#my husband is sympathetic but it feels like he’s ready to let her go

[onika-t-maraj]

…

[nicole-timey-wimey-stuff]

It Was Enchanting to Meet You

Lord Debling x Fem reader

Lord Alfred Debling x female Bridgerton reader

Synopsis - You’re the second eldest Bridgerton daughter, being forced by your brother to finally debut. You believed the ordeal would be terrible, that was until you meet the handsome Lord Debling, the handsome stranger soon captivates your mind and heart.

Warnings- fluff, period drama, feelings, very small amount of angst, confessions, great sibling relationships, suggestive themes but no smut. Still 18+ though please.

Word count- 4.7K

Today was the day, the day you were coming out into society, you’d put it off long enough. Being that you were only a year younger than your elder sister Daphne, and a year older than Eloise who were both already out. But your mother hadn’t pushed you and for that you were thankful, your eldest sibling Anthony though was another story. He had all but told you enough was a enough, and even though he would not ever force you to take a husband, you needed to be out in society despite your disagreement with it.

He did not want the great Bridgerton name tarnished, with people starting to talk of the strange girl in the family who did not conform to society’s norm, who did not like social situations, a girl who spent her time fencing, reading and horseback riding. You were a free spirit, one who preferred the wind in her hair, rather than constricted dresses, dancing and polite conversation.

So now just having turned 20 you were being launched into the world around you. This brings you back to today, your mother was flapping making sure both you and Francesca looked perfect, creamy white gowns adorning your bodies, lace perfectly placed, your dress was accentuated with gold floral embroidery and tiny puff sleeves. You adjusted your long white gloves once more before exiting your room, “Ah y/n there you are my love, have you seen your sister I can’t find her anywhere, she is not in her room!” Your mother Violet frets, she’s looking pale and exhausted. “Calm down mother, I’m sure she is about, I can hear music are you sure you haven’t checked it is not her playing?” You ask.

“Oh! No I have not, come, we shall go check together.” She replies, gently grasping your wrist and tugging you down the staircase In search of your sister, you are sure she only holds onto you so she cannot loose you too.

Walking into the drawing room you find it was indeed Francesca playing the piano forte, your mother breathing a big sigh of relief, she is also dressed ready to go. “Well then my children let’s get going shall we?” She asks as she ushers us all out to the carriages, turning to you and Francesca she says “You both look so beautiful!” Voice full of emotion. “Thank you mother” you both say in unison, she nods before you all enter the carriage and head off to the queens palace.

The whole thing went by in a blur, you walked down the aisle, bowed to the queen then exited out to the side, you’d all entered out into a garden party where people were mingling happily. Your brother Colin who had just returned from travels, was boasting to the young ladies, causing them to fawn over him. Penelope Featherington sadly watching from the sidelines, you were very aware of how she felt for your brother, being the same age you had spent many moments together. Although you wouldn’t call her a close friend, it saddened you to see her aways watching him with such hopeful but sad eyes.

You decided she could do with a distraction so you made your way over to her, “Hey Pen, how are you? I haven’t seen you about the house recently?” You ask, she jumps, obviously you’d caught her very much deep in thought. “My goodness y/n you scared me” she gasps hand on her chest, “Sorry Pen, we were both on our own so I thought I’d come talk with you” you explain. Her face softens then “Of course, you can always come talk to me, I know how hard this must all be for you” she replies her face now sympathetic. “Yes, I do so hate public attention, but alas my brother thought it was necessary” you sigh, nodding Penelope gave you a look of understanding, “We must all be pushed out into society sooner or later, I was just 17 when my mother decided I needed to be out. And look over three years later and I’m still just sat here with no suitor prospects, I wish I could find a husband” she groans, “What? Why? You’ve never seemed too interested before?” You ask.

With a sigh she turns to you “In all honesty I need my privacy, and I just cannot stand living with my family any longer, at least your family is supportive and kind, mine can be just awful” she complains. You nod, you understand, her family have always been difficult especially her mother! “Well then Pen I hope you find a kind, loyal man to be your husband this season, you deserve some happiness” you tell her in earnest. “Thank you y/n, you do too, whatever that is for you, you deserve happiness too” she says as she walks off, leaving you once more to your thoughts.

Would you find happiness? What was happiness to you anyways?

________________________________________

That evening you were attending your very first ball, nerves settled deep within your stomach. There would be many people attending Lady Danbury’s ball, and you were hoping to quietly blend into the crowds, not causing any reason to warrant any unwanted attention. Anthony had insisted on you being present, he had also given you a list of people he had chosen for your to converse with.

Your dress though, that you had chosen for yourself, it was a deep maroon, corseted down to your waist, it then flared out into a subtle A line ballgown. It had thick off the shoulders straps, sparkling embroidery and a skirt that swished as you moved. You wanted something that felt more freeing, compared to the tight empire line gowns that were the norm. Giving yourself a last once over you sighed, although you looked like a princess, you felt absolutely ridiculous.

Entering the party was as equally nerve wrecking as bowing to the queen this morning, walking down the steps after your brothers and sisters you felt all eyes shift to you, you held your head hire and floated down with all the grace you could muster, it must have worked because once you’d reached the bottom all eyes were still glued to you. Your mother came rushing to meet you, “You did well, you entered as gracefully as a swan” she gushed, you rolled your eyes at her enthusiasm, “Well mother my plan is to not cause any unwanted attention, I don’t want them thinking I am some wild animal that cannot be tamed” you sassed back. Tutting she guided you through the crowds to meet some new people, what you hadn’t noticed though, were a pair of very entranced blue eyes belonging to the one Lord Alfred Debling watching your entrance.

“Who is she?” Lord Debling asked Lady Danbury, “That would be Miss Y/N Bridgerton, second eldest daughter of the Bridgerton family” Lady Danbury answered. “I see” he replies eyes still watching you intently, Lady Danbury smirks knowingly, “I may also add, she only debuted this morning so from what I gather she is very much on the market, so to speak” she smiled. “Is that so?” He asks eyes still enchanted by you. The pair hadn’t noticed Cressida Cowper Joining them, not until she spoke up causing them to both jump slightly, “I’ve heard she’s a strange girl” she abruptly interrupts, “And where have you heard that Miss Cowper?” Asks Lady Danbury, her voice full of exasperation.

“Well I’ve heard she prefers the outdoors over social gatherings, she rides her horse bareback at some speed I may add, I’ve seen it myself. When I’ve called on Eloise this summer she’s either sprinting through the country on her horse or she has her nose in some weird book” she explains amusedly. “I don’t see how that makes her strange, but rather it makes her unique” Lord Debling affirms, “Well also” Cressida stutters out trying to find something more vexing to say about you, “Ah she also fences, she sword fights with her brothers, isn’t it incredibly odd, incorrect even for a young lady to sword fight?” She points out. “I dare say! Does she really?” He asks Lady Danbury, “Yes I believe she does” Danbury replies, the smug look is soon wiped off Cressida’s face though when he turns back to Lady Danbury, “That is incredibly impressive, what a young lady she is! I will go introduce myself” and with that he leaves in search of you.

He finds you over by the drinks helping yourself to one before retreating to the corner, “Miss Bridgerton? Are you quite alright? You appear to be hiding in the corner” he asks. You bow quickly “Lord Debling, I’m quite well thank you, just not one for large social gathering's” you answer honestly. “Ah, no me either actually, I prefer to be outdoors” he responds. You smile up at him shyly “I do too” you agree, “Riding Percy gives me much more joy than this” you continue, choking on his drink Lord Debling gasps “I beg your pardon you what?”, “Percy, he’s my horse, a Suffolk punch, my brother Anthony bought him for me for my birthday a few years back, I most enjoy riding him through the countryside, where it’s nice and quiet” you explain,

“Oh of course, I heard from Lady Danbury that you enjoy riding, he conveys, cheeks bright red now from his misunderstanding. “Lady Danbury spoke of me? To you?” You ask confused, “Umm yes, I happened to ask after you” he admits, you offer him a smile “I see and what else did she happen to say about me?” You question teasingly causing him to smirk, “Nothing much else, just that this was your first season” he stutters out now feeling very put on the spot, “Oh yes well I put it off as long as I possibly could, but my brother is forcing me to try this year” you confirm, “Is it so very bad?” He asks, teasing smile on his lips, “Well maybe not as bad as I had made it out to be in my head” you admit.

“Well then, would you care to dance?” He offers, hand outstretched towards you. “Yeah ok, why not, in the name of trying new things of course” you smile, “Of course” he repeats, clearly amused by you. He walks you out to the dance floor as everyone lines up, ready for the dance to begin. As the music plays he spins you around the dance floor, your eyes never leaving one another’s, its almost as if there’s static energy between you, your hearts pounding in your chest, you can tell everyone is watching you both, but in that moment all you can see is him.

“Is that your daughter Violet, dancing with Lord Debling?” One of the mothers asks, “Yes” your mother laughs, “I dare say it is” her face is lit up at the way your both staring at each other, thoughts of Daphne and Simon’s first dance entering her mind. This looked very promising, she thought you’d be the hardest to convince to give this whole ordeal a try, but you were entranced by the man before you, and it was Francesca who had made a rather hastily exit home already.

Lady Danbury joins your mother, “He asked about her you know, the second she entered the room” she tells your mother, knowing smirk still plastered on her face, “Did he?” Your mother asks, “Yes, he seemed very much intrigued by her, maybe we’ve made a match already” she implies, “Maybe…….. I will speak to my daughter once we are home” you mother decides. Nodding in agreement Lady Danbury takes her leave.

Once your dance comes to an end you bow and move to walk away, thinking he would have other young ladies to dance with, a soft grip of your hand causes you to turn, coming face to face with Lord Debling once more, “May I call on your tomorrow?” He asks, “Yes you may” you give a curt nod before leaving with your family.

This night had gone much better than expected, you thought to yourself whilst laying in bed, you felt excited to see what else was to come.

________________________________________

The next day you’d woken up early, to get yourself dressed for your sword fighting lesson, hoping you’d have time to freshen up before anyone had any callers, you smile to yourself at the thought of seeing Lord Debling again today. Bounding down the stairs you met your instructor Henry, “Good morning Miss Bridgerton, are you ready?” He asks, “Yes I am” you affirm, “Very good, although I don’t see how you need any more lessons now, I’ve taught you everything I know, and you have mastered it all”, you grin “Why thank you Henry, but I can tell you why I need my lessons” you reply, “And why is that Miss Bridgerton?” He asks, “Because I enjoy them” you laugh as you get into position.

Your two eldest brothers had joined you now, you were currently practicing against Benedict, completely loosing track of time. “Why do you encourage this Anthony?” Your mother asks, “Well dear mother I think it’s good that a lady knows how to defend herself, no one will ever mess with our little y/n now will they?” He questions playfully, rolling her eyes she waves him off as she leaves the room.

“Ha! I win again! Really Benedict are you even trying?” You goad, sweaty and exhausted he gives you the are you kidding look, “Yes dear sister unfortunately I am!” He grumbles, Anthony snorts out a laugh “Well I dare say these lessons are paying off, you have quite the talent” he praises you, “Thank you brother” you smile. Just then one of your maids enter the room, “Someone’s here to see you Miss” she announces, realisation hits you! Oh no Lord Debling has arrived and your still in your fencing clothes.

Walking in he smiles at you, you bow nervously before rambling out, “I’m very sorry I lost track of time my lord, please excuse me for a moment while I go change”, “Nonsense don’t worry about it, I’d love to see you in action” he answers, “Really!?” You ask surprised, he nods in response, you look to Anthony motioning for him to come join you, but he puts his hands up in surrender, “Oh no, watching Benedict loose all credibility was quite enough for one day, I will go find my wife, as I promised her a walk this morning.” He replies, “I’ll spar with you” Lord Debling offers, “Oh I couldn’t ask that of you my Lord” you hastily reply, “You’re not asking, I’m offering” he affirms before removing his jacket and placing on Benedict’s fencing armour.

Anthony lets out a laugh, “Perfect” he announces, before turning to Lord Debling “Don’t let her win, she will know. She is incredibly able” he confirms before leaving to find his wife. “Well are you ready then?” Debling asks you, “Yes, quite ready” you smirk back. As the two of you spar the static energy returns from last night, you fall into an effortless rhythm against one another, he fights well, there is technique and power to his moves, but you are just too quick for him, eventually knocking the sword from his hands and pointing yours to his chest in victory,

“I say! You are rather good at this aren’t you” he laughs, “Yeah I think it’s because I enjoy it so much” you agree.

“You Miss Bridgerton are an incredibly rare flower indeed” he says, “Thanks” you reply warm blush adorning your cheeks, “Will you save me a dance at tonight’s party?” He asks. “Yes of course” you reply maybe a little too hastily, “Well then, until tonight” he offers placing a delicate kiss to your knuckles. Before leaving he looks back towards you once more, giving you the most endearing smile.

You were very much looking forward to seeing him again tonight.

________________________________________

Over the next few weeks the two of you became much more acquainted with one another, you danced together at every party, usually more than once, you took chaperoned strolls together in the park and your family had also invited him over a couple of times for dinner.

You’d learnt much about him, his love for animals and wildlife, the fact he didn’t eat meat, all his adventure and conservation ideas, you’d become completely enamoured with this man, It appeared he also was with you too.

Today you were both taking a stroll in the park, the sun was warm and the smell of blossoms filled the spring air. Your maid was walking a few steps behind you, keeping a watchful eye. “Beautiful day is it not?” You ask him cheerfully, enjoying the sunshine on your skin. “Yes it is, but I can see something much more beautiful” he replies watching you carefully, you turn your head to hide your reddening cheeks. “Will you be attending the garden party tomorrow? I hear there will be a new form of transport being showcased” you ask, “Yes I believe I will be attending” he responds while smiling at you, grinning up at him you offer a nod in response.

“Well I bid you farewell Lord Debling, I have promised to help my mother this afternoon, I will see you tomorrow?” You offer, “Yes I shall see you tomorrow, good afternoon Miss Bridgerton” he replies. You spare him one last glance, before you walk off with your maid.

________________________________________

It was the day of the garden party and you were stood looking at the enormous ballon in awe, was that really supposed to be able to carry people through the sky? “Quite spectacular isn’t it?” Lord Deblings voice cut through your thoughts causing you to jump, “My Lord, you gave me a fright!” You gasped, “I am sorry, that was not my intention” he responds “That’s ok, it is spectacular yes, although I do worry how it’s supposed to transport people” you reply.

“Yes quite, but I suppose only time will tell, are you well Miss Bridgerton?” He asks, “Yes, thank you my Lord I am very well” you affirm, “Good” he nods.

As the afternoon goes on Penelope, Eloise and Cressida join in your conversation, Cressida going out of her way to try and impress Lord Debling, not even caring how desperate and contrary it makes her appear. Penelope spends the whole time staring at Colin and Eloise is pretty much rolling her eyes at everybody’s antics. Cressida continues to laugh at something he said, almost hanging off his arm, causing a pit of jealousy to stir in your stomach.

You turn your attention once again to the large ballon, which is now rocking very unstably in the wind, creaking and groaning as the ropes loosen. Just as they snap your brothers are rushing over to pull them back, using as much strength as they can muster to pull the thing back into place. All you can do is watch in terror as they lose control and the ship comes hurtling towards you, it all happens so quick, one miniute you’re watching terrified, the next you’re on the floor Lord Deblings body shielding you.

“Are you quite alright?” He asks gazing into your eyes, “Yes all thanks to you”. He carefully traces his fingertips down the side of your jaw, you watch him with wide eyes, wanting nothing more than to lean in and kiss him. Someone loudly clears their throat behind you, you both jump apart, turning to see Cressida and Eloise watching you both.

Lord Debling jumps up before offering you a hand up too, “What luck you were there to save my sister, thank you my Lord” Eloise states, “Of course, it was nothing” he replies before walking off.

“What was that y/n?” Eloise gasps, “I hardly know” you reply, completely shocked yourself.

________________________________________

That very evening you arrived at the ball still very much in shock, more so by Lord Deblings behaviour than nearly being squashed by the heavy ballon. Your mother currently had you making small talk with every eligible Lord in the room, “Mother is this really necessary?” You grumbled as you made your way over to yet another man, “Yes my darling daughter it is, until Lord Debling actually proposes you must keep your options open” she insists, “But Anthony said I do not have to marry this season, only that I must be out in society” you ask confused.

“Yes I know my sweet girl, but every year you’re on the market the less desirable you become, now make haste” she commands, you roll your eyes at her as she drags you through the crowd, “Lady Bridgerton, Miss Bridgerton, how nice to see you both” Lord Cambell greets, “Lord Cambell, lovely to see you again” you reply with a very forced smile. “Would you have any space left on your card to include a dance with me?” He asks, you stutter before your mother replies on your behalf, “My daughter would be delighted”, you resentfully offer your wrist and card for him to write his name on, before bowing and leaving to find some corner to hide in.

After no empty corner is found you retreat to the gardens in hope of some peace, leaning against the cold stone of the house you close your eyes, taking a deep breath. “Miss Bridgerton you should not be out here alone” Lord Deblings voice causes you to jump, “My goodness my Lord! Must you always startle me so.” You gasp, “Sorry I never intend too” he replies in earnest, “But you really shouldn’t be out here alone” he repeats as he steps closer, “Yes I know, but I need a minute to breathe, it’s awfully stuffy in there, and my mother is being a nuisance….” You trail off, voice stuttering as he steps closer once more, “By nuisance you mean by parading you around the room, like a prized animal?” He smirks, “Yes” you stammer, feeling more breathless than before if that was at all possible.

He carefully moves a piece of hair from your face, “Do you not wish for the attention of the Lords here tonight Miss Bridgerton?” He asks, “No, not from those ones anyways” you whisper, then in a flash his mouth meets yours, it’s passionate and gentle, it’s fire but also calm. Your fingers grasp his jacket as you pull him in closer, moulding your body to his own, his fingers move from your face to your neck, tilting your face to give him better access. His other hand grasps your thigh as he pulls it over his hip, grounding down into you causing a low whimper from your lips, moving from your mouth he kisses down your neck, nipping at your sweet spot, your hands slide into his hair as you grind into his hips once more.

Your movement causes him to gasp before quickly pulling himself away from you, leaving you a breathless mess. “I shouldn’t have done that” he worries, “My Lord?” You ask confused and worried, “I shouldn’t have put you in that position I am so very sorry” he repeats and your heart sinks, was he going to reject you now? Were you about to loose all credibility? Sensing your despair he quickly comforts you, “What I mean to say is that shouldn’t have happened before I asked for your hand, I do not wish to dishonour you, if you will have me and your brother agrees to it, I would very much like to make you my wife” he confirms, “Really?” You ask.

“Yes really, I am quite enamoured with you my dearest y/n, I came here to the Ton to seek out a wife, I thought I could find a match of convenience, one where I could travel and my wife would happily stay at home managing my estate. I did not think love was in the cards for me, I believed that my work would take up too much space in my heart for that, but then I met you, and my goodness did you change everything” he explains.

“Is this a confession of love my Lord?” You ask still very much breathless.

“It is yes, I didn’t come here to seek it which makes this as much a surprise to me as it is to yourself” he replies.

“I love you too” you admit, which causes his handsome face to light up, “I too did not believe this would happen, when my brother asked me to debut this season, I admit I hated the very idea, but I’m so very glad I did as it lead me to you” You confess.

“Well then my love, I believe I have a question to ask your brother” he replies, his hand seeking to find your own, grasping his with yours you reply “I suppose you do”. He gives you one last kiss on your cheek before heading inside to seek out your brother. You are still stood against the house, breaths still racing as you trace your lips with your fingertips, the tingling of his kisses still present.

Upon entering your home that evening Anthony stops you “Y/N may I speak with you a moment?” He asks, “Yea of course brother what is it?”

“Lord Debling has asked for my permission to propose to you, he says he has the deepest of feelings for you and he wishes you to be his wife, I know him to be a very kind man, one who obviously wouldn’t ever hurt an animal or a woman, he has a great estate and great prospects, so if it’s what you want I will agree to it at once, but I told him I had to talk with my sister first” he explains.

You smile knowing how deeply your family cares for each other, this is something you will never take for granted. “Truth is brother, I love him very much, I didn’t think it were possible to find someone I could fall for so deeply, but here we are” you reply.

“Very well then I shall give him my permission” Anthony affirms. You walk over and give him a chaste kiss to the cheek, “Thank you brother” you respond, he nods giving your shoulder an affectionate squeeze before wandering off.

You were going to be married! Not only that to a man you love, you felt such happiness in that moment your chest could burst.

________________________________________

The next morning whilst reading your maid walked in announcing Lord Debling was here to see you, you nod at her to let him in.

“Hello my love, are you well this morning?” He asks as he enters the room.

“I am quite well my Lord thank you” you smile.

“Please call me Alfred, such formalities feel no longer necessary”

“Very well Alfred, but then you must call me y/n so we are on equal terms” you reply.

He laughs, “Of course, my dearest y/n, so I’m guessing it’s no secret to as why I am here?” He asks.

“Well I have an idea, but I will need you to clarify” you respond with wit.

“Very well Miss y/n Bridgerton” he begins before getting down on one knee, “You have bewitched my heart, and I’m asking if you will do me the extraordinary honour of becoming my wife?”

Walking towards him you kneel down in front of him, reaching out and tracing his stubbled cheek, “Yes Alfred, I will marry you” you gush before moving in and placing your lips against his, in a sweet soft kiss.

Just then all your family enter the room offering congratulations, you thank them all but your eyes never leave his, as you think to yourself yes you believe this will be a very happy marriage indeed.

[emmyrosee]

It’s not common to see Atsumu fuming.

Genuine anger, not the petty shit he throws at you when he decides he wants to be an obnoxious turd to yourself or his brother.

You can tell the difference, too, because a petulant pout and attitude is plastered on that pretty face of his, but when he’s genuinely mad, there’s no attitude; it’s just raw emotion and lips pulled in a straight line, his chest giving irregular, short breaths because he can’t breathe. It’s almost scary, but it happens so little that you’ve learned to manage it when it does happen.

This is one of those rare occasions you have no clue which he’s feeling.

The car door outside slams shut, sending a nervous chill up your spine, but it’s immediately squashed when you hear Hisako’s innocent laughter. You smile and turn towards the now opening door, and you give atsumu a fake, sympathetic look when his thick brows are furrowed in frustration. On his leg, Hisako’s tiny arms are wrapped around him, her legs locked around his ankle and her smile that’s missing a tooth is beaming up at him.

“You,” he scolds, looking down at his menace of a six year old. “Go upstairs. And don’t come out until you’re seventy-eight.”

“Can I hug mommy first?”

“If you must,” he growls. With that, Hisako quickly bounds over to you and reaches her arms up for a hug, and while you give her one, you watch as Atsumu paces the floor, cards his hair, chews on his cuticles, anything to make him calm down.

“Daddy’s mad,” she whispers in your ear.

You offer her a snort, “I know.” With a kiss to her head you plant her back to her feet and nudge her to go into her room, waiting until to door closes before you turn back to your husband.

“Atsumu-“

“I’m not ready for this,” he growls. “The little traitor, I can’t believe she’d do this to me- my own flesh and blood.”

“Don’t word it like that, you make it sound like she committed arson or something.”

He softens and pouts like a dog; clearly, whatever it is, it’s taking a toll, and you sigh before you walk over and plant a kiss to his forehead. “Whatever it was, I know it wasn’t on purpose; what happened?”

“She’s just not ready, okay, she just doesn’t know-“

“Sweetheart, you need to let me in here-“

“He was holding her hand!” He whines, scrubbing his face with his hands. “They-They-They were holding hands! I thought I had a few more years to prepare for this shit! Wanted to wait before I put the fear back into these damn boys! I can’t fight a six year old!”

You pause. You retract your hand and give him an absolute smirk.

“You’re kidding me?”

“Sure ain’t!” He barks, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s so mad his forehead vein makes itself known with a sheen of sweat. “Tomorrow, I’m going to that damned school, and I’m moving her classes!”

“Honey,” you say sweetly, gently grabbing his arm to ground him. “It’s okay; I’m the one who told her to be nice to this boy.”

Instantly, his head whips in betrayal. His eyes are blown wide, muscles tense and despite how angry he looks, he can’t find the words to convey it.

“YOU WHAT?”

You shake your head, “she asked me why she feels butterflies in her tummy when she sees him.” To try and soothe him, you hook your head over his shoulder and bat your eyes innocently, “and I told her that it’s the same feeling I get when I see you-“

“Don’t try to be sweet, I’m mad at you,” he snarls, but there’s a softness in his eye that makes you think he’s not as serious as he thinks he comes across. A massive hand cards through his hair and he looks up to the sky as if to ask for patience. “I can’t believe this. My two babies, the loves of my life, betraying me in such juvenile ways.”

“Atsumu, spell juvenile,” you challenge.

“Spell ‘no’,” he grumbles. You sigh and gently grab his arm to pull him to the couch, and for a few seconds he puts up a small fight, but does end up giving into you in the end.

“Sweetie, listen to me,” you soothe. “Hisako is six. She’s going to start having little crushes soon enough-“

“Fuck, stop reminding me,” he whines.

You shake your head and rub a soothing hand on his back. “And all we can do is let her express those feelings in healthy ways; it’s what we’ve always done.”

“What if he hurts her?”

“He’s six.”

“What if he breaks her heart?”

“I’m sure she’ll cope.”

“What if he-“

“Atsumu.” Your hands squish his cheeks. “Calm down; she’s going to be okay.” You smile and kiss his pouted lips, “you remember what it was like having a crush at school-“

“Excuse you,” he grumbles from his squished cheeks, shaking his head from your grip. “I’ve only ever been in love with you.”

“You’ve told me about your relationship with Rintaro, trust me, that was a crush.”

“Was not!”

“Was too.”

“Was not!”

“It absolutely was.” You smile warmly, “and that’s fine. But now, you need to let her experience the same thing. She’s a big girl. Besides,” you nudge your nose with his, “you’ll always be her favorite man.”

“That’s actually Osamu, but I appreciate it.” Your words do seem to calm him down however, and he wraps a big arm around you to settle into the couch, “I just love her, baby… just want her to be safe.”

“I know; and she will be.”

The silence you get comfortable in gets interrupted by the door to your home getting flung open, and while you jump in the air in shock, next to you, Atsumu chuckles.

“Speaking of the devil.”

“What did you-“

Before you can say anything, Miya Osamu suddenly stands in the middle of your living room, the hat on his head tampered with and his apron turn on his hip, his head lined with sweat as if he ran here. Your jaw slacks in surprise, “Osamu, you did not leave work to come here-“

“WHAT STUPID LITTLE SNOT WAS HOLDING HER HAND?”

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Always room for seconds (dp x dc)

"There they go again," says Aunt Alicia as she looks at the hazmat-clad backs of her sister and her husband jumping into their mish-mash-of-a-van. "And on Thanksgiving too," she finishes to herself as she turns toward her niece and nephew. Neither of them look surprised, though Jazz is clearly more affected if the tick in her jaw is any indication.

"They promised," she practically spits but Danny just sighs and puts a hand on her shoulder. It seems to draw the fight out of Jazz a bit and she sags onto herself.

Alicia loves her sister but she can be so irresponsible sometimes.

"Come on kids, let's go back inside. It's about time to put the turk-" she stops short, then groans. Maddie had insisted on bringing the turkey on account of not wanting Alicia to go to all the trouble, and Alicia had agreed on the condition that her sister wouldn't try to make it. "...And the turkey is still in the van isn't it?"

Danny makes a face. "It's probably for the best. I'm pretty sure I saw it move on the way here."

Alicia doesn't let her head fall into her hands, but only just. Instead, she takes a deep breath to calm herself down to rally her thoughts. "Alright. It'll be too late by the time we drive to town and buy a new raw one, so we can just get some already made from the store. That good for you guys?"

Jazz and Danny make sounds of assent before all three of them pile up in the car. Town isn't too far away, and the trip is mostly silent. Alicia is hesitating over what to say to cheer up her niece and nephew. In the end, they pull up to the grocery store before she manages to come up with anything.

"Dad was also supposed to bring desert," Jazz mentions as she grabs a caddie and wheels it back to them.

"I made apple pie just in case," Alicia answers. Despite her dislike for him, she can admit that Jack Fenton is a generous man. However, as she has learned over the years, that generosity doesn't extend to fudge. Which is why she's got her famous apple pie ready to pop into the oven.

Danny nods relieved, as he files in behind his sister. The three of them are rolling past the frozen section when a familiar voice cuts through the store music.

"Alicia?"

At that, Alicia looks up to see the face of one and only Martha Kent. Her lips stretch into a smile unconsciously at the sight.

"Martha, hi," she answers as the other woman starts walking closer. "How are you?"

"I'm good," the other woman says as she stops in front of them. "Just doing some last-minute shopping." Then Martha looks to Danny and Jazz and gives them a smile. "And who might these two be?"

"This is Jazz and Danny," Alicia introduces them, "my niece and nephew. They're spending Thanksgiving up at the cabin with me."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Martha says sincerely. "You left your sister and her husband in charge of the turkey, then?" She winks.

Alicia winces. "Ah, not exactly."

"They had a work emergency," Jazz says, unhappy.

Martha lets out a sympathetic oh.

"That's why we're here," Alicia explains. "They left with the turkey without realizing, so we'll have to settle for store-bought this year."

Martha makes a noise of sympathy before her face shifts into something more pensive. "You know," she starts. "I've got a big turkey at home and there's only going to be my son and me to eat it. If you guys would like, we'd love to have you over to help us with it."

"Oh we couldn't possibly-" Alicia starts to protest but Martha takes a step forward and takes her hands.

"You'd be doing us a favour," Martha says, her hands still into Alicia's as she looks up earnestly at the redhead. And damn it all because Alicia can feel a blush spreading on her cheeks at that.

"Alright," Alicia says, too flustered to argue.

Martha squeezes her hands once before letting go and Alicia can't help but miss the warmth of them. "Then it's settled."

"Alright," repeats Alicia. "We'll have to swing back home, though. I made pie."

"That's wonderful!" Martha's smile is radiant and it makes something in Alicia's chest warm.

She disguises it with a cough before speaking up. "Is six thirty too early for you?"

"It's perfect. We'll be waiting for you then," Martha says. "And for your sister and her husband too, if they manage to tear themselves away from work."

"That's not likely," mumbles Danny under his breath. Uncharacteristically, Jazz doesn't say anything about her brother's manners, only putting her own hand on his shoulder. Martha catches Alicia's eye and they exchange a look.

"Well, we'll be glad to have you three, anywho," Martha states firmly which gets her a hesitant smile from Jazz.

Alicia clears her throat. "We'd better get going if we want to be ready in time."

"Oh yes," Martha agrees. "I have to make sure the turkey's not burning." Then she winks, and for some reason, Alicia can feel that pesky blush coming back. It's made worse by the shrewd look Jazz gives her.

"See you soon!" says Martha as she leaves.

"Bye," Alicia answers back a little weakly. Then she looks down to the ground and sighs. When she straightens her head, she's immediately on guard as she catches her niece's smug look.

"What?" Alicia asks warily.

"Is Martha single?" Jazz asks, with a butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth face.

"Yeah," the older redhead answers slowly. "Why?"

"Just wanted to know," Jazz says innocently. And even Danny is looking at his sister suspiciously now. "since you've got a crush on her and all."

"I do no-I don't know what you're talking about!" Alicia protests though she feels her cheeks warming for the third time today.

And now Danny is starting to smirk too as he exchanges a look with his sister. "Oh," he starts as he looks towards Martha's disappearing figure. "This is going to be fun."

[deliciousangelfestival]

The Imperfect Couple - 19 | End

Character: politician!Bucky x ex-wife!reader

Summary: A separated couple must pretend to be happily married while the husband runs for Vice President, dealing with old issues and political pressures during his election campaign.

Warning: Triggering conversation. Character died.

Words Count: 5,588

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

When life seems perfect, it often hides a test—a calm before the storm. For Steve, months after Peggy’s death, everything felt whole, secure. His presidency was steady, bolstered by approval from the public and respect from allies. Policies were sailing through Congress, his popularity was soaring, and his vision for the country was unfolding exactly as planned.

But something gnawed at him, an intuition sharpened by years in the military. A storm was coming—he could feel it.

“Mr. President,” Natasha’s voice cut through his thoughts as she entered the office with a stack of documents in her arms.

“Yes, Natasha?”

She placed a folder on his desk. “Here’s the speech draft for the press conference announcing your engagement to Miss Hazel,” she said, her tone carefully neutral. “If anything… goes south after the announcement.”

Steve took the folder, scanning the first page with a furrowed brow. He plans to introduce Hazel and Nate to the world. The public would need time to adjust to the news, and if the backlash was harsh, he’d be ready with a statement that cast Hazel in a sympathetic light.

“Thank you,” he replied, placing the folder aside.

Just then, the door burst open. An aide stumbled in, looking flushed and frantic. “Mr. President, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you need to see this immediately.” He thrust a tablet onto the desk, his hands shaking slightly as he pressed play.

A news anchor appeared on the screen, her voice grim and insistent. “Breaking news on an international scandal that could shake the nation. Our sources have uncovered what they’re calling ‘Deals in the Dark: Inside the Global Conspiracy Threatening Economic Stability.’”

The words "Steve Rogers" flashed across the screen, and the anchor continued, "Our investigation has linked these troubling deals directly to the highest office in the land.”

Steve’s face blanched. His name—his reputation—was being dragged through the mud in front of the entire country. Rage flared within him as he looked up, his jaw tight. “Get the Vice President in here. Now.”

A tense silence settled over the room as they waited. Moments later, Bucky entered, his expression carefully controlled, his eyes meeting Steve’s with a flash of concern.

“Close the door,” Steve ordered, his voice low and taut.

As the door clicked shut, Bucky stood before him, the weight of the situation hanging between them like a loaded gun. Steve’s hand curled into a fist, his voice barely a whisper but laced with fury. “Did you know about this?”

Bucky looked down, drawing a steadying breath, then met Steve’s piercing gaze. “I knew her was digging into things after her friend died, but… I didn’t know it would go this far.” He clenched his jaw. “I didn’t realize how deep she’d go—or how reckless she’d become.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed, a vein throbbing in his temple. “So you’re telling me you had no idea?”

“No, I didn’t,” Bucky admitted, his voice weighted with regret. “And I’m sorry, Steve. I’ll make this right. If you need a name to take the fall… blame me. I’ll shoulder this.”

Steve looked at him, surprised. Here was his Vice President—his friend—willing to sacrifice himself to protect him. It would be so easy to accept the offer, to let Bucky take the brunt of the fallout. It would keep Steve’s image intact, and Bucky could be quietly replaced.

But the advantage of having Bucky loyal by his side was too great. “No,” Steve replied, shaking his head. “This wasn’t your doing. And I need you here, not buried under this scandal.”

Bucky stepped forward, his gaze steady. “It’s alright, Steve. I haven’t done much lately as Vice President anyway. Let me take this on. We’re a team, aren’t we? Your problems are mine.”

Steve paused, looking at him, his anger tempered by the loyalty in Bucky’s eyes. “You’d take this for me?”

“Without hesitation,” Bucky replied firmly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

Steve exhaled, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. He extended a hand, and Bucky took it, their grips strong, but their shared look even stronger. Then, in a rare moment of mutual trust, Steve pulled him into a fierce, brotherly embrace.

“Thank you, Bucky,” he murmured, his voice softened with unspoken gratitude.

As they pulled back, Bucky’s expression was resolute. “Whatever’s coming,” he said, his voice low, “we’re facing it together.”

Steve nodded, his mind racing with strategy and resolve. The scandal might be a blow, but with Bucky at his side, he felt fortified, ready to weather the storm—no matter how dark it threatened to become.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

With Bucky's promise still fresh in the air, Steve watched as his vice president worked hard to keep issues from flaring up. Bucky stood tall, his confidence showing as he spoke to reporters and citizens, assuring them that their concerns were being handled. But underneath, Steve could sense the tension in Bucky—his jaw tightened, and worry flickered in his eyes whenever new problems popped up.

Each time one issue seemed to fade, another arose, and it always seemed to lead back to you.

As Steve stood in the Oval Office, the weight of the scandals crashing down around him felt almost suffocating. Illegal domestic surveillance, military manipulation, a nuclear program scandal, and Stark Industries' data misuse—all of it traced back to you. The walls felt like they were closing in as he realized you were the mastermind behind this revelation. Even Bucky was oblivious to the full extent of the details.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady the rising tide of anger and betrayal, and faced you across the room. The tension hung heavy in the air, electric and dangerous. “When will you stop?” he demanded, his voice low and filled with barely restrained fury. “This is not only hurting me but also Bucky.”

You met his gaze, unflinching, your own anger simmering just below the surface. “Come and kill me, you crazy sociopath,” you shot back, your voice dripping with defiance.

Steve took a step closer, his fists clenched at his sides. “If you keep doing this, you’ll ruin the future of Nate’s life,” he warned, his tone now tinged with a desperate edge.

“I knew you have a soft spot for him. And I appreciate it,” he sneered. “But imagine him being branded with the image of being the illegitimate child, with his father as the most evil president in history.”

Steve’s jaw tightened. “Or you could choose this one: he’ll find out who I really am. Instead of shame, he’ll be proud to be the son of the president.”

“You fucking psycho,” you spat, taking a step back, putting space between you and the weight of your shared history. “Using your own son as your shield.”

Steve shook his head, disbelief mingling with a simmering rage. “You hate me because I killed your friend. Sure, I understand that. But if he were still alive, your husband and I probably couldn’t win the election.”

As the two of you locked eyes, the atmosphere crackled with tension—a brutal dance of hurt and anger, intertwined with a strange sense of familiarity. Steve’s breath quickened, the realization dawning on him that the battle wasn’t just external; it was deeply personal, and it threatened to consume them both.

“Everything is about paying back. Everyone in here knows everyone’s secrets.” Steve's voice was cold, his jaw clenched tightly as he glared at you, the tension in the air crackling like electricity. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, as if holding back the urge to lash out.

"I hate people like you—the idealistic type," Steve said, his voice low and simmering with frustration. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he locked onto yours, the tension in the air palpable. "If you get rid of me, there will only be another just like me."

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

After talking to Steve, you returned home, your heart still racing with the weight of the conversation. As you stepped through the door, you saw Bucky waiting for you, his expression unreadable. The moment you locked eyes, tension filled the room.

"You’re just a puppet for Steve," you spat, your voice dripping with disdain. "I’m so ashamed of you."

Bucky's face hardened, his jaw clenched tightly as he stepped closer, his frustration boiling over. "You don’t understand anything! I’m doing what I have to do," he shot back, his tone sharp and defensive.

“Doing what you have to do?” you scoffed, your hands trembling with anger. “You’re covering up Ian’s death! You’re a coward for letting this happen!” Your words hung heavy in the air, each accusation striking a nerve as you paced back and forth, unable to contain your rage.

Bucky’s eyes flashed with a mix of hurt and anger. “You think it’s that simple? It’s not just about me! I have to protect what’s left of this place, even if it means making sacrifices!” He ran a hand through his hair, the frustration evident in the way his fingers curled into his scalp.

You shook your head, refusing to back down. “Sacrifices? You mean sacrificing your integrity? You’ve lost yourself to this game, Bucky! I can’t believe you let Steve manipulate you like this.”

Unbeknownst to both of you, your heated argument was being overheard. Natasha listened intently from the hidden bug that had been planted in the room, her brow furrowed with concern as she glanced at Steve. “Both of them are fighting. Bucky sounds surprised,” she informed him, her tone serious.

Steve leaned back in his chair, a slight smirk forming on his lips. “Good,” he replied, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. He relished the chaos unfolding, knowing that conflict could lead to clarity, both for Bucky and for you. The storm brewing between you two was exactly what he needed.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Even though there was turmoil at home, everything had to keep going. Bucky had to accompany Steve to attend the parade. The parade was a vibrant spectacle, a sea of red, white, and blue, with flags fluttering in the crisp air. Cheerful crowds lined the streets, waving banners and chanting the names of their leaders, their excitement palpable.

"Mr. President! Mr. President!" they roared, their voices a chorus of admiration for Steve Rogers, who stood tall and confident, a smile breaking across his face as he waved back. The warmth of the people's adoration radiated around him, but as the crowd's energy surged, the atmosphere felt electric, almost frenetic.

Beside him, Bucky Barnes maintained a more stoic demeanor. Though he wore the badge of Vice President, the cheers seemed to pass over him, fewer and far between. He appreciated the excitement but felt a twinge of disappointment that the cheers weren't for him. He turned to Steve, his brow furrowing slightly, and remarked dryly, "You know, I thought they would be a bit more enthusiastic about me."

Steve had brought Bucky here to entertain him because he knew about the problems between Bucky and you. You're wild and couldn't be tamed.

Steve chuckled, eyes glinting with mischief as he leaned closer, "Put a leash on your wife, or she'll embarrass this country." His laughter rang out, mingling with the cheers of the crowd, but Bucky's gaze drifted past him, scanning the parade route.

"Yeah," Bucky replied, a hint of agreement in his voice, but his eyes were still fixed on the crowd. There was a tension in the air that he couldn’t quite place.

Steve turned to Bucky, his brow slightly furrowed with concern. "How is she?" he asked, his voice low, almost hesitant.

Bucky crossed his arms tightly over his chest, his jaw clenched as he replied, "I told her to be quieter."

“Good,” Steve said, his expression softening a bit. He took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before continuing, "I’m planning to have Hazel by my side."

Bucky's eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face. "What?" he exclaimed, his posture tensing as he processed the implications of Steve’s words.

"I knew you’d know," Steve said, a hint of regret creeping into his tone. He stepped closer, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. "And I’m sorry. But I promise you, I will give Hazel and Nate the best future."

Bucky fell silent, the weight of Steve’s promise hanging in the air between them. He looked away for a moment, his thoughts racing, before finally nodding, a mix of resignation and reluctant acceptance etched on his face.

Steve smiled, relief washing over him as he saw Bucky's reaction. There was a sense of camaraderie in the moment, a silent understanding forged in the midst of tension. But as Bucky looked at Steve, his eyes betrayed a flicker of uncertainty, hinting at the underlying conflict that still simmered just beneath the surface.

"I'm so glad to have you as my partner," Steve continued, sincerity evident in his tone. "May we work together until we die."

"Until we die," Bucky murmured, his voice almost lost in the surrounding commotion.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the noise, calling out, "Barnes!" A hand waved from the throng, the first time anyone had shouted his name that day. Bucky glanced at the person but didn’t respond with a wave like Steve did. Instead, he gave a subtle nod, a flicker of acknowledgment that felt more calculated than celebratory.

In that instant, chaos erupted. "KYAAA!!!"

A sharp crack rang out, slicing through the jubilant atmosphere. Bucky staggered as if struck by a physical blow, his eyes widening in shock.

The cheers turned into gasps of disbelief, and screams erupted as the crowd reacted in panic, some dropping to the ground, others frantically searching for cover. The Secret Service sprang into action, "Protect the Vice-President!", a wall of suits forming around Bucky as people pushed back in terror, the once-cheerful parade transformed into a scene of horror.

"Bucky!" Steve shouted, rushing forward, his heart pounding as he reached his partner's side. The world around him blurred, and all he could focus on was Bucky, crumpling to the ground.

Everyone was shouting, the air thick with fear and confusion, but all Steve heard was the ragged sound of his own breathing and the desperate cry of his friend. "Bucky!" he repeated, urgency lacing his tone.

Bucky's breath came in ragged gasps, his body sprawled on the pavement. The color drained from his face as he struggled to lift his hand, feeling the warmth of blood seeping through his fingers. With a surge of effort, he grasped Steve's arm, pulling him closer, anchoring himself to his partner even as the life slipped away from him. "All hail the President," he managed, his voice weak but resolute.

Steve's expression shifted from shock to horror, his body taut with the weight of impending dread. Bucky's grip tightened, holding him in place as if preventing him from moving, creating a storm of emotions that threatened to overwhelm them both. "Bucky, stay with me," he urged, desperation lacing his tone.

Bucky locked eyes with Steve, seeing the fear reflected there. A strange calm washed over him as he whispered, "As Nate's father, this is my gift for you."

Then, without warning, a searing pain tore through Steve’s chest, a sharp shot of agony that rooted him to the spot. The world blurred around him as he struggled to comprehend what was happening, realizing in that instant that he was the true target.

Steve felt the impact before he could process the meaning behind Bucky’s words. The world around them seemed to slow as the realization of betrayal hit him. He caught a glimpse of Bucky's fading form, and in that moment, a twisted smirk crept across his lips. "Well played," he murmured, before the darkness consumed him, and he dropped to the ground.

Bucky’s grip slackened, the warmth of his hand slipping away. Bucky’s body went limp, and as everything turned dark around him, Steve felt his own strength faltering.

That day, which was meant to be a celebration, turned into a day of mourning. Two main leaders of the country were injured, and no one knew who was behind the attack. With the most important figures in the nation harmed, it felt like an embarrassment for a country that prided itself on its strength.

Both parties in the government reached a silent agreement to keep the situation under wraps and portray Steve as a hero.

The news headlines that would follow would echo through history: “The President Dies Protecting the Vice President.” It would be a legacy of sacrifice, a testament to their bond. Steve Rogers would forever be remembered as the only president who lost his life protecting another, a tragedy that would resonate for generations.

Everyone would remember him as a good symbol, sacrificing himself for someone, without recalling the darker aspects of his actions. This was the last gift Bucky gave to him.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

2 days later

Bucky's eyes fluttered open, the sterile brightness of the hospital room piercing through the haze of his coma. As his surroundings came into focus, the first thing he saw was you, your face streaked with tears, a mixture of relief and anger etched across your features.

You rushed to his side, gripping his arm tightly, your voice trembling with emotion. "You idiot! What kind of plan was that? Risking your life?"

Bucky's brow furrowed slightly as he tried to process your words, his voice hoarse but steady. "Didn't I tell you? I will accept it if you hurt me."

Both of you pretended to fight to keep Steve from suspecting anything. He knew how much Bucky loved you, and with the two of you constantly bickering, he wouldn't notice that someone else had hired an assassin.

It was Caroline. She was the one who hired the sniper to take Steve's life. Don’t mess with a mother—or a woman like her.

Bucky getting shot first was all part of the plan. Caroline’s intention was to take out Steve, but Bucky warned her that he would also become a suspect if that happened.

Instead, he proposed that he get hurt first, diverting everyone’s attention to him, allowing Steve to be vulnerable next.

It was a risky plan—an idiotic one, really. But Bucky insisted, determined to see it through despite the danger that loomed over them all.

A deep sigh escaped your lips, a blend of frustration and relief washing over you. You leaned against his chest, resting your head there, feeling the steady thump of his heartbeat beneath your cheek. In that moment, everything else faded away—the anger, the fear—and all that mattered was that he was alive.

Risking his life was necessary to make his plan work. He didn't want the past six years of his efforts to go to waste.

The past six years had been exhausting for Bucky Barnes. He had immersed himself in the treacherous waters of politics, drawn in by the intoxicating taste of power that left a lingering sweetness on his tongue.

He quickly realized that understanding the law was not merely a tool; it was a weapon. Knowledge of loopholes became his advantage, a means to navigate the convoluted game of governance. But knowing the rules wasn’t enough; he needed to be ruthless. That was where Steve Rogers came into the picture—his mentor, a family friend for years, whose facade of integrity masked a far more sinister reality.

In Bucky’s eyes, Steve had always been perfect, a paragon of virtue. But as time wore on, the veneer began to crack, revealing the monstrous truth lurking beneath.

Steve was a predator cloaked in a hero’s guise. His charming smile belied a voracious greed that left a bloody trail in its wake. It was a shock to discover that Steve had been having an affair with Hazel, and now he was the father of Nate, the child whose very existence felt like a dagger to Bucky’s heart.

This betrayal was too much to bear. Bucky’s hatred for the man he once idolized simmered just below the surface, boiling over as he considered how to dismantle the carefully constructed empire Steve had built. Bucky knew the rules; he understood the political landscape better than most. But how could he bring down someone so deeply entrenched in the system?

Despite all his advantages, Steve believed he was the master of this game. No, he wasn’t. Bucky’s confidence swelled as he acknowledged that Steve’s skills—his war experience, his tactical mind—would ultimately falter against the true currency of politics. In this brutal arena, the real gold was connections and money. Behind every politician lurked unseen puppet masters pulling the strings, and Steve was no exception.

Bucky knew that while Steve had forged connections, he lacked the pedigree that defined the upper echelons of power. Steve had been a nobody until Peggy Carter had invited him into their circle, and that was when they made a monumental mistake—choosing Steve. He might have had his allies, but he would never be blue blood like Bucky and Peggy.

Then there was Peggy. The last straw. Bucky’s heart twisted as he recalled the circumstances of her death. He was all too aware that it had been Steve's machinations that had ultimately led to her demise. Bucky had witnessed the toll it took on her, the way she had struggled under the weight of her decisions, her life unraveling in the shadow of Steve's ambition. Bucky’s hands tightened into fists at the memory.

Caroline had been the voice of caution, her words echoing in his mind: “This is why you never bite the hand that feeds you.”

She may not have been a good mother, but she had been a loyal friend to Peggy, always protecting her interests, ensuring that her secrets remained buried. Bucky could see how easily Caroline could hire an assassin, how she moved through the shadows like a whisper, orchestrating the chaos without ever getting her hands dirty.

He never thought you and Caroline would join forces to rid the world of Steve. With each passing day, Bucky felt the walls closing in, the weight of the decisions he had to make pressing down on him like a vice. Steve would fall; it was only a matter of time.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Bucky stood in the Oval Office, a resolute figure beside the iconic Resolute Desk, a Bible open in front of him. The room was thick with anticipation, everyone watching him intently as he prepared to deliver his vow. His posture was firm, shoulders squared, as he looked around at the faces of his colleagues and allies, feeling the weight of the moment pressing down on him. He glanced at the words on the page, drawing strength from their meaning as he readied himself to speak.

With a steady voice, he began, "I stand before you today, not just as your president, but as a servant of the people. I vow to uphold the Constitution, to protect the rights of every citizen, and to work tirelessly for the betterment of our nation. Together, we will fight against corruption and ensure that government truly serves the people. I promise to lead with integrity, to listen to your voices, and to bring about the change we so desperately need."

You stood behind him, pride swelling in your chest as you witnessed Bucky fulfill his promise to become president.

Behind you sat Caroline and Julius, the latter in his wheelchair, their expressions a mix of hope and admiration. Bucky’s oldest brother, Shawn, had called to congratulate him, his voice brimming with encouragement. Your brother Tim stood nearby, a smile on his face, reflecting the joy that filled the room. At the back, Hazel lingered, her posture tense and withdrawn, reluctant to stand close to her family.

As the applause began and everyone congratulated Bucky and you, Natasha approached Hazel, who stood near the corner as if she wanted to hide.

Perhaps she was too embarrassed to be there. Before, she had come to the White House as Steve's mistress, and everyone knew who she was but kept their mouths shut. This time, she was here only as Bucky's sister. “I have something for you,” Natasha said, extending an envelope toward her.

Hazel hesitated, her brows furrowing in confusion. “For me?” she asked, glancing from the letter to Natasha, unsure of what to expect.

Natasha nodded, a subtle smile breaking through her serious exterior. “Yes, it’s from Steve.” With that, she stepped back to take her position.

Hazel’s fingers trembled slightly as she took the letter, the weight of it heavy in her hand. As she opened it, memories flooded back, and she felt a rush of emotions. It was a final message from Steve, words that resonated with her deeply.

The atmosphere in the room shifted as Hazel read the heartfelt letter, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Hazel,

If you’re reading this, it means I’m probably no longer living. And that's okay; I've come to accept it. The world I’ve inhabited has been fraught with danger, and I’ve made choices that have led me here.

Hazel, from the moment I met you, it felt like looking into a mirror—a reflection of my own heart and soul. You brought warmth and light into my life, even when I was lost in darkness. Your strength has always amazed me, and I want you to carry that with you as you move forward.

Live the life you’ve always wanted. I’ve made arrangements for you and Nate, ensuring you both have the financial support you need to thrive.

Please, for our Nate, support him and listen to him. He will need you more than ever now, and I have every confidence in your ability to guide him.

If there is a next life, I hope we never meet again. You deserve someone better than me. Now that I’m gone, please try to forget me and the mistakes I made. I genuinely wish you and Nate nothing but the best.

Steve Rogers

P.S. Don’t worry about the twins. They’ve been independent since they were young and have the Carters to guide them. They’ll be okay."

Tears fell onto the letter as Hazel finished reading it.

“Mom?” Nate's small voice broke through her moment of grief.

Hazel looked down at her son, the last legacy of Steve, and quickly wiped her tears away. “Do you want to visit Uncle Steve?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Nate nodded enthusiastically, his bright eyes shining with admiration. “Yes! He’s a hero for saving Uncle Bucky!”

Hazel flinched at the mention of Bucky, but she forced a smile, wanting to be strong for her son. She knelt down to his level and took his small hands in hers, feeling the warmth of his tiny fingers. With her other hand, she clutched the letter written by Steve, a reminder of his love and hopes for her.

Together, they held hands as they walked, Hazel’s heart swelling with determination. Just as Steve had wished, she would live life to the fullest and be a great mother to Nate.

After Hazel and Nate left, Natasha approached Bucky with a serious expression. “Both of them have left,” she informed him.

Bucky turned to her, his demeanor cool and composed, devoid of any trace of warmth. “She read the letter?” he asked, his voice steady and flat.

“Yes,” Natasha replied, nodding her head.

“Did she believe it?” Bucky pressed, his gaze sharp and focused.

“I hired a professional to copy Steve's signature, and I added a bit of his perfume to the paper,” Natasha explained, her tone measured and confident.

“Good.” Bucky’s expression remained impassive, his eyes betraying no emotion. He had written the letter himself, crafting it to sound like it came from Steve. His intention was clear: he wanted Hazel to move on from Steve, to find a new path without the shadows of the past weighing her down. This was necessary for her future, and he understood the sacrifices it took to ensure that.

“Good job.” Bucky looked at Natasha again, and she nodded in acknowledgment.

It was a curious alliance—how could a loyal supporter of Steve choose to work with Bucky? The answer lay in humanity. Natasha had pledged her loyalty to Steve because he saved her from the chaos of war when she had no one to turn to. In her eyes, he was a hero, and she had turned a blind eye and deaf ear to his misdeeds, including the affair with Hazel.

But everything changed when she witnessed the heartlessness Steve displayed toward Peggy. The righteous man she once admired had morphed into a monster, and her faith in him shattered. With Steve’s death, Natasha reevaluated her principles and decided to align herself with Bucky.

Bucky brought her on board because he recognized her skills and capabilities. He needed people like Natasha—sharp, resourceful, and fiercely dedicated. But he also understood the value of loyalty and did not intend to take it for granted. Their partnership was strategic, grounded in the shared goal of reshaping the political landscape, and Bucky was determined to build a team that could challenge the corruption that had long plagued their world.

“Have you got everything you need?” your voice pulled him away from his thoughts.

“Yes,” he replied, a smile breaking through his usual stoicism as he took your hand in his.

As you both walked through the grand halls of the White House, the sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting a warm glow on the polished floors. Bucky’s grip on your hand was firm, steady, a reassuring anchor in the midst of the political storm surrounding him.

Bucky had his share of greed, but he loathed those who didn’t know their limits. Among those were his so-called friends, Edgar and Brock. Together with Steve, they formed a trio of self-serving opportunists, always proclaiming their actions were “for the people” while their true motivations were purely selfish—“for me, me, and me.”

What set Bucky apart from Steve, Edgar, and Brock was his ambition to dismantle the very system they thrived in. He wanted to rid politics of corrupt individuals like them, who masqueraded their greed as altruism. Bucky had seen too much of the damage they had inflicted on the community, and he was determined to be the catalyst for change. He refused to become like them.

To clean up the government, he knew he had to start with this corrupt trio. It was a slow and grueling process, requiring patience and strategy, but Bucky was committed to the fight. He would work behind the scenes, gathering evidence, building alliances, and slowly dismantling their influence. It was exhausting, but he was relentless.

His ultimate goal extended beyond simply removing them from power. He envisioned a government rebuilt on integrity, one that truly served the interests of the people rather than the egos of a few. The road ahead was fraught with challenges, but he was willing to face them head-on. Every step he took toward exposing the trio brought him closer to realizing his vision of a more just and equitable political landscape.

As Bucky navigated the murky waters of politics, he felt the weight of his mission pressing down on him. He was no longer just a pawn in the game; he was a player with a purpose. This time, he wouldn’t be silenced. He was determined to take the fight to them, fueled by a deep resolve to expose their hypocrisy and restore honor to a system long tainted by greed.

But alongside you, he realized something important: for an imperfect couple, you both made a perfect team. As you walked together, side by side, it felt like you were crossing a finish line, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. Each step was a testament to your shared commitment—a bond forged in trust and understanding, built on the ashes of past mistakes.

You glanced up at him, and in that moment, you could see the determination in his eyes, the fire that ignited whenever he believed in something. Together, you were more than just individuals; you were partners united in a common cause, ready to fight for a better future. In the complicated world of power and betrayal, your partnership was a beacon of hope, lighting the way toward justice and change.

-The End-

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who followed this series until the end. This story has its flaws, but I truly appreciate your support and dedication. It was incredibly difficult for me to wrap up this journey and say goodbye to Bucky and his fierce ex-wife. Writing a tale that intertwines politics with romance has been both a challenging and rewarding experience. I've learned so much about character development and the complexities of relationships, and I'm grateful to have shared this journey with all of you. Your feedback and encouragement have meant the world to me.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

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[professorsnape394]

Day 4: "Me or Her?"

Pairing: Severus Snape x OC

Rating:😠🥰

Prompt: Torn

Summary: Severus must chose between his old life and his new life, or risk losing those closest to him.

A/N: Can't resist a good angsty moment. Writing this broke me a little bit in the best possible way. My heart was aching.

Warnings: alcohol.

Word Count: 2184

Credits to Gif Creator

Halloween had always been a difficult day for Severus. While the rest of the world gathered their friends to dress up in ridiculous costumes and gallivant around from door to door, Severus opted to stay at home, mourning the loss of his first love and childhood best friend.

He remembered that night like it was yesterday. It was the height of the First Wizarding War; The Dark Lord had learned of the prophecy and was setting out to murder any new parents with a son born at the end of July. Severus had begged Voldemort not to hurt her. Dumbledore had promised to keep her safe. At that point Lily Evans was the only person in his life who had ever saw the good in him. He needed her to be kept alive.

As it turned out neither wizard kept their promise to their most loyal subject, and Lily Potter was murdered on the 31st of October 1981 Severus was the one to find her; lying lifeless on the floor of her son’s nursery. Her son, who infuriatingly had survived the Unforgivable Curse that was meant to end his life, remained unharmed and wailing in his crib. Lily had not been so fortunate.

Snape fell to his knees beside her limp body, cradling her in his arms. Sobbing openly for the loss of his best friend.

Halloween marked this occasion every year serving as a cruel reminder of everything he had lost that day. So instead of celebrating like everyone else, he chose to drink.

The potions master kept an old photograph of himself and the young witch hidden away in the drawers of his desk. It depicted a moving image of the two of them side by side as young teens, posing and giggling hysterically at the camera. It was his tradition to set the picture on his desk once a year and drink himself numb on a bottle of Firewhiskey.

This year he had thought would be no different. The picture lay flat on his desktop, the uncorked bottle of alcohol stood beside it. Yet, he hesitated.

Without warning his office door swung open, revealing a stunning young witch dressed in a deep red velvet gown with flared sleeves stretching almost to the floor.

“Are you nearly ready honey, if we don’t leave now we’ll be late the party.” Her temporary vampire teeth peaked out through her blood red lips.

While his enchantingly beautiful wife was hard to resist looking at as she relaxed against the doorframe, a party on this night just felt wrong.

“I’m not coming.” He muttered, his hand automatically reaching for the bottle.

“But you promised…” She whispered, the grin dropping from her face.

“I’ve changed my mind, I think I’d prefer to be alone this evening.”

The hurt on his wife’s face could not be clearer; this wasn’t the first time he had let her down at the last minute.

“It’s time to move on Severus.” She removed her fake teeth, not wanting her next words to be slurred.  “If you always insist on living in the past, those here in the present will get tired of waiting on you.”

While she had always been sympathetic to her husband’s emotions, she couldn’t help but feel rejected by him. That if Lily had somehow survived that night, she would be the one standing in her place instead.

Severus stared down at the old photograph, not daring to meet his wife’s watering eyes.

“Answer me this, Severus, because I’m only going to ask it once. If she were here. If it was me or her. Who would you choose?”

The question shouldn’t have come as a shock to the man, he had always suspected it had been on his wife’s mind. But hearing it out loud came as a blow to his chest. He knew the answer but it would hurt him deeply to say it aloud. So instead, he loosened the cap of his whiskey, poured himself a large glass and drank until only a few droplets remained.

A frustrated sigh filled the room.

“I’ll be back around 11. If your still conscious enough, feel free to join me in bed.” She snapped, slamming the door behind her.

Severus buried his head in his hands. Of course, he knew his ritual was unhealthy, and now that he was married it was well past time that he stopped it. But still, he worried that by giving up this day that he dedicated to his young love, he was somehow letting her down yet again. That it was his fault she died and by letting this routine go, she was somehow dying all over again. He worried that his memory of her might be forgotten if he didn’t spend at least one day a year wallowing in his grief for her.

He drained a second glass of whiskey.

Snape had fucked up big this time, and now his worry was he was at risk of losing his wife, the only woman who had ever truly loved him back. 

Looking down the barrel of his third drink, Severus heard a faint knock on his office door.

“Come in.” He called out.

In bounded a girl no higher than his thigh, clad in shades of pink and purple tulle, paired with a set of translucent net wings and topped with a silver plastic tiara.

“Hi Daddy.” She beamed up at him.

“Hello sweetheart.” Severus picked the girl up by her armpits, placing her gently on his lap. “And what are you supposed to be?”

“Eh, I’m a fairy princess, duh?” She mumbled, brandishing her pretend wand at him.

“Of course, you are.” He nodded in understanding. “And the most beautiful one at that.”

His daughter blushed appreciatively, but almost immediately fell into a look of disappointment.

“Mummy said you’re not coming to the party again.”

“That’s true, darling. Daddy has to stay home this year.”

“Why?”

“I’m afraid I have things I need to do at home. But you and Mummy can still go to the party and have so much fun.”

“No.” She shook her head vigorously. “Mummy is always sad when you don’t come places. I don’t think she knows how to have fun without you Daddy.” The girl pouted.

Severus heart dropped in his chest. He knew his wife was disappointed in him staying at home, but he had always assumed she was out enjoying her time with her friends while he stewed in his self-pity.

“Doesn’t she dance with anyone at the party? I’ve never known your mother to miss out on an opportunity to frolic around a dancefloor.”

His daughter shook her head again, dark ringlet curls swishing through the air.

“She doesn’t even take part in the costume contests, which is rubbish because I bet she’d win every time. She just sits at a table all night watching everyone else have fun, it so boooooring.”

Severus’ mouth turned dry and he struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat. He couldn’t believe that the vibrant woman he had married would sit on the side-lines, dimming her light because of him. She was the life of the party, the one who went all in on everything she does, the one who makes everyone smile just by simply being in the same room them. She was everything he was not, which is why he loved her so much. He couldn’t bare the thought of her losing everything that makes her special because she always felt second best to a dead woman.

“Come with me.”

Severus took his daughter by her tiny warm hand and led her out of his office, but not before grabbing one last thing on his way out.

Yet another crack opened in his chest at the sight he stumbled upon in the kitchen.

His wife sat hunched over their dining table, sobbing into the palm on her hand, while tears poured down her cheeks, streaking her makeup as they fell.

“Y/N.” He croaked, laying his palm flat on her back.

The woman stiffened at this touch, quickly wiping away her tears and composing herself once more. She never let her husband see her cry.

“Oh, would you look at the time, sweetie.” Y/N gulped. “We better get going or else we’ll miss our chance to enter the costume contest, I really think we have a good chance at winning this year.” Her tone was unusually high pitched and alarmingly positive, but Severus could still hear the small sniffles she couldn’t repress every time she took a deep breath.

Y/N turned her back on Snape, rushing to the hooks by the door to grab her daughters coat and shoes.

“Y/N.” Severus repeated, his voice now full of pity.

“Like I said; we should be no later than 11, possibly earlier if this one has a sugar crash, but no need to wait up, I know you have more important things to do.” She didn’t dare even look in his direction.

Doing up the final button on her daughter’s coat, Y/N took her child by the hand and ushered her out the door.

“Y/N!” Snape said a final time, his tone firmer this time. “Look at me.” The woman froze on the spot but hesitated to face him.

Whispering in Delphine’s ear to go play, Y/N knew she couldn’t run from this conversation any longer.

Y/N forced her posture ramrod straight, tilted her chin up, took a long but shaky deep breath and finally turned to face her husband. It was obvious to him that she was trying her best to remain stoic, not wanting to show any weakness in front of the man who had none.

“You’ve made your choice, Severus. I can’t claim to understand it, but I’ll respect it. I know now that I’ll never be able to live up to the woman you first loved. I used to think that maybe if we were together long enough and I tried hard enough that I could be enough for you. I just wish I knew when I married you that would never be a possibility. I have always loved you, with every fibre of my being. I was foolish to think I deserved the same in return.”

“Y/N.”

“Stop saying my name. Please.” She squeezed her eyes shut tight, like it physically pained her to hear his voice. “Delphi deserves to have a stable home, so I’ll stay. But I can’t promise I’ll be the same woman I was. I’m sorry I couldn’t be enough for you.” A tear escaped Y/N’s eye, this time she let it fall. There was no need to be strong for a man who loved someone else.

“Shut up, you foolish woman.” Severus scorned.

“Excuse me? Don’t you dare talk to me like that I-”

“I made my choice a long time ago. I fell in love with an incredible woman. She was uncommonly kind, remarkably clever and surprisingly very funny. She had this ability to draw the attention of any crowd but somehow never made it about herself. Her smile could light up any room, turn any sad man happy. She would dance until her feet hurt, and then get up and do it again, even if it meant she had to go barefoot. She is singularly the most strikingly beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. I made my choice a very long time ago, Y/N.”

“I appreciate your honesty but I don’t want to hear it.” Another tear fell.

Snape slowly stepped towards his wife. He could see her shoulders tensing with every tap of his heel on the hardwood floor.

Severus wipes away her stray tears with his thumb, cupping Y/N’s face between two hands.

“The woman I fell in love with is so stubbornly strong, she has spent the last five years hiding away her tears from me. And it hurts me deeply that she thinks she could ever be second best to anyone. The day I met you was the day I realised I had never truly felt love before.  There is no second place in my eyes, you have always been the only one for me.”

“But what about- “

“She was my friend.” He interjected. “And I failed her in the worst possible way. Just as I have done with you; by not showing you how much you mean to me, that changes today. I’m coming to the party.”

“You don’t have to.” She tried to escape his embrace.

“I want to.” He pulled her closer. “For you and for Delphine; the only two girls who have ever mattered to me.”

Reaching into his pocket, Severus revealed the old photograph of him as a teen. He felt his wife’s breath hitch at the sight of it. The source of all her anguish, one silly little picture he had obsessed over his whole life. He wouldn’t subject her to that anymore.

With one singular rip, Severus tore the portrait right through the centre, severing himself from the past.

“No more.” He promised. “I love you, Y/N. No one else.”

[siriuslystyle1989]

In Sickness and In Health

Harry styles x Sick!reader

warnings: Vomiting, sickness, fluff, non-sexual nudity

Masterlist

Tummy gurgling like a newborn baby, Y/n was quick to realise something was wrong. As nausea penetrated her senses she slowly began to feel her mouth water.

Dashing towards her and her husbands shared bathroom, Y/n felt the bile rise in her throat as she began coughing up her dinner.

She tried to be as quiet as possible as to not wake her sleeping husband but her efforts were in vain as she felt his calloused hands reaching up to her neck in an effort to hold her hair.

"its alright baby, let it all out." he spoke, his voice laced with sleep.

After about 5 minutes of pure sickness, Y/n slumped at the side of the toilet bowl, her head resting on the seat in exhaustion.

"You think you're done Angel?" Harry spoke while rubbing a comforting hand on her back. "You think you're ready to come back to bed?"

To this, Y/n couldn't even reply, too tired to even lift her head off the toilet seat.

"You gotta speak to me sweetheart, I need to know how to help you." Harry whispered so softy Y/n could cry.

He was always so good in situations like this. She had had boyfriends in the past that had been disgusted when she was ill. but not Harry. Never Harry. He was always attentive and caring, and made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Even when she had vomit stained on her shirt.

Y/n whimpered slightly as she lifted her head up to look at Harry. He gave her a sympathetic smile and stated "There's my girl, you think you're okay to brush your teeth?"

Y/n gave a slight nod.

To this, Harry gently picked the girl up, cradling her head as if she was the most fragile thing he had ever held, and placed her on the bathroom counter to brush her teeth.

He then picked her up once more and placed her on their shared bed.

"Just sit there and look pretty while I get you some new pjs" he smiled, hunting through the wardrobe for her favourites.

Harry began to peel away her vomit stained pyjamas carefully, making sure to look in her eyes and nowhere else.

Once she was snug in her fresh pyjamas Harry tucked her into bed, however to Y/n's dismay he then began to walk away.

"don't leave me." she managed to blurt out, worried he was going to leave her alone to sleep.

"Jus' popping downstairs to get u some medicine my love, don't worry I'll come straight back."

And true to his word he did. At this point however, Y/n was already drifting off.

"Not yet love." Harry spoke, endearingly passing her two nausea pills and a glass of water. "Take these and then you can sleep I promise"

Harry then got into bed next to Y/n, careful not to touch her in worry of it causing her to feel ill again.

"Harry" Y/n muttered on the brink of collapse.

"yeah baby" he replied, looking at her in the darkness.

"please can you hold me?" She whined, just wanting to feel him close.

"of course love." Harry gently grabbed Y/n guiding her to his chest where he placed one arm on her head and the other around her waist.

snuggling her head deep into his neck, Y/n spoke once more "Thank you for always looking after me Harry."

"Of course my love, in sickness and in health."

A/N: His guys, this is my first fic on this account as my other account got deleted :(. If you could show this some love that would be great!! im also taking requests so if you want anything im totally happy to write whatever. hope u have an amazing day!!!

[mermaidgirl30]

✨Somersaults and Stealing Hearts Part 1: Meeting the Coach✨

Coach! Joel Miller x gymnast! OFC

Series Masterlist

A/N: Thank you to @lotusbxtch and @alltheirdamn for beta reading for me, and for @mountainsandmayhem for helping hype me up! I’m really excited about this one ✨

Summary: Welcoming a new coach is no easy task, especially when Joel Miller steps through those doors with his stupid tousled curls and dark brown eyes.

Rating: 18+ only

Word Count: 4.2k

Tags: Eventual smut, enemies to lovers type energy, bitter OFC, a hint of swooning, age gap (Madison is 24, Joel is 39), slow burn, pre!outbreak au

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

Sunlight bursts through the glass windows of the Austin Gymnastics Club as chalk and sweat permeate through the air of the heated gym. The long balance beams seem to shine in the distance, and the white walls with gold medals and trophies in glass cases fill the extensive space. My calloused fingers are numb from the lengthy bar routine I just finished, and my lower back burns from the shaky dismount. I take a moment to breathe deep and fill my lungs with icy water, letting the chill cool the ache of fiery lungs.

   Breathe in, breathe out. Focus on deep breaths. Don’t think about the heartbreaking loss that’s about to happen.

   When I open my glossy eyes, I take a minute to compose myself. Losing Coach Carr is near devastating when regionals are in a little less than two months. How the fuck am I supposed to be ready when we’re getting a brand new coach who doesn’t know a thing about our routines or training schedule? 

   Ripping the water bottle from my tight grip, I find my way back onto the blue spring floor and decide to stretch my sore triceps. Wincing in pain, I groan, extending my arms overhead, feeling as if my muscles will split in half at any moment, but I’m used to it. It’s just part of a gymnast’s daily routine. No pain, no gain. 

   Senior year. Only a little over three months until I’m graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. Granted, I opted for online classes to focus on what’s really important. Gymnastics. It’s what I breathe, all I can think about day after day, and I won’t stop until I qualify for the Olympics. And Coach Carr should’ve been the one to help me get there, but those dreams were crushed like sand beneath the soles of my feet. Go figure. Nothing ever went my way. Especially after I lost my dad…

   Having to take a whole year off training and college was rough enough. And close to being twenty-five-years-old? Well, some of the girls still tortured me about it, whispering how I was too old, how I’d never make it. But they were wrong, and I’d prove it. 

   If they were gentle sheep, then I was a starving wolf. Out for blood. 

   Another deep sigh leaves my lips, and my shiny pink leotard feels extremely tight, almost like it’s squeezing the breath right out of my lungs. In the next moment, someone is hip checking me, and I almost topple over onto the mat from the unwelcome force. I glare in the direction of where the uncalled action came from, but I immediately drop my frown when I see it’s just my best friend, Cassie. 

   “Whoa, did you wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning? You’re awfully cranky,” she laughs as she presses down some dark flyaways from her tight bun and smoothes out her violet leotard with the back of her palms.

   “Sorry,” I grumble, letting my arms fall down to my sides in defeat. “I’m just on edge today with Coach Carr leaving.”

   Cassie blinks twice and looks up with sympathetic emerald eyes. “I know. I’m upset too, but what can we do? She’s already leaving, we can’t stop her now.”

   “Yeah, but why didn’t she at least wait until after regionals? You know how important that competition is. If we want to go to the national championships, then we have to bring our A-game,” I huff, stomping my heel into the squishy floor just to show how frustrated I am.

   “Ask her husband, he’s the one that got the new job in Denver. Maybe you can talk him into letting his wife stay just for you,” she laughs, pushing against my shoulder playfully to try to get me to lighten up, but it doesn’t work. “And it’s you, babe. You want to go to nationals, and you want to win that championship title. I’m just here to ride it out with you. You’ve got the heart of a lion in this gym. No way you aren’t getting that gold medal,” she says encouragingly. 

   I give her a fake smile and hip check her right back. “Says the girl who medaled at our last competition. You’re going with me, and that’s final,” I smile.

   “We’ll see about that,” she says with bright green eyes.

   The room lightens up a little bit as Cassie pulls some of the anger from my tense body, but it all comes crashing back down like shattering like glass the moment I see Coach Carr’s bubbly smile and long blonde hair swaying as she greets a man I don’t recognize by the glass door.

   I tip my head to the side and squint, hoping to get a better view of the mystery man with the tight-fitting white t-shirt and dark jeans that hug strong legs. “Who’s that?” I ask, hoping Cassie will have a clue as to who that might be.

   “I think that’s our new coach. Joel Miller,” she says, peeling her eyes over his broad body.

   “Who is he?” My voice comes out quieter, like I almost don’t want to know. Coach Carr never said anything about a male coach, and she definitely didn’t mention that he’d be older and so… handsome. 

   “Not too sure, but I’ve been hearing the other coaches talk lately. Heard he took his prior team all the way to nationals,” she voices, making my ears perk up at that.

   My eyes grow a little wider, and my back stiffens up at the mentions of nationals. “Nationals, huh? Then why isn’t he still there with that team?” Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, I try to study the tall man, as if I can see inside his mind.

   “Not sure,” she shrugs. “Guess he heard we were the best, and maybe it’s a better paid position? I don’t know, but Jesus. Do you see the biceps on that man? He’s hot. Maybe he can help me stretch… if you know what I mean,” she winks, curling a loose strand behind her ear as her eyes go starry.

   Oh, for the love of God. 

   “Cas, stop. You’re being gross.” I scrunch my nose in disgust and hit her lightly in the side of the shoulder. 

   “What? Like you don’t find him attractive? He’s ridiculously good looking. Just look at him,” she sighs dreamily, her eyes sparkling from the sunlight peeking through the windows.

   But I am looking at him. And whether I like it or not, he’s walking straight up to the spring floor with Coach Carr right at his heels, and he’s not too far from where I’m standing. 

   When he’s only a mere few feet from me, I notice how his biceps hug the soft fabric of his t-shirt and large veins spiral down his thick forearms, spidering along the backs of his rough hands, ending in strong fingers. I gulp when I see how devastating his dark brown eyes are. They’re almost like pure marble, smooth enough to sink into. And his hair. Thick, sandy brown with speckles of gray threading through his lush locks and his clipped beard. Cassie was right; he’s breathtaking.

   “Fuck yeah, bestie. He’s taking us all the way to nationals,” she whispers as a fit of giggles leave her pink lips. 

   I roll my eyes and seal my mouth shut, but I can’t help but keep sneaking secret glances at the man with pretty eyes. Cassie doesn’t need her big ego boosted to know she’s right. He is good looking, really good looking. But that doesn’t mean I’ll accept him here. Coach Carr is abandoning me right when I need her most. She was supposed to be there for regionals which would set me up for nationals. No way will I just accept a stranger, like he knows anything about my routines or moves. No. I’ll just give him the cold shoulder because I’m bitter about this whole stupid arrangement.

   “Girls, gather around! I’d like for you to meet someone.” She gestures to the mystery man and beams her white smile to the entire room. The rest of the gymnasts take their place on the spring floor and glance with anticipation at the newcomer. “This has been a super hard decision for me to leave you all, but I did my best to make sure you’ll be in good hands. So, girls, I’d like you to meet your new coach, Joel Miller.”

   All the girls’ eyes blow wide, and whispers flit around the room, echoing giggles and gossip that makes me silently groan. Some of them bat their long lashes, some fix their high ponytails and twirl the hair they can reach. Others just stare and gawk, letting their eyes roam the expanse of his broad body, and my stomach drops when I realize all my teammates are going to be swooning over our new coach. 

   I let my eyes rake over the spongy floor, dragging my heel over a piece of fuzz like it’ll get me out of this awkward situation. I don’t want a new coach, especially one that all the girls won’t stop talking about.

   “Now, you might’ve not heard of him before, but he’s coached a few varsity teams, and he even took the Oklahoma Sooners all the way to nationals, which I know is a dream for most of you,” she says proudly, her chin held high as some of the girls gasp and drop their jaws to the floor. 

   Great. Now I’ll have to hear their stupid lovesick mouths drag on about how handsome and talented he is. Give me a fucking break. 

   “Nationals? I want to go to nationals!” One of the girls shouts as she jumps up and down frantically, only stopping when Coach Carr tells her to settle down.

   “As do most of you, and I’m sure Coach Miller here will do just that,” she smiles wide, letting her long blonde hair fall over her light blue polo shirt. Joel sheepishly smiles and follows Coach Carr’s lead. “Okay, well let me go around the room and introduce you to all the girls. There’s quite a bit,” she laughs, glancing at me and the other eleven gymnasts.

   As she makes her way around the room slowly, I can’t help but tune the room out, making a small bubble in my mind where only my thoughts start to tick like the hanging clock above the front glass doors. 

   You can do this, just breathe. Don’t freak out, you’re only losing your most favorite coach in the entire world. I bite my lower lip and feel the sharp pain sink into my skin. 

   Breathe. 

   Just when I start to fade off into the soft blue tones in my mind, I hear my name being called loud and clear across the open room. I snap my eyes up frantically when Coach Carr says my name again. “And this is our shining star right here, Madison Summers. She’s the best of the best,” she smiles proudly, like I’ve just won her the gold medal.

   Joel shifts his weight to the left and folds his flexed arms over his broad chest, and I swear he’s about to rip right through that thin t-shirt. “Your shining star, s’that right?” he asks with a thick Southern drawl that floats through my eardrums like a sweet melody. 

   Fuck. Even his voice is charming. All deep and gravelly and annoyingly enthralling. It’s about to give me a damn headache at this rate.

   “Oh, yes,” she replies brazenly. “This girl right here has been bringing us home with first place titles since she started here. She’s the real deal, Miller. I think she might even take you all the way to nationals. Keep her on her toes.” She claps him on the back firmly, and a slow smile expands across his plush mouth, framing his dark mustache. His brown eyes flick over my body slowly like he’s assessing every single inch of me to make sure it’s true, and he parts his mouth like he wants to say something.

   Letting my hazel eyes fall to the ground, I adjust my position and keep my arms locked tight around my chest. Maybe I can hide from the red blush that’s building in my cheeks because now all the girls are staring at me with envy, and I despise being the center of attention. 

   When the sting of embarrassment starts to fade away, I hear him clear his throat. “Impressive. Guess we’ll jus’ have to see ‘bout nationals then. See jus’ what you bring to the floor, Shining Star,” he murmurs with a light voice that spouts off that deep, gravelly tone that makes my insides clench.

   Shining Star. The nickname makes the little light blonde hairs on my neck stand straight up and has my crimson cheeks flushed. He needs to stop.

   I slowly lift my chin, and then my eyes meet his straight on. Butterflies flit through the pit of my stomach for just a second when his amber colored irises stay locked on mine. He gives me a once over, one eyebrow lifted as if I’ve piqued his interest, and that’s the last thing I want to be right now because these girls will give me hell about it.

   Averting my eyes back to the floor to escape that growing tension in the air, I listen to Coach Carr go on about how she’s letting Joel take the reins. I can still feel his dark eyes honing in on me, and the room suddenly feels like the Texas summer heat, stifling and insufferable. I don’t care what it takes, but I will not think of Coach Miller as anything other than my coach. He may be handsome as hell, but there’s no way I’m going to simp like a lovesick puppy over him like every other girl in this gym. 

   Katelyn’s piercing blue eyes find mine in an instant when I finally find the strength to look up. Her painted red lips are pursed, and her high cheekbones look like they could cut straight through glass with the way she’s glaring. Her too-tight, sparkly white leotard shows off her curvy figure, and I know she’s already jealous of the attention I’m getting. 

   Great. Just great. That’s the last thing I wanted to happen. She already hates my guts; why did Coach Carr have to make it worse? 

   I concentrate back on the fabric of the ocean blue floor and pray it’ll swallow me whole. Cassie places a comforting palm on my shoulder and nudges me to see if I’m alright. I give her a tight-lipped smile and again pretend. So much for not feeling overwhelmed and anxious today. 

   Joel’s voice booms through the room, and my hesitant eyes slowly shift back up to him as he paces the floor and looks out to the sea of eager gymnasts. “Alright, ladies. Coach Carr here has given me a rundown of some of your routines, but I’d like to jus’ walk around the room today and get a feel for them and how your practices usually go. She was kind enough to let me scope the team out a few weeks ago. And I will say, I was very impressed. Some more than others.” His eyes shift to find mine, and I suddenly feel like a deer in the headlights. Blindsighted and paralyzed. He’ll surely collide right into me at the worst possible time when I don’t even see him coming.

   He’s been at practice before? He’s watched me specifically? Oh, shit. 

   Some of the other girls giggle, but I stand frozen like a mouse caught in a trap. How can Coach Carr leave me alone with him? He’ll have me losing my balance over a simple split jump on the balance beam. But I won’t let that happen. Not a chance because I’m going to ice him out, just like I planned to do before I even knew he’d be the new coach. 

   “Okay, girls. I do have to get going, I'm afraid, but please be respectful to Coach Miller. He is a very good coach, and I expect you all to be on your best behaviors.” She gives all the girls a knowing look that says don’t test her, and then she makes her way over to me as some of the girls disperse around the gym.

   “Ahh, my favorite athlete,” she smiles as she pulls me in for a tight squeeze. I breathe in her lemon perfume and memorize what it feels like to be embraced by her because I won’t have any more warm hugs after this. I’ll only have rough hands that maybe high five me for landing a double tuck on the mat, if that. 

   I squeeze her right back and hold on for dear life. “Please, don’t go. I need you,” I whine, afraid tears might run down my cheeks when I watch her walk out that door one last time.

   “I’m sorry. Truly, I am. I hate leaving you, but you know I’ll be there for Regionals.” She gathers my hands in hers and squeezes gently. I feel the sting of fresh tears in the back of my eyes, and they start to gloss over. 

   “Hey, now,” she reassures me. “You’re going to be just fine without me. You have a great coach to take over my spot now.” She smiles warmly, but it doesn’t quite meet her bright blue eyes.

   “But it’s not you. You promised to take me all the way to Nationals,” I pout, letting my bottom lip jut out as a cold tear slips free.

   “Hey, no tears now. Everything will be okay. And I know I promised, but marriage and Eric’s new job just got in the way. I can’t tell you how sorry I truly am, but I still believe in you. You’ve got this, and Joel will take you to Nationals. I know he will.” 

   My eyes flick to him subtly, and I huff out a long sigh as my eyes start to narrow into thin slits. Joel wouldn’t take me to nationals. It was never his job to, and I sure as hell don’t want to put my faith in a new coach I know almost nothing about. I don’t care how good looking he is; he’s not my coach. 

   Coach Carr quickly picks up on my building anger and irritation to the whole situation, so she steers me back to look her dead in the eyes. “Hey, be nice. I don’t want you giving him trouble just because you’re upset,” she warns with a stern look written over her serious face. 

   “Who said I was going to give him trouble?” I scoff, kicking my heel into the blue padding of the floor like that will do me any good.

   “Madison Summers!” She says my full name sharply like a mother would when their child is getting scolded, and her grip tightens on my hands. “Now, I know you very well. And I know when you’re upset. You can be upset with me, but please don’t take it out on him. He’s only here to help you reach your dreams, and I have no doubt that he’ll do just that. So give him a chance, for my sake. I wouldn’t leave you to someone I didn’t trust.”

   I bite my lower lip and nod, turning my gaze back to Joel as he focuses on Giselle’s uneven bar routine, watching the way her sparkly red leotard shimmers in the glistening sunlight that melts through the glass windows. Sighing heavily, I agree to obey her wishes, “Okay, I guess I can try to play nice.”

   She gives me a quick hug and squeezes tightly. “That’s my girl.” I let the warm comfort envelop me fully, remembering the scent of spearmint gum and lemon perfume. A smell I’ll soon only remember in my fading memory. 

   With one more hug, she sends her best wishes to me and says goodbye to the other girls, and then she’s just gone. A vacant ghost that’s disappeared into her new life. 

   A life that I won’t be in.

   I watch the glass window like she’ll come back, like she was just kidding about leaving the entire time, but every second the clock ticks tells me she’s gone. And now I have to suffer without her. First it was my dad, now my favorite coach…

   Dragging my feet on the thick carpet, I hold my head high and decide to focus on my balance beam routine today. I’ve been struggling with sticking my landings lately, and I need to focus.

   Blocking out all the blaring music in the gym, I pull my head together and spend the next couple of hours perfecting my routine. Firm arms, chin up, jump high, dazzle the crowd, smile. But it’s hard faking a smile when my favorite coach just left me in the dust to deal with him. Coach Miller, the bane of my existence.

   Pushing him clear out of my mind, I find my center and complete a back handspring, back tuck combination, throwing all my rolling emotions into quick motions. I think I have it but when I land, I find that I nearly get knocked off my center and almost go crashing down to the blue mat that sits beneath me. 

   Shit. Almost had it.

   “Tuck your knees and point your toes harder.” The deep voice nearly takes me over the edge of the chalky beam.

   “What?” I whisper out, looking up under my thick lashes, right at Joel fucking Miller.

   “Tuck your knees more next time. It’ll speed up your rotation, and you’ll land solid. Pointin’ your toes harder will give you quicker and sharper movements. And remember, presentation is everything.” He leans against the white wall steadily, right next to one of the chalk stands and carelessly taps his index finger against his tanned forearm.  

   “My rotation was just fine,” I sneer.

   “Could be quicker,” he defaults back quickly.

   “I was quick enough,” I snap.

   “Is that why you almost fell after your back tuck?” He tilts his head and gives me a contemplative look that dares me to challenge him. I bite my tongue in response and stare right into his big brown eyes, not saying a word.

   God. Those fucking eyes.

    “Jus’ try again,” he presses, his eyes fixed on me. I purse my lips and dig my hands into my hips, standing my ground as the balance beam becomes my rock. I don’t want to try again. At least not when he’s looking and has his eyes glued on every single move I make. I could’ve figured it out on my own how to perfect my landing.I don’t need him.

   “I don’t got all day. The clock’s tickin’.” He points to the black military style watch on his left wrist and keeps his large arms glued across his chest, his thick eyebrows threading together like he expects me to fire off another sharp response.

   I huff and get back into position, my toes pointed and resting right on the edge. I take one quick glance his way and then jolt my body backwards. With my toes pointed hard, almost sharp as a pencil, I flip into a back handspring, my fingers meeting the beam for just a second, and then I jump hard and high. Making sure to tuck my knees deeper into my chest, I flip into a back tuck easily. Every rotation seems sharper and faster, much better than the sluggish one I just did before. And before I know it, I’m landing perfectly on the balance beam, not even a single wobble flows through my body as I stick the landing.

   Joel’s eyebrows raise, and the hint of a proud smirk shadows his mouth. I want to wipe that stupid smirk off his face because I know just what he’s thinking. He was right all along. “What’d I tell ya? Perfect landin’. Maybe you should listen to me after all, huh? Think I might know what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.”

   I roll my eyes and cross my arms firmly over my chest, standing with full attention on the balance beam. “I could’ve figured it out on my own.”

   “You’re a stubborn thing, ain’t ya?” he chuckles, shaking his head as silver threads and sandy brown curls tousle with every movement he makes. His eyes are basically milk chocolate, the way they glitter in the sunlight when he’s laughing. And I fucking hate it.

   “Apparently,” I shrug, giving him a stern look while I lick my tongue against my bottom teeth aggressively. 

   “We’ll jus’ have to work on that then, won’t we?” He tips his head my way and pushes off the wall, flexing his rock hard biceps as he waltzes away with a stupid grin spread across his mouth. 

   I clench my fists at my sides and dig my heels into the firm balance beam, trying my best to keep my wits about me. Stupid Coach Miller and his sly remarks. 

   Stubborn thing, ain’t ya. I scoff at the statement. Of course I’m stubborn. If he thinks he’ll get on my good side and tear down my walls then he’s sadly mistaken. I won’t budge. No. I’ll just have to show him how much more stubborn I can be.

   This isn’t his gym. This is mine. And I plan to make that very clear.

[tongue-like-a-razor]

hi babe, I have a request not sure if you are taking but- I was wondering if you could do something like Bradley's little girl, goes to the doctor to get a shot, and Bradley's there to comfort her while she's crying

Aww this was a such a cute request, I just had to do it! Thanks for sending it in :D

A Little Pinch

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Wife!Reader

Summary: Rooster tries to hold it together for the sake of his daughter while she gets a shot.

CW: needle (not graphic), fluff, dad Rooster

WC: 875

Masterlist

“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Bradley mutters, holding your daughter in his lap as he kisses her head. “I’m right here and I promise you’re going to be okay.”

Your daughter is bawling in anticipation of the needle the doctor is preparing but you know that this shot is going to hurt your husband more than it will hurt her.

Rooster looks up at you with tears in his eyes as he pats your daughter’s head. “It’s going to be quick, sweetheart,” he says gently, trying to console himself just as much as he is trying to soothe her.

Your daughter shakes her head and turns on his lap, burying her face in his chest. Rooster gives you a desperate look, wrapping his arms around the little girl to comfort her. In his big arms, she feels safe and her sniffles grow quieter as her breathing steadies.

“You’ll have to hold her arm down tightly so that she doesn’t move,” the doctor says, approaching the three of you.

Your daughter begins to wail anew, thrashing in Rooster’s embrace. “No!” she screams.

Rooster takes the beating without so much as a wince, looking on at her sympathetically as he tries to unstick her hair from her wet cheeks. “Sweetheart,” he whispers, taking her face in his hands. “I know you’re scared, and that’s okay. Being scared is natural. It’s important to be scared sometimes so that we can avoid danger, right?”

You daughter nods, sniveling.

Rooster smiles at her. “But you trust daddy, right?”

She nods again.

Rooster sighs. “It’s going to be a pinch,” he tells her honestly, in response to which your daughter lets out a whine. “But it won’t last long!” Rooster continues. “Remember that time you fell off your bike and scraped your knee?”

Your daughter bobs her head up and down, crying a little harder.

“It won’t hurt nearly as much as that, okay?”

Your daughter whimpers quietly.

“We’re going to count to five, and then it’ll all be over, okay sweetheart? Will you help me count?”

Your daughter sighs shakily, but her crying has subsided. “I can count to twenty,” she says between sniffles.

Rooster chuckles. “I know, you little smarty pants,” he responds, ruffling her hair. “But the pinch will only last until we count to five. How does that sound?”

Your daughter nods again, then sniffs softly as he turns her back around on his lap.

“I’m going to hold on really tight and I won’t let go, okay?” Rooster mutters in her ear.

“Okay,” she agrees.

“Ready to count?” he asks.

“Ready.”

You smile at your daughter as she looks up at you and hold out your fingers as the two of them begin to count.

“One, two” - somewhere between one and five, your daughter starts to scream, but Rooster holds her tightly and continues counting - “three, four, five.”

“All done!” the doctor says.

Your daughter is crying while Rooster cradles her in his arms. “It’s over, sweetheart,” he whispers.

“That hurt!” your daughter wails.

“I know, baby. I know.” He stands up, holding her firmly to his body. “But you did it! My brave girl, I’m so proud of you!”

Your daughter hugs him back. “That’s it?” she cries. “Is it over?”

“It’s over, princess,” he whispers, blinking back his tears as he kisses the side of her head.

You stroke your husband’s arm as the doctor puts a Band-Aid on your daughter. Rooster looks like he’s about to pass out which is, on the one hand, a little funny considering his profession and the amount of stress he faces on a daily basis, and on the other, making you fall in love with him all over again.

Rooster puts his arm around your shoulders and pulls you into his side, still holding your daughter at his hip. “You okay?” he asks you gently.

You bite your lip and smile at him. You seem to be handling the situation much better than your husband, and you wonder whether it’s because you feel as though he is suffering enough for the both of you. “I’m okay,” you say. “Are you okay?”

He blinks wearily. “I think I’m okay,” he responds. “I might need a lollipop or something.”

You chuckle as your daughter chimes in, “I want a lollipop!”

“Oh, you definitely deserve a lollipop,” Rooster says happily, waving at the doctor as the three of you exit the office. “You probably deserve some stickers too. Maybe a trip to the toy store?” he says, turning to look at you hopefully.

You daughter starts bouncing in excitement on his arm. “Toy store! Toy store!”

You shake your head with a laugh. “Sure,” you reply.

Rooster lets out a giant sigh as the three of you step outside. “I’m so glad that’s over,” he says.

You smile at him warmly. “You were very brave, too, darling,” you say.

Rooster puts a hand on your daughter’s back to hold her up as he leans over to give you a kiss. “It wasn’t easy,” he mutters against your lips.

You laugh. “Well, I’m proud of you.”

He grins at you. “I probably deserve a treat, too,” he says with a wink.

“Daddy! You’re getting a lollipop!” your daughter reminds him.

Rooster Tag List:

Please feel free to let me know if you no longer wish to be tagged in Rooster fics/if you no longer consume Rooster content <3 The rest of the tags are in the comments!

@simp-for-fictional-people

@ollyoxenfrees

@iamabeautifulperson18

@living-in-my-imagination88

@wintercap89

@mavrellover91

@gingerbreadandpaper

@lonelywitchv2

@cashwheelersgirl89

@callsign-jupiter

@kindablackenedsuperhero

@everything-i-love-in-life

@malindacath

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@mak-32

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@anyonehaveanyorangeslices

@bcon24

@lovemesomevesey

@daydreamingalways

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@olivethenerd16

@kaitlynw011

@l-rexter45

@xoxo-lyss

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@dracosluvbot

@peoniarose

@annedub

[tobitofunction]

The Pact of ice and fire Part 6

part 1 part 2 part 3 part4 part 5 part 7

"Prince Jacerys is dead" Cregan's words echoed in your head, you watched the snowflakes fall from the skies. Winter, Cregan's dire wolf lay beside you, she returned from wherever she was. Cregan was surprised at her action usually she followed him around but this time Winter ignored her bonded human and lay beside his wife. Her large head was on your lap, your hand disappearing in her fur,"Jealous?" Sarah asked making Cregan look at her,"Winter is ignoring you for the first time" she explained," She must feel her pain, y/n could use Winter's affection more than me" he said looking at his wife with a sympathetic look,"What's in your hand?" Cregan said nodding towards Sarah's hand,"A letter from Queen Rhaenyra, she wants y/n to return to her side at Dragonstone" she said while handing him the page,"She is safer in Winterfell" Cregan stated after he finished reading the letter,"Rhaenyra is our Queen, her word is law Cregan and y/n needs to attend his funeral, she needs to say goodbye" Sarah reasoned making him sigh," I join her than"," She is going on Dragonback most likely-", "Tell servants to pack my and her essentials" Sarah just nodded knowing there is no place to argue.

Cregan slowly walked towards you, Winter lifted her head from your lap and looked at Cregan before returning to rest her head on your lap, "My dear wife, your mother wrote, she is requesting your presence in Dragonstone" he said softly making you turn to him, "I will be joining you" he said taking your hand his, "Thank you".

Cregan stared at Tyraxes while you got her saddle ready, the dragon's head was hung low, sad roars left her throat."Are sure you want to leave my Lord?" Cerwyn asked," I can't leave her in this state, she is my wife, I need to be by her side" he answered,"As you wish but as a friend I am asking you, are you sure you want to ride a dragon?" he smiled,"I'm married to one, it be fine, I trust her skill and I will just ignore the height and just focus on her," he said rubbing his chin, Cerwyn chuckled,"If you die at least you die a legend, the first and last Northmen to ride a dragon, in two ways" he winked making Cregan shove him, "We are ready," you said walking towards the two friends, "So am I," he said, you nodded,"Don't be nervous, she can sense that," you said,"I'm not nervous....okay I am a little bit nervous, but I trust your skills," he said, you smiled softly,"Just hold on tightly," you said as Tyraxes kneeled closer to the ground allowing you to climb on easier, your dragon let out a roar as Cregan climbed behind you, his arms tighten around your waist as Tyraxes straightened her stance,"Ready?" you asked,"Yes" he mumbled, you tugged on the reins signalling for Tyraxes to start flying.

Meanwhile, Cerwyn and Sarah watched from far,"I wish I could paint quickly" Sarah said amused seeing her usual cool and collected brother look like a nervous wreck,"He would kill us" Cerwyn chuckled but nodded in agreement.

The wind whipped in Cregan's face, his fur coat flapped aggressively in the wind behind him, it was colder up here than below his grip tightened on your waist, and he buried his face in your hair. You smiled to yourself feeling him do it, soon however Tryaxes flight steadied, she glided through the clouds like a leave. Cregan loosened his grip on you, he took a sharp breath as he took in his surroundings, the sun peaked through the clouds, and the snow-covered North below him looked like it was drawn.

Tyraxes landed soon in Dragonstone, Cregan frowned as he stepped off the dragon,"It was to quick, it felt like we just left Winterfell" he said grabbing your waist to help you off Tyraxe's,"I know, it's just magical, it never gets old" you smiled looking up at him,"You ruined horse riding and sailing for me" he added making you smile,"Princess Y/N, we welcome you" Ser Erryk said he bowed his head,"Your mother awaits you and your husband" he said,"Thank you Ser Erryk, it brings me joy to see you still alive" you smiled,"I could say the same thing to you my Princess" he said looking down at you softly.

Rhaenyra paced in the main hall waiting for you to arrive, Joffrey and Aegon were clinging to her side, as soon as the door opened the boys let go of their mother and raced towards you, nearly knocking you over as they hugged you,"My sweet brothers, you are well, I'm so glad" you said kneeling down to meet their heights to hug them probably, tears falling down your eyes as you kissed their cheeks." Y/N, my sweet daughter, my oldest" Rhaenyra said gaining your attention, you pulled away from your brothers and hugged your mother, she held you close,"You've grown my girl, you are a woman know" she said cupping your cheek, she looked behind you and saw Cregan,"Lord Cregan, I liked to talk you for taking care of my daughter" she said,"She is my wife, it's my job like it's my job to return you to the throne" he said making Daemon nod,"Than Lord Stark, let's have a meeting on how you will do it" Rhaenyra sighed,"We have funerals Daemon, a war meeting can wait" she said,"Funerals?","Rhaenys died as well, she fought Aegon and Aemond bravely and managed to harm the false king, young Visery's is missing" Coryl said appearing behind you and Cregan,"Why wasn't I told this in the letter of Jace's death", Rhaenyra sighed,"We are sorry but telling you the news about Jace death was our priority" she said making Corly's click his tongue,” You are my heir now Y/N, you are Princess of Dragonstone” she said making you take a deep breath,” It’s an honour to be your heir your Grace” she smiled sadly and kissed your forehead.

You watch Jace and Rhaeny’s remains burn in the tradition of your house. Tyraxe’s head hung low once again, the ashes were poured into caskets and moved to the sea, Cregan’s hand was wrapped around your hand, giving you strength as you felt like collapsing any second as you watched the caskets being thrown into the sea, the prayers being said are falling on deaf ears as you clung to Cregan,” It’s all Aegon’s fault, he is sitting on the throne he doesn’t belong to you, all this blood is because of him” you spat watching the casket sink into the depths of the sea.” He and the greens will be punished for what they did my love” his hands wrapped around your neck, his thumb rubbing your chin,” I promised to give your family your thrown back in exchange for your hand in marriage. I always keep my promise” he said kissing you gently,” You warmed my heart, I believed it was frozen but it was just waiting for you thaw it” he said leaning his head forehead against yours,” Thank you Cregan” you said softly against his lips,"I hate to interrupt but I need your husband for a meeting" Daemon interject making you glare ate him," I will see you after" he said leaving with Daemon.

"I will return to Winterfell soon enough, I will gather my men and marsh south once again," Cregan said, you watched through the secret passage, as a child you and your brothers would play hide and seek within these walls, they became tighter throughout the years, as you become bigger, you aren't the small child you were back than. "If you stayed in Winterfell you could have started to march already" Daemon said,"I wanted to support my wife" Cregan responded,"The Princess needs to stay here" Rhaenyra added,"She is a Stark now, she will be needed in the north, a Stark always needs to stay in Winterfell" he reasoned,"No Stark is Winterfell now" Daemon countered,"This an expectation," he said calmly,"She will stay here, she is your wife but she is also know my Heir, she needs to stay close to me," Rhaenyra said slowly becoming emotional,"I can't keep her safe is she is alone in Winterfell" she added, "She be safe in Winterfell" Cregan argued. You shook your head and rushed out of the secret passageway,"Stop trying to make decisions for me" you said barging into the room. Everyone stopped to look at you, "I'm not a child anymore, I'm a dragon rider, I can fight as well, let me help" The three looked at each other before looking back at you,"You are my oldest child, my only daughter, my heir. I can't afford to lose you, I lost too much already, my heart can't take another loss" Rhaenyra explained calmly,"I want to help","I know you do, and I know your capable of helping but the greens will be coming for you","The more reasons to let me help, I don't want to is around and wait to be attacked", Rhaenyra sighed,"If she wants to help, let her" Daemon said taking you by surprise,"Head back to the north, build up your army and come back to fight for the throne" he added, Cregan sighed but he nodded,"It be my greatest pleasure to fight alongside you my dear wife" he said getting up and walking towards you, he kissed your temple, you smiled at Cregan and looked at your mother,"Very well, if you want to fight, I will let you fight".

"Don't go" Aegon said grabbing your wrist, tears pooling in his dark purple eyes making them look even darker,"I will be back soon Egg, you need to stay strong and take care of Mother" You kissed his forehead, his grip is still strong around your wrist as you turn to Joffrey, "The same goes to you Joff, you are the big brother now, take care of Egg","Please take us with you, I can fly on my dragon-", "Mother needs you Joff, your place is here for the moment" you said playing with his curls.

Tyraxe's landed in the middle of the Winterfell castle, "You guys are back" Sarah said walking out of the castles,"Tell the Maesters to send out letters for everyone to prepare themselves to march down south" Cregan said as you got of Tyraxes, "We are getting our dragon queen on her throne"

[sillyteenagegirlinlovewithblocks]

Beauty and brains.

Pairing: Garroth Ro’Meave x reader.

CW: a little nsfw but nothing to crazy.

A guard must stay on high alert at all times, So much can happen in the blink of an eye.

Sir Garroth devoted head guard of Phoenix Drop, a loving husband and soon-to-be father.

Y/n has always been proud to be by his side as his wife, he gave confidence like no other. It's hard to not feel safe around him. He moved like a striking cobra, swift and silent, intercepting the thief before anyone even noticed the danger, His eyes, sharp and alert, missed nothing. He stood with an air of quiet confidence, a reassuring presence in uncertain times.

As he arrives home from an all-day shift he calls his wife’s name in his deep sleepy voice.

Just as he began to call out for her here comes his very pregnant wife running downstairs like she isn’t. Causing him to quickly run up to her and grab her to stop her from going so fast.

“ oh my lord beauty, you cannot be doing that. what if you tripped? “ he asks in a worried tone. While slowly and gently pulling her to him until she’s close enough for him to bring her into a kiss.

“ I’m sorry dear, I’m just excited to see you” she expresses with a bright smile that lights up the whole room.

“ I know brains but you must be careful. That’s my wife you could accidentally trip” he whispered against her lips while running his hands up her and stopping to secure themselves on her hips, while hers a placed on his shoulders. They kiss each other so passionately that every kiss feels like heaven sent him an early look at what he will get for his work.

“Why don’t you change up and I’ll be up in a minute, I just have a few more things to finish” y/n states while pulling away. Garroth starts whining but that doesn’t stop y/n from pulling back and pushing him to go up the stairs and get ready for bed.

After some time y/n finally headed up for bed herself in perfect time too because Garroth had just finished cleaning himself up and putting his nighttime clothes on but I’d hardly call them clothes it’s a pair of clean work pants that he uses just for bed.

While Garroth lays down on the bed his wife undresses in front of him to change into her nightgown causing her husband to shoot right back up and reach his hand out to touch her leg but she has a plan to tease him and walks away leaving him laying at the end of the bed with his arm out still from his attempt at caressing her leg.

“ oh brains you kill me, I’m a tired man put In a world I do not understand please don’t make it harder for me” he begged it she ignored and put her gown on. Then turns herself to face him with this smug look on her face in exchange Garroth rolls his eyes and throws himself back to the top of the bed where he began left to just stare at the ceiling.

“ awe don’t be upset with me” she teased “ I didn’t mean to make you upset “

she began making her way up the bed and crawled up to him until she could rest her hips on his. bring her head down to kiss his right arm that is resting on his side and making her way up to his shoulder, neck then face.

“ Forgive me dear?” she asks for forgiveness. He lets go of a satisfactory moan he seems to have been holding back and nods silently. Y/n continues to kiss his neck and run her hand up and down his chest to his shoulder, while she is she feels a lumpy feeling in his shoulder towards his back. She sits up to feel it better and see what she is looking at.

“ oh wow this is a very big lump, how are you not in so much pain” she blurts out, slightly rubbing it.

“It's nothing my whole back is that way I do not focus on it even if it is painful to me I have no time to rid myself of it so I do not worry nor should you beauty,” she says running his hands up up her waist and resting on her arm. She looks at him with a sympathetic look on her face.

“ Turn around “ she commands him.

“What brains?” He questions but quickly it’s shut down with her demanding he turns around again and she sits her body up to attempt to turn him herself, thinking he complied quickly and turned around. Slowly she began running her hands up and down his back trying to find every lump and bump she could find.

She massages his back starting from the bottom and working her way up. She worked out years worth of notts in his back. After doing the hard part where he yelled and cried into the pillow in a very manly way he started to enjoy it.

“ alright, all done. you sir should have the loosest back of all of Phoenix drop” y/n says but all she gets in reply is a very comfortable-sounding moan.

“ if you think that feels good wait until you stand up” she whispers to her half-asleep husband and kisses him goodnight but Garroth being as clingy as he is sits up immediately and wraps his arms around her.

“ you can fall asleep without me Brains” he whispers in her ear in the most tired raw voice you can hear outta someone. Y/n hand grabbing Garroths and kissing it.

“ no I couldn’t dear,” she says back to him while pulling him to lay back with her, and when he does she turns to have her backside facing him allowing him to slip his hand under her bulging stomach to in his words “ hold both of his girls at once “.

[bellysoupset]

Long requested Bella in her period again + Vince caretaker!

---------------------

"Looking good, Bells," Vince teased her, as Bella stumbled into the kitchen of the cabin, with her hair sticking out everywhere and more than a little pale.

He was making pancakes, while Wendy was sitting on the counter, sipping on her coffee. The other woman opened a sympathetic smile, "hungover?" she guessed and Bella only groaned in return.

In truth, it was not hangover, but her period. Her period was never regular, sometimes coming early, sometimes skipping a month, so Bella had been praying it wouldn't land smack in the middle of their getaway weekend. No such luck and Bella had been woken up in the middle of the night by it.

She felt horrid.

Like there was someone squeezing her lower belly, the waves of pain running down her legs and punching her lower back. Her stomach felt off as well and the smell of Vince's blueberry pancakes made it churn uneasily.

"Bacon or pancakes?" He asked, feeding Wendy a raspberry that was sticking out his pinky. Bella stared at them, unimpressed by the display of affection and wanting nothing more than to crawl back to bed. It was pointless, lying in bed only made her focus more on the pain.

"Nothing, my stomach is iffy," she shook her head and groaned loudly as she heard Vince chuckle at her expense.

"That's what you get for trying to keep up with me, Bell."

"Fuck off," Bella groaned, her cheeks heating up at the friendly teasing. She knew she could shut it down by simply explaining she wasn't hungover, but just the thought was embarrassing enough.

Instead, she lowered her head to the main dining room table and wrapped her arms around her tummy, silently praying Luke would be up soon and go get her some meds, because of course she had packed tampons but not medicine. Of course.

Currently her husband was starfished on the bed, snoring, completely passed out after recklessly mixing wine and his meds.

"Morning," Jonah said, walking into the kitchen. Unlike everyone else, he was dressed for the day, not a curl out of place and Bella all but groaned at the sight. Couldn't he be in pajamas and with morning breath like everyone else?

"Hi," Wendy perked up at his sight, "you just missed Leo, he went for a run."

"Oh no, I didn't miss Leo," Jonah said in a cheeky voice, causing Vince to let out an scandalize shriek at the implication and Wendy to cackle.

"Oh shut up!" She laughed and Bella groaned at the loud noise, feeling overwhelmed by it all. She had an annoying headache, but nothing big. Not as bad as the fact she was starting to feel soul crushing sad and ready to cry for no reason whatsoever.

"You're all bark and no bite," Vince scoffed, his voice coming closer and then he said, "here, get some carbs in you," and planted a plate of plain pancakes in front of Bella, a couple inches away from where she was resting her cheek on the table, breathing through her mouth and trying to ignore them.

The smell immediately hit her and Bella let out a groan as her stomach revolted. She sat up straight and pushed the plate away, but now that she had smelled it, she couldn't get rid of it.

Her stomach gurgled, unhappy, and so did her intestines and Bella pushed against the table, darting up as she could feel her body crossing the threshold of "queasiness" and going straight to "gonna barf" territory.

Darting up was a choice, because she got lightheaded at moving so fast, feeling all the blood rush down as if she had wet herself, which obviously she hadn't because she had just checked her tampon...

Bella fell back down against the wooden bench and dizzily grabbed the front of Vince's ratty pj shirt, squeezing it with all her force.

"Hey-" Vince's gigantic hands came to cup her cheek, the other one brushing the hair away from her face, "hangover's kicking your ass, uh?" he tilted her head back, "just give it a second, Bells."

"No-" Bella grabbed his wrist, pushing his hand away from her face, feeling her mouth all sticky, "gonna hurl."

"Ah, for fuck's sake, Bella," Jonah groaned, "I'm eating-"

Her body gave a grand total of zero fucks about Jon's breakfast. The thought of what he was eating - bacon and eggs - had Bella's stomach squeezing once more and she gagged fruitlessly, planting a hand over her lips and grabbing on Vince's shoulder to push herself up once more.

"I got you, c'mere-" Vince wrapped an arm around her waist and then her feet were off the floor, as he manhandled her like a ragdoll. Bella gagged once more and missed the toilet entirely, going for the sink of the small bathroom Vin pushed her inside of.

Her legs felt weak and she let out a whimper as bitter bile and thick wine splashed in the sink's basin. Bella hung over it, whining as she felt Vince hold her hair back and pat her arm, "do you have a scrunchie?"

Bell shook her head and he sighed, wrapping the hair around itself and tying it in a loose knot on the base of her neck, "this will do for now- Feeling better?" he was whispering, but there was really no concern in his voice, all amusement, "how's the head?"

"I'm not-" Bella groaned, then opened the register and washed the sink and her mouth, "not hungover..." she took a gulp of water and regretted it immediately, as the sip landed like a brick in her belly, bringing up an acidic, airy burp that tickled her nose.

Her intestines let out an upset noise and Bell squeezed her eyes in sheer humiliation as Vince said, "was that your belly?"

"God- Get out of here," the urgency made her feel all clammy, head woozy still, "go- get out, Vince-" she shoved him by the arm and barely caught sight as Vince's amused smile slipped and turned into a worried frown, before she slammed the bathroom door on his face and rushed for the toilet.

Having the runs made her stomach turn once more and Bella lunged for the trashcan, planting it on her lap and coughing over it, biting back the urge to cry. She wanted her house.

Her old, bleach stained sweatpants that didn't squeeze her tummy, her heating pad. Maybe Lucas too.

Once she was done and cleared up, Bella sluggishly walked to the door, the fierce cramps making everything so much worse. She was trembling.

She had hoped they had all left for the trail, but instead Vince was leaning on the wall right next to the bathroom door, like a bodyguard. Just the humiliating thought he had probably overheard all of her body noises made Bella's eyes tear up and he promptly misinterpreted it, walking forward to wrap her in a hug.

"Hey... What's wrong? Bell, why are you crying?"

"Leave me'alone-" she whined, but despite her words, Bella clung to him. He was so soft and warm, practically a human heating pad. Vince scoffed, walking backwards into the living room, not daring to break the hug either.

"Do you want me to get Luke? Can you tell me what's wrong?" all worried, sitting down on the couch and pulling her with him.

Bella sniffled, curling up on his side and angrily wiping the tears that hadn't fallen, but were clinging to her lashes, "I'm fine-"

"They left, Bell," Vince rolled his eye, reading right through her, "talk with me, what's wrong?"

She freaking loved this guy, Bella thought, relief washing over her and causing new stubborn tears, "itsjustmyperiod," she mumbled and Vince frowned, trying to understand, before it cleared up.

"Oh- Why didn't you say anything sooner?" he scoffed, pulling back enough to glare at her, "do you have meds? Tampon, pads?"

Bella's whole face caught on fire and she covered with her hands, "shut uuup, Vin."

"It's not a big deal, I buy tampons for my mom and sisters since I'm a kid," she could almost hear him rolling his eyes, "Bella. Quit this, it's not a big deal."

It was a big deal to her. It was conflicting, to start with. In one part she was a big girl, all self sufficient and a strong believer periods should be normalized and men should just grow the fuck up about it. In the other hand she was an only child of a single mom, who had witnessed boys act like periods were yucky from a young age. Especially back in public school, she had seen some truly horrible shit.

Lucas being so cool with it, albeit a little misguided since he was also an only son, had been a shock. Vince dealing perfectly was almost like a slap.

"I didn't bring my meds," she explained in a small voice, lowering her hands from her eyes, but not removing them from her face, so embarrassed she could die.

Vince winced in sympathy, "that's fine, I'll run into town to get you some then."

"Really?" her voice came out all squeezed and Bella cleared her throat, "you don't have to, just wake up Luke-"

"Nah, it's cool," Vince shrugged, "I don't think you brought a heating pad either, uh?"

Bella shook her head, unable to speak, and he scoffed, "rice in a socked will have to do then."

"What if I divorce my husband and just marry you, uh?" Bella sighed, curling up on her side and causing Vince to let out a startled, loud chuckle, his cheeks turning pink.

"Yeah, keep saying that. Wendy's gonna scratch your face off," he messed up Bella's hair, getting up from the couch.

"I can take her, she's tiny," Bella smiled, much more at ease, "bring me chocolate?"

"She's vicious like a kitten, my money is on my girl," Vince winked at her, walking off to retrieve his wallet and motorcycle keys.

[watermelonsugacry]

1d!yn are in these pics you can't convince me otherwise

still finishing up the grammys blurb but i can't not write about them for these pics rn

Along with YN's manager, the whole Harry team has been cheering and congratulating him on his big win as they collectively walk over to the couple's green room. Everyone is ready to celebrate with champagne bottles, big hugs, and pictures...well almost everyone.

As everyone gathers around to look at the monumental award and passes around the red envelope with Harry's House on it, Harry walks off in the midst of the rowdy group. YN sees how he walks off to the corner of the room, crouches down, and puts his face in his hands. She gives her husband a sympathetic smile before going over to crouch down in front of him and putting her hands on his knees in comfort. He's immediately putting a hand on top of her black, latex-covered hand, gripping onto it tightly.

When she hears him sniffle, she turns to the small group of people in the room, "Do yeh lads mind giving us a minute?"

As they all begin to shuffle out, Anthony quickly snaps one last picture of the couple. He captures the way they hold each other's hands, foreheads pressed together with their eyes closed. Harry's nose is a light shade of pink and YN wears a soft smile.

Hearing the door click shut, she's suddenly getting a deja vu moment of the last Grammys they attended together in 2021. After YN won Producer of the Year, Harry quickly came into the room after hearing she was having a panic attack. While everyone else in the room left, he stayed by her side and calmed her down with sweet, loving words and comforting hands.

People tend to forget how overwhelming something like this can be. These two don't make music with the intention of winning awards like this; this is just a perk of the job, of doing something they love. So be recognized for something this big, Album of the Year, is a feeling too big to put into words.

So the couple just sits in comfortable silence for another moment longer, looking at each other with so much love and gratitude. Having each other during this monumental time in their lives is a greater blessing than any of them could have ever asked for.

YN reaches up to thumb away at a rouge tear on his cheek and he keeps her hand there, tilting his head to give a kiss on her palm before letting out a deep sigh. She stands up again but before he can ask her where she's going, she comes back over to his level with his Grammy.

They don't say a word as she hands him his award. They just share soft smiles before huffing out a light laugh in disbelief.

After the awards ceremony and the after party was officially over, the couple still had a lot of engery (and alcohol) to burn off. The night was still young and there was no debate on arguing with the Grammy winners when they said they wanted to go get some pizza.

So at 3 o'clock in the morning, both of their managers, their photographers, and the rest of Harry's producers now sit around tables pushed together to create a space to fit all of them as the couple happily chomps away at their cheesy snacks.

"Yeh did really good with your performance, babe," YN compliments around a mouthful of pizza, her eyes the tiniest bit pink from the drinks she had earlier in the night. "Even with the whole turn-table fuck-up. Handled that shit like a fookin' pro."

"Thank you! Y'know," Harry beams, turning in his seat to fully face her. He rests an arm over the booth cushion behind her back and she hums in response, urging him to continue. "Think m'getting to be-" He takes in a deep breath as a tipsy hiccup shakes his upper body. "-be a pretty good dancer."

"I think so, too," She nods excitingly with wide eyes. "S'good thing you had your Satellite Stompers with yeh. It sucks ass when you have to perform in different shoes than what you originally practiced in."

"My what?" He asks with a smirk, stealing a bite of her pizza slice even though there are still plenty of pizzas around the table for him to grab.

"Your Satellite Stompers," She answers with a bashful giggle and his dimples dig further into his cheeks when he sees a blush grace the apples of her cheeks. "Ugh, s'stupid. Nevermind."

"Nuh uh. Tell me," He pokes, getting butterflies in his stomach at the sight of his gorgeous wife smiling up at the ceiling before sighing in defeat.

"S'just that, I posted a video of you doing your stompy stomps during Satellite one show and called your A.D.I.D.A.S. shoes that. And your fans have picked it up so...they're your Satellite Stompers. Don't laugh!"

"But that's the cutest thing I've ever heard! Anthony! Can y'get a picture of my--wait what were they called, babe?"

"Shut up!" She says with a laugh, pushing his face away from hers.

"Oh yeah, my Satellite Stompers."

She only laughs harder, her nose scrunching up in the cutest way possible as her husband scoots back into the corner of the booth and clumsily brings his foot up for them to see. While everyone else seems to ignore the giggly couple, Anthony brings his camera to his face to capture the shot.

As Harry points to his shoe, YN puts a hand under his heel as a presentation while she holds a slice of pizza to her mouth with the other.

SINCE 2010 masterlist

[justmeinadaze]

Pushing the Barrier: Part 4 (Eddie X Reader)

A/N: Ok I'm not going to call this the final part but it is the final part. If that makes sense. Lol. I have a couple more ideas that I can run with when it comes to this two but my heart shall write them when tis ready lol

Warning: Stripper Eddie X Married Reader, very much smut and a lot of the fluff. Eddie talks about his past and reader confronts her husband.

Word count: 3692

You groaned as your eyes opened to darkness. It took you awhile before you could fully comprehend your surroundings and where you actually were. Eddie was passed out next to you with one hand in your hair and the other holding your own against his chest. You carefully raised his wrist to check the time; two in the morning. 

Sighing, you laid your head back down looking up at his face. All the anxieties he normally wore on his features were absent as he slept. You reached up with your fingers and brushed his bangs away from his eyes. Some stubble was beginning to appear on his chin. You traced your index finger along the path of it, stopping to run your thumb along his lips. 

You remembered some of things he had told you about his life in Indiana. He had been through so much. 

Eddie’s mouth suddenly moved along your fingers. “Mmm you know, I can practically feel you thinking.” An exasperated chuckle escaped your lips as he slowly opened his eyes. “Penny for your thoughts?”

You gently caress his cheek as your hand glides down to his chest, grazing across his tattoos. “Just wondering about that 20 something year old man you told me about.” His eyebrows raised as he rolled over on his side to face you. “I have some questions about him.”

He exhales before softly nodding in your direction. “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll take turns. You ask me something and then I get to ask you something.” Eddie grins as you agree. “Ladies first.”

“When did you go to live with your uncle?”

“I was young. About 10 or 11. Nobody else wanted me except Wayne.” His arm comes out to rest on your hip as his palm rubs your back. “Who’s Sarah?”

Your eyes squeeze shut as the memories of yesterday hazily come back. “I don’t know. She called our apartment while we were spending time together. I listened in when he was talking to her.” Your eyes open again and are met with his sympathetic ones. “You said your dad was abusive. Did he ever…hit…”

Eddie gently nods his head. “Is that why he’s in prison?”

He softly smiles at you. “I’ll accept that as one question since you didn’t finish your other one. No, that’s not why. What did your husband say when he was on the phone with this girl?”

Your jaw tightened. “He said he loved her.” Eddie’s chest fell as he let out a heavy breath. “Do you know where your mom is?”

“No and I’m fine with not knowing. I have no desire to see either of my parents. Did you confront him?”

“No. Do you have any siblings?”

“No just my uncle and my friends. Why?”

You sat up, shifting your gaze away from him. “I was afraid to. I panicked.”

Eddie sat up next you, brushing your hair behind your ear so he could see your face. “Why?” When you didn’t answer his finger gripped your chin, tenderly turning you to face him. “He’s not like my dad, right?”

“No! No, he would never do that. I think you were right. I am a fucking coward.”

“Sweetheart, I didn’t mean…I said that because I was upset. I’m sorry.”

“But it’s true! I should have yelled at him and kicked him out but I couldn’t. I just let him go. Let him go thinking he had fooled me again.” You wiped the stray tears that fell as you pulled your head out of his embrace. 

You felt his gaze wash over you as you fidgeted with your hands. Eddie’s arm came across your chest, pushing you back against the mattress as he slid up beside you. His palm rested on your cheek as his thumb caressed your face. You turned your head to look at him and were met with his lips. 

You mewled into his kisses. Eddie always tasted so good. A sudden realization caused you to pull away.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, um, I just realized my breath probably smells like whiskey.” You both chuckle as his lips travel down your cheek to your neck. 

“Thankfully, I like the taste of whiskey.” His fingers glided down your side and into your panties. Eddie groaned when his digits slide between your folds, feeling how wet you already were. You moaned his name as he pressed circles against your clit. 

Your hand came up to grab his shoulder, pushing him onto his back, and removing his own hand out from between your legs. “I want to make you feel good.”

Eddie looks up at you, slightly confused. “Sweetheart, you always make me feel good when we’re together.”

You giggle as you place your hand softly over his mouth. “Stop being so sweet.” His lips smile against your palm. Leaning over him, you trail tender kisses down his stomach till you reach just above the waistband of his shorts. He lifts his hips slightly helping you as you pull them and his boxers down. Eddie moans as a string of spit falls from your mouth before you begin pumping him with your hand. 

“When you’re behind the glass, have people told you how they would want you to suck their cock?” He looks down to meet your eyes as you continue to slowly stroke him, nodding his head. “Do they go into detail about how they want it?”

Eddie nods again as he tries to read your face. With eyes still trained on his, you tilt your head down as slide your tongue over his tip, all the way down his shaft.

“Oh my god.” 

“Tell me, Eddie. Tell me how you like it.”

“Um-mmmm- fuck. I… like what you’re doing.”

“Yeah?” You take him into your mouth, taking him as deep as you can, making sure your tongue is still flat against him. 

“Fuck, yes. Your mouth-mmm- feels amazing.” He tangles his hands in your hair, gently pulling it back so he can watch you. “Can you…can you go deeper?”

You do as he requests, gagging before you pull back, spitting the drool that had accumulated in your mouth over his dick. 

“Fuck me.” His hands are on you, lifting you on top of him as you straddle your legs on either side of him. Eddie reaches between you moving your underwear to the side before guiding himself inside of you. You take off your shirt throwing it to the side and he wastes no time sitting up, encasing your breast with his mouth. 

His hands remain on ass guiding you as you bounce and grind against him. His tongue swirls around your nipple, teeth grazing the nub as you throw your head back and moan. 

“This is what I like, Princess.” Your head falls forward as you lean your forehead on his, clinging your arms behind his neck and around his shoulder. “Watching you come undone. Hearing your fucking moans. Fuck. I can’t get enough.”

He places his hands on either side of your face, holding you to him as he kisses you deeply. Eddie falls back against the mattress bringing you with him. You try to pull your lips away when he begins thrusting his cock into you faster but he doesn’t allow you to. You whimper into his mouth as his tongue swallows your moans. 

He finally releases you but you don’t go far, hovering your nose above his. You bounce your hips meeting his thrusts and the coil that had been steadily winding finally snapped as you shouted his name repeatedly against his lips. 

Eddie wraps his arm around your waist holding you to him as he flips you on to your back without pulling out. He pumps into you chasing his high as he grunts and moans into your ear. With a few more sloppy thrusts you groan as you feel him cum inside of you. 

He laid in the nook of your neck panting as you played with his hair, brushing it away from his face. Suddenly, Eddie crawled out of bed and extended his hand towards yours. 

“Come on.”

You grinned, taking his hand as he guided you across the apartment to his bathroom. He turned on the shower, letting the warm water run for a bit. You couldn’t help but giggle when you both squeezed into his bathtub. 

“This is a tight fit.”

“Madam, it’s not like I do private shows in my bathroom. It’s a shower meant for one person.” You laughed at him causing him to erupt in his own fit of giggles. 

“Then why did you shove me in here?”

Eddie wrapped his arms around you as you looked at him with a smile. “I just like being close to you.” He leans down and places a peck on your nose. 

“Eddie, if we get any closer in here, we’ll look like Zod and his minions in Superman.”

His laugh echoes through the bathroom. “Hot damn, Princess. You’re such a nerd. I love it.”

You let him take care of you as he gently washes your hair and runs his soap along your body. By the time you two step out of the shower you are encased in his scent and you suddenly felt extremely comfortable. Eddie tosses you one of his shirts and a pair of shorts. You throw him back his shorts as you put on just the shirt. 

“Hellfire?”, you read aloud. 

“Mhmm. A club I was in when I was at school. Are you hungry?”

“Starving. What kind of club?”

He shuffles through his fridge and pulls out some frozen pizza. You hop up on the kitchen counter, swinging your legs as you watch him move around. 

“We would get together and play Dungeons and Dragons.”

“Ohhh… so you’re a nerd to.” Eddie scrunches his nose jokingly as he pokes yours. 

“The kids at school called me a freak actually.” 

“What? Why?”

After preheating the oven, he leans his back against the fridge across from you and crosses his arms. “You are asking a lot of questions tonight, Sweetheart.”

You shrug. “We can continue asking back and forth if that makes you more comfortable. I just want to know everything about you.”

“Because the small town I grew up in had some pretty closeminded people.” He grins as he answers you. “What about you? What were you like in school?”

“Pfft. I wasn’t much. I was the bookworm who had hair like Janis Joplin.” Eddie chuckles at the thought. “God, my mother hated my hair.”

The oven beeps and he reaches over to shove the pizza inside. He slides over till he’s in between your legs, resting his hands against your sides. “Do you get along with your family?”

You wrap your arms around his neck, curling your finger in his damp hair. “For the most part. Everyone except my mother isn’t really a fan of my husband so…”

Eddie widens his eyes in fake shock. “Well, gee, I wonder why.” You giggle as you smack his chest. There’s a sudden silence that hangs in the air as he releases you to grab a drink from his fridge. 

“You can ask me, you know.” He turns around giving you a confused look. “About my married life.” 

“I don’t think now is the best time with everything you’ve been through tonight.”

“Ok. Then ask me the other thing I know is on your mind.”

Eddie sighs as he averts his eyes from yours. “Are you going to leave him?”

You reach for him and he obliges slowly moving his body in front of yours. You cup his cheeks with your hands, turning his head to face yours. “Yes.” His eyes search your face for deception. 

“Do you trust me?”

“I trust you. I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

Eddie sighs again leaning his forehead on yours. “I’m scared that as soon as you walk out that door you won’t be coming back.”

You place a soft kiss on his lips. “I’ll come back. I promise.”

###############

You and Eddie spent the rest of the night talking, munching on greasy pizza and drinking the beer in his fridge. It was so nice to genuinely laugh and be close to someone again. You didn’t go back to your apartment that night or the following one. 

Monday morning you were surprised to see Eddie moving around in his kitchen. 

“Eddie,” your murmur with a groggy tone from sleep. “It’s 7am. Go back to bed.”

He smiles at you before offering you a cup of coffee. “I just wanted to make sure you left okay. The school won’t be mad at you for that shirt, will they?” Since you hadn’t been back home, you didn’t really have anything to wear that was your own. Eddie gave you one of his plain black t-shirts that hung a little low past your waist. 

You grinned at him as you knotted the bottom of it, tying the end to your hip. “Naw, they’ll be fine.”

He saunters over to you, placing a kiss on your forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you tonight?” The slight panic in his voice breaks your heart. You reach over to grab some scratch paper that was on his counter and write down the address to your place. 

“Come here after you get off. I’ll have kicked him out by then.” You shakily sigh.

Reaching up on your tip toes, you kiss his lips before tapping the address you wrote down for him. “Now you can always find me.”

###################

Your hands shook as you nervously placed the key in the lock and entered your place. You were met with a silence that over the years you had become very familiar with. Searching the apartment, you found you were alone. Almost out of habit you stopped, heading for the voicemail device on the counter and pressed play. 

“You have 3 new messages. Message one *beep* ‘Hey baby. I know I said I’d be right back but this project got incredibly more complicated. I’m going to pull an all nighter here with my team so we can knock it out. I love you and I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Message two *beep* ‘Good morning, my love. Just wanted to check in and make sure you were ok. Whew it was a long night. We should be able to finish up here by noon. Do you want to have lunch or something? I’ll see you later. Love you.’

Message three *beep* ‘Sweetheart, I am so so so sorry. I seriously thought I’d be home at least in time for dinner. The boss has us hunkering down until this is complete so I most likely will be sleeping in my office again. Ugh! Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow night at that restaurant you like. I love you!’

End of messages.”

You stood there staring vacantly at the phone. This asshole didn’t even notice you were gone. This morning you left a man who was upset because he thought he may not see you again and this fucker didn’t even care that you were gone for two days. The anger suddenly started to kick in as you reached for the phone. 

“Hi, yeah, I was wondering, when is the soonest you guys can send a locksmith?”

###########

It was well past eight pm when you heard the keys jiggle in the door handle followed by a muffled, “What the fuck?!”

You glided over to your front door and opened it to see your bewildered husband. “Hey you. The key…doesn’t seem to…be working.”, he huffed as he walked in. When he leaned in to kiss you, you pulled back out of his way. “Everything alright?”

“It’s about to be.”

“Okaaaay? How was your weekend? I’m sorry I had to work so much but I’ll make it up to you.” He threw his keys on the counter and started to make his way down the hallway to change into more comfortable clothes. 

“Oh, you know, baby. My weekend was good. I spent most of it with a handsome man’s dick inside of me and then we hung out…ate some fatty food...the fun stuff!”

His feet stopped before turning slowly to make eye contact with you. “You’re making a joke, right? Because I don’t find it funny.”

“You are absolutely right. It’s not funny.” You take a sip of the liquor in your glass before setting it down on the counter. “What is funny is that I haven’t been in this apartment since Friday night and you didn’t seem to notice.”

“I-I-I don’t even know what to say right now. Just because I had to work you immediately disappear and punish me by fucking someone else!” You let him rant as you lean your back against the backside of couch, crossing your arms over your chest. 

“Y/N, I don’t know if I can keep doing this. You’ve always been jealous of my job. I work to keep this roof over our head and food in the fridge. I’m sorry, baby but a teacher’s salary just enough to make ends meet now a days. I told you I’m trying to work hard now so I won’t have to in the future.”

You nod at his words sarcastically. “You are right. Damn, honey. You read me like a book. Hey, I have a question. Is Sarah jealous of your work hours? I’m surprised you can find time for her with how busy you are!”

You watch his eyes as everything slowly starts to come together for him. “It’s not what you think.”

“Don’t patronize me.” You point to a bag you packed for him and left by the door. “Get the fuck out.”

“I pay most of the rent here. This is my apartment.”

“Well, my name is on the lease. Let’s call the cops and see who they throw out first, you son of a bitch.”

His jaw clenches. “I’m not going anywhere. Why don’t you go stay with whoever you’ve been fucking.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t you dare turn this around on me. I tried! I tried so hard for so many years to make this work. God, I feel so stupid. People told me you were cheating but I defended you every time. EVERY TIME! ‘No, he’s a good man. He would never do that. He works hard for us.’”

He turns his head, averting his eyes from yours. “Y/N, I—”

There’s subtle knock on your front door. “I’ll be right back.” You mutter under your breath as he runs his fingers through his hair nervously. You open the door a crack to see Eddie waiting. “Can you come back in about an hour?”, you whisper.

A few emotions flash through his eyes until it finally lands on annoyance. “Why?”

“We’re still talking—”

“I thought you said you were just going to kick him out?”

“Eddie, please. I got this, ok? Just give me an hour.”

“Are we going to finish our conversation Y/N or what?” Your husband shouts from behind you. 

“Give me a second!”

While you were distracted Eddie shoved past you through the door and into your apartment. 

“Hey. Isn’t this the guy that bumped into us?”, the man you married sizes up the metalhead with his eyes before turning them back to you. “This is the guy? Are you serious?”

“Let’s not play that game right now.”, you seethe. “Get. Out.”

“Honey, look. I… fucked up. I strayed because I’m an idiot. I should have spent time working on us instead of… but please! I can change. I’ll go to therapy. I can move into the other bedroom and give you all the space you need. Just please! You and I both know I’m better for you then this guy.” He strides up to you till he’s right up in your face looking down at you. “I can do this. Let me try and be that man you married again.”

You closed your eyes as a tear escaped your eye. Eddie’s boots squeaked across the floor as he angrily headed for the door. You turn quickly, running to cut him off as you place your back against the wood, blocking him. 

“Eddie.”, you practically whimper. 

“I can’t watch this. I can’t watch you choose him.”

“Eddie Munson, why do you think I’m going to do that?” You reach for his cheeks, lifting his face to meet yours. 

“Everyone does. Plus…he’s right. You deserve better than some,” he leans in closer to you lowering his voice, “guy who takes off his clothes for money.”

You feel another tear drop down your face and he reaches up to wipe it away with a small smile. As he moves for the doorknob, you block him again. 

“Eddie, I love you.” He froze. “If you want to leave I understand but no matter what,” you look past him towards your husband, “he will not be staying here.”

You move forward opening the door and throwing out the suitcase 

“Y/N, where will I go?!”, your husband pouted.

“Sarah gave you a bed for the weekend. Maybe, you can find one there. Now this is the last time I’m going to ask. Get out.”

He scoffs as if he’s completely confused, making his way towards the front door and out into the hallway. As he turns to look at you again, the door suddenly slams shut, and you feel your body being swiftly spun around and pressed up against it.

Eddie’s lips are on you instantly as he grips your head in his hands. When he finally pulls away, you’re both panting, trying to catch your breath. 

“Say it again, please.” He looks down at you, brushing your hair back away from your face.

“I love you. You Eddie. I don’t care about your job. I don’t care about any of that. I just want you to be happy. I want to be happy.”

“You make me happy. I love you so much. I promise I’ll do everything I can, whatever it takes to make you happy every fucking day.”

You jump into his arms, kissing him.

No barrier. No husband. Nothing stoping you two from being together.

#################

@Munsonsuccubus @samunson83 @tayhar811

@harrys-tittie @bibieddiesgf @maximus2354

@nevermore66 @ajkamins @dollalicia @secretdryrose

@staandupanndscream @tlclick73 @persephone13

@mandyjo8719 @bebe0701 @silooney @other-world-s

@kiyastrf94 @alottanothing @blue-eyed-lion

@zeroxbendylove-blog @munsonology @silooney

@mimsthebannished @ches-86

[bibbityboppitybillyharvgrove]

A Family Trip - E.Munson

Summary - As she was stressing to get ready to host about 30 people for Christmas, her youngest son falls and breaks his arm. This means a family trip to the hospital and a mental breakdown.

Word Count - 1507

Warnings - Female Reader, use of Y/N, reader feeling like a bad mom, hospital visit, broken bones, reader breaks down a bit, mention of alcohol, stress, not proofread, set in the modern day

Author’s Note - Welcome to day 21! Only 4 days left!! For the names in this fic, I chose James for James Hetfield and David for the first two guitarists from Iron Maiden, they feel like very Eddie picked them names. I’m hoping to finish these as soon as I can but I’m not sure, I am swamped with a lot of work for my winter class. I’m pushing myself to the finish line, my friends! I’m trying! I hope you enjoy!

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The countdown had started in the Munson house, only 4 days left until Christmas. The kids were excited and their parents were excited for the holiday to be over. Eddie was sent out to go get the booze for their Christmas gathering, Y/N home with the kids who were bouncing off the walls from cookies and pure excitement and joy. She let out a sigh for what felt like a millionth time as she heard something fall over in the living room, it was something heavy which she could only assume was either the coffee table or Eddie’s recliner.

“Boys for the last time, sit and watch your movie! Please!” She begged her sons, they were carbon copies of Eddie, not a single ounce of her was put into either of those boys.

“But mommy, it’s more fun to jump around! I didn’t mean to knock the couch over!” The oldest argued his point, she let out a groan of frustration. The stress of the holidays was getting to her, trying to get everything ready for Christmas dinner, making sure the house was clean and ready, optimizing the space for over 30 people, space they didn’t have. It was all piling on top of her, Eddie was trying his best to juggle what he could, he worked for at least 10 hours a day and when he was home he was taking care of the boys, helping to keep the house clean and getting ready for the large number of people.

“Can you boys go to your room, please? And play nice? Mommy just needs a break until daddy gets home, can you do that for me?” She asked her kids who had taken notice of how upset their mom was. They both agreed, hugging her legs tightly before racing to their shared room to play.

Just as she got to prepping dinner for the night, she heard a loud bang and her youngest crying. She dropped her knife and rushed to the boys room to find her youngest on the floor holding his arm, his face bright red from crying.

“Oh baby, what happened?” She asked sympathetically as she pulled him into her arms. 

“We were sitting on the bed playing with our action figures and he leaned back and fell. When he fell I heard a crack and then he started crying,” The oldest explained.

She had looked at the bed and took note of the action figures sitting on it. She knew her son was telling the truth so she nodded, picking up the injured boy and telling the oldest to follow her to the kitchen. As she planted her little boy on the counter to look at his arm, the front door swung open to reveal her husband, his arms full of liquor for the party.

“Oh no, what happened here?” He asked his sons and wife.

“James and David were playing on the bed and James fell. David said he heard a crack when James fell,” Y/N explained.

“Looks like its a family trip to the hospital. Davey, can you be a rockstar and grab your jacket and Jamie’s jacket for me?”

“You got it daddy!” David rushed off to the coat closet, throwing the door open and quickly located his jacket and his brother’s. He was quick to grab them and bring them back to his parents and little brother who was still crying. Because it was his arm that was hurt, Eddie draped the jacket over his shoulders rather than making him put his arms through. 

As they piled into his car, Y/N had insisted she sit in the back but David promised her that he would keep his little brother safe which melted her heart. She sat up front with Eddie instead, staring off out the window for most of the ride. He squeezed her thigh gently to get her attention which seemed to work. “You okay baby? You’re spacing out on me,” Eddie asked her concerned.

“Fine honey, just stressed out,” She assured him with a tight lipped smile. He brushed it off for now but knew there was something else going on that she didn't want to talk about in front of the kids. As he pulled into the parking lot of the emergency room, he decided to pull out his cell phone and call Wayne to come get David. He hadn’t eaten dinner and he was starting to get tired, they didn’t know how long they’d be sitting and waiting. They decided to tell him once they got inside and signed in.

“But daddy, I wanna stay here. I can’t leave Jamie yet, he’s not better! I promised him I’ll be there to hold his hand if he gets scared,” David protested.

“That’s very sweet of you baby, but we don’t know how long this is gonna take. You’re hungry, right? Grandpa will give you some dinner and bring you back, that sound like a plan?” She reasoned with the 6 year old. He nodded his head vigorously before hugging his mom tight.

“Love you mommy,” He whispered to her, “You’re the best mommy ever.” She held onto her son tight as she kissed his head.

“Love you more baby. Go sit with daddy. I’ll be right back, I just have to potty.” He kissed her cheek before rushing off to his dad. She found her way to the bathroom where she allowed herself to cry for a bit. She had felt like a bad mom today, like she didn’t deserve the boys she had. She sniffled and willed herself to stop crying when she heard a knock on the door. “Just a minute!” She called.

“It’s me, baby. Can you open the door for me? Wayne’s with the boys waiting,” Eddie asked through the door, he waited until he heard the lock turn before letting himself in. He pouted when he saw the state his wife was in. “What’s wrong baby? What’s got you so upset?”

“Am I a bad mom?” She asked between sniffles.

“Not at all! Are you kidding, you’re the best mom! Those boys absolutely adore you! Where is this coming from?”

“I just got so frustrated with them today, they were making a mess of the house after we had just cleaned, knocked the couch over, they were screaming most of the day, it was just too much. I couldn’t handle it so I told them to go to their room and of course not even five minutes later James falls and breaks his arm and of course David feels like crap which makes me feel like crap and it’s too much feeling. I just need a break from feeling for a day so I can get shit done before Christmas,” She vented.

“That does NOT make you a bad mom. Trust me, I had a bad mom. The hyperness may have been my fault because I did give them cookies before I left the house. They’re kids, baby, they’re excited because Santa’s coming and they’re getting new toys and seeing their family. I know it’s stressful, but that doesn’t make you a bad mom. I know you feel like James getting hurt was your fault but I can assure you that it’s not, it was an accident and accidents happen. You are a great mom, never think otherwise.” She hugged her husband as tight as she could, taking in his scent and heartbeat before pulling away. She pecked his lips before wiping her cheeks and under her eyes, blowing her nose and looking at herself in the mirror.

Once she was ready, she flicked the lock again and opened the door, making her way back to the waiting room where Wayne was sitting with both boys in his lap. He shot her a smile and a little wave as she approached. He spoke up as she sat down beside him, “How are you darling?” He asked her, kissing the side of her head after asking.

“Getting there, been a hell of a day,” She chuckled.

“Mommy, you said a bad word!” James called her out, making the adults laugh.

“James Munson? We’re ready for you,” A nurse called out. Y/N had grabbed her 4 year old from Wayne, her and Eddie following the nurse.

“What about grandpa and Davey?” James asked sweetly.

“They’re gonna wait out there for us. Grandpa promised to bring you a happy meal and Davey said he'll give you his toy,” Eddie assured his little boy.

“Okay daddy!”

It took nearly 3 hours but finally James had a cast on his arm choosing red for the color. When they got back to the waiting room, they found David curled up in Wayne’s lap fast asleep and Wayne himself asleep. It was then that she realized that her life was always going to be hectic. Raising two boys who were exactly like their father and their father who was like a child right with them. But she wouldn’t change it for the world.

[moriartyluver]

FALSE LOVERS CHAPTER XVII

"THIS JOB SOUNDS URGENT, DOESN'T IT?"  Louis said as he shut the curtains in William's office. 

"Yes, we'll be executing it shortly," William said as he shuffled through some papers with (name) "We'll leave the mansion in your care, Louis."

(Name) looked over to the reflection of Louis' face in the glass window, shaded by the maroon curtains. Something was troubling him. 

"Once again..I am left behind." 

(Name) placed the sleeping kitten from her lap into her husbands and took that as her cue to leave so the brothers could speak freely, whispering a short "please excuse me" on her way out. 

If Louis was feeling such a way, being distant from his own brother, surely (name) thought she was behaving similarly towards her own closest person. She was about to walk to her own bedroom to change into more suitable attire for combat, then, as if her legs were moving without her control, she creaked down the stairs and knocked on Josephine's door. 

She paused as she held her fist against the wooden surface. Would it be cruel to tell her she could come with them? Perhaps Josephine would feel an obligation to go even if she didn't wish to. The case seemed as if it would be a sensitive issue for the girl. 

(Name) had felt so numb recently to the extent she only spoke a few passing words to Josephine, who she would usually talk to about things not even William or the others would know of, such as her personal plans which involved supporting other struggling countries under the empires rule or gathering blackmail against various government officials for future use. And yet, she couldn't even speak to her about one thing. One simple thing. 

'How selfish..' 

"My lady?" Josephine called as she opened the door "Is there anything you need..? I've already checked your weapons and the rest of your gear, forgive me if I've been negligent in my duties.." 

(Name)'s eyes softened at the girl and placed her hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." She whispered with a melancholic smile. 

"What..Whatever for..?" She stammered as she looked up to (name). "Your ladyship, are you alright?" 

"Please forgive me for being so controlling. I didn't mean any harm when I asked you to avoid missions like this one.." she trailed off, thinking back to the first day she had met Josephine and taken care of her. It had felt like just yesterday she was only a child "I didn't want you to experience such treacherous things ever again. I wanted you to be able to forget it all..maybe with my status and wealth I would've been able to help you create a new future for yourself..one where you could chase your dreams and need not ever take a life."

(Name) sighed and put her free hand to her face

"I don't wish to see you become like me." 

Josephine's surprised expression quickly shifted into a frown.  She placed her hand over (name)'s on her shoulder as she spoke up. 

"My lady, I would be honoured to be even remotely similar to you," she said with a sympathetic smile "And besides, it has been many years since Ashfordshire's demise. I'm no longer that young helpless maid you found in a forest, but I would still be if it wasn't for your help along the way. I..I could never be able to repay you for what you have done for me, but I shall not rest until I can help you in the same way." 

(Name) took both her hands in hers and gave Josephine a close eyed smile "You're right. You've grown so much since I first met you...If anything were to happen to me, I'd want you to take my place and I believe you qualified to do so."  She pulled away for a moment and stepped backwards, ready to return to her bedchambers, then spoke once more "I apologise sincerely for being so terribly distant as of late. I promise, I shall let you know what is on my mind soon." 

"You do not owe me an explanation, my lady. I just wish for you to be well, and I will do all I can to be of use to you in that," the brunette whispered "Please let me know if there is anything I can do." 

The woman looked down at her as the corners of her lips turned upwards "You can start by treating me as your equal and not your mistress.." 

The maid's grey eyes widened. "Oh no, my lady, I really could not..!" She stuttered out. 

"Aw, so you do not wish to help me?" 

"How would that?- nevermind...F-Fine, (name)..happy now?" Josephine asked with rolled eyes 

"Very." 

"Guards?" The colonel whispered to (name) and William in the bushes, outside of the entrance to Dartmoor. 

"It appears so.." (name) muttered as William spoke up beside her 

"These woods are a part of Baskerville's land. According to Fred's intel, this is one of the hunting grounds that the nobles close to Lord Enders' used to hunt people." He said "the northern part is cut up by a river...once you leave the forest, you'll be met with swamps surrounding the area, escaping that way is near impossible..." 

Louis looked over to the wooden gate surrounded by guards and carriages. "A carefully crafted garden...perfect to serve as the location for a secret manhunt."

"So how are we supposed to get past the guards..?" Josephine asked beside (name)

"Attacking them head on would be foolish," said moran "If we head east, we'll hit the river. We can look for a road going north there." 

"Let's hurry! The children have already been in the forest far too long!" Fred exclaimed as a bear of sweat ran down his forehead. 

And with that, (Name), William, Louis, Moran, Fred and Josephine had all snuck around the property and walked through the woods to the fortress of the baskervilles. 

"A fort.." (name) muttered as she leaned against a tree, looking into the distance where a small castle like building stood, enveloped in trees and twilight mist 

William nodded "A rather large one at that..I also see two similar building downstream."

"They appear to be hunting lodges." Moran commented as William had mentally planned out the route to the fortress in order to end the Baskerville reign of terror amongst lower class children.

"The nobles will most likely return to the fort for some respite during the hunt," William explained as cold air hit his face, matching his cold expression "we'll strike then ..!"

"Lord William!" Fred called out to him as he pointed  "There's a bridge over there!" 

"The shortest path to the fortress is apparently across the bridge."

Moran narrowed his eyes as he looked at the creaky bridge "it seems to have seen better days.." he said as the group approached the bridge 

"It's rather unstable, are you sure this is safe?" (Name) asked as the decaying wooden bridge swayed in the wind

William nodded "let's cross one by one, carefully. I'll go first." 

He crossed the bridge slowly, careful with each and every step as the others watched in anxiety and anticipation. The bridge gave the occasional sway but William had managed to cross over without issue, standing at the other end as he waited for the next person to cross over. 

(Name) breathed a sigh of relief and spoke up "I'll follow suit. The bridge still seems to be quite dangerous."

She walked carefully, holding onto the ropes at her sides with a strong grip. The bridge would creak and some steps would fall after (name) would step on them, each time earning a soft gasp from her. Eventually, she was only a few steps away from William who was holding his hand out to her in an effort to help and reassure her. 

Snap 

"(NAME)!" 

The ropes had suddenly detached from the beginning end of the bridge. (Eye colour) eyes widened as she held onto the rope instinctively, her heart beating quickening, clinging onto it for dear life whilst the others remained silent in shock and fear. 

William crouched down with a pale complexion and extended his hand to (name) as far as he could whilst the woman tried to shift from the soon to be breaking rope to the rocky cliff. She cursed under her breath as a piece of the dark rock crumbled beneath her feet. She questioned internally if she were to die then and there. 

"(Name), take my hand." William said with a slightly undetectable stammer, trying to hide his concern as (name) looked up at him hesitantly. She cursed under her breath and reached her shaky hand over to his as he clasped her hand in his, gripping tightly "Hold on tight and don't let go!"

The (hair colour)- ette stood up on the edge of the cliff, then fell into her husband's chest with a stumble and a grunt, grasping his shirt in her hand as the bridge rope snapped behind them. William held onto her protectively as he guided her away from the edge and took her at a safer part of the pathway. 

"Don't scare us like that." Moran said from the other side of the now fallen bridge. 

Once (name) had overcome the shock of nearly falling to her death, she quickly pulled herself out of William's calming embrace and dusted off her clothes then stuck a thumbs up at the others to indicate she had not undergone any physical harm. 

"Change of plans," William instructed in a slightly raised voice as he inched away from his wife to allow her space "We'll split up. (Name) and I shall head off to the fortress. The four of you will take care of the ones down stream and meet us in the fortress later." 

"B-But William! It's too dangerous to go alone..!" 

"You know what to do," William took a gloved hand and pulled his hood offer his head in order to protect his identity. 

"Do not leave any of them alive." 

As the pair walked towards the fortress on the dark path, they remained silent, not a word exchanged. The only noises that could be heard were faint screams of both pleasure and terror and the barking of dogs in the distance. Apart from that we're the cracking of twigs or the rustling of leaves and each step had somehow managed to create a sense of fear in both of them, although they'd never admit it.  

(Name) eventually spoke up 

"I'd prefer if you think of the incident in your bedroom as nothing more than an accident," she said as they approached the fortress. "I apologise for taking advantage of the situation and lacking self control. Had I been there any longer I would’ve made matters between us more complicated than necessary”

William looked over to her with a slightly surprised face then an almost unreadable expression. Soft pink lips opened to speak for a moment but shut as if he was changing his mind. He averted his gaze and looked straight forward. "If that is what you wish." He said quietly 

They both kept quiet, evidently wishing to speak to one another but unable to find the opportunity. The fortress had seemed to have grown closer and the entrance was only a few feet away. 

As they walked towards it, the smell of death and tragedy had enveloped them. A faint sound of speaking was heard in two directions, one from ahead and another from behind, followed by dog barking. (Name) turned around with a furrowed brow. 

"You go forwards, I'll go back into the forest." She said, turning on her heel as she began to leave to the direction of the noise "it appears another bastard wants to die at my hands." 

Had the environment been less serious, William would have jested and said something along the lines of himself being included in that particular demographic but he said nothing and nodded, wishing her farewell and safety. 

William continued to the fortress where the smell of corpses had only grow stronger and he had eventually entered a strange room, a child's skeleton on the roof and skulls littered around as if they were prized ornaments and decapitated heads in jars as if they trophies. William had seen two jars beside each other with the heads of siblings. One seemed to have had his eye gouged out before he was cruelly killed and beneath them on the shelf was written 'Agape' and followed with 'Selfless love between brother and sister' 

'Disgusting' 

Meanwhile, (name) had managed to track down the strange barking of dogs, which were chasing a couple of children who were also struggling to run between bear traps like animals. To the side, (name) caught a glimpse of a tuft of red hair and a slim face peeking out of the bush. 

Within minutes, she had put the two children aside to safety and the dogs, who hadn't stopped in time to switch direction, ended up caught by the feet in a few of the bear traps. (Name) had left the beasts alone and instead focused on the much more sinister beast, the sadistic, perverted, sick demon who enjoyed watching such cruelty and towards children at that. 

He seemed to have stayed in the bush, shivering with fear that the mysterious woman who ended his game would come after him. He prayed to whoever would listen to not be brutally killed the same way he would others. 

It seemed his god didn't exist. 

(Name) approached behind the seemingly young man with such stealth it could rival that of a ninja's. He was still whimpering out prayers and shivering as (name) pulled a small sword out from the strap on her thigh and pointed it against the nape of his neck, brushing against his finger curls. As he felt the pressure against his skin, he twisted his head around in surprise and managed to stutter out a few words 

"P-Please!! Don't shoot me! I'll g give you anything! Money, property, I promise I can give you it all!" His panicked voice grew squeakier with each word. 

"Money?" (Name) laughed at him but her expression was anything but cheerful nor was it amused, rather deadly and terrifying as her hood shielded her face  "Money isn't what I wish for, idiot."

"Then what—" 

"What else? Your life seems to be reward enough, don't your think?" She smirked down at him. The darkness had caused both her and his faces to be blurred and dark, unrecognisable to each other until— 

"L-Lady (Name)...?!" The ginger exclaimed. He had known her and now he was planning to use this as a method to spare his own life. Other footsteps could be heard in the background amidst the silence that went between them.

 (Name) paused, contemplating where he had known her from. She ran through each of the possible common options for a nobleman of her age like himself. A blackmailing mission? A party? Hopefully whatever he had known her from wasn't anything but casual. 

She pulled down her hood and looked at him carefully as she kneeled down to get a better look at his face. It was clear he wasn't a Baskerville, but likely one of the participating friends. His freckled face was familiar but not familiar enough to be attached to a name. 

"Who are you?" 

"You..you seriously don't remember me?" He stammered as she shook her head, a sword still at his lower throat . "A-Alexander Beaumont! Son of Sir Charles Beaumont..? We met at university..I was friends with Theodore Arde—"

That sentence alone seemed to have triggered her in some way. With a clenched jaw, (name) pushed the blade of the sword further into his shoulder, drawing blood as the clothing he was wearing tore. Alexander screamed before (name) could punch him in the mouth, breaking a few teeth in the process. (Name) stood up, not tearing away her piercing gaze. It seemed he had still not gotten the message though, he kept talking through sobs 

"He told me about your courtship..a-and I saw you with him a few t-times. I don't know why your courtship ended but I'm sure you were upset about his death.." he said, only to be met with (name)'s boot at his face, kicking him aggressively. 

"Don't ever mention that bastards name again," she hissed "although I'll doubt you'll live long enough.." she stabbed him with her sword, cutting his arm "I killed him. I killed his family.  And I killed his pathetic father, the viscount after I made him watch me torture that son of his." Another stab "Nobody in that damn estate was left alive, understand?! I got my revenged on everyone in that family and more!!" 

Beaumont could utter nothing more than a few screams as he was brutally stabbed to death by an infuriated (name). With each thrust of her sword, he grew weaker and weaker until he fell to the ground in pain and bled out to his undignified death. 

" Lady (Name)!" A familiar voice called out from behind her. She turned around to see Moran, Louis, Josephine and Fred with a child on his back with an injured leg. She kicked the body aside and smiled innocently at the group 

"I see you have dealt with the baskervilles," she said as she wiped blood off of her face. 

"Where's William?" Louis asked anxiously 

(Name) nodded her head in the direction of the fortress "we spilt up. This idiot," she kicked the body again "was having children run through bear traps..thankfully I had him killed fairly easily." 

Moran looked at the body and for a moment, he paused as if contemplating something in regards to how the monster had been killed 

"I suppose we should go meet with William then." 

And so they did. The group approached the exit of the fortress with the rescued children to find William stood outside with two sisters, still traumatised by the incident. 

"William!" 

The blond looked over to the group as Louis spoke. 

"I'm glad to see you safe, brother." He said as the children all reunited with hugs and tears. 

"We killed four of the bastards and saved six kids," Fred reported as William walked towards them. 

"I'm glad to hear that," William smiled "I too have killed a Baskerville." 

"Wouldn't it be better to kill the whole family?" Moran asked as William looked fondly at the children with softened eyes and a satisfied smile 

"If baskerville's bereaved family cares for their prestige, they will burry this incident. Reporting the murder to the police would only bring shame to their names," he explained 

"Makes sense.." The former soldier nodded "let's  leave before the stewards return. I want booze~" 

"Your ladyship..!" 

"Good morning," the young (name) smiled as the servant carried a parcel to the grand duke's office. (Name) was just about to enter the room after strolling around the mansion, bored after the departure of her brother to England. 

He had left only half a month ago now and (name) had assumed he had been studying hard in university, considering he hadn't sent her a letter yet even though he promised to do so the moment he set foot in the country. She was happy for him of course, she and her parents had sent him off well but she still missed him. He was (name)'s brother and only playmate in the grand dukedom despite their large gap in age. 

"Has (brother's name) sent a letter yet?" She asked, hiding the desperate tone in her voice. The servant looked down at the small girl who was smiling at him. He placed the parcel on the ground and nodded. 

"It seems to be addressed to your parents specifically but it may be a gift for you as an apology for not replying to your letters yet." The servant theorised as (name)'s smile grew wider. 

"If I were to open the parcel, would you promise to not let their graces know?" She whispered mischievously as she put a finger to her lips 

The servant paused for a moment, wishing to say no but it seemed the little girl had trapped him with an adorable smile. 

"Only if you promise to take the blame." The servant smiled. The young lady was quite close with most of the servants in the grand dukedom. They had all enjoyed working there especially in the presence of (name) because of her intelligence and that contradicting personality she had that was childish and entertaining. 

(Name) laughed and nodded "I assure you, you shall not suffer any issues because of me." She said as she looked down at the large parcel "I wonder what he sent..it is quite large after all." 

"He does adore both your ladyship and their graces. It wouldn't be the first time he has gifted something extravagant." The servant commented as (name) kneeled down to the parcel, slowly peeling away at the paper wrapping it. A wooden carton had seemed to be beneath it.

"Eurgh.." (name) grimaced "It stinks..the British must have terrible gifts if it smells this bad.." 

The air in the hallway had grown strange, something wasn't right. Her intuition told her to take her small hands away from the lid of the box but her curiosity had overcome her and she pulled it away, peeping inside as she stood on her tip toes. 

As soon as she saw what was inside, (name) froze. 

The servant hadn't seen what was inside after she let the lid fall back on the box but (name)'s reaction as she stumbled backwards with wide (eye colour) eyes which were once so bright and full of life had turned dull was enough to alarm him. 

"Your ladyship!" 

"What on earth is happening out here?" The grand duchess called out beside the grand duke. They looked at their frightened daughter with concern and confusion "(name)? What's the matter?" Her mother asked as she knelt beside the nine year old, placing her hand on her head. 

She couldn't speak properly and only pointed with a shaking arm at the now shut box with a quivering lip. 

The grand duke opened it hesitantly and his hand flew to his mouth.

Their son's decapitated head  was lying in the box, covered in his own blood. 

 His wife soon followed but instead of panicking, despite being so distraught, she ordered the box to be taken into their office and a physician to take (name) elsewhere to deal with the absolute fear that came over the child. 

As the physician was taking her hand to guide her away though, the little girl snapped out of her trance and started screaming and crying out of anger with the occasional curse word. 

"Find the bastard who killed him! It was those British pigs! I know it was! I'm going to find them and make them regret ever hurting (brother's name)!!" 

(Name) finally awoke, blinking up at the roof of her canopy bed. She rubbed at her bloodshot eyes and eventually sat up, recollecting her nightmare, or rather memory. 

'This wouldn't have happened if Theo hadn't come back to haunt me. That pathetic son of a bitch is still pestering me after being dead for seven years,' she thought as she looked around her dark room. The door was slightly open and from across the hall, she could see light of a candle still shining. In the London manor, William's room was coincidentally opposite her own whereas it was right beside hers in the Durham manor. 

'William's still awake..' 

She stood up from her bed, wrapping a white robe over her nightgown of the same colour and slid on a pair of slippers before walking out of her bedroom, unsure of what she actually wished to do. Perhaps she could walk around, get a glass of water. She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve and began to walk down the hallway. As she reached William's room, ready to walk past it, she paused for a moment. 

From what she had seen, he would usually spend his nights in his office. His bedroom was usually untouched until he felt incredibly tired of work and had no choice but to sleep. She found it odd he had even decided to step foot in his room. Honestly, the man would worry her frequently. 

She took a quick peek inside, contemplating whether she should seek comfort in him or not, to see his laying in his bed, holding a book in one hand although from where she stood, she couldn't see the title. Her eyes shifted to his soft, delicate hands and the intense gaze of his beautiful red eyes, which reflected the warm candlelight in an alluring manner, on the pages which she almost felt jealous of as he turned the page with a slim finger. A few strands of his messy yet soft looking blond hair shielded his eyes slightly. As much as she desired to, she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. 

'When did I start to think such strange things..' she thought as a flash of white quickly jumped onto his lap. Their unnamed kitten had curled itself up onto William's lap as he read his book as he dropped on hand down to stork it absentmindedly. 

'So that's where he went..'  

(Name) had hoped the little kitten would have liked her a lot more than William considering it had been by her side the most since it had arrived but it had snuck out of her room at night just went she needed comfort after her nightmare. She already felt herself feeling slightly better now that she had been distracted. How long had she been stood there, she hadn't noticed but it was possibly a few minutes now. 

She stopped staring and looked away, slowly moving further down the hall to go downstairs, avoiding each creaky step carefully until a voice called out to her. 

"(Name)..?" 

She turned around as she realised William had spotted her from his bedroom door. She peered inside with an innocent smile. 

"You called." 

"Why are you still awake?" William asked calmly "It's very late, you know." 

"I could say the same to you," (name)  said as she leaned against the doorframe, her hair disarray and her eyes still slightly red "It's none of your concern, pretty boy." 

William could feel the tips of his ears turn pink but ignored the sensation and continued "You've been crying." He said as he shut his book and he lifted the kitten to put him at the chest at foot of his bed as he stood up and walked towards the door where his wife stood. 

"N..No I've not," (name) denied as she averted her gaze. All of a sudden the dresser seemed to be looking quite interesting. "What did I say about minding your business..?" 

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" William inquired, ignoring (name)'s protests. "You know, your parents have been sending me a letters more frequently nowadays.." 

Was this idiot really changing the subject? At a time like this, (name) questioned. She furrowed her brow as William trailed off 

"My parents send you letters?" 

The blond fought back a smirk at her surprise and explained. "They do. Ever since our marriage. It usually consisted of them getting to know me and maybe subtle questions about our relationship, nothing too explicit." He said as he leaned closer to (name), tilting her chin so her eyes were on him and only him "But as of late, following their visit, they have been asking more about you and asking me to check up on you. You, however, are quite stubborn especially when it comes to emotional vulnerability so I've not had much luck in regards to your parent's wishes.." 

"You're equally if not more stubborn than I am," (name) retorted "and why on earth would I be vulnerable with a man as foul as yourself." 

"Oh you wound me.." William chuckled, placing a free hand to his chest  "as your husband, I do wish you would tell me what this nightmare was about though..perhaps I could provide comfort." 

"And if I did...you would not ridicule me for it..?" (Name) asked hesitantly, as if contemplating the idea 

"All I need is for you to speak your desires and they shall be fulfilled." William turned to stand beside the (hair colour)-ette as she sighed. 

"Fine.." she said softly, looking into William's scarlet eyes.  "I..I had a nightmare..can I sleep in your bed tonight..? Please?" 

William's placed his hand on her the top of her head and smiled as he patted her head, as if she were a cat. "Good girl." 

Ignoring the heat rising to her cheeks, (name) swatted William's hand away with a frown as he laughed quietly again. (Name) shut the door behind the two of them as she stood there, mildly uncomfortable with the silence between them. William climbed back into bed, patting the mattress beside him with a soft smile. 

"The beds awfully cold when I'm the only one beneath the covers," he said as (name) rolled her eyes and removed her robe along with her slippers before climbing in beside him, laying flat on her back awkwardly. William looked down at her and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face, his touch gentle and lingering. 

"If you keep staring at me, I won't be able to fall asleep," (name) said, although she uncharacteristically allowed him to continue his acts of affection. "I'm not very interesting to look at..read a book or play with the kitten if you wish." 

"The kitten? Have you still not decided on a name yet?" William asked with a smirk 

"Why? Have you?" 

"I've thought of a few ideas..Romeo seems to suit him a lot," he said as the small cat crawled towards him, almost as if he had summoned him. "If he was female, I would've named him after you." 

"Romeo was foolish. He died for love without even checking if Juliet was still alive in her coffin," (name) said as she propped herself up on her elbows to sit up.

"I've heard love makes one very sacrificial." 

 "That's even more foolish but anyways," she continued "If we were to name the cat after someone, we could always name him after you?" 

William paused. He had never felt particularly attached to his name. It wasn't his, and it never would be. He shook his head with a fading melancholic smile. 

"It's because it isn't your real name, is it?" (Name) asked, although she already knew the answer and she already knew his real name. She hadn't mentioned she did previously but in her many attempts to get to know William through reading any possible documents she could get her hands on with connections to him, she had seen a name at some point in a court document alongside Louis' and she had known that was what William's real name was. 

William's changed the subject almost instantly, asking what (name) had dreamed of to cause her such upset. It was now her turn to be quiet, laying back down onto the bed as she stared at the ceiling. 

"I don't really know how to put it.." she whispered. If she had spoken any louder, her voice surely would have cracked and she felt she was about to burst into tears at any moment. "It's quite a long story and..my memories aren't exactly accurate.." 

"Traumatic events tend to have that effect on people," her husband said  "You can talk to me for as long as you'd like. I'll listen without tiring..how about we start with what was in your nightmare?" 

"Are you sure? It is quite visceral.." 

"I'm sure..I've seen plenty visceral things in my 24 years of living," william said with a quiet chuckle. 

(Name) furrowed her brow "That isn't something to joke about...you make me worry for you sometimes.." 

William continued his previous act of playing with her (hair colour) hair with a slight tint of pink in his cheeks. "You worry about me?~" 

(Name) glared at William "Do you want to hear about my nightmare or not?" The blond nodded compliantly 

With a few pauses between words to recompose herself and  the occasional wipe of a tear, (name) had told William about the nightmare she had. He had listened intently the entire time, not interrupting her by speaking until she was finally done, now with a quivering lower lip and shakey hands, as if he actually cared for her, a feeling that had felt quite foreign for the woman. 

"I apologise..it seems I was being overly emotional," (name) wiped at the tears flowing from her eyes as William gave her a look of sympathy. 

"That's the only correct reaction towards something so awful.." He said "Were you particularly close to your brother?" 

(Name) nodded against the pillow, avoiding the use of words to prevent her eyes becoming a faucet for her tears and sorrows. William caressed her cheek reassuringly and continued speaking, ensuring his tone was soothing for her. 

"And I'm assuming you were the one who had the Arden family killed as revenge?" He whispered, rubbing a tear away with his thumb. 

"You know about that..?" (Name) asked, her voice cracking mid sentence 

William nodded "Although not the full story..Albert had only told me what he had known of you when he joined the military and was promoted to a position where he could find out about your several crimes against the empire, none of which were done in vain.." 

(Name) let out a dry laugh for a second before returning to sadness. She contemplated what to say for a moment before asking william a favour she never would have expected to do. 

"Can you...can you wrap your arms around me..? Is that alright..?" She asked quietly "you don't have to if you don't want to.." 

William shook his head "I don't mind in the slightest.." he said as he wrapped an arm around his wife, gently guided her to rest against his chest as he held her in his arms. 

She continued, explaining her past with Theodore Arden accompanied with streams of silent tears as she hid her face in William's chest. 

She had met the man for the first time when she was studying in the library with a frown. He had assumed she was struggling and approached her 'explaining' the theorem to her. (Name) remembered thinking of him as an idiot, he had gotten the entire concept terribly wrong but each time she'd interrupt to correct him, he would act superior and say she was only a mere woman, he clearly knew better. She hadn't liked him the moment she had met him and only chose to court him because she had realised after their interaction that he was the son of her target that had brought her to the pathetic country anyways. 

Following her brothers death, (name) had kept to herself. She would lock herself away in her bedroom and study till her hands and eyes were aching. She had learnt various tactics of manipulation and studied the art of seduction at such a young age. She planned to go to university in England, find who killed her brother and get her revenge, then return home after graduation, although the final stage had been changed due to the influence of a certain blond. After tracing the package, she had found it to be sent by a Viscount Arden, a man who was in charge of the operation to kill her brother, ordered from the head of military intelligence who had come before Mycroft Holmes. Both died at her hands. 

She had believed that her poor innocent brother had been killed solely as a 'warning' from Britain to (home country) after attempting to resist British troops.  That was the only possibility and she hated the British for it. She despised them and their empire. She wanted revenge 

(Name) had accepted Theodore's so called love confession which she had received only a couple of weeks after their first encounter. It was clear he didn't love her but (name) had given up on all ideas of love long ago. The foolish man had seemed to not understand courtship etiquette however and (name) soon realised that she wasn't the only one using the other. Still, she endured every act of 'affection' and used it as an opportunity to steal documents from the viscount each time she would visit his son which she would then use as proof and blackmail in case the military intelligence had come for her. 

Eventually she had shot all of the residents of the Arden estate dead apart from viscount Arden and his son. She had the former tied to a chair while she tortured his son in the same way she had found that the British had tortured her brother till the viscount was screaming and begging to be killed. The entire event had seemed more like a strange dream than reality, (name) felt herself to be in a vengeful trance the entire time 

It wasn't difficult for her to kill the 'love of her life' in such a way. She had hated him so passionately through their 'courtship' and if she hadn't had him killed, she would feel unfulfilled, not to mention her reputation would be at stake and that could cause many issues. Following the Arden family massacre, which it had once been referred to in a newspaper before it was desperately covered it up after (name) had blackmailed the queen herself , young (name) was still filled with blood lust. She killed every single person who knew of the incident of her brothers death without a second thought and the former director of military intelligence, yet with each person she killed, she never felt satisfied. 

She eventually stopped the borderline unreasonable killing spree after a year or so and was instead distracted by her strange schoolmate who held much more mystery than he let on. It would be years before she felt the need to kill again. 

“I think the strangest thing of all is that I feel no guilt after doing what I did..” she whispered “Perhaps I was cold hearted with Theodore’s murder..but something in me tells me it was very much deserved..” 

“And why is that?” William asked. He felt he had no place to judge (name). After all, he had already been familiar with murder at such a young age and had (name) told him how much she despised the older man, he would have happily killed his in her stead 

“It feels as though..” she paused as her voice cracked, trying to find the right words “He had taken something from me that I can never get back..Although I recognise that there are probably people who have had it much worse than I. That was partially the reason I chose to use my position for good.” 

“Although that is very noble of you, you still did face many hardships. I doubt your brother would have wanted you denying your suffering like that,” William pressed a kiss to the top of her head, bringing his wife closer to him as she felt more tears flow from her eyes and wet his shirt. She had grown more tired after crying for so long and the comfort of William’s embrace had only made (name) feel safer 

“you are very strong, (name). I admire you for that, and I wish you would see that too.” 

A/N: sorry for not updating 😭 this chapter is like 6.5k+ words lol anyways I can’t write hurt/comfort but hopefully this made sense at least. More on fls backstory finally. ALSO WHOEVER COMMENTED AMAZON PACKAGE DELIVERIES IN THE 1800s ON THE SNEAK PEAK I HOPE BOTH SIDES OF YOUR PILLOW ARE WARM TONIGHT uhhh anyways a lot to unpack here and why is fl getting jealous of a book ffs (she’s so relatable)