#no hesitation on Liz's part

[ace-of-spaders]

Raymond? You didn’t say you were bringing... persons. Well, you know Dembe...

[just-a-sewer-goblin]

Collars of Duty 1

Hybrid!Simon x reader - Chapter 2 -

When a new problem hybrid is brought to the rehab center, you're called in from medical leave. Having been through hell he's classed as dangerous but you believe he deserves a chance. Hopefully you both can heal each other without adding to old wounds.

I dedicate this story to @kiwiimochi because they said they'd be interested in a story like this. I hope you enjoy and you're welcome to tell me what you think.

Content: hybrid AU, brief description of wounds, allusions to torture

The call comes through in the middle of the night, ripping you from deep slumber that for once was peaceful.

You wake with a gasp, heart immediately racing to outrun the invisible danger. It takes you a few seconds to blink the last remnants of sleep from your eyes. You’re at home, in your bed. There is no danger around, except the phone that rings impatiently in your bedside drawer.

You recognize the ringtone. It’s your work phone, which hasn’t rung in weeks even though you always keep it on and charged. It’s slightly unsettling to hear it ring at such an ungodly hour. It’s freeing too, to realize that your heart slowly calms down and you do not spiral into a panic attack.

Yawning your reach into the drawer and open it, getting the angrily vibrating phone and hold it up to your ear.

“Hello?”

“We need you here.”

You’re stunned into silence. Everyone knows you’re on medical leave. They should know better than to call you in randomly during the night. They -

“Like right now.” You recognize Elizabeth’s voice and your heartrate skyrockets again.

“Liz, you know that I’m on leave. You know wh-“

“They want to put him down.” Her voice interrupts you, full of urgency.

That has you sitting bolt upright. Putting down hybrids has been illegal for years now and the center mostly adheres to those laws. Mostly, not always and when they don’t they usually have a damn good reason not to.

Working at a government managed rehabilitation center for hybrids meant that sometimes they put their decisions above the law.

You’re already out the bed and stumbling around the room while trying to get dressed one handed.

“I’m coming. Anything I should know?”

You tuck the phone between your shoulder and your ear so you can use both hands to pull on your pants. The short pause strains your nerves. She wouldn’t have called you if the others could handle whatever was happening.

“Liz?” You prompt her.

“Belgian Malinois hybrid. Military. They found him after he was MIA for moths. Severely malnourished, signs of torture all over him. No idea how they managed to get him into a chopper and bring him here, but he is here.” She rattles down and if you didn’t know her better you’d think that she doesn’t care. But you do know her better. Staying professional helps her not to break down with cases like this.

Hectically you tuck a shirt over your head, gather your things and basically run out the door. When you started working at the center you moved as close as possible to your new workplace and because you were lucky that meant living just down the street.

Running along the sidewalk you urge her on. “What more, Liz. I need everything you can give me.”

The silence speaks volumes. She hesitates, then goes on.

“He attacked and killed one of the soldiers that brought him here. They sedated him but said if no one wants to work with him, they have to put him down. I’ve seen hybrids go animal before but not like this.”

You grit your teeth at that. You hated the term ‘going animal’ even if it was a widely accepted term when working with hybrids. Just because they we’re genetically part animal didn’t mean, that them going berserk was less human that an ordinary person losing it.

And if what she told you was true, he had more than enough reason to lose his marbles.

Before you can ask another question you reach the fence of the rehab compound and to your surprise Liz is there, already opening the door for you so you won’t have to use your access card. You end the call and pocket your phone when you approach her.

“I want to say it’s good to have you back but the circumstances make the whole thing slightly less cheery.” She greets you and then engulfs you in a heartfelt hug.

Damn, you missed her. Liz didn’t work with the hybrids as a handler. She was part of the office team but she was one of your favorite coworkers here. Liz got shit done while taking none and still she was the nicest, sweetest person around.

You nod, returning her hug. Then you breathe deeply, preparing yourself to actually step foot into the facility again. The very reason why you were on medical leave in the first place. It doesn’t feel as bad as you feared but you’re not sure how you will react to the hybrid.

“Where is he? What’s his name?”

Liz sighs deeply. “He’s in the cell. The others refused to work with him when they heard the details from the soldiers. Honestly, I don’t blame them but I thought it was worth calling you.”

You nod grimly and let her lead the way. The facility worked with aggressive hybrids a lot. Problematic cases were nothing new. But one who had murdered mere hours ago was new territory. You’re not sure this is the best decision.

Was this the kind of case you were ready to come back for? After what happened? This had the potential to ruin any progress you had made during your leave.

No. You couldn’t let him be put down just because you were scared. He deserved a chance and if all the others were too worried then you’d give him the chance. Even if it might cost you the stability you’d gained back.

Liz comes to a halt before the cell and turns to you. Her hands clasp onto your shoulders, looking at you through her glasses.

“Thank you for trying.” She hesitates briefly. “Don’t destroy yourself over it though. If he’s lost, he’s lost. You can’t save everyone.”

Her words make your throat tighten and swallowing seems like an impossible feat. You nod, despite the unease bubbling up in you.

He’s a person, you remind yourself. It’s not like you’re meeting a wild animal.

Finally you turn to look through the small window into the cell. The large hybrid nearly steals your breath. He’s still unconscious, lying on the mattress at the far end of the otherwise unfurnished cold cell. The dark pointed ears that peek out of his shaggy hair twitch every now and then.

“His name?” You ask again, your voice a whisper, even though you’re not entirely sure why you feel the need to quiet down.

He is dirty beyond belief; his hair unkempt and you can make out a slight beard on his strong jaw through the bars of his muzzle.  You grind your teeth at the sight of it. Using muzzles of that type on hybrids has also been forbidden and you wonder if they found him like this or put it on him.

The fact that he doesn’t wear a shirt, only ripped and sullied pants, grants you an unobstructed view of his torso. There are various wounds in different phases of healing and his ribs are overly visible beneath his skin.

The twin wounds on his left draw your eyes. They seem almost circular and are located between his ribs. Already crusted over messily they seem to not be the newest ones; still you shudder with how painful they look. Over the ribs that lay between those wounds the skin is blackish blue and bruised.

You decide to not look closely at his other wounds as to not make you feel shakier than you already do. Instead you look at his face again. That too is covered in shallow cuts but those do not make your insides want to turn over.

His hair seems to be a deep, dark brown, matching the ears and you wonder how he’ll look, once he’s clean and not on the brink of starvation. Liz’ voice interrupts your thoughts.

“Simon Riley. Lieutenant.”

You both know rank means almost nothing when it comes to hybrids but you don’t comment on the information. You’re about to ask something else when he starts stirring and you hold your breath. Even though you’re outside you feel the tension rise along with his consciousness from the artificial sleep.

Two figures, that were obstructed from view before because they stood so close to the wall, step forward. Soldiers, you realize and they have their weapons trained on the slowly waking hybrid. On Simon.

As soon as he’s halfway conscious he scrambles to his feet, slightly swaying in his spot. He tries to bring his arms to the front but they seem to be tied behind his back. His tail grows stiff behind him, the ears tilt back and his upper lip curls into a snarl revealing his canines while his eyes fixate on the soldiers.

You can hear his deep resounding growl through the door and everything in you wants to run. This is a military hybrid, all right. Everything about him is big and intimidating, the aggression rolling off of him in waves along with the resounding growl.

Instead of running you set your shoulders and breathe deeply. “Let me inside and get the soldiers out.” You say a lot more confidently than you feel. Evidently their way of handling him is not working.

Liz raises her eyebrows but communicates with the guards inside. Slowly they back towards the door, keeping their guns pointed at the hybrid while Liz unlocks the door. Quicker than you can comprehend you changed positions with one of the guards, the other staying with his gun still pointing at Simon.

“”Out.” You command. You wish your body was as unwavering as your voice but you can feel a subtle shaking start in your legs.

The soldier seems conflicted but Elizabeth keeps the door open and he backs out too. Everyone at the center knows that working with hybrids comes with a lot of risks. If this goes south all you’ll be is a small stack of papers on Liz’ desk, waiting to be signed. And maybe a body to be buried.

You’re alone with him now, the heavy door closing behind you and the hostility rolling off Simon nearly suffocates you. His eyes are now fixed solely on you and he seems to be weighing his options, every muscle in his body coiled tight, ready to attack you.

You pray that he doesn’t.

You study him for a moment longer and you see the sheen on sweat that appears on his skin. This is not only aggression. He’s scared. Scared of you and somehow the fear being mutual calms you down. This hybrid must have been through hell and now he woke in a strange room after forcefully being sedated. You’d be scared shitless too and growl at people.

“Hello.”

You hold the eye contact and the way his ears perk forward for a second before going back again would be adorable in any other situation. The growl stutters before returning stronger than before. He reacted to being spoken to. Liz’ had exaggerated, maybe they’d misinterpreted him, because this hybrid was not on a murder spree.

Yet he’d killed earlier, you have to remind yourself. Just because you were a softie didn’t mean he’d spare you.

Slowly you raise your hands. “I’m just going to sit down, here. Do you know where you are?”

You can see the confusion on his face at the fact you talk to him and you mentally curse the soldiers that brought him in. Despite his display being more animalistic than human he is still a person before all else. How come they hadn't had the common sense to talk to him?

His keen eyes don’t miss even one of your movements as you settle down and cross your legs.

“You were found just north of the border in Texas.” It’s difficult to keep your voice as soft as possible with the way your throat is so tight. For a second you hate yourself because you’re thankful that he is muzzled and his arms are restrained.

Then you remind yourself that he is not Phillip and despite what Liz told you, you will judge him based on his behavior not on the stories. Like you should have with Phillip.

Something about what you said makes his ears perk up. He’s still careful but the previous stifling aggression is gone. Once again you try to suppress your anger at the soldiers not talking to him. This isn’t nearly as bad as they made it out to be.

“They brought you to a rehabilitation facility for hybrids that work with the authorities or the military. You might have heard of it before. It’s called “Rehybrid” which is a stupid name if you ask me but I wasn’t born when they decided on that so…”

Now he cocks his head at you and you try to keep from smiling. You know you’re rambling but it seems to help so you keep going.

“Not everyone is gifted in name giving.” Without much of a pause and consciously casually you continue on. “Mind if I take the handcuffs off of you?”

That makes him stiffen, reflexively his lip curls up again a small growl starting up. Of course he doesn’t trust you. But you’re also very aware of how unfair it is to have him shackled and muzzled when he feels threatened already.

“I know. I wouldn’t want anyone near me too if I were in your position but I think it would only be fair.” You’re very aware of the fact, that Liz, and the soldiers probably too, are watching through the window, most definitely thinking you’ve lost your mind.

Simon shakes his head and even if it is disappointing it makes you feel incredible that he interacted with what you said. Your chest expands and you suddenly feel like a big boulder lifted off your shoulders. That’s a good start.

“It’s okay, I won’t do it then. Just give me a sign when you’re ready.”

Once again you briefly glance at the state his body is in and you slightly wince. Yeah, maybe you would have to press a little harder.

“Listen. I really want to give you the time and space but I think your wounds and your body are on slightly tighter schedule than I am. I won’t force you but I don’t want you dying on me.”

His eyes widen at that and in that moment you’d pay to know what he’s thinking. It’s interesting to watch him as he seems to mentally take note of his body. He nods at you and you breathe a sigh of relief.

“Take the cuffs off?”, you ask again just to be sure. Simon nods again.

Keeping it slow and easily predictable you stand up again and raise your hand to the latch in the door, opening it and sticking your hand through it. If Liz and the soldiers listened, they’ll give you the key, hopefully.

For a few agonizingly long heartbeats nothing happens, then a key is dropped into the palm of your hand and you close the latch again.

“I’m going to take a step towards you and then you can come to me. Sound good?”

Simon nods again and you take the step. His body tenses but then he crosses the small space and turns his back to you. His chest is heaving and his back is damp with cold sweat. It’s almost unnerving the way he has his head tilted as far to the side as possible, watching you out of the corner of his wide eye. If you make one wrong move he could still easily put you on the ground.

This close you can smell him and the stench coming off of him almost makes you gag. You try to breathe through your mouth at the smell of something rotten assaulting your nose. There's also the underlying smell of piss and filth along with other scents you can't identify. You concentrate on the task at hand in order not to imagine what might have happened to him.

Trying not to stress him out more, you talk him through the short process of taking off the handcuffs. His fast breathing makes you slightly worried that he’ll hyperventilate.

The moments the cuffs are on the floor he’s on the other side of the room again and his hands are tearing at the muzzle on his head. His fingers are frantic and a nail on his already damaged hands breaks, a little bit of blood welling up.

“Wait, please!” You call out desperately but his movements only grow more hectic. The muzzle he has on is designed so the hybrid is unable to take it off without seriously injuring themselves. His nimble fingers flit all over the piece, grabbing and tugging until he decides to just start pushing it upwards off his face.

Immediately the metal cuts into his cheeks and you know he’ll do it anyway. He doesn’t care about cutting his skin in the process. Panic swells in your chest at the thought of him shredding his face just to be muzzle free.

“Please, Simon, Stop!” You say desperately in a last attempt before he pulls it off his face. Against everything you expected he freezes, eyes going wide.

“Simon, that’s your name, right?”, you question your hands outstretched as if you could keep him from hurting himself further by sheer force of will.

You’re shaking and you know he can see it. Swallowing is almost painful. “Please don’t hurt yourself, I’ll take it off of you but please stop hurting yourself.”

His eyes narrow but this time he hesitates less before nodding and stepping towards you. God he is big. You’re all too aware of how incredibly vulnerable you are right now. He could probably rip you apart with his bare hands if he wanted to.

He’s a fully trained soldier and you… you’re just an ordinary person who helps hybrids to get back on their feet. You specifically chose this line of work because you’re soft and stupidly selfless. Using those traits for work seemed like a good option to turn them into strengths.

Now you’re all too aware of how little your softness would guard you against Simon’s brute strength. Even on the brink of starvation the fact that he’s a weapon remains.

Achingly slow your hands reach up to the muzzle, feeling along it for the mechanism to unlock. His eyes stare into yours and this close you can see that they’re the color of dark honey. Nothing about the expression in them is sweet though and you have to consciously swallow against the lump forming in your throat.

You unlock the mechanism and Simon stays in your personal space for a second longer. You don’t break the eye contact and slowly he moves backwards until there is enough room to breathe between you two again.

He flexes his jaw for a moment to test it and this time you smile. His eyes narrow at that but you don’t let it deter you.

Until now he hasn’t made a move to hurt you and you decide to introduce yourself. When you tell him your name he still doesn’t answer but he’s attentive and you think that maybe it will be fine after all.

[communicationthroughlyrics]

Red Wine and Roses

You just got home from a long day at work, excited to see your girlfriend, Lizzie. You anticipated her being busy making dinner for the both of you to kickstart your weekend, as per tradition. When you finally get home, she isn't making dinner- no. She has dessert ready for the main course.

TW: Smut, smut, and more smut. 18+ ONLY.

As you trudge up the steep hill toward your cozy little apartment, you can't help but feel a surge of excitement in your chest. Today was long and tiring, but it's all worth it. Because at the end of the day, one person is waiting for you, who makes all the stress and exhaustion fade away with just a smile. Your girlfriend, Lizzie, or Elizabeth Olsen as she is known to the world, and your bi-weekly Friday date night, where you both put away the phones, disconnect from the outside world and enjoy each other’s company over one of Liz’s homemade meals. She's the light in your life, the beat of your heart, and the breath in your lungs. The thought of seeing her face, her beautiful, familiar features, makes you quicken your pace, almost running up the final stretch of the hill.

You burst through the door, tossing your keys onto the entryway table, and almost trip over your own feet as you're met with darkness. Confused, you walk through the kitchen, seeing she is truly nowhere. But then you hear the faint panting coming from your bedroom, and your heart races as you worry about what you are about to walk in on.

You follow the sound, rounding the corner and finding Lizzie on her hands and knees in the center of the bedroom, dressed in a black lace bodysuit that hugs every curve, her long, dark hair falling around her face in a sexy mess. One hand is buried between her legs, her fingers knuckle deep within her wet sloshing heat, and the sounds filling the room from her arousal only further stimulated you. You groaned at the sight, quickly loosening your tie and unbuttoning your shirt. 

"Oh, you bad girl..." you groan as you head over to the bed where she lay, eyes pinched shut. You kneel beside her, reaching out to brush a lock of hair away from her cheek. She looks up at you through lust-filled eyes, her lips parted as she pants for air. "You've been so naughty, haven't you? You couldn’t even wait for dinner.” You tease, gently tracing a finger along her lower lip.

She nods eagerly, arching her back as her hips buck forward into her hand. "Oh, please..." she whispers, her voice shaking with desire. You can feel the heat emanating from her body, and you can't help but admire how she's taken control of this situation. Lizzie has always been such a tease, but tonight she's taken it to a whole new level.

Without further hesitation, you reach out and gently push her hand away from her aching core. "No more," you growl, your voice husky with lust. "It's my turn." She lets out a moan of protest, but you ignore it, instead guiding her to lie down on the bed. She writhes beneath you, her body thrumming with need as you undo your pants, freeing the strap you had put on in anticipation for tonight. The toy springs free, ready for her. You grin down at her, enjoying the way she looks at you with such desire, and position yourself between her legs. "Are you sure you want this?" You ask, teasingly, as you stroke the length of the fake cock against her wet folds.

She gasps, arching her back off the bed, her nails digging into your shoulders. "Please," she breathes, her hips bucking up to meet your thrust. "I need it." You can feel the heat radiating off her, and the way she's panting for you, begging for release. You press the head of the toy against her entrance, feeling her body tighten in anticipation. With a growl, you thrust it inside her, filling her up with the cold, silicone length.

Her nails scrape down your back, her hips moving in time with yours, urging you deeper. You lose yourself in the feel of her body, the tightness of her around you, the wet heat that envelops you as you begin to move. You glance down at her face, watching her expression as she comes, her mouth open in a silent scream, her eyes squeezed shut. You can't help but smile as she writhes beneath you, her body shuddering with pleasure.

Her movements grow more frenzied as she feels herself getting closer and closer to the edge. You feel the tension as her inner walls grip the toy tightly, her muscles tensing and releasing in time with her gasps and moans. You can tell she's about to explode, and with one final thrust, you feel her body tense and shudder as she comes undone. Her cries echo through the room, filling your heart with warmth.

You slow your movements, taking in the sight of her flushed face and sweaty body. She looks up at you through heavy-lidded eyes, her lips still parted from the exertion. You can feel the warmth emanating from her core, where the toy is still buried deep inside. "You're so beautiful when you come," you whisper, brushing a stray hair away from her damp forehead.

She lets out a shaky breath, her hands moving to your shoulders as she pulls you closer. "That was... intense," she whispers, her voice still unsteady. "I didn't think I could take any more." You smile down at her, feeling a rush of satisfaction at the way she's responded to you. You begin to rock your hips gently, careful not to push too deep just yet.

Her eyes flutter closed, her lips parted as she takes in a deep breath. "You feel so good," she whispers, her hands curling into the sheets beneath her. "I never thought..." She trails off, lost in the sensation of your skin moving against hers. You can feel her body begin to relax, her muscles softening as she lets go of the tension from earlier.

You continue to rock your hips, matching your movements to hers, feeling the warmth between your bodies grow as you become more intimate. Her breath hitches as you brush against a particularly sensitive spot inside her, and she arches her back off the bed, her fingernails digging into your shoulder. "Oh, god," she gasps, her hips moving in time with yours. "Don't stop."

Her words fuel your desire, driving you deeper into the sensation of being connected to her. You can feel the strength of your arousal building, the need to release it growing with each passing moment. You glance down at her, watching her face as she looks up at you, her eyes glassy with desire.

Her body moves with yours, her hips meeting your thrusts in perfect rhythm. Her nails dig into your back, leaving trails of pleasure and pain that only serve to heighten the sensation for both of you. You can feel her body tensing, preparing for the release that's building within her.

You look down at her face, watching as she bites her lip, her eyes half-closed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. You slow your movements, taking in the sight of her flushed skin and sweat-dampened hair. She looks up at you, her expression a mix of desire and vulnerability that makes your heartache.

With a groan, you thrust deep inside her, feeling the tightness of her body as she wraps herself around you. Her nails scrape down your back, her hips moving in time with yours, urging you deeper. You can feel the tension building within her, the anticipation of release coiling tightly in her core.

You press your lips to hers, feeling the warmth of her breath against your skin. Her tongue darts out, seeking entry to your mouth, and you eagerly let her in, tasting the sweetness of her as you move together. Her body arches beneath you, her fingers digging into your shoulders as she comes undone.

Her cries fill the room, echoing off the walls as her body shudders with pleasure. You feel the ripples of her orgasm through your own body, and with a growl, you follow her over the edge. Your release is intense, your thrusts becoming erratic as you lose yourself in the sensation of being so deeply connected to her.

You collapse on top of her, panting, your heart racing. Her arms are wrapped around you, her body still trembling from the aftershocks of pleasure. You feel the weight of your exhaustion settling heavily upon you, but you're not ready to let go quite yet. You roll to the side, pull her into your embrace, and close your eyes, savoring the warmth of her skin against yours.

You feel a contentment spread through you that you haven't experienced in a long time. The world outside this room seems to fade away, leaving only the two of you, connected in this moment. Her breathing slowly begins to steady, and you can feel the tension slowly leaving her body. You gently stroke her hair, tracing idle patterns on her shoulder.

"That was... intense," she whispers, her voice still slightly shaky. "I can't remember the last time I felt... like that."

You press a tender kiss to her forehead, reluctant to break the silence that has fallen between you. "Me neither," you admit, knowing that it's true. There's something special about her, about this connection that you share. You don't want to think about what happens when this is over when she has to go back to her life and you're left alone again.

She turns her head to look at you, her eyes meeting yours. "Thank you," she says simply. "For everything."

"I love you," you whispered.

"I love you more, Y/N. You're my world."

Her words hit you like a punch to the gut. You had expected her to be grateful, of course, but hearing the sincerity in her voice makes it all the more real. You want to say something, anything to make this moment last forever, but the words catch in your throat. Instead, you press your lips to hers, hoping that the passion you feel will convey everything that you can't find the words for.

Her lips part beneath yours, and you feel a shiver run through her body as you deepen the kiss. Her hands move up to cup your face, her fingertips trailing lightly over your cheeks and into your hair. She pulls you closer, their bodies molded together once more as if they were always meant to be this way.

The room spins, and for a moment, you're lost in the sensation of her lips against yours. It feels like the rest of the world has faded away, leaving only the two of you and the connection that binds you together. As the passion between you reaches a fever pitch, you realize that you don't want it to end, that you never want to be apart from her again.

Her body arches beneath yours, her breath hitching in her throat as she moans into your mouth. Her nails scrape down your back, leaving tiny trails of pain that only serve to heighten the pleasure coursing through your veins. She's soft and warm, and every touch only intensifies the need that you feel deep within.

You pull away from the kiss, gazing down at her flushed face and beautiful eyes. You can see the desire in her expression, the need for you that mirrors your own. You trail your fingers lightly down her neck and over her collarbone, feeling the soft skin beneath your fingertips.

She gasps as you brush against a particularly sensitive spot, arching her back further and pressing herself closer. Her hips begin to move of their own accord, seeking the contact she craves. You follow her lead, guiding the strap against her wetness, feeling the heat of her body against yours.

Her lips find your neck, and she begins to kiss and nip at your skin, her breath hot against your flesh. You can feel the need growing inside of her, building with each passing moment, and you know that you're just as close to the edge as she is. You slide your hand between them, guiding her over the swollen head of your toy, feeling her wetness as she spreads her desire around you.

She looks up at you, her eyes dark and heavy-lidded, and you can see the anticipation in every line of her body. You can feel the tension building inside of you, the need to be inside her, to feel the connection that only their bodies can create.

You push forward, the head of your strap pressed against her entrance. She gasps, arching her back further, her hands moving up to grip your shoulders as she prepares for the invasion of her body. She lets out a moan that is both pained and pleasure, and you know that she feels it too.

Her nails dig into your shoulders as she meets your rhythm, her hips moving in time with yours, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. You look down at her face, watching as she bites her lip, her eyes half-closed, her skin flushed with desire. You can feel the connection between you growing stronger with each passing moment, and you know that there's no going back from this.

You press deeper, feeling her body move against yours, her tightness surrounding you like a glove. Her cries fill the room, echoing off the walls as she comes undone beneath you. You feel the ripples of her orgasm through your own body, and with a groan, you follow her over the edge. Your release is intense, your hips bucking wildly as you stutter the toy into her.

Her nails dig into your back, her legs wrap around your hips, and her body arches into you as she meets your climax. You collapse on top of her, panting, your heart racing. Her breath comes out in shuddering gasps as she tries to catch her own, her skin flushed with a mix of pleasure and exhaustion.

You pull out of her, rolling to the side so that you're lying beside her. Her arm comes up to drape across your chest, her hand resting lightly on your stomach. You look down at her, taking in the softness of her skin, the curve of her breast, the way her hair falls across her face. You don't want to move, don't want this moment to end.

You feel a sense of contentment wash over you as if everything in the world has finally fallen into place. It's not just the physical connection that binds you to her, but the emotional one as well. You feel as though you've known her for lifetimes, as though you were always meant to be together.

She looks up at you, her eyes still heavy from their shared passion, and smiles. "That was... incredible," she breathes.

You nod, unable to find the words to adequately describe what just happened between you.

She reaches up, cupping your cheek in her hand. "Thank you," she whispers, her voice soft and sincere. "For being with me tonight." Her thumb gently strokes your cheekbone, sending shivers down your spine.

You smile, feeling a warmth spread through your chest. "I'm always here for you, Lizzie. You know that." You lean in, brushing your lips against hers in a gentle kiss. Her lips part, and you feel her tongue against yours, a tentative exploration that deepens the kiss. Your hands slide down her back, cupping her bottom, pulling her closer. You groan as she pulls away all too fast for your liking.

"Nuh uh, Y/N. Now we have a dinner to eat." You smirk at her comment.

"But, I thought you weren't supposed to have dessert before dinner?"

She laughs, the sound low and husky. "Well, I'm glad you think so. I hope you're still hungry after all that." You can feel the weight of her meaning behind the words, and it makes your heart race. 

You stand up and offer her your hand, pulling her to her feet. She links her fingers through yours, and the simple touch sends a rush of warmth through your body. You follow her into the kitchen, where she's set up a candlelit table with a platter of lasagna in the center. "Smells amazing," you tell her, leaning in to kiss her neck as she pours you some wine.

She shivers at the contact, her breath hitching. "Thanks. I hope it tastes as good as it smells." You take your seat across from her, savoring the way she looks in the candlelight. Her hair falls around her face in soft waves, and her eyes sparkle with excitement. As you begin to eat, the conversation flows easily between you, touching on the highlights of your day and your plans for the weekend. This life was all you could wish for. 

[cupidsdolll]

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬; best friend!harry x fem!reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲; time apart helps both Harry and Y/N learn more about themselves and their feelings.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭; 3.1k

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬; slight angst? i’m pretty sure that’s it!

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬; hi hello! here’s the long awaited part two! part one is linked here for anyone who hasn’t read it yet! i hope you all like it <3

- - - -

Heartbreak is always one of the worst pains, but Harry thinks the absence of someone that’s been in your life for as long as you can remember hurts worse. It’s been a week since Y/N said she needed space after confessing her feelings for him and he’s just miserable. He’s not as happy as he normally is, and it seems as if everything reminds him of her. Even the things his girlfriend Liv does reminds him of his best friend, he’s found himself comparing the two.

He doesn’t mean any harm honestly, just sometimes Liv will do something and his mind will go back to how Y/N would do the same thing just differently. For instance, Liv is on her way to bring him some tea in hope it’ll cheer him up at least just a little bit, Harry’s excited to try her tea. It’s one of his favorite drinks if he’s being honest. A knock comes from the door and he tells his roommate that he’ll get it, he’s already standing up and making his way to the door. When he opens it, Liv is standing in front of him sporting a bright smile and happiness.

“Hi, hon. I brought you that tea I was talking about!” She says and he smiles back, a little hesitant but excited nonetheless.

“Thanks, babe. Come on in, I hope you don’t mind that my roommate’s here.” He says and she shakes her head, his mate’s never been a problem with Liz, the one thing he notices is different from Y/N. Liz is more natural hanging around in the boys’ dorm whereas Y/N tended to not want to come over. Something about the smell and how loud the halls are, he doesn’t blame her most of the time though. Liz walks over and makes herself comfortable on the arm rest of the chair Harry was sitting at before, ushering him over excitedly. He chuckles as he makes his way over, reminding him of how Y/N would act whenever she’s excited to show him something.

He sits down and she hands the cup to him, it's warm but not too hot, he’s assuming the walk here helped cool it down. He takes a hesitant sip, he doesn’t want to take too big of a sip just in case he doesn’t like it. It’s good, sweet but still has that leafy taste and it flows nicely. It’s not overwhelming with any of the tastes and it’s just.. good. He smiles as he stares at the cup, his mind wandering back to Y/N. He always enjoyed her tea, she always managed to create the perfect balance and temperature. Y/N makes the perfect tea, will always be better than anyone’s, better than Liz’s.

He shouldn’t be thinking about Y/N right now though, so he blinks twice to clear his head and turns to his girlfriend.

“It’s good, thank you. I appreciate you doing this for me, I know you didn’t have to.” He says and she just laughs.

“I know, I wanted to, H. It’s no big deal really.” She says. He feels bad, ever since he and Y/N stopped talking as much, he’s found himself comparing the way Liz cooks and acts to Y/N.

Y/N likes to wear more cozy clothes unless it’s actually going out, where she feels like she needs to impress someone whereas Liz tends to dress up all the time. She’s always dressed in nice looking clothes and adorned in jewelry and smells nice. He likes that Y/N always felt comfortable with him and didn’t feel the need to impress him, not that he doesn’t like that Liz puts forth all this effort into her looks because he does. Whenever he and Liz go to watch a movie, she normally wants to watch something with romance but occasionally she’ll tell Harry to turn on whatever he wants if she’s coming over for a nap.

Y/N usually put on a comedy movie and sometimes they ended up being a rom-com but they always alternate days so Harry can feel included. He misses that, he misses Y/N. He’s not sure if they’ll ever talk again, he thinks her dramatics are rubbing off on him. He just hates the absence of her, he never realized just how happy she made him feel. She made him feel warm and sometimes he’s got those silly butterflies whenever he looks at her, but he just assumed that was normal for how close of a friendship they had. He never realized just how much time they spent together, how special she was and how different from his other love interests he’s had.

But he’s never considered Y/N as a love interest, she’s always just been his best friend. Sure enough, he did like to flirt with her a little bit whenever he was drunk but that was only because he liked seeing her all flustered. He thought it was cute and it was hard for him to get her like that. Yeah, he loved her but in the same way friends love each other, it’s normal for them to say it before leaving or just because. They’ve always been just friends, the best of friends and that’s how they were supposed to be.

He feels a tap on his shoulder, a soft touch to bring him out of his mind, he’s been doing that almost daily.

“You’re thinking about her again, Haz. Can’t we just hang out without her taking your attention? This is good, it allows you to be your own person now.” Liz says sweetly, genuinely. She tries to be supportive, she really does but there’s just so long you can watch your boyfriend be heartbroken over a girl, especially one he never dated. They haven’t even been dating long, but they had only been dating for a couple of days before Harry told her she had to meet his best friend. Ever since Y/N shut the door on them and he had ushered her back so he could try to talk to his best friend and figure everything out with tears beginning to fill his eyes, it’s just been a repeat of the same days over and over again.

- - - -

When Harry walks the halls, he can’t help but to hope that he’ll be able to see Y/N on her way to class. He admits that it’s weird not walking her to class and being around her, it was their norm for quite a while. A part of him hopes that when he sees her that she’s just as miserable as him but he feels bad about that, he wants her to be happy. He wants to see that she’s doing well and that she’s happy. He always loved to see her happy, it just looked so good on her. So when he sees her sporting a bright smile as she talks with two people he hasn’t seen before, it makes his heart skip a beat and hurt a little at the same time. He’s happy that she’s doing well, he really is, it just hurts that he’s not the cause of the bright smile on her face.

He hopes that she’ll look over here so he can wave, just a small acknowledgment would hold him over he thinks. The halls are crowded and loud, he can’t help but to sigh as he accidentally bumps into someone. She always had this magnetic aura to her, always had his gaze being pulled to her. Ever since she called for a break, she’s all he’s ever been able to think about, the main thing he looks at and for. He wants even the smallest attention from her, it helps the pain in his heart.

He watches as her head turns just the slightest and their eyes meet, a warm feeling enveloping Harry as he smiles and waves at her. She just gives him the same smile she’s always given him, warm, friendly and loving, and waves back. The pain goes away leaving a happy feeling in his chest, he doesn’t feel bad about bumping into students in the hall. He watches as she walks away before making his way to his own class.

- - - -

Y/N doesn’t miss Harry as much as she thought she would. That’s a lie, she misses him terribly but after a couple of days moping and several streams of tears shed, she thinks she’s doing okay. He stays on her mind but she’s able to tune those memories out by doing the activities she likes. She joined some book club on campus and made a couple of friends that enjoy some of the same stuff she does, which is such a relief. While Harry listened and tried his best to participate in things she enjoyed but some stuff he just never got into the way she did.

The past week she’s been attending the book club and talking about the books they’re reading, she’s cut back on some of the stuff she used to do. She dropped out of two of her classes that she did just for fun and stopped volunteering every week to give herself more time to relax. She walks with them to class when she can, and they talk on the phone sometimes. She’s happy for the most part, happier than she thought she would be.

Don’t get her wrong, she still gets upset over the fact that Harry isn’t around all of the time, it’s usually late at night or early in the morning when she misses him the most. She misses him when his favorite song plays and when she sees him in the hallway. She feels bad then, seeing him all heartbroken and moping around. She’s never seen him so down, and she wishes she never said anything to begin with in those moments. She hates the fact that he’s heartbroken over her.

She’s happy for the break, as much time as the two spent together, the break allows her a chance to know who she is outside of Harry. She’s found ways to cope with this ache for him, playing songs he’s never heard before distracts her from thinking of him. Finding new books to read, new shows to watch. Not letting her look at him for too long whenever they pass each other in the halls, hide his clothes (minus the one hoodie she sleeps

in, she can’t bear to part with it because after all it’s not a complete end to the friendship.

She spends a little (a lot) of time telling herself that just being friends is okay, her feelings will go away and they’ll go back to being best friends. She knows they won’t go back to being where they were before she confessed, but hopefully it’ll be somewhat the same as before. She hopes with everything in her that she’ll be able to get over her feelings for him in a reasonable time, and doesn't want to drag this out any longer than what’s needed. She’ll remind herself when she starts thinking of him randomly, when she sees a picture of them in her phone. They always should’ve been best friends, nothing more and nothing less. That’s how the universe wanted them to be.

Everything was fine the way they were, now she has to get over her feelings for him in order to get him back. She sees him everywhere it seems, hard to avoid him even though she doesn’t necessarily want to, in the halls at school or passing by on the sidewalks. She’s nice to him, doesn’t want to make him feel even more upset. She can feel his eyes on her every time, a tingling feeling on the back of her neck before she turns around to face him.

She’s met with the same hurt expression, his eyes full of emotion and telling her how much he misses her. He waves subtly as if he doesn’t think she’ll see it, won’t want to see it but of course she does. She always sees it, how could she not see it when anytime they’re in proximity of each other gems all she’s able to look at. Of course she waves, even gives him a warm smile, one that has and always will be reserved just for him. She still wants to be friendly with him, to keep that door open for the two of them and their friendship.

They don’t really talk other than saying hi as they pass one another in the halls, or if they happen to need to copy notes. They got partnered once after everything, a sense of awkwardness filled the air between them and Y/N hated it. Hated that she felt like she didn’t know what to talk about, didn’t know what limits were with this weird boundary set by her. She feels like she should know, she should’ve known since she was the one who drew the line.

Their conversations were awkward and pointed, pain lingering in their voices as they mentally decided not to talk about anything personal. It’s better that way honestly, it keeps her from breaking and allowing him back when she knows she’s not ready. The wall built between them shows her just how much he’s hurting, shows her how much she hurt him. She never meant to hurt him, she knew breaking it off would cause a toll on him. She never thought it would be as bad as it is, never expected to see the bags forming under his eyes.

She never expected him to be so…torn up about it, to cave in on himself and go quiet. She can feel his eyes on her all of the time, and can see whenever he fights back tears. She watches as Liz tries to cheer him up, hugs him and runs her fingers through his hair. She watches as Liz brings him cups of whatever drink is in them, watches as he thanks her with a smile that doesn’t meet his eyes. She thought that maybe he’d continue partying like he always did, ignore her or something of the sort. He should be giving all of his attention to Liz, not moping on about losing her. His mind just always seems to be elsewhere, his gaze is always sad and unfocused.

- - - -

Two months later the two are doing just fine on their own. Y/N found out from a classmate that’s on Harry’s soccer team that Harry had broken up with Liz about a month ago. They wouldn’t say why they broke up and Y/N wasn’t going to be the one to ask. The two of them have gotten more friendly with one another, there’s no awkwardness whenever they’re paired up and they’ll sometimes sit together at lunch. Y/N thinks she’s able to be his friend again, and doesn't get the intense butterflies in her stomach whenever she looks at him.

She doesn’t want to kiss him as much as she used to, although the urge still comes up whenever she thinks he’s being the cutest boy ever. She decides to bring it up as they sit together during lunch.

“Hey, Harry?” She asks and he hums in response to her.

“I think I’m ready to be your friend again.” She asks and watches as his face lights up. His eyes brighten and a huge smile appears on his face.

“Really?” His voice is full of excitement and she smiles as she nods.

“Yeah, I think so.” He immediately wraps her in a hug and she melts into it.

“I missed you, honey.” He says and she smiles as she responds.

“I missed you too, Haz.” He squeezes her tighter, as if he wants to remember the feeling of her body pressed against his.

“Those three months without you were absolutely horrible. I want to apologize again for leading you on unintentionally, but these three months have shown me something.” He says as he pulls away.

She stares at him confused, he’s already apologized numerous times so she’s not sure what else needs to be said.

“What’s that?” She asks and he smiles.

“I can’t imagine a life without you by my side. I missed you so much and hated not being able to just come over and talk to you. I like you. I’m sorry for not realizing it sooner and I know it’s a terrible time to say it now that you’re back in my life. It’s perfectly okay if you don’t feel the same way anymore, but if you do I’d love to ask you out and take you out properly.” He says and she almost wants to scream.

She spent so much time getting over him and now he just wants to spring his feelings on her now? She thinks the whole situation is absolutely absurd and the two of them have terrible timing of their feelings. She sighs tiredly as she stares at him.

“When did you figure this out, you dummy?” She asks and he shakes his head, as if he’s in disbelief.

“Uh like a month and a half ago, I think? I’m not quite sure when exactly it happened. All I know I spent my whole relationship with Liz comparing her to you and I missed you entirely too much to ever risk losing you again. The whole like high school years up until three months ago, we acted like a couple unknowingly. I know we just labeled it best friends, but normal best friends don’t act like we did. I’m sorry once again,” Harry says as he watches her in hopes he’ll be able to read her.

She just smiles softly at him, her eyes so full of emotions that it’s hard to read which ones are in them.

“You better be glad my feelings for you didn’t go away completely. Yes you can take me out, Harry. It’s okay, I’ve missed you too.” She says and immediately his hands make his way to her face and he slowly begins to move closer. He wants to allow her time to say no, to change her mind but it never comes and he smiles briefly before their lips meet in a soft tender kiss. A kiss so full of love and warmth, making up for all the years missed and tears she cried unknowingly. It fills both of them with happiness as she giggles into the kiss and pulls away.

“Does that mean I can call you my boyfriend now?” She asks and he nods.

“Baby, you can call me anything you want now,” He says and she laughs, a mischievous flickers passes through her eyes.

“Even my best friend?” He immediately shakes his head and laughs.

“Anything but that.”

[aaaaafro]

Princess. Must Handle With Care! - IVE - Wonyoung x M! Reader (+18)

tw: idk lol just seggs, I've gotten too lazy to proofread.

Have you ever held something so precious that it might just break at the lift of a finger?

It's like getting handed a precious diamond, polished to its perfection, that even leaving a print of your finger on it would be detrimental to its value.

That's the feeling of having Wonyoung's skin against your touch. A diamond in its perfection, it feels illegal just grazing a part of her skin, but yet you're...

"AHHH! Fuck!" The girl hiss as you threw her almost inhumanly easy, on the thankfully soft bed.

"A-are you mad?" Her soft innocent tone paired with her glassy eyes on the verge of tears was such an irony from her earlier state.

"No..." Your answer helps slightly ease up the lady.

"I'm fucking fuming." Each syllables etching fear and excitement in Wonyoung as she struggles to keep her composure.

Your reasoning is coming back slowly seeing Wony squirming, as tears start to fall down her pearl like face. Just as then you're able to keep your sanity, before you questioned yourself, if its even worth it to continue your fit.

"W-why d-daddy?" And there goes the remaining guilt in yourself.

"Holy fuck, you really can't fucking control yourself?"

"N-no daddy~" Her voice trailing off almost as if she's teasing more rather than pleading for her well being.

"Couldn't you just fucking contain yourself until we're home?"

"B-but!" Wony tries to answer.

"But?! But what?! Nothing! You really should realize what you've just done!"

Wonyoung stayed silent as she tucks herself on her knees sulking as she reminisces about the moments leading to where you two are.

- - - - - flashback - - - - -

"AHHH! Fuck!" You sigh as you approach the fancy diner.

"What's wrong babe?" Your girlfriend asks.

"Nothing, It's just... my nerves are getting to me."

"Oh come on babe. It's just my friends! Plus, I've already told them how great of a guy you are." She tries to encourage you.

"I know that, but still, what if they don't like me?"

"Oh baby!" She grabs you by the cheek before boping her nose on yours.

"They'll like you, but just 'like'... Since, I'm the only one who'll love you." She smiled before pulling away with a proud look as she entered the diner and you quickly followed along.

"Omg! There they are!" You can hear the high pitched voices as Wonyoung and her friends finally meet.

"And you must be the lucky one!" One of her friends says as she gives you a good scan from head to toe as the others follow along with the teasing, and you just gave them a hesitant smile.

"No, I am. I'm the lucky one." Wony replies helping ease up the tension.

All of you sat around the table and you've finally introduced yourself, going around one by one the girls start introducing themselves as well, starting from the one on the other end of the table .

"I'm Liz, it's nice to finally meet you." The girl says with her smile forming the cutest ball of sunshine you've ever seen.

"Hi, I'm Gaeul, finally Wonyoung can stop describing you whenever we're hanging out." The girl with the short hair smiles as the others immediately laugh while your girlfriend just hides her blush.

"Hello! I'm Leeseo, I'm the youngest." Another girl greets and she certainly looks the youngest.

"I'm Rei, it's nice to finally see the guy Wonyoung is getting crazy about." Another girl greets you as she gives you another infectious smile.

"Finally!" The girl right next to you  and the one who gave you a scan earlier sighs in relief as her turn comes.

She prompts herself up with a hand on your shoulder and the table, the girls laugh seeing this sight but Wonyoung looks like she's not enjoying it.

"Well! My name's Yujin." She smiled as she gave your shoulder a light squeeze.

"Oohh!" She mouthed, feeling the muscles behind your suit.

"Ehem?!" Wonyoung fakes a cough as Yujin finally lets her hand off of you.

"Right, so, I'm Wony's fave friend." She confidently states as they all look at the two just giving each other a stink eye.

"I can clearly see why Wonyoung has been, too out of it lately." Yujin adds before placing her hand on your shoulder once more.

"Ya!" Wonyoung reacts as she pulls you away violently from her friend.

"Woah! Babe!" You panic seeing the girls surprised faces.

"Jeez! So possessive! I was just kidding." Yujin eases up the crowd but makes sure you to give you a subtle wink and a smile that makes your throat dry as you try and calm your girlfriend down.

The rest of the dinner was normal, or you thought so, as the wines get involved you see the sudden shift of their attitudes. Except for Leeseo who needed to head out first as she still has something to do. For the rest... well... "I still can't believe you're Wony's boyfriend."

Yunjin's comments earn her a couple of awkward chuckles as the other girls are nowhere near as sober as you are. You sat there silently, as they all told a bunch of cute but slightly embarrassing stories of each other, one trying to one up the other.

It was all fun and games but then something else happened. During one of the playful arguments that the girls are having Wonyoung was going up against Yujin on who's the better girlfriend material.

Obviously as they're going along, you're bound to get involved.

"First of all, I'm better at taking care of people!" Yujin says as the other girls are now a laughing mess at the side.

"Well, if you are, then how come you haven't introduced anyone to us?" Wonyoung rebuts before she quickly clings onto you, as they all shoot a look at you.

"Isn't that right, baby?" Wonyoung looks at you with a great longing for an answer. Quickly scanning the rest of the girls as you realized that they're anticipating a response.

"Hehe." You could only chuckle awkwardly as your girlfriend presses herself against you even harder.

"A-are you g-girls always like this?" You asked and they quickly nodded.

"Pft! Just because you bought your boyfriend doesn't mean that you're a better girlfriend material than me!" Yujin suddenly retorts.

"Oh really?"

You just sat there thinking that this cute argument is normal with them. Taking a sip of water, as your throat was drying up. When all of a sudden.

"Yeah! I bet you can't even please him as much as I probably can."

You almost spew the water across the table after hearing Yujin's claims. You look over Wonyoung who's currently awestruck at what her friend just said.

"E-excuse me?!" Wonyoung questioned and Yujin just gave her a scoff.

"Am I wrong?!" Yujin suddenly aims her sight on you.

Beads of sweat forms on your forehead, as the girls shoots a look at you with a visible anticipation of your answer. With your throat drying up. You gave Wonyoung a small tap under the table but that wasn't even necessary as Wony suddenly got up from her seat diverting everyone's attention towards her.

"I please him very well myself..." Wonyoung says in such a stern way that everyone's jaw just dropped.

"H-Hold on-." You try to interrupt and switch the subject but Yujin suddenly silenced you with a finger.

"Really?" Yujin mocks as she gave Wonyoung an unimpressed look.

"Yeah, that's right. Isn't it daddy?" Your heart drops when Wonyoung suddenly uses your bed name even placing her hand over your arm and brushing it up and down and giving a good squeeze in before continuing the motion..

"W-wait-..." You tried calming down the situation but your girlfriend isn't backing down and so does her friend.

"Why? Am I wrong? Don't I pleasure you well daddy?"

"W-wony." You start to panic as the girls starts to look at you suspiciously.

"Yes daddy? The way you rail me the other night. How hard you're penetrating your length in me–."

You've never even wished to be swallowed by the earth as much as you have currently, as you sat there while your girlfriend does her best to tell her friends how hard you're fucking her. As her hands travels down your chest towards your thigh.

"Oh you've gone silent?" Wonyoung's proud voice directed towards Yujjn whos sat there speechless after hearing her friend's proud sex story.

"Still think I can't pleasure him? Why'd you think he's here with me right now? That's right! Because I'm the perfect girl for her! He just can't get enough of me and we'll probably do it again later tonight."

"W-wony." You whispered but she's in too deep on her fit.

"He's gonna be fucking me all night. Pounding away at my tight–."

"Wonyoung!" You had enough as you've realized how ridiculously awkward the situation is as the other girls sat in silence.

"Oh..." Her confidence fades in an instant hearing your hardened voice and she sees everyone awkwardly silent.

"S-sorry." Wonyoung's voice is almost nonexistent as she takes a seat.

The rest of the dinner was definitely the most awkward dinner you've had. All of you stayed silent and no one even dared to speak up even afterwards. The only time someone spoke was when you're about to part ways.

"W-wonyoungie... I'm sorry." Yujin says softly as they both hug each other.

"I'm sorry as well for making it awkward."

"It's fine, really... but you do have a lot of things to work out with your boyfriend." Yujin jokes as you sit there trying your best to calm yourself as they all laughed at Wonyoung's blush.

With all of you finally saying your goodbyes to each other and taking separate ways to your respected rest of the night. You're now left with Wonyoung in your passenger seat as she fidgets with her phone trying her best to not acknowledge the fact that she made one hell of an introduction of you to her friends.

- - - - - flashback end - - - - -

"Now talk."

"B-but isn't it true?!" She counters with a weirdly proud tone as if what she did wasn't wrong.

"Don't I pleasure you well?"

"Don't you just love it when you're balls deep inside of me daddy?"

"Wony-..."

"Am I not your slut princess?!"

"Or is it because you'd want to fuck Yujin instead of me?!"

That last question took you out of your head. Seeing Wonyoung's emotions pouring out as she looks at you with such need of validation. Wonyoung is... Jealous?

"Wony." You softly called as her tears start to fall down.

"No! It's because you've seen Yujin and now you don't want me anymore!"

You stood there looking stupid and fucked by seeing your girlfriend crying out loud as she starts lashing out how Yujin's hand didn't even wait a second to touch you and how you didn't even dare to resist it.

"Babe." You called, as Wony just balled up and hid herself under the covers.

With nothing else but guilt, you quickly joined Wonyoung under the covers. You leveled your face with hers as she just hides her face on her hands, your hand captures her hip pulling her towards you.

"Wony."

"You know none of that is true, right?"

"You're my one and only." You can see her eyes peeking through her fingers as your words didn't fail to reach your sulking girlfriend.

"R-really?" She whispered as you gave her a reassuring smile and nod.

Quickly removing her hand off of her face she captures your lips with hers engaging in a much needed dessert as the meal earlier clearly didn't hit the right spot.

"Mhmm..."

"Ngnhnnnngg." Wonyoung moans as she presses herself against you even more trying to feel as much of you as possible.

Finally detaching away from each other a trail of spit hangs on the edge of her lips and Wonyoung is quick to catch it before leading it into her mouth with a finger.

"Am I really your one and only?" She asks with such curiosity that it's almost insulting the integrity of your words

"Of course baby." You assured.

"Mhmm." Her hum sounded a bit suspicious as she suddenly slides her hand down your chest to your abdomen.

"So, I'm the only one you love?" She asks

You just nodded and her finger took its time fiddling with your belt though you know where all of this is going. You just knew that words are never enough for her to begin with.

"And that also means that I'm the only one who can pleasure you, right daddy?"

"W-wony."

"No! I don't want that name."

Of course. She's not a big fan of any sweet names you've given her in this particular type of situation... Only one name can satisfy Wonyoung's neediness.

"My slut princess."

"Mhmmm... Yes daddy." As her temperature reaches an all time high, she quickly connected her lips with yours before following up with a tongue.

"Nnnhhnhnnggg!" Wonyoung squirm under your touch as you've switched your position. With you now topping over her, as you then press your girlfriend down the bed.

"Are you gonna f-fuck me now, d-daddy?" She asks after you've pulled away from each other.

"No."

"WHAT?!" Taken aback by your answer she accidentally raised her voice and looks at you in disbelief before realizing what she has done.

"W-wha... Daddy." Her tone switching back to being needy voice was such a music to your ears.

"You need to learn your lesson. No fucks for you today." You tried getting off of Wonyoung but her long legs caught you immediately locking you in place.

"Look at you." You said with such disdain seeing the desperation from your slut princess under you.

"P-please daddy?" She pleads pulling you towards her.

As your lower halves touched, you can't help but notice that the woman under you is already soaking wet that her juices are seeping through her underwear that you've failed to realize when she discarded her pants.

"Oh... Look at the little slut princess." You mocked as she squirms even more.

Pressing you on her harder as your member twitches under your pants. Wonyoung felt this and had given her a glimmer of hope.

"See?" She smiled. "Daddy's body can't resist his slut princess." With a proud tone, Wony pulls you in for another kiss but you resist as she adds another arm on your nape to try and pull you down.

"Daddy!" She cries as you just smiled at her proud of the damage you're causing though it might be a bit too much.

But you know Wonyoung too much even just after being with her for only a few months. You smiled as she started grinding her lower half on you and you did your best to press yourself against her that made her enthusiastic.

"Mhmmm daddy!" She happily continues to grind as you relish the feeling of her moist clothed core.

Getting caught in the feeling she lets her guard down that allows you to escape her legs. Wonyoung gasps as you leave the bed.

"Daddy!" She begged.

"Please..."

"Give me one good reason on why I should be balls deep inside you right now."

Your proposal didn't even give Wonyoung a doubt as she suddenly starts removing the rest of her clothing.

"You want a reason?" She asks before slowly spreading her legs apart giving you a good view of her glistening entrance.

You must've swallowed a gallon of spit seeing the sight of your girlfriend in front of you. A smirk forms on her lips seeing how awestruck you are.

"Didn't you say it yourself daddy?" Her words cutting through your defenses like a hot knife on butter.

"I'm your only one."

"Which means only I can pleasure daddy." She smirked as you started to make your way back towards the bed.

"Now daddy..."

"I'm your slut..." She awaits your response as you've finally stood on the edge of the bed in front of her.

"Princess." You answered before diving face first onto her core.

"Mhmmm! Yes! Get in there daddy..." Wony moans as she tussles with your hair trying to pull you in deeper.

You did your best to taste as much as you could before you then started to work on removing your pants without letting off on eating your girlfriend out.

"Look at how hard you are daddy!" Wonyoung states after catching a glimpse of your engorged rod.

"Did your slut princess turn you on that much?"

You gave her a glance as you regretfully detached yourself from her heavenly feast. Wonyoung eyes lights up as you go ahead and line yourself in front of her entrance.

As you're about to indulge in the feel of her walls clenching you, you paused for a moment and gave Wonyoung a look of admiration, you can see the glimmer in her eyes as she slowly anticipates your entry.

A slight nod from her signals you to go in... And go in you did, feeling her walls clasping your member and despite her tight walls your entry was all smooth thanks to her juices mixed with your spit dripping from her core.

"Y-yes! You're so big daddy~!"

"You're fucking tight princess."

The two of you keep a steady pace of hissing and moans as you feel each other's love pouring with every motion. You threw your head back trying to alleviate some of the pleasure from the intercourse but Wonyoung wasn't having any of it, as she pulls your face back down and quickly feasting on your lips.

With her tongue dancing inside your mouth, your member twitches inside of her, your heat spikes as Wonyoung pushes you inside of her even more using her long legs.

"Ngnhnnnngg! Fuc–... I... L-love it daddy—.” She mumbled into the kiss as you doubled the efforts and intensity of your thrusts making your girlfriend a moaning mess when she detached her mouth with yours.

Seeing her sprawling out, spazzing, as you continue to bury yourself deep inside her, your mind kept coming back to the thought you had earlier before you tossed her on the bed after that eventful dinner with her friends.

"You're so precious." You whispered as she giggled at such a contrast of your words from your actions.

"W-why?"

"N-nothing... Hehe, I love you daddy." She smiled before placing a kiss on your lips.

"I love you more." You respond with a kiss on her forehead as you continue to pound away at your girlfriend.

After a few more strokes in then Wonyoung suddenly gets you off of her before repositioning herself in all fours. Greeting you with a great view of her back side as she gives you a wink and you already knew that this'll be the position you'd finish.

You prompt yourself behind her before giving her plump ass a good slap as she yelps in surprise before giggling as your  member finally enters her with relative ease. You placed your hand on top of the mark your slap left.

"Mmhhmm yes!" Wonyoung hums as you start stroking her ass and your thrusting becomes more and more aggressive.

As you've started to keep a steady state of motion and power in your thrust your mind starts to get clouded by her airy and shaky moans. With Wonyoung's hand gripping the bedsheets rather tightly, you start to admire her back, glistening with sweat. You then unconsciously leaned down and placed a kiss along her shoulders "D-daddy!" She called.

"Yes my slut princess?"

"I love it!"

"Of course you do." You smiled with confidence as her face digs back into the bedsheets trying to muffle her moans.

Minutes of passionate fucking passed, Wonyoung mumbles something from the bedsheet. It got you thinking for a minute but when her core suddenly clasps your member significantly tighter you knew what's happening.

"Y-yes daddy! Uuugghh shit! It's so fucking gooood!!" She moans before you feel something gushing out of Wony.

You pulled out and to your surprise her juices sprayed all over your stomach. Wonyoung collapsed on the bed as you stood there looking at the scene of her juices dripping out of her core as your eyes traveled scanning your girlfriend's heavenly body and you realized that she has lost consciousness.

A scoff escapes you before fixing her position on the bed even swapping the bedsheets that are soaked with her wetness. With her body temperature lowering down you feel her shaking under your touch. You then took your discarded shirt and covered her, doing the best that you can to not wake her up.

Soon as you're finished with everything, you stand right next to your bed and stare at your Wonyoung who looks so peaceful sleeping, you may be a bit disappointed that you didn't get to finish but it was nonetheless great. A smile forms across your face and your heart starts to skip a beat. All of a sudden Wony suddenly whines, you panic thinking you've done something wrong to disturb the peace of your princess.

"I'm sorry baby, did I woke you up?" You whispered as Wonyoung was trying to open her eyes.

"You didn't finish in me." She responded.

You chuckled hearing Wonyoung's reply as you joined her to bed and quickly embracing her before saying; "Later."

[differenteagletragedy]

You liked the country club. It was pretty there, they had music sometimes, and all the people smiled at you. It was a fun place to be.

Then again, you were three years old, so you were easy to please.

You remembered your moms bringing you along to the club a few times -- they'd put you in nice clothes, you had to do your very best to keep them clean, and they told you to be on your best behavior, too. Sometimes it was a lot of pressure.

So that night, although you had felt excited for the outing, you found yourself wailing in your mommy's arms, completely inconsolable.

Back rubs wouldn't do the trick, your mommy's soft voice in your ear didn't work either. The longer you were upset, the more upset you got. You heard Liz grumble something at her seat across the table, but just as you were gearing up for your loudest scream yet, you felt a hand on your shoulder.

Startled, you scrambled around in your mommy's arms, turning on her lap to see who had touched you. There was a boy, pale with dark hair and little like you.

"Are you ok?" he whispered.

You were trying to figure out if you wanted to go back to crying or say something to the boy in front of you. Before you could say anything, a woman came up and grabbed by the shoulders.

"Come now, Baxter," she said, steering him away from your family. "Mind your manners."

You watched as he was led back to his own table. At one point, he glanced back at you and offered you a small smile.

Suddenly you didn't feel so sad anymore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If the beaches in Hawaii were any different than the ones back home in Sunset Bird, then you sure couldn't tell. There was water, there was sand, shells and seaweed and crabs. You didn't understand why you had to leave your new best friend, Cove, and travel all that way when you could have done the same things back home.

"Tough luck, kiddo," Mommy told you. "You're only 8, so you're still going to be stuck with us for a while."

Really, you did understand it -- you all flew in to visit your family on Ma's side. You rarely got to see them after they moved away from California, and it made Ma happy to get to spend time with them. It made you happy too, of course, but you couldn't help but sulk a little bit. You didn't know you'd have a best friend when you first heard about the trip.

That day, everyone had decided to make a day out of going to one of the nicer local beaches. There wasn't as many people at this one, your grandfather had explained, mostly just some locals and some visitors from a nearby resort.

You'd been there a few hours when you took it upon yourself to make a sandcastle. Liz wanted to go swimming again and the adults were talking, so you were perfectly content playing by yourself. You were pretty far into the process, working on the sandy little structure with such focus that you didn't notice someone had approached you until they spoke.

"Nice castle."

The boy, tall and thin and maybe a little bit older than you, gave the compliment easily, but you didn't feel like he was being insincere. You felt your chest puff out a bit in pride, telling him, "It's not a big deal, I make these all the time at home."

"No, it's really good," he insisted. "I like your battlements."

"My what?"

He hesitated for a moment, then crouched down beside you. He pointed out all the different parts of the castle, telling you the technical names for them and their purposes.

"You sure know a lot about castles," you told him when he was done, and he laughed.

"You sure know a lot about building them," he replied. He wouldn't meet your eyes after that, and you felt yourself blushing a little. It was uncomfortable, but somehow nice at the same time.

Reaching out to the building tools laid out beside you, you picked up a shovel and held it out to him in a silent invitation to join you. He smiled, but before he was able to take it, someone nearby called out "Baxter!"

Baxter. You were sure you didn't know anyone by that name, but it still itched something in your brain. You tried to place it, why you remembered the name when you were positive you'd never heard it before, but before you could, the boy stood, brushing off his hands.

"I have to go," he said. "Perhaps we can meet up another time."

You hoped he was right.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

13 was a difficult year for you. So many things were changing around you and within you, and you were unsure about so much of it. Everything felt intense and heavy and weird, and it wasn't a good feeling.

But when the boy at the country club soiree asked you to dance, things in your head calmed down, just for a few minutes. But it was enough.

He was beautiful, you thought -- you'd never seen a kid your age look so fancy before. His suit was well tailored, he didn't have one single black hair out of place and when he danced with you, he moved you around so effortlessly. It felt like you were in a movie that you loved but couldn't remember the name of. It felt right.

It was over as soon as it had begun, and before you could do anything, before you could even ask him his name, he'd disappeared back into the crowd.

You knew you'd been prone to dramatics lately, unable to contain all the big feelings that had been raging like a storm inside of you.

Still, this felt like more of a loss than it should have.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can't believe it."

"Honestly, neither can I. It's quite the strange series of coincidences, isn't it?"

That was an understatement.

You were 18, sitting beside Baxter in the condo he was renting out for the summer. The very first time you'd met -- or met again, as it turned out -- he'd realized that you'd danced together five years earlier at the Summer Soiree. It had taken a little over a month of talking constantly, seeing each other almost every day and getting comfortable enough to tell each other about your lives that you'd realized you'd also met twice before that.

Baxter's memory was incredible, but what was even more extraordinary was the idea that the two of you had been running into each other in five-year increments since you were little kids. The world was so wide and full of so many people, but somehow it had brought you together again and again.

You knew that Baxter was only staying in Sunset Bird temporarily, that he'd be going back to college in Virginia when the summer was over. He'd been very clear about that, that your romantic relationship would just last while he was in town. But that magic of it all had you hoping against hope that maybe this time you could give the universe a break -- maybe you could stick together from here on out.

That all felt like too much to say though, so instead, you joked, "Do you want to go ahead and make plans for Summer 2021, or do you think we should leave it up to fate again?"

A strange expression crossed his face -- you couldn't quite make it out. It was something like pain.

Finally, Baxter said, "Fate's been kind enough to us for the past 15 years, hasn't it? Suppose we give it one more try."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As they say, the third time's the charm.

When you met Baxter on the beach in Hawaii when you were 8, you didn't realize then that he was the boy who showed you kindness in the middle of a meltdown at the country club five years before. And when you danced at that same country club when you were 13, you weren't able to put things again then, either.

When you dated at 18 for a brief, beautiful summer, you'd almost made it -- you felt it then. The two of you had fallen in love, you'd both felt the same pull towards each other, but he wasn't ready.

Another five years had to pass, another chance meeting had to come about. This time, fate pulled him to you with him kicking and screaming and fighting against it, sure he didn't deserve it, but it pulled him just the same.

And now, as you watched him sleeping beside you in your shared bed in your shared home, you smiled knowing that you could finally give fate a rest.

There was just a few minutes left until your alarm was set to go off. You briefly considered closing your eyes for a little bit longer, pulling him against you and soaking in his warmth before you had to get up for the day, but as your eyes adjusted to the first bits of sunlight streaming into the room, you saw his pretty bare back facing you.

His skin was milky white and dotted with delicate little beauty marks -- a few on his shoulders, a couple down just above his waist line and some in between. You took a finger and started tracing along his back, going from one mole to the next, connecting the dots. They could be constellations. Your favorite galaxy.

"What are you doing?" Baxter asked, his voice groggy.

"Just thinking about how much I love you," you answered.

It took him a couple of tries, his gracefulness nonexistent in the mornings, but eventually he managed to capture your hand as it moved along his waist. He gently pulled you down and against him so that you were holding him from behind, squeezing your hand as he held it against his chest.

"It's time to wake up soon," you told him, placing a kiss on the back of his neck.

He groaned and scooted himself closer against you.

"Can I ask you something?"

Baxter groaned again, but you started planting kisses along his shoulder to placate him. When you felt him settle into the feeling, a few lighter, airier breaths telling you that he was waking up, you said, "What do you think we'll be doing five years from now?"

He let out a sleepy little laugh, then turned so that he could look at you. There was a little drool dried on the corner of his mouth, his hair was sticking up everywhere, but he was beautiful, and he was yours.

He didn't reply at first, instead taking your hand that he still held and moving it closer to his face. You watched as he gently stroked your palm, then each finger, one by one. He stopped on your ring finger -- the ring finger on your left hand -- and began tracing little circles around the base of it.

"Hmm," he said, lifting your hand to place a kiss in the same spot. "I wonder?"

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

How did Bruce find out that the paparazzi knew about shop girl 👀

Previous Part | Masterlist | Next Part

Warnings: Angst; fluff; cursing; not beta-read

“Check your email.” 

“It’s nice to hear from you, too, Liz. Lovely weather we’re having,” Bruce bats back sarcastically. 

“Bruce,” Liz presses, “Put me on speaker and check your fucking email. Hurry.”

Bruce frowns at the edge of panic in Liz’s voice. He does as she orders, drawing his phone back from his ear and swiping to his email. He sees one from Liz there–something forwarded with the subject: Bruce Wayne New Bit - Proof and Profile

His brow furrows as he taps the email open, and he sucks in a sharp breath. Son of a bitch. He knew he’d seen something just before they’d left Gran Canaria. It had only been a second, just out of the corner of his eye, but the flash of a camera had been unmistakable. Still, he'd second-guessed himself when none had followed. He scrolls down to the next photo, cursing as he sees a picture of the two of them kissing in the lobby that morning. Goddamnit, he should’ve been more careful. 

“When did you get this?” He asks. 

“A friend of a friend sent it to me and asked for comment.” 

“Fuck.” 

“It’s going out today, Bruce.” 

“I’ll stop it.” 

“It’s too late to stop it.” 

Bruce pushes a frustrated breath through his nose, his fingers flexing around the phone. He has the urge to chuck it into the wall. He hesitates, then takes a few cursory steps toward the penthouse windows. He peers down onto the street, growling as he spots the gathering news vans. 

“...What are you gonna do?” Liz asks. 

“I can’t bring her back here, they’ll swarm us,” Bruce shakes his head, “And I can’t go get her.”

“Swarm.” 

“Exactly.” 

“How about I send Grant to get her? They know one another, it won’t be that weird. He can bring her to the penthouse.” 

“I don’t think the penthouse is a good idea right now.” His gaze darts to the buildings across from him, eyeing the odd flash of a camera. “Besides, she’s working.” 

“I’m sure wherever she’s working will let her go for the rest of the day.” 

They probably would, now that they must all know she’s dating the boss. Fuck. She wanted to get this without him, she didn’t want to trade on his name. Now everyone in the office is going to think she slept her way into that job. Frustration and anger burrow into his chest. Of all days—of all the fucking days, she doesn’t deserve for this to happen to her today. 

“...Liz?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Let me call you back, I’ll uh—I’ll call her, see what she wants to do.” 

“Alright. Say the word, Grant’ll get in the car.” 

“Thanks.” 

He ends the call and wandered away from the window, his heart pounding in his chest. He opens to her contact, hits the call button, and waits…And waits…And waits…Only for it to go to voicemail. Maybe she’s seen the story already and she doesn’t want to talk to him right now. He presses the call button again…and waits…and goddamnit, pick up the phone—

“Is everything alright?” 

Bruce whirls around at the question, spotting Alfred and shaking his head.

“Could you call her?” Bruce asks, “She’s not answering me.” 

“She may be in a meeting.” 

“On the first day?” Bruce frowns. 

“Such things can happen.” Alfred draws his phone out of his pocket regardless. Bruce waits impatiently, watching as Alfred waits…And then shakes his head. “No answer.”

“Try again?” 

“This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the accumulation of reporters and paparazzi outside, would it?” 

“It might,” Bruce grimaces. Alfred grunts, trying her phone again. Bruce feels his phone buzz and looks down, doing a double-take at the sight of her name. He raises his hand to Alfred, waving the call off as he answers the phone, raising it to his ear. 

“Hey,” Bruce starts, “I need to warn you, there’s a—” 

“There are people outside, all around the building!” 

The panicked quiver in her voice makes him feel helpless. Aw, hell, he didn’t want this. He listens, letting his eyes slide closed as she adds, “Everyone in the office has seen it, and—And I was just going to go out and get lunch and now I can’t leave, I don't know what to do—” 

“It’s okay,” Bruce reassures, though he’s almost entirely certain that it absolutely isn’t. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll get some food ordered to your office so you won’t have to go anywhere—I’ll use Alfred’s name,” He hurries to add before she can argue, “Liz’s boyfriend is going to come pick you up after work. I can have him get you in the parking lot. I’ll drive by in a different car, pull their attention away from you. We’ll go to the Manor and get out of the city for the night. We can…Regroup out there. Okay?” 

There’s a moment of deathly silence on the other end, chased by a soft sniffle. It strikes him right in the heart. He wants to be there. He wants to wipe away any tears that may be escaping her eyes, to pull her into his chest and promise her that everything’s going to be alright, that he’ll take care of her.

“Okay.” Her concession is soft, chased by a, “Thank you.” 

“It’s going to be alright, baby. I’ll take care of it. I’ll see you tonight.” 

“See you.” 

It’s a glum mumble before she hangs up the phone. Bruce sighs heavily, lowering the phone to text Liz.

“What a fucking mess,” He mutters. 

“Shall I pack a few of her things for overnight?” 

“Yes, please,” Bruce nods, shooting Alfred a grateful smile before looking down at his phone again. 

--  

The rest of the day is hell. You do your best to keep your calm, to hold your head up high and not waver or flinch at the questioning glances of your coworkers. By the time you’re heading to the garage (looking for Grant in his grey Mazda Miata), you’re worn out. You get into the car, buckling up and sliding down in your seat. 

Grant casts you a sympathetic smile.

“You okay?” He asks. 

No, you’re awful. You’re in a shit mood. You’re tired, and upset, and completely at loose ends, you want to fold like a deck chair and sob until you're out of tears—

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just, um...Long day,” You shake your head. “Long, weird day.” 

“I went through it, too,” Grant sympathizes. “When they found out about me and Liz. It never hangs around long. A couple of weeks of craziness and then they move on to the next couple. They’ll fuck off in a bit. You’ll be old news.” 

“I’d prefer to have never been news in the first place.”  

“I know. Sorry,” Grant reaches out, patting your shoulder gently. 

“...Grant?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Why aren’t we moving?” 

“I’m waiting for Bruce to text and uh—lemme know when he’s going to drive by. He’s gonna go pick up Liz, try and divert attention.” 

Oh, great. That’s all you need. Bruce being seen with Liz, you being seen with Grant, and the inevitable press coverage of an alleged love square. You slide even further down in your seat as Grant finally started up the car. 

“Put your elbow on the window,” He advises, “And cover your face with your hand, like you’re trying to sleep. On the off-chance someone does watch us instead of Bruce, they won’t get all of your face.” 

“You’ve done this before.” 

“Many, many times.” 

--  

You’ve heard a lot about the Manor, but being there is…Something else. You arrive with Grant before Liz and Bruce get there. You smile weakly at the sight of Alfred. 

“Is there somewhere I could just go and sit for a little while?” You ask. 

“I’ll show you to Master Wayne’s room. Please excuse us,” He nods to Grant before waving an arm toward a room off to the left. “There are drinks prepared in the sitting room.” 

“Thanks. I’ll see you in a bit,” Grant smiles. 

“Yeah. And—Thanks, again.”

“Anytime.” 

--  

Bruce’s bedroom is different from the one at the penthouse. It’s furnished far more grandly. Hell, from what you’ve seen so far, the whole Manor is. You kick your shoes off and pace, unable to keep still. Your belly squirms with discomfort and upset. What the hell are you going to do? You just started this fucking job, you can’t quit now—but fuck, it’s so tempting. You’ll be getting even more looks now that everyone knows that you're with Bruce. No one’s going to believe that you got the job on your own merit—except, maybe the hiring manager. Still, you didn’t expect them to go out of the way to extol your experience to everyone at the fucking foundation—

“There you are.” 

You turn at the sound of Bruce’s voice. You hardly have a chance to get a look at him before you’re barrelling into his arms. He catches hold of you without a second’s hesitation, drawing you to his chest. He rests a hand on the back of your neck, gently sweeping his thumb over your nape as you fall apart. You can’t stop the tears that you’ve been holding back any longer. You do try, but you draw in a breath just a touch too deep, and it all comes spilling out. You fist your hands in the fabric of his t-shirt, sniffling. Bruce presses a kiss to your temple. 

“I’m so sorry, baby,” He murmurs. “I didn’t have time to stop it. I should’ve been more careful.” 

It’s an apology that you’re getting more and more lately—when he’s come home late, when he’s come home hurt. He should’ve been more careful. Hell, in this instance, maybe you both should’ve been more careful. You draw back, scrubbing your hands over your face as Bruce rubs his hands comfortingly over your shoulders. You blink the tears away, sniffling still. 

“You wanna lie down?” He asks. 

“We shouldn’t,” You shake your head. “Liz and Grant are downstairs.” 

“They’ll keep.” 

You laugh in spite of yourself, some of your upset melting as Bruce’s face lights up at your smile.

“We should get down there,” You insist, “And um…We should figure out what we’re doing tonight.”

“Alfred packed a bag of your things. We can stay here if it’s easier.” 

You sigh heavily, leaning into him and pressing your face into his neck. 

“You think of everything, don’t you,” You mumble. 

“Pretty much…Though Alfred should really get the credit for that one.” 

“I’ll have to thank him.” 

“Long as you don’t thank him the same way you usually thank me—Ow!” He laughs as you pinch him in the arm.

--  

“...Did any of that help at all?” 

Bruce mumbles the question, and you can hear that he’s on the edge of sleep. It’s a surprise. Maybe he feels so bad about what’s happened that he’s insisting on spending the night in with you. Frankly, you’re not entirely sure that you care why. You just cuddle into his side and peer at the window. 

Frankly, speaking with Liz and Grant about what had happened to them did help quite a bit. It made your experience feel far less singular, though it’s still been moderately jarring. Besides, they’d helped you and Bruce strategize on how best to keep your heads down, your name out of the paper, so long as it could be helped. 

“Yes,” You admit. “Quite a bit.” 

“Good.” 

Bruce’s hand rubs tenderly over your back, nuzzling against your forehead gently. 

“There’s one thing we didn’t talk about,” He adds after a moment. 

“Mm? What’s that?” 

“You can back out.” 

It snaps you fully awake. Your heart stutters in your chest. You reel back and twist to face him, peering down at him in the dark, expecting, hoping for a teasing grin—but Bruce’s face is set with grim sincerity. 

“...You can’t be serious,” You shake your head. 

“It’s only fair that we discuss—” 

“Shut up.” 

It’s not normally a tack that you’d take with Bruce, but you’re tired, and you’re upset, and now, you’re pissed. 

“How dare you say that to me,” You shake your head, voice almost deathly quiet.

“It’s an offer—” 

“It’s bullshit,” You insist. “After every fucking thing we’ve been through—After spending a night watching over you, certain that I was going to lose you, you think I’m going to crumble because I had a fucking camera shoved in my face?” 

“I just mean,” He pushes himself to sit up and meet your eye, “That it’s one thing after another. I’m used to it, I know it can get tiring—” 

“Well I’m getting pretty fucking used to it, myself.”  

“I know.” 

Bruce’s voice is gentle and appeasing. He takes hold of your hand as you sigh heavily, lowering your gaze to your hands where they’re joined above the sheets. 

“Honestly,” You mumble, scrubbing your other hand over your eyes. “I love you way too much to be scared off from you, or from work. I can handle it, I just…I need some time to adjust. I’ll adjust.”

Bruce is quiet for a moment before he reaches out, curling his arm around your waist and drawing you into his side, pressing his face into your neck. You feel him speak. His lips brush against your neck, his words tickle your skin—but you can’t really hear what he says. You frown, turning your head in his direction a little. 

“What was what?” You press. 

Bruce seems to breathe you in before he rests his chin on your shoulder, his forehead resting against your cheekbone. He repeats himself, and your eyes slip shut. You could fold in on yourself. You could explode. Your hand tightens around his, tipping your head against him as his words ring through you:

“I love you, too, baby.”

Next Part

[reminiscingtonight]

She’s All Mine

Rose Lavelle x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

She’s All Yours (Part One)

[WOSO Masterlist]

When there’s a slight knock on your door, you barely stop your automatic groan before it escapes. 

The past couple days have been rough. Between a new case being assigned to you and the fallout of a previous case falling upon your desk, you can’t even recall the last time you slept in your own bed. You’ve been living off shitty coffee and fumes the past couple of days, doing everything you can to sort through all of your documents, trying to get everything in order. 

Rubbing tiredly at your eyes, you look up just as your secretary opens the door, an apologetic look on her face when she takes in the files thrown everywhere on your desk. 

“What’s up?”

“Someone’s here to see you.”

You frown, eyes already back on your files, sorting through the papers. “Are they on the list?”

“Uh, well… no.”

You sigh, not looking up. Although you’ve been at this for a while, you still haven’t made too much progress. There’s one specific document you were looking for, and if you don’t find it before your meeting tomorrow, you’re more than screwed. “Liz, you know the rules. If they aren’t on the list, they don’t get access--”

“Well I can’t exactly say no to them.”

Her voice is tight, making you look up with furrowed brows. “What do you mean? I’ve seen you say no to people twice your size or those big suits who think they hold all the power.”

She fidgets in her place, looking more and more uncomfortable as the seconds tick by. “No I mean it, I can’t say no to her. Like it’s… It’s not possible. At all.”

Your confusion has morphed into concern, seeing your normally calm and collected secretary so unsettled. “Liz--”

“It’s Rose Lavelle. She’s here to see you. And turning her away is like… it’s like turning away royalty.” The last word is whispered out in awe. Liz is a huge soccer fan, that much you know. Now you understand why she’s so hesitant to turn away your visitor. 

After running into Rose by accident all those weeks ago, the two of you have struck up an interesting relationship. She kept true to her word, taking you out to coffee a few days after your initial meeting. And then she did it again. And again. Along with coffee came late night dinners, catching meals after her games, going out to see movies, things of the sort. The two of you have gone out quite a lot, if you’re really thinking about it. The only thing the two of you haven’t done is put a label on anything. 

All at once you’re dropping the papers in your hands, subconsciously running a hand through your messy hair. You nervously clear your throat. “Uh, it’s fine, she’s fine, you can-- go ahead and send her in.”

Liz nods, quickly ducking back out the door. 

In your head you’re quickly counting to twenty, trying to make yourself look a bit more presentable before you know Rose is coming in. A brief look at your reflection through your laptop has you cringing. You really did look like you haven’t been home in days. 

Before you have too much time to worry about your state of dishelvement, there’s another light knock at the door and then a familiar brown head of hair is poking its way in.

It’s embarrassing how just the sight of her takes your breath away. 

“Hi.” Rose gives you a soft smile that you can’t help but return. 

“Hey.” 

She takes a seat on the other side of your desk, careful not to knock over any of your papers. 

“Sorry for the mess. It’s been a hectic week.”

Rose chuckles at the way your eyes are quick to zero in on the cups of coffee in her hands. “Sorry, you look busy.”

“No! Don’t worry about it, I can take a quick break. I’m never too busy for you.”

It isn’t until Rose blushes that you realize you accidentally said the last sentence out loud.

You nervously scratch at the back of your neck. “Um, how’s your day going?”

Rose shrugs. “Had an early practice. And then I missed you so I thought I’d drop by.”

Your heart does a funny little jump at the thought of Rose missing you.

“I’d ask how your day is going, but I think I can guess by this…” she trails off, crinkles by her eyes betraying her amusement at the state of your desk. 

When Rose reaches across your desk to hand you your drink, you both pretend not to notice the way her hand lingers. As casually as you can, you drop your free hand onto the table, gently grasping her hand in yours. 

Rose’s cheeks turn pink, but she flips her hand over, intertwining your fingers. 

“Anyways. So there’s this event tomorrow night.” You nod, taking a sip of your coffee. It takes everything in you not to moan out in content. Sometimes it’s amazing, and sweet, how Rose remembers the little things you like. You’re a little too busy savoring the sweet taste of your drink to notice the way Rose has started to nervously fidget in her seat. “I was wondering if… would you like to come?”

You look up, drink forgotten in your surprise. “Like… as your plus one?”

Rose is looking everywhere but at your face now. Her cheeks are slightly red and she tries to untangle your fingers in embarrassment. You don’t let her. If anything, you tighten your grip. “I mean, only if you want to. No pressure or anything. The others are bringing their partners too-- Not that we’ve labeled ourselves, or anything! Um, I uh-- I just, it would be more enjoyable if you wanted to come? I don’t know, it’s totally okay if you don’t want to--”

“Rose. Breathe,” you chuckle, giving her hand a light squeeze. Rose blushes again, mouth instantly closing shut. “I’ve got a meeting in the early afternoon tomorrow, but if I’m out in time I’d love to be your plus one.”

“Yeah?”

You nod, not able to hide your smile. “Yeah.”

Rose’s lips split into a shy grin. 

You spend the next couple of minutes catching up with one another. You haven’t seen Rose since last week when you dropped by to watch one of her games, so you take this time to relish in her company. The two of you chat about anything and everything. Time always seems to fly by when you’re around each other, so when you next catch sight of the time, it takes everything in your power to not let your panic show. You’ve spent way more time catching up with Rose than you thought you had. As much as you hate it, you know you have to get back to work. Especially if you want to make it to the party tomorrow. 

Rose notices the way your eyes have drifted to your computer, correctly guessing what has caught your attention. “I should probably let you get back to work, huh.”

When she stands up, you’re quick to follow her onto your feet. 

She waits until you walk around your desk before she’s leaning in, arms wrapping around your waist in a tight hug. You try not to melt too much against her, but you’re only human. And Rose gives some of the best hugs you’ve ever had. 

When the two of you break apart, Rose leans in to press a kiss on your cheek. It lands dangerously close to the corner of your mouth, and you’re not sure if you’re imagining things when she seems to linger for a moment, still in your personal space. Rose’s eyes dart down to your lips momentarily, almost as if she’s considering closing the gap. 

For an exhilarating second you think she’s going to kiss you.

The hope fades just as quick as it comes when Rose steps back with a nervous cough.

“Call me when you get off work tonight?”

You let out a light laugh. “Not sure if I’ll make it home any time soon but I’ll try.”

Her face scrunches up adorably in disappointment. “You need to take better care of yourself.”

You raise a hand up to your head to give her a stupid little salute. “I’ll try my best, ma’am.”

Rose laughs, punching you lightly on the shoulder. “You’re an ass.”

“Drive home safe,” you chuckle in return. 

With one last look over her shoulder, Rose lets the door close behind her. 

It doesn’t even take a second before you find yourself missing her already. 

---

Soccer players are fun. If there’s anything you’ve taken away since getting to know Rose and her friends, it’s exactly that. 

After drowning in paperwork for nearly a week, this party is definitely a welcomed break. 

The second your meeting finishes, you rush to get home. It’s a scramble, getting ready for the party, but you manage to get dressed in time. Despite your protests, Rose is there to pick you up, a shy smile in place. 

From the second you lay eyes on her, it takes all of your self control not to drag her in for a kiss. 

She’s hot. Like even more than she usually is. And that’s saying something. Her dress has you nearly salivating, and you have to try your best to not ogle her like a schoolboy. 

Sometimes the cat and mouse game the two of you have going on is fun. It’s a dangerous game you’re playing, toeing the line between friends and something more. Neither of you are stupid, you both know you’re eventually going to get together, but at this point it’s just a matter of seeing who’s going to crack first. 

Of course you can always make the move first, but you’re nothing if not competitive. And while you find it hot, Rose is unfortunately also just as competitive. She also doesn’t happen to like playing fair. 

The two of you haven’t even been sitting down for five minutes before she’s dropping a hand onto your leg. And it would be fine, really, but her hand rests dangerously high on your thigh. Although you’re trying your best to listen to the story Lu has started, it’s taking everything in you to just keep your composure. Your skin feels hot under her touch, and it doesn’t take long for you to start questioning your sanity.

The smirk living on Rose’s lips tells you she knows exactly what she’s doing. 

It’s infuriating how much her cockiness makes you want to kiss her more. 

A loud noise has you craning your head to find its source. When you do, it’s hard not to smirk yourself. All you need is to see a glimpse of Sonnett before a plan pops up into your head.

“Wow, Sonny really looks like she’s out to get some numbers tonight.”

Rose turns her head in the direction you’re looking at. Sonnett’s good looking. You know that, Rose knows that, everyone knows that. Honestly it’s a surprise that no one’s snatched her up yet. 

Rose shrugs, eyes narrowing inquisitively at you when she looks back your way. “Son’s just dressing up as she does. The numbers would be an extra perk, not her intention.”

“Five bucks.”

“What?” Rose tilts her head in confusion, amusement dazzling in her eyes. 

“Five bucks I can get Sonny to kiss me.”

The amusement’s quick to drop. Rose tries to play it off with a scoff, but you’re not fooled. Rose is cute, but even more cute when she’s jealous. “No way. I’m not a perv.”

It’s hard to hide your grin. Step one achieved. Now onto step two. “Fine. A kiss if I can get Sonnett to give me five bucks.”

For the second time in seconds, she freezes. There’s a confused question floating around in her eyes, but she still snorts out a response. “Are you serious?” 

“Deadly.”

It only takes one word for her to realize your intentions. Rose narrows her eyes at you, annoyed at how quickly you played her. “You know what, go for it. If she doesn’t give you the money, you owe me a kiss.”

It’s a win-win situation no matter if you get the money or not, but the only thing at stake is which one of you will have to break first tonight. 

“Deal.”

Rose’s eyes feel hot on your back as you push your way through the crowd. Sonnett’s quick to give you a grin when she spots you heading her way. 

“‘Sup dude?”

You don’t waste any time with introductions. “Sonnett. Give me five bucks.”

The blonde quirks an eyebrow at you. “Have you ever heard of this thing called ‘asking’?”

“Sonnett,” you sigh.

“No!” she laughs. “Why do you even want five dollars?”

“I bet Rose a kiss if I can get you to give me five bucks.”

At that, Emily puts her drink down. She turns, catching Rose staring at the two of you. Emily’s always been one of the most vocal of Rose’s friends. The blonde has lamented, whined, and groaned about when the two of you were finally going to make things official, oftentimes muttering about how this back and forth was annoying her, not that she really had a stake in anything. But now that it’s actually come down to it, you can almost see the gears turning in her head. 

It only takes a couple seconds before she’s sighing, digging through her wallet for what seems like way more than five dollars. “Take my whole wallet. Go get your kiss.” 

Sonnett’s pushing you away with a laugh, ushering you back towards Rose. 

You give her a little stupid salute before you’re skipping back to the midfielder. 

Rose is struggling not to laugh when you pop back up next to her, sliding the money gifted to you from your friend across the table to her. “Do I even want to know how you got this?”

“No. Now about that kiss…” you trail off, definitely not missing the way Rose bites at the bottom of her lip.

God was she sexy. And god did you just want her to kiss you already.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she stutters out, face turning red at the thought of actually finally getting to kiss you.

“Rose,” you huff. “Do you really think I went through all that trouble just to not get my kiss?”

“You actually want to kiss me?” She sounds surprised, almost as if she’s forgotten how long the two of you have been pretending not to be into each other. 

“Like insanely so.” You’re not even embarrassed by how desperate you sound.

Three years later, Sonnett will stand up with a mic, taking all the credit for finally getting the two of you together. You’ll be dressed in white, rolling your eyes at someone you have now long considered your best friend while Rose does exactly the same, only with a slightly peeved look on her face. Pinoe will try to argue her case for being the one responsible, given that she’s the one who told Rose to invite you, while Sofia will offhandedly try to give credit to your shared ex-boyfriend. It’s honestly a shit-show, your wedding reception, but the two of you won’t care much, more than happy to finally have matching rings on your hands. 

But in the present day, you and Rose are happy to just finally have your first kiss. 

“Go on a date with me. Like an official one,” you murmur seconds after you break apart. 

“Only if I get to pay for it,” is her response, Rose never one to be outplayed.

She’s a competitive one, she is, but Rose is a competitive girl you get to call yours, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[astrosouldivinity]

Astrological placements in a natal chart that may indicate Bipolar Disorder or BPD 😶 🌊

Part 2:

⚠️ Disclaimer: I am not suggesting that these placements indicate AuDHD, anxiety, or OCD. However, individuals with these placements may be more prone to certain behaviors associated with these disorders. Astrology can be a useful tool for observing subconscious patterns and can aid in shadow work. Keep in mind that these insights may not apply to everyone, so take what resonates and leave what doesn’t.

Leo Sun/Moon/Mars/Venus/Saturn: They feel things intensely; after all, they are the Sun. Their emotions can burn through them, which can be painful, especially if they haven't learned to control their fiery and passionate nature. They may be prone to an extremist mindset, seeing things as all or nothing. These behaviors can intensify, particularly if negatively aspected.

Libra Stellium: They have a strong desire for equilibrium and may stress themselves out in their pursuit of a perceived peaceful state. Constantly perceiving multiple perspectives, they strive to choose the fairest one, which can also apply to their emotions. If they struggle to make a choice, they may become self-destructive in their process of reaching conclusions.

Aquarius Sun/Moon/Mars- They can be emotionally suppressive and chaotic, especially if negatively aspected. They may hesitate to share their emotions and often ignore them, which typically backfires. When pushed too far, everything they have been suppressing can come spilling out. While they feel things deeply, they often struggle to connect with their emotions, prioritizing logic over emotional expression. These behaviors may intensify, particularly if afflicted.

Moon Square Mars: These individuals fear vulnerability and intimacy, often suppressing their emotions out of fear of being judged for their innermost feelings. This can be detrimental, as they naturally experience deep and intense emotions. Even if they hide these feelings from others, they can still surface unexpectedly. They may also be quick to anger, exhibiting emotional volatility, especially when they feel emotionally exposed or vulnerable.

Mercury Square Neptune: They may be prone to escapist behaviors, struggling with reality and expressing their innermost thoughts to others. Additionally, they might find it challenging to separate their thoughts from their emotions, leading to confusion. This muddling can create significant inner turmoil, and they may also experience paranoia due to their difficulties staying grounded in the reality of their emotions and communication.

Afflicted Sun: They may struggle to maintain relationships with others, often grappling with low self-esteem and a lack of confidence that hinders their ability to express themselves authentically. This can lead to egoistic and moody behaviors, causing them to feel trapped in their ego and find it difficult to break free.

Sun Neptune Aspects: They may struggle with a distorted sense of self and find it challenging to stay present in reality. They might feel that their self-perception does not align with how others see them, leading to confusion and disconnection.

Moon-Pluto Aspects: They carry trauma surrounding vulnerability and intimacy, which may lead to a fear of forming deeper bonds with others. It can be challenging for them to express their emotions, as those feelings often feel all-consuming. While they may operate comfortably in chaos, this can make them more prone to self-destructive behaviors. Additionally, others might find it difficult to understand and connect with them due to these complexities.

7H Moon/Venus/Saturn: They may struggle to maintain their interpersonal relationships, often experiencing emotional volatility. These connections can feel karmic in nature, marked by intense dynamics and unresolved issues.

~Part 1~

[horseshoegirl]

Damn Those Dog Tags: Part 23 - Sleep Deprivation

📜So... I really don't know what to say right now. As a writer, we are supposed to be able to form words into sentences that create worlds, characters... emotions... but I cannot bring myself to form the correct words to describe how grateful I am that you guys took a chance on me, writing this piece of fan fiction after an 8-year hiatus, wondering if I still had it, if I was enough. DTDT is the first piece of Fan Fiction I've ever finished, the first story I have ever finished. And along with you all, I've cried, I've laughed, I've wept, I've smiled over Sadie being herself and Liz standing up for what is right. Jake being who he is, and Bradley... well, he speaks for himself 😅 It's one thing to say you write fan fiction, but it's another thing to say that you want to write fan fiction for people who make you feel supported in what you do. This is my THANK YOU to you all. For your kind words and lengthy reblogs, for the comments, likes and support. DTDT only exists because of you guys. And I love every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

So... with a bittersweet mention, here is the final Part of DTDT. Part 23, Sleep Deprivation 😭

❗18+. Strong Language, Pure fluff, Original Female Character, Original Child Character, PDA, Just in case letters, and maybe a few tears...

#6K words

Part 22 | Masterlist

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Dear Sadie Bug, Happy Birthday to you!" 

Cheers erupted throughout the Hard Deck as Sadie smiled at her family, all gathered and singing to her around the piano. Uncle Roo was playing, lightly swaying into her side, making her laugh. Alyssa had her hand on Uncle Roo's shoulder, and the rest of the Dagger Squad was scattered about, singing along with the crowd.

She turned eleven today, and while she loved the fact everyone was here, with her celebrating, she found that the best gift she ever could have received was in how she saw you smile, here and now, with Uncle Jake holding you close. You were smiling like you used to, long before you had left to live in this small town she now called home.

Uncle Jake had lived up to his promise. He reminded you that you were worth it. He made you happy. And he tried.

She didn't need anything else.

"Sadie," a hesitant voice called from behind her. She spun on the piano stool, only to find a single yellow tulip attached to a slightly shaky hand in front of her face.

"Happy Birthday." Will smiled crookedly.

You felt Jake tense up against your back, his chest puffing out and his grip on your waist near the point of pain. Bradley even twisted at the sound of Will's voice, staring him down above the rim of his father's Raybans.

While Bradley might be dating his mother and, albeit, starting to bond with Will, he knew a wooing attempt when he saw one. Sadie's heart was another matter entirely.

You and Alyssa giggled softly at Sadie, blushing as she took the flower and at Jake and Bradley for shooting each other, what you could only describe as an "overprotective dad vibe."

Sadie delicately grasped the tulip, her eyes lighting up as she glanced at Will. "Thank you," she managed to say, her voice a mix of appreciation and surprise.

A silent exchange passed between Jake and Bradley. It was as if they had reached an unspoken agreement, a united front. Will had no idea what he was up against, two grown men ready to go to comedic if not slightly absurd, lengths to stir hardship to any boy that dared to approach Sadie.

Will shot his mom a look, who nodded at him encouragingly.

"Do you wanna.. go play on that old arcade machine in the back?"

Sadie went to open her mouth, an eager yes about to escape her lips, until she thought she heard a growl coming from behind her. She turned back, seeing her Uncle Roo first, his jaw tight. Her Uncle Jake wasn't that far off either, his nose flaring with each breath he took, glaring down at her best friend.

She shot you a pleading, panicked look, hoping you could see the desperation on her face.

Jake and Bradley opened their mouths, Jake's voice overtaking Bradley's as he went, "Over my dead..."

But they were cut short. You had taken your arm resting on top of the piano and jabbed Jake in the gut with your elbow. Alyssa had caught on, grabbing a lock of Bradley's hair at the back of his head and tugging once hard.

"Of course, sweetheart," you replied, jutting your head urgently towards the back. You silently mouthed, 'Go. Now!' and Sadie giggled, scrambling off the bench with her flower in hand, running off with Will towards the back.

Alyssa let go of Bradley's hair, prompting him to shout out, "What the Hell!" as you turned to face Jake.

"Relax, both of you. She's eleven!"

Jake pouted, clutching his stomach. "That little shit stole my idea. Only I get to give her a yellow tulip... it's a tradition at this point, and here he comes, swooping in with his tulip-like he's Mr. Original. It's my thing with her."

"Hey, that's my son you're talking about, Seresin!"

You tapped the back of his head with your hand, biting your lip to stiff your giggle. "He's a kid, Jake! It's just a tulip, not a wedding ring."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say.

Jake gulped hard, and you swore you saw a flash of pure terror cross his face. "No, Nope. No. I just got to call her mine. I need to do the things with her before she properly grows up," he sputtered. "A wedding ring? Liz, she's eleven! Don't put that mental image in my head. She's our girl, don't do that!"

Jake wasn't kidding about Sadie being his, not really.

Once the two of you brought Sadie home from Camp, you sat her down and asked if she was okay with Jake moving in. Of course, Sadie was ecstatic, nodding her head and asking 'when' or 'how soon', which prompted the two of you to start to plan things seriously. But it also posed the question Ridley had to consider the second Sadie was born.

Who would look after her if something happened to you?

It was nothing formal. You merely had to change your Will, stipulating that Jake would be the one to get her should anything happen. But Jake treated it as if it actually was, boasting to anyone he could about his niece. The words practically rolled off his tongue with ease and that sheer cocky confidence he was known for. It also didn't surprise you when you found information packets lumped on top of his computer in your office about the process for formally adopting.

It just further proved to you how much Jake wanted to be in your life.

"She has a good head on her shoulders, Jake. And she adores you," you remarked, looping your arms around his neck. Jake's chest rumbled against yours as he huffed. "Besides, I think you set a good example. She clearly expects high standards."

He let out a grumble, and you could only laugh and stand on your toes to plant a kiss on his lips. "You'll always be the reigning champion in this house, Hangman."

"I agree with Jake, Liz. We need to lock her in a tower."

You dropped your head to Jake's chest before you turned to roll your eyes at Bradley. You caught sight of Sadie in the distance, and she met your eyes and gave you a thumbs up, the tulip still in her other hand. The message was clear; she was okay, she was happy. That's all that mattered to you.

"Want another?" you asked the two of them, gathering their empty bottles. The both of them nodded, and you shook your head as Jake stepped into the space you vacated, leaning over the side of the piano to scheme with Bradley. You rolled your eyes at Alyssa, who shooed you on your way.

You smiled at Penny as you approached the bar, holding the empty bottles out to the air, signalling for two more. It's not as if you couldn't have gotten them and added them to a tab yourself, but Penny was adamant you didn't work tonight.

Your phone rang out and vibrated within the pocket of your dress. You pulled it out, wondering who could be calling you. Everyone who possibly could be was here at the Hard Deck, celebrating Sadie's Birthday.

Then, you saw the caller ID.

The bottles slipped from your fingers, shattering upon impact with the floor.

Not that you noticed, but everyone's heads lifted and turned towards the sound of breaking glass. Jake was the first to reach you, mindful of the broken glass at your feet. Then Bradley, Alyssa, Nat, and all of the Daggers swarmed you, knowing your history with phone calls and wondering what else might be thrown at you this time.

You pressed accept on the tiny device, bringing your phone to your ear, eyes wide as you stared at Jake, panting hard.

"Hello?"

Penny had yelled for someone to turn off the jukebox and for everyone to shut up. It was dead quiet, but for the sound of your voice and the tiny speaker of your phone, the entire bar invested in the outcome of your call.

Jake wanted to reach for you, but he didn't know if he should, wanting to leave you to have your space to deal with whoever was on the other end of that call. You turned your back to face him as the other person started speaking, you pressing a knuckle to your lips and biting down hard.

Everyone watched you nod and heard the question, 'What does that mean for us?' cross your lips.

"What..?" Rooster started to say, breaking the silence. Jake shot his arm out, shaking his head.

But the second he saw you grip your forearm and your skin turning red, he stepped forward, uncaring as glass crunched under his boots, to stop you from hurting yourself.

"Yes, thank you. I'll call if I have any more questions."

You squeezed Jake's hand once he gripped yours, and you hung up the phone. Turning to face the group, you looked at them with a shocked look on your face.

"Liz? Darlin?" Jake asked. "What happened?"

You swallowed, hardly believing what you heard yourself. "Uh...Tyler got thirty years to life."

A few collective gasps went around the room.

"They got him on attempted kidnapping, two counts of physical assault, and.. and murder."

Jake reached for your face and cradled your cheek. "Murder?"

You nodded, silent tears falling from the corners of your eyes. "There was a traffic camera... that fucking white car... the spoiler on the back... they caught him chasing her..."

Your words were fractured sentences as Jake combed your hair back from your face, you trying to sort between your thoughts and the information you had been given.

"That was the district attorney. I didn't even know he had a court date," you sniffed. "His whole family is going down for this... and there was a jury too. Apparently, they didn't take kindly to him attacking an active and decorated Naval Aviator."

Jake huffed, a soft smile on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. You could tell he was stuck somewhere between relief and discomfort.

You raised your eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?"

He was. Tyler was truly well and out of your lives, and that was a good thing. But somewhere deep down, Jake felt as if the universe had twisted things to make him the hero in a story where the true victims were you and Sadie. It didn't sit right with him.

"I don't wanna sound like an ass, but my career shouldn't have had any bearing that decision."

You shook your head, touched by his reaction. "It doesn't matter, Jake. Not to me. He's going away."

You pressed your forehead to his, a happy sob escaping your lips at the realization suddenly washing over you. "He won't be able to get near Sadie ever again. And Ridley finally has justice for what happened to her. We're free."

Jake pressed a quick kiss to your lips, smiling as you gasped another deep breath. The second he pulled away, letting his nose rest beside yours, you chanted out happily, "We're free!"

Cheers went up around the Hard Deck, and Penny rang the bell, singling a free round on the house. The rest of the Daggers sighed with relief, lamenting about needing a drink, while Rooster whooped, running back to the piano and sliding along the bench as he ran his fingers across the keys.

Yet Jake and you stayed where you were, staring at each other with echoing smiles.

A well-known piano riff sounded off the walls of the Hard Deck, and Jake and you fought the urge to roll your eyes, using the distraction to slip out onto the hard deck patio and over to a grassy part of the beach. You could hear Rooster's playing at a distance, but it was enough not to be a bother.

You went to step forward, but Jake pulled you back by the grip he had on your hand, spinning you under his arm. You giggled, your head tilted back as you went, only to find Jake's hand resting flat on the curve of your back, urging the two of you to slow dance.

Bright orange rays hit the side of Jake's face. Hues of gold, pinks, and soft yellows, all sculpting his jawline, shining tiny flecks into his eyes, and casting a glow into his hair. They highlighted the small, affectionate small that was tugging at the corner of his lips. Jake's Mona Lisa smile was one thing, but this was one that was only reserved for you.

"Is this going to be our thing?" you asked him. "Watching sunsets?"

Jake smirked. "We could do a sunrise to switch things up?"

You let Jake spin you under his arm again, a smile on your face. He pulled you back to him, hooking both his arms around your waist while yours wrapped themselves around his neck.

"No," you smiled, swaying with him across the grass, thinking of when you went to visit Ridley. "I think sunsets are reserved just for us."

---

Despite having a party at the Hard Deck, Sadie's birthday did happen to fall on a Saturday night. So it was only natural one of her birthday wishes ended up being that she wanted these fun-filled nights to continue.

Who were you to deny her that request?

It was just the team that came back to your place afterwards for cake, your backyard lit up by your string lights and the glowing flames of your bonfire pit, music blasting from your speakers. Sadie had just finished opening her gifts from the squad, and Jake and you had saved yours for last.

Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, flicking the stand back on the case and propping it on the edge of the pit. It let out a shrill tone, and Sadie squinted her eyes at the tiny screen, wondering who Jake had decided to call, now of all times.

Suddenly, a woman who looked just like him appeared on the screen.

"Is this Sadie?!"

Sadie squinted her eyes. "Yes...."

Janet's face beamed with excitement. "It's so nice to meet you finally, my brother can't shut up about you. Happy Birthday, Sweetie."

"That's nice of him," she answered, though you knew what she was doing, challenging Janet to earn her affection.

"Which one are you?" Sadie pressed. Jake bit his tongue, fighting a grin.

Janet didn't hesitate when she replied, "Not the twit and not the one that needs a pitchfork shoved up his as... butt."

Sadie giggled, and Janet shamefully called out, "Sorry, Liz."

You shrugged. "She's heard worse."

You met Nat's eyes on the other side of the fire, noticing how she was watching Sadie contently.

"Uhhh," Janet remarked. "You actually kind of look like my brother."

"Do you have any embarrassing stories about him?" Sadie's high-pitched voice made you turn back toward the camera.

Janet glanced over towards you within the frame. "She really is your niece, isn't she?"

You laughed, and Sadie broke into a full smile, her guard dropping a bit. "I like her," she declared, glancing at you and Jake for your reactions.

"If you two are done squaring off.." Jake said, rolling his eyes. "Janet had a hand in your gift and wanted to watch you open it."

He placed a box in Sadie's lap, holding the edge so it wouldn't fall as she tore into it.

"Go on, open it," Jake encouraged with a little bounce in his voice.

Sadie tore at the wrapping paper, lifted the lid and gasped. "Cowboy boots!" she squealed, pulling them out to admire the intricately stitched patterns and the shine of the leather.

"Thought you might need a pair if you're gonna be an honorary Texan," Jake said, grinning from ear to ear.

Sadie lunged forward, giving him a huge hug. "Thank you, Uncle Jake!"

He laughed, hugging her back. "Thank Janet, too. She picked them out."

Sadie squealed out her thanks as she kicked her slip-ons off, quickly trying them on. Except she shrieked when her foot met something within the sole, and she pulled the boot off only to reach down and grasp a few hard pieces of paper.

With a dramatic flair, she pulled out three plane tickets, holding them up for everyone to see. Her eyes widened, and a squeal escaped her lips as she put two and two together. "Are these... are we going to Texas?!"

You took one from her hand, reading the front. "Jake, you didn't."

He shrugged. "She needs to see where her family is from."

Bradley audibly gagged from his spot on one of the chairs, and you barked out, "Can it, Bradley! Don't ruin the moment!"

"We'll see you soon, Aunt Janet," Sadie said, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet with newfound enthusiasm.

"Counting the days, sweetheart," Janet said, waving goodbye as Jake ended the call.

As Sadie tried on her new boots, you reached down beside the bench to grab what would be Sadie's final gift of the night. You carefully slid it into her lap, placing a hand on her back.

"This one is from me... and your mom."

Sadie peered up at you with wide eyes before tearing into the box, practically tossing the lid off in haste. Her tiny hands tore at the tissue paper, and Jake was laughing at her eagerness as the tuffs flew up into the air.

She gasped when caught sight of the dark blue denim folded neatly into the box.

You found that Jean Jacket amongst Ridley's things in the storage unit, finding the courage to go through it finally and see what you could salvage or donate as you undertook the task of redoing Sadie's room. You knew as soon as you saw it that Ridley had been intending to give it to her as a gift, a twin butterfly and ladybug patches having been already sown into the material on the back.

That's what Sadie was seeing now, the jacket folded in such a way in the box only those two patches would be on display.

She wiggled her cowboy boot-clad feet back and forth in excitement as she grabbed the shoulders of the jacket, lifting it up out of the box to hold it in front of her. Jake grabbed the box and added it to the rest of the discarded wrapping paper.

Except as she held it up to inspect the back, the front was on display to everyone else sitting around the fire pit. Collective gasps and shouts of "What?!" sounded off, and you had to bite back your laugh.

"What the hell are those?!"

Sadie lowered the Jacket, peering over to see her Uncle Bob, ready to rat him out for swearing, when she saw his mouth was open like a fish. Twisting her brow, she flipped it over, a high-pitched gasp escaping her lips as she saw the two patches on the front.

The Dagger patch had been the most damaged one, but it was all too easy to grab the one plastered to one of the walls of the Hard Deck for reference. When Mr Murray asked why you wanted to use the busted one and not the one still intact, you had simply replied with, 'This one is special.'

It sat just next to the left breast pocket, perhaps standing out the most. But you, Sadie, and Jake hadn't been staring at that one. There was a second patch adorning the right breast pocket - a patch with a slight modification.

Sadie ran her finger across the gold-threaded wings before tracing the tiny words wedged in tight on either side below it. The tiny words that stood on top of the reason why this particular patch was now so special to her.

Proud niece of Hangman

To your surprise, it wasn't Bradley, but Nat, who yelled out first, "Hey! What about the rest of us?!"

Her shout set off a chain reaction around the group.

"It's not fair he gets to be on there first!"

"Why didn't you ask us too, Liz!?"

"There's a Dagger patch on there. All of us should be on there!"

But you weren't paying attention to any of them. You were looking at Jake, who had reached out to trace the patch as the jacket rested in Sadie's lap.

She looked up at him, hugging his side. "It's true, you know," she said a matter of factly. "I am proud of you, Uncle Jake. I always will be."

Jake snaked an arm around her back, hugging her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, eyeing you with a smile. You would never stop surprising him—the both of you.

The Daggers were still arguing amongst themselves when Sadie scowled at them.

"Hey, guys!" She shouted, giving everyone pointed looks across your deck. "It's my birthday, shove it! He counts! And If I say he goes first, he goes on first, okay!?"

Everyone else, save Bradley, backed off.

"Guess I'm just chopped liver then."

Sadie narrowed her eyes, pushing herself to stand.

"You listen here, you big fat glorified chicken..."

You couldn't contain your laughter as Sadie marched over to Bradley, her finger pointed out in front of her as she started laying into him. Rooster looked scared, and you shook your head, wondering why he didn't realize Sadie would jump to Jake's defence the second she could.

Jake startled you as he pressed a kiss to your cheek.

"Meet you in the kitchen?" he spoke into your ear, squeezing his hand once before walking off, collecting the tray of dirty dishes on the table.

You stayed with Sadie for a few more minutes, making sure the rest of your crazy family didn't kill each other over who could have one of their patches on Sadie's jacket next. Though you'd never let on that Mav secretly slipped you one of his as he joined Sadie when she came back to sit with you.

As you sat there, watching the people who had come to mean so much to you, you felt an odd sense of what you could only describe as 'home' wash over you. It wasn't tied to a place but to your extraordinary found family. Because as much as they were there for Sadie, they were there for you too.

It was the peculiar kind of warmth they brought you, whether Nat was trying to get you to come out of your shell, Penny for acting like the defacto mother you didn't quite have most of your life, or Bob willing to be himself around you. It was in the way Mav cared for both you and Sadie as he did for each of his Daggers and how Coyote was always there when you needed him. How Payback and Fanboy made sure everyone was having fun, and how Rooster was the troubled brother you never had, a little broken, a little worse for wear, but genuinely kind-hearted.

Every family a bad egg after all, albeit bad wasn't the word you'd use to describe him at all.

They helped to fill the gaps left by your grief and sorrow, and you vowed to hold each of them a little closer. Because your life had been a pile of good things and also bad. The good didn't always soften the bad things you had to go through, but the bad never spoiled the good or made them unimportant in your life. Your life was messy and unpredictable but beautiful with its imperfections.

And you, somewhere along the way, were living with people who had chosen to stand by you in your darkest moments.

And Jake. Your Jake.

You turned to Sadie. "Think you can manage these guys while I help Uncle Jake?"

She smiled up at you, nodding, before looping her arm through Mav's, resting her head against his shoulder, tenderly glancing between some of her favourite people in the world.

Walking away, you paused at the back door, leaning up against the glass with your arms crossed as you found Jake humming, swaying along to the song currently playing outside as he worked, hands covered in suds as he diligently cleaned the dishes.

You faked a cough, startling Jake as the sponge slipped from his hands back into the dishwater.

"Anything I can help you with, Lieutenant?" you tease, playfulness in your tone and a grin gracing your lips. Jake narrowed his eyes at you, a cocky smirk on his face, then jerked his head to the empty space beside him.

"I wash. You dry?"

You walked over to him, wrapping your arms around his waist from behind, feeling him pause to place his hands over yours. You closed your eyes, pressing your cheek to his back and letting out a deep sigh.

A wave of profound gratitude washed over you. This man had chosen to love not just you but Sadie as well. He had stepped into your lives, filling spaces you hadn't even known were empty at a time when you weren't at your best. When you were fighting with yourself tooth and nail not to start a relationship, when you were missing your sister so much, the thought of her not being here was too great to bear. When you were scared to let anyone that close to you without Sadie's approval and yet, Jake somehow found his way.

You loved him. And there would never be a day in your life when you would let him forget it.

The two of you did the dishes, the odd comment or two passing by. The both of you knew a few of them would be sleeping over, you having already made up the pull-out in your office and Jake having gathered the spare pillows and blankets from your hall closet.

The two of you might have bumped your hips, teased one another, and shared a kiss or two. You might have blown bubbles in Jake's face, and he might have tapped you with the dish rag.

But when everything was said and done, and Jake was working to drain the sink, your eyes tracked to the top of the refrigerator, where that white envelope called out to you. It was wedged between your cookbooks, and you saw nothing else as you pushed yourself off the counter with both hands.

Reaching up, you worked the thick piece of paper out from between the books, only to hold it, staring at the front and absentmindedly tracing the writing on the surface.

Without looking up, you spun towards Jake, feeling a complex mix of emotions. Love, apprehension, vulnerability. But underpinning it all was an entwinement of a slight sadness, but more so serenity and acceptance.

"Hey, Jake," you said softly. Jake turned around, the smile on his face fading when he noticed you were holding a white envelope in your hands. A gentle smile was on your face as you looked down, closing your eyes once before lifting your head.

"I have something for you."

Taking the few steps needed to close the distance between you and Jake, you held out the envelope.

"Another letter?" he teased, slinging the dishtowel onto his shoulder and wiping his hands dry before taking it from your hands. He flipped it over, eyes searching the front until he spotted the fancy handwriting.

Jake's eyes shot to yours, utterly shocked. Yet, you didn't do anything except squeeze his wrist once and lean up to kiss his cheek. "I'll be out in the back with the others if you need me."

Jake remained frozen on your kitchen floor, watching as you walked out the back door. Sadie immediately ran to you, and you held out your arms, a cheerful laugh racking your chest as she hugged you tight.

Jake smiled at the sight, his girls laughing with one another as the music changed, and you wrapped your arms around her, waddling back and forth as the two of you started to dance. But then he felt the weight of the envelope you had given him, and he was drawn back down at the handwriting gracing the surface.

To him

Despite not having seen her handwriting, he knew who this letter was from. You had told him you had opened the shoebox about the letters Ridley had left for various points in either your or Sadie's lives.

He'd never expected Ridley to have written one for him... or at least, the idea of him.

Sitting at your kitchen table, he carefully opened the envelope, tilting it upside down to pull at the folded-up pieces of paper nestled inside. But as he pulled, several polaroids fell onto the table and a few to the floor.

Placing the letter off to the side, he reached down to scoop up the ones that had fallen, drawing in a sharp breath as he flipped one over.

The resemblance between Ridley and you was uncanny.

He didn't know what to expect, seeing a photo of her for the first time. Her eyes twinkled the same way yours did when you were happy, and the two of you shared the same dimples when you smiled. She had the same nose as you, the same hair colour, and the same face shape.

But there were also differences.

He smiled when he noticed the line of freckles spreading across her cheeks, the same type he knew scattered across your back. She had a scar running through her eyebrow and another matching just above her forehead.

But above all else, her smile echoed Sadie's, wide and happy.

He picked up another one, seeing you, as a teenager, laying in a hammock with a notebook and a feathered pen. Ridley had written along the white frame, an author in the making.

There was also one of Sadie as a baby, wrapped in a pink blanket, blue eyes wide as she stared up at the camera. And another of you holding her to your chest in a rocking chair, the two of you asleep. There were a few of you as a kid, another of you holding up a key with your tongue sticking out, and another at your graduation, Sadie on your shoulders stealing your cap.

Jake realized almost all the ones of you were strategically taken by your sister without your knowledge. It's so reminiscent of when Sadie sent that first Polaroid, the same circumstances - like mother like daughter.

Jake laid each out in front of him, lining them up to what he assumed was their chronological order, only to stare down at the story Ridley had left him. He felt his throat tighten as he looked at all of them. Even in the face of something as heartwarming as leaving him photographs of the three of you, the lingering weight of Ridley's absence was inescapable, and it hit him square in the chest.

Though he never had met her, the space she had left was undeniable. Seeing her now, he realized maybe he did know her. In Sadie's smile, in your will to take care of others, in the music she had shared with you and in both of your abilities to put somebody in their place rightly. It caused Jake to smile down at the only photo of her, resting on the table.

"It's nice to meet you, Ridley."

So finally, after the last photo, after the last word had been seen, and the last memory had been touched, Jake unfolded those pieces of paper and began to read.

To the person my sister loves,

Well, shit, she finally did it. My little sister finally found her, Mr. Darcy.

Sorry. As you probably have already discovered, the Beck sisters have a little Pride & Prejudice obsession. Totally my fault for naming my sister after a character in a book I fell in love with in school, but I took my chance when I saw it. But if you have the tendency sometimes to be a pompous asshole with an ego problem, then hey, at least she wasn't that far off the mark.

I'm sorry I'm not there to meet you. Whatever circumstances have prevented me from doing so. I'm sorry I can't have you over to a family dinner, ask about your life, and get to know you. For you to win me over, or for us to bat heads.

Just kidding... I'm more bummed about not being able to give you a shovel talk in person. But I know my daughter, and something is telling me Sadie would have already beaten me to it long before I had an actual chance. She has a thing about Lady Bugs, so run if you see her with an empty water bottle and she... Well, if you don't already know now, chances are you will eventually.

One way or another.

So I think this is my only chance to do it, sad as that is. Sad for you - you probably thought you were getting off scot-free. Nope, sir, I'm still going to kick your ass from my grave. So you better heed the wishes of a dead woman.

Now, she wouldn't have given you this letter if she didn't truly love you... if she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with you. She also must have made you promise to put Sadie first, and the fact you're holding this letter means you have. By her giving this to you, it means you are entirely worthy of her love.

(I don't write this as a means to scare you or warn you about what you're getting into. Cause no takebacks, sir, it's a done fucking deal now. I will so totally haunt your ass if otherwise. Sadie gets her wrath from me.)

There is so much more I want to tell you than I can fit into the pages of this letter. There will always be more, more things left unsaid, more things I never told them, or in what I'm telling you - God, the pressure to write something for someone you may never meet is hard…I hope you have a sense of humour cause I really don't stop rambling.

So, I guess I'll stick with three. Three things I want you to know…

One: Music does not solve all your problems.

Liz might try to tell you otherwise, that music can heal, and while I won't entirely disagree, you need to know the reason why. When we were kids, I'd play music to drown out the arguments, the slamming doors, the not-so-quiet sobs. The ability to guess a tune in just a few notes? That came from needing to know which song would best mask the sounds we didn't want to hear. The playlist wasn't just music; it was emotional armour. So when you listen to music with her, know that there's more beneath the surface. Beneath that lighthearted game is a history that's no game at all. When the playlist ends, and the distractions fade away, be the man who's there for her, not one that hides away when things get rough.

Two: A memory is no longer beautiful just because it fades.

People always used to ask me why I chose a Polaroid over a digital camera. With a Polaroid, each shot counts. You have a limited number of exposures, and each film cartridge is precious. There's no delete button, no do-over, just like in life. And when that photo develops in front of you, you have to wait for it to mean something. Once it does, it's permanent. You can hold it, you can touch it, you can pin it on a wall. But polaroids also fade.

Memories fade. But their value isn't in how long they last but in the ones you choose to capture in the first place. My sister and my daughter have been through a lot, so when you're building this life with them, be mindful of the moments you're capturing. Make those moments count. Make them worthy of being looked back on so there is no room for anyone to doubt the three of you didn't live a life that was not full of love.

Three: Grief is constant, unchanging, and complex - it is the most certain thing, next to death, we are guaranteed.

I have a very, very sneaky suspicion you are a pilot in the navy - hell, she works as a bartender in a navy bar; it was bound to happen with one of you lot (You just better not be the one Penny had called her about, rumoured to be sleeping with all the female bartenders... if you are... aha, good luck sir.. you're so in trouble - That's what Liz gets from me) so you know exactly what I mean. It's ingrained into your soul that each time you go up there, you might not come back down.

Liz struggles with grief and the knowledge that life is precious and fleeting. Don't add to it. Be the person who acknowledges it, who understands it, and chooses every day to make the time you have with them count. Life is fleeting; It can be gone in an instant. It's nothing we should ever take for granted, so please, please, from this dead woman pleading to the man my sister loves, please never take your life with her, with Sadie, as such.

They're both yours now, god help you. Liz, my dear sister, who cares too much. Sadie, my ladybug, who is too honest and sassy for a kid.

I've always put the two of them before myself. Liz has probably told you our story, so I won't rehash the nasty details in what's supposed to be a touching letter - I'm brutally honest, so when I say truly believe it was my sole purpose to be on this earth to 1) take care of my sister and 2) to create what happens to be, next to Liz, one of the most precious things in my life, I fucking mean it.

That being said, we need to make a slight amendment to the Sadie promise. Between the two of us, we need to add Liz to it too.

Lizzie needs to be reminded, given a list of all the reasons she's still here breathing, that she is doing right by what I want for the two of them. Because I know my sister, and she overthinks everything. She will be hanging on by a thread to every decision she will ever make with our Bug, wondering if she has done enough or if she is doing enough.

She already is. She already was.

And she doesn't owe me more than that.

You, however, do.

I need you to remind her of that - that she owes me nothing. I need you to take photos. Take as many as fucking possible. Go on hikes and look for the tiniest bugs. Make memories to hold on to and be the person who scares away Sadie's first date or holds her while she cries. To walk her down the aisle if she chooses and help her if she decides to have kids of her own.

Tell Elizabeth you love her. Every single day. Because you know as well as I do, you don't know the last time you'll be able to. Crawl into the bathtub with her when things get too much and hold her. All she needs is to be held, to know someone is there, standing by her. Thats it.

Stay up listening to vinyl with her, dance across a kitchen floor and make her laugh. Communicate with her. Please, for the love of fucking god, communicate with her about your feelings and your thoughts. She is such a good listener, and she cares so much for the people she loves. That's just who she is, so never forget it.

And promise me this one last favour...

There are more letters like this one in the red box I know she's probably only just opened, probably a long time after I'm gone. Mostly for Sadie, but there are some for Liz... maybe a couple more for you. I'm not sure yet, I'm honestly just making this up as I go.

Can you please make sure they open them? Go through the pile of memories I've left in there every so often?

I'm not being egotistical when I say I know I'm going to be missed. Grief does that to people. It's really just love, wanting to be given but with no place to go. I know those two will always love me in life and in death.

But remind them I know. Remind them I love them too - even if I'm not physically there to tell them myself.

This ended up being not as much of a shovel talk as I thought it was going to be, mostly cause I don't have anything to threaten you with truly.

But how about this, instead?

It's probably weird that I want to say thank you, right? Thank you for falling in love with my sister. Thank you for being there for her, for Sadie. For loving them when I cannot.

But I want to anyway. Because they mean everything to me, and it is my only hope they mean everything to you.

So wherever I am, whether it's in the clouds or in a fucking ray of sunshine, or if I'm a freaking bug, I can only hope I get to see the three of you be with each other in every way that matters.

Even if I can't, I know you're there.

And that's more than enough for me.

Love always,

Ridley Beck

~Fin~

🥲

Tag list:

@blue-aconite @tinytotontheoversizedpony @djs8891 @caitsymichelle13 @startrekfangirl2233

@mayhemmanaged @ereardon @dempy @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @daggerspare-standingby

@phantomxoxo @formulapierre @eli2447 @fulla02 @blckgrl-sunflower @mizzzpink @ohgodnotagainn

@bubblegumbeautyqueen @sarahsmi13s @desert-fern @lynnestra44 @memoriesat30 @penwieldingdreamer @mxlanciia

@bradleybeachbabe @bobby-r2d2-floyd @lavenderbradshaw @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @kmc1989 @gigisimsonmars

@keyrani @craftytrashprincess @hisredheadedgoddess28 @abzidabzy @memeorydotcom @vicsnook @taestrwbrry

@its-the-pilot @dizzybee03 @cassiemitchell

Wickett 🥲

(Sadie, Liz and Jake will be around for blurbs and one-shots if that is something you all are interested in 🥰 )

----

Forever After All - The next series after DTDT

[woneuntonzz]

what's it like to love ? 𓇢𓆸

anton lee x afab!reader (part 4/5)

• part 1

• part 2

• part 3

• part 5

warnings: cussing!

genre: fluff -`♡´- highschool love

word count: 5.3k words!!

౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ description: student athlete!anton x studious class officer!reader | you swore to yourself, to you friends and even to your parents “I'm not one to easily fall.” and you thought you were that tough, not until him of course. [note!!: hiii i'd just like to quickly say that this is my first ever post ever and i'm still a bit insecure with my writing, and english is not my first language so bare with me now 🙏 open for any forms of feedback please do take note that i will take longer to update/respond to anything because of school, thank you!!! ]

[Day 14]

“You seriously aren't dating?” 

It's been over an hour since you've set yourself to finish the very last thing that you needed to complete your grades in Economics. 

You and a couple of your friends were in the library on an early Tuesday morning to finish schoolwork. You've spent the past week taking tests, conducting group presentations, finishing remaining school work, and preparing for the finals which were to be held the next day.

“No —shouldn't you be studying? I heard your class is getting a long test from Mr. Choi later.” you didn't bother drawing your eyes away from what you were doing hoping that they would stop pestering you with the unnecessary questions.

“That's not a problem to me, so stop changing the topic. Tell us what's going on between you and the swimmer guy, you two are always together nowadays 's so hard to miss now.” you stopped and stared at the paper you've been working on, giving Liz a quick glance.

“He likes me.” These words slip past your mouth like it's been resting at the back of your tongue. 

”And?” you sighed at Liz's urges and pursed your lips, trying to find the words to explain everything.

“I haven't reciprocated.” your response was very subtle but your tone indicated hesitance.

“For real? Well, how do you feel about Anton?” Liz's question made everyone take a pause on what they were doing, they were all eyes and ears for you.

“Anton —he's very sweet, and he cares about me, like, a lot. And you know how I've been bothered by him ignoring me for like, months? I just suddenly became interested in befriending him, even just a little bit —but, yeah, that happened. I don't get why it bothered me so much that it got to a point of him confessing out of the blue, does this mean I like him too?” Your eyes lingered on the empty space on the table you occupied.

Your friends exchanged worried looks, unsure of how to help you. 

“I mean, you were mainly worried that he hated you, right?” you weakly nodded at Danielle. “Normally you wouldn't really care about that stuff, at least since last year, so looking at it now it seems like your fixation on Anton must mean something.”

You sighed, averting your eyes from the table and staring on the floor below you as you started to think. Because of something that happened back then, I just stopped caring for anyone with a negative sentiment towards me. I didn't care when that girl I swore to the heavens I loved suddenly stopped caring about me just because of a stupid rumor, I didn't care when people started giving me glares, whispering to themselves when I passed by, I didn't care when I saw the screenshots from group chats that talked shit about me and my friends. I just didn't care, but what made me care for him? —you started to reflect on your feelings and actions for the past year. 

“I'll be fine!” The sudden shift of tone and the smile that sprang forth your lips shocked your friends.

“You sure? We're really worried, you know.” Liz held your free hand and caressed it with her thumb. 

“Yeah, I think I got it.” you heartily smiled at both Liz and Danielle to reassure them.

Danielle went to give you a warm embrace whilst Liz had her arm wrapped around your shoulders, giving you a light squeeze. 

In all honesty, even you didn't know what you meant by "I think I got it.”. What was the next move? Just go with the flow —you repeated in your mind, allowing yourself to be receptive as the next few hours flew by.

————— ୨୧ —————

Anton sat next to you in the classroom with a very few others, those including you who chose to stay back for lunch to finish the workload. 

Both you and Anton were busy with something, with you assisting him every now and then since he had a lot more to work on. 

Despite the very heavy atmosphere brought in by the stress from school, you and Anton appeared to be marveling in your own little world, sifting through paperwork with such radiant expressions embedded on your faces. 

“How should I design this?” Anton held up his unfinished project.

You turned to face him, crossing your legs and holding your chin to imitate enthusiasm. “You know what it needs?”  

“Please don't say Barney the Purple Dinosaur, that… thing… It terrifies me.” Anton shimmied his shoulders to express his supposed fear.

“WHAT? He's cute!” you pressed on him, making him breathe out a laugh.

“So you're saying Barney looks like you?” your eyebrows nearly touched from what he had just said.

“Excuse me? Do I look purple to you?” you jabbed at him with 'threatening' eyes. 

“No, what I mean is, if he's really cute as you claim, he should at least resemble you.” Anton calmly explained.

His zealous explanation made you chortle. He was immersed in your laughter, your voice, your eyes that disappeared as you chortled on, and the corners of your lips that rose higher and higher, because of him.

“Oh, so I'm your basis for what you classify as cute?” you breathlessly spoke, still trying to recover from your disoriented state.

“Well, yeah! look at you…” he cupped your face in his hands, gently squishing your cheeks.

His eyes went from your lips to your eyes after you had gone completely quiet. Your eyes meet each other, stuck perfectly as if binded by glue. He delved into the pools of your eyes, trying to capture what it is you're trying to tell him with your stare.

“Anton.” Your serene voice made Anton blink.

“Yeah?” he whispered back.

“Can you give me a little more time?” he breathes in after hearing your question, but you spoke again before he could utter a response. “To think about… us.”

Your face was still in his hands. He started softly brushing his thumb against the skin of your cheeks. “Of course. I'm sorry, am I moving too fast?”

“No.” but I'm falling too fast —you were only able to finish your sentence in your mind, still afraid to admit your feelings.

You were still quite unsure. You were still afraid that things would end up the same way it did for you past 'relationships', you were already thinking about the plausible downfall before anything had even started.

————— ୨୧ —————

The bell rang, students scurried out of the building, being chased by the obligation to study for the exams tomorrow day. 

“Don't message me tonight okay? Both you and I have A LOT to study.” you iterate to the guy walking beside you.

“Yep. I'll be crying over chemistry… if you even cared.” you playfully rolled your eyes at his humorous cry.

When you stepped out of the school gates, you were expecting him to wave goodbye and walk the other way, but then after being about a meter away from school, you stopped in your tracks.

“Why are you still with me? isn't your house the other way?” you furrowed your brows as you looked at him.

“You're crazy for real, my house is literally in the same direction as yours, keep walking luv.” Anton placed his hand on the area below the back of your neck, lightly pushing you to continue your steps.

“Wait, really? you've always walked the other way…” at this point you were just questioning everything and you already had a lot on your mind considering the exams.

“I visit the record store nearby before going home.” you simply nodded at Anton for his clarification.

“Why?” you asked to which he shrugged.

“I like it there. It's peaceful, it's vintage, the music is fire, and the owner is very nice.” it was true that he often visited that place before he went home, but not everyday, what wasn't a fact is that his home is actually in the same direction as yours. “I can take you there some time when you're free.”

“I'd love that.” you utter, smiling to yourself, keeping your eyes on the vamp of your shoes.

You two kept walking till you reached the gates to your house and the sun was just about to fall.

“I never knew you lived just right ahead.” you were unlocking the gate when the words fell off your lips. 

“Are there no people inside to open the gate for you?” you swung the gate open and looked at Anton whose eyes lingered on your bedroom window on the second storey of the house.

“My dad's abroad, my mom's at work.” you shake your head away from the gloomy thoughts, smiling up at Anton. 

He smiled back, subtly biting down on his bottom lip. 

“Get home safely Tonii.” there was a glint in Anton's eyes when they enlarged in a modicum. 

“Uh —Oh, yeah, you too.” Your laughter filled his ears and soon enough he cracked up as well.

“What do you mean 'you too'?” At this point, you're just breathing out your words. “I'm literally at home right now!”

“You never know, Barney might be right behind the door to kidnap you…” Anton eyed the door of your house, his actions gave you the creeps and the thought that an intruder might actually be inside your house waiting for you flashes in your mind.

“Ow!” you hit Anton's chest, but still, he laughed. 

“Go home! you didn't have to give me anxiety you know!” Anton chuckled once again looking down on you who was looking up at him and pointing at his face, acting menacing in jest.

“Go inside your house first, what will happen then if I left and Barney ends up kidnapping and eating you alive huh?” you both had pursed lips in an attempt to suppress a laugh.

“Okay, okay. I'll go in.” When the two of you finally calmed yourselves down, you walked to the doorstep of your house.

You had the door wide open, just enough for Anton to catch a glimpse of your humble home. You stood by the door, already inside the house. “Message me when you get home, will you?” you asked eagerly, just loud enough for Anton to hear you despite the distance.

“I will.” Anton replied, matching your volume.

He waved at you as a smile crept up to his face. 

His smile somehow caused you to feel some kind of current coursing through your entire body. You had to defy the urge to just walk right back to Anton to make him feel what you felt as your eyes traced the curve that gradually formed on his lips.

He kept his smile as he started to slowly disappear from your sight. You were so smitten that you failed to notice that he walked back to the direction where you came from. 

————— ୨୧ —————

About an hour has passed, and the message you'd been waiting for since you've had yourself settled at your study table is yet to come. 

You've been flipping over your notes, sequentially staring at every word delineated with different color variations of highlights. 

Maybe he forgot, he must've gotten really tired… —you began to think of a thousand reasons why he hasn't messaged you yet. You exhaled heavily, laying your head on your forearm resting on your study table. You shifted your head to the side and eyed your phone. You were pondering on just grabbing it and asking him where he was and why hasn't he messaged you yet. 

You sat up with both hands at the sides of your head. After a few minutes of resisting and a long blink, you finally gave in.

Anton just got off the bus when he felt his phone vibrating in his hands. His eyes went bulging out of its socket when he saw your name.

Anton couldn't help but beam at the little nickname you gave him but he quickly gathered his thoughts and gulped, glancing at the quiet street of their neighborhood. He couldn't stand making up a nonsensical excuse that you'll eventually dissect within seconds, he didn't want you to think that he doesn't really care or that he forgot, that he got too tired. It wouldn't make sense for him not to speak or be with you even if he's exhausted to the core, he could only be in repose with you after all.

A downturned smile formed on Anton's lips. He made great effort every time he intended to flirt with you, and he was aware when you flirted back, he just wasn't certain if you meant any of them. He surely meant every endearment, often masking them with his little quips. He didn't want to think you were just frivolling with him and he's quite abashed with even having to take a second to think about it.

He felt his phone vibrate in his hands again, this time you were calling. He picked up almost immediately, and you were met with the ceiling of his room.

“Nice wall.” you uttered.

“It's the ceiling.” he was chuckling out of frame 

He had his phone set up on his desk and you could see his medals and trophies at the background, and his cello. You were eager to ask him about his cello, ask him to play you something, and maybe even teach you. You cleared your throat as you cleared out your thoughts.  

Anton sat down on his desk chair facing his phone —facing you.

“Where are the others?” Anton asked as he watched you blurt down what you were studying.

“Oh, they backed out.” your tone was nonchalant and your head hung low, pouring all your attention to blurting, or at least you were trying to.

“Really?” he was almost laughing and you heard it, making your left brow rise.

“Mhmm~” you hummed back.

“You sure it's not because you wanted to talk to me?” Anton's tone sent shivers down your spine. 

He sounded calmer, and a lot more alluding, so much so that you had to stop and stare at your notebook for a while to calm your mind and give it some space to process what to reply.

“Maybe —Well, yeah, I guess, but I called you to study.” your voice took after his making him feel assured. 

Despite the soporific air in his room which he inhaled, he was wide awake, wanting to just hear you talk on and on and on again. His yearnings were answered not long after.

“And I guess I wanted to… hear your voice —again.” your figure remained placid in his eyes, but deep inside, your heart pounded like a whole planet of people marching together. 

“Really?” somehow his voice became a lot lower, while still having a comforting and peaceful cadence.

“Mhmm~” your hum, this time, was a lot more mellow. It filled his ears and it got stuck in his head like a song that he almost hummed too.

“Everything about you is so, so beautiful.” your heartbeat persisted.

You looked up to your phone to see him, and there he was, giving you the same smile he left you as he stood by the gates of your home. How could you not smile back? in a matter of seconds, you shied away from his stare, looking back down on the paper that you've almost forsaken. 

“Hey —uh —let's have this talk some other time. There's still a lot to study, especially for you.” Anton could hear the frailty trying to break out of your voice.

He chuckled spurring your attempts to calm your heart down to fall short. “Okay, lovely.”

Your head fell right onto your desk, producing a loud thud.

“Y/n? you okay?” your sudden action stunned him.

“Yeah, yeah, i'm fine! let's just study, please!” you pleaded as you lifted your head back up.

You just had no idea that his heartbeat was in sync with yours. He just wanted to be by your side again. He didn't want the call to end just yet, he loved hearing your voice, but at the same time he couldn't wait for the next day to come so he could admire you closely and marvel in your presence.

————— ୨୧ —————

[Day 17]

Finals have come to an end. Some tests were easier than others, but you were confident, you were gonna be in the Top 5 of the ranks. You felt particularly good during those 3 days of absolute mind torture. Within those 3 nights, you and Anton have been having your study calls. You would both study the whole time, while also fighting to make the other blush more than yourselves. 

It's a cloudy Sunday morning, you could tell it was cloudy since the sun has yet to peek at you at the time it normally would. You had just woken up from a good night's sleep and felt very relaxed that you had nothing to worry about anymore. No pending schoolworks, no group projects and presentations, no more quizzes and exams, and most importantly, no more school for a few short months. 

Once that long awaited break greets you and pats you on the back, all you'll have to do is brace yourself for your senior year, your final year. You've been thinking really hard on what course to take and all you've ever been is nothing but unsure even with the pressure of having only a year left to figure it out.

You got your phone from your bedside table, and without checking it, you headed downstairs. 

“Hey, hun', your grandpa asked if you wanted to come over and visit, we'll only be there till dinner.” your mom asked as she eyed your figure that slowly descended from the stairs. “Your grandpa is having some visitors if you don't mind.”

You lightly smiled at your mom and nodded. 

It's been a while since you've paid a visit to your grandfather's haven —as you'd like to call it. He owned a huge flower field, filled with flowers that he and his family adored. Your grandfather loved seeing people with mouths hang open, admiring the beauty, the work, and the thought put into this field. He could've capitalized on it, but he didn't. He made a gateway and a stone path through the field, and anyone could go in and out. He always watched, to make sure that no one would ruin his beloved flowers, but for the most part he just wanted to see the appreciative nature of mankind towards such beautiful beings.

In the car ride to your grandpa's, your mom would ask you about everything that's been happening for the past few months. It's been quite a while since the two of you had an actual conversation. It was a great relief that your mom missed you as much as you missed her, where every night when you hear the sound of her parking the car in the garage, you couldn't bring yourself to get up anymore and greet her. It would be too late in the night for you to be up and it would worry her, so you would just lay there and you would see her with only the moonlight shining down on her, and she would caress your hair and leave once she's assured that you've been sleeping well.

After some catching up with your mom, you finally arrived at your grandpa's. He welcomed the two of you with a warm and wide smile spread across his face. He smelled like a pie of mixed fruits, which could only mean one thing. 

“These visitors, they want to buy my field.” both you and your mom went wide-eyed from his words.

“You said yes?” your mom's hand reached for her dad's forearm, keeping it there.

“Well, not yet.” your grandfather scratched the back of his neck when your mom let out a loud sigh.

“Well, grandpa, if you can refuse it, you definitely should. That's your gift for grandma for her last birthday, and she's looking over it from the heavens. Who knows what these visitors would do with these fields. They might clear out all the flowers and build a factory for all we know!” your grandpa looked at you with contrite eyes.

“I know, I know, but they've really been pushing me for almost 8 months now! I was hoping we could talk it out through dinner.” you had so much trust in your grandfather, and you knew he could resolve this, you knew he would never give up the field, even for his own life. “And maybe you'd like their son too.”

The worry painted on your face was diminished within seconds. 

“Dad!” your mom lightly hit his shoulder with the hand that used to rest on his forearm.

“What?” your grandpa seemed to be a little too indifferent with the situation he'd put you in and it made you a bit upset.

“Did you set her up with the son!?” your mom had a firm grip on his shoulder now, slightly shaking him as she spoke.

“I guess so.” your mom sighed even heavier than earlier. “Their son is a good guy! He's a bit timid, but he was tall! really tall… and I believe he plays basketball —or was it football? I can't really remember, but—”

“It's fine.” you blurted out, arms crossed and gloomy eyes pinned to the floor. 

“I'm sorry my little tulip. I shouldn't have. You don't have to, okay? I'll try my best to convince them with my words and cooking alone, and if it doesn't work, then, I don't really know what to do —but you can just settle, okay?” your grandpa placed a hand on top of your head and gave it a gentle pat.

You could only nod and give him a weak smile. You loved the field, it's the only fragment of your grandmother that you'll be able to keep till your last breath. When you were born, it's been over a decade since your grandmother had passed. You had never been in her presence, but in the fields, you could catch a glimpse of her amidst the clouds, smiling down at you.

Before you knew it, the night would fall. You made sure you looked proper, still staying true to your words that you were not there to impress anybody. 

You helped your mom with setting up the dining table. When the bottom of the glass pitcher you held touched the table, you heard your grandpa say “Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Lee! —oh, and hello to you too young man!”.

You sighed, but then you felt a hand on your shoulder. You turned your head and was met with your mom's reassuring smile. “Nothing's going to be sold, and no one's going to be forced into anything, okay?” she says softly, before making her way into the living room to greet the guests as well.

Her words made you feel at ease, the heavy feelings that slowly weighed down on you started to dwindle.

Put away the cloth you used to handle the pitcher, and you could hear your mom, grandpa and the guests coming into the kitchen. 

“Oh, and that's my granddaughter Y/n. She's very smart, and she can sing too!” you suppress a laugh from hearing your grandpa's proud tone.

You turned around, and your mind went spiraling. It seemed out of the blue, a very peculiar instance. Perhaps this was entirely by chance as this was never a part of your wishes and prayers. 

“Y/n y/s/n?” you tensely nod at who you could only guess as the mother of the family. 

“You know my granddaughter?” your grandfather tilted himself to the side out of curiosity.

“Hmm, yes. We know her very well. She's known for being one of the top students in their school, in fact, she's helped our son a lot with his schoolworks since he had a lot to catch up on.” the mom gave you a warm smile after her sentence.

“Our son is very thankful. We hear your name quite a lot and we've really been wanting to meet you.” This time, it was the dad who spoke.

Your lips quivered. You're just simply at a loss for words. 

Everyone was sitting on the dining table, and there he was, sitting across from you. 

“Oh, I thought you were a basketball player because of how tall you are! good for you! I feel like being a swimmer is a lot cooler!” your grandfather would excitedly exclaim somewhere in the adults' conversation.

You and him never bothered to join in unless you were asked. 

Once again, being in your own little world, when the adults had gone to the living room to talk, the two of you went to the flower fields.

“This place is surreal.” you barely believe that you were hearing the same mellow voice that you could never seem to get off your head again after a while.

“Yeah? just imagine how it would look under the light of day.” you crouched down to touch one of zinnias. 

You felt his lofty figure crouch down next to you. 

“I missed you, you know. My parents tricked me into coming here. I just said I wanted to see this field, but when we got close they told me they wanted me to meet the field owner's daughter. It was like they were implying that I get no bitches.” you couldn't help but laugh at him.

You turned yourself around and carefully sat yourself on the stone path with your knees bent towards your body. You could feel some of the flowers tickling your back making you giggle softly as you looked into his eyes.

“I missed you too Tonii.” he gave you a smile as bright as the moon above.

You both looked up to the sky and admired the stars, and the crescent moon. 

“It was so cloudy this morning. I can't believe this sight would be possible.” your voice was very gentle, still admiring the night sky.

Anton looked into your shimmering eyes. He could see the reflection of the moon greeting him. It was telling him something. He was so mesmerized by you that he wouldn't even realize that you were already staring back at him.

“It's kind of funny, you know? it's like the universe was taunting us, telling us we're gonna meet another romance that was not each other, but in the end it's still us.” you tilted your head, trying to see through Anton's entrancing gaze.

“I like you too Anton.”

Despite the cold air of the night, heat traveled throughout your entire body as you watched his eyes grow larger.

“Am I hearing things? Y/n? Y/n are you there?” you released a hearty laugh and hit his chest playfully.

You allowed your hand to rest there, and you could feel his rapid heartbeat that went at the same pace as yours. It wouldn't take long until you were both staring into each other again, and at the same time, at the same speed, your eyes would shift to each other's lips, and they would meet eventually. You wrapped your arms around his neck when he had placed a hand to support your back as he leaned in closer, and closer.

“Y/n? Anton? Where are you?” you two would hurriedly stand up from where you were when you heard your grandpa's calls.

You glanced at each other's flushed faces before a flashlight shone right onto your faces.

“Oh, there you are. Well, Anton and his parents will be leaving now.” Your grandpa gave Anton a big smile, signaling with his hands for Anton to come back to the house.

You walked back side by side with your hands latched onto one another. 

You two were met with silent stares when you entered the house with linked hands. You two would let go from each other and Anton would go stand next to his parents.

“We'd like to thank you for the wonderful meal, we really do appreciate it.” Anton's mom shook hands with your grandfather, and would give your mom a hug.

She went up to you and hugged you as well, a little bit longer than you expected. 

————— ୨୧ —————

When you got home, you had asked Anton if you could give him a call since your time earlier was cut short. He immediately said yes and you two would be on facetime again, this time with no books or notebooks, not seated at your desks. You were both just lying on your beds with your phones in hand. 

“Wait, you like me too?” Anton had been asking the same question for the past 6 minutes

“Yes!” you laughed.

He just couldn't believe it. You couldn't believe him either. You've been thinking about it ever since day 1, it was just now when you realized that you did feel the same.

“Are we like g-f and b-f now?” he places a hand over his mouth acting like a shy toddler.

“Ew, don't say it like that!” He ended up laughing too.

“Okay!” his laughter would fall to an abrupt stop and it would go silent for a while that you almost asked him if he was still there. “But seriously, what are we?”

“Well, we feel the same. Couples become couples because of reciprocated feelings. Now put two and two together.” you made little hand gestures as you spoke, and he just smiled, but deep inside he was awestruck, still finding everything unbelievable.

“We're… we're together now holy shit.” you couldn't help a gasp from escaping your mouth. You've never heard him cuss so heavily before, it sounded harmless —well of course, he's Anton— but it was so foreign to you that you just bursted out laughing.

The two of you talked and laughed throughout the night, and when the clock ticked at 12, you two had to say goodbye.

“Good night Tonii.” you yawned, making Anton expel a chuckle. “Can't you stop laughing at everything?”

“I should be the one saying that to you, but anyways, I just think you're so adorable, leave me alone.” his last words were muffled as he hid the bottom half of his face under the covers. “Good night lovely. See you again tomorrow.”

Tomorrow was another day, and a very great one as it turns out. Suddenly you two weren't hiding the fact that you two would hold hands and were always just centimeters away from touching noses. Your friends and Anton's alike didn't seem to be surprised at all, they were more likely relieved that the two of you finally came to a conclusion to what they thought shouldn't take too long. After all, the painfully obvious mutual feelings you shared were so strong that your friends and he would have distorted faces by the end of observing you two. But now, the clock is finally set.

“So you're saying, your grandfather spent almost a half of his life on that flower field, and it would be his final and greatest gift to your grandma?” you hummed an affirmation at Anton's query. “Woah.”

“The commitment made me believe that there is indeed true love.” you said in a very dramatic tone, looking off into the distance. 

“I can do that for you too.” he took great offense from you laughing at his face. “I'm not kidding!”

“I mean, it,'s not that I don't think you can or would, you don't really have to. There's a lot more ways you can express your feelings, my grandpa just happens to be a very hard-working man who appreciates the smallest of the small things in life.” Anton just loved it when you got so immersed with explaining.

“It's love.” he blurts out.

“Yeah. Love.” 

Love drives us to do the unthinkable, the perceptively impossible. Love is complex, but you would know it when you feel it, you would know when you've found it. And it is when love is exchanged unconditionally that life begins to finally be as fulfilling as they claim it to be in books and movies.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

[nobodylikety]

Cat hybrid! Liz 🐈

Yeah I knooow it's been a while, I was kinda busy and had a bloody writers block,,, BUT HERE I AM, back with my blurbs and thoughts about hybrid! IVE, this time with Liz and her orange cat bevahior

tags: cat hybrid! liz x fem! reader, hybrid AU, fluff.

Cat hybrid! Liz is an absolute homebody! This house cat will hardly want to leave her home and go places, because inside her home are you, the rest of hybrid! IVE, her bed and all the food she can ask for.

Cat hybrid! Liz's swimming skills are as good as a sinking brick <3 she's not a very good swimmer, because cats themselves are not very fond of water. And as for bathing? no way. If it occurs to you that it's bath time, chances are Liz will demand some good cuddles afterwards.

Cat hybrid! Liz has orange cat energy, she's absolutely chaotic and goofy! Not only is she constantly fighting with Puppy!Yujin over silly things, but they are also accomplices and sometimes get into trouble together, because together they are twice as love bugs and the sweetest little cat and puppy, although not very bright! <3

+ like all orange cats, she's the most cuddly and goofy fuzzball. And when she's near you? she runs towards you, with her tail wagging all happy and for sure she tripped at least 3 times and ran into 2 walls, in the process of TRYING to get on your lap. She's such a good girl, kinda silly, but good girl 🩷

Cat hybrid! Liz lacks feline grace and agility…because her orange cat vibe is stronger. She can't jump, she can't climb…she always falls. BUT if she hears you open a bag of chips anywhere, she won't hesitate to ask for her portion (or steal it  ^_^ ♡)

Cat hybrid! Liz has a habit of flopping up on the sofa and looking at you intently, with big eyes, wagging her tail in anticipation, all serious and predatory attitude,,, before giving you the silliest, most affectionate headbutt out of nowhere <3

🐱 ، ﾟฅ ｡ [ Kitty shenanigans ]

Liz always finds unique ways to get into trouble, but she never fails to be the most adorable and affectionate kitty you'll ever meet.

Not a day goes by that Liz doesn't get into trouble. Like that time when Liz and you were playing together in the garden, and Liz started chasing the butterfly she'd found with such enthusiasm that she ended up tripping over a flower pot and falling face first into the middle of some flowers. And what did Liz do? she got up, shook the dirt off her fluffy ears and looked at you with an innocent expression, as if nothing had happened.

With that silly little smile, the same one she always does.

Or that other time, when Liz was trying to catch a fly buzzing near the window, but she jumped so hard that she ended up hitting the glass, leaving a little nose smudge on the glass.

Or like now, with the most frequent mischief that takes place almost every morning, and always in the kitchen.

You're preparing toast for breakfast, when Liz decides it's an excellent idea to hop across the table to inspect your culinary work. So with an air of elegance she tries to land gracefully, but instead of it, she trips over her own tail and falls face first into the tray of eggs, scattering them all over the kitchen. And of course, not before knocking over the pile of frying pans and pots, creating a chaotic clatter.

"Don't worry, Liz," you say with a chuckle as you help her up. "I think we'll have scrambled eggs this morning."

"Meow," she replies, looking up at you with innocent eyes, as if it's your fault.

Because It's never her fault, it's always yours.

And that sometimes makes you want to wrap Liz in cotton, to stop her from endangering her own life in her own stupid way. Liz really is a bit of a rebel, even when she's not actively trying to get into trouble.

But... you have to accept her for who she is, and if you're honest with yourself, there's something incredibly endearing about this goofy, sensitive, lovable little cat (who attempts to break herself more than once a day) that's part of your life.

Because even after a day full of stumbles and falls, when you sit on the sofa and enjoy the peace and quiet of home, with Liz purring softly as you stroke her head, her sweet gaze and carefree, goofy attitude reminds you of how wonderfully special she is.

So despite all the misadventures, you wouldn't for a moment change your life filled with Liz's antics.

Cat hybrid! Liz 's love language is giving you the goofiest headbutts and being dumb with you! (she has a weird sense of humor) so Liz is always tripping, falling, flopping clumsily on you, just for the sake of showing you her love for you!

+ This. Kitten. ALWAYS (LITERALLY ALWAYS). FALLS OR TRIPS OR GETS INTO DUMB STUFF.

Wants your attention? climbs the ledge closest to you, and before falling gracefully next to you, trips and falls on your head.

She's going to climb on your lap? miscalculates and ends up with her head stuck in the sofa.

She's going to purr you to lull you to sleep? she chokes on a hairball before she even opens her mouth.

And the list goes on, because Cat hybrid! Liz is an adorable bundle of leggy nonsense, and she loves you with all her heart. ♡

[eksvaized]

[ Previous ┃ Next ] part 5

After finally venturing back inside, Simon did not approach you for an entire hour. Instead, he chose to keep his distance and observe you from afar. You were on the dance floor with Liz by your side. Both of you were giggling and dancing, twirling around in each other’s arms. He stayed in a dark corner, hidden, hoping no one would bother him.

He watched intently as you gracefully swayed your hips from side to side, your arms wrapped around Liz as the two of you moved in perfect sync. He realised he wasn’t the only one whose eyes you caught. In fact, practically every man in the club had their hungry gazes fixed on you, looking over their shoulders, stealing sneaky glances while their girlfriends weren’t watching. A few times, several of them tried to approach you and Liz. You weren’t successful at turning down unwanted attention, but Liz was, ensuring drunk idiots didn’t bother either of you for too long.

“Hello, you,” someone purred into his ear. He felt a gentle touch on his arm as fingers traced a path up his bicep, giving it a light squeeze, trying to peel his focus away from the dance floor.

With hesitation, Simon turned his head to the side and saw Mandy standing next to him. She batted her eyelashes at him, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, and biting the soft flesh. A mischievous smile formed on her face.

If she was any other girl, he would have shoved her away after telling her he was not interested in talking. However, she was your friend, and no matter what she wanted, Simon was determined to tolerate her presence. He didn’t want to risk upsetting Mindy because he was sure that she would then report it all to you, which could potentially tarnish Simon in your eyes.

The problem was that Mindy didn’t want just to talk. She couldn’t comprehend how a plain mouse like you could capture his interest. In her mind, she considered herself superior to you, so she was determined to steal his attention.

“I saw you here, all alone, looking bored,” Mindy said, her fingers gradually slipping down from his arm and her hand retreating back to her side. “And because you’re apparently Y/N’s friend... I felt obligated to offer you my company. She’s busy and I’m not.”

Simon wanted to distance himself from Mindy, but he made a conscious effort to put on a friendly facade. Mindy took a step closer, rising on her tiptoes as her face inched closer to his. She leaned in, briefly focusing on his lips before meeting his gaze.

“Plus, don’t tell Y/N, but... I’m a much better company than she is. With her, you might get bored, but with me, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

There was nothing about Mindy that he liked. She was too cocky, too self-absorbed, and definitely too confident. She approached Simon, expecting to win him over instantly because no man had ever turned her down. However, there was always a first time for everything, and Simon was determined to prove to her that her looks alone would not make him fold and fall to his knees.

“Ah, how nice of you, really. But I’m fine on my own.” He wanted to turn her down, but he realised he had to be smart about it.

“Let me buy you a drink, at least,” Mandy insisted. Despite Simon’s lack of interest in her, she remained stubborn and refused to leave him alone.

He shook his head and looked away from her, his gaze returning to the dance floor.

Liz had disappeared. You were all alone, but you didn’t seem to care about the lack of company. With your eyes closed, you allowed yourself to be completely consumed by the music. Your fingers ran through your hair, your hands caressed your body, and you swayed your hips to the beat. Simon could not tear his eyes off of you. He was mesmerised by your beauty, utterly enchanted by the way you effortlessly moved your body, shutting out the chaotic noise of the world around you.

While keeping one eye on you, he continued to entertain Mandy, who was still bent on sticking around. He racked his brain, trying to come up with an excuse that would allow him to get rid of her, but he had a sinking feeling that none of his usual tricks would be effective in persuading her to leave.

Simon saw a man approach you. The drunk stranger whispered something into your ear. You shook your head and smiled politely. From the looks of it, it seemed like you were trying to tell the man you weren’t interested in talking with him. As Simon watched the interaction, his gut instincts told him he should intervene. However, he didn’t want to overreact. He kept himself rooted to the ground.

But then, you pushed the stranger away for the second time. The man laughed, shook his head and placed his palm on your back, gradually inching his hand lower. Looking uncomfortable, you tried to move away from him. Though your polite smile remained, your eyes grew wide, and you anxiously glanced around.

“I think I see Y/N,” Simon said and turned to face Mindy, who was still running her mouth. “I’m going to be right back.”

Mindy’s lips parted in confusion, her eyes growing darker and angrier. She was not pleased with the fact that Simon had chosen to ditch her for you. But before she could react, try to grab his hand and stop him, Simon had already started forcing his way through the crowd, pushing past the stumbling people, determined to get to the dance floor as soon as possible.

“Is everything all right here?” Simon asked calmly as he approached you and the stranger. His voice carried a hint of concern, though he tried to hide his anger; his face remained expressionless, but his fingers curled into tight fists.

When you turned around and saw Simon, he could see a visible relief wash over your face.

“Yeah, yeah. Everything is fine. You can move along, buddy,” the man said, causing Simon’s jaw to tighten.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Simon spat back, grinding his teeth. This time, he couldn’t hide his irritation while speaking.

Simon’s attention shifted to you. Your eyes darted between the two men. Sensing that you wanted to get away from the stranger, Simon wrapped his fingers around your shoulder and guided you towards the bar, giving you a gentle push to steer you away from the sea of people.

“This is the second time you saved me,” you pointed out when the two of you found an empty spot at the end bar. While leaning against the counter, you shifted your body closer to the wall, letting Simon shield you away from the people.

“Well, I guess that then, instead of one, you owe me two drinks now,” he said with a playful smile directed towards you, which caused you to giggle and enthusiastically nod your head.

“Sounds fair.”

But he only let you buy him one glass of whiskey. And the second time you ordered drinks, he paid for both of you because he didn’t want you to waste your hard-earned money on him.

You two talked and flirted a lot. He often had to lean down and speak into your ear, so you could hear what he was saying. His warm breath tickled your skin. Whenever his hand lightly brushed against your waist or his fingers slowly traced down your arm, an electrifying shiver would run down your spine. And maybe it was just all the cocktails you had drank, but the more you chatted with him, the more you liked him. He was handsome and funny, and unlike the other men in the club, he wasn’t completely wasted. Most importantly, he didn’t creep you out.

At one point, you couldn’t help but notice your gaze fixating on his lips. At that moment, a sudden realisation washed over you — you wanted to kiss him. However, you quickly pushed that thought to the back of your mind. No matter how tempted you were to brush your lips against his, it would be too forward. You weren’t drunk enough yet to act so boldly.

“Aren’t your friends going to be upset that you ditched them for me?” Simon inquired, his fingers lightly drumming against the empty glass in his hand.

“No,” you immediately blurted out, looking around while shaking your head. Mindy was nowhere to be found, and Liz seemed to have disappeared into the crowd, engrossed in conversation with some strangers on the dance floor. “They often abandon me whenever an attractive guy flirts with them, so I guess it’s my turn to do the same.”

You and he had another hour to spend together before Mindy and Liz approached you. Apparently, they were bored and wanted to go home, and insisted that you go with them.

“Friends don’t leave their girlfriends alone at the club with some stranger they just met,” Mindy stated with a smile. However, her words had a sarcastic undertone, suggesting that your safety wasn’t her top priority, and her only goal was to lure you away from him. If Mindy couldn’t have Simon, she didn’t want you to be with him, either.

Simon didn’t want to say goodbye to you just yet, but he realised he couldn’t force you to stay, either. Before you left, you asked him for his phone, which he handed to you. You entered your phone number and returned it to him.

“Call me,” you smiled. “Because I still owe you a drink.”

He watched as you, Mindy, and Liz exited the club. By the time he got outside, too, the three of you were already gone.

He decided to have a quick smoke before calling a cab and going home. As he stood further away from the crowd, enjoying the crisp air and feeling relieved having escaped the deafening awful music, the creepy stranger who had been causing problems for you earlier approached him.

“You stole my girl,” the man stated, angrily pointing his finger at Simon, pressing its tip to his chest. The stranger’s body was swaying from side to side as he struggled to keep his composure.

Simon could tell that the man was heavily intoxicated, so he refused to entertain him. At first, he remained silent, hoping that his lack of response would deter the persistent stranger. However, the man continued to talk, irritating Simon and pushing his limits.

“Shut up and go before I break your nose,” Simon warned in a bitter tone.

Simon walked away and fetched his phone out of his pocket. While his gaze was glued to the screen, the stranger approached him again. The drunk man shoved Simon, using all his strength, clearly not feeling happy about being ignored.

Simon inhaled sharply and remained still, choosing to overlook the stranger’s reckless behaviour. However, when the man pushed Simon for a second time, Simon lost all control. The anger surged through Simon, causing his eyes to darken, his nostrils to flare, and his mind to shut off.

Simon’s clenched fist forcefully struck the man’s nose, a revolting crack resonating through the air. He punched the stranger once. Then twice. Simon kept hitting him, each punch landing with a sickening thud. The man’s balance faltered, his body collapsing to the ground, but Simon’s relentless fury endured. His hands became stained with crimson, his knuckles throbbing with an insatiable itch. With every irregular, ragged breath, the scent of iron filled the air, mingling with the acrid taste of adrenaline.

Simon’s vision became distorted, blurring the world around him and heightening his senses. It didn’t help that he couldn’t stop thinking about you, either. He kept imagining what the stranger would have done to you if he hadn’t interfered. What if the man would have followed you home? What if he had done something and Simon hadn’t been there to stop him? The questions continued to pile up in his head, intensifying his anger and transforming it into pure rage.

Simon only drew back when whispers and murmurs reached his ears. The crowd was rapidly gathering around the scene. Everyone was pointing fingers, gasping loudly and whispering among themselves. Despite his mind being in disarray, Simon’s ability to observe made him acutely aware of how terrible everything looked. The tension in the air was palpable. The realisation hit him like a truck: he was beating up a guy who, at this point, wasn’t even attempting to defend himself.

Simon took a step back, releasing his grip on the stranger’s shirt and allowing his body to crumple to the ground. A mixture of guilt and regret engulfed Simon, overwhelming him like a sudden downpour. He glanced around, cursing under his breath as he examined the crowd. His attention returned to the motionless man lying before him. A question gnawed at his mind: was the stranger even breathing anymore?

Fuck.

No, no, no.

He can’t be dead.

Simon refused to let the same story repeat itself. He didn’t want to do something he had done before. He collapsed on his knees and shifted the man onto his back. From up close, after leaning down, he could see the stranger’s chest slowly rise and fall — he was breathing, and even if Simon broke a couple of his ribs and left his face bloody, at least the man was still alive.

Before anyone could call the police or attract the attention of the club’s security, Simon quickly stood up and distanced himself from the sea of people, leaving the man to lay on the cold concrete.

Only after crossing the street did Simon dare to turn around and look back. He noticed a woman kneeling beside the stranger, while a man stood next to her with a phone pressed to his ear, likely calling an ambulance.

[not-a-space-alien]

K&J x MMSS 4: Valen & Jim Part 7B

Part 7 of the "B side" universe for AU4. You can check chapter 4B for clarification on what this means if you're lost.

K&J masterlist

MMSS masterlist

K&J x MMSS crossover masterlist

To be added to the taglist, contact @whumpsday

Warnings: Aftermath of torture

In this chapter: Valen continues to make healing progress despite the setbacks.

***

Things continue relatively smoothly for the next few days. Liz gets Jim a blood draw kit that he uses to feed Valen, anxiously entering the realm of becoming food again, but the fact that it's his choice this time makes it different.

"You're looking a lot better." Jim notes as he removes Valen's bandages to change them. "I don't think we need to put new ones on. You wanna try talking?"

Valen is feeling a lot better.  He can smile without hurting his face now, and his skin has mostly grown back.  He doesn't flinch looking at himself in the mirror these days.

You wanna try talking?  Jim is surely prompting him to do so, but it still feels dangerous to assume permission for things, and to answer anything other than the exact literal question.  He nods vigorously, then waits patiently to be given permission, managing to flicker his eyes up to make eye contact a few times.

"Go ahead." Jim encourages excitedly. "Try saying something."

Valen can barely remember the motions to go through to talk.  He vibrates his throat, and a horrible, raspy noise comes out.  His eyes widen with shock, and he claps his hands over his mouth.

"Yeah, there you go!"Jim gives him a winning smile. "Keep going, try again. You gotta practice, it's not gonna be perfect on the first try."

Valen steels his nerves and makes a few more dry, horrible grunts, clearing his throat, shaking the cobwebs off.  He ramps up to it. ".......................jjjjjjjjjJjjjjjJJJJJJJJJIM."

And his face breaks into a delighted smile.  He rocks back and forth happily, wiggling his hands.  "Jim!" he rasps again

"Valen!" Jim says back enthusiastically.

It hasn't even been a week yet, and Jim is nervous about it, but he's a hugger. Valen is fed now, so it should be fine, right? He lightly wraps his arms around Valen, a bit tense, ready to pull away if he needs to. "I'm so happy for you."

Valen giggles and hugs back, firmly but not squeezing, and does an excited spin, lifting Jim off the ground slightly.  "Jim!  Jim!"

"Oh!" Jim freezes up, his heart beating fast with anxiety.

No, stop freaking out, this is Valen, not Kane. He's not going to pin you to the wall by your neck and choke you. He's not going to throw you to the ground so hard it leaves bruises. It's Valen. He's just picking you up because he's excited.

Jim forces himself to try to relax. "Valen Valen! Congrats, man. It's only been a few days and you've come so far."

Valen remains oblivious to Jim's anxiety, setting him back down on the ground and leaning into his chest, crying happily, not letting go, savoring the warm feeling.  He still feels some urge to bite, here in Jim's embrace, but he's well-fed enough to easily resist it.  That just adds to his happy crying.  It feels like he's never been this happy in his whole life.

Jim calms down significantly once he's back on his feet, unharmed. He holds Valen close, carding a hand through his hair. "We'll get there. Soon you'll be speaking in full sentences again."

He hesitates before adding, "So, I was thinking. Seems like you've definitely got your strength back, at least. Would you wanna get blood packs from vampire territory to bring back here? I know your stuff's probably gone by now since you've been captive so long, so if it's not feasible that's fine. I can keep feeding you. No matter what, you'll be safe and fed here."

Valen's face falls a little bit, suddenly realizing how burdensome his presence here is.  Of course Jim would want him to-

No, come on.  Jim is proposing a reasonable idea to lift some burden from himself, not saying he's going to kick Valen out, or hates him, or anything like that.  Valen is capable of doing things to help himself, and Jim.  Jim freed him, and fed him, and hugged him.  He can do this.

His face hardens with resolve.  "Yes," he croaks.  "I can try."

"Hey, there's a sentence! And you don't need to rush it, okay? Just something to think about doing once you feel up to it. I seriously don't mind feeding you in the meantime. And we'll make sure Liz clears it with her coworkers so no one stops you on the way. Can even drop you off and pick you up from the border if you want. Whatever you need." Jim smiles.

Valen salutes.

Valen's first order of business in this endeavor is not, in fact, to go to the border.  Valen tells Jim he's going to go out one night.  First he has to go to his house where he'd been living to see if any of his valuables are still there, because he needs money to buy the blood.  And the imported stuff isn't cheap.

He manages to get a few miles away before his nerves fail him and he runs straight back, shyly reporting that he would try again the next night and go a little further.

He repeats this process, getting a bit further away each night, until one day he manages to get back to his house and find his stash of valuables, bringing them back and showing Jim an outrageous pile of jewelry and gems and precious metals

"Holy shit." Jim laughs. "You're loaded! Thought you were just a normal guy, but I guess you made out like a bandit with that asshole husband's stuff?"

"Yes," he says, trying to suppress his laughter.  "I'm sure he was disappointed when he realized I was never coming back to return the things he'd convinced himself I'd merely 'borrowed.' I'll be sure to be careful where I sell them, lest he starts seeing them appear in pawn shops."

"Nice." Jim high-fives him.

Valen manages to work, up the courage to back over to vampire territory and return with blood packs.

Things go on. Valen is starting to look like his old self again, having access to his old clothes and getting back on T. Jim continues to coax him out of his shell, growing more comfortable himself now that he doesn't have to provide blood. The hunters in the area know not to fuck with Valen.

One day, the phone rings. When Jim answers with a "Hello?", Valen hears a very familiar voice on the other end.

“Hey, Jim, how are you? It’s Chase. Just calling on behalf of the vampire hunters to check up on ya. Been a couple months, so we just wanted to make sure everything went okay with the leech after pickup.”

Valen had been unloading the dishwasher in the kitchen; as soon he hears that voice, he drops the armload of cups he'd been carrying, cracking a few of them.  He stands still, absolutely frozen, eyes glazed over in terror, instantly in tears.

"Everything's fine. Not a great time, don't call back." Jim says curtly before slamming the receiver and rushing over to Valen.

"Valen? It's okay, he's not here, he can't hurt you anymore." he says softly.

Valen steps back until he hits the wall, pulling away from Jim, and sliding down to curl up in a little ball.  "I'll be good, Jim, sir, please, please don't let him take me, please don't put me out in the sun, please please please."

Jim stays where he is, sitting cross-legged on the floor, hoping that's a little less threatening. "He's not taking you. He's not even trying to take you, and if he did try, I wouldn't let him. No sun. No one's ever putting you in the sun again, least of all me. You're safe, remember? Can you try to remember that?"

Valen squeezes his eyes shut.  "Please don't give me back to them, Jim, I'll do anything you want to stay here.  Safe, safe, I'm safe here.  Please let me stay here.  Please don't send me back."

"I won't. I would never, ever make you go back there. Part of being safe means being safe from having to go anywhere you'll be hurt, okay? I don't just mean you're safe here, I mean you're safe in general. Do you understand?" Jim asks.

Valen nods.  "Thank you.  Thank you for your mercy, Jim. I know I don't deserve it, thank you, I'll be good."

"You deserve it, Valen." Jim's heart breaks for him. "You didn't do anything wrong, first of all. They had the wrong guy, remember? Second, even if you did do something, no one deserves the shit they did to you. You deserve to be safe."

"Thank you, Jim.  Thank you.  I think I want to go downstairs now, into the basement.  If that's okay?"

"Yeah, 'course it's okay. You want me to set anything up for you down there? I can blow up the air mattress again for you to lie down on, like when you first got here." Jim offers.

"N-no, that's okay," Valen says.  Still crouching, he scuttles away from Jim and into the basement.  Dark, solid, safe.  He closes the door.  Dark, dark, dark.  That's safe.  He curls up under the stairs.

He'd thought he was better by now, but hearing that man's voice had set him all the way back like he couldn't imagine.  He's still out there, walking around, free.  He knows Jim's phone number, maybe where he lives.  He doesn't dare come back out.

Jim cleans up the cups Valen dropped. He's been thinking that action against the hunters needs to be taken, talking to Liz about it, but he's afraid to rock the boat. Right now, no one's coming after Valen, who they believe to be safely contained and that Jim has a right to keep with him. What if that changes if the truth of the matter is revealed?

He'll talk to Valen about it later, he decides. When Valen's calmed down. It should be his decision.

He waits until it's dark out to go check on Valen, knocking on the door. "Valen? It's dark out now, if that makes you feel a little safer. Just wanted to check in on you and make sure you're holding up okay?"

Valen's wide eyes appear from under the stairs.  "J-Jim.  Does he know where you live?  He has your phone number, does he know where I am?  Could he show up here?"

"No, he doesn't know where I live. He's not gonna show up here." Jim promises. "I promise, you're safe here. You are never going back to that place."

Valen crawls up the stairs, lying in a heap at Jim's feet, hugging his knees.  "But he's still out there, they're all still out there.  What if they-they come here, and you aren't home?"

"They handed you over willingly, right?" Jim reminds him, crouching. "It's not like you escaped. And they wouldn't just, like, bust down the front door and break in. Even if they somehow showed up here when I wasn't home, hours by car away when they don't even know where I live, they still wouldn't get you. Okay?"

Valen nods, sniffling.  "Okay.  Thank you, Jim."

Valen is much more needy than usual over the next few days, barely ever leaving Jim's side, and even more rarely making eye contact.  Jim notices Valen eating less often than usual, and when he brings it up, Valen admits he's been trying to make the blood packs he has last longer to put off leaving the house for as long as possible.  "It's not like I need to be strong for anything," he offers as his rationale as to why it's okay.  "Nothing bad will happen if I don't eat for a while."

"I know what it's like to be terrified you're gonna get snapped up again and taken back." Jim takes Valen's hand. "How about I help you out, huh? No going hungry in this house. I'll get the blood draw kit back out."

"I can't ask you to," Valen says, voice thick.  "I'm sorry.  I know it makes you uncomfortable.  And then I'll feel like I have to go out faster so you can stop.  I would rather just not eat for a while."

"Well good thing you're not asking me to, then. I'm offering." Jim counters. "I wouldn't bring it up if I wasn't willing to do it. Starving yourself isn't an option. As your friend, I'm vetoing it."

He grabs a blood pack from the fridge and hands it to Valen. "Drink. When you run out, I'll feed you, for as long as you need me to. You don't have to feel rushed."

Valen cries again, feeling overwhelmed by the unfamiliar feeling of actual support.  He starts to feel better not being hungry all the time, and works up the nerve to go get himself blood again soon enough.

Jim is glad to see Valen feeling confident enough to go out again. He decides this as good a time as ever.

"Hey, so, Liz and I have been talking. About the hunters who hurt you and all. She thinks it might be possible to get their hunting licenses revoked. She's not sure about prosecution, since this is kinda an unprecedented situation so there's no laws against it, but that might be possible too. Would that be something you're interested in?" he asks.

"Um."  Valen is terrified by the prospect of having to come face to face with any of these people again, and the possibility that they might seek him out for retaliation.  But the idea of taking away their power to do that to anyone else is too appealing.  "I-I think that would be the most responsible thing to do.  It-it should be made known what they're capable of.  They're-they're dangerous people, walking around free.  Yes.  You'll be with me the whole time, right?  In case I have to, have to c-confront them?"

"Of course. You won't have to see them. Liz and her friends and I will handle it." Jim gives Valen a quick hug. "You're gonna be alright."

This process actually goes very smoothly, partially helped by public opinion. Once Jim makes it known that Valen is the vampire who rescued him, from the bestselling book, there is a lot of public support for him. Hunting licenses are revoked, though the lack of existing laws makes prosecution hard. The process of getting a law put into place to prevent torture of vampires has started. This may cause a certain someone to put a rush on certain experiments getting going.

Jim's address is not known- that's the whole point of him moving out here in the first place- but Liz is sent things for Valen from random humans. Letters of support. One comes with a teddy bear holding a heart that says Get well soon.

Valen is relieved when it goes smoothly.  He'd half expected the whole thing to be dismissed, laughed off.  He's shocked when he starts receiving encouragement from random humans.  He has a hard time accepting the idea that a faceless crowd of humans could like him, instead of hate him, because he'd been told and shown for five years that only the latter was possible.  He keeps every single correspondence and gift he gets, setting them in a box and putting it in the basement, along with a blanket and a beanbag chair.  When he has his bad days, he goes downstairs to be away from the sun and sits there, curled up, reading and re-reading and re-re-reading every nice, comforting, supportive thing humans who are complete strangers to him have written.  Sometimes, when he's brave enough, he writes back and asks Liz to mail it out.

***

@barebarb

@cc1010foxy

@emcscared-whumps

@gt-daboss

@hurtpluscomfort

@jakersdaboss

@lolrpop

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@pigeonwhumps

@some-thrilling-heroics

@starfields08000

@t0rture-me

@thecyrulik

@thejinglingcourtjester

@vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff

@whuarri

@whump-cravings

@whump-my-heart-away

@whumpycries

@wolfeyedwitch

@whump-addict

@why-not-ask-me-a-better-question

[jessicaloons]

Chapter 11:

‘Cause it’s all over, it’s not meant to be…

Masterlist - Previous - Next

"I’ll be back at the end of January, you’ll have almost 6 weeks! And I want you to keep everything in mind. Do your exercises, mediation, eat the right stuff. And really eat it, I want that blood test regularly. But above all, speak to your family, to Charles. Tell them the truth, Liz. Maybe not everything. But at least some parts. Okay?" JK said and I nodded.

"I will, I promise! And thank you, really JK! Without you I never would’ve made it this far!" I said and hugged him "Enjoy your time at home! Have a safe trip! And send some pictures!"

"I will Liz! Go now, I don’t want you to catch a cold! Oh and don’t forget to schedule your appointments with Christian!" he ushered me inside and with one last smile I walked through the door and quietly closed it behind me. It was quiet in the house. Given the early time, no wonder. I took my shoes off and rolled my suitcase to the side. I inhaled deeply, it smelled like pine wood, cinnamon, orange and ginger bread. The typical smell of Christmas at home. The house was beautifully decorated, Mum went all out, probably because the Leclercs were coming as well. I walked upstairs into my room. I missed it. They kept everything the way it was when I was leaving. Just that Mum changed the bedding. I opened my closet, grabbed one of Charles' oversized hoodies and a pair of leggins and made my way into the bathroom, trying to make as little sound as possible. I quickly washed myself a little and changed into my fresh clothes. Back in my room I decided to lay down for a bit, it was only 5:30 in the morning, until everyone was awake it would take a while. Just as I snuggled into the bed, I heard a car outside, it sounded like whoever it was, was driving really slow down the street, as to not wake anyone up, but I knew the sound of that engine all to well and as the car stopped seemingly in front of our house, I was sure. Charles.

I sat up and looked out of my window and there he was, parking in our driveway, engine off, lights out and head leaned back into the headrest. But it didn’t look like he would get out. I waited for another 5 minutes but Charles didn’t move. Was he going to sleep in the car? I quietly walked down the stairs, put on some boots, unlocked the front door and walked out into the cold. Straight to Charles' car, he didn’t see me coming, eyes closed, so I gently knocked on his window and he jumped up. I smirked at him and he unlocked the car, but before he could get out, I walked around the car and got into the passenger seat. Silence. Charles looked at me. I looked ahead.

"Ma belle, I am so sorry! Please, believe me when I say that it wasn’t easy at all, reading your messages and not answering them immediately! Please, please, please believe me! My heart almost broke every time I received a new text! JK said it’s the best for you and I would’ve done everything to help you! Please believe me!" he said and I slowly turned to him, his eyes glassy, he hesitated as he reached for my hand but I didn’t pull it away and he gently grabbed it "I’m so sorry!" his voice was hoarse and he looked at me, pleading.

"But why didn’t you text me after I told you that I knew about it? After I told you that you hurt me?" I whispered, looking at my hand in his.

"What? No… no! I did! Immediately as I got the message I answered you! Told you how hard it was to ignore you! That it broke my heart and that I’m so incredibly sorry! I sent it right before we took off!" he said hastily and I looked up at him "As soon as I was able to switch on my phone again in Bahrain, I checked it for an answer from you, but there was nothing… so I thought you were ghosting me now, not that I didn’t deserve it… but still. I thought it was your decision to answer me again whenever you feel ready!"

"I didn’t receive it…" I said and Charles looked at me confused. "I sent you the text and waited for an explanation, but you didn’t reply… I thought that it was maybe because of…" I began but Charles was frantically looking through his phone as he paled visibly, he looked up at me "What?"

"The message… it’s not sent… it didn’t get through…" he whispered and looked at me guilty "I am so sorry, ma belle! I’m just so, so sorry!" he shook his head and looked down in his lap. I sighed and leaned back, putting the seatbelt on "What are you doing?"

"You know Dad’s rules! When you come back home early in the morning on a Sunday…" I began and Charles chuckled.

"… make sure to stop at a bakery for fresh bread rolls and pretzels!" he finished the sentence and put his seatbelt on as well "But it’s not even 6? You think they’re open already?"

"Most of them open at 6, we should be good. Now come on, I’ll guide you!" I said and he started the engine "Oh damn, we should’ve taken my car!"

"I’m not driving in your Mini! Nope, way too small!" he complained and backed out of the driveway.

"Oh come on! You love him!" I chuckled and Charles sighed.

"I never understood why you and Seb had to give your cars names! They’re cars!" he mumbled as I signaled him to make a left turn.

"You asked Arthur if he hurt your girl, when he nudged me and I bumped into your car only a little!" I laughed and Charles blushed a little "Turn left here. Alright look, they're just opening up!"

20 minutes later we walked quietly into the open kitchen and were greeted with a huge Christmas tree, beautifully decorated.

"Wow, Mum really went all out!" I whispered and Charles smiled "Come on, let’s set the table and prepare as much as possible, then head to bed for a little sleep."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" he saluted mockingly and I rolled my eyes. We set the table, put the paper bags with the fresh baked goods into a basket. And quietly walked up into my room, at the door Charles stopped.

"What?" I asked him and he shrugged a little.

"You didn’t want to share a bed with me for months… I can sleep in the guest room?" he answered a little shyly. I grabbed his hand and pulled him through my door and closed it behind us.

"Your mum will get the guest room, Enzo and Arthur will get the office and you are stuck with me. But yeah, you’re right… it’s still not okay… so umm, take the sofa? Maybe?" I said and nodded to the sofa in the corner.

"Yeah, that’ll do…" he answered and I opened my closet and took out a linen sheet, a pillow and a blanket, then I spread the sheet over the sofa and placed the pillow and blanket on it.

"Alright, I still have some clothes from you here…" I nodded to the side of the closet with some of his clothes and he nodded, then picked out a gray t-shirt and black sweatpants.

"I’ll get my suitcase later. And I’ll carry yours upstairs as well…" he said and turned around and changed. No matter how many times I saw Charles’ naked back, it always made me hot. His thick neck, wide shoulders, strong back muscles and slim waist. As he turned around I blushed a little and cleared my throat.

"That would be amazing, thank you Charles!" I mumbled and climbed into my bed "Now come on! I’d say until everyone is awake, we have at least 2 or 3 hours of sleep we could get." I snuggled into my pillows and blankets and Charles did the same. After a while I chuckled.

"What?" Charles mumbled and I saw his head slightly turn into my direction.

"Why are you here so early and did you seriously plan on sleeping in the car?" I asked.

"I left Maranello kinda in a rush and well… yeah it was too early to ring the doorbell!" he chuckled, although he sounded nervous somehow.

"Oh Charlie bear, have you forgotten that you don’t need a key for the door? Only your finger print!" I laughed and Charles sighed.

"Oh damn… yeah I kinda forgot about that!" he laughed as well "But yeah, it would be kinda weird just getting in here when everyone’s asleep and I don’t know…"

"You know that that wouldn’t be a problem!" I yawned and closed my eyes.

"Yeah maybe, now sleep! You’re tired…" he whispered and before I could say anything I was fast asleep.

I woke up from Charles' phone constantly buzzing, a minute later he began to stir.

"Who would call this early on a Sunday morning?" he groaned and took his phone "What?" he answered it harshly "Oh, hi, umm yeah I arrived. You what? No, no that’s not okay! No! Camille? I told you… no! There is no space! I told you I’d be in Monaco on the 30th and then… no… ugh Camille, please it’s way too early for this now! I will call you later! Cancel that flight. I’m not discussing this with you. If you board the flight, good luck finding a way back home, I’m not picking you up… you don’t know where Lizzie lives. I’m done with this. I will call you later. No. No. Good… bye." he sounded mad and his French was almost too fast for me to understand. I looked at him and waited for him to talk, but he just pulled the blanket over his head and groaned loudly.

"You know, you could’ve just invited her? I would’ve slept at Sissy’s pull out sofa and you and Camille could’ve had my room? Mum and Dad would surely be okay…" I began but Charles pulled the blanket away.

"Absolutely not! This is Christmas! Our Christmas! And she… she’s not a part of the family! And we wanted to have a family Christmas! I didn’t invite her for a reason!" Charles looked at me and I just nodded "I want to spend time with you and not her… I haven’t seen you for more than a month…"

"Okay, Charlie bear… come on. I think the others are awake!" I nodded and got up, internally thanking him for not inviting her.

As we walked down the stairs I could hear my parents, Sissy and Liam wondering who set up the table.

"That would be us…" I said, walking through the door and they all flinched.

"Lizziiiiieeeee!" Liam shrieked and jumped off the chair and ran straight up to me, but he abruptly stopped in front of me "Hug?" he almost whispered and I bent down, hoisting him up in my arms and he giggled as he buried his face in the crook of my neck "I missed you sooooo much!" he whispered and I kissed his cheek.

"I missed you too!" I said.

"I missed you three!" Charles behind me said and Liam looked up.

"Charlie!!!" he almost jumped out of my arms, straight into Charles, who happily hugged him tight "I missed you too, Charlie!"

"When did you guys arrive?" Dad asked and hugged me. "It’s so good to see you, this healthy and strong little owl!" he whispered and then he kissed my temple.

"I don’t know? Around 4, half past 4 JK dropped me off and not even an hour later Charles arrived!" I answered and hugged Mum, who had tears in her eyes.

"Oh my beautiful girl. Look at you!" she sobbed and I laughed.

"Why are you crying? I’m good! More than good!" I laughed and she just shook her head and kissed my cheek.

"The last time we saw you, you couldn’t walk without crutches, you idiot!" Sissy laughed and hugged me. I rolled my eyes and looked at Charles, who still held Liam in his arms, hugging Mum and Dad, then Sissy.

"We thought you were coming with the rest this afternoon." Dad said to Charles.

"Yeah well, I decided to drive straight here from Maranello instead of home and then flying." Charles shrugged his shoulders and Dad nodded.

"At least you followed the rules." Sissy laughed and pointed at the paper bags from the bakery.

"We knew, we’d be in trouble if not." Charles laughed and tickled Liam a little "What’s going on, Bubba? You turned into a little monkey?"

"He, umm he’s a little sad…" Sissy whispered and I looked at her "So his nursery school had this Christmas party yesterday, but Liam wasn’t allowed to go… he had some trouble with some of the other kids…"

"What did they do?" Charles and I said at the same time and Mum and Dad chuckled, as they grabbed the rest of the food from the fridge.

"He wanted to play with one of the boys, he seemed to like him, they played and all was fine but then the boy wanted them to play with some other kids as well… and yeah he didn’t get along with them and it got a little heated." Sissy explained and Liam only hugged Charles tighter.

"They were mean and I didn’t like them and when the older boy didn’t stop saying mean things to me, I pushed him. He fell and hit his arm and then he cried." Liam whispered.

"What did he say to you?" I asked him but he just shook his head "How much older is he?"

"I’m in the mice group, he’s in the bear group…" he answered and Charles' nose scrunched up adorably.

"What does that mean?" he asked, confused .

"Kids in the mice group are the youngest, 1.5-3 years old, cheetahs are between 3 and 4.5 and bears are around 4.5 to 6 years old." Sissy explained and Charles nodded.

"So one of the older kids picks on him, he defends himself and then he’s not allowed to go to the Christmas party?" I summarised and Liam nodded "That’s unfair!"

"It is what it is…" Sissy said and we sat down, Liam not moving away from Charles.

"I’d say we throw our own bigger and even better Christmas party then!" I said and Charles tickled Liam and he giggled.

"How does that sound, little monkey?" Charles asked and Liam nodded "Then it’s settled."

"That is Chase! He’s the leader of the pups! No Ryder is the leader but Chase also! Because he’s the police dog! And that is Marshall, he’s the firefighter dog! He’s also cool but Chase is my favourite! Oh and that is Rubble, Skye oh oh and Rocky!" Liam was full of enthusiasm when he explained to Charles the different characters in his new favourite show, Paw Patrol, a Christmas edition playing on the tv. Both boys on the sofa, Liam sitting in Charles lap and both cuddled up under a blanket. I was watching them when I helped Mum and Sissy prepare some snacks for the evening, when Pascale, Lorenzo and Arthur arrived.

"He really missed you, both of you… he was talking all the time about you! And how many times did I find him hiding in your room!" my sister told me and I smiled, I missed him as well. Although I loved both of my nephews equally, Liam living here with us since he was born, seeing him almost daily, brought us so much closer than me and Benji, who I only saw every other week, due to the fact that Marcus lived in Munich. And not seeing Liam for more than 3 months was really hard and I was more than happy to be back again.

"I missed him as well, that’s why I plan on spending as much time as possible with him."

"Then go ahead and start now with it. We’re done here and I have to wrap up the last gifts!" Mum said and washed her hands, Sissy nodded and did the same.

"Alright, then I’d say I watch Paw Patrol as well!" I dried my hands off at the towel Mum handed me and walked over to the boys.

"Is there some space left for me?" I asked and Charles held up his arm and I sat next to him, snuggling into his side as Liam stretched his hand out for me to take "So Charles? Who is your favourite?"

Liam looked up at him, awaiting his answer.

"I have to say Chase! He’s a police dog! He has a gun that shoots tennis balls and a net! He is pretty cool!" he answered and Liam nodded enthusiastically "And who is your favourite character?"

"Easy! Ryder, he’s cute!" I laughed and Liam made a disgusted face.

"Eww… he’s only 10!" Charles whispered and I laughed.

"He’s not cute! He’s a fearless leader!" Liam wasn’t happy with my answer "You have to pick a dog!"

"Okay, okay! Who is that? The Husky?" I asked.

"That’s Everest!" Liam explained.

"She’s my favourite because I love Huskies!" I answered and Liam nodded.

"Good choice!" he said and Charles chuckled.

"Very good choice, ma belle!" he said and I just smiled and watched the Paw Patrol save Christmas.

I saw Charles checking his phone, for the tenth time in the last couple of minutes, he tensed up a little and sighed. It seemed like Camille didn’t stop asking him to invite her over. I was about to say something as he gently nudged Liam and sat him down next to him.

"Lizzie, we need to talk… umm alone?" he almost whispered and I looked at him curiously.

"Sure? Everything alright?" I asked and got up, walking to the stairs, but he didn’t answer, he just followed me upstairs.

In my room I sat down on my bed as he was pacing back and forth in front of me.

"Charles? What’s going on?" I asked him and he stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He sat down next to me, taking my hand in his.

"I left Maranello last night in a rush, because I found something out… I was mad, no, furious, but I couldn’t do anything about it…" he began as I got the notification that I received a new email on my phone and he sighed "That email… it’s from Massimo and Mattia… it’s about your involvement in the FDA… they umm… they-"

"They kicked me out." I finished his sentence and he looked up at me.

"How did you know?" his voice was almost a whisper.

"In the first weeks after the accident, they regularly checked in on me. But it got less and less and now they haven’t checked in on me for more than a month… so yeah, I just figured they would kick me out." I answered and looked down.

"I’m so sorry, ma belle! I told them that it’s a mistake and totally unfair but they wouldn’t listen to me…" he said and pulled me in a tight embrace.

"It’s not your fault, Charlie. It’s okay. I will get along without them." I whispered and he nodded.

"And I will help you as much as I can! They will regret kicking you out!" he said and I chuckled.

"Thank you, for telling me, and not finding out through an email!" I said.

"They will post a statement as well…" he groaned and I sighed.

"Didn’t expect anything less from them."

The real party began when the rest of the Leclercs arrived in the evening. After the shock of me being sacked by the FDA, some harsh words from Dad, Lorenzo and Arthur against the FDA and Ferrari and some comforting words from Mum and Pascale we finally all sat together for a long time, playing board games, telling old and new stories, laughing and even singing together. I looked at Charles to see that he was typing away on his phone, looking annoyed.

"What’s going on, Charlie?" I asked him quietly and he sighed.

"Just some people asking me about the FDA thing." he said and put his phone back into his pocket.

"Stop thinking about it, it’s okay!" I reassured him and squeezed his arm. It was not okay, I really thought I could count on their support, but I was clearly wrong. It hurt that they seemed to lost faith in me, but it only motivates me more to show them that they made a huge mistake.

"Come on, Liam, time for bed!" Sissy got up but Liam protested.

"No! I wanna stay up longer! Pleaaaseee Mami!" he whined but she shook her head.

"Little man, you’re already way past your bedtime! Up we go!" she said, mastering her mum voice.

"That is so unfair! What a shit!" he cursed and I almost choked on my tea.

"Liam!" Sissy exclaimed shocked and I had to do my best to not burst into laughter, looking around the table I wasn’t the only one, Dad drinking hastily from his beer, Lorenzo doing the same with his wine, Arthur fake yawning covering his mouth with his hand, Charles just tried really hard to look as normal as possible.

"What? It’s a shit!" Liam said again and got up, I let out a mix between laughter, coughing and clearing my throat.

"Stop saying that!" Sissy reprimanded him but he just rolled his eyes and I lost it, bursting out laughing "You’re the worst!" Sissy looked at me disapprovingly. But as Dad and Arthur broke as well she just sighed "Great. Just great." she shook her head "Say good night to the traitors!"

"Hey! I didn’t do anything!" Charles next to me said, voice so thin from holding his breath so long, Sissy just glared at him before she chuckled herself a little. Liam made it around the table, hugging all of us good night.

"Good night, Bubba. Tomorrow I’ll teach you to say it in Italian and French, so Mami can’t reprimand you again!" I chuckled and kissed his cheek and he giggled.

"I’d say I can help you with that, your Italian isn’t the best!" Charles whispered and Liam hugged him even tighter "Good Night my little monkey!" with a last kiss on his forehead he walked off, taking his mothers outstretched hand.

The next few days we all spent together, playing more board games, cooking together, having a snowball fight as it finally began to snow heavily. It was the day before Christmas Eve, Dad, Lorenzo, Arthur and Liam playing in the garden, competing who made the better snowman. Mum, Pascale and Sissy were out for a last trip of grocery shopping for the next few days and Charles and I stood in the kitchen, baking batch after batch of plain cookies, for us all to decorate later.

"Oh come on! It’s going to be fun! Joris is there, Riccardo and Marta, Antonio is coming as well! A bunch of other people that you know!" Charles said as I rolled out the dough.

"I don’t know Charles… I’m back after such a long time, I don’t want to leave again this fast!" I said and he used the different cookie cutters.

"It’s just for 6 days and then we’re flying anyway to Thailand! So come on! Please! Not celebrating the new year with you last time felt so wrong!" he said and I scoffed.

"Yeah?" I said and he looked at me with big eyes.

"Yeah! It did! So please! Please! We’re leaving on the 30th and on the 4th we’re already off!" he took my hands in his, smiling at me.

"I’m just… I’m just afraid I am ruining it, if I get sick because of the boat bla bla you know I’m getting dizzy and lightheaded real fast since… so yeah. I don’t know…" I sighed.

"There’s a cabin, just for you, if you feel dizzy or anything just tell me and we go there for you to calm down! I promise!" he almost pleaded and I swallowed hard before I nodded "Is that a yes?"

"Yes! It’s a yes…" I mumbled and he hugged me!

"Thank you so much, ma belle!" he whispered.

"But Charlie, you seriously need to stop calling me that… don’t look at me like that! In front of Camille at least! It probably hurts her, so please stop…" I’ve seen the way she looked at me, sending me death glares, whenever he used it in front of her. I don’t need that on a boat, in the middle of the ocean.

"Ugh, fine! I’ll try my best!" he said and I nodded thankfully, one reason less for her to be nasty to me, hopefully she will be busy with her friends and will ignore me. Being on a boat with her made me more than anxious. I was deep in my thoughts as the timer reminded us of the current tray full of cookies in the oven. I walked over and looked at them, then opened the door deciding they’re done and grabbing the tray without thinking.

"Lizzie! Oven mitts!" Charles shouted, but before I could register it I already touched the tray and hissed in pain.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed and flinched. Fingertips of my index and middle finger burning like crazy, throbbing pain erupting. Charles was next to me in an instant, grabbed the tray with oven mitts and put it next to the oven on the counter, then closed the oven and turned back around to me. He gently pulled me to the sink, holding my burned fingers under the cold water stream. I let out a small whimper when the stream hit my fingers and held my breath.

"Breathing, ma belle." Charles whispered and I nodded. He walked over to the fridge and rummaged around in it, then opened the cabinet next to it and pulled out a box putting his collectibles on the countertop of the kitchen island.

"Alright, let me see." he stepped next to me and looked at my fingertips, both sporting an angry red burn mark. He switched the water off and gently patted my fingertips dry with a towel, he nudged my shoulder and I followed him to the kitchen island, where he pushed me gently against it and then grabbed my thighs and lifted me up to sit on it. He proceeded to pad dry my fingers until they were completely dry and then unscrewed the top of the burn ointment tube, gently applied a generous amount of the cooling and soothing gel on my fingers. I took a deep breath at the immediate pain relief, some stray tears were escaping my eyes. Charles searched through the box, looking for some band aids, after he found the needed sizes he took my hand in his, carefully bandaging the burnt fingers. As he was done, he looked up at me and wiped the tears off my cheeks.

"Does it feel better?" he asked quietly and I nodded.

"Yeah, thank you, Charlie!" I sniffled and he helped me down the counter, pulling me into him, he kissed my temple.

"Always, Lizzie, always!" he whispered against my head and we stood like this for a while, breathing each other in, as we heard the screen door opening, we jumped a little, bringing some space between us. I turned away from Charles, feeling my cheeks blush.

We later all sat around the table decorating our cookies with icing, different sprinkles and other toppings. Due to my bandaged fingers I couldn’t do the icing how I wanted it too, but just sitting here, surrounded by my family, laughing and joking, decorating cookies, brought me so much joy. To think how only 3 months ago I thought I’d probably never be happy again. Unbelievable.

The next day, we decided to make a trip to the old karting track, visiting Hans who was excited to see us again. The boys all geared up for some laps and Liam wanted to join in.

"You’re a little too young to drive alone, but you can ride a few laps with me!" Charles said and he was overly excited.

Dad and I stood at the side, watching the boys have fun, breezing past us, but driving very carefully due to Liam who was sitting between Charles legs. He steered the kart at some slow corners, Charles teaching him exactly when and how to turn.

"You’ll be driving one in no time, you’ll see!" Dad whispered next to me as he pulled me into his side, after seeing my eyes well up a little. I only nodded, throat too tight to speak. I didn’t expect coming here would be so emotional, but it was.

"I really hope so, Dad!" I mumbled and he only chuckled.

"Lizzie, you can walk almost perfectly again, you even could carry Liam around. Give it some more time and you’ll be back!" he said confidently and I nodded.

"You’re right. I’ll be back!" I said determined and cheered as Charles and Liam crossed the finish line first.

Back home we all prepared for dinner and in typical German tradition we were exchanging presents shortly after. As we were unpacking them, a lot of hugs and kisses and laughter and thank yous were exchanged. Later we all sat cuddled up on the sofa, watching Home Alone with a cup of hot chocolate and some of our cookies. The perfect Christmas.

As the 30th came closer and closer my anxiety of meeting Camille again began to get bigger with each minute, as it felt and I was thinking about chicken out. But I knew that Charles wouldn’t believe me when I would say that being on a yacht was my biggest concern. He would want to know the real reason and I told myself I’ll talk to him after our holiday. First I wanted to spend some good quality time with him, before I had to break to him that his girlfriend was one of the main reasons for my crippling anxiety. I just had to get over one evening with her. On a boat. I could surely avoid her, right? I could do that.

"What am I wearing on a yacht on New Year's Eve, Shima?" I asked her as I was packing and needed help with my outfit.

"What do you got?" she asked and I walked over to my closet "And do you have a dress code?"

"Charles said not to over the top… that helps totally… not! So I asked what he’s wearing and he said Jeans and button down shirt. I checked in with Marta and she said she would maybe wear a casual, but nice dress. Classy but not to over the top… Why can’t Monegasque people be a bit more precise!" I groaned and I heard Shima’s chuckling through the speaker "Not funny!"

"Okay, so dress or no dress?" Shima asked.

"No dress." I answered and she was quiet for a moment.

"Ouuuuhhh! I have an idea! The jumpsuit! The black one! It’s classy, elegant but not to over the top!" Shima said and I thought for a second.

"My sister has it, wait I gotta go to hers. I need to see if it still fits me!" I said and walked downstairs to the door into the little mud room between kitchen and garage where I took the stairs up into my sisters loft.

"Where’s the rest of the fam?" Shima asked as I walked through the loft into my sister's bedroom.

"They’re not at home, the mums are shopping, the boys are karting." I answered

"Why didn’t you go with them? Too tough?" she asked empathically.

"Yup, it wasn’t easy last week so a no for today!" I sighed "Wait, I’ll try it on and send you a selfie…"

"What’s the verdict? Good enough? Not too casual? Not too over the top?" I asked nervously

"Approved! Lizzie, giiirl! You look so damn good! What shoes? Hair and make-up?" she asked and I laughed.

"I don’t know? Probably just leave my hairs open? Little bit curled? Well make-up wise, like always? Just a little eyeliner and maybe some nude lipstick? As for shoes… you know I don’t mind heels but I don’t think that I can walk in them right now? I thought maybe some sweet, flat sandals?" I thought out loud, thinking about how everything looked together. With Camille there I didn’t want to look like I didn’t care about my looks. I just didn’t want to give her more reasons to pick on me, which I was sure she would do.

"Sounds good! No really Lizzie, you’ll look great! That’s the perfect mix!" she said and I smiled.

"The only thing that bothers me about the jumpsuit is that it has like a cut out on the back? And I’m scared that it will slip a little when I’m moving and show my… my… you know…" I said quietly.

"Lizzie! With all due respect, you should wear these scars with pride! They show how strong you are! They should only remind you that you almost died but you’re still here! Against all odds! ! You should wear them like a shield!" she said with a strong voice.

"You’re right! Thanks!" I had the best friends.

Charles POV:

Lorenzo and I took the car back to Monaco, Lizzie, Arthur and Mum were flying. The whole ride I thought about the best way to break-up with Camille. I initially planned on doing it after Portimaõ, but she started to talk about New Years Eve and how excited she was. She had the idea of renting a yacht to celebrate with our closest friends months ago, she planned it all by herself and was always so happy and excited when she showed me the newest plans. I just didn’t have the heart to break up with her before that, not after she put so much effort into it. Seeing her this happy made it hard for me to break her heart like this. After all, she didn’t deserve this. So I planned to wait until after New Year's Eve. Let her have this day, let her bask in the moment, she worked so hard for. And then I’ll break her heart. Doesn’t sound much better.

"You’re awfully quiet." Lorenzo said after a long while of silence and I swallowed hard.

"Yeah, a lot is going on in my head…" I sighed and he chuckled.

"Camille?" he asked and I looked at him "Oh come on, I’m your brother! I know what’s going on in your head. At least some of it."

"You do? Then help me sort it out…" I said and he laughed.

"I can’t tell you what to do, Charles." he looked at me "But you’re smart, you figure it out."

"I already have… it’s just… I don’t want to hurt her." I said hesitantly.

"Who? Camille?" he asked and I nodded.

"Who else?" I replied.

"Maybe you’re not that smart…" he said under his breath and I looked at him "Why do you think you will hurt Camille?"

"Because I’m going to break up with her… after New Years, I’ll have her over and explain everything to her.." I answered.

"Smart boy…" he chuckled.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.

I just had to get New Years over with, let her have a day or two to relax afterwards and then have a conversation with her, I could do that. But I dreaded it. So much.

I felt dizzy, it probably wasn’t the best idea coming onto a yacht in my condition, but I promised it to Charles and now I couldn’t chicken out anymore. Big mistake. The constant whispers from Camille and her friends, the swaying of the yacht, it all was too much. I needed my medics and I needed them now. I got up from the lounger and walked to the stairs as I heard Camille and her friends talking downstairs, probably sitting in the lounge. I quietly walked down the stairs.

"Oh come on, why is she always hanging around him! Like she has no one else to talk to? And did you see her back? The scars? Eww! I would never ever again walk around in clothes so you could see it! Disgusting!" Camille sounded annoyed and I quietly sneaked away, almost bumping into Joris. He looked at me with sad eyes, and I knew he had heard what Camille and her friends said about me, but I just sent him my best fake smile and walked away. I quickly walked past Camille, trying to get into the cabin without being noticed.

"There you are, ma belle!" Charles almost yelled and I saw out of the corner of my eyes how Camille glared at me. He was drunk. I’ve never seen him this drunk before.

"Charles, I thought we talked about this… stop calling me that when your girlfriend is around!" I said it quietly and he only shrugged his shoulders.

"But you’re ma belle! And that’s your name! I always call you that? What am I supposed to say?" he asked and his confused look was just too adorable.

"My name, Lizzie. Remember?" I laughed and he shook his head.

"Lizzie is only for the others! But for me it’s ma belle! Because you are the most beautiful girl! And you are my girl! So you are ma belle!" he explained and I blushed. I could hear Camille scoff behind me and a glass breaking "Camille is just…" he began but I put my hand above his mouth.

"Stop talking, you’re drunk and don’t know what you’re saying!" I fake laughed and walked away, I nodded at Riccardo who understood and looked after Charles. I went back into the cabin, looking for my bag with my medics. I saw that I had a text from Arthur, but before I could check it, I dropped my meds and when I bent down to pick them up I was getting light headed, the dizziness only worsened. The throbbing pain in my temple was back again. I quickly sat down and took a deep breath. My brain began to fog up and I got up to go outside and get some fresh air. As I was holding on to the railing I heard steps coming towards me.

"Look who it is, ma belle!" Camille mocked and her three girlfriends just laughed "I mean I know that you’re not really the most stylish person, but still? Couldn’t you at least put some effort in your appearance?" their laughs were shrill and way too loud for my head and I wanted to walk away. For the first time in weeks my brain started to fog up to the point where I had to really focus on my speaking in order to get the words out correctly.

"Look Camille, I don’t know what your problem is with me, but I don’t have time for this now, sorry!" I said and Camille and her little flock started cackling.

"I’m sorry? I’m not speaking gibberish?" Camille laughed and I looked at her, heat rising in my cheeks. Focusing didn’t seem to work.

"Just leave me alone! Please! I don’t know why you always try to pick a fight with me!" again they only laughed harder.

"Oh no, poor little Lizzie's head is all mushy again! Maybe your little accident damaged your brain a little more than they thought?" Camille sneered and I walked back into the cabin, then I realised the tears streaming down my face. I grabbed my phone and sent a text to Arthur.

I packed my belongings into my bag, sat down on the couch and waited. Through the windows I could see that we were on our way back to the harbour. I closed my eyes. Only a couple of minutes and I could leave this god damn yacht and Camille and her entourage of mean girls. Every now and then a tear slipped down my cheeks. As we docked in the harbour I got up and grabbed my bag, I wanted to walk out as Charles walked in.

"Hey ma belle, I was looking for you? You looked a bit pale…" he began but then he realised the bag on my shoulder and my tear stained face and in an instant he cradled my face in his hands "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I’m just tired, Charlie. It wasn’t a good idea going on a yacht in my condition! You celebrate and have fun! Spend some time with Camille, I’ll be fine!" I said and pushed away from him, giving him a kiss on the cheek and started walking away but he grabbed my wrist.

"Ma belle, what is going on? I know you and it’s not your condition? You were doing so well the last few weeks! What happened? Where are you going?" he said, his voice stern, but I just tore my wrist out of his grasp and shook my head.

"I’m fine, Charles. It’s ok!" I whispered and left quickly. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment then he followed me.

"Ma belle? Lizzie?" he almost shouted it, his voice was laced with worry but also sounded a bit hurt and I only walked faster. Camille just grinned at me, her friends were laughing as I walked fast past them to the gangway that was set up by the deckhands. Joris looked at them furious.

"Lizzie, wait!" Charles sounded nearer this time but he was stopped by Camille, he wanted to push her away as Arthur appeared at the dock "What is Arthur doing here?"

I walked as fast as possible without falling in the water over the gangway, where Arthur grabbed my bag and held me to his side to steady me, everything started to spin and the pain in my head rose to a new high.

He opened the passenger door and helped me in, then walked around and got into the driver seat. I could see how Charles was furiously talking to Camille and Joris, hands flying through the air, always pointing in our direction.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" Arthur asked and I nodded, silent tears streaming down my face.

"Just drive home…" I whispered and Arthur started the car. For the first time in weeks I felt like this again, the throbbing pain in my temples, the impeded speech, shaky legs, problems to breathe properly, almost a full blown anxiety attack. And all because of Camille. Maybe I had to talk to Charles sooner rather than later.

Charles POV:

"What do you want to hear from me? She texted and asked if I could come pick her up and I did just that!" Arthur was furious.

"Why didn’t you call me? You could’ve told me that she was unwell and then I would take care of her!" I was even more furious.

"Charles, she wanted to leave the boat! End of the story! She didn’t want to stay there and celebrate with you!" he almost sounded annoyed.

"What’s that supposed to mean? She didn’t want to celebrate with me?" I asked him confused "She rather wanted to celebrate with you? At home? Alone?"

"Yes. Happy now?" he answered and sat back down on his sofa.

"Okay, what is going on here? Are you and Lizzie…? What about Clara?" it couldn’t be. Arthur and Lizzie?

"For fucks sake, Charles! My girlfriend isn’t the one who constantly dragged her down for the past year!" Arthur almost shouted it and glared angry at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked him as I try to stay calm and Arthur hid his face in his hands and groaned "Arthur, what the fuck do you mean?”

"I’m not supposed to tell you this! But come on, Charles? You’re telling me that you not only once realised how Camille treated Lizzie? How she glared at her, all her snarky remarks? How could you be so oblivious?" Arthur asked me and I sat down and leaned back, thinking about his words.

Camille was sometimes annoyed when I spent my down time with Lizzie instead of her, but she always said she understood? Although last year Lizzie and I didn’t spend much time together considering Covid first and then her accident. When she moved in with me to start with her recovery, Camille didn’t have a problem with it. Or did I just ignore her complaints? The more I thought about it, the more I realised that whenever I mentioned Lizzie Camille tried to change the topic immediately, tried to always keep us busy so I didn’t have much time to spend with Lizzie and not even once asked how she was after her accident. Arthur was right, how could I be so oblivious? I facepalmed myself and sighed.

"I am stupid…" I mumbled and Arthur only nodded.

"I’m not arguing with you on that, but Charles? Don’t you think it’s time that you tell Lizzie that you lo…" Arthur began but he got interrupted by a sound coming from the guest bedroom, the one Lizzie currently slept in "I think you should leave for now, you need to sort out your shit with Camille first, before you talk to Lizzie, she cried herself to sleep last night, she will pretend like she didn’t but I heard her."

"Take care of her!" I whispered and Arthur hugged me.

"Of course!" he said and I left, taking my phone out of my pocket. I texted Camille to meet me at my place in an hour, then I called Joris. He never liked Camille, I needed to know if it was because of Lizzie.

"I want to know everything." I said and Joris just groaned.

"She’ll kill me if I tell you…" Joris began but I cut him off.

"I don’t give a fuck, right now I should be your concern, because if you’re not telling me what I’ve been missing for a whole damn year, I’m the one coming for you!" I said.

"She was awful to Lizzie, always saying things to her that Lizzie’s just a friend of yours, that she is now the most important person in your life, that Lizzie should start to understand that your priorities are now on her and that Lizzie is not important anymore. She even got that far telling Lizzie to give you guys some more space and sent her away from, to quote her, "our flat"… like she would live there with you! And after Lizzies accident she and her bitchy friends always made fun of her when she needed a little longer to speak or when she couldn’t walk normally in the beginning… and the things they said about her back?! The scars? It was awful…" he said and with every word he spoke I felt sicker and sicker, I was trembling, anger surging through me.

"And why the fuck did no one tell me? Why did Lizzie tell you but never me?" I was furious.

"Because Lizzie didn’t tell us those things! I heard it! I saw it! We all did at some point! Camille never did those things when you were close by! But we all witnessed it! Do you remember your birthday? How Riccardo left in the middle of it out of nowhere? That was because of Camille! She was horrible towards Lizzie! Her friends commented on that video that someone took of her on your boat. Not nice things. And he was so fed up that he wanted to tell you, but Lizzie pleaded with him to not to so he agreed, but he was so mad that he had to leave otherwise he would’ve called her out in front of everyone! We all wanted to tell you more than once, Charles! But Lizzie… she thought that Camille made you this happy and she didn’t want to ruin your relationship!" Joris explained and I felt the bile rise up my throat.

"You still should’ve said something!" I almost shouted, I was mad and letting it out at Joris wasn’t fair but I had to let it out. I couldn’t hold it in.

"I wouldn’t have to say anything if you weren’t so fucking blind! And if she wasn’t so blind! You weren’t happy because of Camille! You were happy because of Lizzie! Not Camille! How could you even start dating her? When you clearly love Lizzie! You really thought your plan would work out? You will forget about your feelings for Lizzie because of Camille? The only thing you did with that was hurting Lizzie! You have no idea how many times Lizzie cried last year because of you! She tried everything to not ruin your birthday when you did just that back on her birthday! Not just that you came fucking late, no you ignored her for most of the night, you weren’t even singing with us and then you left earlier because of Camille but you didn’t even say goodbye to Lizzie! You fucking left her alone on her birthday! You know how much she hates celebrating it! You have no idea how many times I… no we had to see her heartbroken expression when you were faking being happy with Camille and Lizzie believed it! Just for you to not man up and confess your feelings to Lizzie! If you want to be mad at someone, then it’s you first and Camille second!" Joris got up and left.

I sat there dumbfounded. But after a while I had to admit, everything he said was right. Now it was time to finally do the right thing.

"You never gave us a real chance because of her, that wasn’t fair! I was always good to you!" she didn’t sound sad, more mad, disappointed and annoyed.

"You’re right. It wasn’t fair. And I can’t apologise enough for letting it come this far. But what you did Camille? Your friends did? What you said? The entire last year? Nothing of this was her fault! It was all me. I messed up and I know it. I’m sorry for hurting you, I really am." the only one to blame was me. I should’ve never even started this relationship in the first place.

"I didn’t mean what I was saying Charles, it was only a joke, yes I know, a bad one. But it’s always her, her, her! I guess I had to let it out at one point!" she defends and I sigh.

"Yeah, but then you should’ve let it all out on me. Not on her, after everything she’s been through! And it was more than a joke Camille! You were horrible to her the entire time! I was just too blind to see it! And that is entirely my fault! Because I was the one who was in a relationship with you even tho I’m not…" I stopped and Camille’s look changed.

"Go on, say it…" she said and I sighed.

"The time we spent together, how you always supported me although I didn’t deserve it, I can’t thank you enough for it, Camille… but I was never in love with you. I’m sorry… you deserve someone who is in love with you and not someone who’s just with you because it feels nice and content, because he can’t stay alone." I said it and she nodded.

"It was always her, right. I never had a chance, did I." it wasn’t a question.

"I wanted it not to be her, that’s why I gave us a chance in the first place, I was trying everything to bury the feelings that I had, no, that I have, for her… but you’re right, it was always her… it will always be her…" I answered and Camille smiled a little.

"Then do yourself a favour and tell her." and with that she got up and walked to the door. "Goodbye, Charles." and she was gone.

I didn’t know how long I sat there, thinking about what she said "Do yourself a favour and tell her", she was right. I had to tell Lizzie that I am in love with her, only her. But I couldn’t do it now, not after I just broke up with Camille, she couldn’t think that she was just a rebound. I needed to take my time, show her every day a bit more that I love her, because Camille was right, it was always her. And I was right as well, it always will be her. I flinched when my phone pinged, a message from Lizzie. Rather than texting back I called her.

"Ma belle."

"Hey Charlie, how are you?" she sounded nervous.

"I just broke up with Camille…" silence.

"I’m sorry." she sounded sincere.

"Don’t be. It’s better like this. There was too much baggage. Too much going the wrong way for too long."

"You still loved her…"

"No, I loved the fact of having a girlfriend, having someone by my side."

"Hmm, ok. Are you good? Do you want to be alone? Or do you want to come over? We’re ordering food and watching a movie…"

"I’ll be there in 20 minutes."

"See you then, Charlie bear."

"See you, ma belle." she hung up. I love you.

"Are you crazy? Who’s going to eat all of that?" Arthur looked at me with big eyes as I walked back from the door, 2 pizza boxes, 3 pasta dishes and 3 salad boxes already on the table, and now another big bag full of Indian and Chinese food as well.

"When you said you’d order something from everything, I didn’t think you would mean it quite literally?!" Carla chuckled and I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Charles is coming over as well…" I said and walked into the kitchen to get some cutlery, plates and glasses "Come on Arthi, the drinks won’t walk on their own!"

"So is it just him? Or is she coming as well… after yesterday? Do you really think it’s a good idea?" Arthur whispered and I sighed.

"He will probably tell you himself, so you know from nothing. He broke up with Camille, as of today…" I said quietly and Arthur’s smirk was getting bigger and bigger "Stop! He’s probably heartbro…"

"How can he be heartbroken when he never loved her!" Arthur mumbled and walked out the kitchen. Why was he saying that? Charles said the same? What do they know that I didn’t? The doorbell rang and I shook the thought out of my head and walked back into the living room and set everything down. Charles straight up walked to me and hugged me tight.

"Hey ma belle!" he whispered into my ear and I got goosebumps all over my body.

"Hey Charlie bear… are you okay?" I whispered back and he nodded.

"Very much… thank you!" he answered and took my hand in his, sat down and pulled me down right next to him.

"Is Camille coming as well?" Carla asked and I tensed up a little.

"No, she’s not coming, she’ll never come over again, to be honest. We broke up." Charles said and played with our intertwined fingers.

"Oh, thank god!" Carla let out and blushed immediately "I mean… oh god, I’m sorry! She’s a nice girl! Totally! I’m just- I’m just… umm…"

"It’s okay. I know what you mean. It’s better like this. She wasn’t the… let’s just say she wasn’t the right one." Charles said and Arthur chuckled.

"Yeah, I’m sure you’ll find the right one…" he said, voice oozing with sarcasm. I kicked his leg and he just chuckled even more "So, what are we watching?"

After a long discussion we settled for Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone and as we were all cuddled up on the sofa with plates full of food the film started and a pleasant silence fell over the room.

Charles POV:

"No, it’s alright. I’ll carry her to bed." I whispered and Carla gently tugged the blanket away. I got up carefully with Lizzie in my arms and Arthur walked in front of us, opening the door to his guest bedroom, switching on the light on the nightstand.

"You’ll stay here, right?" Arthur asked and I laid Lizzie down.

"Umm… should I?" I said quietly and he only nodded.

"Wait a minute…" he said and walked away before he came back with a t-shirt and some sweatpants "Good night, Char." he walked away but then turned around "You know that she loves you? And you love her? So whatever you’re doing, don’t hurt her again…" then he left.

I quickly changed into his spare clothes, went into the bathroom and washed myself as good as possible. Rinsed my mouth and walked back into the guest room, then I quietly closed the door and laid down next to Lizzie. I switched off the light and fell asleep almost immediately.

I stirred around, then groaned before laying on my side as I heard a little giggle.

"Hi, Charlie bear…" Lizzie’s voice was a little hoarse and she yawned.

"Hi, ma belle… I missed this…" I sighed and opened my eyes, looking into hers "Waking up from you rolling around to find a comfortable position again to sleep a little longer. And then your little giggle when you realise you woke me up…"

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, it’s just that I was cold all of a sudden and no matter how I laid, it didn’t seem to warm up again…" she chuckled and I pulled her into me. Cuddling her body close to mine.

"Better?" I mumbled and closed my eyes again.

"Better." she whispered breathlessly and we laid like this for a while, before I decided to address the elephant in the room.

"Why didn’t you tell me? All the things that Camille did?" I whispered and Lizzie tensed up, breathing in audibly.

"She seemed to make you happy. You seemed to love her. That was all that mattered to me." she answered and my heart broke.

"She made you sick Lizzie, she was making you feel so anxious that your body reacted in the worst kind of way… my happiness wasn’t as important as your health!" I groaned but she just shook her head.

"No, Charles, that’s where you’re wrong. Your happiness is the most important thing for me! After everything you’ve been through, you deserved some happiness, so when I had to suffer because of it I did it and I would do it all over again…" she said and I held her even tighter in my arms.

"Nothing is more important than you, ma belle! You hear me? God, Lizzie! You’re the most important person in my life! I’m sorry for not seeing what she was doing, how she treated you, god I will never forgive myself for being so blind and oblivious!" I whispered but she shook her head again.

"Charles, you didn’t do anything wrong! There is nothing to forgive yourself! You loved her and she made you happy. Period." she sighed but now I shook my head.

"I never loved her. Not even in the slightest, I just liked having someone around. I hate being alone. I just can’t do it. But you had your own worries, then the accident, the recovery. Camille was convenient. And she was nice and sweet when it was just us. But, I never loved her. I know I sound like the biggest asshole on earth right now. But it’s the truth…" I said and Lizzie looked up at me with her big eyes, contemplating her next words.

"With any other girl I would say yes you’re an asshole, a huge one! But because it’s her? I’d say you’re just a teeny, tiny one, like this…" she laughed and pinched her thumb and pointer finger close together, almost touching.

"I think I can live with that." I answered and laughed as well.

"So what happens now? You’re officially on the market again! Single ladies of Monaco beware!" Lizzie laughed even more but I just shook my head and she stopped and looked at me.

"Nope. I’m not jumping into the next best relationship just because I don’t want to be alone. I’m waiting for the right girl to come around. However long it takes." I said and looked her determined in the eyes. She swallowed loudly and chuckled nervously.

"Yeah… however long it takes…" she answered and I smiled at her.

I will wait however long it takes for her to realise that for me it has always been her. And that she will be the only one I will have by my side ever again.

"That sounds really cold, Charles! You should reconsider that… I don’t want people to think that you’re an asshole!" I sighed but Charles only shook his head.

"I don’t care. We didn’t make any lasting memories, the texts she sent me the last few days showed me her true colours, she’s already out there planning a vacation with some other dude, 2 days after our break-up, saying he always treats her right… in these 2 days or what? And she said, to quote her, now she can finally live her life the way she wanted again." he said and I had to stop myself from laughing.

"Okay. Do whatever you want then." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"It’s posted. Water under the bridge." Charles said and I smiled at him.

Bye Camille…

————————————————————————

Little Note:

That's it, chapter 11 is out - Ding Dong, the Bitch is dead gone 🙌

Please leave a comment/ like/ reblog/ message and tell me how you liked it! I'm dying to hear your thoughts!

If you want to be added to the taglist, drop a comment!

Last but not least, English is not my first language and although I tried my best: please excuse any mistakes I made!

Taglist:

@silkenthusiasts @eugene-emt-roe @sunny44 @itsjustkhaos @glitterquadricorn @aundercover @kakorrhaphiphobia @alittlebitofbooksandmagic @ru-kru @glitterf1

All the images I’m using are from Google, Pinterest and Instagram.

[afewproblems]

and there you go hurtin' me so good again with the continuation of your cheating!Eddie steddie fic.. thank you! <3

Based on Part One, and this Ask here,

I was chatting with @samcoxramblings yesterday about this and I think maybe there should be some Steve POV, as a treat.

If Steve thought about the last few weeks of his life alongside every other instant of sorrow and pain he'd experienced, his relationship with Nancy, the Upside Down, the death of Barb, his parents, he'd say he should be used to this sort of thing by now.

But perhaps he'd been spoiled.

He'd had more than twenty years of happiness, contentedness, with Eddie and their life together. He'd relaxed too much, and here was the other shoe crashing down.

The home phone line in their apartment has been ringing off the hook, reporters have been trying to get ahold of him to see his side of things, leaving messages and one bold enough to come to their apartment leaves a letter taped to their door.

Steve disconnectes the phone and installs another lock after that.

And speaking of letters, there have been a mix delivered to their shared PO Box, some in support of Steve, sympathetic to the situation, others are ecstatic --seeing it as their chance to wedge their way into his marriage just like the last person, that they've always hated Steve and can't wait to see him gone.

He only reads a few letters before letting them pile up on the side table by the door.

All because of that stupid photo.

There was no discernable face in the photo, or photos, that ended up online.

Just Eddie talking animatedly to someone facing away from the camera view. It pieces together the evening, a meet cute, a conversation, walking out of the bar together, and a passionate kiss before getting into a taxi.

Eddie confirms it, and it's like his heart breaks in two.

There are a million questions rattling around in his head.

How many times has this happened? How long has Eddie been lying to him, was this a one time thing or have they been secretly meeting one another for multiple tours? Does the band know? Have they been lying to his face as well?

Steve feels as though he's been on autopilot, walking around in a fog while at home, and mechanically moving through his lesson plans while at school.

To make matters worse, his principal calls him at home after the news breaks.

"Steve, how are you doing? I'm so sorry to hear," she tells him solemnly over the line, "if there is anything we can do please let us know".

"Thank you Liz, I, I really appreciate it," Steve hums, his voice much more level than it has been in awhile, "I'll take Spring break to finish up my marking and get my head on straight before we're back--"

"Steve, I'm sorry, I think," she hesitates, Steve can hear her pace around her office, her signature kitten heels click against the tiled floor, "I think it would be best if you take a little longer than Spring Break".

He feels his stomach drop into his shoes, no, no, they can't...

"What, what are you talking about, are you--"

"No, no, of course not," her voice shrill, panicked and tinny, over the line as she backpeddles, "no, we just think it would be better for you and the kids if you took some time away. We have a sub lined up and this wouldn't be permanent, just until it dies down".

"You can't be serious Liz, come on, their finals are coming up at the end of the month and I've never let my personal life affect my job before and I'm not about to start now, I don't need a leave of absence, I'm fine," he lies.

It has been difficult to get through class, to ignore the whispers from the kids during break or while they work in groups. He can feel curious eyes follow him in between the desks as he walks around for questions.

Liz sighs into the line and all at once knows the conversation is over, that it was never a conversation to begin with.

"Look, you're the best department head we've had in a long time Steve, and I want you back, fresh, for the kids. I can't imagine how you're feeling right now and I know this isn't what you wanted but I think it will be for the best".

"How long?" Steve manages to say, so softly that Liz asks him to repeat himself.

"Excluding the break, I'll say three weeks, so you can be back to see them through their exams," she sighs again, "the school year isn't over yet Steve, you'll still have lots of time with them".

Steve raises a shaking hand to his hair, running his fingers through it from root to tip. It could be good to take that time, Robin had asked him if he would when they initially spoke. It could give him a chance to think about what to do.

But, at this point, he worries if he stops moving, if he slows down, he won't be able to stop the grief he can feel, knocking at his window.

"Okay, okay, Liz, I'll take some time".

***

Steve finishes his marking in record time, but perhaps it's easy when one doesn't sleep.

He reorganizes the pantry twice, deep cleans all the storage closets, he throws every piece of clothing in the house into the laundry, including Eddie's, drops off the dry cleaning, and washes the walls.

He moves the furniture around and finds himself looking at rentable scaffolding to see about finally starting that painting project he's been thinking about.

It's only Wednesday.

One by one his family begin to reach out as the news begins to circulate more prominently in the regular entertainment news outlets. Hopper and Joyce call, Joyce asks Steve if he wants to come back to Hawkins for a bit, that their door is always open for him, just as it was when he was in his twenties. Hopper tells him all Steve needs to do is give him the word and he'll be in Chicago with a shovel, no questions asked.

Steve thanks Joyce and gives Hopper an emphatic, 'NO,' but he appreciates them all the same.

Dustin innocently brings up that he'll be in Chicago for a few days the following week, that Robin offered Steve's guest room to him, and Steve finds himself smiling while shaking his head at the co-conspirators.

All of the kids call at least once, but they are busy themselves, none of them are on a leave of absence after all, he thinks bitterly to himself.

Thursday afternoon there's a knock at his door, Steve is in the middle of changing out the old washer from the kitchen sink -finally getting around to fixing the small leak, he freezes at the sound.

He's not expecting anyone and even though he and Robin are nearly joined at the hip she still has the decency to call before showing up at his door.

Steve climbs out from under the sink and wipes his hands on the nearest towel before slowly walking towards the door. All the locks are still bolted from the night before, so he feels safer leaning in to peer through the peephole.

It's Wayne?

Steve feels his heart begin to race, what on earth was Wayne doing here? Was Eddie with him? Corroded Coffin was still on tour, he couldn't be.

He hazards another glance through the peephole but he can't tell if there is anyone else in the hall.

Wayne knocks again making Steve jump at the sudden noise.

Steve breathes in deeply through his nose and out through his mouth once, twice, before he unlocks both bolts and the chain with shaking hands, he opens the door a fraction.

"Wayne? What are you doing here?" Steve says softly, he steps aside to let the man through.

"I came to check on you," Wayne says after a beat, he wipes his feet on the second mat inside and shrugs off his red windbreaker. Steve tries to take the jacket to hang it up but raises his hands in surrender as Wayne waves him off and opens the closet to hang it up himself.

Steve takes him into the kitchen and puts on a pot of coffee, they never did invest in one of those single serve coffee machines, Eddie drank so much coffee when he was home that it made no sense and, 'brewed coffee just tates better Stevie'.

Steve shakes the memory away and grabs two mugs from the cupboard, "Just sugar right?"

He reaches for the empty sugar bowl as Wayne nods, he hovers awkwardly as Steve flits around the kitchen.

Steve grabs the sugar from their pantry and fills up the bowl before placing it on the table with a spoon.

"So," Steve sighs as he leans against the counter next to the coffee maker, it hisses and bubbles filling the air with the smell of brewing coffee, "Eddie put you up to this, huh?"

Wayne frowns but nods, "Call it the first good decision that dumb-ass has made in the last few weeks," he scratches the graying scruff on his cheeks and steps closer, "how are you doing son?

Steve wants to tell him about how he hasn't let himself even think about the future. How he told Eddie he couldn't come home yet, how he's so achingly lonely despite the number of people that have reached out. How he doesn't want to think about a life without Eddie, but that he also can't imagine being in the same room as him for more that a minute without wanting to just scream at him.

How, Steve firmly believed that he would lose the man standing in his doorway, how his friendship with Gareth and Chrissy would inevitably fracture over Eddie, and once again Steve would be alone, picking up the pieces of his life to start again.

Instead, he manages to say, "I'm so glad you're here," before stepping into Wayne's arms, and allowing himself to be held as he finally, finally cries.

Wayne's arms come around him firmly, he reaches one hand up to cradle Steve's head while the other rubs his back, "its okay son, I gotcha," he whispers as Steves shoulders shake and his chest stutters.

"I gotcha".