miss them so badly. Also, love Iverson and the "Buck" scene!! He's Damon's son indeed. And Meds is so much like Kai! Love it much.

[mandos-sluts]

The Visit

This is Part One of a three-part series

The Visit Part Two

The Visit Part Three

The Mandolorian x Fem!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Word count: 3.5k

Warnings: Smut, dubious consent, fingering, dirty talk, mentions of sex work

Summary: You are Luke Skywalker’s Padawan, training directly under him at his Jedi Academy. Din Djarin is staying at the compound for a few days to visit Grogu.

A/N: Please message us or comment if you want to be on our tag list!! Also we love feedback <3

“What does he look like?”

“He’s a Mandalorian. Big silver shiny armor. Can’t miss him.”

*************************************

Boy was he right. You spot Din as soon as you step into the cantina. He’s standing at the bar, leaning over it slightly. His visor catches your eye from across the room, and he stares at you for a while, looking you up and down, before turning his head back to the bar. He’s never seen someone so beautiful in this parsec before.

Your Master, Luke Skywalker, told you to meet Din at the cantina and escort him to the Jedi Academy. Luke had similarly informed Din that he was sending his Padawan to rendezvous.

You know all about Din Djarin. You know his whole deal with Grogu and the Darksaber, and his run-ins with the Empire and the Guild. The story of his miraculous rescue of Grogu made its way around the school after Luke brought the child back to the Academy.

The cantina that you’re at is located in the town that lies right outside the Jedi Academy compound. It’s a place that many students go to blow off steam and hang out.

You find yourself surprisingly nervous as you walk up to the tall intimating Mandalorian. “Excuse me.” You say.

“Not interested.” He says shortly without even looking at you.

”What?” You asked, confused.

“I said I’m not interested.”

“Not interested in what?”

”Your services.”

”My services?” You don’t understand. Is he wanting to travel to the grounds by himself? That’s not an option....he wouldn’t be permitted on the estate without an escort. Didn’t Luke tell him of this arrangement?

Din exhales, clearly annoyed, and finally turns to look at you. “Do I need to spell it out for you? I’m not looking for a whore.”

You stand there, completely dumbfounded, your mouth slightly open from shock. A whore? What the fuck?!!

In his defense, you are wearing a rather skimpy-looking outfit. You have on what is essentially a tennis skirt and a bandeau; it’s the hot season on the planet. Even so, this guy is an asshole.

You take a breath and put a fake smile on your face. “My apologies….Din Djarin.” You say in a suggestive manner. Turning around to leave, Din whips around and grabs your upper arm tightly, yanking you closer to him.

“How do you know that name?” Din loudly whispers in a demanding, low voice.

You’re not stupid, you know that his name is known only by a few. “My industry has very skilled people.” You respond, hoping he will get the hint that you are in fact not a sex worker, but actually the person he’s supposed be meeting.

”Are you telling me your brothel somehow got a hold of my name?” Din is pretty pissed. Is this what he gets from doing dealings with Jedi? His name gets leaked to brothels?

You let out a sigh as your eyes roll. You snatch your arm out of his grasp and move swiftly out the door into the street. What a jerk. This guy can find his own way to the compound.

Din tries to follow you, needing to know how a random whore got his name, but the streets are pretty crowded.

”Oh, Mr. Djarin!” Din hears someone say. He looks over his shoulder and sees Luke Skywalker approaching him.

“H-hi, Master Skywalker.” Din says, deciding to give up on his pursuit of you, after all, that’s not the reason he’s here.

“I’m surprised to see you here, did my Padawan not pick you up?” Luke asks.

“No. He never showed.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry about that. Let me take you to the Jedi Temple.”

************************************* You hear your Master’s voice and footsteps nearing the empty lounge you’re sitting in. It’s a pretty big, dark lit room. There’s a conference table on one end, and an arrangement of couches and chairs spread across the place. It’s always empty, and you often use the area to meditate or exercise or just hang out. You pretend to look busy, eager for what’s about to occur.

“It is strange that my Padawan did not show up to greet you.” You hear Luke say behind the wall. He pokes his head around the door. “Ah, here she is.” He says walking into the lounge.

She? Din walks a few feet behind Luke. He turns the corner and walks through the door, freezing in his footsteps as soon as he lays eyes on you. There you are, the woman who approached him at the cantina….Luke’s Padawan.

You stare into his visor with a smug half smile on your face and slowly rise from your seat. You’re reveling in how taken aback he clearly is.

“Y/n, this is Din Djarin. I thought we discussed that you’d meet him at the cantina and escort him to the Academy? He says you didn’t show.” Luke says innocently as he stands between you and Din.

“Oh. I did go to the cantina. I guess I missed you.” You say slowly with your eyes locked on his helmet. “My apologies, Din Djarin.”

Din clears his throat. “Um n-no worries at all.” He chokes out. Shit! Din can’t believe he called you a whore. How did he not see the laser sword on your hip?

“Alright, well I’m gonna get to my meeting. Y/n, show Din around, alright?” Luke says.

“Of course Master.” You say with a slight bow of your head. You plant your gaze back on Din’s helmet as it rotates to watch Luke exit.

He slowly turns his look back to you, staring at him confidently with your hands on your hips.

“I’m sorry.” He says flatly through his modulator.

“For being such an asshole?” You say tilting your head.

“Yes. And assuming you were a prostitute.”

“There’s nothing wrong with sex workers. I’m not offended that you mistook me for one.” You say. But….why does it kind of turn you on that he thought you were a whore? Ugh and why does it turn you on that he is such a jerk??

There’s an awkward pause as you both stand there examining each other.

“So, you’re also a…Pawa-don?” Din asks, trying to fill the quiet. He has never been uncomfortable with silence before, in fact, he more often than not preferred it. But right now for some reason he feels different.

“Padawan.” You correct him. “And yes.”

“So are you doing the same training as the kid?” He further probes.

“Kind of. Grogu is more in the elementary stages of training. His focus is mainly on developing and fine-tuning his sensation with the Force. Most of my training nowadays centers around my lightsaber mastery and combat.” You inform him.

“Hm. Wonder when you’ll be good enough to battle me.” Din says casually as he takes a breath.

“What?” You ask.

“I said I wonder when you’ll be good enough in combat to put up a fight against me.”

Is he serious? Is he trying to provoke you? Even after the predicament he just found himself in with you? “Ha….um….I was good enough to fight you years ago.” You declare

Din looks at you for a moment. “I’m a Mandalorian.” He says simply.

“.....”

“The Mandalorian who wields the Darksaber. So you’re either overestimating your own ability or underestimating mine.”

You take a deep breath and take a step closer to him. “I know most people think that Mandalorians are the greatest warriors in the galaxy, but that’s because they don’t know of the Jedi Order. My connection with the force gives me strength that you will never know, that you will never be able to comprehend.”

Din takes a step closer to you. “That may be, but I have decades of combat experience that is simply unmatched by you, not to mention the most imperishable armour in the galaxy.”

“So what I’m hearing is that you would like to duel.” You say as you remove your saber from its holster and activate its blade. It’s a light lavender color, thin and sleek.

“That’s cute.” Din says. “Just a reminder, little girl. You were given that light saber. I won mine in battle.” He proclaims as he detaches his saber from his belt. *see gif*

“I made it. But fair point. Now enough talk, Mandalorian, are you ready to duel or what?” You say as you get into a battle stance.

Din holds his hand out. “If, by some miracle, you do happen to overpower me, don’t touch the saber. Bo-Katan is already mad enough that I have it, I can’t imagine what she’d do if a non-Mandalorian gets their hands on it again.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m well aware of the bizarre way that the ruler of Mandalore is chosen.”

“Alright then, princess, I won’t hold back.”

You feel heat rush through your core at those words. Princess. He won’t hold back. Uggh... focus! This guy has been demeaning you since the moment you met him, show him how powerful you are!

*************************************

You and Din battle for a good seven minutes, the two of you are pretty evenly matched, neither one of you gains the upper hand for very long. Just as you’re feeling your strength falter, you’re able to knock his saber out of his hands, and you push him onto the ground. Din tries to get up and reach for his saber but you plant yourself on top of him, straddling him. He looks up at you in defeat.

He takes a deep breath as you stare down at him. That’s when you notice the tent in his pants. You’re sitting on his legs so that his bulge is right above your crotch.

Adrenaline is pumping through your veins from your victory and a smile stretches across your face. “I have another quality that puts me at an advantage that I forgot to mention: your attraction to me and your primal desire to fuck me.” You say as you slowly place your hand on top of his clothed erection. You lean down and bring your face close to his helmet. “I bet your face is just bright red underneath this helmet of yours. Not only did you lose the battle, but your urges got the best of you.” You say in a condescending tone.

Din stares up at you, his chest moving up and down as he breathes.

“That’s where you and I differ.” You say. “A real warrior has self-control and self-restraint.”

Din moves his hands to your thighs and runs them up to your hips. “Who said I was trying to restrain myself?” He says in a raspy voice.

You’re a little caught off guard. You were teasing him, and this was not the reaction you were expecting. You thought he’d be embarrassed, you thought he’d want to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

“Face it.” You say after a pause. “You can’t repress your arousal, and your lack of self-control is a disadvantage to you.”

Din’s hands are still on your hips, and he pulls you up his body ever so slightly. “So since you have such great self-control, your panties wouldn’t happen to be wet right now, would they?” He inquires in a low, sultry voice.

You’re taken aback at his shameless words. “O-of course not.” You stutter as your confidence recedes.

“Let me see.” He demands flatly.

“What?” Did you hear him right? Your heart beat is pounding, you can’t tell if he’s joking around with you or not like you were doing with him.

“I said let me see.” Din says moving his gloved hands to the bottom of your skirt. “C’mon, pull this short little skirt up just a tad more and show me that your panties are dry.”

“N-no I–”

“Fine.” Din cuts you off. “I’ll do it myself.” He says as he removes one of his gloves. He then moves his bare hand under your skirt up to your pussy, easily pushing the thin panties you're wearing aside and planting two fingers inside your sopping wet folds.

You jerk at the contact of his soft skin on your sensitive pussy. “Din!” You exclaim. You grab his hand, but don’t move it.

Din chuckles. “Looks like you don’t have as much self-discipline as you claim.” He brings his other hand and cups your cheek. “Awwww, your face is just bright red right now.” Din mocks.

“W-whatever, you still lost.” You say out as you’re overcome with humiliation.

“Mmmmm. Congratulations.” Din says lazily as he removes his hand from your cunt and grabs your hips once again. “So, y/n. You showed me how Jedi fight. Let me show you how Mandalorians fuck.” He says as he pulls your hips and grinds you against his bulge.

Your panties are still pulled aside and the friction of his clothed erection against your clit makes you whimper.

“You– you wanna fuck me?” You ask hesitantly.

“Ha. Of course I wanna fuck you. Look at you.” He says as he lifts you off of him to stand up. Standing tall, he towers over you and brings his non-gloved hand to your chin, pulling it up gently to meet his gaze.

The unexpected and prompt shift in the power dynamic has you all turned around. Just moments ago, your confidence was through the roof. You were giddy claiming your victory against him, making fun of him for getting a boner during a duel. But the tone between the two of you has completely changed. He has you weak and timid, he’s looking down at your wide doe eyes as if you’re his prey.

“Come on, little Padawan. Practicing self-control is great, but let me show you what it’s like to lose all control over yourself.” Mando says as he wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you closer to him. “Cuz I would just love to tie you up and have my way with you.” He mutters. Dins hands slide down to your butt as he gropes your flesh, pulling you flat against him. “Let down your guard for just a moment and let me show you how rewarding it can be.” Din slips his bare hand back under your skirt to find your cunt even wetter than before. You let out a whimper and bat your eyes at him.

He starts slowly circling your clit, and moves his other hand up to caress your cheek softly. “Come on.” He whispers in your ear. “I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

High-pitched breaths are escaping your lips as he gently runs his thumb up and down your cheek bone.

“Can– can you not–” you breathe, sliding your hands up his chest.

“What. What is it?”

You pause for a moment. “Can you not be so gentle with me?” You say with slight embarrassment.

Din scoffs, “Oh baby girl, you’re gonna regret saying that.” He says as he grabs a fist full of your hair and roughly pulls your head back, exposing your delicate neck to him.

This harsh action sends shocks to your pussy. “Didn’t you say something about tying me up?” You purr with a slight smile, looking up into his visor.

“So I was right about you being a filthy fuckin whore.” Din spits as he shoves a finger inside of you, his thumb rubbing against your clit.

“Y-yeah, but only for you.” You whine as your eyes fall closed and high-pitched moans begin escaping your lips.

“Ohh that’s right baby.” Din praises. He’s so turned on by the way you’re speaking and responding to his touch, and he loves the impact he has on you. How you so quickly went from a confident fighter when he lost to you, to a shy little girl when he started teasing you, to a dirty slut once he got his hands in your panties.

He starts pumping his finger faster and you can hear the lewd noises your obscenely wet pussy is making. Your mouth opens even more with your moans becoming more pronounced and your back arches. You’re standing pressed flat up against him, he’s basically holding you up on your toes with one arm as his other hand drives into your cunt.

You can feel your orgasm just beginning to climb when you suddenly hear a beep on your watch’s intercom. It jolts you back to reality.

“Y/n, are you at the lounge? I’m heading back there now.” Your Master says through the intercom.

“Shit.” You say as you push Din’s chest, pulling yourself off of him. “I should have shown you to your accommodation by now.” You say as you frantically start looking around your feet for your saber. By the time you grab it and look up for Din, he has already made his way out the back exit.

You attach your saber to your hip as you try to steady your breathing, disoriented from the abrupt conclusion of whatever it was you were doing with Din. You hear Luke’s footsteps approaching as you quickly try to put your panties back in place, growling at how soaked they are. You’re praying that your Master doesn’t notice the wetness that has been smudged on your inner thighs.

*************************************

You cannot believe what you did with Din. No one has ever done anything like that to you before. You get hit on all the time— you’re gorgeous— but you are almost never interested enough to give them the time of day. But Din? He had his fingers in your pussy after knowing you for ten minutes. How did he do that!?

It’s the early evening. You lie in your bed visualizing the events over and over again, heat pooling in your core as you replay the dirty things he said to you.

While it fuels your arousal, you also feel uneasy about the interaction. He left so quickly, and he left without saying a word to you, almost like nothing had happened. You hope that Din doesn’t think less of you, that he doesn’t think you’re some hussy who is easily persuaded into letting guys she just met finger fuck her.

You are pulled away from your anxious thoughts when you hear your intercom going off. It’s your friends talking about what they’re doing tonight. You don’t really care to pay attention, but you sit straight up in your bed when you hear something about that “Mandalorian who’s visiting the Academy,” and how he’s “at the cantina in town.”

You jump out of bed and without even thinking, you grab a sweater and head toward the parlor.

Your heart is beating on the chilly walk there. You hope he’s surprised to see you, you hope he’s excited to see you. You’re gonna act casual, yeah, like you didn’t even know he was there. No big deal! You’re just going to the cantina to hang with your friends. And then you see eachother, and bing bang boom, you guys are back in your room fucking while he calls you his little slut. Yes. This is gonna go great.

It’s a Friday night and the cantina is bustling. People are dancing, drinking, and gambling. It’s so loud that you can barely hear yourself think. As you make your way through the rowdy crowd, you spot Din’s helmet over the hordes of people. He is sitting in a somewhat secluded booth in the corner of the restaurant.

You proceed a few steps forward, lightly pushing people to get through the crowd, and then, your heart drops. He’s not sitting alone. There’s a girl, a woman, a sex worker, wrapped in his arm.

You stand there for a moment as everything goes quiet, you stare at Din and the beautiful woman in a tight short dress sitting beside him. She’s talking to him, saying things into the side of his helmet as he sits there looking forward with his arm casually draped around her, man spreading and all.

Din’s head turns and that’s when he notices you, standing there among the crowd of people in that same short high waisted skirt and a cropped sweater of the same color.

You feel something fall deep in your chest as you realize that he sees you. You blink a few times as the rest of your senses come back, humiliation and embarrassment overcoming you as you quickly turn around and stumble out of the bar.

You make your way into the dark street and take a few deep breaths before running back to the Academy. You're fighting off tears as you feel the cold air pinching every bit of your exposed skin.

You can’t believe that you let yourself become smitten by someone who was such an asshole. He mistook you for a whore, he insulted your combat skills, he pressed you to let him fuck you! You should have expected this.

A tear rolls down your cheek. Why did you think he liked you? He didn’t. He didn’t like you. And he didn’t want to fuck you, he just wanted to fuck someone, and you were the closest one to him. You let him use you. He must do this kind of shit all the time with women, you were nothing special.

You get back to your room and bury yourself under your covers, wanting to escape so badly from this reality.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Visit Part Two

The Visit Part Three

*************************************

Masterlist

*************************************

Taglist:

@pinkninja200 @raspberrymama @stevie75 @tacticalsparkles @kenoobiwan @shark-s @theamuz @blackrose8425 @beskarboobs @beskarboobs @smutslutz @princess-djarinn @spideysimpossiblegirl @riot-rotten

[yourmcu]

Birthday

Pairings: The Avengers x  reader

Summary:

It’s your birthday and the team gets creative on how to surprise you, putting their acting skills to the test.

Word count: 2,350

A/n: just a little something because,, well,, it’s my birthday *runs away* also it’s cheesy, hopefully it makes sense lmao

Warnings: uhhh brief mention of explosion? mostly fluff

The Avengers wanted to get creative for your birthday this year. For the few years they've known you they picked up on things about you. One, you paid no mind to your birthday at all and just considered it a normal day like the rest of the 365, Tony took note that you hated parties, at least the really big ones, something that involved only the team would be good.

Okay, you sound like a party pooper, but that isn't the case; it's not a crime to just... not want to have a grand celebration, right? And people singing the 'happy birthday' song to you too while you just sit there in silence. It's awkward, you once told Natasha. It’s also awkward and hard for you to receive presents even though that’s what birthdays are all about, you’re still getting used to it since you knew someone like Tony Stark.

Well, the team think you're an amazing friend and they all treat you like family. They're so glad they met someone like you.

You're immediately called to the conference room on that day. Only to find the team arguing and pointing fingers at one another.

You kinda just slot in, sitting on the chair you usually sit on whenever there's a meeting or mission briefing. Glancing around, you try and find out what they're fighting about.

Security. Suits. Brief mention of Ultron. Rhodey busying himself with phones, probably making a lot of calls. Natasha and Clint talking among themselves, only raising their voice whenever they're included in the conversation which mainly consisted of Tony and Steve arguing.

"Suit up, get the jet ready." Steve dismisses but before he could walk out himself you raise your hand.

"Hey, sorry, I just woke up," you say sheepishly but coolly at the same time. "What happened, is everyone supposed to go? Can I read the file?" Because if this is an Avengers-level threat that required everyone, you'd want to know all about it.

His sharp and expression softens slightly when he looks at you. "No file, I'm afraid. Some of the compound's security protocols have been compromised, someone hacked in." He proceeds to tell you how they particularly had interest in Bruce and Tony's lab so the other rooms were untouched.

Apparently, they took blueprints and materials, maybe a handful of Tony's suits.

But if you think about it, those two carelessly letting the security to their lab loose? Highly unlikely...

You push the thought to the back of your mind and nod when Steve tells you to get ready. Stark tech can be dangerous in the wrong hands, after all. Let alone the Iron Man suits.

Fortunately, those things have trackers. Leaving you to wonder again why those idiots don't even try and take them off so they won't tracked?

Sat on the floor of the jet while everyone was strangely quiet but once again you didn't pay any mind, you sharpen a few of your knives. Natasha sat on a stool near you, idly picking her nails. An hour into the flight you furrow your brows and look around.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yes," Tony states quickly and a matter-of-factly. They all share glances before he continued. "It's the tension. Sorry. My fault."

"It's not your fault, Tony," Bruce starts.

"I'm sorry, to whom were those stolen suits again?" Steve speaks up as well and you could tell it's gonna be a full blown argument again.

"Now hold on just a second-" Tony faces the super soldier to counter.

You merely blink, not expecting a simple question to turn out like this. Clint just glances from the pilot's seat and Natasha almost cracks a smile by the look of your face. If only you knew it was all fake, all planned. But what does she know? You're a spy too, maybe you've figured out what they're up to and decided to play along.

Sad to say you're still oblivious. Maybe the fact that you only slept three hours last night is one case. You wanted nothing more than your bed right now.

Heck, not one of them wished you a happy birthday but you didn't notice at all.

Tuning out their bickering you sit down next to Natasha who's the only one not in the argument.

"I haven't seen Wanda all day," you say and she turns her head to face you. "Or Sam, or Bucky."

"Probably not back from their mission." Natasha answers promptly.

You frown at that. "Steve made this sound like an Avengers-level threat, and it is, shouldn't they be here?"

You don't wait for a response, opening up a globe-shaped hologram that shows where the jet, represented by a blinking dot. Your eyes slightly widen when you see the target location which is one of the places you've been dying to visit your whole life.

Maybe it's just a coincidence. You definitely didn't expect to visit it for the first time on a mission though.

Natasha clears her throat. "Hey, have you read the book I gave you?" She subtly closes the globe up when she catches your attention.

You shake your head bashfully. "You know I'm a slow reader. Give me two months then I'll come back to you." You laugh. Natasha smiles and tells you to take your time. "Have you read the book I gave you?"

"I loved it."

"I knew you would!" You say excitedly and the next few moments you discuss about the specific book. She's just glad you didn't ask any further questions about the location.

--

All of you split up once you reach the base but Rhodey and Bruce stay in the jet as backup. The place reminded you so much of the old Avengers tower, only with darker themes. You're paired with Clint who you follow to the side of the building, with surprisingly no cautiousness. He just... ran in, entrance deserted of guards.

You all had a digital, tech checklist to see what was stolen including all the suit names. So far you've searched two drawers now and still no sign of any agent or guard. But it's weird since the others are clearly doing their part on their floors. Thuds, footsteps and sometimes banging sounds could be heard all around.

“Finally," you mutter when you hear footsteps behind you, spinning around so suddenly to surprise your enemy and take him down with ease. You raise an eyebrow when they don't put up a fight at all.

Clint was in front of a computer when you peek in to one of the rooms but he waves you off. "I'll meet you on the next floor. This'll take a second."

"One suit on the roof!" you hear Steve grunt through your earpiece.

"Remember to remove the arc reactor, that'll shut them down for sure." Bruce reminds through everyone's comms.

You hear Tony let out a noise. "Might have a problem with that, Banner, they're all reprogrammed."

Expecting the man with seven Ph. D's to worry, it only took him a minute to respond back. "It's your tech. I don't believe they could do that completely especially having them for only twelve hours."

"In that case," Tony sighs. "There should be a kill switch under one of their reactors."

"Which one?" Natasha grunts.

The deafening silence from Tony's line explains it.

You fight your way though the thugs which again, don't put up a fight. Sometimes you throw one punch and they're out cold, leading you to believe the intense training Bucky insisted you do worked. The only tough ones were the Iron Man suits themselves.

Ripping out the arc reactors wasn't easy. You had to use all you force. On the second one you encounter it got the upper hand and blasts you through a wall, the impact sending sharp pain to your head and back.

You hear metal thumping of a suit so you get back up and attempt to get your hands on the Iron Man in front of you.

"Hey, hey. Same team. Look," Tony grips on your wrists and lifts his mask up. "You alright?"

“Yeah," you pant, relaxing a bit. "Yeah. One of them got m-"

"We just discovered a bomb, northwest," Clint says. By ‘we’ he means him and Natasha. The redhead speaks right after. “Two and a half minutes. How many suits left, Friday?”

"Only one more suit is fully functional."

You get out of Tony's hold and sprint up the stairs. "I got it."

He smiles to himself. The plan is all coming  to place.

As soon as you enter the room you dodge a blast from the much bulkier Mark XVI. Of course they'd want to make the stealth suit more powerful. You launch yourself towards it, stomping on an arm while trying to dodge blasts from the the other one.

"Y/N! Fifty seconds!" Steve shouts in your earpiece.

You could've just jumped out, leaving the compromised suits here to be blown up but being under pressure made you panic and set your only goal to find the switch.

The suit could still set off a blast from the arc reactor so you couldn't really get your hands on it without losing a freaking arm.

"Get out of there!”

But you didn’t have enough time. So you just curl into a ball against the wall, accepting your fate.

A pop did go off. Loud, but you didn't feel yourself torn into pieces right after. You also heard a bunch of aye’s and oh’s. Redwing whirs by to your head to drop off a birthday hat.

"Happy Birthday!”

Your eyes fly open. Turns out the only thing inside Mark XVI was confetti. Natasha walks over to you to inspect and make sure you're alright.

"What the hell?" Your eyes widen at her, then at everyone. Sam and Bucky were now standing with them, smiling at you amused.

"I think she's in shock.”

“You think?”

Steve glares at Tony with a hint of amusement. "I told you it would be too much."

"Trust me she prefers something like this instead of a big party. Don't you, Y/N?"

"What do you mean?" You take off the hat and clutch it between your hands, appreciating Natasha rubbing your back as you try to collect yourself. "How is none of this real?"

"We basically faked a mission for you." Rhodey says.

You look around all the rubble. "This building, the people, suits-"

"Bought the place," Tony states. "Hired stuntmen, did a few tweaks on the suits...”

"God, why would you do that?" You bury your face in your hands, not knowing if you should be laughing or crying. "I punched those guys!"

"They'll be fine, they signed up for it."

You gently get up and brush off some confetti off your knees.

"But back at the compound... you guys were yelling at each other and during the whole thing you all sounded serious," you point out. "Was that all part of the act?"

Especially when that 'bomb' was about to go off. Steve's panicked voice made you scared for your life, only to know that it was all fake.

They all show signs of agreement, laughing.

"We'd make such great actors." Natasha smirks.

"Alright, the cake isn't going to blow itself." Clint walks up to you with said cake and you meet him halfway.

Everyone gathers around and before they could inhale to sing the stupid song, you cut them off. "You all know I hate to be sung at. Can we just get this over with?"

They all burst out laughing, you giggle in the process, blowing out your candle. You all group hug right after. The laughter makes you miss the sound of faint thunder outside.

"Look who's late." Bruce points out.

"Yes, I got here as soon as I can, my apologies." Thor smiles sheepishly.

Your ears perk up at the all too familiar voice of the god of thunder. Moving everyone of the way, you leap to hug him. "Thor!"

"Happy birthday, dearest Y/N." He grins and pats you on the head. "I'm afraid my - I mean - our gift, is with Loki at the moment."

"Enough with the formality, I’m just glad you’re here.”

Peter rings up Tony to tell him everything's set up at the huge building they rented for your low-key party. Just the Avengers. Peter, Vision and Wanda were in charge of setting things up over there, from decorations and food. Sam and Bucky also helped a bit before they arrived at the fake base.

So you all get into the jet again, this time you look at the windows in awe to see what the city's like. You also asked a bunch of questions on how they pulled something stupid but unique fake mission like that.

Once you've reached your destination, the place was simple yet big enough to fit everyone. Tony really took notes for this year. You didn't like anything too fancy or elegant, and you didn't like huge-ass parties with hundreds of people you've never met before.

Here you're with your family eating, drinking booze and playing games, generally having a good time.

You give the other five Avengers big hugs. Vision's never usually a hugger but for you he made an exception just for today. Everyone was surprised when he lifted you off your feet and spun you around.

"Hugging has a lot of good benefits," Vision says when he lets you go. "Astounding, I know. It is recommended eight times a day, hopefully you've already gotten that much."

You giggle at his remark and Wanda rolls her eyes playfully. “Thank you, Vision.”

“Splendid, that means I don’t have to give you one.”

You turn around to see the god of mischief himself carefully hand you a wrapped box. Loki chuckles when you smile at him. “Happiest Birthday.”

“Loki.... you know you and Thor didn’t have to-”

“Thor? That one’s from me. I assure you.”

“Y/N!” You hear Tony call from the other side of the room. “It’s time for presents, little miss. Good lord this looks like Christmas morning.”

-

unfortunatley i am that extra to post a birthday fic woo hoo

[navalcriminalimagines]

Lost self confidence

Anon: Can I request a lil one-shot where y/n has been on the team for a while and she put on some weight/starts feeling insecure about it and Gibbs helps her feel better? :> If not it's okay (Preferably a lot of fluff, angst & smut up to you)

Anon: Can I ask for a plus sized reader and gibbs please? I never see them :( Maybe someone says something about her weight when theyre working a case or something and he does the gibbs-legendary-elevator-conversation??? OuO

I thought those two requests work well together. Enjoy, lovely anons! ❤️

Warnings: punch, mention of blood, hurtful comments about weight

Tags: @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @madamsnape921 @specialagentastra

~~~~~

Your body changed. A lot. More than you like to admit.

You have been avoiding mirrors for a while now, but as you stand in front of it right now, only dressed in underwear, you have to face it. Your body changed and you don’t like it. Actually, you hate it.

As you look at your stomach that used to be flat, your hips that are larger, the celulitis… you can’t help but to think it’s no wonder you’re alone. Who could you attract, looking like this? Not many people and definitely not the man you wish you had. He has probably noticed how your body is different. Maybe before, you stood a chance with the man but not anymore. It’s a lost cause.

You put some clothes on and left for work.

You and your team are working on a tricky case, you are not impatient to get into the office today. But as always, you put on your best smile and pretend that everything is okay. Even though it’s most definitely not.

You skipped breakfast this morning - on purpose - but when you sit at your desk, you can see a brown bag sitting there. You look inside; donuts. Not just regular donuts, but your two favorites.

“Gibbs’s treat.” Tony lets you know.

“What’s the occasion?” you casually answer, putting the bag aside. It’s definitely a bad idea to eat them.

“No occasion. You’re just his favorite,”

You can’t help but smile at this. Not that it’s true, but it feels nice anyway. Before, you would have been happy about your boss’s attention, but not today. “Aren’t you going to eat them?”

“I’m not hungry. Do you want them?”

Tony grabs the bag before you know it. At least, you won’t have to throw them away.

You put yourself into work quickly after. You need to take your mind off your insecurities and how bad you feel about yourself. Tony tries to make casual conversation, just being his old self but as you barely answer, he realizes that something’s wrong with you. He just doesn’t know what.

“You’re staring.” You say to him, without looking up from your computer screen.

“You’re in a bad mood.” He states.

“Am not.”

“Y/N, please.” He stands up from his desk and walks up to yours. “I’m a trained investigator. Talk to me.”

“Not a chance.” You keep working, avoiding eye contact. You’re scared that he may read into you, or worse; that you may cry if he starts to ask too many questions.

“Did Gibbs get the order wrong?” He jokes. He doesn’t mean wrong at all, but it sets you off.

“Just-- leave me alone, DiNozzo.”

You practically jump for your chair, grab your laptop and walk away from the bullpen, leaving your coworker in awe. He’s not sure what just happened, but he’s more convinced that something’s really not okay with you.

You spend the next two hours hiding in the conference room. You didn’t work much, you mostly cried and felt sorry for yourself. You really hate yourself and your body right now. It’s not about gaining some weight, it’s also about how lonely you feel. You love your team more than anything, they really are like your family but when you get home at night, it’s just you. You and your thoughts. You and your loneliness.

You just want someone to get home to. Someone to cuddle, someone to love and who loves you back, someone to fall asleep with. Just someone.

You had your face buried in your arms when you heard the door opening. You look up, ashamed. Gibbs is standing here.

He closes the door behind him and walks to you. “You okay, Y/N?” he softly asks.

“Y-yeah. Just a bit tired.”

“You know, if DiNozzo pissed you off, you can tell me.”

You chuckle. “Nah, it’s nothing he did. I guess I got up on the wrong foot this morning, that’s it.”

Gibbs did let it go - for now - but you knew he didn’t buy any of it.

That is later's concern though, there is some news on the case and you need to get going. The afternoon went better; your mind was focused on the case, you didn’t have time to think of the rest. It’s only when you get back home that it hits again. Before taking a shower, you put a sheet on the big mirror in your bedroom. You don’t want to face your reflection for now.

*****

The next morning, you are in a better mood. Not entirely, you still skipped breakfast and avoided all the mirrors but you made a decision: you won’t let the team know. You won’t let them see you’re going through a tough time. It would only make things worse.

Everything’s going okay until that stupid lawyer shows up. You never wanted to see him again after hooking up with him over a year ago. He seemed nice and good looking, he flirted with you the whole time he was in the office, so when he invited you for a drink, you said yes.

Your agreement had something to do with Gibbs’s flirting with that shrink but to this day, you keep telling yourself that it hadn’t.

After a few drinks, you let the lawyer kiss you and before you knew it, you took him home and you had a one night stand.

The sex wasn’t the problem, you actually had a lot of fun. The problem was the next day.

He was gone before you woke up - still not a problem. But when Gibbs yelled at you for giving him some private information, you understood your mistake. The man had used you. While you were sleeping, he looked into your files and found the information he needed to save his client’s butt.

After that, Gibbs gave you the silent treatment for weeks. And he stopped being mad at you after you came to see him in his basement and did your mea culpa. No one ever talked about it since.

But now, the same man is standing in the middle of the bullpen. You growled to yourself before going in.

You don’t greet him at all, just sit at your desk. “Y/N? That’s you?” he says, apparently shocked.

You look at him briefly and don’t answer.

“My god, what happened to you?” he adds.

“Excuse you?” you snap.

“God, if you had been looking like this last year, I wouldn’t have been able to use you.”

His sentence feels like a punch in your stomach, it hurts. But it shouldn’t and you know it. But it still does. You stay there a moment, not knowing if you want to cry and beat the crap out of him. Probably both at the same, but you don’t move or don’t say a thing, you’re like frozen. You barely don’t notice when Gibbs pushes the man towards the elevator.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Ziva asks.

In the elevator

“Overprotective much, Gibbs?” the lawyer tries to appear confident and unafraid. He has his back against the wall, and in a second, he can hear Gibbs’s fist hitting a few inches away from his head. If the fist had touched his nose, he probably would have needed plastic surgery.

“Ever in your life, you disrespect a woman like that again, and especially--especially not Y/N.”

The lawyer made many people angry over the years, but never had he seen a man as angry as Gibbs looks right now.

“The only reason my hand is in this wall and not your face right now, is because she wouldn’t want me to get in trouble, but trust me when I say that all I want to do right now is to shoot you right in your precious parts.”

Gibbs is panting from anger. He can’t remember the last time he said that many words at once. But there’s no way that he or anyone else can disrespect you like this. Never, under his watch.

“So I’m gonna be very clear, you give that case to someone else. I don’t give a shit who, you just do it. And I don’t ever want to see your face again. Cause if I do, you’ll be so disfigured, you won’t be able to get another woman. Ever.”

“I could sue you for those threats, Special Agent Gibbs.”

“Are you planning to?”

“Maybe I am.”

“Well, in that case--”

This time, Gibbs’s fist hit the nose.

Meanwhile, in the bullpen

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Ziva asks.

“Yeah-yeah,” you clearly lie as your eyes are watering.

Your coworker isn’t buying it. She takes a step forward and hugs you softly. “Please, don’t let him get to you.” she whispers in your ear. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Those words make you cry. You are not really buying them, but it does something to hear them. And you know deep inside that Ziva wouldn’t say something she doesn’t think.

As she keeps hugging, you can feel someone else’s arms wrapping around both of you. It’s Tony and shortly after, Tim is joining. “I think we should call Ducky. We’re going to have a crime scene.” Tony jokes to light the mood.

“I don’t want Gibbs to put himself in trouble for me.” you sadly say.

“Y/N, if Gibbs hadn’t taken him in the elevator, we would all have jumped on him.” Tim tells you. Which surprises you because Tim is the one to avoid a fight as much as he can.

“Also, the only reason I’m not asking you out is because of Rule 12.”

You are about to answer to Tony when you can hear the elevator’s doors opening. You let go of one another and watch Gibbs as he comes back to you and takes you by the hand. “Someone may have to call 911.” he tells the rest of the team.

Gibbs takes you to the other elevator, the one that leads to the lower floors, where Abby’s lab and Autopsy are. But of course, he switches the button as soon as the doors close. He doesn’t say a thing, he just hugs you tight. “Your hand is blue, Gibbs.” you cry in his neck.

“Yeah and his nose is red, who cares.” he kisses your hair. “I don’t want you to cry because of him, Y/N. And especially not because of what he said.”

“But Gibbs--”

“Not ‘but’, Y/N. Look at me.” he softly grabs your chin with his non-injured hand and forces you to look into his eyes. “You may not believe me right now, but you’re beautiful, Y/N. Sexy. Hot.” you uncontrollably shake your head, not buying a word he says. “I know I’m not the best with words, so I’ll let my actions speak.”

Gibbs ducks his head just a bit and closes the gap between his lips and yours. He softly kisses. You probably have never been kissed this softly before. Gibbs is so gentle and tender, his lips move slowly but expertedly. You’re literally melting under him.

The kiss may have lasted for minutes, hours, you don’t really know. You lost track of time, as if the world had stopped spinning.

“I’m sorry I waited for something like this to happen to do it. I’ve wanted this for a very long time, Y/N.”

“Me, too, Gibbs. But I’m not sure that’s the best time. I’ve lost all self confidence and--”

He kisses you again, undoubtedly to make you shut up. “I’ll help you find it again. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.”

You rest your forehead against his, some tears are still rolling down your cheeks. “You’re not bad with words.”

“I’m still better with touch.”

[atlaese]

Homesick at space camp pt. 2 - b.b.

summary: who could have guessed that electrocuting someone could end up in love? pairing: bucky barnes x reader Words: 2.8K TW: fluffy as hell, an itty bitty angst, talking about america's ass™ and mention of beating thanos' ass A/N: this is a part two to this piece, it's very fluffy as the first part was hella angsty!! i hope this makes up for all the angst 💗 (i think it can be read as a stand-alone piece though, you'll just miss some references!)

And I can't forget your style or your cynicism Somehow it was like you were the first to listen To everything we said My smile's an open wound without you And my hands are tied to pages inked to bring you back

- homesick at space camp, Fall Out Boy

MARVEL MASTERLIST | BUCKY BARNES MASTERLIST

The first time you met Bucky was during one of your first training sessions at the compound.

Freshly recruited by Natasha because of your extraordinary powers, you were trying to electrocute a dummy doll that was in the middle of the room, without touching it. Natasha was yelling things at you, willing you to do something, trying to get you riled up so your powers would manifest to a proportion they never had before.

Your abilities were still very new to you - touching something could generate tiny sparks from within you, a little crackle of electricity flowing from your fingers to the object, rendering it useless. At home, you had burned through 3 toasters before you noticed you were the problem, not the crappy appliance.

A few members of the team had wandered in after their own training session, mainly to check what exactly you were capable of and how training of the newest recruit was progressing.

Everything in the room was made of a plushy material, except the metal harness that was sitting around the dummy doll. The goal was to eventually electrocute every material possible, but right now only conductors like metal worked.

Well, apparently vibranium worked as well, because when the small sparks on your fingers were tingling with a golden hue around them, you misdirected the stream of electricity towards the only other conductor in the room - Bucky’s vibranium arm.

Bucky was lucky you weren’t very powerful yet, because the small sparks only short circuited his arm for mere moments, the golden sparks dancing over his arm up towards his flesh shoulder and disappearing when they reached his skin.

The sparks that were illuminating your hands immediately faded out as you ran over to check on Bucky as he groaned, his fingers in an unnaturally tight grip as his arm refused to move.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” your hands came up to your face as you felt heat rising to your cheeks. Meeting the team had been awkward enough as is - they had been working together for so long, they knew each other inside out. Now you just electrocuted one of the members, probably breaking the arm.

“It’s- it’s fine,” Bucky grunted as he rubbed the shoulder with his other hand, there was a small red flicker in the arm that didn’t predict anything good.

“I’m gonna have to call Shuri,” he added as he checked the plates that were moving on their own.

“I am so sorry,” you apologized again as you felt the electricity tingling at your fingers once more.

“Please,” he said as he eyed your fingers that were creating tiny golden sparks, “if you do it again I’m not sure my arm will survive.”

You hid your hands in the pockets of your sweater and cringed, “can’t really control it yet, sorry.”

“Stop apologising, will ya?” he pointed out, as he nodded his head towards one of the many conference rooms, “I’m calling Shuri, but you should tell her what exactly you did. She can determine whatever needs to be done so it doesn’t happen again.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at Bucky but let you go anyway, knowing you wouldn’t be able to do anything during that session anymore because you felt so bad for electrocuting Bucky.

* * *

“So exactly how many volts did you send through his arm?” Shuri’s voice flowed through the speakers, her hologram leaning a bit towards Bucky’s elbow to check some things from a bit closer.

“Uh, I guess somewhere around 250?” you guessed as you stared at her hologram that was lighting up the room, “that’s what the meter said when I tested it recently.”

She let out a loud cackle and threw her head  back,  “that must’ve pricked didn’t it, white wolf? I know you’re secretly more of a baby than you let on!”

Bucky just scoffed, but a smile was present on his face nonetheless. The time he spent in Wakanda made him grow closer to Shuri with her wit and sarcasm that didn’t stray that far from his.

Shuri gave you and Bucky instructions on how to reset the arm, to get it back into shape. you found some rubber gloves, hoping to not electrocute the man again and followed whatever Shuri said to a tee.

And that is exactly how the two of you grew closer than ever. Everytime he needed someone to substitute for Shuri’s hands, he dragged you to the lab to help him. When Shuri wasn’t immediately available, you’d talk about missions and then about what your favourite show was and eventually why it was so difficult to get a normal cup of coffee in this country that wasn’t overflowing with sugar.

When he complained about how hot it was in the lab, even though the compound had state of the art aircon, you’d let your hands sift through his long hair and braid it, so it didn’t stick to his neck anymore.

After hours, you’d sometimes train together in hand-to-hand combat, as Bucky had stated that you couldn’t rely on your abilities alone - what if you ever have a black out, like in an electrical facility, if that’s possible or what if someone is entirely made of rubber, you never know these days!

He understood why you locked yourself in your room after you accidentally hurt someone with your powers, as he did the same when another horrible memory made its way back to his thoughts. It felt like he was the first one who really understood how disgusting you felt when you saw a friend fall to the ground because of you, the moment playing on repeat during your nightmares as well.

It didn’t take long before you found yourselves on the roof of the compound together, looking up at the stars and quietly laughing about Sam’s rigorous glutes workout, because he too wanted to be America’s Ass - he already had it, but you didn’t mind watching him sweat in the gym when you were on the treadmill.

It wasn’t a surprise to you when Bucky’s soft lips slated over yours one night, the cold metal of his fingers leaving goosebumps in their wake as they traced over your collarbone. You inhaled his scent and buried your face in his neck afterwards, embarrassed about the way you were tongue tied and couldn’t express anything but a shuddery sigh.

Everything about him was intoxicating, from the way he held onto your hand under the table at dinner, lightly rubbing his thumb to calm you down when Natasha was teasing you, to his cocky grin as he threw you on the training mat after a sparring session, his body dipping down faster than you could pull him down by the neck of his shirt.

Bucky had you wrapped around his waist when you were sitting on the back of his motorcycle and around his finger, too. He was smitten with you, too. Every time you broke an appliance, a replacement would be there the next morning, a small post-it note stuck on it with a stupid joke on it, never failing to make you feel better.

Bucky told you he loved you for the first time in the meadow not far from the compound, the stars a perfect backdrop for his declaration of love, as your eyes were shining just as bright as the galaxy. Needless to say, you only returned back to the compound in the early morning, your clothes just a little more wrinkled than before, but dopey grins on both your faces as you didn’t let each other out of sight for the next few hours.

* * *

The moment his warm embrace wasn’t waiting for you when the spaceship landed, everything around you broke apart. The meadow wasn’t the same as it was before, and the secluded spot on the roof was now just a windy and cold place without Bucky’s broad frame blocking off the wind.

His motorcycle that was still parked in the garage became dusty, his helmet still hanging around the handlebars, as if he had just come back from a drive.

Your fists were raw from using the punching bag as if it were Thanos himself, using the techniques Bucky had taught you, when his big hands on your hips would correct your stance so you’d be able to beat someone up without hurting yourself.

The first year went by like a high speed train. The whole world had fallen in chaos, as well as the Avengers. Nat had done her best to get everything in order, but you didn’t miss the bags under her eyes and how she sometimes choked up and left the kitchen when someone brought up a memory.

Your powers also started manifesting at random moments, especially when your emotions were getting the best of you. One time it was so bad, you had depleted all your powers and ended up in the medical bay, where Bruce was trying to figure out how your powers had turned on you - it felt like they were trying to kill you.

After that scare, you started to go through the grieving process like a normal person would. Your therapist suggested journaling or videoing the proces, so you’d be able to see how far you had come already.

The journaling had been hard, it reminded you so much when Bucky would leave post-it notes or when he would doodle on your hand during a movie he just didn’t find interesting at all.

Videoing proved to be the perfect way to deal with everything. One problem your therapist didn’t think of - every video was addressed to Bucky, which wasn’t the best coping mechanism, but it did make you feel like he was just on a very long mission.

You recorded when you ate soup out of the container, because preparing a bowl was just too exhausting. You recorded yourself after you had a sparring with Natasha and you recorded the process of your powers becoming stronger than ever.

After the spaceship debacle with Tony, you tried to use the electricity you could generate for powering things - instead of only short circuiting things and people. You wanted to use your power for good as well, not only destroying things and people.

So the moment Scott Lang showed up at the compound again after 5 years of being in the quantum realm with the ridiculous idea of time travel, you didn’t think twice and even used your powers to help the machine work to its fullest potential.

* * *

When the familiar tune of Bucky’s ringtone finally started going off on your phone, you knew Bruce had succeeded in correctly using the infinity stones to bring half of the population back from nothing.

Even seeing his face on the caller ID made everything feel like it was falling back into the place it was before the snap, the familiar blue eyes making your heart beat out of your chest, the adrenaline coursing through your body again. It felt like spring - your body was slowly coming back to life again, after being dormant for the winter season.

You pressed the green button, but once you heard his smooth voice on the other side of the line, you couldn’t help but let a sob come out. Every emotion that had passed through you the last five years came back to you, the heartbreak when you realized Bucky was gone, the grief when you realized he wouldn’t be coming back, the emptiness deep inside your heart. The emptiness had been the hardest to deal with, along with the memories that made their way back in the most inconvenient moments.

“Hello, y/n? Where are you?”

“Are you okay, y/n?”

It had been over five years since you heard his voice that wasn’t a voice mail or one of the many videos on your phone, but it still sounded the same, even over the crispy noise through the phone.

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay now,” your hoarse voice managed to get out, tears ready to spill.

“I’m- I’m coming to get you Bucky,” you breathed out, “stay where you are.”

You didn’t even wait for Friday to open the doors that were still in lockdown mode, as you touched your finger to the touch screen, sending a few volts through it and opening the door.

Tony had made some sort of disapproving sound, but you just ran through the compound, straight to the quinjet that was on a landing platform outside.

You were preparing for take-off, the routine stuck in your head as Natasha and Steve also boarded the plane, eager to see their friends that had disappeared in Wakanda all those years ago, too.

When the quinjet finally landed in Wakanda, you rushed out of the back door that was opening way too slow for you.

And there he was.

Bucky was standing next to a ton of other people, but the only thing you could see was his brilliant smile and his blue eyes that were now looking at you again.

In a second you were in his arms again, the hug you missed for five years. You inhaled his scent as you buried your face in his neck, a sob now wracking through your whole body as you realized he was finally back.

After he had soothingly rubbed his hands over your back for a few minutes, you pulled back to scan his face. You memorized every feature on his face that hadn’t changed a bit in 5 years, as if it was the last time you would ever see him again.

“You didn’t change one bit,” you gasped, your fingers tracing the familiar lines on his face, “your scruff is still the exact same, it-, it still has this patch.”

“You did change quite a bit, sweetheart,” he chuckled as he put his hand under your chin to get a better look at you, “I like the hair.”

“Got a few more scars as well,” you let out a wet laugh as Bucky wiped his thumbs under your eyes, trying to get rid of the tears that kept coming.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky softly said, “I can’t imagine how hard it has been.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Bucky,” you tried to get him to realize, “Thanos handed us our asses.”

The quinjet was filled with your friends again, and when you landed at the compound again, Peter Parker flung his arms around your neck as well.

The Avengers were whole again, ready to finally defeat the purple giant that had been plaguing your galaxy for years.

With Bucky next to you, you weren’t afraid to use your powers against the alien army that was waiting for you.

You lost some people along the way, had to say goodbye to friends and go to many funerals, but afterwards, you ended up at the meadow with Bucky, the stars once again shining brightly above you.

The weeks after, you showed him the journals and the videos you made during the Blip. It was hard to see yourself again during the worst years of your life, but you were also grateful for the growth you had gone through.

You showed Bucky your powers, showed him how you could power a single solar panel as well as power a small town, just with a snap of your fingers.

The last thing you showed him was the video you made on the spaceship, when you thought you would be the one to disappear in the black nothingness of space.

Bucky teared up, his blue eyes an ocean you were happily drowning in as he watched how bad you looked on the spaceship, your voice only a ghost of what it usually was.

When he heard the part about the failed proposals, he scoffed but he rolled onto you, the grass tingling in your neck as he pressed a few kisses against your lips.

“Now I’m gonna do it for real,” he whispered as he dipped down again to press a string of kisses from your jaw to your throat and even lower, the hot summer night a blanket over the two of you.

And yeah, eventually he was able to get on one knee and ask you the question he had tried to ask you a million times before. Of course, you knew when he was going to do it, Bucky was still as un-subtle as ever, but when he finally put the ring on your finger, you still cried.

Bucky finally had his happy ending, and you had yours.

[writingblock101]

Still Insufferable (Damian Wayne x Reader)

This is a part two to Insufferable! I had an anon request this a while back and found some prompts that gave some great inspiration! Hope y’all like it! You don’t need to read part one, but it does make the transition smoother. For reference, you and Damian are 17. 

Words: 2,800 

Tags: @idkmanicantenglish @mayahoelland2013

Warnings: None

“Do you ever follow directions?” A familiar, condescending voice asks you from the ground. 

You spot an annoyed Damian Wayne from your upside perch, staring up at you with crossed arms. You grin, a little too excited to see someone who looks so annoyed with you. 

“I’m creating an extensive target practice!” You claim, gesturing with your bow to the targets down range

“By hanging upside from the rafters?” Damian raises an unimpressed eyebrow. 

“You’re questioning my methods.” 

“I’m not questioning it,” Damian corrects. “I’m saying it’s stupid.” 

You gasp in mock offense then unhook your legs and flip to the floor. 

“Your words wound me!” 

“You’ll recover,” Damian says dryly. 

“I thought you would approve of me making a more comprehensive training.”

“You were hanging upside down from the rafters. How is that more comprehensive?” Damian questions.

“Because I don’t always get the pretty shot with the perfect set up in the field!” You argue. “Sometimes, I’m making the shot while hanging upside down with a broken toe!” 

Damian pauses, his eyes flickering to your feet. 

“Is your toe broken?” He asks.

He almost sounds concerned. It’s kind of sweet. 

“No,” You admit. “But what if it was?” 

He blinks. The concern is gone. 

“You spend too much time with Roy and Jason.” 

“Well, Roy is basically raising me at this point, so yeah, kind of,” You point out. 

Damian rolls his eyes. 

“Mission briefing.” 

“Aw, you came all the way here to tell me yourself,” You tease Damian, aware of the various intercoms around the Tower.

He scowls at you, but doesn’t dampen your good mood. 

“I was the closest to the range. It made the most sense for me to come tell you.” 

“No need to make excuses,” You shrug. “I get it, I’m amazing and you can’t resist being around me.” 

“You’re insufferable.” 

“You know, that line didn’t fool me when we were 12 and it’s still not fooling me now.” 

Damian’s scowl deepens. 

“Mission briefing, now.” Then he walks off before you can make another smart ass comment. 

Sometimes, Damian makes it too easy. You hit the switch to pull the targets back in, figuring you’ll get your arrows later. 

You’ve been an official Teen Titan for a few months now. After Roy talked you into tagging along with the team for a mission, you were hooked. The rest of the team agreed to extend an invite to you, which you happily accepted. You love the team, including Damian. Despite your constant bickering, you and Damian work well together in the field, enhancing each other’s skills. 

In all honesty, you really enjoy being around Damian. While he’s a bit uptight, when he relaxes, he’s fun to be around. You’ve enjoyed getting to see the more relaxed side of Damian. Besides, it's fun to have someone who keeps up with every sarcastic remark you make, even if it includes him calling you insufferable. It’s a bit of a long shot, but you know Damian likes you more than he makes it seem he does. 

You head to the main conference room of the tower and settle in for a long presentation. While the briefings are long, and rather boring, they’re in depth. You have to give Damian credit, even when things go wrong on missions, his extensive briefings prepare your team for almost every possibility and help make adaptations to the plan on the fly. 

You fiddle with a pen, unscrewing it, laying out the pieces then put it back together as Damian talks. As you get more fidgety the longer the meeting goes on, Damian wordlessly slides a new pen over to you with a slightly different composition. You smile at him and busy your hands with taking part the new pen. Damian’s cheeks darken slightly, but before anyone can notice, he’s back in leader mode. 

Damian pulls up the blueprint, running through everyone’s role and position for the mission.

“And Black Falcon, you’re with me, handling guards on the roof and additional security measures.”

“The dream team,” You grin with a wink.

Damian rolls his eyes and ignores your remark. Instead, he fields any questions then dismisses the team. You glance down at the file briefing in front of you then remember one last question for Damian. As a few Titans clear out, you wander to the front of the room where Damian is studying the blueprint from the presentation. 

“Hey, boss man,” You wave your file at him. “This building is using the Kingsley Security system. What are your thoughts about debuting the new hacking arrows?” 

Damian frowns, flipping to the page with the schematics concerning the security system. 

“How effective is the firewall on the arrows?” 

“If you’re worried about them tracking back to us, the arrows’ firewall should be strong enough to erase our trail.” 

“Should be?” Damian raised an eyebrow. 

“They’ll be fine, but I don’t like to make guarantees.” 

“And why is that?” 

“Because sometimes, shit happens.” 

“I don’t like variables.” 

“Well, Dames, I’ve got bad news for you about how life works.” 

You cross your arms, leaning your hip against the table. 

“I don’t like variables on my missions when lives are on the line,” Damian says, scanning over the Kingsley credentials. 

“We’re connected to a computer with the highest level of security to currently exist. Even if they manage to trace back the arrows, they won’t get far.” 

Jon and Colin watch you two bicker about arrows and security.

“He likes having someone to argue with way too much,” Colin mutters to Jon. 

Jon nods along. 

“You’re telling me. He’s not going to do anything about it though.” 

Colin cracks a grin. 

“He’s just gonna roll his eyes and tell her she’s insufferable.” 

Jon and Colin snicker, catching Damian’s attention. He narrows his eyes at the two who sit innocently. 

“Listen,” You bring Damian’s attention back to you. “It’s your mission and I’ll respect whatever you want to do, but the only way for me to improve the arrows design is to test them.” 

“I’ll consider it,” Damian says. 

His phone lights up with notification on the table. Your eyes dart toward the light and your eyebrows go up. Damian catches your eye and snatches his phone off the table with red cheeks.

“Am I your lock screen?” You ask with a small grin. 

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” Damian shoves his phone in his back pocket. 

“Really?” Your grin grows as your eyebrows move higher. 

Jon and Colin watch with shit eating grins. 

“Grayson set it,” Damian growls. “I haven’t bothered to change it.” 

“Sure, he did,” You nod. “It’s a cute picture.” 

The picture is after Damian and Bruce got into a huge argument, bad enough that Damian called Dick to get him out of the Manor. Dick figured it would be a good day to give Damian a childhood experience he missed out on and decided to take Damian to a theme park. Knowing you were in town with Jason while Roy was handling some business in Gotham, he talked Jason into bringing you. While at the park, Dick insisted you and Damian needed to try a funnel cake since neither of you had ever had one. 

You and Damian decided to split one since Dick warned you they were pretty sweet. When you and Damian tried your first bites, Damian’s face instantly scrunched up which made you laugh and Dick managed to catch the moment on camera. 

Damian scowls at you while you just grin. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone and ruin your reputation,” You laugh, leaving the room. 

Damian scowls at you as you leave and returns his attention to collecting his files. 

“Ah Dames, get that look off your face, we all know how you feel,” Jon teases. 

Damian turns, scowling at Jon. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Sure you don’t,” Colin rolls his eyes. “We can all tell you like Y/N.” 

“She’s--”

“Insufferable,” Jon finishes. “Yeah, we know. You know, just because you keep saying it, doesn’t mean it’s actually true.” 

“And you know, we get it, you’re a condensing, uptight dick--” Colin starts to rattle off. 

“Why does everyone assume the worst of me?” Damian scowls at Colin. 

“It saves time,” He grins at his friend. “But, despite those things, you can be charming when you want to be. And if you actually acted on that charm, Y/N would agree to a date with you.” 

Jon stares at Colin for a minute, looking unimpressed then turns to Damian. 

“My advice is much more subtle. Stop being an ass.” 

“I didn’t ask for advice,” Damian growls. 

“We are aware and we also are aware that you never will,” Colin nods. 

“Why not let yourself be happy, Dames?” Jon asks. 

“I am happy,” Damian glares at the two of them then walks out of the room, tired of hearing their advice. 

“Think he’ll listen?” Colin asks. 

Jon shrugs. 

“Who knows.” 

. . . 

Your back hits the ground but you roll to the balls of your feet, breathing hard. You tighten your grip on your bo staff, ready to lunge for another hit when you notice Damian walk into the training room. As he walks toward you, you straighten up and grab your water, figuring it’s time for a break. Damian raises his eyebrows at your bo staff. 

“That’s not your normal choice in weapons,” He observes. 

You shrug, taking a swing of water and ignoring your cheeks heating up. While you wanted to expand your training, you’ve seen Damian using a bo staff a lot. He seems to like them so you figured you’d give them a shot. Besides, Tim has given you a few pointers. 

“Decided to try something new,” You say casually. 

Damian quirks an eyebrow, but says nothing else. 

“I’ve been thinking--” He starts. 

“A dangerous pastime,” You nod solemnly. 

Damian glares at you but continues, as if he didn’t hear your sarcastic comment. 

“We have a strong enough firewall on the computer in the Tower that if your arrows malfunctioned, we could detect and fight a security breach.” 

“So, I can bring them on the mission?” You finish. 

“Yes.” 

“Sweet!” You grin, pumping your fist. 

Damian rolls his eyes again at your celebration, but you can see him trying not to smile. He turns to leave, but you look back at the bo staff you were training with. 

“Wait! Damian!” You call. 

He turns, looking at you with raised eyebrows. 

“You’re better with a bo staff than I am,” You admit. “Wanna help me out?” 

Damian’s eyes flicker between you and the bo staff. You see a small smile fighting its way onto his face. 

“I’ll change into something more suiting for training.” 

You grin, spinning the staff around you then go into a mock solute. 

“Yes, commander.” 

Damian rolls his eyes again, but leaves to change. 

. . . 

You swing your staff up hard, but Damian blocks it and swipes at your legs with a low kick. Grinning as he falls into the expected move, you flip your staff around and hit Damian’s side. He grunts and moves again, this time, landing a hard blow to your arm. You grimace at the force, but swing your staff around again and manage to knock Damian’s legs out from under him with a move he showed you. 

Damian hits the ground hard with a grunt, but instead of rolling to his feet for another hit, he lays on the ground, looking a little dazed. 

“I got it!” You cheered as Damian sits up, watching you with a small smile. 

“Drive your hips more so the power doesn’t come from your arms as much,” He instructs. 

“You know, with all the archery I do,” You flex a muscular arm. “I’m pretty sure my arms are stronger than my hips at this point.” 

Damian rolls his eyes as he pushes himself to his feet. You swear you sees his eyes lingering on your flexed arm. 

“Basic anatomy,” He claims. 

“Right, your definition of “basic” and a normal person’s is pretty different.” 

Damian raises an eyebrow at you. 

“How do you mean?” 

You narrow your eyes. 

“You know what I mean.” 

“I don’t,” But the slow start of a shit eating grin on his face tells you Damian knows how you meant that statement. 

You groan, throwing your hands up. 

“Okay, fine, Wayne. I’ll give it to you, you’re pretty smart.” 

“Am I now?” Damian full on grins, making your heart flutter. 

You roll your eyes again, despite your raised heart rate. 

“I’m not going to say it again.” 

“I didn’t think you would. It doesn’t change the truth.” 

You sigh, shaking your head. 

“Why do I still like you, knowing you’re a total asshole?” You question as you walk toward your water. 

Damian freezes for a moment, your words slowly mulling over in his head. Before he can say anything else, his watch beeps. Damian looks down at it with a scowl.

“Duty calls?” You ask, handing Damian his water. 

He looks up from the notification and nods. 

“Get dressed, we leave in ten minutes.”

. . . 

Following your normal post mission tradition, you relax on the roof with a few boxes of take out. You dig into your box of fried rice, enjoying the view as your legs dangle over the edge of the huge tower. The roof access door opens and someone sits next to you but you don’t have to turn to see who. Wordlessly, you hold out Damian’s vegetarian Lo Mein which you took the courtesy to grab while he showered after the mission. 

“Your arrows worked,” Damian comments, accepting the box from you and digging in with his own chopsticks. 

“Mmhm,” You hum with a smirk. “Told you.” 

Damian rolls his eyes. 

“Of course you wouldn’t be able to resist making a childish remark.” 

You grin, nudging Damian’s shoulder. 

“You knew I already knew the arrows worked. You just wanted to hear me say it.” 

“I absolutely did not.” 

“Sure you didn’t. I’m irresistible.” 

“You’re insufferable,” Damian corrects. 

“I still don’t believe that line.” 

“Your belief does not change the truth.” 

You laugh, leaning against Damian as you both continue eating, enjoying the view and each other’s company. After the first time Damian joined you on the roof, it became both of your traditions to enjoy your post mission meals together. Later, you would rejoin the team for game night or movie night, but for now, you two enjoy your quiet meals and unwind peacefully. 

Once your meals are finished and the boxes are discarded to the side, you scoot closer to Damian, resting your head on his shoulder. He slowly places a hand on your knee, seeming a bit uncertain. You smile to yourself and squeeze his arm, scooting a little closer to encourage him. He leans into you, seeming more relaxed by the affection. 

“You know,” You finally say after a few minutes of silently watching the sun set. “I turned out liking you a lot more than I originally planned.” 

“How much did you intend to like me?” Damian asks.

You feel him starting to go stiff. 

“Well, given you insulted me when I first met you,” You point out with a shrug. “I didn’t expect to like you very much.” 

“And now?” Damian asks hesitantly. 

You lift your head from Damian’s shoulder to look at him, your noses inches away.

“Now, you’re pretty alright,” You tease, admiring his pretty green eyes. 

Damian rolls his eyes with a small laugh. 

“Just alright?” He asks, squeezing your knee lightly. 

“Well,” You shrug again, feeling your heart pound. “Maybe a little more than alright.” 

You stare at each other for a long moment until Damian’s eyes flicker to your lips. Here goes nothing. Before you can bring yourself to regret, you close the small distance between each other and press your lips to his. He’s hesitant for a moment, stiff against you. Before you can pull away, Damian’s fingers sink into your hair, pulling you closer as he kisses you back. 

You melt into the kiss and grip his shirt tightly. As he shifts his head to deepen the kiss, a voice yells from behind you: 

“It’s about time!” 

You and Damian jump apart, still holding a hand on each other to see Jon standing by the roof access door. Damian scowls at him while Jon grins like he’s just won the lottery. 

“You have no idea how annoying it was so watch you two pretend like you don’t like each other,” Jon rolls his eyes. “Come on, we’re starting game night.” 

He disappears back through the door as you look back at Damian. 

“Well, duty calls,” You joke, sliding off the ledge. 

Damian turns, catches your wrist, and tugs you back to him.

“They can wait,” He mutters to you, kissing you again. 

You happily melt into the kiss, your hands on Damian’s chest as his hands slide to your hips. 

“Am I still insufferable?” You tease against Damian’s lips. 

He smirks, standing to his feet and pulling you close by your waist. 

“Yes,” He kisses you again. 

I’ve been writing things as I get inspiration. I think I’ll be compiling a prompt lists soon because I have some request... They are really big ideas and I don’t think I can take on any projects that big right now. I hope you enjoyed! 

[wordsnwhiskey]

As It Should Be | Chapter 5: Breaking In The Newbies

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x F!Reader x Frankie Morales

Summary: After a rough and emotional night, Frankie makes a decision on Jack’s offer. Before they can get to that though, the morning debrief with Champ brings back a familiar face and Jack has you and Frankie teach the junior agents a lesson during combat training.

Rating: M

Warnings: Canon typical violence, guns, swearing, discussions about safewords.

A/N: Alright, a lot of stuff needed to happen here and we’re going to have a little action and see Frankie show off a bit. It was important to me that the discussion of safe words and Jack checking again for consent happened in a chapter separate from the actual smut. For me, it further emphasizes that Jack doesn’t want Frankie to feel pressured to accept or do anything he doesn’t want to because it’s “in the moment”. Consent is sexy, friends.

I have to give my love and thanks to mi esposa @danniburgh and my friend Agent Capri Sun for the beta reads, the fantastic constructive criticism and encouragement!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Chapter 4: Company | AO3 | Art

The morning sun stirred Frankie. Even with his eyes still closed, he could tell the room was alight, but the warmth that surrounded him had nothing to do with the sun and everything to do with the body next to him. He opened his eyes and realized he was definitely not in Whiskey’s guest bedroom. Instead, he was very much curled into Whiskey’s lightly rising chest. Frankie blushed, very unused to being the little spoon, and moreover, not used to someone’s morning wood poking at him. Whiskey was gently roused from sleep by Frankie’s small movements. He lifted his arm from around Frankie’s waist and stretched.

“G’morning Flyboy. You were having nightmares, so I brought you in here.

“Oh, sorry for waking you up and… thank you.” Frankie felt guilt sting at his throat.

Whiskey grunted and rolled out of bed to go shower.

“Nothing to worry about, partner. I’m no stranger to those kinds of nightmares.”

Frankie was grateful Whiskey understood and made no effort to pry. With a grunt of his own, Frankie got up from the bed and made his way to the kitchen, intent on trying to get coffee going while Whiskey showered.

Whiskey finished his shower and stepped out to dry off, then wrapped his towel around his waist. He was drawn to the kitchen by the smell of coffee, Frankie’s initiative quirking the corners of his mouth into a small smile. He leaned against the kitchen counter and watched as Frankie poured their coffee, handing Whiskey’s to him black. Jack hummed his approval, a sound which he noted made Frankie preen a bit.

“Good boy.” Jack gestured to the coffee with a small wink as the air seemed to be pushed from Frankie’s lungs. “Now, as much as I enjoy the view of you in just my shorts, let's get you into something you can wear at the office.”

Frankie was rooted to the spot, Jack’s “good boy” ringing in his ears and sending a wave of warmth throughout his entire body. Jack didn’t comment, just let his smirk speak for itself as he took his coffee back to his room and opened the doors to his closet. His fingers tabbed at a few of the hanging suits as he looked back to see that Frankie had finally uprooted himself and joined him.

“We’re similar in build, so you ought to be able to pull off one of my suits…”

Frankie winced.

“Right, well then, let’s go with something a touch more casual.

Jack grabbed a pair of jeans, a blue button down, white t-shirt, belt, and socks, handing each article of clothing over to Frankie as he moved around his closet.

“There, that should do you. Comfortable, but still presentable for Statesman.”

Jack gave him a smile only to notice Frankie shifting his weight.

“Thanks,” came Frankie’s reply as he turned to get dressed. He didn’t mind going without boxers, but the sudden realization that he needed more clothes of his own hit Frankie as he dressed in the clothes Jack had given him.

“Hey Jack?”

Whiskey hummed in acknowledgement as he finished getting dressed himself: jeans, suspenders, white button down shirt, and a navy wool blazer.

“I was thinking about your offer last night, and… I’d like that.”

Whiskey turned to look at Frankie, giving him a once over, distantly thinking about how good Frankie looked in his clothes, and a mischievous smile lit up Whiskey’s face.

“I’m looking forward to it, Flyboy. We’ll discuss things a bit more at the end of the day in my office. It’s about as close to neutral territory as we’re gonna get for that conversation. For today though, I want you to be a good boy and stick to me like a shadow. We’re meeting with Champ first thing. Then, we’re gonna have some fun.”

Frankie nodded, rocking back on his heels for a moment, then fell in step with Whiskey as they headed out, both of them grabbing their respective hats as they went. The ride in Whiskey’s Bronco was quiet, and soon enough they were riding the elevator up to their floor in the Statesman tower.

You were seated at the conference table facing the double doors with Pope to your right.

“You sleep alright, Pope? Hope Ginger didn’t keep you too late.”

“She’s something, that’s for sure, Hawk, but she did let me go, eventually.”

He gave you a good natured laugh that slowly lost its shine.

“You hear from Fish, Hawk? Ginger told me where she put him up and I went to check on him last night, but he never answered.”

Worry bloomed in your chest, not that it had really gone away after seeing Frankie leave yesterday. You figured if he wanted or needed to talk, he would have reached out to you. Honestly, you had hoped he would have checked in with Pope at some point since he probably felt more comfortable with him. Just then, the conference double doors opened, giving way as Jack strode in, greeting you with a smile and tilt of his head. Relief eased the tension in your chest and shoulders when Frankie followed closely behind Jack. Your eyes darted over to Whiskey, fixing him with a questioning gaze as you realized the clothes Frankie was wearing belonged to Jack.

“Fish!” Pope practically jumped out of his chair, rushing over to Frankie with a duffle bag in tow. “I was worried about you, hermano. I went to the hotel, but you didn’t answer.”

To Frankie’s credit, his face didn’t betray much, but both you and Pope knew that Frankie didn’t have any other clothes aside from what he had left with.

“Uh, yeah, must’ve just missed you.”

You could tell Pope was filing the information away for later. Your eyes wandered to Jack’s again and you raised an eyebrow. At least you now had an idea why he had cancelled on you last night.

“Here, Fish. I figured you’d want your go bag.”

“Gracias, hermano.”

They clasped arms, then took their seats. Frankie grabbed the orange tinted glasses he had left the day before and put them on, adjusting them on the bridge of his nose. His gaze fell to yours and he gave you a small smile, but before you could say anything, Champ’s holo image flickered to life.

“Catfish! You’re looking mighty fine! Much better than yesterday.”

“Yes sir, thanks.”

Champ nodded. He’d been worried about how the man would fare, especially considering the news yesterday.

“Right, down to the business at hand. It does appear that a new cartel is making their play at center stage, picking up where Poppy left off. They’re not following Poppy’s business model, though. From what we understand, the group is headed by four individuals: Isabella Gómez, Duke Hernández, Steven Weisel and Emily Weisel. They’ve taken to calling themselves La Linda Rosa, likely after the Red Agent flowers. Up until now, they’ve been your run of the mill cartel, but it’s our belief that the Weisels have been instrumental in their production and processing of Agent Red. Recently, the Weisels purchased land in Colombia, and from our drone coverage, they may have set up processing plants there. We don’t know why the sudden shift to Agent Red, though. The plants themselves go for $500k per plant, and they take time to mature. We don’t think the Weisels are responsible for acquiring the plants, so that leaves either Isabella or Duke.”

Frankie’s attention drifted from Champ to the pictures on the screen and swore.

“Fuck. Pope, you know who that is, right? I thought they were in Australia?”

Pope did a double take, recognizing his old informant’s brother. The Statesman stared at the two men, waiting for them to elaborate. Frankie sighed and settled into his seat a bit more, knee bouncing anxiously.

“Four years ago, Pope came to me and the rest of our old team to take out Gabriel Martín Lorea and make out with the money he had stockpiled. Pope’s CI, Yovanna, and her brother, Duke, both worked for Lorea. In exchange for helping us, Pope got the brother out of jail and we dropped them off in Peru with papers to Australia and $3M. Looks like Duke wasn’t satisfied with life in Australia.”

Ginger frowned and pulled up Duke’s known associates, Yovanna’s picture following the others on screen.

“Yovanna appears to still be living in Australia, but it’s possible Duke grabbed the money and ran.”

Frankie closed his eyes, lifting his cap and carding his fingers through his hair before placing the hat back on his head and sighing.

“What’s the plan? Sounds like the plants and processing facilities need to be taken out, and then there’s the compound, too.”

Pope nodded, then sighed as well. This was bringing back memories for the both of them.

“We’ll also need to be wary of the local agencies. They’ll be on the lookout for anyone suspicious, especially if it’s anything like how it was with Lorea.”

Champ nodded and tilted his head to Ginger.

“We’re doing our own recon and then we’ll break out teams. Pope, Catfish, we’d like you to at least help with intel, and given your experience in taking down Lorea, if you’re up for it, I’d like you both on the compound assault team.”

You saw Pope and Frankie share a look, Frankie’s jaw clenched and then he nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Great, not to worry boys, Statesman has the best resources, stateside or otherwise. For now, I’m sure we can keep you plenty busy. Whiskey, don’t forget, today is your day for combat training with the new recruits. Bourbon, Cranberry needs you to test equipment in the lab later today.”

“Pope, could you actually stick around again for a bit? I’ve got some more intel I want to run through with you.” Ginger chimed in, and you were surprised he didn’t grimace at the idea of being locked in a room for hours again.

With that, the meeting was over, Champ’s holo image disappeared and they took their glasses off. Jack stood up and Frankie was quick to follow him, much to your intrigue. You stood up as well. You were eager to watch Jack have his way with the new agents. It was always fun. Whiskey seemed to know you would be following and beckoned for you to enter his office first, followed by Frankie, and Jack closed the door behind him.

“Go ahead and set your bag down wherever you’d like, Flyboy.”

Frankie dropped his bag in a corner then promptly started to rifle through it, pulling his shoes out and quickly swapping his dress shoes for them. He let out a sigh of relief as he rolled up on the balls of his feet and rocked back on his heels. He hated dress shoes.

You took a short minute to admire Frankie in the blue button down while he rolled up his sleeves. Jack’s fingers wrapped around your wrist and he tugged you into him.

“Missed you, darlin’.”

Smiling, you took his face in your hands and tugged him down for a kiss.

“Missed you too, Jack.”

You murmured against his lips, and you resolved not to ask about last night. Whatever happened, Frankie must have reached out to Jack, not you or Santi, and you’d leave it at that. Jack hummed contentedly for a moment before he pulled back and winked at you.

“Are you coming to watch us break in the newbies, darlin’? I was thinking you and Flyboy could do the first demo.”

You narrowed your eyes suspiciously, but there was a playfulness in them as well.

“Us?” You questioned Jack with a raised eyebrow.

“First demo?” Came Frankie’s question as he whirled around to face you and Whiskey.

Jack’s smile broadened and he started out of his office and towards the elevator, expecting you and Frankie to follow.

“What are we demoing, Whiskey?”Frankie asked, more pointedly this time.

“Well, our newbies are scheduled to learn about disarms and what happens when the enemy goes for their gun. I thought it’d be good to have them start out seeing Bourbon disarm you.”

Frankie huffed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the elevator wall. You smiled as you leaned against the wall opposite Frankie.

“It’ll be just like old times, Fish.”

He groaned and shook his head.

“Why have me do the demo though? I’m not a Statesman agent.”

Before you could respond to reassure Frankie, Jack chimed in, eyeing him with nothing short of gleeful mischief. Jack enjoyed breaking the new agents in almost a little too much sometimes, but it was good for them, and he was good at it.

“No, you’re not, you’re ex-Delta Force, Frankie. These agents have had plenty of training, but they don’t have your experience, Flyboy. They’re gonna learn the difference today.”

Jack shared a similar philosophy with you when it came to combat training and sparring. You had been a terror in hand-to-hand, still were, you were proud to say. You knew there was often a size disadvantage, but you had learned to use your opponent’s momentum against them, and more importantly, you didn’t follow convention. In sparring matches, most people fought like they were sparring, which was fine for beginning, but there was a big difference between practicing and being in an actual fight. You never advocated for an all out brawl, but you refused to follow the typical learned pattern that people naturally gravitated towards. Tom had been predictable and a sore loser. Will was predictable but sweet. Benny, well, there was a reason he was semi-pro, which left Santi and Frankie. Santiago was fun, and you had lost your fair share of matches to both him and Benny. Frankie had a spark in his eyes when he sparred, but no matter how hard you had tried to get him to let go, he refused. It had nothing to do with anything silly like you being a woman, more to do with the fact that Frankie never seemed to just let himself go in that way. You had only seen him let go a bit twice, both times in the field and well worn down by the day.

The elevator dinging startled you out of your reverie, and you followed right behind Jack towards the training room. Frankie assumed they would be entering a gym of sorts, but he was sorely mistaken, and he realized the ‘floor’ they were on must have been composed of several. The ‘room’ was really more of a training complex housed in the unassuming tower. To the right, a group of 20 people stood, waiting. He gave them a cursory glance, and then his eyes were pulled to the range. He’d definitely have to visit to let off some stress. He followed as you and Whiskey led the way to the group of agents and hung back slightly as the group stood to attention.

“Well, look at this promising group of newbies, Bourbon. D’you think they’re up for today’s lesson?”

You let the smirk on your lips turn into a full crooked smile, you had more than a small idea as to what Jack was going to do. Looking over your shoulder, you caught Frankie’s eye and nodded for him to join you.

“I don’t know, Whiskey, simple concept, but we’ll see what their execution is like. My money is on our guy.”

The agents before you bristled, full of young pride that was well-earned. Whiskey’s hand clasped over Frankie’s shoulder as he introduced him to the new agents.

“Y’all are in for a treat. Our friend, Catfish, here, has generously volunteered to help train you on close quarters combat and disarms. Bourbon will demo the defense first. Catfish,” Whiskey took a pistol from the long table off to the side and handed it to Frankie. “Your objective is simple: shoot a blank at Bourbon.”

Frankie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his eyes sought yours to make sure you were comfortable. An answering smile was good enough for him, and he checked the pistol, confirming there were no live rounds, before looking back up at you. The two of you easily slid into a ready position, and Jack gestured for the new agents to give you some room.

“Halcón, when you go for the takedown, ten cuidado con mi espalda. Ya no soy joven.” [be careful with my back. I’m not young anymore.]

It only mildly annoyed you that he already knew you were going to go for the takedown, after priding yourself on your spontaneity earlier, but you pushed that out of your mind as you both stood a few steps apart. There would be a split second when Frankie pulled his pistol and took a readying step. That would be where you would have an opening and make your move. A tense handful of seconds that seemed to stretch on filled the air. Jack watched the new agents, the tension between you and Frankie seemed to embed itself in the junior agents’ lungs as they all waited with bated breath.

Nothing telegraphed Frankie’s quick movements as he drew his pistol, but on instinct, your body was moving. He saw your left hand fly out to redirect his momentum and push his gun hand away, quickly shifting to plant his weight, keeping you from landing the takedown this early. The training you and Frankie had received taught you to be efficient and end things quickly. That was easier said when you had spent years training together. The junior agents seemed to still be holding their breath while you traded blows. Your moment of opportunity came, and you took it. Frankie seemed to understand what was happening but his balance was off. You stepped into him, your hip bumping his as your hand came to grip over the top of his pistol. The next thing everyone knew, you were both on the ground, the gun skittering harmlessly away, and Frankie’s arm in an arm bar. He grunted and quickly tapped at your leg to surrender, and you let him go. The class was quiet until Whiskey broke the silence as you helped Frankie to his feet.

“I hope you lot were paying attention to Catfish here, he did a great job demonstrating what to do when facing a difficult opponent like Bourbon. For this exercise, the rest of you will attempt to take a shot at Catfish and he will disarm you by whatever means he deems necessary.”

You can’t help but let out a small laugh, knowing Whiskey was being intentional with his wording.The laugh died quickly, however, at the words of one of the junior agents.

“How was that a good example? He lost, he was disarmed. We should be practicing against someone better, who would last longer.”

At your side, you saw Frankie stand up straighter, his feet moving shoulder width apart as his hands clasped behind his back and he fixed the younger agent with a steely gaze. Even as his breathing remained calm, it was obvious the words had gotten to him. Whiskey’s good natured grin turned into a smug smirk.

“Davis,” Whiskey began, calling the man out by his last name and emphasizing he hadn’t earned a Statesman moniker. “Since you’re so eager, by all means, approach Catfish when you’re ready and show us how your Statesman training fares.”

Frankie kept his gaze leveled at the cocky junior agent, noticing in his periphery that you had moved away to give them plenty of room. Davis moved to be a few steps in front of him. Frankie continued to hold the stare as he questioned Whiskey.

“Are you sure about this, Whiskey?”

Whiskey nodded, Frankie’s gaze flickering over to him for the briefest of seconds, then he brought his hands to a loose ready position at his sides. Davis drew his pistol, but Frankie grabbed the barrel with his left hand, stepped forward and hooked his right foot behind Davis’ lead leg and pushed on the agent’s chest with his right hand. Davis went down, but found himself suspended by Frankie’s hold on his shirt. The class was filled with littered gasps and snickers. The ‘fight’ was over before it had really begun. Frankie helped right the agent and stepped aside to let him retrieve his firearm.

“Attaboy, Catfish! Davis, looks like you’ve got some work to do. Here’s another lesson, agents: Statesman agents aren’t your only competition out there. We’ve got some fancy gear and trainin’ here, but there’s a world of intelligence agents and mercs out there. Catfish served with Bourbon, and that should tell you all you need to know.” He paused a moment to let the information sink in as Davis returned to the line to lick his wounds. Then Whiskey called the next agent.

Frankie breathed in, then out through his nose, and got ready. As they went, the junior agents in waiting began to pick up on a few of his techniques, and he had to adjust, but time spent practicing and training at Benny’s gym had prepared him well for this.

You watched as Jack’s eyes danced while he followed Frankie’s movements. The circumstances earlier had prevented him from truly appreciating how efficient and capable the quiet man was. The last of the junior agents had made their attempt and consequently failed. Frankie’s breath was coming more unevenly now, and rightly so. What he had gone through would be exhausting for anyone.

“Well done, everyone, a round of applause to Catfish for taking the time to demonstrate y’all have a lot to learn before getting approved for field work. Now go on and line up at the range and get warmed up. We’ll be running sims next.”

The junior agents dispersed to the range towards the back of the room. Frankie let out a breath and rolled his shoulders to let out some of the tension he had been carrying, then started heading for the range, eager to let off some more steam.

“Where do you think you’re going, partner?”

Frankie frowned, his eyes darting between you and Whiskey in confusion.

“I thought we were going to go shoot?”

Jack smiled then winked at Frankie.

“They’re warming up, you still have one more person to disarm, Flyboy.”

Frankie’s fingers twitched, and you could see that the exercise earlier had worn at his usual restraint.

“No lasso.”

Whiskey handed you his lasso, then unloaded his revolvers and passed you the ammo. He holstered his revolvers again and stepped into position in front of Frankie. You watched as a new kind of energy seemed to crackle between them, and some of the junior agents seemed to sense it, stopping to watch as well.

Whiskey was fast, but training at the boxing gym had helped Frankie with his speed. As Whiskey drew his revolver, Frankie sprung forward. He didn’t bother to grab the gun. Instead, he brought his fist down on the barrel, sending it skittering away. Whiskey’s fist connected with Frankie’s side, and you heard, rather than saw, Frankie’s reservations fall away with a snarl. He took hold of the inside of Jack’s blazer, grabbing the grip of the other revolver holstered there and made to pull it out and take the ‘shot’. Jack’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn’t expected Frankie to go on the offensive, but he found he was impressed. He liked a challenge. Before Frankie could draw the revolver from the holster, Jack grabbed his wrists and wrenched them down, then back up quickly to break Frankie’s hold, and then Jack threw them both to the ground. Both men recovered quickly, but in the chaos, the revolver had fallen to the ground and Frankie scrambled for it. Just as his fingertips touched cold metal, Whiskey’s whip flicked the revolver further away, and they closed the distance to grapple with each other again.

Your match with Frankie had been a well practiced dance, and this was too, in its own right. However, where yours had been fluid, Whiskey and Frankie were bordering on feral. For a moment, it appeared that Frankie had gotten the upper hand. Whiskey staggered backwards, about to fall, but as he went, he flicked his whip, the corded length wrapping around Frankie’s throat. He tugged, sending them both to the ground. Frankie grunted and struggled against the snare he was in. Whiskey wasted no time in scrambling up and pinning Frankie, his knee to the pilot’s back. Frankie continued to struggle until Whiskey leaned down so that only the other man could hear.

“Easy now, Tiger, save your strength for tonight. You did good.”

Frankie relaxed under Jack’s weight and nodded. Whiskey got off of him with a grunt and unwound the corded length of the whip from Frankie’s neck, then pressed a button on the handle to recall it. He helped Frankie up and dusted him off a bit.

A few of the junior agents were still watching in awe. It was rare to see a senior agent like you or Whiskey truly need to put some effort in, and to see it twice in one day was something else entirely. You walked over to the two men and put your hand on Frankie’s shoulder.

“You did great, Fish, nice to see you let loose for once.”

He scoffed good naturedly and swooped to pick his hat up from off the ground.

“You guys had quite the audience while you were at it, too.” Your smile was barely contained as you raised an eyebrow at Jack.

This time it was Whiskey’s turn to scoff.

“Well, I hope they’ve been practicing. They’ll be running the sim after Frankie does.”

Whiskey patted Frankie on his shoulder then gestured for him to follow. He led him to an enclosed area that occupied the majority of the left side of the training complex. A small structure that looked like a house sat inside the enclosure, and you knew it was furnished to match whatever simulation scenario had been determined. Whiskey stopped at a table just outside of the enclosure and gestured to the rifle, combat knife, folder, and headset.

“Alright, Flyboy, I know you’ve done this sort of exercise before. Your brief is on the table there. Good luck.”

You and Whiskey walked a bit further along the enclosure to two screens. One cycled through a variety of camera angles while the other would connect to the headset once Frankie turned it on.

“You’re really having Frankie run the simulation?”

Whiskey nodded, “I didn’t have him help with the demo just to teach those newbies a lesson, darlin’. He’s been through hell, and I figured getting him to work through some of that in sparring and the sim would help. That, and, well… you can’t blame me for bein’ curious, Bourbon. Last time I got to see what he could do, we were a bit busy trying not to get shot.”

You can’t help but to chuckle and shake your head, your attention going back to Frankie as he geared up.

“Frankie turns into a different person on missions sometimes, used to scare the hell out of people on base who saw it. No one ever suspected it because he was always the quiet one, but he’s just as competitive as the rest of the guys on the team. He was just always scary good at keeping a level head and focusing on the mission. You’ll see.”

Frankie put on the kit provided for him then flipped through the brief before lowering the headset and advancing. The brief had been fairly simple: infiltrate the compound, rescue the target, and escort the target to the exfil location. They even provided a decent description of the target. The virtual course populated guards patrolling the 3 entrances. He opted for the path of least resistance with only 2 guards posted.

From the screen, you and Jack could see Frankie take a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing even as he crept towards the two guards. You knew it was because he was willing himself to let go, to let his instincts and muscle memory take over. He was lightning fast as his knife came out and he landed brutal and precise fatal blows to the targets on the screen. In a normal situation, he would hide the bodies but the miracle of technology meant he didn’t have to. It was beautiful in a devastating way to watch Frankie move with such confidence, stealth, and precision. He peered around a hallway, noting the sudden influx of guards and catching a glimpse of red at the end of the hall. The brief had indicated the target would be in red, and it made sense that there would be more guards to ensure the target didn’t run off. He counted five hostiles in the hallway.

Five guards, five bullets.

Once he had downed the hostiles, Frankie stepped through the hallway, catching a glimpse of the target and swore at how cliché the scenario was. The brief had just said the target had last been seen wearing red.

“¡Me están jodiendo! ¿En serio? ¿Una mujer en un vestido rojo?” [They’re fucking with me. Really? A woman in a red dress?]

You could both hear Frankie through the mic link in his headset, and you couldn’t help but laugh. It quickly died as you and Whiskey tensed. The woman in red was a decoy, one that statistically caught the majority of users by surprise.

“Ma’am, are you-” She moved just barely and he saw the glint of where a gun was holstered. Frankie didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he fired a shot to her chest and grumbled to himself before moving on. Normally, it wouldn’t have taken him that long to figure it out.

Whiskey whistled, thoroughly impressed. It wasn’t long after that Frankie found the real target and reached the ‘exfil location’.

“Damn, sweetheart, you sure picked a good one.”

He winked at you, and you grinned back as Frankie pulled off the headset and his kit, then walked over to you.

“Alright, agents! Catfish successfully completed the sim in 15 minutes, that’s your time to beat!”

A chorus of groans echoed in the training room. Whiskey ignored them and clapped Frankie on his shoulder.

“You did good, Flyboy, really set the bar high. Most people get caught up by the decoy.”

Frankie’s chest puffed out a little at the praise, but he was soon shaking his head. Before he could deflect the compliment, Whiskey squeezed his shoulder.

“Feeling hungry, Flyboy? Figured the three of us could grab a quick lunch before Cran steals Bourbon here away from us.”

“Yeah, I’m starving. Didn’t expect you to keep me busy like that.”

Vermouth entered the training room, and you waved him down.

“Hey, Vermouth! Watch the junior agents for us. Whiskey’s just got them running the sim. We’re going to go grab lunch!”

Without waiting for Vermouth’s answer, you grabbed Whiskey and Frankie’s hands, dragging them out of the training room and to the elevator.

“There’s a deli not far from the office we can walk to, and it’s late enough that we should miss the rush.”

Walking arm in arm with both of your boys, you could think of very few things better than right now. You didn’t care that you were in the middle of downtown New York. All that mattered was Whiskey on your right, and Frankie on your left.

Frankie did his best to relax and not let his anxiety and internal struggles get the best of him. Whiskey’s words echoed in his mind: “When it comes to me and Bourbon, keep an open mind and try not to overthink it.” That was a lot easier said than done, but he was working on it.

You were right, the timing made it so that you had missed the lunch rush. You all ordered your food, Whiskey stepping in to pay with a look that silenced both you and Frankie, then you all went to sit down.

Whiskey practically sprawled in his chair, his legs encroaching your space under the table and Frankie’s space next to him. Frankie sat somewhat stiffly but the more he ate, the more he seemed to relax. You nudge his foot with yours playfully to grab his attention.

“How’s your back? Mr. Ya-no-soy-joven.”

The three of you laughed, and Frankie shook his head with a wide grin on his face.

“I’m not! Gotta leave that shit for the young guys who think they’re invincible.”

“Young guys like Davis?” You shot back, smug on Frankie’s behalf.

“Cocky kid had it coming.”

There was no anger in Frankie’s eyes, only the slightest lilt of mirth in his voice as his gaze met yours, then Whiskey’s. Whiskey leaned forward and barked a laugh while patting Frankie on the back.

“He sure did. The lot of them were in need of a reality check. That’s why Champ specifically likes to have me or Bourbon take at least one pass at our junior agents. After all those hours spent training, they tend to forget that there are much bigger fish out there.”

Conversation flowed easily between them for the rest of their lunch. It reminded Frankie of the prior morning, when they were enjoying breakfast and everything just felt right. It felt as if all of the pieces of the puzzle were coming together, and this time, this time, it didn’t feel fleeting.

Walking to the office was much more comfortable than the walk to the deli had been. You noticed that Frankie was far less stiff under your touch on his arm, even leaning into you occasionally. You parted ways in the elevator. You were heading to the lab to play guinea pig for Cranberry, and your boys were headed upstairs to Whiskey’s office. Frankie seemed hesitant to let you go, and you did your best not to spook him, your heart fluttering in your chest.

Given everything that had happened, things needed to be almost wholly in Frankie’s court, at least until he was more comfortable around you. You had certainly noticed, however, how easily Frankie and Whiskey seemed to allow each other into their respective spaces. The elevator doors closed behind you as you strode down the hall. You were glad that they were comfortable together, though. It had definitely been a concern of yours, considering their respective pasts, but you also thought that there was the potential for them to relate and understand each other better than most.

The rest of the day passed by slowly, and as directed, Frankie remained Jack’s shadow. Jack did his best to keep from laughing when 5pm rolled around and Frankie began to subconsciously bounce his knee. He was scrolling on his phone, lower lip pulled between his teeth and brow furrowed as he tried to focus on whatever was on the screen.

You knocked on Jack’s open office door, raising an eyebrow when you saw Frankie startle at the sound. He wasn’t usually this jumpy. Jack’s gaze met yours, and you could see the amusement and mischief that bubbled in his eyes.

“Hey there, darlin’, you getting ready to head out for the night?”

“Just about, wanted to come see my boys before I do.”

Frankie’s knee stopped bouncing at your words, his phone falling into his lap as he looked up at you. You motion for him to scoot over a bit as you sit down on the couch next to him and rest your chin on your hand.

“We’re still on for dinner tomorrow, right?”

You posed the question to the room in general, even though the three of you knew that it was really directed towards Frankie.

“Uh yeah, I’m-I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow,” Frankie says after clearing his throat and gives you both a shy smile. Leaning over, you take his large hand in your own and give it a squeeze.

“Great!” Standing up from the couch, you smooth your clothes, give Frankie a kiss on his cheek, and then kiss Jack. “I’ll find us a place, and we’ll figure it out more tomorrow. Night, Frankie. Night, Jack.”

A minute later, you’re gone, and suddenly there’s nothing keeping Frankie’s mind off of the time, which is painfully close to 6pm, when Jack said he’d be done with work. The moment the clock turned that final, eternal minute, Frankie sat up straight, attentive, and alert as his eyes watched Whiskey.

Jack leaned back in his chair, stretching, then relocated next to Frankie on the couch.

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything tonight, Flyboy. If you feel like you’re not up for it, we’ll just grab dinner and head home.”

Frankie shook his head and took a steadying breath.

“No, I want this. I-I could really use it, Jack.”

Whiskey nodded, eyes wandering over Frankie as he adjusted on the couch.

“Alright, I use the green, yellow, red system. You need me to stop for whatever reason, call red, and that’s it, no questions, no hard feelings or fuss. I’ll get you cleaned up and help you come down. Sound good?”

Frankie nodded, his tongue suddenly thick and his mouth dry in anticipation. Jack tutted.

“I need you to use your words, Flyboy.”

Frankie swallowed, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

“I understand, s-sounds good.”

“Good. Now…” Jack pulled a small pad of stationary paper and a pen from the side table. “I want you to write out what you’re ok with and any hard or soft limits you have.”

Frankie nodded, then took the pen and paper and began writing.

[click for better quality]

A blush took hold of Frankie as he handed it back.

“It’s what I can come up with off the top of my head, for tonight at least. I’ll let you know if anything else comes up though.”

Jack’s eyes were dark as he perused the list, looking up from the paper to Frankie, he stood up with a smile.

“C’mon Flyboy… we’re gonna have some fun tonight.”

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[fan-of-encouragement]

Honey I'm Still Free

This is a commissioned fic that @danniburgh wrote for me, and I'm absolutely In Love. Her commissions are open as of posting this, and she's amazing.

Marcus Pike × F!reader

No warnings, just fluff and mention of Marcus's past bad relationships.

He was new.

A new face to know.

And he was cheerful; almost too cheerful.

He was happy; you met him as a happy man, self realized, self assured, self-centered but not egotistical; he was kind, and he was good. And he was happy.

Marcus Pike arrived at the D.C. FBI office and you were the one that gave him the welcome tour; in between directions and pointings at where which room was located and who worked where, he told you almost everything about himself and that kicked off an unexpected friendship. One that began inside the four walls of his office and the four walls of yours, and the glass walls of the shared conference room that separated them and that most often than not, was used as a lunch room.

When you met Marcus, he was a once divorced, newly engaged man that was waiting patiently for his bride to arrive and live with him what he described as a life he wanted; he told you everything he had to tell about his girlfriend and how he felt, deep inside of him, that she was the one.

Until she broke up with him.

Then, as if by magic, or as if someone had flicked a switch, Marcus changed.

You didn’t understand, whenever you analyzed it, why a woman would leave a man like him; whenever you put a little bit of thought on the matter you came to the same conclusion: there was no good reason. The truth of the matter was, even having met Marcus for no more than a month when that went down, that he was a good man. And everyone that walked around him or worked with him or even talked to him knew it.

Marcus Pike was a good man with a good, kind, warm soul that radiated nothing but care and love for others; he was stern and he was good at his job; he managed a team like no other agent you saw before but, at the end of the workday; when all the reports had been signed, when all the field agents had called in and Marcus lit his desk lamp to finish the last of the paperwork of the day, when the floor was quiet enough to hear the cars drive sporadically on the highway next to the building, he was craving for something more. Something he didn’t have and he was desperate for. Love.

Six months into you knowing Marcus, as he laughed at a bad joke you told him, with his head thrown back and his lids closed and the wrinkles on the sides of his eyes showing at full contrast, you realized you had fallen in love with him.

But you didn’t fight it; it felt right. You knew he was still struggling with the fact that two serious relationships in his life had failed in what he described as a miserable, sad, incredibly stupid manner. 

The remnants of that pain were still noticeable; when he looked outside the window for more time that he wanted to admit, whenever he heard a certain song on the radio, whenever someone mentioned any lines from Casablanca, the glowing ashes of the hot, scorching pain he had yet to get rid of and extinguish could be seen from his eyes.

You knew and you understood him; he needed time; he needed support to get out of the house in flames he was inside of because of people that didn’t know what they wanted. And you, as he hugged you goodbye, resolved you were gonna be there for him.

As you drove home, you realized there was some selfishness behind your resolution; but you figured out as much. You were in love with him, and besides trying to help him be himself; as you had met him or better, you hoped, just further back in your mind and your heart, he would notice you were there. Waiting for him to be the man he wanted to be.

When you opened your front door and you slipped out of your shoes, you thought of how would he react if you told him you were falling in love with him; you knew he wouldn’t let you wait for him like a damsel expecting a brave prince or a knight in shiny armor galloping to you on a mighty stallion. But you weren’t dropping everything until he decided he was better… You were just hoping he would notice you were there. And that was rightfully enough reason for you to do it. 

And you were his friend.

The next morning you texted him before going out to work if he was in the mood for some pancakes; immediately getting a big YES in all caps as a response. You drove to your favorite diner; which had quickly become his too. And walked out of there with two white plastic bags filled with pancakes for him and waffles for you.

“Oh my god, bless you!” Marcus let out as you walked into his office with the two big bags. You gave him a smile as he moved his stuff to the side so you could put the bags down.

“Since when are you devoted, Mr. Pike?” you teased, when you put the bags on the desk and pushed his towards the other side, towards him.

“Since my best friend brings me breakfast,” he raised his eyebrows and pulled out the styrofoam packet from the bag and a plastic fork “how much do I owe you?” Marcus asked as he opened the plate and bit his lower lip when the chocolate chip and strawberry pancakes saluted him from the dish.

“Nothing?” you replied, doing the same with your honey caramel waffles, Marcus rolled his eyes.

“Then lunch is on me.” he shrugged, lifting his tie and loosening it a bit from around his neck, throwing it on his shoulder, you scoffed and saw him dig into the pancakes with a small smile adorning your features.

“The least you could do, baby.” you teased, making him smile through his pancake bite.

When lunch hour arrived that same day; he knocked on your door and opened it before you could say come in. He stuck his head inside your office and smiled at you.

“Lunch?” he asked with his eyebrows raised and his small smirk on his face, you reciprocated his smile and nodded, standing up from your chair and closing your computer.

“What are we ordering?” you asked as you walked around your desk and he opened the door wide.

“No, we’re going out.” he let out lowly. You narrowed your eyes as you crossed the threshold and he started walking towards the elevators.

“To what do I owe this honor?” you asked, following him, Marcus chuckled.

“What do you mean?” he said as he clicked the elevator button to call it.

“You’ve never taken me out to lunch, Marcus.” you remarked, the elevator doors opened and he frowned.

“Really?” he questioned, you nodded and hummed in affirmation as the both of you walked into the metal box. “why?” he chuckled.

“What do you mean why?” you laughed at his reaction.

“I mean…” he started, crossing his arms on his chest “we’ve been close almost since I arrived, don’t we?” you nodded with a small smile on your face, Marcus blinked a few times “I feel like we would've gone out together, at least once…” he said with a shrug.

“No, not once.” you remarked again as the elevator door opened on the basement parking lot and you walked out.

“Well, that’s on me, then, I’m the asshole friend.” he let out as he nodded his chin in direction to his car, you chuckled.

“Not an asshole, a busy friend.” you tried to reassure him as he remotely unlocked the car and the both of you hopped inside at the same time. 

“I shouldn’t be busy for you, anyway,” he muttered, pushing the ignition button to turn on the engine. “I mean, you’re the one that helps me the most around here, I should be more grateful.”

“Nah,” you whispered as you buckled your seatbelt “I’m just the coworker that doesn’t like to see others struggling.” you teased with a smile as he backed up the car, he looked at you for a split second and sighed, calling your name.

“You know you’re not just my coworker.” he muttered, getting out of the parking lot and incorporating into the traffic. Your smile grew.

“No?” you turned to see him, knowing exactly what he was going to say if you dropped the question that was dangling on your lips, he shook his head. “then what am I?” you asked with a low voice that you hadn’t use in a long time because you didn’t find the time or the place to use it. But, as you were sitting inside the car of the man you were growing deep feelings for, with the tiniest opening to his heart and his mind, you decided to bring it out again.

Marcus almost slammed the brakes of the car. He felt his breath hitch in his throat and as he stopped the car on a red light; he turned to you.

“What?” he whispered. You raised an eyebrow and shrugged slightly.

“What am I?” you repeated the question. Marcus knew the look you were giving him; god he was sure he wouldn’t get that look from anyone anymore, and he had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t look for that look in any woman he met. But there it was; your gaze was deep on him, your lips were loose and open just slightly towards him, your eyes were steady on his and he felt the despicable, gut wrenching feeling of the most deep, disgusting, ingrained insecurity inside his mind and inside his chest that made him think of nothing but his trained instinct of fight or fly.

“My friend.” he whispered out just as the light changed to green. You smiled to yourself and looked out through the window, letting out a sigh.

“Good,” you let out, “besties.” you teased. Marcus let out a nervous chuckle and nodded. He didn’t say another word until he stirred the car to the restaurant’s parking lot.

__

Marcus heard two consecutive knocks on his door and lifted his head from the massive email he was reading.

“Come in.” he let out on a sigh as he stretched on his chair, and rubbed his eyes; the light of the computer wasn’t helping his sight.

“Brought you coffee.” he heard you, he opened his eyes and saw you closing the door behind you with your hip and two carton cups that were steaming.

“My lifesaver.” he smiled at you and shifted on the chair, you sat in front of him and handed him his cup.

“Cream and no sugar,” you let out “so you don’t get sleepy.” he smiled.

“What’s the occasion?” he asked, you rolled your eyes.

“The occasion is ten thirty at night and you’re still here.” you said, Marcus sipped his coffee and raised his eyebrows.

“You’re here as well.” he shrugged.

“I just finished,” you let out “kinda was waiting for you.” Marcus frowned, you leaned down and rested your back on the chair.

“Why?” he let out, tensing his shoulders.

“Wanted to talk to you.” you muttered, gazing at him. Marcus wanted to shrink on the chair and flee from the room, but he didn’t, he stayed at his full height of 5’11” and tried to hold your gaze.

“Okay? something happened?” he asked with a low voice, you shook your head twice and saw him partially relax.

“Marcus, how long have we known each other?” you asked him, he frowned a bit but looked at the surface of his desk.

“Almost a year, why?” he replied and you hummed in appreciation at it.

“You know why, don’t you?” you said, biting your lip and smiling at him.

“I have a suspicion.” he muttered.

“Good, so should I just say it?” you asked, Marcus shook his head immediately.

“Please, don’t,” he whispered, you were expecting his reaction so you just nodded “I’m so sorry.”

“I understand,” you smiled again at him and Marcus felt his chest contract inside his torso “I was just… making sure.”

“Honey…” he let out, you shook your head.

“Really, I get it.” you winked at him, taking your coffee and standing up.

“Wait,” he stood up as well, “am I gonna lose you?” he asked, trying to reach to you, you raised your hand and he took it.

“Of course not, silly,” you gripped his hand “I’m gonna be around, just let me know if you need me.” you said, Marcus nodded and you slipped your hand off his.

Marcus saw you leave his office and let out a deep sigh once you had closed the door. He threw himself on his chair and dropped his head back to look at the ceiling. God, what was wrong with him?

He tried to reason with himself as he started to breathe normally; you were amazing. He was sure of it because he saw you almost every day. You were beautiful and attractive and funny. You were smart and so damn capable it made him feel beneath you even when you were at the same rank; you meant a lot to him and you, for some reason that didn’t fit inside his head, never hesitated to tell him how much he meant to you, too.

And it was so damn obvious how you felt about him because you didn’t even bother to hide it; he admired the way you just showed it without advertising it and how you just didn’t let it affect your job or your life.

Jesus Christ, you were in love with him and he was there, sitting in his office after you just told him you understood him; you’d stayed close to him despite him being trapped in his own insecurities, despite the barrier he had put between you and him, despite looking at him clutching at the past and wrapping himself around his tragedies like an orphan child would do to a warm blanket.

You were there for him, loving him and caring for him as best as you could, even when you knew he was processing and working to be out in the open again; even when you knew it took him time to comprehend that he shouldn’t feel embarrassed or sad anymore.

Holy shit; you were there all that time and he was just choosing to be blind to what you were doing; even choosing to shove away all the deep, warm, involving love he felt for you.

Marcus stood up from his chair once again and he rushed to walk around his desk and out of the office, walking the few feet there was between his office and yours, he knocked a few times and opened the door; about to burst out his words, then he noticed the office was empty. He checked his watch. It was ten minutes past eleven and he cursed himself for thinking you meant you were going to be around literally.

He rushed again to his office for his things and his car key, desperately trying to order words inside his brain as he all but banged his foot on the elevator floor and trying at the same time to calm the fuck down as he walked to his car.

Marcus was sure it was a good idea with poor execution; he was a romantic at heart he should go pick up something that would tell you he just took his head out of his own ass and realized he was also in love with you; but the feeling of just tell you everything was stronger and was driving him crazy. He was driving like a madman through the highway that led to your apartment, and when he pulled over and looked at the building, he nodded to himself.

“Just say it, Marcus.” he muttered to himself, opening the car door and walking out.

The easiest part was to walk to the front door, buzz himself in and walk up the stairs to the fourth floor; the easiest part was stepping through the hall and towards your door and knocking on it three times.

You opened the door and the easiest part was over; you were in your pajamas; a silk, shimmering top and shorts too short for Marcus’s own good.

“Marcus, what’s going on?” you asked. He cursed himself inside his head. He had forgotten each and every word of the three point argument he had built inside his head on the way to your home; he saw his thoughts pour over his head and melt at your feet and he did nothing else but stand there, in your threshold; with his mouth dry and his eyes on your body. “Marcus?”

You frowned and stepped to the side, grabbing his forearm to pull him inside. Marcus had been in your apartment before, but he knew then it was different.

“You okay? I’m getting worried” you muttered. Closing the door, Marcus shook his head and tried to steady his heartbeat, failing.

“You told me to let you know if I needed you, right?” he asked, barely audibly. You nodded. Marcus licked his lower lip and sighed, “I kinda need you now.”

“Yeah, absolutely, what happened?” you told him, stepping closer to him, raising your hand to his arm.

Marcus felt a bolt of confidence because of your touch. He breathed in deeply and smiled at you, making you frown again.

He put his hand hesitantly on your waist and he felt you stiffen. His eyes traveled from your eyes to your lips and back, and he stepped even closer to you with a smile on his face.

“You’re here.” he whispered, leaning towards you to grab your lips in his with a kiss you didn’t expect, but didn’t dare to deny.

[dilfbatman]

hi I like hearing your thoughts on batdad. how do you think bruce reacts to his kids calling him dad for the first time?

OMG thank you so much <3 this Gets me and tears me up bruce never got to hold any of his kids when they were babies like not even damian... so i think when they first say their own rendition of “dad” he’s overcome w so much like... joy and swells up with love

i think when dick first said it was super casual! bruce and dick are sitting atop a building in their batman & robin getup and patrol was super quiet and simple that day and bruce and him are eating homemade sandwiches and drinking juice that brucie packed them :’) and dick just says “dad these are really good... can you pass me your juice if you aren’t gonna drink it” and bruce literally freezes in his tracks and is wide eyed and looks at dick and is like... “i’m sorry?” and dick thinks that bruce is mad bc he doesn’t wanna share his juice so he’s like “oh it’s okay if you wanna drink it!!!!!” and bruce is “no, honey - what did you say before that...?” and dick is like... “i said dad these are- OH” and dick is all blushy because it just felt super natural and right and is about to apologize but before anything bruce pulls him to his chest and hugs him so unbelievably hard and dick SWEARS on his life that he heard bruce sniffle... bruce quietly says “i love you” and hands dick his juicebox and the entire night is filled with lots of laughs and slight tears of joy from bruce (but he’ll never outright say that he cried) ((but he most definitely did))

with jason i think it also is more casual too! i don’t know if jason would necessarily call bruce dad but i think his term of endearment is “old man” but in that really - soft coming from the heart i love you - type way! bruce and jason like to read together in the library and jason likes to take the books he gets from bruce to school to read underneath the tree in the playground! during parent-teacher conferences the teachers speak about how intelligent and bright jason is and bruce is literally BEAMING with pride and jason comes in when they’re done and bruce ruffles his hair bc he’s proud of jason :’) the teacher then again reiterates that jason is a really good kid and jason just smiles and is “thanks! i get it from my old man” and little baby jason is just SMILING so wide at bruce and bruce’s heart is literally jumping bc !!!!! jason considers him a father figure and his dad and bruce picks up jason and hugs him all the way to the car where they go to eat ice cream and talk about their favorite books :’) bruce reminisces on this after jason’s death and cries himself to sleep about it i think. and when jason comes back and they rekindle again after a while jason says “what’s up old man!” and bruce just gives the same soft smile he always give when jason calls him that and is like “hey son, how’re you doing?” both have soft blushes from the terms of endearment! they love each other okay i don’t care what canon shows us

tim came to bruce during a tough time in bruce’s life and was a saving grace for that man like for real... and i think the first time he said it was when it was father’s day! bruce is at home and trying to cook a meal for alfred and he kinda forgets that he himself is kinda a father to tim??? mainly bc of jack drake and bruce doesn’t know if he’s allowed to FILL that role so he never forces tim or anything on it. but tim comes home and he’s drenched with rain and he’s huffing and he’s talking to himself and pacing and bruce is like ??? “tim are you okay?” and tim is like “GOD. i just wanted to give you a decent father’s day gift brucie i swear but the card i made is all wet and ruined and i had to fight someone after i got you this watch and i’m sorry i’m late pops, i just really wanted today to be perfect and-” and bruce shuts him up with his world famous “you’re okay” hug. and bruce reiterates to tim that all he cares about is that he’s safe and with him :’) to try and ease the tension bruce jokingly says “so pops huh?” but in reality is heart is pounding bc tim sees him as a father figure :’) and tim is like “yeah... :’) happy’s father’s day” and he hugs bruce for god knows how long and it’s a good ending to a wild day

damian’s is more of a show of vulnerability. damian knows his place as the blood son and only biological kid of bruce so he recognizes that he’s his father and says so plenty of times! first time is very clinical. he calls bruce “father” and bruce is almost sad in a way? like he loves damian that’s his baby boy i think he’s just so sad that he could never hold his own child as a baby and raise him the way he wanted to you know? but bruce rubs off on damian after a while and one day bruce is in bed and sleeping and he hears little pit pats and sees damian at the foot of his bed and he’s like “damian?” and damian just so softly and almost brokenly says “baba...? you said to come to you when i can’t sleep so...” and bruce just opens his arms and scoops up his little baby boy... the light of his life! his heart swelled up beyond belief when damian called him baba and he’s like “shh... come here habibi” and holds damian the whole night and they talk about everything and nothing and bruce wakes up w his son snuggled to his chest and it kinda hits him like a freight train that... that’s HIS son. that’s HIS baby. he looks like a child and he is a child and he’s so at peace and bruce wants to stay in this softness forever and he wants damian to be a kid and he has a fierce sense of protection come over him about his baby and he has to hold back his tears and just softly kisses damian’s head and is so thankful for his children and all they are

[motherjoel]

get her (spencer reid x fem!reader)

summary: you finally get a boyfriend after pining for spencer for years, but spencer is suspicious of him

a/n: idek how i got this idea but i hope you guys like it lol. also we all know how sassy spencie gets when he’s upset afbjvbadas

wc: 2.3k

warnings/includes: some language, angst & fluff

“Someones looking chipper today,” said Emily as you walked into the bullpen with a smile on your face.

“What, just cause we catch serial killers for a living, I can’t have a good night?” you asked and shot her a wink. This caught JJ’s attention from a desk over.

“Alright, I’ll bite. Who’s the guy?” she asked, opening the files on her desk. You blushed for a moment before deciding to indulge them in the details.

“If you must know, his name is Justin and we’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now,” you smiled, giggling at your friends reactions. Garcia was nearby, pouring herself a mug of coffee.

“Wait, my ears were burning. Are we talking about love?” she asked, taking a sip of coffee and leaning on your desk.

“I wouldn’t call it love, but it’s something,” you wiggled your eyebrows. Spencer and Derek entered the bullpen together, walking over to the crowd you had assembled.

“Woah, how come I wasn’t invited to the party?” Derek asked, setting his bag down at his desk and joining the rest of you. Spencer lingered near your desk, curious about the gathering as well.

“Well, Y/N here has a special someone…” Emily said, raising her eyebrows. You didn’t notice Spencer visibly deflate from beside you, but JJ did. Spencer had confided in her about the crush he had on you- he never planned to act on it, but now that he knew you were taken, he regretted keeping it to himself. Spencer was almost thankful when Hotch left his office to announce a case. He didn’t want to hear the “dirty details” (as Garcia called them) with this Justin guy. What kind of name is that, anyway, he thought. Everyone stood up to make their way to the conference room before Hotch stopped them.

“A child was declared missing after her family was killed. Time is of the essence, we will debrief on the plane,” he said. Everyone grabbed their go bags and you shot a quick text to Justin, letting him know you wouldn’t be home for a few days. Spencer noticed you smiling at your phone and looked away, trying his best to ignore it. 

After debriefing, everyone was scattered throughout the jet to go over their files and come up with theories. You normally sat with Spencer- he was your best friend in the office- so you made your way to the seat across from him. Although he was your best friend, you hadn’t mentioned Justin to him before today. You’d had feelings for Spencer when you joined the team, but you never thought he would feel the same way so you did your best to move past said feelings. They still lingered, however, when you fell asleep basically on top of each other on many jet rides home, or when he would bring you your favorite coffee on fridays. You decided that the best thing to do was to get in a relationship, which you did. Spencer didn’t look up when you sat across from him on the jet.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him before,” you said, feeling bad that you kept a relationship from your best friend.

“Hm? Who?” Spencer asked, feigning cluelessness. 

“Justin, my-uh, my boyfriend,” you said. Spencer tensed.

“Oh, that’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything,” he shrugged and looked back down at his files. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but he was acting weird. 

“I know, I just feel like… you’re my best friend, and I should have told you about him,” you said, suddenly feeling foolish. Your use of “best friend” seemed to warm Spencer up.

“Really, Y/N. It’s fine, as long as you’re happy,” he said with a soft smile. You nodded and silently opened the manila folder, returning focus to the missing girl.

-

You had been working the case nonstop for hours without any leads, and you were feeling hopeless. After a long time of staring blankly at an evidence board, you excused yourself to call your boyfriend. Once you stepped outside, you hit call, only to be sent straight to voicemail. That’s weird you thought. You didn't want to bother him if he was busy, so you sent him a text.

hey, it’s a pretty rough case and I just wanted to call and talk to you. call me when you get the chance <3

You hit send and walked back inside, visibly deflated. Spencer took notice of your disappointed slouch, but remained focused on the profile, as did you. A call from Garcia came in after you had all been sitting in a stumped silence for a good 20 minutes.

“Guys, there was a little girl who just called the police, she claimed to be Sammie Smith,” said Garcia, voice laced with concern. 

“Were you able to triangulate the call?” asked Hotch.

“Unfortunately no, but let me play it for you. It sounds like there's some sort of train in the background,” Garcia said, proceeding to play the audio. You all listened intently.

“Spence, how many trains go through the geographic profile?” you asked, walking over to the map Spencer was looking at and leaning down next to him, unintentionally pressing your chest to the side of his arm.

“Um, just one, but the unsub could be keeping her anywhere along the tracks,” Spencer said, ignoring the feeling of your warmth. 

“Garcia, can you play it again,” asked Prentiss, leaning on the table.

“Sure thing.” You all listened intently. 

“It sounds like the train stops during the recording- maybe she’s being kept near the station? Garcia, what’s the address of Sammie’s uncle?” you asked, thinking about a possible lead.

“Let me see… it’s 327 Lavender Road… which is a block from one of the train stations in the geographic profile,” she said urgently.

“Thanks Garcia,” Prentiss said as you all raced out of the conference room and into your SUVs. 

-

The case was successful- or about as successful as catching a serial killer could be. You had saved Sammie’s life and she had an aunt across the country who would care for her. As you all piled onto the jet, you checked your phone again for a text from Justin. Nothing. You sat with Spencer on the couch, taking a deep sigh.

“He still hasn’t texted you back?” Spencer asked, looking between you and your phone. 

“How did you know?” you asked, shoving your phone into your pocket.

“Well, you left the conference room yesterday and you came back discouraged, and you’ve been constantly checking your phone since then. Basic profiling,” he said, pulling a book out of his bag.

“Hey, whatever happened to the moratorium on profiling each other,” you said with a raised eyebrow. Spencer shrugged.

“I don’t know, I was just skeptical of this Justin guy. I mean, maybe there was a reason you didn’t tell any of us about him until now,” he said nonchalantly. You felt a little sting.

“Spencer, don’t you think that’s a little presumptuous? I mean, you didn’t tell any of us about Maeve,” you said.  Spencer snapped his eyes back up to you. You felt bad bringing up his old scars but you needed to defend yourself.

“What’s this got to do with Maeve? At least she returned my calls,” he said, more angry than before.

“Spencer, why are you being like this?” you asked, getting the attention from the other team members now.

“Why am I being like this? I wasn’t the one who took a break from our job to call a boyfriend that won't even call me back,” he snapped. His eyes widened a little when he realized what he had just said. He had hurt your feelings. You stood up, tears brimming in your eyes. “Y/N, wait-” he started.

“No, I get it. I’m just gonna sit over there,” you said, grabbing your things and moving to the opposite end of the jet next to Emily. Spencer watched you walk away and he had never felt more guilty. He looked at Morgan who was sitting nearby and witnessed the whole fight. 

“What do you have against Y/N dating?” Morgan asked, moving to sit next to Spencer. He seemed to already know the answer.

“Don’t make me say it,” Spencer put his head in his hands. Morgan clapped his shoulder, laughing lightly.

“Reid, we’ve all seen you two together. You guys cuddle on the jet home after cases. Cuddle. Spencer ‘I don’t shake hands’ Reid is tangled up with a girl he doesn’t even call his girlfriend,” Morgan said, shaking his head.

“She has a boyfriend Morgan. I’m in love with her and she’s-she’s taken,” Reid said, more quietly now. Derek widened his eyes.

“Damn, this ain’t no puppy love then. You’re in love with her?” he asked, taking on a more concerned tone. Spencer nodded his head, resting his chin on his hand and looking at you, trying to get some sleep in the uncomfortable chair. You probably would’ve slept better next to him. 

“Then you gotta get her,” Morgan said before standing up and walking back to his original seat, putting headphones on. Spencer thought about what Derek had said, but decided that he would wait a bit. He wasn’t the type to just “get her.” With one last look at you shifting in your sleep, Spencer opened his book and tried to read, being only plagued with thoughts of you the entire ride home.

-

You exited the jet even more tired than you were before, if it was possible. After fighting with Spencer, you just wanted to see Justin. You wanted to prove to yourself that he was real, that he was a good guy. So, the second you got back to the office, you hopped onto the metro and took the train to his apartment, saying quick goodbyes to most of the team. Spencer not included. You walked up to his door and gave a knock, which was met without a reply. You tried again before wiggling his doorknob a bit. It was unlocked, which was odd for him. You began to worry a bit, so you decided to go inside and check it out. Your gun was drawn, just a precaution, when you heard screaming coming from his bedroom. You ran quickly to his room before bursting inside, pointing your gun at the source of the noise. Or, sources.

He was on his bed, presumably naked, under the sheets. Next to him was a woman you didn’t recognize, similarly naked. You opened your mouth in shock, slowly lowering your gun.

“So this is why you weren’t answering my text,” you said, still in a state of shock.

“Y/N, I-” Justin began.

“Nope. Nuh uh, I’m good, I’m… I’m gonna go,” you said, tears brimming in your eyes. As you stormed out of the apartment building, you walked and walked until you had finally stopped crying. You felt so stupid. And you were lost. With a sigh, you pulled out your phone and called the first number that came to mind.

“Hey, uh I’m lost and… can you pick me up?” you asked, sniffling a bit.

“Send me your location, I’m on my way,” Spencer said before hanging up. You sat down on the sidewalk and sent him your location. He lived nearby, so it only took a few minutes for him to arrive. Once he saw you, he stopped his car and got out, sitting next to you on the ground. You sniffled back a few tears.

“I found out why he wasn’t answering my calls,” you said, fiddling with a pebble you found on the ground. Spencer looked at you, waiting for you to continue. “Turns out I wasn’t the only woman he was fucking,” you said, standing up angrily. Spencer winced at your harsh language. You started to cry again, this time from anger. “But I’m okay!” you said pacing for a bit.

“Don’t lie to me,” Spencer said, watching you warily.

“I mean, god! How could I be so stupid to think I had finally found someone?” you asked angrily, repeatedly kicking a lamp post. 

“Y/N…” Spencer stood up and walked over to you.

“No, I’m an idiot!” you yelled, angry tears streaming down your face. Kick, kick kick. When kicking wasn’t enough to satisfy you, your fists began to bang on it repeatedly. Poor lamp post.

“Y/N stop!” Spencer said, trying to grab your fists. “You’re going to hurt yourself,” he said, gently grabbing your wrists and turning you to face him. You took one look at his face and collapsed into his embrace, both of you sinking to the ground as he held you and shushed you, whispering confirmations in your ear. “Just breathe, breathe,” he said softly, stroking your back. Once you had calmed down, he spoke again. “Hey, look at me,” he said, and you did, looking up at his sympathetic face. “You deserve someone who values you,” he said softly.

“Like who?” you looked down at your entwined hands, heart drumming against your chest. 

“Like… like me,” he confessed, eyes flickering down to your lips. You slowly removed your hands from his and put them on the sides of his face, gazing into his sparkling eyes.

“I don’t deserve you,” you said softly. As if to prove his point, Spencer leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, tasting your salty tears. You pulled away after a moment, savoring the way he tasted.

“You deserve everything,” Spencer said before kissing you on the forehead. You giggled and pulled him in by his tie, slamming your lips together again, this time with more intensity. He was surprised at first, but his hands quickly found their way into your hair as he moved in synchronicity with you, eventually pulling away for air.

“I love you Y/N, I always have,” he said, breathlessly.

“I love you too, Spencer Reid.”

-

taglist: @rigatonireid​, @yesimaunicorn​, @aworldoffandoms​