#please send help i think I got lost in my internet travels

[imeriayapping]

Valentino Rossi in hands of other man? Likely place for him to be

[intercoursefluids]

You Lied to Me?

The Wayne Enterprises building was the most beautiful building Marinette had ever seen. The tour guide was a very sweet man and he loved telling jokes to try to get the class to laugh.

Unfortunately, Lila was on a roll today, lying about knowing the Waynes and growing up with the youngest son, and finding out that they were true mates.

Even if she was claiming that her true mate was Prince Ali a week before the trip was announced, god forbid Marinette points that out and makes Lila shed her crocodile tears.

Even Adrien, her own mate, took Lilas's side and yelled at her for pointing out her lies when she should just stay quiet.

It ended up leading into a huge argument between them that Marinette had to apologize for to get him to talk to her after 3 long weeks of him ignoring her existence.

“Bruce Wayne funds multiple charities around the world in honor of his late parents, he has several adoptive children and a single blood son. Bruce typically keeps his children out of the spotlight and most Gothamites are very good about keeping pictures with them off of the internet.”

As the tour guide talks, Marinette reaches out her hand for Adrien's just for him to brush her off and step away from her.

Wrapping her arms around herself she leaves his side to stand next to the tour guide. At least he tells jokes and tries to make this interesting.

Damian's POV:

“Master Damian, you should start heading to the office if you want to catch Master Dick before his lunch break is over.”

Running his hands over his face he thanks Alfred before grabbing his jacket and starting his car up.

He needed Dick to sign off on his trip to Paris, France since he was his temporary guardian until Father got back from his honeymoon with Selina.

Pulling up to the building he stops. Not because of the bright yellow bus sitting in the parking lot, no, it's because of the intoxicating scent of baked goods, plants, and rain wafting through the air.

Following the smell leads him to the tour group Grayson is leading into the cafeteria.

Walking to Grayson's side he passes him the permission slip, trying to understand why he wants to be near the Blue haired angel getting a lunch tray.

“Grayson, how can you tell if you’ve found your true mate?”

Grayson startles looking up from signing the papers.

“Well, their scent is one way, they will smell like absolute heaven to you and you can’t help but follow it. Another way is that when you see them you want to touch them so you can get your scent on them as well, and when you do touch them, it's electrifying. Literally and figuratively. Do you think you found them?”

Damian nods, his eyes following his mate as she looks for a table to sit at.

“She’s right there. The one with the blue hair.”

Grayson smiles, clapping Damian on the shoulder.

“She’s pretty.”

Damian snorts responding without even thinking.

“She’s beautiful, Grayson. ‘Pretty’ doesn’t even scratch the surface.”

Grayson coos at Damian, being thoroughly ignored.

Damian starts walking towards her, intent on introducing himself when he catches another scent just beneath hers.

Another male’s scent.

He freezes in place making Grayson stop his cooing to instead question him.

“What's wrong? Is it not her?”

Damian watches as she walks to a seat at an empty table away from the rest of her group.

“She-”

Damian cuts off as he watches someone stick out their foot and trip her. Her lunch spills everywhere as she falls to the floor.

Not thinking twice he rushes over to her, holding out his hand and helping her up.

Just like Grayson said little shocks travel up and down his arm and he finds himself never wanting to let go.

She has the most beautiful blue eyes he's ever seen and the most angelic voice he's eve- Oh wait she's talking.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and tripped, I’m so sorry!”

Damian just shakes his head, motioning for one of the janitors to come over and clean up the mess.

When he arrives she automatically drops down beside him to help pick up the mess muttering apologize the entire time.

Damian shifts his hand to her shoulder, subconsciously marking her with his scent and trying to overpower the other males.

“It’s fine honey, this stuff happens all the time. Why don’t you go hop back in line and get another tray? We wouldn’t want you to go hungry now.”

With the janitor's gentle prodding she finally stands up and gets another tray.

On her way back, Damian makes sure to keep an eye out for anyone else who wants to trip her.

The rest of lunch goes smoothly as she takes a seat at the table she was heading to and Damian watches her from his spot next to his brother.

Everything goes fine until they are about to finish the tour. A guy with blonde hair roughly grabs the girl with blue hair pulling her off to the side.

“Ow! Adrien, what’s wrong?”

Damian watches from Grayson's side, wanting to go help but certain she can handle herself.

“You know exactly what you did, Marinette. Don’t play stupid.”

A low growl leaves his chest as his mate is insulted.

“Adrien, you’re not making any sense. What did I do?”

He grabs both her wrists, shaking her violently.

“You belong to me! You are mine Marinette! Trying to get me jealous by flirting with that other guy? Really?! How low can you sink?! It's pathetic!”

She pushes away from him, rubbing at her wrists with the start of a bruise forming.

Damian starts to make his way over, a low, vicious rumbling in the back of his throat.

Grayson, seeing how mad Damian follows him.

“What the hell are you talking about?! I wasn’t flirting with anyone! I fell because Lila stuck her foot out and tripped me! It wasn’t my fault!”

Their argument starts to attract the attention of the other workers, a few running to find security.

Damian starts running as he watches the guy's hand clench before raising it.

He strikes her. Hard.

‘Marinette’ being caught off guard, loses her balance and falls to the ground, turning to look at him before he roughly grabs her by one of her pigtails and pulls her up to his face, and screams at her.

“Don’t talk back to me! I own you and you will do as I say! Do you understand?!”

She pushes him away.

“Whoever decided that you were my true mate was wrong. Dead wrong!”

He snarls, pulling his fist back to strike her.

Damian gets there first.

The next thing everyone knows is Damian Wayne is standing protectively in front of the girl and the guy is several feet away clutching his cheek and groaning.

Grayson kneels next to Marinette, helping her to her feet and taking Damian’s coat from his outstretched hand to wrap around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?”

She nods as he pulls her closer to him away from the fight that is likely to break out before a loud screeching voice cuts through the air.

“True mates? With him? Please Marinette, I knew you were ignorant but I didn’t think you were stupid. I am Adriens true mate. Not you.”

Damian stands up making his way to Marinette, taking her in his arms as she starts to shake.

“What are you talking about Lila? Adrien was there on my birthday, he said we were mates!”

‘Lila’ cackles as other people gasp, some with their phones out recording the entire thing.

“Oh please, did you just take his word for it? Why didn’t you just check his scent? That’s always been the easiest way to tell. Go ahead, I won’t even mess with you.”

She stays frozen looking straight at the boy claiming to be her mate.

“I can’t. I lost my sense of smell when I was a kid. I couldn’t check even if I wanted to.”

Lila looks surprised now, before looking on sadly.

“You really had no idea he was lying, did you?”

She starts shaking, taking a hesitant step towards Adrien.

“Adrien? W-what's she talking about? It’s not true. Is it?”

Her voice ends in a broken whisper, eyes tearing up as he slowly stands up and walks to her.

“You are mine, Marinette. You were mine the moment you put on those earrings. I mean seriously if I don’t take you who will?”

She flinches as he steps closer, his voice getting louder with hysteria.

“Nobody likes you, Mari! I am all you have left now! You want to leave me? HA! I’d like to see you try it.”

At the end of his ‘speech’ he roughly grabs her arm pulling a whimper from her and a very, VERY dangerous sounding snarl from Damian.

Ripping Adrien's hand from her arm while being as gentle as possible to not hurt her he pulls her behind him handing her off to his brothers entrusting them to take care of her.

“Who do you think you are grabbing her like that?”

The words are accentuated with the deep growl rumbling from his chest.

“I don’t see how it's any of your business, what I do with MY personal belongings.”

Damian picks Adrien up by his neck slamming him against the nearest wall.

“Don’t talk about her like she's an object.”

Adrien, being the Buffon with no sense of self-preservation he is, laughs.

“Oh yeah? What's it to you how I treat her? Not like you would want her for anything other than her body anyway.”

Adrien sneers down at Damian, even as he slowly starts to turn purple in the face from his grip on his neck.

Slowly tightening his grip even more he watches as the blonde idiot starts to flail from the lack of breathing. Fighting to get a single breath of air.

“Do not act as if I would ever treat my mate in such a way.”

His voice is deadly, sending shivers down even the security guards spines.

Everyone watches on, some with their phones recording, certain that they are about to see Damian Wayne, their bosses son, about to commit a murder in the lobby.

And no one is even going to try and stop him.

That is until a small pale hand lands on his arm, shooting sparks all the way to his heart.

“Is it true? Are you really my true mate?”

Damian nods ever so slowly, never taking his eyes off the blonde who is slowly losing consciousness.

Two thin, lethal arms wrap around his waist from behind.

“Please stop. I just want to leave right now. Will you take me?”

Without another word Damian drops the barely conscious man, taking his coat off and wrapping it around Marinette's shoulders, tucking her into his side as he swiftly walks her out of the building.

Adrien slowly gets up, trying to chase after them only to be cut short by the three eldest Wayne brothers.

All armed with glares that could kill.

Behind them stands all of the Wayne enterprises employees, making a human barrier between the newly found mates and Adrien.

The brother with the white piece of hair steps forward pushing Adrien back down to the ground.

“I think we need to have a little talk.”

[couldntbedamned]

Goodbye Grey Sky, Hello Blue - 12

Summary: In an alternate universe where trains and zeppelins are still common forms of travel and the internet and cell phones exist, nineteen year old Peter Parker has few options left after he’s swindled out of his inheritance. Unable to pay for college, let alone keep the house left to him by his deceased aunt, he’s running out of time before he’s out on the streets. Desperate, Peter signs his life over to the Bureau of Civic Spousal Selections to take his chances as the selected husband of a complete stranger. After all, he only has to make it through a year and then he can choose to annul.

Dr. Stephen Strange has little interest in marriage, preferring to focus on his career. When his career is threatened by what a nosy board of directors considers a “lack of personal fulfillment and settling down,” he opts to select a spouse through the BCSS and chooses Peter Parker. The young man’s profile he’d briefly skimmed suggests intelligence and compatibility. It’s not ideal, but if after a year it’s not working out, he can always annul the marriage and send Peter on his way.

It’s a marriage neither truly wants, with sharp learning curves for both. It’s either going to be forever or it’s going to go down in flames.

Warnings/AO3 Tags: 18+ MINORS DNI, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - 1950s/Modern Fusion, Doctor Stephen Strange, Jewish Peter Parker, Peter Parker is of Legal Age, Marriage of Convenience, Marriage Contracts, Government Sanctioned Marriages, Domestic Discipline, Dubiously Consensual Spanking, Spanking, Aftercare, Mildly Dubious Consent, Dubious Morals, Dubious Ethics, Asshole Stephen Strange, Smartass Peter Parker

Notes: Please remember to read the tags/warnings listed and read/avoid as best for you. YOU are responsible for the content you chose to consume on the internet.

<<<>>>

Chapter 12

<<<>>>

The dinner was a resounding success, and Stephen had to admit that it was all because of Peter.

Peter had put such care into everything, from the music playing through the house speaker system to the appetizers set out neatly on side tables in the living room with little cards explaining what was in them.

Sweet Potato Stacks- sweet potato, cherry tomato, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic

Rainbow Spring Rolls with sweet chili dipping sauce - rice paper, mint, Thai basil, spring onions, cucumber, carrot, mango, red chili, salted peanuts

Date and Walnut Bites - dates, walnuts, cinnamon, coconut whip

Peter wasn't awkward with their guests as Stephen had initially feared he'd be. While he didn't draw attention to himself needlessly, he also didn't shy away from conversation or say anything untoward. He'd had Ben Grimm and his wife charmed by his stunt with the kitchen, and Dr. Knight and Mr. Wilson were no different.

"So, what drew you to Strange over here?" Wilson had asked Peter as they sat in the living room, soft jazz playing at just the right level.

Oh no.

"The contract with the BCSS, I guess," Peter said lightly. Then his eyes went mischevious. "Then it was the fancy cars."

Wilson laughed. "Got an eye for Buicks, do you?"

"And car services, apparently," Peter joked. "It's a nice change from the public transit back in Midtown."

"Aren't Midtown's subways pneumatic?" Alicia asked.

Peter nodded. "They are. For years there's been talk of changing over to electricity like in New Angeles or Chicago, but I doubt it will happen in my lifetime." He turned his attention to Grimm.

"I know Stephen's a surgeon. What's your specialty?"

"Butchery or carpentry, depending on what other doctors you ask," Ben said with a self-deprecating smile. "I'm a surgeon as well, specializing in orthopedics."

"But you help people keep moving, right? I think that's amazing!" Peter insisted. "I remember reading this article in Modern Science about this little boy who lost his hands in a car accident, and when a donor pair of hands was found, his surgical team attached them and now he's on his high school baseball team! The lead surgeon was an orthopedic surgeon. It's cool!"

"I know Dr. Voss," Ben said warmly. "She's very talented."

Peter's eyes lit up. "Wow!" He looked at Dr. Knight. "What about you, Dr. Knight?"

"Call me Misty, please. I'm a pediatrician. Surgery isn't my specialty, but I am licensed for it," she answered. "I remember the case you're talking about, with the boy? It was big news in the medical community."

"I never liked the doctor I saw when I was growing up," Peter said. "But if he was more like you, I think I would have, for sure."

Misty beamed brighter than Stephen had seen outside of the children she treated.

"These sweet potato stacks are amazing!" Wilson said. His small plate held several of them. "And this is all that's in them?" he asked, holding up the little card.

Peter nodded. "Yep! My Aunt May would make them and the walnut date bites for her canasta club on evenings when they wanted to feel fancy. I actually stole the spring roll recipe from her friend Gilda, but what Gilda doesn't know won't hurt her."

"I like the cards you made for them," Misty added. "It's a very elegant and tasteful way to warn for allergies."

"There were a few kids in my old shul youth group that had really severe allergies so we always made the cards for everyone's safety if there was an event where snacks or food would be served," Peter said. "Sometimes we spent more time designing the cards and practicing our penmanship than eating the food, but we really enjoyed it." He smiled fondly and something inside of Stephen ached.

When dinner was served, both Misty and her husband were stunned that Ben and Alicia were staying. "Really?" Misty asked. "I thought you had the diet thing?"

"We follow kashruth," Ben said, holding Alicia's hand. "And young Peter here has been gracious enough to prepare a meal accordingly."

"Well look at you!" Wilson teased Peter. "Trying to impress everyone? Show off a bit?"

Peter's lips curved up into a sly smile as he shook his head. "If I'd wanted to do that I'd have cooked brisket."

Ben and Alicia chuckled, apparently understanding his joke, even if Wilson didn't.

Ben's eyes had fluttered closed in pleasure when he bit into the challah bread Peter had on the table for dinner, along with what Stephen now knew was a vegan buttery spread. (He hadn't noticed a difference, honestly.) Misty and Wilson were delighted with the salad of field greens and radish in an herb vinaigrette of Peter's own concoction. Stephen had eaten the roast chicken Peter served a few different times since marrying him, but it was still as delicious as ever, especially paired with the wine he'd chosen. Alicia Grimm seemed ready to steal Peter away and adopt him when he brought out a tray of lemon bars and flourless chocolate cookies back into the living room after they'd finished the main meal.

"This has been one of the best meals I've had in a long time, Peter," Wilson said.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Wilson," Peter said, cheeks slightly pink.

"Please, call me Sam," the man insisted. "I've been to a few dinner parties since I married Misty a few years back but this one is definitely my favorite outside of the ones we've hosted." He glanced over at Grimm and Alicia. "And I'm glad to finally know just how funny Ben and the missus are over dinner!"

Ben chuckled. "It was nice to not have to leave early for once! Really, Stephen, I can't thank you enough!"

"It's Peter you should be thanking," Stephen said honestly. Hell, all he'd done was buy the food and own the house.

"It was nothing," Peter said, cheeks still pink.

"It was everything," Alicia insisted kindly.

Guests gone, Peter turned his attention to cleaning up.

He rinsed all of the fine China by hand, along with the good silver. He set them on the rack to dry. The rest of the dishes were quick since he'd done most of them as he'd cooked. There were a few canapes leftover and Peter stored them away in neat little containers

After he took the trash to its bin, he gathered up the tablecloth and placemats and carried them to the laundry room.

The rest he could deal with in the morning.

Assuming Stephen let him live until the morning.

He wasn't sure if anyone else noticed, but Stephen had been a little distant ever since he'd shown Dr. and Mrs. Grimm his kitchen setup. He couldn't imagine why Stephen was upset, unless he'd really been counting on them not staying. Which, if that was the case, rude.

He hadn't done anything wrong and if Stephen was irritated that Peter had done what apparently no one else could be bothered to do, that was his problem!

“I have most of everything cleaned up,” Peter told Stephen, who was sipping scotch in his armchair in the den. His blazer was draped over the back and his tie loose around his neck. “The rest of it will keep until morning, if that's okay.”

Stephen nodded. “Sure.”

“I think tonight went well,” Peter ventured.

“It did,” Stephen acknowledged. “You conducted yourself well. I forgot that you've never done something like this before.”

“Once I stopped panicking and started making lists I was fine,” Peter said. “And I'm glad I was able to entice Dr. Grimm and his wife to stay.”

“Ah. Yes.” Stephen finished his glass. “It was quite the triumph and everyone else in our social circle will feel positively foolish.”

“Are you actually angry they stayed for dinner?”

“No, I'm angry that my husband couldn't be bothered to tell me he follows the same rules they do, or that my kitchen obviously wasn't equipped to allow him to do so without some ingenious engineering on his part.”

“I’ve never kept it a secret,” Peter said evenly. “I just assumed you knew and didn't care.”

Stephen snorted. “Of course you assumed that.”

“Am I wrong?” Peter asked. “Because there are basic things about me that you don't know or haven't cared to remember.”

“Like what?” Stephen asked.

“Like I was raised by my aunt and uncle after my parents died when I was five years old. Also that I'm Jewish, even if I'm not exactly devout about it.”

“And I'm supposed to just know that?” Stephen questioned, unimpressed.

“Considering you have an eidetic memory, yes! That stuff and more should have been in the profile the BCSS gave you when you were considering me.”

“I didn't read it,” Stephen admitted after a long moment. “I barely skimmed it, really.”

“Why not?” Peter asked, stunned. “Why wouldn't you try to at least see if we were even compatible?”

“Because I didn't care,” Stephen said. “I went in, saw you in the rec room playing chess before they could sequester me away in an office and my mind was made up. Nothing else mattered.”

“What?”

“I saw you. I wanted you. I bought you.”

“So you don't actually care about me as a person, just a body to clean your house, impress your colleagues, and warm your bed,” Peter said quietly. “Even after weeks of this, you haven't cared to learn anything about me.”

Stephen said nothing for a long while. Then he sighed. “Go and get ready for bed. I'll be up soon.”

Peter was being ridiculous, Stephen thought, turning the PymCo. console off for the night.

Stephen had learned plenty about Peter in the short time they had been married.

Peter was smart. Very smart, if he'd really been selected to write for the Van Dyne School of Science as that Betty girl had said. He'd damn near beaten Stephen at Scrabble, too! He'd also kept up with Stephen's colleagues with ease.

Peter was a damned good cook. Stephen hadn't even realized the substitutions he'd been making for various foods until Peter explained things to Ben and his wife. Everything he'd cooked had been delicious, except for maybe the times he'd only heated up canned soup.

Peter was determined and resilient, judging by how his risk/benefit analysis had led him to the BCSS and subsequently, Stephen. He found a way to meet his own needs in a difficult situation like in the kitchen. He was able to leverage resources around him, such as befriending a neighbor and exchanging skill sets. Damned clever.

He put up with Stephen, which was damn near enough to qualify anyone for sainthood. Did Jews have saints or was there a Jewish equivalent? He'd have to ask Ben.

Stephen knew he was a difficult person for even the most patient of people, let alone someone as young as Peter.

He really was going to have to read that damned profile.

Peter was in bed, naked as had become his habit. What was the point of pajamas when Stephen was just going to have him undress anyways?

He wasn't sure how to feel. Every time he thought he and Stephen were making real progress, Stephen had to go and be a schmuck.

What on earth had possessed someone as strict and stern and self-disciplined as Stephen to just pick a random spouse and not even bother to check compatibility? Was he only anticipating the year? Had he been pressured into it by the BCSS agents to take Peter off their hands? (Peter knew they'd disliked him tremendously, always lamenting that he was far too self-assured and didn't "know his place".)

Why him? Why Peter?

"You still want me?"

“From the moment I saw you.”

All of the sex (which Peter really enjoyed but technically couldn't say no to) aside, did Stephen really find Peter that attractive?

“I saw you. I wanted you. I bought you.”

More to the point, could Peter make himself live with that for the remainder of their year together?

"Hmm, you're still up," Stephen said from the doorway. "I'm glad. I have every intention of making tonight very good for you."

As much as Peter wanted to be annoyed that Stephen could just waltz up like there wasn't a gap between them that needed to be bridged, the way his cock tingled at Stephen's promise clearly felt otherwise.

"And why is that?" he asked, sitting up.

"Because you were marvelous this evening and you've earned it." Stephen's answer came from the closet.

The flush of pleasure he felt at Stephen's words did not change anything. It wasn't like he craved Stephen's approval. He'd simply been a good host just like he'd been raised to be.

"You have no idea just how loudly those four are going to sing your praises," Stephen said as he strode out in his pajama pants. "And in my circles, your praises become mine."

Of course Stephen would appreciate the stroke to his own ego, Peter thought. He still turned to face Stephen as he joined him in bed. His cock was trying to harden against the cage and while it didn't exactly hurt anymore, it did kindle something in him he didn't want to think to closely on.

"The lofty aloof Dr. Strange has finally settled down and hasn't he chosen just the right spouse," Stephen drawled. "No risk of burnout any longer, no he has a perfect home, perfect husband who's so gracious and smart."

"Which is what you wanted," Peter said. "To get them off of your back."

"And lucky for me I found you," Stephen said. His hand slipped down to Peter's cock and at the brush of two fingers, disabled the lock on the cage. He pulled it away and set it on the nightstand. "You've given me so much," he continued, stroking Peter's nearly instantly-hard cock so perfectly Peter worried he'd spill far too soon. "I intend to show you my gratitude."

"Oh."

Peter's head fell back as Stephen's grip tightened just so. He couldn't stay upset, not when Stephen was making him feel so good. It wasn't fair but damn if his cock didn't care about that.

Before long, Stephen broke out the lubricant and that made the stroking even better. His other hand started teasing him open, long dexterous fingers curling and spreading. When two brushed over his prostate, Peter came with a wracking shudder and still Stephen continued to stroke.

By the time Stephen finally worked his long cock inside of Peter, filling him until he was sure he'd break, Peter was panting harshly. His mind was sluggish as it tried to process all of the pleasure Stephen was raining down on him.

He'd come more than once, as if his body was made to be played by Stephen. Sensitive as he was, he couldn't help but push back into Stephen's thrusts. The heavy presence behind him, that caged him, also made him feel... safe.

Long after he'd started, Stephen finally spilled inside Peter with a low groan, one hand pressing down over the faint bulge his cock made when in the young body. He rolled his hips gently as if trying to ensure his spend stayed as deep him Peter as possible.

Peter was a shaking, blissed-out puddle of a man.

Stephen left only to return with a warm washcloth to clean them both up before settling behind Peter, pulling him close.

"You did so well tonight," Stephen praised again. "I'm very proud of you."

Peter smiled dopily, sleep racing towards him.

Stephen nuzzled his neck, nipping just behind his ear. "Sleep now. We'll discuss your punishment tomorrow."

<<<>>>

So yeah, Stephen is definitely earning his “Asshole Stephen Strange” tag and we’ll get more insight into him and just what the fuck is up with him next chapter. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

[aseioh]

Of Cakes and Late Celebrations

Author’s Notes: This was supposed to be posted on Mother's day. But just like this fic, I got derailed and ended up being late. (picture taken from the internet)

It was Mother's day.

Or to be precise it will be Mother's day in 15 hours 25 minutes. It shouldn't be a problem for Alcina, she usually just buys something from the Duke to give to Mother Miranda.

Unfortunately, such a thing is not possible right now. The Duke was delayed with his routine arrival at the castle opening, something about a spooked horse and lycans trying to get a nibble.

Honestly she lost interest after the word delayed was spoken through the phone. How is she going to remedy this. The gift itself was one of the finest silk she was able to obtain, she was sure Mother would appreciate a new ritual robe.

This is bad. To show up without a gift on this special day. She was sure she would be made a mockery during the gathering. Whats worst was that fool Heisenberg would be the first to lead with his pathetic insults.

Just the thought made Alcina's blood boil.

”I should send Bela to switch that man's shampoo with dog shampoo. Although the man still smells like wet dog. No. I'll think of something more devious.“

But back to the matter at hand. It's almost Mother's day and she doesn’t have a gift. Taking a deep drag off her cigarette, she considers her dwindling options.

At western part of the village

Donna is also facing a similar problems.

"What do you mean you're not coming?! Where am I supposed to find a present at this hour?!" Angie's raspy voice filtered through the phone "do you know how hard it is to find a 1st edition book on occult and rituals."

"Apologies Miss Angie, but the horse spooked and the carriage suffered a broken wheel. Even if the servants manage to haul themselves your house to the Duke's location and back it would still be too late." The main servant said trying to sound as apologetic as he can come across.

"This would not do" Donna said finally in her normal voice.

Somewhere inside the Stronghold.

Karl Heisenberg was having a meltdown.

"YOU STUPID LYCANS! I GAVE YOU ONE JOB AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO IT RIGHT!!" Heisenberg paces around the small assembly hall. Ten Lycans looked very apologetic, although it was very hard to tell from their looks. One even lets out a soft whimper.

“I told you to stall The Duke for a while. I didn’t said to derail him completely. The man has a package for me, now how am I supposed to get it!?” Heisenberg seethes.

His plan was a simply one really. Stall The Duke so that he would arrive at Castle Dimitrescu late, that way Alcina would not get her package and present it to Mother Miranda. That would show her, a little payback for calling him a child.

What he didn’t count on was the utter incapability of the Lycans to follow simple directions. Now even he doesn’t have a gift. Oh Miranda’s gonna blow a gasket.

“Augh... I hate the consequences of my actions” He lamented

 At Moreau’s Reservoir

“NOOOOOOO!! That’s not fair, that’s not fair!!!” Moreau starts throwing his stuff on the floor. He had finally saved up his money to buy Mother Miranda that nice jewelry that would go perfectly with her black wings.

“Someone’s gonna pay” He vows to take revenge on the Lycans responsible for his problem.

 After all his pet fish has been hungry for some Lycan meat.

 Castle Dimitrescu (13 hours until Mother’s day)

“I have gathered you here today for a very important meeting” Alcina starts looking at the sad (Donna) and tearful (Moreau) faces of her so called ‘siblings’. Heisenberg is surprisingly calm which puts Alcina on high alert, but lets it slide in favour of the more pressing matter

“We have a big problem. The Duke will not arrive on time for Mother’s Day. That means all the presents we bought for Mother will not arrive”

“We need a solution, any ideas?”  

“We kill the Lycans responsible and feed them to my fish”

“Yes Moreau, but that’s after we solve this problem” Donna said and tries to placate a Moreau by patting him at the back.

“Whoa, that’s a bit dark but I like it. And Moreau is right, we’re gonna make fish food out of those Lycans” “Better off those basdards, after all I don’t want to implicate myself” Heisenberg thinks

“People, you’re missing the point here” Alcina says pinching her nose to ward off an incoming headache. “Listen, we don’t have time. You know Mother Miranda, She’ll say she wasn’t really expecting something and then low-key punishes us for missing the day. We don’t want a repeat of the 1967 incident do we?”

Moreau whimpers from the trauma.

Donna goes into a slight trance and starts to shake.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough” Heisenberg stands. “Why don’t we just bake something and say it’s from all of us”

 *beat*

“Do you know how to bake?”

“I work at the Factory, I make steel molds for a living how hard could it be?”

“That doesn’t answer my question Heisenberg”

“We could make a small doll” Donna pipes up

“Sorry Donna that would still take time. And I don’t think we have the right materials on such short notice.” Alcina says

“For someone who’s looking for a solution you sure are shooting down all of them”

“Because it’s not feasible Heisenberg.” Alcina huffs “Can you gather all the materials in less than 10 hours? No? Of course not”

“And I keep telling you just BAKE A CAKE!”

“I don’t know how to bake, child! I’m a BLOODY COUNTESS not hired help” Alcina bellows at Heisenberg

“I know how to bake”

Everyone turns to Donna.

“Really?”

“Of course, I used to watch my Mother bake cakes before the accident. I just need help decorating. I never got a hang of that part” Donna beams with pride as she explains the basics of baking

“And we can gather the ingredients no problem. You have a pantry here somewhere right Alcina?” Moreau asked

“Of course. We always have a full pantry for the servants.” At that Heisenberg looks at Alcina with a hint of disbelief

“What? We need them healthy to serve us. I’m not a complete monster.” Alcina defends

“In any case we should start early. It takes time to cool and decorating is hard”

 Castle Kitchen (12 hours 30 minutes before Mother’s Day)

It was truly a sight to see. In a way it was enough for the Castle’s servants to wet themselves in fear when they saw the 4 Lords gathered at the kitchen in various forms of concentration. Needless to say, everyone was warned to steer clear of the kitchen for now.

Moreau was together with Donna supporting her with mixing the wet ingredients. Meanwhile, at the other side of the cooking station Alcina and Heisenberg are charge of measuring out the dry ingredients.

“You need to be precise, don’t put too much. Remember what Donna said and look at the damn recipe”

“I know what I’m doing you damn woman. I’m all about precision. Why don’t you move away and get that mixing bowl at the top shelf.” Heisenberg grouched

“I’m not your servant. And I certainly will not start fetching stuff for you” Alcina shot back

“Alcina, we need to work together. We don’t have time and you’re the tallest of us all. Please cooperate with Karl just this once. Please?” Donna implored

“Once. I’m helping him for this one time only. When I get my hands on the Lycan responsible for this problem, I’m gutting him and throwing him at Moreau’s reservoir.” At Donna’s admonishment of Alcina, Heisenberg gives a shit eating grin, showing some rather very pointy canines.

“And Heisenberg, stop provoking Alcina.” Donna adds

“Fine, you’re no fun Donna”

Suffice to say, the baking went well. Who knew that the 4 Lords working together would be a great success? If only Mother Miranda saw her children working together peacefully she might have had a heart attack and thought that she suffered one as well.

Or she might have been dreaming.

 Castle Kitchen (6 hours before Mother’s Day)

“Alright, the cake has cooled down completely, So what color will be the icing?” Donna asked

“Yellow” “Cream” “Light Blue” the other three said simultaneously.

 *beat*

“Light blue? Really? Not everything needs to be manly Heisenberg”

“And not everything needs to be boring like your color, Alcina”

“It should be yellow, like Mother’s sunny smile” Moreau explains

“And in which ever universe has Mother ever smiled like the sun?” Heisenberg counters Moreau

“Hey now. No need for that tone!”

“Tsk, sorry Moreau” Heisenberg apologizes to a quiet Moreau

“Fine, let’s do pastel yellow it’s easier for the eyes anyway” Donna supplies, getting ready to start coating the cake with the yellow cream

 Inside the Sanctuary

“Happy Mother’s day”

“We hope you like the cake Mother”

“Yes, we poured out our love in baking it. I hope you appreciate it” Heisenberg said

“Why thank you loves. This is a wonderful surprise. And Moreau said that you all worked together in baking it. How wonderful!” Mother Miranda said grateful for once that her children worked together without collateral damage (that she knew of).

“Although Heisenberg, I heard something interesting from Urias” Mother Miranda looks pointedly at Heisenberg, who for some reason starts to sweat and turn pale.

‘oh shit’ “Really Mother? Good news I hope” Heisenberg tries to bluff his way out.

“Why it was quite peculiar really. He said that you got 10 of his Lycans for a special project. I wasn’t aware that you have some side projects”

 The 3 Lords turn to Heisenberg

“Wait what?”

“I KNEW IT!!” Alcina unsheathes her claws

“You’re responsible for this mess in the first place!!”

“Really guy relax, if anything I just proved that we need more than one traveling merchant in the village for a successful and on time delivery” Heisenberg starts to carefully ease his way to the nearest exit.

 “GET HIM”

In the end, Alcina was more than ready to feed Heisenberg to Moreau’s pet fish. Only Donna stopped her, citing Moreau would probably be inconsolable if his pet got indigestion from all the metal.

And that is how Heisenberg saw himself in doggy jail for a week along with his Lycan cohorts. Mother Miranda did get her Mother’s day gifts from her children although a bit later than expected.

 And the cake?

 The cake was surprisingly delicious.

[extremelyblackandwhite]

innocence - 29

PAIRING: bodyguard!bucky barnes x innocent actress!reader

WARNINGS: smut (18+, underage DNI)

A/N: its angst season again!!

NEXT CHAPTER

Bucky held the old phone against his ear as he waited for Natasha to pass the line onto Steve, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Once again, there were no news coming from them. There’s not enough evidence for us to even make a guess, he’d tell him every time he called the super soldier. It did not matter how many hours he spent on the phone, a team of synthesoids, witches, spies and super soldiers couldn’t bring upon themselves to figure out who was threatening his girlfriend. His mind couldn’t stop going to the worse places. If he didn’t figure it out, who would?

   - Buck, we can go through the record off people who got into her building but do we even know if it’s the same person? 

   - It has to be, Steve. Go through the records, check for anyone who isn’t from the building.

   - Have you asked Y/N who she thinks might be? 

   - No, I didn’t tell her. - he gulped. - I promised her she’d be safe. I’m not gonna tell her. 

   - That is a ter ... - the line broke down and before he could call out for Steve’s name again, he heard Y/N’s voice right behind him. 

   - When were you gonna tell me? - she held up the letter in front of his face and he swore all the colour drained from his face. - Bucky, when were you gonna tell me? How long have you known? Where did this come from?

Bucky dropped the phone to the holder, visibly gulping at the sight of his girlfriend holding the letter he had sworn not to let her see. However, except of seeing the fear she had displayed the first time it happened, she was upset, mad even with that hidden type of serene look which he was sure would scare any army. She put the letter on the table, crossing her arms at him. 

    - It came yesterday. I don’t know if it actually arrived yesterday but that’s when I got it from the post box.

    - Why didn’t you tell me? - she sighed looking down at her feet, one hand holding her weight on the table. Bucky’s jaw locked, eyes moving from side to side before he wrapped his hand around her forearm and led her into the bedroom. Last thing he needed was for her whole family to know not only was he terrible at his job, he was also terrible at being her boyfriend. First fight in her parents’ home ... you can’t fuck up any further Barnes. - James, I’m not toying around.

     - I thought it wasn’t important. - he lied. 

     - They found my family home, James. It is important and you hid it from me. Why did you even open my mail? 

     - I hoped to be able to find who did it before I told you. I didn’t want to ruin your Christmas. - he put his hands in his pocket. She narrowed her eyes at him, arms crossed over her chest. 

     - Is that why you don’t wanna kiss me or touch me? You ... Do you ... You agree with they called me? - she frowned, her own anger replaced by her own insecurities. Bucky blinked slowly as if he was processing what she had said, not believing the words which had came out of her mouth. - I ... I didn’t mean to be too forward, I jus ...

     - No. No, no, no, no ... - he walked so fast he was almost running, holding her by her arms. - No. I don’t agree with them, I would never agree with it.

   - Then ... are you really not in the mood and I just made a complete idiot of myself?

   - I don’t, no, I just feel like I failed you, failed my job. - he cupped her face in his hands, trying to find her gaze but she refused to look at him. - I don’t want to fail you, everyone but you. I’m sorry I kept it from you, I thought that you’d feel safer if you didn’t know.

    - So you thought keeping me in my own delusion was the best thing to do?

    - I’m sorry. - he leaned his forehead against hers. She looked up, into his baby blue eyes as her hand hoovered over his arm. - I didn’t want ... I didn’t mean to delude you. 

    - You didn’t fail me. - she brought his hand up to her lips, kissing the back of it before leaning her face against it. - It is not your fault that letter came in.

    - But I should know who it was ... or at least Steve should. He’s proving himself to be quite useless ... - he grumbled on, which made her hold in her laughter by biting the inside of her lip. - I’m sorry, dollface. I really am.

     - If you ever kiss my head when I’m trying to kiss you ever again, we will have severe problems. - she pointed her finger jokingly at him. 

     - Heard it loud and clear, princess. - he pulled her arm so she was chest to chest with him as if they were about to dance. - Just so we’re clear, I do not agree with those letters. 

      - Please don’t hide things from me. - her ring finger traced his cheekbone softly. - I can’t stand it from everyone but I personally can’t stand it coming from you. You’re the only one in my corner.

     - I’ll always be in your corner but I will want to protect you and I will sometimes do something stupid. 

      - Why do something stupid when you could do me? - she looked at him with that little shy grin which was just always so endearing to him. Bucky chuckled, leaning down to kiss her. It was a short kiss, broken by him merely to look at her pout.

     - You’re getting frisky, princess? 

     - Well, you did lose your chance to see what’s under my robe. - her fingers slightly rose the hem of her robe to show a bit of her lace garter before dropping it to grab her dress. - But I do need to grab some takeaway.

    - I’m going with you. - he followed into her own ensuite bathroom, but she stopped him, holding the door edge in her hand. - You were going to show it to me anyway. 

     - Next time don’t hide stuff from me. - she smiled before locking the door leaving him alone while she got dressed in a jumper like dress. Bucky leaned his forehead against the door, his mind going haywire as the minute she was gone he immediately started thinking of how he hadn’t found who was sending those letters. How come no one had figured it out? Surely whoever had done it couldn’t be that  good at covering their tracks unless they were a professional. Y/N exited the bathroom in her jumper dress and put her hands on the nape of his neck. Bucky took that opportunity to rise up the hem of her dress, watching the soft white stocking reach its end where it connected to her garter. - No, Bucky. No. 

     - When did you have this? I’ve never seen you wear it before. - he tried to pull it upwards a bit more but she stopped him by merely wrapping her hand around his wrist. - Did you buy it for me, princess?

    - Oh no, I wore this when I was 20. In front a 150 people audience. 

    - What? - he looked as confused as the day someone explained what the internet was to him. - Someone else has seen it? Why can’t I see it?

    - Because you’re not in the mood. - she walked away to grab her coat and her scarf. - Are you coming?

    - Oh, in more ways then one, princess. - he too grabbed his jacket, following her down the stairs.

He held her hand as they stepped outside, going into a mode he wasn’t used to going into very often. Everything and everyone was suspicious to him and at any moment, he felt like he was ready to kill someone with only a snap of his fingers. Bucky wanted that and at the same time he didn’t want it. It was a hard duality, that of wanting to defend her at all costs and ensure she was the happiest and that of wanting to just bask into how it felt to be hers, because, god, did it felt god to be hers. It was like waking up in spring mornings and all his mistakes seemed to fade whenever she smiled, the way her nose scrunched up and she hide her mouth with her hands, saying her smile was much to ugly for him to see it. Of course she was lying, her smile was the cutest thing. Yet, he wanted her safe, he wanted her to be endlessly happy. He could never get rid of his demons, of what they had done to him, but he could make sure no one hurt her, no one treated her like a commodity because she was everything but that. 

    - Claire said Aunt Petunia corned you about babies. - she spoke out as they waited on the line. - I’m sorry, I keep telling her not to but I think she’s in competition with her friend about it. 

     - It’s okay. - he chuckled. - Do you want one?

     - Baby?

     - Yeah, do you want a kid someday?

     - I do but only one. I think my mum and dad lost a pound of hair each time me and my siblings bickered. Besides, Colin almost made me believe you were cheating on me.

    - What?

    - Yeah. I was desperate, I called Chuck for help. Chuck. Also, I think he’s dating.

    - Circling back to the baby question ... would you consider a baby, maybe you and me have one, someday?

    - You want to have a baby with me? - she peered up from looking at her shoes to look at him. Bucky immediately regretted the question, she was young and probably not thinking about kids. - Buck?

    - Forget it.

    - No, Bucky. I didn’t mean it like that ... I just thought you wouldn’t want to have kids. 

    - I don’t know. - he scratched the back of his neck. - I mean, I don’t really have much family left and I’d like to think, maybe someday, we could have our own.

    - Bucky ...

    - I’m freaking you out.

    - No. I’ve thought about it too, buying a house, having a baby, but ... everything I do is controlled and scheduled and tight lipped so I tend not to day dream about it. 

    - Hey ... - he hooked his arm under her waist, pulling her close to him. - You still have agency and besides, I’m really good at going undercover if you need to. 

    - You always know what to say. 

    - That’s because you’re predictable, princess.

    - I am not. - she retorted, pouting as she crossed her arms. 

    - Yes, you are, princess.

    - Really? - she cocked an eyebrow at him, before standing on her tip toes to whisper against his hear. - I’m not wearing any underwear. 

    - What? - he blushed as Y/N smiled before stepping forward to collect the takeaway bags from the customer assistant. Bucky cleared his throat as the two of them walked outside. - I thought you had something to show me.

    - I did but then I realised it is really uncomfortable to be in that lingerie, so I took it off.

Bucky felt most of his blood travelled south as he looked up and down her body. Damn it, suddenly her home felt so far away from the restaurant. He couldn’t help but stare at her body as  they  walked down the street, the way her dress draped over what he now knew was her naked body. Part of him felt jealous that she was in such a state in front of everyone else but the other part, the most overwhelming one, wanted to push her into an alley and take her right there and then and maybe he would’ve done so if he hadn’t seen a few paparazzi trying to appear invisible. He put himself on her left, mostly covering her, wrapping his hand around hers as he picked up the pace to get to her place. Once again he stood behind her as she opened her door, so close her could smell her daisy perfume and if he were a bit younger and lacked self control, he would’ve drowned her neck in hickeys. However, he thought seeing himself display some strong PDA with his girlfriend on the next morning’s paper. She took her jacket off, hanging it on the hooks by the door.

   - We’re going. - he whispered against her ear as she placed the takeaway bags on the kitchen. She opened her mouth to protest, wanting to defend her right to have the yummy food she had just bought but Bucky gave her no chance to do so, instead holstering her upon his shoulder and climbing up the stairs.

Y/N waved at her younger brother who stopped in his tracks as Bucky passed through him and straight into her bedroom. Before she could protest once more, he laid her on her own bedroom, climbing on top of her and started to kiss her neck which replaced the half done protests with small moans. His hand slide up her left to her tight, rising the dress in the process and sure enough, she had not been lying about not wearing any underwear. Other than the garter which held up the sheer white stockings, she was a bare as the day she was born. Bucky took a moment to appreciate it, the bare woman laid on the bed under him, looking at him as if he were the only man in the world.

   - I must say, princess. Whatever you had to show me can’t be better than this.

   - Maybe my food downstairs is better. 

   - You’re not walking down any stairs anytime soon, after I’m done with you. - he leaned down to kiss her, a harsh full of need kiss as if he hadn’t seen her in decades.

She smiled through the kiss, hands held over his neck as he placed kisses and sucked her skin in places she was sure to get a hickey the next day, but it didn’t matter. In all honesty, nothing really mattered when he kissed her. Y/N held her hands up as he took off the dress and basked in her nakedness. Screw all the women he had ever slept with, no one compared to her. It didn’t have to do with beauty or even seduction. She was just her, just herself in her own naked glory standing under him, eyes shining with a naive like lust as she awaited his next movement. Bucky should’ve done something else but he decided just to kiss her, fingers caressing the soft skin of her face.

    - What is it? - she asked as he interrupted the kiss once more.

    - You are the most wonderful thing in my life, Y/N. - he kissed her once more, one hand coming to remove his own trousers. 

Her lips stretched into a small smile as she rose her forehead to press it against his. She mumbled a small I love you, kissing the side of his lips as he pushed his cock into her. Her lips stretched into a gasp as he grunted once he shed himself completely inside her, eyes closed as he let the feeling of being inside of her take complete hold of him. She continued mid gasp, not a single thought forming inside her mind rather than how good he felt, how full she was. 

Bucky opened his eyes, baby blues almost navy coloured as his hand pushed some of her hair away from her face, kissing her to silence her little gaps and moans which came out in such meek tones, it made him even hard just from listening to them. The kiss was forceful, his lips  swallowing all her sounds as he slowly circled his hips against hers, one hand holding the side of her hips with a vice like grip. He pushed his hips back, removing himself from her only to thrust back into her, establishing a slow and delayed pace, grip strong enough to leave a bruise the next day. She whined, nails dug into the fabric of the sleeveless tank top he had not taken off. 

   - Bucky, please ... - she pleaded, tears pooling in her eyes. - Faster.

   - No, princess. You’ve been so bad lately ... what should I do with you? - he stopped moving, stilling inside of her.

   - Move? Please?

   - Giving me handjobs in a plane, pouting when you don’t get attention, walking around without underwear. That’s not good girl behaviour.  

   - Bucky ... - she tried to rock her hips against his but he stopped her, hand firmly pressing her against the mattress. - Bucky, please.

   - I don’t know, princess. - he leaned into the crook of her neck, playfully bitting her  sensitive skin, before kissing it and doing it again. - You look so pretty when you’re begging for my cock. I almost want to see it more. Maybe leave you like this all night, what about that?

   - Please, Bucky. Please. - a tears rolled down her cheek as she tried once again to rock her hips against his into a pointless effort. - Please, please, I need it.

   -  I know. You got so upset when I didn’t fuck you last night, dollface. - he moved out and into her in a long, slow motion, earning more moans from her. - You’re just becoming so needy for me, princess. 

   - Please. - she pouted, raising up to kiss him, her hands moving up to try and take off his shirt but he refused, shutting her actions by starting to relentlessly thrust in and out of her as if he had been possessed by mere lust. Y/N threw her head back as his hand grabbed her breast harshly and he continued to relentlessly fuck her.

Her  legs trembled as he went back to paying attention to her neck and jaw, the mix of all the emotions chasing her high. She whined, trying to deal with all she was feeling from his lips against her neck, his hand massaging her breast and flicking her nipple every once in a while as well as his cock veins against the walls of her channel.  She managed to open her eyes for a few seconds and swore she could cum merely at the sight of him as he moved away from her neck to thrust faster into her, head thrown back, pink reddish lips opened in a circle, sweat forming in hairline. She had done that, she had gotten him to look so lost in pleasure and that was as stimulating as something could get. 

His hand left her breast to start circling her clit, slowly and painful, a harsh contrast with the fast pace. Her own hand replaced the place that had once been occupied by his hand on her breast, biting her lip as he continued with his motions. Bucky did not stop until she reached her orgasm, the tight feeling in her lower stomach exploding into a particular high pitch moan which he silenced by kissing her, reminding her her parents were still downstairs after all. He didn’t take long to reach his own orgasm either, continuing to thrust quickly into her until ropes and ropes of cum painted her walls. The orgasm weakened his hold over her for a few seconds, leading to him collapsing to her side, pushing her along with him. Bucky slipped out of her, reaching up to kiss her lips followed by a small kiss to her nose. 

   - Hi. - she said shyly,  cuddling against his chest as he pushed a cover over her body. - No more secrets, promise me.  

   - I can’t promise that. I can promise that whatever I do, I do it because I love you and I want you safe. 

   - Buck.

   - I will try. - he kissed her forehead. - Good?

   - Good.

She remained in his arms, cuddling against his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beat softly against his ribcage. It felt good, it felt good to feel loved, to hear the heartbeat of someone who loved her, someone who existed, someone who she had only dreamed about and now existed in real life and loved her. The two watched the old clock on her table turn to midnight. Christmas day. She looked up to him, extending to give him a quick kiss.

   - Merry Christmas, love.

   - Merry Christmas, princess. - he kissed her nose. 

   - I thought we could trade presents between us. Make it special. 

   - Me first. - he said and before she could ever argue, he was rolling out of bed with a small blanket covering his nudity to grab a present wrapped in festive wrapping paper with her name written on it. He sat on the bed, next to her, pushing the duvet to cover her so she wouldn’t be cold. - I hope you like it.

   - I’m sure I will. - Y/N smiled at him before proceeding to unwrap her present. It was a book and one she recognised very well from seeing pictures on Google whenever she looked around jokingly for first editions on Ebay. - Buck, it’s too much. I can’t.

   - It’s mine. Well, it used to be mine but now it’s yours. 

   - How do you even know I like the Hobbit?

   - Chuck told me.

   - You and Chuck talk? - she giggled, unable to picture her best friend having a conversation with Bucky who was always brooding.

   - We don’t but whenever we’re on set, he just keeps talking. He said you liked it, so I thought it would be fun if you had the one I read when I was what? About your age?

   - Oh okay, grampa. - she poked his chest jokingly before handing him his present.

Bucky kissed the side of her temple, opening the package to see an album like photo with his name written in gold. He gave her a confused look but she merely nodded her head, telling him to open the book. Once he did, he saw “All the times Bucky Barnes was a hero” written in her handwriting followed by pages and pages of articles calling him a hero, the saviour of the day and other words he did not equalise with himself. 

   - I know you don’t believe you’re a good man but I do and it’s not just me who thinks it. There has been darkness in your  life but the way you continued onwards, doing good to the world which hurt you ... that’s noble. - he heard her voice almost in a echo like fashion as he moved page after page. It did not only ranged from his time in the Howling Commandos but even til now, with recent missions and facts. Everything was there, different journal cut outs, different testimonies. Everything. 

Bucky looked to his side, looked at her who was smiling at the book in his hand which she had put together and he knew. He just knew.

   - Y/N?

   - Hm?

   - Marry me. 

taglist: @disasterbii @lookiamtrying @buckysteveloki-me @americasass81 @jamesbarnesappreciationclub @lostinthebeans @mariahthelioness29 @bbabysbaby @peaches-roses-sins @theadorasabditory @sipsteacasually @saiyanprincessswanie @booktease21 @noiralei @learisa @everythingisoverratedbutgreat @uglipotata72829 @naturalthrone22 @husherstan @mandiiblanche​ @vicmc624 @newyorkgoddess @itsallyscorner @chipilerendi @emzd34 @writerwrites​ @bluevxnus​ @that-girl-named-alex​ @captnrogers​ @nsfwsebbie​ @sarge-barnes-sir​

[rivers-rambles21]

The one with the road trip

Part 15 of The one where Bucky has a cute neigbour series!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader (f)

Warnings | 18+ only  - no smut but mentions of it

Chapter 15 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 1 | Masterlist

Apologies for any mistakes, this has been written on my phone and its a bit difficult to edit. Once I’m back with a working laptop I’ll give it a once over :)

Bucky had intended on renting a bike so you could ride down to Louisiana but with Sam’s suit it would’ve been an impossible feat. 

He settled for hiring an SUV and added you both to the insurance so you could take it in turns driving on the long trip down south. 

“Been together one day and we’re already on our first trip” You teased as you rested your feet on the dash, taking in the scenery as Bucky drove. His metal hand gripped the steering wheel as he peaked a glance over to your bare legs, resisting the urge to pull over. 

“You’re the one having a mid life crisis doll not me” You feigned offense and swatted the soldier beside you, pleased to get a hit in as he tried to dodge your attack. His eyes remained on the road as he grasped your hand in his. “Less of that thank you” He laughed, bringing your hand to his lips, leaving a kiss on the back before giving it back to rest on your thigh, his hand not leaving yours. 

“Looking forward to seeing Sam again?” He didn’t respond but his face said it all. “You’re so dramatic” You chuckled as you leant down to root around in your bag for the road trip snacks. Retrieving a bag of cashews, you offered it to Bucky who gladly took a handful. 

“I just know he’s going to ask a billion questions about stuff we’ve not even discussed yet, that we’re probably not even ready to talk about. He didn’t stop asking about you y’know? Y/n this, Y/n that…he kept threatening to ask you out.” 

“Oh he did” 

The car swerved slightly as Bucky's grip on the wheel tightened, his concentration lapsing for a split second. 

“He did what?” He asked, tearing his eyes from the road to glance over at you. 

“It was just a bit of harmless flirting-” You began before being cut off. 

“We flirted.” Bucky stated, his jaw clenching. 

“We also did a lot of things just friends don’t do. Relax Sarge, he only asked to get a reaction out of me.” 

Bucky grunted in response, knowing his reaction was a tad over the top but he couldn’t help it. You were his. 

“We could always mess with him in return.” You pondered as you took a swig of your drink. “Maybe hold off on telling him about us, it’s only meant to be a flying visit anyway isn’t it? So we wouldn’t have to pretend for long… play him at his own game?” 

Bucky smirked in response, completely on board with your little plan.

  The next few hours passed with the typical car games and a quick power nap as Bucky continued driving. 

“How long until you start at Starks?” 

“A month thank god, the GRC wanted me gone pretty quickly, I didn't have to work my notice which was a blessing really. I’ll schedule a day to go and clear out my desk and say my goodbyes. Will you still get your pension if we live out of the country?” 

“I’m not sure to be honest, I can pick up work wherever we are though, it wouldn’t be the first time. I’m good with my hands” 

“You’re telling me” You muttered under your breath. Bucky heard you loud and clear and let out a laugh as he recalled how you spent most of last night. “Are we crazy? Travelling with no plan, barely any money and only just starting out as a couple?” 

“Oh absolutely”

Eventually Bucky took a break from driving after you stopped for food in a roadside diner. It had been a while since you’d driven but you wanted to give Bucky the chance to get some sleep, something you knew he still struggled with. 

Despite telling him to try and get some sleep on the back seats, he remained upfront with you, doing his best to battle the drowsiness that had overcome him. He’d not gotten much rest the past few weeks, from battling the Flag Smashers in Europe, to hunting down Zemo and then back to New York. In truth he was worried he’d have a nightmare and wasn’t sure on how he’d react but upon your insistence, he tried to get some shut eye. After an hour or so he dropped off, the sound of you humming along to a song on the radio sending him off into a dreamless sleep. 

Bucky couldn’t quite believe it, he couldn’t remember the last time he slept without being haunted by memories of the Winter Soldier. Granted, he only got four hours of sleep , but it was the best he’d felt in a long time.

When it came to your turn to get some shut eye Bucky insisted on stopping over in a hotel for the night. You’d tried to convince him a motel would suffice after you lost the battle of you sleeping in the car but he was victorious. 

To be frank, after spending so many hours in the car, you were grateful to be sleeping in a bed with your super soldier by your side. 

As you slept, Bucky took the time to fire off a few emails advising he’d be ending his lease. Having slept earlier, he felt energised and was content in browsing the internet as you slept tucked into his arm. 

He did his best not to wake you as he opened a selfie from Shuri of her with Ayo and Nomble, a chuckle escaping his lips as Shuri and Nomble looked to be thoroughly enjoying themselves on a boat trip in New York whilst Ayo sulked in the background. 

He also replied to an email from his therapist's office, letting them know he’d be absent from his next session but planned on returning the following week.

Bucky was tempted to let Sam know he was coming but thought it best to surprise him.

The next day was much of the same, both of you switching the drive and stopping off at diners for food. Due to the lack of respect Bucky had for the speed limit, you were making good time and would be in Delacroix the following morning. 

“-it was like I didn’t exist. Honestly it was the most humbling experience of my life” 

“Sergeant Barnes in his uniform… now that is something I’ve got to see.” 

“Maybe one day”  

Your eyebrow perked at the thought. “Good god man” You groaned dramatically and sank further into your seat, giggling as you caught sight of the blush covering his cheeks. “For what it’s worth, lack of nutrients from the rationing clearly messed with her eyesight.” You were genuinely baffled how Peggy didn’t swoon for the man next to you.

“Where were you in the 40’s when I needed you huh?” 

“I doubt I’d have been your type” 

“Intelligent, strong woman with a great sense of humor? And thats not even mentioning your ass.. Oh no, definitely not my type” He replied sarcastically. 

“Ha ha fine, I’ll take your word for it.” 

“I’d have taken you dancing, maybe gone to a show or even the carnival. Anything you wanted.” He took your hand in his again and kissed the back of it as he pondered just how he’d of won you over back then. He usually didn't like to dwell on life before the war, the pain of losing his family and the future he lost was too much but having you in his life somehow made the memories hurt less. Having you with him now along with the future he could picture with you helped him make peace with his past life and accept that it wasn’t something he could ever go back to. 

When Steve was returning the stones, he did wonder whether he should go back with him but the realisation that there wasn’t anything waiting for him apart from a time that he didn't belong to made his decision to remain in the present resolute. And by god was he thankful he stayed.

On your way to your final hotel before arriving at Sams, you’d taken over the driving and had kept Bucky entertained with your off key singing and terrible car games. 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me” As it turns out, Bucky was a sore loser. 

“What? It counts!!” 

“You cannot see bacteria Y/N” 

“Yes I can! It’s right...right… right there!” You pointed to a random bit of the car interior and held back a laugh at a clearly unamused Bucky.

“You’re so full of shit” 

“How do you know I can’t see it huh? Guess it’s my turn again, I spy with my little -” 

“No” He cut off as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Absolutely not. I’m going to choose a game.” 

You let out a little smile and continued focusing on the road until the super soldier landed on something he liked. 

“Okay okay, would you rather sounds fun. Doll, would you rather have the superpower of being invisible or ability to fly.” 

“Aw come on Buck these are tame! If I have to answer, without a doubt invisibility.” 

“Not dirty enough for you sweetheart?” A tingle rang down your spine at your new nickname. “I’d have to agree, invisibility easily.” 

“Buck you’re an actual superhero, you’ve already got powers, leave some for us mere mortals!” 

“... you think I’m a superhero?” 

“....you’re literally an Avenger.” You reached across towards the man beside you, keeping your eyes on the road as you pressed your hand against his forehead. “Are you feeling okay?” 

Bucky rolled his eyes at your sarcasm and swatted your hand away from his head. “Fine you made your point.” 

You shook your head as you returned your hand to the steering wheel, tapping away to the song on the radio. 

“The rest of these questions are boring” He muttered as he furiously scrolled through his cell. 

“C’mon, go R rated” 

“It’s no fun when I already know the answers to these!” 

“Pfft doubtful, come on, hit me” 

“Spit or swallow, you’re a swallower doll.See?” 

“Okay okay! You’re right, I give in. How about we just ask each other some questions?” 

“But you already know everything,” He remarked, throwing a few cashews into his mouth. 

“When did you first see me as someone other than a friend?” You’d thrown him off guard with that question, his hand stuck in mid air as he went to throw more snacks into his mouth. 

“Wouldn't you rather know my most embarrassing sexual encounters?” He offered but was met with silence. “Fine……. I’ve never seen you as just a friend. Yes we were friends before we became more and honestly Y/n if it never progressed further than just friendship I would’ve been fine with it, more than fine with it y’know? Meeting you was the best fucking thing-” “Buck, it’s okay” Your hand reached out towards him and squeezed his thigh as you kept your eyes on the road. 

“There’s more… before we officially met in the lobby when that creep wouldn’t leave you the fuck alone, I’d seen you around. I was coming back from lunch with Yori and he was complaining about having gone for burgers instead of our usual and there you were, headphones in completely oblivious to the world and searching for your keys in your purse as usual. You were just so carefree - everything I wanted to be. And then a couple of days later we met and I was a goner.”

You bit your lip as you fought back a smile, overwhelmed by his honesty. It was a welcome feeling, knowing you weren’t the only one that felt an attraction almost immediately. 

“I’d seen you around too, before we officially met I mean. It’s kind of hard to miss you” You chuckled as you snuck a glimpse over at him and found him doing his usual glare. “It was pretty early on for me as well, do you remember when we went for coffee?” 

“And you ordered us two cups of sugar? Yeah I remember” 

“Mocha Latte’s aren’t bad for you… they just give you a bit of a buzz” 

“Especially if you order extra cream…” 

“Anyway! I’ve always been attracted to you, I’m not blind y’know but after seeing this dark looming strong man consume a drink like that, and have some residue cream left on his lower lip mind you, I just knew that it was more than just a crush. There’s something oddly charming and attractive about seeing someone so intimidating be so soft. It’s like I’m the only one who gets to see that side of you and I love it” 

Bucky didn't quite know what to say, he was slightly flustered at the compliments you were throwing at him and by the knowledge that you’d been interested far earlier than he had ever dreamed of. 

“We’re idiots aren’t we? For not realising sooner.” 

“Oh without a doubt”

Tag list:

@iamtheonewhocares @indigo123789 @xpurpleglitter

If you want to be added drop me a message

[kmomof4]

CS AU- Coming to Storybrooke (1/5)

It’s FINALLY here!!!!!! I’ve only been talking about this fic for over a YEAR!!! I’m so excited to finally share it with all of you!!!

I have to acknowledge and send all the love and internet hugs to all those who helped me with this fic. I can truly say that I would have given up on it LONG AGO without them.

First to @hollyethecurious​. She was my brainstorming partner and never-ending fount of encouragement. She pulled me back from the brink of deleting this fic entirely so many times. So when I say that this fic wouldn’t be here without her, I’m not exaggerating. 

Second to @profdanglaisstuff​. The best beta in the world!!!! Her suggestions and insights make this writing business so much better! Thank you, babe!

And finally to all the ladies on the @captainswanmoviemarathon​ discord. Y’all’s encouragement and sprinting dates helped keep me motivated and got me over the finish line. 

This fic is a S1 Canon Divergence, sort of, inspired by the 1988 Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America. It is complete with five chapters and I’ll be updating every Saturday.

Fic Summary: Prince Killian of the Enchanted Forest refuses to marry the woman that his brother has chosen for him, so he travels to Storybrooke in the Land Without Magic to find his own bride.

Rating: T for some strong language

Words: Ch1 2224 of 18K Total

Tags: S1 Canon Divergence, Inspired by Coming to America, Neal is an idiot, romantic fluff

AO3 Link

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Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed.

Under the cut unless Tumblr ate it

Ch1

“Oh, she’s beautiful,” David whispered, awestruck.

Tears filled his eyes as he looked through the door at his other True Love. The little girl sat cross legged on the bed and slowly turned a page of the book in front of her.

David stared, dumbfounded, as a firm resolve filled him.

“We can’t waste another second,” he stated, vehemently. “We can’t wait another second.” He took a step toward the door when Snow’s softly spoken wait stopped him. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, looking at his wife.

Her eyes were glued to their daughter until they skittered away to their surroundings and the door in front of them. Anywhere but at him.

“We can’t go through there.”

David was stunned, incredulity coloring his features. “Snow, we have to.”

She continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “If we go through that door, Emma will never become the savior.”

He turned back to the open door. To his daughter. He was heartbroken. He knew exactly what Snow was thinking. If they went through that door, they condemned their subjects, their friends, their family, to live under Regina’s curse, separated from their own loved ones, forever. But that couldn’t be true. Rumplestiltskin said to keep the child safe and she would return on her 28th birthday. No mention was made about the circumstances of her return, only that she would.

“She’ll have a new destiny.” He looked at Snow again. “With us. We will teach her. We will tell her everything. And when her 28th birthday arrives, we’ll all come back and she will break the curse.”

Snow’s tear filled eyes finally turned to him. “How do you know?”

“This family finds each other. We’ve found each other,” he said, taking her hands. He tilted his head slightly toward the open door, “We’ve found Emma. We will find the rest of our family when it’s time for her to break the curse.”

He saw the moment doubt was swallowed up by hope in her eyes. With a small nod and a smile, they turned and walked through the door.

Together.

~*~*~*~

18 years later

Emma Swan sat in the back seat of the family SUV with her brother Leo as they sped through the backwoods of rural Maine toward an uncertain and possibly perilous future. It was her 28th birthday and it was the day that her parents had been preparing her for ever since they came through the closet door to claim her so long ago.

The scenery outside her window went hazy around the edges as she got lost in the memory of the first time she met her parents. She hadn’t been frightened when these two strangers entered her bedroom through her closet door. Something about them seemed familiar. She knew in her marrow that she could trust them and when the woman fell to her knees with tears in her eyes, her arms open wide, and calling her name, Emma hadn’t hesitated to run into them. She rose to her feet with Emma held tightly in her arms, sobbing into her hair and placing kisses all over her face. Emma only caught snippets of what the woman was saying, but the words I’m your mom, I love you, we’ll never leave you, we’ll always be together sent Emma’s heart soaring. It was exactly what this little lost girl had always longed to hear. The man wrapped one arm around them both and cupped the back of her head with the other. She had never felt so safe and loved in all her life.

Now all these years later, it was time to fulfill her destiny. It wasn’t long after their reunion that they settled in Portland, Maine and her parents told her a story. A story through the pages of the book that her mother had brought through the door with her. A story that was more than just a fantasy. It was true. All of it. It was their story. It was her story. The story of where she came from… and what she was meant to do. Beginning with the day she was born, her parents told her why they had to get her to safety. How Doc of the Seven Dwarves delivered her only minutes before her father placed her in the magical wardrobe and the queen’s curse swept over the land. From there, they told her the true story of how Snow White and Prince Charming met and fell in love - very different from the Disney version - her mother’s history with the Evil Queen and how her father came to be in the position to even meet his True Love. She’d become intimately familiar with all the true stories in the book as she grew up, first her, then her brother Leo, and now it was time for her to save them all. She had to admit to being rather nervous about it. It was one thing to hear the story from her parents and believe it because of how young she was and because she trusted them. But it was entirely different to be a grown woman and solely responsible for bringing back all the happy endings for real people that her parents knew and loved. She was about to see everything from the storybook come to life.

Suddenly, her mother’s excited voice from the front seat roused her from her musings.

“There it is, David!” she exclaimed. “The town line!”

“I see it, I see it,” he replied.

Moments later, they crossed the town line and a chill passed over Emma’s entire body before something exploded out of her that nearly made her dad lose control of the car.

“What the hell was that?” Emma cried as her mom and brother shouted in alarm. She reached toward Leo’s shoulder while her other hand tried to find purchase on the door handle as her dad brought the car back under control. She looked out the window and saw a white shimmering something traveling across the sky toward the town. She saw her mom, dad, and brother craning their necks to see it too.

“I think…” her mom began, “that you just broke the curse, honey.”

“That’s it?” she asked, incredulous. “Just crossing the town line? That was all it took?”

“Apparently so,” her dad answered. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t still have to be on our guard.” His grip on the steering wheel tightened and his brow furrowed. “We don’t know what we’re going to find when we get to town. Regina and the Dark One are presumably still here somewhere.”

Silence reigned as they continued to drive toward the center of town in the direction of the white blast. A few minutes later, they turned onto the main street of the small town. Filling the street in front of them, people were laughing and hugging each other in reunions that were 28 years overdue. Her dad slammed on the brakes as her mom cried out, her hands flying to her mouth.

“Ruby! Granny!” She bolted from the car and ran toward a leggy brunette and older matronly woman. Emma could see the surprised joy on their faces as they turned and ran toward her mother. Emma and Leo got out slowly as their dad ran toward his wife as she embraced the two women. They approached the reunited and happy foursome just as seven men got their mom’s attention. Wide grins broke out on Emma and Leo’s faces as realization came over them. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Emma could hear her mom’s sobs as she tried to embrace them all at once. Once she’d finished greeting her dearest and oldest friends, her mom turned toward them.

“Everyone,” she began, “these are our children.” Her mom motioned them closer. “Emma and Leo.” Her brother suddenly looked quite different from the brash and bold teenager she knew. He looked equal parts dumbfounded and like he’d like to melt into the ground. Her father didn’t miss a beat. He grabbed his son’s shoulder and started introducing him individually to the dwarves, placing his arm around him.

“Emma?” asked Granny, drawing her attention again. “The Savior?” The old woman took steps toward Emma and tenderly cupped her face with her hands before kissing her on the cheek and drawing her into a hug. Emma knew the elderly woman from the storybook, but to be held in her arms in love and acceptance was nearly as good as the hug she received from her parents when they came for her.

“Papa,” another man further up the street shouted. He ran toward an older man that was walking toward the group with the aid of a cane.

The man turned, his face infused with disbelieving joy as the cane dropped and he took a hesitant step toward the other man. “Bae?”

Emma could feel the tears forming in her eyes as the men embraced each other. She had done this. She was the savior and she had given all these people the happy endings that the Evil Queen had taken away all because she refused to place the blame for the death of her love where it truly belonged. She turned back toward the crowd again as more reunions were taking place. She saw her parents embracing a red haired man with a dalmatian. Jiminy Cricket, she remembered.

Just at that moment, a joyous cry reached their ears and they all turned toward the sound. A young woman with wild brown hair and wearing nothing more than a dirty white shift ran toward the still embracing men as she launched herself into the older man’s arms and kissed him. A rainbow blast burst from them startling everyone gathered. They separated as the blast flew through the air and yet also concentrated around the man. The young woman’s eyes grew wide as the rainbow light grew brighter and brighter around him before finally fading away to nothing. The man had tears running down his cheeks as he reached for the young woman again. Emma watched her melt into his arms and could just hear him murmur, “Belle. It’s gone. You saved me.” The kiss they shared made Emma’s cheeks flame as she turned toward her dad.

“Huh,” he said. “Rumplestiltskin has a True Love. Who would have thought that?”

The couple separated again and the man she now knew was Rumplestiltskin, the practitioner of the darkest magic in the realm, the man that she had always thought of as the puppet master, since he seemed to have a part in every single story in the book, gathered both the young woman and the younger man to him as the three made their way toward their own group.

“Dark One,” her dad greeted the man with a curt nod.

“No more,” he answered, raising his chin just a bit. “Belle’s True Love’s Kiss just destroyed the Darkness. With my son here, I was ready to let go of the Darkness and find my happiness with my family beside me.”

Then a stately woman in a nun’s habit approached them.

“Your highnesses,” she began with a bow, “the curse is indeed broken. As is the Darkness that made the Dark One.”

Her dad reached out and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Blue,” he said. “Thank you.” He turned back toward the crowd and raised his voice in an exuberant shout. “The curse is broken and the Darkness is no more!” The gathered crowd cheered along with him. Emma wiped away her tears and met the eyes of the man that had embraced the former Dark One. His eyes twinkled as he grinned broadly at her. She felt her heart rate increase and cheeks flush again as she turned her eyes back toward her parents.

It was moments later when she felt a presence at her back. She turned around and found herself captured by a pair of laughing brown eyes.

“Neal,” he said, holding his hand out for her to shake. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as if a sudden headache had come over him. “Baelfire. Neal Cassidy was my cursed name. But you can call me whatever you want.” He smiled again.

She took his hand and smiled back. “Emma,” she replied. “It’s nice to meet you, Neal.”

She could see her mom and brother over Neal’s shoulder exchange a stern and sheepish look. She knew that Leo, at 17, would love nothing more than to tease her about the man in front of her, but thankfully, their mother caught his eye before he could. She rolled her eyes at them before directing her attention back to him.

“Uh, thanks,” he said, “for uh, breaking the curse.” She couldn’t help but smile wider at his clumsy attempts to make small talk.

“You’re welcome?” she answered, with a shrug. “I mean, I didn’t really do anything, just crossed the town line…” she trailed away.

“But, I m-mean,” he stammered, “it was more than that. You…” he shrugged helplessly, apparently at a loss for what to say next. “Listen,” he said, brightening, “Could I show you around town? Maybe buy you a cup of coffee?”

Emma grinned widely. “I’d like that.” She looped her arm through his and he led her away from the rest of the crowd.

[timextoxhajima]

Playlist Feels

*SHORT SERIES

Member: LEE JUYEON

Genre: angst, fluff, romance, chaebol feels cause i can totally see juyeon as a chaebol who’s self-sustaining idk

A/N: Here’s juyeon in something that looks like a suit/formal wear cause i couldn’t find a gif of him in a suit :”) m sed. i’m also very very very weak for settings that are of high-class and somewhat jazzy/sophisticated/expensive themes. throwing in romance just boosts the bonus points ;”)

Links to other parts:

~

Frustrated (light smut) 

Love Somebody (light smut)

Play With Fire (smut) 

you couldn’t help but to smile softly at the sound of your colleagues lowkey dissing the hell out of your boss. you’ve been working at this law firm for nearly half a year now, and nearly nobody working in the building has any clue how your boss looks like. 

there wasn’t a single photo of him in the building, and even if there was, the only person who knew how he looked like refused to disclose the information. 

“don’t you find it strange that mr lee sangyeon refuses to tell us how our boss even looks like? surely there’s some portrait of him hanging somewhere in the office,” you look at chanhee who was on the verge of spitting his food out in the midst of aggressively complaining. 

you laugh, using your tongue and cleaning the small bits of tomato and lettuce from your teeth, watching sunwoo grab a napkin. you expected him to wipe his mouth before going off on a diss, but he just crumples it in his hand and says whatever he wanted to say.

“i asked him before and he said that we’d gossip about him if we knew who he really was. all i know is that he hasn’t been in the building since his father gave him the law firm.”

“huh?” chanhee’s eyes were wide open and staring at sunwoo upon the new information. “don’t tell me... so he’s just a chaebol who thinks he doesn’t need to work just ‘cause his father owns the company? wha... this guy is really something else...”

you exchange glances with eric, who had been silent alongside you and listening to the conversation. 

“if you google the law firm and his father’s name, only his father’s name comes up,” sunwoo pulls up his phone, mouth still chewing on the last bit of his pasta.

“oh! what’s his name? are there any pictures of him?” chanhee leaned towards the younger, trying to take a look at the phone screen while sunwoo googles the name.

“ah, he’s only been referred to as the son of his father... no pictures of him...” 

chanhee bares his teeth in disappointment, pulling away and returning his attention to his food. 

“what’s the internet good for if we can’t even find the information we need...”

you chuckle, taking a sip from your coffee. 

the last six months you’ve been working here, you’ve been clearing every case with ease. you’ve worked with chanhee, sunwoo and with eric on the latest one, and you’ve won every case you needed to turn up in court for. 

but all those wins were at the expense of your sleep and alone time. 

there was nothing for you to worry about though, mr lee sangyeon has already given you feedback that you were doing well anyway.

but you couldn’t help but wonder: just who is your boss?

you, chanhee, eric and sunwoo entered the company in the same batch six months ago, and since then your boss has not once stepped into the building. what was strange was that nobody else has spoken about him. it almost seemed like every other employee under the law firm was either terrified to even speak of him, or that they were simply clueless. 

you’ve tried digging the information from the colleague sitting next to your cubicle: lee jaehyun. 

but never does he once budge. all he’s ever done when you ask about your phantom boss was shake his head and tell you not to ask anybody else about him. you’ve tried to ask if he was a scary boss or that he’s never even seen him before, but he shooed you away and told you to focus on your cases instead.

the week passes in a flash, with a new case you’ve been working on with chanhee that’s been holding the both of you back in office till late hours was killing you. if it wasn’t for mr lee sangyeon shutting off all the electricity in the office, you and chanhee would’ve probably spent the night there. 

“the both of you are allowed to report to office at 10 am tomorrow. you guys get two hours discount because i know this case is pretty tough. it’s your first business lawsuit, right?”

chanhee’s eyes were rolled back so far in his head that he looked drunk, so you take the initiative to respond by nodding with whatever energy you had left in you. 

“okay. good job for now. go home,” the manager taps on chanhee’s shoulders and jerks him a little. “go home or the both of you are fired!” 

chanhee shoots up at the word “fired”, only bowing in apology before the both of you gets chased out of the office. 

THE NEXT MORNING

“GOOOOOOD MOR--”

“shut the fuck up!” 

you turn your head sharply at sunwoo who hissed at you. he was seated near the entrance of the office, so he was the first person to hear you push open the doors like you were entering heaven.

“well, that’s not very kind of yo--”

“he’s fucking here, you dumbwit!” sunwoo has a finger pressed to his lips and a look of urgency cemented into his face. frankly, he looked like he was in pain. 

eric, who was sitting right next to him, looks at both you and chanhee and shakes his head gently. 

you look around the office, and you notice everybody’s heads were dipped into their laptops and case files. it was so quiet, it’ll be an understatement if you said you could hear a pin drop. 

“i’m sorry, who’s here?” you frown at sunwoo, frowning a little while you remember you didn’t bother wearing a brooch. it wasn’t compulsory, but mr lee sangyeon has mentioned before that it was an office tradition. you note that nobody else has the brooch on besides chanhee and lee jaehyun. 

“oh my god, you’re a fucki--”

“oh!” you hear your manager call out. you and chanhee react to the enthusiastic greeting, and you see your manager walking along the larger offices and around the cubicles where you worked. “the both of you are here! i was beginning to worry you were going to be late.”

mr lee sangyeon stops about two metres before you, hands in his pocket. you notice he has a brooch on his breast pocket, and you don’t remember him ever wearing it. 

“why don’t the two of you settle down for a bit, and around...” he looks at his watch. “ten thirty? meet me outside the CEO’s office.”

you hear chanhee hiccup at the instruction. though you were a lawyer yourself, you take longer than necessary to process the information.

“huh?” you blurt out. you notice sunwoo facepalming in the corner of your eye while your manager had the stiffest smile on his face. “the... the CEO?”

“yes, the CEO.”

you hear chanhee stammer a little bit. “uh... i... did we do anything wrong? are we getting fired? why are we going to the CEO’s of--”

“oh, no! none of that,” your manager bursts into laughter and waves his hand in your faces. “the CEO was just looking through the case files and he thinks this one is going to be tricky. he’s thinking of helping the both of you through it!”

your face doesn’t move, but your eyes turn to look at chanhee who was now standing right next to you.

the ceo hasn’t even been in the damn building since he got the law firm. who does he think he is, thinking of helping us ‘through it’?

“oh, don’t sweat it! he’s not as bad as people say, trust me.”

you force out a weak smile, noticing sunwoo giving you two thumbs-up without smiling. it was as if he was sending you off to your death.

“ohmygod we’re gonna get fired we’re gonna get fired ohmyjesus we’re going to get fired we’regonnagetfi--”

“shut your trap, would you?” you whisper harshly, punching chanhee lightly in his arm. the both of you were standing outside the CEO’s office, the digital clock in the corner of the space displaying 1027.

“mr lee already said we’re not getting fired, so stop freaking out on me!” you urge him to collect himself as you hear the door of your manager’s door click open.

“when you’re inside, just address him with ‘sir’ and mr lee if you’re talking to me, okay?” your manager grins widely at you. you absorb his demeanor, only now realising that he must’ve known that the ceo was going to come into office today. there was no other reason why he chose today to wear the brooch. 

“relax, and just hear him out carefully with whatever he says, okay? the both of you will be fine as long as i’m around.”

you frown to yourself, and you could almost hear chanhee get a whole asthma attack behind you.

‘you’ll be fine as long as i’m around’? is this guy a wolf or vampire or something?

your manager turns and knocks on the frosted glass, and you turn to notice a vague, dark shadow standing inside. 

“come in.”

your manager pushes the door open, and chanhee pushes you to enter the office first.

the first thing you notice was the scent of the space once you were inside. 

there was a light scent that reminded you of the mountains and trees whenever you went hiking. the scent of dew, pine trees and fresh air was the only thing you could smell. 

the next thing you noticed was how incredibly neat and large the office was. you’ve never stepped into this office before, and though mr lee sangyeon’s was right next to this office, it looked like it was easily double the size of his. 

“go easy on them,” your manager’s voice snapped you back to reality. you found yourself standing awkwardly behind the chairs that looked expensive on its own. “don’t scare my newbies, please.”

you hear your manager laugh. your eyes travel from the orientation of the room and it’s black and golden-brown colors to see the man that sent the entire office into complete silence since you’ve stepped in, and you nearly lost your grip on all the files you had in your arm. 

“why?” your boss laughs as he turns around from the shelf behind his desk, placing a file on the surface before looking at you and chanhee. “there’s no reason for them to be scared as long as they haven’t done anything wrong.”

you blink multiple times, forgetting that anybody might’ve thought you had something in your eye if they saw it. your boss looked even younger than your manager, and he wasn’t even in a suit.

he was in a blue blazer with silver buttons, with a button down top underneath and black pants with his hair waxed upwards. had you not known this man was your boss, you would’ve thought he was some random guy who broke into his office. you were expecting someone in his mid thirties or something, so seeing someone barely a few years older than you standing in the office labelled ‘CEO’ was difficult to swallow.

“choi chanhee, right?” he first looks at your friend, fingers mindlessly fiddling with each other behind the files he was holding in his hands. chanhee quickly bows. you observe carefully as his eyes travel from chanhee to you. 

“you... you’re the one who’s closed like, three cases in the six months you were here, right?” he tilts his head while he asks the question. you bow cautiously with your hand over your chest.

“i only let them take up this case because they both stood out to me the most,” your manager pulls out both chairs at the table, gesturing to the both of you to sit. the ceo smiles, turning and leaning his rear against the edge of the table. he looks out the window behind his desk and beside the shelf, watching the city pass by second by second. 

your manager gets the both of you settled in the seats like a parent, and you watch as chanhee tries his best to speak with his eyes. 

your manager shakes his head lightly, only to pat chanhee on his shoulder. 

“don’t you dare scare them!” your manager warns the ceo. he looks over his shoulder and nods without a smile. chanhee looks worriedly at your manager leaving the office, physically uneasy as the door shuts with a click. 

there was a heavy, awkward silence that hung in the air while both you and chanhee watch your ceo stare out of the window. you couldn’t even see his face because all you were looking at were the creases on his back. 

“the first rule i need you two to follow if we are to work together is professionalism,” his voice startles you, but he doesn’t turn around. “meaning that whatever obstacles that come by, we discuss it as a team. the company that filed for this lawsuit, objectively speaking, was in the wrong. it’s highly likely that we’ll lose as the defendant if we make one small mistake.”

you hear chanhee gulp, and if it was loud enough for you to hear, your ceo probably heard it too. 

he finally pushes himself off the desk and turns around, pulling out the chair so he was now sitting facing the both of you. 

his eyes were so focused, so serious, that you realise now why your manager hasn’t said anything about him to any of you newbies. 

he was intimidating and there was a look of sheer determination in him that would’ve scared the balls out of certain people. lee jaehyun was probably one of them. 

your manager must’ve told anybody who has already met him to keep quiet about his intimidating personality. 

but... where the hell has he been the last six months? and was he even qualified to be giving us this speech?

“the second thing i need the both of you to know is that this isn’t going to be an easy case. i’m going to need the both of you to commit to it right now, and if you can’t just be honest. i’m not going to fire you just because you’re worried about losing a difficult case in the first six months you’re working here.”

you purse your lips, confident that you were going to get through this, even if it meant losing. 

chanhee doesn’t agree though.

“actually,” you snap your head to glare at chanhee when he opens his mouth. your ceo leans back in his seat, his face a lack of emotion. “i can’t deny i’m worried that we’re going to lose the case. i agree that there’s a high chance that we might lose as the defense counsel so--”

“are you nuts?” you interrupt him with a low voice. as if your ceo isn’t going to hear it. “so what if we lose the case?”

“i’m sorry, i just--”

“no, it’s fine, i totally understand,” your ceo shakes his head and leans forward again, resting his arms on the surface of the desk and reaching for the case file. “i know how it feels like to lose a case, even when you know it’s difficult to win.”

you snap your head back to the man sitting opposite you with eyes made of steel, completely forgetting that he was your ceo. 

‘i know how it feels’?

“sangyeon hyung told me that you were exhausted yesterday after working on this case all day, so i’m giving you a chance to walk away and trust me and y/n with it.”

you return your attention to chanhee, your head chanting “no no no no no no please no”

but chanhee gives you an apologetic look. 

you sigh and resign to fate, wanting to bury your face in your palms, but the sound of your ceo clicking on a pen prevents you from doing so. 

“alright, i’ll get the details of the case fixed by the end of the day. before you clock out in the evening, do give it a check and inform me if your name is still on the case in the system.”

he scribbles something in the case file and gives chanhee a look that you couldn’t read. no smile, no nod, nothing. 

“if there’re no further questions then you may leave,” he directs the instruction at chanhee. you look at him with begging eyes, telling him not to ditch you alone with this man. 

you should’ve known chanhee was merciless at heart, and you were on the verge of cursing at him when you see him shoot you a cheeky smile when you watch him escape. 

your eyes remain glued to chanhee’s back as he exits the office, and the frosted glass door takes forever to close.

“anything about the glass door that’s so fascinating to you?” 

you turn your neck so fast at his question that you feel a nerve snap. you wince a little at the pain that shoots up your head, but you manage to collect yourself while he looks through the case file that chanhee left behind. 

“i know what you’re thinking,” he looks up at you through his lashes, and you’ve never seen the whites of someone’s eyes so... glaring. “but i’m very sure you don’t need to concern yourself with whatever those questions or thoughts are.”

he closes the case file and leans forward, so much that you felt the need to lean back into your seat. 

“all you need to know is that i’m here to help you with this case, despite the level of difficulty. and i want you to know that i have faith in you. that even if you lose, you would’ve fought a good fight.”

what in the world is he even talking about now?

he doesn’t give you time to let nonsensical thoughts run through your head. all he does was fumble around in his drawers for some blank paper and he furiously types on his computer.

you weren’t sure if you were just overwhelmed by all the questions that you couldn’t even form in your head, or that he just waltzed in here and took over a case that belonged to you and chanhee. either way, you were completely dumbfounded. 

he prints you a case file sheet, and before you could even read what was on it, he speaks again. 

“just follow that sheet and do whatever you need to do to find the information and details. after you’re done, you will submit it back to me and i’ll hand you the next sheet.”

what?

“i’m sorry, wha--”

“did i say you could ask questions?” he looks at you, writing stopped and the tip of the pen still on a piece of paper in the file. you unconsciously shoot him a dirty look at his response, but you don’t realise it yourself because he doesn’t bother giving you a reaction.

“you may return to your working space. have it done by tonight and get out of the office by 8pm. you will report to me tomorrow at 8am, and if you’re late, you’ll be removed from the case.”

8pm was earlier than the recommended end-of-work time.

you open your mouth to protest, not realising that your face has contorted into a mess of anger and completely disbelief. but he looks up at you again, and if his eyes could talk, you swore they said, shut up and get out.

you swallow your pride, sucking a deep breath so hard that you were sure he could hear it. you stand up, give a polite bow, and turn on your heels to leave his office. 

once the door clicks behind you and you make sure your manager was back in his office, you start mouthing long strings of vulgarities, trembling and shaking within your control. 

“motherfucker-- what the fuck--”

you return to your seat opposite chanhee’s, and sunwoo and eric rush over to you at the sight of your silent tantrum.

“what happened? is he as shitty as we predicted him to be?”

you huff and bury your face into your hands, careful not to let your fingers mess up your hair. 

“i should’ve dropped the damn case, ugh,” you groan, not wanting to engage in a gossip session with sunwoo and eric. chanhee shoos them away to let you work on whatever you were told to do, and you did just that. 

to your dismay, this cycle repeats itself for the next two weeks. 

nothing but filling up case file sheets like it was homework, and your boss never once has a conversation about it with you. you were starting to wonder if he was just feeding you worksheets to help him get through the case because there was nearly nothing else you could think of that he could’ve been working on on his own. 

you were more than happy to be working on this case, and though you were given more time to rest at home, you were losing time with your colleagues. on top of that, it’s not like you went to sleep the moment you got home. you worked on it until your eyes couldn’t bear to stay open, and it wasn’t difficult to notice because sunwoo made fun of your eyebags one week after you started filling up case file worksheets. 

you were ready to storm into his office in strong protest one morning, but your manager breaks the unfortunate news to you on a bright, sunny day.

“excuse me?” your mouth hung agape at the new information. “he wants me to what?”

sunwoo, eric and chanhee look up from their desks and watches as you painfully process the instructions. your manager doesn’t do anything besides continue the rest of the message relayed from your ceo.

“there’ll be a Porsche at the entrance of the building in about an hour’s time, so you should have all things case-related with you when you get into the car.”

you couldn’t believe your fucking ears.

not only was he feeding you worksheets, now you had to fix your work schedule around him?

you were huffing as you searched through his shelves for the case-related items, only to realise there was nothing left of it in his office. you couldn’t be bothered wondering where all the materials were, because everything the case needed had been filled up by you, and he’s probably stashed it somewhere waiting to claim the credit for himself. 

chanhee watches you as you gather every file and sheet of paper case-related from your work space, and you don’t bother finishing your coffee before offering it to chanhee. 

“call the fucking police if i don’t text you by dinner please,” you nearly snap at chanhee, filled with frustration and anger. he laughs at your demise, taking a sip from the coffee you barely drank as you drag yourself to leave the office. 

your suitcase was much heavier than usual with all the case files in it, so you were only grateful that the Porsche’s chauffeur was kind enough to help you get the door open. 

“sorry for needing you to get the door open,” you huff, slightly out of breath as the chauffeur returns to the driver’s seat. you pull the seatbelt over your chest and buckle it, patting down the creases of your pants and blazer. 

“oh, no it’s totally normal! we’ve been instructed to help whoever’s getting into the vehicles mr lee send anyway, regardless of the things they are carrying.”

“uh... mr lee? lee sang yeon?” 

“huh?” the driver looks at your through the rear mirror. his eyes light up once he processes your words and chuckles warmly. “oh, no. mr lee sangyeon is the manager of the law firm. i’m talking about mr lee juyeon, the ceo.”

so that’s his name.

“oh,” you mumble to yourself, looking out the window as the car drives away from the building. “lee juyeon... would’ve been more convincing if lee sangyeon was the one who gave those instructions.”

“did you say something?” 

“uh--” you stutter. 

shit. 

“i--”

“are you one of his lawyers who think that he’s mean and cold and unreasonable?” he smiles at you with a look of mischief in his eyes. 

isn’t he?

asshole.

you struggle to read his expression, because all you could think of was the fact that you were on his way to his home office just because he was ‘unable to be in the office today’.

“judging by your silence, i’m guessing you are one of those people.”

you look away, telling yourself to shut up before you say anything horrible and get yourself fired. 

the chauffeur must’ve picked up on your discomfort, and he doesn’t say anything else the rest of the drive. 

the drive was barely ten minutes compared to the near one hour it took you to travel from your apartment to the office. but what was more shocking to you was where this douchebag lived. 

the Porsche stops at a building in an area that you’ve never stepped foot in, for the sole reason that this was the most expensive building in the city. 

you should’ve expected it, but seeing it for yourself and being physically present made it all the more harder to believe it. 

you were so busy looking up at the building in awe from the inside of the car that you don’t notice the chauffeur get the door open, and someone else comes to get your suitcase for you. 

you now notice both the chauffeur and the man who took your suitcase for you had brooches of the same design but different colors on their blazers. 

you follow the man who took your suitcase into the lift lobby, the chandelier that hung way up above your head was the first thing that you took notice of. the walls and floor were black and gold, and everything else in the lift lobby was either silver or bronze. 

you would’ve totally thought this was a hotel if you didn’t know your ceo lived here. 

you stand in awkward silence as the lift ascends to the top floor, and it takes you a moment to realise that the top floor were all penthouses because the lift stops, and the man presses a button before the doors opens directly into someone’s living room. 

your eyes widen in wonder, and for a moment you believed you were in some sightseeing tower. beyond the living room was a whole glass wall that spanned the length of the living room, allowing you to take in the view of the city. 

there were two flights of stairs on both sides as you exit the lift, and you catch a glimpse of the extremely large television screen mounted onto the wall on the left, and the kitchen on the right. 

you could’ve spent the entire time just gawking at the orientation and the view, but the sound of shoes clacking against the marble floor steals your attention away. 

you turn, your footing now adjacent to the first steps of the stairs on both sides, only to see your boss walking down the steps with a phone held to his ear. 

the man who has your suitcase bows, earning a small nod and wave from your ceo. 

huh, the waving is new. 

the man lays your suitcase down by the table that was sitting on huge rug on the floor in the middle of the living room. you walk over, scanning the expensive looking three-set sofa that surrounded the table, the only empty side facing the television that looked more like a theatre screen up close. 

“i understand,” you watch as your ceo pats the man on his back and send him off, attention still on the conversation on the phone. “i look forward to meeting you next month, mr shin. always an honour working with you.”

you turn back, now looking at the table and the sofas, but your eyes naturally follow the light, and you begin walking to the glass window where the city passes by below your feet. cars were the size of ants and humans looked like specks of dust. 

“you know i just got my windows cleaned yesterday.”

you step back, quickly realising that you were so cooped up with staring at the world outside that you pressed your forehead and nose against the surface of the glass, leaving ugly marks on it. your hands fly up to your mouth, your eyes widening at the sight. 

your first instinct was to reach up with your arm and wipe it off, but your boss was suddenly next to you, his grip on your wrist stopping whatever you wanted to do. 

“it’s fine. leave it be, i’ll get someone to wipe it off later.”

he releases his hold on you and walks away. 

you wince quietly to yourself, mentally berating yourself for being so mindless and careless despite being in his (pent)house while he picks up your suitcase and takes out all the case files. 

“i need you to look through the 3rd and 7th piece over and tell me more about the company’s leases and financial bonds,” he looks through the file and leaves it open on the third sheet, laying it flat on the table. “give me a minute.”

you sit on the sofa, your heels making it difficult to walk on the rug. you watch as he takes two steps at a time up the stairs and disappears behind a wall that you assume was a hallway. 

you spent a whole day staring at each piece of worksheet, so you’ve basically memorised everything about the third and seventh sheet he needed you to look at. 

you wonder why he was wearing an all black fit in the comfort of his own home instead. 

within a minute he was rushing back down the stairs, and in his hand was a file you’ve never seen before. there were so many sheets in it that you wonder if it was just torn right out of a book.

but he lays it down next to yours, and everything in it was case-related with information that you’ve never seen before. 

he lets you look through the sheets in his file, and you can’t help to stare at him with utter confusion. he catches you watching him with a perplexed expression and allows you a few moments before everything clicks in your head.

“you’re a fucking lawyer.”

Part 2: Frustrated

[panicinart]

A nanny to replace with someone new part 1

Brahms x transman/transmasc reader

Please take my writing privilege away when it's past midnight

There arnt any trigger warnings here and at the moment no gendered words or pronouns is used! I guess there is a bit of queer coding(???) if you squint but nothing to serious or specific

Your phone vibrated with a new message send to you. Scrambling it out of your pants with hasty and shaking fingers while the other hand tryd it's best to not let the travel suitcases fall on the floor. Giving it a quick glance your lips curled into a smile, it was your best friend asking how the flight into the UK was.

So you gave her a quick message on how you got the worst seat imaginable. The guy next to you constantly gave you weird glances, he tryd to be sneaky about it, looking at your way when he thought you were asleep or occupied with something else. The smell that receded from him wasn't pleasant either, betting your left arm that he didn't shower for at least 3 weeks straight.

A few seats away was a couple that constantly started a loud argument with each other about the most random and unimportant things imaginable. When the fly attended tryd to calm them down the whole scenario got even more chaotic, making a kid that was another few seats away cry loudly. You would feel bad for the child if it wasn't for your enormous migraine building up. The only good thing out of the situation was when a bag of salted snacks got accedntly thrown to your way, giving you a free extra snack.

As you clicked send an announcement made it's self know with loud static noises. The train had a one hour delay. At this point your nerves were on edge. With a heavy sigh you walked out of the airport to the underground, at least there was now some time to look at the airport stores. Buying a few snacks here and there and seeing the cute souvenirs lighten up your mood a bit, and you even found a pharmacy!

Munching at your last chocolate bar and swallowing the pill for your migraine as you clumsily walked down the stairs to the subway, you eyes skimmed for a clock, and there it was, old and a bit rusty but it worked just fine showing that it's currently 7:43 pm.

'20 more minutes'

you thought, as you gave it a quick glance with a groggy look,

'Might as well give her a quick text'

•hey,sophie the train has a delay probably will come in like an hour late if everything goes well.

It took a few minutes until she texted you back

▪︎Yea I already thought that, can't have shit in public transport >:/

•yea,,, so,,, how is the babysitting going? Is the kid as bad as the last one you took care of???

▪︎Nope! How should it when it's a doll :)

•....

....

....

a what???

▪︎A doll! It's one of those weird porcelain ones that look like a small child. It's even live sized! I was already weirded out that a couple this old would have small children of their own but that? A whole new level of weird

•,,,,what are you doing with it????

does it just hang around or do you actually take care of it??

As you waited for an answer another announcement was made, the train that should come in now 15 minutes should be here earlier.

You would have made a small victorious smile if the question didn't come crashing down like an avalanche.

Why do they keep it? Why do they need a babysitter when it's just a doll? Why is it live sized? And most importantly, how in the fresh fuck did they managed to let the train come earlier the thought. While being lost in your mind with questions your phone took you back into reality when it vibrated.

▪︎Nope! I just let it sit in the corner, sometimes I put a towel or blanket over it. It's stare is really fucking creepy....

•oh,,, so free money I guess, pretty cool.

hey sophie what was the name of the family??

Something with shire right??

Chestershire??

▪︎Heelshire, why do you ask?

•just out of curiosity, maeby there is an article about them and the doll.

i mean they are a well know family so I can imagine there is something out there about them. also my train is coming later then planned.

they made an announcement that it should come earlier the thought but,,, I think I won't come over today for the sleepover, I'm just too tired, sorry for the late cancelation

▪︎It's fine (Y/N)! You had a shitty flight so I can understand that! So we see us tomorrow :) ?

•ye

▪︎Awesome, can't wait to show you the creepy doll!

And with that the chat ended, your train already making a big entrance with the loud hald of it's heavy metallic wheels.

You took the suitcase back into your hands and tumbled your way into the train.

Looking around, you accepted defeat that there was no seat left for you, your mood slowly dipping from tired annoyance to about to having a small fit. But that wouldn't help your progress, so you swallowed your anger down and leaned to one of the metallic poles. Wobbling a bit from left to right and needing to catch your suitcase to not let it roll over a passengers feet as the train started moving again.

You grabbed your phone, hesitating for a bit

'Do I really want to know what the fuck is going on or???'

You just shrugged your shoulders and gave it a go, the heelshire family is a rich pompous family you're sure there is something about them on the internet.

Aaaaand you were right, it didn't even took a second when hundreds of articles pooped up with dramatic headlines.

Terrible fire at the Heelshire mansion

Mysterious fire in Heelshire property

Heelshire, how their live turned quickly into a nightmare

These were the few that caught your interest.

You gave the articles quick reads, your tired eyes switching between almost falling shut from tiredness and going wide at the gruesome details on the tragedy.

Well that gives you a few indications on why they keep it.

'It's probably some kind of coping mechanism....'

You don't really see yourself as someone who's heart gets torn apart everytime you hear a sad and tragic story, but you still can't shake the heaviness off it all, a family losing their only child in an enormous fire that up to this day nobody knows were it came from.

Too keep your mind off the whole thing you looked outside, still having a bitter expression of the new info as you admired the houses.

It looks like your heading towards a more suburban area, making it look like one of your old English telenovela that you watch every now and then.

As the sun slowly goes down and engulfing the area in beautiful colors was quite a bit breathtaking, infact so breathtaking that you almost missed your station.

In a moment of panic you pushed yourself out of the train almost dropping a few things in it, but luckily you had everything with you.

With lazy steps towards a billboard your eyes scanned the map for the area, the bus stop wasn't far away, just a few minutes walk, but your heavy arms slowly giving up and your feet starting to hurt didn't really help.

You got your headphones out in hopes that listening to your favorite music makes the whole thing a bit more bearable.

Even tho it was just a tiny bit left until you arrived at your destination, somehow everything went wrong one way or another. You almost missed the bus and then one of it's tire pooped, making you wait for the next one that came in like half an hour.

Then one of your water bottles wasn't closed properly making some of your stuff soaked in it, destroying your notes, drawings and a few comics you had with you in the process.

When you arrived in the small but cozy hotel a woman had a giant fight with the manager. One of her kids didn't stop bothering you with weird and uncomfortable questions about your appearance. While the other didn't keep their grabby hands off of you. Then when she finally finished her rant on how the room service didn't left a small piece of chocolate for her children like always, she had the audacity to give you a 'tch' when she walked passed you with a slightly disgusted expression. The manager and her assistant apologized for the inconvenience and offerd you some candy as a sorry gift for the inconvenience, you don't want to sound like a glutton, but it did make you forget about the whole thing for a bit.

Finally you managed to get your keys. On the way to your room you almost dropped all your stuff becoming a clumsy mess that just wants to sleep.

As you opend the door impatiently you more or less threw your stuff on the chairs and floor quickly unpacked your pajamas and hastily puting them on. Dropping your body on the softest bed you ever were able to sleep in like a rock. To say that you were happy to finally be here is taking things way to lighty. With a happy sigh you closed you eyes for the well deserving sleep.

[rwriting]

the last victim // sayu yagami (deathnote)

description: gosh, i love sayu yagami so much. i have so many headcanons for her –  it’s a little embarrassing… i really wanted to write this piece! it’s post canon with a few dark themes. i’m of the opinion that sayu’s a character with so much potential, so little of which is explored in the canon. hoping you all enjoy! 

word count: 1.6k

content warnings: light yagami (ha, ha…), implied self-harm, self-hatred (?), the term psychopath (ableism), magazines being gross, sibling and parent death, bullying… sorry, i know that’s quite a lot to bear with. please take care of yourself!

 Breathe.

She’s trying, she really is.

Breathe.

Her hands spasm and reach for her throat.

Breathe.

She forces her hands to her sides.

Breathe.

She opens her eyes.

Sayu Yagami stares at the ceiling of her apartment, head fuzzy with… she wants to say the remnants of a dream, but perhaps a nightmare is closer to the truth. She can’t quite remember. Besides, her waking, no matter the night she’s experienced, is never pleasant. It always involves too much breathlessness, too much begging, too much… emotion.

Sayu feels torn about that. Too much emotion. It seems weird to think that she could be overwhelmed with emotion, when she spends so much time simply without it. She’s not sure what is worse: drowning beneath the waves, or feeling as if she’s dying of thirst.

Maybe I deserve them both, she thinks. It’s a recurring thought – she can never be rid of it. It sneaks up behind her, holds her hand. Offers comfort, somehow. There’s a reason for this, it whispers. Sayu thinks she likes reasons, likes logic, likes… explanations. That’s understandable, they all say. You want to know how one of your own hurt so many others.

I don’t, thinks Sayu. She doesn’t know if it’s a lie or not. How odd to not even know if you yourself are telling the truth.

Desperate not to get stuck in a loop of contemplation as she’s prone to (she’s spent days like this before; lying in bed, pondering and pondering and pondering), she swings her legs off the bed and plants them on the cold, cold, floor. The sensation of the frozen tiles and the jolt they send through her is oddly pleasant; it’ll prevent her from falling back to sleep at the very least.

A quick walk to the bathroom and she considers herself fully awake. Well, as awake as she gets; too many days of hers are spent in a daze, a state so distanced from reality she can hardly call it a state of being awake. A state of dreams and disillusionment.

She takes in her face in as she stares at the mirror. For a terrifying moment, her eyes gloss over her own reflection as if there is nothing there – as if it the face of someone else, or simply a smudge. Or a ghost… she thinks, and smiles in spite of herself. A ghost. That is what she feels like so often, floating from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day… or place to place, though she rarely leaves her home. The high rise apartment with its large windows and intimidating staircases isn’t exactly comforting, but that doesn’t mean she’s not enamoured with it – obsessed with the way it makes her feel. The way it makes her feel. Calm, mysterious. Like she has a plan. Like him.

She focuses once again on the mirror, on her reflection. All her features are accented, more obvious, more vivid. No. All of his features are more accented, more obvious, more visible, no, wait, all of a sudden they’re the only ones there, and he’s here in the mirror, she can see him, she can touch him, she can let him out!

The mirror cracks as Sayu’s fist makes contact with it, the sound loud and unforgiving. Unforgiving also is the gift it gave her – an open wound, leaking blood. She watches the blood trickle slowly, dripping down into the sink. She doesn’t bother to wash it away. Somehow, to do so would feel like a betrayal. To what, she’s not sure. Maybe she wants evidence. This happened. Or maybe it’s to do with the blood – maybe she considers it proof her existence, her being, her living.

There are other ways to see that blood you know…

The thought is not so much a thought as a temptation; a beg disguised as a calm offer. No, she thinks sternly. She almost wants to say it out loud, but there is something sacred in the silence. Even her footsteps seem more quiet than usual, the sound of her bare feet not muffled by socks but just by the air itself.

Her feet take her away, to kitchen, where she reaches up to a shelf, to grasp in her hand (the one free of blood) a small medical box, filled mainly with bandages and gauze. She tends to her hand, and for a few seconds wishes she had someone to do this for her, with her. It’s a bad idea, a bad thought. Not only is it a foolish longing, but it leads to a reminiscing; an unearthed memory which she wants to hold dear. If only it weren’t so tainted.

Her knowledge of how the memory will make her feel, her warning to herself – none if it seems to help, to stop it as it takes shape in her mind. She’d have been eight when it had happened. She’d planted some flowers on her windowsill and had cut her hand on one of the small terracotta plant pots. Downstairs she’d gone, tears welling in her eyes. And there he was, washing his hands in the sink, turning to meet her with a small smile on his face. Okay, what’d you do this time?

She’d stuck out her hand to show him, and his eyes had widened almost imperceptibly. That looks a little serious, Sayu. Despite the pain, she’d stuck out her tongue at him cheekily, at which he had offered a slight grin. Alright. Sit at the table and I’ll tend to it. Even at eleven, he’d had a presence – a sort of commanding aura which made one want to heed his words, hold them close. Obey him. She hadn’t though it dangerous then, it was hard to think of it as anything but now.

My brother. It’s the only way she can think of him. His name… his name invites too much. Personal effects gone through, a computer dragged away by two men in suits. And headlines, so many headlines. Who knew how the press got hold of the information; who cared. All it mattered was that she could no longer see his name - in her mind or written on paper – without every article she’d ever read crashing down on her, words, words, words. Genius. God complex. Misguided youth. Psychopath. Saviour. Killer. Kira. That one hurt almost as much, despite how impersonal it was, a moniker started by… who even knew? The internet was a cluttered, anonymous, graveyard and, beyond that, a mystery. Who cared enough to track down the first person to gift her brother with this title, to find them out?

She thought of this annoyingly often. Maybe if her brother had been given a different title, no title at all, things may have progressed differently. It was so, so foolish. She knew this. It sounded like a time traveller’s pathetic attempt to change the future without destroying the past. Pathetic. The word repeat itself a little in her mind, echoing.

There were articles on her too, of course. Complicit? they said, the question mark seeming more for show than anything else. Yagami sister involved in killings? Imagine that. Her, an accomplice to the Kira killings, and not questioned by the great detective L simply because he thought her young and girlish. Complicit… the word reverberates and she questions it, pulls it apart. Was she complicit? Did she know of her brother’s actions before they were revealed in the news? She was more observant than anyone gave her credit for, but Light (LightLightLightLightLightLightLight) ‘s change in demeanour could have been down to any number of factors, including adolescence, or even his father’s work. Our father’s work, Sayu corrects herself. He belonged to both of them. And now he belonged to the earth.

I lost you both, Sayu thinks. Although she’d previously envied her father and brother’s strong sense of justice, now she felt quite thankfully to not share it. In a way, it led them both to their deaths. One at the hand of the other.

As she looks out the wide window of the apartment, she feels lonely. There are a few precious memories involving both her brother and the night skies, but they’re not what evokes this emotion. Seeing how much there is out there, the bright lights of all the other people living lives like hers, makes her realise how few people there are in her life. She’d maintained no friendships from her school or university, nor her bonds with her mother. Not that the former had many any effort on their own parts – any interest displayed in her was as ‘the sister of Kira’. She could recall so many times, the insensitive questions, the pulling of her hair, the tearing of her clothes. They’d scream at her.

Did my uncle deserve to die, you stupid girl? Did you agree with your brother? Did you go to sleep every night knowing what he was doing in the next room? Did you care?

Her own thoughts, both then and now, are a mirror.

Did my brother deserve to die? Did you disagree with him? Did you wake up every morning to watch the news and fear for your life? Did it scare you?

They’re ugly thoughts, but anger doesn’t need to be beautiful. Neither does justice.

And there’s no justice, she thinks. There never was.

[simptasia]

Sorry I'm a bit late, but here's some Lost nonsense from my brain:

If Jacob's & MIB's adopted mum didn't adopt them, then a whole lot of mess could have been avoided.

Also.

Why didn't John's dad just say he was moving after he stole his kidney and see him like once a year? (That way if you need to borrow a lung later down the line the option is is there.)

Also.

If I knew my past self was gonna kill my son I won't let that happen. Screw the time space continuum, I'm doctor who-ing this nonsense.

And on top of that.

How come no one really tried to mess about with time in the 70s? I know there was a bit of "ahh don't effect the future" but like, if I was stuck in the past I'd have a go at screwing around with time. I'd be like suck it universe, there's no Internet and I've got people in the present I care about. I know alot of the Lost people had reasons not to, like Jin's trying to keep his family safe and Sawyer doesn't really have anyone outside of the island. But Julie's sister? Kate needing to find Claire? WHY WASNT THERE A DANIEL FOCUSED EPISODE ABOUT HIM TRYING TO CHANGE THE FUTURE AND SAVE CHARLOTTE THAT JUST MADE THE FUTURE HAPPEN MORE SO THAT THEN WHEN SAYID SHOT CHILD BEN I COULD HAVE BEEN ALL LIKE nah bro thats no gonna help, when instead I thought there was gonna be some funky timeline nonsense that I'm always here for AND THEN THERE WASNT. Also more Daniel.

Last thought (sorry I can't shut up)

Now I'm thinking about it, why was everyone's reaction to Sayid shooting child Ben as a bland "this is bad" ?? Im not trying to say it was good, but its like the whole 'go back in time and kill Hitler as a kid' argument? I thought characters would at least have thoughts? Like no one even talked about it beyond face value?? Or even had an emotion?? Everyone was just like: "this is bad, but let's leave him with his abusive dad" ???????????????

Epilogue Thought: i genuinely thought when Kate handed child Ben over to the Others she was doing to say something to him along the lines of what adult Ben said to her at the beginning of series 3 when they had breakfast together. (My memory is so bad, but it's something like "I wanted you to have a nice memory to cling onto because a lot of bad is going to happen.") And then it was gonna be like a weird time loop thing of who really said it first, like Ben doesn't remember them properly or anything (but it might help why he didn't just ask Jack for surgery help when they first crashed.)

lost spoilers ahead

Okay, first of all, how the fuck did you send a message this long. Whenever I send messages, I'm given a character limit???

If Jacob's & MIB's adopted mum didn't adopt them, then a whole lot of mess could have been avoided.

"Adopted", yes that the's word for it. And yeah... yeah. The entire plot of LOST, down the drain. Isn't it ironic, this show is known for so much daddy issues and all of this fuss was caused by mommy issues

Why didn't John's dad just say he was moving after he stole his kidney and see him like once a year? (That way if you need to borrow a lung later down the line the option is is there.)

Short answer: Because Anthony Cooper is a cunt

Longer answer: it's pooossible that anthony genuinely didn't wanna spend any time with locke at all. as you pointed out, this isn't pragmatic on his part. but he's a dick. he also has a history of not sticking around the people he's conned

If I knew my past self was gonna kill my son I won't let that happen. Screw the time space continuum, I'm doctor who-ing this nonsense.

I've had this same thought. Offense to Eloise, but I'm different.

like, yeah, even if it turns out to not be possible, there's merit in fucking trying to prevent this. like, morally, emotionally, i'd respect eloise if she'd fucking TRIED to not kill her baby boy :(((

legit, same, if i knew i was destined to kill my boy, i'd be like "no"

and at the very fucking least, i'd give the best life possible! which, paradox or no, is what a parent is SUPPOSED to do, eloise!!

not only does eloise not even try to not do this, what makes it so much worse is that she didn't allow him the life he wanted. you know he's gonna die young, bitch, let him have love and piano!

HES NOT EVEN ASKING FOR MUCH. free will??? please???

i Cannot talk about eloise without going on this rant, it seems

and the rest of ur message, i won't copy paste, but what ur saying about time travel. i'm kinda indifferent to a possiblity of them trying to change more but thinking about it, it's odd that they didn't Try more. however this can chalked up to like, not enough run time. but yes i'm all in favour of the characters ties to other characters mattering more. and charlotte mattering more. grrrr

oh boy the ben thing. well, i don't blame them for the This Is Bad thing. because it is. it's very bad to shoot a child. i wanna say, sayid is so fucking out of character when he does this. the writers mishandled sayid pretty bad in seasons 5 and 6, sigh. personally i don't believe its anywhere near okay to try to kill somebody because they're gonna be a bad person One Day. but yeah i am surprised there wasn't more of a debate about this in canon. we have people of different morals here... plus, it's a debate in real life. i'm in the "punish the people who have actually done something wrong" camp

it's fucked that he has to stay with roger though. i don't put that on our losties tho, overall i blame the others. because they could have accepted ben into the others way sooner and they really should have. richard could see this kid was suffering and they let him stay with his abusive dad. that's awful. then again, charles was in charge during this time period so that makes THAT make more sense but ugh

and finally. inch resting... i always saw kate's sympathy for little ben as 1. he's only a child, he's Not big ben. and 2. she grew up in an abusive home too so she sees a kindred spirit

regarding ben's memory, it annoys me how the writers felt the need to erase some of little ben's memories to supposedly Make It Make Sense but i felt that was unneeded. i think it's perfectly viable for ben to remember all the stuff that went down in season 5 but he never mentioned it because why the fuck would he. for one thing, he was henry gale at first, he's hardly gonna be like "oh hey are you the guy who shot me when i was a kid??" no, he'd keep his memories to himself. i think ben keeps a lot of things to himself for tactical reasons so i think the lost writers employed a get outta jail free card when they really didn't need to

[theravencawsatmidnight]

Can I request Hawks and reader? Reader's ex boyfriend comes back and wants to start dating, but the reader can't stand the thought to go back to him. So, the reader hires Hawks to be pretend her boyfriend. They go out a couple times, until ex gets a message. Problem is... the reader falls in love with her fake boyfriend. XD Thank you~~

Hero For Hire

He showed up at your work of all places to ask for you to take him back. The fire on your face was more than enough to excuse yourself and take this Ex outside.

“Please? I miss you. I wont do it again”

“No! Just leave me alone! Why would i go back to you? You are a awful person”

“Baby cmon . You dont mean that.”

“Leave or ill make you leave.”

The anger on his face sent a chill down your back but you stood your ground. Never again. He did leave though, muttering under his breath. You sighed leaning on the building collecting yourself. This needs to stop. You went back inside and apologized to your boss before returning to work.

As soon as you clocked out you went home to search the internet for a solution. You stumbled upon a Hero for Hire link and clicked it.

‘Tired of a clingy ex? Need to get rid of them? Hire me! Ill pretend to be your boyfriend so they get lost!’ You rolled your eyes at this website , thats too good to be true .. but .. whats the hurt in it? You sent a email and went to bed.

Hawks phone lit up and he looked at it landing on a roof to read it.

‘If this is real i have a ex problem , he wont leave me alone i need to shake him off . Heres my number and address. I dont care what Hero you guys send me , i just want this dude to leave me alone.’

His wings fluttered while he looked at the starry sky.

••••

You woke up to a few texts from your ex and a email from the website.

‘Of course we are real. Sounds like a real problem. Just let me know where i can meet you and what time .’

You rubbed your eyes reading it a few times before replying with your work information. With a yawn you got ready for work , thinking about what hero you would get.

Your work was ex free in the morning thankfully since you did not have the energy to deal with him. It didint help that it was a clothes store you worked at , he always lingered around. But by the 4th hour of work sure enough he came in to ‘look at clothes’ . You shook your head leaning on the counter watching the door. Waiting for a Pro to step though.

Your ex dropped some clothes on the counter making your gaze travel to him in a glaring way. He tried to talk to you while you rang up the clothes.

“So i think i know where we went wrong y/n”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes i got angry to easy.”

You rolled your eyes shoving the clothes in the bag pushing it to him. “Ok have a nice day.”

“Y/n..”

“Have a nice day”

“No. I need to talk to you. And your gonna listen.”

“Is she now? Thats no way to talk to my lovely dove.”

You both looked up and you fell onto the desk. It was Hawks. God damn Hawks. That website was real. Hoo.lee.fuck . He strolled over going behind the desk to pull you to him kissing your cheek. “Hi little dove. Can you take your lunch?” Your ex clicked his teeth stomping off but not before looking back making a fist.

You didint know what to say , apparently your boss did not care that he was behind the counter either. You looked at him and he agreed to you taking your lunch now , laughing a bit and waving his hand to hurry you out.

Hawks brought you to the next door cafe ordering you a coffee and sitting at a table . He sipped his coco and placed a paper in front of you. “First, wanna apologize for kissing without permission. Ill knock off 10 bucks for that. Just seemed like the right thing to do.”

You gripped the hot coffee reading the paper as best you could, eyes jumping all over it for key words.

‘Hero For Hire.

-your email-

1 week of services. $50

2-3 weeks of services. $100

1 month or longer of services . $200 , starting.

Restrictions.

No children. I am not here to give you kids.

What i will do.

Make your boyfriend jealous till hes a crying mess ;)

Shower you with the love you deserve ^#^

Take you shopping ! Yay clothes!

Take you on dates !!! Food yay!

Will i have sex with you?

I will not! Im not a prostitute silly!!!

What happens if one of us falls in love?

I need to know as soon as you realize so i can re calcualte my services and think about what to do. If i fall in love then lucky you! My services are free since ill be with you forever! Yay! ‘

You looked up and Hawks with a raised eyebrow. He was sipping his coffee looking smug as fuck. “Made it myself.” Gloated the Hero. You rolled your eyes at him .

“I think a week should be enough. Dont worry about the kiss i think it really pissed him off so thats good for me.”

He set his coffee down handing you a pen from his coat to sign the paper. “Great! Lets get to work, little Dove.”

•••••••••

And to work he did. Hawks hung around your job every single day , if he wasint sitting on the roof eating he was in the store holding up clothes for you to see and ask you to try on.

“Hawks im working”

“Y/n boss can she try this on?”

“Oh goodness of course!”

Eye roll but this time with a giggle.

Your ex stopped showing up too but that didint mean he didint follow you around on your dates with the Pro. He brought you to the movies, introduced you to other Pros, treated you to dinner. It was all really nice, you had never been treated this way and... it made your stomach get butterflies .

Not once did your ex approach you, not with Hawks holding you so close to him or holding your hand. He gave you little cheek kisses and picked you up in his arms taking off into the sky to really lose the damn guy.

On the 6th day your ex had pretty much got the picture abd left you alone . You were so relieved you invited Hawks to your home to treat him to dinner which he agreed to hapily . You asked him if you could cuddle him and he picked you up sitting on the couch with you holding his food for him.

He told you all about his side job and how fun it was ,but the love made it complicated, he had to break alotta hearts. You laid your head on his chest thinking about it , and if you should tell him or not.

[generallybarzy]

did you miss me? ❤ mat barzal

Part 1-  ~2,750 words

So that video of Barzy singing this song (which I will never stop reblogging) brought up some old nostalgic memories because I kinda forgot this song existed and I used to listen to it so much when I was younger. So I listened to it and started feeling emotions. I’m sorry if this is too crazy I just really went off. @matbaezal​ because I promised you this. I hope its okay, it’s my first real hockey boy fic.

Summary:  You get the opportunity of a lifetime, but it means saying goodbye to your boyfriend for half a year. Mat starts feeling a little bit of self-doubt in the relationship. This part is literally just describing your’s and Mat’s separate sides of the experience and then a fluffy scene. There WILL be a second, emotional part eventually. 

As you pushed yourself down into the cramped airplane seat and tried to drown out the noise of rowdy children a few seats behind you, you pulled out your phone and pressed on the ‘Mat❤’ contact one last time in a final attempt to send one text to your boyfriend. But no matter how many texts you sent, that damn little ‘Not Delivered’ message just had to keep popping up. 

It really felt like the world was out to get you these past few days.

You hadn’t been able to get a hold of your boyfriend for the last three days- even when the messages did deliver- to tell him about your flight back, and now the flight itself was late and it was gonna take a few extra hours until you were back home. In all honesty, you didn’t even know if he would still be waiting when you got back. The internet connection had never seemed crappier than when you just wanted to send just one more text to him before your flight. Airports had never seemed more crowded than the moment you began to become overwhelmed with the need to just be home. Six months had never felt like a longer time than when you just needed to crawl into your boyfriend’s arms.

The last six months had really been something, huh? You could barely believe they’d even happened at all. 

As someone heading into the social work field after college, you had always wanted to get out in the world and help people less fortunate than yourself, which is why you jumped at the opportunity to fly with other students from your university to underdeveloped countries to do nonprofit work and volunteering to get a taste of what this career path would feel like. And damn, how cool would it be to put something that good on a resume? It was the opportunity of a lifetime for you, so it should’ve been an easy decision to jump on that plane. But of course, there was still one thing that made you hesitate- Mathew Barzal.

Six months ago, at the start of all this craziness, you had left behind your amazing boyfriend. Of course, Mathew was 100% down with your decision, happy you were getting the chance to do what you love and explore beyond the world you were used to, but that didn’t make it any easier to go without him. The two of you had been dating for a solid 4 months at that point and had been hanging out as much as your hectic schedules allowed, always there to pick up each other’s pieces after a hard day. Knowing that you wouldn’t have someone to curl into and hold at the end of the day was the biggest obstacle standing between you and the potential start of your dream career. God, you would miss him so much. But you wanted to go so bad, to look for your passion, your career, yourself.  

You remember holding onto Mat after telling him about your conflicted feelings, tears in your eyes as you tried to savor the feeling of his arms around you. “I want this so much. It could be the start of my career. I want to find myself, you know? But you deserve someone who can be there for you.” Mat shook his head a bit. He always made it well known that he appreciated every moment he got with you, even if it wasn’t much on certain days.

“You are there for me.” He insisted.

“But now I’m going to miss six months, Mat! Half a year! By the time I’m back, you might not even like me anymore.” With teary eyes, you looked up at him. “It’ll be easier if we just break it off right now so you can find someone else. Someone who can be there-” 

“Hey, hey.” Mat tried to hush you with a kiss, but you pulled back.

“Six months, Mat, we haven’t even been together that long yet.” You spoke softer this time. “That’s a long time to be without someone.”

“Shut up, please, babe. Shut up.” He pulled back to look at you, holding your gaze and letting you know he was serious now. “Look, it might be a long time, but I’m not gonna let you hold yourself back for me, alright? You want this, right?” You nodded. “Yeah. This is an amazing chance for you to start your dream. Your dream! You’re gonna change the world, babe. And I can promise you I won’t just stop liking you because you want to chase that dream.” His thumb stroked across your cheek and a smile finally cracked across your face as you were reminded again of his dedication to your relationship.

“It’s gonna be so hard, though. I might not be able to answer calls or FaceTime with you very often. And the time zones…” 

“I can handle it. I’ve got plenty of pictures of you on my phone for when I get lonely.” You laughed at that, reaching up to lace your fingers through his hair. “And we’ll just have to savor our time together for the next few weeks. Make every second count.” He lay a few kisses across your face and smiled into the crook of your neck. “Go find your purpose, babe. Do a little soul-searching. I’ll still be here waiting when you get back. I promise.” 

———-

Six months without Mat may have been hard on you, but you were also getting the chance to do things you loved and find your purpose. On the other hand, Mat, while he happily supported and encouraged your choice and never let you think he doubted it, wondered if maybe you would come back and realize that there was a lot more to life than staying with him. You were finishing a degree- and a freaking cool one at that- traveling the world, helping people and doing good in the world, and he was just a hockey player. A great one, sure, but still just a hockey player. 

You were smarter, more compassionate, an overall cooler person than him, and soon to be better traveled and more knowledgeable about life in the underdeveloped parts of the world that most city people rarely spared a thought for. It was just a matter of time before you realized just how much better you were than him. You could find someone out there, someone else who’s volunteering, and you’d fall in love with how selfless and worldly they were. You’d fall in love and get married and go on saving the world together, while Mat was still just scoring goals on TV, living alone-

Shit, I have to stop thinking like that. You liked him. He liked you. Done. 

He wasn’t sure when all this self-doubt started- it was so unlike him. Maybe it was after he would get back from late-night games to find you waiting on his couch, stressed over your own assignments but still there nonetheless to help him relax, putting everything aside for him. Of course, he did the same for you as much as he could, but with practice and games and roadies and media days and more practice and more games, he felt like he couldn’t be there for you as much as he wanted. 

Surely, while you were out there doing some soul-searching in a foreign country, you’d realize that you could do better than him.

After you left, Mat realized just how lonely he was without you. The two of you hadn’t even lived together before you moved out, but he understood now that you had been a much bigger part of his life than he ever realized. Sure, he had his teammates and his friends, and they hung out often, but he couldn’t really go over to their place and snuggle them at the end of the day. He couldn’t have them come over just so that he would have someone to hold- to fall asleep and wake up next to. There was a hole in his life.

Mat remembers the moment he realized why all these feelings- the doubt, the loneliness, the fear of losing you- were so intense. A month or so into your trip, he was FaceTiming you and the feeling of being separated was still new. It was almost time for you to go to bed, but Mat had just gotten back from practice and was upset that he couldn’t spend the rest of his day on a call with you. He was sitting at the table in his apartment, propping his head up with his fist and smiling at you through the phone. You were thousands of miles away, sitting up on your bed, looking exhausted with your makeup-less face and hair thrown up in a bun, a radiant smile across your face and wearing a hoodie of his, the one you took with. “A part of you to cuddle out there”, you’d said. She’s so beautiful. “Are you having fun?”

“So much, Mat!” Your smile was contagious. 

“Tell me about it.” Even if he was upset you were so far, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Is it everything you wanted?” 

“And more! I got to hang out with a bunch of the underprivileged kids today, they’re so sweet! We’re helping them make better schools here so that all the children can get a chance at an education. We’re flying over books and materials for them, too! They’re all so excited to have us here…” He listened intently, honestly interested and amazed by everything you were doing. “I really think I found what I wanna do for the rest of my life, Mat. I’d prefer to not be so far from you, though…” You really were finding yourself, making a difference, changing the future, and he was so in love with that. 

In love with you.

“Babe, go get some sleep alright?” Mat laughed slightly after a while as you lost your train of thought and started dozing off a bit. “You got a big day of changing the world tomorrow. Call me when you get lonely.” You nodded sleepily at him. “G’night, (Y/N).” I love you, he wanted to add before he ended the call. But you were already half asleep, thousands of miles across the ocean from him. It wasn’t the right time. 

In love. Wow. 

Mat had to take a moment that night to think. He knew that he liked you, seriously liked you, from the moment you had your first date. But now, knowing he loved you? He couldn’t stop smiling that night, dreaming of the ways he would tell you. He couldn’t calm down at practice the next few days either, all smiles and giggly to his teammates, who were honestly getting a bit tired of hearing Mat gush over you. Like, it was sweet and all but Mat, could you please for the love of God focus on practice? 

Through all the wins and losses, the stressful games and lonely nights, at the end of the day, nothing could wipe that smile off his face. Because he was in love with you.

And he couldn’t wait for you to get back home.

———-

Part of you felt like it had been years since you’d last seen Mat in person, the other part felt like it was just yesterday that you left him at this very airport. Now, back in the United States, standing in the airport and hopefully minutes away from being back in Mat’s arms, you were sure that all your time away from him was worth it, thinking back on all the people you’d helped and the lives you’d changed. You’d made it. Made it through six months without him, and you enjoyed every moment of the work you’d done there, even if it was spent without him.

At this point, you hadn’t heard from him in three days, and before that there were only a few back and forth messages that had taken hours to respond to. You’d texted him before and during the flight, reminding him that today was the day you’re coming back. He didn’t answer. Okay, you thought, maybe the times just didn’t match up and he was just busy. Maybe he was at a game or practice. For three days, though? What time is it, anyway? You sent him another text, thankful the messages were finally delivering. ‘Hey, I’m back :) You there?’ It’s fine, it’s fine, he probably just doesn’t have time to respond yet. Maybe… maybe he broke his phone? But another part of your mind wandered into darker areas. Maybe he did get tired of you. Maybe he needed someone and you didn’t respond fast enough, so he went out to find someone new. Maybe he wasn’t going to show up after all. You shut off your phone in defeat. 

Maybe you were on your own now…

“Hey, (Y/N).” 

One statement alone had never made you feel as much as at that moment. All the bustling noise of the airport went silent in your ears as you turned toward the voice in what felt like slow motion. There, a few feet away from you, your boyfriend of 10 months now stood in front of a bench, looking sleepy and disheveled and wearing your favorite hoodie, one that you had often told him he looked really boyfriend-like in. He had a bright smile and a soft flush on his face. “Mat.” All your worries of him not showing up were suddenly forgotten as you dropped all your bags and met him halfway, falling into his waiting arms as he lifted you off the ground in a hug. “Mathew. Mat, Mat, Mat…” You let out all the emotions of the last six months, tucking your head into his neck and feeling dizzy with happiness at the familiar, comforting scent of his cologne. His arms held your waist close against him, his nose finding its usual place by your temple, breathing in your shampoo. 

“Did you miss me out there?” He set you back on your own two feet and you pulled out of the hug only slightly to look up at him, studying his face as you held it between your hands. He’d changed a bit since you last saw him in person- still the same Mat, your Mat- but somehow he seemed warmer, softer, happier. Not that he was unhappy before, but now he was just… lighter. He’d cut his hair a little bit and it suited him, and his face was completely clean-shaven. But that beautiful, vast grin that always left you smiling was the same as always. You smiled and pressed your lips to his, threading your fingers through his hair. Finally. Finally. Seeing Mat on a tiny phone screen could never compare to being here in person, holding him, kissing him, feeling his arms around your waist. Six months of lost time exploded between you, and it felt like hours before you pulled away breathless, with grins on both of your faces. 

“So much, Mat. I missed you so, so much.” You pulled yourself back into him, one hand on his shoulder and the other tracing along his jaw, and choked back a happy sob. “You scared me so much. You didn’t answer my texts. I thought you weren’t going to show up. I thought you’d actually moved on.” The grin fell from his face immediately. 

“Shit, really? I was just trying to surprise you. I thought it’d be romantic?” You laughed into his chest. Mat, Mat, Mat. He was the same as always.

“I missed you. So much.” You felt him smile as he pressed his lips against your neck, just taking a moment to hold you. 

“You’ve gotta tell me everything about this trip. Was it everything you wanted?“ 

"Later, Mat. I just wanna get out of this airport and back to someplace more private.” It was physically starting to hurt that you couldn’t just jump on him and cuddle him right here at the airport. 

“Your place first?" 

"No. Your place. I just want to shower and sleep right now. And you’re crazy if you think I want to go home without you after all this” You shared a smile with him again, still overjoyed to be back home with him, not wanting this intimate moment to end. Then again, moments like this can’t be that intimate when you’re literally standing in the middle of a crowded airport. Mat grabbed some of your luggage and tucked you snug into his side, right where you belonged. 

“Well, I’m not gonna complain about that.”

❤

——

//But tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet? Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day, And head back to the Milky Way? And tell me, did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find? And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?//

——-

[archivedatl]

Old Blogs

Howdy. I’ve noticed some concern over the loss of my old blogs here n’ there so I decided to post all of them in one large, comprehensive blog-a-verse. Hope this brings a smile to a few faces. Our Street Corners Keep Secrets This is me asking for a brick to be thrown through my window,
a message attached that reads, "Why can’t you just wake up?"
I am not a star,
don’t look up to me in hopes of finding something more.
That which is out of reach does not promise anyone a goddamn thing.
Hope arises in possibility,
but possiblity is fragmented and selfish,
so don’t think for a second that I am safe ground to walk on.
I will sink beneath the feet of a thousand travelling companions,
and make ruin of any city’s foundations,
because concrete and steel can never tell a soul how it feels.
Our street corners keep secrets, and our road signs only suggest,
never deciding for us,
never knowing if the destination to which they lead,
is where we truely belong.
Life’s greatest tragedy is not that it will some day end,
but that most of us just live to follow directions,
and many times we end up totally lost. I am a landmine. Sometimes I break down so hard you can hear it, and when I can stand to come near it with means to repair, the chances of walking out unscathed are slim to none.
I know because I’m one; a victim of second-hand breakdowns and bad impressions, made under intoxicated conditions with poorly lit expressions. And I regret not going back, I regret not missing flights, I regret not asking for more and taking chances that I can only hope will not be forgotten. My fingers are crossed.

I-O-U.

Now my telephone’s dead and I can’t stand to hold out like this, but I’m constantly checking myself so as not to be a burden. Anything too heavy eventually gets dropped, no matter the cost. Let me be light as a feather, but valued enough so as to remain in a back pocket, until those jeans need washing and I find my place on a bedside table, to be read aloud on nights when memories and prying needs return to haunt the foundations of this room.

Pick me up,
Read me every now and then,
I won’t disappoint.
*I am* witty and engaging so bless me with attention, because I’m *dying* for attention *without* any means of telling *you*. I’ll talk the talk, you take care of the rest. What up thugs?

I’m alive and well, realizing how eternally grateful I am for everything going on in my life day by day... Its a lot like learning to walk - at least, that’s how I’d like to think of it. We’ve all been there, so I won’t waste your time painting a pretty picture of how it all goes down...
I want to talk about other things...
First and foremost, I’ve come to understand that as of late there have been a lot of people finding this little piece of my life tucked away on the web; moreso than usual, and for that reason, I’d like to extend my proverbial hand to anyone and everyone who may have something - anything to say to me. Thank you for taking an interest in who I am and what I’m attempting to do with my life. I am opening myself up, as much as possible, to anyone who may be interested. All I ask is that whoever you may be, wherever you may be, understand that I am only human - two hands, ten fingers, and a life... I’ve received a few messages from people, upset that I haven’t been able to respond to their previous comments or private messages, and who now probably think less of me for it. I hope this isn’t the case, but its bound to happen. What I’m saying is that I don’t live my life on the internet... I’m sorry if there’s a message I never got around to responding to... I’m just not that good at keeping up with reality, let alone a virtual one. I will, however, try harder from now on... And understand that even if I don’t respond, I probably have read your message. I don’t just clear my inbox and move on. Thats plain rude. :)

To all my good friends,
the ones I should talk to more often,
the ones I left back home,
the ones I will never stop loving,
thank you for still hugging me when I come home...
I know I don’t always show it,
but I’m forever indebted to you all for everything you’ve ever done for me...

That brings me to my second point.
The closest friends you’ll ever have are the ones you’d take a bullet for,
but they’re the ones you constantly feel you could put a bullet in as well. ;)

Think about that one.

That’s it for now. I can’t believe I’m up at 5:14am. Touring has made me an insomniac, but I feel fucking great.

Have a good one y’all,

Me Lawyers and Liars I am a liar.
I am self absorbed.
I am in this for me.
I am seeking recognition.
I am not concerned with politics.
I am attempting to rise to the top.
I am never going to forget my intentions.
I am allowed to worry about my own life above the lives of others.

-------AFTER ALL---------

I am human. Part Deux: Colors, Sounds and Feather-Downs 
Current mood: happy I had a long, goofy conversation several weeks ago with an interesting girl who I haven’t seen since, in a diner I have yet to revisit, but it stirred up some thoughts that I found pretty interesting. Maybe I’m just nuts. Anyhow, the discussion began on a simple basis; I inquired as to what her favorite color might be. She said she didn’t know. I replied, "How can you not know? Its a simple question." -- She paused, looking sort of surprised, as if someone had never pressed her for an answer before, and then replied, "Well... It changes... Today its yellow."

I didn’t know what to say...
I didn’t understand.

How can your favorite color just change?
What happened to yesterday’s favorite color?
If, on a whim, something of such esteem and value can be replaced with another, then on what grounds was it ever of any more value to begin with?
When I was little, my favorite color was green. It stayed that way, no matter what I said to be trendy at the time (IE. 8th grade was my "black is such a raw and expressive pigment" phase, but everyone goes through that shit.) As of late, I’ve become more partial to blue - Light blue in particular, but that’s not that important. My point is that something happened that caused me to send green packing, and to fall absolutely head-over-heels for blue.
(Stay with me on this...)
Now, such a dramatic change in attraction doesn’t just happen - I mean shit, I know we’re only talking about colors here, but this kind of switch-a-roo has only happened ONCE in my entire life. Green ---> Blue. Just like that. Must mean somthing, right?
Pablo Picasso went through a "blue period", at which time he was broke and mourning the loss of a dear friend. There’s a similarity there somewhere.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am by no means depressed, nor do I have any reason to be, but perhaps color - every, individual hue, represents to each of us a state of being, and in turn, helps us to deal with whatever it is we may be going through. I’m not talking mood-ring shit here. What I mean is that there are things - simple things - that without our knowing, mean the world to us and when they change, they change for our own good, because whether we like it or not, we are looking out for ourselves. We do it unconsciously - But we do it. We do it to stay happy and to stay alive... And above all else, that’s what matters.
On this note, I’d like to attempt to make my point - Don’t throw yourself out on another’s whim. People change, as do intentions and as a result, consequences. Live for yourself - love those around you, but realize that they’ve got their own agendas. People will screw you - You will screw people... Green ---> Blue. Get it? I’m not sure I do... Always consider that your life will venture in new directions, but be aware that other’s will do the same, and in accordance, understand that to be happy, people must exist in their own light, cast in and of themselves, not by the light of their peers. Conflict will arise because of this. Conflict is to be expected; conflict is a part of life. Find ways to work through conflict, even if it means picking a new favorite color...


I hope this makes a little sense.


I’m tired and rambling, and perhaps just a misguided fool, but I think there’s something in this - something that I am learning and accepting as my fingers punch these keys to an inviting, hypnotic rhythm. I feel like they’re leading me somewhere, and I’ve decided to follow.

____I’m going to bed. Take from this what you will.

Love,

Alexander William Gaskarth

*I feel fine* The first of many, I hope. 
Current mood: happy So I’ve decided to spill it; the beans, the juice, my guts... Whatever you want to call it, consider it spilled. Up to this point, I feel like I’ve done an excellent job of keeping just about everything true about myself, to myself... and for good reason - what people don’t know, people can’t use against you. I guess that’s my first confession. I fucking despise the way people operate. The way people go out of their way to find things out, only to throw them senselessly (BLINDLY) into conversation later. I don’t know if its intentional, (I guess that sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t,) but frankly, it gets to me. Its the same kind of prying aggravation I feel when someone starts moving shit around in my car, or on my computer table. Stop putting hills in my rugs! Please. Call me OCD but if I put something somewhere, chances are, I wanted it there and it should remain that way. Its the same for anyone else. Let one’s own business remain that way. Anyway. I’ve fallen into a depression lately - not emotionally per say, but I feel like my ability to open up to people has peaked over the past two years. I used to be so ready to say anything, without caring how it affected me, but recently I’ve become so protective of myself, not because I’m afraid of getting hurt by others, but because I might make myself look bad. It’s disgusting. I never used to be so self-absorbed. Its like in every situation, I’m wearing a mask... Not just one mask, in fact, but many masks; Masks to hide masks between people - to hide certain sides of myself from those who disapprove where others don’t. I try so hard to win the approval of everyone. Why? Fucked if I know. I just love being the center of attention I guess. And all this time I thought myself to be humble. No sir. But then, who really is humble? Everyone wants to be loved, right? So am I wrong in looking out for my own well being? Who knows? It makes me sick to my stomach, regardless. I’ve unknowingly stumbled across so many insecurities lately that I feel like a different person at times. It’s like I’ve been born all over again, to a world where I have to carry myself differently. I’m still opinionated, I’m still eagerly in search of answers, but my motives have changed. I do it for myself now; for the praise and admiration I earn as a result of my actions, not for the simple pleasure found in just "doing it". Maybe its all just part of growing up, as they say. Maturing... You know? But does it continue to change? Will I stop acting like such an asshole? Who knows. It worries me. I don’t want to be like this, but its who I’ve become... What’s worse is that I don’t know who or what to blame for the transformation. That would be too easy, right? I digress. I’ve got a lot of things on my plate. My dreams are coming true right before my very eyes - I have a band - We’re going somewhere - This time next year I hope I’m far, far away from this place. I want to see Japan. I’ve wanted to see Japan for a while now; call it a calling. Haha. I don’t know what I want when I get there - I don’t even like the hustle of big cities for too long. Gives me a headache. But there’s something about it. I’ll see it soon enough. The repetition of every day life kills. It ruins the flow of my creative juices. No joke. On days that I sleep in, I go to bed feeling exhausted, and yet, I never sleep on the weekends, when I should want rest. I don’t. It would be a waste of freedom. Why spend time on parole in seclusion, you know? I’m only tired on weekdays - only when I know I have to drag myself out of my fucking room to take a shower and go to school, and then to work. Maybe I’m not tired. Maybe it’s just a natural defense against running myself into the ground with routine. I feel pale, and sick, and run down... For no reason. I eat right. I see the light of day. I breathe fresh air all the time. I love the outdoors. Shit. I love my life. But between Monday and Thursday I feel so transient... My head isn’t in the clouds - My feet aren’t on the ground. Where am I? I don’t know, but frankly, it sucks. I have some good friends. We get hammered sometimes and forget about everything. The occasional dramatic scene is worth it. People naturally don’t get along with one another. It’s all a matter of how tolerant people are. I have some tolerant friends. In turn, I think I put up with my share of bullshit. It’s like a cycle of tough loving. But it works. It keeps me sane. In the end I think we really do love each other. Awww. I also like to kiss people. It gets me into trouble sometimes. Whatever. Certain individuals need to stop looking for love in the wrong places. --I can’t talk. --I’ve found love in the worst places. --Its not an easy thing to deal with. --Doesn’t change the way I feel about them. --Its ok. --As long as I’m happy. There I go being selfish again. ___I’m done confessing for now. Take from this what you will. Love, Alexander William Gaskarth *I feel better.*

[ace-in-a-shopping-cart]

I Can Hear Your Voice

Summary: Analogical Soulmate AU! Where you can hear your soulmate’s voice no matter how far apart you are. 

Word Count:  1,576

Taglist: (Send an ask to be added or removed!) @starlocked01​​ @spoopy-turtle​​ @lizluvscupcakes​ @far-too-many-fandoms-to-die

Virgil had never met Logan, but loved him with all his heart. Logan had always been there for him, always been with him. The first time he was aware of him was in kindergarten. That was when the teachers told him of soulmates. He was told that the soulmate was just a few words away, they could hear everything you said. That was when he and Logan had been first introduced.

Over time, he got used to having a voice in his head that only he could hear. He also got used to talking aloud more often. Sometimes, he would just hum while he was doing something and Logan would send back an answering hum. Other times, he would sing and Logan would ask what song it was. Most times, he would speak aloud to an empty room and get responses. 

As they grew older, they found times when they needed to be quiet, such as when Logan got into meetings in his career. But there were also times when they would deliberately talk, like when Logan helped Virgil down from an anxiety attack in the middle of a presentation. Sometimes, one would be driving and, instead of playing music, ask the other to read to them.

Virgil found it fun to be Logan’s audiobook, trying to put a voice to each character and a separate voice for the narrator. Logan did the same with him, voice coming alive with numerous accents in order to create a whole world with just his speech.

Today started off as a normal day. Virgil woke up and said a quiet, “Good morning,” to the empty room.

A chuckle sounded in a space that felt like directly behind Virgil but was actually a few hundred miles away. “Are you just now getting up?”

Virgil rolled over, bleary eyes trying to read the clock. “What time is it?”

“For you? Probably about eleven in the morning. By the way, how are we feeling this morning?”

Virgil smiled at the question. “More androgynous right now while leaning toward male.”

“So they/them for now, yes?”

Virgil smiled, grateful their soulmate accepted them as genderfluid. “Yes, please.”

“Alright, starlight. Time to start the day.”

Virgil stretched, releasing an unintelligible sound. “What chapter were we last on?” They asked as they rolled out of bed.

Logan began reading as Virgil went about their morning routine, grabbing the gym bag by the door on their way out and heading to the dance studio. Logan said he had to go into a meeting so had to stop reading and Virgil said goodbye, turning on the music. They  stretched before they began, listening as Logan switched from the tone he used just with them to his business voice. Virgil smiled as they lost themselves in the unique combination of music and Logan’s voice, letting his body flow as a warm-up.

 They lay on the floor, panting as Logan concluded his meeting. There was a smile in his voice as he asked, “Did you have a good session?”

“Yeah, I did, actually. You have a good meeting? You sounded frustrated towards the end.”

Logan sighed as Virgil imagined him running his hand through his hair. “Just people being idiots. Nothing to worry about.” They sat in silence together for a few minutes before Logan spoke again. “So, do we want to talk about last night?”

Virgil laughed, shifting his legs to be more comfortable. “No, I don’t think we do. You know how I can be.”

“Yes, I do. It was also very hard to keep my focus on my work with that going in my head.”

Virgil laughed. “You should have been asleep anyways, Mr. I’m only an hour behind you.”

Logan sighed. “Yes, I also realize that you have insomnia. That does not give you the excuse to rant about the merits of the written word and compare and contrast them to those of the drawn world. Nor does it give you the excuse to almost break into tears over the beauty of them working together to enhance each other.”

Virgil chuckled. “Alright, fair point.”

They stood and began to gather their things, the rest of the day progressing smoothly. The night rolled around, Logan having a lot of things to get done. So, Virgil decided that it would be a good time to practice his singing. Logan chuckled as he started but soon quieted as he focused on the papers he had to go through as Virgil faded into a very welcome background noise.

Finally, Virgil’s voice trailed off as they stared up at the stars and wondered if Logan was seeing the same stars they were, gazing at the same moon. They sighed. “Logan?”

Logan hummed. “Yes, darling?”

They watched an airplane fly by. “Can we pretend that airplanes are shooting stars?”

Logan paused. “Are you okay?”

“I could really use a wish right now.”

“Talk to me, baby. What’s going through that pretty head of yours?”

Virgil sighed. “I’m feeling more male right now.”

“Alright, dear. What’s wrong, my little prince?”

Virgil stood, shutting his blinds before he moved to the couch. “I don’t know. I don’t feel well but know I’m in perfect health, probably better health than you. I wish moments like this would stretch on forever, staying in this peace and serenity.”

“I know just how you feel. Sometimes, I don’t want to leave a moment that I feel safe in. Just wait a bit longer and you will find another safe moment.”

Virgil sighed, flopping onto his back. “I know. I’m just tired of being tired. I want something to change but I don’t know what. I guess I just need to sleep.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to you in the morning, okay?”

Virgil made a noise of agreement as he headed off to bed.

The next morning, Virgil was feeling feminine so put on a skirt, twirling as she liked the way it felt against her skin. She wandered over to her computer and ate breakfast while searching the symptoms of yesterday on the internet. “Ahhh.” She said.

“What is it?” Logan asked.

“I think I found out why I was feeling so bad yesterday.”

“And what would that be, starlight?”

“I was having an anxiety attack.” She said it casually, as if she were discussing the grocery list.

“Are you feeling any better now?”

“Yes, I  think I am. How are you this fine morning?”

He chuckled. “Busy traveling for work. I’m having to work on moving to a new office so you might hear me muttering at the GPS for a while.”

Virgil laughed. “Would you like an audiobook? I can pick up where we left off yesterday.”

A smile invaded Logan’s voice, a sound Vigil had only ever heard directed at her. “Yes, please. Oh! Before I forget, which gender would you like to be perceived as at the moment?”

Virgil smirked. “Currently female. Leaning a bit toward agender today.”

“How shall I refer to you while agender?”

“You always ask me how I want to be perceived. Whenever I’m agender, I just want to be perceived as a threat.”

Logan laughed. “Alright, princess. A threat you shall be.”

Virgil giggled as she skipped off to get the book they were reading.

The sound of a car passing didn’t usually bother Virgil as they were used to it, living on a semi-busy road as they were. However, the sound of a car stopping outside their house did give them cause for concern. They got up, pausing mid sentence and went to look out the window.

“What’s wrong?” Logan asked, his concern evident.

Virgil paused. “I don’t know. A car just pulled into my driveway and turned off.”

“Isn’t that normal for you? You did say you live on a busy road.”

“It’s normal to hear them pull in, but that’s usually just to turn around. They don’t usually park on my driveway if they are visiting the neighbors.”

Logan chuckled even as the car’s door opened. “I guess the jig is up, as they say.” The man stepping out of the car was tall and well dressed in a neat black suit with a patterned blue tie. He smiled and waved at Virgil, who ducked behind their blinds.

“The person got out of the car and waved at me.”

Logan laughed again, a knock sounding at the door. “How about you answer your door?”

Virgil froze as the information Logan gave finally sank in. “You're actually here?”

“Yes, I am.”

Virgil slid across the floor in their socked feet, fumbling with the lock before throwing the door open.

Logan stared as his eyes traveled the length of Vigil’s body, taking in the bright skirt and socks before going back up to linger just long enough on the band t-shirt to read it. His eyes finally made it back to Virgil’s and he smiled. “You’re gorgeous.” Was all he said.

Virgil threw themselves into his arms, smiling widely. “I can’t believe you’re really here!” Pulling back, they paused. “Were you lying about having to go on a business trip?”

Logan smiled, shaking his head. “No. My company recently opened a branch here and I volunteered to go help out. I also still need a place to stay, so-”

“You can crash here, I don’t mind at all.” Virgil rushed before Logan could finish.

He chuckled, pulling his soulmate closer. “Nothing would make me happier.”

[13-reasons-ideas]

Undercover Part 1

A/N: I decided to try a different fandom to branch out a bit. Let me know if you guys want me to continue on with this one. This is a Riverdale story. Please note that I stopped watching the show at the end of season two so I have no clue what is happening now on it. I will still be writing for 13RW, so don’t worry. I am just writing my idea of how an undercover FBI operation works. It may not be accurate. I got this idea from a TikTok. If you like it, it will be a multi chapter work.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and any mention of real people is purely coincidental.  

My assignment was supposed to be simple. Go to Riverdale, find the Serpents, become friendly, infiltrate, provide evidence of illegal activities, make arrests, get out. I knew what my role was. I was good at my job. They didn’t put me in organized crime undercover for no reason after Quantico. I had done this many times before over the years. I was prepared for the job, spending hours upon hours researching and learning as much as I could about this small-town biker gang. I knew their patterns, their MO, their hangouts, hell, I knew what they liked to eat for breakfast. I was prepared. Correction, I thought I was prepared. I hadn’t, however, prepared for him.

After a relaxing weekend, I arrived at the office Monday morning at seven. There was a manila folder on my desk and my boss, Special Agent Edward Williams, was waving me towards his office. Oh no. What did I do this weekend that would get me in trouble? I wracked my brain as I took the envelope and confidently walked to his office. He indicated for me to sit. “Good morning Edward.”

“Good morning Catherine.” He greeted before cutting right to the chase, “We have an assignment for you.” I shifted my body to sit up straighter, immediately appearing more professional as he continued. “What do you know about a group known as the Southside Serpents?”

“Just that they’re some small-time biker gang out of Riverdale. They occasionally cause a blip on the radar for something in a neighbouring town. Why?”

“Their leader recently stepped down and appointed someone else to take the reins. He seems to want them to be less small-time biker gang and more of a reaching organization. We aren’t sure exactly how far or deep this goes or what they want to do exactly.”

“So, you want me to go in and find out. See what they want to do, where they want to expand, and if I happen to find anything else I can use, that’s just gravy?”

“Essentially yes. You know how this works usually, but it’s a small town. Your handler won’t be in town with you. You call every night to check in and if something goes wrong, we will get you out of there.”

“Yes, Sir. When do I leave?”

“Two weeks. The basics are in that folder. Memorize it.” I nodded and opened the file, skimming it quickly.

“I see mention of Jones and Jones, but I don’t see a mention of who took over for them?”

“That’s part of the problem. We don’t have an actual name for him. Just that he goes by Sweetpea. Seems like he’s run with them since he was a kid.”

“Great.” I muttered, “I’ll get started now, unless there’s anything else?”

“Yeah one more thing. Due to it being so small, you’ll be in a rental house in lieu of a hotel. It’s quaint little house on the north side of town.”

“Sounds good. What about my alias?”

“You’ll keep your first name and your last name is going to be changed. It’s all in your file.”

“Thank you, Sir.” I nodded, before walking back to my desk and beginning my research.

That was two weeks ago. Today, I was standing in front of a little red house on a quiet street in the town of Riverdale. To most people, it looked like a nice little place where nothing bad ever happened and there was no danger. And for the most part, it was. So long as you stayed on the right side of the tracks. I looked around me as other agents, my partner/handler Jason included, helped to unload boxes of “personal” belongings into the home. It was already furnished, so a small U-Haul was sufficient. I was able to use a few personal photos, non-descript childhood pictures mostly. Most of the others were taken and provided by the bureau. “Drinking” with the girls in one, another agent posing as a family member at a faux family reunion, a picture of a dog. It looked like I had lived some kind of life before today. This way, it wouldn’t look like I had just appeared out of thin air. Or, at least, Catherine Adams hadn’t appeared out of thin air.

While work in the house continued, outfitting the house with internet-and surveillance cameras, Jason pulled me aside.

“Here’s your phone. You keep in contact, got it? I don’t hear something for more than two days, I’m sending people in. I don’t care what Williams wants. Your safety comes first.”

“I know Jace. This isn’t my first time in the field, you know.” I took the phone, saw that he programed his number in as worst nightmare, and laughed. “I might have to change that. I was thinking, Mom and dad’s oops?”

“Ha ha funny. Change it if you want, but if that’s what you pick, the Serpents aren’t who you’ll be tracking next.”

“You mean like at Quantico? I found you in, what? Twenty minutes? It took me longer to write up the mock report afterwards.”

“Shut up.” He grumbled, “but seriously. You’re in trouble, I drop everything and get you out of there.”

“Got it. Now help me unpack so I can go explore and establish myself as a member of the community.”

“Reading the handbook again?” I handed him a photo and he stuck it to the wall with a command strip.

“No, photographic memory, remember? I was trying to be professional. There are strangers in my home after all.”

“I remember all right.” He grumbled back. We worked in silence for a while until one of the other agents came in to say they had everything hooked up and it was time to go. Jason and I hugged goodbye and the group left me alone in the house.

Deciding it would be a good idea to actually do what the handbook said for a bit, I looked in the fridge for some food. Finding it empty, I grabbed my keys and left for the store. The local grocery chain was packed thankfully. It gave me a chance to try to blend in. After an hour or so, I had my cart loaded and checked out. At home, I put things away, made a sandwich, and looked at my files some more. There were pages and pages of notes that I scanned through. Maps of town I had marked up, tracking suspected movements were mixed in with notes about education and background. My mind was becoming overwhelmed slowly. A walk might help clear my head. Calling it a night for notes, I grabbed my sweater and house keys, making sure to set the alarm and lock the door. The crisp autumn air bit at my cheeks and neck. My worn-out combat boots clomped on the ground firmly. I had to be conscious of my steps and make them seem less official. You’re just out for a stroll Catherine. I took my phone out to snap a few photos of the trees turning colour and the sun setting. I must have lost track of how long I stood there or where I was walking because the roar of a motorcycle engine startled me. Rule one is never let your guard down. “Jesus.” I gasped, turning my head.

“Not quite but who knows.” His smooth drawl rang in my ears. My gaze drooped to his bike. Nice. The dirt on his boots seemed dried on. As my gaze traveled upwards, I had to control the look on my face. The tattoo on his neck prominently and proudly peeking out from the collar of his worn-out leather jacket. “You aren’t from around here, are you pretty girl?”

“No. I just moved here from the city.”

“Huh. Well, you ever need someone to show you around, let me know.” He smirked.

“Ask you hmm? I don’t even know your name.” I prompted.

“My friends call me Sweetpea. But you can call me whatever you want. What do yours call you?”

“Catherine.”

“Catherine.” He repeated, his voice dropping an octave as he sounded it out. Almost like he was testing the way it tasted on his tongue. He nodded at me, revving the engine, “my offer still stands, Catherine.” He said before speeding off. I let out a breath after he was out of view and shook my head. Shit.