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woahitslucyylu · 4 years ago

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Distant.

GIF credit @masonthegooding.

Author’s Note: Here is another installment of Baby Mama. EJ is brand new and so is this situationationship. Enjoy, sleazies!

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Erik leaned against the railing of the VIP section - staring down at the pulsing crowd as lights danced across the darkness. He felt the heavy bass in his chest as the DJ played yet another crowd pleaser. The Hennessy tasted bitter and warm as he sipped slowly. His eyes trailed a petite brunette with radiant skin. Her curls were tight and kinky, like yours, and his breath caught in his throat as his mind drifted to you, home alone, with his newborn son.

Erik swallowed the rest of his liquor, relishing in the burn. He had done everything short of beg and plead to keep you from moving out, but you were adamant you needed your own space - distance was the word you kept repeating. How the fuck can you be distant from the father of your child? He gestured to the waitress for another drink - destined to drown the want for you in a sea of liquor and nameless pussy.

He slid into the booth - his arm resting on the shoulder of a third wheel, her friends wrapped up in his, and smiled - his golds peeking through his sly smile. He offered a shot to the stranger as he reached for his phone vibrating in his pocket. Your picture lit up his screen - your bright eyes melting his resolve even in a picture.

ej needs diapers :(

Erik was clear that any need EJ had would be taken care of, and he meant that shit - even if he was in the club, trying to score some new pussy and a number. Pushing the heavy glass onto the table, Erik stood, shouting over the trap music - “Aye, I’m out.” He dapped his friends, leaving his true purpose unsaid as he left the third wheel pouting in the leather booth.

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“Oh, my bad,” Erik pulled his cart to the side allowing the Karen to pass as he studied the shelf of diapers. His eyes scanned for the teal label and white lettering - grabbing two boxes of two different sizes and sliding them under the cart with ease.

Erik pushed the cart slowly through the aisle - searching for familiar labels he had seen at your apartment. You had only texted him for diapers, but what if you had forgotten other stuff? Grabbing diaper cream, body wash, and two packs of wipes, Erik pushed the cart through Target, one of few shoppers in this twilight hour.

Walking into the grocery section, he couldn’t help himself as he grabbed your favorite snacks and drinks. You hadn’t asked for anything, but did you have groceries? He didn’t know. You had been bringing EJ over for visits and hadn’t invited Erik to your new apartment yet. It had stung that you hadn’t opened your space to him, but he respected your wishes for distance - whatever the fuck that meant.

As he approached the check out, the display of fresh flowers caught his eye. He never bought a bitch flowers before, but you weren’t a bitch. He grabbed a bouquet of pink roses, laying them gently on the filled cart, and walked towards the check out.

Approaching self-checkout, Erik grumbled, “Why the fuck do I have to scan my own shit if I don’t work here?”

The lone cashier approached wearing a tired smile, “Late night shopping for the family?” Her smile was sickeningly sweet as she started scanning Erik’s groceries, taking over the self-checkout.

His nose scrunched at the invasive question, “Yeah, something like that.” He shoved his hands deep in his pockets as the cashier attempted small talk. Erik wasn’t listening as she droned about how her husband would never do the family’s shopping and he must be a special breed. “If your man isn’t willing to get what you need, you need a new man.” Erik scoffed, swiping his card absentmindedly, ignoring the three digit amount of his impulsive shopping trip.

Leaving the receipt and a speechless cashier, he pushed his cart to the exit, texting you as he walked into the parking lot.

be there in fifteen. open the door.

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He rode in silence to your apartment - an out of the way complex off a side street in the cut. He offered to pay for your bills and you refused - determined to earn it on your own. He offered his apartment to you and you refused. He offered to rent a house for you and EJ and you refused. You refused his gifts and money, instead asking for quality time - his attention was the most expensive gift he could afford.

You had fallen into the role so effortlessly - EJ shifting to the center of your universe and Erik falling into rotation - pulling at you like the moon to the waves as he tried to find his place in the new family. The complex was nearly deserted - your shiny SUV sitting oddly in front of the modest townhome. Buying you a new car was the deal breaker - Erik declaring his son wouldn’t ride around in a metal death trap and he gifted you a small SUV the day after you came home from the hospital.

Backing into the space, he opened the hatch, his muscular arms carrying the bags of groceries with ease. He left the flowers and diapers - saving those for the final trip and turned, jogging up the cement steps to your walkway. Tapping the door with his shoe, he heard you shifting inside, mumbling to yourself as you cracked the door.

“Shit, Erik. You scared me.” You opened the door, eyes wide, as he stepped into the small foyer, arms laden with groceries. “What is all this?” You tip-toed after him as he walked into the galley kitchen, dropping the groceries wordlessly and heading back to his truck as you started to unpack the bounty of items.

Your eyes gleamed as you found your favorite snacks. He even remembered favorite flavors - making sure all your yogurt was mixed berry and your Oreos were golden.

“Here. These are for you.” Erik stacked the diaper boxes in the hall as he held the flowers extended towards you. “I thought, you know, you’d like the pink ones.” His gaze fell to the almost unpacked groceries. “I hope I got all your favorites. I ain’t know if you had food or not. I just…” His voice trailed off as your arms wrapped around his waist - your soft frame melting into his.

He felt your body shake with soft cries as he held you close. The tenderness of the moment overwhelming you as you cried into his shirt - the gesture of flowers and your favorite snacks bringing you to tears. Being home alone and taking care of EJ alone took its toll and left a tired and weary stranger in its place.

“You okay, little mama?” Erik’s heavy hand rubbed your back as your tears dried against his shirt. You nuzzled into him - letting his security wrap you up and piece you back together with each tight squeeze. Erik felt your arms tighten around him as he shifted to the couch, pulling you into a sitting embrace. As you sank in his lap, your head nuzzled into his neck and your breathing slowed as he continued to caress you softly.

“Thank you.” Your appreciation was no more than a whisper, spoken into his neck as you shifted in his lap. “It’s been so tough. I’ve felt so alone.” Your confession was painful, but necessary. Your friends had drifted into the shadows and your family had visited, but couldn’t stay. Erik was all you had, despite his flaws.

“Aye, you never have to say thank you. You’re mine. He’s mine. I take care of mine.” He pulled your full bottom lip, watching it bounce under the weight of his thick thumb. “You don’t always have to be so hard. It’s okay to want me.” The pad of his thumb slid over the apple of your cheek. “It’s okay to need me.” The air felt heavy as your head fell against his shoulder - words left strangled in throats as EJ’s soft cries echoed through the apartment.

#babymama #babydaddyerik #erik kilmonger x reader #Erik Killmonger #erik killmonger fanfiction #erik killmonger fluff #black panther fanfiction

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alyasgf · 4 years ago

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Taste Testing -Marichat May Day 3 Dirt

All || Previous || Next

Summary- Chat challenges Marinette to bake him the pie she feels he’d like the best. Marinette isn’t one to back down from a challenge, nor is she prone to accepting failure.

Notes- This was going to be for the Café prompt until I had a much better idea for that. Instead heres a veryy loose dirt prompt for day 3. Look out for the café one though because I have two words for you, Cat Café. Sorry this ones so short but enjoy!

AO3

Word Count- 633

Begin

Chat Noir came into the café every other day just before closing like clockwork. It had gotten to the point that Marinette would have his order warm and ready by the time he arrived.

His order was always the same. Two passionfruit croissants, a wedge of camembert, and a medium cup of warm vanilla milk.

Still, he insisted on ordering. Marinette thinks he just enjoys saying, “I’ll have my usual” but he firmly denies it, claiming to truly not know if he’ll order the same thing. Of course his sly smirk said otherwise.

Marinette enjoyed making special treats for her partner. After deciding to give up on Adrien, she had plenty of free time. Sometimes she’d drop in an extra pastry she’d been trying to perfect that week.

“Wow Marinette! You’ve truly outdone yourself with this eclair!” Chat exclaimed through a mouthful of the sweet snack.

“Ugh thanks Chat, I’ve been trying all week. For some reason I just couldn’t get the texture right.”

They’d do this sometimes. When he’d show up right before Marinette locked up the shop, she’d let him sit with her at a table while the closed sign hung in the window.

They’d talk about nothing in particular. Sometimes it was the akuma of the day or Marinette’s latest project. They never talked about anything too personal, as Marinette was afraid she’d accidentally give away her identity or figure out Chat’s.

“I’m out of new things to try to make. Any recommendations?” She asked the leather clad hero as he shoved the rest of the pastry into his mouth. He got a bit of frosting in the corner of his mouth and Marinette was tempted to wipe it off for him.

Instead she handed him a napkin which he gratefully accepted while answering simply, “Pie.”

Marinette laughed. “Just pie? No specific flavor or anything?”

“Nope. I want you to surprise me. Pick a flavor you think I’ll like best. Truly a test to see if you’re really my friend.” He dawned a familiar smirk and stood up.

“I expect nothing but the best from you Marinette Dupain Cheng.” And with that he dropped his money on the table and left.

Marinette decided she was up for the challenge.

Her first try was banana crepe pie.

“It’s okay,” Chat began after taking a generous bite, “still fruit pies aren’t really my thing.”

“I should’ve known. With your sweet tooth you just can’t seem to appreciate anything subtle.” She pouted while taking note of what she learned.

Next, she tried a French silk pie. She figured the cat might have a taste for a creamier filling.

When he took a bite his face screwed up in distaste.

“Well, it’s nothing you did but I really don’t like Oreos.” Marinette gasped. “I’m sorry! I just think they’re overrated, that’s all.”

“Chat Noir you are a disgrace to cats. Everyone knows Oreos are milks favorite cookie!”

This was the attempt she had to get right. Third times a charm and she wasn’t exactly used to failure.

This time she decided to go with what she felt would best suit him, and that was a simple Dirt Pie. Instead of Oreos however, she used graham crackers and added strawberry flavored creme so it nearly tasted like a strawberry cheesecake.

It was more American than French, but by now she figured Chat enjoyed the simple things. He was made happy by small smiles and light touches. He showed his love through warm looks and words of encouragement. Nothing complicated, everything straightforward. That’s what she loved most about her kitty.

As she handed Chat his usual order, she followed it up with a slice of the strawberry creamed pie.

He took a bite and gave her a whipped creme filled smile. “It’s perfect Marinette!”

“Well Chat, it’s just like you. Simple, sweet, and a complete mess.” She chuckled as she leaned forward and wiped a stray bit of the dirt crumble off the corner of his lip with her thumb.

Another flawless dessert achieved by Paris’ very own Ladybug.

@marichatmay

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atsukashii · 4 years ago

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❝chance encounter❞ // k. takami

SYNOPSIS: ➛ bickering with Japans number 2 hero about ice cream flavours in a supermarket wasn’t how you expected to spend your Friday night

» CHARACTER PAIRING: keigo takami/hawks x reader

» WORD COUNT: 2.9K

» GENRE: normal?

» WARNINGS: swearing & fluff and just crack really

« masterlist || ao3 »

You had been craving mint chocolate ice cream literally all day. But then again, craving anything with exceedingly high levels of sugar and crap-loads of chocolate wasn’t anything new recently. In times like these, owning your own bakery was both the best decision you’ve ever made, and a huge mistake. Considering you had been up since three am baking away in the kitchen of your cafe and had snacked on basically one of every sweet thing that came out of the oven and anything you had in the display cabinet, if you kept this up you’d have to get a gym membership. But right now, you wanted mint chocolate ice cream. You look down at your stomach and for a moment, the thought of eating healthily crosses your mind. The thought is, however, instantly pushed out by the idea of you, on your couch, in your pj’s, with a pint of mint chocolate ice-cream, watching TV and de-stressing about the absolutely crappy day you had. That sounds way better.

Walking straight down the candy aisle of the supermarket, you don't even bother glancing at your basket as you toss in chocolates, chips, soft drinks, and any unhealthy food you can physically get your hands on. Out of the corner of your eye, you see an old lady coming towards you with a trolley, who looks up from her list, and eyes your basket with disdain.

Cut me some slack, you want to snap at her, I’m heartbroken and pissed off!

You ignore the dirty look she gives you, and snatch a bottle of Coke off the shelf. You were very much aware that you currently looked like you had been digging through garbage all day. Your clothes - even though you wore an apron - no doubt have flour on them, your hair looks like a rat made its home on your head, and your eyes dry and itchy from crying. You knew you looked like a mess, you have just surpassed the threshold of actually caring about your appearance. Like your ex didn’t care about showing up at your shop with his new thing after dumping me only two weeks ago…

The second your friend and co-owner of the cafe saw him in the store, they kicked him out, wielding the broom like a weapon. You had wished that they smacked him in the face with it, but fearing assault charges - they didn’t. He didn’t leave however, until after he had flaunted his new relationship in your face. You had thankfully moved on past the whole, ‘why’ stage of the breakup, and came to the conclusion it was purely because he was a trash human being. However, to say that it didn’t hurt seeing him holding another girl’s hand and acting like he used to do with you, with someone else - well that would be a lie. It had been two weeks after all, and considering you had been together for two years - it felt as if those 24 months had meant nothing to him.

So now, you wanted to drown your pain in chocolates, and mint chocolate ice cream and no one was going to stand in your way.

You walk over to the freezer section of the store with confidence in your step, suddenly excited to get home and start bingeing the romance section on Netflix. That enthusiasm quickly dies as you reach for the handle of the freezer, your eyes locking onto the empty row where your favorite ice cream flavor always sat. You’re joking… You blinked at the glass as if trying to force the food into being before you.

There. Is. None. Left.

“You’ve got to be kidding me right now,” you groan. Of all days for there to be a shortage, it had to be today. You look down at your basket of Oreos, pocky’s, soft drink, chips, and everything else you had craved the second you saw it on the shelves. I’d trade it all for ice cream though… Resting your head on the cold glass of the freezer, you let out a groan of frustration. This was just the topping to an already crappy day. It was ironic when people say not to cry over spilled milk - and here you were wanting to cry over ice cream.

“Tough day?” A voice startles you away from the fridge. Following the sound, your head snaps to your left where your eyes immediately meet a golden pair that have your lungs spluttering and frantically, trying to figure out how the heck to breathe. Okay, he’s attractive. Like really attractive. His golden eyes are practically glowing at you with amusement, his hair looking like liquid gold - and super soft. You kinda want to touch it. In washed-out black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a denim jacket stopping the cold from the open freezers, he looks too attractive to be real. But then your eyes lock onto the red wings, peeking from behind his shoulders and you know who he is in an instant. The question though, was why the heck the number two pro hero Hawks was even currently talking to you right now. Realizing you hadn’t answered him yet, and instead, were just checking him out instead for god knows how long, you clear your throat and reply.

“Tough week.” You correct, pulling yourself together before looking down at your basket again, hoping it doesn’t look as pathetic as the rest of you. “And to top it off, there’s none of my favourite ice cream left.” Letting out a groan, you shift on your feet. You don’t know why you just said that maybe you didn’t want the attractive blonde hero to go just yet.

With an over-dramatic wince, Hawks leans his shoulder against the glass, as chilled out as the food inside the freezer. “Ouch, I know that feeling. That’s true betrayal,” he says, his eyes playful. It brings a small smile to your lips, and he takes that as an opportunity to stick out his hand to you. “Keigo Takami,” Hawks introduces himself as if you didn’t know who he was. Maybe he doesn’t think you would know… With a friendly smile and butterflies flying frantically inside your stomach, you shake his hand.

“Y/n Y/l/n. It’s nice to meet you,” you reply, trying not to think about how big his hand is compared to your own. God, was there flour on your hands right now? You prayed you had managed to wash it all off fully and that you didn’t suddenly look as run-down as you thought you did. Quickly -but not too fast to make him think you didn’t want to touch him- you drop the handshake and wipe your hands as inconspicuously as you can, on your jeans.

“Beautiful name,” he glances at the empty ice-cream shelf. “But a girl with questionable choices in ice cream flavours.” You gape at Keigo in utter shock. Oh, he did not just say that.

“You did not just say that.” You repeat out loud.

“I’m afraid so.” He answers, one hand in his pocket the other holding his basket, and a care-free smile covering his lips. “Who likes mint choc anyways?” For a moment you sputter for a response at this blatant ridicule against the best ice-cream flavour to ever exist. You will happily fight anyone on that, including the number two pro hero in Japan.

“Intelligent people, that’s who.” You argue back. “I bet you’re the kind of person whose favourite is vanilla.” His golden eyebrows shoot up at your words.

“What’s wrong with good old fashioned vanilla Y/n?” Your name slips off his tongue like pure honey and it would normally send shivers down your spine. No, you will not look past this obvious disrespect against your ice cream preferences, not even for hot guys. No, you will not.

“It’s the most boring flavour to ever exist.”

“And mint choc isn’t?” He asks like it's a loaded question. Shaking your head at both his uneducated taste buds and this whole conversation, it begins to dawn on you that you’re smiling. When was the last time you smiled a lot recently? You question yourself, trying to wind back through your hazy memories of the past two weeks - and coming up with nothing.

“Mint chocolate is the best. You should tell your taste buds that what the ice-cream they think they enjoy is crappy ice-cream.” and Hawks is grinning at you, it’s a smile that is contagious, and has your own growing bigger with every passing word.

“I’ll be sure to let them know.” God this whole conversation was one of the weirdest you had ever had in your life. And the fact that you had it with a pro hero, and Hawks for that matter...that just made it thirty times more strange. Looking back to the freezer, you decide you still want ice cream and settle for strawberry and cream, which earns a look from hawks as you put it in your basket.

“Shut up,” you defend, fake glaring at the blonde. Holding his hands up feigning innocence, Keigo shrugs at you.

“I didn’t say anything sweet-cheeks.” Your cheeks in question flush hotly at the term, and you quickly fiddle with the handle of your basket, giving you something to do so you don’t stand there looking like a complete idiot at his blatant flirting.

“But if you’re going to question my taste buds, then yours must be just as bad. Because last time I checked, Wagon Wheels were still way better than Oreo's.” His eyes meet yours, delight swirling inside his liquid golden irises and you can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out your lips, shaking your head slightly.

“Okay, you’re definitely crazy.”

“Only a little bit,” Keigo smirks before his smile falls at the contents of your basket. You square your shoulders, knowing that there’s a chance that he might give you shit for its contents like that old lady from before. But the words that do come from his mouth surprise you.

“Was that the last KitKat?” Immediately, you look at the red packaging of the chocolate block inside your basket, and then back to the pro hero who is now gazing at it like it's made of diamonds. Hawks look’s like you imagine you had when you’d grabbed it off the shelf, seeing that it was the last one and deciding that it had to be some sort of sign that things were looking up for you. That was, of course, before you had seen the travesty of the empty mint chocolate shelf of the supermarket freezer.

“I’ll trade you.” Keigo suddenly says, making you eye the man. “I’ll trade you the KitKat for this,” he finishes, reaching into his basket and… pulls out a fucking tub of choc mint ice cream. Are you kidding me??

“You’re joking.” Staring at him, at the sheepish smile across his face, you shake your head.

“Afraid not.” He tilts his head at you. “That is unless you don’t want it…” going to lower the tub back into his basket, a noise comes out of your throat that has him smirking again. Embarrassment flooding your features, you shift slightly and glare at the hero.

“I thought you didn’t like that flavour?” You point out, wanting to know what the hell was going on.

“Oh no I do - it's one of my favourites. I just needed a reason to keep on talking to you,” Keigo admits unashamedly as you feel your cheeks warm again. If I was ever questioning if he was hitting on me…

“Oh,” is all you can manage to get out before your brain begins to catch up with the world again. “Well, in that case, I’ll trade.” Agreeing, you pass him the chocolate block and he gives you the tub of ice cream, your hand brushes him and you try not to act like a crazy person about how attracted to him you are.

“Thank you,” you try to say but it comes out as a slight whisper. His mouth morphs into a cocky smile, which just makes you flush even more.

“No, thank you y/n” he says, shaking the Kit-kat for emphasis in his hand. “They’re the best chocolate to ever exist.”

“Finally we agree on something,” You laugh, finally turning you back on the freezer and begin to walk backward, away from the hero. When he notices you moving from him, with every step away from that you make, he takes one forward, following you through the store.

“No, we agreed on the ice-cream too,” he beams.

“That’s right because really, you were just being an ass and hiding that fact from me.” You sass back, spinning around so you can see where you’re going.

“In order to keep talking to you, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.” He says, hurrying forward until you are walking side by side down a different aisle, moving slowly towards the checkout. Your footsteps are both slow and leisurely as if neither of you wants to reach the check out just yet. “But it worked, didn’t it? So I’d say it was worth your glare.” You turn that ‘glare’ back on him and raise an eyebrow at his antics.

“You could have said something else you know.”

“Such as?” He asks, genuinely curious. You weren’t an intimidating person, so you weren’t sure as to why a guy such as Hawks would be wary of approaching you. Especially when the reality is that those roles are definitely reversed. Was your resting bitch face that bad?

“You could have said, ‘Hey, I think you’re cute. Can I have your number?” Rolling his eyes at your words, disbelievingly.

“You’re telling me that line would work on someone like you?” Unsure if that was a compliment or not, you stop in the middle of the aisle causing him to stop next to you. You look into his eyes, trying to judge where his mind is but he’s hard to read. The only thing you knew, was that his smile seemed genuine and very amused by you. That was good enough for you.

“Try me.” You test, confidence coming up from who knows where. With raised eyebrows and calling your bluff, Hawks smirks at you.

“Hey y/n, I know we just met but I think you’re really cute. Can I have your number?” He teases.

“Sure.” Keigo blinks at you for a moment, then two - as if he can’t believe the words that came out of your mouth. First, it comes out slowly, then all at once, the corners of his mouth pull up into a dazzling smile, and a deep laugh rumbles from his chest. It’s the smile though, and the happiness that seeps from him that has your head feeling dizzy. A small smile cracks across your face as you begin to rattle off your number. Keigo scrambles for his phone and quickly types it in, not missing a beat for a second. One he slips it back into his back pocket, you move your basket to your other arm and walk away from the hero. Only looking over your shoulder when you’re a few feet away.

“It was nice to meet you Hawks.” Keigo runs a hand through his blonde hair, a delighted chuckle slipping past his lips that has you grinning. He had so underestimated you.

“You’re going to keep me on my toes aren’t you?”

“Oh, you bet bird boy.” You say, turning away from him and walking to the checkout. Today might not be that bad after all, you think as the older lady scans your items and bags them. It’s only then that you realize again that the whole time you had been talking to Keigo, your crappy day had been forgotten and you had actually laughed. The entire thing, he did because he noticed you frazzled and looking down. Your respect for the hero grew, and it took everything in you to not turn around to where you knew he was now standing a few people behind you in the line. Instead, you left the store, the smile not moving from your face. You don’t even make it a few feet from the glass automatic doors of the supermarket before your phone pings, vibrating in your jacket pocket. Reaching inside you look at the new text, immediately knowing who it’s from.

From Unknown: Want to go get dinner with me sometime this week? - the KitKat fiend.

You giggle at the way he ends it, and quickly tap out a response.

As long as it’s not seafood I’m there. You reply, before you turn around, looking through the glass windows and finding his golden hair quickly. In the midst of a conversation with the store clerk, he suddenly reaches for his pocket and grabs his phone with furrowed brows. Suddenly, a beautiful, bright smile that even has the shop lady hesitating with her scanning just to witness it, stretches across his face. Keigo quickly fiddles with his phone before putting it away and turning his attention to the blushing woman behind the counter. Looks like he has that effect on everyone. Your phone vibrates in your hand.

To bird-boy: It's a date.

Who would have thought a small chance encounter with the number two hero where you bicker over ice cream would change your life in such a monumental way.

#hawks fluff #keigo takami #takami keigo #bnha takami keigo #mha hawks #keigo takami x reader #hawks x reader #takami keigo x reader #keigo takami fluff #takami keigho fluff #lolsplaysbingo

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chooseyourownavenger · 3 years ago

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[START] [ABOUT AND WARNINGS] [FAQ]

Steve/ Very, very untraditional.

“I am not very traditional,” you say. “I think I want it to be something different. That just reflects us, and that people remember as being unique and not just another wedding like every other wedding they go to.”

Steve raised his eyebrows at you. “Non-traditional how?” He asked. “I’m not sure I want a Vegas wedding.”

“No, not that,” you laugh. “It has to be us. But I can’t see myself wearing a big white dress, and then the whole fancy meal thing. But, I know you like dancing so we can’t drop that part,” you pause and think for a moment. “The most important thing is that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together, right? If I asked you somewhere very un-wedding-like that you love, what comes to mind?”

Steve chuckles and shakes his head. “For some reason, the first place that popped into my head was Coney Island. I have some pretty happy memories there back when I was a kid. But we can't get married there can we?”

“Why not?” You ask. “We can book the whole place out. Get married in front of the cyclone and set up that whole area with a dance floor for a band, and food stations with little fancy bite-sized versions of carnival food. Our guests could go on rides or dance and it would just be fun. Oh - oh - maybe we could get Thor to officiate? He's your family and what could be more special than being married by an actual god?”

A soft loving expression falls over Steve’s features. He reaches over the table and cradles your jaw. “I would never have considered something like that, but it does sound perfect. The family I've chosen is having fun together as we take this new path.” He smiles and caresses your cheek with his thumb. “I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you,” he says, leaning over the table and kissing you deeply.

There’s a lot that happens in the eighteen months between Steve proposing and your wedding. You ask Hill to be your maid-of-honor because it’s her that led you to meet Steve in the first place. Having Hill as your maid-of-honor, in turn, has led to the strangest of Bridal Showers and the wildest of bachelorette parties. However, she’s the most organized person you know and able to pull strings to get things done that you would have thought is impossible. She organizes every dress fitting and cake tasting that was needed along with things you haven’t even considered.

The ceremony’s going to be held in front of the cyclone in Luna Park. You and Steve have booked out that entire side of the park, so it will just be you and your guests enjoying the day together without the crowds or prying eyes of the press and public. It’s spring, so it won’t be too hot, and the day promises to be relaxed and fun. Outside the Cyclone cafe, a dance floor had been set up with tables around it. The tables aren’t as big as you would normally find at a wedding - most only fitting up to six people - and are white cast iron, decorated in red and yellow ribbons, and centerpieces that looked like rides such as carousels, Ferris wheels, and swing rides.

You have your own caterers but have paid for the use of the kitchen and all the food will be served floating so that people didn’t have to have a set table. It means Steve won’t have to sit at a table in front of everyone while he eats. He’s happy about that, though he isn’t totally sure about having only a carnival-themed menu, so among the mini-hot dogs, and cups of popcorn, peanuts, and cotton candy are also mini-quiches and shrimp skewers.

The cake is three-tiered and has been decorated so it subtly reflected a vintage big top, with red curtains and gold filigree made of gum paste decorating each layer. The middle layer is hexagonal and each side has a highly detailed painting depicting things such as performing horses, elephants, clowns, and various rides. Each is hand-painted using food coloring on fondant and had intricate gold frames. You’ve chosen flavors that felt carnival-like to you. Oreo for the largest layer, apple and caramel for the next, and the smallest would be funfetti.

Maria helps you with the zip on the back of your dress. It is a sleeveless, a-line cut dress, with a heart-shaped bodice that has beadwork around the waist. The fabric is white satin with the very barest hint of blue that from some angles it’s hard to tell if it’s blue at all. The skirt has an overlay of chiffon that blends down into a pastel rainbow at the hem that shifts in color as you walk. “We really better get a move on,” she says.

You smile and nod. “Gotta get in as many rides as we can,” you joke.

She laughs. “Yes, that’s the most important thing happening today. Nothing else life-changing is happening today.”

“Steve and I are already married. This is just to formalize it,” you chuckle as she hands you your bouquet. It’s made up of rosebuds, sweet peas, lilacs, and hydrangea so that the flowers form a ball that looks like a pastel rainbow to match your skirt.

The two of you head downstairs to the pink Cadillac that’s waiting for you and the driver holds the door open for you as you get into the back.

The drive out to Brooklyn takes you over the bridge where Steve proposed and just that is enough to bring tears to your eyes.

“Don’t get all weepy on me now, kid,” Maria teases, handing you some Kleenex. “Your mascara will run.”

“Oh no,” you laugh, running the tissue under your lashes. “I don’t actually want to look like a clown.”

“At least it fits the theme, I guess,” Maria jokes.

The car pulls up at the large blue gates with their bright, orange, blue, and gold crescent moons, and starbursts over them. The driver lets you out of the back and staff from the park greet you and lead you into the park, to the area set up for the wedding. Another staff member spots you coming and hurries to the Harpist and they begin playing the intro to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’.

Maria walks ahead, going down the path between the chairs to the arch that had been decorated in red and white fabric to go with the carnival feel of the wedding. Steve is waiting for you with Thor, Bucky, and Sam. Thor is in his Asgardian regalia, while Steve is in a pale blue suit with a pink rosebud in the lapel, and Bucky and Sam are in white with blue forget-me-nots. When she reaches the end she takes her place next to Steve and you begin your walk down the aisle. Everyone stands and turns to look at you, and cameras start going off around you. Steve looks relaxed and he, Bucky, and Sam are smiling like they’d just been talking about something funny, but as he looks up and sees you, his face softens and such a pure expression of love settles on his features, it makes your heartache with love for him.

You reach him and hand your bouquet to Hill, taking Steve’s hands.

“Friends!” Thor announces, his large booming voice, filling the open space. “We come together today to witness the joining of these two people. The universe is vast and for two to come together and find love and support in each other is a miraculous thing. Love is not a thing that can be measured, it is not a commodity that can be used up, it is ever-changing and adapting, and of unlimited supply. We are here to both share in and celebrate that love shared by these two people.”

Thor takes a gold cord from a table and steps closer to you and Steve. “Before I go any further, you need to state your intent that here today within this circle, you choose to forge these eternal bonds with each other, and do so of your own free will and desire, without coercion or false intentions,” Thor says. “The promises made today and the ties that are bound here greatly strengthen your union and will cross the years and lives of each soul’s growth. Do you seek to enter this contract?”

“We do,” you and Steve answer together.

Thor smiles. “Gaze into the eyes of your lover.”

Steve takes your left hand with his left hand and your right with his right so your arms are crossed over and the two of you look into each other’s eyes.

“Will you share in each other’s pain and seek to alleviate it?” Thor asks.

“We will,” you and Steve reply.

Thor winds the gold cord around your arms and a crackle of electricity passes over it. “And so the binding is made,” he says. “Will you share in each other’s laughter and look for the brightness and positivity in each other?”

“We will.”

Thor winds more of the cord around you both, and you feel the cool buzz from the charge. “And so the binding is made,” he says. “Will you share in each other’s burdens so that your spirits may grow in this union?”

“We will,” you both reply.

More cord is wound around you and now a dull rumble begins to fill the clear blue sky. “Will you share in each other’s dreams?”

“We will,” you both reply.

“And so the binding is made,” Thor says, winding more of the cord around your arms. “Will you take the heat of anger and use it to temper the strength of this union?”

“We will.”

“And so the binding is made,” Thor says. “Will you honor each other as equals in this union?”

“We will,” you both say, and Steve gently squeezes your hands.

“And so the binding is made,” Thor says, tightening the cord. A loud crack and flash of lightning fills the space, but when your eyes adjust, there is no sign that lightning has struck at all, apart from the charged warm feeling inside you.

“As your hands are bound together now,” Thor continues. “So your lives and spirits are joined in a union of love and trust. The bond of marriage is not formed by these cords, but rather by the love and respect you have for each other. For always you hold in your hands the fate of this union. Above you are stars and below you is earth. Like stars, your love should be a constant source of light, and like the earth, a firm foundation from which to grow. May these hands be blessed this day. May they always hold each other. May they have strength to hang on during storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. May they remain tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their wondrous love. May they build a relationship founded in love, and rich in caring. May these hands be healer, protector, shelter, and guide for each other.”

Thor unwinds the cord and puts his large hands on yours and Steve’s, smiling at you both before taking his hands away and putting the cord back on the table. “I will now ask that you seal the vows you share by the giving and receiving of rings. The perfect circle of the ring symbolizes eternity. The precious metal came from the ground as a rough ore and was heated and purified, shaped, and polished. Something beautiful was made from raw elements. Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It is the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.”

Bucky and Maria give you each a ring and Steve takes your hand, sliding your ring into place. “I take you to be my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship, and I will love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you, and honor you, laugh with you, and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through best and worst, whatever may come. I give you this ring as a symbol of that and give myself to you, as I take you as my wife.”

Tears prick your eyes and you take Steve’s hand and slide the ring into place. “I take you to be my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship, and I will love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you, and honor you, laugh with you, and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through best and worst, whatever may come. I give you this ring as a symbol of that and give myself to you, as I take you as my husband.”

“On behalf of all those present,” Thor announces, grinning broadly and clapping a hand on you and Steve. “And by the strength of your love, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now seal your vows with a kiss.”

Steve smiles brightly and leans in, cradling your cheeks with his hands. You meet him halfway, and as your lips touch, a whole new chapter of your lives begins.

~ END ~

#Very very untraditional #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #captain america #captain america fanfic #fanfic #fanfction #reader insert #marvel #marvel fanfic #choose your own avenger #choose your own adventure #steve #path end #end path

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lovelyirony · 4 years ago

Note

“i was going to ask that you go easy on me. i’m feeling kind of tender today.” For whomever you want!

Being alone is something that Bruce thought was the best option for him. He doesn’t really like being social or “on” all the time, and he’s fine with drinking tea in his room and working on homework. For fun, he’ll usually watch one of his “shows” on the weekends.

Being alone can oftentimes lead to being lonely, unfortunately. One of the drawbacks, and something that Bruce doesn’t like.

He thought he was pretty well-adjusted to college. He didn’t really need to make friends immediately. His mother had written to him from Aunt Becca’s house on new stationary that friends come along when you’re least expecting it.

And then he got to orientation and his leader said that “friends are something you need to pursue! Get out there and go make some! Join a club!”

Bruce had not done that.

He doesn’t want to say that he’s scared of people, but they...intimidate him. He was made fun of his whole elementary and most of his high school time, so it’s not like Bruce learned how to successfully navigate friendship.

So here he is in his dorm on a Wednesday night at 10:34, post-shower, and he realizes that he is all alone and he probably needs to change that.

But he’s not sure how. He’s not great at “event-crashing” and there’s no way that he’s just going to sit down and talk to somebody. He’s in it for the confusion, it seems.

A week later, there’s a knock on his door.

It’s one of the girls who lives on his floor, Nat or Natalie or something.

“I smelled coffee,” she says. “And I want to know if I can have some.”

“Um...sure? Do you want cream or sugar or anything?”

“Is the cream flavored?”

“Yeah, it’s the, uh, new fall flavor. I thought it could be good in coffee.”

Her eyes light up, and she walks straight into his room, not even noticing the notes pinned all over his cork-board and the sad laundry pile in the corner. She pours coffee neat as can be into her own mug, sits down on the desk chair, and looks at him.

“Are you going to have any?”

“Uh...yes?”

He pours some, and then gets the cream out. He passes it over to her, and she takes it gladly.

“None of us really see you anywhere,” she says. “Why is that?”

“I, um. I guess I don’t get out much,” Bruce mutters. “Can you...can you smell the coffee from my room?”

“Not from where I am, but Clint lives across the hall,” Nat says. “Room 816. He wanted coffee, but was too shy to ask if he could. We’ll provide coffee costs so long as we get it.”

“Um, sure,” Bruce says. “I always leave my room unlocked. I’m Bruce.”

“Nat, I live in 842. What are you majoring in?”

“Chemistry and biology,” Bruce answers easily. “A focus in genetics.”

“Whoa. Cool. I’m studying business and security.”

“What do you want to do with that, if you don’t mind me being the millionth person to ask that?”

Natasha smiles, and Bruce can tell that she’s more than most people think.

“My friend Tony and his boyfriend want to revamp his dad’s company, so they’re gonna need a bodyguard.”

“Cool,” Bruce says. “I want to help people and create cures.”

“Always honorable. You wanna come with us to the drive-in movie tonight?”

Bruce blinks. He’s not expecting an invitation to be thrust his way so...directly.

“Um, sure. You sure about that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well...we’ve never met before this.”

“We’ve done enough,” Natasha says easily, grabbing her mug and heading for the door. “We’re meeting in the lobby at eight, but we’re getting dinner at seven if you wanna come to that. Tony would really like to meet you, he’s been complaining about the lack of ‘smart’ people.”

“I’ll...I’ll see you, then.”

Right at six, Bruce is nervously tugging at the hem of his shirt, or wringing his hands.

He sees a guy who he thinks is Clint.

“Oh hey! You came!” he says with a grin. “Do you have any bandages?”

“Do you need one?”

“In the future? Yes. Currently? No,” he says, getting out his phone. “What do you think you’ll get for dinner?”

“Um, probably their lasagna or something. I know that the pizza tonight is barbecue chicken.”

Clint pulls a face.

“The worst one, bleh. Ooh, Thor’s on his way!”

Thor is...Thor. There’s literally no other word to describe the vibe of him.

He’s wearing a flannel, jeans, and he looks like he could be a nature guide at a national park.

Bruce is stunned. He’s never seen him around before.

“You met Thor yet?” Nat asks, lips curving into a smile.

“No,” Bruce says faintly. “I don’t think I have.”

And then in walks Tony and Jim (or Rhodey?), and his eyes light up.

“Bruce, my darling dearest. I heard that you are a smart man, and I am all about smart men. Let’s talk science.”

Bruce actually gets engaged in conversation, and he loves it, even when Steve says “could we have this in English, please?”

"Absolutely not,” Tony says. “Bruce and I are on the same wave length, so you will have to get used to us being annoying.”

“Sorry Steve,” Bruce says softly.

Steve grins.

“I’m just joking around, Bruce. Don’t worry about it. Wait until I start talking about art techniques.”

Dinner is good. Bruce gets to know more about everyone, and laughs out loud at most of Nat’s dry humor.

“Finally, someone with good taste,” she says. “You’re coming to the movie, right?”

“What’s playing?”

“One of my favorites,” Thor rumbles. “Ben-Hur.”

“We’re going to fall asleep,” Sam murmurs to Bruce. “Like, seriously. It’s boring.”

“The set design isn’t,” Bruce says softly. He saw the movie once with his cousin Jen and their grandpa. “It’s a beautifully made one.”

“Then you can sit next to Thor,” Tony decides. “Because otherwise he’ll spend the whole time trying to wake us up so that we don’t miss a part, or several.”

“It’s a good movie,” Thor says, although he seems to know that he’s lost the debate.

“We’ll have a good time regardless,” Clint says. “Especially since I’m planning on eating a whole tray of Oreos and passing out.”

“At least save some for me,” Sam says. “I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“Your fault for making moon-eyes at Bucky,” Nat retorts.

“Oh, I did not.”

“You did,” Thor said simply. “But let’s get to the car before we lose our spot.”

There’s not exactly a spot to lose. The only other people are older couples and the occasional young teenage couple who has every intention of parking a bit further away and hoping to god everyone ignores them.

(And everyone will.)

Bruce comes to find that they weren’t joking about having him sit next to Thor; they point out that Thor is actually really excited to have someone to talk to.

“It’s true,” Thor says, grabbing a blanket out of the car to settle down over his chair.

Or at least, that’s what Bruce thought was going on.

What goes on is that Thor shares it.

“Weather’s supposed to go low tonight,” Thor says. “Can’t have you getting cold and me knowing I could’ve done something about it.”

Bruce will say, if anyone asks, that he was not blushing and they can’t prove it because it was dark outside.

He moves his chair closer.

After all, he doesn’t want to stretch the blanket farther than it can reach. And he wants to hear Thor better.

The orchestral music starts up and floats in between cars, and Thor looks at the screen, completely enraptured.

Nat gives Bruce a look, and he looks away.

“I brought soda, you want some?” Tony whispers.

Bruce jumps as he turns to face the genius, who is so unbelievably close.

“There’s Dr. Pepper and Pepsi but with cherry.”

“Cherry, please,” Thor rumbles. “Bruce, for you?”

“Um, I’m...I’m good.”

Movie night is...nice.

Bruce doesn’t really focus on the plot that much, not when Thor is whispering every so often about a favorite piece of music or what he liked about an actor’s choice.

He doesn’t mind it. Not at all. He notices the smallest things, and Thor passes him over a snack. It’s nice.

It’s nicer when they drive back and Thor tells him that he’s glad he came.

“I’ve seen you around, I just wasn’t sure how to get you to come with us,” Thor says. “You’re always in your room.”

“I tend to be a bit of a homebody,” Bruce says nervously, readjusting his glasses. “I, uh...I’m just not always accustomed to people.”

“That’s alright,” Thor says. “We’re having dinner again, we always have it at six. Feel free to come. Nat would like to see you again. You’ve been on her hit list.”

“Her what?”

“Friendship, don’t worry,” Clint says. “She has a certain list of people she wants to ‘hit’ as her friends. We’ve tried to get her to change the name about eight times.”

“It means serious business,” Nat scoffs. “Also Bruce, you have to come get coffee with me this weekend.”

Friendship is a confusing business, Bruce decides. He loves it, but it’s confusing. Mainly because he can’t believe that people actually want to hang out with him. He’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“You keep waiting for shoes to drop,but we never throw them up in the air,” Sam says. “Now come on and come with me to get Bucky from his stupid class and harass him into coming grocery shopping with us.”

Bruce laughs.

“Okay, but I need to make a list first. Otherwise I’m going to forget to get the tea for Tony.”

It becomes comfortable, and he...he enjoys it. He likes that they cook dinner (disastrously) for Halloween together, and they all dress up in as best a costume as they can manage.

He gets inside jokes with everyone, and he and Nat make a habit of having coffee in his dorm room most mornings before heading down for breakfast, and they all eat lunch together outside when the weather is nice.

He and Tony get along fantastically, and they both help each other bounce ideas off one another and come up with new ways to think about problems.

And then...there’s Thor.

Thor is his friend, one of his best ones. But there’s something that he’d like to be more there, and he’s never sure how to approach it. He’s not even sure if Thor wants to approach it.

They walk together and they nap together, and Bruce sometimes wonders if Thor looks at him as much as Bruce looks at him.

They go on errands together, and they’re usually always sitting together for movie nights.

Nat thinks Bruce is acting ridiculous.

“Quit being a little bitch and go ask him out,” she says over coffee. Steam curls around the mug, and Bruce looks away for a minute, pulling a face.

“Nat, he’s....he’s Thor. I can’t just ask someone like him out.”

“Why not?”

“Because I ramble about genetics and how much I appreciate certain scientists! How is that going to translate when we go on a date and I can’t figure out what to say?”

Natasha looks at him like he’s the biggest idiot in the galaxy.

“You’re the worst,” Natasha decides. “You guys already go on dates, basically. I mean, he doesn’t let anyone else come with you guys to go get ice cream on Saturday nights. You go grocery shopping with him and make those mug-brownies together.”

“That’s....”

“You don’t do that with anyone else, do you? I’m so sure that you don’t, otherwise I would have heard about it by now.”

Bruce shrugs, sighing and pouring himself his cup of coffee.

Natasha’s face softens, and she hops up onto the bed beside him.

“Look. I know you have this whole self-loathing thing going on, and god knows most of us on this floor do as well. But just because of that, it doesn’t mean you get to deny yourself happiness. If that was the case, I’d never bring home latkes.”

Bruce smiles softly.

“Thanks, Nat.”

“No problem. Also, we’re having family dinner inside to talk about an upcoming vacation, possibly.”

“Vacation?”

“We ditch class on Friday if we can help it, and we spend the weekend at a lake nearby. You wanna come?”

“Sure!”

Thor is currently enduring a pep talk from Bucky and Sam, who are both quite bad at pep talks.

“You can do this!” Sam says. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I can think about twenty different ways,” Bucky says. “But I won’t mention them.”

“Bucky, you are grievously bad at this,” Thor stresses.

“What are you, my English professor? What’s with the vocab?”

“Uses big words when he’s stressed,” Sam mutters. “Thor, you’ll be fine. It will go well.”

“Or it will leave me flummoxed.”

“Shut up.” Bucky groans. “You’re worse than Steve. You sound like a dying Victorian.”

Thor just groans, face-planting onto a pillow.

“Someone just put me out of my misery.”

“Or don’t,” Bucky says. “What’s stopping you?”

“The fact that if he doesn’t like me it’ll be awkward for the rest of eternity?”

Sam snorts.

“If I didn’t know Bucky, you’d be the stupidest person I know.”

“Hey!”

The family discussion about the vacation goes well, and Tony keeps giving Bruce pointed looks, and Thor is enduring the most uncomfortable gaze from Natasha he’s ever suffered from.

They both cannot take this for long.

It’s awkward, honestly. They’re both in the lobby of their floor, and Bruce can’t meet his eyes and Thor isn’t quite sure how to go about it.

“Would you like to get coffee with me?” Thor asks.

“Sure,” Bruce says. “You want Timely or Joe-Fix-It for coffee?”

“...Timely, I heard they introduced a new flavor.”

“Alright.”

They both relax a little bit into the car ride, and by the time they’re at the coffee shop, both are laughing about a text that Loki sent about one “hypothetical” situation.

It’s easy, and it’s...nice. Thor wants this, and so does Bruce.

“I have something to ask you,” Thor says, looking into his coffee before gazing at Bruce. “And you can say no if you’d like.”

“Go easy on me today,” Bruce says softly, and Thor doesn’t miss how his hands clench around his coffee cup.

“I, um. I have feelings for you. The kind that make your heart speed up.”

“Anxious thoughts?”

Thor barks out a laugh at that, and scratches the back of his neck.

“I am...this whole thing is ad libitum.”

“What does that even mean.”

“Without preparation.” They sit for a moment, Thor collecting his words.

“Bruce?”

“Yes?”

“Do you...do you remember when Natasha was on her period romance drama kick, and we watched Sense and Sensibility?”

“Um, yeah? Why?”

“Do you. Do you remember at the end? The quote about the heart?”

“No?”

“Shit.”

It was going to be romantic. Thor was assuming that Bruce remembered the quote about the heart and the always, because it was honestly a cheesy but good movie, and Thor was going to pretend like he knew the quote too so that it would make for a romantic confession.

“Let me, ah...” he fumbles to get his phone out. “I was hoping you would have remembered the quote.”

“And you don’t know it?”

“No, unfortunately. I fell asleep.”

“So did I!” Bruce laughs. “I think we both fell asleep that night. What are you doing now?”

“I’m...looking up the quote. I’m quite sure it applies to our current situation.”

“You sound so proper,” Bruce teases, and Thor slides the phone across the table, showing a truly shitty edit of the quote done in pink, loopy cursive.

His face softens, and he turns up to Thor.

“You...really mean that?”

“More than anything. I’ll be yours, if you want.”

“I want.”

Thor laughs, grin wide and big as he gets up and engulfs Bruce in a hug.

“I think I could not get happier.”

Bruce turns red, adjusting his glasses.

“I’m...I’m happy with you,” Bruce says, and by god he looks cute like this, all flustered. “But I think we should head back before we have to sign in at the front desk, right?”

“Of course.”

There’s a pleasant energy in the car after that, and before they exit, Bruce takes Thor’s hand.

“Yes?”

"Do you think they’ll be surprised?”

“Considering that they’ve been dropping hints for weeks for both of us? I’m expecting Steve and Tony to gloat for weeks over winning over Natasha.”

“You’re sure they won over Nat?”

Bruce grins guiltily. “Nat invited me to her sleepover with Pepper and Sharon. I learned things.”

Thor laughs, getting out of the car.

“Then I look forward to their reactions.”

Not much actually changed, honestly. They were already so close, although Thor is prone to random forehead kisses and bragging about his boyfriend in every single class, to the point where one teacher had to limit his stories about Bruce to two a week, so he had to make them count.

Bruce enjoys kissing Thor a lot, and always enjoys when Natasha makes a little “aw” noise or when he has a date planned.

It’s nice. And he likes it a lot.

#thorbruce #natasha romanoff #bruce banner #thor #sam wilson #bucky barnes #tony stark #lovelyirony writes #i just love them a lot :)#also YES the reason i wrote the sense and sensibility scene like that is because i havne't watched the movie #so i thought it'd be cute if they knew that they watched it #(and yes i am aware that there is a book)#also yes natasha just goes to his room to get coffee #avengers as a college dorm #WHICH IS ENTERTAINING TO THINK ABOUT

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videotours360-review · 3 years ago

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onewfantaesy · 4 years ago

Note

I don't know if you want to jump forward this far in time yet but how does Jinki respond to seeing Taemin after being discharged from the military? I would image the combo of not seeing Taemin everyday and Taemin seemingly getting worse while he and the others were gone would make it a bit of a shock for him. I love your writing!

(tw: ed) (this was actually gonna be my next installment anyway lol so good call anon!)

On his first Wednesday back, Jinki knocks on Taemin’s door, rings the bell, but gets no answer. He knows he’s home, knows he has no schedules today, he had checked with a manager. He had wanted to surprise Taemin with lunch, had bags in his hands that felt heavier the longer he waited. He ended up just punching in the code to Taemin’s door and walking through.

He couldn’t believe what he saw.

Everything is dark and it smells like stale vomit and lemon-scented disinfectant. Several open bags of low-calorie popcorn spilling all over the kitchen, six cases of Diet Coke and two that are empty and sitting by the trash can, so many rice cakes, Oreos, cookies, chocopies, and the stench of rotten fruits and vegetables and moldy cheese coming from the fridge. When he opens it, he almost gags, and there’s another half-empty case of Diet Coke inside. So much kimchi. An entire row of different flavors of barbecue sauce, and three zero-calorie syrups. What’s with all this? Is Taemin out of town? Where would he go? Why is there so much Diet Coke?

Then he sees it. On the wall. A whiteboard with a weekly schedule and Taemin’s handwriting staring back at him.

Sunday: fasting ✔️

Monday: fasting ✔️

Tuesday: fasting 6 blueberries ❌

Wednesday: 200 calories

Thursday: 500 calories

Friday: fasting

Saturday: 800 calories

Jinki can’t wrap his head around it, especially when he sees written on the bottom in Taemin’s sloppy writing:

Goal Weight: 100lbs

DONT FUCK THIS UP FOR US

Go 100 u dumb bitch

Jinki’s head is spinning, and he puts the food down on the kitchen counter and puts a hand on his forehead. A hundred pounds. Taemin wants to be a hundred pounds. He’s five-foot-nine and wants to be a hundred pounds. Is this why SuperM’s new song is called 100? Have they all been told to get down to 100 pounds? Is that why all the food in his fridge is rotten?

“Taemin?” Jinki calls, his voice cracking. “Taemin!”

He hears a muffled groan and a loud thump from Taemin’s bedroom, and he runs in there and sees Taemin fighting with his bedding, bleary eyed and dazed looking.

“Taemin?” Jinki’s voice is breathless, and Taemin’s head snaps towards him.

“Jinki?” Taemin asks, his voice soft and cracking and confused. Then he stumbles and untangles himself from his bedding and shoots up to hug him. “Jinki! You’re home!”

Jinki doesn’t miss the way Taemin sways in his arms, doesn’t miss the way bones are poking out from underneath too-large clothes, doesn’t miss the way Taemin’s legs buckle underneath him and Jinki has to hold on tight to keep him from falling.

“I’ve got you,” Jinki says softly.

“I know,” Taemin whispers against Jinki’s chest, leaning heavily against him. “Missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Jinki says, his voice wavering. “Taemin?”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me,” Jinki starts, unsure of how to continue. “Tell me what happened in your kitchen.”

He hears the way Taemin’s breath hitches, feels the way Taemin shakes in his arms. Notices the way Taemin’s room is a complete mess, things thrown everywhere, clothes strewn about. Hadn’t missed the scale in the corner of the room, nor had he missed the one in the living room near the kitchen.

“It’s just messy,” he mumbles in a weak voice. “I’ve been - busy?”

“Are you telling me, or asking me?”

That’s a phrase he’s used on Taemin for a long time. When he knows Taemin’s lying to him. When he knows Taemin knows that it won’t work.

“What’s wrong with it?” Taemin whines. “No one else lives here, who cares if it’s messy?”

“Your food is all rotten,” Jinki says carefully. “It smells, Taemin. Do you not smell it?”

Taemin breathing is shaky and shuddering, so Jinki guides him out of the room, practically carrying him really, and he sits Taemin at the kitchen counter. Taemin looks uncomfortable, looks scared, especially when he sees the takeout a few inches away from him.

“I didn’t-” Taemin stutters. “I’ve been - it wasn’t gross yesterday.”

Jinki only raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything. Taemin won’t budge. Not now. They’ll get to it later.

“What’s this?” He asks softly, pointing at the whiteboard.

Taemin completely freezes, his eyes unmoving from the whiteboard in the wall. It’s a very long, very tense, very quiet moment between the two of them.

“New diet plan?” Taemin suggests in a timid voice. “For my comeback?”

“No dietician in their right mind would tell you to do this,” Jinki says with a shaking voice. “Did someone tell you to do this? Did someone at work tell you to do this?”

Taemin’s heart is beating too fast and his head is spinning and his mouth feels dry. He’s hungry. He’s fucking starving and his stomach is twisting but he wants to vomit everywhere.

“Did someone tell you that you have to be a hundred pounds? Who put this idea in your head?”

Taemin is shaking his head and he can’t believe this, he can’t believe he was so careless, can’t believe he actually left this shit out for anyone to see, what was he thinking?

You wanted someone to see, the voice snarls. Traitor. Attention whore.

“No,” Taemin whispers, and he had been talking to the voice, but Jinki thinks it’s directed at him.

“Then why?” he asks, his voice as gentle as possible as he sits next to Taemin and takes his hands. Taemin pulls away, even though he wants Jinki to hold him, because he hates his fingers and doesn’t want Jinki to feel how fat they are. “Taemin?”

“Can we not,” he stutters. “Can we not do this? Please?”

“I want you to come stay with me,” Jinki says then, and Taemin’s head shoots up. “Please? I’ve missed you, I want you close.”

“Okay.”

“I brought lunch for us,” Jinki says gently, pulling the food over. “Will you eat with me?”

Taemin looks terrified. He’s shaking his head and biting the insides of his cheeks and sucking in shuddering breaths. Jinki grabs one of his hands and doesn’t let him pull it back.

“We can split one,” Jinki suggests. “If that’s easier?”

“Maybe,” Taemin whispers, biting his lip as Jinki opens one of the containers. “Maybe just a bite.”

“Just a bite.”

Taemin’s shaking doesn’t subside as Jinki holds chopsticks out in front of Taemin’s lips to feed him. Taemin’s mouth waters, the smell is intoxicating, and his lips part so slow to take the bite that Jinki almost thinks he’ll turn away and refuse. But he eats it, lets Jinki feed him a couple more bites before he’s scooting closer, practically on Jinki’s lap with his own chopsticks in his hands and shoveling food into his mouth.

“Slow down,” Jinki says gently. “You’ll get sick.”

Taemin stops then, a noodle hanging between his lips and his chopsticks, and the way he looks at Jinki is all Jinki needed to know.

He knows then that Taemin’s no stranger to making himself puke up a meal. It makes Jinki’s heart stop, makes him wonder just how long this has been going on, how long he’s been too stupid to notice. How long as he let Taemin hurt so much by himself?

Taemin drops his chopsticks and sucks in a deep breath. Jinki keeps a hand on his back, rubbing circles in what he hopes is a comforting manner. It ends with Taemin diving to his chest, burying his face in Jinki’s neck.

“We’ll figure this out,” Jinki tells him, hugging him tight. “Together. You don’t have to deal with it on your own.”

“I missed you so much,” Taemin cries, his shoulders shaking as the tears start falling. “Can we - can we leave? I hate being here.”

“Lets go,” Jinki says, pulling Taemin up. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

“I know.”

#taemin #shinee #onew #monsters in the dark au #hello anon #tw ed

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thadelightfulone · 5 years ago

Text

The Firm - Chapter 9

Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Summary: Erik has been hired to find an embezzler for an old friend. The investigation is underway but who is after Green and LaNyah.

Pairing: Erik x Black!OC

Genre: Suspense

Words: 5K+

--- 3 Weeks Ago ---

Matt sits in the seat just vacated by Mrs. Williams, and Laura sits across from him. He is wringing his fingers, opening and closing his mouth. Where does he start this conversation? How does he fill in the details about what he has been up to for the last three years? And that he is living on borrowed time? Hell, how does he tell her she was just face to face with his boss? A bitch who is clearly capable of doing anything at any time based on what he has witnessed. Inhaling deeply, he starts. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“You better say something to me. You made me look stupid in front of Mrs. Williams.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her that Mrs. Williams feels that way about everyone below her stature anyway.

“So, you know how I brought you up here to get you away in case my boss tries something?”

She rolls her eyes, “Oh, you mean the illegal job?”

“You know I didn’t hear you complaining when the money was coming in regularly. In fact, we still see all that money every month. You are so ungrateful.” He puffs out in frustration, “I did this for you. I knew then that it was a long term job. I knew that you wanted kids, a great big house, a grand wedding, and all that shit. With Mr. Green, not paying me any mind, I thought I was stuck until this opportunity came along." He stands up, "So, do not look at me like I am some grand fuck up."

“You are Matthew. You needed help to get here. And clearly, for someone this shady to find you, I bet they have some dirt on you." She slowly rises to her feet. "How many women did you get caught with, Matt?" She pokes him, "No, how many women filed complaints with HR about you? What is your boss holding against you that you can't just leave and take the money that you have already earned, huh?" She walks over to the railing. "Why do you have to finish it? You did all the hard work getting them access in the first place. They have that chick you mentioned, Mariah, or whatever her name is to take the fall for all the shit you have done. Why are you not out?"

Lowly, he responds to her, "Because it is a death sentence." She whirls around on him; confusion marks her face, "As soon as I am no longer needed," he sniffs to prevent the tears from falling, "I. Am. A. Dead. Man."

She walks over to him and grabs both of his hands in hers. "I'm sorry, babe.” She leans against his shoulder. “There’s gotta be something you can do?”

Shaking his head, "Nope. If I come clean to Green, I'll be fired and arrested for everything I did. That's federal time. If my boss even thinks I'm about to squeal or fuck up the grand plan in any little way, she’ll have me killed.”

"She?" Matt turns to Laura, grabbing her into a bear hug, inhaling her scent, and just holding her and the baby tightly until he stops crying.

--- Three Weeks Later ---

LaNyah only comes to the top floor to report her findings in the weekly meetings with Erik, or any tasks that he has requested of her. She no longer works out of the conference room. Conversations are kept to a minimum unless Stacey joins them. She has integrated herself into their meetings without either party fighting her on it. LaNyah doesn't look at Erik, only the computer screens and conference monitors. Erik acts like he appears, a solid brick wall. Even with Stacey engaging both of them, they speak to and through her but never towards one another.

Stacey starts to spend more time downstairs with LaNyah as well, sometimes working out of her office. They have lunch together daily, and she is helping LaNyah work on her crafting skills. Stacey has even gotten her to accept invitations with Cynthia and Sandi for local Paint & Sip nights and after-work drinks with the rest of the team. LaNyah is happy to have another woman friend besides Ashley, who is more like a mother figure anyway.

Erik started keeping irregular hours in the office, only really there for his meetings with LaNyah and Stacey. Otherwise, he is focused on trying to figure out who Matt has been in communication with since his in-house investigation is over. He has followed him to some hole-in-the-wall spot down the street on various occasions, and every so often, there is a bunch of men surrounding a well-dressed woman who sneaks in and out through the back. He can never get a good enough look at her to run her face through his software.

He stays back so Matt won’t see him, but it is getting frustrating after tracking his movements for weeks. Erik even saw Matt invite LaNyah out for drinks with the team. And she actually joined them, after inviting her new bestie, Stacey along. Those two were growing closer as each week passed, and LaNyah won’t even look at him. As far as she is concerned, he is another pain in the ass man for her to avoid unless it is absolutely necessary to engage.

Erik knows they think the worst of him, and even though he never wanted that to happen. He knew that it needed to be done for him and LaNyah. And the one person that he should be able to talk that out with won't talk to him either. Stacey does her job, but the jokes and playful banter he was used to between them is gone as well. Erik closes his eyes, mentally preparing himself for another day at GBI.

---

Alex taps his desk in frustration; the map and dots on the screen are flashing faster than they were less than 24 hours ago. He glances at the screen on the left and notices the numbers declining across several account lines. Shaking his head, he yells out, "Ashley! We gotta get back. Pack up our things now!”

Looking at the time, he picks up the phone and makes a call. He knows it is a long shot that someone will answer, but he needs to try.

Erik lifts his head from the desk when the phone rings, “Stevens.”

“I figured you might be in today.” Alex rushes out before continuing, “Erik, they picked up activity.” Erik pulls up the database screens and watches the same flurry of activity that Alex is watching.

“Why now?” He counts in a low whisper as he adds up the amounts. “They dropped the pattern and are increasing it in lumps sums.”

“They are about to make their move, E.” Alex blurts. “Ashley and I are coming back. I will be in the office tomorrow, can you meet me there? We need all hands on deck for this part. You, Stacey, and LaNyah.”

Closing his eyes, he starts rubbing his temples, “Yeah, I can be here to meet you. I don’t know if I can get LaNyah here on such short notice, but I’ll try.” He removes his gold-rimmed glasses, placing them beside the stack of papers on his desk.

“Do that. I will see you soon.” Alex hangs up, and Erik places a call before he stands up to look out the window.

The other line picks up, “Stacey, I need you to come in tomorrow.” Erik hears the sucking of teeth. “Alex is coming, and he needs us all here. Can you relay that message to Miss Cole?”

“Yes sir. Is there anything else?”

Rolling his shoulders, he turns to the phone, “No. I will see you in the morning. Have a good day.” He returns to his seat, picking up two documents and runs his fingers along the colored notes LaNyah made on them. “What am I going to do about this girl?”

---

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning as LaNyah approaches her first stop of the day. It was her favorite time of the week, her weekly shopping, and she has her lists ready. There are a few new recipes that she wants to try out as the weather gets cooler. Her weekend meal prepping for the week is both calming and relaxing. Most may find it monotonous, but she enjoys the routine, especially since she has been going out with Stacey a lot more lately.

Her best friend and the one who has been keeping her grounded, Stacey. LaNyah smiles, thinking about having a best friend. She's even helped her become more of a team player, so Matt doesn't bother her as much. She ignores him like the rest of the team does, and who would have thought that. They all share their dislike of him after he leaves whenever they go for drinks. She just keeps her distance from him like with Erik.

LaNyah stalls while putting her lists in her bag and just sits in her car, thinking about her boss. The handsome boss with the calming voice, who she thought wanted to help her. She has thought about his actions over the last few weeks and still cannot make sense regarding his about-face when it came to her and the real culprit behind the embezzlement. She really did start to think of him as a friend and even a protector, so it hurt to see him switch up on her. It was like he said what he needed to get her guard down enough for her to be comfortable with him and then turned on her, right when she needed him to fight for her.

No matter how he made her feel and her attraction to him, she was not going to let it hinder her progress. This whole situation and Stacey have helped her become someone she recognizes, someone who wants to live and have experiences without crippling fear preventing it. She has done a lot more living and growing in these last few weeks than ever before, and she has the two of them to thank for that. LaNyah takes a deep breath and releases all those thoughts that just flooded her. Time for shopping. She collects herself and gets out of the car.

LaNyah walks in, smiling and waving to all the employees she knows before grabbing a basket. Swinging her handbasket, she collects some of her usuals – popcorn, flavored almonds, Oreos, and newly added a wine she discovered at one of the Paint & Sip nights with the girls. Scrolling through her list, she makes her way down each aisle, grabbing all necessary items for crockpot soups, various pasta dishes, and her favorite roasted chicken salad.

Leaving the store, she puts all her items into her trunk. She checks off that store’s list and places it in her purse. LaNyah goes to put her cart back at the return.

“Oh, damn.” LaNyah turns to see an older lady who was one register over from her, having trouble putting her items away on the other aisle.

She puts her cart away and walks over to her. "Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Thank you, sugar. I would appreciate it.” She points to a bag that LaNyah helps her lift up and into the back seat. They work together and make short work of getting the rest of her bags into the car. “You are such a sweetheart. Thank you.”

"You're welcome, ma'am. Have a lovely day!" LaNyah walks away as her cell starts to ring. She stops to look at it and see Stacey’s name. “Hey girl, what’s up?”

“We have to work tomorrow.”

“Really? Why would Erik need us on a Sun-”

Stacey cuts her off, “Alex wants us there.” She hears LaNyah inhale deeply. “Yeah, I guess he is flying back today and wants all of us in tomorrow.”

“Well, they are just gonna have to see me on Monday. I need more than 12 hours notice for this.” Stacey huffs. “No Stace, if we all have to actively work together and be cooped up in the same space,” she rubs her temple, “then I need the time to adjust. I mean, unless you want to spend the day babysitting me."

“Alright, alright, alright. I get it. I’ll cover for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Just make sure you are there first thing Monday morning, ok.”

"I will. I promise. See you Monday." Stacey hangs up, and LaNyah gets back to her car, but her driver’s side is blocked by a car that just parked. “Seriously.” She walks to her trunk and stands there.

"Oh my bad, did I block you in?" She nods at the man who walks around the black Range Rover and spots her. "Hold on; I got it." While LaNyah focuses on him going back to the driver’s side. She is knocked to the ground hard from her left, and before she can scream, a hand covers her mouth with a cloth. LaNyah’s unconscious body is lifted off the ground and put into the back of the Range Rover.

“Did you get her?” The voice coming from an earbud that the driver is wearing. They are looking at jumping lights on a laptop screen. “Beautiful work Matthew.”

“Yes, we got her. Are we taking her to the safe house?”

“Correct. I will see you guys down there later tonight.” Gina pulls her wig off, shaking out her hair and sits back in her seat as she watches the Range Rover drive off from her rearview mirror. “Bye bye Miss Cole.”

---

It has been a long morning, and both Erik and Stacey are on edge waiting for Alex. He was supposed to be gone for another week, at least. Erik figures Alex thinks that the person behind all of this is about to run off with all the money before they can trace it back to them. Once those funneling transactions stop, there will be no way to trace them anymore. All roads will lead to an inactive IP address and probably a closed bank account.

Alex and Ashley walked into the office a little after 10. He has his laptop out of his briefcase before he greets anyone in the conference room. They all exchange pleasantries over coffee, tea, and bagels as everyone finds their bearings. Erik and Stacey have their notes and pads ready for whatever Alex is about to tell them.

Looking around the room, Alex asks, “Where’s LaNyah?” Ashley looks at Stacey and Erik. Erik turns to Stacey. He didn’t bother to ask when LaNyah did not come in with her.

“Uhhh, she decided not to come in today.” Stacey shrugs. “She said that this is her time to relax and reboot for the upcoming week.” Ashley nods before facing towards Alex.

“Makes sense. Well, I’m sure you both can catch her up when she comes in tomorrow.” He pulls up multiple screens on the wall behind him. "These are all the accounts that we have been tracing the missing money to and from." Alex points to one screen on his left, "This shows the pattern that the money was removed from the account. It goes back three years, increasing in amount every 6 months. I am here because 48 hours ago, the amount jumped by over 1 million dollars in one fell swoop.”

“Damn,” Stacey hisses. “So, what does this mean for us?”

“It means we need to hurry up and figure out who is doing it and stop them. I have frozen any other activity, but it was done after this last move.” Alex stands back as they watch the numbers on the account lines increase and decrease. Huffing out, he continues, "Ash and I were overseas tracing the locations of these accounts. We were chasing the money itself while I had you here finding our inside man and possibly connecting them to the outside man.” Erik and Stacey nod as Alex sits down, and Ashley stands up.

"Well, we know who the inside man is, but we have no clue as to who hired him in the first place," Erik announces to the room.

Alex taps Erik’s shoulder. “Hold that thought. We may have that part figured out.”

“The funds are bouncing between 10 different accounts after being siphoned from the initial accounts here at GBI. They figured keeping the money spread across different accounts would make it harder to trace because they do not all start from the same location nor stay there for long. From here to San Francisco and Boston, before going overseas to London and finally Australia.” Ashley points to the flashing on the screens. “The final resting place for the money are three accounts in Australia. We had to meet with the officials to get access to the owner of the accounts.” Ashley brings up a new screen with a picture of an older white male.

“Owner? So, only one person is tied to the accounts.” Erik inquires.

“Yes, one sole owner of 4 accounts.” Erik looks closely at the screen and the name of the man. Greg Williams, 57, heir of Williams’ steel mills.

“You just said there were 10 accounts?” Stacey questions.

“Yes, Greg only owned 4 accounts. They were split apart not too long after he died. Then two more accounts were opened at that time.” Alex speaks up from his seat. “He died three years ago, right around the time the embezzlement started.”

“His wife inherited everything and made those changes after he died. One of the original accounts and the two new accounts hold the complete $1.3 billion that she has managed to steal over the last three years.” A new picture pops up on the screen, “This is Gina Williams, maiden name McCoy.”

“FUCK NO!” Erik jumps up from his seat. “Say it ain’t so.” Alex drops his head, avoiding Erik’s hard stare.

Lowly, “His twin sister, man.” Erik bends over the table with a death grip on the edges. Stacey watches all three of them. Erik looks like he has seen a ghost, and his face is full of rage while Alex starts wringing his hands and mumbling softly to himself, head bowed. Ashley is standing strong but has a deep frown on her face as she looks over the two men in the room.

“Am I missing something here?” Ashley walks over to Stacey.

Pulling her up from her chair, “I’ll explain it all tomorrow when LaNyah comes in. It is best if I tell you two what is going on, ok.” Stacey nods and gathers her things.

All is quiet in the conference room once Stacey leaves. The silence permeates the space for the next 5 minutes. Ashley sits down near Alex, grabbing his hand as Erik starts pacing the room.

“It’s been almost 20 fucking years. Why the fuck is she coming after you now?” He looks at Ashley. “In fact, how the fuck was she able to find out about you?”

“I don’t know everything yet. We only found out it was her two days ago. I know that being married to Greg gave her the resources she needed for her search. His family business had government contracts, so she may have found some help searching military records, including any complaints filed against officers." Erik runs his hands over his face. "She would have gotten my name from there. I have no idea how much information she has just yet or her real objective besides trying to get to me.”

“Erik, now that we know this is personal. I need you to be super vigilant of LaNyah.” Erik stops pacing and turns towards Ashley and Alex. "If she chose her as the fall guy, she might know of her connection to us." Alex finishes.

“Fuck me!” Erik slowly lowers himself into the nearest chair. “So, you don’t think it was a coincidence that the money started disappearing not too long after she started working for you?”

“We’re saying we do not know, but we would rather be safe than sorry. If she looked into LaNyah’s background, her most recent history is going to tie her to both of us directly." Ashley interjects.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get that.” He looks at them both, standing up and tapping on the table. “You have the investigation under control again, so I’ll step back and focus on keeping LaNyah safe.” He tries to keep a straight face when looking at Ashley, who smiles softly at him. “Who wants to tell her?”

"I am going to share the details with Stacey and LaNyah if that is ok with you two?" Alex squeezes her hand, and Erik waves it off, “Fine, then I will break it to her that you are her bodyguard in the morning. You can start then.”

Groaning, Erik grabs his notes and stuff and walks to the inner door leading to the office. Ashley and Alex follow. He starts cramming his things into his briefcase. “I need to get out of here and clear my head.” He looks between the two, “I need time to switch from investigator to personal bodyguard.” I need time to figure out how to deal with LaNyah since she won't talk to me, and I have to watch over her now.

“Oh yeah.”

“Sure, we get it.” Ashley and Alex blurt at the same time. Erik picks up the briefcase and his jacket. Walking to the door, his hand is on the knob when Ashley’s voice stops him. “She is me, and I am her, Erik.”

Erik opens the door, "Yeah, I know." He says out loud to himself but only bobs his head in acknowledgment of her statement before heading to the elevators.

--- Monday Morning ---

Erik walks into the office dressed in a black turtleneck, black leather jacket, and grey slacks. Half of his dreads are in a ponytail on top of his head, with the rest hanging to the side. He has on all gold accessories – his rimmed glasses, a thick chain, watch and a couple of rings. Erik turns to the front desk when he hears sputtering. He rushes over to Stacey and pats her on the back. "You good?"

She thanks him and gathers herself together, "Who are you, and what have you done with Mr. Erik Stevens?" She stands up to look at him.

"Like what you see?" He smiles big, and she spots his deep dimples and catches a glimpse of gold on his lower teeth.

"Nigga, is that a grill?" Erik starts to laugh, and Stacey is stuck. "Who told you to come in looking like a fake Superfly?” She pushes at his chest.

“No one is reporting to me anymore. I am officially shifting to my main role.” He leans over her desk. “Can you make me some coffee for the last time?”

“Oh, you have been activated?” She laughs, “Yeah, I can do that for you because you are gonna need it.” She walks to the coffee maker.

"Why do you say that?" He follows behind her while she laughs.

"She hasn't spoken one word to you in weeks. Now, you have to protect her while the rest of us try to figure out how to catch this fucking Gina chick." She drops the cup under the spout. "What was the last thing I said to you that night?"

“That I was a dick.” She rolls her eyes at him. “Ok, you said that she doesn’t trust me and that I will have a hard time trying to ‘play’ bodyguard if she doesn’t.”

Stacey fixes his coffee and shoves the cup in his hands, “Exactly, so how do you plan to fix this shit?”

“Ashley is gonna break it to her after she talks to you both.” He stares at the coffee cup in his hand. “Even if she doesn’t talk to me directly, as long as she at least lets me protect her, I can deal with that.”

Shaking her head, Stacey stares at him, “Oh sure, let Ashley smooth things over when it really should be you.”

“You don’t think I haven’t tried to that?” Erik raises his voice, “She won’t even look at me or respond to anything I say. She doesn’t answer any of my calls or emails. She doesn’t stay after the meetings long enough for me to pull her to the side." He sets his cup down. "So, yes, I am going to use Ashley to break the ice for me again. I am back at square one with her, and I have no idea how to get back in her good graces.”

"Back in whose good graces?" Ashley walks up to the desk with Alex. They stare between Stacey and Erik, and the distressed looks on their faces.

“Good morning Stacey,” nodding towards him, “Erik.”

"Good morning Mr. Green and Ashley," Stacey responds.

“Morning Green,” Erik looks at Ashley, “Ashley.” He picks his coffee back up, “I’m gonna head downstairs to wait for LaNyah to arrive.”

"Have her come up as soon as she does, thanks." He two-finger salutes everyone before heading to the elevators.

---

Erik has been waiting by her office door for two hours, and LaNyah has not appeared. He called Stacey half an hour ago, and she said LaNyah never came upstairs either. No one has seen her yet today. He decides to try his luck and call her cell phone. It goes straight to voicemail.

“Hey LaNyah, it’s Erik. Where are you? It's 11 am, and no one has heard from you today. Please just give Stacey or Ashley a call to let us know you are ok. Thanks.”

He texts Stacey letting her know to call LaNyah and see if she gets an answer. He gets up and tosses his cold coffee out on his way to the elevators.

The elevator dings, and Erik walks out to see everyone looking his way. “No response?”

Stacey shakes her head, "It went straight to voicemail for me," pointing to her, "and Ashley, too."

“Do you think she turned off her phone?” Alex asks.

“NO!” They all blurt out.

“It’s her only form of communication. She doesn’t have a landline anymore.” Ashley answers.

“Well, let’s just give her the day. Maybe she is dealing with something and needed to take some time to herself. What is it you guys say, a self-care day?” Stacey stiffly smiles as Ashley runs her hands over her curls.

Erik looks around at them, “It’s me.” All eyes are back on him. “Let’s go to the conference room, and I'll explain.”

After everyone is seated, Erik opens up about his investigation into LaNyah’s whole team and how he came down hard on her during her interview. During his talk, he kept looking over at Stacey, who was paying attention to the wall. Ashley follows his eyes to Stacey and her attempt at avoiding his intense stare.

Ashley jumps up, “OMG, you two fucked!” Alex grabs her hand to calm her down. “I want you both to look me in the face and tell me that you two did not hook up while we were gone.”

Erik looks at Ashley, "You know me." Ashley crosses her arms over her chest. "Ok, fine, Ashley. I did not sleep with Stacey." Rolling her eyes, he continues, "When I am on a job, I do not mix company with anyone I will have to work with regularly. I am not the same guy you remember Bridges."

“It’s true. We did not hook up. He's not my type, and he definitely is not checking for me." Stacey looks away.

“Ok, so what is with all the secret stares and sad faces I see right now?” Alex interjects.

Stacey looks at Erik, who nods her way, “Well, LaNyah has a crush on Erik.”

"Yeah, and?" Erik and Stacey look between Alex and Ashley, neither know who said it, but it wasn't them. "We already knew that." Ashley waves her on, "Go ahead."

“Well, Erik likes LaNyah too.”

Ashley gasps, and Alex chuckles. "Well, I'll be damned."

Irritated by being interrupted again, Stacey resumes, “I confronted Erik about it the morning he went in to question LaNyah. His actions during the interview –“

“Is how he protects himself and separates the personal from the professional." Alex stands and goes to Stacey, "I've known him a while; he's not that hard to read." He leads Stacey to a chair, walks over to Ashley, and holds his hand out to her. "Now, is as good a time as any."

Ashley takes his hand and stands, walking forward where they all can see her. “Stacey, I am about to share some things with you that cannot leave this room or be repeated anywhere. Do you understand?” Stacey looks around the room.

“Yes, I understand.”

Ashley shares the story from when she first met McCoy as her first commanding officer after she completed boot camp up to when he requested her for his special ops team on an overseas mission. She spoke about meeting both Green and Stevens and how they were her big brothers on the team, always watching out for her. Ashley discusses all instances of harassment at McCoy’s hands and then finally, the assault that ended her military career. Stacey is sitting next to Erik, who grabs her hands as she tears up listening to Ashley talk about that afternoon while everyone was out testing the communication buds.

Alex stands at Ashley's side, holding her in his arms, wiping her tears as she continues telling Stacey about how Stevens and Green investigated McCoy and found out his history of harassment to any woman under his command. When she breaks completely, Alex finishes up. He reveals that he was out one night when he ran into Stevens, who had just killed McCoy for what he did to Ashley. They made a pact, and Green helped Stevens cover the murder to look like their enemy ambushed him

The other commanding officers never looked further into his case, and it was closed quickly. By then, everyone parted ways, and Green kept in touch with Ashley, who later disclosed to him that she told the investigating officers that it was McCoy who attacked her. She filed a formal complaint, and no one was supposed to know anything. While they were dating, she told him that she knows that he and Stevens had something to do with his death. He came clean and told her what they did.

Stacey grabs some tissue and wipes her eyes. “When was the last time you all saw one another?”

“Five years.”

“15 years.”

“Seven years.

Stacey laughs at all the different answers that came out. They all look at each other and laugh along with her.

“Erik, I told you that you weren’t the only one keeping tabs on everyone.” Alex smiles at him.

"Ashley, I was at your graduation for your Masters," Erik says. "I wouldn't miss that for the world. It was a proud moment to watch my friend walk across the stage, looking like herself again."

“Why didn’t you say something?” He walks over to give her a big hug.

“I was between other jobs and could only fit in the time for your ceremony and then leave. I am shocked that Green didn’t say anything to you. He spotted me when I came in.”

“Yeah, the starter dreads did nothing to cover up that build,” everyone laughs at Alex’s comment.

"Stacey, if we are being completely honest. We were never supposed to see one another again, except for Alex and me since I married him."

“Our pact included a one-time favor, and Alex called it in when he brought me on to investigate this case.”

“Protecting LaNyah from whatever you found during the investigation?” Erik nods at her. “You gotta make this right.”

"I know, I know." Erik walks towards the windows, looking over the city. "I can care for someone I protect as part of the job. But this is different and has been from the moment Alex called me.”

“You were attracted to her before I told you she was the favor.” Alex sighs, “I never in a million years would have thought you or LaNyah would like one another.”

"I tried to warn you about LaNyah's feelings, and you laughed." Ashley pushed him.

“Well, all I know is that I need to focus on protecting her before McCoy’s sister tries to go after her.” Erik turns back towards them, “I’ll work on getting back on her good side once this is all over." He looks at Stacey, who smiles at him.

Alex claps his hands, “Sounds good. So, let’s give her the day and if no one has heard from her by tomorrow-”

"I'm on it," Erik replies. "Now, let's figure out how much this Gina chick knows about all of us."

"I think that is a great place to start," Ashley says.

“I’ll get some menus and order lunch while you all set up the conference room as our war room.” Stacey laughs to herself but stops when she notices the three sets of eyes on her. “Sorry.” She scurries out of the room.

--- Tuesday Morning ---

“When does LaNyah get in today?” Ashley asks Stacey as she prepares her tea.

Checking her calendar, “It’s Tuesday, so we usually see her after her team meeting around 11.”

“Ok,” Ashley takes a seat at Stacey’s desk. “How bad was it?”

"Was what?" She flinches at the look Ashley gives her, "She called me, but I was at lunch. As soon as I got back, I went to check on her, and she told me what happened. We colored, and I listened to her talk about how his turnabout made her feel. She feels like he betrayed her, got her to get comfortable only for him to make it seem like this was somehow her fault."

“She really shared all of that with you?” Stacey nods, “Wow, she is growing into her own.”

“Ashley, you have done great work with her.” Grabbing her hands, "I hang out with her often now, and she is my friend. We go out with her team and have movie nights." She smiles, thinking of how she has watched her grow over this last month. "She has been living, and even though Erik hurt her, she has not let that stop her from growing. She just chooses to ignore him as she does with Matt."

“Speaking of that ass. Is he the inside guy?”

“Yup, it was easy to trace all changes to him since LaNyah doesn’t know how to use all the access Green gave to her," Erik answers as he approaches them. "Good morning."

"Morning, Erik." Stacey responds, "Mr. Green is waiting for you in his office. Have fun." He mushes her in the head as he makes his way towards Alex.

Ashley giggles into her tea as Stacey mean mugs her, “Those big brother tendencies die hard, huh?”

“He is so annoying.” Stacey turns to her monitors to watch the accounts while she and Ashley wait for LaNyah to arrive.

Chapter 10

A/N: I wanted to get more of this story out before the end of the year. Thank you for all the support. I appreciate all of you and look forward to more with this crew in the new year.

Taglist: @killmongersaidheyauntie @dacosmicdame @muse-of-mbaku @panthergoddessbast @youreadthatright @princessstevens @eye-raq @stark-red19 @kreolemami @bidibidibombaclaat @iamrheaspeaks @missumuch1918 @simplyyamberr @cheychey10142 @ajspencer1892 @chrismarcs @loosewindmill @sydneebleu @semianta @eyeknowmywrites @alexundefined @itsjustmezari @goddessofthundathighs @purple-apricots @kissmyafropuff @gimmeface @fd-writes @jozigrrl @soufcakmistress @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @shaekingshitup @localtrapgod @post-woke @theesotericqueen

#erik killmonger #erik killmonger x oc #black panther fanfiction #the firm #thadelightfulone

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