#no joke my dad had to instruct me to take slow deep breaths after one ride

[angrybatart]

That dragon flew down the hill pretty fast, Performance. Give the poor guy a break.

I LOVE roller coasters, but get a little overstimulated while riding them. One time, I held onto the safety bar so tight my hands went numb. And I was just SO out of it for a few minutes. Not gonna stop me from riding another one, though.

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

Lesson Learned | Five Hargreeves

✦ pairing — Five Hargreeves x female!Plus Size Reader

✦ word count — 5.1k

✦ college AU-ish

✦ request — Could you write a story in which Five asks reader to teach him to kiss because he has a date (they’re in high school or college if you prefer) but gets carried on and they have sex so it becomes the norm and she thinks they’re fwb but he thinks they’re dating so they get into a fight when she tells him she can do it anymore because she fell for him and has turned other people down?

✦ warnings — nsfw, Five and reader are in college, language, Five is a virgin, smut, vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, angst, jealousy, misunderstandings, awkwardness, fluff.

✦ author's note — I changed the ending, but for the most part, this is loyal to the request.

════════════════════════

He had to be joking. Sure, Five wasn’t one to joke around too much, but he wasn’t one to talk about his love life with you either.

You glanced at him. With his back flush against the backrest of your desk chair and hands on his lap, he stared back.

“I can explain it to you...”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s not the same! Many things could go wrong. Dad always said to start small and practice.”

You rubbed your forehead, exasperated. “But I’m not an expert on kissing.”

“I’ve seen you make out with people at parties.”

Parties he always complained about. You understood where Five was coming from, he had been strictly homeschooled his entire life. It was a miracle that Reginald accepted to let him enroll in college.

Resigned, you left your seat on the bed, motioning for him to stand up too. Five complied, eyes on your face as he waited for you to say something else.

Swallowing your spit, praying you would stop hyper-salivating soon, you rested your right hand on his left cheek.

Five looked down at your hand, frowning.

“They’ll probably touch your face if they kiss you.”

Forcing him to slant his head, you explained, “Tilting your head makes it more comfortable. That way, when you move your lips against theirs, your noses don’t get in the way.”

Gently, he placed his hand on your cheek. Five pushed your head to the side so you’d tilt it too.

You could feel your heartbeat quicken which prompted you to take a deep breath. “You should be gentle at first, don’t stick your tongue into their throat or something like that.”

“I know the theory,” he snapped. “Can you just teach me the practice already?”

“Right.” You brought him to your height, unconsciously wetting your lips.

His breath fanned on your face, warm and rigged. You closed the gap between your mouths, fluttering your eyes close when he started moving his lips on yours.

It felt good, natural. You doubted it was his first kiss until his teeth grazed your bottom lip as he got too into the kiss too soon.

Swiping your thumb over his cheek, you pulled away to explain some more. “Easy. You’re just learning.”

Feeling him nod against your hand as he puckered his lips up to kiss you again, you added, “There’s nothing wrong with going at your own pace. If the other person really wants to kiss you, they’ll understand. You should do the same with them.”

Five pulled you closer to him, dropping his mouth onto yours. His kiss was intense, and you couldn’t help but match the passion he was pouring into it.

Your fingers slid into his hair which made him shudder. He added his teeth purposefully this time, bitting down your bottom lip.

“Well,” you breathed out, “I think you’ll do fine.”

“Oh, shut up.” He kissed you again, dropping his hand to your shoulder and letting it travel down your arm.

His fingers brushed yours yet he didn’t stop there. He planted his hand on your hip, groaning when you tugged on his hair.

Your tongue slid across his bottom lip, catching him off guard for a millisecond. Five opened his mouth, granting you access more than happily.

Gripping your hip with no inhibitions now, he walked you backward. You broke the kiss, gasping for air, confused as to what he was doing.

It clicked when your calves hit the base of the bed. You searched for his eyes, wanting to make sure he knew what he was doing. Finding dilated pupils, you gulped.

“You’ll have to teach me,” he panted on your mouth, voice deeper than earlier.

You nodded, lightly pushing him off. You had never been anyone’s first before, much less taught someone how to have sex. Nervous, you slowly dragged your hands down his chest and torso.

Pulling at the hem of his t-shirt, you waited for him to lift his arms to discard it. You looked at him appreciatively, already having expected a fit body due to his training.

Grabbing his arms, you leaned over to leave a tentative kiss on his neck. Five hummed, bringing his hands back to your body, skimming your back.

The reaction encouraged you to be more firm with your ministrations, adamant to find his sensitive spot.

Fisting your blouse, he rasped, “Let me take this off.”

Standing straight, you lifted your arms like he had done. Five slid the item off quickly, throwing the blouse to the chair.

He traced your breasts, looking at you to see if you were okay with it. Placing your hands on top of his, you encouraged him to touch you firmly.

As he kneaded your breasts from on top of your bra, you resumed the attention you were giving to his neck. You seemed to find the spot you had been looking for under his ear.

He held you flush against him as you kept kissing his skin, breathing unsteadily. Five groaned, attempting to undo your bra with shaky fingers.

“Fuck,” he blurted a curse as you harshly sucked on his neck, “you’re driving me insane.”

“That’s the idea,” you chuckled, hands moving to the front of his jeans. Brushing his bulge with your knuckles, you felt his breath hitch.

He dropped his head forward, lips caressing your shoulder as he hid his face in your neck. You cupped his bulge, and his hips thrust forward in reaction.

Five kissed your neck like you had been kissing his earlier, yet he got messy quicker. You moaned softly, feeling him suck on your skin like his life depended on it.

Unfastening his jeans, you pulled them down. He kicked his shoes off immediately, pushing the denim down his legs and kicking the jeans to the side too.

You palmed his cock, only for him to remove your hand. Before you could assume he didn’t want this anymore, he pulled your leggings down.

Abashed by the fact that you were wearing mismatched underwear, you got rid of the leggings. Turning around, giving him your back, you instructed, “Watch my hands.”

Five tried really hard to pay attention as your fingers unclasped your bra, but the only thing he could do was picture your fingers around his cock.

You grabbed his hand as you faced him, guiding it back to your breast to teach him how to pinch your nipples.

He rolled your nipple between his thumb and index fingers, making you let a whine out. Getting confident, wanting to hear more of those sounds that went straight to the tip of his cock, he started using both hands.

This time he didn’t stop you from touching his cock. You didn’t touch him much, he was almost completely hard already and both of you knew he wouldn’t last long.

His cock sprung free when you took his underwear off, beautifully hard. He hissed at the change of temperature — the hiss quickly turned into a low groan as you wrapped your fingers around his shaft.

Huffing a sigh out, he clumsily got rid of your panties.

Reaching for the drawer of your bedside table, you pulled a box of condoms out. He frowned upon seeing it, but made no comment.

You handed him one and let him take his time to put it on. Rearranging your pillows to be more comfortable, you laid on your back.

Five kneeled on the bed, dragging his eyes down your body. You opened your legs for him.

Crawling closer to you, he looked down to see what he was doing and hesitated.

“It’s okay if you want to stop,” you reminded him.

“It’s not that. I don’t want to hurt you,” he admitted.

“Oh.” You cradled his cock, gently guiding his tip in. He shut his eyes as you did so, swallowing rather harshly. Craning your neck upward, you kissed his throat, letting go of his cock as he slowly continued to push in.

Five cursed. The strained tone made you clench around him, prompting him to let out a growl.

Ready, adjusted to his size after a tense moment, you told him, “You can move whenever you want. Slow at first.”

Opening his eyes, he placed his hands on your thick thighs. The movement of his hips, slow and hesitant, showcased how nervous he was.

You smiled at him in assurance, hoping he already knew you wouldn’t judge him if things didn’t go as he expected.

It worked to some extent, his clammy hands slid to the sides of your thighs once he felt comfortable with going a little faster.

Lewd sounds filled the room, making Five wonder how could you be that wet. You winced, afraid of embarrassing yourself.

Hovering over you, he kissed you. Forcefully gripping your thighs, rocking his hips at a desperate pace.

He couldn’t believe how good it felt. Five hadn’t given sex much thought before, he didn’t have time for most things — now everything he could process was how warm you were around him, wet and tight.

His stomach contracted as the coil inside him wound tighter. Taking deep breaths, he tried every trick he had read in order to not cum yet.

“It’s okay,” you panted, caressing his hair tenderly as you felt him twitch inside you, “let go.”

Relieved, he spilled into the condom, whining. His hands trembled, eyes wide open. Five never imagined it would be different from coming after jerking off. Oh, how wrong he had been.

“Hold the base when you pull out, that way you don’t make a mess.”

He did as you instructed him, tying the condom once he had taken it off. Five threw the discarded condom into the trash can, chest heaving up and down.

He laid beside you, catching his breath as he looked up at the ceiling.

“You didn’t come, did you?”

“That usually happens the first time you have sex with someone.”

“Don’t make excuses for me.”

You rolled to lay on your side. Five had his jaw clenched, the muscles in his abdomen were contracted, and he was frowning.

“Hey.” You reached for his face, making him look at you. “There are many ways to please someone. Everyone is different. That’s not your fault.”

He scoffed. Five didn’t like being like other people, making other people’s mistakes was stupid, unoriginal.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, I promise.”

“I clearly didn’t do something right!”

“Women tend to have a hard time coming the first time they’re with a new partner. It’s just... normal.”

“What makes you come?”

“It depends from person to—“

He interrupted you, “I asked you specifically.”

“It doesn’t matter. I can get myself off.”

He rolled on his side, resting his hand on your waist as he breathed on your face. “Tell me,” he insisted.

“Fingers should be enough,” you mumbled, eyes on his mouth.

Five dragged his hand down, following your curves. He stopped at your inner thigh for a moment, watching you, mapping your face.

Your eyes were hooded, wanton and pretty; mouth slightly open as you waited for him to please you. Him.

He parted your labia, assuming that was what he had to do to enter you, and gasped upon feeling just how wet you were. It was better than hearing it; it felt real now. He had made you wet. He.

“How many?” The question was low and firm, husky tone going directly to your clit.

“Two.”

Dipping his index and middle fingers into your pussy, Five licked his lips. He was torn between asking more questions and finding out what you liked by himself.

It couldn’t be that hard. He caressed your walls, exploring one side with his index. His knuckle brushed your other side, applying pressure. You whimpered, lulling your head to the side opposed to where he was.

Five shifted his fingers inside you, making you drop your hand to his shoulder as you tried your hardest not to move against his digits.

Intrigued by the spongy mound he had grazed, he touched it again. Your walls squeezed his fingers, hips lifting as your body jolted up.

His name escaped you through a sob. It was too much, you needed him to take you there already. Just a little push and you would explode.

Remembering how good it felt when you kissed his throat, he dropped his head into your neck to do the same, curling his fingers inside you when he realized it was easier to touch the soft sponge that way.

Your moans, mixed with the wet sounds of his fingers deep inside you, got him feeling hotter. He needed you to say his name again, even if it was just once — the sound had been so sweet, so sensual, he was sure he wouldn’t need porn to jerk off ever again.

Hand planted on his neck as you looked for something to hold onto, feeling as though your soul would leave your body if you didn’t find something to ground you, and only half-aware of what you were saying, you clamped your legs closed.

You were finally there, squealing his name so he wouldn’t stop. And he didn’t, not until your whimpers and cries subsided. Even then, Five found the pressure and fluid wetness on his fingers pleasant — so pleasant he unconsciously continued fingering you.

Your legs trembled and a loud sob broke through you. “Too much,” you choked out.

Five stopped moving his fingers, lifting his head to look at you. “Did I hurt you?”

Not able to form a coherent sentence, you pulled him into a kiss. He kissed you slowly, using his position to his advantage to lay you on your back so he could caress your cheek with his free hand.

The kiss had to be cut short when you grew breathless. Fluttering your eyes open, you found his own focused on your face. Your thumb traced his jaw as your hand stayed firm on his neck.

Five pulled his fingers out of you. Hissing, you shifted your hips. He played with the slick coating his fingers, admiring its glisten.

Before processing what he was doing, he licked his fingers.

Both of you moaned at the same time.

════════════════════════

That saying of never meeting your idols had always sounded a little too pessimistic for your liking.

Now you were sure you had a better one. Never start fucking your crush who happens to be your childhood friend.

You should have known you wouldn’t be able to stop. Teaching him became an excuse, until the excuse didn’t hold up because there was nothing else to teach him. At least not on your behalf.

He never told you how the date went. You preferred it that way, pretending you were the only person he was seeing was better.

Extremely easy, too. You spent a lot of time together — hanging out, doing homework, having sex...

You caught him staring from across classrooms or hallways sometimes, and others he caught you. He always smiled, never showing his teeth but always acknowledging you warmly.

Not seeing him on Friday night and Saturday was fucking with your head. He had things to do, at least that was what he said — probably someone else to see.

Every time he kissed you or touched you made you fear it would be the last. He would eventually settle for someone, you knew how much he needed some sense of normalcy in his life.

And you knew it wouldn’t be you.

Your roommate threw herself onto the couch, lifting her eyebrows as she stared at you. “Soooooo,” she sang, “what’s going on between you and Five?”

You closed your laptop, tired of staring at the blank screen with no idea how to start your essay. “Nothing.”

“Then who gave him that giant hickey he’s been trying to hide with a turtleneck?”

You shrugged. “Ask him.”

“(Name),” she said, trying to sound serious. She failed, too amused by your attempt at being nonchalant. “You’re the only person he hangs out with.”

That wasn’t technically true. He had some acquaintances here and there, and he spent a lot of time with his siblings.

Either way, one doesn’t have to hang out with someone to be involved with them in other ways. For instance, the last time you had seen someone casually, none of your friends got to meet them.

Someone knocked on the door. Assuming it was her partner, you let her open herself, resting your belly on the arm of the couch as you stretched to place the laptop on the table beside it.

You would probably prepare something to snack on and watch a movie unless she needed the apartment for herself.

You heard a familiar “hello” and froze. The couch dipped, prompting you to kneel in order to acknowledge Five.

He leaned on his back to stare at you. Following his tongue with your eyes as it came out to wet his bottom lip, you bit the inside of your cheek.

“I brought your favorite cookies,” he announced softly, nodding upward.

A paper bag laid on the wooden table at the center of the living room, next to your roommate’s tablet. As you deviated your eyes, she gave you a cocky smile, lifting her eyebrows again.

She made an excuse to leave you alone, reminding you that she would be back in the morning. Finding the comment pointless, you rolled your eyes playfully at her and told her to be safe.

Five sat properly, cradling your face to kiss you. The kiss was short, a mere greeting gesture. You observed the bags under his eyes which were bloodshot yet made no comment.

Leaving the couch with the excuse of refilling your water bottle, you offered him something to drink but he declined.

“I’ll be in your room,” he stated as he walked past the kitchen.

He didn’t give you time to answer. You sighed loudly once you heard the door creak open and went back to the living room.

Grabbing the cookies and your laptop, you turned the lights off.

He was discarding the tied-up hoodie he had been wearing to hide the marks on his neck when you entered the bedroom.

You left the laptop on your desk. As for the cookies and the water bottle, you placed them on your bedside table before sitting down on the bed from where you could reach them whenever you wanted.

Five rested his head on your lap, kicking his shoes off to get more comfortable. He grabbed your hand, guiding it to his hair.

Burying your fingers in his dark locks, you started massaging his scalp. He sighed, wrapping his arms around your waist.

You asked, “Are you okay?”

It took him a while to answer. Humming, clearly tired, he said, “It’s been a long weekend.”

“Wanna watch a movie?” you offered. You needed the distraction urgently. Thinking about what could’ve been bothering him wasn’t good for your health.

If it was someone he was seeing, it would break your heart. If it was something that had to do with his family... well, that would also break your heart.

Five fit himself between your legs, using your belly as a pillow. One of his arms was around you while his other hand fiddled with the elastic of your sweatpants.

You continued playing with his hair mindlessly, resigned to the fact that you wouldn’t focus on the film.

“You smell good,” he purred, rubbing his face on the ends of your t-shirt as he shifted to bury his nose in the material and sniff it.

He fell asleep on your lap before the third act of the movie started.

════════════════════════

He hadn’t wanted to attend the stupid party. Five was tired, sleep-deprived, and quite worried. Klaus wanted him there, and he couldn’t say no to his brother when he had his own reasons to attend.

Regardless, he should’ve imagined Klaus had dragged him there with other intentions.

“Pleaaaaaase?” Klaus whined.

Five gritted, “I said no. I am busy later.”

Five adored his brother, he often gave into Klaus’ whims, but covering for him wasn’t that easy, and he had plans already.

Things weren’t going as smoothly as he wanted them to, and the logical solution was taking time to do them right before it was too late. It was his primary focus.

He had spent days asking around, doing research, planning things. Letting Klaus ruin everything because he wanted to get laid couldn’t be allowed.

Klaus pouted, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the room. “I’ll ask (Name) then.” He then giggled, “But not now. Or later. She might get some tonight.”

Five opened his mouth, “How did—“ he stopped himself, Klaus wasn’t looking at him anymore but at something behind him.

Turning around, Five found your frame a few meters away from him. You were chatting with a guy he had seen in passing, hand on his bicep — he believed the blond idiot to share a class with you.

What was his name? Something dumb, clearly. Fuck, why couldn’t he remember names now? Luke... or Lucas? It started with an L. It suited him.

Not thinking much of it, aware of how friendly you were, he took a sip of his drink. Five almost choked when he saw you throw your head back in a fit of laughter.

Everyone knew your companion wasn’t funny or smart. Why were you laughing with him? And why hadn’t you approached Five to say hello?

Leaving Klaus without a word, he walked toward you. He recognized your laugh as a painfully fake one, too giggly to be of your own or natural. It was vomit-inducing.

Five stood at your side. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he lied.

You shifted to acknowledge him, speaking through your teeth. “I’m a little busy right now.”

Thrusting his drink into your hand, he ignored your companion. “It’s your favorite,” he smiled at you sweetly.

Your heart fluttered in your chest, prompting you to take a sip to keep yourself from giggling. For real this time. A smile had never made you so nervous.

Then again, Five rarely smiled genuinely.

Your companion cleared his throat, trying to get your attention again.

Turning to look at the other man, Five nodded upward. “Oh, hey Luke.”

“It’s Lance.”

“Right.” Five nodded dismissively. Sliding his arm around your shoulders, draping his hand as his knuckles brushed your jaw, he told you, “Can you talk to Liam later? I need your help.”

“My name is—“

Five gave Lance a tight sarcastic smile. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

You passed the cup to your other hand, wrapping your arm around Five’s waist. Choosing him, always him for some stupid reason.

Lance scoffed. “I’ll see you around, (Name).”

He glared at Five as he made his way toward his friends. Uncomfortable, you looked down. This was the third time you turned someone down for Five, and you were growing tired of it but couldn’t stop doing it.

“You didn’t answer my texts earlier.”

“You know I’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, like you were busy with your new bestie now.”

His harsh tone made you face him. He was glaring at the empty space in front of you, where Lance had been standing.

“You said you needed my help...” you trailed off, desperate to get past the uncomfortable silence.

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

Giving you a look that told you not to ask more questions, he pulled you closer, dragging you with him.

Leaving out of nowhere, without warnings or apologies to your friends, wasn’t wise. They could worry, or get mad at you when it had taken them so long to convince you to stop brooding and attend the party.

They surely would understand if you explained that Five had needed your help. Or tease you for dropping everything to be with him.

The weather outside of the venue was nice, nicer than the previous days when the heat had been so intense you had been tempted to sleep naked.

“Are you at least telling me what’s wrong?”

He looked up at the sky, humming in thought. This wasn’t the way he had intended to apologize, or to say anything. “I was hoping you would tell me.”

“You’re the one who needs help.”

“I clearly lied.”

You rolled your eyes to yourself. He was acting as though you were always willing to put everything aside for him. And you were. Fuck.

“Can I go back to the party?”

“Back to that idiot?” he mocked you. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to tell you all about the underage girls he has been grooming.”

Jesus fucking Christ. You just wanted to have fun for a night. Just one night of not going to bed wondering if he was in someone else’s room. Lance had seemed willing to make you forget — it would’ve been a transactional night, nothing more and nothing less.

Your silence only made matters worse. Bitterly, Five gritted, “One would think that after a week of being so busy you couldn’t hang out with your boyfriend you would be happy to have some time alone with him, but for some fucking reason I’m not enough tonight.”

“With my what?” You asked, baffled.

He shifted, twisting his body to gaze at you. “I know you’ve been busy, okay? And I have also been focused on other things, extremely stressed too.” Five leaned his head on the concrete wall. “It’s not an excuse. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You nodded. “But what did you say earlier? Like... seconds earlier.”

Struggling to repeat it, worried you would agree, he stammered, “That I’m not good enough tonight?”

“You used the word boyfriend.”

Five looked at you like he didn’t understand what you were talking about. “That’s what I am,” he said, obfuscated by the fact that he had to state the obvious.

“You are?”

“Am I not?”

“Well... no, but a little bit but not really? I mean—“ interrupting yourself, you shook your head. Acting like a babbling schoolgirl would get you nowhere.

Sure, you wanted to throw up; and yeah, you were probably getting what you wanted — but things weren’t supposed to go that way.

“You never asked,” you reminded him. How could you have known he was taking things so seriously? “I assumed we were friends with benefits.”

“We spend our free time together, making out and whatnot.”

“Yeah! Friends with benefits do that. Those are the benefits.”

“We go on dates,” he challenged you to find an explanation that would follow your warped logic. Friends with benefits! What a dumb thing to assume when he was giving you every drop of his love and attention.

Dates? What the fuck was he talking about? Hanging out at cafés and going to the movies?

“Those aren’t dates.”

“That’s stupid. Why would there be so many fucking rules to be in a relationship?”

You blew air out through your mouth, willing to explain it to him. “It’s not about rules. If you don’t clarify your intentions, people can only assume. The only qualifier for something to be a date is calling it that. It’s not that hard.”

“Fuck.” He rubbed his palms against his face, gripping his hair as his hands traveled up his head. “I feel like an idiot.”

“It’s okay, I shouldn’t have assumed anything either.”

He shook his head. “It’s something much more embarrassing.”

“Should I even ask?”

“Don’t laugh.” He lifted a finger, pointing at you in a threatening stance.

“I won’t,” you promised. How bad could it be?

Oh, it was bad. Okay, not bad, just... over the top. You wanted to laugh really badly — not at him, but out of nervousness. And maybe a little bit at him.

He had managed to scatter flower petals all over a hotel room floor while candles formed a trail toward the bed.

Light from more candles emanated from the bathroom where you could see even more flowers, beautifully arranged around the bathtub.

You opened and closed your mouth, trying to find something worth saying, a reaction that wouldn’t offend him.

“It’s romantic.” He made a pause, twisting his clasped hands. “Right?”

“Y—yeah.”

Five tsked. “It’s too fucking much, I know. I wanted to be romantic because my girlfriend has been stressed out and turns out I look like a fucking lunatic by doing this!” Lifting his hands in a frustrated gesture, he clenched his jaw.

You placed your hands on his shoulders. “It’s sweet.” He was pouting now, prompting you to be more firm, “I mean it.”

“You don’t seem to like it.”

“Of course I do! It’s just news to me that we’re dating.”

“Have you...” he made a meaningless movement with his hand, wetting his lips. “You know... seen other people?”

“No.” You decided to tell him the whole truth, “I tried a few times, but it didn’t feel right. It’s kind of embarrassing, I’ve turned people down because of you while thinking you didn’t care about me.”

“And I thought I was the delusional one.”

“You would’ve saved me from a lot of stress if you had stated your intentions clear,” you defended yourself. “Put yourself in my shoes, we had sex the first time because you wanted me to teach you.”

“We had sex the first time because you turned me on,” he corrected you, gripping your hips, making your dress inch up. “Why are you wearing a dress?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Five brought you closer to him, face red and eyes sharp. “You are right, I don’t.” He leaned over, trying not to focus on anything else but your lips.

You met him in the middle, kissing him first as you captured his bottom lip between yours. “I’m sorry,” you mumbled on his mouth, only to kiss him again.

Five slowed the kiss down for once, giving you short kisses instead. He rested his forehead on yours, arms around you as he swayed you to a rhythm you didn’t really know.

“Is it a bad moment to tell you I’m in love with you?”

With your hands on his shoulders, you shook your head. “It would only be bad if you didn’t mean it.”

“I never meant anything more in my life.”

“I’m in love with you too.”

He smiled, angling his face to give you another kiss. Sweet and long, as if he had all the time in the world. Five peppered kisses all over your face, huffing more smiles as he gazed at your reaction.

“Do you want to take a bubble bath?” he asked, mouthing your jaw. “I brought your favorite scent.”

“Are you joining me?”

“That was implicit, honey.”

You grabbed his hand then, bringing him into the bathroom with you.

[kywaslost]

Comforting Student Reader ft. Aizawa and Present Mic

Warnings: crying, bad times, death, mourning

Requests are open!!

Although no one knows it, he always keeps an eye on his students. He can almost always tell when someone is upset.

He noticed how your actions changed. You were always quiet and reserved, daydreaming from time to time. You would always turn your work in, getting mostly A’s with a few B’s. So when you started failing the class with F’s and D’s, Aizawa knew something was wrong. He also noticed how everyday you would space out even more than you did before. He noticed the way you acted, slow and solum. He saw how sleep deprived you were. You had missing assignments and late work, unfinished tests and work.

Aizawa confronted you one day after class.

“L/N, stay after class please.” You nodded, taking in a shaky sigh. This day cannot get any worse, you thought. The bell rang and you packed up, walking slowly to Mr. Aizawa. 

“Yes, sir?” you asked quietly, giving a fake smile. He sat on his desk, looking over you. Your uniform looked as if you had just thrown it on. Aizawa brought his eyes up to yours. He could see how dull the had become.

“L/N, what is going on?” Aizawa asked. You gave him a confused look.

“What are you talking about?” you questioned, although you knew exactly what he meant. Aizawa gave you a soft look.

“I think you know exactly what I mean,” he started.

You looked around nervously, avoiding his gaze. “I, I… I don’t know what you mean.” Aizawa stared at you for a moment, analyzing your body composition.

“Your grades have dropped drastically, you’ve started falling asleep in class,” he listed off. You looked away, ashamed. “Y/N,” he said, resting a hand on your shoulder. You looked up, surprised by both his hand and the use of your first name. “What’s going on?”

Tears welled up in your eyes. “Can you close the door?” you asked quietly. Aizawa’s face softened.

“Of course.” He closed the door and came back to you. He pulled two chairs to face each other and he sat down in one. When he saw that you hadn’t moved he motioned for you to sit and you did as asked. The two of you sat in silence for a while before you bury your face in your hands.

“I’m sorry,” you muttered, silent tears falling down your face.

“It’s ok,” Aizawa said softly. “Take your time.” 

Silence.

You lifted your head and Aizawa’s heart broke slightly. Although he would never admit it, Aizawa would die for his students and seeing them cry made him feel bad. He saw the tear tracks on your face and leaned forward.

“Y/N,” he said quietly. You looked at him. “You know you can trust me, right?” You nodded, sitting up.

“Yeah,” you answered and wiped the tears from your face. Once you compose yourself you decided to speak. “I’ve just been having a really hard time lately. I’m sorry,” you apologized again, tearing up.

“It’s alright,” Aizawa assured. “Can you tell me why?” You nodded.

“It’s just…” you took a deep breath, “My dad… he, he’s a pro hero and a villain hurt him pretty bad. He’s, he’s my only family left and the doctors said that they’ve done all they could. 

Aizawa’s eyes softened as he stood, pulling you up with him. He pulled you into a hug, holding you tight. This caused you to burst into tears. Aizawa pulled you closer as you sobbed, clutching his shirt in fists. He used on hand to hold your head against him and his other to rub up and down your back in hopes to help calm you down.

“I’m sorry,” you sobbed.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Aizawa soothed, resting his chin on your head. He stayed with you until you had calmed down. When you finally pulled away you discovered how tired you really were. Aizawa saw it as well; the way you swayed slightly on your feet, the way your head bobbed down and how it took a lot of energy for you to keep your eyes open.

“Are you tired?” he asked with a small smile. You shook your head.

“No,” you slurred, rubbing your eyes and fixing your posture. Picking up your bag, you got ready to leave. “I need to get to my next class. I’m already late.” As you started to walk towards the door Aizawa caught your shoulder. You turned to face him and saw the look in his eyes. 

“Yes you are, I can tell,” he said, stopping you. “I can tell you haven’t been sleeping for several days.” He smiled, “you’re beginning to look like me.” You smiled slightly as well. “Come with me.” You followed him to a room connected to the classroom, his office. You looked around to see a cot against one of the walls.

“Rest here,” Aizawa instructed. You cocked your head.

“What about class?” you asked.

“Who do you have?”

“Mr. Hizashi,” you answered, yawning.

“Alright,” Aizawa smiled. “I will let him know that you are with me. Now, rest. You really need it.” He ruffled your hair as you nodded. He turned to leave the room before you stopped him.

“Mr. Aizawa?” you spoke. He turned towards you and smiled softly.

“Yes?”

“Thank you,” you said, smiling slightly as well. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome,” he responded. “But, hey, don’t tell anyone about this. I can’t go around with people thinking I’m soft.” You giggled.

“Ok.” You laid down on the cot, suddenly feeling extremely tired. Aizawa watched you fall asleep and smiled, knowing that you’d be ok in the long run.

Since Hizashi has such an outgoing personality, he always tries to make sure his class is awake and happy. He tries to make school exciting for his students and fellow coworkers. He always enjoyed how you smiled and laughed at his jokes. He even enjoyed when you would sing along quietly to the ear-blasting music he played sometimes during class.

What happened that day was hard on the both of you. On your way to school a villian decided to attack in your area. Because you live on the outside of the city, the big heros were not around. You watched helplessly as the villian with a fire quirk snatched your brother, taking him. You screamed running forward. Pro heroes fought against the villain as you ran forward to fight back.

“L/N!” Present Mic yelled but that did nothing to stop you. “Stop!”

You continued moving forward as Hizashi grabbed you by the waist and pulled back.

“No!” you sobbed, suddenly aware of what was going on. Hizashi’s grip tightened as he pulled you away from the scene.

“Shh,” he shushed, trying to calm you down. He dragged you into an alleyway. You continued to scream and cry, fighting against Present Mic.

“(Brother’s name)!” you shrieked. You tried to use your water quirk to escape but red eyes stopped you.

“Y/N,” Aizawa called, running up to the two of you. He kneeled down in front of you. “You need to calm down. You’ll hurt Mic if you keep it up. Calm down, ok?”

Something in his voice calmed you and you quit struggling. He smiled softly and patted your head, blinking. He stood and ran off. “Stay with her Hizashi. We’ll be ok.”

You fell limp and both you and Hizashi fell to the ground. You grabbed his arms and sobbed harder with each scream you heard.

“Shh,” Mic soothed again. He pulled a pair of headphones from his bag and plugged them into his phone. Pulling up Youtube Music, he typed in (favorite artist) and placed the headphones over your head. Hizashi picked a playlist, rocking the two of you back and forth. After several songs you finally calmed down, breathing heavily.

“You are alright,” Present Mic whispered, very unlike him. “Would you like to go home?” He realized you couldn’t hear him.

“How is she?” Aizawa asked, running back over to the two. He saw Hizashi’s headphones around your head.

“Much calmer,” Present Mic answered. “But I don’t think taking her home would be the best option.” Aizawa nodded.

“She certainly is not in the right state of mind to go to class.”

“I can keep her in my classroom,” Hizashi offered. Aizawa nodded. “That way she isn’t alone or have to go to class.” He picked you up and you didn’t bat an eye. You lay limp and silent the whole way to UA. When the three of you arrived to Mic’s class, Aizawa and Hizashi noticed that your eyes were closed.

“F/N?” Aizawa said, tapping your foot. Your eyes snapped open and you shot forward. Hizashi nearly dropped you as you landed on your feet.

“Wow, it’s alright hot shot,” Hizashi said as he placed his hand on your back. You pulled the headphones down to hang around your neck, looking up to your two teachers.

“You’re going to stay with Present Mic today, alright?” Aizawa explained.

“What about class?” you whispered.

“Y/N,” Hizashi started, catching your attention. “We just think it’ll be better if you stay with me.” You thought about it for a moment before nodding. Aizawa left for his class. Your puffy red eyes met Mic’s and he smiled softly.

“You can sit over there,” he said, motioning to a desk in the front row. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to you. “Just relax, ok?” You took his phone and nodded, heading to the desk and laying your head down.

Hizashi kept an eye on you for the rest of the day. He even stayed quiet during his classes just in case you had fallen asleep. When someone tried to bother you, he’d get defensive and tell them to leave you be. He even brought you lunch, figuring you wouldn’t eat unless he sat down with you and ate. He kept a good eye on you for several months and talked with you to make sure you were ok. Let’s just say that you appreciate what your teacher has done for you.

[lumosandnoxwriting]

No Returns or Exchanges - Fred Weasley

Title: No Returns or Exchanges Pairing: Fred x Fem!Reader Summary: Fred and Y/N get to start their happily ever after A/N: this is for @mrs-fredweasley​. I usually do my requests in the order I receive them, but she asked for some fluff with Fred and the reader getting married and having kids for her birthday, and since she’s my birthday twin I couldn’t resist! Feedback is always welcome and requests are open!

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“There you are, Mrs. Weasley,” Fred greets as he sneaks up behind Y/N and wraps his arms around her waist.

“I’m not Mrs. Weasley quite yet, Freddie,” Y/N teases as she turns around in his embrace. Her arms wind around Fred’s neck and she pulls him in for a brief kiss. “You’re about twelve hours too early.”

Fred starts to slowly sway them back and forth, humming quietly to the music drifting through the air from the large tent behind them. Fred and Y/N aren’t getting married until tomorrow, but Ginny, Y/N’s maid of honor, insisted on mixing some muggle wedding traditions in alongside the regular wizard ones. Tonight, had been what Ginny referred to as the rehearsal dinner, where the wedding party and their close family went through the ceremony that will take place tomorrow, before having a mini celebration together.

“Do I really have to go home without you?” Fred pouts. Another muggle tradition Ginny insisted on was that Y/N and Fred would not be allowed to see each other until Y/N was heading down the aisle towards him.

Y/N giggles and kisses Fred’s pout away. “I think it’ll be romantic. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, isn’t that what they say?” Y/N rolls her eyes playfully when Fred frowns at her. “Oh, come on, Freddie. It’s only one night apart.”

“When’s the last time we spent more than 1 hour apart outside of work?” Fred ask, looking down at Y/N expectantly. When she doesn’t answer he smiles. “Exactly. One night is going to feel like an eternity.”

“Okay so maybe it’ll be a bit hard,” Y/N concedes. “But after tomorrow we’ll get to spend every day for the rest of eternity together, that’s gotta be worth it, isn’t it? And have you forgotten that we’ll be spending the next two weeks completely alone together in a cabin in the woods.”

“How can I forget about that?” Fred muses. “Just me, you, and as little clothing as possible for two weeks straight. That’s the only kind of honeymoon I want.” Most of their friends and family were surprised that Fred and Y/N didn’t want to go on some adventurous honeymoon but wanted to just relax together in some secluded forest. But for them that seemed like the only option. It’s only been 13 months since the war ended, and after Fred’s near-death experience he and Y/N decided to take life slow for a bit.

“So that’s why you wanted to go somewhere secluded,” Y/N says, realization washing over her.

Fred laughs. “I may have had ulterior motives when I convinced you to book the cabin in the woods over the beach house.”

Y/N shakes her head fondly. “You’re a bit of a menace, you know that?”

“Yeah but I’m your menace. And you’re way past the return or exchange date so you’re stuck with me,” he jokes, leaning down to press a kiss to Y/N’s forehead.

“Oi, lover boy!” George calls from behind them. Y/N and Fred break apart so they can look at him. “Ginny says it’s time to go, and she’s already wacked me over the head once so get your arse over here before she does it again.”

“See you tomorrow?” Fred asks as he leans down to kiss Y/N briefly.

“Meet you at the altar,” she confirms with a smile.

-

“You sure you wanna marry my brother?” Ginny teases as they get ready to walk down the aisle. “Because I could cause a distraction if you wanna slip out the front door and run away.”

Y/N rolls her eyes and grabs the bouquet Ginny hands her.  “Ha, ha. Very funny, Gin.”

Ginny beams at her before taking her place in line. Y/N takes a deep breath as the music starts, silently regretting that she chose to not have her dad walk her down the aisle. A few months ago, she had bashed the archaic notion of someone giving her away to Fred as if she were a piece of property, but as nerves start to bubble in her stomach she wishes she had someone by her side to calm her down. Everyone in front of her starts to slowly head towards the alter, and she fixes her dress one last time before she follows behind Ginny.

“Holy shit, Y/N,” Fred whispers as she takes his hands at the altar. There are tears in his eyes, and a few leak down his cheeks. “You’re absolutely stunning.”

Y/N blushes, trying to blink away her own tears as to not ruin her makeup. “You clean up quite nice as well, Freddie.”

Fred smiles down at her, maintaining eye contact as the official from the ministry starts the ceremony. Fred squeezes Y/N’s hands tightly as he talks, only half paying attention to what he’s saying. His thoughts are completely consumed with Y/N and how breathtakingly beautiful she is. The dress she picked out compliments all of her best features, and the veil cascading down her shoulders makes her look like a goddess. Fred has imagined this day over a dozen times since he proposed last year, but everything he thought of pales in comparison to how beautiful Y/N looks right now.

“Can I have the rings?” the officiant asks, pulling Fred’s thoughts fully to the ceremony. George digs around in his pocket for a moment before handing the delicate silver rings to the man. He hands the smaller one to Fred. “Now it’s my understanding that the bride and groom have prepared their own vows?” When Fred and Y/N nod, he smiles and motions for Fred to start.

“Y/N, I’ve been enamored with you since I was 11 years old, when you made your cauldron blow up and covered Snape head to toe in the worst smelling goo I’ve ever encountered – and that’s saying something,” Fred pauses as everyone chuckles, and he starts to slide the ring down Y/N’s finger. “When you agreed to accompany me to Hogsmeade during third year I felt like the luckiest guy in the world and I still do. I was so nervous, I had no idea how I managed to convince the pretties girl in school to go out with me, and all these years later I have no idea how I convinced you to marry me. But like I said last night, there’s no returns or exchanges you’re stuck with me for good now.”

Fred slides the ring down Y/N’s finger until it meets her engagement ring. “You’ve stuck by me through every risk I’ve taken and every dumb idea that’s popped into my mind. You were one of the first people to support my dream of opening the joke shop with George, and you were there to support me every step of the way. Every late-night George and I had planning things out or developing products you were right there with me, usually you were asleep, but it was still nice to have you there. You were always the first person to volunteer to test out a product and you were always there for me to vent to when something didn’t work out. You pushed me to leave school early with George, and once you moved in with us you were always there to snuggle with me after a long day.”

Fred takes a deep breath and brings one of his hands up to wipe away the tears Y/N has started to shed. “You gave up so much of your life to be there for me after I was crushed by that wall. No matter how hard I tried to get you to go back to work or just leave the house in general. You’ve always shown me unconditional love and support, and that’s what I’m promising to show you for the rest of our lives. No matter how crazy or hard or scary life gets, I’ll be there by your side, loving you and helping you through it.”

By the time the officiant is pronouncing them husband and wife, both Fred and Y/N are openly crying, but as they share their first kiss as husband and wife, neither of them really cares.

-

“Glad to see you’re feeling better,” Fred greets with a smile as Y/N pushes the door to his office open. He pushes away from his desk slightly and pats his lap.

“Me too, I hate throwing up,” Y/N responds, taking a seat on Fred’s lap. She settles in and presses a kiss to his cheek. “How’s work going today, husband?” she asks with a giggle. They’ve been married for just over two months, and it still gives Y/N butterflies every time she refers to Fred as her husband.

Fred rolls his eyes and grabs Y/N’s face so he can press a kiss to her lips. “It’s been quite busy today wife. The restock of the new whizbang line already sold out.” Fred settles his hands on Y/N’s hips and kisses her again. “What about you? What have you been getting up to on your day off?”

“I had breakfast with Ginny and Hermione. Did some shopping,” she says casually pointing towards the bags she dropped near the door. “Nothing too crazy or exciting.”

Fred’s eyes light up at the sight of the bags. “Shopping, hm? Did you happen to pick up a present for your lovely, adorable, adoring husband while you were out?” he asks hopefully.

“Maybe,” Y/N muses with a wink. “You’ll have to wait until after work to find out.” Y/N giggles as Fred frowns and she kisses him one last time before standing up.

“You’re such a tease,” he scolds as Y/N gathers the bags in her hand.

“I know.” She waves at Fred and blows him a kiss before heading back into the joke shop and upstairs to their flat. They’re still living with George for the time being as they save up for a house, and as Y/N places her shopping bags on the bed she starts to wonder if they’ll have to start looking for one sooner rather than later.

Y/N sticks her hand in one of the bags and fumbles around a bit, humming as her hands closes around a rectangular cardboard box. Her hand shakes slightly as she pulls the pregnancy test out and starts to familiarize herself with the instructions. While her and Fred have already come to the conclusion that they both want a house full of children someday, she never imagined that they may be starting their family so soon after their wedding.

“Now or never,” Y/N mutters to herself as she heads towards the bathroom. Y/N thought they had been careful while on their honeymoon, she knows there were a few times they had forgotten to use the contraceptive charm in the heat of the moment, but she figured it would be okay. However, when her period never came she began to suspect that they weren’t in fact okay, and the random nausea spells she’s been having for the past week seemed to only solidify that fact.

After she’s closed and locked the door behind her, Y/N does what she needs to do and sets the pregnancy test on the counter face down. “Who knew three minutes could feel like a lifetime?” she asks to no one as she watches the time go by on her watch. When the three minutes is finally up Y/N’s hand starts to shake again as she reaches for the stick. She shuts her eyes tightly as she flips it over, and after a few deep breaths she finally takes a peek.

Pregnant.

Y/N starts to cry as a whirlwind of emotions flow through her. On one hand she’s so overwhelmingly happy, being a mother is something she’s always wanted and to be doing it with Fred makes her heart burst with joy. But she can’t help but also feel an intense bout of worry flowing through her. She and Fred are only 21, and they haven’t even been married six months yet. Y/N knows that Fred wants to be a dad, but she can’t help but worry that he’ll think this is a bad thing and that it’s far too soon for them to become parents.

“Hey, love. You left one of your bags downstairs,” Fred calls out as he walks through the door.

Y/N furiously wipes away her tears and sticks the pregnancy test in the back pocket of her jeans. She takes a deep breath and opens the bathroom door, jumping slightly when she sees Fred. “You scared me, Freddie. I didn’t hear you come down the hall.”

Fred frowns at her. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?” When Y/N nods he gives her a look. “Were you throwing up again? You’re all pale, love. Are you sure we shouldn’t go see a muggle doctor or a healer or something?”

“I’m fine, love,” Y/N reassures, pushing past Fred. She starts to head down the hall when she feels Fred’s hand brush her ass. “What are you- oh,” she gasps, turning around to face Fred. He’s staring down at the pregnancy test in his hands. “Fred,” Y/N starts, not really sure what to say.

“Is this what I think it is?” Fred murmurs, looking up at Y/N. He grips the test in his hand tightly, tears starting to form in his eyes. “You’re pregnant?”

Y/N nods slowly as she bites her lip. “Yeah, I am.” Fred falls to his knees and brings Y/N close to him, shoving her shirt up a little. He starts to pepper kisses all over her warm skin, laughing as Y/N starts to giggle and squirm. “Fred! Fred stop that tickles!”

Fred presses one final kiss to her stomach before he stands up and kisses Y/N passionately. “I can’t believe you’re pregnant. I can’t believe we’re gonna have a baby.” Fred lets go of Y/N and starts to head towards the door. “I have to go tell George.”

“Freddie, wait,” Y/N calls with a laugh, chasing after him. She closes her hand around his wrist and pulls him back towards her. “You’re not mad? Or upset?”

Fred gives Y/N a look like she’s crazy. “Upset? Mad? Why would I be any of those things? You know I want to be a dad, love. We’ve talked about this before.”

“I dunno,” Y/N shrugs. “We’re young and we haven’t been married for that long. I just thought you wouldn’t think it’s the right time.”

Fred sighs and comes back towards Y/N, wrapping her up in a hug. “Love I don’t care about any of that. So, what we’ve only been married for two months? We’ve been as good as married since we were 18 when you first moved in here.” Fred presses a kiss to her forehead and smiles down at her. “Besides if we’re gonna have enough kids to fill a quidditch team we need to have them young, I can’t be an old man teaching my kids how to fly,” he jokes with a laugh.

“A whole quidditch team?” Y/N asks. When Fred gives her a wink Y/N rolls her eyes. “You’re lucky I love you Fred Weasley.”

-

“Fred what are you doing?” Y/N murmurs around a yawn. She started to wake up after a warm heavy weight rested on her stomach, and when she finally opened her eyes she saw Fred half hanging off the bed as he laid on his front. He’d pushed her shirt up and his head is hovering over the swell of her stomach while his hand strokes it lightly.

“Talking to the baby,” he responds, as if the answer is obvious.

Y/N shifts so she’s laying on her elbows so that she can look down at him properly. “At 2 am?”

Fred nods, pressing a light kiss to her skin. “I couldn’t sleep. And I read in that muggle book Hermione gave us last week that the baby can hear things now, so I figured I’d try it out.”

Y/N chuckles brings a hand up to rub her stomach. “Well I think the baby likes the sound of your voice, they’ve been moving like crazy.” Early last week Y/N had started to feel the baby move around inside of her. The first time it happened it scared the shit out of her, but now she’s started to miss it when the baby is still.

“Really?” Fred asks, his eyes lighting up. The movements Y/N has been feeling are still far too light for Fred to feel from the outside, but every night he spends hours rubbing her bump to try and feel something.

“Yeah, really. My ribs have become a punching bag.” Y/N smiles as the baby lands a few kicks to her stomach. “Here, gimme your hand.

Fred gives Y/N the hand that isn’t already on her stomach, watching as she places it on the side of her bump. She presses his hand into her skin, and he holds his breath, hoping to feel something. “Holy shit,” he gasps as the skin beneath his hand moves ever so slightly. Fred watches his hand in awe, smiling as it moves lightly with each movement. “That’s so cool.”

Y/N laughs and lets go of Fred’s hand so she can run her hand through his hair. “Innit? Though it does feel kinda weird that it’s like, coming from inside of me. But it’s nice. Like I’m never alone.”

“Hey little one,” Fred coos against Y/N’s skin, pressing down against her stomach as he feels the baby kick him in response. “I’m your Daddy, and I can’t wait to meet you.” Fred presses a kiss to Y/N’s skin and tears form in his eyes when he feels a small movement against his mouth. “I know your Mummy is doing such an amazing job of growing you in there but hurry up and get out of there so I can hold you and play with you and kiss you and cuddle you.” Fred tears his eyes away from Y/N’s bump so he can wink at his wife. “Plus, the sooner you get out of there the sooner Daddy can give you a sibling.”

Y/N scoffs and flicks Fred on the forehead. “Can we finish making this one before you start planning the next?”

“What? There’s no harm in planning ahead,” he teases, crawling up the bed to kiss Y/N sweetly.

-

“Hi there little bug,” Fred coos, gently rocking his newborn daughter. She’s only a few hours old, and her big eyes are bright as she blinks up at Fred. “I’m your Daddy and I love you so much Miss Ellie belly.”  Her actual name is Electra, but Fred has settled on calling her Ellie. Y/N had found her name in a baby book Hermione dropped off, and they both instantly fell in love with it. It means bright one, and after the dark times Fred and Y/N had survived in order to bring her into the world it seemed like the perfect fit.

Fred presses a kiss to her forehead, his heart melting as she makes a little noise. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he whispers. “Just don’t tell Mummy I said that.”

“Maybe you should check to make sure Mummy is asleep before you start spilling your secrets,” Y/N responds with a laugh.

Fred turns around, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, love. I figured you’d be a goner after the past few days you’ve had.”

Y/N moves over to make room for Fred and pats the space next to her. “I was only in labor for what 36 hours? That’s nothing,” she says with a laugh.

Fred comes over and sits next to Y/N, cradling Ellie tightly against his chest. “Don’t downplay yourself, love. You’re an absolute superhero.” He begrudgingly passes the baby back to Y/N and wraps an arm around her, his other hand coming up to grab Ellie’s foot through the blanket she’s wrapped up in. “We wouldn’t have our perfect little angel without you.”

Y/N blushes, looking over at Fred. “You helped a little bit. And I did nearly break your hand while I was pushing.”

“Aw, Y/N. You flatter me,” Fred teases. He presses a kiss to her temple and takes a moment to just watch as Y/N cuddles Ellie close. “I didn’t know I could love something this much,” Fred says quietly, crying slightly for the second time that day. The first had been when the doctor placed Ellie in his arms for the first time. “But every time I look at her my heart feels like it’s going to burst from how much love is in it.”

“I know, right? Every time I look at her I feel like crying. She’s just so tiny and perfect and ours.” Y/N leans down and presses a kiss to Ellie’s forehead. “I almost can’t believe that we made her. I don’t know how you and I could make something so beautiful.”

Fred gently grabs Y/N’s chin and turns her head so he can kiss her passionately. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world, so it is no surprise that our daughter is the most beautiful little girl in the world.” Fred kisses Y/N again briefly, before letting go of her chin so he can stroke Ellie’s cheek. “How are you feeling, love? Can I get you anything?”

“I’m alright, Freddie, thank you,” Y/N says softly, looking back down at their daughter. “I actually feel really good. To be honest your Mum scared me a bit, I thought it would be way worse.”

Fred chuckles, melting as Ellie’s eyes flutter closed. “I think Healers have revolutionized childbirth in the twenty years it’s been since she had a baby.” He bites his lip, nudging Y/N so she’ll look at him. “So now that this one’s out, when can we start trying for number 2?”

-

“Y/N love, I’m home!” Fred calls, stepping out of their fireplace and into the living room. He dusts the ashes from his suit, frowning when his wife doesn’t answer him immediately. But it turns into a smile when he spots his daughter peering at him over top of her play pen.

“Ellie,” he coos, heading over to her. “Look at you, standing up on your own!” he praises, lifting her out and up into the air. He tosses her up gently, laughing as she giggles madly at him. “Where’s your Mummy?” he asks, settling the infant on his hip. He presses a kiss to her forehead, his stomach turning to mush when she cuddles into his chest. “Let’s go find her then, hm?”

Fred starts to explore the house, grinning as Ellie babbles baby nonsense into his skin. He can’t believe how fast the past 8 months have gone, and while he loves watching Ellie grow and learn new things, he misses the baby stage already. “What do you think Mummy’s doing?” he asks, nodding along to her babbles as if she’s actually answering him. “I think she might be hiding to scare Daddy. What do you think?”

After checking their downstairs Fred starts to head up the stairs, his fingers lightly digging into Ellie’s belly to tickle her. She shrieks with laughter, and it sounds like music in Fred’s ears. “Daddy misses you while he’s at work, Miss Ellie belly. I think I should take you with me tomorrow. What do you think? Do you wanna spend the day with Daddy and Uncle George at the joke shop?”

Fred peppers kisses to Ellie’s head as he walks down the hallway. The door to his and Y/N’s room is shut and as he goes to grab the doorknob it swings open and Y/N practically runs into him.

“Oh, Fred,” she gasps, holding something to her chest. “I didn’t hear you come in, love.” Fred eyes her wearily as Y/N leans forward to tickle Ellie’s stomach with her free hand and press kisses to her chubby cheeks. “Is your Daddy home, Miss Ellie? Did Daddy finally come home to see you?” she asks, laughing as Ellie giggles at her.

“What’s in your hand?” Fred asks.

Y/N looks up at him, trying to seem as innocent as possible. “Nothing,” she responds, showing him the hand that was on Ellie’s stomach.

Fred rolls his eyes playfully. “The other one, gorgeous.”

“Oh, um,” Y/N blushes and looks away from Fred as she takes her hand from her chest and opens her palm. A positive pregnancy test is laying in her hand, staring up at Fred.

Fred gasps. “Another one?”

Y/N nods and snuggles into Fred’s chest as he pulls her into a hug with his free hand. “Dunno why you’re so surprised, you’ve been trying to get me pregnant since Ellie was born.”

Fred laughs and leans down to kiss Y/N deeply. “Guess it’s time to start thinking about the next one then,” he teases.

Y/N glares at Fred. “Are you sure it’s not too late to return or exchange you?”

“Sorry love, I burned the receipt long ago,” Fred responds with a laugh, kissing Y/N again.

[senpaistoys]

Rainy Days (Kim Seokjin, M)

The rain always has a way of putting you in a mood.

Pit.. Pat.. Pit.. Pat.. The sounds of the rain hitting your window filled throughout the relatively quiet house. You hummed softly, curling up your body onto the expanse of the wall that was pushed out from the window making a little bed right beside it. You had specifically had the windows designed that way so that you could watch the rain fall onto the grass. The dark cloudy skies, the trees and little flowers blowing in the wind as the storm took over your area. You snuggled deeper into your light brown fluffy blanket. The sound of soft r & b music playing in the house took over your ears slightly. It was such a beautiful day. You nor your lover had work today. Just a lazy day enjoying the rain. You watched a few cars pass out headed to and from taking their kids to school or taking themselves to work. You gave a slight yawn from the weather, tilting your head to press a button on your phone, you saw that it was only 10 AM. You gave a soft smile at the thoughts of how long the day was going to pass. And you hoped the weather stayed this way. You were leaning against the window letting your mind roam. But it started to roam down a very lewd direction and you didn't fight your fantasies. Not on a day like today. Never on a rainy day. Your turned your head once again, looking across the room to see Seokjin resting in a lazy boy chair. He had on his reading glasses, a thick black book in his large palms. He had his legs crossed one over the other. He looked so damn good reading. Your eyes trailed over to his whole appearance. You both slept late but Seokjin liked to cuddle so when you got up to watch the rain he knew his morning sleep was over with. His brown hair was still slightly disheveled from his sleep, he didn't make an effort to fix it when neither of you would leave the house today. He had on a black T-shirt and gray sweatpants. He wiggled his toes everytime he got to a good part of the book and you couldn't help but laugh as you noticed such a thing. Seokjin was handsome to you, in every aspect. He was caring and sweet. He was goofy and his dad jokes were a treasure. He was truly a man you fell head over heels for. But it was something about the way he puffed his pink lips out, the way his fingers flexed as he held the book. It also had to do with the rain. The soft drops still splattering against the window. The way you knew it was cold outside yet warm on the inside. You were in the mood. And you were about to get him there too. After staring at him for a while, you got up and walked towards him discarding the blanket on your previous resting area. Getting onto your knees you uncrossed his legs. Seokjin moved the book to the side to look at you while lifting an eyebrow. "What do you call yourself doing young lady?" He asked softly and you gave him a pout tugging onto his sweats. "I'm in the mood.." You called out and Seokjin pursed his lips. "Now? We just had a round before we slept." He reminded you. "That was then. This is now." You defended and Jin gave a roll of his eyes lifting his book back up. "Not right now baby. I'm reading!" He lightly whined. Part of you wanted to laugh at how cute he was being but another part of you wanted to be stubborn. "Jinnie.. Jin.. Seokjin.." You muttered out but he tried to keep stern. "Don't disturb my reading." He warned. You sat there feeling like a kicked kid. But as if the gods were on your side a light bulb flickered on in your mind. "I won't." You called out sweetly. Jin barely lowered his book to give you a questioning look before he had it back up and turning a page. You smirked and started to rub your hands up and down his inside thighs. You touched and felt up over his sensitive areas. Your hand moved its way towards his crotch rubbing over his limp shaft with your palm. You could feel him shift slightly, his grip on the book became tighter as he tried to ignore you. But you continued forward, rubbing at his bulge with soft strokes. Leaning forward you started to press kisses along the outline of his shaft until you could see his print. The great thing about lazy days at home was that Seokjin never wore boxers and you were the number one fan of it. You let your hand grip at him through his sweats and you started to stroke him with a soft mewl. You were so caught up in getting him hard, that when you looked up you damm near paused. Seokjin quickly shifted his eyes back to his book and a smirk graced your lips. You had him. Gripping at his sweats, you pulled them down his thighs to his knees. The male had shifted but he lifted his hips enough to help you take down his sweats. His shaft popped out, hitting against his lower stomach and resting there. The tip was red and angry. Your eyes skimmed the veins over his cock and you groaned licking the palm of your hand. You coated your palm with your spit and you wrapped your fingers around his hardened shaft starting to stroke him up and down. Every time your spit dried up, you would add more by licking up and down the expanse of his cock. Your tongue mapping out his sensitive spots on the underside of his shaft. Your pink muscle traced over every vein on the sides, top, and bottom. When he was completely wet your hand gripped at him once more and you focused on giving him a hand job. You lived for how his legs flexed as he tried to restrain himself. The way his body went completely rigid. He wasn't even flipping pages anymore because he wasn't even paying attention to the book. You worked your wrist flicking it quickly as precum oozed from the tip. You gave a soft moan, shifting on your knees as you smeared the precum onto the head of his shaft with your index finger. Seokjin released one soft sigh. That was all you needed. You could feel your panties dampening as you teased him. You were getting so turned on you thought you would loose it. You took him into your mouth, lowering your head down slowly until he was resting against the back of your throat. "Fuck!" Seokjin cursed out in slight defeat. He quickly pushed the book down onto the little table beside the chair. He used one hand to take off his glasses as the other hand gripped onto your hair at the back of your neck. He kept you in place, letting you hold your mouth open as he felt it. "You may move now." He instructed in that deep voice that sent trembles down your spine and heat straight to your core. You started to bob your head slowly, hollowing your cheeks as you sucked onto his shaft. You made wet slurping noises as you moved your head up and down. Your eyes flickering upwards to take his appearance in. Head thrown back, lips parted into a soft moan. Eyebrows knitted. He was lost in the pleasure you were giving him. It made you want to please him more, gripping at his balls you started to play with them one by one. You squeezed at his sack and he gave soft hiss, his body trembling against the chair as he tugged onto your hair once more. "Take a breath." He warned you and you pulled your head back slowly, sucking in air as you went upwards. Your mouth sucked onto his tip as you greedily inhaled like he warned "Take me in. I am about to face fuck you." Seokjin warned. You did as commanded, taking him down as much as you could. Seokjin let his head come up. Looking down at you, he planted his feet and started to push his hips up. Slowly at first but he gradually picked up the pace. He was sliding in and out of your mouth like it was your pussy. The male moaned as he kept his eyes on yours. He was face fucking you, drool falling from the corners of your mouth and sliding down to his balls. He shuddered at the wet feeling trying to make sure he took in how your face looked as you sucked him. "I'm going to cum in your mouth." He rasped as he slowed his hips down. He pushed them in and out, flexing his thigh muscles as his head rolled back once more. He pushed his cock into your mouth as if he could push it down your throat causing you to lightly choke. With a cry of your name, Seokjin pulled back slightly to cum in your mouth. It was a lot taking in his warm cum. Slightly sweet but mostly bitter as he released his load in your mouth. You swallowed what you could and you pulled back to lick him clean. You were about to pull his pants up and leave but he stopped you. "Where are you going?" He asked and you became sheepish. "Well. I did what I wanted to do." You admitted licking your lips. "But did I say I was done?" He asked and the way he asked you made you shake your head side to side. "Turn around." Seokjin said and you did so. He gripped at your hips and walked you backwards until you were sitting on his lap. "Feet on my legs." He demanded and you followed his instruction. All you had on was one of his oversized shirts and that was it. Seokjin lifted up the book as he wrapped his arms around you. "Read to me." He said simply. You followed where he tapped his finger and you started to read the love story. You were getting lost into the short reading you did. Turning the second page and you felt one of his hands palm your pussy. You paused and gasped as his fingers ran up and down the expanse of your pussy. "Don't stop reading. I wanted a story time and you distracted me. Now you need to read." He said simply humming as you continued. Seokjin let his middle finger slip between your pussy lips. Rubbing up and down your slit, he teased your pussy before his finger was circling around your clit. You tried your best to read but the way he rubbed onto your clit had you moaning and clearing your throat. Your thighs tightened slightly as he teased you. Turning another page, you almost faltered as he pushed his middle and ring finger inside of you. He started to thrust his long slender fingers in and out of your pussy. His free hand had drifted under your shirt to play with your breast. Pinching and pulling your nipples before he started to grope your mounds with his hand. Both hands worked on your body and you could care less about the damn story. His fingers started to scissor you open, pumping in and out with a crook as your hips bucked forward to fuck yourself on his fingers. "My baby girl is always so needy. Look at you riding my fingers. You make it seem like I didn't even feed you my cock last night. So wet.. This pussy is telling me it needs more. It missed me." He taunted kissing on the shell of your ear. Your face was red as he whispered dirty little words into your ear. He searched for your spot pushing his fingers deep and it was your turn to throw the book down. "I want your dick inside of me, Seokjin." You begged looking at him with wide eyes. Cheeks red, face flushed as you begged. Jin nodded his head kissing your lips as he continued to finger you. He slowed his fingers down and took them out to smear your juices across his dick. "Put me in." He said softly and you obliged quickly. You gripped onto his cock and you lifted your hips and slid onto his shaft. Both of you moaned in unison as he filled you up. You moved to grip onto the arms of the chair and use it as leverage to bounce yourself up and down onto his cock. Your head rolled back as he filled you up. You rode him like you needed him. Seokjin moaned using both hands to fondle you. Your pussy sucked his cock in. You were so wet he slipped out of you a few times and you were both so eager to slip him back inside every time. You turned your head to face him and met his lips into a kiss. Seokjin licked across your bottom lip and you parted your lips for him. He let his tongue glide against yours as he hooked his arms under your knees. Seokjin spread you out wide, folding you into a pretzel he snapped his hips upward. His cock curving to hit right against that spot that you need him the most. You broke the kiss to moan out in shock. Looking at him wth tears in your eyes from how good it felt. One of your hands lifted to grip onto his hair. You pressed your forehead's together as he pounded into you. Bottoming out, he made sure you felt every inch of him. "Rub your clit for me, baby. I want to see you make a mess of yourself." He said with a broken voice. You nodded reaching your hand down to rub your clit at the pace that he fucked you. Your lips against his you simply moaned against his lips and voiced out how good it felt. Your toes curled and your head rolled back onto his shoulder. You slapped at your clit, with a few more snaps of his hips you were gripping at his thigh with your free hand while he drove you over the edge. His name slipping out of your mouth like a mantra. Seokjin groaned, his cock throbbing and he continued to fuck into you. He let his nails dig into your inner thighs and he fucked you through a second orgasm before he was holding your hips down and emptying his load back inside of you. Both of you slowly rocked your hips to ride out your orgasm as he lowered your legs down. Once you were both calmed, he held you pressing soft kisses along your head chuckling softly. "What's funny?" You asked peeking up at him. Seokjin pointed at the window. "You'd think by now you would remember to close the blinds since we always end up fucking in here when it rains." Seokjin muttered and you looked towards the open window feeling your whole body turn red. "You need to tell me this!" You yelled lightly trying to get up but Jin kept you still. "It's our house. Besides, if anyone is outside in this weather watching us get it on than they deserve to look.” Jin cooed reassuringly as he slid his hands up and down your back.

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Alive and Well Part 1- Jasper Badun x OC

Jasper Badun x Angela Young

Description: Angela reads the morning news and discovers that Cruella is dead, and Jasper and Horace have gone to jail for it. It leaves her with unresolved feelings for Jasper, but after getting a call from Artie, she realizes that they may not actually be unresolved.

Word Count: 1.8k

“You’re sure that it’s okay if I stay home today?” Angela asked hesitantly, twirling the phone cord around her finger. 

“Of course,” Artie responded earnestly. “In fact, I think I may just close the shop a bit early today, business has been a bit slow, you know?” Both of them knew that that was a lie, but Angela was thankful that he made an attempt. 

“Thanks Art, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” She questioned hopefully. 

“I can swing by later tonight if you’d like,” he suggested. 

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” she brushed it off. “Have a good day, lots of love.” 

After setting the phone down, Angela took another look at the very reason she wanted to stay home. She picked up the newspaper carefully, as if it would bite her, and tried not to tear up as she read the headline. 

                                      Cruella Up In Flames

A few hours earlier, the fire department received a call about a large house fire in the warehouse district of London, where it was discovered that it was the upcoming fashion icon Cruella’s lair. Just an hour before that, she had a flash mob showcasing her new work in Regent's Park, only to get run out by the police.   

Angela’s heart broke as she read it over, and the next line didn’t help her in the slightest. 

Police caught and arrested Jasper Badun and Horace Ethan for conspiracy to murder, though there was no body discovered among the wreckage. 

She set the paper down, not being able to read anymore of it. It just didn’t make sense, just last night everything seemed fine. Everyone had a blast with the show and even discussed getting drinks to celebrate the occasion. Plus, that didn’t even sound like Jasper and Horace. They loved Este -or actually- Cruella, from how they talked about her, she was like their sister. Sure she had been very pushy before the show, but that doesn’t mean the boys just jumped to murder. That wasn’t them. It was the Baroness, it had to be. But she couldn’t prove that, besides, Cruella was dead and that was the end of it. And yet, how was she supposed to just move on as if the past few months of helping the icon meant nothing, as if they weren’t the best days of her life? She had no idea. 

Just a few hours later she received a call from Artie. 

“I need your help,” he spoke rather excitedly. 

“Hello to you too, Art,” she responded amusedly. She heard the man laugh on the other end, and she could just imagine him shaking his head at her. 

“Hello Angela. How are you doing? How’s the family? Is your garden coming in nicely? I need your help,” he retorted in the same tone as before. 

“I’m as well as I can be. My mum got over that nasty cold and dad said hi. It is, but I’ll need more fertilizer soon. How can I help you?” Artie then gave her an address, telling her to meet him there for something important. 

“What is it? I’m not going to get killed, am I?” She joked, smiling when she heard him laugh once again. 

“Oh no, nothing like that love. Just get here as soon as you can. Lots of love!” He gave her no time to respond before he hung up. Angela only stared at her phone, confused. After a minute she shrugged and set it down, she had no reason not to trust Artie so she would have to get ready for the secret location. 

Just an hour later she stepped off the bus and arrived at a nice looking house. She double checked at the address she’d written down then walked up to the doorstep, knocking nervously. After only waiting for a few seconds the door opened to reveal a bald man in a nice suit. Her eyebrows shot up a bit and she messed with the hem of her rust colored parka. 

“Uh, hello. Is Artie here?” She greeted him awkwardly. 

“Are you Angela Young?” The man questioned in a deep voice, to which she nodded. A small smile rested upon his face and he opened the door wider for her. 

“Come in, my name is John. I am the owner of this house,” he explained as she stepped inside. “May I take your coat?” 

“Oh, uh, yes please.” She, with John’s help, took her parka off and she waited while he hung it up in a nearby closet. 

“Angela!” She heard Artie call from down the hall. She barely had time to turn before he hugged her. 

“I thought I heard your voice love. We’ve been waiting for you.” 

“We?” Angela repeated confusedly. 

“I’ll go make you some tea,” John spoke before walking off to what Angela assumed was the kitchen. 

“Come on,” the excited boy instructed, linking his arm in hers and leading her down the hall. 

“Artie, what’s going on?” She questioned as she followed him. “Why are we here in a stranger’s house?” 

“Just wait and see,” he responded before stopping in front of the doorway of what seemed to be the living room. She stared at him curiously for a minute before walking inside, then gasped. 

“Jasper!” She cried out in surprise. The man grinned widely at the girl. 

“Angela,” he exclaimed as the girl practically ran over to him. The two embraced, Jasper’s head lowering a bit to rest on top of her head. 

“You’re okay,” she breathed out, now sounding relieved. 

“You are too,” he responded in the same tone, squeezing her tighter. Angela wanted to cry, this time with happiness, but that would come later. 

“I am too,” she heard Horace speak up from the sofa. That made Angela giggle as she (very hesitantly) pulled away from Jasper and faced him. 

“I’m glad,” she responded kindly as she offered him a quick hug. “But what happened? I thought you two had gone to jail?” She questioned, looking around. 

“Well, we were in prison, but then we escaped,” Horace explained. 

“We had some help though,” Jasper added, now looking past Angela. That made her turn around, and her eyes widened. 

“Cruella,” she exclaimed. “You’re alive.” Though she was happy, she found her feet were stuck in place. She was still rather upset about Cruella’s treatment of not only her, but Artie, Horace and especially Jasper. That made her smile fade, and the woman seemed to understand why. 

“I know you’re probably mad,” she started, making Angela cross her arms. 

“That’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?” She cut her off rather coldly. She could see Artie frown out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t exactly care at the moment. Instead, she shrugged and began walking around the living room. 

“I mean, now that I know what the Baroness is capable of, I want to take her down. Believe me, I do. But that was your goal before your ‘death’ and look what happened. You treated everyone like they were trash and beneath you, you acted as if Horace and Jasper hadn’t been there for you since you were children, and yet you still were ready to throw them under the bus to reach your goal. Hell, you almost fired me from a job I technically didn’t have! None of us were being paid for helping you, we did it because we cared about you. You didn’t care then, though. Tell me, what difference does it make this time around?” She stopped when Jasper reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder. 

“Just hear her out, Ang,” he pleaded softly. “She’ll explain everything.” She stared at him for a moment going over her options. Eventually she sighed and faced the woman across from her expectantly. After a few minutes of Cruella staying quiet, Angela breathed out a laugh and shook her head. 

“I’m leaving. Good luck with whatever you guys are trying to do but I’m not about to be a part of it.” She grabbed her bag, ignoring Jasper when he called her name. Just as she reached the door, she was stopped by Cruella finally speaking. 

“I almost died,” Cruella started. “If it hadn’t been for John, I would have. It’s quite the eye opener, though I don’t recommend you try it,” she stayed quiet for another minute before looking down when Angela faced her once more. “There’s no easy way to say this. The Baroness is my birth mother, she gave me away to die. And then killed the sweetest woman, albeit a liar, who ever lived.” Angela’s eyes widened, and her shoulder slumped enough that her purse fell from her shoulder and hung from her elbow. 

“We are in a kill-or-be-killed situation here. I can’t run, she’ll find me. You know she will, Angie,” she paused yet again then took a deep breath before looking at her. “I went a bit mad. I’m sorry. After all that’s happened with us, I can’t help but view you as my sister, and I know you’re the same way. Well, at least you were before I blew up. The point is, you’re my family. You guys are all I have.” Cruella gave her a desperate look, which made her close her eyes in thought. After a minute of silence Angela crossed her arms and exhaled deeply. 

“God, you’re really hard to say no to sometimes,” she finally spoke, opening her eyes once more. A smile appeared on Cruella’s face and she stood. The two met each other halfway in a hug. 

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” She questioned, which made the girl laugh. 

“Yeah, why not,” she responded as they pulled away. “So, what now?” Cruella’s sincere  smile melted into a mischievous one. 

“I have a plan,” she spoke. 

“Of course you do,” Artie responded teasingly. 

“And you two are going to help me,” Cruella continued. Angela and Artie gave each other a look before facing the woman. 

“A night full of fabulous and mayhem and possibly death.” Angela hummed in thought.

“Hmm. Check, check, I’m not quite sure about the death though.” 

“It won’t be any of you,” Cruella retorted. Artie grinned. 

“Continue.” 

“The Baroness’ charity gala is this weekend. We’re going to need the home addresses and measurements of all the guests.”

“Easy,” Horace responded, petting Winky. 

“You and Artie’s tribe of dressmakers, of course,” Cruella continued. 

“Of course,” Angela repeated with a grin. 

“A black cape, pots of paint.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jasper questioned with a laugh. 

“Several boned corsets…” Angela turned to face the others with a playful smile. 

“Should we write this down?” John walked in with tea for everyone, and Cruella’s smile widened as she looked around. 

“Let’s get started then.”

[possiamo-andare]

Jealous (JJ Maybank)

JJ x Peach (secret santa)

word count: 2.1k

a/n: this is for @dreamypeaches who is the sweetest gal ever! I was so lucky to get her for my secret santa, organzied by @ijustreallylovethem . I hope you don’t mind I put your name as Peaches and I hope you like this story. I’ve always wanted to write something like this and what better time than the present? 

summary: JJ gets a little jealous at the Midsummer festival, finally confessing his feelings for you

~

Your feelings for JJ were clear on the night of the Midsummer festival. Before then, you always had an inclining that your feelings for him went before platonic, but you never truly accepted them until that night. Of course, there were the occasional times where he held your hand and you felt as though you might faint, or when he winked at you and your hair would stand up on the back of your neck but you had written off all of those feelings as just a coincidence. Only when you attended the Midsummer festival, did you finally realize that you were lying to yourself.

To say you attended the Midsummer festival would be a lie. More like you and JJ snuck in, pretending to be servers, to try and help John B. get a note to Sarah. JJ, although he refused to admit it, was nervous to go by himself considering Rafe and his goons had beaten him up only days earlier. He felt safer if you were beside him so you did what you always did, and protected JJ.

“Coast clear?” JJ looks at you, a goofy grin on his lips.

You poke your head around the corner, spotting Sarah and her white dress almost immediately. She’s dancing with a little girl, probably a relative, a sweet smile on her lips. You frown. Although Sarah is a kook, that’s not what upsets you. She was Kiara’s friend before she betrayed Kie and although Kie had forgiven her, you are still reluctant to do so.

“Peach?” JJ whispers, causing you to turn your attention back to him. When you both make eye contact, he raises his brows and you nod, realizing you never even answered your question. JJ nods back to you, straightening his back before taking a deep breath and walking past you.

JJ’s confidence always astounds you. He walks into every room as if he’s supposed to be there, even when he isn’t. And most times, he isn’t. Just like now. While you’re nervous beyond belief that you’re trespassing, JJ pretends flawlessly that he’s done nothing wrong.

“JJ,” You whisper and you quicken your pace and follow in step beside him. You think you must look so nervous compared to him but all he can think of is how beautiful you look. “Are you just gonna walk up to her?”

JJ smirks, stopping beside the punch table, his eyes on Sarah as he speaks to you. “What do you want me to do? Throw the friggin’ thing her way and hope it lands on her head?”

You roll your eyes at his attempt to joke and shrug, scanning the party for Rafe and his goons. The last thing you wanted was Rafe spotting you and JJ and giving you a hard time before JJ was even given a chance to deliver this note to Sarah. 

“Don’t worry,” JJ finally takes his eyes off Sarah and looks at you. “I’ll be quick. Stay here.” And before you protest any further, he is off and walking towards Sarah in the middle of the dance floor.

You watch JJ approach Sarah, dancing terribly as he taps her shoulder. They have a quick exchange before he hands her the note, his dance moves only progressively getting worse. A small bile rises in your throat and you think you might throw up from the jealousy boiling in your stomach. You never were the jealous type, even with your other partners, but JJ was neither your partner or someone you thought you had feelings for. Now, as you watched Sarah laugh at something he said, you wished he was still beside you. You wished he never spoke to Sarah. You wish you could just sort your feelings out for him and move on. But you doubted you could ever move on from someone like JJ Maybank.

You had been so preoccupied with your jealousy, you failed to see Rafe approach you at the punch table with his goons. Once you realized who was standing beside you, it was too late to run. You’d have to face Rafe head on, as scary as that was for you. 

“Excuse me, can you fill my drink for me?” Rafe chuckled, clearly making fun of the fact that you were a server and he was not. Rafe would do anything to the Pogues in OBX to remind them that they were beneath him. 

You try to play along and distract him from realizing JJ was talking to his girlfriend. “What would you like?”

Rafe looks at the assortment of drinks on the table beside you and smirks as his eyes land on a bottle of Brandy. “That.” He points to the bottle with one hand and hands his cup to you with the other.

You roll your eyes. “Can I see some identification?”

Rafe snorts. “This is my dad’s party. I’m basically your boss. You’re gonna really ID the boss?”

You nod, holding your head up high. “Yeah, especially if the boss is a teenager.”

You can tell your defiance only fuels his arrogance. He takes a step closer to you and you now can smell the alcohol wading off his breath. He’s obviously drunk and it’s not only his breath giving it away. He’s sweating like a pig and his pupils are dilated. If you didn’t know any better, you think he’s high too.

“Do what I say or else you’re fired, dirty Pogue.” Rafe is so angry now that he spits on you as he speaks.

You smirk, handing his glass back to him. “Go someone else for your fix, jackass.”

You didn’t expect him to touch you, no matter how hard you pushed him but clearly Rafe had changed in some way since you last had interacted with him. He didn’t even bother saying anything before he reached up and grabbed ahold of your wrist. You could tell he was trying to squeeze as hard as he could but, as much as it hurt, he was not sober enough to do enough damage. Although this was true and you knew the pain could be worse if he was sober, it still hurt.

“Let go of me.” You gritted through your teeth, trying not to show that he was hurting you. The last thing you wanted to show Rafe was your weakness.

“Listen here -” Rafe began a lecture but before he could get through the entire speech, he was cut off by JJ.

JJ had not noticed what was going on at first. He was too busy telling Sarah the instructions JB had carefully told him. Only when he was done his conversation with Sarah and turned his attention back in your direction, did he realize how handsy Rafe had gotten with you since the last time he looked your way. He would have let you handle the situation yourself, if Rafe had not grabbed you. You were smart and could talk your way out of almost any situation and that was one of the many things JJ loved about you, but the second anyone touched you, JJ would always defend you, even if you could beat them up yourself. He loved you so much and although he was afraid to admit it, he made it his mission to indirectly tell you through his actions.

So, when he saw Rafe grab a hold of your wrist and watched as you winced slightly in pain, rage filled JJ and he didn’t hesitate as he ran towards you and Rafe, throwing him forward and onto Rafe. Since Rafe was intoxicated, he went down fairly easing, bringing the table down with him. JJ didn’t care though and he ignored the punch spill on both him and Rafe as he grabbed him by the collar and started punching him. The past week, Rafe had almost gotten Pope arrested, beat up his friend, made JJ’s life a living hell and hurt the girl he loves. JJ tried to channel all of that anger into his fists, punching him over and over again. Only after the fifth punch, did JJ stop. Not voluntarily though. One of Rafe’s friends roughly pulled JJ off the intoxicated Rafe, too drunk to fight back, while Rafe’s other friend held you back from defending JJ. 

You tried to kick him off you but he was stronger and wouldn’t let you go. You weren’t sure what happened to JJ. You never saw him quite like that. He had always had some temper, especially when it came to Rafe but he had never been like that. It almost scared you.

In one last act to try and free yourself, you quickly swung your leg backwards, your heel coming in contact with the guy’s knee. He yelped in pain and that gave you just enough time to break free of his grasp and help JJ. You ran to JJ, watching as he was wrestling with one of Rafe’s other friends. With your last ounce of strength, you pushed the guy off JJ and watched as he fell to the ground. Without even speaking to JJ, afraid that would take up too much time, you pulled on his hand, leading him off the back porch and onto the beach beside Sarah’s house. The sand crumbled under your shoes and slowed you down but you pushed forward, your hand gripping onto JJ’s. You never let go. Too scared that if you did, you didn’t have the strength to move forward.

When you finally reached the dock, far enough away to know Rafe was not close, you let go of JJ’s hand and stopped running. Your legs were on fire and your breaths were laboured. You bent down and rested your hands on your knees, trying to catch your breath. Although you were not amused, JJ seemed to be. Before you even had a chance to catch your breath, you could hear JJ laughing. He seemed out of breath too but it didn’t stop him from making a joke out of this situation. If the circumstances were different, maybe you would be laughing too but JJ had caused so much trouble tonight that your anger now turned towards him. If he acted with his brain and not her temper, then you both wouldn’t be in this situation. For the first time, you were angry at JJ.

Before he could laugh anymore, you straightened back up and lunged at him, pushing him backwards. He instantly stopped laughing, stumbling a little before standing up straight again. You lunged again but this time JJ was ready and he blocked you by holding onto your hands. 

“What the hell, Peach!” JJ yelled, confusion written across his face.

You struggled against his grip, grunting as you did. “What the hell?” You mimic JJ’s voice, finally breaking free from JJ’s grasp. “You attacked Rafe.”

JJ rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “That guy was manhandling you and you’re upset with me?”

You scoff. “You didn’t help by escalating the situation! I had it handled.”

This time JJ scoffed, clearly making fun of you. “Sure seemed like it with Rafe’s grimey hands all over you.”

“Seriously? Do you think I can’t take care of myself?”

JJ doesn’t answer and you know what he’s thinking.

You were stunned. You always thought JJ trusted you but apparently not. Never had JJ expressed this type of jealousy. You were angry beyond belief but there was a small part of you that actually liked the fact that he cared so much about you. You pushed this down though and continued to be angry with him.

JJ could tell he struck a nerve and the second he said it, he wished he could take it back. He tried to walk forward, tried to comfort you and apologize but you only stepped further back. “I’m sorry.”

You shook your head. “Why?” Your eyes glistened over and you felt a tear fall down your cheek. “Why?”

JJ loosens the buttons on his collar. He’s sweating like a pig and he knows he is seconds away from confessing. When he looks into your eyes, it gives him the final push to say what he’s always wanted to say. “I love you.”

You freeze and, at first, you think you had misheard him. “As a friend?” 

JJ chuckles, finally stepping forward and reaching up to cup your face. This time you’re too shocked to step back. You’re finally realizing that maybe all of those feelings were not a coincidence and you loved JJ since you first saw him, all of those years ago.

“No,” JJ smiles, his soothing voice just above a whisper. “Not as a friend.”

You leaned your head forward, not even realizing you wanted to kiss him. JJ closed the gap between your lips and you knew, the second his lips touched yours, that this was just the beginning. And it all started with jealousy.

[troop-scoop]

Mistakes & Regrets XXII

Summary: When a trip to your Dad’s hometown of Hawkins goes wrong, you end up in the year 1983, and have to learn how to cope with being stuck in the past.

Pairing: Steve Harrington / Future!Reader (like, a really slow burn)

Warnings: Swearing, violence

• • • 

It was pretty much known by everybody who you were friends with that Steve hated your driving. And by hate, you meant it. 

He was genuinely shocked when the DMV gave you your license. You were always going over the speed limit, and taking sharp turns. His least favorite thing you did? Not slowing down at bumps or potholes.

So, you were hoping he wouldn’t wake up while you were driving. Dustin, Max, Mike and Steve were all crowded in the back seat of the car, but Lucas was next to you with the map, even though you knew your way to this farm because you went there to get a pumpkin for Will a few days before Halloween. 

“Y/n?” 

You looked in the rearview mirror, seeing Steve turned and looking at Mike. You redirected your attention to the road, choosing not to let him know that you were the one driving. 

“No don’t touch it” Dustin told him. Though you couldn’t see what he was telling Steve not to touch. “Hey, buddy. . .” Dustin shushed a bit. 

You continued driving, occasionally glancing at the map even if it was so dark you couldn’t really see anything. 

“It’s okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a good fight. You’re okay.”

“Okay, you’re gonna keep straight for a half a mile, then make a left on Mount Sinai.” You nodded in response to Lucas’ instructions. 

“What’s going on?”

You didn’t want to look at Steve but you did anyway. Quickly sparing a look over your shoulder before turning back to the front. 

“Oh, my God.” 

“Hey, relax, she has her license.” Dustin tried to soothe as if Steve was an infant. 

“Yeah, and she barely passed the driving test.” Mike pointed out. You were gonna kill Nancy for coming with you to the DMV. 

“That still counts.” Max and Lucas both pointed out. 

“Steve, dude, need you to chill-”

“Oh, my God!”  He repeated, now fully awake and realizing the situation he was in, crowded around a bunch of middle schoolers with you driving. 

“They were gonna leave you behind.”

You could feel the stress rising in the back seat as Steve continued to repeat himself as he sat up, with Dustin trying to calm him down. 

“Fuck it.” You muttered, speeding up. Your nerves were getting the best of you. You wanted Eleven to be okay, you wanted Will to be okay. 

“Oh, my God! No! Whoa! Stop the car. Slow down!”

You tried to tune them out, with Mike, Dustin and Steve all yelling in the back seat, and Max looking more annoyed by the second.

“Shut up!” She yelled at them “She needs to focus!” 

You were sure it wasn’t a very pleasant way to wake up after getting your ass kicked by a racist. You saw the road coming up and took a sharp turn, which resulted in the squeaking of Billy’s tires and Steve screaming even louder. 

You came to a sudden spot when Mike yelled that you were there at the hole. You remained quiet, sniffling a little bit and turning the engine off. 

Getting out of the car you went to the drunk, unlocking it and letting the kids get what they needed to set up. 

You grabbed the gun, tucking it into your jeans. Taking the red bandana and swimming goggles, you looked over to the side of the car where Steve fell onto the dirt, loosing his balance 

The kids got their goggles and bandanas, having fully understood you when you said that the atmosphere down there was toxic. Because it was just an expansion of the Upside Down. 

Walking over to Steve you handed him the bandana and goggles, knowing you didn’t really need them. If you were immune to the atmosphere a year ago, it wouldn’t really change now. 

He tried to get your attention as you walked away but you couldn’t look at him. The tears felt like they were coming back every time you did.

You’d never let him know that you cried the entire time you were gathering things to get in the car. You were practically sobbing while going about your business, barely making it out of the driveway because your vision was blurry from your tears. 

You stood at the hood of the car while Mike came over with a canister of gasoline and the rope, bending down to tie it to the front bumper. 

“You got it?” You asked, wiping away a bit of snot. You hated crying, and the after effects. 

You could hear Steve yelling about how he said no to this plan, that he wasn’t going to allow it. But if you had to go down there alone, you would. 

“Yeah.” He said quietly. “You okay?” 

“Peachy.” You responded with little enthusiasm, which Mike picked up on, but refused to say anything. 

Walking back to the trunk you grabbed Steve’s arm, catching his attention as he took your backpack from Dustin.

“If you’re not with me, you are my enemy.” You said in a gentle and joking manner, only getting a confused grin from him. “You won’t understand that. . . for a long time.” He looked even more confused as you walked over to the hole as Mike dropped the rope down into it. 

Steve and Dustin quickly followed after you. It smelled familiar. And you could feel how cold it was already. Taking a deep breath you looked at the boys, who gave you an uncertain look through their goggles. 

Stepping closer to the hole. Steve grabbed your wrist, stopping you from moving. “What are you doing?” 

“Going down there? To commit interdimensional arson?” 

“Why don’t you have any of this?” Steve gestured to his bandana and pair of goggles he’d gotten on within seconds. 

“I don’t really need it.” You said softly, pulling your wrist away and jumping down into the hole. You landed with your knees bent and in total darkness.

You froze up. It felt like it was all rushing back, and you lowered yourself onto your knees, the gooey feeling on your jeans also familiar and not uncomfortable. You could remember the sound of rain, and yelling out for your dad, having regretted running as soon as the storm started. And you tried to find your way back, but you stepped over one rock, and all of a sudden you fell into what felt exactly like this.

You remembered having your hoodie on, and your hair up. Your shoes had been soaked from the rain. You still had them somewhere in your apartment. A pair of damaged black vans. 

You could suddenly remember taking your first shower at the motel, watching as the dirt, blood and sweat went down the drain. You hadn’t been able to remember your first night at the motel since you’d been there. 

You remembered taking the shower after buying a completely new outfit, from a store, just so you could feel comfortable. You remembered the odd looks you got from everyone, and staying quiet after you saw the date in a newspaper. You’d put it together far quicker than you’d imagined. You’d enrolled yourself into the highschool quickly, got a wardrobe together, and tried to act normal. You remembered all of it now. 

“Y/n? Hey, c’mon, look at me, are you okay?” Steve grabbed your face, making you look at him. But all you could see was his bruised forehead and his eyes through the tinted goggles. 

“Yeah.” You answered simply. You could suddenly remember the last time your dad hugged you, and how tight it had been. Like he’d known that something was going to happen, or that it’d be the last time. But you hadn’t. 

“I’m fine.” 

Steve helped you onto your feet, and you reached for whoever’s hand was closest, and that just so happened to be Steve’s. 

You started your trek down the tunnels, every step reminding you of what happened. You pretty much zoned out on everything. Ignoring everything that was said and remembering how quiet it had been except for those things that you always hid from. You were good at hiding as a little kid, and even now. Lockdown drills didn’t help.

But you did snap out of it when you heard screaming. Turning back you saw Mike and Lucas run back, and you went after them. Mike was yelling for Dustin and when you came to a large opening, you saw Dustin on the ground, coughing.

Kneeling down you had a grip on his shoulders as he coughed. He had a grip on you too, using you as a bit of balance. 

He stopped and looked up at you, seeing how worried you were. “I’m okay.” 

It was anticlimatic. 

You nodded a bit. “Okay.” You agreed, grabbing the end edge of his bandana and pulling it over the nose of his scuba mask and helping him back up. You walked with Dustin most of the way after that, a hand on his shoulder and the other on Mike’s as they followed Steve’s lead. 

“Alright, Wheeler. I think we found your hub.” 

Steve was right, the other tunnels all leading to this one spot. That everyone shined their flashlight on. 

And instead of a constant feeling of reliving that short month in the Upside Down, you took the gas canister that Mike had been carrying for you. “Let’s drench it.” He spoke as you uncapped it. Everyone did the same, With Lucas spraying the higher walls of the hub while the rest of you got the lower parts, and the floor. The smell was overwhelming, like a gas station but a thousand times worse. And usually you liked the smell.

“Alright, c’mon. Everybody get back.” 

You looked up at Steve, seeing that he was gesturing back to the way you’d come. You dropped your canister, and went to the tunnel.

You were all gathered together, and Steve looked at you. “You still have my lighter?” Nodding, you reached into the pocket of his jacket and handed it to him. 

“Alright, you guys ready?”

“Yeah.” You answered. With everyone else answering as well. 

He opened the lighter and ignited it, the small flame lighting up a small area, before he tossed it into the puddle of gasoline. What you’d all poured into it lit up 

The vines on the floor began to make sounds and flail in the air, almost as if it was in pain. But you couldn’t bring yourself to care if it was in pain. 

“Go, go, go!” Steve shouted. You grabbed Lucas, Dustina and Mike who all took longer than Max, who took off running.

You pushed them all ahead of you and began to run yourself, with Steve behind you. You all ran, not really caring if you were cautious at this point. 

Steve grabbed onto your arm and started to pull you along with him when he almost passed you.

He let go of you when he made sure you weren’t completley behind him or the kids, but right along side Mike. 

You grabbed onto Mike’s hand, trying to make sure you didn’t lose him or he didn’t get lost.

Mike tripped on one of the vines and fell onto the ground. “Steve!” You shouted. While Mike screamed ‘help’ 

They came running back, with Lucas going to the other side of Mike as Steve brought the bat down onto the vine. You pulled Mike away and grabbed his face. “Are you okay?” 

He gave an urgent nod as you helped him stand back up. 

Before any of you could make a run for it again, you heard the familiar growling from a demodog as Dustin liked to call it. 

You still held onto Mike, an arm around his shoulders, holding him close like you would if he were your own brother. You also had an arm out, acting as a shield for Lucas, as Dustin stepped forward. 

You didn’t feel scared, just anxious, with your heart beating a million miles a second, having had both Dustin and Mike fall on the way at some point. Mike had his flashlight pointed at Dart, but his other hand had a death grip on the back of your shirt. 

“Dart.” Dustin spoke, taking a small step forward. 

In unison all of you started speaking, telling him to get back or that it was a bad idea. “Sh! Trust me, please.” He continued to walk over to the thing. Both you and Steve shared a look as your grip on Mike stayed the same. 

The four kids were family to you your entire life, they would have done anything to protect you just like your dad would have done for their kids. So you’d do anything to protect them now. 

“It’s me, It’s Dustin, You remember me?” He asked, kneeling down in front of him, his goggles and mask off. “Will you let us pass?”

  Dart opened his mouth and growled, showing off the tiny teeth decorating the petal like flaps. You pulled Mike closer and grabbed Lucas’ hand who stepped behind you. 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I”m sorry about the storm cellar.”

“I’m not.” You murmured to yourself. 

“That was a pretty douchey thing to do. You hungry? Yeah?” Dustin took his backpack off, reaching into it and pulled out a three musketeers. 

“He’s insane.” Lucas mumbled. You only nodded in agreement. While Steve told him to shut up. 

“I’ve got our favorite. See? Nougat.” Dustin began to unwrap the candy bar. “Look at that. Yummy. Here, all right? Eat up, buddy.”

Dustin gestured for you all to go past Dart without looking at at any of you. Steve went first, then Max, and then you, Mike and Lucas. Mike and you still having a tight grip on each other and Lucas using you as a bit of a shield, and you didn’t blame him. 

You all stopped once past Dart and Dustin, and saw as Dart looked back at Dustin. “Goodbye, buddy.” Dustin told him, puling his mask and goggles back on, before turning to the rest of you and following. 

Things just kept popping up however, as when you’d barely gotten far from Dart, the tunnel shook, and you could hear distant growling from multiple demodogs. 

“They’re coming.” Mike realized, having taken your hand after you’d let him go. “Run!” He yelled with everyone instantly following what he said and running towards the rope. 

Once there, Steve helped Max up onto the ground, then Lucas, as well as Mike and Dustin. 

“Shit.” You mumbled, hearing the demodogs get closer. You pulled the gun from your Jeans as Steve stepped in front of you, bending his knees enough so you could aim over his shoulder. 

And much to your surprise, instead of attacking, they went around the two of you, acting as if you were just rocks in their way. 

Steve turned and grabbed you with his free hand, keeping you close and out of their way as the two of you watched them run. 

“Okay. . .” Steve mumbled, looking down at you. “Your turn.” He told you dropping the bat and leaning down to grab you from around the knees, and lifting you up to the rope. 

You had a firm grip on it and climbed the couple of inches you needed before Mike and Max grabbed you, helping to pull you out, and then you did the same for Steve, pulling him out as he tossed the bat to the side. 

The headlights of Billy’s car grew brighter for a few seconds, forcing you to shield your eyes. But it was gone as soon as it had come. 

• • • 

Stepping out of the car you were met with Billy sitting on the porch, and the door opening as Joyce came out. The worry on her face was unmistakable. 

“Oh, my God.” He muttered, coming over to you and hugging you. You were both sweaty and gross, but you understood the reaction. She’d expected for you all to be in house when she came back with Will. “You’re okay?” She asked, pulling away and holding your face in her hands. 

You nodded, forcing a tired smile. “I’m alive.” You couldn’t say you were okay, because you knew you weren't. But you were alive, and that was enough for you. 

“Y/n!” Looking over Joyce’s shoulder you saw Will, Jonathan and Nancy coming out as well. Smiling you walked over to Will who came over and hugged you. 

“Hey,” You greeted, hugging him back. 

“It wanted me to kill you.” 

“I know, kid. But you didn’t.” You reminded him, pulling away and smiling down at him. You could see your brother in him. The smile and the tired look in his eyes. “It’s an okay night.” 

“Hey, guys.” You looked at Nancy and Jonathan who smiled back. Eleven and Hopper got back at the same time as you, So Mike and her had gone to each other, and everyone stood around, exhausted and ready to crash. 

“Nancy, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas can stay here for the night, to get some rest.” Joyce told them. “Y/n, Steve, you’re welcome to stay too.” 

Looking over at Steve you could see how exhausted he was, and looking over to Joyce you looked down at Will, who you still had an arm around. “We. . . can get a ride to my apartment. We both need showers.” You told her. 

She nodded and reached over to you, a hand on your cheek that you subconsciously leaned a bit into. 

“I’ll drive them.” Hopper offered to Joyce. 

You nodded a bit, looking over to Steve. “We’ll get the BMW tomorrow morning, yeah?” He nodded in response. 

“We should go now, before he passes out here.” You told Hopper, but really, you could see how Steve was looking at Billy. 

“Let’s go.” 

• • • 

@disneyprincessbuffyannesummers​ @nxncywheeler​ @yllwtaxi​ @songofcosplay​ @potatopooper05​ @cheesecakeisapie @robinsdolan​ @yall-wildin-like-siriusly​  @bisexualpears​ @ilovebucketbarnes​ @random-thoughts-003​ @mochminnie  @abbyg217​​ @stevexscoops​​ @cashmereandtears​​ @iris-suoh​​ @supred12 @ohmyitsfaith​ @beyond-the-gone​

[hypnoticwinter]

Down the Rabbit Hole part 5

“Peter, wake up. Peter, please, come on. I know you’re breathing, you have a pulse, fucking wake up, Pete. Please.”

Peter cracks an eye open and sees Makado, forehead pressed against his shoulder, her own shaking with exhaustion and frustration and fear. He wants to reach down and touch her and show her that he’s awake, that he’s okay, but his arm doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with what he wants it to do; he can lift it but it feels like he’s a million miles from his body and whispering in the ear of whoever is really lifting his arm, but they can’t understand him and they aren’t very good at working the arm to begin with. He blinks glassily and shifts his torso a little and Makado looks up and sees that he’s awake and throws her arms around him.

“Goddam it,” she mutters. She smells like peaches. Peter tells her this and she looks at him with a funny expression on her face, like she’s trying very hard not to smile and failing at it. “You really cracked your head, didn’t you?” she says. Peter tries to sit up but she puts a hand on his chest and pushes him back down gently. He raises his arm again and notices that a little bit more of his coordination has returned; he puts his hand on her shoulder and she reaches up and squeezes it.

“Are the kids okay?” he asks, and she nods.

“Yeah, they’re fine. A little banged up but we all are. They’re okay.”

Peter looks over her shoulder and sees the three of them, even Eileen, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes. Fitzroy has a cut on his forehead that looks bad, but it’s a head wound, so it probably looks worse than it actually is, and Eileen is still clutching her wrist. His eyes flick up to Makado. “Have you looked at Eileen’s wrist?” he asks. “She’s been holding it like that since the first wave of convulsions.”

“Yeah,” Makado nods. “It’s sprained, I took a look at it. Not broken, thankfully.”

“Are you sure?”

“No,” she admits. “I’m not a doctor. But she wouldn’t be able to move it as much as she can if it were broken.”

“Good,” Peter says, making to get up, but Makado pushes him down again.

“Not so fast,” she says, unclipping her flashlight from her belt. “Stare straight ahead,” she instructs him, and when he squints against the light she rolls her eyes at him. “Don’t squint.”

Peter tries not to but even on the lowest setting the flashlight is very bright. After what feels like eternity Makado turns it off and shrugs. “You’ve got a concussion,” she says, “but probably not a very bad one.”

“Are you sure?” Peter frowns. “I feel like shit.”

“Yeah, you look like it, too,” Makado grins. “You were only out for a minute or two, though.”

“The choke response was over that quickly?” he asks, sitting up. His head throbs for a moment and he puts his hand to it, but the feeling passes.

“No,” Makado shakes her head. “Put your hand on the floor.”

Peter does and then he feels it, a slow rattling rumble from somewhere deep, deep in the Pit, a vibration that passes up his bones and makes his teeth sing. He jerks his hand back like it was scorched. “What the hell?”

“I know.”

“What is going on?”

“No clue,” Makado shakes her head. “I haven’t been able to get anybody on the radio, and the lift stopped halfway down. I think a contraction crushed part of the elevator shaft inwards so it can’t make it all the way.”

“Shit,” Peter mutters. “So we’re trapped down here?”

He glances at the three kids on the other side of the elevator enclosure, but they aren’t paying attention; Fitzroy and Eileen are huddled together, looking exhausted, and Tyler is laid out flat on the floor, shuddering along with the pit.

“I don’t know,” Makado tells him. “The elevator is fucked so that’s not a viable way up but there are others. I know there’s a ladder somewhere that leads up to the bronchial area in the layer above this but I don’t know where it is. Do you?”

Peter shakes his head. “No,” he says after a moment. “I’m down here a lot but I don’t think I’ve ever used that ladder. We always would just take the lift, like we’re –“

“- like we’re supposed to,” Makado groans. “And you don’t have the map downloaded?”

“No,” Peter tells her. “I still have a map of the eastern face in here,” he says, tapping the computer box built into his suit’s chestplate. Makado curses.

“Mine just has a map of the LVC area, I’ve been doing tour groups for the last three days.”

“You? Doing tour groups?”

“Don’t even start,” she groans. “Ryan and Fatoumatta both have been out, Ryan’s dad died and I don’t even know what Fati’s problem was, we literally didn’t have anybody else to cover.”

There’s another grumbling moan from somewhere deep below them. Peter watches Tyler shudder.

“Pit doesn’t sound very happy,” Peter mutters.

“I’ve never heard carnal moans like those,” Makado agrees.

“I know a choke response can be bad but even if the pumps failed in the Sand Gullet it shouldn’t have been this bad.”

“No. I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

“Do you have a wireless link with the LVC? I don’t but I don’t know if your suit…”

“No,” she shakes her head. “I thought my suit was damaged but I didn’t worry about it until the elevator got fucked.”

Peter blows his breath out. “We’re screwed, then.”

“Not so loud. We aren’t screwed, there has to be a way up to the LVC, you know how this place is, there’s always a damn ladder or access chute or elevator somewhere, you just never know where they are.”

“But if we can’t get any new maps –“

“Okay, here’s something, though – if we get to a ranger station or a call box we can jack in and try and get a direct line to the LVC that way. I think the wireless issue is the same as the radio issue, I think it’s just that a repeater somewhere got crushed. I don’t know if you know but they aren’t exposed, they’re literally just buried in flesh in places because they really didn’t want anybody screwing with them. It’s just that convulsions this strong are so rare this deep that I guess they figured it was an acceptable risk.”

“So if they buried it in muscle –“

“- which is stupid, I know, even if convulsions are rare -”

“Okay. Well, we can’t get to the ranger station in that digestive bulb. There’s a call box in the Campground –“

“Not any more,” Makado shakes her head. “I saw it when we went in there, it’s fucked.”

“Then the closest one is going to be down in the lower organ trails. There’s a call box every half mile or so.”

“Christ,” Makado groans. “I really, really hoped you wouldn’t say that.”

“It’ll be fine,” he assures her.

“Those macrobacteria had to get in somehow. Where else would it have been but the –“

“You don’t know,” he says. “It could have been literally anywhere with the level of shit we’ve been dealing with for the last half hour or so. Ouch.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he says, putting a hand to his forehead. “I think I’m just catching up now, I have a killer headache all of a sudden.”

“I have a hypo if you –“

“I have some too, it’s okay. We all need to be sharp.”

“Are we trapped down here?” Fitzroy calls, and Makado turns and looks at him.

“No,” she says finally. Peter can see her struggling to think of what to say that won’t make the three teenagers panic. Tyler’s eyes are very wide, or at least they seem so in the red emergency lighting. “We’re just trying to figure out our next plan of action.”

“Are we gonna die?” Eileen asks, so quietly Peter can barely hear her.

“Not today,” Makado says. “Me and Ranger Pete here are going to get you guys out of here.”

“Okay,” Eileen says. There is not a lot of confidence in her voice. At least, Peter reflects, she’s defeated instead of panicked. Then he does a mental double-take and considers what a ridiculous sentiment that is. If she –

“Did you hear me?” Makado asks, frowning. Peter blinks.

“No, I’m sorry.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she says, leaning closer. “You’re –“

“No, it’s nothing, I just zoned out for a second. I was thinking about how the hell we’re going to get these kids out of here.”

“Yeah, you and me both. At least it seems fairly safe in this enclosure.”

“Yeah. Have you looked outside lately?”

“No,” Makado says, “but it should be okay, I haven’t heard any more stents fail.”

“I was thinking more about wildlife.”

Before Makado can answer the floor bucks violently and Eileen and Fitzroy both yelp, but the tremor subsides slowly and gracefully, winding down with a jolting series of shudders that Peter can tell from Makado’s face she’s never felt anything like before; neither has he.

The elevator enclosure is fairly roomy, big enough for maybe ten or twelve people to wait in relative comfort. The walls are drab reinforced steel, with a few posters taped up about safety requirements and guidelines and a big recruiting poster encouraging people to apply for venterial engineer positions. This was never an elevator intended for guests to use – in fact, most of the time people wouldn’t have gotten to the Lower Gastro Zone through an elevator at all. Peter’s lead many, many tours down the mile-and-a-half walking path that meanders in a spiraling course down the Pit’s eastern side and finally lets out at a large, reinforced bulb that once was a gastrointestinal organ but, like the Campground, had been drained and prettied up and turned into a staging area both for returns to the Lower Visitor Center and for guests making excursions deeper into the Pit. Peter and the other rangers stationed there joked about it being the lower Lower Visitor Center, considering the amount of traffic they usually got, but all jokes aside, Peter had loved his assignment. Generally speaking the only guests they had passing through and downwards were the serious ones, the ones who’d been on a solo or small-group excursion before and knew what to expect and as such required only refills of water, or propane for their tents’ support packs. It had been him, Makado, Carl, and a few others who tended to rotate out as needed, but then Makado caught that promotion a week ago…

At the time Peter had tried very hard not to feel sad, knowing that she’d definitely deserved it, but he couldn’t help selfishly wishing that someone else had gotten promoted instead so that he could continue hanging out with her and Carl and all the others. The past week had been so strange without her flashing eyes and no-nonsense demeanor and quick wit when they’d teased her. He’d known Carl had felt it too, even if they’d never directly spoken about it.

“Why don’t I go down to the Lower Organ Trail,” Peter says, interrupting Makado’s perusal of the hopelessly limited general map stored in her suit computer, “jack in and download a map real quick, and then come right back up here so we can plan?”

“Peter, I really don’t want us to split up. And you’ve got that head injury –“

“Mak, listen, think about it,” he says, drawing in closer to her. She still smells like peaches, he notices. “You want to take the kids down there? This is probably the safest place for them. You’ve got a door you can bar with some of those chairs, and these walls are solid,” he says, touching them. “Got through all those convulsions without any buckling. Yeah, the elevator’s fucked, but…”

“But what if,” she says, voice a low growl, “what if you go down there and get killed by something? Carl bit it from a pack of macros, Pete. Just fucking macros. You know how many of them are down there, probably?”

“We don’t know that they got in from the organ trails,” he says. “There are a dozen other places that they could have came in after convulsions like that.”

“Don’t give me that bull,” Makado says. “You know it was the organ trails. Where else would it have been? That copepod we saw earlier? That came in from the trails. It didn’t come in from a digestive bulb, its carapace can’t handle the acid.”

“It could have come down from upwards, from bronchial.”

“If it was in bronchial it would have been literally the only copepod there. There’s nothing for them to eat in bronchial.”

“You’re making assumptions.”

“What is it going to eat in bronchial?” she asks. “Tell me.”

“Giant mites.”

“A copepod is a giant mite.”

“That isn’t entirely true and you know it,” Peter says. “Look, we’re wasting time.” He pauses there until Makado looks at him. “One of us has to go. You’ve got rank. Send me. Make the call.”

“We don’t have to. We can just go down tunnels until we find a way up.”

“You know that’s a bad idea as well as I do.”

“I’ll go, then.”

“Mak, no.”

“Look,” she says, eyes flashing, “you can put aside whatever notions of chivalry you might be having. I can take care of myself. It’ll –“

“It isn’t about chivalry. You are the ranking ranger of the two of us.” Makado looks like she wants to say something, but Peter gives her a look and she swallows it. “I’m more expendable than you are. You always knew it would come to this. I did too. It’ll be fine; I can just run down, plug in a line, download an automap of the area, and we’ll head out and be back to the LVC in time for a late dinner.”

Makado takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. When she opens them again she nods. “Be careful,” she tells Peter, and Peter grins at her.

“It’ll be fine,” he repeats. “Just down there and back. What’s the worst that could happen?”

 * * *

 “Fuck,” Peter mutters to himself, peering around the corner again. The timer he’d set on the suit computer ticked down off of five minutes a minute ago and the triocanth is still there in the middle of the hallway, its pair of long, stinger-lined tentacles still wrapped around the tubelike macrobacterium that it caught. It’s chewed open a hole in the bacterium’s thin skin and is busily slurping out the bacterium’s innards, leaving a crusty light-orange scum on the metal walkway beneath it. Peter shakes his head.

“This fucker is still here, Mak,” he says into the radio, as quietly as he can. He hears Makado sigh on the other end of the radio, her exhale blending with the static.

“Just be patient,” she tells him again. “It’ll wander off when it’s done.”

“Or it’ll dig a fucking hole into the Pit wall and hide there waiting for me to walk past and sting me and then eat me, how about that?”

“Go around it.”

“This is a one-way trail, there’s no around it. Unless you want me to double back for fifteen minutes and hope that the next call box is intact.”

“We have time. There’s no rush.”

“You have time,” he corrects her. “Meanwhile, the one who’s actually out here risking his ass doesn’t know if something is sneaking up on him right this very moment…”

He can hear Makado smiling. “Have you tried looking around?” she suggests, and Peter rolls his eyes.

“I can see why you made head ranger,” he cracks, and Makado lets out a mock gasp.

“How dare you, sir.”

“I dare,” he mutters, taking Makado’s advice and looking around, checking the ceiling as well as the fleshy, writhing floor of the trail. He peeks around the corner again and sees the triocanth, its long wriggling tail twitching with delight. It looks to be about halfway done with the macrobacterium now. It flicks one of its powerful tentacles and sends a fluttering spray of bacterium skin flying.

“You just looked around, didn’t you?” Makado asks.

“Maybe.”

“I knew it!” she crows. “Hey, kids! Come here and let me tell you how predictable Peter’s getting! Why don’t –“

“Quiet,” Peter says, and Makado turns off like a switch. He hears her telling one of the teens that she was just kidding and to go and sit back down but he doesn’t pay any attention.

The triocanth is gone. The husk of the macrobacterium is still rocking gently on the floor, its orangey innards oozing out of it like a spilled can of soda, bubbling lightly as it reacts with and oxidizes the metal flooring of the trail. He checks the walls and the ceiling but can’t find the tell-tale breathing hole that it would have made if it had burrowed into the Pit’s flesh; it made no noise, but triocanths usually don’t. “What’s going on?” Makado asks.

“The triocanth is gone.”

“Alright, so the way’s clear?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“It took off in a hurry. Like it was scared. It didn’t even finish the bacterium it was eating.”

“Maybe it got full.”

“You know what triocanths are like as well as I do.”

“Yeah,” Makado agrees after a moment. “Greedy bastards.”

“And not cowardly,” Peter continues.

“Do you think it noticed you?”

“Not likely,” he says, scanning the ceiling again.

“What are triocanths scared of?” she muses to herself.

“A shamble?” Peter suggests. Makado clicks her teeth.

“Same size range but shambles are pussies. I’ve seen a triocanth take on a shamble twice its weight before.”

“Alright, so not a shamble. What about a greater bristleworm?”

“You’d have heard it. You know how they make that crunchy sound when they’re slithering around on land?”

“Good point,” he nods. “What about a –“ Peter starts, then stops.

“Peter? What is it?”

“Off mic,” he murmurs, and then Peter reaches up, extremely slowly, and takes the earpiece from his ear. He can hear nothing except for the various drips and drops and fleshy stretching noises the Pit makes as part of its ordinary daily life. He can feel the rumble of a convulsion still wracking the Pit somewhere deeper down in its anatomy through the soles of his ranger suit, but the floor he’s standing on hasn’t bucked or pitched enough to throw him off in at least ten minutes now. The damage has been done; if a triocanth can get into the organ trail there’s clearly a torn section of fence or two somewhere.

But a triocanth is relatively innocuous; while it may have a vicious, paralyzing sting and a bad habit of burrowing into the fleshy walls of the pit to spring out and ambush anything that passes by, if he shot it with his service pistol it would die. It would take only a single bullet.

Peter has peeked around the corner again, trying to spot the triocanth. Instead, he sees an arm, reaching out from a narrow fold in the flesh of the Pit, there on the wall, a large, vertical slit leaking a little blood and pus from its bottommost corner.

The arm is long and thin and fragile-looking; it has too many bends in it, the forearm receding back to an elbow and then folding in on itself to another machine-like reticulated elbow. Its flesh is pale and slightly translucent; he can see a long thin bead of bone struck through with veins that pulse with blue, unhealthy-looking blood. The arm is huge, far larger than a human’s ought to be, though it still terminates in a five-fingered hand, proportioned exactly as a human’s, but large enough to palm Peter’s entire head with room left over.

The hand reaches out with exceeding delicacy and picks up the discarded skin of the macrobacterium and then retracts back into the slit, slopping a little of the macro’s orange innards over the wall of the Pit. There’s a coarse sliding sound that gradually recedes, and then nothing.

Peter waits, scarcely daring to breathe, for about three minutes. Then he picks the earpiece up and digs it back into his ear.

“-ammit, Pete,” Makado is whispering, sounding as if she’s on the brink of tears, “this is all my fault, fuck, come on, just say something –“

“Mak,” he murmurs, feeling a stab of guilt pierce through him; she must not have heard when he said he was leaving the radio. “I’m here.”

“Christ, Pete, you scared me,” she tells him, sounding like a week’s worth of tension has just left her body. “I thought we got cut off cause I didn’t hear anything but then I started to get worried –“

“Mak, listen to me.”

“What? What is it?”

“There’s a copepod down here.”

Makado is silent for a moment. “You mean a lesser one, right?” she says hopefully.

“No. An abyssal copepod. A big one.”

“Are you sure?”

“I saw its arm, Mak.”

“You sure it wasn’t just a really pale person?”

“Yeah, it was a really pale ogre-sized person with two elbows on one arm. Come on. Time to face the music.”

“What music?” she growls. “That we’re all going to get fucking eaten by a copepod? Tell me something better, Pete. Have you downloaded that automap yet?”

“Not yet. I’m proceeding forward now that the coast is clear,” he tells her, moving out around the corner. The metal walkway angles downwards and deposits him on the fleshy floor of the trail, and he feels the telltale grab of his cleats digging in with each step he takes.

“Maybe you should come back,” Mak suggests. “We can fall out to a different ranger station, the general map is saying that there’s one about a mile and a half to the east –“

“I remember hearing at least three stents fail down that corridor,” he tells her, edging past the slit in the wall quickly. It’s almost unnoticeable now that there’s nothing inside it to bulge the opening outwards; if he hadn’t seen the arm, he wouldn’t have known it were there. “You really want to take that risk?”

“No,” Makado says after a moment. “But I don’t want you to die.”

“That makes two of us,” he says. “I can see the call box.”

“How far?”

“Quarter of a mile. I’m in the home stretch. Radio silence now so I can listen.”

“Understood,” Makado says. She’s silent for a moment, then Peter hears her breathe. “You come back to me, alright?”

“Promise.”

“Break it and I’ll kill you myself.”

“Okay, I get it. Now shut up.”

Makado shuts up, and then the broadcast clicks off entirely. Peter is alone.

It’s dark down there in the organ trail, and the jerky bob of Peter’s flashlight, slotted into the tab on the side of his helmet, is completely inadequate to illuminate the vast cavernous space. The organ trails, at least at this end, are some of the largest navigable spaces inside the Pit that aren’t sheer drops or extremely difficult terrain. The floor is smooth, struck through with veins and vesicles and callouses from decades of foot traffic.

While the organ trail’s surfaces appear open and occasionally wildlife does make its way through, all of the ways upwards, at least to this opening mouth of the trail, should have been blocked. The only way for something as large as an abyssal copepod to get there would have been for it to clamber out onto the trail and pull itself up through miles of open areas. But Peter knows that abyssal copepods practically never expose themselves like that; it’s only if they’re directly pursuing prey organisms that they will flop outwards of the tight-fitting vents and veins and arteries that are ordinarily their homes, for although a copepod is graceful and swift in the crushing grasp of a tube like that, its organically lubricated carapace shooting through at speeds of up to twenty miles an hour on a straightaway, out in the open it has to rely on the wriggling of its mammoth body and the brutal pulling strength of its forelimbs to get around.

So, essentially – the armor and fences and sonic discouragement devices and electrical traps, the spike plates and scent lures and redundant obfuscatory canals, the thin web of interlinked and interdependent methods to distract, redirect, and otherwise prevent wildlife from making it to the populated areas of the Pit, has failed, at least somewhere. Probably a plate cap got jostled loose by the series of rolling convulsions and constrictions wracking the Pit, perhaps a speaker got crushed or a scent lure sealed off. The web is redundant but not exceedingly so.

Peter feels his paranoia growing as he makes his way towards the slowly pulsing blue light of the call box. This box in particular looks alright; the first two he passed we bent out of shape and clearly inoperable, crushed by tight squeezes of tunnel, but this section of the trail is so large that even if the muscles bunched around it were to contract, it wouldn’t touch him.

Peter gets to the call box. There’s a small pack of macrobacteria rolling past in a divot of the trail floor, perhaps a hundred feet away, but they’d have to spike their way up a sheer incline to get to him, so he’s not concerned. He notices with surprise that the soft grinding noise they make is oddly comforting.

The call box is splattered with something but it’s dried by now. He smacks the side of it lightly and the dried crust of it breaks off in a shower of tiny flakes. “Mak,” he says. “I’m at the box.”

“Great,” she says. He can hear her stretching as she sits up. “There should be a jack on the side, unroll your aux cable and plug it in.”

“Do I have the right permissions for this?” he asks.

“Maybe. We’ll find out.”

Peter is halfway through reeling out the cable before he notices a blinking line on the box’s display. He leans in and squints at it. “Hey, Mak.”

“Yeah?”

“This box is saying it still has a telephone line to the LVC.”

“Really?”

“The status says ‘fine.’”

“Try calling them, then.”

Peter pulls the glove off his right hand and punches the button. The angled infinity-sign of the dialing symbol comes up and bobs back and forth. Peter stares at it as the seconds stretch onwards and onwards. He shakes his head finally. “It must be busted,” he says. “No response.”

“Hmm,” Makado grunts. “That or the LVC is fucked.”

“Come on, get real,” he tells her. “Let’s see if we still have data. I’m jacked in.”

“Okay. Slide your card.”

Peter reaches down into the acidproof pocket on his belly and takes out his ranger card and slides it. The box whirs to itself for a moment before the access menu comes up. “Do I want mainframe access?” he asks.

“No, hit 8 to scroll, it should be on the third page. Haven’t you done this before?”

“Nope,” he says, punching the 8 button a couple times. “I’ve always gotten my maps wirelessly. I think I was trained on this at some point when they put these new boxes in but all I remember is them saying that maps needed supervisor clearance. Why is that, anyway?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s because the automap system does a ping every time someone requests it. Wear and tear and all that.”

“Well, that’s a damn inconvenience right now. The option is locked.”

“Fuck,” Makado says. “Okay, hit enter on it anyway.”

“It’s asking for a password.”

“Try putting yours in.”

Peter punches it in but the box beeps at him. “Access denied,” he reads off.

“Try putting mine in. It’s…”

Peter cocks his head. “I think we got cut off, say again.”

“No,” Makado says after a moment. “It’s just, you know, don’t laugh at me, alright?”

“Will you tell me the damn password?”

“Capital B bigmakpaddywack2258 exclamation point dollar sign.”

“Are you serious?”

“Type the damn password,” she tells Peter.

Peter bites his lip to hold back his laughter and types it in. His smile gradually fades. “Are you sure that’s your password?”

“Yes I’m fucking sure. Did you type it right? ‘Mak’ without a c?”

“Yes, Makado, I’m aware of how to spell your name. I typed it right.”

Somewhere in the trail there’s a sliding sound. Peter freezes. “You know what it must be,” Makado says thoughtfully, “they must not have updated my supervisor status yet. I knew that –“

“Shut up for a second.”

Makado gasps in mock affront. “Could you be any more rude?”

“Mak!” he hisses. “Not now!”

She lapses into an embarrassed silence. Peter drops into a low crouch, forcing himself to move slowly, and then turns, scanning the trail behind him. He reaches up after a moment and turns his flashlight off.

Peter can see nothing on the trail; the macrobacteria are still rolling past below him – the colony must be at least a hundred individuals, if not more. Peter slowly lets a breath out.

“What’s happening?” Makado whispers.

“Thought I heard something.”

“Please do not get paranoid on me out there.”

Peter peers up at the ceiling but it’s shrouded in gloom; if anything is up there he can’t see it. On the other hand, unless there’s an opening, the giant copepod he saw won’t be there – it would be too heavy to cling to the ceiling. “It was nothing,” he says finally.

“Are you sure?”

“No. But we need this map.”

“How the hell are we going to get it, though? If my password isn’t working –“

“Let me think.”

Peter tabs out of the menu and back to the main screen. The infinity symbol of the call he made to the Lower Visitor Center earlier is still bobbing back and forth, caught in limbo. He shakes his head. “Goddam it,” he mutters. He hears Makado breathing but she stays silent.

Peter thinks for a moment, then hits the control, shift, and caret keys all at once. The screen clears and then a blinking cursor appears, waiting for input. “Did anybody ever tell you the reset codes they use in Command?”

“No. I don’t even know how to get to the screen to put them in.”

“I do,” Peter says. “Control-shift-caret. But I don’t know the codes.”

“I think ‘idkfa’ might be one of them.”

“Really?”

“I overheard a conversation Sol was having with somebody one time, and he mentioned that, but I didn’t really understand and I don’t know the context.”

Peter types it in and punches the enter key. “’idkfa’ is not a valid command.”

“Iddqd?”

“If these are really the codes to anything somebody in IT ought to get fired,” he grumbles, but he types it in anyway. “Nope,” he says.

“I don’t know any others.”

Peter can feel the prickly knot of worry that’s been clenching tighter and tighter somewhere deep in his gut double in size. “Fuck,” he whispers. “I can’t get the maps, Mak, it won’t let me get the maps.”

“Peter, just wait, maybe –“

“Goddam it!”

Peter reaches out, and as hard as he dares, slaps the side of the call box. It makes a dull noise but a soft one, and even as his cheeks color and he looks around nervously at the rest of the trail, wondering if anything heard him, the box makes a chittering sound to itself somewhere deep in its innards and then the loud, tacky, 90s-esque tone of a call connecting to the LVC plays.

“Holy shit,” Peter says.

“Yo, who the fuck – who is down on the organ trail right now?” comes the voice from the box.

“Solomon? Is that you?” Peter asks, looking around nervously. He turns down the volume on the box as much as he can but the voice is still boomingly loud, echoing off the ribbed sides of the trail. It must seem much louder than it really is, Peter reasons, but the volume of it is still worrying.

“Peter? What the fuck are you doing down there, man?”

“Listen, Sol, can you get me an automap of this area? I’m jacked in but I don’t have the permissions.”

“Well,” he says, his voice as heavy and slow as it always is. “I can try, but things are pretty fucked around here.”

“Yeah, what the hell is going on?”

“Well, the LVC slipped down the gullet,” Sol starts, and Peter blinks.

“I’m sorry,” he says, “can you repeat that?”

“Give me one sec, Pete. I’m pinging the automap in that area right now, if it’s working you’ll get a download on your suit in a minute or so.”

“Great, thanks Sol. What did you say about the LVC, though?”

“The LVC slipped down the gullet,” Solomon says. “It’s at about a 45 or 60 degree angle right now.”

“Holy fuck,” Peter breathes.

“Yep,” Solomon says. “Check your maps, you should have it now.”

“You’re taking this pretty well,” Peter says.

“Knew this shit would happen eventually.”

“Is it still slipping?”

“Nah, it’s settled now. There’s some buckling down at the other end but Control is okay for the moment. Do you have that map yet?”

“Let me check,” Peter says, tapping on his wrist screen.

The automap system used in the depths of the Pit is a miracle of mechanical and computer engineering and cost Anodyne nearly a billion dollars to develop. Due to the Pit’s mutable and shifting terrain, as well as being a uniquely three-dimensional space, conventional maps became out of date practically as soon as they were drafted, or if they didn’t, they were so hopelessly general that any sort of close-in work became impossible and instead would rely on work-arounds that rangers and mining crews had to develop on the fly, which usually were inexact, imprecise, and unreplicable in the future.

The automap system, on the other hand, uses a system similar to sonar to send an ultrasonic ping through the tunnels of the Pit and then creates a three-dimensional map that can be downloaded to a ranger’s suit and manipulated using a wrist pad and linked to the ranger’s position via a positioning marker in his suit, allowing him to have an instant and accurate map of the surrounding area. The only downside is that the file size for the map itself is so large that, given the limited amount of space for an on-board computer inside a ranger suit, only one map can be held in memory at a time.

Peter watches the progress bar fill up and then taps on the file for the newly downloaded map. A few areas are hazy, indicating one of the ultrasonic projectors might have been inactive or malfunctioning, but the majority of the map is clear. After a moment the suit triangulates his location and he appears as a small green blip, which stays in place even as he rotates the map up and down, back and forth. He blows his breath out. “Got it,” he tells Solomon. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” Solomon says. “Gotta go. Lots of bullshit up here.”

“Are you okay?” Peter asks, but the call has already disconnected, and he is alone again amid the cavernous trail. “Mak, you hear any of that?”

“Got all of it, Pete.”

“Even the part about the LVC?”

“Yes,” she says. Her voice is tight with worry. “Get back here asap, we need to plan.”

“Can you connect to my suit? I’ll send you the map file.”

“I can’t get a link, already tried. When we…”

Makado is saying something else, but Peter allows her voice to fade into the background.

There’s a red blip on the map, there in the cavern with him. He looks up, looks around cautiously, but he doesn’t see anything; red would mean a moving object of fairly significant mass, but the map updates so slowly that it’s nowhere near to being a motion detector or anything. Plus, when the sensors spin down in a couple of minutes the updates will stop.

Peter takes two fingers, zooms in on the blip, then zooms back out. If this is accurate, it should be…

There’s a shriek of grinding metal behind him, and he whips around. He sees, outlined starkly by his flashlight, a long, gargantuan arm, reaching up from the cliff below, its translucent, five-fingered hand digging into the metal of the call box leaving dents easily six or seven inches deep. With a faint hissing noise the arm retracts and hauls the bulk of the copepod over the cliff, its frilly sensory antennae flicking with wild abandon. He can see the pinprick of his flashlight reflected in its limpid black eyes and takes a halting step backwards. His cleats, trying to dig in at the wrong angle, trip him and he falls, putting an arm out to catch himself. The copepod cocks its head at him, and then it reaches out, its hand seemingly large enough to blot out the rest of existence, and Peter doesn’t have enough breath to scream.

 Continue with Part 6

Back to Table of Contents

[ejzah]

A/N: This chapter deals with the second part of Little Angels. I tried to trim it down to scenes where it could be from Deeks’ POV.

***

The Agent and the Lawyer, Part 13

“What did Callen say?” Kensi asked, glancing at Deeks briefly before she returned her eyes to the road.

“Andre Maragos has requested a lawyer,” he said dryly. “Do you think he’d accept me?” Kensi snorted at that, glancing at him again. Her eyes were appraising.

“Well, you certainly can look the part of a lawyer a guy like Maragos would hire.”

“Again, not sure if that’s a compliment,” he said with a frown. Instead of making another joke at his expense, she said,

“I really am glad you’re here today. You’re making this whole thing a lot less terrible.”

“Anytime.” He glanced behind them where the transport van was following. “So what do we do if Lucas doesn’t actually know or show us where the bodies are?”

Kensi’s eyes narrowed on the road, her expression deadly. Suddenly, Deeks was very glad that he wasn’t on the receiving end of her rage.

“Then you might have to stop me from shooting him.”

***

“I think this is one of the most horrific things I’ve ever seen,” Deeks muttered to no one in particular. And he’d been party to some pretty awful stuff.

Lucas Maragos had lead them directly to the edge of a small hill, radiating smugness the entire time. It wasn’t clear if he was enjoying bossing them around, or having the opportunity to finally show off his work.

Either way, Deeks was reconsidering his position on guns. He sighed as several forensic experts dug up the spots Maragos had pointed out.

“Mr. Deeks, Agent!” A woman dressed in protective gear said, motioning for them to come over. “We found something.” If her expression was anything to go by, it wasn’t pleasant. Then again, that’s what they were hoping for.

Kensi, who’d been talking with Maragos, hurried over. They both glanced in the small grave, where the skeleton of cat lay.

“Well, now we know he wasn’t lying about the cat part.” Deeks said, holding back a shudder.

“You should call Sam,” Kensi told him, a deep frown growing between her eyebrows. “I’m going to see if I can’t get anything else out of Maragos.”

“Sam, you need to get out here,” he said when the agent picked up.

“So far they’ve found the remains of five cats,” Kensi said once Callen and Sam had arrived. “Lucas isn’t being particularly helpful at the moment. He keeps repeating that his brother is responsible.”

Sam and Callen shared a dark look, something unspoken flowing between them. There was clearly something going on with Sam, but now was definitely not the time to ask about.

“Any other sites?” Sam demanded.

“You should ask my brother, these are his,” Lucas responded, apparently trying to appear genuine.

“You seem to be enjoying the attention. Give me the keys.” He directed the last part to Kensi, grabbing the keys to Lucas’ cuffs from her.

“Is that a good idea?” Deeks asked as Sam unlocked the handcuffs. Lucas’ legs were still bound, but Deeks didn’t trust the man not to make a run for it. Or try something more violent.

Kensi caught his eye, shaking her head as Sam dragged Maragos several feet away, ignoring the man’s protests. Sam seemed to just barely be holding himself back from inflicting physical damage. Callen watched it all with obvious concern, but didn’t attempt to intervene.

“Does Sam have a personal history with this guy or something?”

“No,” Callen answered shortly. Sam returned a few minutes with Lucas, who actually seemed a little frightened and was in a much more sharing mood

Deeks could only imagine what Sam had used to gain his cooperation and that worried him.

How strong could the team’s case be if they resorted to threats and potential violence?

***

“What do we now?” Deeks asked, as they drove to the mission.

They’d found the remains of the third girl who was originally buried, but not Amanda. Both Lucas and Andre had proven uncooperative, blaming the other for the murders.

Then Andre had made an ill-planned attempt to leave the country with his family. It was certainly suspicious behavior, but they’d taken a swab from Andre and it didn’t match any of the DNA on the remains.

They also had a signed statement from Andre’s mistress and a home video the two had made. Deeks could have happily lived without ever seeing Andre Maragos naked. To say that Sam had not been pleased when they interrupted his interrogation with Andre to tell him would be an understatement.

“We look at the evidence again. We look for what we missed before,” she said and then sighed deeply. “And we pray that we come up with something before Amanda runs out of time.”

As they watched the video of Amanda for the countless time, it was not lost on Deeks that they were grasping at straws.

“Hey, take a look at this,” Sam said suddenly, pointing to a bare finger that was just visible at the edge of the video. There was a note of something close to excitement in his voice. “When he picked up the camera, he took off his glove.”

“Different MO,” Callen said. “Makes sense, glove would have been shredded after all the digging.” Sam wasn’t about to be talked down from whatever idea he had. Kensi walked over as Deeks stood up, to get a better look at the screen.

“Hear me out on this, G. What does this guy do with his gloves afterwards?”

“Well, first thing you would, uh, burn ‘em, shred ‘em. It’s full of DNA.”

“What if he’s going fast, got careless?” Sam continued, sounding like he was telling a story. “Left a glove behind, like in a box or in the dirt in the hole.”

“The case is closed,” Deeks said immediately. “I mean, we catch him the second we find that glove.”

“But there is no glove,” Kensi said, echoing Deeks’ own thoughts.

“We don’t know that,” Sam said and Deeks heard warning bells going off in his head. “Maybe neither does the killer. He’s going fast, he’s scared, he tosses everything only to realize, he left a glove behind.”

“Right, but he didn’t,” Deeks said, not liking where this was going at all. What Sam was suggesting was sketchy at best.

“We could make him believe that he did,” Callen said, nodding in agreement with Sam.

“What if it doesn’t stand up in court though?” Deeks asked, thinking of how he’d tear apart “evidence” like that.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to make it stick,” Kensi said as Sam instructed Eric to modify the video. He turned them out for a minute, distracted by his concerns.

“You’ll need to sell it to Lucas Maragos, Deeks,” Sam said, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Make him believe that the glove is real. We’ll do the same with his brother.”

“Me?” Deeks repeated, startled by the suggestion, especially coming from Sam.

“You’ve already got a connection with him. It’ll be easier than if Callen or I do it. Kensi will back you up if you need it.”

***

“I do not like this,” Deeks muttered, his voice barely audible as they waited in the interview room again.

“You’ll be fine,” Kensi said. “And it’s for Amanda.” She flashed a warning look his way as the sound of guards drew closer and he pressed his lips together, holding back any further comments.

He pulled in a slow, shallow breath, trying to calm himself. This was no different that cross examining a difficult witness. He just had to play to his audience, frame the story they needed to hear, and pretend he believed every word he said.

Deeks snapped his eyes back open the second the guards were at the door, adopting a relaxed posture as they led Lucas in. Kensi said nothing as he opened the laptop on the table, started the DVD with Amanda’s video, and sat next to Lucas Maragos.

“See that little sucker right there? It’s a glove that got left in the dirt,” he told the man. Lucas’ eyes were laser focused to the screen, a change from his earlier careless attitude. “And it is filled with DNA.”

He didn’t glance at Kensi, putting all of his attention on Lucas. Deeks hoped he wasn’t playing it up too much. Maragos cleared his throat after a moment, now looking anywhere but at the laptop.

“I don’t know why you’re showing me this,” he said. Kensi leaned forward then.

“Because when we get a DNA match, we’ll be able to find your partner. And believe me, we’ll get him to turn on you,” she said, her matter of fact tone chilling.

“You can take him back,” Deeks called to the guards. “But let us know if he has decides to talk. Who knows, he might be able to escape a death sentence.”

It was only after they were outside again that he allowed himself to let out a shaking breath.

“You ok?” Kensi asked, eyeing him with concern.

“Yeah.” He was surprised to find it was true.

“Eric’s calling,” she said, putting her phone to her ear and had a rushed and confusing conversation. She shoved the phone in her pocket and started jogging towards the SUV. “Eric says we need to get to Angeles Forest now. Callen and Sam are following someone in one of Andre’s vehicles.”

***

“I can’t believe it was Andre’s kids,” Deeks said, shaking his head as Kensi returned from putting the younger boy in the back of an LAPD cruiser. He knew they were hardly the first to commit a heinous crime, but it was still shocking.

“I guess they learned a lot from their Uncle,” Kensi said darkly.

“What will happen to them?” Deeks had defended juvenile clients before, though never one charged with attempted murder. And in his own experience, the courts could be pretty brutal when it came to kids.

“Well, I’d guess their dad is going to higher them the best lawyers he can find,” Kensi started. “And then it depends on how they’re charged. I could see the FBI wanting to try them as adults, but I doubt it’ll go through.”

“I don’t know if I’m relieved or disappointed,” he said and Kensi rolled her eyes.

“C’mon, we’ve got lots of reports to file.

“Not me, I’m just a legal consultant.” Kensi made a rude noise at this.

“Nice try. You never get out of paperwork. And if you don’t do it, Hetty will hunt you down. And no one wants Hetty hunting them down.

***

“You know, you did really well today. I was surprised, but you did good,” Kensi told him as they walked out of the mission, taking their time.

It had been eye opening to watch Deeks question Lucas. She had expected him to hold back and certainly hadn’t considered that he would taunt Lucas. The images he’d produced had been horrifying, and affective during their first interview.

“I think you’ll find I’m full of surprises, sugar bear,” he said, grinning that annoying smirk of his. Kensi held up a hand, turning to face him so he was forced to stop in the middle of the hall.

“Woah, sugar bear? I don’t think so.”

“What, I think it’s very appropriate. You’re very sweet and-“

“And you are absolutely forbidden from calling me that anywhere another person might hear it,” she finished for Deeks, shaking her head. Of course, now she’d left herself wide open to being called “sugar bear” in private.

“What about “Princess”?” he asked, undaunted by her implied wrath. She started walking again before he could see her slight smile. Their shoulders brushed as they walked, an unnecessary physical reminder of Deeks’ presence. Technically, it violated the rules of their bet, but Deeks didn’t mention it.

“Definitely not.” Before he could suggest something even more ridiculous she said, “Be serious for a second. Ok? I know that defusing tension is a big thing for you, but I really need to know how you’re doing.”

He sighed and this time he was the one to stop. He tossed his head back for a second and it was amazing how suddenly his face transformed. She saw the weariness and a surprising amount of anger that he’d hidden for the majority of the case.

“I’m...good,” he decided after a pause. “Which I know is weird to say. I didn’t realize how much I needed to see someone like Lucas Maragos get what he deserves.”

“So we didn’t scare you off with our serial killers?” She was actually curious; he’d been obviously horrified, but not nearly as much as she’d expected. He’d dealt with the possibility of seeing girls buried alive better than many seasoned Agents would.

“I mean, the kids following in their uncle’s footsteps is pretty awful, but again, I’m glad they’re not out there hurting more people. I don’t see nearly enough of that as a lawyer. And it’s even worse if you’re a public defender or district attorney.”

“And here I thought you’d be running out of here after a couple days,” she said.

They were in the parking garage now, which was mostly deserted and had stopped walking again. Kensi found she was reluctant to go to her own vehicle.

“You’re not going to get rid of me that easily Kensi Marie Blye,” he said, then made a face that she recognized meant he was holding something back.

“What?”

“Nothing...just um,” He rubbed his chin before continuing, “How often do you threaten people or make up evidence to get results?” She nodded, knowing he was thinking of the way Sam had treated Maragos and the planted glove.

“Sometimes you do what you have to,” she said simply. “The important thing is that we found Amanda in the end.” He still looked serious, so she cleared her throat and added, “And now, I think you owe me some Mexican. I’m calling in my first special delivery. I expect it on my doorstep in an hour.” She did a smug little dance to accompany her victory.

Deeks rolled his eyes, chuckling under his breath.

“Yes, technically you did win,” he agreed. “Although I would point out that if this wasn’t such a tense case, you would have been all over me.”

“Those sound like the words of a loser,” Kensi teased, ignoring the thought of being “all over him”. Deeks scrunched his face at her.

“You are a very annoying winner.” Kensi grinned at him. His hair was more disheveled than normal after tramping around in the heat all day and his light blue shirt was now untucked. He looked anything but a high price lawyer. He also looked completely delectable.

“But as I am a man of my word-“ Kensi grasped the sides of his face, cutting him off mid-word as she kissed him roughly, pushing her tongue past his lips and letting out a sigh when his hands settled on her waist.

“Oops, I guess I lost,” Kensi gasped out several moments later. She stepped back from him, her skin feeling flushed and a deep need running though her body. His answering grin was breathtaking as he pulled her back to his chest.

[gustafsnightangel]

Shattered Lives Ch 30 Pt 1

She woke at 3 am, chest heaving, shivering and sweaty, body trembling, the anxiety raging through her system like an out of control locomotive. Trying to suck a breath in she wheezed and sat up, ripping the cover off frantically as if that would help any. Her chest tightened as she tried to suck in a breath and she felt as if her heart would either stop or explode. The swelling ache in her chest and the thought of a heart attack very real in her mind.

“Sildie?” Gustaf mumbled, cracking his eyes barely able to make out her silhouette sitting on the edge of the bed through the fog of sleep in his head.

“Can’t breathe.” She wheezed, hands clutching at her throat, at the sheets around her, struggling to get air in.

“Shit!” He breathed, he was awake in an instant at that tone, that wheeze. Turning the light on, he scrambled to sit behind her, a hand pressing firmly to her belly, the other gently around her shoulders, his mouth at her temple. Her body was so stiff and tense. “Breathe, into here.” He commanded softly, his hand pressing firmly against her belly.

“Can’t.” She was almost to the point of blacking out.

“Yes you can. Inhale and send it here.” He kept his tone gentle letting the weight of his hand at her belly ground her. “There you go.” He praised when she’d taken a tiny shuddered breath. She was trying so hard he thought and his heart broke. “Now another.” He gently kissed her temple letting his lips linger there. “Another.” He prompted as those shuddered breaths became longer on the inhale.

His free hand stroked her head gently, the soothing touch of his fingertips on her scalp helping her to find some measure of calm. She listened to his breathing, deep and restful, his lips by her ear murmuring instruction.

“Another, love.” He said kissing her temple. He closed his eyes and breathed his own silent sigh of relief as her breathing began to even out. “You’re ok.” He didn’t need to ask what had set it off, that was blatantly obvious considering what day it was.

“I’m sorry.” She choked.

“It’s ok love. Breathe for me, nice and slow.” He soothed, preparing himself for what was coming next, the tears, the pain, the grief. This was why he wanted her to take the day but it had to be her decision.

“Can you lay down with me or do you want to stay sitting up?” He asked softly. She turned in his arms as if he’d given her permission to move, to seek comfort, and buried her face in his shoulder curling herself into him as much as she could. Wounded, he thought, she was hurting so much and it killed him to see her like this.

He maneuvered them into the bed again and she curled into the fetal position against his chest. Tucking the covers at her back he snuggled her in and kissed the top of her head.

“Can you get me my phone please?” She mumbled through the tears that were falling without permission.

“Sure.” He reached over and tugged it from the charger and handed it to her.

She was a wreck, and not in a ’I’ve just been fucked into oblivion’ wreck. She couldn’t go to work today, not after that. Where there was one panic attack there were others, and she knew here would be triggers lurking around every corner of her subconscious. She messaged Oliver. He knew what today was, she’d made sure at least one person in the office knew which were the potential fallout days on her calendar.

Hi Oliver. I’ll be out sick today. Please apologize to my 9am and have Vera reschedule at her earliest convenience. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow.

She hit send and handed her phone back to Gustaf, turning it off in the process. Without a word she rested her forehead against his chest and let it come, the tears, the grief, everything.

He felt the sobs rip themselves from her, deep unrelenting grief. He hauled her into his arms and held her tightly, her arms eventually slipping around him and holding on for dear life. The storm raged inside her for close to an hour and he knew that once the tears were done she’d be exhausted. When he could hear and feel her crying jag calm down to mild sniffling he grabbed the box of Kleenex and handed her a few.

“Thanks.” Came her muffled reply from her cocoon. He kissed her head and stroked her back lazily, he just had to wait it out.

“I have more.” He murmured, and her huffed chuckle made him smile, she was coming back to him.

“I think I’ll be needing them.” She sniffed.

“One step at a time love.”

“I texted Oliver.” She said squirming her way up so her head popped out from under the covers.

“Are you staying with me today?” He asked gently as those long fingers brushed the hair from her face.

“If you’re up for babysitting an emotional basket case.” She huffed.

“I’d be up for spending time with my lovely lady on her birthday.” He dipped his head down and kissed her, a tender love that calmed her soul. He knew there would be tears today but he’d make sure to see some smiles too.

“I won’t be going far.” She mumbled. “I kinda don’t want to leave here today.”

“Then we won’t. We can sleep, watch movies, soak in the tub, have wild monkey sex, whatever you want to do.” He kissed her again and got the giggle about monkey sex that he was after.

“I’m sorry.”

“No.” He said sharply. “Don’t do that.” He kissed her hard. “Like the anniversary, it’s an apology free day.” He softened his tone. “You don’t have to apologize for grieving Sildie. We’re working through it together, you’re not alone.” She nodded and he kissed her tenderly.

“I have to get the boys up for pancakes. They wanted to help.” He said softly as his alarm went off.

“I’ll get Lily.” She said quietly.

“You sure?”

“Yes, it’ll keep me occupied until it’s time to eat.” He rolled so she was pressed under that lanky body she craved.

“I know you don’t want to do this love.” He said gently, those ice blue eyes latching onto his briefly.

“It’s fine. It’s important for the boys. I’ll be ok.”

“You’re one of the most beautiful, courageous, compassionate, giving souls I’ve ever known.” He said honestly as he brushed his finger along her jaw before kissing her. “I love you, Sildie.”

“I love you too.”

He climbed out of bed, slipped his sweats on and went to rouse the boys. As she got up to see to Lily she could hear the excited voices from the other room and had to get her head out of her ass and deal with it. This was important to them and she couldn’t let her grief get in the way. It was just breakfast and then they’d be at school. Surely she could suck it the fuck up for an hour or so.

He found her and Lily playing on the bed when he came in to collect her for birthday pancakes. He shut the door and sat on the edge, fingers brushing the hair at her face. Those ice blue eyes locked onto his and he dipped down to kiss her tenderly.

“Dad dad dad. Sooch.” Lily squealed.

“My two best girls.” He chuckled. “You want one too little lady?” He asked and the tiny girl lunged for him. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He smooched her until she giggled before setting her down and holding out a hand for Sildie.

He pulled her into his arms and enveloped her, his scent calming her already freaked out system. “One step at a time love.” He murmured and she squeezed him before letting go. She needed to get this done. She came out to the boys sitting around the table, pancakes, bacon and eggs piled high, and a small stack of gifts.

“Happy birthday.” Gustaf murmured and kissed her cheek, moving away as the boys came and wrapped their arms around her tightly for a group hug.

“We know you didn’t really want your birthday but we didn’t want to forget it either.” Brendan said softly.

“It’s ok B. We need to remember, it was your dads birthday too.” Gustaf could hear the tears underneath, she reigned it in and buried them. Damn she was so fucking strong, he thought, and that’s what had drawn him to her that first day on her threshold. Strength, ballsy, snarky, loving, but most importantly, real.

The teen hugged her tight and went to sit at the far end of the table where the kids had set a place for Quinn. A simple candle was lit and she couldn’t help the sob that escaped. Gustaf bundled her to him, a moment to collect herself as he watched the kids look at each other and then at him.

“You’re ok love.” He murmured softly, a slight smile to the kids so they wouldn’t freak out.

“Sorry Ama.” Finn said and hugged her leg tightly.

“No, love it’s ok.” She sniffed and got down to his level. “It’s ok. I think is sweet, I’m just really weepy today and I miss him like crazy.” She hugged him tight. “He’d be so proud of you guys.” She said her voice threatening to crack.

They sat and started to eat, the boys devouring the pancakes like they’d not been fed for a month. She tried to eat, the only thing she felt like was the bacon so she nibbled as the boys joked and smiled remembering past birthdays with Quinn. This was what they needed she thought, and the man sitting beside her had seen it well before she had.

“Open your presents.” Liam said excitedly.

Gustaf rested his arm along the back of her chair as Brendan handed her the first brightly colored package, his fingers gently stroking the nape of her neck, anything to help keep her calm and hold it together. Lily was chattering to anyone that would listen as she munched on her pancakes.

The boys knew what she liked, books. Brendan had found her wish list at some point and no doubt given it to Gustaf. Lily had bought her a pair of gloves, blue and purple swirls, and super warm and a pretty yellow and white silk scarf that she could wear with a suit in court.

“This is great. Books, which I can never have too many of, and something to keep my fingers from falling off.” She grinned. “I love the scarf.”

“Do you like them?” Finn asked grinning.

“It’s perfect.” She smiled as Gustaf squeezed her shoulder and stood releasing a now fussy Lily from her high chair. He left them to talk while he went and cleaned her up, also to find the nerve to take her next door and give her his gift.

“Are you ready for your present from me?” He asked as he stood beside her and winked at the boys, they scrambled knowing exactly what was going on.

“What? There’s more?” She looked at the boys dumbfounded and then back at Gustaf. Taking his hand she stood and he kissed her sweetly.

“We have to go next door to my place it was a little difficult to hide here.” He said and the giggle from the twins had Sildie looking at Gustaf suspiciously.

“What did you do?” She said quietly.

“Come with me and find out. You’ll love it.” He kissed her again and led her down the hall to his apartment.

“Brendan can you take Lily and the twins?”

“Yep. Come on Lily.” The teen said clapping his hands for her and wizzing her around giggling.

He stood there facing her by the front door, her back to the office that would soon be hers.

“You look highly guilty of something Mr Skarsgard.” She said playfully, half wondering what the hell was going on, half dreading whatever it was he’d done.

“I’m guilty of a lot of things.” He shrugged. “Mostly, I’m guilty of being so in love with you.” He said gently, his kiss warm and inviting. “Deep down I know this is going to freak you out, and quite possibly irritate you, but I want you to know the boys made it into a much better gift once I got them involved. So I only ask that you save the tongue lashing and the flaying of the flesh from my bones until after they’ve gone to school.”

“Ok.” She was highly suspicious now, as he watched that lawyer in her chew it over.

“Close you’re eyes.” He said gently.

“I swear, you prank me and I’m going to do more than flay you.” She said and snapped her eyes shut.

“So trusting kitten.” He growled sarcastically for only her to hear and playfully nipped her ear.

He nodded to the kids to open the office door and guided her through his apartment. Standing her in the doorway he kissed her temple. With a hand wrapped around her hip he steadied her.

“Open your eyes.” He said softly.

Part of her didn’t want to, part of her was shit scared of what she’d see. Forcing them open she took in the room before her. It was a nice office, large desk, bookshelves stacked high with books and nicknacks. Wait, her eyes stopped to look at the spines and she tilted her head to one side as if trying figure out where she’d seen them before. At a distance they looked like law books.

“Happy birthday love.”

“Are those my law books?” She whispered in more shock that awe.

“You’re books in your office.” He murmured.

“My off...” She turned in his arms sharply and looked at him.

“You’re office, love.”

“You did this fo...” She turned back to the office and took a hesitant step inside completely blown away, she hadn’t expected this. Her hand fell away from his chest as she stepped in further, it was like walking into an alternate universe.

“Give her a minute buddy.” He said to Liam as the kid went to step inside. “Let her take it in and process.”

She stopped in front of the first set of bookshelves, her brothers law books sitting collecting dust, Dana’s nestled underneath. She’d often found him nose deep in one when they were studying. Running a finger along the spines she brought back those memories and smiled. The second set of bookshelves made her chuckle, familiarity. She knew these books cover to cover, they were her fathers, even the odd nicknacks were his and she remembered playing with them as he sat at his desk neck deep in a case with an inquisitive five year old in his lap. It seemed like a lifetime ago, was a lifetime ago.

The desk was equipped with a new laptop, a vase of yellow gerberas and white daisies bringing cheer and love into the room. She turned to the wall to find a large digital frame, much like Lily’s with the pictures of the day in the snow, a family that despite their grief had found each other. Turning back to the door she saw the four kids she adored, four kids that had lost so much yet pushed through all the shit to still be functional human beings.

The kids rushed into hug her, the excited chatter and memories flitting between them. Gustaf stayed at the doorway for the moment, this was their time, to reconnect to Quinn, to Dana, to her father.

“We were worried you’d hate it.” Brendan said quietly.

“I could never hate something so thoughtful, it brings back so many memories, good ones and sad ones.” She smiled at him and hugged him tightly. “I’m trying B.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “You look just like him you know.” Her voice wistful. “And you two troublemakers.” She smirked scrubbing Liam’s hair then Finn’s with her fingers. “You look like your grandfather, carbon copy.” She pointed to the picture in the frame on the shelf. “But that mischievous streak is all Quinn’s.” She said wryly.

“Who does Lily look like?” Finn asked as the little lady stayed with Gustaf playing with his longer scruff.

“Lily looks like your mother.” She said softly as the boys hugged her. “Except for her eyes, they’re all O’Rourke.”

“We left some of your stuff in boxes.” Brendan said hesitantly. “Gustaf said you might want to put those in here yourself.” He pointed to the few boxes stacked in the far corner and Sildie tried to remember what she’d actually packed in there.

“Thank you. All of you. This is very special.” She hugged them all before turning to Gustaf, he’d been very quiet, probably half expecting her to explode.

“Brendan can you take Lily and the twins back home and get them ready for school?” He overheard her ask. “Give me a minute alone ok?”

“Sure. You ok Ama?” The teen asked slightly worried. “Do you like it?”

“I’m ok B and yes, I love it.” She watched as the oldest of the four wrangled the twins and Lily and set off back home, she knew he’d be ok for five minutes.

Gustaf stayed where he was wondering if she was going to start flaying him or crumble. It was a shock when she did neither. She walked to him, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, the emotion choking her up.

“Hey.” He soothed, and bundled her into him.

“This is too much.” She mumbled between sobs. “Too much.”

“There’s more, more that the kids don’t know about.” He said and her head shot up and she started at him., that bottom lip trembling.

“I don’t need anything...” It was overwhelming her. “Gustaf you can’t...” She was almost sobbing.

“Stop talking and listen.” He said gently, wiping her tears away. “There’s more because I want to ask you something and I wanted to wait until we were alone.” His kiss silenced her further. He was nervous but it wasn’t the soul consuming anxiety he’d felt before. “I’d like you to move in with me.”

“Move in?” She was shocked to her core and when that happened all her protective walls went up. He saw them slam into place and knew he had one shot at this, one shot to get it right and state his case.

“Yes, move in here with me. We’re practically living together as it is and we’d have a little more room over here.” He said gently. “Lily can have her own room, so can the twins if that’s what they want. If you want, we can even knock out that wall...” He said pointing to the living room wall that bordered hers. “...and remodel your apartment into a family room and additional bedrooms. Or you can rent it out, sell it, keep it for Brendan later. It’s whatever you want it to be, but I’d like you to live here with me, you and the kids, as a family under one roof, together.”

“Gustaf I... I’m...” She couldn’t find the words and was gaping like a guppy out of water.

“Think about it.” He said quickly. “There’s a lot going on and you need time, but I’d like you to think about it.” He kissed her, his own anxiety starting to get the better of him.

He’d rendered her speechless with the office, and now this. It was too much for her grief addled brain to process. He was right, there was a lot to think over, the pre nuptial, the EPA, the kids.

“You’re ok if I think about it?” She asked carefully, she knew this was difficult for him too.

“Of course. It’s a big step, one I’ve had time to think over, now you need time.” He kissed her again. “I love you, Sildie, I’ll wait.”

“And I love you too but this is really overwhelming.” She said honestly, another sob hitching in her voice.

“Think about it. We won’t talk about it again until you’re ready, I know how you like to think things over, especially big decisions. There’s no rush.” His words gentle. She nodded and he had to leave it at that even though his heart wanted and answer right now. “Did you want to come with me to drop the kids off?”

She shook her head. “Are you ok if I stay here until you get back?”

“Of course. This is you’re home too. I’ll bring the kids by before we head out, they’ll want to say goodbye for the day.” She nodded and let herself relax against him. “I’ll see you in thirty and then we can head back to bed or do whatever you want to do today ok?” He hugged her tightly before letting her go.

“K.” She mumbled.

He watched her head over to her brothers books and loose herself in memories, she needed time and he half expected her to be on the floor sobbing when he got back. This would also give her space to think, to process everything that had just happened.

With the kids kissed and hugged and off to school she sat at her new desk, running her fingers over the new surface. It was light and bright, yet oddly soothing, the walls cream with a soft yellow accent wall. She didn’t know when she’d get to use it while they were still living in her apartment. She couldn’t leave the kids over there and work here, even if Gustaf was there with them. It would be too quiet and too lonely, too disjointed. She’d may as well stay at the office and work.

She snorted. “A year ago you would have jumped at the fucking chance for silence and no kids.” She muttered and huffed a chuckle at herself. She picked up the old photo frame with a rare picture of her, Quinn, and their parents.

“Why did you have to leave me all alone?” She asked into the silence. “I miss you all.” She let the tears fall as she stroked her thumb over each face and gently as if she was trying to remember what their skin felt like. She placed it back on the shelf. Running her fingers over some of the nicknacks she let the memories come, of her father, of Quinn, her mother. They didn’t consume her, just made her sad.

Looking at the gerberas and daisies she smiled, he’d done this for her, got the kids involved in something that could have easily been done solo. He wanted her to move in. Her mind automatically wanted to ask what the catch was, but she knew him better than that, there was no catch, no agenda. He was giving her a home, a place where they could become a family.

She wandered through his apartment with the sole purpose of trying to imagine them living here as a family unit. Gustaf was right, they were essentially living together. “Just the legality to worry about.” She mumbled to herself as she stood in the living room staring at the wall that divided their apartments as if trying to imagine it joined together.

She moved down the hall and opened the door at the end to see what used to be his workout room was now painted a soft yellow similar to her office but a brighter shade, and furnished with everything Lily could ever want or need. There was a crib and bed for when she transitioned, a larger change table, a rocker, an armchair that reclined, a toy box and a bookshelf full of books that he’d obviously spent a small fortune on. He’d made her a room and she felt her emotions roar to the surface. Sweet man, she thought, I don’t deserve you.

She was so caught up in her discovery she hadn’t noticed Gustaf in the doorway.

“You weren’t supposed to find this yet.” He chuckled and smiled as she jumped a mile at his voice. That died in his throat when he saw the tears. “Hey now.” He said coming to her and pulling her close.

“You did this for her?” She asked, her voice muffled into his chest, the sobs catching in her throat.

“I was hoping you’d say yes and when you did it would be ready for them.” His voice gentle as he kissed her brow.

“Them? You mean...” That bottom lip trembling almost destroyed him.

“The boys rooms are done too.” He said softly and kissed her brow as his hands cupped her head tilting it back slightly. His thumbs brushed the tears away and he kissed her sweetly. “My lovely lady I want you and the kids here with me, as a family, together. If that happens now or six months from now, I wanted to be ready. I want to give you and those four incredible kids a home.”

“Can I see?” She asked hesitantly, trying to get a grip of the myriad of emotions swimming through her system. She was floored, the kindness was in him was overwhelming.

“You want to see the rest?” He asked, his heart lightening at her nod. He kissed her forehead and took her hand in his. They left Lily’s room and opened the next door along the hall. A double bed complete with a study area was perfect for Brendan. The wall of floor to ceiling bookshelves making her smile, the kid would flip out over that.

“This is perfect for him.” She said wistfully, it was like someone had placed her in an alternate reality and given her every hope and dream she’d had for the kids.

“It’s the second largest room. I gave the largest to the twins because, well, two tiny humans.” He shrugged.

“No, this is perfect.” She wandered around taking every detail in from the hockey prints on the walls to the mountain of books Brendan had stowed away in storage. He’d unpacked their things from storage that she’d had to box away because they didn’t have space.

“You found his books.” She sniffed, her brain was functioning in slow motion.

“Yeah I’ve kinda been pawing through your storage unit.” He said sheepishly, half expecting her to be angry at him. “Sorry. I just wanted it to be perfect.”

“It’s fine.” Her voice was drifting and he noticed the sentiment of him doing this was hitting her hard.

The twins room had larger bunk beds, they could still curl up together if they wanted to or sleep separately. There were two desks where the boys could have their own study area, another wall of shelves, but not as big as Brendan’s. Two large toy chests sat empty waiting for them to move in. Harry Potter featured heavily but it was all removable so when their interests changed they could change the decore without a complete remodel of the room.

“I’m never going to be able to get them out of here.” She said so softly Gustaf almost didn’t hear it. “They’re going to love it.”

“And this room is now my workout room.” He said opening the door. “It’s a little smaller than Lily’s room but it’ll do the job. Then there’s the bathroom and our room.”

She liked the sound of our room. A room of their own, no sharing it with a baby.

“I made some changes to our room.” He said gently and chuckled when she looked at him slightly hurt.

“But I liked your room.” She said a little defensively. It was in similar tones as her own and she’d always felt comfortable in it.

“That was my room, not our room. Go on in.” He said starting to enjoy the slightly skittish, unsure woman he had on his hands. She wasn’t sure whether to run away, burst into tears, kiss him, or all of the above.

She opened the door and gasped. It was a similar color scheme to her room, blues and cream, new light fixtures that suited the modern yet soft furnishings. A new bed, he’d bought a new bed.

“These drawers are yours, and the right side of the walk in closet.” He said gently as he pointed to the two tall boys. “And I thought your quilt would look good in here.”

“You bought a new bed.” She stated more than asked, Gustaf smiling at the fact her brain hadn’t quite caught up to her expanded wardrobe space.

“I did, this is our bed.” And he meant every syllable. This was their bed, no one else but them had or would sleep in it. When he purged his system of Ana, his living space got the same treatment, he did a deep clean and he felt so much better for it. “There’s one more thing. Go check out the bathroom.” He said and grinned at her sudden ’oh my god’ as she stepped inside.

“I could do laps in this thing.” She said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Maybe not laps but you can fit more than just your lower half in there, and stretch out those gorgeous legs. I might be able to fit in there with you.” He kissed her neck and breathed her in.

She turned in his arms and looked at him. “Pinch me.”

“What?” He chuckled.

“Pinch me because I’m dreaming right?” She said skeptically.

“You’re not dreaming love.” He kissed her, that toe curling lip lock that made her go limp in his arms.

“I don’t know what to say, or do. I...” He kissed her tenderly.

“Think about it. There’s no catch, no rush, just the the love from a man that wants to give you and the kids the world if you’ll let him. I love you Sildie, that’s never going to change.”

“Do the kids know about all this?” She rested her hand on his chest and took a steadying breath.

“No. I wanted to ask you first. I didn’t want to get their hopes up in case you said no.” Which was still a possibility, he thought. “If you said yes, I was going to give it to them as a Christmas gift.” He shrugged. “But there’s no rush, no pressure, we can wait.”

“Ok.” She sniffed. She needed to chew on it. She needed to think with a clear mind, without all the emotional upheaval today had brought to their door. “Why yellow?”

“Why yellow what?” He kissed her temple and lingered, willing his own anxiety to settle.

“Lily’s room why yellow?”

His grin was wide as he threaded his fingers in her hair and kissed her. “Because she’s my little ray of sunshine.” He said softly. “She stole my heart Sildie.” His voice tight with emotion.

“Sweet man.” She kissed him and wrapped her arms around him tightly burying her face in his neck. “You have no idea of how loved you are.” She mumbled.

“You and the kids are everything to me, love.” He kissed her again, that loving warmth filling both of them.

“You’ve made my birthday beautiful again.” She sniffed and huffed as the tears fell.

“It was always beautiful love, we just had to chase a few dark clouds away.” He kissed her tenderly. “I love you Sildie, with everything that I am.”

She stood wrapped up in him and wept. His hands stroking the length of her spine as she let it out. He had such a sweet soul.

“So.” He kissed her sweetly as she regained some composure. “Would you like to snuggle here and christen our bed or go back to your apartment?” He kissed that one spot on her neck that he knew undid her.

“Here.” She breathed.

“Oh and one more thing.” He said walking backward into the main bedroom with her still bundled in close. The silliness of their walk making him smile and getting her to chuckle. “There is now a layer of soundproofing on this room. And we have the en-suite, bathroom, and workout room between us and the kids.” He kissed her seductively. “Which means you can scream all you want when I fuck you.” He growled.

“Really?” She chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Even the door.” He kissed her and pulled the soft sweater up and over her head.

“Seriously?”

“Yes.” He kissed her again and lingered. “I love our sex life and I love the kids. It was a good compromise to have both under the one roof.” His mouth claimed her, hot and hungry, a need fueled by desire. “Now. I hear it’s your birthday kitten, and no birthday should go without birthday sex.” Not only would sex take her mind off things, it would also get a shit ton of endorphins running around her system. She needed those in abundance today. “What does my birthday girl want?” He growled playfully as his finger trailed her collarbone, his lips kissing the dip, tongue tasting.

“I don’t know.” She said quietly, still not completely comfortable with being asked. What she did know is she didn’t want to think of anything except what he was making her feel.

“Would you like to hear some options?” He asked kissing her sweetly, that magic tongue teasing hers.

“Options?” She chuckled. “I didn’t know I had options.”

“Mmmm. Today I have options for you to choose from kitten.” He purred, his hands deftly removing her baggy sweats and steadying her while she kicked them free.

“Oh?” She wasn’t sure where this was going but her belly buzzed with the thought of what those options might include.

“On a serious note how tender or stiff are you from the weekend?” He asked looking at her.

“I’m not too bad, a tiny bit stiff but not tender.”

“Good.” He said in that low timbre she loved and felt her pussy clench before he devoured her mouth.

“So what are my options?” She asked hesitantly.

“Short and sweet, deep and long, hard and rough, or would my birthday girl like to try something new?” He left the question hanging. He wanted to elaborate on what he’d started this weekend to bring her more pleasure but he couldn’t rush it.

“Something new? What would that be?” She asked and he noticed she was trembling slightly, it wasn’t out of fear. The thought of it was arousing her too.

“Ahhh now that would ruin the surprise.” He whispered and kissed her deeply until her body went lax. “But I will tell you this. I want to do things to you.” He purred. “Erotic, sensual things.” He deepened the kiss pulling her under. “What option would you like to choose birthday girl?”

“Something new.” Her breath hitched as he nipped that one spot below her ear. She was safe him, knew he wouldn’t hurt her and today she just wanted to feel anything but the grief she had sitting in her chest. She wanted to lose herself to him.

“Do you trust me?” He asked gently and waited for her to take a calming breath.

“Yes.” Her eyes met his and he knew she was ok with it.

“Let me make you feel good kitten.” He said tenderly, his fingers slipping the black lace from her shoulders. “I love you in black lace.” He purred. “But I think the birthday suit is more appropriate for today.” His joke made her chuckle.

“You’re such a goofball.”

“You love it.” His grin wicked.

“I love you.”

“I adore you kitten.” His kiss took her under as his fingers stripped her bare. “Stay there and close your eyes.” She looked at him for a split second longer before closing her eyes, complete and total trust.

She could hear him move over to the window doing what could only be described as searching through a drawer. She felt his massive frame tower behind her, the heat and power radiating off him as the cool silk covered her eyes, the soft material dark enough she couldn’t see through it. He was giving her one of her fantasies, had the guy crawled into her head at some point and taken notes, she wondered? Because she sure as hell hadn’t voiced them, to anyone. His one finger scooped her hair and pushed it to the side revealing her neck to him.

“You’re so beautiful.” He rasped, the heat of his breath against the nape of her neck making her shiver. He kissed her there, the contact sending a shot of arousal straight to her core. His finger drifted down her spine and over the swell of her ass cheeks before disappearing off her skin.

She wouldn’t have thought standing naked and blindfolded with someone could be such a turn on. She felt him shift to stand in front of her and her body yearned for him to touch her, kiss her. A finger gently hooked her under the chin and lifted her head up. She knew his eyes would be roaming her face, her body.

“So alluring.” He murmured. His kiss was like an electric shock to her system and she couldn’t help the small squeak that escaped before he pulled that delicious moan from her soul.

“You like it when I kiss you like that.” She could hear the humor in his voice. Out of instinct she searched for him, a need to touch, her fingertips brushing his chest. “Hands by your sides kitten.” He said with enough of a command to have her obey, but gentle, this was new and he didn’t want to scare her before they’d started. His finger left her chin and she was left with nothing but the presence of him standing there, only touching her again when her hands were resting at her sides. She would learn, he thought.

He didn’t leave it very long before that finger stroked her jaw and his lips ghosted hers, the tip of his tongue tasting her. That finger ignited a trail of destruction down her cleavage and along the underside of her breasts, first one then the other. He watched as her nipples hardened, her mouth opening slightly and her breath hitch in anticipation. Peeling his shirt off he went to his knees, those stunning breasts waiting for him to pleasure.

She could hear him moving, taking his shirt off, the absence of touch making her feel a little self conscious. That finger started at the dip in her throat, winding its way down over her breasts again in much the same pattern as before. It was arousing beyond her wildest dreams, she knew she was soaked between her legs and he hadn’t really done anything. The anticipation alone was enough.

With a hand behind her but not touching he sucked a nipple into his mouth. Her cry was one of shock and pleasure. He steadied her as the contact rocked her body backward and released her nipple and the hand at her spine. He lightly blew a breath over her wet nipple and watched it pucker into a hard bud. Her soft whimpers were sending his own arousal into the stratosphere. He waited a moment before repeating it to the other side, her cry making his cock twitch, the strain against the denim almost painful.

He kissed his way down her torso, slow, teasing kisses, the tip of his tongue tasting and leaving a trail to the apex of her pussy. He kissed her there and her hands went to hold his head but she caught herself before she touched him, placing her hands at her sides again. He hummed his approval and peppered slow lingering kissed over the softness of her belly as he started to remove his jeans.

Naked on his knees before her he trailed a finger up the backs of her calves, tracing the swell of her ass. She squirmed and giggled when he went over the skin at the back of the knees and gripped them more firmly before kissing each kneecap. Steadying her he gently forced her legs apart slightly. Kissing her mound he drew away so she was standing untouched.

With the hand behind her in case she swayed backward he sucked a nipple into his mouth and kept it there, tongue swirling. He steadied her and released his hand. Alternating between each breast he made her body tremble, made her nipples extra sensitive. He let his teeth graze the acutely aroused buds, her whimpers of pleasure the only sound in the room. He wet her nipples and blew gently on them again, sending her brain into overload.

Kneeling between her feet without touching her he stopped his ministrations to watch, to look up at the goddess in front of him. The flush of arousal over her body, those full ripe breasts, those curves, he devoured those curves with his eyes. She jumped slightly as he ran a finger up each calf from foot to the crease of her ass cheeks.

She was so aroused she was surprised it wasn’t running down the inside of her thighs. With a fingertip caressing her ass she could feel his hot breath on her mound, hovering, waiting. It was maddening but so erotic.

He could smell her arousal, the sweetness of her. With his hands behind her ready to steady her, he ran the tip of his tongue along her silken folds with just enough slipping in to brush every aroused nerve endings she had. Her body jolted at his touch like he’d electrocuted her, the cry of pleasure making his cock throb. Placing his lips on her labia he stroked his tongue along her again, each pass venturing deeper. He hummed his approval at her wetness, she was soaked.

She’d never had an orgasm standing up but if he kept doing what he was doing she was about to. He teased her slowly, tongue relentless in its pursuit of everything she had to offer him. She gasped as he licked her from entrance to clit and sucked, teasing her bundle of nerves with the tip of his tongue.

“Gustaf.” It was a hoarse cry, his only warning that she was going to come, yet he continued on his current course.

Her legs shook as she cried out, climax tearing through her. She felt his hands at her hips, a steadying force as she let it take her. He stopped and peppered her belly with slow kisses. She felt him pull away and stand before her, his towering presence unmistakable. The one finger hooked her under her jaw and tipped her head back. He kissed her slowly, savoring everything she gave him.

“You’re my favorite dessert.” He purred. “So sweet.” He kissed her jaw. “So erotic.” He kissed the other side and devoured her mouth. “Would you like me to continue?” He asked softly, his finger trailing over her breasts, pert nipples begging to be attended to. He would push her boundaries, he would reveal the sex kitten he knew was hidden away, show her what this kind of release could give her, physically and emotionally.

“Yes.” She whispered, her breathlessness a combination of having just come hard and anticipation.

“Do you trust me?” He stayed where he was and let his finger drift.

“Always.” She replied with no hesitation.

“Don’t move.” He commanded as he stepped away briefly.

She could hear rustling of covers, sheets, he was doing something on the bed. She shivered, whether from cold or anticipation she didn’t know, she was sure of one thing though, she felt alive, energized at the thought of what he might do to her next. She sensed him behind her before his hands gently gripped her hips.

“Are you cold?” He asked.

“No.” He breathed.

“Walk forward.” He murmured, a kiss below her ear making her moan. He stopped her at the foot of the bed and gently nipped her neck. “Hands on the bed.” He growled. He watched as she searched and came in contact with the mattress. “Now your knees.” He instructed and she climbed onto the bed until she was on all fours, her feet hanging off. He left her there and climbed up onto the mattress where he’d wait for her. He hooked a finger under her chin. “Crawl forward.” That low tone made her pussy throb.

His lips suddenly met hers, the kiss demanding she stop where she was.

“Sit back on your knees and hold your hands out in front of you.” She did as he asked, each instruction arousing her more and more.

His one finger drifted along the forearm of each arm and took a hold of her hands. “Come up on your knees and lean forward, the headboard is right there.” He placed her hands along the top rail of the headboard, the sleigh bedhead offering her forearms some support.

He watched her carefully, there was no fear in her body, only complete trust and arousal. “Now listen carefully kitten.” He said gently, the single digit under her chin holding her head up. “If at anytime you are in real pain and need me to stop you tell me. You don’t wait for me to ask. Tell me you understand kitten.” He would take his own pleasure in this and give it to her a hundred fold, but he’d make damn sure not to hurt her, he’d never forgive himself. Safe words or colors were there to be used but if you did it right and paid attention to your partner, they would never need to be used. They were nowhere near venturing into resistance play and he wasn’t into it, a simple stop from her would halt him in his tracks.

“I understand.” Her voice was shaky but firm.

“Do you trust me?” He asked as he began to bind one of her hands to the bar.

“Yes.” Her breath hitched at the new sensation of the silk against her skin and he stopped once the first binding was done. He kissed her shoulder, the brief contact settling her nerves.

“What do you say if you need me to stop?” He asked as he bound her other wrist.

“Stop or red.” Her answer was immediate. Even though she’d never done this before she knew the rules, read enough to know, and Gustaf had obviously done this at some point, he was way too skilled to call it beginners luck.

“Mmmm that’s my smart girl.” He purred, he kissed her, that sweetness clouding her mind. “Relax kitten.” His kisses along her arms were slow and lingering. She felt him place something soft under her forearms and gently pressed down on them. “Relax. I’m going to do wonderful things to you.”

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

@hausofobsession @ill-skillsgard @grandpa-sweaters @authentic90skidd @tuckersgirl @fairlyfallacy @flowers-in-your-hayr @raewritesfiction @stinkerbelle007 @kamie-b @mrsaugustwalker @skrsgardspam @loliwrites @trippedmetaldetector @lihikainanea

[reject-princess97]

Jay Halstead- Chicago PD (Part 2)

"Where is he?"

"Close to Jay's appointment, it looks like he's waiting. There is an old abandoned building across the street. You dad was seen entering that building a few times today." Hank explained and I sucked in a deep breath.

"He knows you're here, he's waiting to see of I come home with you." I guessed.

"Jay come on, we can end this today." Hank insisted.

"I'm coming too." I stood up.

"What, no you're not." Jay argued but I ignored him.

"Hank, please, I have to be there." I told him.

"Do you still have you vest?"

"In my trunk." I nodded.

"Boss, you can't be serious?" Jay asked in disbelief.

"Her being there could be enough of a surprise to get the edge over him."

"He knows she's here, how is that a surprise?"

"Because if my dad was smart, and he is, he would have researched everyone on this team. Mostly you." I explained. Jay looked at me still not understanding.

"Jay, he knows you and he knows that you wouldn't let me go into a fight. Even now after a month after I broke your heart. He knows that I won't be there." Jay seemed to understand but he shook his head.

"Please, Y/N just, think about this. You've just sent blood tests off to confirm a pregnancy, you can't go running into a gun fight when there is a possibility you're carrying our child." He insisted.

"I'm sorry Jay, but I'm going in. That man has made my life hell for the first 24 years of my life. He killed my mum, my sister and older brother. He beat me everyday and when I had finally had enough I sent his ass to prison.

Then I left it all behind. I joined the CDP, I found a new family and I fell in love. I was happy, I was free and I was three months away for marrying the man I loved."I smiled sadly.

"Then he fucked all that up by threatening what family I had left."

"Y/N..." Jay began again but I shook my head.

"Jay, look at me." I told him and he turned, facing me. I looked up into his eyes.

"My dad is the worst type of man. He has made my life hell long enough. When we find him and I do me WE, I am going to be the one to pull the trigger and end it all." I told him.

"Then I am going to come back to Chicago for good and I am go fix everything my father broke."

I then grabbed me keys and bag then left. Hank and Jay following me.

I walked out of Med and over to my car where I pulled out my bullet proof vest, my CPD issued gun and my badge. I strapped my gun to my back, die hard style, and I pulled my vest over my head.

"Let's do this." I demanded.

"You're driving with me." Jay insisted and I nodded.

"Fine."

The car ride to the apartment we short and quiet until Jay finally spoke up.

"You said you were coming home when this is over." Jay began and I nodded.

"Yeah."

"Are you coming back to Chicago. Or are coming back to...back to me." He asked as he pulled up around the corner from where we spent the last two years living.

"Jay, I..." I began but I heard a gun shot and I duct, Jay too.

"Well, well, well...if it isn't my disobedient daughter." I heard a voice call. I looked to see my dad and three of his goons.

"If it isn't my murdering bastard father." I shot back.

"Step forward, let me get a look at you?" He instructed and I shook my head. Then the three goons aimed their guns at Jay and I stepped forward.

"What's the matter sweetheart. Don't you trust me?" My dad grinned evilly "losses the gun...and the vest. I shook my head but when I saw one of the three cock his gun I obeyed.

""Y/N stop!" Jay yelled but I ignored him.

"Its OK baby. That vest doesn't quiet sit right on you anyway." My dad encouraged. I through the vest and gun to the ground before I held up my hands.

"What do you want from me?" I asked but my dad shrugged.

"I want to ruin your life, like you ruined my when you gave me up to he police."

"I was 24 year old girl who still got beat on by her dad when she did something wrong. I watched you beat my brother to near death almost every night. I watched you kill my mum, my big brother AND my sister. I did what I had to do to keep me and my baby brother safe." I growled.

It was quiet for a minute the I saw the three goons on my dads side drop to the floor...CPD must be up on the roof.

My dad looked around confused. Then he grabbed his own gun and aimed it at me.

"You.. you no good, whore. What you think because you joined the CPD you were safe. Because you have a cop boyfriend I wouldn't find you. I have had my eye and killing you since the day I was locked up and now my day is finally here." My dad smirked.

"The next few seconds happened in slow motion. I watched his finger cock the gun and I reached backwards and grabbed the gun taped to my back. I pulled it over my head and with one clean shot I shot him inbetween the eyes.

Then everything stopped. The air got thick and I couldn't breath. I fell to the floor and tried my best to catch my breath.

"Y/N?...Y/N!" I heard Jay call but his voice sounded quiet and far away.

My breath was struggled and I chest was heavy.

"Y/N, what's wrong?" He asked and I looked up into Jay's eyes and for the first time in a month I smiled a real genuine smile.

"Jay, hey." I smiled up at him, feeling like I was all spacey.

"Are you OK?"

"It's over...it's all over." I felt tears run down my face and I felt a huge weight lifted of my shoulders.

"Yeah, it is." He chuckled as he lifted me up and wrapped an arm around my waist as he helped me steady myself.

"Thanks." I chuckled as I rested my head on his shoulder.

He walked me over to his car and sat me on the hood.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." He told me and I nodded. He kissed my fore head and ran off towards the commotion of people that had arrived without me realising.

I sat quite for a minute, watching Jay talk to various members of our team then finally he wondered over to Gabby.

Then I had a thought, I pulled out my phone and dialled my brothers number and waited. It was a while before he picked up and I felt myself tense up.

"Hello?"

"Hey baby bro." I sighed down the phone as once I heard his voice.

"Y/N, where are you? you were supposed to meet me here." My brother stuttered and I chuckled.

"It's over baby bro, you can go home."

"It's over?" He asked relief evident in his voice.

"Yeah, dad's dead." I told him. I could feel the weight lifting from both our shoulders as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?"

"He came after Jay and we found him before he could harm anyone."

"Good, I'm glad Jay's OK." My brother chuckled.

"Did you get things sorted between you two then?" He asked and I looked over to Jay who was talking to Gabby, my best friend and paramedic.

"I'm working on it kid." I smiled as Jay looked over and we locked eyes. He smiled back and I blushed a little.

"Good, I liked him, he was good to you. He made you happy." I smiled at my brothers reaction and nodded.

"Trust me kid, you have no idea." I smiled as I laid my hand on my belly that could potentially hold a baby.

"Listen, I have to go back to the hospital, see Will and figure out what happens next. Call me when you get home OK?" I ordered and my brother chuckled.

"I will do, love you sis."

"Love you too."

With that we hung up and I jumped of the hood of the car and walked over to Jay and Gabby who pulled me into I tight hug.

"I knew you wouldn't leave with out a good reason too." She told me once we pulled away. "I'm glad your back." She smiled.

"Glad to be back." I nodded before I turned to Jay. "We need to go back and see Will." I reminded him and he nodded.

"I'll text him, tell him to come to my...our place." He told me and I nodded taking his hand and walking over to our apartment building.

I followed Jay up to our floor and waited for him to unlock the door.

Jay opened the door and I was really surprised to find everything was the same. Nothing had been changed.

I walked into the apartment and ran my fingers across the wall, the sofa, the table, the photo of Jay and I will had taken the night we got engaged.

"I was so happy." I sighed picking the picture up, a tear rolling down my face.

"We had everything ahead of us, a whole happy life that had endless possibilities." I set the photo down and wiped the tears away, reminding myself that that was gone now.

"That's over now." I huffed sitting on the sofa.

"It doesn't have to be." Jay spoke up. I looked up in surprise.

"No Jay..." I began but I was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Jay walked over and opened the door to see Will stood there holding a piece of paper.

"You guys OK?" Will asked and I nodded, Jay shrugged.

"That depends on what you me by OK?" Jay spoke. Will and I looked at him confused so he continued.

"Will this morning started pretty normal, well normal for the past month." He started and I looked down guilty at my hands. "I got into work, I worked a case. Then I got a call from my dumb ass brother."

"Hey...that's me, I'm the dumb ass brother!" Will joked holding his hand up making the tension in the room dissipate a little.

"I go the the hospital to fine my ex fiance who walked out on me a month ago only to find out she didn't leave she was ran out if town."

"Jay.." I began but Jay only flung himself in the sofa next to me.

"Oh, and she might be pregnant."

"You OK Bro?" Will asked concerned. It was quiet for a second while Jay thought about it then he nodded.

"You know what, even after all that's happened today...I feel better than this morning. I finally have a reason as to why Y/N left and she's back." For some reason he seemed like he was on cloud nine.

Jay grabbed my hand in his and pulled it up to his lips, placing a kiss in the back.

I smiled up at him a little and he smiled back. It felt as if nothing had changed in the last month. It was just us and no body else.

That was until Will cleared his throat.

"You guys do remember I have news, right?"

"Right yeah, sorry." Jay chuckled.

"So?" I looked up at the Dr who nodded. He looked down at the paper and smiled.

"Congratulations,  I'm gonna be an uncle." I smiled as he handed me the paper and I read over the results.

"Are you serious?" I asked shocked and he nodded.

Without even thinking I grabbed Jay and kissed him, hard. I felt right, like it was what had been missing for s long time and in truth it was.

"I'll leave you two to talk."

"Thank you will." I smiled up at him as i pulled away. He nodded slightly then left the apartment.

"So..." I began but was interrupted by Jay's lips against mine.

"I'm gonna be a dad."

"Yeah, you are." I agreed.

"Are you staying?" He asked, pulling back from me a little and I saw the fear in his eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, ever again.." I assured him as I ran my hand though his hair. "When I left, I had every intention of finding my dad and ending the madness just so I could come back and marry you like I had always planned." I smiled.

"That is if you still want me, I know what I did was shitty and that you might not want to now and I get that." I sighed, remembering life wasn't just gonna go back to normal.

"Do you still have the ring?" He asked and I nodded, pulling out the ring that hung on a chain around me neck. Jay held his hand out as I pulled the chain and placed the ring into his hand.

"You're back for good right?"

"I have nowhere I'd rather be."

"Then will you Y/N put this ring back on and be my fiance again?"

"Are you sure?" I asked a little sceptically. Jay just nodded and took my hand.

"I am, but know this..." he began as he slid the ring back onto my finger. "This ring is NEVER to leave this finger again." He informed me and I nodded.

"Wouldn't dream of it." I grinned back before he crashed his lips to mine once again, this time with no intention of stopping.

[badchoicesposts]

Loyalty Or Royalty

Chapter 14

Summary: Mia Bhatt spent years trying to escape her past, trying to escape the feeling of betrayal that was left in her heart after the fire, and she finally had. She was marrying the King of Cordonia and was finally going to get her happily ever after. But, after a momentary lapse in judgement caused her to send a wedding invitation to someone she was sure had forgotten about her, she realizes that sometimes the past has a way of crawling back to you.

Author’s Note: In this fic Anton and The Sons of Earth were caught before the wedding. Also this story will contain flashbacks that will be in italics.

Sorry this chapter took so long. I’ve been in the middle of a semi hiatus but I’m hoping to get on a more consistent uploading schedule now that I’ve finished writing the series. Thanks so much for your patience and for reading!!

Pairing: Liam x MC (Mia Bhatt), Platonic!Colt x MC, Past!Logan x MC

Word Count: 4,388

Taglist: @flowerpowell​​​​​​​, @dcbbw​ , @texaskitten30​​​​​​​, @kingliam2019​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @lovehugsandcandy​ @los-cafeteros​ @desireepow-1986​ @lovemychoices​​​​​​​​, @kimmiedoo5​

Catch Up: Masterlist

“Smoking will kill you one day,” Mia said, as Kaneko continued to smoke a cigar beside her. 

The man let out a soft sigh and stubbed out the last of it, causing Mia to smirk at him.

“You’ll thank me when you don’t get lung cancer,” she said, satisfied with the results of her nagging.

“Or I’ll just smoke when you’re not around to lecture me,” Teppei said back, resting his hand on her back as he led her through the crowd of people at the sideshow. 

When he had asked her if she wanted to come with him, she had said yes, opting to get away from the garage for the first time in what felt like forever. However, she had no interest in inhaling cigar smoke for the next few hours while she was with him. 

“Lecturing you on your poor life choices is how I show my affection,” she said sarcastically, causing Teppei to laugh loudly. 

They moved through the crowd fairly easily, people automatically clearing a path for them once they noticed Kaneko’s presence. It immediately reminded Mia of how intimidating Kaneko truly was, how untouchable he was to these people. It was easy to forget that when she was with him. The man was always kind and gentle with her. He took care of her and protected her even when she mouthed off to him because that’s what parents did and Teppei Kaneko was the closest thing she had to a parent. But, to these people Teppei wasn’t a parent. He was someone to be feared. 

The two of them came to a stop when they noticed Logan walking towards them. He was accompanied by a girl who looked to be about their age wearing a red tube top. Although she was dressed the same as everyone else who was at the sideshow, she still seemed to be out of place. 

“Didn’t expect to find you at a place like this, boss, hanging with a bunch of lowlife tuners,” Logan said, acknowledging Kaneko and nodding discreetly in Mia’s direction to greet her.

“Just taking some meetings,” Kaneko said before turning to the girl. “And who might this be?”

“I’m Ellie. Logan’s date,” the girl said, smiling kindly at Kaneko.

Kaneko eyed the two of them critically before pulling Logan to the side. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could see Teppei handing Logan his keys.

“So, how do you know Kaneko?” Ellie asked her, her voice a bit hesitant.

“I’m his charity case,” Mia said sarcastically, forgetting for a moment that Ellie didn’t know her well enough to know she was joking around. “He’s my guardian.”

“Oh, have you known him for long?” she asked.

“My whole life,” Mia clarified.

Logan started to walk back over to them, and he shot Mia a nervous look before wrapping his arm around Ellie’s shoulders. 

“Amelia,” Kaneko called, inclining his head to indicate that she should follow him. 

Mia gave the two of them an awkward smile before following after Kaneko. He handed her a wad of cash and told her to grab something to eat while he took care of some business and that he would meet up with her later. As Mia walked around the sideshow, munching on french fries she got from Vaughn’s truck, she felt unsettled. She and Logan hadn’t been spending much time together since they ended things. In fact she had been spending as much time as she could in Colt’s room. She had been lonely since she and Logan had been pulling away from each other and being in Colt’s room made her feel closer to him. Now seeing Logan with someone else made her heart ache. It was all suddenly too much. 

Mia’s attention suddenly shifted when she heard an excited murmuring all around her. She heard Logan make the bet with Salazar to win Vaughn’s truck, and she couldn’t help but wonder. She wondered why Kaneko gave him the car keys in the first place. She wondered why Logan thought it was a good idea to bet Kaneko’s car. He knew better than that no matter how much he cared about Vaughn. She felt a presence behind her and looked up to see Kaneko standing by her, watching closely as the race began. 

“What’s going on?” she asked. She could tell there was more going on than he was telling her. 

“He’s just showing off for the girl,” Kaneko said, brushing off the topic.

“What if he loses?”

“He won’t.”

Mia wasn’t sure how it was that Kaneko was always right, but he was. Logan won the race and Salazar wasn’t happy about it, beginning to take it out on Kaneko’s car. She cringed at the sight of it being destroyed, but was surprised that Kaneko wasn’t upset with Logan for it. 

“So. This is who you replaced me with. This narcissist,” a familiar voice pulled Mia from her thoughts. 

While he was busy glaring at Logan, she couldn’t fight the huge smile that broke out onto her face. 

“Colt!” she said, excitedly throwing herself into his arms.

He let out a soft groan before hugging her tightly.

“Hey, Mellie,” he said softly.

“Colt? What are you doing in L.A.?” Kaneko asked, a look of shock on his face.

“Hey! Jerk! The only narcissist here is you!” Ellie said, causing Mia to hold back a laugh as Colt released her from his embrace.

At her words, Colt’s cold demeanor went back up. He kept one arm wrapped around Mia’s shoulders as he addressed her.

“This isn’t your concern.”

As they made plans to head back to the garage a selfish part of Mia was glad that Colt was back. She was glad that he was finally home. He handed her the keys to his bike and settled onto it behind her. As the two of them took off down the street, Mia had no idea just how complicated the next few months were going to become.

~~~

Mia walked through the palace halls and to Bastien’s office. She knocked on the door and waited for him to call her in before pushing the door open and settling down onto one of the seats in front of his desk.

“Morning,” she said, faking a smile as she greeted him.

“Good morning. What can I help you with?” he asked, offering her a smile.

Mia took a deep breath. Her mind had been reeling since Drake had asked her what she wanted to do to fix things with Kaneko, and she had finally come to a decision. 

“Do you have any contacts in American law enforcement?”

Bastien seemed surprised at her words. 

“Um, yes, of course. Is there anyone specific that you’re looking to get into contact with?”

“I don’t really know. I’m hoping that maybe the crew and Kaneko can work out some kind of deal with them. I know that I’ll need to talk to him and all of them first. It’s not really my decision to make for them, but this is the only logical solution I could come to. I just want to make sure we have everything in place if they agree to it,” she said.

“I have someone in the FBI that I could put you in contact with,” he said, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a small notebook. 

“Thank you,” she said, leaning back into the chair and letting out a slow breath.

“Are you alright?” Bastien asked, offering her a sympathetic smile. 

“Why wouldn’t I be? Because I had my father arrested last night, or because my marriage is already a failure and it’s only been two weeks?” she asked sarcastically. “How is he doing?” 

“He’s been surprisingly calm,” Bastien said, causing her to chuckle softly.

“If anyone could handle being arrested it’s Kaneko,” she said, the thought actually making her smile not out of malice but out of almost fondness.

“Mia, if you don’t mind me saying, I know that what your father said about you and Liam bothered you, but he does love you. I’ve watched him grow up and become the man he is today, and I’ve never seen him happier than when he’s with you. He loves you more than he’s ever loved or cared for anyone. You shouldn’t doubt that,” he said.

“So, I’ve heard,” she joked, although her laugh didn’t actually sound fully genuine. “Um, I’m going to have to talk to… my dad. Can I see him?”

Bastien noted that she was clearly changing the subject, but didn’t mention it. Instead an almost knowing smile graced his lips instead.

“He’s actually still here,” he said, causing her to look at him curiously. “I assumed you would either regret your decision or change your mind after some time to think about it, and I didn’t want to move him too far just in case. I’ve had him under constant supervision, and the guards were instructed not to let him out of his room.”

Mia let out a genuine laugh at this, finally relaxing for the first time in what seemed like forever.

“Am I really that predictable?” she asked.

“No. You just have a good heart, and you’re not vidictive enough to want to punish him for the things he’s done to hurt you.”

“Thank you, Bas.”

“Of course. I’m only telling you the truth of what I’ve observed about you. I’ll take you to see him.”

Bastien led her to Kaneko’s bedroom and she knocked softly on the door before letting herself in. Kaneko was sitting down on his balcony, staring calmly up at the sky above him. 

“Can I sit with you?” she asked, her voice soft as he turned to look up at her.

He motioned for her to take a seat next to him and she did, kicking off her shoes and pulling her feet up under her. 

“I’m sorry for yesterday,” she said, refusing to meet his eyes. “I was angry, and I acted on impulse.”

“I understand why you did it, Amelia,” he said.

“I’m still sorry. I almost immediately regretted it. But, apparently everyone knew I would and that’s why Bas didn’t actually arrest you,” she said, letting out a soft laugh. “I want to hate you. I want to hate you so bad, but I can’t no matter how hard I try.”

“That’s because you have a good heart. You get it from your mother,” Teppei said, causing her to wipe away a stray tear.

“Did she cry about everything too?” she joked, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Yes, she did actually,” he responded, letting out a slow laugh. “I see so much of her in you. All of the good in you is from her.” 

“I miss her everyday.”

“As do I,” he said, the tender look in his eyes shocking her. “If I had known that she was with him that night, I would have never…”

“I know, and as much as I want to be mad at you for what happened, I believe that you never meant to hurt her,” she said. “I missed you too, you know. Everyday for the past seven years. I think I may have spent more time mourning your death than I ever thought I would.”

Kaneko looked at her sadly and reached out, taking her hand in his and squeezing it tightly. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, their hand grasped tightly together. 

“Amelia, I’m sorry if what I said has affected your marriage in any way,” he said, and she could tell he was being sincere.

“It’s nothing I hadn’t thought about myself at some point. I was just too scared to say anything. I thought that if I was too vulnerable or if I brought any of that stuff up, he would decide that I wasn’t worth it,” she admitted, not sure why it was so easy spilling all of her feelings to him, but knowing that she could trust him anyway.

“That boy loves you. Everyone can see it. Everyone makes mistakes in relationships, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth fighting for. I can tell you already know this, but forgiveness can go a long way,”

Mia nodded and tried to take in his words. She still wanted to be upset with Liam, especially after hearing that he would have married Madeleine anyway if Tariq hadn’t come forward, even knowing that his father was behind the scandal. But, Liam made it so hard to be mad at him. Although his actions had negatively affected her on more than one occasion, he had also shown her how much he loved her countless times. She found herself questioning if she even had a right to be mad in the first place. Everything had still worked out in the end, so did it even matter anyway?

However, her mind couldn’t stop going back over the “what ifs”. What if Tariq hadn’t come forward? Then, they wouldn’t be together right now because Liam wouldn’t have fought for her. “What if they hadn’t found Tariq at all?” Then they definitely wouldn’t be together because Liam wouldn’t have fought for her.

“I guess there’s still so much about being royalty that I don’t understand, so much about public image and that directly affecting people’s idea of whether or not someone is able to make a good leader. Well, that’s not true. I understand it to an extent. I’ve seen firsthand how terrible people can be to you when you’re in the public eye. I just… I just need to know that he loves me more than he cares about having the perfect image,” she said. “I need some kind of reassurance that I’m just as important to him as all of this is. Does that make me selfish?”

“No, it makes you human. It’s not unrealistic to want some kind of validation. However, you shouldn’t let your insecurities ruin a relationship as wonderful as the one you have. Liam may have made some poor decisions, but he loves you very much, and anyone can see that you make each other very happy.”

Mia thought over his words. They made sense. They actually made a lot of sense, and for a second she hated that even though he was an infuriating man, Kaneko always seemed to be so wise. Her mind wandered back over to the reason she had come to see him in the first place, and she took a deep breath, preparing herself for the topic she was about to bring up.

“While you were… uh, pretending to be dead everyone has tried to move on. Logan got his GED and is trying his best to put himself through college, Ximena is working at a tattoo parlour and she seems pretty happy there, and Toby is doing something with… tech stuff,” she said, not completely understanding what Toby did. “The only ones who haven’t really moved on are Colt and Mona. I’m not really sure how I can help them move on or if they even want to, but I spoke to Bastien, and he has a contact with the FBI. I know it’s not my decision, but I thought that maybe you guys can make some kind of deal with them. Maybe if you help them catch The Brotherhood, you can work some kind of minimum sentencing out. We’ll obviously have to talk to the rest of the crew, because it’s their lives not mine, but I think that may be the most logical way of making sure everyone has a way to move on with their lives. Maybe for the first time, they won’t have to constantly look over their shoulders. They can have a normal life where they’re not always worried about the cops and being on the run.”

Kaneko was silent for a long time. He seemed to be thinking over her offer. She didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s life. She knew how hard they had all worked to get where they are today, but if she could help them put that chapter of their lives behind them then she would do everything in her power to do it. When he looked back up at her, he studied her face intently for a moment before nodding his head. 

“Let’s speak to the crew.”

~~~

Mia walked around her and Liam’s bedroom getting ready for bed. She shrugged out of her clothes, feeling Liam’s eyes on her back, and she pulled one of his t shirts over her head, the hem falling to her mid thigh as she removed her jewelry. She pulled the blue grotto bracelet off, her eyes lingering on the item as she thought of what Kaneko had said earlier about not letting her insecurities ruin a good relationship. 

“Did Bas catch you up on everything?” she asked, walking over to the bed and getting settled as he began undressing as well.

“Yes, I have to admit, I was shocked that everyone agreed to your plan,” he said, pulling on a pair of pajama pants and settling down next to her. 

“It wasn’t easy. Mona and Colt didn’t want to. But, I think Colt changed his mind once he realized that… our dad agreed to it. I’m still not completely sure what’s going through Mona’s head, but we’re going through with it. Bas said his contact will be here on Wednesday.”

“You called him your dad,” Liam observed, a faint smile on his lips.

“Yeah, I guess we had a bit of a heart to heart today. I’m still not over it all, but I love him, and I can’t just turn that off because I’m upset,” she said, the double meaning of her words clearly evident to him. “I need a favor.”

“Anything. Anything at all,” Liam quickly said, causing her to smile at how quickly he offered to help.

“We all agreed that Teppei would be the one to meet with the agent and obviously Bas is going to be there, but one of us should be there too. I would do it myself, but I think I’ve proven that I get way too emotional when it comes to stuff with the crew and I don’t want to ruin things because I started crying in the middle of the meeting,” she confessed, looking up at him hopefully. “I’ll trade you your meeting with Francesco for my meeting with the FBI.”

Liam laughed at the way she phrased the offer and took her hand in his. 

“I’d be happy to,” he said. 

The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Liam hesitantly broke  it. 

“I’ve been thinking all day about your question,” he finally admitted, causing Mia to turn in bed so that she was facing him.

“So, have I, and I wanted to apologize. I was feeling insecure, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’m sorry,” she admitted, nervously chewing on her bottom lip and refusing to meet his eyes. 

Liam placed a finger under her chin and leaned forward pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. She sat there unmoving for a moment before sinking into the kiss herself, allowing her body to relax into her arms. 

“I understand why you felt the need to ask. You were right. I haven’t fought for you nearly as much as you’ve fought for me. I knew that the social season and engagement tour was hard on you, but I never stopped to really think about how much it affected you because I was overwhelmed. I hadn’t expected to take the throne so early, and I had my father in my ear urging me to make certain decisions. He led me to believe that I needed to do certain things to be a good king, and I listened because I trusted him and wanted to be the best king that I could be. However, in the process I neglected you and that is the biggest mistake I have ever made,” he confessed, taking her hand and beginning to play with her wedding band and engagement ring. 

“A few months ago I would have married Madeleine. I would have married her because I thought that it was my duty, but I would have never been happy. I would have never been able to move on. But now, being able to love you freely and openly, being able to spend all of my days and nights with you has completely changed me. Being with you has changed me in the best way possible. I love Cordonia, and I want to be the best king that I can be, but first and foremost, I want to be the best husband possible, and whenever we’re ready, I want to be the best father possible because as much as I love Cordonia, all of this, being king and a leader means nothing to me without you. It means nothing to me without family.”

Mia felt her heart swell up in her chest, and she practically pounced on him, pulling him into a deep kiss.

“Thank you for saying that,” she said, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. “I know that I’m the whole reason we had that disagreement. I let the negative thoughts overtake me, and I looked past all of the amazing things we have together and I shouldn’t have. I’ve been trying to work on that, but I still have the tendency to doubt myself, and I shouldn’t have been taking it out on you. I’m sorry.”

“I understand why you felt the way that you did, love. But, I want you to know how much I love you, why I love you,” he said, a faint blush creeping up his neck.

Mia pulled herself off of him and smiled at him curiously. 

“What’s with the look?” she asked, giving him an amused smile.

“I… I made a list,” he said, not making eye contact with her.

“A list?”

“You’re going to make fun of me,” he groaned, finally looking up at her. 

“Li, I make fun of you everyday, and I’ve recently been running out of material, so you might as well tell me,” she teased, climbing onto his lap and resting her hands on his chest.

“I made a list of all the reasons I love you, or at least most of them,” he said.

“Oh, my god, Liam, you’re such a softy,” she said, bringing her hand up to her chest and practically swooning.

“I knew you would make fun of me.”

“I’m not making fun of you. That’s legitimately the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Are you going to show me?”

Liam reached over to his nightstand and handed her a folded piece of paper. Mia smiled widely as she opened it and glanced down at the list. She felt her cheeks begin to heat up as she glanced back up at him.

“Read it to me,” she said, handing it back and cuddling into his side.

Liam sucked in a breath and began to read.

“Okay I started off with the basics,” he said, reading the first three items on the list. “Number one, I love you because you’re smart. Number two, I love you because you’re beautiful. Number three, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met and you’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“Wow, you’re off to a great start,” she said, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. 

“I love that you’re not afraid to show your emotions and be vulnerable. You cry at just about everything,” he said, yelping out in pain as she pinched his arm. “But, there’s a but at the end of that sentence. But, I think it proves how empathetic you are, which leads me to my next point. When you love someone you love them with your whole heart. You feel things deeply and strongly, and I greatly admire that.”

“Okay, you fixed it,” she said, relaxing into him once again. However, her eyes soon narrowed as she saw the word “cry” once again. “Is there another one about me crying on here?”

“I love that you cry every time you see an ASPCA commercial and you insist that we need to give Hercules five furry siblings.”

“You’re on thin ice, mister,” she grumbled out, checking to make sure that there weren’t any more items about her crying on the list.

“I love that even though you have one of the kindest hearts of anyone in the world, you still manage to be the most passive aggressive person I’ve ever met,” he said, laughing as she punched his arm again.

“What did I just say?” she asked, before Liam shushed her and continued reading.

“I love you because you handle everything that’s thrown your way with grace and poise, and I know that you’ll be an amazing queen. You’re still adjusting to your role, but you’ll be unstoppable once you find your footing. I love you because when you’re nervous you belt out show tunes and dance around in your underwear,” he said with a soft laugh, causing her to blush furiously. “I love you because you push me to be a better person. You make me want to be a better man, a better king, and a better husband. I know you said that you’ve kept the things you were afraid I couldn’t love from me but I hope that you’ll continue to open yourself up because no matter what happens I’ll always love you. I’ll always want you. The good, the bad, and everything in between.”

“You’re such a sap,” she said, although the lovesick smile on her face gave away what she was really feeling.

Liam chuckled and flipped them over in bed, his body hovering over hers as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. 

“You bring it out in me,” he mumbled.

“Should I make a list too?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into another soft kiss.

“I wouldn’t object to it,” he joked, rolling off of her and pulling her close.

Liam leaned over to turn off the lamp on his bedside table as Mia began prattling on about all the reasons she loved him.

[godlydolans]

please continue the last blurb.. I wanna know how y/n reacts!

"'Lije, go to your room. I'll be there in a minute." Y/N instructed her son without sparing him a glance. Her eyes remained frozen on the man who was standing in front of her. What kind of sick joke was fate playing on her?

She really needed to install a more complex lock system to prevent Elijah from opening the door to anyone, all the bloody time.

"Okay." Elijah mused, glancing at his mother and then at the strange man who was still standing outside. "I'm going."

With one final look at the stranger, who just so happened to look down at him, Elijah bolted out of sight. The sounds of his feet thundering up the stairs reaching Y/N and Ethan's ears.

Once the boy was out of hearing range, Y/N took in a much needed deep breath and, "Why are you here?"

At the same time as Ethan asked, "Is he mine?"

There was no need to ask, he already knew. He wouldn't have believed her if she would have told him no. That kid had the exact same eyes as him. He even had curly head of hair and a damn freckle by his eye. There was no way he wasn't Ethan's son.

Ethan's son.

Ethan had a son.

The realisation made him take in a staggering breath. Dear God, he wasn't prepared for this.

"Why. Are. You. Here?" Y/N asked again, her arms crossed against her chest, eyes blazing with fury and her jaw stubbornly set. There was no trace of the love her eyes used to fill with when she used to look at him. In its place was a steely mist that prevented any form of emotion from coming to the surface.

Not even hatred. She didn't allow him to see anything.

The change came as a slap to the face but Ethan didn't let the stinging pain in his heart distract him from the more pressing subject matter.

"Y/N? Is. He. Mine?"

Her eyes hardened even more than they were before and her lips curled up into a mocking smirk. "No, he's mine! He's my son."

Ethan clenched his jaw, his eyes closing in frustration before he fixed them back on Y/N. "Y/N, I'm gonna ask you-"

"What the fuck is your problem?! And how did you find my address?!"

"-one last time, is he my son?"

"Yes, you asshole!" Y/N was seeing red by the time those words left her lips. She could feel herself shaking with sheer anger. "Yes, he's your son. But you're not his dad."

Ethan's fists clenched at his sides and he took in a deep breath to calm the storm in his mind. He had a son that he didn't know about until now? He thought things like this only happened in movies!

"When were you going to tell me? At his wedding?" Ethan seethed. He couldn't believe her. She had hidden something this major from him, for three years at that! "How could you? You knew how much I wanted kids-"

"Not from me." She bit out, shaking her head. "Don't bullshit me. You wanted kids with your wife and you left me because she finally got pregnant."

"You hid my child from me to get even with me for leaving you?!" Ethan didn't realise how loud he was getting. He never did.

Y/N did though and she couldn't stop herself from pushing his chest, causing him to stumble back as she shut the door after getting out of the house herself.

"Don't you fucking yell at me in my own house, while my son is right upstairs." She warned him, her finger poking his chest three times. Even though Ethan had a muscular chest, the jabs still hurt like a bitch. Maybe because her fingers were long, maybe because the harsh touch was a clear contrast from the gentle carresses he was used to, from her. "And I didn't hide anything from you! I called a thousand times but you never answered so its not my fault that you didn't know."

All this information was too much for Ethan to deal with at once. He needed a breather. He needed to sit down for a second. He needed to call his brother.

He needed to see his son.

Once that thought registered in his brain, all else went to the back burner. "I want to see him." He declared in his authoritative, 'no-bullshit' voice but got nothing but an eye-roll from Y/N.

"You can't." Y/N made her own declaration. There was no way in hell she was letting this man meet her son. She didn't care who he was. He wasn't going near her baby. "Now get lost."

Ethan's fingers clasped around Y/N's arms as he jerked her to his chest, gazing into her deep eyes as he whispered the words slow, hoping to deliver them straight to her conscience. "Let me see my son, Y/N."

Y/N gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Your son? What do you even know about your son? Huh? I've raised him on my own and I won't let you come in out of nowhere and claim your right on him."

"You won't let me see him?"

"No."

Did they realise they were standing pressed up against each other? That their faces were inches away? That Mrs. Williams from next door was sneakily watching their interaction from behind the creak of her curtain? Did they give a rat's ass?

No to all of the above.

"I will take this to court." Ethan regretted saying the words the second they left his mouth because those words envoked an emotion in those steely eyes. There was a flash of pain that was expertly concealed a second after it appeared.

And as if she just realised he had his hands on her skin, she jerked away from him, putting a safe distance of three steps between them.

"Then I'll see you in court. Now get the fuck off my porch or I'll call the police on you."

Those were the last words between them that night before Y/N walked into her house and all but slammed the door in Ethan's face. She stood with her back against the door as she looked up at the ceiling, her breathing heavy. Her eyes stung with unshed tears.

Three years ago, she had prayed God to bring Ethan into Elijah's life. He hadn't come then.

Now that she didn't ever want to see his face, he hunted her down himself and showed up at her doorstep, demanding to see her son.

What right did he think he have over Elijah? How could he stand in front of her and say he would drag her to court?

With a heavy heart, Y/N decided she hated every morsel on Ethan Dolan's being and that she would never forget those words that he said to her.

[blackmissfrizzle]

Hot for Teacher part 3

Title: Hot for Teacher part 3

Characters: Steve Rogers x black!reader

Summary: The reader and Steve finally have their date

Warnings: Pre-smut, creepy dudes, and a long ass chapter and no keep reading cuz its mobile

A couple of drinks after your little performance, everyone decided to call it a night and went home. Well everyone except Shantae, she went home with Sam. Steve offered to take you home, but you declined his offer but you told him you would text him when you got home.

As soon as you entered your home, you texted Steve that you made it because if you didn’t, you surely would’ve forgotten.

“Texting Rogers you made it home,” a familiar voice from the shadows asked.

You dropped your keys into the bowl by your door and sighed. “You can’t just text me if I made it home safely like a regular dad?”

Nick Fury never did anything like a regular dad, except the fussing part. You remember the whoopings you used to get because you decided to be a smartass.

Your dad let your pet cat, Goose down, emerged from his seat and gave you a hug. “I’m not a normal dad, sweetie.”

“I’ve noticed. What are you doing here so late, old man? I hope you don’t want a report on my night with Steve.”

Your dad let you out of his embrace and returned to the couch. “No, I’m not even worried about Rogers. Now if you were going out with Stark, we would have a problem. I’m praying that this thing with Rogers work out. Your mama is already planning your wedding and for her future grandkids.”

You threw a pillow at your dad. “You told mama about Steve!?” You slinked down the couch in despair, your mom’s been bugging you about kids since you were an only child. She didn’t care if you got married, she just wanted grandkids.

“You know she’s a better investigator than I am. I couldn’t lie to her.” Its true, no one could lie to your mom, she had a knack for getting to the truth. “Anyways, I’m here to officially recruit you,” your dad stated as he slid a manila folder towards you.

Inside of the folder were photos of a local gang leader, Terrence and he recruited a lot of kids that go to your school. He truly was a menace to society. He didn’t care who got hurt as long as money was lining his pocket. As you went through more photos, you saw Terrence with an older gentleman.

“The older guy with Terrence works for Ghost, a terrorist who probably has done as much as evil as HYDRA. I know you got a couple of students connected with Terrence. I need you to find out what Terrence has planned with Ghost.”

On occasion, you were known to get involved with your students’ personal lives if they were in trouble. One instance, you fought in an underground fight club match so your student wouldn’t have to, but that was different. Your dad wanted you to work for SHIELD in an official capacity and that was big deal.

You pinched your nose, “This is a one-time thing. And I’m only doing this for the kids.”

Knowing that he won, your dad broke out into a shit-eating grin that few people got to witness. “Thanks, sweetheart. I’ll have Hill send you a briefing within the next 72 hours and you’ll report to me on Saturdays. Now I’ll see myself out.” He gave you a kiss on the temple on his way out.

Great, in the same night you landed a date with Steve Rogers and became a SHIELD agent.

The following days you and Steve were texting and talking non-stop. Sometimes it was silly stuff about the stuff he missed while he was in the ice. At least he knew about the greats like, Marvin Gaye and Aretha, but you had to put him on Beyoncé and the masterwork of Lemonade. Other times you would talk about more serious stuff like, his time in the army or you training as a super spy as a child.

One day, Steve actually stopped by your school during your planning period to bring you lunch, since you told him earlier that you didn’t eat anything that day, because you were so busy. Even though, you couldn’t talk to him because you allowed some students to come for a tutoring session, he stayed and helped you by grading some papers. You were convinced that Steve was angel and you were praying that everything would work out.

Friday came before you knew it, but the day dragged on. Somehow, your students found out that your date with Steve was that night and they teased you all day long, especially since they could sense you were anxious. When 3:30 stroked, you practically ran out with the students and sped out the parking lot.

Arriving home in record time, you decided to try and take a nap, because if you stayed up you would’ve gotten ready early and been a nervous wreck. The week must’ve caught up with you, because you had no trouble taking a nap.

—

Soon, you found yourself knocking on Steve’s door at exactly 7pm. He invited you over for dinner and the dance lesson at his place, because when he went out in public people typically recognized him and asked for pictures and he didn’t want to subject you to that invasion of privacy yet.

The breath was knocked out of you when Steve opened the door. He had on an apron over a blue Henley and black jeans, and you didn’t know if it was the domesticity of the apron, the tightness of the Henley, or a combination of both, but you had a hard time stopping yourself from jumping Steve’s bones.

“Hey, come on in.” Steve waved you inside and pulled you into his warm embrace. He smelled like the food he was cooking and his cologne, and you wanted to drown yourself in that scent.

“I like your place. Its comfortable and welcoming.” Your eyes wandered Steve’s apartment. It didn’t feel like the typical bachelor pad. He had photos of his old and new friends placed decoratively, a record player, and a couch that made you sleepy from just looking at it.

Steve grabbed your purse and jacket to put them in a chair in the corner. “Thanks. Tony had Pepper come and decorate.”

The smell of the food had you gravitating towards the kitchen. Before you had a chance to look in the pot, Steve is pulled you towards him and shuffled you to a seat at the dinner table. “No peeking,” he jokingly reprimanded you.

You kissed your teeth in disappointment. “That’s not fair. I just wanted to see what was causing my stomach to growl. I should warn you Rogers, I don’t play about my food.”

Steve gave you a deep belly chuckle as he came back to the table with two plates. “Duly noted.” He set before you a plate of shrimp alfredo pasta, one of your favorite dishes. Steve Rogers was really pulling out all the stops if he kept it up, he might just get lucky, you thought to yourself.

As dinner began the two of you made small talk. You talked about how you had to stop a fight between two of your students, because Lyric stepped on Diego’s shoes and then they began arguing about how the other were too broke to afford good shoes. The joke was on them because, both of their Jordans were knockoffs but you didn’t have it in you to break their hearts. Steve told you how Tony caused the electricity to short-circuit during making a new suit.

“Okay Rogers, enough stalling! Its time for your dance lesson,” you announced at the end of dinner. You backed out of your seat and stood by Steve and reached out for his hand.

He grimaced and regretfully placed his hand in yours. “Promise you won’t make fun of me?”

To soothe his nerves, you kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear, “I promise.” It was definitely not the kiss that calmed him down, that made him more nervous, but it was the smile that you gave him while you looked into his eyes that did calm him down.

Steve scrolled through his phone until he selected the song he wanted, and then the bluesy guitar riffs of Tennessee Whiskey began to fill the room.

“Ohhh, you wanna learn how to two-step,” you joked.

The super soldier smiled and down casted his eyes to the floor. “Yeah, you did say you love country and the dance seems easy enough, but,” he held up his hand in objection. “I don’t think I’ll be ready for any twirls or lifts.”

It was your turn to give a belly-out laugh. “You’re that bad, huh?”

Steve pulled you into him and swayed the both of you side-to-side. “You’re about to see,” he whispered into your ear.

His dancing wasn’t so bad, but then again you two were only doing a basic slow dance. Confident that he could start doing the two-step, you instructed Steve that he had to take two steps forward and one step back.

After his failed attempts and a couple of stubbed toes, you took the lead to demonstrate how Steve should lead. You took the lead before with your friends, but this time was different because first, Steve obviously wasn’t a female and second, you felt smaller than your dancing partner.

“I think I got the hang of it now. I can lead if you want me to.” Steve commented after you being in the lead for fifteen minutes.

“Are you sure?” Instead of verbally responding, Steve took charge and he was much better than he was at the beginning of the lesson. He would stumble every so often and mumble ‘shit, I’m sorry’, but other than that he was great. Steve even managed to end your last dance with a twirl.

Currently the two you were sharing dessert while sitting on his couch and listening to music.

“So how did I do, teach?” Steve asked between bites.

You nodded your head side-to-side in deep thought. “Umm, it was rough in the beginning. Like for the life of me, I don’t understand how someone who fights in life or death situations and still trips over their own feet while dancing. But you got it at the end and that’s all that matters.”

“True, but I couldn’t have done it without my wonderful teacher.” Steve’s voice dropped lower as he intertwined his fingers with yours.

The both of you sat there in silence while the sexual tension filled the room until it boiled over. You don’t know who made the first move, but suddenly you were in Steve’s lap exchanging kisses. Steve must’ve had some practice since 1945, because the things his mouth was doing to yours made you wonder if he could do the same thing to your lower lips.

Abruptly, Steve pulled away to stop kissing you. “Damn, I forgot to ask. Are you okay with this?” Wow, only Steve Rogers would stop making out just to ensure he had consent. At that moment you knew Steve would own your heart sooner rather than later.

In response, you assaulted Steve with your lips and he gave a growl of approval. He flipped the two of you so you were laying on the couch while he was on top. Both of you were exploring the other’s body, getting dangerously close to start undressing the other.

Your hands were reaching for Steve’s belt buckle when your phone started ringing. Steve tried to get you to answer it, but you were too wrapped up in the idea of seeing what Steve was packing under his jeans.

“Doll, I really think you should answer it,” Steve suggested as the caller called for the second time.

Angrily you reached for the phone and answered, “Hello.”

“Umm, Ms. Y/L/N this is Nia.” Quickly your attitude was gone and you were on high alert. You gave some of your students your phone number, because you knew they had some troubles at home and you told them to not to hesitate to call you if they were in danger or trouble. If Nia was calling she was in some serious trouble, because she always had this jokester/tough girl exterior thing going on.

“Nia, what’s going on sweetie?” Steve was automatically on alert as he heard you say your student’s name.

“Can you come by, please? My…my…my…my mmm-mom owes these guys money and they’re beating on her and I-II-III-I think they’re coming for me next.” The young girl stuttered through her tears.

You were already grabbing your things before Nia explained the whole situation. “I’m on my way. Just lock yourself up until I get there, okay.”

“I already did. Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N.”

As you gathered your things, you didn’t notice Steve was getting ready as well. “I gotta go. Nia’s in trouble.”

“No problem. I’m going with and I’m driving.” You didn’t have time to argue with Steve and you were grateful anyway, so you hopped on the back of his motorcycle.

Before you got to Nia’s apartment door you could hear the fight in the hallway and no one in the complex would go in help, but they sure did have time to stand in the hallway and listen. If you weren’t on a mission to save Nia, you would’ve cuss they asses out.

Finally, you and Steve approached the door with his shield on his arm and your sai in your hands. Giving each other a nod, Steve finally kicked down the door.

The two of you were greeted to the sight of two men, who looked like they belonged on someone’s defensive line beating on Nia’s mom, who was clearly a drug addict. Then another figure caught your eye. It was another man and he was trying to kick down the door that most likely held Nia behind it.

The two guys hitting on Nia’s mom made eye contact with the two of you and made one of the smartest decisions they made that night. They ran.

“I’ll handle that one and you go get those two,” you ordered Steve as you nodded your head in the direction of the door.

“Be safe!” Steve yelled as he ran out the door.

The other asshat finally stopped pounding on the door and looked you up and down with a mix of lust and mirth. “What? Are you the new diversity hire for the Avengers?”

“Ha ha ha. You’re a real comedian. Why are you beating on my student’s mom and trying to burst into her room?”

All of the laughter left his face and it was replaced by a mask of anger. “Because that druggie bitch,” he pointed his gun at Nia’s mom. “Owes my boss money and she refused to pay up so I thought a little fun time with that little ho she calls a daughter could be a down payment.”

Disgusted at the man’s sick plans for Nia, you rolled your eyes. “You thought wrong.”

“Oh, what you gone do about it?” Ole dude pointed the gun in your direction.

You let out a desperate sigh and rolled your shoulders. “Listen, you and your crew ruined my date so I’m already pissed. So, are you sure you wanna do this?”

He looked you up and down in contempt. “Am I supposed to be scared of you, teach?” That’s all the answer you needed. Next thing you did was throw one of your sai’s into the man’s gun and sent a flying kick to his chest, effectively knocking him out.

After you cuffed him to the dining table, you knocked on Nia’s door. “Hey, Nia, sweetie. It’s Ms. Y/L/N. You can come out now.”

Tentatively Nia opened the door, but once she saw you she bum-rushed you. You stroked the young girl between her puff balls as you held her while she cried.

“Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N,” Nia confessed between sobs.

“No problem, sweetie. Are you ok?”

Nia pulled away from slightly to look up at you. “Yeah, I’m good. Sorry I ruined your date with Captain America.”

You grabbed the young girl by the shoulders and knelt down until you were eye level with her. “No, I’m happy you called. It means that you’re safe now.”

After calming Nia down, you checked on her mother and gave her a gentle but stern warning about using drugs. It seemed that the woman took it to heart, but God only knows.

Once you were sure that they were okay, you took the intruder to meet with Steve outside. He currently had the other two guys knocked out as well.

Steve pointed at the guy you were dragging. “You know you could’ve called me to get him.”

You shrugged your shoulders and gave a look of indifference. “Eh, I liked that he kept bumping his head on the stairs. And besides I need the arm workout.”

All three men were unconscious and you needed them awake. With no water on hand you had to kick them to jolt them awake, but it’s not like you felt bad about it.

A chorus of ‘what the fuck’ pierced the air as they awoke.

“Okay, this is how it’s gonna go. All three of you are now my bitches and work for me now and gonna be my informants. I need you to tell me about any information you have on Terrence and any business dealings he has with a Ghost. And if you don’t wanna comply or I feel that you’re jerking my chain, I’ll throw your ass at a SHIELD black site like that,” you threatened with a snap of your finger.

The douchebags were pissed off and wanted to say something, but one look at your face and they knew you weren’t playing. You had those Fury genes to thank for that.

Each grumpily agreed to your terms of conditions. Before they left you did threaten to cut off their balls if they attacked Nia and her mother or any other woman like that again.

—

When the two of you returned, you immediately apologized to Steve. “I’m sorry, I ruined your night. I’m sure you get tired of fighting and that’s exactly what you did on your night off.”

Steve reached out to you and placed a kiss on the back of your hands. “You didn’t ruin anything. Tonight was perfect and I like that you’ll drop anything for your students to help them out.”

“Thanks, everything was really great tonight. I hope we can do it again, but I should go. I have an early morning tomorrow.”

As you reached for the doorknob, Steve pulled you back and ask about turning the guys into informants. You informed Steve of you officially becoming a SHIELD agent to find Ghost through Terrence’s crew.

“I mean it’s only if you’re comfortable,” Steve scratched the back of his neck as a nervous tick. “But since it’s late and my place is closer to the tower, you could stay here for the night. But that’s only if you want to,” Steve hurriedly added on the last part.

Steve’s place was closer and he was harmless, you thought to yourself. “If you don’t mind, I would love to stay.”

The soldier was elated you decided to stay. He tried to give you his guest room, but you preferred to sleep in his bed with him.

Thankfully, you always had a go bag, so all you needed from Steve was something to sleep in.

When you emerged from the bathroom, Steve automatically grabbed a pillow to cover his hard on. He didn’t think he would have such a strong reaction to you wearing his shirt. Right at that moment he vowed that every chance he had, he would try to get you into one of his shirts.

“What are you staring at, pretty boy,” you teased, knowing full well Steve was staring at your curves.

Climbing into the bed and straddling his lap, you felt Steve’s erection. Deciding to be a tease, you rolled your hips around, which elicited a sinful moan from Steve’s mouth.

Promptly, Steve plopped you on the other side of the bed.

“What the hell, Steve? What’s that for?”

Suddenly, there was a shift in the air. Gone was the sweet and nervous Steve, but there was the confident and dominant Steve.

He gripped your chin and pulled your face closer to his.

“When I fuck you, you won’t be able to properly function for the next couple of days. And I doubt you want to accidentally call me daddy in front of your dad tomorrow, but if you do, then by all means let’s get to it.”

Steve was motioning to take off his shirt when you let out a meek, “I’m good.” You wanted nothing more than to be underneath Steve writhing in pleasure, but the way he may it sound you would be silly putty in the end and you didn’t need that your first day at SHIELD.

The blonde pulled his shirt back down and smirked at you. He kissed the side of your head and told you good night before he wrapped his arm around your waist.

Now you had to go to sleep hoping there wouldn’t be a wet puddle on the bed from your dreams of Steve screwing you silly.

Tags: @jojolu @ladyamandapanda12 @kashirenae92 @areubeingserved @dumbchick @wakanda-inspired @blacknthemix @pastelastronomy24 @chaneajoyyy @chonisberonica @everything-is-awesomesauce @blackreaders-assemble @nickidub718 @valkyriesnymph @marvelmaree @lildashofmelanin @cyrioussoul @destinio1 @toniilaney @euphoric05 @yoyolovesbucky @the-undecided-compass

[hannahmcne]

Bal Deleted Baby Scene(From Her Royal Highness)

Ben scribbled his signature on one of the last papers of the day and then dragged the back of his arm across his forehead before sending the paper on a little sandstorm into a filing rack beside the door. He glanced at the clock. It wasn't really late yet - only four twenty-five, but today had been one of those lazy, nothing-to-do days where he'd been able to go slow, talk to people in his meetings a little more in-depth, and then get everything done systematically - in a neat and calm order. The entire day had had a golden-like aura of peace covering it.

Someone rapped the knuckles on the back of their hand softly against the doorframe and Ben looked up. His mouth twisted into a tiny smile when he saw Mal leaning against the door, one hand up beside her head with the palm facing out - that would be the one she'd knocked with - and the other curled around her belly like she was trying to support herself.

"Hey," He greeted her, and let his eyes skim over her. She had this look about her - like she was nervous and prepared and wanting something to lean on all at once. He pushed his chair back and then waited for a second, expecting her to step into the room, before he finally stood up. "You taking a break from work?" He asked.

"I've been working up in our room," Mal explained with a little breath. "Just been feeling uneasy all day." She rubbed her hand up a fraction as Ben circled his desk and went to stand in front of her, reaching out and putting a hand to the small of her back as he did. As she'd gotten more and more pregnant, she'd refused to allow herself to slouch or even to walk strangely. It was a bit odd to see her move so quickly and smoothly when he knew that, logically, she was twenty pounds heavier and the weight of the baby should make her want to fall onto her face. But she managed it well and the only consequence was that her back got tired from holding the new weight all the time. She didn't show it - a principle of Isle endurance - but he knew she hurt.

"My water broke," She confessed, putting her free hand on his forearm. "That's what I came down here to tell you. I'm, uh, about to go into labor."

Ben's skin grew icy. He exhaled slowly. "Okay," he agreed. "Do you still want to stay here, or do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"I want to stay here," Mal's voice was firm even if her hand shook a little from nervousness.

Ben forced himself to nod again. 'This is her endeavor. However she wants to go through with it, you support her,' he told himself. "Do you want anyone there?" He asked.

Mal's hand tightened on his arm a little. He took her hand from her belly and squeezed it. "I'll be there," he promised. "But… anyone else? Sophia? My mom? I could call someone, too."

"No," Mal declined. "Just you." She took another little breath. "Can you clock out and shut down now? It'll still be a little while, but I want you to be around."

"Of course," Ben agreed. His chest felt unnaturally tight - Mal still hadn't come around to the idea of doctors, and he didn't dare suggest for one after the last time she'd snapped at him. He sort of understood. She didn't want to be exposed to anyone besides him. She didn't want anyone giving her instructions. There had been bad things on the Isle - mistakes from people trying to help - and she didn't trust anyone who would do anything to her body. But still, it was hard to let go of everything he'd been told growing up as a sheltered kid in Auradon. 'When a woman goes into labor, you take her to the hospital.'

Ben shut down his computer, put all his work away, and then shut and locked the door before putting his arm around Mal and walking with her down the hall. For a woman who was probably experiencing some sort of intense contractions, she didn't lean on him very much. Just took deep breaths and let her arm settle around his waist as she walked.

"Our room still?" He asked. Mal nodded. "You realize you could have called me and I would have come up. You didn't need to walk all the way down only to go all the way back."

"Walking helps," Mal explained with a tiny shrug of her shoulders. "I tried sitting down for a few seconds and didn't like it."

Ben sighed. Mal's arm tightened around his waist a little. He rubbed his thumb up and down her spine until she loosened it with a tiny breath. "I could get you something?" He offered. "An Advil, at the very least."

"I get high on those," Mal huffed. "I don't have any drug resistance, remember?"

He did remember. But he had been hopeful she'd cave just a little, at least to calm his nerves.

He opened the door to their room for her. Mal walked in but waited while he shut the door before he retook the space by her side again. "Wait," She stopped him, holding a hand up as she reached behind him. He turned and watched her nimble fingers click the lock into place. "I don't want any of the servants or Sophia sneaking in," she explained.

Ben sighed and nodded a little before looping an arm around her shoulders. "It'll be a while still, right?" He asked.

Mal nodded. "The pain is lasting longer now, but it's still too far in between."

Ben found her hand and squeezed it. "Where do you want to be?' He asked. Mal shrugged and then walked out from under his grip. He followed her into their room without a word.

They ended up curled up together, watching videos on his phone as the sky outside grew darker. Mal would occasionally take a deeper breath or give his hand a little squeeze if he happened to be holding it, but that was his only indication of whatever she might be going through. She was responsive enough - stealing his hand once to kiss his fingertips, humming along softly when a song came on that she liked, laughing quietly when jokes were told - but he still worried when that stubborn look came into her eyes and she curled her toes up a little through her socks(his socks, actually. She'd stolen them) and he'd call her name and she wouldn't turn.

His hands varied position - sometimes on her shoulders when she stretched her head uncomfortably, sometimes clutched in her hand, and sometimes tracing little patterns on her back as they stayed silent, listening to other people talk and just waiting. He kept his head close to hers, kissing her cheek or her hair but mostly staying silent in case she happened to whisper anything. The only time he left her side between five and eight was to escape to the bathroom to get her and him a glass of water. She sipped hers, closing her eyes, keeping her hand on her stomach until he put his beside her and then she was back and it was as if nothing was going on at all.

"Closer?" he asked Mal after the first movie, watching her stretch out her legs out and shift her spine a little.

"Closer," She affirmed. "But still time. Not much; just some."

She moved around a lot. He hadn't realized a woman in labor would do that, but he had to almost consistently switch the angle he was holding his phone at as she rolled towards him, then away from him, then sat up, then laid back down with an exasperated sigh to set one of her legs across his. It didn't bother him. He wasn't watching the movie anyway - it was on to distract Mal. He himself was letting his gaze shift from the ailing fairy to the sky outside, so he could gauge how much time had passed.

Halfway through what he assumed was Moana, though he hadn't really been watching, and with the sun starting to set outside, Mal set her hand across his phone screen and led him to set it down on the bed. "I want to move to the bathroom," she announced. "For easier cleanup."

Ben's heart thudded against his chest. "Now?" He asked, taking a little breath to steady himself.

"Soon," Mal nodded, squeezed his hand a little, and then swung her legs off their bed. Ben shut down his phone and came around to help her. She still moved remarkably well, but Ben could see how all the muscles in her leg were tense and she was moving a little slower than she had been before. "I'm okay," she assured him. It didn't sound like a lie when she said it in that tone of voice, but Ben was sure she had to have some bit of sarcasm behind it.

He set a filled glass of water down beside the bathtub and took four large, fluffy towels folded in fourths to line up along the inside of the tub. She got undressed herself and then he helped her sit down. She was closing her eyes now, still taking deep breaths, but her hold on his hand was steady. He'd heard horror stories of broken hands and crushed fingers - even his dad had been teasing him about how many profanities Belle had screamed at his birth - but it didn't honestly surprise him that Mal wasn't one of those girls. Aside from her palm being a little warmer, there was no difference from the way she would have held his hand on any other day.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, though he felt a bit dumb about asking such an irrelevant, obvious question.

"I am," Mal affirmed, voice soft and steady. That made him uneasy - wasn't she supposed to be yelling at him and madder than a hornet?

"What kind of pain are you in?" He asked, squeezing her hand to see if she'd squeeze back.

"My hips feel like they're being pushed out at a little," Mal explained slowly. "My lower back has lots of pressure on it. And my stomach… it almost feels like I've done too many sit-ups and now I can't relax it."

Ben couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping himself at her careful description. A ghost of a smile breezed past Mal's lips too. "The contractions are overlapping," She whispered. "But I don't think I need to push yet."

"How will you know?" He asked.

Mal shrugged. "I'm hoping I'll just know," She replied. "All the other girls on the Isle kind of knew when."

They were basing this off of instinct, then. Just him and her. Him with no experience ever having helped someone before and her with whatever demented experiences she'd had on that blasted Isle of the Lost.

Ben kissed her forehead. "Do you need anything?" He asked.

Mal hesitated, thinking. Then she shook her head and leaned her head back. Every single muscle in her body was tense except for her face, which he assumed she was keeping still to calm his nerves and maybe also to prevent headaches. "Talk," She demanded, closing her eyes.

Talk? About what? His mind was blank - he didn't have anything to say. The side of Mal's face twisted in pain for a split second and then relaxed again, and then words tumbled out of his mouth. "It scares me - what you went through over there."

Mal opened one eye. "I didn't do this over there," she told him. "I watched others do it, but not me."

"I'm not just talking about this," Ben spat. "I mean, yeah, childbirth and watching people die and that one girl you've told me about… that's scary. But I'm talking about the all, Mal. The small and the big."

"It's over," she reminded him. "This is my life now."

"I know that but every once in a while you do something like this and I realize that part of you is still living as if you'd never left," He reached down to touch her stomach. As she'd described, it was rock hard - like she was tensing all of her muscles at the same time. A chill ran over her skin and she gasped a little but schooled her expressions quickly.

"Like this?" She questioned him once the pain had paused.

"Like when you wake up beside me and you blink and you're so confused as to who I am because some part of you thinks you should be waking up in the dark on that Isle," Ben began. It surprises him how quickly it all comes out now that he's started. "Or when we're walking past a buffet table and you're hungry but can't stop so you hide things up your sleeves and in your bag - you've put crackers in your hair before, Mal. And then this…" He trailed off, watching sweat drip down her forehead. "I could call someone. Someone to help you."

"You're here," Mal shook her head. "And I know what I'm doing." She scrunched her forehead up then and then braced her legs against the tub for a few seconds. He squeezed her hand tightly, leaned forward to press his mouth to her cheek in a long, desperately worried kiss, And she smiled sideways at him like she found his worrying to be somewhat sweet.

Part of him thought she was absolutely insane, doing this at home in their bathtub without any medicine or a doctor or even a scream. The rest of him was blown away.

She didn't cry. Didn't even whimper. Occasionally her face betrayed her, but the majority of the process was just slow breathing and him rambling softly about her and their baby and everything under the sun until he suddenly had nothing to say and his mouth went dry. There was a part where she had to stop pushing and when he asked why, it's because she could feel the baby crowning. And that thought just turned his stomach because he couldn't physically get a handle on how she was just doing this all by herself. She released his hand. "I need something sharp," she told him. "Some scissors or something. And if you could get some clean thread, that would be useful too."

When he turned back around Mal was leaning forward and removing something from in between her legs. He couldn't hear anything for a few seconds because his ears were ringing, but then he focused and he could hear crying as Mal wiped her forehead off with the back of her arm and looked up at him with a tiny, reassuring smile. "I need those," She nodded at his findings - some scissors which were usually used to cut hair and two thick strings that had been tying a box closed. He collapsed beside the tub and handed them to her numbly. His hands didn't have any feeling in them and his knees felt like jelly as he watched Mal cut her baby loose from herself and then hand the newborn to him.

"Can you clean him off?' She asked. "There's still an afterbirth that I have to take care of. You'll probably not want to see it - it can be a bit nasty."

He took her word for it and turned around. He took her son - his son - their son - to the sink and made sure the water was warm before rinsing the child off.

How was he supposed to do this? He knew from Madison to not let their head drop too far back and don't twist their little arms and - god, he was so little! He fit in Ben's hands and he was taking tiny little breaths as he squealed(Ben didn't quite blame him for crying - he felt a bit like breaking down too and it's not like he was the one who just came out of-) and all Ben could think about is 'WhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhatWhat.'

Still, he managed it and then wrapped the little one up in a towel to examine him in something like shock. The baby started to calm down as he warmed up, but he fussed still as Ben looked down at him. His head was conical - that's probably normal. His eyes were puffy and swollen. Tiny fists curled up beside his cheeks and he had Mal's nose and everything was just 'WhatWhatWhatWhatWhat.'

The 'what's' got slower as he started to take it all in. This was his son. What? It was their baby. What? His and Mal's little one. What? This was the crown prince. What? The heir to the kingdom. Wha-how?

He still had no clue.

He didn't realize Mal was all done and cleaned up until she leaned against his arm and nearly scared him into satellite orbit. She rested her head against his and then the ringing stopped. He looked back down at his son in his hands and then up into the mirror to examine his brand new family. Mal had stolen one of his bathrobes - they hung on the backside of the door and they were too big for her, but she tied it up snug around her hips and it was like a very large and furry dress. He glanced over his shoulder. Everything was clean. She must have taken the towels and dumped them into the laundry while he was in a daze. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to tune out,"

"That's fine," She assured him, waving a hand a little. "It's overwhelming."

He nodded with a long, slow breath. Mal sat back up and held her hands out for her little one. "Can I have him now?" She whispered. "I need to do some skin-to-skin with him so my body will start recovering."

Ben took her word for it that that was a thing and immediately turned to place the baby in her arms. She pulled down the collar of the robe and leaned her baby's weight against her collarbone before turning and walking back into the bedroom with him. Ben assumed it was so she could lay down or sit on their bed. He followed her, barely remembering to turn off the light as he left.

It was dark outside. Mal laid down on her side with the baby leaning up against her chest, his head pressed onto her chest, just far enough down so that she couldn't rest her chin on him. Ben went and laid down at her side. His phone was still on the bed where it had been abandoned. He put his head on her shoulder and then rested a hand on his son's back so he could feel the baby breath.

"Are you okay?" The question felt more justified now.

Mal shifted her weight. "Yeah," she agreed. "I think I tore a little, so I'll be sore for a day or two, but having him here helps." She ran a hand through his fuzzy hair with a little smile. "His head will look more normal in a day or two. And he'll open his eyes up later too."

"He's perfect," Ben breathed, letting his eyes trace the little person's frame. He had calmed down almost immediately after returning to Mal's arms. It appeared skin-to-skin was good for baby too, and not just mom. Now he was curling up into her frame, little rear end sticking into the air a little and breathing against Mal's skin with a little pouty lip. The baby had her natural pout. Oh dear, was Ben screwed.

"You can hold him again in a moment," Mal offered. "I think I'm supposed to hold onto him for the first half-hour or onwards, but you can hold him afterward."

"I'm okay to just watch," Ben exhaled. "And what are you doing?"

Mal shrugged. "It's just skin-to-skin contact. For baby and I. Evie explained it once to me on the Isle - it helps them adapt to breathing and eating outside of me and then it signals my body that I'm not pregnant anymore and that I need to start taking care of them."

"That sounds like a lie," Ben shook his head. "It sounds like you're lying to me just so you have a good excuse to hold him."

Mal laughed and kissed his cheek. Then she looked back down at their baby and ran a soft hand down his back. "We need to name him," She whispered.

"Not yet," Ben protested. "Mal, my brain is fried and I don't know how you're processing anything. We can't pick a name like this."

"I like Zach," Mal informed him, ignoring everything he'd just said.

"Apparently we can," Ben sighed, leaning his head back into the pillows. "Zach's not a bad name."

"Do you have any good middle names?" Mal asked.

Ben shrugged. "I don't suppose we could call him Zach Hades or Zach Adam, huh?"

"I don't want him to have anyone else's name," Mal wrinkled her nose. "He's his own person."

"That throws out Ben as well, then," Ben nodded. That didn't bother him too much, to be honest. Zach Ben didn't have the best flow. "We had a list. There was Charlie and Booker and Zane and Marshall-"

"I like Marshall," Mal cut him off. "Zach Marshall. Is that kingly enough for you?"

Ben's mouth felt a little dry. "Yeah," He agreed, voice cracking a little. "Yeah, I guess," He exhaled and watched Mal look down at their little baby. She scooted down to put her head against his chest and rolled toward him a little so that tiny Zach was nestled between them but still touching Mal's skin. He put his arms around her and watched her blink once, twice, before closing her eyes and falling asleep. He chuckled.

This was his family. That was his son and that was his wife. This was something he'd built. Built it with Mal and then welcomed Zach. Ben exhaled and then he, too, leaning into the covers and closed his eyes. No matter what happened or where he went, he was always going to remember this. This first perfect night with his two favorite people and the quiet being welcomed in with the peace. The first night of his next new adventure.

This is a deleted scene from Her Royal Highness that I decided to not include. It should still make sense as a stand-alone. If you want to read the rest of the story, you should go find it on my profile page.