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becca-becky · 5 years ago

Text

when one door closes, fortune will open another

Relationships: Anxceit, Loceit, Moceit, Roceit, Demus. Can be seen as platonic or romantic for literally any of them if ya want, go nuts (although Roceit is probably the most romantic coded, tbh)

Summary: i.e. four times a side knocked on Deceit's door to ask him something and the one time Deceit knocked on the door of another to apologize.

Warnings/Notes: There’s a bit of crying, this fic mostly revolves around the aftermath of SvS Redux, Remus talks about a unicorn bleeding to death like, once and I think that’s primarily what you need to know? (lemme know if there’s anything else)

Also on Ao3!

*+*+^+*+*

Loud, erratic knocking on his door startled Janus out of his reading. It was only a few hours since he had dealt with the aftermath of the wedding, what now? Cautiously, he put his book down on his couch and strolled to his door. Opening it, he was confronted by Virgil at his doorstep.

Virgil erupted with outrage at the sight of him, "Janus, I'm going to ask you this once and only once: what the fuck did you do to Roman?!"

Janus hummed non-commitantly, tightening the grip on his door handle, wishing he could just retreat back into his room and stop this already ruined discussion without the risk of Virgil breaking down his door and continuing it.

But Virgil persisted, "No, seriously. What the hell did you say to him to the point where he's fucking crying in his room and won't even talk to Patton?"

Janus raised an eyebrow at that, "I mean, it makes sense, since Patton sided with me on the issue and Roman... well, didn't,"

Virgil's face twisted into a scowl, his hands clenched into fists and quivering at the tension, "And are you going to tell me what that issue is?"

The look of genuine surprise that took over Janus's face visibly confused Virgil, but once again, he continued.

"Like, not even Logan's telling me what's happening. He's holed up in his room and I don't even know where Remus is because at least Remus tells me what's going on, even if he acts like an ass when he does-"

A single, gloved finger to Virgil's face cut him off.

Virgil stared at him impatiently as Janus collected his thoughts at the... implications of what he's been informed of. "To summarize the whole ordeal would take far too much time for my taste, but I'll give you the backbone of it. Patton was acting... a bit out of his depth with how Thomas reacted to the wedding, there was a discussion of ethics and selfishness and whether it's a good idea to do things for yourself, and somewhere in the mix, while I was advocating for my side of the argument, Roman... insulted me, I said some things that I regret as well and now we're all caught up,"

Virgil snorted, "Wh-what, did Roman make fun of your coat or something-?"

Janus took a breath, "Roman made fun of my name when I gave it to them in a show of honesty." Janus confessed, squeezing his clasped hands that were behind his back.

Virgil stayed silent, staring at the floor, "And what did you say?" He said with an almost soft tone, looking at him for an answer.

Janus cleared his throat and muttered, "'If it wasn't for the mustache, Roman, I wouldn't know who was the evil one,' or something akin to that,'" Janus pointedly looked at Virgil's forehead as Virgil gazed at him.

A silence stretched after the words were spoken. Janus, sighing, turned to close the door to his room and finally get out of this conversation, but Virgil put his hand on the door and pushed it back.

"I-" Virgil started, "I'm sorry,"

Janus chuckled to himself tonelessly, moving the door back so then Virgil didn't break it by accident, "You didn't say it, Virgilius, you have no reason to apologize,"

Virgil's nose scrunched at the use of his full name, "But-"

"No, Virgil, if someone would like to apologize to me, it would have to be from the man who called me a middle-aged librarian,"

Virgil's eyes widened with confusion, "That's the insult he said?"

"Yes," Janus affirmed, pulling at the rim of his glove. "Well, part of it," He added after a beat.

Virgil frowned. "Oh,"

Janus hummed again before responding, "Now, Virgil, if you expect me to stay out here and chat all night long, you would be sorely mistaken. I trust that you'll be going now?" He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

Virgil rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, see ya later, Jan,"

Janus huffed at his long hated nickname and closed his door, assured with the padding of feet moving away from his room, he wouldn't have to push Virgil back to his room (it would be a first, Virgil didn't like to visit often if he could help it)

Picking up his book, Janus settled back on his couch, safe in the fact that Roman would probably be fine.

II.

But, when the knocking came again early in the morning when Janus was asleep , he had a feeling that this might become a common occurrence. It couldn't have been Virgil, however, the knocking itself was too soft for him, like the person on the other side of the door wasn't accustomed to going to the 'Dark Side' of Thomas's mind, especially at this hour.

Struggling to get himself out of his warm, comfortable bed, he flicked on the lights and made his way down to the door.

Hesitantly, he opened it.

"Logan?" Janus asked incredulously, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing anything. Still, ever persistently, Logan stood at his door, looking barely put together.

Logan nodded his head stiffly, "May I come in?"

"Of- of course," Janus leaned away so Logan could enter, closing the door behind him.

Logan took in his room, looking around him. Janus tried to see his room from Logan's perspective. There was a bookshelf stuffed with books on a wide variety of topics in the corner, just next to his couch. His couch had a few fluffy pillows on it and a blanket that Janus thinks Creativity made him way back when carelessly tossed on it. A hat stand was by the windows with a small tree next to it on a little stand by the only window with the shades down, revealing the inky dark sky. There was a mirror behind the TV. The TV and the staircase had a desk in between them, a variety of pens and stationary decorating it with his laptop front and center. With the dim, warm lighting and ignoring the heat lamps, it was rather nice.

Logan moved to sit silently on the couch, trying not to take up too much space. His shoulders were tense but he looked at Janus steadily. Janus hummed, sitting next to him.

"Janus, I'd like to ask you a question," Logan said as soon as he sat.

"Go right ahead, Lo-"

"How did you get the others to listen to you?" Logan asked, simply but effectively cutting him off. "I've... I've tried over and over again to make them hear my side of the arguments we’ve had but I fail on every occasion. So, how did you do it?"

Janus stiffened at the inquiry. He didn't know. He honestly didn't. He just said what needed to be said, advocated for his side, the others realized he was right and that was it.

"I- um, don't know exactly, if I am to be completely honest," Janus smiled awkwardly at the unintentional joke, "I just said what I thought needed to be said,"

Logan's face fell, "Oh..."

"But, I suppose one step for you would be to stop acting like you don't have feelings," Janus amended.

Logan opened his mouth, ready to defend himself with a lie that Janus could sense from a mile away, and so could his room. Lies were basically impossible to be said here. Logan tried to speak, but only mouthed the movements. He shut his mouth when Janus sent a knowing glance his way.

"Everyone loves a sympathetic character, Logan. Act like yourself and the others may begin to realize how wrong they were about you. No one likes a liar, trust me on that," Janus joked.

Logan's eyes shifted over his face, "But what if that doesn't remedy the situation? What if it makes it worse?"

Janus winced at the sincerity in his tone, "Well, then, there's nothing you can do if it comes to that, really,"

Logan's eyes watered at the statement. Janus inhaled sharply. He held Logan's hands in his own, his hands laid bare without his gloves. Logan stared at the scales on his left hand and Janus felt his human side flush.

"Logan," Logan's gaze snapped to him, a few tears breaking over his skin, "If it comes to that, I'll be here to help you,"

"Wh-why?" Logan stuttered out.

Janus shrugged, "You're Thomas's logic, you want what's good for him as well. We all do," He lifted his left hand to Logan's cheek and wiped away his tears.

Logan nodded squarely, almost leaning into Janus's touch, and abruptly stood up, "Thank you for helping me, Janus," He said, his tone stiff but his eyes expressing an overwhelming gratitude that Logan couldn't have possibly expressed in words.

Janus smiled at him slightly, "No problem, Logan," and Logan sank down and out of his room.

III.

Rhythmic knocking alerted Janus of someone at his door. He was just feeding his snake, Angie, in his bedroom and became a bit preoccupied with petting her scales. Apologetically, Janus closed the opening to her cage and went downstairs get the door.

This time, however, the person at his doorstep was Patton. He held a notebook close to his chest and smiled when he saw Janus's face behind the door. "Hi, Janus! Can I come in?"

Janus opened the door wide as an invitation and let him in, closing the door behind him.

Patton beelined to his couch and sat eagerly, right by the fluffy pillows, "Nice place you got there, J," Patton complimented, scanning the decor.

"Thank you, Patton," Janus said haltingly before asking, "Not that I'm not enjoying your company, but what exactly are you doing here?"

Patton stared at him with wide eyes for a bit until he found the words to explain himself, "I've been thinking about this for the past few days, ever since the- um, incident. I wanted to know if you could teach me about ethics and morals? If you're up for it, of course, I wouldn't wanna pressure you to do something you wouldn't wanna-"

Janus cut him off before he went on an anxious rambling session, "Patton,"

Patton perked up.

"I'll tutor you on ethics and morals," He said.

Patton's face lit up as his smile grew wide. "Oh, really? Aw, thank you, kiddo!"

"No problem, you want to become better at your job and for Thomas's sake, we need to be the best that we can be," Janus ignored his resurging memories on Roman's outburst. "Of course, I'll need to come up with a lesson plan, see how well you know the topic, and then I need to research how to properly explain those unknown concepts to you in a way where we both know what I’m talking about, but it should be doable in the next week or so,"

Patton leaped up from his seat, dropping his notebook, and hugged Janus, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," He squealed right into his ear. Janus's face screwed up at the loudness of it but hesitantly returned the hug.

After a while, Patton broke away and held Janus's arms like a vice grip. "Thank you, Janus!" He then let go, picked up his notebook, and walked out of the room, a bounce in his steps.

Janus smiled at it. He did that.

IV.

Soft bangs on his door disturbed Janus's focus on his computer. Apparently, Patton only has incredibly basic -and rather shaky- knowledge on ethics and different philosophical ideologies (not exactly a surprise). So, Janus has been spending most of his free time researching teaching methods on intros-to-philosophy. He looked at the bottom right-hand side of his screen and muttered a few choice words. It's 12 AM, he'd gotten absorbed in his work again.

Getting up from his chair, he closed his laptop and walked to his door, rubbing his dry, irritated eyes. He should've asked Logan for help, he'd probably jump at the chance to get Patton to learn that a black and white viewpoint isn't the best thing that the figment of morality should have. Janus sighed tiredly. At least he was wearing somewhat comfortable clothes. Maybe he'll just go to sleep in those.

He yawned as he opened the door, "Hello..?"

Arms wrapped around his waist, and a head nestled itself on the junction of his shoulder and neck.

Hesitantly, he returned the hug. He's getting used to physical affection, with Patton hugging him almost every day with a thank you on his tongue for literally anything Janus did for him. It was odd, but becoming common.

He looked down at the red sash and white prince outfit in his peripherals. "Roman..?" He mumbled, idly rubbing his back up and down.

"I'm sorry," Roman said softly on his pulse, his words ingraining themselves on his skin. "I'm sorry about what I said about your name,"

Janus felt blood rise to his cheek but returned the words with the same sincerity. "And I'm sorry for what I said about you being evil," He regretted saying the insult as soon as Roman left Thomas's living room. But if Roman didn't return the feeling, why should he have to confess it to him?

Roman chuckled, thin and watery, "Thank you, but you might want to save that for Remus," He let go of the embrace and looked Janus in the eye, "I'm sorry it took so long for me to come and apologize for my rudeness. I was- caught up in something for a while,"

"Let me guess, you went to Patton to ask about apologizing to me," Janus said good-naturedly.

Roman's face turned red and he nervously ran a hand through his hair, "I- um, you could say that?"

Janus felt his lips curve into a small smile, "That explains the hug,"

Roman held up his hands, waving them around unthinkingly, "I- I panicked! I just did the first thing I thought of, which was Patton's advice on giving you a hug with some flowers as a peace offering," He said it with a strained voice like he was embarrassed by going with his instincts. “I should’ve given you the flowers, hold on-”

Janus put his hand on Roman's shoulder, trying to suppress the small shiver that came out of him. It was April, yet it was still a bit chilly in the 'Dark Side' of Thomas's mind and Janus's reptilian side didn't like that at all.

"Fight-or-flight has always been Virgil's thing, Roman," Janus said idly, gazing at Roman with a welcoming warmth. "And no, I’d rather you don’t give me flowers, I’m not your prom date. Although I do hope you won't jump a hug on the wrong person, Logan and Virgil would definitely be a no-no,"

Roman huffed before nodding diligently, smiling a bit as he did, "Yes, yes, mother,"

Janus snorted, "'Mother'?"

"Padre's the dad side, and you're the mom side," Roman said, his eyes squinting in thought, "You just seem like the type of side who anyone could go to for advice," He said finally, snapping his fingers as he did.

Janus hummed, thinking back to the past two weeks ever since the wedding, "That's not too far off, Roman,"

Roman's smile widened, before hesitantly taking off Janus's hand from his shoulder and clasping it in his own. His hands were warm and calloused, light indentations in his fingertips from an instrument, probably a ukulele since Thomas picked it up a while ago, and a sword based on the overall toughness of his palm- and Janus paused his thoughts on that. Why was he thinking about Roman's hands?

"I am afraid I'm going to have to leave, Lady Juno." Roman said sheepishly, "I've got to look over the monologue book Thomas got with him in the morning to see if there are any monologues he could use for auditions,"

"Okay then, well- wait, what?" Janus's brain caught up to the nickname Roman gave him, "'Lady Juno?'"

Roman winced, "You know because Juno and Janus are pretty connected in Roman mythology and I know I normally use pagan gods because -well, duh- but I never Roman mythology for some reason so I thought I could try it out with your name and all and-" Roman cut himself off, opting to look at Janus nervously, "I- I know it's not my best," He added on hastily.

Janus hummed, "I've heard worse,"

Roman's eyes lit up like a flame to dry logs, "Then I'll come up with something better, Jan!"

Janus's face soured at the nickname, "Just not that one,"

Roman laughed boisterously before tapping Janus on the nose with his pinkie, bidding him farewell, and prancing off to his room.

Janus still stood at his door, a question mark practically sitting on his head. His face burned as he stared blankly at the floor. What just happened?

All at once, Janus slammed the door closed and actually began thinking again. He leaned against the door, crossing his arms. He was hung up on one thing (well, more than one thing, but at the moment he was stuck on that one) Roman said to him during that interaction.

Roman said '-you might want to save that for Remus,'

Janus stared at the floor, racking his brain for any sort of insult that involved Roman and Remus. The one-liner he told Roman popped up in his head, the very thing he apologized to Roman for, 'Oh, Roman, thank god you don't have a mustache, otherwise between you and Remus-'

Oh.

Remus.

Janus stared up at the scratched-up door of Remus's room. The bright green paint on it was peeled, and blood, juice, and a white fluid were splattered on it. Janus never wanted to know how the white fluid got on there, or what it was, for that matter.

Hiking up his gloves, he knocked sharply on the door twice. Muffled shuffling was heard until it was paused with the opening of the door. Remus peeked over the door, his chipped nails bloodied and rough.

"Hello, Remus, may I come in?" Janus asked softly.

Remus shook his head and made a sound that was half-way between a huff and a whine, simply saying, "A unicorn's bleeding to death in here," despite the fact that Janus heard no sounds of any nature coming from his room, and also because he felt the lie Remus told, tingles and prickles being sent up his left side as he said it.

"Oh... would you mind if I just apologized out here, then?"

Remus's bloodshot eyes widened before nodding hesitantly.

Janus took a breath, "Remus, I'm sorry for what I said about you being... evil," He echoed his apology to Roman, because in a way, he insulted the two of them in the same sentence, yet in completely different ways, "I didn't mean to intend any harm, it was merely to... spite Roman because he doesn't like being compared to you, simply based on how different the two of you are. I'm so sorry," Janus almost winced at his apology. Jesus, he sounds so insincere, he can’t even find it in himself to blame Remus for not believing or not accepting his apology if he does.

Remus opened the door a bit wider and left the comforts of his room to stand in front of him, silently shutting the door behind him.

He looked down at the floor as soon as he did, his body shaking.

"Remus," Janus's voice sounded sensitive, vulnerable, even, "Please... please look at me,"

Remus looked up and made a choked up wail, pulling Janus towards him and latching onto him like an octopus.

Remus sniffled into his chest, burrowing himself into his cloak. Janus smiled sadly and returned the gesture, tucking Remus's head under his chin.

"I'm sorry, Remus, I truly am," He quietly uttered to him, Remus just gripping him tighter and wetting his shirt as a result.

Janus held Remus close as Remus cried on him, humming a simple made-up melody under his breath to try and ease him.

After a long moment of this, Remus looked up at him, snot stuck on his cheeks and tears still falling, and said, "Thank you,"

Janus chuckled, a confused smile teasing his face, "For what, Rem?"

Remus said it as though it was obvious, "For apologizing,"

Janus took a silent, sharp breath and leaned his forehead on Remus's. "No reason to say thank you for something that should have been done before, Remus," He said softly, a small smile on his face.

Remus giggled, his voice cracking.

They were going to be fine.

*+*+^+*+*

what can i say, i love some hurt/comfort

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captainxsassafras · 4 years ago

Text

Angel Voice

Ok, so this is really the first piece of writing I've actually finished since I graduated from college. Haha, yeah. I've been a bit of an unproductive writer the past lil bit, BUT I'm here today and I finished this. Not gonna lie, I am hella nervous for this. It's nothing emotionally involved or really intense (ok, there’s not angst, but I get real emotionally involved in fluff, so maybe I’m a liar), but I read the idea of Shinsou doing ASMR from secondhand-trash and the anon over there and, ya know, magic happened! Haha, I kid. Just cuteness, a few saucy phrases here and there! Please be kind to me!

(Also, I’m so sorry. I will figure out how to put stuff under the cut. Please be patient with my tech illiterate ass!)

@queensynderella

@secondhand-trash

Angel Voice

Shinsou x Reader

Warning: lots of fluff?, attempted assault (not Shinsou!), suggestive comments, a hot mess of a reader!

Word Count: Just over 5000... I think.

~~~*~~~

Fucking fuckity fuck fuck. You had not slept at all. Not a single wink.

Sorry, kind sir. I have no spare winks to give. No winks here.

This had been going on for months. Months!

It was starting to affect you.

Hahahah… That was a lie. It had been affecting you. You were just adaptable and great at lying so nothing was really wrong!

…Ok, that was a lie too. Your sleep schedule was shot. Your brain was shot. Your work was… by some miracle still ok, but you weren’t about to keep betting on that.

So, here you were. Finally off work and almost falling asleep waiting for the train in the humid, afternoon heat.

This is probably what Hell feels like. Sleep-deprived, foggy, humid, and full of sweaty humans.

You jolted fully awake from a doze as the train arrived and people began crowding against you.

Yippee. A crowded train with strangers pressing in close on absolutely zero sleep.

Nevermind. This was Hell. Waiting for the train was just the appetizer.

Your phone buzzed.

It was your best friend. She knew that you'd been having trouble sleeping and had been your solid rock. She'd been your support when it started and had helped you brainstorm remedies when it had continued. So it wasn't really a surprise when she sent you a link to an asmr video with the message, 'he has the voice of an angel! 😇 if this doesn't help you sleep, nothing will! luv ya boo! good luck!!! ❤❤❤❤❤'

She was right.

His voice was deep, but soothing. He spoke in a soft, calm cadence that immediately put you at ease.

The video in question was a request from a viewer. It was a description of a calm hike through the woods on a nice day.

It was heaven.

You had your first night of decent sleep in months.

(And if you were being totally honest, you did actually cry a bit when you woke up feeling more rested and clear-headed than you could remember.)

From that point on, you fell asleep listening to 'Angel Voice' every night.

And quickly discovered that you couldn't listen to the more...exciting rp videos before bed! They sent your poor, stupid heart wild and kept you wide awake plus some tasty adrenaline! Definitely not the desired effect! Not unpleasant. Just kinda detrimental to the whole helping-you-sleep thing.

But his calm, descriptive videos and dulcet voice sent you straight to dreamland.

For a month straight you fell asleep to his tones and barely bothered to look at the voice artist's name.

Angel voice worked!

***

Ok, now you were tired.

A frantic call to work this afternoon had you covering your sick coworker’s shift. This meant you were both awake way later than you had recently been staying up and you were working with a double shift's worth of leftover energy.

Ok, you were dead. Running on empty. There was no leftover energy.

You dumb, tired feet trudged along the stupid, dark street and your dumb, heavy purse cut into your stupid, aching shoulder.

But despite your exhaustion, you still held a canister of pepper spray--safety off, thank you--clutched tightly in your hand.

The hackles on the back of your neck rose. The hair on your arms stood on end. Chills ran down your spine.

You could feel eyes on your back.

Someone was watching you.

It was a very unpleasant feeling this late at night all alone on a half lit street.

Ugh, this street was so different after dark!

You normally made your way home during rush hour when the street was busy with foot and vehicle traffic, well-lit by the sun, and full of chatter and life.

It was almost lifeless and eerily quiet now.

Creepy.

It needed more streetlamps.

Humming very quietly to yourself, you tried to keep your mind off of the intense foreboding grabbing at your chest.

That same shivering chill ran through your body right before a harsh hand clawed at your arm, jerking you back. You cried out as your sore shoulder twisted and adrenaline-fueled panic surged through your entire nervous system.

You whipped around, pepper spray at the ready and a fierce scowl on your face, to empty the canister straight into the guy's eyes.

You wrenched your aching shoulder out of his hand. Without conscious thought, your foot rose and met his groin in a beautifully placed front kick.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

We have a winner!

He fell.

A convenience store! There was a convenience store nearby!

Heart pounding, you fled to the little 24 hour convenience store across the street and, from the safety of the front counter, called the police.

Your frantic eyes scoured the area near the man, waiting to see if he would rise and run.

Although, you did get him pretty good. You hoped he wouldn't run away. That'd be a) frustrating because you didn't really have a way to identify him so he'd probably get away and b) scary because you kicked him in the nuts! Guys held grudges for things like that!

Was that movement?

It… didn't seem like the attacker was moving…

Oh! It was another guy and it looked like he was wearing a costume!

A hero?

Looked like it! He was tying the felled grabber up with… not sure, but it was incapacitating the guy who grabbed you, so yay!

You left the store and slowly approached the man.

"Um, hi," you said with a hesitant wave. "This was me." You bashfully gestured to the man still lying (now tied up) on the ground.

"Hey, there. Thanks for doing my job for me," he replied with a bit of a smirk. He had a deep, slightly rough voice and up close you could see dark, wildy messy hair.

Uh-oh. You needed to explain. This was absolutely self defense!

"He, uh, grabbed me from behind and I kind of panicked and, well…"

"Don't worry. I saw what happened. He started following you a few blocks back, but I couldn't do anything because he hadn't done anything yet."

Oh.

Oh, damn.

You felt sick. He had… he had been following you?

Your knees trembled.

The hero noticed and stepped forward to you.

"Hey, hey. Come here."

He led you to the curb and sat you down, a hand rubbing comforting circles on your upper back. "It's gonna be ok. You clearly know how to defend yourself, so I wouldn't worry about.."

His soothing voice soon began to pull you out of your fear and calm your racing brain. His hand continued rubbing your back in rhythmic motions and soon your shaking began to slow and finally stop. Your thoughts came back to the moment and you noticed something. Something very familiar...

"Holy shit. Angel voice!"

The hero stopped his rambling speech, one eyebrow raising in an amused arch. He didn't say anything else, just waited for you.

"Do you do asmr?"

"Uh… yeah?"

Boy, you wish you could've captured his face.

Befuddled?

Was that the right word?

Yeah. Pure befuddlement.

Then blushing.

Holy hell! He was blushing! It was really hard to see, but the slightest bit of red colored his cheeks in the dim light.

"Thank you so much!" you cried, maybe a bit loudly. He flinched just a little, looking surprised. "Ah, sorry. But seriously! You're the reason I've been able to sleep for the past month! I've been having sleep issues for almost a year and a friend sent me one of your videos and, well, tada. Sleep happened!" It was your turn to blush.

The look he was sending your way now was… hella cute. He looked delighted. Elated. Even in the dark, his eyes were shining and he had a goofy little half smile that lit his whole face with happiness.

The smile highlighted the bags under his eyes and you briefly wondered if that had something to do with his decision to make asmr videos. The thought fled when he raised a self-conscious hand to rub the back of his neck and started speaking.

"I'm glad they've been helping you!" The very corners of his eyes crinkled just a bit. "It makes my night to hear that!"

His deep voice wasn't loud or overtly excited, but it was warm and full of sincerity.

Your stomach did a stupid flip.

Nope. Not happening. You refused to be a hero groupie. Too much drama. Too many fans picking each other apart. Too much shade. You needed sunshine and most groupies you knew threw shade like confetti.

Also, he was a professional at work. This was his job. You needed to respect that.

A deep internal breath had you back where you should be. Thanking a professional hero for helping apprehend a man who had attacked you and thanking him for his generous work that helped you sleep well.

The two of you talked quietly for a few bit waiting for the police to arrive. It was nice. You asked about hero work. He asked about your job. You two chatted about a couple of random things and by the time the police arrived your chatter was comfortable and easy.

Everything after was a whirl. You had to give a statement. They needed to take you to a hospital just in case. The hero gave his witness statement and then had to leave to help out with a robbery in a different neighborhood.

You left for the hospital looking back and feeling little starbursts of melancholy disappointment needling your chest.

You'd probably never see him again.

Ah, well. Guess he'd stay Angel Voice.

***

Shit.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap.

This was stupid.

You had barely talked to him for a half hour. And, yeah, he was sweet. Ok, he'd been crazy nice. And so fucking attractive. He'd been easy to talk to and the conversation between you two had been entertaining and full of wit.

But you had no way of directly contacting him. You'd looked him up, but hadn't gotten much info on him. It looked like he was an underground hero, so that made a lot of sense. It, however, did not make it any less frustrating.

You didn't know what you'd do if you managed to get ahold of him anyway!

"Hi! You sorta bagged a guy who tried to assault me (but I took down first) a few weeks ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since then even though we had like a half hour conversation, half of which was you coaxing me out of a panic attack. Want to go on a date?"

Of course, you could always comment on one of Utube videos, but that had about a 1 in 1,000,000,000 chance of working and felt a little too…. Stalker-fan.

There was also the raging guilt and embarrassment you felt over crushing on a hero who had just been helping you as part of his professional work. He had been at work! It was part of his job to comfort you! He was literally in the business of saving people and making sure they were ok. And that was exactly he had done. He didn't need to be harrassed because your dumb brain said, 'Oo, shiny!' when he smiled. He had been at work. You shouldn't read anything into his behavior, because there really wasn't anything other than a pro hero doing his duty.

Nope! You needed to get over this.

A notification buzzed and you checked your phone.

Mind_kitty has posted a new video! Watch now!

With a defeated sigh, you deferred the notification for later. You could listen and relax on your way home from work.

A movement out of the corner of your eye caught your attention and you snapped your head up as a coworker hustled over with a look of panic on their face.

Uh-oh.

***

And now, here you were, sitting wearily on the train and hurtling towards home.

Ugh, what a day.

After everything that could go wrong had miraculously (horrifically? Fiendishly? Miraculously seemed too positive…) gone up in flames at the same time, you had spent the rest of your work day running around like crazy putting out all the fires (only one of which was, in fact, a literal fire so not actually a terrible day).

Your feet were sore and a headache that had started with your coworker's news and grown from there threatened to overwhelm you.

There were still a few stops until yours, so you slipped your headphones out of your bag and opened your Utube app.

Thank you unlimited data!

You found Angel Voice's latest video and began to play.

(Ok, you now had actually figured out his Utube username and finally bothered to remember it, but he'd started as Angel Voice to you and it just worked in your mind!)

Ahhhhhh…

Why does he have such a great voice? It was perfect! Deep and smooth and perfectly made to whisper sweet (or not so sweet) nothings in your ear while you gently played with his wild purple hair. Fuck, his hair was so pretty! You'd bet your left buttcheek it was soft as clouds…

Ugggghhhhh... Fine.

You were crushing on a pro hero.

Are you happy, universe?

Your fated journey to become a groupie had begun. Might as well accept it and focus on more important things… like Angel Voice's hair.

Or, you know, his voice…

You fell into the sound of his speaking.

Hah, it was like an automatic reaction at this point. Your shoulders started to unknot and that stereotypical breath you didn't know you were holding in rushed out in a grateful sigh.

However, it didn't take you long to realize that he hadn't started into the asmr immediately as you were expecting. Paying more attention, you rewound the video to the beginning and actually listened to what he was saying.

"I'm not sure exactly how to do this." He let out a dry half chuckle. "I haven't completely convinced myself I should. But, um…"

He paused with a frustrated sigh, then seemed to take a deep breath.

"Ok, to hell with it. I'm doing this. Dear, girl I met the other night who took a guy out by kicking him in the nuts."

Was he talking about you? Was there another girl who kicked a guy in the nuts on his patrol? Damn, he met a lot of kickass girls on patrol! Good for her! She was getting a personal shoutout from Angel Voice!

"I know it might seem kind of weird to be doing this over Utube, but I missed my chance at first, then the police arrived and everything was crazy and I had to leave to help out another pro."

Wow, sounds intense. Bet that was stressful. Oh, wait. Hah. You knew it was stressful.

"So I blew my chance to ask for your number."

He wanted her number? Damn! Super lucky girl!

Wait, this wasn't an rp video was it?

You pulled out your phone to check, but the title and description didn't mention any kind of rp. Aww! This was real! And it was adorable!

A tiny piece of sad ripped itself free of the fuzzy feelings you were experiencing. He had been so kind and you'd had such a fun time conversing. It would have been really amazing if this were for you. You had really liked the piece of personality you'd been able to see.

"I'm really hoping you'll hear this video, and hear it in time, because I'd love to go get coffee with the girl who accidentally body-slammed her coworker on her birthday."

Holy.

Shit.

That…

THAT WAS YOU!

That had been you! Your stupid coworker had snuck up behind you at the end of the day in a semi-dark area of work and shouted in your ear to scare you.

It had worked.

You'd been so scared that you'd grabbed him, flipped him over your shoulder, and body-slammed him into the floor.

And… and you'd told Angel Voice that night as you sat talking about some of your more notorious takedowns.

This was for you.

This video was for you!

What the fuck?!

This video was for you!?

You had to rewind a hot second to hear what came next.

Then you had to pause and go back yet again, because your mind was in such a frenzy and your heart was beating so loudly in your ears you couldn’t concentrate on what was being said!

“So if you hear this and, um, you’re interested at all, girl who took down a fully grown man in five seconds, I’ll be waiting at the spot we first met at five pm today. I, uh, really hope I’ll see you there again.”

The video ended.

Your heart was still aiming for professional drummer in your chest.

You could see him raising his hand to rub at the back of his neck with that last statement. He’d done it that night and you could picture it in your mind.

Wait! What time was it?

4:50 pm.

No.

Nonononononono!

You were going to miss the meeting.

You were still six train stops away from yours and that alone would take you fifteen minutes! Not to mention the next fifteen minutes it’d take to get to the meeting place!

Of course, that was walking speed. You could run.

Frantic eyes looked down at your shoes. Not exactly running shoes.

Whatever, you’d make do.

You wanted to see him again.

You could just imagine the disappointment on his face if you didn’t show and that melancholy from earlier reared its weepy head and cried out in frustration because you didn’t want to hurt him!

And you really wanted to see him again!

The next fifteen minutes were the most agonizing you could remember enduring in recent history. This was worse than the time you spilled coffee on your favorite author and his manager had yelled at you for five minutes while they changed! I mean, that had been pretty bad, but the author had been incredibly nice about it after getting back and even mentioned it humorously in the book you had asked them to sign. It was still easily the most awful you'd ever felt and you’d really wanted nothing more than to run away.

This. Was. Worse.

So much worse because you couldn’t actively work towards your quickly approaching deadline and destination. You had to sit there… waiting.

Your leg was bouncing up and down and a few fellow train riders were giving you slightly concerned looks. You were too wound up to care.

Finally, finally!

You arrived at your stop, hurried off the train as quickly as you could without being the absolute worst human ever, and ran.

Your shoes remained on your feet until you almost killed yourself stumbling over them, then they were in your arms.

Decorum be damned!

This was a matter of life or date! (And preferably not death by shoe!)

You made it to the spot where you’d met him at exactly 5:12 pm.

You were sweaty.

Hell, that was an understatement.

You were pretty sure you’d left a trail of sweat behind you and you could feel it running in rivulets down your back. There was probably a stain back there… And on your armpits… and on… everywhere.

You knew your hair was an absolute mess.

But as bad as you knew you must look, you felt worse.

Your lungs were on fire. You had absolutely no breath left in your entire body. It felt like you had a knife in your side. In both sides actually. Your entire body was trying to imitate an oven with the level of heat radiating off your skin. Your legs were simultaneously wobbly and shaking and you weren’t sure you’d trust them taking another step at the moment.

And now you had sweat in your eye. Stinging.

But none of that even mattered.

All of that was stupid and trivial and inconsequential because he wasn’t there.

You’d taken too long.

He was gone.

No vibrant purple hair and sleep-deprived eyes.

No stupid half-smile.

That melancholy came back and instead of quietly tugging at your heart, it hit you square in the chest with an emotional cast-iron frying pan.

No.

No!

Damnit!

You’d really wanted this.

He was… he was so fucking witty and kind that night.

He’d been soft and understanding and hot. And fucking adorable.

And… and… he wasn’t there.

Fuck.

You slumped in place.

Every ounce of your physical exhaustion caught up to you in an instant and you felt the mortifying sting of tears trying to sneak their way out of your eyes.

Talk about adding insult to injury.

It wasn’t that bad. This wasn’t that bad.

So, you didn’t get to meet up with a cute hero for coffee. Big deal. Poor unfortunate soul. It was nothing to cry about.

But you’d really wanted to see him again.

Guess it didn’t matter anymore.

You turned, ready to march across the street to that convenience store and buy half of their ice cream, but something tickled your brain.

Something out of the corner of your eye.

Your head whipped around.

There!

It was a flash of purple down the street.

Your eyes snapped to that portion of the sidewalk.

It was purple hair.

Crazy, wild, tousled, purple hair!

You knew that hair!

But your stupid legs literally wouldn’t run anymore. And he was far enough away that you wouldn’t catch up if you could run.

You reacted without thinking.

You really acted without thinking.

“ANGEL VOICE!”

You shouted his name at the top of your lungs.

Sorry.

You shouted your own private, very personal nickname that you had only spoken out loud to your very best friend and, unfortunately, him.

In the middle of a crowded street.

During rush hour.

Your brain was an utter masterpiece of stupid.

You stood there, frozen with the realization of your own idiocy, as the head of purple hair stopped, looked to the side, looked to the other side, then tuuurrrnnned around.

Made eye contact with you through the busy crowd.

Then doubled over laughing.

You couldn’t hear him from where you stood, but you could feel him laughing.

You could see it in the way his bent shoulders shook and his torso convulsed, nearly spasming with the force of his laughter.

And there you stood, still stuck to your spot.

You’d called him Angel Voice out loud in a crowd out loud in front of a bunch of strangers out loud.

And as much as you wanted to run, you couldn’t even twitch.

Not as you watched him finally finish laughing and fully turn to face you. Not as you watched him begin to walk toward you through the throng of people (just beginning to turn back to their own business in the aftermath of your outburst). Not as he stopped directly in front of you, a delighted smile on his sleepy, stupidly attractive face and the corners of his eyes still just slightly crinkled with laughter.

“Hey there,” he said and it felt like the softest slap to the face you’d ever received.

Your frozen body finally remembered its fight or flight reflexes and, wouldn’t you know, you suddenly learned how to fly.

As you turned to bolt, Angel Voice reached out, calling to you.

“Hey, wait! You’re just gonna run after all of that?”

He didn’t grab you.

That detail broke through the panic.

Even though he reached out with his hand, he didn’t grab you.

You stopped.

“I wanna run because of all that!” you blurted.

His chuckles sent a wave of heat down your spine, both embarrassed and… otherwise. Ok, fine! He had a sexy voice! And it turned you on more than you liked to admit!

Who let him have a voice like that?

It was not freaking fair!

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

Fuck, he sounded sincere.

You slowly turned around, face still burning.

You two stared at each other for a minute.

A smile crooked your lips.

“So, uh, what’s a place like you doing in a voice like this.”

Silence.

“Fuck.”

Your hand came up to rub at your forehead as he began laughing again. A full, big laugh instead of a chuckle.

“I should probably just give up on the talking thing, shouldn't I?”

“I hope not. I could listen to you all day,” he said with a small grin.

And now your heart it was afluttering.

“I feel like that should be my line,” you mumbled, watching him catch his breath from all that big old laughing through the fingers splayed across your face.

There was a pause in the conversation. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it hadn’t really achieved comfortable silence.

“So, um.”

You looked up from your hand.

Good fuck, he was doing the rubbing the back of his neck thing again. Illegal. Freaking illegal is what that was. No man should possess that level of cute.

“I mentioned grabbing coffee in the video. I’d like to assume you being here means you’re interested?” The sentence ended with a slight upturn, indicating a question. He looked up at you, uncertainty in his gorgeous violet eyes.

Why the hell was he uncertain?

This mortherfucking hottie with a voice made for swooning (and spooning) was nervous about asking you to coffee (adateadateadateadate).

Without thinking, you voiced this exact thought out loud (sans the date portion... and the spooning. Spooning was for non-dumbasses).

Angel Voice looked absolutely floored.

“I’m sorry, but do you own a mirror?” he asked. There was a tension in his voice that almost had you shrinking into yourself.

Ouch.

Damn.

Ouch.

Well, at least he was blunt.

“You’re fucking gorgeous.”

You met him on the floor.

Dead. Ass.

He just called you gorgeous.

There was a set to his jaw now and a sort of light in his eyes. He looked very… determined. Set, was what you’d call it. He seemed very set on a decision.

"It was great talking to you the other night. I can't get out of my head how funny and smart you were. And you're so fucking cute I want to wrap you up in my jacket and stay there forever."

His face was blazing red now. His ears too. Ok, that was hella adorable. You felt your own self flush with happy bashful feelings. I mean, he himself had just supplied you with the sappiest, schmoopiest mental image you’d really ever conceived.

“I’d really like to go get some coffee together.” He went quiet for a minute, seeming to mull something over in his head, and that stupid hand came up to rub at his neck again.

Ugh, he was gonna kill you with that!

“Would you go on a date with me?”

If your heart was fluttering before, it was nearly palpitating now!

“Yes! Please! I mean, yes I want to go on a date with you!”

He smiled, a breathless, bewildered, almost (dare you think) dorky smile. It was fucking beautiful.

"Wow," he exhaled.

A snort escaped you. "Again, I feel like that should be my line."

But you smiled back.

And there you both stood, almost dazedly smiling, little happy thoughts buzzing through your minds.

“We should probably head to a cafe if we’re going to get coffee,” Angel Voice finally murmured.

You started.

The both of you were standing like idiots in the middle of the sidewalk, just staring at each other.

“Coffee, right. Anywhere in mind, Angel Voice?” The nickname slipped out almost by accident.

He held out his hand to you and you took it gently.

“Angel Voice, huh?” he laughed quietly. “I think I can go with that.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault! You still haven’t told me your name.” You sent a playful tug along the arm you held by the hand and felt a little thrill of joy when he returned it just as playfully. "You're officially Angel Voice until you enlighten me."

The two of you had started walking. He seemed to have a destination in mind. Man with a plan. Nice.

“I know a cafe nearby. Do you mind?” he asked, softly pulling you along in invitation while leaving enough slack for you to object if you wanted.

Man with a plan who asked nicely. Nice.

“Not at all, Angel Voice.” You had a point to make and a guy to tease!

He chuckled again.

“My name is Hitoshi. Hitoshi Shinsou.” That slightly devious grin crept back onto his face. “But Angel Voice works for me.” He snuggled in close to your cheek, the side of his body leaning comfortably into yours. Then he whispered in your ear and you nearly fell over. "Especially if you're screaming it as loud as you did earlier."

Good lord, your knees nearly collapsed.

His voice, his stupid voice, saying such a frisky thing so close did such a number on you that you couldn't respond for a moment. It was all you could do to keep breathing.

His voice was going to be the death of you! You couldn’t think. Should you respond? What did you say to that? Something equally as frisky! But his voice!

He tensed a bit at your lack of response.

"Was that too much? Did I cross a line?" he asked, still speaking low right in your ear.

"Son of a bitch, if you don't stop that right now, I'm gonna jump your fucking bones right in the middle of this street." Your voice was full of urgency, but if he didn't stop you really were liable to unleash every single ounce of wild attraction you felt towards him at that exact moment, street full of people be damned!

He stopped walking.

Oh, shit. You could hear the Cheshire grin.

"You mean, like this?"

You sagged against him, letting your knees tremble. Your hand, still tangled, clutched his tightly.

His chuckle this time was less… benevolent than before. "What? You called me Angel Voice." His thumb ran soothingly over your hand. "I had to see if I could tempt you."

You couldn't help it. You turned your face to bury it in his jacket. What a magnificent, teasing butthead you'd just gotten yourself tangled up with. It was amazing!

"That’s going to come back to bite me, isn't it?"

“All the time.”

A tiny little butterfly crept into your stomach. You didn’t want to read too much into it (although after his teasing, you didn't really feel like it was reading into things), but ‘all the time’ sounded like there was going to be, well, plenty of time. It was a very welcome, warm idea.

As soon as your legs de-noodled (Hitoshi making snarky comments like a brat the entire time), the two of you continued on in an easy silence, exchanging teases every so often. The sun was setting and the entire world was covered in golden tones. Rush hour was winding down and the foot traffic in the area was dissipating, leaving a much more comfortable number of people around.

Your brain focused on the soft, warm quality of the light, the muted shocks of excitement zipping through your lower back, and the soft weight of his calloused hand surrounding yours.

You gave a little, light squeeze.

"I'm so happy I ran, Angel Voice.”

He just chuckled and squeezed back.

#welp there you go #shinsou #hitoshi shinsou #shinsou hitoshi #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha shinsou #mha shinsou #shinsou fluff #hitoshi shinsou fluff

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into-crazy · 5 years ago

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Man Under the Makeup Pt. 1

Arthur Fleck/Joker x Female Reader series

Warnings- Cursing, brief harassment, bullying from teens, Arthur having a laughing fit

You can find the other parts RIGHT HERE and through the “Man Under the Makeup” tag lovelies!💘

Gotham City. How does one begin to describe what it's like living here? What it is now, that is. You never used to mind it much when you moved here. People kept to themselves, the streets were a little more peaceful, and the air was definitely cleaner. It's only been some years, hardly time for it to change to what it has currently come to. Or.. maybe you've just gotten older, and come face to face with the bullshit reality. Because now, it seems like everyone has something to say, the streets have become dangerous at night, and the air is filled with pollution from excess trash piles and the nasty attitudes of the citizens.

Perhaps this is what life has always been like, and you were blind to it until you had to step out into the world on your own. The things that keep you going at night, though it doesn't interfere with your sleep much. Just an occasional thought that pops up when you're not preoccupied with anything else.

Making your way to work, this was one of those times. It's cloudy and cold out this morning. A typical Monday morning in the city. The streets reek of weeks old garbage which pile on the sidewalks.

Dressed for the weather, you're wearing a long blush dress, with a thick black coat, and black boots. You walk past the expressionless faces of many people, trying to get where they need to be. You're not apart of the blank crowd; No, you don't walk around with a smile 24/7. But you have some bit of life in you at least. Not getting why many people are so rude, why they walk around as if they're dead or of higher value. Hm, maybe it's the weather. Thinking of some possible explanation.

At least you're not the only one. There are individuals you can smile at, or of course greet.. The little old lady that sits at her building door as you walk by, the door man at your place of work, and a few mothers strolling along with their young children. They share the same energy as you, returning gracious nods.

Halfway to work, you make way through a busy area with small owned businesses and stores. A successful looking man eyes you up and down as you pass him. You pull your coat closed tightly, walking faster. That action is definitely high on your "Things I Can't Stand" list. You may not be as wealthy, however you've found your own success. Also, you will not let some rich snob think he can buy you. That's the way the rich feel, as though their money can control the world. Which it's arguably true, for the most part.

Ahead of you, a man dressed in a clown costume dances around with a sign: "EVERYTHING MUST GO!!" Painted with black and orange. You often see him out here in the mornings, advertising for one of the stores. Wearing his usual red and blue plaid jacket, deep purple pants, large clown shoes, finished with bright green clown hair and makeup. He's one of those people you tend to smile at when exchanging glances. You can't help but admire his liveliness every time you spot him. So much energy in the way he moves.

Just when you were about to walk around him, two teenagers hurriedly make their way by. One of them extends his arm and purposely shoves the sign. Causing him to bump into you, dropping the sign on your feet.

"Haha, freak!" The teenagers laugh as they speed away.

"Hey!" You shout at them, but they're already too far. Damn jackasses.

"I'm so sorry," the man apologizes picking up the sign, placing it against a trash can. The paint on it was still a little wet, so a bit had rubbed onto your boots. "I didn't mean to-" before he could finish he abruptly breaks out in a laughing fit.

Catching you by surprise, you nervously chuckle with him. Soon coming to the realization that he wasn't laughing voluntarily. They came out strangled and out of his own control. "Hey, are you alright?" You ask him.

He takes note of your worry and tries to speak between the slightest pauses. "Sorry I- I have a- have a condition-" he manages to choke out covering his mouth with one of his hands. The other searching his front pocket. He pulls out a small card, handing it to you. He tries desperately to get himself together as you read the card.

"Oh my- I didn't realize," you felt terrible for your reaction. "How rude of me. I apologize for laughing along."

He calms down after a few more hard laughs. Straightening himself out before responding, "that's alright, I didn't mean to- huh! Ha!- didn't mean to umm scare you."

"No I'm fine. I just want to make sure you are okay." You assure the poor man. Moving your head forward slightly to glance at him as you hand him back the note card. Tears welt up in the corner of his eyes.

"I'll be okay," he confirms glancing back down at your feet. "I got orange paint on your shoes," the man looks at you, "I am sorry." His face is full with concern. Possibly thinking he might have angered you, preparing for you to yell at him in disgust.

"Oh no, it's alright," you assure him, "it wasn't your fault. Those bad kids." You laugh shaking it off.

"Yeah," he fixes his clown nose, "they can be cruel sometimes." There's this childlike quality in him, with the way he moves and speaks. Very shy and timid.

"You're telling me."

"They do it to you too?" He curiously asks. His eyes. Up this close, you see something hidden behind them. Those big green eyes. Masked by a false appearance of happiness.

"Oh, um- no," you shake your head, "I meant that I know how these teenagers act. Such juveniles, with no regard for others."

His gaze lowers to the floor. Shooting himself down for thinking someone as yourself would experience the things he does. "I see. Well, that's just how it is here."

"It's not an excuse for them to be so cruel. Especially for no reason."

Times have been rough in the city. Everything seemed to get more difficult. It amazes you how he can keep a cheerful temperament with the way things are. Although it also saddens you on how he's treated. He seems really sweet and humble, why would he be met with the opposite?

"Well, they see me dressed like this and it's easier for them." He adds. "Happens even out of makeup."

"Really?" You ask. "Still terrible behavior, don't let it get to ya. Wait, I might have seen you before."

"You think so?" He removes the clown wig and nose, then slightly spreads his arms. He does look familiar, although you can't tell much given the amount of make up he has on.

"Okay, yeah. I think I've seen you around before." You laugh placing your hand out, "I'm y/n, by the way."

"Arthur, but my clown name is Carnival." He responds, feeling quite prideful he's made you laugh.

"I like it. Nice to meet ya Arthur slash Carnival," you smile as he shakes your hand.

"Same to you," he chuckles nervously, "I'm just glad you aren't chewing me out for ruining your shoes. Most people get pretty upset if I brush them by accident."

"What these?" You glance at your feet. "Noo it's fine. And as you can see, I'm not a narrow-minded narcissist." You note. "And from what I can tell, neither are you."

"Yeah, thank you," he nods in response. Unable to grasp how kind you're being towards him. Actually holding a decent conversation with him, not giving him the impression that you are uncomfortable- like most people tend to be. In fact, the way they are right now. Walking past, side eyeing the two of you. A look on their face indicating they're wondering why you are even talking to this nut case.

"Well," you start breaking him from his negative train of thought, "I gotta get going. Duty calls. I'll umm, see you around." You say before continuing on.

"Of course, see you, y/n." He waves as you start heading your way. Your words still pondering around in his head.

What an interesting man. You figure, wishing to stay and chat longer. But you have to get to your job, and Arthur back to his. No big deal, you'll see him around. Hopefully talk some more the next time you see him.

Little did you realize that Arthur also amazes himself. The world may be cruel to him, but he just smiles and shrugs it off. It's what he's been told to do. Trying his best to bring joy to this world. But with each passing day, it continues to get much harder. Deep down pushed away are his real feelings. Hidden behind a lock, almost ready to shatter. Completely unaware that it's going to get a lot worse.

Yet for now, he puts on his wig and nose. Working rather more cheerfully, mindful of y/n. The sweet young woman who made his day better.. today..

That's the end of part 1! Hope you like it so far. Fluff & smut will definitely come later on!

#Man Under the Makeup #joker #joker 2019 #arthur fleck #arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck x y/n #arthur fleck x female reader #joker x reader #joker x y/n

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txladyj-blog · 5 years ago

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This Time Around - Chapter 23

A Daryl Dixon x OFC collaboration written by @xmistressmistrustx by request of @txladyj-blog

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character

Tags: Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Crush, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Mild Smut, Strong Language, Eventual Sex, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Some Canon Scenes and Dialogue

Chapters 26/?

Back in Alexandria, it was early evening and Abraham was hauling wooden railway sleepers from a truck and dragging them to the vegetable patches along with some of the other members of the community. Daryl’s trip with Jess along with their prolonged hug had been playing on his mind over and over for hours and he felt his skin begin to crawl with anxiety if he sat still for too long and so, decided to give Abe a hand when he walked past and saw the sweat-covered, ginger man swearing to himself and dragging the heavy items around.

Daryl and Abraham weren’t exactly close. They trusted each other enough to have each-others backs and recognized each other’s fighting skills and abilities, along with the out-of-the-box way they both seemed to view the world. From time to time, they engaged in basic conversation but Abraham's brash and extroverted personality was the opposite of Daryl’s and he often found that his energy was sapped from a five-minute interaction. On this occasion, chat wasn’t needed but Daryl did have an ulterior motive. He had a question to ask and needed to hear the answer from Abraham’s point of view but had no idea how to go about it without letting the proverbial cat out of the bag. Spotting his chance when Rosita ambled past and held a hand up in a wave to them both, he decided to bite the bullet and just ask.

“You uh… you n’ Rosita, you still a thing?” He questioned warily.

Abraham slotted the sleeper he was holding into position with a swift and strong kick of his boot and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His white vest was stained with perspiration on the front and his gloves were saturated from being used as towels.

“Still very much got me by the short n’ curlies.” He chuckled.

Daryl cleared his throat and checked over his shoulder, seeing most of the others gathering around the truck a good distance away to be able to overhear anything.

“Right. Right. So, you um, you ain’t gunnin’ for Jess?”

Abraham shot Daryl a suspicious look and his mouth curled into a smile beneath his thick mustache. He laughed loudly and did a double take at him while retrieving a cigar and a box of matches from his pocket and lighting up. It wasn’t a total surprise, he had to admit. He’d seen the way Daryl scowled and stalked off when he spoke to Jess and he was witness to the scene in the armory which had left her beside herself with guilt. Rick had also mentioned that he thought it to be a matter of time before things evolved between them. He wasn’t sure himself if he could see it happening at the time, but there was Daryl standing in front of him and asking if he had any romantic intentions for Jess.

“Goodness gracious, Ignatius.” He said tunefully, quickly lowering his voice and glancing around “She’s got your attention”

“What? Naw, man. I’m just checkin’.” Daryl denied a little less convincingly than he’d hoped. His heart rate was starting to increase and he was instantly regretting saying anything at all.

“Checkin’ for what, exactly?” Abraham pressed.

Panic jolted through him. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. Why exactly could he say he was asking? Jess had already put a stop to any ideas that they were more than friends, but Daryl had to be sure and cover all the bases. He just couldn’t admit to Abraham of all people that he had very confusing and strong feelings for his best friend before even telling Jess herself.

“She’s a friend. I don’t want her getting’ her ass kicked by Rosita. Y’know, this ain’t no romance novel bullshit.”

“Huh. My love life is more of a porno than a romance novel. I ain’t about to change it. So long as I can keep pouring’ the Bisquick without makin’ pancakes.” He remarked, amused at his own humorous take on things “Huh? Huh?” He encouraged with two nudges of Daryl’s arm.

“Right.” Was Daryl’s reserved response.

Abraham bustled past him, placing a big hand on his back and guiding him away from the workforce that were now making their way over to the patch adjacent. He turned him away from any prying eyes and addressed him with a permanent, knowing smile.

“C’mon, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. I know what’s going on here.” He said.

“Yeah, what’s that?” Daryl challenged, only slightly confident that he could hold his own with the conversation.

“You gotta just grab the bull by the nut sack.”

Daryl raised an eyebrow and leaned back slightly, perplexed by Abraham's choice of words and even more so by his grabbing gesture with one hand. It wasn’t far off from how his brother used to speak, only Abraham was quite clearly intelligent enough to use colorful metaphors without caring what anyone thought of it.

“What in the hell are you talkin’ ‘bout?” He questioned “Jess ain’t no bull”

“OK, forget that. Tell her you wanna get busy with her, see how she reacts” He suggested.

“I aint tellin’ her nothin’.” Daryl quickly replied with a step backwards as if he wanted to leave the topic, which he very much did by then.

“Then the only way you’re gonna get laid is if you crawl up a chicken’s ass and wait. It’s the apocalypse, Daryl. Sometimes you gotta just ask for what you want.” Abraham reasoned. After all, he’d asked Rosita and she’d been more than happy to oblige. He didn’t see anyone else as being much different and figured that if everyone was just straight with one another, things would be a lot easier.

“I ain’t doin’ that.” Daryl dismissed.

Abraham chuckled once more, slapping Daryl’s back with a huge paw and shaking his head in amusement.

“Ahh, hell. Balls just called. They wanted to know if you’d like a pair.” He joked.

“Look, it ain’t like that. I’m just…makin’ sure she’s okay.” Daryl confirmed, shrugging Abraham from his shoulder and backing up. He could see some of the other workers glancing up at them. Far from being a quiet man, Abe’s booming voice proved to be a lot louder than either of them first thought and Daryl was becoming highly uncomfortable.

“Whatever. Just think about it. She’s a peach, she’d be damn good for you.” Abraham suggested, puffing cigar smoke into a large cloud between them and tugging his gloves off. “I gotta go to guard duty. But I’ma get me some ass first.” He conveyed casually as he stepped down from the vegetable patch and headed across the street.

“Didn’t need to know that.” Daryl grumbled to himself.

Tower watch was usually done on a rotational basis and Jess, being a non-resident of Alexandria, was exempt from such duties. From time to time, she would surprise Deanna and volunteer her time, finding that walking the perimeter or sitting in the tower was a cure for her restlessness. Daryl was no different and as a recruiter, he was also omitted from the guard schedule but often found himself in the comforting, quiet confines of the wooden structure with a rifle, a pack of smokes and his jumbled thoughts when reading to Judith didn’t quite manage to calm his soul enough.

It was a cold night and a dense fog hung in the air like a blanket over the trees. Recent conversations floated around in his memories and he was sure his sides still tingled from time to time with the memory of Jess’s arms wrapped around him. He lit a cigarette and time passed between the spark of his lighter and when he smiled as he dwelled, yet again on the thought of Jess telling him he could hug her whenever he wanted. He wouldn’t, of course. It was far from how he conducted himself and any physical contact normally came with a lot of forethought and mental preparation.

His cigarette balanced precariously between his lips as he tilted his head back and took a drag without even touching it. He expelled the smoke from his nose, the cloudy appearance of the small tower room reminding him of his dream in which Merle had tried to urge him to do something about his feelings.

‘Times a-wastin’, Daryl. Get to it.’

He wished he could. Wished that everything really was that simple. Wished that he knew for sure that she felt something for him the way he did for her. But all he had was a notion, a few blushes and compliments that could be nothing more than a basic appreciation between two friends.

The door below clunked shut and Daryl could hear footsteps on the rungs of the ladder approaching. He threw his smoke away and looked over his shoulder to await the arrival of his visitor. It was past midnight and highly unusual for anyone else to be up in the tower except for the person on guard. Daryl never had company while he was on watch and that, to him, was one of the perks of the job.

When Jess appeared clutching a bag of cookies and pushing her hood back from her face, he figured that maybe tower watch had other perks too. Namely, that he could very well be about to spend time with a pretty girl, cooped up in a wooden box in the sky.

“Ya don’t gotta stay.” Was the first thing he said. He didn’t know why and realized as he said how strange it sounded. Almost like he wanted her to turn around and climb back down the ladder, which he didn’t.

Unimpressed, Jess squinted down at him and huffed out her obvious disapproval.

“Really?! ‘Can I visit you, Jess? You don’t have to be here, Jess’.” She quoted “Talk about mixed signals, stinky.”

Daryl, confused by his own actions, messily waved a hand at the empty chair beside him.

“Take a damn seat n’ quit complainin’.” He grumbled.

The two chairs in the tower were no more than a foot apart and Jess dragged hers even closer still and settled down in front of the window with the rifle resting on the wall on Daryl’s side. She opened the paper bag in her lap and handed him a cookie, telling him they were from Carol and she’s sent them because she knew he hadn’t eaten that day. It was evident that Carol was right when Daryl managed to put away three large cookies in a matter of seconds and Jess peered down at her first, half eaten baked treat as hers was made of lead.

Since the boat and Daryl’s admission of his dream about Merle, Jess wondered if he would ever provide her with more information pertaining to his death and the events that lead up to it. She was curious and more than that, she was concerned that his inability to move past it was presenting itself in his subconscious, when he dreamed. Having reached what she thought to be a pivotal point in their friendship, where they hugged and she awoke with him curled up against her, she guessed it was now that was the right time to ask.

“Can I ask you something? About your brother.” She said

Daryl threw the last of his third cookie into his mouth and chewed noisily before brushing the crumbs from his lap and side glancing at her. She could see the questioning behind his eyes already, the hesitation to discuss what was bound to be a sore subject.

“OK.” He grunted.

“What did he tell you about where I was?” She wanted to know. They’d touched on it before, briefly and on a need-to-know basis.

“He didn’t. S’a long story.” He mumbled, falling quiet and instilling a heavy guilt in Jess. For at least two minutes, he fiddled with the radio in his lap.

“I’m sorry” She eventually managed. “I shouldn’t have asked; I don’t want to drag up bad memories for you.”

“Nah, s’ok.” He said sincerely with a small glance in her direction. Hesitating, it dawned on him that he did want to tell her what happened and that, alone, was a breakthrough in itself. Daryl wasn’t a talker, he never discussed his innermost thoughts and feelings with anyone, but in the time that he’d known Jess, it was becoming easier and more desirable to do so. “I ain’t talked about to nobody before. But I’ll tell you. If ya wanna know”

Feeling as thought a compromise was needed so as not to drag him too far from his slowly expanding comfort zone, Jess decided to offer him a simpler suggestion.

“Give me the short version and maybe some other time you can tell me everything. Only if you want.” She proposed.

Seemingly content with meeting her halfway, Daryl slid further down in his seat and propped one leg up on the window ledge in front of them. As he spoke, he picked at the messy stitching around the repaired hole in the knee of his pants leg.

“After the crazy sommbitch cut his own hand off to escape that roof in the city n’ you saved his ass, he got mixed up with this psycho. Started workin’ for him. This guy, he wanted to kill us all, take the prison we were livin’ in.” Checking she was still with him, he peeped to his side at her, she was listening, now turned towards him and slowly chewing on another cookie. “Merle… he sacrificed himself in the end. Knew his time was up. Michonne was with him, he asked her to give me a message when she saw me. I went straight to find him, bring him back. But he was already turned.”

“I’m so sorry, Daryl. That must have been so hard.” She whispered sincerely “What was the message?”

Daryl looked out at the misty and still night beyond the tower. From where they were, the horrors below were obscured, masked by a serenity that was often taken for granted. But these moments were Daryl’s moments of peace and they were becoming more frequent because of the dark-haired girl beside him. She was becoming his haven away from the misery. He trusted her to ground him, to distract him and to remind him that not everything was lost.

“Said ya was holed up in an apartment opposite a bookstore in the city. That you was doin’ OK n’ that he didn’t tell me ‘cause ya asked him not to and he owed ya.” He explained, catching her small smile as she studied him when he spoke. “And…”

“…and?” she echoed.

He hadn’t meant to let the conjunction slip out. In fact, he’d intended to scrap it altogether, thus getting himself out of revealing everything else that Merle had said. But it was done and if he backtracked, he would be lying and that was one thing he never wanted to do to her.

“He uh-he didn’t know what he was talkin’ ‘bout. It don’t matter.” He tried to dismiss.

Jess’s interest was well and truly hooked by the last, little word on the end of his sentence and she was not about to let it slide without any inclination as to what he was referring to. She had some opinions about Merle of her own and so, concluded that the best way to get Daryl to continue talking, was to be honest herself.

“It does. It does matter. Your brother wasn’t as bad as everyone made out. I saw who he was. He was rude and sexist and racist and he stank of whiskey like, all the time but he was brave and he knew what it was to be loyal. I didn’t expect to, but I respected him and I know now that he respected me in the end, because he didn’t tell you where I was until he was sure he was going to die.”

He briefly looked round at her at her and she heard him sigh. She could tell he wasn’t comfortable with confessing whatever else Merle has said and decided that if her attempt turned up nothing, she didn’t want to push him to anger.

Daryl wasn’t sure if he could endure yet another conversation that left him feeling vulnerable and exposed, it seemed to be what they did now, spent time alone and toed the line together. Although, quite what line Jess was nearing, he only wished he knew. A part of him wanted to tell her the truth and in the back of his mind, he could hear his brother.

‘Don’t be no sissy.’

“He wanted me to know he thought you’d make a good Dixon” He told her.

“Really?” Jess asked in a tone that told him she was a little surprised. “Seeing as I have you as an example of the better half of the Dixon’s I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Don’t know ‘bout that.” He mused with a shy huff “… he um, he also said somethin’ else. But I don’t wanna make ya uncomfortable or nothin’.”

Jess’s eyebrows shot up and a look of captivation swept across her face, her lips curled into a grin as she searched her memories for any clues as to what he could possibly mean.

“You can’t say that and not tell me. C’mon, pleeeease?” She pleaded with a giggle and having to stop herself from gripping his arm and playfully shaking it.

She was too much. Too much to say no to. Her laugh and the sparkle in her eyes made it impossible. He was going to have to give in, he had no choice. His hands furiously picked at the threading on his pants and he was altogether very aware of it, forcing himself to sit still and summon the courage to tell Jess what she was waiting to hear as she leaned towards him across the arms of their chairs.

“Said that everybody knows that you’re my girl n’ I’d be a damn fool not to find ya n’…tell ya that.”

“Oh” Jess breathed quietly, setting back into her seat and blinking away the surprise. “I see.”

“Like I said, he didn’t know what he was talkin’ ‘bout.” Daryl added in the hope that it would do something to help filter the awkwardness from the air.

“That asshole wanted us to squirm with embarrassment even after his death. Very Merle.” Jess chuckled to herself. “Well, ‘your girl’, huh? I should be so lucky.” She mused, slowly turning her head to check his reaction. In the low light, she could just about make out the darkened top of his ear peeking through the gap in his hair. She’d made him blush.

“Are you…blushing?” She grinned.

“What? No.” Daryl huffed awkwardly.

Feeling triumphant and noting it down as more than one occasion that she’d successfully managed to turn those ears pink and witness the slight tint to his cheeks, Jess felt a surge of self-assuredness rush through her. Now, she had the control.

“I did I get the ever-stoic, badass that is Daryl Dixon to blush. Oh, that’s right…again?!” She giggled, nudging his elbow with her own and almost dying at the sight of him hiding a smile and flat refusing to let her have the glory.

“Stop. and ain’t nothin’ lucky ‘bout that.” He scoffed.

Jess tutted and rolled her eyes, releasing a very deliberate sigh and crossing her arms over her body, allowing the empty cookies wrapper to fall to the floor. She didn’t even bother to stop and analyze just how honest she should be, Daryl was going to hear what she really thought, and that was that.

“What are you talking about, you idiot?” She questioned “You’re a catch.”

Daryl side-eyed her, wishing he could find the words to ask her to elaborate, or drag more out of her about what she really thought of him. Hearing that she thought he had something to offer had almost knocked him for six and all coherent thought was suddenly dispelled in his mind like pins at the end of bowling lane.

“Huh. Yeah. Whatever.” He mumbled.

Jess was getting used to risk-taking around Daryl. Most of them had paid off and gifted her with something more than the minimal, closed-off person he presented to everyone else. She’d even managed to get herself some physical contact in the form of a hug and would not be forgetting being able to touch his arm or hold his hand in a hurry. With that in mind, she dived in again, risking placing her hand on his forearm and was pleased when he showed no interest in moving away.

Daryl slowly dragged his eyes down to where her hand rested, then he met her gaze briefly and rendered her completely speechless when he shifted his arm back, catching her fingers in his and threading them together.

“Thanks” He whispered to her.

“What for?”

“I dunno why…but you see somethin’ good in me.”

I wish I could be the man you deserve.

Jess slid further down in her chair, still clinging to his hand and rested her head delicately on his shoulder. If he could snuggle into her at night and fit close to her like the missing piece of her jigsaw, then she could snuggle right back. If she could have seen his face, she’d have discovered the pure astonishment on his features. His mouth dropped open and he feebly glanced about the room, unable to believe that what was happening was real. As she sat there with her hand in his and her cheek pressed against his shoulder, her eyes grew heavy and she noticed how comfortable she’d become.

“I only ever see good things in you” She sighed, closing her eyes and letting her weariness take over.

Daryl knew he didn’t need to respond when her head became heavy on his shoulder and her breathing slowed. He certainly hoped that his tower shifts were similar to this every time he volunteered and that he would see more occasions where he would be able to sit with her hand in his and her sleeping form against him and just…be.

Her eyes opened one first, then the other, weighed down by fatigue. It was dark all around her and her neck was stiff. She scrunched her face up, rubbing her fingers over her tired eyes and groaning. Daryl moved to the side and Jess, having completely forgotten where she was, jumped and scraped her chair along the floor while he watched her, tickled by her lack of awareness. She’d been asleep for around an hour, softly breathing against his arm and he’d struggled with the desire to lift his arm and position her underneath, against his chest and in a motionless embrace. But he’d stayed put and exulted in her being nearer to him than any other woman had managed in the past.

He reached out in an echo of when she’d woken beside him in his room and gently brushed at the corner of her mouth with his thumb.

“Droolin�� again.” He chuckled

When it all hit her, where she’d been sleeping, his mocking of her involuntary saliva escape and the delightfully entertained look on his face, she shoved at his arm and covered her bright red face by pulling her hood down to obscure her cheeks.

“Oh my god, don’t be a dick!” She complained

He laughed without reservation, a genuine, unashamed laugh that she had rarely heard without some kind of barrier or means of obscuring it.

“Like a bloodhound” He remarked with a quick flicker of his eyes to his damp shoulder.

“Shut up!” She gasped “Don’t be mean. I was comfortable.” She crossed her arms and pouted at him from beneath her hood. “Shouldn’t have such a comfy shoulder.”

“So, it’s my fault, now?” He asked.

“Yes” She confirmed with an unsure glance in his direction.

You held my hand. I wasn’t exactly going to move away.

“I’ll ask Judith if ya can borrow a pacifier next time” he smirked.

“Enjoy making fun of me while it lasts because I won’t be falling asleep on you anymore.” She muttered to herself while standing up and straightening her clothing, readying herself for the climb down the ladder to the street below. While it was all very light-hearted, she needed to leave the situation and try and erase the memory of Daryl seeing her drool like a baby as she slept.

“Shame.”

She thought she heard it but she couldn’t be certain. It was uttered almost as quietly as his breathing. It wasn’t clear, but it was definitely something. She wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her or her tired mind was making things up. She caught his eye and noted a hint of shyness in him as he nudged his head up at her in a wordless goodbye. Her stomach fluttered furiously because that’s what he did to her now. He gave her butterflies like a girl with a crush. Except it wasn’t just a crush and as the days passed, those butterflies were growing in size, just like her affection for him.

Jess was sitting on the Ferris Wheel upon returning to the fairground. Now out of use and locked in place, she was able to climb up to the top car and sway with the breeze while watching the stars and doodling the outline of her family crest on the front cover of her journal. It was rare she wrote in it anymore, she had Aaron and Eric who bore the brunt of much of her venting. But the heavy nature of the secret she carried with her was steering her back to journaling. Only, she hadn’t quite made it past the front cover yet.

“…And I'll use you as a focal point, so I don't lose sight of what I want…”

She sang quietly, absent-mindedly working her way through the song, grateful that her secluded location meant that she could sometimes sing as loud as she wanted to without fear of judgement. The only audience being the odd Walker, who she would quickly put down with a well-aimed arrow before it had time to cross the trap-ridden area in front of the fence.

“…and I've moved further than I thought I could, but I missed you more than I thought I would”

She tilted her head at the sketch of the crest, she wasn’t the most proficient of artists but was pleased with her efforts and made a mental note to attempt more drawing in the future. It was a break from carving arrows, training, stabbing Walkers and hunting that she needed. Something different to try.

A red streak in the sky caught her attention and she slowly moved the journal and pencil from her lap. She’d just missed it, but it looked like a flare. She waited, straining her ears to listen and squinting at the tower, which could just about be seen through the trees from where she was. The pop-popping of gunfire made her nervous and then, another flare went off in the sky above, closer and clearer this time.

“Oh shit, not again!” she cried before scrambling down the metal structure and racing to the fairgrounds gate.

The scene at Alexandria was more brutal and distressing than she could have ever imagined. With the gate wide open and blood smeared across the asphalt, screams could be heard coming from just about every corner of the town and as Jess crept in through the shadows with her machete equipped and her mask and hood up, her heart beat a solid rhythm in her chest. Her hands trembled but adrenaline was forcing her forwards, putting one foot in front of the other until she halted, whirling to one side and seeing a bloodied woman sprinting across the street towards her. The sound coming from her mouth was garbled yet utterly desperate and her blonde hair was smattered with red from a gaping head wound that reached from above her ear to her collar bone. Following closely behind her, was a burly man with a large knife and a bald head. His face was obscured by a bandana, much like Jess’s and as he barreled along, grasping for the woman’s arm, Jess stepped out from the blackness and ran.

Human bone is incredibly sturdy. It is stronger than steel and concrete of the same mass. The human skull encases the most important organ of the human body, the brain, and has evolved to be as strong as possible to withstand trauma. Strong enough, in fact, that a recently sharpened machete alone is unlikely to penetrate such strong, non-decaying bone with one hit, a fact that Jess was already aware of. Months of reading had paid off and in the slow-motion seconds of her swinging her blade at the bald cranium of the man pursuing the injured Alexandrian, she had the foresight to think of her secondary weapon; the knife that Daryl had given her. The clunk of the metal against his head was so sickening her stomach clenched and her jaw locked shut. The side of the man’s head exploded with blood from the baseball-like swing that collided the blade with the assailant. It peppered her mask and eyes with crimson dots and created a sprawling firework in the air. When she stepped back and watched him stumble, ignoring the loud and gruesome shing from metal scraping on bone as she retracted her machete, she slid her hunting knife from its sheath on her belt and drove it, with all her might into his ribs. He gripped her wrists, terror filling his panicked eyes when his knees hit the ground.

From behind her, Jess could hear the woman’s piercing screams and she quickly turned on her heels, flicking blood from the wound in the man’s side across the surface of the road. He glugged and wheezed and Jess paid him no mind while she focused on the severely hurt woman peering up at her from the floor, where Jess had flung her when she stepped to her aid. Grabbing her arm, Jess began dragging her up to the sidewalk, all the while trying to hush her inconsolable crying and whimpering. Finding a dark spot under a platform and against the perimeter wall, she propped the woman up, ripped her jacket from her shaking shoulders and set to tying it around her wounded head. She’d lost so much blood her entire right side was a deep red and it was pooling under her, dripping from her elbow. Jess snatched the woman’s hand up and placed it on the jacket.

“Hold it. Put pressure on it to stem the bleeding.” She whispered to her with a quick glance over her shoulders. Other people were dashing past, some holding weapons up and wearing similar clothing to the man Jess had attacked. Others, she recognized to be the occupants of Alexandria. Gunfire crackled around her and she could only hope that she was far enough from the road to avoid being shot intentionally or caught in the crossfire. “What the hell is going on?” She asked the woman. Then, it dawned on her. The party. She was from the party and was the unfortunate recipient of Jess’s unwanted cannibal information. Her eyes flickered in a dazed state and her skin was paling fast. Jess shook her shoulder gently. “Hey! Stay awake! What happened here?” She demanded

“The-they came out of….out of nowhere. Started…started…hacking p-people to death” She stammered breathlessly. Jess felt an insatiable fury rise in her entire body.

The group from the city. The group from the woods. The man that shot Daryl.

The woman’s hand slapped around Jess’s wrist, snapping her from her realization and she suddenly leaned forwards, inches from Jess’s face. Her eyes bulged and saliva and blood trickled down her lips.

“Leave-L-leave this place. Not…safe…for-for women. They…they t-take women. M-my children…m-my family…they’re gone…they r-ran.”

It was as plain as day but it didn’t make it any easier for Jess to accept that the gravely injured woman before her was dying from blood loss and likely wouldn’t last another few minutes, let alone long enough for Jess to head off and find her family for her. Swallowing hard, she looked into her tear-filled eyes, held onto her free hand and squeezed it, hard.

“Everything is going to be okay.” She whispered, ignoring the blurry despair that was brimming in her own eyes. “Everyone is going to be fine. Your children, they’re in the church” She lied “They’re there. They’re all there. I saw them go in when I got here. It’s okay…it’s-it’s okay.”

In a display of relief, the woman sighed before eyes began to flutter closed and Jess felt all hope abandon her when her body went limp, her hand went lax and her face froze. Tears erupted from Jess’s eyes and a loud sob forced its way up from the depths of her soul.

“Oh…Fuck” She gasped, sagging forwards and clutching the lifeless fingers of the dead woman to her chest. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough.” She sniffed to the chorus of chaos transpiring from behind her.

As was customary and necessary in the apocalypse, Damaging the spinal cord or the brain enough to avoid reanimation was the next step in a death that didn’t involve one or the other to begin with and now, Jess had to commit an act of mercy to stop the woman from becoming a Walker. She held up her knife and chose not to think too much, it was the way of the world now.

Keeping to the shadows was her forte and it had served her well during her time alone. Jess considered herself lucky that it was the middle of the night and therefore, she was able to move from house to house in search of anyone that may have needed rescuing. From the bedroom of an empty house, she spotted a man being cornered by two strangers with exceptionally large blades. Just out of sight under a tree, she couldn’t make out who the man was, but she didn’t need to know. She slid the window up, climbed out onto the roof and equipped her bow, nocking an arrow and steadying her erratic breathing.

The first arrow was aimed well enough to eliminate one of the men, but the second fell just short, scattering across the road surface and giving away her location. The remaining man’s vision shot up to her, locking her in his sights as he pointed and bellowed at the top of his lungs. Jess stumbled backwards, her back hitting the gables of the house in time to see Aaron run out from behind the tree, pick up the arrow and slam it into the side of the man’s neck. She held her breath for a second while she gawped at Aaron, who quickly began grappling with the arm of the man which held onto his blade.

“I-I have to get down there” She said to herself.

Spinning around, she clambered back through the window and thundered down the stairs, spilling out onto the street in time to see Aaron with the man in a head lock and dragging the knife across his throat. Blood fountained from the wound and Aaron quickly threw him to one side and ran to Jess, dragging her to the side of the house and flinging his arms around her while rambling incomprehensible words over her shoulder. His embrace was so tight that Jess struggled to breathe and had to physically step away to break the hug.

“That was…violent.” She commented.

“Yeah…I know” Aaron panted, blinking in disbelief at the gargling man behind him on the ground. “Are you okay? You can’t be here. I don’t know who these people are but they’re trying to round up the females and kill the men. A lot of people are already dead. You-you have to leave. Now. Rick’s group, they’re working their way around the town. You should go. Please, Jess. Go.” He blathered, grabbing her arm. Jess tore away from him.

“No.” She announced defiantly. “Where is Daryl?”

“Uh…He-he was in the tower at first. The last time I saw him, he was with Rick.” Aaron replied with a wipe of his forehead.

“Eric is safe?” Jess asked

“Yes. I can’t say where. In case they can hear us.”

“Carl? Judith? Enid?” She continued.

“All safe.”

“Lord.” Jess puffed in relief. “C’mon, we have work to do. Stay with me”

Before Aaron could protest, she flung him against the side of the house and was inching her way to the edge, unsheathing her knife again. She spat on the blade and dragged the flat edge across her thigh, revealing it’s reflective surface. It was a trick she’d learned in the city to enable her to check around corners for Walkers. It was also a tried and tested military technique to use small mirrors and reflections for such a task and she was sure that if her brother was watching over her from somewhere, he’d have been proud of her, not only for doing what she had to do, but for having the intelligence to educate herself before running into battle.

The glint of the knife provided her with a tiny, but accurate view down the street towards Aaron's house, where she could see two of the enemy group enter the house. She retreated and pressed her back against the house, next to Aaron.

“Your house.” She whispered “The door is open.”

Aaron's head thudded back against the surface behind him and he squeezed his eyes shut. “Shit” He hissed.

“Eric?” She asked.

“I told him to hide. He’s not a fighter.”

“Did you close the door when you left?”

“Yes”

“Then the chances are, he’s already gone. I’ll check the house.” She decided, moving back towards the corner of the house and gripping her machete.

“I’ll go with you.” Aaron told her quietly. She spun around, pushing him back, in no uncertain terms telling him that he would be doing no such thing.

“I got this. I want you to go and find Daryl for me” She expressed with her hand on his chest.

“I’m not leaving you” He argued.

“Yes, you are.” She gripped the front of his clothing in her fist and shoved him against the house with a thud. “Listen to me” She growled. “I’ll be damned if I lose the man I love again. So, you are going to find him for me. We both know I’m not a perfect fighter but I’m better than you and I can do this. What I can’t do, is live without Daryl in my life. So, go and fucking find him, Aaron or so help me god I will tear down every single one of those licence plates you’ve collected and lovingly attached the wall in the hallway and toss them on a fire while I dance around it singing Kum ba yah!”

Aaron blinked at her in shock but did not for one second take her for a fool. He knew that she was not only deadly serious, but that she was right; She wasn’t as proficient against humans as she needed to be, but he wasn’t as capable a fighter as her. Conceding, much to his worry and trepidation, he gripped her arm.

“Alright, you get my man and I’ll get yours.” He stated.

Jess nodded and went to turn back to the corner, before pausing and looking slightly confused.

“Wait…then we’re swapping back, right?” She asked, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Aaron sniggered and pat her shoulder before dashing off in the other direction, taking the route around the back of the houses in order to stay out of sight.

All around her, gunfire still rang out but the screams were dying down. Bodies littered the street and it wouldn’t be long before they reanimated. They needed to push the invading group back and do a sweep of the bodies with their brains still intact. But first, they needed to kill as many of the violent and ruthless men as possible.

Aaron and Eric’s place appeared to be empty when Jess gradually inched in through the already open front door. Inside was dim, the only light pouring through the windows from a floodlight on the main gate. She checked the shapes in the dark, ticking them off in her mind, each one recognized as a piece of furniture or a blanket or cushion. The house was eerily still and compared to the commotion going on outside, it unsettled Jess’s nerves and caused her to clutch the handle of her blade even tighter than usual. She could hear her heart pounding in her head and she suppressed a shiver as she reached the kitchen. So far, so good.

The hands seemed to come out of nowhere, morphed from the blackness like creatures of the night, grabbing and manipulating her limbs. Gruff laughter and putrid breath licked at her neck and the side of her face as she was jostled across the room. Her blade was ripped from her hand and all that remained at her disposal was her knife, obscured by her sleeve and held out of sight by her fingers curled up to her wrist.

The room flashed before her when she was twisted around and slammed onto the kitchen counter, her head bouncing from the hard surface. For a few seconds, everything blurred and her hearing dropped out before coming back and presenting her with the sinister laughter of the shadows around her. The air left her body, her lungs strained and her stomach contracted. Her throat gasped. Black figures hovered above her, grappling at her clothing to a tune of gruff and sneering laughter. Jess felt a sharp sensation at her throat, long and lethal. She dropped the knife from her sleeve into her hand and hit out with the sharp end of an uppercut, topped by the hunting knife but coming into contact with nothing but air. A mocking voice commented that she was bound to be a lot of fun before they killed her and that they couldn’t let ‘the boss’ know about this one. She could sense that there were two men holding her down, taking her only weapon and pinning her arms to the table. She thrashed and bucked and tried to scream but was soon hushed by the rancid breath of one of the men, leaning close to her face and telling her that if she made a sound, they would gut her like a fish. Her legs were forced apart and she could hear a belt buckle being undone.

No! She thought No, No, No! Please, No!

The back of her head felt wet and began to bleed from the blunt force trauma. Her inner thighs thrummed with agony as one of the men held onto her flesh so tightly, she thought he might tear her skin from her bones. Dread twisted in her gut and she thought she might throw up when the pressure on her thighs released and the sharpness against her neck vanished. Her sheer horror was making everything a little difficult to make out and she rolled onto her side, coughing and reaching up to her head, wincing at the pain.

Daryl hardly ever missed a shot and was glad of his proficiency with a crossbow when he managed to kill one of the men holding jess down with one shot, straight through his temple. The other one looked up in shock as Daryl tossed the bow onto the kitchen counter and ran at him, bulldozing him from the table and landing on top of him. He ripped the weapon from his hand, which he quickly noticed to be Jess’s own Machete and began hacking at him, over and over, growling loudly and driving the weapon down and flinging it up again, all the while fueled by the image of seeing her restrained and about to be hurt in one of the worst possible ways. He didn’t stop, pummeling the brain matter into the flooring, each blow representing only a small fragment of his pure rage.

Jess climbed down from the table and dragged herself into the safety of the corner, pressing her back to a cupboard and hugging her knees as she watched Daryl hack the man into tiny pieces in the light from the window. The metallic odor of murder filled the air and she flinched with every brutal chopping sound until eventually, he stopped and sat back on his knees, panting wildly and tilting his head back to the ceiling.

It felt like hours but it was mere seconds before Daryl got to his feet and turned to face her. She knew it was him, knew he would never hurt her but in that moment, he looked utterly chilling. He charged out of the kitchen, to the living room where he checked from the window on the state of the town. People were re-grouping in the street. Rick, Glenn. Carol, Maggie and Michonne were all in the middle of the road and all in one piece. On his way back to Jess, he slammed the front door closed and adopted a calmer and slower demeanor with her. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket, clicked it on and placed it on the counter, shining the beam to the ceiling so it wasn’t too harsh but he needed to see her face. Like a frightened animal, she peered up at him with blood running down the side of her head. His chest tightened in sorrow at the state of her and he pushed away the urge to lunge at her and wrap her in his arms, knowing it would scare her even more. Slowly, he leaned down to her and offered her his hand. He said nothing, hoping that she could see in his eyes that his number one priority was her and her safety. But she just crawled further into the corner.

“Jess, it’s alright.” He soothed, lowering himself to his knees “Ya safe. I got ya.”

She stared down at his blood-soaked hand and felt something rising inside her. It was distress. It released from her chest in a loud exhalation and tears started to soak down her cheeks. She gingerly reached out and touched his hand, he bit down on his lip at the sensation of her shaking violently. She wrapped her fingers around his and gradually, he felt her hold on tighter and tighter until he was pulling her onto his lap and enveloping her in his arms. He listened to her gentle sobs and with each sniff, another piece of him fell away. He hated her being hurt and wished he could take it all away.

“You good?” He asked, tenderly stroking the uninjured side of her head. She nodded and began to shift from his lap, staggering to her feet and holding onto the countertop. He got up, grabbed his crossbow and dragged his hand across his eyes, clearing some of the blood from his vision and lifting the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face.

“Uh… I…” Jess tried to say. She pushed her fingers into her hair, feeling a lump forming at the back and a gash at the side. It was wet and sticky with blood. When she started to run thought exactly what had happened in her mind, Daryl could only watch her helplessly as she paced about, her eyes scanning the wooden floor under her boots. She quickly refastened the button on her camo pants and smoothed her hands over her painful thighs. “…Um. I think- I…” she stops and stared at him with tears still forming in her eyes. “…I think I almost got...They were going to…”

Daryl was totally perplexed when she burst into fits of laughter. Squeezing her eyes shut and entering into hysterics, using the countertop for stability. Baffled by her behavior but glad she seemed to have let go of her fear, eventually, he started to smile along with her but was still deeply concerned.

“They almost fucking killed me!” She cried “They almost raped and killed me. I can’t believe it! Holy crap!”

The more she looked at him and his confused expression, the more her laughter waned until finally, she stood in front of him breathing heavily and glaring at him with a strange kind of intensity that Daryl could not place.

“You saved my life. Again.” She uttered.

She closed the gap between them, crossing the wooden flooring as if she was on a mission. She stopped inches from him, placed both of her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him. Without warning. Without permission. Without even deciding to do it or ruminating the consequences. He’d held her life in his hands and he still did and she needed it. She needed him simply because her whole being was so thankful, so unashamedly appreciative of his very existence that she couldn’t have done anything else. When her lips met his, she was alive again.

Daryl was hopelessly unprepared and caught off guard and he was certain that every single muscle he possessed locked into a tight knot. He stood there, immobile and wondered how, for so many months, he’d spent time admiring her and studying every part of her face and lips and yet still, did not see this coming. His mind was screaming at him to react in a mixture of his own voice and that of his brothers.

This is what you’ve wanted for so long. Kiss her back.

She tore away from him, stumbling back and covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes were wide with panic and he could see her fingers quivering in front of her lips. His own were parted and tingling from the soft sensation of her kiss, now lingering like a reminder of his own inaction. He peered cluelessly at her through his wet, bloody hair.

“Shit” she breathed “Oh shit.”

She whirled around, running for the door like it was an Olympic sprint and was gone from the house before Daryl could even blink. He released a strained breath and leaned back against the kitchen table, gripping the edge either side of him with knuckles turning white. His head lowered and he closed his eyes.

I guess this is where everything changes.

Had she stayed in Alexandria that night, she would have discovered that the group responsible for multiple murders in the town was indeed the same one from the city and the woods and it was apparent that their spotters had followed Rick's group back from a recent search. Biding their time, they’d waited until the gate guard was distracted and taken their chance, filtering into the community in the darkened corners of the streets and taking out the guards as quietly as possible.

Deanna was notified with enough time to usher the vulnerable into her attic and wait for what she hoped would not be the downfall of her dream.

But Jess fled from Aaron’s house like a bat out of hell, darting across the street and past the exhausted and re-grouping crowd, which contained Aaron and Eric, who exchanged a worried glance after seeing Daryl race in through their open front door in search of Jess. Eric started forwards with the intention of following her, but was stopped by Aaron taking his hand and slowly shaking his head.

Whatever happened, she needs to be alone.

Daryl emerged sometime after Jess with his crossbow on his back and holding onto her machete and knife. He trudged towards the waiting stares of Rick’s group, who were all in various states, but none of which were as stained red by blood as him. Carol ran out from the middle, skidding to a stop in front of him and gasping at the state of him. Asking if it was his blood, he solemnly shook his head, looked up at Aaron and Eric and told them not to go into the house until he’d been able to remove the bodies.

Jess used water from her tank at the large sink in the diner’s kitchen. She stripped down to her bare skin and scrubbed until she was red raw, shivering and trying to wash off the dirt and the blood and the terror and the sadness. Her mind kept flicking back to being held down to the table and her thighs ached from the hand-shaped bruises forming.

Her own morality wasn’t something she dwelled on too much anymore. In her reasoning, she was a survivor, until she wasn’t anymore and that was no less certain even before the world died. But Daryl saving her life had shoved her, staring into the void of her own demise, forcing her to acknowledge that had he not been there in time, ultimately, it was the end for her. Being taken away and used or being killed there and then, it hadn’t mattered to her because there simply was no difference, both meant it was over and it was a thought that stabbed pure fear into every inch of her being.

Jess had come to the conclusion since the turn that everyone had a monster inside them in some way or another. That most people's monsters lay dormant, in a constant state of disuse because they were brought up a certain way, because they’re not wired that way or because they’ve been conditioned, in some way shape or form, to control them. Others, dance with their monsters and feed them and nourish them on their path to immorality, prison or hell. But those that become nothing but monsters at the end of the world were a new type of depravity to Jess. Those that chose to take that path, instead of surviving in the best way possible and retaining their humanity.

The violence she’d witnessed from Daryl had been like watching a horror movie on a screen, only the noise was real and she could smell the blood and the chopped up, mutilated remains would undoubtedly be an image that she would never forget. But she understood that the difference between Daryl and the men that charged Alexandria for a murder spree, was their monsters and now she’d seen with her own eyes just how vicious Daryl’s was. But he’d made a choice to be on the right path, using death only to protect and prevent, contrary to the men he’d killed.

Wandering out to the wooden seats that still remained at the front of the diner from its days of use. She drew a thick blanket around her shoulders, covering her Star Wars hoodie and sweatpants. She quietly slid onto the seat and brought her legs up, crossing them underneath and studied the long grass between the rides as it swayed in the wind. The ringing of the bell on the gate tinkled through the metal structures and she leaned to one side, squinting and spotting Daryl with his body pressed against the gate and his fingers laced through the fencing.

Wearily and with a certain degree of frustration, she hauled herself up from the bench and padded to the gate, stopping in front of it and not even bothering to tell him that she wasn’t about to let him in.

Don’t mention the kiss. Please, Daryl.

Daryl got the message as soon as he saw her face. His clothing was still crimson in color but his skin had been cleaned enough to make him look human again. His hair was matted and his face was tired, his filthy fingers clung to the metal fencing.

Jess approached the gate and stopped two feet away, not bothering to tell him that she was not going to let him in. But Daryl could tell he wasn’t going to be allowed any further. It was written all over her face and she was paler than he’d ever seen before.

“Needed to know you’re OK” He said quietly, his voice croaky from the sheer ferocious nature of chopping a man into multiple pieces and expelling his rage through his throat.

“I’m not OK. I just need to be left alone.” She said honestly.

“What can I do?” he asked, ignoring the latter part of her sentence and focusing on the fact that she was not, in fact, okay.

I’m not going to mention the kiss. Now ain’t the time.

“Nothing.” She whispered, running a hand through her hair and clutching the blanket at her waist.

“Ya head alright? Ya took a beatin” He observed after noticing the cut to her right temple had been cleaned up and was luckily, smaller than he’d expected.

“Sore.” She shrugged. Concussion was a very real possibility and Jess was aware of that. Her head stung and ached with pain when she’d attempted to get some sleep and so she decided that she would think her night away while sitting on the bench outside.

“You okay other than that?” He continued

Usually always delighted to be in his company, when she looked at him, she experienced a bizarre mix of emotions, among which was humiliation, but also gratitude. She needed him to leave but didn’t possess the mental energy to find the most polite way to ask.

“Daryl-”

“-Don’t you dare argue with me right now, Jess.” He interrupted firmly. The gate rattled on its hinges when his boot hit the bottom of the frame, adding an element of irritation to his warning. “I said, are ya okay, other than that?”

“Some bad bruising on my thighs. That’s it.” She sighed, noting him shift and move closer to the gate, levelling his gaze with her.

“No, uh, I meant…” he pauses “they were gonna-”

“-I know.” She cut in “I know what they were going to do. I’m ok. Really.”

She didn’t need to file through the details, didn’t need to talk about how frightened she was or how her skin felt like it had been marred even though it didn’t get that far, she also didn’t want to talk about how she’d witnessed the man she loved bludgeon someone else to a pulp. What she needed was sleep and to start moving on.

“What you saw…” he croaked “…what ya saw me do…I’d never hurt you. Don’t be scared of me, Jess. Please.”

A lump formed in her throat at the thought of him believing her to be scared of him. He was the person she trusted more than anyone else in the world and he was responsible for her still being alive and able to step forward and entwine her fingers with his through the fence.

“Remember when I told you I’d kill anyone that tried to hurt you?” She asked. Daryl only nodded at the memory. “You did the same for me tonight. I’ll never be afraid of you.” She sniffed “I adore you.”

He unlaced his hands from the fence, pushing them back through once more, over hers and held them there tightly.

“I couldn’t stop. I just…couldn’t stop. Everything went black n’ there was just me n’ him and I thought of you and what he could’a…” He explained. “…I’m here. If ya need to talk. I’m here.”

“I’m okay, Daryl. It didn’t happen. You stopped it.” She assured him

He tried to step back but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hands, his feet moved but he was soon against the fence again, pleading with her to just let him in, into the fairground and into her thoughts. But she was more independent than he remembered and she needed to start to process it on her own. His eyes never left her, even when a long and intense silence lasted for almost a minute and his hands only gripped hers more.

“I’m the one you tell.” He rasped. “Me.”

She rested her head against his with the fence dividing them like a physical representation of the barrier that had been cemented between them from the beginning.

“Always” She agreed.

--- Tagged as requested ---

@lilred254 @woundmetender

Masterlist

#daryl #daryl dixon #the walking dead daryl #twd daryl #daryl fanfiction #daryl x oc

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abdicatedarchive · 4 years ago

Text

Strip Truth or Dare

SETTING: the girls lobby had been vacant of chaperones all night. Nana knew the kids deserved to have some actual fun, and she convinced the other chaperones to either go to bed early or go to the bar in town with her to have some fun and stay out for the evening.

@kellyfitz @rileysteele @chrysolites @asherxblake @antoniologan @gabriellehale @jessekxller @hotmess-lex @drunkcn @kaiidaniels @heartbreakzack @kalidoscpe @theodore-kennedy @missrory @romeoxthowlett

ORDER: kelly riley chanel wren asher rose marina antonio stevie juliette gabrielle chase jonah jesse // lexi kelly riley chanel wren devyn asher rose marina kai antonio caleb zac olivia gabrielle chase theo jonah rory jesse romeo

Wren: "Nose goes" said Wren as everybody put their finger on their nose for who had to go first. "Kelly, sorry my dude. But you are going first" Wren said with a smile. He was glad it wasn't him, but he knew he'd be up before he knew it anyways. "So, truth or dare?"

Kelly: "Ah Damn it" Kelly said shaking his head. "Uh, Daree"

Chase: Chase was coming in clutch for Riley, "I dare you and Riley to switch shirts for the rest of the game" dared Chase, "or you can strip in general by not doing it" he teased.

Kelly and Riley: Kelly couldn't help but smile at the dare. He had a run in with riley the previous night and they really connected. "Sure, I'll switch, but I dunno if her blouse will fit me" Kelly pointed out as he took off his shirt. Riley didn't mind either, "It stretches." She said with a smile as she pulled her shirt off and swapped with Kelly. "So Riley, Truth or Dare?" The boy questioned. "Truth." She replied. "Ever have a crush on a professor?" Riley nodded. "Of course, The gym teacher back in freshman year. The young one." She said. "Nel, truth or dare?"

Chanel: "Dare." Chanel said with a big smile on her face, she always enjoyed a good game of truth or dare. "Make it good please." she said out to the group with a single nod.

Riley: Riley smiled, "Give the person sitting across the circle from you a hickey."

Chanel: Chanel looked across from her to see Stevie and Juliette and the choice was obvious. Chanel got up and sat next to Stevie, "Excuse me." she said to Juliette. She pushed Stevie's hair off her shoulder and began to suck on the girl's neck. Stevie was just trying to show no emotion because, ya know... Once she was finished, Chanel winked at Stevie and went back to her spot, "You're welcome, hun." Stevie looked over at Juliette for a quick second before looking around the room. "You're next, babe! Truth or dare?" she asked Wren

Juliette: Juliette showed no emotion, but on the inside she was a whole ass mess. She just sat there and smiled and woo'd and oohed with everybody else.

Wren: Wren didn't have to think about it, but he was definitely a big weenie and a truther through and through. "Uh" he said like he was actually thinking about choosing between the two. "Truth?"

Chanel: Chanel remembered Chase brining up how he already knew about the lil nutting incident, so she wondered what else they talked about in there, "You guys ever talk about me in your group chat?" she asked Wren with an innocent smile, looking over at the rest of simp nation.

Jesse: Jesse looked away from this intense moment

Wren: Wren quickly made eye contact with Stevie and then Jesse and then Jonah and then Chase, "... pretty often" said Wren looking over to her and giving her a dorky smile. "Only positive things, mostly advice" he added before quickly moving on. "Asher, truth or dare?"

Asher: Asher had a coy smile as Wren asked him. "Dare baby, and if you dare me to kiss you, I already accept." He said winking at wren

Wren: "Choose someone to draw a tattoo on your butt" said Wren with a laugh, he was not about to dare Asher to kiss the person he was most attracted to here. No matter what it would be a shit show.

Asher: Asher looked around the room, "Chanel." He said with a smile, maybe just to piss Wren off. "Tat my ass please."

Chanel: Chanel smiled at Asher, and grabbed the pen that Juliette brought. "With pleasure." she pulled down Asher's pants and wrote "Property of Thee Chanel Hampton" on his ass with a proud smile on her face. "Perfect"

Asher: Asher was loving this, "Thanks babe." He said tossing a wink at her. "Alrighty, Rosie, Truth or dare, princess."

Rose: Rose bit her lip and thought about it for a second, "Dare" she said confidently. She wasn't afraid of a challenge.

Asher: Asher shrugged. "Really thought you would strip." He said with a laugh, Antonios eyes went wide. "m-me?" He said before looking for at marina. He got up and sat in the chair

Marina: Marina stared at Asher for a second, she didn't care how pissed off she looked. You've just made an enemy for life, sir. she thought to herself.

Rose: Rose saw Marina's face and decided not to, she really didn't like being defeated. Her competitiveness had completely taken over. She sat down on Antonio's lap and didn't move at all and just took her shirt off and threw it at Asher, "happy?" she said to Asher, still annoyed. She got up quickly and sat back down. She did not like losing games at all, and now her fucking shirt was off.

Asher: Antonio and asher played football together at east wood and now white lake, so asher heard all about what Marina did to him, ghosting him out of the blue. "Lighten up babe, its just a game. And I though... I though you guys broke up months ago." he spoke to marina

Asher: Asher smiled before he passed her the bottle of fireball. "The queen deserves a shot." He said before leaning over. "Don't pout, you are stunting on all these bitches right now." Asher said to rose.

Antonio: Antonio sat back down on the floor rubbing his head.

Marina: Marina narrowed her eyes at Asher and didn't say a word.

Rose: Rose took a swig of fireball, "Don't call women bitches" said the girl taking another chug. "Rina, truth or dare?" she said using their sister intuition and some eyebrow movements. The mood was really: let's fucking go.

Marina: Marina nodded once Rose said not to call women bitches. That's her girlie. She gave her sister a look, she knew what the fuck was up. "Hmm," she acted like she was deep in thought. "Dare."

Rose: "Sister dearest, I dare you ... to slap Asher Blake" said Rose with a big smile on her face, giggling before sucking on her teeth. What a good day to be the two of them.

Marina: "Oh my god, Rosie! You're so crazy. Well a dare is a dare." Marina smiled back at her sister and walked up to Asher and warmed up her hand. "I'm so sorry about this." she said with a sarcastic frown before slapping him hard across the face.

Rose: "Aw baby, do you want your fireball?" said Rose taking another pull before passing it back to him.

Asher: When Asher heard Roses words he told himself to take it like a man. And up until she was pulling back thatse were his intentions, but habit kicked in. Asher flinched really hard and threw his hands up but she still go him. Now he was pretty embarrassed, why did he have to flinch. Although his mind was going to a milion dark places, he still managed to get out a smile. "Thanks babe." He said taking the bottle and chugging, because thats what you got to do, drink the pain away. "I'll be back in a few. Nature calls. Got to waz."

Marina: Marina sat back down, and looked over at Antonio, "Truth or dare?"

Antonio: Antonio nodded. "Okay." He said before getting up and headed out. After a minute or two he returned. "Where is the shot?"

Marina: Marina was not going to give him any kind of dare involving anyone else cause duh, but she also wasn't sure what kind of dare to actually give. She hated this game already. "Um, leave the room and we'll pour a mystery shot for you, you can guess after you take it."

Antonio: Antonio nodded. "Okay." He said before getting up and headed out. After a minute or two he returned. "Where is the shot?"

Everyone had pitched in a little bit of alcohol into a shot glass, who was to say what it had in it. But it would most definitely taste bad.

Juliette: Juliette was the last to have it, "Here you go" she said sweetly as she handed him the shot.

Antonio: "Thank you," Antonio said politely before he took the shot, a face of disgust appeared. "Is that... Jac-no. I don't know." Antonio looked at Stevie, "Truth or dare" He said with a smile

Stevie: Stevie thought about it and noticed no one had done truth in a while, so why not, "Truth for me."

Antonio: Antonio had a soft smile as he spoke. “What’s your biggest fear.” He said keeping it simple

Stevie: "Dude, that's deep." Stevie sighed and knew the answer, it was just sort of awkward to say out loud, "I guess not being good enough.. Stupid, I know." she looked over at Juliette and forced a smile. "Truth or dare, Hastings?"

Juliette: Juliette wanted to hold her hand so badly, it hurt her. "Truth too, but don't ask me what I'm scared of because it's everything" she joked, trying to take the attention off Stevie, something she had never done for anyone ever. She did not like attention.

Stevie: Stevie made sure to give Juliette a harmless question, "What's your guilty pleasure?" she asked with a friendly smile.

Juliette: "Snacks for sure" replied Juliette, what a nice harmless question. "Gabrielle, truth or dare?" she asked.

Gabrielle: Gabrielle wanted to take it easy this round, “truth.” She said with a smile

Juliette: "What talent do you have that's embarrassing to share?" asked Juliette, trying her best to be interesting.

Gabrielle: Gabrielle looked at her. “Um.. nothing I don’t think? Nothing embarrassing at least to be honest. At least I don’t think.. nothing comes to mind.” She said a bit stumped. “Chas truth or dare.”

Chase: "Dare" said Chase with a smile.

Gabrielle: “Dance for one minute with no music.” She said with a smile.

Chase: Chase absolutely danced, no music. Just a little routine. "Jonah" he said with a smile as he finished up and sat back down, "Truth or dare, my guy"

Jonah: Jonah didn't have to put much thought into this decision, "Truth, my guy."

Chase: "Do you think that Obi-wan had the hots for Padme?" asked Chase, he was not going to give him a hard hitting question right now, especially after his conversation with him earlier. He wasn't scouting for any information.

Jonah: Jonah was glad Chase gave him an easy question, "Dude, obviously. We all know there was something going on between them." he nodded before looking over at Jesse. "Alright, truth or dare bro?"

Jesse: “Give me a dare bro”

Jonah: "Awesome, I dare you to go vegan for the next week." Jonah gave his brother a thumbs up. "I believe in you."

Jesse: Jesse let out a fat laugh, almost hysterical. “Pass. Chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese is just to good.” He said with a smile. For his striping, he took off his shoes.

Jonah: "Weenie." Jonah sighed and shook his head.

Jesse: “Weenie, another name for hot dog which I enjoy eating.”

Jesse/Kelly/Riley: “Kelly truth or dare” kellly smiled. “Dare.” Jesse looked between Riley and kelly. “I dare you to kiss the person you are most attracted too in this room.” Kelly smiled before pulling Riley into a kiss. Riley blushed and kissed him back. “Riley truth or dare.” “Dare” kelly smirked. “I dare you to kiss me again.” Riley pulled him in close and gave him another kiss. “Chanel truth or dare.”

Chanel: "Truth this time, why not?" Chanel raised her shoulders as she smiled at Riley.

Riley: Riley smiled, “tell us something you really want to try in bed, something you haven’t done before.”

- Juliette and Stevie left -

Chanel: Chanel was truly stumped with that one, "Something I haven't done before? Uhhhh, ooh! I'm down for someone else to take control. I'm always doing all the work, I don't mind getting my shit wrecked for once." she raised her eyebrows at Wren and smiled. "You know what I mean?" she asked before patting his shoulder, "Anywayyys, truth or dare?"

Wren: Wren was on a whirlwind of emotions, now she wanted him to be in charge? He never shoulda pushed her up against the lockers that one time, it changed her. "Dare" said Wren, not even thinking about it. Then he realized what he had said.

Chanel: Chanel thought about a dare for a second, "Ooh! I dare you to send me a nude, please!" she said with a smile. She wouldn't usually ask for that from him because of how he feels about his body, but maybe asking for it would show him that she take interest in his body.

Wren: Wren rolled his eyes playfully at her, "Oh I see how it is" said Wren getting up, luckily he was feeling a little loosey goosey from drinking and was more than willing to participate. Wren went to the bathroom and sent Chanel a great picture without his face in it. Wren came back and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "Dare complete" he said with a smile. "Okay devyn, truth or dare?"

Devyn: devyn didn't know why she was playing this game, party games never really worked out in her favor but there she was, up at the next turn. her attention turned to wren, exhaling heavily. "um," she drew the word out, "truth, i guess."

Wren: Wren was kinda at a loss for a question, so he just went with the first intrusive thought in his head, "have you ever been in love?" he asked, the poor sentimental sap that he was.

Devyn: devyn couldn't help but laugh at his question but only because she was afraid it was going to be a lot worse than it was. it wasn't that bad though, it was something she could totally answer. "no," she shook her head, "i've never been in love." it was the truth to her, anyways. she looked over to rose, a smirk starting to form. "rose... truth or dare?"

Rose: Rose sadly already had her sweater off and just her bralette on, so she probably shouldn't choose dare again, but she liked being challenged. It was a horrible trait to have, "Dare" she replied confidently.

Devyn:

Rose: Rose pulled up her phone, "Here are my last five photos everybody, they're all of me and Caleb ice skating, very cute" she said showing off the phone like a slideshow, "Sorry there's nothing spicy, can't say the same thing about Chanel's camera roll after that last dare" Rose joked. "Marinaaaa, truth or dare" she asked her sister.

Marina: Marina looked over at her sister and smiled, "Dare."

Rose: Rose was just giggling before she even spoke, "I dare you to give Antonio a wet willy in the ear"

Asher: asher returned to the circle and took a seat

Marina: Marina laughed along with Rose and scoots over to Antonio and gave him a wet willy. "Sorry." she spoke softly before sitting back down in her spot. "Okay Kai, truth or dare?"

Kai: Kai shrugged playing with his hair, he wasn't really the truth or dare type but he didn't see anything wrong with participating." Dare." he said proudly not going to truth which was his usual choice.

Marina: Marina looked around the room and back at Kai, "I dare you to makeout with the hottest person in the room." she said with a smile, there were a ton of good options. So many hot people.

Kai: Kai whole face turned red at the dare. He wasn't a virgin but he had only been with people preapproved by his parents.Kai stood up and walked over to Riley and bent down and kissed Riley.

Riley: Riley blushed a bit as Kai had chosen her. She gave him a small kiss back.

Kai: “ok ant truth or dare”

Antonio: "I'll take a dare"

Kai: "Ok I dare you to go up to the person of your choice and give them a lap dance."

Antonio: Antonio scratched his head. If he didnt pick Marina she would prob be mad, but there was a chance she might be mad if he did. "I'll pass." He said as he took off his shirt. "Caleb, truth or dare?"

Caleb: caleb's face started turning bright red as he smiled wide, looking over to rosemary and then back to antonio. "uh- short skirts... neck kisses and... begging." he felt so embarrassed answering that but it was better than having to strip. "zac, truth or dare?"

Antonio: What are your top three turn-ons?" Antonio asked his friend

Zac: Zac clapped at the others answer. "Thats what i'm talking about man." he said happily."Truth for me."

Caleb: knowing that zac was spending time with jada, the fact that caleb was jealous, he wanted to ask what zac's intentions were with her but he also knew that'd make him look bad in front of rosemary. he sighed heavily, going for something more cliche. "in your opinions, who is the hottest girl we go to school with?"

Zac: "Aww man that's hard." he sighed shaking his."I can't pick." It's not that he couldn't pick it's he didn't want the guys feeling a way of he picked their crush or girlfriend or whatever." I'm gonna say Sadie though."

Riley: Riley reached over and touched chanels are as she gave her a look, hoping chanel would think of her sadie and rileys halloween interaction.

Zac: "Ok Olivia, truth or dare." he sat back

Chanel: Chanel pouted her lips, she couldn't act like she was offended that she wasn't picked but she was. She was a goddamn delight. She gave Riley a look when he said Sadie. "Yuck." she whispered

Olivia: as it was her turn, the blonde female bit her bottom lip & thought about it for a good second or so. "uhhhh," she glanced over at jesse and laughed, before she turned to look at zack with a grin on her lips. wanting to go easy at first, olivia decided to go with something considered more safe. " truth."

Zac: "Ok Fuck Marry Kill any three people here but you can't pick the same person for more than one." he looked at her and winked.

Olivia: "ohhhh, okay, good one. umm..." olivia bit her bottom lip as she thought about it and she rolled her eyes, "well, i'd fuck marina because she's hot, marry the love of my life jesse & kill kelly, because i don't know him. nothing against you bud!" olivia spoke and smiled softly at him. turning to look at gabrielle, the grin on her lips widened, " what about you, sweetheart? truth or dare?"

Kelly: "Hey!" Kelly protested, though he laughed it off. "I'll take a truth." Shee said with a small smile

Marina: Marina gave a wink at Olivia, "Good choice. I'd gladly accept."

Olivia: "nothing against you, sweetcheeks!" she replied and laughed, before focusing on kelly again, " truth... what is the naughtiest you've done in public?" she asked and giggled as she took a sip of her drink.

Gabrielle: Gabrielle smiled. "Hooked up with Chase in a public bathroom a few weeks ago, but that aint the only time we done that."

Olivia: "well, well, well..." olivia said and grinned as she looked over at chase, " didn't know ya had that in ay," she said and grinned teasingly, sticking her tongue out at him.

Gabrielle: "Well you were there." She said with a laugh. "Chase truth or dare?"

Chase: "Truth" said Chase, because he had already seen what Gabrielle's dares looked like.

Gabrielle: "Tell me something you lied to me about." She said as she looked at him.

Chase: "That is a great question" said Chase, trying to think of any time he had lied to Gabrielle, "Well there's the time Chanel and I told you that we slept together, but you already knew about that. So thank you everybody for your time". Chase turned to the person next to him, "Theo, truth or dare?" asked Chase.

Theodore: Theodore looked around the room before deciding. "I think I'm going to go with truth this time."

Chase: Chase threw him an easy one, "Are you trying to get back with your ex?" he asked, he was just curious. How was the guy going to date when he had a kid?

Gabrielle: Gabrielle gave him a look, she didn't want something she already knew about but she was fine with the answer

Theodore: Theodore scowled at the question he was asked. "God no! I only go to her place to see the kid. That relationship wasn't great. Who's next? Jonah! Truth or dare?"

Jonah: Jonah was nervous about either options, he wasn't even sure why he was playing this game. "Uh, dare please." he said since he already went with truth last time.

Gabrielle: GAbrielle raised a brow, "You have a kid?" She said nicely. "I give you props, that sounds really hard."

Theodore: Theodore didn't know what to pick so he went with something easy enough to do. "Alright! I dare you to kiss the person you like most in this room."

Jonah: Truth or dare was terrible, he looked around the room and quickly took off his shirt without thinking. "Sorry, gonna weenie out on this one." he forced an awkward laugh. Jonah then turned to Rory and hoped his face wasn't too red, "Uh, truth or dare?" he asked.

Jesse: "Dam Jo, you working out or something." Jesse said nudging his brother.

Rory: Rory looked at him with a raised brow, before rolling her eyes." Dare please." she said confidently.

Jonah: Jonah hit his Jesse's lightly, and crossed his arms, "Um. I dare you to read out the last text message on your phone." he said, hoping he didn't put her in too much of an uncomfortable position.

Rory: Rory pulled out her phone and clicked on her messages, she remembered the last person on her phone and instantly regretted it. "It says : Just try to actually seduce him, like use actual sex appeal. I swear you twins have learned nothing living in this house. Flaunt it but don't get pregnant."

Wren: Wren started laughing and clapping, "God, I love Nana"

Rory: "Shut up." she rolled her eyes at her twin before going on."Jesse...Truth or dare?"

Jesse: Jesse looked at his brother before taking out his phone and sending a quick text to the simps. "I'll take a dare."

Rory: "I dare you to run down the hallway screaming I love Olivia twice>"

Jesse: Jesse stood up with a smile before he dashed down the hall way. "I love Olivia!" He said and he ran back repeating it. As he came back he slipped because he was in his socks and laughed. "Romeo, truth or dare?"

Olivia: the blonde laughed softly and shook her head as jesse ran down the hallway, screaming "i love olivia" before slipping as he came back, because he was in his socks. "what an idiot," she said lovingly.

Romeo: Romeo hadn’t played a game of truth or dare in ages so this was all new to him. “I’ll take a dare please.”

Jesse: Jesse smiled, "impersonate someone of your choosing and keep it up till your next turn."

Romeo: “Gotta chose Asher then, right?” Romeo said as he wrapped his arms around the next people next to him. He leaned from side to side to press a kiss to each of their cheeks. “Who’s next?”

Asher: Asher let out a laugh. "you ask lexi now"

Romeo: “Alright, Lexi. Truth or dare?”

Lexi: "I pick truth." the said pushing her ponytail over her shoulder.

Romeo: “Truth? Okay. What’s your worst sexual experience been like? You don’t have to add names if you don’t want too.”

Lexi: "I had someone cry like after we did it, it's a real humbling thing if i'm being honest." she shrugged."Kelly truth or dare?"

Gabrielle: Gabrielle thought about asking if it was indi the time she walked in on them, but she was still saving that for a rainy day.

Kelly: Kelly smiled. "Dare please."

Wren: "Do you want to get out of here?" said Wren to Chanel, feeling a little confident. He was tired of sitting here and didn't want to do another round.

Chanel: Chanel smirked at Wren and nodded her head, "Mhm! I think we deserve some alone time." she grabbed his hand and got up to leave.

Lexi: "I dare you to text three girls you would hook up with your corniest pick up line."

Wren: Wren took Chanel's hand and helped her up and they headed on out.

Kelly: Kelly raised a brown, "Corniest? You want me ter send them corn?"

Lexi: "What are you serious? No not corn. Like lamest"

Kelly: "Oh." Kelly rolled his eyes at the girl before sending out three texts.

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saras-almanac · 5 years ago

Text

back at work (aaron/robert, jimmy)

I am still so angry that Aaron is so utterly alone in his grief and loss. Now I can’t help but thinking that the only places he could cry or let his feelings out would be in their room or at work, where people won’t bother him. And at the Mill, he’d have to keep it down so Liv doesn’t come in and tell him to keep it down because Robert’s fine. (I wish I was less annoyed about that still.) ((No, I don’t. I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t annoyed.))

Takes place sometime after 25 October 2019 episode. Aaron goes back to work and takes a minute for himself. Unfortunately, Jimmy arrives and tries to have a bit of a chat. In any other circumstance, I don’t think Aaron would be as forthcoming, but he’s at his wits end and it’s the first person that’s really allowing him to talk so here we are. Also apparently Jimmy and Nicola have become my surrogates for Aaron’s well-being since his family is doing nothing. Good thing I love them.

Aaron was curled up on Robert’s chair at the scrapyard. It was his first official morning back to work as Jimmy and Nicola kept things running for him as he… dealt with things. He’d told Robert last night that he was going to get some work done today. Robert had laughed and said, “That’s a change, isn’t it? You never worked when I was out.”

Aaron had laughed and then cried and then rolled over to cry some more into his pillow when Robert had hung up. He’d taken the last few phone calls in their room because he just couldn’t get through them yet without crying and he really couldn’t handle anyone else telling him that he needed to move on.

How was he meant to get over this? His husband, his future, was locked up for next fourteen years. That wasn’t something that he was going to be able to just get over like his family wanted. So he took to hiding in their room, even though it was the one place in the Mill where Aaron couldn’t ignore Robert’s absence.

Being back at work though, in the portacabin, at the scrapyard, it just made him miss Robert so much it felt like he couldn’t breathe. But it was one place where no one was popping in to tell him that he needed to be strong or stop wallowing or anything. So he’d sat on Robert’s chair and curled into the back of it. It was a poor replacement to the man himself, but it was the only thing he had right now.

Of course the door burst open. Aaron jerked up and hastily wiped the tears off his face. Jimmy glanced at him before looking away.

“This ain’t the café,” Jimmy said. “Meant to go and grab a coffee this morning. Brain’s run off with me hasn’t it. I’ll just leave you to it.”

Aaron sat up, scrubbing roughly at his face. “It’s fine, Jimmy.”

“It’s no bother,” Jimmy said.

“I said it’s fine.”

“All right.” Jimmy walked in and shut the door. “How about a brew then?”

“Whatever.” Aaron debated whether it would draw more attention if he got up and went to his desk or not.

“It must be so hard for you, coming in here,” Jimmy said. He started the kettle. “I don’t think I’d be able to do it.”

“Can’t let this place go under on top of everything else,” Aaron said. “Like everyone says, I’ve got to crack on.”

“They say that?” Jimmy said. “If it were my Nicola, I’d probably not get out of bed for at least a week. Maybe to go to the toilet. And get food. But that’s it.”

Aaron swallowed and looked down at the picture of him and Robert on Robert’s desk. Even though they sat across from each other, he still had a photo of them. It was a dumb one someone had taken at the Woolie. Aaron was sat at the bar and reluctantly smiling at the camera. Robert was stood next to him, his arm around Aaron and resting on the bar, sort of trapping Aaron there. Something ached inside him just looking at it. He should have taken more pictures with Robert.

“Hmm.” Aaron looked away from the photo.

“And then to have to come to work and be reminded of his absence too.” Jimmy shook his head. “I don’t think I’d have stopped crying if you’d walked in on me.”

“I can’t just keep crying forever,” Aaron said.

“I suppose not. But it’s only been a few days since Robert was sentenced,” Jimmy said.

“It doesn't matter. People need me so I have to be strong.”

“I don’t think Robert expects you to just be fine,” Jimmy said as he brought over Aaron’s tea.

“It’s not just Robert though, is it?” Aaron said wiping at his eyes again. “It’s Liv and Vic. Vic’s baby. Seb. Me mum and Paddy. Eve.”

“Yeah but you’ve got to care for yourself first,” Jimmy said. “If I learned anything lately, it’s that.”

“Cheers, but I don’t have that luxury. They all need me to be strong and they’re terrified of what I’m gonna do without Robert, how I’m going to cope, so I have to show them I’m okay.” Aaron reached out for his cup of tea and saw his hands shaking.

Jimmy leaned on the desk. “Aaron. You’ve got to allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling.”

“I can’t.”

“Then you’ve at least got to talk about it,” Jimmy said.

“The only person I want to talk, I could talk to about this stuff is Robert and he’s locked up. I can’t come crying to him about how hard it is being on the outside without him when he’s the one who’s locked up for years!” Aaron clenched his hands around the cup.

“If you don’t think Robert would want to know that you’re struggling, then you don’t really know Robert. You know you’re his priority,” Jimmy said. “He’s been on the outside and knows how hard it is. He’ll understand. He’d rather you tell him than put this kind of pressure on yourself.”

“I can’t do that to him,” Aaron said quietly. “He’s barely coping in there as it is. If I tell him how bad I’m struggling it’ll make it that much worse.”

“Has he said he’s not coping?” Jimmy asked.

“He doesn’t have to. I know him. I know what scares him and this… this is terrifying for him. I need to be able to be strong for both of us,” Aaron said.

“But you can’t do that if you’re not taking care of yourself as well,” Jimmy pressed.

“He’s always been strong for me. He got me through so much and the one time he needs me to keep it together I crack? How is that fair?” Aaron shook his head. “That’s not what he needs. He can’t spend his time worrying about me.”

“I don’t think Robert would see it like that,” Jimmy said. “I think he’d see it like you reaching out and looking for support. I think you telling him would make him worry less. He’d know you’re not bottling things.”

Aaron didn’t say anything.

“If you won’t talk to Robert, then maybe there’s someone else you can talk to?”

“Who?” Aaron asked. “My mum and Paddy have Eve to worry about. Paddy thinks Robert should be locked up and that he deserves this. Liv keeps telling me to move on and stop acting like Robert’s died. I’ve got no one! No one who understands or cares that my husband is gone!

“We did everything together,” Aaron said. “We spent nearly every day together. And I know people think we drove each other nuts but we didn’t. Every time I turn around, I miss him cause he’s not there. I keep thinking of things to tell him but then remember that he’s not here anymore. I miss him so much it’s like part of me is missing. I can’t just get over that.”

“You shouldn’t feel like you have to,” Jimmy said. “You miss him and that’s okay. But bottling this up, pretending everything’s okay when it’s not isn’t going to do you any favors down the road.”

“It’s all I’ve got right now.”

“Well maybe go and try talking to a counselor. You did that before, right?” Jimmy asked.

Aaron nodded.

“Then maybe try going back. They’ll help you cope and not make you feel like you’ve got to bottle it.”

“I don’t know.” Aaron twisted his wedding ring around his finger.

“If Robert were out here, feeling like you, what would want him to do?” Jimmy asked.

“Talk to me,” Aaron said. “Or someone.”

“So why not do it for yourself? It might be helpful.”

Aaron shrugged. “Maybe.”

“And think of how happy Rob’ll be when you tell him,” Jimmy said. “You know he doesn’t expect this to be easy on ya. Anyone who does or expects to just bounce back is—”

“Is what, Jimmy?” Aaron asked, only slightly taunting him for what he might call his family.

“Well they’re not listening to ya and what you need, are they?”

Aaron took a drink. Jimmy wasn’t wrong about needing to get it out. If Aaron was honest, in the darker moments since Robert got arrested, he’d been terrified of what he might do if he kept bottling things. But he just doesn’t have anyone to talk to. Not like if Robert was here. He’d sit with him, maybe even hold him, as they talked it out and talked it through. He’d never made him feel weak for crying or being upset. He always just supported him and helped him get through whatever was going on and made it better.

He just didn’t have that anymore.

“Just think about it, eh?” Jimmy said. “I’d hate to think that you have to sneak into work to have a bit of a cry in the mornings. You can, but that shouldn’t be the only time you get to let your feelings out.”

Aaron nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

Jimmy smiled at him. “Good. Er, did you want a hug or something?”

Aaron frowned. “Um. No. I’m good.”

“Well, I’ll be just over here if you change your mind.”

Aaron took one last glance down at the photo as Jimmy walked over to his desk. Robert would want him to talk about it. He wouldn’t want him feeling so alone and hopeless.

#i will only allow robert to be gone for a absolute max of 5 years #i don't make the rules but i demand you follow them #robron #aaron dingle #jimmy king #aaron and jimmy #emmerdale fic #my writing

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witch-chester · 5 years ago

Text

Cold to the Core Pt. 2

Dean had decided to drop Sam and Kit at the morgue while he had a chat with the head detective. There were four victims so far. All found in secluded areas with their organs gone and the remains frozen solid. He had to admit this was a new one. None of the victims seemed to be connected either. A waitress walking home from her late shift at the local greasy spoon. A college kid home for break and just set out on a jog. Some health nut guy training for a marathon. And a soccer mom just trying to stay in shape.

The attacks had taken place at different parts of the town as well. A park. Hiking trails. Local running path. No way to pin point where this thing could be. The detective said the sherif had locked down all those areas but Dean knew that wouldn’t matter. A monster will always find a way to kill.

Sam had texted him that him and Kit would be a while. Dean thought over what to do next for a moment then decided to visit the family’s himself. He knew Mariah had to be out and about by now but there was no harm in asking his own questions.

He got into his car and drove to the address closest to him. At the sight of the red corvette her should have turned right around. Looking back that would have been the best choice, but of course his mind didn’t think that far and he found himself knocking on the front door. A man that seemed close to Dean’s age, despite the smudges of black under his and and the lines of stress, answered. His hair was dark and unkept. The white button up looked like it had been slept in and the jeans looked ready for the good will pile.

Dean held up his FBI badge and said, “Good afternoon. I’m Agent Rose from the FBI. I just wanted to ask a few questions.”

The man seemed to falter. “This really isn’t a good time. I’m kinda tired of questions at this point.”

Before Dean could say a word, a voice he knew very well called out, “Is everything alright Conner?” Both men turned to the woman as she stepped into the foyer. The dress she was wearing was a deep emerald that seemed to sit gently on her curves and had a modest but eye catching V cut neck line. The hem stopped a few inches above her knee and was decorated with red roses that was also trimming the hem of the long bell sleeves. Knee high suede boots cling to her shapely legs. Mariah had pulled half of her hair back and clipped into place with a matching rose while the rest hung past her shoulders in soft waves. Her makeup was the softest he’d ever seen it. Hints of green barley brushed over her lids and her lips a light pink instead of blood red. Thick black framed glasses sat on her nose.

Dean swallowed. He knew he was in trouble. In more way than one. Once those brown eyes spotted him they flashed with irritation. She was not happy he was here. But she was able to control her face in time for the man she had called Conner to turn around a answer her. “It’s alright Miss Tutor. Someone from the FBI came to ask more questions.”

She gave a breath taking smile. “Well then I should be going. My article isn’t as important as the FBI.” Dean could hear the sticky sweetness of her sarcasm dripping off every word.

The man tried to argue but Mariah just shook her head and said, “It’s ok, Conner. I have all I need.” She touched his arm. “Call me if you think of anything else. I left my card on the coffee table.” Dean noticed her eyes seemed to dilate as she spoke, but she turned and grabbed her things before he could be sure.

Her eyes were normal and narrowed when she spoke to him. “Have a nice day, Agent.” She walked passed him and out of the house.

Dean went through his interview as he normally would. Conner Murphy was truly broken. His fiancée had been the first victim. The waitress walking home. The two of them had had a fight early that day and that was why she had been walking. Normally Conner would have picked up his fiancée, but not that night.

Dean got everything he could and said his goodbyes. Outside, the corvette was gone. He sighed and walked over to Baby.

“Satisfied, Winchester?”

Dean spun around and stared at Mariah. Dark cat eyed sunglasses replaced her previous ones. “What do you mean?”

She stepped closer and leaned on the door of the impala. “Are. You. Satisfied.” Pushing up her glasses, her eyes shot dagger through him. “Did I pass your test? Are you done checking up on me?”

Dean blinked. “I don’t have a clue”

Mariah cut him off. “I have been hunting for years. I have been handling things own my own, for years. I don’t need a babysitter.”

Deans temper started to bubble. “What makes you think I’m babysitting you?”

She snorted. “You showed up here for no reason, knowing I was here.”

“I like handling the interviews.”

“Bull. You still feel bad for what happened at the diner. I don’t need a protector, Dean.”

“Not everything I do has to involve you.” His anger had peaked. Dean knew he should shut up but the words kept coming. “If you feel like you are being checked on and have some inferiority complex, that is on you sweetheart. Maybe that should be telling you something.”

The lights left her eyes. All emotions gone. Mariah took a step back. “My mistake then,” she said in a hollowed voice. She spun on the needle heel of her boots and head down the drive and around the corner.

Dean felt like the biggest ass on the planet. He opened the door to the impala and just stood there. What was wrong with him? He did feel protective of Mariah. Dammit, he even would go as far as to say he was attracted to the woman like Bobby had said. But it was wrong. She wasn’t even human. She was a witch! Yes, she was different in the moral aspect but she was in fact a witch. And he had taken the frustration of that fact out on her.

He slammed his fist into the roof of his car then rested his head on the jam. He was loosing his mind over a bad tempered witch he barely knew.

His cell phone rang and he barked a greeting without looking at the ID. “Woah, um you ok?” asked Sam.

“Yeah. I’m awesome. What do you want?”

“Well, me and Kit are done here.”

“I’ll be there in ten.” He hung up without a reply and got in the car.

Kit and Sam were standing outside when her pulled up. Once the dark skinned witch was settled in the back seat, she slapped the back of Dean’s head and growled, “Stop being an ass to Mariah!”

“What? She tattled on me?” His still heated temper burned.

Kit’s umber eyes flared. “Damn right she did. If you can’t trust her to do her job then I will pack up our stuff and be out of here in the morning.”

Before he could respond, Sam said, “She’s right Dean. We all agreed to have Mariah handle the families and you going there like that really seemed like you are doubting her capabilities.”

He wanted to shout and rage but the deadness of Mariah’s face flashed in his mind. He knew he had stepped over a line. “Understood.” He put the car in drive. “Back to the motel?”

“Mariah said to meet her at a local bar,” said Sam.

-x-x-x-x-

Once they entered the dive, Mariah waved them over to the high table she was occupying. There was no evidence of her face that she was still upset from earlier. In fact, she smiled brightly and gave them all a warm greeting. Sam chuckled as he sat down. “The glasses are a nice touch. Kinda makes me really believed he whole journalist thing.”

Mariah gave him a confused look. Kit laughed. “Oh Samith. Mariah is hella blind. Those are real.”

Sam glared at Kit a moment for her idiotic nickname then said, “I’ve never seen you wear them before.”

Mariah sipped her drink. “There is a new invention called contacts, Sam.”

Sam held up his hands, “Aright. Enough.” He smiled and continued. “What did you find?”

Mariah explained what she had dug up, which wasn’t much. The only real connection was the fact all the victims were out jogging. Dean listen to the few details she had learned about each one he calmed down. Mariah seemed to have gotten over her anger as well. All was well.

Then he noticed something. She was back to ignoring him again. No she wasn’t being openly hostile or stingingly cold, but her blatant indifference to his presence seemed worse.

With out a word he got up. Sam question him and he just growled out her was getting a drink. Kit glared at him. Mariah didn’t even look up.

He gave his order to the blond behind the counter and sat down. No need for him to go back to the others. They all seemed to be getting along famously.

“Here ya go.” The bartender set the rock glass full of whiskey in front of him.

“Thanks.” He swallowed the double in one motion and ordered another.

“Rough day?”

Dean finally focused on the woman. Her honey hair was pulled back and her sky blue eyes were friendly and bold. The white Harley Davidson shirt looked like some one had ripped the sleeves and hem and from his seat he could barely see the band of her low riding hip huggers. She was just his type. Tall. Leggy. The complete opposite of...

Dean wouldn’t let the thought finish. This wasn’t about her. And just to prove it, dean put on his best smile and gave the girl a wink. “Looking at you make it a little better.”

Mariah dug her nails into her palms. There was no way she would look over at Dean. No, she would keep her eyes firmly on his brother and her sister. It didn’t matter that the sound of his laughter burned her ears. Or that the bartender’s thoughts had turned X rated. She could see his face in the woman’s mind. Those deep green eyes had turned dark and his smile sinful. Much like how he had looked at her the first night they had met.

She played with the ice I her empty glass, refusing to get up to get another. It didn’t bother her. She kept repeating that over and over in her head. Dean could flirt with who ever he wanted. She was pissed at the man for goddess sake.

Sam’s exclamation had he looking up. “Oh yeah! Mariah, you should have seen the medical examiner flirting with Kit. I was golden.”

“He was not!” Kit shouted.

“Was too.”

Mariah smiled. “Kit, honestly you are worse than me when it comes to that sort of thing.”

Sam almost choked on his whiskey. “Mariah, I’ve seen your f,it with guys.”

“No. You have seen me acting on a case.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What’s the difference?”

“One is a job so she has no attraction or intent on follow through,” Kit explained. “The other she has real feelings and becomes a complete idiot.”

Sam nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Doesn’t it though,” agreed Kit. Mariah glared at them both.

“Good evening, Agent Boleyn.” The all turned to the tall man. His glasses were similar to hers and his black curls hung over his eyes. Hints of a five o’clock shadow covers his firm jaw.

“Oh um hey Dr. Malloy.”

He smiled. “Call me Peter.” Mariah caught Sam’s eye and both had to keep from laughing. Kit cleared her throat. “Is something wrong?”

“No I just found something and wanted to show you.”

“Oh! Well um go ahead.”

His eyes cut to Mariah. Technically speaking, in his mind, she was a civilian and wasn’t allowed to hear this information. “We can talk over here.”

“S-sure. Sam?”

Sam shook his head. “Go ahead partner. Fill me in later.”

Kit shot daggers at the Winchester then looked at her sister, pleading. Mariah kept her eyes downward, focused on the ice in her glass. With a huff, Kit hopped down and followed the man to a booth. Sam and Mariah shared another look and finally released their mirth.

After a few minutes, the two calmed and Sam asked, “Any clue what this could be?”

Mariah shook her head. “No one.” Dean’s booming laughter filled the bar and she finally turned. The blond was leaned over the bar with her arms pushing up her chest as far as it could. Mariah stomach turned sour. “Hey, I’m gonna head back to the room. I need snacks if I’m gonna think.”

She didn’t give him time to answer, just tossed a ten for her drink and hurried out.

Dean laughed once more at the story the bartender was telling, only half listening. His skin felt tight and chest heavy. For the hundredth time, he chanced a glance back to the table. Sam sat alone looking over his notebook. A quick scan of the room showed Kit at a close by booth with some guy. Mariah was no where to be seen. Thinking she may have just gone to the bathroom, he continued with the bartender, checking everything ten seconds to see if the brunette had returned. After ten minutes and no Mariah, dean had had enough.

“Well sweetheart, I think I should call it a night.”

The woman’s smile faltered. “Really? It’s still kind early.”

“Early morning.”

“Well if you change you mind I get off a midnight.”

Dean didn’t answer, just handed her a few bills and walked back to the table the same time as Kit. Before he had a chance, Kit asked, “Where’s Mariah?”

“She went back to the motel. Said something about snacks?”

Kit nodded. “She think eats. It’s kinda weird but effective. I guess it’s the sugar rush. It’s her form of crack science.” She seemed calm but still gave Dean a dark, cutting glare.

“What did Peter have to say?” Sam chuckled.

“Shut up. Just that while he was logging in his notes he noticed something. Each attack was fourteen days apart exactly.”

“So whatever this is feeds every two weeks,” Dean stated.

Kit ignored him. “The last one was ten days ago.”

“So we have four days to figure out what this is and how to kill it,” offered Sam.

“Pretty much,” agreed Kit.

“Alright, let’s head back and help Mariah then.”

When they walked into the motel room, they found Mariah laying on the bed to the far side with various junk food packaging around her, fast asleep. All the makeup had been removed from her face and her curls were free and spread over the pillows. She had changed out of her dress into very short shorts and an oversized T-shirt that read ‘Witch’s Favorite Brew’ with a coffee mug decorated with a pentagram under the words.

“Welp. Sugar crash. She won’t be up till morning,” Kit announced as she examined the empty wrappers.

Sam yawned. “Crashing sounds like a good idea. We were up really early. Why don’t we start fresh in the morning?”

Kit shrugged. “Sounds good to me. I call shower!” She stared to gather her toiletries when the room phone rang. Sam answered. After a few words he hung up. “Kit, you have a package waiting for you at the front desk.”

Her eye brows eye furrowed. “From who.”

Sam shrugged.

“Why don’t you go with her Sammy in case it’s a trap from that weirdo from before.”

Sam nodded at his brother and followed Kit out of the room. Dean quickly changed into more comfortable clothing and started cleats the trash from around the sleeping witch. Then, he gently shifted her so she was now covered by the comforter. The only indication of life from her was a deep sigh and burrowing deeper into the bedding. Not giving himself time to think, Dean slipped in next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

By the time Sam and Kit returned, Dean was asleep with his face nestled in the crook of Mariah’s neck and Mariah using one of his arms as a pillow.

Kit shook her head and mumbled, “Dumb asses.” Before going into the bathroom.

@vicmc624 @vivilakitty

#spnfandom #spn fanfic #spn crack #spn fanfiction #spn gifs #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural blog #supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester

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ssugulur · 5 years ago

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How would the Nordics react to their s/o taking a picture of them without them knowing ?

Finland: Tino was making funny faces at you, trying to get you to smile since you had a rough day. As soon as Tino heard the crackle of the camera, he would look at you like a deer in the headlights. He would giggle and you’d be able to see a tint of pink on his cheeks. “What was that for?” He’d say between laughs.

Sweden: Berwald would be putting together an ikea chair for you. The bolts and nuts on the floor circled him while the chair was laying on its back. The ‘snap’ of the camera caught his attention and he instantly looked at you. “Why did you take a picture?” He blew a kiss at you and continued to build the chair, this time not looking at you ‘cause he didn’t wanna be in the photo.

Iceland: Emil was dancing around his room while blasting music, no shame whatsoever. Emil didn’t even know you were at his house. With the door to his room cracked open, you witnessed everything. The air guitar, the cha cha slide, everything. You took out your phone to take a video, and a couple minutes after recording, Emil looked in your direction for a brief moment before turning back, until he thought he saw something, turned to your direction again and screamed. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” “Are you recording me?” “DELETE THAT!” After you laugh your lungs out, you say “no,” and run away while Emil chases you around his home.

Norway: Lukas was reading a book from across the living room. You knew he wasn’t paying attention and took out your phone to take a couple photos since he just looked so cute. Forgetting you had your ringer on, Lukas’ face immediately shot up towards you. “Um...” was all he could get out for the moment, still staring at you. “Sorry...I forgot I had the ringer on..” You replied. “It’s okay..” Lukas continued his book about trolls and Norse mythology.

Denmark: You decided to visit him since it was gonna be Valentine’s Day soon (just pretend lololol). The cool breeze flew past you and Mattias while you both were chatting about what you were gonna do on Valentine’s Day. Mattias laughed loudly as you announced that you should go to the penis festival in Japan. Taking out your phone, you snapped a quick picture of his cheery smile. Mattias looked at you and brought you close to his chest. “I love ya, søde.”

Søde means sweetie in Danish ssjsksj

#aph nordics #hetalia scenarios #hetalia imagines #hetalia #hetalia headcanons #aph denmark #aph sweden #aph norway #aph iceland #aph finland

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1dffexchange · 6 years ago

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Am I My Brother’s Keeper

To: Leigh @thatoddpanda

From: Kate @fireawaynjh

Warning: Alcohol. Mild Swearing

Summary: Harry and Niall. Niall and Harry. Best friends, partners, practically brothers. They were inseparable for the majority of their adult lives and no spat could break their friendship. They’d survived missions through MI6 together, loss of loved ones, long nights and pub crawls when they got time off at the holidays. Nothing could touch them. That is until Anna appeared in both of their lives. They’d never fancied the same girl before and Anna had never dated two guys at the same time. When Harry and Niall discover they’ve both been dating the same girl, it’s an instant competition to see who can win her heart. But it doesn’t take long for the friendly contest between two gentleman to turn into a full on War. Who will Anna choose?

Harry and Niall had been partners since the academy. They’d been through mission after mission together. Harry had been there when Niall lost his wife and child in a car accident. Niall had been there for Harry when his father passed away. Nothing could have come between them.

Harry had been pushing Niall to start dating again but Niall didn’t want to hear any of it. He was focused on his job and only his job. Besides having a relationship while working for MI6 always had its drawbacks. He could never tell someone about his work and in the past that had always caused problems. His wife and him were on the brink of divorce when the accident occured. He couldn’t get back into that again, it was better if he just stayed single.

That was until he met Anna. He had been walking down the street to the pub for lunch. Some bloke had tried to make off with her purse and he’d chased him down to return it to her. She’d been so appreciative of his heroism that she’d offered to buy him a drink.

“Thank you darlin’ but I’ve got to head back to work, I’m just on me lunch break,” he replied easily.

“Then let me buy you lunch, I can’t thank you enough,” she insisted. She was enthralled by his Irish accent and was swooning over his charm. She hadn’t been this taken with a man since high school when she first laid eyes on Marcus Landry the keeper for the school’s football team.

“Alright then fair enough,” Niall replied. He was enticed by her too, her eyes sparkling and her smile blinding. He swallowed as they turned to walk through the pub doors again.

“I’m Anna,” she added quickly as they made their way to the bar.

“Anna. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Niall.” She smiled and shook his hand. The two sat and ordered lunch. Niall wasn’t ready to leave when it came time for him to return to work.

“Anna?” he asked timidly as she finished signing the bill. “Could I call you some time? I really enjoyed talkin’ t’ya today.” A pink flush spread across her cheeks as she scribbled her phone number on the top half of the receipt and pushed it across the table. Her heart raced as his long fingers grabbed the small paper and tucked it carefully into his jacket pocket.

“I’d like that a lot Niall. Thank you again for returning my purse to me.” She smiled as they both stood and went their separate ways, Niall back to the office and Anna to the market for groceries.

As Anna wandered through the tents of fresh fruits and vegetables she passed Harry, who had just been chatting up the daughter of the citrus grove farmer. Her sweet perfume wafted under his nose and turned his head to find the source. Her beauty stunned him and he compulsively followed her over to the vegetable stand.

“Y’know I have the greatest zucchini bread recipe,” he said looking over at her delicate hands as she picked out three near perfect zucchinis. “I could make it for you some time if you like.” Anna rolled her eyes. She was so tired of guys thinking they were so hot and smooth. She also was too preoccupied thinking about Niall. She ignored him and moved on to the carrots.

“Or maybe my stir fry recipe? See the secret to a good stir fry is fresh ginger.”

“Thank you for offering but I’m not interested,” Anna snapped. Harry chuckled.

“Come on love, I could teach you a lot,” he smirked. She wasn’t falling for his moves though and Harry could tell. She paid for her vegetables and turned around to leave but she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a couple walking towards the stand. Anna knew eventually she’d run into her ex and his fiance, she just didn’t realize that it would be so soon after hearing about their engagement. Carl had called her when it happened and asked about her life. Truthfully she hadn’t seen anyone since they’d broken up and the only relationship she had was with tequila, but she was too embarrassed to tell him that so she lied and said that she too was in a serious relationship.

The closer he got the more panicked she grew. She grabbed Harry’s hand and laughed as if he’d just made a joke.

“Please just go with it,” she begged through a smile. Harry nodded and slid his arm around her waist as she made a move to walk.

“Anna! Hi!” Carl grinned. “It’s so funny you still shop here. You remember Michelle right?” He gestured to the woman on his arm.

“I do, I do. Congratulations, speaking of I do’s,” Anna nervously laughed.

“And this must be your boyfriend.” Carl smiled extending a hand to Harry. “Carl Roberts, Anna and I used to date in uni.”

“Harry Styles, lovely to meet you.” He glanced down at Anna. “You never mentioned him before sweetheart?”

“Oh um, I never thought about it really,” she replied bashfully. She couldn’t lie, Harry’s posh London appearance put Carl’s Liverpool persona to shame. She could tell he was threatened and a part of her loved it.

“And that is why I adore you so much,” he grinned and leaned down to press his lips to her softly. The tenderness of his lips shocked Anna, she started rethinking his suave persona and lame chat up attempts. As he pulled away Carl laughed awkwardly.

“Well it was great to catch up Anna, and nice to meet you Harry.” He nodded and left with his bride as Anna and Harry rounded the corner to the next stand.

“So, I’m your boyfriend now am I?” He smirked charmingly. “Can’t say I’m complaining.”

“I’m so sorry, thank you for not selling me out,” she sighed.

“No worries.. But you can continue to thank me at dinner tonight.”

Anna wanted to protest, but she owed him so she simply nodded and gave him her phone number so he could let her know when to be ready.

Back at the office Niall was beaming as he stared at the torn receipt and the numbers neatly scrawled across it. He had already saved them to his phone and had started and erased a dozen messages to her. Harry noticed right away the change in his best friend’s mood, forgetting about Anna as he sat down.

“Alright who’s the girl?” he asked smugly.

“Dunno what you’re on about Harold.”

“You’re smiling, you never smile, so tell me who did you meet?”

“No one okay? S’nothin mate.”

“Fine then I’ll tell you about the bird I met.”

“Another model for you then? At this rate you’ll have hooked up with the entire cast of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,” Niall loved to poke fun at his best friend’s casual dating habits. Everyone knew Harry as the smooth, typical James Bond type.

“No I met her at the farmer’s market.”

“Oh so you’re going for the health nuts now are ya?”

“If you tell me about your girl I’ll stop talking about mine,” Harry countered.

“Fine mate, she was at the pub and some bloke nicked her bag, I got it back for her and she bought me lunch.”

“Look at you Romeo, when are y’takin her out?”

“I’m not, relationships are too much for this job you know that.” “Mate just call her an ask her out tonight,” Harry pressed.

“No that’s too fast,” Niall replied. Harry stared at him. He knew if he stared long enough Niall would cave. And after thirty seconds he sighed and picked up the phone to dial.

“Oh, hello love,” he smiled. “Listen I was thinking maybe we could have dinner tonight?”

“Oh, y’know I’ve got a work meeting that’s going to go late tonight, but how about tomorrow?” Anna smiled to herself. She wasn’t very interested in Harry but she did owe him a favor and she wasn’t one to break plans.

“Yeah tomorrow works great, I’ll um, I’ll text you.” He smiled as he hung up.

“So dinner tomorrow?” Harry smirked. “Look at you mate! Finally gettin’ out there.”

“Yeah yeah, we’ll see.” Truthfully he was beyond excited to see her again.

Dinner was a success if Niall did say so himself. He took her to his favorite Italian place and they stayed out for hours. Anna appreciated that he moved slow and didn’t try to make any big moves. She had gone to “dinner” (it was actually a club that served caviar to the VIP customers) with Harry the night before. He had tried to get her to go home with him and she didn’t enjoy it. He’d been respectful of course that wasn’t the issue. She didn’t like how sauve he thought he was. Sure he had reason to be, he was handsome and tall and very very charming, but he was in no way humble about it. Not like Niall, he was sweet and thoughtful, gentle even. She had agreed to another date with Niall that night, Harry hadn’t asked her again yet, she hoped that he got the message that she wasn’t interested.

Niall had given Harry all of the details of the night the following morning only after Harry nearly beat it out of him at their gym session. They’d made their way back to the office after showering, Harry embellished the very few high points of his date, neither of them realizing they were seeing the same girl.

Harry knew he wanted to see her again. He sat at his desk for an hour before pulling out his phone to call her.

“Anna love! How are you?” Niall’s head shot up as Harry said her name.

“I’m well how are you?” she replied easily.

“Excellent, listen I was thinking we could get lunch today, I know this great spot, has the best french cuisine in all of London.” He was beaming over at Niall who was furrowing his brow in confusion.

“I um I’m working right now but,”

“I can come pick you up when you take your lunch break, just text me alright?” Anna didn’t have the heart to tell him no. She gave a pleasant goodbye and hung up.

“Who’s Anna?” Niall asked warily.

“The bird I took out the other night.” He kicked back in his chair with a smirk. Niall froze in his. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.. It’s just um... the girl I’m seeing is named Anna too.” Harry furrowed his brow.

“Yeah, that’s a crazy coincidence.”

“Yeah coincidence huh…” Niall swallowed thickly.

“Well pull up a picture of her.” Harry replied. He couldn’t deny the butterflies building in the pit of his stomach.

“You too. You show me first.”

“Oh don’t be a baby Niall we’ll show each other at the same time yeah?” Niall nodded. The two typed on their computers, each pulling up her instagram page, clicking the first selfie they found.

“On three?” Harry asked. Niall nodded with sweating palms. “Right.. One..”

The tension tripled in that one second. Both boys were intimidated by the other, though they would never say so out loud.

“Two….”

Niall wanted to throw up and Harry was ready to rip out his hair.

“Three.”

Both boys turned their monitors to reveal the same photo, confirming the fears they both had. Their Anna was the same Anna

“You can’t have her I met her first!” Niall said immediately.

“Mate I love you but clearly she’s out of your league.” Harry wasn’t trying to be mean, but his track record with girls was far better than Niall’s.

“I’m sorry d’you want t’say that again t’me?”

“She’s. Out. Of. Your. League.” Niall threw his foam football at Harry’s head.

“She actually likes me-” “She’s going to lunch with me.”

“You could have hundreds of birds mate why this one?”

“I like her, she’s fit.”

Niall set his jaw and took a deep breath.

“Let’s let her decide,” he suggested. Harry thought about it. If he was honest he didn’t want to enter a competition with Niall. Yeah Harry had experience but Niall was a quality man, he had a kindness and charm that Harry couldn’t come anywhere near to achieving. But there was something about Anna, something that made his heart stop. Maybe it was how softly she kissed him despite the abruptness of her actions. He knew in his heart this was the only way for him to get her.

“That seems.. fair,” Harry conceded. Niall nodded. “No interference?” He nodded. “No hard feelings?” Another nod. “Okay...let the best man win.”

The two returned to their work, but while Harry was at lunch with Anna, Niall sent an intern to follow them and report back.

Anna hated to admit that lunch with Harry was incredible. He was right when he said it was the best french cuisine. They sat for a good hour, her talking about the event planning she did, her latest client a russian billionaire, and Harry talking about his “job” as a travel agent. Anna grew more and more fond of him the longer they talked. She never would have guessed it but Harry was an incredible listener. He made thoughtful comments and asked genuine questions. It shocked her truthfully.

“So what’s the best place you traveled to?” she asked as she took a small bite of her salad. Harry had learned a lot about her in the short time they’d been eating. He realized she didn’t want some suave successful rich guy, she just wanted an honest man. So he didn’t try to impress her with charm and grandiose, he just gave truthful answers.

“How do you determine the best? Because my trip to Spain was brilliant, loads of fun and great scenery, but I also did some work in Sri Lanka and that was the most humbling thing I’ve ever done.”

Anna was stunned. She’d expected him to say Amsterdam or Ibiza or some other typical party spot. She felt guilty for writing him off as some macho Don Juan the first time they met. She just didn’t know him that was all. Harry showed her photos of the kids he met while he was there. His dimpled smile and obvious comfort around children warmed her heart.

Harry paid for lunch and dropped her off at her work again. He was kind and only hugged her goodbye but a small part of her wishes he had kissed her. She waved goodbye before disappearing inside the building and heading straight to her best friend’s office.

“I fucked up.”

Sadie looked up from her day planner. She saw the panic written on Anna’s face, not an unusual look, she panicked over her parking job most days.

“How much will it cost to fix?” she asked assuming it was work related.

“It’s not work.” Anna bit her lip nervously and sank back into the chair.

“Anna I swear to god if you’re pregnant and you don’t know the father-”

“No! No oh my god no I haven’t had sex in months! No there’s no way but honestly that’s kind of part of the problem I don’t know what to do and what if it’s bad oh my god how do-”

“Anna!” Sadie snapped, jaring her friend out of her panicked word vomit. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m dating two guys.” Sadie’s jaw dropped. Anna was the queen of calculated, no risk decisions. She over thought everything that’s why she threw the best events in the office. Sadie used to swear she did background checks on every guy she ever crushed on.

“You? You are dating two guys?” Anna nodded. “So what’s the problem?” Anna wrinkled her brow. Wasn’t it obvious? Sadie looked at her waiting for a response.

“I like them both! But it’s not okay to lead them both on!” she cried.

“This is literally so small on the scale of problems you could have Anna, you just have to make a choice. I mean seriously, just date them both for a few weeks and then decide who’s better.”

“Can I do that?”

“Babes men do this, women do this, teenagers do this, yes you can do this.” Anna nodded solemnly. She fired more anxious questions at Sadie, only stopping when the phone rang to signal Sadie’s client had arrived.

Harry returned to the office smug, having noticed Niall’s intern the minute he and Anna arrived at the restaurant.

“How did it go?” Niall asked innocently.

“You mean your pathetic little errand boy didn’t tell you already?” Harry challenged. Niall scoffed and scrounged for a defense. “Don’t worry mate he still thinks he’s a good spy.” Niall set his jaw and turned back to his computer. “Only he left before he could see me kiss her goodbye.” Niall grabbed for a stress ball sitting by his desktop monitor and Harry casually flipped through a file, feet propped up on his desk as he smirked about his lie. Niall knew Harry would get him back, he was just scared to think how.

He told Harry the wrong place when asked about his date with Anna, truth was he was bringing Anna back to his place for a home cooked dinner. But Harry knew better, Niall always wooed women by making them dinner. He sent his intelligence team to the house to bug it with cameras and microphones.

Anna nervously knocked on Niall’s door that night. She was hesitant to be at his house but at least if he tried to sleep with her it would make her decision easy. Niall opened the door for her, smiling brightly like always, and led her to the kitchen to pour her a glass of wine while she waited for dinner to be ready. But he was perfect gentleman, making her dinner (that was absolutely divine, she’d never had a butternut squash ravioli before) and playing soft music while they sat outside and talked late into the night. She learned he was a travel photographer, and about the end of his marriage and his daughter. And at the end of the night when she stood up to head home, claiming an early start at work, he nodded and walked her to the door, kissing her cheek politely.

Harry sat in the intelligence room watching the whole exchange. His blood boiled because he knew Niall was wooing her, no one could resist his charm when he decided to use it and there was no way she could say no to a widower. He sighed and shut off the screen when Niall closed his front door. How would he stop him. He’d never felt this strongly about a woman before, maybe he could just tell Niall that? He sighed and stood up to go home. He knew he’d just have to win her cause there is no way Niall would give her up. Not to Harry anyway.

He didn’t know how he got home, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't realize he was parked outside until he stopped the car. He opened a beer once inside and texted Anna.

Can’t stop thinking about you….

Back at her own home Anna sat ridden with guilt as she read over the words. Me either she quickly replied. The guilty pit in her stomach grew larger as she hit send. It wasn’t a lie, she found herself thinking about Harry quite often. But she also thought about Niall too. She still couldn’t decide. Her eyes glanced over the clock that read ten after midnight. She quickly dialed Sadie.

“Are you okay?” Sadie asked immediately. Anna had told her she was going to Niall’s house incase anything bad happened.

“Yeah I’m fine I’m at home. I just can’t decide who to pick” she whined, flopping back on her sofa. Sadie groaned.

“So don’t date either one, there are plenty of blokes in the world you’ll be fine.”

“But Harry is so handsome-” “So date him.” “But Niall is so kind…”

“So date him.”

“Sadie you’re not helping.”

“Anna I don't know how to help you!”

“Can’t you choose for me?” The line was silent for a few moments. “Sadie please you’re always so perceptive of guys.” Sadie finally sighed.

“Send me photos.” Anna squealed in excitement as she sent links to both of their Instagram pages.

“Oh...Oh wow you weren’t kidding about Harry.. Fuck and what a name, Harry Styles? God damn.” “I know… and he looks like such a wanker y’know? Like he knows he’s a lads lad. But he’s not really like that cause he was so nice at lunch the other day, he volunteers to build homes in developing countries and he’s great with kids, he’s a great listener.”

“And he clearly loves dogs, and he travels to cool places… and he seems like he’s secretly a sensitive guy. I think he just tried too hard to make a good first impression y’know? You could do that whole, ‘breaking down his walls and building a relationship on trust’ thing you love so much.” Anna nodded despite her friend’s jab.

“Yeah...” Anna let out a deep sigh.

“That was a love struck sigh if I ever heard one.”

“What about Niall?” She said rolling her eyes,

“Okay first impression? He looks like a wuss. But if you look back he looks like he used to have loads of fun. He probably went through a hard time and has just matured.”

“His wife and daughter died three years ago.”

Sadie stopped. “Oh shit that’s insane… are you like the first girl he’s dated since?”

“No but he did say he hasn’t dated very many people since.”

“Okay.. cause you do not want to be the first girl to a widower, it’s messy.”

“So which should I pick?!” Anna sighed.

“Honestly? They’re both great.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“Fine pick Harry,” Sadie sighed thinking maybe making a choice would help her friend decide. Sadly she had no luck and spent another half an hour creating pro con lists.

“I’m gonna flip a coin,” Anna decided. It was a long shot but at least it would make a choice for her. Or she would make choice while she flipped it.

Harry and Niall both continued to pursue Anna. She didn’t have the nerve to flip the coin yet, and work had started to pick up as she planned the Russian billionaire’s event. Work picked up for Harry and Niall too. Word came through that diamonds were being smuggled into London and Niall and Harry were assigned to the case. Tensions were high between the two as their efforts to thwart the other increased and their work suffered because of it. Spats over who would take lead and who would interrogate sources brought operations to a slow and delayed any progress they might have made. Days passed and the sting to nab the diamonds at the airport failed due to Harry’s refusal to wait for the signal and to be the hero. Their failure led to more tense arguments and the possibility of losing their jobs.

“Mr. Horan, Mr. Styles. I think we got something.” Both agents crowded around the monitor, examining the screen.

“The exchange is at an event?” Niall asked. “How are they going to do that?”

“Who knows sir, but we’ll get access to all the security and get agents at the event once we know more.”

“There has to be something that tells us more..” Harry mused. “Are there any big gala’s in town?” The tech shook his head.

“Steve... bring up the top 20 wealthiest people in london at this current moment, non residents as well.” Niall had a feeling this wasn’t just a smuggle but a sale. Steve brought up this list. “Scan for their names in the news in the last two weeks.” Steve clicked away at his keyboard again. After a few moments Niall pointed at a result. “That’s it.. That’s where it’s going to be.” Harry froze.

“Fuck.” Niall looked over at him concerned. Harry met his eyes. “That’s Anna’s event.” Niall paled and stood up straight.

The day of the event came around and Anna woke up more nervous than she could have imagined. This event was high profile and if she ruined it she’d never get another offer again. She paced around her kitchen while her espresso brewed, turning over every what if problem she could imagine. Before she knew it she was reaching for her phone. She needed someone there with her, she didn’t realize who she was dialing until he answered.

“Hey,” she smiled as his charming ‘Hello’ sounded.

“Hello love, how are you?” he knew this was the day of the event, he hoped she wouldn’t catch him there that night.

“I’m good I’m good! Listen I um.. I’m planning this event tonight and I um… I thought you might want to… go with me?” she bit her lip praying he didn’t already have plans. His lips stretched into a wide grin. But then he thought about the mission. Could he let down his team like that? Yes, he’d still be there, just in a different capacity, in fact this would be better! He found himself nodding before he spoke. Anna needed him.

“Yeah of course, black tie I assume?”

“Yes! I um, I can come get you at say 7?”

“That’s perfect love I’ll see you then.” She nodded as he hung up and she stared at her phone. It looked like she’d made her choice between her two beaus.

He didn’t tell his partner he was going with Anna, He didn’t want to cause any more fights that could put her in danger. Instead he avoided all cameras inside the venue and waited for the team to continue without him. He shut off his phone too so they couldn’t call him.

His team sat in the surveillance van across the street waiting for him to answer his phone.

“I swear to god if he isn’t here in two minutes I’m going in without him.”

“Sir you can’t do that it’s against protocol, you’re one of the lead agents.” Steve protested.

“Yeah well so is he and he was supposed to be here an hour ago.” The team sighed. Two minutes passed and he gave the signal to begin. He strutted forward in his best suit, flashing an invitation at the bouncer and making his way into the party while the rest of the team stepped in as wait staff. He casually stopped at the car, ordering a scotch neat as he scanned the room. That’s when he saw him, Anna draped on his arm as they laughed with a few guests. His face grew a deep red as anger flooded his body. He tossed back his drink and started making his way over there. 20 steps in and Anna excused herself to the restroom. His fist was already in ball as he neared his supposed best friend.

“Sir did you find the suspects? Is this the signal?” The voices of his team echoed in his ear piece.

“No this is not the fucking signal. This is fucking revenge.” He was less than three meters away when he locked eyes with his friend and he realized what was happening.

“Niall I can explain.” Harry defended as Niall raised a fist to his jaw.

“Explain what?” Niall snapped as his best friend lay on the ground clutching his jaw. “That you fucking betrayed me for some bird? You left me stranded I didn’t know if you’d bloody show!” Harry slowly stood up.

“What was I supposed to do? Call you up and say she invited me to go and that I’d have to help you when I got here? And have you go into another depressive episode because she picked ME over YOU?! Have you ruin the whole bloody thing because y’got your feelings hurt?!” Both of them were seething as the insults flew. Luckily no one was paying them any mind as they stood off in the corner away from crowds.

“I would have fucking understood but you have put us ALL at risk do you fucking understand?! You’re me fucking best friend Harry and you’re tossin all that over some stupid girl?!”

“I am not. I can still do my part of the operation, I just got in a different way.”

“No you can’t. You’re fucking off the team I don’t fucking trust you.” Niall spat.

“Me? You don’t fucking trust me?! Thats bloody rich who was it who started the whole spying on the other business?! That was you Horan! You!”

“I told you I met her first! But you just had to go and have the one thing you couldn’t! You’re a goddamn child!” Niall was faintly aware of someone saying his name in his ear but he was too infuriated to listen to it.

“What so just because your wife died means you get automatic claim to any bird y’fancy? That’s bullshit Niall fuck you.”

“Niall?” They both froze. “Niall what are you doing here?” Anna looked at the two boys in front of her. The more she looked the more she saw, both of them realizing it too. “You two know each other?”

“Anna darling I promise it’s not what it seems,” Harry insisted, reaching for her but she stepped away.

“Both of you get out… don’t talk to me again.” she demanded, motioning for security to come escort them out.

“Wait Anna no, no you don’t understand!” Niall pleaded but security backed them away to the exit, closing the doors once they were both outside.

They both stared at the door as the cold breeze blew, Harry breaking the soft silence.

“Shit.”

“How the fuck are we gonna do this?” Harry asked as they sat in the van.

“We’ve got more waiter costumes, we could sneak back in?” Niall suggested. Harry was right, he did have his feelings hurt, but not because Anna chose Harry, because he’d turned on his best friend and he’d most likely lost him. Harry could sense the uneasiness in his friends.

“Niall..I’m sorry for what I said, and I should have backed off of Anna, But y’got to understand, she’s different for me, she’s someone I could spend me whole life with. But if It means I lose you as me best friend then I’ll never talk to her again.”

Niall sighed. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I mean honestly yeah I’d have been a bit upset but I’d never ruin a mission or our friendship because of this.”

“I know.. I should have told you, I’m sorry mate.” He opened his arms for an embrace. Niall broke a small smile as he hugged his best friend for a moment before stepping back. He reached for his gun and slid it in it’s holster, looking his best friend in the eye.

“Right, let’s do this.”

#1dff #exchanges

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