#new pinned to replace that ugly ass old one | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

holylulusworld · 4 years ago

Text

Shadow of my past lover

Summary: Returning to your hometown is harder than you thought.

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Characters: Sam Winchester

Warnings: angst, mentions of cheating, flirty Dean, cocky Dean, sad reader, heartbreak, mentions of a break-up, a hint of fluff, tension

Divider by @firefly-graphics

“How long, Y/N? How long did you hide out there in the middle of nowhere?” Sam wraps you in a hug, almost crushing you. “It’s been too long if you’re asking me.”

“Fifteen years, I think,” looking up at the tall man you can’t hide the smile creep onto your lips. “You grew like a weed, Winchester. If only I knew you would become a hot guy,” you grin, patting your friend’s cheek.

“Dean will freak out,” you frown, and your body goes stiff when Sam, your best friend from childhood, mentions his brother. “Still mad at him? Will you ever tell me what happened back then? One day you just broke up. Everyone couldn’t believe Dean was with that other girl. It was always you and him. I believed you would marry one day.”

“It was a nice dream,” shrugging you give Sam a sad smile. “Dean never told you why he broke up with me after the summer break that year?”

“No,” Sam shakes his head, wondering what could’ve gotten between you and his big brother. “Dean only told mom and dad he’s got a new girlfriend and that you broke up with him,” you scoff, shaking your head. Tears threaten to fall but you push them away.

“Classy, Dean. Not only did he lie, but he also dared to blame me too,” frustrated you kick a stone away, pacing back and front, wringing your hands. Sam remains silent, just gives you time to open up to him.

“Munchkin, what happened back then? We always wondered why you never came over again. Then you moved away with your parents and no one ever saw or heard of you again,” guiltily looking up at Sam you give him a soft pat to his scruffy cheek. “Dean did something stupid – right?”

“I came back, bouncing my legs as I missed your brother so much. Three weeks away from the boy I love were hell to me, Sammy,” you exhale.

“Dean and I, we-“ you bite your lip, looking away to find the right words. “A month before my parents forced me to spend my summer break in France, Dean and I had sex for the first time. He was my first, and we promised there will no one else.”

“I assume one of you broke the promise. And I might sound prejudging but I guess it was my brother,” Sam watches your face fall. “Oh, Y/N.”

“Anyways, we made a promise at the age of sixteen Sam. Young love and crap,” you shrug, eyes dropping to your shoes. “I kept it, you know. There was a cute boy in France. He was charming and well, a French boy. I loved his accent and sense of humor. If not for Dean, I could’ve fallen in love with him.”

“I see,” nodding thoughtfully Sam watches you pace around him. Your hands clutched to your sides you scream in frustration.

“I came back, barely unpacking my stuff as I wanted to meet up with Dean. I climbed up the tree, sneaked into his room but oddly, he wasn’t happy to see me,” sniffing you look at Sam. “I wanted to kiss and hug Dean, but he was distant. I knew, just knew something is off and asked him what happened.”

“I’m so sorry,” helpless Sam must watch you recall that night. He can see the pain flash over your face and wishes he could soothe you. “What happened?”

“Dean said one word – or rather name. Lisa, the new girl. You know the one we caught blowing Brady off behind the gym,” you huff. “Dean said he and that bitch got closer over summer and that she’s better in bed.”

“Ah, you son of a bitch, Dean,” Sam yells. “Sorry mom,” he grumbles, wrapping you in a hug. “That was a dick move, literally.”

“Dean excused his betrayal, you know. He said if I didn’t leave him for three weeks, he would’ve never cheated on me, that bastard,” gritting your teeth you hide your face in Sam’s chest. “I loved him so and he replaced me after not even three weeks.”

“Dean is an ass,” grunting his brother’s name Sam gently runs his hands up and down your back. “He had the perfect girl, the one, by his side. How could he mess up everything for a girl like Lisa?”

“The worst is – my first time is tainted by his betrayal. Anytime a nice guy wants to go on a date with me, I ask myself – is he a nice guy or like Dean? Does he pretend to like me to get into my pants? Will he leave me after a few dates too.”

“The shadow of your former lover follows you,” nodding, you smile as Sam understands how you feel. “When Ruby cheated on me with that douche at Stanford, something broke inside of me. Jess, she was the one healing me.”

“I heard about your wedding plans, Winchester,” giggling you look up at Sam. “Shame you are off the market.”

“So, you are back in town to do what?” Sam watches you inhale sharply. “Do you want to shoot my brother or beat his ass to hell and back? I’d lend you a hand, you know.”

“Nah, it’s nothing, really. My parents want to renovate our old house. The last renter moved out and they want to sell it or hire it out again,” you explain. “I am here to check on the house and property.”

“I can help you later if you want me to,” holding out his hand Sam smiles when you place your hand into his large palm. He would never tell you so, but when you moved out of town, never looking back, you broke his heart a little too…

“Hello, sweetheart,” Dean opens his arms, waits for you to pounce on him to greet your former boyfriend but all he gets is a frown followed by an annoyed huff. “Sammy said you need help to check on your parent's house. Couldn’t believe you came to town and didn’t greet your favorite Winchester first.”

“My favorite Winchester is Sam, followed by your parents,” you snap at Dean. “I don’t know why you expected me to greet you, Dean. After all, I never was good enough for you anyways,” walking toward your parent’s house, keys pressed to your heart you ignore Dean follows you.

“Y/N, that was a lifetime ago,” grumbling Dean watches you unlock the door with trembling fingers. “I was a stupid boy back then. We both made mistakes and it ended up in a breakup.”

“We both made mistakes?” furious you spin around to glare up at Dean. “When did I make a mistake? While I was yearning for you in France? When I gave you my virginity? Or when I didn’t even unpack my shit to climb up the tree to be with you?”

“When you had something going on with that French douche,” Dean growls. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out you fucked that asshole?” Dean is in your face, breathing heavily, while you try to find your words.

He is not the boy from back then anymore. In front of you stands an angry and aggressive man, a tall and bulky one.

“I did not fuck Pierre! He was nice, yes, but I would’ve never cheated on you, Dean. I took one picture with him, at a fucking museum. It was for his sister, as she didn’t believe him he mate a girl from the US!”

“He had his arm around you. Your best friend Bela showed us more pictures. You had a hot date with him on the beach. That douche had his arm around you on every picture!” Dean talks back.

Slowly losing your patience you drop your bag to fist Dean’s plaid. You don’t give a shit he pants heavily or that you can smell his cologne.

“My mom took the fucking picture. She asked Pierre to wrap his arm around me. I was never alone with him, Dean. All I could think about was to get back to you – not fuck that boy!”

“Bela said you fucked that guy!”

“Bela didn’t say shit, Winchester! She always made stupid jokes. I bet she said I should fuck him or something. Why should my best friend tell you lies about me?” now it’s you who is in Dean’s face. You growl at him, pushing against his chest but unlike the boy from back then, the man in front of you won’t budge. “Damnit, you are too strong. Did you eat too much spinach?”

“I got frustrated over our breakup and started to train,” grunting Dean steps closer, forces you to move toward the door until your back hits the cool wood. “I thought you cheated on me and lied to you. I never was with Lisa before we broke up.”

“I don’t believe a single word leaving your treacherous tongue,” humming Dean watches you pick your bag back up. “Now get the fuck out of my sight.”

“Tongue,” Dean’s lips part to let his tongue swipe over his lower lip. You are engrossed in watching the skilled muscle taste what you longed to have for so long. “I know you always loved my tongue, sweetheart.” Dean husks before he crushes you with his body. His mouth hot against yours he pins your hands above your head. “Happy reunion, baby girl.”

“Get off me,” whining you part your lips to let Dean slip his tongue inside. “D’,” it’s a silent whimper, an unheard plea falling from your lips when Dean claims your soft pillows again.

“Do you know how many times I dreamed of kissing you again? I couldn’t believe I lost you to that French douche,” moaning your name Dean holds you there, pressed against the door, while your mind races and you can’t process Dean believed you cheated on him.

“I never even kissed that boy,” you sniff. “Why did you not ask me? Why hurting me deeply without any proof? Do you know what you did to me that night? You were the first boy I fell in love with, my first everything and you just told me I’m boring in bed and that I can’t compare to Lisa,” you cry, eyes filling with tears.

“Back then, I tried to hurt you, Y/N. You hurt me, broke my heart,” glaring at Dean you purse your lips, ready to rip him apart. “I wanted to get back on you. I’m sorry.”

You growl, now fighting his hold on your hands you wiggle in his grip, shake your body to break free.

“You asshole! Anytime a guy asked me out, I got nervous and believed he will think I’m awful at sex. I could never relax in bed with a guy. Most of the time I didn’t cum, too afraid he hates whatever I do.”

“Sweetheart,” nuzzling his face in your neck Dean sighs deeply. “I’m so sorry I ruined sex with other guys for you,” the smirk in his voice tells you otherwise, but you bite your tongue, waiting for your chance to hit his ugly face. (It’s not ugly but you try to convince yourself to hurt Dean.)

“I hate you so much, Winchester! It was your fault I had to move out of town. I cried the whole time, and my parents took the chance to finally move away. Fucking asshole,” Dean holds you pinned to the door, ignores you still fight him. “Lemme go. I need to check on my parents’ house.”

“You know,” a cocky grin on his lips Dean dips his head to roam your body with his eyes, “now that you are back in town, I could make things up to you.”

“How do you want to make up for breaking my heart for nothing? How will you give me back my self-confidence and make me feel like I’m sexy and desirable? There is nothing you can do about it,” you huff, frustrated.

“Sweetheart, I was stupid at the age of sixteen,” Dean admits finally releasing your hands to cup your face with the palms of his hands. “I know that I should’ve talked to you instead of listening to rumors.”

He leans closer, stopping when his nose bumps into yours. You can see the freckles on his skin, can smell his minty breath but the worst is, you can feel his warm hands on your face, forcing your eyes to flutter shut.

“You broke me,” you whimper when his lips meet yours. With your eyes closed, you try to pretend you are still the kids from back then, but the way Dean kisses you and his rough hands on your skin reminds you he’s a grown man now. A handsome and cocky one.

“Baby girl,” Dean moans against your lips, only breaking the kiss to breathe again. “I broke my own heart by letting you go. I never was with someone I genuinely loved since our breakup. All this time I was with girls meaning nothing to me.”

“What do you want, Dean? It’s been fifteen fucking years,” your heart flutters anytime Dean looks at you, but you steel yourself to resist his natural charm. “We can’t turn back time and kick your ass for being a dick.”

“But,” he grins now, eyes dropping to your chest, “I could be a good former lover and make you cum for all the times you didn’t reach the peak with one of the douches you chose over me.”

“Dean Winchester,” hands-on your hips you glare up at Dean. “Don’t fuck with me! This isn’t funny nor something you can fix with your charm and a cocky grin. You hurt the young girl from back then deeply.”

“I know,” he sighs. “Let me make it up to you.” he pecks your cheek, smirking against your skin when you start to shiver. “I could start with telling you I never fucked Lisa. She was a boring chick, clingy, and had an annoying voice.”

“This doesn’t make me feel better at all,” grinning Dean watches you hide a smirk. “Only as you didn’t fuck her your behavior won’t be forgiven that easily.”

“Did the inquisition already begin?” Dean furrows his brows when Sam jogs toward you and his brother. “I wanted to film every moment, Y/N. Not cool, Munchkin. Restart and I can take some nice pictures.”

“Bitch, get out of my way. I had a nice conversation with Y/N,” hating his brother takes your attention away from him Dean glares at Sam. “Let me just make it up to my girl. I waited years to see her again. Hell, I even stalked her on Twitter, and I hate social media.”

“You should watch the old man try to play candy crush,” Sam smirks when he steps closer. “Give me the keys and I can have a look around while my brother tries to hit on you, Y/N.”

“Looks good,” humming you look around the kitchen. “You should let us check on the pipes, electricity and I could call Bobby to help us check on the roof,” Sam walks around the house, a clipboard in his hands to make notes. “The windows downstairs look good.”

“I will check Y/N’s former room with her,” Dean grasps for your hand to drag you upstairs. “How about you check the basement, Sammy? Take your time,” cursing under your breath you try to keep up with Dean.

“Hey, wait! I’m not that fast, Winchester,” you scold. “Dean!” before you can complain Dean picks you up in bridal style to run upstairs. You would yell at him, but you admire his strength and the way he holds you close to his chest. “Let me down.”

“Never again, sweetheart. Now that I got you back in my arms,” Dean smirks when you start to squirm in his hold, “I’ll never let you out of sight again…”

SPN Forever Tags

@donnaintx

@screechingartisancashbailiff

@fallen-wolf22

@sister-winchesters99

@mogaruke

@the-is13

@helloitsmeamie203

@sandlee44

@strayrosesbloom

@notyourtypicalrose

@thewinchesterco

@marvelfansworld

@hobby27

@gh0stgurl

@flamencodiva

@jay-and-dean

@valsworldofcreativity

@h-o-l-l-i

@dayasvalkyrie

@wittysunflower

@supernaturalenchanted

@shikshinkwon

@yolobloggers

@hhiggs

@laxe-chester67

@ilovefanfic86

@linki-locks11

@eggingamazinglove

@trumpettay

@fandom-imagines1

@waywardbaby

@straycuties9

@drakelover78

@stuckys-whore

@zxph-yr

@i-love-superhero

@ten-tenya-iida

@deepmuffinspymaker

@katsav17

@heyitscam99

@fandom-princess-forevermore

@neii3n

@exo-nova

@echoesofpassion-blog-blog

@shatteredabby

@anaelsbrunette

@sea040561

@lemondropirwin

@lonewolf471

@wronglanemendes

@juniorhuntersam

@helpmeluci

@goodgodimaweirdperson

@shadowkat-83

@alltimesamantha

@officialmarvelwhore

@miraclesoflove

@maniacproffesor

@hollymac79

@kayla-2000-art-admirer

@gracefultrenchcoat494

@babygirls-fav

@spnwoman

@amiquette

@tornadochaserchick32

@geekofmanyforms

@jessica-marsh09

@spnficgirl

@shut-themoonscone

@thequeenreaders

@countrygal17a

@atomicfandombomb

@kteelou

@soryuwifeyxx

@defenderrosetyler

@shortwinchester

@maybesomedaygayyyy

@sabascio

@that-place-called-middle-earth

@bunnybaby89

@pandabiiissh

@maddiedott

@lilulo-12

@05supernatural20

@mblaqgi

@justsomedreaming

@cassiopeia-barrow

@its-the-timey-wimey-winchesters

@mscarter213

@jo-like-josette

@mep6811

@prettydeaneyes

@rvgrsbrns

@deanwanddamons

@tearsforhan

@waywardbabie

@certaindeanwinchesterforcastiel

@belovedcherry

@amandamdiehl

@sycochick

@abeautifuldiaster124

@matsumama

@rynabarnesrogers-reading

@homeorbust

@emoryhemsworth

@lunaticgurly

@spnbaby-67

@wonderlandfandomkingdom

@heartislubbingdubbing

@kitkatd7

@doctor-hp-mcu

@lovefromthewinchesters

@coffeebooksandfandom

@moosekateer13

@miss-nerd95

@caffeinefueledfangirl

@vicmc624

@mariaenchanted

@bxnnywriting

@lady-pswrld

@thinkaboutmara

@coldmuffinbanditshoe

@suckmyapplejacks

@princesssterek

@lexy586

@notbrooklynsblog

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

Dean/Jensen Forever Tags

@spnfamily-j2

@supernatural-bellawinchester

@negans-lucille-tblr

@deans-baby-momma

@thefaithfulwriter

@squirrelnotsam

@roonyxx

@underthewrap

@deansgirl-1968

@spn-dean-and-sam-winchester

@butifulsoul125

@lyinginthegingerlocks

@champagneneen

@janicho88

@woodworthti666

@thevelvetseries

@dreaminemz

@akshi8278

@midnightsilver16830

@mrspeacem1nusone

@ria132love

@caligraphee

@the-witch-in-silence

@justanotherwinchester

@multisuperfandom

@jadesupernatural

@psychicforest

@luciathewinchestergirl

@magssteenkamp

@tranquility-or-chaos

@jxackles

@michellemxndes

@addictedtofictionalcharacters

@gabifernandessn

@waywardrose13

@team-free-will-you-idjiot

@myopiamystical

@rintheemolion

@bluecornflowers

@rosalynshields

@nihilismworld

@peaches007

@thoughts-and-funnies

@lyarr24

@givecki

#Shadow of my past lover #dean winchester #dean winchester x you #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester SPN #dean winchester x reader #angst #tw: cheating #dean winchester fanfiction #former dean x reader

174 notes · View notes

threadsketchier · 5 years ago

Note

I think sw hits different when you grow older and your view of the world changes. As a child I envied Luke, he went to crazy adventures with his bffs and became a hero. But now I just feel really sorry for him. Everyone tried to rule his life, his destiny. And even though he controlled his own destiny at the end it still painful. In the end, Luke isn't a glorified hero, he's just a battered and bruised soul who had to grow up so fast and has many scares. Now I understand Yoda better

when 900 years old you reach, feel as good you will not

wars not make one great

(sorry I’m excavating an ancient ask)

The primary themes/takeaways of SW is compassion and the reward of holding out hope in darkness, but the “war is actually kinda hell” theme isn’t far behind. This is basically the meat of Luke’s entire arc. He’s the naive, fresh-faced, idealistic farmboy who gets bitch-slapped with the ambiguity of reality. (So was Leia, who knew what she was getting into far more than Luke and yet was still fundamentally altered by the genocide of Alderaan.)

Everybody was pinning hopes on somebody else in this saga - Leia called Obi-Wan her “only hope,” and then Obi-Wan called Luke their “last/only hope” twice. There was a whole lot of expectation thrown around that wasn’t always met, for better or for worse. Obi-Wan and Yoda wanted Luke to overcome the Sith and save the Jedi from extinction just as much as Luke himself wanted to become a Jedi for the sake of his father, a motivation that started out with blatant vengeance. Vader wanted Luke to be the justification of his deeds and the strength he needed to overthrow Palpatine, while still remaining on the Dark Side - aka, having his cake and eating it too. Palpatine wanted to use Luke as either the means to crush what was left of Vader’s soul or totally replace him with a shiny new apprentice.

Yes, Luke surmounted all the confusion and doubt and fear in the end, and made the right choice at the right time. But it did take his father sacrificing his life to both save him and finally YEET Palps. He got the inner peace and contentment of knowing his dad was in a better place now and reconciling with him...but that doesn’t completely abolish the pain, of both the immediate loss and all the horror that came before it. He lost both his mentors - yes, they’re not totally gone, they’re in the Force, but they’re largely inaccessible. His aunt, uncle, and best friend were all killed. He’s stuck with the massive burden of rebuilding a Jedi Order he hardly knows anything about. That’s a whole lot of shit for this kid:

to go through. Who in his ignorance definitely didn’t sign up for it.

That’s the whole thing, the TL;DR: growing up sucks. It hurts, in one way or another. Life is not a clean, shiny, fun pew-pew adventure. People lie or disappoint you, either out of actual malice or because they themselves are damaged or you just need a hard, ugly wake-up call about how the world actually works.

Now, here’s the other thing: Luke is both a glorified hero and a battered, bruised, scarred soul. He’s at the both ends of the spectrum:

freshman year to senior year’s pretty rough ain’t it

There are people who will always laud and view him as a Big Damn Hero™. Destroyer of the Death Star, He Who Conquered the Emperor and Darth Vader. Even those who see him as he really is still consider him a hero in the truest sense because they know his heart, they know how much he cares, that he’d give the shirt off his own back and lay down his own life for just about anyone. And then we have stories like Shadows of Mindor where Luke nearly drowns in self-recrimination. Everyone else around him, even the jaded Geptun, paints him as a hero while Luke refuses to accept that, focusing on all the losses instead, all the lives he couldn’t save, all the destruction he couldn’t stop, how his personal decisions tend to result in mass death. That’s not a healthy mindset and he obviously gets out of that hole eventually, and per Legends EU Luke also passed through times where he didn’t necessarily view himself as a hero per se, but the responsibility burden kind of went to his head in a way where he viewed himself as having to do things himself, of needing to control things, and there’s a certain arrogance in that, in losing himself up his own “Jedi Master” ass. Gotta go learn the Dark Side so I can maybe gank Sheev-O 2.0 once and for all. Gotta gather a bunch of people in a Jedi Jungle Friendship Camp who maybe needed some psych therapy first because the galaxy needs the Jedi again. Gotta rebuild one of my dad’s emo goth castles with my mind and go mope in it because I’m having a pre-mid-life crisis and can’t talk to my family like a normal human being.

Luke is in the best place when he finds the middle ground, the semi-happy medium in-between confidence and humility. Battlefront II did such an elegant job of showing that ideal balance - a Luke who accepts there are losses in battle, including the ones he has to dish out himself, but doesn’t fixate on that and focuses on just quietly helping others. And it took the pain of his experiences to forge him into that kind of person. Luke was a nice kid when he started out, but everything he went through sharpened his empathy into the well-honed weapon he wields later on. So while it sucks that he did have to suffer a lot to get there - and I’d personally want to wrap him in 1000 blankets and give him a half-gallon mug of hot chocolate - in the end Luke wouldn’t want people to feel sorry for him, because he was able to make something good out of all the bad. Still, it’s a sobering thought in the vein of “be careful what you wish for.”

#sir that's my emotional support skywalker #star wars #my meta #luke skywalker #freshman year to senior year

81 notes · View notes

notyetneedcoffee · 5 years ago

Text

Not Exactly a Classic Dame (3)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC (platonic friendship between Steve x OFC)

Warnings: Language, otherwise none this Chapter, but later

Bucky Master List / Main Master List

CHAPTER 3

“Hey, I brought you something.” Steve handed Bucky a stack of books as he walked into the apartment. “These are really good.”

“Thanks.” Bucky shut the door behind him. “You want some coffee or anything before we go.”

“No, I’m good.” Steve looked around at the now furnished room. It still lacked personal touches and decoration, but he liked what was there. He sat on the sofa, running his hand along the armrest. “This is nice.”

“Yeah. It’s comfortable.” Bucky sat down to tie his running shoes.

“Cas said she had a really great time when you took her for a ride.” Steve watched his friend.

Bucky didn’t answer, didn’t even look up.

“She likes your company, but it looks to me like you’re avoiding her.”

No response.

“So,” Steve crossed his arms and stared at the back of his best friend’s head. “Does she rub you the wrong way or are you just being a jerk?”

Bucky whipped around, scowling. “Listen, if your girl. . .”

“MY girl?”

“Yeah,” Bucky shot to his feet, anger instantly flaring to the surface. “I’m trying to be respectful, okay? She’s -” He stopped himself. What? A flirt? Sweet? Sexy as hell? He finally growled, “Yours.”

Bucky’s eye grew wide in confusion when Steve burst out laughing.

“Oh, Buck.” He shook he head, still chuckling at the incredulous look on the other man’s face. “We’re not an item. Never have been. Cas is a sweetheart, and I adore her, but we’re not a couple.”

A wave of confusion hit Bucky in the gut, making him even more angry. “But the way you two carry on? What the fuck? I’ve seen her hug and kiss on you. Eat off your plate without asking. There’s a picture of the two of you at some fancy shin-dig in your office. Steve, you gave her something you drew! What the else was I supposed to think?”

“Okay, yeah.” Steve stood to face him. “We’re close and, I’ll admit, pretty affectionate. But it’s just gotten to be natural. Honestly, Buck, it’s completely innocent. We’re just close friends.”

Not knowing what to say, Bucky just stared at the floor in front of Steve’s feet. He wasn’t about to apologize for barking. Steve laughed at him. The few interactions between himself and Cassidy came back in rapid fire memories. Sure, it made him feel good. Made him feel like sweeping her up in his arms and tasting those red lips. What if she was just, as Steve put it, being affectionate? He had no desire to be the fool. When he was younger, he may not have cared. He wasn’t the same man anymore.

The silence stretched out and Steve watched the emotions play out on his friend’s face. He looked stoic, but the clench of his jaw, the small change in his eyes as he stared into nothing, gave him away.

“I knew you would like her the minute I met her.” Steve sighed. “Even before I knew you were still alive. I would sit there thinking, ‘Bucky would just be smitten with her’.”

“You should’ve said something.”

“I should have said something.” Steve agreed. “I didn’t think.”

“She probably thinks I’m a jerk now.”

“You are a jerk.”

“Shut up, punk.”

Steve grabbed Bucky by the shoulder, giving him a shake. “Come on. Let’s go for a run. After, maybe we’ll see if Cas is up for lunch.”

“You sure you don’t what to go to the gym instead?” Bucky smirked. “Give me the chance to beat your ass for a while?”

o o o o o

Cassidy stood at her work station, bare foot and swaying in place to the soulful jazz music crooning from her speakers. Her mood danced on the edge of melancholy today. She indulged in an extra cappuccino and splurged on a chocolate pastry. Despite wearing her favorite outfit and doing her hair in her favorite style, she just didn’t feel herself.

“Hey Cas, how ya doing?’ Steve’s voice came from the door.

She didn’t turn away from the screen. Answering, voice flat. “Peachy.”

“That didn’t sound convincing.” Bucky scoffed.

Cas turned around somewhat surprised. “It’s about as good as it gets at the moment. Sorry.”

“Would lunch in town help?” Steve smiled.

“Maybe play hooky for a while.” Bucky added.

She looked between the two, relenting to their grins. “Okay. Okay, fine. Give me a minute to send a couple emails. But I’m taking my car in case I want to bail on you two goofs. I don’t know how much I testosterone I can take.”

As Cassidy drove a two-seat sports coupe, this left the guys in a quandary. Bucky decided to just follow on his bike and Steve rode in her car. They settled on a pool hall that served good barbecue not too far away. The establishment knew most of the Avengers so they wouldn’t be gawked at.

Steve insisted on ordering, so Cas and Bucky picked one of the many empty tables. He rested his elbows on the table and leaned over the top toward her, aware they had a brief moment alone. “I feel like I should apologize.”

Cas mirrored his pose, finding herself drawn in by his expressive blue eyes. “Oh?”

“I’ve been a bit of a jerk, even if I had good intentions.” He nodded.

“Suddenly giving me the cold shoulder has good intentions?”

Bucky sighed. Of course she would call him on his bullshit without hesitation. He shot a sideways glance at Steve who was putting his wallet away and waiting for the pitcher of beer. “You’ll laugh at me.”

“Try me.”

“I was staying away because I thought you and Steve were together.” He said quietly, leaving how much he liked her implied.

“He didn’t set you straight?” Her back went stiff.

“Today he did.”

She blew a little angry huff out her nose. When Steve sat down next to her with a pitcher of beer and a stack of glasses, she turned on him. “You can be a real asshole.”

“What?!”

“You are the first one to wave the great big ‘we’re just friends’ flag anytime anyone looks at the two of us even remotely sideways.” Cas poked him in the chest.

“Well, I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.” Steve admitted sheepishly.

“And yet you hung your best friend out to dry, you moron.” She poked him again, scowling. “Just go ahead a wait until things get all dramatic and awkward before you say anything.” Poke. “To who?” Poke. “Oh yeah, your best friend. Because that make perfect sense.” She threw her hands in the air. “Way to make everyone feel comfortable, Steve.”

Bucky knew she was laying it on thick on purpose, being a little melodramatic to make a point. She looked adorable. He chewed his lip to hide his smile. Steve pouted, making it even funnier. “Give him a break, Doll. You’re going to make him cry.”

Steve’s head fell to the side with a ‘really?’ look. Cas giggled.

“Okay.” She began to pour the beers. “Here’s to clearing the air.”

Happily, they clinked glasses and drank. By the time the assortment of ribs and brisket arrived, they were all feeling better and lively stories of how Cassidy helped Steve adjust to ‘modern times’ had Bucky laughing. He too had a lot to learn, but Cas took immense joy in the easily shocked Captain.

“You should have seen him when I took him with me to get my tattoo finished.” Cas smiled into her beer glass.

Bucky cocked an eyebrow at Steve. “You’ve been to a tattoo parlor before.”

Steve looked horrified. “Buck, they do piercings. Everywhere. On private parts. Men and women.”

“Huh?”

“Not just their ears and lips and noses.” Steve refilled his glass, trying to keep from blushing as he recalled the graphic photo album Cas showed him. “They get their nipples and parts ‘down there’ pierced too.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed, trying to imagine. He turned to Cas, “Do you-”

“Oh, hell no. I don’t go in for piercings.” She shook her head. “I’ve got plenty of ink, though. Every tattoo I have is for a reason, they’re are personal.”

Cas showed him the inside of her right bicep. There a little black tattoo said 'stay strong'. “This one I got after my mom died of cancer. It’s in her handwriting. There’s a breaching whale on my right leg. I got it after a rough recovery when I was in my early twenties. Then there’s this,” She lifted the left sleeve of her blouse. The thick arrangement of old-fashioned flowers reminded Bucky of the ones on cards he’d see in the old days. Violets, pink peonies, red roses, blue irises, sat among detailed green leaves.

“It goes all the way up my arm and part way down my back.” She lightly ran her fingers over the skin. “I know its dense, but it covers all the scars.”

Bucky went from quietly studying the details, to staring at her blank face. His mouth opened, but the question didn’t emerge. The glassiness of her eyes stalling him. Steve’s hand covered the fingers of Cassidy’s hand. Her eye shifted to his hand and she blinked.

Steve’s frown deepened. He squeezed her fingers. “It’s okay. We don’t have to-”

Cas shook her head and rocked it all the way through her shoulders, like a small mimic of a dog shaking off water. “No. Nope. It’s okay.” She looked a Bucky and chewed her lower lip for a second. “When the invasion hit New York, I was there for a software conference. The building was hit and a big section collapsed. On all of us. Most died. It took twenty-six hours to dig me out. I was pinned. My arm was broken in four places. Collar bone crushed. I had to have my shoulder complete rebuilt. My back was a mess of imbedded concrete. But,” She finished half her beer in one go. “It could have been worse.”

Bucky nodded slowly. Their eyes locked and he wished he knew the words to convey his understanding, his admiration. He wished he could tell her he understood her pain. Somehow, she must have seen something because he watched life light up her eyes again, just a little. A small smile touched his lips, “Well the tattoo is beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“What do you say we shoot some pool?” Steve got up and kissed the side of her head. “I’ll go set up.”

“You okay?” Bucky replaced Steve’s hand over hers.

“Yeah,” She turned her palm over and entwined her fingers with his. “Most of the time it just hangs out in the back of my brain, you know? Sometimes it rears up its ugly head.”

“A smell or sound.” He looked at her tiny hand in his own and nodded. “It doesn’t even make sense sometimes.”

She glanced at Steve, who was bent over the digital juke box in the corner. Cas didn’t know if he was purposely giving them a moment or not, but she felt thankful either way. “It wasn’t even the pain, or injuries, or surgeries. It was being trapped. It was being completely utterly powerless. I screamed and screamed, and nothing. My world literally fell in around me. My world became fear and silence and darkness. . . and it was like I suddenly ceased to exist.”

Holy shit, he wanted to hold her.

“I am so in awe of your strength. I cannot imagine how strong you are to survive what you have.” Cas whispered, staring at his thumb rubbing over her fingers.

Bucky’s eye snapped up, but she stared at their hands. “You’re pretty damn strong too, you know.”

A sideways smile slid across her face. “I fake it well.”

“You’ll have to teach me that, sometime.” Bucky returned the look.

Tony Bennett began playing across the speakers just as a loud crack echoed through the bar. Steve leaned across the table, lining up another shot. Another ball dropped into the side pocket.

“Which of you are taking solids? If you actually get a turn.”

TAGS

@angelus320, @babyloutattoo89, @blacklightguidesnic, @buckyharms107th, @buckysloved, @daaeleira,@dinosthatrawr, @elizabethporch, @fanficfluffer, @i-fear-neither-death-nor-pain, @jksymons, @josie605, @karla-silva, @littlemonsterseatkittens, @mama-bop, @mawietobacky, @mom---nicole, @mps427, @ohtheangst, @rorynne, @runlikeclockwork, @siliverin, @something, @veryangelslimecash

(If you want to be added or removed or if anything has changed, please message me! Thanks!)

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x ofc #bucky barnes x original female character #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfiction #steve rogers #steve rogers fic #steve rogers fanfiction

222 notes · View notes

wellthatjusthappend · 6 years ago

Note

Ok, feel free to say no, obviously, but since you’re taking requests... I would KILL for Iron and Wine BruJay (after Dick leaves since you said that’s the option you went with for the story). If you don’t want to dig into an old fic, I get it. I could survive on some regular ol’ possessive BruJay, maybe a/b/o or mer if you want (I love your mer stuff too). Maybe B fights off a suitor and claims Jay himself (I don’t make a lot of asks... hope I gave you enough to work with ❤️)

No need for murder, I’m perfectly willing lol.

Who's seen Jezebel?

(He) was born to be the (person) we could blame

Make me a beast half as brave

I'd be the same

-- Iron and Wine, “Jezebel”

Jason snuck out of the Manor the day he was sure Dick had truly left.

Apparently he’d fucked off to go mope with one of his many Bruce-replacements. Or something. Jason still didn’t know how to feel about those eyes on him. Wide and shocked whenever he caught them together. Hurt and confused and aroused and so so jealous. Jason would be a lot more pissed if he didn’t understand a little bit too well.

Because one of these days, Bruce was going to come to his senses.

Jason didn’t know when it’d happened: when his torment of Bruce had turned into addiction he could seem to let go of. Falling into bed with Jason was a little sin for Bruce to brood about on dark nights. But Batman never indulged in weakness for very long. Even Catwoman was sent to jail sometimes. One of these days, Bruce was going to efficiently cut Jason out of his life again.

But Jason wasn’t going to wait around to be thrown away. Not again. Jason left on his own terms, nobody else's. He’d had his fun, now it was time to go before he could be cast aside for something much more appropriate.

He wasn’t running away. He was taking control.

It was hard to convince himself that when he was sitting alone in a new safehouse absently pressing against the finger shaped bruises on his wrists. Jason had barely been gone a day and he already wanted to go back. But that’s how addictions were, he reminded himself. It was good that he was putting a stop it now, before the feeling and emotional dependency got any worse.

The game had seemed so simple at first; torment Bruce, make him hard for his former ward, and then leave him high and dry with his guilt. Somewhere along the way, control had slipped out of his hands and into Bruce’s. It always fucking did. It made him feel small and cheap… never the first choice.

Well fuck Bruce. And fuck Dick Grayson too.

As if summoned by the thoughts, Jason felt a presence loom up behind him.

“Get the fuck out,” Jason snarled, whipping around swinging.

Surprisingly, it was Matches Malone- not Batman- who caught his punch. However, it was Bruce who was looking at him from behind tinted glasses.

“We should talk,” he said gravely.

“What’s there to talk about?” Jason snapped, “You weren’t invited, now get out.”

“You didn’t even leave a note,” Bruce said stepping a little closer.

“I never left a note before,” Jason said defensively, “Why should I have started now?”

Truthfully they both knew why; things had been different between them lately, but Jason sure as hell wasn’t going to admit to that now.

“Are you coming back?” Bruce pressed.

“And why the fuck should I do that?”

“Your clothes are still in our closet.”

Jason knew. It had been haunting him a bit.

“Burn them.”

“Jason…” Bruce scolded him.

“Maybe I got bored of you, Old Man, ever consider that?” Jason said, even as he was backed up against the wall.

“Never,” Bruce said and kissed him. Jason snarled and bit him for his troubled but also pressed forward against his body instantly. He was so fucking trained at this point it made him hate himself a little more.

Or maybe he just hated Bruce.

He wrinkled his nose at the scratch of the fake mustache against his mouth and took a moment to rip it off. That gaudy hideous suit had to go too, he thought as he kissed and worked on clumsily clawing it off. Bruce was making a quick work of Jason’s belt too, reaching those big big hands underneath to grip his ass just the way Jason liked. Jason moaned, his legs spreading just a bit automatically.

In just a moment, Bruce was probably going to fuck him against the wall until Jason couldn’t think anymore and then find some way to bring him back to the Manor with him while Jason was stoned on his own enorphins. He’d fuck Jason over, just like he always did. Jason didn’t even know why he bothered if beautiful people like Dick would warm his bed in an instant. Maybe Jason was already too ruined for him to worry about.

The thought was ugly and brought with it the comforting edge of anger that let him trip Bruce up and pin him to the floor instead.

“Not this time, Old Man,” Jason hissed. He held Bruce’s arm behind his back, pulling his pants just far enough down to rub his cock along the crease of his ass. He felt Bruce tense and deliberately relax again.

It would feel so good to just push in, not just physically but emotionally. To hurt Bruce back for all the ways he hurt Jason. To punish them both a bit for… everything.

Bruce would let him do it. As usual that quiet acceptance and apathy hurt more than anything. In this moment, Bruce expected Jason to forcefully take him. To hurt him sexually and was prepared for just that. It brought up too many memories of his parents and that resigned look in his mother’s eyes when his father was working up to one of his rages. That he was going to hurt her but it was all okay because she loved him and he had permission- the right- to hurt her any way he liked.

No one had that right.

Jason pulled away feeling sick to his stomach.

“Jason…?”

“Stay away from me,” Jason said hoarsely as he tucked himself away. He saw Bruce turning over in the corner of his eye, but Jason couldn’t look at him. Instead, he grabbed his helmet and walked out the door.

He’d have to find a better hiding place next time.

#story requests #series: Iron and Wine #BruJay #scandalsavagefanfic

34 notes · View notes

dialovers-hell · 6 years ago

Text

Anonymous said: Could you write a scenario where the Mukami brothers catches their innocent S/O cuddling with a plushie version of them?

A/N: Oh how cute~ ˶⚈Ɛ⚈˵

Ruki - He finds you curled up on his bed holding the stuffed toy close to your chest and chuckles at your childish nature at first, not surprised that you still sleep with plushies. However as he leans closer to identify the creature you have in your arms, his eyes widen in shock which is extremely uncommon with the stone cold vampire. His arms swiftly yank the toy out of your grasp in order to examine in from up close, waking you up in the process.

“Where on earth did you get such a doll that looks identical to me? Or did you happen to make it yourself?”

You blush when you realize what exactly is going on and timidly admit to him that you had it custom made from this woman who makes them online.

“Well either way i am going to get rid of it; there is no need for you to latch on to such a thing.”

You try to pry the toy away from him but before you know it, he has you pinned to the bed with a look in his eyes that you know is going to lead to you being punished...

“Now,” he whispers harshly, “what exactly makes you think that you are able to act in such a way with me?”. His tone is cold but you can sense a hint adrenaline in his words. “Tsk tsk, your behavior is out of line so it looks like i’ll have to do something about that immediately. Must I really train you again?”

He suddenly flips you around so that you’re facing away from him, your stomach pressing into the bed. A cold finger traces along your neck, building up the tension in your body. He suddenly pulls at the collar of your shirt to reveal the skin at the base of your neck. You shiver as he teasingly licks you before stabbing his fangs through your flesh. Training has begun.

Kou - Obviously the first thing you were going to do when the mini-Kou you had ordered online finally arrived is shove it in your boyfriend’s face. He jokingly teases you about how the doll’s shoes don’t match its shirt and how he would never wear his hair parted in such a way. However he quickly changes his excited demeanor and replaces his smile with an iconic pout.

“Ne~ M-neko-chan, why would you buy this? Am i that bad at cuddling or something?” And before you get the chance to answer, he switches his mood on you again and pulls you into a tight embrace, practically squeezing you to death while yelling “Wah, did you really get this so that you don’t miss me as much when I’m on tour?! No, no i know an even better reason why you got it! It’s so that you can use it during naughty time when I’m not there to watch riiiiiiiight?” He purrs.

You immediately shove your hand over his mouth to get him to stop yelling such crude remarks and your face is now a bright shade of beetroot red. Why must he always drive you crazy?

“No! Why would I want to do anything like that anyways? That’s weird. I only got it because it looked like you and it was cute... SO STOP ASSUMING THAT I’M OBSESSED WITH SEX!” you pout, scolding your boyfriend for his racy ideas of what you would do with the innocent doll.

His laughter fills the room and he finally loosens his grip on you. “You know what Neko-chan, you were right about one thing..”

“What exactly might that be?” you reply, curious to know where he was going with this.

“This doll is super cute! Well of course it is, it looks like me after all, but you just gave me the greatest idea for new merchandise to sell to my fans! They are going to love this!! But before we’re going to do any of that we definitely need to do something about the shoes, the hair, the shade of pink, the sparkle in my eye..” and he continues to ramble on and on. Before you know it, you’re helping him to decide whether his eyes are aquamarine or cerulean blue.

Yuma - You had been bored out of your mind all say since your so called “lover” was too busy harvesting the vegetables in his garden since he would “absolutely die if he let those damn birds get to them before he did”. Gee, it sure is nice to know that your boyfriend prioritizes greedy ass birds over you. The room was far too cold for your liking and it only reminded you of how perfect it would be to cuddle with someone right now. After minutes of silently complaining to yourself, you remembered the Yuma plushie that you had hidden away but never really got the chance to use. You ran over to the pile of old clothes in your closet (which you had hidden your soft companion underneath) and had finally gained a suitable cuddle companion. But just when you’ve started to get comfy under a blanket...

“Oi sow, what are you doin’ with that ugly ass doll!” but his eyes widen as he realizes that the features of said ugly doll look a little too familiar. “Um...Sow... why does this doll have my face?”

You burst into laughter at his complete and utter confusion which only earns you another strange glance from him. However you’re silenced when he grabs the doll, briefly walks out of the room, then returns with the plush nowhere to be seen. Your cries of annoyance are immediately silenced by his plopping down on the bed and spooning you.

The both of you remained quiet for a moment until you finally asked, “Yuma, where’s my doll-”

“Shut up”

“But-”

“Nope. Never gonna tell ya.”

“Yumaaaaaaaaaaa”

“Serves ya right for choosing a stinkin’ doll over yer own boyfriend”

“Well last time i checked, you chose a those stinking birds over me!”

“Don’t. You. DARE suggest that I’m friends with those birds! Dontcha have any idea how much pain and sorrow they have brought to me? They have way too much junk in the trunk in my opinion and I would not hesitate to shoot them if I could.” he huffs, clearly irritated by the fat-ass birds that have been apparently tormenting his soul. So after that tearjerker of a comment, you had no other choice then to be content with your current position and just search for the doll some other time.

Azusa - He had walked in to see you cuddling with the stuffed toy, squeezing tightly. At first, your lover was a bit confused as to why you had a doll that looked like him in the first place...

“Eve-san....why do you have....a doll...that looks like me?” he asks, staring at you with no defining look of upset or happiness on his face.

“Well,”, you say, “he reminds me of you and makes me feel better when you’re not around.”

He looks a bit worried and timidly asks you, “Eve-san....do you...love...the doll?”

You respond with a small smile in response to his strange question and state “of course i do”. Yet when you notice the small frown forming at his lips, you realize what he meant by the question and immediately follow up your sentence with “but not more than you though. It’s just a cute reminder of the person that I love most”. You feel relief wash over you when you see that his eyes have brightened up, signalling that he was no longer worried about having to split your affection with the inanimate object.

He joins you on the bed and shuffles as close to you as his body will allow and intertwines his fingers with yours, staring longingly at you with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you question, wanting to know what could possibly be going on behind those eyes

He smiles softly and caresses your cheek with his free hand. “I was just wondering....maybe...I should get a doll...that looks like you.”

#diabolik #lovers #Diabolik Lovers #Ruki Mukami #Yuma Mukami #Azusa Mukami #Kou Mukami #Mukami

31 notes · View notes

gveret-fic · 6 years ago

Note

Prompt: Kara and Lena take their first vacation together

Lena had always imagined their first vacation to be to Cairo, or Rome, or even Istanbul. Somewhere with a deep history or unique architecture. But she supposed, to Kara, who measured travel by light years rather than miles, there was little difference between Shanghai and Midvale.

But, oh, it was fine. Rather than a relaxing, romantic experience somewhere faraway where her face was less recognizable, Lena was going to meet her lover’s foster parent. Which was just fine with her, of course. If there was ever a thing Lena had a perfect track record with, it was mother figures.

“Lena.” Kara placed her hand on Lena’s thigh. “She’s going to love you.” She squeezed. “And if she doesn’t love you, she’ll at least tolerate you.”

Lena let out a laugh. “Thank you for the reassurance.”

“Cuz I love you,” Kara continued. She took away her hand and swung one leg over Lena’s thighs to replace it.

Lena pulled on Kara’s hip to tug her halfway into her lap, rearranging her in a way that was sure to cause Lena’s legs and ass to fall asleep within the hour, but it made Kara giggle, so screw the consequences.

She wrapped her arms securely around Kara and settled in for the rest of their train ride.

If Kara had gone by herself she could probably have flown. But Supergirl carrying Kara Danvers’ girlfriend all the way to Kara Danvers’ home town might have been a tad suspicious.

By the time they reached Eliza’s home, Lena’s entire lower body had indeed descended into pins and needles. She tried to discreetly rub feeling back into the back of her thighs as Kara knocked on the door.

The door swung open abruptly, and Lena rushed to remove her hands from her ass. Feeling caught out, she crossed her arms over her chest, then immediately uncrossed them, struggling to recall the basics of body language.

Meanwhile, Kara exclaimed and jumped to embrace Eliza tightly.

“It’s so good to see you,” came Kara’s hug-muffled voice.

“It’s been far too long,” Eliza agreed.

Kara stepped back and touched Lena’s elbow. “Lena, my foster mom, Eliza.” She turned to Eliza and said, surprisingly formal, “Eliza, um, please meet the woman I love.”

Lena had to cough to clear the inopportune lump in her throat at those words.

“Hello, Lena,” said Eliza, and moved to step forward.

Hug or handshake? Hug or handshake?

Be cool, Lena told herself frantically.

“Lena Luthor. Pleasure.” She held out her hand.

Miscalculation. Eliza was clearly going for the hug.

They engaged in an awkward dance that resolved in a contorted sort of mutual pat on the back. Two minutes into the encounter, and Lena was ready to sink into bed with a face mask and headphones and the resolution to never have another interpersonal interaction again.

“Please, come in,” Eliza said, as if Lena hadn’t just irrevocably lost her right to be welcomed into anyone’s home ever.

Kara pinched her waist. “Relax,” she mouthed. Lena could only give her a helpless shrug.

Eliza showed them to the living room, where a number of chairs faced a long sofa.

Now what? Should she sit? Is the ability to stand up for prolonged periods of time a desirable trait in a daughter’s significant other? If so, Lena is already failing.

“Kara, could you get us some drinks?” said Eliza. “I’ll give Lena the tour.”

Kara waved to Lena cheerfully and went into the kitchen. Lena sifted desperately through memories of Luthor networking lessons as she followed after Eliza.

Eliza’s home was generic to the point of being literally unremarkable. “You have a lovely home, Dr. Danvers,” Lena brazenly lied. Grasping for a polite comment to make, she gestured at the windows. “I, uh, love your drapes.”

“Oh? I don’t really care about decor and all that,” Eliza said dismissively.

Lena privately noted that she had made no comment about Lena’s use of the honorific. Message received, she thought, straightening her back until she felt a slight twinge.

This was going well.

“This was Alex’s old room,” Eliza was saying. “You know Alex?”

“I do.”

“What do you think of her?”

Lena exhaled. Finally, a subject she could compliment sincerely. “Loyal to a fault,” was the first thing that sprang to mind. “Determined, caring, overly self effacing perhaps. It’s clear that awkward charm and selflessness run in the family.”

Eliza snorted. “Never thought of Alex as selfless,” she said. “Well. It’s good you get along, I suppose.”

Lena felt herself bristle. Certainly more selfless than you or I, she wanted to say. But normal families liked to tease each other harmlessly, didn’t they? Not every unflattering comment was meant to belittle or control.

They finished the house tour and joined Kara in the kitchen and accepted mugs of hot cocoa. Trust Kara to make the best possible choice when asked for unspecified drinks.

“So, Dr. Danvers, I heard from Kara that you’ve been developing a multipurpose vaccine with extraterrestrial immune systems in mind,” Lena tried. “We’re introducing a new alien-safe hypodermic needle next quarter, if you’d be interested in a—”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to do business together,” Eliza interrupted bluntly.

Lena swallowed her instinctive retort. Kara was nodding as if this made perfect sense to her, so Lena tried not to jump to conclusions.

Kara took it upon herself to carry the conversation for the next several minutes, and Lena silently sipped her cocoa and tried to find an appropriate place to join the discussion. Every time she gathered the will to speak up, however, the conversation had already moved on.

“Lena,” Eliza said abruptly after a four minute dissertation by Kara on the superiority of mutts. “A word, please.”

Lena glanced at Kara, who held up two thumbs and mouthed You got this but offered no helpful objection. Her jaw worked.

“Of course.”

Eliza herded her into her office. “In here. You can sit in my chair.”

My chair needed no clarification; there was only the one. Lena worked very hard on refraining from clenching her jaw as she sat, looking up at a very much still standing Dr. Danvers, Alien Girlfriend’s Foster Mom.

“You seemed nervous today,” Eliza observed neutrally.

“Oh, I—uh—” Lena immediately regretted opening her mouth. “Sorry.”

“Hm,” said Eliza.

“I don’t mean to—You seem perfectly nice,” Lena blabbered. “I assure you, my intentions toward Kara—”

Eliza waved her hand. “I don’t care about that. Kara’s an adult. If she gets her heart broken, that’s a part of life. She would live, and grow to exceed you in every way.”

Eliza’s gaze was calm and unwavering, and Lena found herself unable to look away. She felt observed, assessed, without any idea as to the results.

“I agree,” she said quietly.

Eliza nodded. “Likewise, I don’t care about your politics, or your media presence, or your taste in interior design,” she continued. “I care about one thing. Do you know what it is?”

“Whether—whether I can make Kara happy?”

Eliza made a noncommittal sound. “I’ll trust you with that,” she said, not sounding entirely convinced.

“Then—?”

“Kara loves you,” said Eliza. Lena knew this, of course, but the matter-of-fact words were jarring somehow, coming from her. “This is why she brought you here. She wants you to be part of our family. Do you want the same thing?”

Did Lena want the same thing? To be linked to Kara in the way most profound to her, to have a family that she can be unreservedly proud of, to be part of something beautiful?

“Yes,” Lena said, trying not to make the unspoken duh too conspicuous.

“Then you are,” Eliza said simply. “Go help Kara set the table. And don’t call me Dr. Danvers ever again. You’ll both be here for Passover, won’t you? Bring some appetizers. Grain-free, you remember.”

Before she quite realized what she was doing, Lena was out of the chair and on the tip of her toes, arms around Eliza Danvers. Eliza reciprocated easily, without a hint of hesitation, her grip tight and steady. Another thing that seemed to run in the family.

“Oh, I thought you might just be a standoffish ass,” Eliza observed over Lena’s shoulder. “Now I’ll have to reevaluate my analysis.”

Lena let out a slightly wet laugh. “Thank you.” She was aiming for sardonic and accidentally landed on sincere.

Eliza pulled away with the classic shoulder squeeze and eyed Lena like she knew every one of her secrets. “We should get back before Kara suspects me of assassinating the woman she loves.” Her approximation of Kara’s dreamy, painfully earnest tone was quite good, really.

Lena decided to file her away as mom who enjoys affectionately making fun of her kids. Also under gives good hugs and does not observe small talk etiquette.

Not altogether an uncharming person, in all honesty.

Back in the kitchen, Kara was humming to herself and munching on a bag of dry granola. Kara feeling at home was truly the most absurd, emotionally fulfilling sight.

Lena surreptitiously wiped at her eyes and sidled up to her. “Eliza enlisted me to set the table for dinner.”

Kara turned to her. “Are you crying?” she whispered loudly.

“No,” Lena told her. And sniffled.

Kara wrapped an arm around Lena’s hip, hand dipping down to give her ass a firm squeeze. Lena laughed breathlessly.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Kara murmured, putting down the granola and handing Lena a stack of very ugly placemats.

Lena glanced from the placemats to the fridge, littered with Nature magazine clippings, precariously magnetized stacks of bills, and a single tiny cut off photo booth picture of teenaged Alex and Kara making silly faces.

Nevermind Cairo or Rome or Istanbul. There was truly no other place she’d rather be.

#supercorp #my fic #thanks anon!#i took this in a different direction hope you don't mind #anonymous

413 notes · View notes

fightevilandthengetblownup · 5 years ago

Text

FIC: In The Afterglow

Everything that could go wrong this weekend, was going wrong it seemed.

---

When she had told him that she was expecting to be home researching rather than out hunting over the Valentine’s weekend that year, Jo saw the slight shift of his posture and biting of his lip that she took to mean he might plan something for once. Usually she was either away, or about to leave or having just gotten home and wanting to sleep the day away, so typically they’d spend the day apart or crashed out on the couch. She’d often suggest they wait a day or two and then go buy all the chocolate they could carry for half price, before gorging themselves over the next two weeks.

---

When Shada had begun popping over more frequently and finally convinced Jo between hunts to go out shopping with her, she started to suspect there was an ulterior motive from the number of short, tight, skimpy black dresses and practically non-existant bikinis the other woman tried to get her to try or buy. Thankfully the shadow seemed appeased when eventually she’d bought something, though the underbreath comments about ‘who even likes yellow anyways’ and ‘ugly ass one-pieces’ made her think perhaps she should have grabbed one of the other suggestions instead. Too little too late now.

---

When the weekend before she got a call from Bobby to organise “when did you two want me to dogsit Nana for” she absolutely knew something was going on. Laughing down the phone, Jo had handed it straight over to the other who went as red as she had ever seen him before he hurried out of the room, phone held to his ear and voice quiet. She hadn’t mentioned the call when he returned, simply flicking over to a rerun of Bridezillas as the Deadliest Catch went to commercial break. If he seemed tense when she’d curled into the nook of his arm, Jo didn’t mention it.

---

On the Thursday afternoon, Bobby showed up while Jo was in her study, Nana curled at her feet, working over a particularly hard bit of Hindu lore for a hunt - something to do with empty demon vessels appearing at an alarming rate in New Orleans, among dead humans as well. At the older hunter’s appearance, Jo dragged the four books she was using to translate between to beg for his help while Grey seemed to vanish into the kitchen while she waited for Bobby to read through what she’d done so far. What was supposed to be a quick pick up turned into three hours, where Grey sat next to her, arm tensely hovered as if to go around her shoulders as it usually would be refraining as he watched the three hunters talk over coffee, cake and the ancient texts. Jo had asked if they wanted to stay for dinner, but a quick shake of the head from Grey before the older hunter could agree let her know Bobby planned to make himself scarce before whatever surprise was due to be sprung.

It was as they sat down to watch a movie (his pick that night - Fury Road - which she found suspiciously her type enough) that Jo thought his attempts at subterfuge had been going on long enough.

“So, hun, where are we going?”

“Wha- why would you think we’re going anywhere?” Grey scratched at the back of his neck before resettling his arm around her as Jo cuddled into his lap. “Is there any reason we would be going anywhere?”

Jo laughed a little, tucking her feet against his legs and pinning him with a look. “Well, Bobby just took our baby away for the weekend, your sister has been asking me about outfits more than usual, you’ve been looking at me skittishly for the last three weeks, do I need to go on?”

Grey sighed at her grin, rubbing a hand over his face for a moment. “Can you go on?”

“Actually no, that’s all I’ve got.” Jo laughs again, reaching out for his hand. “So, where are we going?”

“I.. I thought you might want to get away for the weekend. Just us. Maybe some, uh, dinner somewhere nice.” Grey was staring purposefully at the TV screen, she could tell from the way his jaw muscle clenched and released and how his eyes occasionally started to drift towards her face, waiting for her reaction she was sure, before focussing right back on the screen. Max was holding Furiousa at gun point for, like, the third time. “Maybe catch some, uh, sun on the beach? Bit of shopping? Just...us time?”

“And where are you takin’ me for our us time?” Jo smirked a little, raising a brow at him before Grey finally looked over at her squeeze of his hand.

That seemed to be the right reaction if his responding smile, so uncertain but also bleeding happiness let her know this was going to be a fun weekend.

“It’s going to be a surprise. I have, um, already packed your bags.” There was a pause before he rushed to add, free hand tucking her hair behind her ear. “I mean, you can check them and add or take what you want out but-”

“I trust you, hun. And I’m sure your sister was involved in some way...”

“Yeah, uh, she may have had a bit of an influence.”

Jo nodded her head, leaning into his shoulder and stuffing a few of the chocolate buttons they were sharing into her mouth now that had been settled. “S’long as my yellow dress made the cut, I’ll be happy.” That got a huff of a laugh from the other as they relaxed back and settled in for the rest of the movie and the night.

---

“Okay, ready to go?” Jo almost bounced on her heels in excitement as they finalised the last few bits and bobs - phones and chargers, and European transformers(!!), tooth brushes and Jo’s favourite (only) perfume, as well as an old Polaroid camera and Grey’s current small sketchbook - were shoved into her purse while Grey got together their bags. She had woken up anxious and concerned, that had been wiped away with the warm good morning wake up she had gotten, but was now almost bursting with excitement from the moment she’d realised that whatever the other had planned was not in the United States. “Are we ready? Where are we going? When’s the plane leave? Do you even have a passport? How did you get on-”

Grey cut off her questions with a press of his lips, before pulling back and smiling at her as he grabbed a hold of the top of the somewhat large suitcase and wrapped an arm around her waist. Jo tilted her head as him as she threw the strap of her purse over her shoulder, and let out a sigh.

“So how-” Her words disappeared at the same time as them, her eyes blinking as the slightly dark but homely entry of their home disappeared and suddenly she was stood in the warm sunshine with nothing but bright, bright blue sea in front of her. Somewhere very far from the still slightly grey and cold weather at home, the recommendation to dress for warmer weather making much more sense now as the cool sea breeze tugged at her hair and shirt. “-are we getting anywhere...”

“Sorry, Jo, didn’t mean to surprise you.” The look on his face, somewhat smug and very very bemused, made her think that was a bold faced lie as Jo let out a laugh.

It was so gosh darn blue. It was her second favourite blue thing she decided in that moment, turning her face towards the warm sunlight and blinking at just how beautiful it was. God knows where they were though, and Jo found she didn’t really care, it was just for a few days she could be somewhere unknown.

“Wow..” She knew she sounded breathless, but god damn she was at home one second and the next in the most amazingly beautiful place she’d ever seen. “Just...wow.”

“Oh if you like this, I think you’ll like where we’re staying even more.” Grey practically purred the words in her ear as his arm tightened around her waist as they looked out again at the view across the old cobblestone wall from the cliffside they were on. He span her about after a long moment, hand sliding from her waist and into her hand as Jo continued to look about in amazement.

There was some open air market or something behind them, and the streets were so old. The houses were old too, and the various bright cheerful colours either faded from age or bright and bold from being recently replaced. And the sky was so, so blue and clear, with only the odd fluffy white cloud about the placce. It was perfect.

---

Supposedly the plan was for a romantic walk up to the villa. That had been what he’d said.

After the first five minutes trekking up a 45-degree slope on uneven cobblestones, that romance had died with her snarling out curses as she barely avoided rolling her ankle for the third time. He wasn’t in any better shape about it, sweating under the hot sun as much as Jo was and lugging the suitcase as well.

Even though they’d stopped and he’d decided to transport them to the white front door of the villa instead, it didn’t help that their hair was sticking to their necks, the starting tingle of a sunburn was kissing at her cheeks, and her feet were aching from adjusting to the need to walk differently on the paths here. Grey was muttering under his breath equally frustrated as he knocked again on the door, hands clenching and unclenching beside him while Jo leant on the suitcase for support.

“Where the fuck are these people...”

“Hun, I’m sure they’ll answer in a second.”

“They better, or I’m just smoking in.”

Jo rolled her eyes at that. It seemed this was the first of his ideas and that it hadn’t gotten off to the best start seemed to be getting to him.

Just as he raised his hand a fourth time to knock, the door opened to an equally frazzled looking woman blinking at them. “Oh no, sei già qui! Parli italiano?” The older woman looked between the two of them uncertainly, brushing at what looked like a lot of dust on her hair.

“Uh, non solo inglese?” Grey fumbled over the words, tugging at his t-shirt collar awkwardly as he sent Jo a look. “Um, we’re... we’ve booked the villa for the weekend? Si..amo... qui?”

“Yes, yes, weekend stay. Couple under Grigio, si?”

“Yes, Grey. Is.. are we early?”

The woman shook her head several times, more white dust falling from her dark wiry hair, and Jo couldn’t help but cringe realising that maybe something else other than a stupid choice about trying to walk up a freaking mountain was about to happen.

“Non non, all time correct. Simply problema with the house. Grande problema.” The older woman appeared to be distraught, rubbing her hands together and holding them out apologetically at the other, tears almost starting in her eyes. “Problema di tubi allagati - the pipes, there is a problem of water everywhere. All over floor, all through roof, fallen ceiling in master room. Not good, not good at all!”

“What?” Grey practically yelped the word out, staring at the woman in abject horror before he sent a concerned look over his shoulder at Jo. “When...when did this happen?”

“Proprio adesso - as we speak. Much flooding all through honeymoon suite-”

“Honeymoon suite?” Jo piped up from her seat atop the suitcase, raising a brow as the bright red colour appeared all over the other’s cheeks and down the back of his neck from what she could see. He shot her a look which made her want to laugh as the older woman began nodding again like a mad woman.

“Si, si si, suite is ruined. Quindi molto molto dispiaciuto, molto molto sorry!” She appeared to brush her hands finally clear of what Jo was starting to suspect was plaster dust as Grey ran a hand over his hair anxiously.

“Do you... have another room?” Jo took over after a long pause between the other two at the woman’s apologies, shifting off of the suitcase and raising an eyebrow at the woman.

Her look appeared to clear, clapping her hands together and a bright smile formd on her face. “Si, si si, another room! We place you elsewhere. Molto molto sorry, but we have another, si.”

“Let’s just go with that then.” Jo smiled kindly at the woman, sliding her hand into Grey’s free one as he appeared to still be struggling handling the news that something had gone dreadfully wrong with his planned choice. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a precursor to the rest of the weekend.

---

“At least we still have access to the pool?”

Grey practically growled for a moment before he cut it off, turning to look at her as Jo sat, one leg crossed over the other, at the end of the small double bed. The quilts felt nice and good quality under her hands, but the bed was distinctly smaller than even the one in the guest bedroom back at home.

Regardless, the view out the window was amazing, and Jo was right about the pool. She had seen it as they’d been shown through the gardens and out to the private pool house studio. Grey had grumbled as they entered that it was not what he had planned, but Jo had merely shook her head and run to the window overlooking the ocean without a care to the size of the space, the bed or anything but looking out at the vista again. She was only here for three days, and she was going to stare at that scene until her eyes bled if she had her way.

“Yeah, but we were supposed to be up on the third floor. We were supposed to have a California king, we were supposed to have the biggest bath you’ve ever seen!”

“Well no wonder the whole place flooded.” She replied offhandedly, eyes still fixed out the window as Grey bustled frustratedly around the room. She felt the dip as the suitcase was thrown a little hastily onto the bed behind her. “And honestly, we aren’t goin’ to be spendin’ much time in our room are we?”

“It was big enough to share Jo.” Grey paused where he was undoing the zipper of the suitcase, giving her a look that made her suddenly wish that room was available still just to see all that he had planned for the weekend. But still, they had that view.

Shifting around Jo reached into the open suitcase once he’d flipped the lid open, fishing out the swimmear she had bought at Shada’s encouragement to get something ‘beachy’ while Grey started moving their toiletries into the much smaller than his planning bathroom. Shrugging her shirt and shimmying out of her skirt, Jo quickly changed into the blue and white stripped top and red bottomed retro-styled one piece without a care at all as to what Grey was up to. He was in a funk about some room, when they still had access to that beautiful pool, and they were still in the most beautiful place she had ever been. Jo wasn’t going to waste either of those.

“Hunny, I’m goin’ to run out to the pool for a second okay?” Jo called out, pulling her hair up into a bun and grabbing her sunglasses out of her handbag. “Or did you want me to help unpack first?”

“Go on, Jo. You go enjoy yourself, I’ll... I’ll be out in a bit.” His voice sounded slightly rough and a little too soft from behind the closed door, but Jo didn’t want to push it if he was feeling some sort of way. This was going to be a good weekend, and she was going to enjoy herself.

---

It was a full half an hour before he appeared outside to the private infinity pool.

Jo had already swam a few laps, her hair wet and matted in the bun atop her head, and was now floating lazily on her back in the water, legs dangling and sunglasses covering her eyes as she let the sun and the slight breeze lull her into an almost waking sleep.

It was to hands on her waist that Jo realised she’d finally been joined by the other, dropping her feet to just graze the bottom of the pool with her toes even though they were in the shallowest part of the pool. Lifting the glasses from her eyes onto the top of her head, she smiled widely at the slightly tense quirk of his lips in response.

“Took ya long enough.” She teased, shifting around and then pushing off the bottom of the pool with one foot to wrap both legs around his hips as Grey wrapped her up in his own arms. “Done sulkin’ and ready to have an amazing weekend away?”

“Yes, I’m done sulking, pretty one.” He replied, hands moving to hold her up under her thighs and a self-depricating smile on his lips as they floated in the cool blue water. “Just had to get the case unpacked, and everything put away-”

“And stop sulking about things not always going to plan.”

“That too.” Grey laughed, finally smiling back and brilliantly as when they’d first arrived in the small Italian city. Jo had worked out they were in Italy from the language the villa owner used, but other than that, she was still at a loss but happy to keep floating across the water towards the edge of the infinity pool overlooking that view.

“So, now we’re here.. What else are we goin’ to be doin’?” Jo asked, nuzzling in at his neck as she wrapped her arms around his own and smiling back at him. , His own smile flickered slightly, the dark edge she was used to seeing when he was playing and teasing her coming in before Jo answered her on question in unison with him.

“It’s a surprise.”

---

That night they went to a small restaurant down near the pier on recommendation by the villa owner of a Napoli ‘pesce favoloso’ restaurant. It was so quaint, and clearly a place frequented by locals more than tourists from the lack of English and the crowds of happy, loud Italians calling about the place between customer and workers alike.

The atmosphere was amazing, and Jo almost squealled seeing the old Chianti bottles with the red wax candles melting all down the side and the worn wooden tables. There were no spaces for two people only, but that just added to the ambience as they were sat in the middle of a long bench table between a group of older men playing hands of cards around their share plates of octopus, squid and different white fish dishes, and what was clearly a multi-generational family enjoying a Friday night dinner together with fried arancini piled high between the seafood dishes.

The nice older man next to Jo noticed their plight as both Jo and Grey pulled out their phones to begin translating the menu, and within twenty minutes a bottle of white wine and an entire meals worth of food had been ordered on their behalf without input by the group of men, who began serving the pair of them from their own share dishes as well while they waited for their meal. It was one of the most honest, genuine and special moments Jo had ever experienced, and she’d had to blink her eyes rapidly when she caught the look that Grey had sent her over the table as the man next to her poured her a glass of their drink with a lot of jovial Italian and hand movements that she couldn’t follow at all.

That had been a perfect moment for the weekend, and one she knew the second it was happening that she’d store away to be remembered forever.

---

The Saturday morning started early as the sun streamed in through the flowing white curtains. Jo had thought those were just a feature of movies or those fancy Instagram photos from models and superstars, but as she stretched in the tight fitting bed to blink at the bright white of the morning, she let out a laugh. Grey was tucked against her back, face forced between her shoulder blades and one leg hanging off the edge of the smaller than normal bed for them, and Jo let out a quiet breath as she shifted gently to get up out of the bed.

She got changed into her swimsuit again, dry after hanging up in the bathroom overnight, and found herself swimming laps of the cold pool as the sun came up over the horizon. Leaning on the edge overlooking the beach and ocean beyong it, Jo grinned like an idiot as the orange bled into blue and the whole town sounded like it was beginning to wake up. A few more laps, and she finally snuck back into the pool house as the other rolled over off his back to wake up as well.

It was another hour before they’d finished the morning routine they were slipping into - kissing, sharing a shower and making jokes as they dressed for the day - and heard the sound of a sharp knock on the pool house door.

“Si, buongiorno signore e signora Grigio, break of fast is ready on il balcone. Please please follow.” The older woman smiled so brightly for such an early hour, but Jo was already in the best mood she thought she’d ever been in for eight in the morning and couldn’t wipe the corresponding smile off of her own face. Grey’s hand slipped into hers as they walked along behind the other woman, her keeping up a rattling one sided conversation in the not-all-English way she seemed to do.

The breakfast spread was not what Jo or Grey were used to, but Jo almost cried as she sat down next to the other at the sight on the table. Doughnuts, so many doughnuts, were piled high upon a platter plate, with fresh fruit sliced and arrayed around it. As they sat, the woman reappeared with two steaming mugs of espresso with dollops of milk froth in the centre of them, placing one in front of each of them before bustling away to where she had come from.

“Hun... Can we move to Italy?” Jo stared at the platter of swirled zeppoles and the round doughnut balls infront of her like she’d stared at him not even an hour ago, licking her lips and trying not to salivate as she started to pile a few onto the small plate in front of her.

Grey laughed, plucking up a slice of rockmelon for himself, watching her as she started on the first doughnut ball. “Jo, you can have doughnuts for breakfast at home.” He paused for a moment as she bit into the Nutella filled ball with a moan of pleasure like earlier that morning, before adding quickly, “But not all the time. You shouldn’t have doughnuts all the time for breakfast. Only on special occasions.”

“Oh you mean like today?” Jo waggled an eyebrow at him, quickly polishing off the first dough ball with a happy sound before reaching over for a strawberry that had been tucked in amongst the pastries. “Happy Valentine’s by the way, hunny. That, uh, was a very good start to the day this mornin’, just so you know.”

“Happy Valentine’s, Jo,” he mumbled back, and Jo had to bite down the grin at the flush on his cheeks and neck as Grey picked up a zeppole for his next choice and tore a piece of the pastry apart and dipped it into his coffee like he was a local to the place. Jo smiled at the way his eyes matched the skys when he looked back across at her. “Well, we’ll just have to continue the day on the right path, huh?”

“Speakin’ of, what did you have planned for today?” Jo smiled back, sipping her own coffee before adding quickly as he tried to quickly swallow his food to answer. “Lemme guess, it’s a surprise?”

He tapped his nose with one sugar coated finger, and Jo leaned over to wipe it off with a laugh as they continued tucking into the small feats - Nutella and jam and custard filled doughnuts as well as the ricotta zeppoles and fruit disappearing as they finished another two espressos each and watched the town coming to life below them from their perch on the balcony.

---

“We’re so sorry but Pompeii is closed to tourists today.” The guard stood before the access point had his arms crossed and seemed tired of repeating the same words over and over, and it was only ten in the morning. “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

Grey practically snarled at the man as he repeated the exact same words for the fifth time, not even bothering to look at the pair of them any more as he rattled off the same message over and over. Jo felt his grip tighten a little harder than usual around her hand before he growled out in a quiet Whisper, “Why is it closed?”

So far that was the one thing the guard had not specified, and Jo felt her brow rise up hearing the method being used by the other but thought better than to chastise him in the middle of yet another thing going wrong on this weekend.

Getting to the site had been a nightmare as it was. Grey had wanted to ensure they fit in as much as possible with the tourist set, and they’d found themselves squished onto a tony bus with far too many fellow tourists with screaming annoying children and the stench of backpackers. Jo had half wished he’d changed his mind at that point and disappeared them both away to the end location as it was.

“The walls collapsed again. So tourists are being limited.” The guard spoke quickly, not even seeming to realise what had happened before he repeated off the speil about inconvenience caused as another person approached him.

Jo tugged on Grey’s hand, pulling him away from the rest of the crowd and wrapped her arms around his neck as he seemed to still be glaring hatefully towards the crowd of irrate tourists and the unwavering guard. Stroking a hand down his cheek, she pushed herself up to catch his lips with hers before retracting back when he finally responded.

“Hun, it’s not a big deal-”

“It so is! This is a huge place, and I know you wanted to see it after than documentary you talked about last year-”

“Yes, but it’s not-”

“And today is supposed to be perfect-”

“It already has been-”

“But the room is wrong, and the bus was dreadful and now we can’t even go see Pompeii!”

Jo rolled her eyes as she let him rant this time, rather than cutting him off, before stroking his cheek again with a cheeky smile. “Ah, but you see, I had an amazing swim this mornin’, and then an amazin’ lay, and the doughnuts for breakfast. And now? Now we can go onto Herculanioum instead if you are up to takin’ us.” She continued to stroke his cheek as she spoke, tweaking his nose when his gaze started to drift back to the guard with a dark look to it. “And I’ve heard those ruins are far better. And then we can avoid that bus trip back, hmm?”

There was a long pause, as Grey seemed to glare across at the crowd as if trying to work out how much trouble they would be in for accessing the site regardless, before he finally let out a shaky breath and pushed his forehead against hers.

“Fine... We’ll got to Herculanioum instead, just for you, Jo.”

“And for you.”

---

By the time they got back to the villa, it was almost three in the afternoon, and Jo’s cheeks definitely were feeling the bite from the sun but she didn’t care. She could worry on Monday about the sunburn after she had soaked up as much as possible this weekend.

Changing back into the swimsuit and convincing Grey to come out and recline on one of the deck chairs with his sketchpad while she swam laps, or floated on her back, or sank to the bottom of the pool and sat to see how long she could stay down there, the rest of the afternoon passed with splashing and jokes and the beautiful fruit, cheese and cured meat platter brought out at one point by the villa owner alongside a bottle of red wine that Jo practically drank all of and flopped a little more languidly in the pool after that.

As the sun began to sink over the other side of it’s morning rise, Grey finally declared they had to get ready for dinner and fished her out of the pool himself when Jo jokingly refused to leave the water. She couldn’t help the smile on her face at all, it had been a permanent feature of the afternoon, and she found it softening as he wrapped her up in the fluffy beachtowel with a kiss to the forehead.

From there, she sequestered herself practically into the bathroom once he’d had his own shower. Usually she spent less than ten minutes bathing, doing her hair and make up back home. Even for hunts where she needed a more professional look, it barely took more than fifteen minutes to do everything. So it was exhausting in a sense but also gorgeously pampering in another for her to spend over half an hour rubbing different lotions all over her skin, and applying make up more carefully than she ever had, and blow drying her hair out into gentle waves before pulling it into a full but sleek pony tail complete with a bright gold fastener that Shada had talked her into. Sticking her head out the bathroom door, Jo hissed at the other to turn around and stare out the window until she was finished getting ready, smiling as he covered his eyes and moved away from the bed to give her a semblance of privacy to slip into the bright yellow, somewhat plain dress. At least it matched the weather here more than back home, and pulling on some matching yellow shoes, Jo bit back a smile at the woman looking back at her in the mirror. Even her bites disappeared with the bright colour and her necklace obscuring the rest.

She bounded across the room, skirts swishing around her legs making her feel even more feminine, to tap on Grey’s shoulder before smiling widely at the gape of his mouth when he turned back to her. Her own lips would have been gaping like a fish if she hadn’t already noticed how nicely the cut of the tigher-fit navy suit pants and slimline navy jacket had looked from behind while he’d had his back turned. Sliding her hands up over the matching tie, Jo ran her hands up and down it a few times before tugging it loose and sliding it from his neck as Grey watched her quietly. Undoing the top two buttons and leaning forward, Jo pressed her nose in against the open skin and sighed quietly for a moment, before stepping back.

“No tie?” Grey swallowed thickly as Jo retreated, his own hands skimming over her waist, pulled in tighter than usual by the bodice of the dress. His thumbs brushed just against the underside of her breasts before sliding around her back, a smile on his face in response to her own.

“No tie.”

---

Dinner had been going well, which she supposed just meant it had to go wrong very very shortly; and that came true soon enough. They had been sat on one of the tables set up near the windows overlooking the setting sun across the glimmering ocean. Her breath had caught and it had been another of those forever-memories, scorched into her mind as the waiter approached and Grey fumbled through ordering the drinks for the both of them in a mix of English, stunted Italian and gesturing and pointing at the wine list. Glancing out the corner of her eye, Jo felt herself blushing at the look she was getting across the candlelit table that made her think potentially the exact same forever-memory storage was occurring on the other side of the table. She tucked a stray piece of hair back behind her ear as she shifted and turned her attention back to Grey rather than out the window.

Conversation flowed easily, talking about the shocking, beautiful and poignant ruins they had walked around that morning. Jo had been stunned and even slightly shocked to see the ash covered bodies clustered together, while Grey had marvelled at the architecture that had survived the destruction and so many years. She had taken quite a few Polaroid snaps of the both of them, and thought it funny how Grey never quite made eye contact with the camera for one reason or another. The funniest had been when the stray dog had run past and almost hit a wall trying to dodge around him. Sipping the wine delivered as they talked, bread and butter arriving at one point, followed by oysters with some kind of tomato top that Jo had raised an eyebrow at the other about. It was going to be one of those nights but she had already Google’d the place under the table and realised just how much thought and how special this evening was intended to be by the other. A Michelin starred restaurant, and their number one recommendation for the most romantic restaurant for Valentines day, and Grey had managed it with less than a months notice. Her heart thudded a little louder in her chest when she’d thought on that.

It wasn’t until the third plate of nine had been brought that the wrong showed up.

Jo had the seat facing out towards the rest of the restaurant with the smallest portion behind her, so she could see the moment that the man entered the restaurant. The man it was absolutely, impossible to be here of all places that walked through the space, eyes darting about the place as if searching for something.

She wasn’t sure exactly when it was that her own man had noticed - be it from the weird attunement to the other, or Jo’s own reaction and distraction, she wasn’t sure - but it seemed to be almost the exact same moment that the new comer spotted her.

“Oh thank fuck.” The expression was loud in the somewhat quiet and subdued restaurant, as Gray quickly stalked along the walking space between the rows of tables towards them. “There you are.”

“Hun, hun please...” Jo barely acknowledged the newcomer, reaching a hand across the table to grab Grey’s hand with hers quickly. “Please let me handle this.”

Grey’s jaw was clenched, the muscles twitching as he turned his hand under her own to squeeze hers back, lips pressed into a thin line as the other shadow finally reached them.

Gray grabbed a chair from the table nearest them, not even looking at the two women and man sitting at the table together, clearly from the glassware the chair was already in use by one of the women’s dates but he was just vacant at the moment. Spinning the chair about and sinking into it backwards, he didn’t even glance over at the other shadow as he focussed on Jo instead.

He let out a little bit of a whistle, the noise reverberating through the restaurant as Jo noticed abstractly people were starting to look around from their private dinner bubbles to watch him, biting back a snort of her own at the idea. “First and foremost, damn sweetie. Just damn.” Gray ran an eye a little too long and a little too appreciatively over what was visible of her in her dress from where she was sitting.

Jo could feel the hand in her’s tighten harshly for a second, before his thumb began rubbing carefully or caressingly on her knuckles in apology, as she felt the color rising in her cheeks at the comment. Shaking her head, Jo raised an eyebrow at Gray. “Secondly?”

“Yes! Secondly, sorry was just a bit distracted cause fuck sweetie, why do you never dress like this for me, you better appreciate what you’re getting Runt,” There was a tense moment as Gray finally turned an eye towards the other shadow with a smirk as he gestured towards her. Next moment he turned away and then back again towards his brother with a slight frown, before smirking even wider. “I’m going to scrap my original secondly, cause secondly, little brother, so good to see you finally acknowledging my superiority. Your fashion sense really required some work, so I’m glad to see you finally embracing what sweetie really likes on a guy.”

“Now listen here-”

“Grey...” Jo hissed the words out, tugging on his hand in the hope of distracting him from attempting to do...something. She thought perhaps stab the other in the neck from the way Grey’s eyes darted between his brother’s neck and the dangerous looking serated blade for the meat course later.

“I’m going to kill him eventually, Jo.” Grey replied, free hand twitching as if to reach for his knife before diverting to reach across the table ignoring the intruder to tuck her hair back behind her ear. Gritting his teeth, he looked out the corner of his eye at his brother before resting back in his chair, other hand still squeezing Jo’s hand lighter and then tighter on and off. “Eventually.”

“Thank you.” Jo smiled brighly across the table at him, index finger sneaking further up to touch his wrist under the shirt cuff before she turned back to the sneering shadow. “Now, back to you. What are you doin’ here of all places? And what do you need me for now?”

Gray let out a huff of a laugh before nodding his head towards his brother. “Both of them are due to the runt actually. I’m here cause he blabbed his big romantic gesture plans to our sister, so that’s how I knew where you were. And I’m here because now Shada is stalking me trying to pressure me into...something cause its,” He appeared to pause for a moment, a flash on his face as if tasting something foul before finishing his sentence. “fucking Valentine’s day.”

“Huh. Interesting.” Jo simply stated in response. tilting her head thoughtfully to the side. She saw over the other’s shoulders, while Grey was focussed on glaring daggers at his brother and Gray was busy trying to get the taste of the words out of his mouth by seemingly drinking her wine - that was going to need retribution soon enough - that the man from the other table had appeared to return and a cluster of staff members whispering and fluttering about trying to work out a dignified resolution rather than potentially upsetting two tables. Another waiter came out from behind the group with two plates aiming directly for their table.

As the waiter reached the table, Jo sent Grey a look, another tight squeeze and then pulled her hand back to her side of the table as the waiter sat the two plates down, with a confused glance at Gray as he looked in distaste at the arrival of the food. “Oh god, really runt, you’re going to eat that?”

“Some of us aren’t children like you, dickhead.” Grey snaled the words out, lifting his own wine glass to his lips before adding sharply, “Would have thought you’d have gotten used to eating way-back-when.”

“I’ll make you eat-”

“Gray!” This time she snapped at the intruding one of them, eyes focussed sharply on him with a scowl as she didn’t move to pick up her knife and fork just yet. Jo refused to let whatever delicious course it was going to be be ruined by the other’s arrival or commentary. When he finally turned his attention back to her, Jo raised a brow at him and made a ‘continue’ gesture with her hand. “You said somethin’ about Shada and Valentine’s day?”

“Fuck, yes, the crazy moron has it in her head we have to do something romantic together. Just because the runt’s just gone and done all of this for you.” Gray growled the words out, one fingers skimming around the lip of her wine glass as he looked at her with a scowl. “Even though clearly there is nothing going on between myself and her, especially not to this kind of insanity.”

“Please don’t call it insanity.”

“Fine, sweetie, not in this kind of way. Is that better?”

“Much.” Jo bit back a bit of a smile at his words and his exasperation with the female shadow. She had heard her whining for the last week on and off about not having any plans for ‘the most romantic day of the year’ before Jo had been whisked away, and she couldn’t help but feel bad for the girl. She deserved much more than obsessing over the dickish shadow next to her. Sighing, Jo ran her hand over the loose tendril to the side of her face as she thought over the easiest way to get Gray to leave without causing a bigger fight or problem. Chewing on her lip, she tugged her wine glass out from under his hand and took a sip before replacing it, shrugging at the sharp disapproving noise she heard from across the table. Some way to get rid of Gray and help with Shada without causing another problem, some way, some way.

“Oh!” Jo let out a gasp as her eyes widened, coming upon an idea. Both men’s eyes went directly to her rather than glaring at one another while she had been quiet. Clapping her hands, she grinned widely towards Gray with another nod. “Easy done. Tell her you want to take her to Australia right now. And then when you get there, just... hang out, go to the beach or something. And don’t forget to remind her their ahead of the US timezone wise so it’s not Valentine’s any more.”

There was a long, stretched out silence around the table for a moment, before Gray thumped the table top a little too harshly with a fist, grinning at her widely. “Mother, sweetie, you are a genius.” Jerking upright out of the borrowed chair and sliding it back behind him roughly, not caring at all about the room’s attention being back on him and them by extension from the loud scraping noise it had made, his face transformed into a wide smirk before leaning down, one hand grabbing her chin as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you, sweetie, I’ll remember this for next time you annoy me, aye? Now, enjoy your dinner with lowrent me.”

Jo blinked repeatedly as she tried to reconcile what had just happened as Gray jauntily stalked back out of the restaurant, seemingly considerate enough of her being on a date not to just disappear from the middle of the space; but barely had a moment before the sound of another chair scraping scratched through the air as her man jerked upright out of his chair, intent on following the other out of the space. Lightening quick, she reached across the table, rising a little out of her chair to do so, and tugged on Grey’s hand.

It felt for a second like Grey was about to shake her grip off, and she half expected it after such a performance from the other. But as he surveyed the room, a lot of eyes focussed on him and her alike, he clenched and uncleched his fists a few times before he turned to look down at her blinking owlishly up at him. Letting out a ragged breath, Grey sank back down into his chair across from her with a growled comment that, “I’m going to fucking get him for that.”

Jo let out a tight laugh in response as she ran her hand down his wrist to hold his hand in the middle of the table for a moment as she picked up her fork to prod at the beautifully plated roasted beetroots and goast cheese course in front of her. Biting her lip, she laughed again a little at the grouchy look still on Grey’s face before saying quietly. “Hey, if we leave before midday tomorrow, he should be back and you could beat him up as my gift to you for Valentine’s?”

#CA #jopov #cc

1 note · View note

buckyscrystalqueen · 6 years ago

Text

Ohana: Part 5

Pairings: Negan x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, fluff

Word Count: 3,805

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So can I ask you something?” Negan asked softly as he brushed his fingers across the scar on the end of your stump. You nodded as you ran your fingers across Brenna’s back as she slept and looked across the pillows at your sleep over partner. “What happened… with your leg?” You gave him a weak smile and sighed.

“Were you in the military?” Negan shook his head as he scooted impossibly closer to you around Brenna. “It’s terrifying. Even though I was on a secure base and I was just a doctor, I still woke up every single morning in fear. Fear of what people were actually capable of. You see, back home, you guys saw on TV maybe half of what I knew actually happened. Suicide bombers were taking us out multiple times a day, every single damn day. IED’s every ten feet on and off every single road coming in and going out of the place. Kids… little kids with guns that saw our uniforms and shot on sight, no questions asked. But I had a job to do. Same as I did before and same as I do now. It was just supposed to be a job.” You sighed and let your head rolled back on the pillow so you could look up at the ceiling.

“There were five of us; one doc, three soldiers, and me, the soldier doc in training. We were just leaving base for a couple hours to meet with a supply drop off. We made it to the drop off point just fine, no problems. But the way back…” You closed your eyes and shook your head to combat your tears. “The IED came out of fucking no where. Just came out of fucking no where. One minute we were just driving along and the next I was laying in the hot sand looking up at the sky with my leg pinned under the humvee. I just remember screaming…”

“Hey… stop, it’s OK.” Negan said as he took his hand off your leg and reached up to gently grab your chin with his thumb and pointer finger to turn your face toward him. You opened your tear filled eyes and searched his sad brown eyes. “I’m sorry.” You shook your head and sniffled.

“It’s fine. I haven’t talked about it in a long, long time.” He nodded in understanding as he laced his fingers with yours under the pillows under Brenna’s head.

“Lucille was my wife.” He said softly as he brushed his thumb across your chin. “She had cancer just before the fall. I… well fuck… I was cheating on her for the longest damn time before we found out but the thought of losing her brought me home. She lasted a few months before the cancer took her just as the fall happened. But I couldn’t put her down…”

“Shhh…” You said softly as you squeezed his hand. “So we both have ugly pasts. We had to be shaped somehow, right?” He huffed and nodded as he cupped your jaw in his hand.

“Can I tell you something that can’t leave this fucking room?” You nodded at him as you stopped rubbing Brenna’s back and put your hand on his. “I’m really fucking glad you head butted me in the face.” You huffed a laugh as you laced your fingers with his on your cheek.

“Is it OK that I’m not glad you kicked me in the head?” He smiled and nodded his head with a small laugh.

“Yea sweetheart. You don’t have to be glad about that.”

——

“So what’s the fucking damage?” Negan asked his crew leaders as he walked into his meeting room. He pointed you to a chair at the end of the table with Lucille as he walked the other way to his chair at the head of the table. You could feel eyes boring into the side of your face as you took your seat before Simon finally spoke up.

“We only lost those two solar panels.” He started, drawing the eyes of most of the people in the room. You looked at the man sitting directly to your left as he looked down the table at Negan and leaned back in his chair. “Part of a fence was taken out on the south side but it was the outer ring. I got a crew out there now fixing it.”

“Gardens got a little tore up.” Dwight said as he folded his hands on the table. “But everything is salvageable.”

“Little bit of flooding in the main hall but no more than usual.” Gavin chimed in. Negan nodded as he rolled Lucille on his shoulder.

“So how do we fucking fix this panel shit?”

“Well, with the panels out, we can move everyone out of the halls that lost power.” Dwight suggested. You opened your mouth to say something, but Negan held up his finger for you to wait. The room stayed quiet as Negan waited impatiently for another suggestion.

“What about rerouting some of the other panels. The clinic’s down that way and moving it would be a pain.” Gavin said, his suggestion coming out more like a question.

“The old clinic wasn’t affected though.” Regina said as she looked at you out of the corner of her eye with so much disdain that you actually cocked your eyebrow at her. “We’ll just move her back down there. And there’s only half dozen rooms that were affected. The armory was affected but we don’t need fucking lights to use it. That whole hall can be washed…” Her words were interrupted by a loud bang as Negan slammed Lucille down on the table.

“My fucking room is down that fucking hall!” Negan roared causing Dwight, Gavin, and Regina to startle the slightest bit, while you and Simon didn’t look affected at all. “Now, since you fucking assholes can only come up with fucking scraping the hall or fucking taking power from other people, why don’t we let someone with some fucking real ideas speak.” He grabbed Lucille off the table and gestured to you as he leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the table.

“Eight unused solar panels. Easy access. Run is in and out in a secured neighborhood. You can replace the two that got burned out and have six more to spare. Cables, batteries, connectors, mount poles; all of it’s there in a locked garage. You don’t lose rooms, don’t have to move my clinic. And as for the leak in the main hall, there’s some storm shutters in the garage as well. Screw them down right over the hole, the slats will redirect the water off the roof. Problem number two solved.

You can pull up some of my neighbor’s fence if you need it, too. It’s chain link and I’m sure I’ve got some shit in my garage to put it up if you don’t. Solves problem three if your crew hasn’t solved it already. The garden… well that shit’s gunna flood. Nothing I can really do about that.” You shrugged your shoulder as you sat back in your chair. “Simple.” You forced yourself to not look away from Negan to avoid seeing the death stares you were receiving from the rest of his inner circle. After a moment, he nodded and scooted his chair back.

“We ride out in fucking thirty. Get your fucking shit together, people.”

——

“Fourth house down on the right. It’s the keystone of the cul-de-sac.” You called out to Negan as you pushed the fence that went around your neighborhood opened. “It’s the only one with the shutters all closed. Wait out front, you won’t be able to get in.” He nodded his head once and signaled for Simon to drive past you and into your old, quarantined neighborhood. You kept yourself out of the way as the crew followed after him in a box truck and your brother-in-law’s pick-up truck. With a heavy sigh, you walked your motorcycle into the fence before pulling it closed and wrapping the chain around the gates to keep any biters out. The ride through your old neighborhood was comforting and nauseating at the same time but you couldn’t stop the small smile that pulled at your lips as you looked at your small, secured, two story house.

“I need you around back.” You said to Negan as you pulled into the driveway. “There’s only one way into this place from the outside.” He gave his men the instruction to check the houses on your street as you pulled off your helmet and headed around the back through the six foot tall, locked, steel fence around your property. You let out a sigh as you looked at the black, metal door that stood in front of a small hill that you knew lead to your underground home. “Four years.” You said softly as you kept walking to the roof that went over your back porch. “Four fucking years. Can I get a boost?” You asked as you pointed to the roof. He nodded as he pulled his eyes off the door and looked over at you. You shoved your bike keys into your pocket and put your left foot into the cradle of his interlaced fingers.

“How the fuck did you get down the first time?” He grunted as he lifted you up into the air. You laughed as you pulled yourself onto the roof and glanced down at him over the edge.

“Very fucking carefully. I’ll meet you at the garage.” With a nod from him, you got to your feet a little awkwardly and headed over to the window that lead to your old bedroom. You quickly unlocked the padlock and put the combination into the secondary lock so you could push open the rolling, metal shutter. Every thing was left exactly where you left it when you hauled ass out the door five years before. Clothing littered the floor and drawers hung from your dresser. Hangers decorated the areas of the wood floor the clothes didn’t cover and you noticed a half dozen articles of clothing that would have come in handy in the winter months.

You headed down the hall, choosing not to look at the family photos that lined the walls of the short hall and the stairwell. You continued through the kitchen, that you had stripped bare the day you got the news, and headed out into your packed garage. You could hear Negan shouting on the other side of the door as you went over and unlocked the two locks keeping the door down. With a small grunt, you pulled the door up and sighed.

“There’s nothing left inside but take whatever you want from here. Just let me know when you’re done. I gotta grab a couple things from out back.”

“Care if I tag along? I wanna check out this fucking bunker of yours.” You nodded at him as you headed out of the garage and around the side of your house.

“Can you promise me something?” You asked as you headed toward the bunker door. You heard Negan hum as you put in the code for the door. “Promise me that if something happens to me or to the Sanctuary, you’ll bring Brenna back here. Promise me that you’ll be her guardian.” You looked back over your shoulder as the lock on the door popped open and he nodded his head.

“I promise you. I’ll always look after both of you.” With a nod of your head, you pulled open the door and flicked on the lights. Halogen lights crackled on and flooded the container with bright light. You flicked one of the light bulbs that always gave you trouble on your way down the stairs and sighed as you hit the bottom.

“So this is home.” You stepped a few feet into the area that was designated as your kitchen and looked around. “This is where I raised my daughter.”

“Holy fucking fuckity fuck.” Negan muttered as he tried to take in everything. He whistled as he looked at the hundreds of labeled tote boxes meticulously organized and stacked along the left side wall of the bunker from the small kitchen all the way to the small closet beside the queen sized bed in the back corner. More boxes lined the back wall and continued up the right side to the bathroom filling in every inch of available space along the walls. Toys that you had been forced to leave behind littered the floor and a small pile of clothes that you had needed to fold were sitting in the basket by the pull out couch that sat on the right side of the small bunker. “This is fucking insane.” You huffed a laugh and nodded as you headed over to the closet to grab a duffle bag and your guitar case.

“I wanted to be prepared for anything.” You said as you emptied the laundry basket into the duffle. “If you can think of something to help you out, it’s here. Medicine, weapons, kitchen shit… it’s all here. I know you need supplies but I can’t let you raid this place. Not yet. I need to know that I always have a back up for my daughter…”

“No, it’s OK. I understand.” You nodded at him in gratitude as he gestured around the bunker. “What do you need from here?”

“Um… just some clothes and my guitar. Oh, and this box of VHS tapes and DVD’s. Give Brenna a little variety. I have copies of all them so it’s not a huge deal if I lose them.” He nodded as he stepped around you and grabbed the box of Disney, Dreamwork's, Pixar, and Universal animated movies you picked up from thrift stores before the fall. You glanced in the box quickly as you put the strap of your guitar case over your shoulder and nodded at its contents. “Oh! Wait, I need this one.” You pulled out the box for ‘Tangled’ and went over to grab the disc from the TV. You heard Negan chuckle.

“One of her favorites?” He inquired as you put the DVD back into the box. You smirked and shook your head.

“Stitch is her favorite. She always wanted a dog and that was the closest I could get. I was just tired of hearing the same movie over and over so I made a rule that she had to watch a different movie between each viewing of Stitch. She was watching Tangled so I could pack Stitch the morning we left.”

“Well thank fucking God for that rule.” Negan said as you grabbed a hoodie for you and one for Brenna from your closet and stuck them on top of the box. “I’m tired of that movie already and it’s only been a couple months.”

“Come on, let’s get back before those assholes start breaking shit in my house out of spite.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“God, you are not getting lighter, little girl.” You groaned as you picked up Brenna from one of the nap cots in the day care. You hiked her up on your hips and wrapped your arms around her middle and under her butt as her arms wrapped around your neck.

“Want me to get her?” Negan asked. You shook your head as you headed out of the room with a slightly more prominent limp from the added weight.

“I got it. I only get to do this for so long, you know?” He nodded his head and followed you down the hall toward your room that hopefully had power by now. As you rounded the corner to head up the stairs, laughter caught your attention.

“What does he even see in her?” You heard Frankie asked over the tittering of the other wives in their room. “I mean, come on!”

“He has to feel sorry for her. I mean, that leg is disgusting.” Another woman chimed in. You quickly reached out, grabbed Negan’s arm and mouthed for him to ‘wait’ as the wives continued.

“She’s only sleeping with him so he’ll protect that brat of hers. That kid runs wild…”

“Oh, I know!” Sherry chimed in over the girl. “It’s sad, really. You know, that kid should be put out of the misery of having a cripple for a mother in this world.” The girls laughed as you tightened your grip on Negan’s leather jacket in your fury.

“I bet he feels sorry for her.” Amber chimed in, her voice meek and almost unheard. “I would. Crippled, obviously mentally disturbed, single mom… get in her pants and have the doc in his pocket. Disgusting leg or not, it’s a power move…” The woman stayed quiet for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles as the sounds of chairs scraping across the floor covered the noise of their laugh and the creak of Negan’s leather glove on Lucille.

“I bet Negan probably has to fuck her with the lights off just to be able to…” Frankie’s words died in her throat as the small group rounded the corner of the hall you and Negan were standing in. You could feel Negan’s arm shaking with rage as he glared at his wives.

“So… you fucking whores have something to say?” He asked as he pulled his arm out of your grip and lowered Lucille. “No, please… let’s fucking hear your fucking concerns.” You rubbed Brenna’s back softly as you tried to control your own rage while the wives scooted closer to each other in a ball of black dresses and revealing displayed skin. “Let’s fucking see… she’s a whore?” He asked as he took a step forward and spun Lucille around. He chuckled and shook his head. “No… no that would fucking be you. She’s fucking disgusting? Nope still not fucking close. That would be you fucking bitches, too.”

“Negan...” Sherry tried as she shifted her body in front of Amber’s as the small group of five women cried silently in terror.

“Quiet!” He shouted as he pointed at her with the bat inches away from her face. “You’ve fucking said your peace! Now where the fuck was I?”

“Killing Brenna.” You chimed in casually as you looked at the sleeping girl in your arm.

“Thank you, sweetheart. So you wanna fucking kill an innocent little girl because you fucking think a ‘cripple’ can’t fucking be a fucking mother? Fucking wrong again because she managed to keep that little girl alive by her fucking self for five fucking years! You fucking bitches couldn’t last one fucking minute out there by yourselves let alone with a fucking kid! And fucking finally, not that our sex life is any of your fucking business, but this woman puts each and every one of you to fucking shame in the bedroom.” Your eyes barely darted over to him because you had never actually had sex with him before but you looked back at the wives as you shifted your weight to your left leg as best as you could so you wouldn’t fall over on your sore stump.

“Now, I try not to fucking beat women but you fucking cunts are making Lucille fucking thirsty just by fucking existing right fucking now.” Two of the women let out choked sobs as Negan swung his bat centimeters away from Frankie’s face. “But I got a fucking better idea since I have the fucking doc in my pocket and all. Each one of you has a fucking family member or two being treated by her for fucking free. That shit ends fucking now! Their fucking treatment and fucking meds will need to be paid for by fucking points. So I fucking strongly suggest you fucking conniving scum get your fucking asses to work to get them their shit. Your free ride is fucking over! But just remember... you still fucking belong to me!” He glared at the women with so much hate you had to wonder how these women hadn’t died from the look alone. “You better fucking get the fuck out of my fucking face right now before I let Lucille take her fucking blood.” The women scrambled to flee around you as Negan swung his bat over his shoulder.

“Can you take her?” You asked softly as you tried to shift again and Negan whipped back toward you.

“Fuck. Sorry, sweetheart, give her here.” He set Lucille down against the wall and carefully took Brenna from your arms with a huff. “God, you’re right, she is fucking heavy.” You smirked and picked up Lucille to follow after him.

“So I put them to shame in the bedroom?” You laughed as you headed up the stairs to your hallway one step at a time.

“Abso-fucking-lutely, baby girl. You’ve got a fucking brain which is more than I can fucking say about all of them fucking combined.” He paused at your door to wait for you to catch up with a smile. “And I don’t even have to fucking sleep with you yet to know that if and when we do, you’re gunna fucking blow my mind.” You flushed red and rolled your eyes as you unlocked your bedroom door.

“Stop.” He chuckled as he laid Brenna down on your pillow. With a smile, he stood up straight and reached for your arm. He pulled you into his chest and gently grabbed your hips.

“You are too amazing for fucking words. And the only thing that fucking matters is my opinion...”

“Oh, I’m not phased by them.” You said as you brushed your hands up his arms to his shoulders. “I’ve heard it all. The only people’s opinion that matters to me is my daughter... and you.” He smiled down and you as he stepped a half step closer so his chest pressed against yours.

“You have no fucking idea how happy that makes me, (Y/N).” You hummed in content agreement as he leaned down and captured your lips with his. You instinctively wrapped your arms around his neck and leaned into him but he pulled away entirely too quickly for your liking. Negan chuckled at your whine and gave you one more chaste kiss. “Bed time, baby girl. Let’s get you off that leg.” You let out an annoyed sigh for only a second until Negan picked you up by the backs of your thighs and carried you over to the other side of the bed so that you would be in the middle of the bed.

“We need a babysitter or some shit.” You said as you scooted across the green comforter you had on your bed. “This kid is like the biggest cock block ever.”

Part 6

#Negan x Reader #Ohana #Negan thirst squad #Negan's thirst squad

24 notes · View notes

chinxino5-blog · 7 years ago

Text

sick

deliohmtoonz fic - [ fluff request ] warnings: cursing, flirty neck kissing, poly bois 3011 words

@mellowdreemurr request! prompt: “sick delirious, ohm and toonz make him feel better on a rainy day (movie night)”

His phone rang from his bedroom as he stepped out of the bathroom, skin hot with a towel around his waist. He read the contact name with a fond smile on his lips and answered it. “Hey babe, what’s up?”

“Luke, I don’t thi-.” His boyfriend’s voice was rough and husky and the sneeze that cut his sentence short sounded unpleasantly painful.

He frowned at the carpet. “Jon? Are you alright?” The concern was evident in his voice and it only grew as the man on the line started coughing violently. He waited patiently as his lover got his lungs working again, sounding sickly with every breath. “Did you catch something?”

Jonathan grunted, clearing his throat. “Must’ve,” he forced out, voice cracking. “Can’t do dinner t’night, go with Ry.”

The older man rolled his eyes, although it went unseen. “No. We’ve been planning this dinner together for two damn weeks. We’ll just come to yours and Ry can cook his five-star lasagne and we can cuddle and watch Netflix, alright?”

“No-.” His next words were replaced by a wheezing cough. Luke waited, pinning the phone between his shoulder and his ear, and pulled on baggy pants and a loose shirt. He ignored the sharp outfit he’d laid out on the bed prior to getting in the shower. “You can’t waste the reservation! You love that restaurant. I’m gonna go sleep soon anyway.”

Luke glanced up as his bedroom door opened, Ryan walking in with a curious look on his face. He looked between the new shirt and jeans on the bed, and the casually-dressed man before him. Luke took a moment to admire the way Ryan’s jeans fit his legs and hips so perfectly. It was a shame he wouldn’t be wearing them out but Luke knew he’d see him in them another time.

“Go get changed, babe. Delly’s come up sick so we’ll go have dinner there, is that okay?” Ryan’s confusion melted to worry and concern. He hurried over to his boyfriend and took the phone from him.

“Hey baby, you alright? We’ll be over in twenty- stay put and get warm,” he gushed, always the mother-hen of their relationship. He pushed the phone back to Luke’s chest without waiting, placing a light kiss on his cheek as both ignored the whingeing that croaked from the device. “I’ll go get changed.”

With that, the brunette rushed from the room, barely giving the tallest time to admire his ass before he was gone. He lifted the phone back to his ear. “Delirious, shut the fuck up.”

“C’mon, I have Buddy to keep me company,” he whined.

“Jonathan.”

He huffed a sigh. “Yes, Luke?”

“We planned this dinner to be together, not just to go to a fancy restaurant.” He threw his towel into the bathroom, slipping on comfortable shoes and hurrying out the front. Ryan appeared beside him, donning comfortable clothes and a happy but concerned smile. “The reservation can be postponed. We can go another time. Tonight we just want to have dinner together, like we haven’t been able to do for ages, okay?”

Silence greeted him, the other man obviously fighting between being stubborn and being grateful. Luke smiled at Ryan in victory as they hurried through the light rain and hopped into the car. The brunette leaned close to Luke, speaking to the phone: “We’ll be there in three minutes, baby, boil the kettle and stay warm!”

A grunt of disapproval accompanied the sigh of defeat their boyfriend let out. “Drive safe,” was all he said before hanging up and allowing Luke to put his phone in his back pocket.

The drive was short, though not complete without Luke’s usual complaint of why on Earth he didn’t live with both boyfriends. Having to drive those few minutes through four sets of traffic lights and two main roads was always too far to venture in order to see one third of their relationship. Ryan just laughed, a promise of “Soon, Toonzy,” leaving his lips like every other time.

Ryan almost tripped three times while rushing to the elevator and along the corridor to reach Jonathan’s apartment. He held a bag to his chest and knocked on the door with his knee, too impatient to wait for Luke to catch up and knock for him. The second he heard the weak voice call out, “It’s open,” he pushed through the door and vanished into the apartment.

By the time Luke had followed him in and locked the door, Ryan had the stove on and ingredients cooking. “Don’t make a mess of my damn kitchen!” He couldn’t help but smile at the husky, broken voice of their boyfriend. The younger man appeared, shuffling into the kitchen with an oversized blanket covering him completely and pooling around his feet. He tripped over it every few steps, thin fingers clutching the ends of it to hold it tightly around him.

“You look like shit.” Luke couldn’t help but be brutally honest as he draped an arm around his sickly-looking lover. Jon sniffed, eyes red and watery above his pout.

“Fuck you,” he spat pitifully, stubbornly snuggling into him. Luke nearly fell as the shorter man allowed all of his weight to depend on him, thankful for his strength to hold the both of them upright. By Jon’s smirk, he knew what he did and didn’t feel sorry in the slightest.

Ryan glanced over his shoulder, pouring hot water into three cups holding teabags. His soft green eyes widened. “Holy shit, you look like you’re dying,” he exclaimed. Luke snickered at the insulted look Jon adopted.

“Wow, good to see you two fuckers. I’ve missed your ugly mugs too. Get out of my house, you assholes,” he muttered, wriggling out of his boyfriend’s hold to shuffle across the floor. Any time he caught either man’s eye, he glared and stuck his bottom lip out like a five year old.

Handing the spoon to Luke, Ryan curled his arms around the youngest of their trio and let his head rest on his shoulder. “You know that’s not what we mean,” he said, pressing a kiss to Jon’s jawline. “We love you, whether you’re sick or not. Right Luke?” he waited, Jonathan studying his emerald eyes with a distrustful frown. After a few long seconds of silence, Ryan turned to glare at Luke who was pretending to scroll through his phone. “Right, Luke?” he repeated.

“Sure.”

Jonathan grunted. “Bitch.” He reluctantly allowed himself to be embraced by his more lovable boyfriend, glaring over his shoulder at the oldest who just snickered in amusement. “Ohmie, can we dump him? I don’t want him anymore, he’s mean.” Luke’s eyes twinkled with a cheeky sort of fondness and Jonathan raised the bird out of his blanket-cloak when the bearded man blew several over-dramatic kisses in his direction.

“Maybe tomorrow, love. Lemme finish up cooking and we can go watch Game of Thrones until it’s ready to eat, okay? Then we can watch any movies of your choice. Sound good?” he untangled himself from the brunette, tapping his cheeks lightly to make sure he’d been listening. At Jon’s stubborn nod, he slipped out of his grip and returned to the stove.

The sick man eyed his boyfriend from across the kitchen. The suspicious glare probably wasn’t as subtle as Jonathan would have liked but it was clear he didn’t care much as Luke shot him a teasing wink. When blue eyes were cast to the ceiling, an uncaring look on his face, Luke took a few steps towards him. Those blue eyes snapped to his smirk and he stumbled back over his blanket.

“Stay back,” he said, sniffing. His ferocious glare did nothing to scare the older man away and he sent a helpless look to Ryan who just watched with a twinkle in his eye.

“If you kiss him, I’m not kissing you,” Ryan reminded Luke, and Jon’s look of desperation turned to harsh insult.

“Excuse me!?” he gasped.

Ryan shrugged. “You’re sick and we’re sharing enough germs as it is.” He put the wide dish into the oven. “I don’t want to play pass the parcel with your disease.”

“What, so you two can kiss each other but not me!?” Even though it made complete sense to him that he shouldn’t kiss either of them, he still sniffled and whinged like a child. His illness made him feel tired and a tired Delirious loved affection. What was the point if he couldn’t get even that?

Luke still grinned, hands in his pockets as he sauntered towards his youngest boyfriend. Jon shuffled back. “No, go away,” he swatted at the man with his hands, catching the DIY coat before it fell off him and pulling it tight.

For each step Luke took forwards, he took one back, yet his foolproof plan was foiled as he hit a wall. Luke closed in on him, curling his arms around his shorter boyfriend and ducking down to lift him up.

“Luke!” he shrieked, voice breaking as he was thrown up over the man’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Put me down, you bitch! Fuck you!”

Ryan shook his head as the man was carried out of the room, squealing and kicking as Luke jostled him around, hand conveniently holding his ass. He set the timer on the oven, putting dishes in the sink and getting out a pack of Maltesers. Placing the three cups of tea on a plastic tray, he carefully carried it into the next room.

The living room had no lights on but the TV, the couch holding Luke who had a grumpy Jonathan sitting between his legs, his strong arms curled around the sick man’s waist and his head rested on his shoulder. Jon was obviously trying to stay stubborn and stoic as Luke laid affectionate kisses along his shoulder and the side of his neck. It was clear to Ryan that his blue eyes were melting and that he was anything but unhappy with the situation. Luke knew it too.

“Game of Thrones?” Luke suggested, reaching for the remote at Jon’s nod. Ryan placed a few pillows at Jon’s feet, taking a seat on the floor between his legs instead and wrapping his own blanket around himself. They all fell silent as Luke navigated through the TV and Jon buried his fingertips in Ryan’s hair. Green eyes fell shut and the three of them listened to the rain outside. It had carried through the entire day with light showers, but as the night settled it grew heavy, thundering down around and above them.

Jon melted against Luke’s chest, his fingers rubbing slow circles in Ryan’s scalp. Their silliness and teasing faded away to a comfortable silence of content and for the first time in a while all three were together for the night, peaceful, happy and in love. The TV show started up on the episode following the last one they’d all watched together and Luke couldn’t stop the fond smile on his face as Jon and Ryan devoted their entire attention to the screen. The two of them followed the action closely, jumping at certain parts and leaning forward in anticipation in others. He kept his laughter silent and tapped Ryan’s shoulder gently until the other knowingly raised a hand and allowed their fingers to link loosely against the edge of the couch cushion.

When the timer of the oven rang, they paused the episode and Luke had to physically drag Jon from the couch to the dining table. They all sat and ate, telling each other what they’d been doing, what they’d missed out on. The occasional joke or prod of teasing was passed across the table with the water jug and the plate of garlic bread, and Jon thanked his sickness silently for pulling both his boyfriends to his home instead of the restaurant.

As nice as the place was, their experiences going out in public together weren’t always the best. As much as Luke assured him that there wouldn’t be a problem and as much as he knew the likeliness of there being an issue was small, he didn’t like to risk it.

Out in public it was hard to be affectionate and it was obvious all three spent more time on edge than they did laughing. People often glared in their direction or even shouted their disgust at them. It was weird enough to be publicly queer, but to be romantic with two other men? It was just not right to most people.

But here in his home with blankets and homemade food, they could be happy and comfortable. He smiled into his plate as the two men across and beside him burst out into laughter at the recounted story he told of running into the old lady downstairs in just his briefs. Their faces were glowing with happiness and he knew there was no one else he’d rather be with, no matter what other assholes thought of them.

After dinner Ryan fetched some medication for the brunette who (obviously) claimed he didn’t need anything and that his body was an impenetrable tank of power and fury that could pummel any puny disease that tried to infiltrate it. Of course, this claim went down the drain as he sneezed violently three times in a row through the word ‘fury’, and when he tried to continue the sentence, his throat closed up and forced him into a coughing fit when he tried to gasp in air.

Ryan pushed the tablets against his pursed lips. “Stop being a baby,” he scolded, poking him in the chest and stomach in weak attempts to make him open his mouth.

The man grunted, trying to speak without parting his lips. His humming sounded something like either, “You can’t make me!” or “I’m not a baby!”, Ryan couldn’t tell. He just gave Luke a look until the bearded man pulled his stubborn lover back against him. He buried his face in the crook of his neck and placed kisses along the bones of his shoulder and collar, knowing full well that it was the quickest way to get him weak in the knees. Jon grunted again, attempting to shove him away, and pressed his lips together tighter in defiance.

Luke grinned, holding him still and sliding his tongue along the pale skin, rising goosebumps in its trail. Jon quivered and melted against him. He hummed, unable to verbally tell his partner to fuck off like he’d wanted to. His body betrayed him as he stretched his neck up to allow his lover more access to the milky skin.

Ryan just rolled his eyes, his show-off of a boyfriend taking his damn time.

Luke grinned against the side of his throat and bit down gently on the sensitive skin. Jon gasped, a broken whimper dropping from his tongue. The moment his lips parted, Ryan pushed his thumb and index finger into the hollows of his cheeks, forcing his mouth open and pushing the tablets past his teeth. Jon made a sound of alarm from the back of his throat, but Luke clamped a hand over his mouth before he could spit the medicine back out.

“Swallow it.” As an afterthought, he smirked and added: “You’re good at that.” The comment earned an elbow to his ribs. Jonathan swallowed the pills and shoved his boyfriends away grumpily.

He turned to Luke and slapped a hand against his chest. “Traitor bitch,” he snapped, and Luke laughed.

“I’m not a traitor: I was never on your side,” he corrected and earned another harder slap to the chest. He grinned, unbothered completely and enveloped Ryan in a tight hug. Just to tease their ill lover, he tilted Ryan’s head up and pressed their lips together. Ryan rolled his eyes, letting them close for a second as Luke nipped at his bottom lip. When he pulled back, Jonathan was shuffling out of the room with his blanket over his head.

“I’m leaving this relationship,” he announced dramatically and they followed him with grins on their faces. “I want new boyfriends! Boyfriends who don’t tease me and don’t fuck wit’ me.” His nasally voice made his already silly words even more ridiculous and he grumbled as the two men sat either side of him. Despite his glare, he shifted so two sets of arms could curl around him and he didn’t complain as they squished him between them. “Fuck you guys,” he forced out.

Ryan kissed his cheek lovingly. “You don’t want new boyfriends,” he cooed, resting his fingers at the nape of his neck. They slowly rubbed circles into the muscles either side of his spine and he swallowed the urge to hum with pleasure. He was grumpy.

“You know we love you,” Luke added, one hand resting on the man’s thigh as he murmured his words against Jon’s pierced ear.

He struggled to shake off his anticipation and shouldered both men away from him. He tugged the blanket around him tighter and reached for the remote. “Y’all are fuckin’ with me and I know it. I ain’t stupid, you dicks.” He hid half his face in his knees and the layers of blanket, peering out at the TV and trying to ignore the chuckling either side of him.

“You love us,” Ryan assured him, resting his head on the blanket-covered shoulder. Luke huffed a laugh and pulled Jon against his side, an arm secure around his waist.

The younger man ‘hmph’ed but stayed silent. He didn’t deny the claim and he didn’t need to agree with it either. Instead, he started Pocahontas and leant back into the couch and the hold of one boyfriend, the other playing with the rings on his fingers with a head on his shoulder.

His pout melted to a soft smile in seconds and the warmth that spread to his fingertips and toes was just a reminder of the love both men possessed for him and the love he returned with no hesitation in the slightest.

mel’s ask

note: so much cuteness and fluffiness, i loved writing this one- thank you so much for the request melly, i really hope you like it! time between getting requests done will probably vary heaps, and i’m probs gonna take a few months to do them all, honestly.

thank you guys for your patience!

223 notes · View notes

goldiegooblog · 7 years ago

Note

A prompt; 'I was casually running on a treadmill, until I saw you and fell flat on my face' w/Vancat?

“This is stupid.” Tyler grumbled. Craig laughed from in front of him, opening up the door to the gym and ushering him inside.

“It’s not stupid. We’re sticking to our resolutions! We should be proud of ourselves.” he exclaimed.

“Going to the gym was not my resolution.”

“But being nicer to people was, and you were doing great until this conversation.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“It’s only January 2nd. Do better, Tyler.”

They shed their jackets and scarves in the locker room, taking only their earphones, phones, and water bottles with them to the machines. Tyler had never prided himself on anything athletic besides his NFL knowledge, but Craig had assured him that anyone could run on a treadmill without embarrassing themselves so he figured that he would be fine. Besides, the only people in the gym were two old dudes on ellipticals and a woman lifting weights across the room. He was actually the most fit of any of them.

He turned on his music and started running. It turned out to be much better than he thought it would, especially since he could just get lost in the movements. He had nowhere to go, there was nothing that could run him over, and nothing to worry about. Also, Craig looked really funny over on his treadmill using that stupid zombie app to inspire him to run. Of course he found an app that would let him turn even exercise into a video game. Using his phone less should have been his New Year’s resolution.

There was a motion to his right, and he looked over and spotted just about the most attractive man that he had ever seen. The dude was fucking cut. Ripped. Shredded. Fuck, Tyler didn’t have another word for it. All he knew, was the man over there was chiseled from straight diamond without looking like a bulky prick.

The man looked over, and Tyler was staring straight into dark eyes and a perfect smile.

Next thing he knew, he was looking down at the black of the treadmill’s belt, and then he was sprawled out on the ground. His earbuds were trapped under him, popping out of his ears. The music he had been listening to was replaced with a lot of different things.

The first was a panicked “Oh my god, are you okay?” from a gorgeous voice he didn’t recognize.

The next was the sound of his treadmill still running, buzzing next to his ear.

The third was Craig’s fucking annoying bitch ass cackle.

So much for not being able to embarass himself on a treadmill. Honestly, fuck 2018 already.

He blinked and suddenly the attractive man was there, peering down at him. Somehow, he made concern look sexy. Was that a little amusement in those eyes? Tyler was, if anything, pretty fucking amusing.

“Uh, happy New Year.” Tyler said.

So he wasn’t funny, actually.

The man laughed, so, yeah, he was officially a comedian. Go home, Chappelle. Forget Oswalt. No need for Schumer. Someone get him a Netflix special.

“Here, let me help you up.” the man said, holding out a hand. Tyler took it happily. He was glad to be off the ground. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m great. Couldn’t be better.”

The man laughed again.

Seriously, where was his contract? Sign him a Vegas show asap.

“I’m glad. It’d suck if you got a concussion on your first workout here.”

“What makes you think it’s my first workout here?”

“I come here every day. I’ve never seen you before.” the man said. “I think I’d remember a face like yours.”

“My super ugly mug?” Tyler asked, grinning.

“If that’s what we’re calling it nowadays. I prefer cute, but say whatever you want.”

Tyler hoped he wasn’t blushing and gaping like a fish, but he probably was.

“Tyler.” he said, thrusting out a hand.

“Evan.” the man answered. He’d never forget it.

“You were right. I’ve never been here before.” Tyler said.

“New year, new you?” Evan asked, smiling.

“Actually, new year, new him.” he said, gesturing to a still laughing Craig who was wiping down his treadmill.

“Boyfriend?” Tyler sputtered as his brain short circuited. Sure he loved Craig, but he would rather die a slow painful death than date that pun making meme machine.

“No, absolutely not. Boyfriend? No. Best friend? Eh, yeah, I’ll give him that.”

Craig squawked from behind them but neither paid him mind.

“Listen, I have work in an hour and I need to get my run in, and you need to put some ice on your face, but I’d love to continue this conversation sometime.” Evan bent down and picked up the phone that had been long forgotten. He held it up expectantly to Tyler. After a second, he realized he was supposed to put in his pin.

As soon as the phone was unlocked, Evan made himself a contact, humming quietly. He grinned when he was done, placing the phone in Tyler’s hand.

“Text me.” he said, turning back towards his treadmill.

“Yeah.” Tyler said, dumbfounded. “Yeah. I will!”

He could hear Evan laugh. “Okay, please do.”

Grinning like a madman, Tyler wiped down his treadmill and got his stuff from the locker room. He was practically floating. Craig found it to be the most entertaining thing that had happened in the whole year.

“I can’t believe you fell off the treadmill.” Craig said as they buckled themselves into the car. Tyler was already staring down at his phone, typing and erasing and trying to formulate the perfect message for Evan.

“Shush.”

“And it was right in front of a hot guy.”

“Shut it.”

“You’re going to have a big ass mark.”

“Shut up.”

“You had a tread-million in one chance of falling off, and yet, you did.”

“Shut the fuck up, dude.”

I had such a fun time writing this one and hopefully it shows…

#banana bus squad #bbs squad #bbs #vancat #i am wildcat #evan fong #mini ladd

176 notes · View notes

seagullsausageswritingarchive · 3 years ago

Text

brutal

words: 2700

tws: violence, drinking, flashbacks, panic attacks

Jameson knew he’d made a mistake coming downstairs.

Everything seemed quiet. He just thought he’d make himself some tea. Not a big deal. He’d just make some real quick.

Before he could even grab his mug out of the cupboard, someone’s stomping down the stairs. He knows its Chase before he even goes into the kitchen.

Jameson doesn’t know what he wants. He doesn’t know why he came down, stumbling slightly on the steps, grumbling under his breath. Maybe he just wanted a glass of water. Maybe he’ll just leave. Maybe he won’t even see him.

But Chase does. He catches sight of Jameson in the corner of the kitchen, and his already irritated face twists in anger.

It’s always a mistake to leave his room. He hates this house. He hates this house and everybody in it.

“This,” Chase slurs, “this is all your fault.” He jabs a shaking finger at Jameson and braces himself on the counter.

Jameson shrinks into himself and becomes very interested in the tea he was making himself. Chase is big and loud, but he is small and quiet, and maybe if he makes himself as harmless as possible Chase will leave him alone. That’s what he tells himself every day, every time this happens. But Chase opens his ugly mouth again.

“Everything, everything, is all your fucking fault. You–you ruined everything.”

A pang of anger shoots through him. Jameson knows Chase keeps a bottle of whiskey hidden in his sock drawer, he’s taken a swig or two himself when he steals cash while Chase is out. He knows this, he knows he shouldn’t provoke him right now. But he signs anyways, more to himself than anyone else.

“How is anything my fault?” He doesn’t look at Chase, and Chase pays his hands no mind. He never bothered to learn bsl for him, and frankly, Jameson was fucking fine with that.

“If it weren’t for you,” Chase snarls, “my big brother would be here, taking care of everybody. But instead, he’s out there putting his neck on the line to keep your ass safe! He’s out there trying to pick up your mess!”

“Chase, shut up.” Henrik’s voice rings quietly from the couch. Jameson didn’t even see him there. “he’s keeping everyone safe from him. Like me. And Marvin.”

“Fuck Marvin,” chase spits, “and fuck you.” He turns back to Jameson.

He flinches back from his words, shrinking up further against the counter. Stirs his tea. Doesn’t make eye contact. Small and quiet, small and quiet, just leave me alone, leave me alone.

“Maybe, maybe he should’ve done something. Should’ve done something all those years that Anti wore him, he should’ve been able to stop him, should’ve at least fucking tried–“

“He didn’t have a choice, Chase,” Henrik groans, putting his face in his hands. He doesn’t want to be having this conversation again.

“He should’ve done something!” Chase shrieks, slamming a fist down on the counter, making both Jameson and Henrik jump. “You little fucker, you spent your whole life sitting in the backseat, just watching Anti do his, his, his shit to us,” Chase sways where he stands, a trembling finger aimed at Jameson.

“Do you remember what Anti did to Henrik? Do you remember what he did to me?”

Jameson grips his mug.

“I bet you do, I fucking bet you do, you sick fuck, I bet you think about it every day, and I bet you feel nothing.”

Another wave of rage crashes over him. He feels sick. He feels old guilt rising up in his throat. He wants to scream, I did! I did try! I tried and I begged and I pleaded and I fought with him, I never wanted him to hurt anybody! Maybe one day I did fight back, when he was going to kill Marvin, maybe I fought for the body and threw the knife aside and maybe I saved their life and I paid hell for it! You don’t know anything! You don’t know anything about me!

But Jameson can’t scream, and all he can do is shake, from fear, from rage. Chase steps forward, leaning into Jameson’s face.

“He should’ve killed you,” he snarls, “Jackie should’ve killed you when he had the chance. He told me all about it, how he wanted to stab out your eyes and tear out your throat and mutilate you so bad that anti would never want to use you ever again–“

“Chase, shut up,” Henrik says, louder this time, finally standing up.

“He should’ve slit your disgusting little throat so he could take Anti’s dirty little puppet away, just like how Anti took away his brothers, he should’ve slaughtered you like the pig you are so Anti could never be able to climb back into your filthy fucking skin–“

And then, quicker than he could have anticipated, an entire porcelain mug filled to the brim with boiling hot water slams right into chases face.

Marvin picks idly at the peeling paint on their wall. They’re supposed to be sleeping. They’re exhausted, but like every other night, they just can’t seem to close their eyes. They debate on asking Henrik for some of his sleeping tablets when they hear yelling.

Great.

They sit up and stretch, pulling the warm comforter off. Time to play mediator again.

Before Marvin even reaches the door, a bloodcurdling shriek makes their heart stop.

Oh, fuck.

They bolt down the stairs.

Oh fuck, oh shit.

And when they reach the kitchen, they are frozen. Frozen in place as they take in the scene, as their stomach drops and their heart pounds in their ringing ears.

Chase on the floor, screaming his head off, shoving, thrashing. Jameson, sitting right on top of him, a look of pure anger and hate stretched across his face as he viciously slams down his favorite mug, broken and jagged, down on chases face. Over and over. The cup drips with blood.

Marvin is screaming before they can stop themselves. Marvin is screaming as they run over, nearly colliding with Henrik, grabbing Jameson around the chest and tries tearing him away.

“Jameson, Jameson, Jameson–!”

They can’t breathe. Everything’s gone out of control. Henrik is yanking Chase away by the arms.

Marvin finally manages to grab Jameson by the shoulders and look him in the face. They shake him roughly, “Jameson, Jameson, Jameson!”

But there is no recognition in his eyes. There is nothing but anger. Nothing but hate. His face, Jameson’s face, it shouldn’t look like that, he shouldn’t look so angry, so vicious.

And in that moment, he looks exactly like him.

He’s snarling, raising his hand again, broken mug gripped tight in his fingers, and panic rises up so fast in Marvin’s throat they forget where they are.

He’s going to hurt me he’s going to hurt me he’s going to hurt me

They scream and desperately shove him away, scrambling back, hands covering their face. He stands back up, raising his arm once again. Marvin is crying. They kick out their legs, scramble backwards, nails scratching against the tiled floor.

What they don’t realize is that Jameson is not looking at them. Instead, his target is the man behind them, backed against the couch, still screaming, shaking hands hovering uselessly over his bleeding face.

But Jameson doesn’t get far. Henrik appears and shoves him roughly, hard enough to slam back down on the floor. Marvin gasps and cries. Henrik’s pinning him down, wrenching the broken mug from Jameson’s hand and throwing it to the side, shattering it.

Marvin manages to get a grip long enough to sit up, to rush back to their thrashing friend’s side. Jameson, Jameson, Jameson.

Henrik holds his wrists as Marvin rests a shaking hand on his forehead. They sputter something out under their breath, and slowly, Jameson’s thrashing begins to subside. Slowly, the look of pure hate dissipates from his face as Marvin works their magic, being replaced by a look of fear.

His eyes finally flutter shut and he goes still.

Henrik lets out a long breath and slowly releases Jameson’s wrists, sitting back on his knees.

Marvin’s hands cover their mouth as they shake, as they try not to sob. The only thing they can hear is the blood pumping in their ears and Chase hissing in pain.

They do the only thing they can think of right now. Gently, they bring Jameson into their shaking arms, holding him against their chest.

“Marvin…” Henrik whispers.

“I’m bringing him upstairs.” They croak out. They don’t want to be touching Jameson right now. They don’t want to be near him right now. But they’ve developed a new instinct over the past months, one that can be boiled down to: Protect Jameson. Take Care Of Jameson. No Matter What.

“Marvin, Marvin,” Henrik says gently, as they stand up, cradling Jameson like a broken thing.

“I’m taking him upstairs,” they repeat. They tremble as they walk away, tremble as they go up the stairs, taking one painstaking step at a time. -

Henrik stomps out of Chase’s room, bottle grasped in one hand, bracing himself against the wall with another. He feels very floaty. Far away. The world is fuzzy.

But Henrik is angry. Afraid. Right now, despite how he feels, he’s the one with the most control. He needs to be the one to take care of things.

Chase is slumped over at the table, the deeper cuts on his face stitched up, the blood wiped away. He rocks, quietly muttering to himself. Fucker, fucker, fucker. Henrik stops right in front of him. He sticks the bottle in his face.

“Where did you get this, Chase?” he says, barely masked anger in his voice. Chase says nothing.

“What would Jackie think of this, Chase, what would he think?”

“Jackie. Isn’t. Fucking. Here.” Chase growls out. He doesn’t look at Henrik.

“He may not be here, but I am.” Henrik stomps over to the sink and dumps the entire bottle of whiskey down the drain. Chase makes a noise.

“I have no sympathy for you.” Henrik drops the bottle in the trash. “You should not have been drinking. You had no right to say those things to Jameson.” Chase rocks, arms wrapped around himself, staring at the floor.

“He deserved it, stupid bitch, fucking, fucking psycho–”

“We don’t say words like that in this house, Chase.” Henrik steps back in front of him, folding his arms. Chase doesn’t look at him. He knows he fucked up.

“Your room.” Henrik points. “Go.”

Slowly, Chase stands up. Wraps his arms around himself and clomps away. Henrik knows he’s ashamed. He better be.

“And if you’ve got any sense left in that stupid head of yours, you won’t leave it again for the rest of the night.” Chase just grumbles in response as he stumbles up, hissing and growling.

Henrik just stands there for a moment. Runs a hand down his face. Fuck. Time to take care of the next person on the list.

He finds them against the wall, next to Jameson’s door.

Knees tucked up, hand covering their mouth. Marvin trembles and hiccups as quiet sobs slip out. A hand curls up in their hair as they rock, trying to breathe, trying to calm down.

Henrik takes a detour and grabs a tissue and a glass of water from the bathroom. He approaches the magician carefully.

“Here,” he says, as gently as possible, holding the items towards them. Marvin still jumps a bit, but relaxes once they see who it is. They take the tissue and blow their nose, wiping their eyes on their sleeves. They take a very careful sip of water and holds the glass to their chest.

Henrik doesn’t bother asking if they’re alright. He knows they’ll just say that they’re fine. So he just sinks down next to them, and the two just sit for a while, in the silence.

Marvin’s sobs eventually quiet down and they take long, slow breaths in, and out. Henrik says something first.

“Chase is pretty busted up. He’ll be fine, I fixed him up, but still. His face might scar.” He sighs and leans back against the wall. “He kinda deserved what he got, though.”

Marvin makes a scoffing sound, as if they were trying to bark out a laugh. In any other situation, they probably would’ve found it quite satisfying, Chase getting what he deserves. But right now, Marvin’s terror still lingers in the air.

Henrik wants to ask about it. What about all that scared you so much? Was it the violence? Was it the blood? Was it the hate in his eyes? Did something like that happen to you?

For Henrik, Anti’s violence had already made its home deep inside his head, but for Marvin, it would still be fresh in their mind. It wouldn’t be right to ask so bluntly.

“Do you,” he says instead, “do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” Marvin whispers, tucking their face into their knees. “No, no, no, no.”

“Okay. You don’t have to say a single thing.”

More silence. Marvin breathes in. Henrik breathes out. The world feels fuzzy and far away. Both of them are exhausted.

He looks at the wall and sees some of the old pictures there. Of him, him with Jack and Jackie. But one is dead and one is gone and their family is falling apart.

He looks over at Marvin. The lost creation. In the dark, lit by the faint moonlight, Henrik can see that their hair had changed color, if even a little bit. The jet black that had flowed over their shoulders when they first came home had faded to more of a warm brown color.

“Marvin, I…” Henrik starts. He doesn’t really know what to say. “You¬–I want you to feel safe here. You should feel safe here. And so should Jameson. You deserve that much, at least.”

Marvin stares straight ahead. Eyes glowing gently in the dark, their cat-like pupils reduced to thin slits.

“I just want you to know that I want to be there for you, okay? As much as you don’t want to admit it, you’re struggling, and you’re going to have bad days, and you’re going to remember things that you don’t want to think about.” Henrik speaks gently, quietly. “And it’s not fair for you to have to deal with that alone. I had help when I came home. You deserve help too.”

Marvin starts to say something, but Henrik cuts them off.

“I know you’re independent, I know you’ve always been able to take care of yourself. But things are different now. And I know that you’re trying to take care of Jameson. I know that its hard and I can’t imagine what he’s going through. But this house…” Henrik knocks his head back against the wall and stares at the ceiling. Lets out a sigh. “This house, it’s going to fall apart if we don’t…if we don’t help each other.”

He looks over at Marvin. “I don’t want any more fights. I don’t want anybody going into episodes. So just, just know that I’m here if you need me, okay?”

Marvin looks up at him. Henrik tries giving them a small smile. Both of them are so, so tired.

“Yeah,” Marvin whispers, “yeah, okay.”

And then they slouch over and rest their head on Henrik’s shoulder. His heart does a backflip in his chest when he realizes that this is really the first time the two have ever touched. The first time they’ve spoken together alone.

Henrik rests his head on Marvin’s and wraps an arm around their shoulder, holding them close. Marvin sighs and closes their eyes. They feel a spark of a connection, a possibility of friendship that in any other situation they would outright object to. But not now.

The two sit there in silence for the rest of the night.

1 note · View note

thoughtsoftheantagonist · 7 years ago

Text

A Song for You

AN: I am super late posting and I'm sorry. lol This week has been jampacked for me but here it is the wedding is at the end of this and i hope you enjo. Let me know your thoughts.

Chapter Thirteen

Joy POV

She hadn't felt this light since the day she met Juan, they were headed for the barn for the meeting and she had found her thoughts clear and for the first time in what seemed like months she wasn't terrified of what was going to happen next. That might come to bite her in the ass later but right now she was enjoying it, the only thing she was missing was Juan and tomorrow was meant to be their wedding. She had been so focused on everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours that she felt like she rarely had a second to miss him or let the fact that she would be Joy Ortiz come midnight tomorrow, she hated that but she knew he would be thankful she had been distracted. He hated her in pain, pulling up to the barn she parks beside Chibs, pulling her helmet off she stands and makes her way to her father's side, grinning as he plans a quick kiss of greeting to the top of her head as Jax walls up. “ What's up?” she moves to Chibs side, letting his arm rest on her shoulder she eyes the crates in the van “Got one of each big gun in the back of the van.” Jax nods, patting her father on the arm as they all walk towards the van, Jax points to her and her dad as he talks “Okay, good. You and Joy take a walk, all right? Make sure none of the Wahewa are around.” they both nod and she breaks away from Chibs, following her father into the wooded area, her eyes narrowed and bouncing around she make sure no other person was around.

She almost jumps when her father's voice breaks the silence. “How are you girl? Sleep ok? I was gone before you got up.” She sighs, her fingers twirling the ends of her curls “As good as I can be. Showed Jax the letters. The fall out wasn't as horrible as I was expecting. He is in a rage about Clay, feels betrayed and is now watching his mother closely which is good. Gemma needs to get a fucking hobby.” Her father chuckles and tosses a twig he yanked off a tree at her leg. She smirks and flips him off. “He plans to kill Clay dad. And we aren't gonna stop him.” she glances at her father, seeing his shoulders slump she hates how this affects him. This club is one of the biggest focuses in his life next to her and grandma. These men are brother in everything but blood, so to know one is up for death is hard. She will admit to some part of her wishing Clay hadn't done this. But he did, he put this on himself. She walks over to her father, wrapping her arm around his waist he wraps his heavy, ink splatter arm across her shoulders as they walk back to the barn.They make it to the barn time for Romeo to pull up, she nods her head towards the man as they all walk into the barn, she and her father stood off to the side, eyes never staying in one place too long. She and her father both turn to watch the door as the Kings finally arrive, fashionably late she guess, the fuck did they think they were?

She resigns herself to a long meeting, but once Gaalan realizes Clay isn't in attendance things quickly turn ugly. The way Gaalan eyes Jax she can't help but move her hand towards her kabar, but she is stopped by her father. Glancing up at him she sees his eyes are still on Jax and Gaalan, but he slowly shakes his head before releasing her hand. Fine, she would stand down until told otherwise, she watches the introductions between the Irish and Romeo with some faint amusement. Gaalan looks to her like a pouting child as he shakes hands with Romeo and Torres before turning his full attention back to Jax. “When will Clay be back on his feet?” Jax shakes his head, stepping closer to the taller Irishman “It's hard to say right now. We're up to speed on schedules and routes so I'll be able to talk you through everything.” She knows Jax did his homework, things would go smoothly with him at the wheel, but it seems Gaalan wasn't having that shit “No, you won't. I made it very clear to Clay the only way this deal happens is if he's running it.”

She was so fucking tired of men like Gaalan, it was on his time or no time, his way or the highway. And honestly she was about ready to kill the smug bastard herself, she feels her father latch onto the back of her shirt, she didn't even notice she had taken a small step forward. Lucky for her only her father noticed. Jax had enough to deal with already and now Gaalan wants to play the pissed off teen, but Jax handles it better than she thought he would, taking a moment to get his mouth in check he replies “Galen, we run things as a club. We can make this work without Clay.” the smirk on Gaalan’s face makes her bare her teeth, the man is a dick, smarmy and smug “It's not just about making it work. It's about trust. I have little in you, and less in them. When Clay is back at the table, we can discuss the deal. Until then, there is none.” She watches them walk away, her good mood from earlier shattered to pieces on the floor, she watches Chibs calm Jax down before Romeo steps into his space. She couldn't hear anything but she sees Jax nod and tell everyone to step out.

She nods, turning she gets to the door but before she can get out she is stopped my Romeo. “Not you. You and Jax stay.” She turns around, her eyes wide as she looks at Jax and Romeo, Jax's seemed just as confused if not more so then she was. She hugs her father, feeling him slip something into the inner pocket of her cut before she pulls away, making her way to Jax's side, she watches Romeo silently signal his men to close off the doors, sticking close to Jax's side her eyes never stop moving, she wasn't sure why they had her stay behind but she had a very, very bad feeling. As she counts how many gunmen were up in the rafters Jax lays it all on the table. “Look, I'm sorry. We really thought we could pull this off. Truth is we're in over our heads. I know Clay thought we could make this work, but we can't. We're not drug mulers, big arms dealers. We're small-time, man. We can't do this anymore.” six gunmen up top and one at each barn door. She finally looks back at the two men before her and Jax and what she sees confuses her, a silent Conversation that lasts no more than a second before the men are pulling badges from their pockets “I’m afraid we're at cross purposes, Mr. Teller.” She feels her stomach fall out of her ass, CIA…..well the NCS but still Jesus fuck they had been mulling for the underarm of the CIA.

She can't help but release a panic filled chuckle, slapping a hand over her mouth as Jax curses “Oh, shit.” Her hand slides down and she narrows her eyes at Romeo as he speaks “Otto Delaney did sell you out. U. S. Attorney was gonna crush this meet with RICO. We stopped them because we need this relationship to continue. CIA is subsidizing Galindo. We need the money from the coke and the Irish guns to do that.” she runs her hands through her tangled curls and sighs. “Control the drugs you control the politics. Jesus fuck.” She yanks her hands from her hair, her brain like a loose freight train, barreling down the tracks at high speed as Jax tries to reason with Romeo “ You just heard O'Shay. He won't deal with me.” The men shrug him off “Then you better make sure Clay gets well. Soon. Because if you don't, we'll give RICO the green light.” Her dad and Juan in jail, her club destroyed, Able and Thomas without a father. Jax seemed to be caught up in the same spiral as she was, moving in front of him she takes over “Do the Feds have Bobby and Juan?” she already knew they had Juan, but she didn't want to expose how much she already knew to them.

Romeo gives her a look of bullshit sympathy and shakes his head “Just Munson, we have no idea where your fiancé is Ms. Lowman.” She knew he was lying but she fixed her face to look as distressed as possible by the news as he continues “Mr.Munson is who Delaney gave up to establish history. U. S. Attorney has more than enough to indict. When things are running smoothly with the Irish I'll do my best to get Munson clear of all the charges.” She looks you At Jax as he finally pulls himself together, a cigarette dangling from his fingers as he steps closer to the three of them “Look, whoever replaces Clay might not want this. Samcro could vote the cartel down.” the look on Romeos face as he stares Jax down makes her heartbreak as he says “It's not gonna happen because you will be taking the reins. And all this stays between us. If anyone else finds out the club, your families, we'll crush your MC.” he had almost made it out, the look of devastation on Jax's face makes her clench her fist in rage for her brother. All he wanted was his old lady and his boys out of here, now it would never happen, and again it all came down to them.

Staring at the ground she freezes, pieces of the puzzle clicking into place in rapid succession, looking up at the two men with cold, rage-filled eyes she puts a hand to Jax's chest and moves him back so she is in front of him “Did you know that Clay wanted Tara dead? Were you the ones he hired? Where you the ones who cut me open!?” she feels her body shaking, Jax's hands move to rest on her shoulders but she roughly shoves them off, her eyes locked on Romeos. “He thought she knew too much about our business. We wouldn't have hurt her and you weren't meant to be there.” she snarls, stepping into Romeos face “ I was there and your men cut me open. Tara has a cast up to her knee because of you bastards.” She lets Jax wrap his arm around her stomach, pinning to arms to her sides as he yanks her back roughly into his chest as Luis tries to explain “We were going to debrief her and you. Keep you both in protective custody. If you hadn't fought them you both would be fine Ms.Lowman” She stares at him in disbelief, if she hadn't…..what fucking logic was that. Romeo steps between Luis, her and Jax. She tries to wriggle out of Jax's hold but he just clinched her tighter. “I'm sorry for what happened. But we've gotta ask, is she a threat?” her eyes lock with his and she hisses through her teeth “She knew nothing about you. Clay used you to Handle a family argument. He isn't mentally stable, this had fuck all to do with the cartel.” Romeo keeps their eyes locked, testing to see if she was lying. Apparently, he saw the truth there stepping back from them he looks between her and Jax, his stance relaxed but his eyes, bore into her as he speaks not just to her but to Jax “What you're thinking, what you're feeling bury it, both of you. Because if Clay goes away, so do you two and all your brothers. We'll be in touch.”

Once they leave she sags against Jax, letting him turn her she wraps her arms around his waist, her face buried into his Chest as she sobs, she could feel him shaking, his face hidden in the top of her head, she could feel the wet splatter of tears as he held her. Her brother was caught, he wouldn't be able to leave without watching this club burn. And she knew he wouldn't let it happen. Turning her face she whispers into the fabric of his shirt “I'll figure this out Jaxs. I promise I'll get you out of here.” he says nothing, just clenches her tight and presses a kiss to her head before releasing her and taking off outside. She watches him go, her heart breaking for the man he could have been, and the man he will become because of this.

Juice POV

He was currently watching the shield, wasn't really his kinda show but it was something to think about other then the RICO crackdown. He had prayed, for the first time in a long fucking time that Joy or Hap hadn't been there, but he knew it was futile. After the failed abduction Joy had told him her and Jax were closer. As if the near-death experience created a bond between them, normally he would feel worried or paranoid of something between them but not Joy. Something in him knew that Joy would never love someone like she loved him, Jax was a brother, she saved his old lady and the mother of his child with no thought of herself. His girl was a hero to Jax, and he was glad she did it. Even if she would now have a scar for it, he doubt she cared all that much. He is broken from his thoughts as the cell door swings open, he eyes Eli as he closes the door, his face is a mask but his eyes refuse to meet Juan's. His heart drops “Shit. How many guys did they arrest? Joy? Hap? Fuck say something!” Roosevelt finally looks at him, his body sags again the wall as the man finally replies “None. Happy and Joy Lowman are fine. It didn't happen. RICO's gone away for now. They'll be cutting you loose soon.”

He sits up, his hands rested on his lap as he lets it wash over him, Joy is fine, Hap is fine, the club isn't in Jail. His hand comes up to roughly scrub over his Mohawk as he looks at Roosevelt in disbelief “What does that mean for me?” he takes in the man's haggard appearance, he finds himself wanted to ask the man if he is ok. But he shakes that off quickly as the man replies “Means the U. S. Attorney doesn't have any leverage on you. Intel on your daddy's been purged.” his eyes glance at the file in Roosevelt's hand he hadn't noticed before. He feels his face go blank as it's opened to him. His old mugshot stares back at him a lot side the photo of his father, smiling his smile back at him. Roosevelt tosses the open file onto the cot in front of his feet, his eyes jump from his father back up to Roosevelt “That is the only proof. Thought I'd give you the satisfaction of tearing it up.” Eli turns to leave, he leans back against the wall, his eyes watching the man for a moment and before he can stop himself he asks “Why you doing this?”

Eli stops, turning to the side the man rubs a hand over his face before locking eyes with him “It's simple. You're a criminal. You do bad shit. I'm a cop. I stop you. I just wanna get back to that. Plus, I don't have a gift for your wedding. That's mine to both of you.” all the anger, the worry, the sleepless nights where he would just watch Joy sleep in fear he would be put away because of Roosevelt and his bullshit, seemed to drain from his bones. Leaning his head back against the wall, he nodded “Yeah, okay. But, you should know Joy will skin you if you don't at least bring money in a card.” He smirks at the tired chuckle that gets from the officer. The moment is broken as the ATF agents open the cell door, he was going home. He nods to Roosevelt and gets to work slipping his shoes on. Hold on Joy. I'm coming home baby.

Hour time jump

Pulling up to the house he sees Hap outside with Sonny. Crouching he grins as Sonny rushes for his legs, he scratches the pup under his chin and behind his ears as Hap walks over to him. “You good kid?” he nods and grabs the hand offered to him as hap yank him up, holding sonny he heads inside and he instantly looks around for his girl. Looking down the hall he sees their door closed and gave Hap a look of confusion. “Why is she napping at four in the afternoon?” he puts down sonny, following hap into the kitchen, grabbing a seat at the island he watches his soon to be father in law rummage around in Joys cut laid on the kitchen island before tossing something his way which he catches easily. Looking down in his hand he sees a recorder, looking back up at Hap he tilts his head as the man finally talks “I want you to hold all your questions until I get all this out. A whole lot of shit went down while you were in holding.” he nods, putting the recorder on the kitchen island. Giving hap his full attention. “First I'm going to tell you the whole truth.”

For the next half hour, he was brought up to speed on everything. Piney being murdered, Clay being the one who did it. Opie finding out and Jax and Joy saving him from killing Clay, but not being fast enough to stop the shooting, Clay being in the hospital in critical condition and finally Jaxs knowing about the letters. So much had happened and if he was honest he was glad he was sitting, his mind was having issues taking it all in. A part of him was grieving Piney while another part was angry Clay was still alive. He is broken from his thoughts when Hap snaps at him “Hey focus we are almost done.” he sighs and scrubs his hands over his face and nods for Hap to continue. Hap tosses him a water and grabs one for himself before continuing. “At the meet today Gaalan showed his pale Irish ass like the bitch he is, Apparently he and Clay had an agreement that if Clay wasn't in the driver's seat of this deal he wasn't riding shotgun. After he left like a pouty little bitch Romeo asked Jax and oddly enough Joy to stay….” Hap stops his story as they both hear the back bedroom door open. The sound of small shuffling feet on the hardwood make him grin. He watches Joy shuffle around the corner, her hair is a tangled mess on her head, wearing a pair of sweats and one of her father's largest sweats she was the prettiest thing he had seen all day.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she sees him sitting at the island and quickly shuffles over to him, he turns to her just as she gets to him. Standing between his knees she snuggles into his chest and he wraps her up in his arms, closing his eyes he nuzzles his face into the wild curls at the top of her head letting the bed warm clothes and skin comfort and calm his raising thoughts, like only she could. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, her face in his chest, her arms around him and her sneaky hands under the back of his shirt. His face in her fragrant curls, but when they finally came back to reality Hap was gone, a note left on the Kitchen Island where he had been. He snatches up the note as Joy nuzzles her face into his neck, her soft lips kissing and nipping at his skin. Reading the note he chuckles

Tried to tell you both Jax called but apparently, you both went deaf. He wants Joy to meet him at the hospital about Clay. I'm gonna chill at the club house. Joy should fill you in on the last bit of the meeting since it was just her and Jaxs. Or so she thought. I took the recorder with me….insurance for tonight.

P.s The wedding is tomorrow. No grandkids yet asshole.

He hands the note to Joy, watching her snicker and ball up the note, placing it on the kitchen island, he grabs her face tilting her head back until she locked eyes with him. He could see she had been crying, pressing kisses to each of her eyes he sighs. “Tell me what happened baby.” She grabs his wrists, not moving his hands from her face but just holding onto him “Romeo and Luis are CIA. They are using Galindo to take over Lobo, you control the drugs you control the politics there. But what got me was that…..it was them. They tried to kidnap Tara, fucking Clay hired them to kill her. And in their words ‘I wasn't meant to be there’ I lost my shit, Juan. I thought I was going to die that day and Torres actually had the balls to say ‘If you hadn't fought back you both would be fine and would have been debriefed and safe in custody.’ like I was actually meant to know I wasn't about to be killed, tortured or…..or….” he hated seeing his girl so fucking distressed. Her pretty golden eyes filled with tears as she seemed to stare through him, her mind replacing what actually happened with what might have happened had she and Tara didn't fight back. He had to snap her out if it, he yanks her into his chest again, one of his hands rubbing her back as he tried to calm her. His strong woman brought to sobs by this pissed him off, now that ATF wasn't going to swoop in and take him and his club he was going to handle this. Gently he pulls her from his chest, giving her a weak smile as he sees her now calm face.

He brushes both his hands over her curls as she continues “After that, we found out that ATF had you and Bobby. Otto fucking flipped on Bobby because he lied about Georgie. Romeo said as long as this deal goes through he will work on getting Bobby cleared. But with Gaalan not wanting to work with anyone but Clay we have to let him live.” He hated it but he knew they had to do it. Any respect or love he had for Clay was gone the second he sent someone after Tara. If he was honest he had lost a lot of his faith in the man when Donna was killed, he had blamed Tigs blind faith in Clay for a long time until he realized, Tig was doing his Job, it was Clay who pointed him in the direction. He looks back down at Joy and feels his heartbreak, he hates how tears stream down her cheeks and her face turns blotchy and dark red as she tries to explain through her tears. “And Jax pointed out whoever takes Clays place might not want the cartel. They basically told him that he had to take Clay's place or they would let RICO take everyone in. Jax worked so fucking hard to leave Juan. It's killing him to know he might have to watch Tara leave with the boys.” She was sobbing against and honestly thinks his heart is breaking, he shhh’s her, standing he lifts her up onto the island, pressing a kiss to her overheated cheek he moves quickly to the sink and rummage around in the drawers for a rag, once he finds one he wettings it with cold water he rushes back to Joys side,gently places the cold cloth to her cheek.

He lets her breath and hiccup as he presses the cold cloth to her red cheeks, forehead and over her eyes. He could feel her hands gripping the sides of his shirt, he hated how much she took onto herself and when she couldn't fix everything how she hoped she gets defended so deeply, she took it as something she did wrong when no one, not even Jax saw something like this happening. Once she is breathing easier, and the red in her cheeks had calmed to a dull pink he puts the now warm rag on the counter, using his hands he makes her look at him. Her eyes are red-rimmed and so fucking defeated, he sighs “In this life. We do the best we can and then we die baby. Don't give me that look you know I'm right.” he chuckles as she gives him a narrowed look before arching a manicured brow at him “You do so much for this club, for me, your father and your grandmother. But you can't fix everything wrong. Though you sure as fuck try.” he grins when her lip ticks at the side, pulling her face to his pecks those pretty pouty lips before continuing “All anyone can do it try. Try to keep going, Try to keep ourselves alive and make this life a good one. You did all you could for Jax and his family baby but this is not your fault, all we can do is what we always do. Take this shit by the horns and deal with it. No more tears, no more doubt. It's not just you anymore, it never really was. But I'll make damn sure you see that from now on. Got me?”

Joy POV

Sitting on the cold marble of the kitchen island, eye level with this man she feels the spiral of blame and anger dissipate. She turns her face into his palm, kissing the center as she slides her hands under the sides of his shirt, feeling the warm hard muscles under her fingers. She had missed him so much, no one could shake her from her self-doubt like him. Love blooms in her chest as she replies “Have I ever told you what it does to me when you get strong and protective on me?” she smirks into his palm as he laughs, his answering grin is wide and full of teeth, god how she loved his smile. He drops his hands from her face to settle on her hips, he yanks her forward, her thighs cradling his hips as he speaks in the skin of her neck where he had nuzzled his face. “Maybe once or twice. But it never hurts to hear what I do to you. So please tell me again?” Arousal curls in the pit of her stomach as he bites down where her shoulder meets her neck, the moment is broken when his fingers attack her sides, she shrieks and tries to pull away from him, Sonny races over and barks from his place at Juan's feet. After a moment she is a laughing, whimpering mess as Juan stops his assault, she leans heavily against him as she tries to calm herself.

But sadly the real world was calling her. She reluctantly untangles herself from him, and slides off the island, looking up at him she smiles softly “As much as I would love to show you just how much it effects me. I need to meet Jax. I know you just got home but I would like you to come with me, I don't want to be away from you for a while.” She hates how needy she sounds but Juan, fucking bless him. He just grins and nods. “Let me take a quick shower and change. Send Jax a text and tell him to give us thirty minutes and you will be there.” she smiles and takes the quick kiss he bestows on her before walking past her with a quick tap to ass. She giggles and goes to sit on the couch, she didn't see a need to change, slip on some shoes and she was ready to go, grabbing her phone to text Jax as she waits for Juan.

Thirty minutes later

They had decided to take Juan's bike, she had curled herself around him tightly as he drove to the hospital, it felt good to be close to him again. She never thought she would be one of those people who missed someone after being away for a day, especially with the year they were apart while he was in Stockton, but maybe she had gotten spoiled by having him close. Pulling up she could see Jax and Tigs bikes here but no one else. Hand in hand she and Juan made it to the waiting room where Jax was waiting. She smiles as Jax greets Juan with a quick hug, she takes her hug and head kiss in greeting before asking Jax “Ready for this?” Jax sighs “Honestly. I'm not sure. Juicy you staying out here?” she glances at Juan and sees him grinning softly at her “This is something you two need you do for your sake. Joy can make her own choices without me there.” she knew she looked like a fool with hearts in her eyes as she gazed at Juan. Walking over to him she holds his face in her hands, taking his lips regardless of who's watching she melts into him. The past few hours of anger, hate, self-doubt and worthlessness was gone, almost as if they were never really there. Her head was clear and she pulls herself from him panting, looking up at him she smiles “I love you Juan.” he nods and gently shoves her towards the door where Jax was waiting for her.

Jax grins and wraps an arm around her shoulder, leading her through the white sterile hall towards Clays room. She sees Tig and gives him a small hesitant grin, She had worried that the way they left each other today had made things strained but from the wink he gives her she knows everything is ok between them, he just has some things he needs to work out for himself. Tig's bright blue eyes bounce between her and Jax as he asks “What did Romeo want?” she was surprised that question didn't send her into another spiral but Juan's words keep repeating in her head over and over ‘All anyone can do it try. Try to keep going, try to keep ourselves alive and make this life a good one.’ He was right. She had put so much pressure on herself to give Jax every chance and the facts he needed to either stay or go that she didn't really how consumed by it she had been, she had traded her pain of missing Juan for focusing on Jax and it had taken a huge chunk out of her ass. One pain for another focus isn't healthy.

Glancing at the man in question she sees his eyes locked on the man currently laid out on the hospital bed. She hadn't taken time to actually look at Clay, the normally giant man seemed to have deflated. Broken and pale in sleep she feels nothing, not rage, not sadness or sympathy. He might as well be a stranger…..and if she was honest he basically was at this point. Everything he had ever said to her had been called into question since the kidnap attempt, she was reading between the lines of everything now and she felt as if he had succeeded in killing some part of her, an innocence she didn't know she still possessed. She keeps her eyes on Clay as Jax speaks to Tig over her head “I'll fill everyone in. Chapel, 8:00.” Tig stands, planting a kiss on the side of her head he moves towards the door as Jax asks him “How's he doing?” she hoped the bastard was miserable. “He's in and out. I'll give you guys a minute with him. I'll call the others, tell them about church.” She finally takes her eyes off the man in the bed and graces Tig with a grin “Juan's in the waiting room if you wanna say hi.”He nods and closes the door. She watches the blank face Jax had been holding in place vanish, his lip curls as his eyes sweep over Clay, glancing at her he nods towards the door and window.

She doesn't need to be told twice. Locking the door she draws down the blinds as a noise startles her and Jax, who quickly hid away the needle Tara had given him as Clay awakens, sliding the oxygen mask from his face he pants out “Son. Joy?” she watches all hope leave Jax's eyes before he locks eyes with her. She knew then he would stay, he would watch his kids and his old lady leave this place and him in the dust, Clay had to live for this club too. She nods and grabs Clays Cut from the chair where it hung as Jax presses his Black Kabar to Clay's throat. The voice that comes from Jax is calm, deadly and honestly scares the shit out of her “I read the letters. I know you killed my father. Piney. You tried to kill Tara and almost killed my sister in arms.” Clays eyes frantically move between her face and Jax's as he grunts “Please.Son.” she smirks as Jax cuts him off, his voice brokers no argument “Don't call me that. The only reason I am not slicing you open right now is because I need this cartel deal to happen and those prick Irishmen won't deal with anyone else.”

Clay stares at Jax, trying to appeal to him, he is a day late and a dollar short. “You gotta let me tell you both…..” Jax chuckles and if she is honest she feels her blood chill, she can see the new man in him and her hatred for Clay resurfaces. Gone was her carefree brother, in his place was emerging a president, cold and calculating. She planned to watch this man closely, she wasn't ready to lose him to his rage. “No. You're done telling me anything. Now I tell you. You're stepping down as president. You can sit at the table. You can have a vote. But that's it. You keep the Irish happy and you stay out of my goddamn way. If you don't I'll let the club read the letters. And I let Opie tell everyone you murdered his old man.” Jax moves away from Clay, keeping the Kabar at his throat he look back at her “Come here. Hold this while I do something.” She steps forward, holding the knife to his neck she grins down at him as he tries to sit up, to speak to Jax but she tilts the blade and shakes her head “Careful old man. Never was good at shaving with a razor, I might cut you.” she smirks as she speaks to Jax as he tosses Clays Cut over his leg, working on removing the President patch one stitch at a time “Who gave you the letters? Gemma? Jax please lis…..” She tilts his head back, watching his blood pebble along the top of the blade, she snarls “No asshole. You were so worried about Tara and Piney you failed to see the real threat was me. I gave Jax the letters, all of them. So Gemma is in the shit house next to you. I want you to stay away from Jax's family, Gemma and mine as well. Don't think about anyone of them or I'll finish what I'm starting right now.” she knows she looks crazed as she watches a line of blood flow from the cut she had just given him, she watches it stain his the top of his hospital gown as she locks eyes with him “I will hang you from your ankles and slice from nose to naval, Ed Gein style. Do you understand me Clay?” he takes a moment before before he speaks “Yeah. I gotta ya.”

She feels Jax's hand on her shoulder, softly pulling her away from Clay, she rocks the knife against his wound as she pulls it away. A dark part of her rejoicing in the hiss of pain it draws from him. Handing the Kabar to Jax she steps back as he throws Clays Cut across his chest. The man sees his President patch missing and locks eyes with Jax “You may as well kill me.” She heads for the door as Jax speaks to the pathetic excuse of a man on the bed “You're already dead.” she hears him spit before she feels him behind her, walking out they don't make it halfway down the hall before Gemma around the corner. She curls her lip at the woman before looking up at Jax, she silently arches a brow, asking if he wants her to leave. With a reluctant nod, she heads down the hall past the older woman, ignoring her as she gives Joy a wide breach. She makes it to the waiting room where she sees Tig and Juan in a deep conversation, she makes her way to Juan's side, her hand rubbing his neck as he talks. Tig glances up at her and grabs her hand “You ok sweetheart?” she squeezes his hand, giving him an honest smile “I am actually. Now that this one is home.” she smirks as Juan stands next to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek she turns to him “Ready to go? I'm starving. Wanna eat before church.” he checks his watch and nods, they got a good two hours before church. “Yeah let me go take a piss and we can go.” She looks down at the still sitting Tig and grins “Wanna come? Burgers on me?” Tig chuckles and stands as well, giving her hand a squeeze as Juan takes off for the bathroom. “No thanks doll. Think I'll head to the clubhouse. Wait out the other guys.” she nods, watching him head towards the door she calls out his name, waiting for him to turn she smiles “You know even though your an asshole. I love you like an uncle right?” he grins “I know kids I love you too.” even with all the shit that had happened these past few days, the constant hits, fails and bumps in this clubs road it was nice to know that some things won't ever change.

Hour time jump

She smirks as she tosses another fry at Juan. Cackling loudly when he catches it with his mouth. She takes a bite of her bacon burger as he finished his wraps. Swallowing she sighs “My dress finally fucking came in. I was having a panic attack that it wouldn't be in before the wedding. It fits perfect, can't wait to see your face when I walk down the aisle.” She fakes a deer in the headlights look, dodging the balled up napkin he tosses at her. Taking a sip of her Pepsi she winks at him “Cake is done, the Wahewa will have our spot cleared up the day for the guys to go set up of and everything is perfect. All you have to do is show up tomorrow and marry me.” she giggles as he leans across the the table, kissing her forehead before dropping. Back into his seat “All this shit going down. And you still find time to plan a wedding, how the fuck did you pull that off?” he steals another of her fries, smirking as she misses smacking his hand by inches “I'm a woman Juan we are born multitaskers.” he rolls his eyes as she smirks “Gemma, Tara and Lyla….before she vanished were a huge help honestly. Speaking of friends. Have you talked to Chibs about being your best man yet?” she shoves the last of her burger in her mouth as she waits for a reply, when one isn't given she narrows her eyes when Juan's eyes refuse to meet hers, she hisses through her teeth “Juan Carlos our wedding is tomorrow afternoon!” he groans and tilts his head back “I know I know. I'll talk to him tonight I swear. Please don't be angry.” She tries to keep her glare but the big puppy eyes aimed at her crack her in seconds “You need to stop spending time with Sonny. He is rubbing off on you.” he smirks and downs the rest of his water. Wiping his face he stands and pulls her up with him, cleaning off the table they make it outside when her regular phone chimes. Looking down she sees a message from Tara.

Can you please come over. I need to talk to someone.

She has a feeling she knew what about, climbing onto the back of Juan's bike she rests her chin on his shoulder “Drop me off at the house? Tara wants to Talk before church so I'll meet you at the clubhouse when I'm done.” he nods and she pulls on her helmet, wrapping her hands around his waist she slides her under the front of his shirt, smirking when she feels his abs clench as her cold fingers trace the drips and curves as they head towards home. By the time they pull up, she can tell he is keyed up and she doesn't even try to hide her smirk when he has to adjust himself as she gets off the back of his bike. “That's mean as hell you know. Get me hard as a fucking rock and leaving me alone.” she tilts her head back and laughs into the night. “That's for taking so fucking long to ask Chibs you jackass. Do it the second you see him.” she yelps when he yanks her towards him by the front of her dad's pullover, He uses his other hand to hold her throat as his lips roughly take hers, his talented tongue teases her mouth open, by the time he pulls away her thighs are clinched and she knows her lips are bruises.

Resting her forehead against his she pants, feeling his hands leave her shirt and throat they find a new home on her ass and she can't help but smile. “I missed that mouth of yours baby girl.” she shivers at the wrecked tone of his voice, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth she pulls away reluctantly. “I missed yours too...daddy.” he tries to grab her again but she is already out of reach and on her own bike. “I'll meet you at the clubhouse. I love you.” she smiles brightly as he curses under his breath. Taking off down the road for Jax and Taras. Pulling up in the driveway she sees Jax is already gone, looking at her phone she sees it's only fifteen past seven so she has some time. She knocks, but after a minute gets no reply, using the key Tara had given her she finds the living room dark, looking down the hall she sees no light there either until movement out of the corner of her eye makes her look into the kitchen.

There Tara sits, a glass of dark amber liquid in a medium glass and she feels horrible as the fluorescent lights show the tear trails on her cheeks. Looking through the cabinets she finds a glass of her own, sitting across from the still silent woman she pours herself a small glass from the bottle of Jack sat between them and sips as she waits. It seemed an age until the somber woman across from her spoke, her eyes on the glass in her hand. “He told me to leave him. Take our boys and leave him here to rot.” she nods, she figured Jax would say that. Just because he had to suffer didn't mean Tara and the boys had too. Tara pours more into her glass before speaking again “He is mine Joy. I have fought reason and the very core of my being to be here, loving him and having this family with him.” Taras soft sobs are heartbreaking, she may be uppity and isn't one hundred percent about the club. But as a woman so deep in love she barely knew where she ended and he began, she felt a kindred spirit in Tara. Loving a man in this life wasn't ever going to be easy, but as a son, she saw more then Tara did, so she had an advantage in a way.

She reaches across the table, grabbing the crying woman's hand. “You have a choice Tara. You listen to Jax, take Abel and Thomas and get the fuck out of this town. Jax will visit he will still be a father to those beautiful boys because he will love them no different then he did before.” the woman shakes her head, her sobs growing louder. Standing Joy moves around the table and yanks the woman up and grabbing her head she forces her lock eyes with her “Breath. Match my breathing Tara.” the woman's sobs slowly quiet as the tension from her body finally releases, once her sobs quiet you sniffles Joy continues “Or you can keep fighting for him. Stay here. Work at the hospital and raise these boys here. Surrounded by this crazy life but know that any of these men and myself would die to protect them and you. You have seen that first hand. I'm not going to tell you which choice is wrong or right because both have pros and cons. At the end of the day anyone who has shit to say after you make your choice can talk to the end of my Glock. No one but you and Jax matter here. I'm just here to lay down facts.” Tara nods and pulls herself from Joy and cleans up the table. Leaning back against the counter Joy watches her. She silently accepts the kiss to her cheek as Tara passes her, looking down at her watch she sees it's seven thirty. “Church is at eight so I need to go. Take it all in and do what's right for you.” She smiles and pats Taras' shoulder. Heading out to her bike she sighs, she hoped she did the right thing. She refused to make choices for anyone all she can do and would ever do is lay down facts and Tara would have to make choices for herself.

Juice POV

He had walked into the bar to find a few of the guys already waiting, luckily Chibs was one of them. Making his way over to the Scot he claps him on the shoulder “Can I talk to you a minute man?” Chibs gives him a concerned look but nods, making their way over to the couches by the windows, grabbing a seat on the couch he watches Chibs plant himself on the table in front of him, he had let forgot to ask Chibs like he told Joy. If he was honest he just didn't know how to ask without sounding like a dumbass. Chibs snaps him out of his slight panic attack and he chuckles “Sorry man. Look I know this short noticed as fuck but I want you to stand with me tomorrow at the wedding. Be my best man.” the look on Chibs face is blank so out of pure nerves, he continues “I mean ever since I started here I have seen you as a dad. Because ya know I never knew mine that well and any time I fucked up you would let me know and help me fix it and I love you man and and and….are you laughing at me you dick head?”

He had finally realizing that Chibs shoulders were shaking in repressed laughter and he socks the grinning man in the shoulder, laughing himself he leans back into the couch cushion and rubs his hands over his face. “Can't help it when you start one of your long-winded rambles boy. Your face gets this dumb ass look on it when you start to run out of air. Gets me every time.” His leg shots out to catch the older man by the knee but he catches the table. Sitting back up he grins “So what do you say brother? You up to making sure I don't fall the fuck out when she walks down the aisle?” Chibs chuckles, taking a pull from his cig he nods, pat Juan on the cheek “Aye Juicy. I'll make sure you don't make an ass out of yourself.” he let's Chibs yank him into a brotherly hug, pulling back when someone clears their throat, seeing his soon to be wife standing there, a hand on her hip as she takes a pull from the joint between her lips “You two planning to elope before I can chain you down?” he smirks and yanks her down onto his lap, chuckling when she shouts and smacks at his shoulder, yelling about almost losing her blunt, nuzzling his face into her neck he kisses the warm skin there, speaking lowly so only she can hear “Tara ok?” She sighs and turns her head to kiss his forehead “No. She has hard choices to make. I did what I do best. Strip away the bullshit and lay it down for her.” he nods, he knew Jax wouldn't leave and let them all go down in flames so that meant he probably told Tara to do so and take the boys. It's what he would do if it was Joy and their kids, he watches Joy take the last hit from her blunt and quickly turns her head as she blows the smoke from lungs he catches it, inhaling deeply he pecks her lips once he is done and let's her set up with a parting tap on her curvy ass as she heads towards the bar, laptop in hand. “Alright shit heads we got time to kill before church so I wanna run over the to-do list for the wedding tomorrow.” the groans of annoyance from the guys make Joy narrow her eyes and pull out her Glock, resting it on the bar top she says lowly, but her voice cracks like thunder “Get your whiney asses over here. It's my day tomorrow and I don't want anyone asking me for shit while I'm trying to exfoliate and pamper myself so I look like a five star meal instead of the snack I normally am…..GET OVER HERE ALEX!!!!” he watches Tig flinch before making his way to the bar, fuck he loved how she whipped them into shape.

For the next few minutes, he watches her fill the boys in on tomorrow as she stands behind the bar. He knew the wedding itself was at one pm but people would be showing up for a good hour or so before so they planned to set up around ten, neither of them believed in the not seeing the bride before the wedding shit so they planned to go home together tonight. After everything, they just wanted to sleep in the same bed before not seeing each other for half the day tomorrow. “Mostly I just need you guys to go to the rez and set up the tables, the party will be just like Opies and he will be there so just ask him if you guys need help.” he chuckles as they all nod, it was like watching a general barking commands, they all knew to just agree and let her roll over them. Walking over he leans across the bar, grinning as she presses a kiss to his cheek without looking up from her open computer on the bar top. The moment is broken as the club door opens, everyone goes silent as Jax walks in. They all watch him as he makes his way to the Chapel, he watches from his seat at the bar as Tig and Chibs make their way in after him, he can't hear what is said but just watching Tig move down a spot does bring comfort, this was no longer Clays house, Jax was already changing thing.

Tig isn't a bad man, but the choices he made recently showed Juan that he had some demons of his own to sort through and until he did he wasn't fit for a higher position. They needed a Sargent who wasn't falling ass over elbows to made choice without club consent. And Chibs was that man, he sees the grin on Joy's face as Chibs takes his new place and he knows his girl is proud of her mentor. Hap, Joy and himself make their way in next, he watches his friend and now President grin at Hap. Jax motions for Hap to take a spot next to Tig, he moves so Joy can close the door behind them, he stands at the end of the table his eyes on Jax as the man asks “ You all strengthened out?” Looking over at his small family, Hap smirks at him and he nods, looking up he locks eyes with Joy. Her soft pink lipsticked up at the corners and he knows right then, he actually is ok. Looking up the table he grins “Yeah. I'm good.” Jax repays his grin in kind and nods towards his old seat before turning to his girl. Watching them he can see a silent conversation for the ages between them, the past few days had placed these two in each other's paths, they had leaned on each other when it was hard and Juan was thankful as fuck that of he or Hap couldn't be there it was Jax.

Their conversation over Jax points to the vacant seat next to him and the second Joy is seated he grabs her hand under the table, the warm metal of her ring makes him grin. His eyes take in his brother across from him and then fall to the two empty seats, he knew Pineys old chair would go to Clay. But who would take VP? He is shaken from his thoughts as Chibs brought almost booms in the still and silent room “Ope coming?” he watches Jax glance at the door before asking “What time is it?” he looks at the time on Joy watches as Hap replies “eight o three.” he feels Joy tense at his side, during lunch he had been filled in on everything going down and a part of him understood Opies anger, but at the same time he was aiming it at the wrong man. Jax didn't have a choice in this and for Opie to continue to break Jax down angered not just him but Joy. Jax nods, taking up the gavel he hesitates for a moment before cracking it down.

The door swings open just as it does, at first he thinks it Opie, but he is surprised to see Tara before them, looking over at Joy he sees a proud grin on her face. Seems Joy's money had always been on the other woman, the others look away ad Tara makes her way Jax, but Joy makes no move to stop watching and he can't help but chuckle silently, she planned to see this through, sweet moment be damned apparently. They both watch Tara kneel next to Jax, their voices are low but he had learned to read lips a long time ago, as Tara tells Jax she isn't leaving he feels Joy's eyes on him. Looking over at her he leans in and pecks her soft lips, tomorrow this would be his wife, her name on his chest and his crow on her skin had been the start and this would be the end. She would be his in every kind of way a person can be and he didn't know how but a part of him feel more in love with her as she smiles at him as they part. Looking up at the door he sees Gemma watching Tara, now that was a cage fight he would pay money for. Watching the two woman he sees the challenge in Taras' eyes, Jax wasn't just Gemma’s son anymore. He was Tara and she would fight tooth and nail until Gemma backed off. Again…..he would make sure he had a front row ticket for this one. But from the way Joy is looking between the two woman. He puts his money on Tara, with Joy in her corner she would have more than why she needed to combat Gemma. He almost felt sorry for her…...almost.

Once the two women of Jax life were kicked out the meeting ran smoothly, patrols and runs were assigned. The meeting couldn't have been more than two hours and they were headed home once they gave their rings to chibs for safe keeping until tomorrow. Making it inside he falls face first into the couch, not even moving when Sonny climbs onto his back and starts to lick the side of his head in greeting. He reaches up and scratches at the pups head as he feels his boot being tugged off, he knew Joy had a thing about shoes in the house so he doesn't fight her as she yanks off his boots. He must have dozed off because he is woken by a sharp sting on his ass, he flinched away and sits up and glares at Joy as he sees her holding a box of pizza. Sitting up he rubs his eyes and yawns “Sorry baby. Didn't sleep well in lock up. Lights were too bright.” She smiles “It's ok. I got us a pizza while you napped, you have only even out for maybe thirty minutes.” he lifts his arm as Joy lays the pizza on the table, watching her flip through Netflix for something to watch while Sonny moved to his usual place next to her he felt a peace he had only ever heard about from sappy TV shows and movies. This was his, this little carved out piece of warmth, laughter, and love. Pressing a kiss to Joy's temple he hugs her close as they settle in for the night.

Joy POV

Next Morning

She wakes slowly, the sound of music coming from the kitchen and she can't help but grin, today was her wedding day, by the end of the night she would be Joy Elizabeth Ortiz. She giggles and turns her face into her pillow, trying to calm her giggles as she hears the bedroom door open. She feels the bed dip next to her and someone's hand comb over her hair and over her back. Turning her head she comes face to face with a grinning Juan, she bites down on her bottom lip trying not to laugh but it seems Juan had no issues as his shoulders start to shake and when his wheezing guffaw is finally heard she is already in hysterics. Turning onto her back they both laugh until their stomachs her. Once they had calmed she looks over at him, seeing the happiness on his face she can't help feeling good, she made him that happy, just like he made her.

She looks past him to see a glass of juice and her normal bowl of fruit for breakfast, getting on her hands and knees she crawls towards him, pressing kisses to his bare, warm chest she glances up at him as he groans, his hand slides into her hair, gently pulling her up so she laid half on top of him. She smiles and presses soft short kisses along either side of his strong, scruffy jaw. Pulling back she traces her fingers along the lines of his tattoo on the side of his head. “Good morning handsome.” he chuckles and sits up, she flails for a moment thinking she will tumble onto his lap but he grabs her and yanks her with him. She is tugged onto his lap and she rests her head on his shoulder, grabbing the hand currently not messing with the ends of her hair she plays with the rings on his fingers they remain quiet. Taking in the stillness, the calm before the inevitable storm that would be the hours leading up to the best moment in her life thus far.

The moment is broken when a knock on their bedroom door is heard, lifting her head she hears her father's voice outside the door “Come on Juice. We need to go set up.” She smiles and looks back at Juan. Cupping his cheek she leans her forehead against his “Go. I'll see you later.” he nods, pecking her lips he slides her off his lap and goes to the dresser to get his clothes out. His wedding clothes were at the clubhouse so he wouldn't fuck them up, right now he just needed something to wear to work in. Grabbing her bottle of Juice and bowl of fruit she heads for the living room. Seeing her dad sprawled out on the couch, sonny in his lap as old-school cartoons played she smiles and sits at the other end of the couch. Her dad glances her way and winks before turning back to the TV. She knew her father wasn't an overly emotional man, but she also knew that it wouldn't hit him until right before walking her down the aisle.

Several Hours Later

“I swear to god Gemma you yank my hair one more fucking time I'm taking off my wedding dress and fighting you in my bra and panties.” She tries to be serious but Taras soft laugh could be heard from the front seat as she drove and it made her snort and shove her headphones back into her ears, they were on their way to rez and even before they got in the car Gemma had shoved her ipod and ear buds at her, when she looked at her in confusion the older woman smirked and nodded towards her shaking hands “Helps with the nerves.” the woman was a bitch of epic proportions and for what she put Jax through would always been under Joys watchful gaze, but she had been beyond helpful in making this all happen, so for that she was forever thankful. Her and Juan had been texting back and forth since he had left with her father earlier that day, sending her pictures of everything as it was set up. All of her brothers had sent her messages of congratulations and all of them had demanded a turn around the floor once the party had started. Their set up wasn't all that different from Lyla's, except for colors, her love of light pinks and purples was displayed by the flowers all around and Taras dress. Bless the woman for not arguing as she presented her with a lovely light pink dress, it was hot out so she wanted it to be light and breathable, she had sent Lyla her purple dress, but hadn't heard from her seemed her and Opie were birds of a feather.

She still had yet to hear from Opie either, which if she was honest, hurt to the core. She hadn't personally seen him since she shot him the night of the infamous Clay shooting. A part of her hated herself for what she did but at the same time, he had given her no choice. She is pulled from her thoughts as the car comes to a stop, looking out the window she sees the long row of bikes. She waits as Gemma and Tara get out and make their way around to her door. Tara holds the bottom of her dress up as Gemma helps her out of the back seat. She smiles at them both as she gets her footing, grabbing their hands she squeezes them. “Thank you both. We might fight a lot but we are here when needed. Tara go-ahead to the altar.” She nods and presses a kiss to her cheek before taking off, looking at Gemma she smirks “Your an evil, manipulative old bitch, but thank you. You were amazing with this.” she older woman chuckles and rubs Joy's bare upper arms “Your a snotty little gash. But your good for that boy. And this club, no matter how I feel about you.” she glances past the woman to see her father making his way to her. Her eyes blur with tears when he finally gets a good look at her in her dress. She had never seen so much emotion in her father's face before, Gemma quickly hands her a small pack of tissues and leaves her and her father alone for a moment.

Walking towards her father she smiles up at him as he presses a tender kiss to her forehead, his callus rough hands held her face as he looks her over. “You look beautiful little girl. Your mother would have bawled like a baby seeing you like this.” she releases a wet chuckle as she dabs the tissue under her eyes with a shaking hand, thankful now more than ever that she used waterproof mascara. “I remember your mom making a big deal about some wedding shit about borrowing and old shit. Anyways I have the old part right here if you don't already have it.” She tilts her head, watching him as he reaches into his cut and pulls out a golden thin chair and she feels her pink painted lips tremble when she sees what it is. She had seen pictures of her mom and dad at their wedding, her mother had worn a beautiful rose quartz necklace, and now she would wear it on hers. She turns so he can put it on her, once on she turns to she turns to him, seeing him quickly swiping at his eyes she offers him one of her tissues she smirks when he glares but takes it. Any other day she would poke fun, but not today. She lets her father pull her into his chest, inhaling the scent of his cologne she draws from his quiet strength. Today he was giving her to another man who would take over from here, she knew she would always be his kid, his only daughter but now Juan would be the main man of her life. She knew this was hard for him.

She feels the shaking in her hands pick up as the brides March comes on. It's time, oh shit fuck it's time. Last time Lyla had come up behind the altar. She had no intentions of doing that, the bikes had been parked in front, forming her aisle up onto the platform, she would walk through that mass of people to the most important man in her lift next to her father. Taking a deep breath she grabs her father arm and they made their way up and around the corner, keeping her eyes on her feet until they got closer she lifts her head and feels her eyes blur at the sight that greets her, all her brothers were standing on either side of the row of bikes, each one holding a pink rose in their hand. In all that had happened, she had forgotten to order flowers for herself, but it seemed her boys weren't having it and decided to change it and as she passed handed them to her. These rough, leather-clad men had managed to pull one over her and she was going to remember this forever. Once the rose was taken they kissed her cheek and her dad would move her forward, and as they approach than of the line of sons the tears she had been holding spill down her cheeks unchecked, holding not one but two roses stand Opie. One for him and one for Piney. She smiles brightly as she takes them, looking down she sees her beautiful roses and feels so much love wash over her. She had told these men many times how much she loved them. She had never expected then to admit to feeling the same, they didn't have to say anything, this spoke volumes.

She doesn't realize how close she is until her father is helping her up the two steps to the platform leading to Juan, looking up she instantly locks eyes with him, her soon to be husband. The music fades, and no one, not even her father matters as she sees the beaming grin on his face. Dressed in all black he was still scruffy and she couldn't help but smile, she wanted to wrap herself around him, breath him into her lungs and feel his warmth in the marrow of her bones. She heard laughter all around her and she can see Juan even trying to hide his laughter behind his hand and looking around in confusion before she realizes her father isn't next to her anymore, looking back she notices she was practically dragging her father down the aisle because her pace had picked up, she couldn't help but giggle herself. She smirks and waves her hand at Juan before speaking up “Can you blame me…..he looks like a five-star meal!” everyone cackles, catcalls, and whistles are heard as she finally makes it to Juan. Her father pulls his rose from his cut and hands it to her with a parting kiss to her forehead. Another Rose pops up in her face, she follows the arm to see Chibs over Juan's shoulder. “Didn't think I would forget did ye lass?” she smirks and takes the rose, adding it to the now small but beautiful batch in her hand, turning she hands them to Tara who apparently had been in on it, if the purple ribbon in her hand to tie the roses together was any indication, looking past Tara she gasps when she sees Lyla, looking beautiful in the purple dress she had sent her. She was here, she did come, Joy is overcome as she mouths a shaky thank you to her before turning back to Juan. She sees his eyes taking her in from head to toe, she sees his eyes well up as he whispers “You look like an angel baby girl.” and she cups his cheeks, not caring who sees, or without a care of who would judge them, all others be damned This was their day. She brushes her thumb over his stubble covered jaw and smiles as he turns his face into her palm, brushing a kiss over the skin there as he calms himself.

The Wahewa chief clears his throat, bringing their attention his way he holds up his hands for the music to silence. “Welcome everyone. We are here once under the all-seeing eye of nature to celebrate a new union. This time for Juan and Joy I will now say a blessing of the Apache ‘Now you will feel no rain for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold for you will always be warmth for each other. Now you will feel no loneliness for you will always be each other's companion. Now you are two persons with only one life before you. May beauty and peace surround you both in your journey ahead and through all the years to come.’” She lets the tears go unchecked down her cheeks and she flashes back to the last time they were here, listening to this same blessing and both of them clinging to each other as they felt those words. And now to stand here and have it be for them. She felt overwhelmed, thankful, and blessed by this man currently holding her own shaking hands in his, as he gets their rings from Chibs, handing his to her. “Juan will now say a few words.” She smiles gently as he takes a deep shaky breath, his eyes closed as he tried to gather his thoughts. It was actually good to know she wasn't the only one who was overwhelmed, she gives his hand and encouraging squeeze.

Once he opens his eyes and they connect with hers and she sees something change in him, his shaking stops and his breathing calms before he speaks. “Joy. You are a force of nature. The day I met you I felt something in me change, for the first time i felt solid ground under my feet. And over this last year and some months you have turned me into a man I didn't know I could be, I am stronger, more connected to myself and that is because of you. You don't take anyone's shit.” she giggles and tilts her head back as her guys in the crowd grunt in agreement. “You are a strong and powerful woman and I am in awe of your soul, I plan to treat you like the queen you are for the rest of our days.” She sniffles as he slides her mother's ring back on over the fully healed tattooed band. Grabbing his hand she locks eyes with him. “Juan. You are nothing like I expected. Your smile warms me, your heart humbles me. And the faith you have shown in me and this love from the very beginning proved to me that my mother's was right.” she stopped as her emotions overwhelmed her, she cliches her eyes shut for a moment, Juan's free hand coming up to brush over the tears on her cheeks with his thumb as she got herself in check. Once she was calmer she continues “She was right. She said when I asked her how would I find my one like she did with my dad. She said that it wasn't about the person at all, it was how that one person's love moved you. And Juan your love for me, this club and our life together is what i only dreamed of. I take your promise to treat me like a queen and in kind, I promise to be the warmth, comfort and kindness my king needs. I will build this new family with you, I will give life to our future princess or prince because I want nothing more then to see you give all the love in you to someone who can love you just as much as I do.” She slides his ring on, and smirks when she hears a collective word from her Samcro men in the crowd “And?” locking eyes with Juan both if them wearing matching mischievous grins as they say in harmony along with their brothers “I promise to treat you as good as my leather and ride you as much as my Harley.” she leans into Juan laughing along with everyone else as the chief speaks over them “By the power vested in me by the laws of the Wahewa and the state of California I pronounce you man and wife….now kiss her son.” she giggles and yelps Juan yanks her towards him, his hand fists into her hair as he takes her mouth.

She is brought back to their first kiss, the peace and quiet within her mind and soul it had inspired and she melts into his firm chest. This man was finally hers and she was completely his, it's a while before they pull apart. Her lips swollen and her knees were weak, she smiles up at Juan as he holds her up, feeling a tap on her shoulder. Turning she sees Tara “Come on. You need to change really quick.” she glances back at Juan, gracing him with a wide smile she says “I'll meet you on the floor, Husband.” the bright smile she gets from him is beautiful, he grabs her hand and kisses the back. “I'll be there. Wife.” She smirks and watches him walk off. It only took ten minutes to slip into her reception dress, a pale pink and covered in lace it was feminine flowed down to her knees, she pulled on her bride garter up her thigh before slipping her heels back on, high and a pretty pink as well she makes her way to where she could hear music already playing. Tara points of to the side, seeing Juan leaning against a tree talking to her father she makes her way over, her father sees her first, a grin on his face as he nods towards her for Juan to look. When Juan finally sees her she is already at his side, pressing her lips to his cheek she leans against his side. Feeling his arm slide around her waist she smiles at her father “I'm gonna let the other know it's first dance time. Wave when you're ready.” She nods, watching her father take off she turns to Juan, wrapping her arms around his neck she grins up at him as his hands come to rest low on her back. “Hello handsome.” he smirks and leans down to press a kiss to her forehead, with his lips brushing her skin his whispers to just her “I swear to god joy. You looked like an angel walking towards me earlier. I will take that image with me for the rest of my life.”

She feels her eyes well up and she pulls back a little to dab under her eyes “Don't make me cry, Juan. I don't wanna fuck up my make up.” he chuckles and nods. Looking cross the floor he waves to her dad, handing a mic to Jax the music cuts off “Alright people. It's that time. It's my pleasure to introduce for the first time and for their first dance. Mr. and Ms. Ortiz!” she lets Juan pull her along as they make their way to the floor, he swings her around as the song they both chose plays. She had been surprised that Juan had actually been the one to pick this song. when they had been going through their combined iPods to find a song to dance too Juan had asked her to play some of her choices, and when he heard this he had told her he wanted it. Wrapping her arms around Juan's neck she lays her head on his chest as they sway, when she had fallen in love with Juan she knew she would find herself here, it's true she never expected it to be in a years time but she knew none the less that he was the man she would spend her life with. Once that first dance was over everyone flooded the floor, the had taken thousands of pictures with every single one of her brothers as they danced. And when Juan had removed her Garter from her thigh and tossed it into the crowd of single men she had lost her complete shit when a grinning Tig snatches it from the air and put it on his wrist like a bracelet. Much to the anger of her father who looked like he wanted to kill his club brother.

She couldn't wait to see that picture later, She wanted to be able you look back on this day and remember how she felt because after how scary this year had been, she didn't know who would be alive come this time next year. The major con of outlaw life was a short lifespan, as she shoves a very drunk Tig towards a chuckling Tig she feels a large hand on her shoulder, turning she sees the one son she hadn't danced with. Opie shuffled from foot to foot as he nodded toward the floor “Can I get my dance in?” she gives the tall man a small smile and takes his hand. As Van Morrison plays she rocks side to side with the tallest son, he was stiff and awkward but that was Opie. She pats his chest, making him look down at her she smiles up at him “I honestly didn't know if you would come.” he chuckles, looking off in the distance for a moment before replying. “I honestly didn't know if I would either. I don't know how to be here Joy. Donna was my world and then she died, and finally when I started to feel like that hole in me was slowly closing…..Dad…..”

She rubs her hands over his chest, the smooth leather of his cut cold on her palm from the night air. “Whatever you want to do Opie I'm behind you. Club be damned if you need time take it. But don't hold this against Jax. Please.” he opens his mouth to argue but she smacks his chest and he snaps his mouth shut “No it's my day and you will listen. This life we live isn't a given and I don't want you two assholes doing this shit when you could be putting your heads together to change things in this club. I know you won't come back until Clay is gone. That's fine but don't hate Jax for what he can't control.” Opie gives her a hard look of confusion, but he nods, as the song comes to an end he gives her a weak smile, holding her face he kisses her forehead. She can see a cam34a flash go off in the distance but doesn't give it too much attention as she watches the pained giant of a man makes his way through the crowd and towards the bikes. She feels Juan's arms slide around her waist, leaning back into him she sends up and silent prayer not just for Opie but all of them. May the coming months see this club pieced back together, and not ripped asunder by the evils that wait just beyond the shadows around them.

Thoughts? Let me know and ill see you all again next time.

Tag List (Ask if you wanna be added)

@waywardmoeyy @soaimagines @soaimaginesoa @glassteethclan(idk why it wont tag you hon.) @samuraiconfidential

#juice ortiz x oc #juice ortiz #Jax Teller #Clay Morrow #gemma teller #tara knowles #opie winston #tig trager #chibs telford #herman kozik #happy lowman #sons of anarchy fic #A Song For You

6 notes · View notes