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covenofagatha · 17 days ago

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All that's left to burn (Part 1)

Sequel to A dance with death (and her wife)

Your first few days on the run with Agatha and Rio aren't exactly what you thought they'd be like

Word count: 4.6k

Warnings: murder, masturbation, oral sex

Taglist: @lostbutlovely33 @diorrxckstar @whoreforolderfictionalwomen @katekathry @onemansdreamisanothermansdeath @tayasmellsapples @natashashill @mybraininblood @mysticalmoonlight7 @cactuslover2600 @loveem0mo @readysteddiero-nance @lonelyhalfwitch @lesbiantortilla @crescendoofstars @sol-in-wonderland @ahsfan05 @gbab09 @sasheemo @agathaharness @live-laugh-love-lupone @chiar4anna @fuckedupforkhahn @lowlyjelly

It’s been just over twenty-four hours since you burned down every last part of your former life and went on the run with two notorious serial killers.

Two days since you chose them over everything you ever knew, two women who were practically strangers – you’d only really known them for less than a few months, but something inside you knows that you’ve been waiting for them.

Maybe ever since that day in the woods.

The memory still shocks you a little, killing that woman in the woods for no real good reason, but it changed something in your brain, even if you didn’t recognize that until you got the lost memory back.

And here you are now.

After burning your house down in Miami, you, Agatha, and Rio had driven almost the entire night and made it just across the Florida-Georgia border when the sun started to break through the clouds.

Agatha was exhausted from driving and decided to find a cheap motel to spend the day in. You hadn’t been able to sleep the entire car ride; your leg bounced with adrenaline the whole way, but the moment the three of you laid down in the queen bed, you passed out for hours.

It was after you had all woken up that you decided it would be safer to travel by night, less traffic and less police. You were still too close to Miami, as far as any of you were concerned, and you needed to get out west fast.

To the public, you and The Witch and Lady Death were dead. You saw this on the news, and you felt immense relief that your plan had worked. However, this meant that you needed to be incredibly careful going out in public, so you stocked up on vending machine food and drinks and got in the car the second night of being on the run, and Agatha pulled out of the Valdosta motel parking lot.

The goal is to make it to Mississippi tonight.

“Can you pass me some M&Ms?” Rio asks from the front seat, and you shovel a handful into your mouth before passing the bag to her.

While on the drive last night, you were awake and exhilarated, now you’re just bored.

You stare out the window at the dark expanse of the road and try to count street lights just so you’ll have something to do.

“Are we almost there yet?” You ask absentmindedly, tracing your finger over the handle of the car. Has it been five minutes or five hours since you left the motel? All you know is that it seems like you’ve been on this road forever. And you can’t use the toll roads without fear of being caught on camera, so it’ll take even longer.

Agatha snorts. “It’s been an hour, superstar. Pass me a coke?” You reach into the plastic bag of soft drinks and press a can into her hand. She brings it to her mouth and uses her teeth to pop open the pull tab.

There’s a flicker of heat in your stomach.

You shift around in your seat so you’re able to prop your legs up across the back. “So where are we trying to get to?”

“Colorado, maybe?” Rio suggests. “Anywhere sort of in the middle that doesn’t have a ton of people. We just need to sort of lay low.”

There’s a fly in the car and it buzzes in front of your face. You swat at it before asking, “For how long? Just a few months or something?”

Agatha peeks back at you over her shoulder. “For forever, honey. You killed the director of an FBI branch. We’ve killed over ten people in Westview. We’re supposed to be dead. We’re going to have mundane, simple jobs, and rent a small house. Nothing that could draw attention to ourselves.”

“So…” You trail off with a frown. It’s hard to figure out how to ask what you’re really wondering. “Like, I know that The Witch and Lady Death can’t ever kill again, but–”

“You’ve got a taste for blood now, hm?” Rio jokes but it makes your cheeks heat up. It sounds bad when she says it like that, but there’s still something in your mind that reminds you how good it felt to kill Tony.

Agatha’s hands tighten on the steering wheel and you can see her white knuckles even in the night. “No more death. We killed to get you, and you killed to get us. There’s no need for any of it anymore. Especially now.”

The fly bites your hand and you jump. It immediately starts to sting and you furiously itch at it.

Both of them crane their necks to look at you because you haven’t answered. “No more death?” Rio asks, but you know it’s not really a question.

“Yeah,” you agree. This is good. You don’t need it, you have them. The two women who make you feel more than anything ever has. A quiet life in Colorado is exactly what you need. You were certainly overworked before, so having a much more relaxing job will be so good.

Maybe you could work at a bookstore or a library. Spend the day reading, and then come home to your little cottage in the woods and cuddle with Agatha and Rio by the fireplace. You can go hiking and fishing and mountain-climbing – you can have a normal life.

You also think about everything in the cabin that the three of you could get up to and you feel wetness collecting in your underwear. Rio eating you out. Your fingers in Agatha’s pussy. Rio sitting on your face. Agatha’s strap thrusting into you.

The fantasies last you another hour or so before you’re back to being bored. You make a game out of throwing chips up into the air and trying to catch them in your mouth. It doesn’t go very well and soon there’s crumbs littering the floor.

Finally, about four hours into the drive, Agatha stops for gas. You get out with the two of them to stretch your legs and go inside to use the bathroom. Rio passes you a twenty dollar bill to get some food and you pick out three slices of pizza.

The television behind the cash register is on the news channel and you can hear hints of it as you browse the candy aisle.

“The search has continued on the house of former FBI agent Y/N Y/L/N in Miami, Florida. It was burned down two nights ago and police seem to think that New Jersey serial killers ‘The Witch’ and ‘Lady Death’ were involved. Former agent Y/L/N was in Westview working on their case, but was brought back to her home state by the director of the Miami branch, Tony Stark.”

You close your eyes briefly at his name, knowing what's coming next, and pull your jacket hood up over your head. The man behind the register seems none-the-wiser and you can see in the reflection of his computer screen in the mirror behind him that he’s on an online gambling site.

“...was killed in his home last week by the same methods as were used in the murders in Westview. The theory remains that ‘The Witch’ and ‘Lady Death’ followed the agent and the director back to Miami and while trying to get rid of them, met their ends in a house fire. It is unclear how that fire started, and there has been no trace of any human remains thus far, but the search will continue and any further updates will be provided here.”

Heart pounding in your chest, you pick up a pack of powdered donuts and walk up to the register with your eyes peeled to the ground. The man rings it up and tells you the total, but before he can get a good look at you, you drop the bill on the counter and hurry back out to the car.

Agatha and Rio are talking in hushed voices, but quickly stop when you get to them, breathing fast.

“We’re on the news,” you say rushedly. “They’re going through my house, they put the pieces together like we wanted, but they haven’t found any remains. What happens when they don’t find any? What if they figure out we’re still alive?” Your voice gets high and shrill as you keep talking and Rio takes the food from your hands while Agatha puts her hands on your shoulders.

“Honey, you need to calm down,” she soothes, rubbing gently. She breathes in and out slowly, forcing you to follow. “It’s going to be okay. They’ll think our bodies burned in the fire. They won’t be able to find us.”

“What happened to your hand?” Rio asks, pointing at the skin you’ve scratched raw.

You instinctively pull your sleeve over it. “I got a bug bite. It was itching.” And as you say it, the bite starts to tingle. You scrape your nails around it some more.

They give you a weird look but don’t say anything. “Well, we’re about three hours from Jackson,” Agatha says. “Think we can make it?”

Rio and you both nod and you’re back in the car. It’s a little past midnight, so you try and lay your head against the window to get some sleep, but it doesn’t come. You’re too antsy, too restless, but you don’t know why.

The itch in your hand is only getting worse, too. It feels like it runs below the surface, connected to something deeper inside you. No matter how hard you scratch, it isn’t satisfied.

“You really don’t think they’ll figure out we’re still alive?” You ask quietly.

There isn’t an answer for a while and you wonder if either of them heard you. You think Rio might be asleep. Finally, Agatha says, “I think we’ll be okay, sweetheart. Is that what’s got you so worked up?” She turns back to look at you and there’s a twinkle in your eyes that takes your mind off the pain in your hand.

“I think so,” you guess, but it doesn’t feel right to your brain. “I don’t know, it just feels like there’s something else. Like, in my head.”

Agatha smirks. “You know what would help clear your mind?”

It makes your jaw fall open a bit and heat courses through you at the suggestion. “Wait – really?”

“Yeah, superstar,” she says and flexes her long, veiny fingers against the steering wheel. The sight of them makes your mouth run dry. “Why don’t you touch yourself?”

That’s all it takes to convince you. Rio’s heavy breathing and lolled head on her seatbelt confirms that she is asleep, but you have never been more wide awake. You position one leg up on the seat and the other on the ground and slide your hand into your pants.

You’re wet and the brush of your fingertips against your clit makes your hips jump. It feels good and you spend a few minutes rubbing it and getting yourself more turned on.

Agatha keeps looking back every now and then to smile at you, eyes flicking from your face down to your crotch and then back to the road. You press harder against your clit, but something is missing.

“Agatha,” you gasp out, needing more. You can remember the ache that you felt when you’re around both of them, the way your body needs to be filled, but the pleasure you feel now isn’t even half of that.

“What’s wrong, baby girl? Wish those were my fingers?” She taunts and your hips buck. There we go. A particularly good swipe against your clit pulls a small moan from your lips.

You nod before realizing she can’t see you. “Yes,” you breathe.

She sighs wistfully. “I do, too. I love the way your pussy feels around me, how tight and wet and warm you are. I love how responsive you get for me, how just the lightest touch is enough to make you clench around me.”

You slide a finger into yourself and start to move it, grunting with the effort. “Yeah, fuck,” you say, trying to force yourself to get into it. Why are you struggling right now? There’s almost a disconnect between your brain and the hand between your legs.

Everything feels so muted.

Doubling-down on the circles around your clit, you try to lose yourself in a fantasy. Agatha and Rio fucking you, you fucking them, blood– a spark jumps in your veins.

“I love when you cum around my fingers,” Agatha continues, jolting you out of your thoughts. Thankfully, because what was that? “You look so pretty when you do, baby.”

But if you had even anything resembling an orgasm building, it’s gone now. You frustratedly keep fucking yourself, trying to jump-start those feelings again, but you might as well be rubbing your leg with the amount of pleasure you’re getting.

You give up and pull your hand out of your pants with a groan and Agatha looks back in surprise. “Already?” she asks, sounding kind of smug and you nod sheepishly with an awkward chuckle.

You’re not sure you could explain what just happened so it's easier to just lie. You were feeling into it, you were turned on, but then it all just…fizzled out.

After wiping your hand on a napkin, you attempt to find a comfortable position to settle in and lay your head on the window to try and get some sleep.

But it doesn’t come and you spend the next two and a half hours staring at nothing, wondering what the hell is wrong with you.

The motel in Jackson, Mississippi is nothing short of a dump. The buildings are graffitied and look dilapidated, beer bottles and Monster energy cans litter the walkways, and there’s confederate flags on the inside of windows in some of the rooms. The walkways are dimly lit, looking ominous and eerie in the dark morning, and half the motel sign is broken.

The perfect place if you’re trying to blend in and not be found. As if anyone would ever come looking at this place.

“Think we can just break into one of the rooms and avoid having to talk to whoever runs this place?” Rio asks, having woken up when Agatha parked.

You scratch your hand before realizing the skin doesn’t even itch anymore.

The three of you stare in silence at where you’ll be spending the next twelve hours or so, before there’s a ding that makes you jump and Agatha swears.

The oil light is on.

“You know, when those things turn on, you really have a while before you actually have to get it changed,” you volunteer helpfully.

The look on Rio’s face when she turns around to face you tells you that you shouldn’t have said anything. “Yeah, let’s take that chance and break down on the side of the road halfway to Colorado.”

You almost snap back, a flash of annoyance streaking through you, but decide to let it go. The logical part in your brain knows that you’re just irritated because you’ve spent half of the last forty-eight hours cooped up in a car.

The itch is back.

“How about I go to a store and get whatever we need for an oil change? I’ll come back and get it done,” Rio offers. “Easier than going someplace for it and spending that kind of money and risk being recognized.” You want to point out that both of those consequences are also true at the grocery store, but you bite your lip.

Although, the thought of Rio with grease smudges definitely piques your interest. Maybe that’ll be enough to get you off.

Agatha looks back at you. “Let’s get the stuff from the back and check in.”

‘The stuff from the back’ includes three small suitcases of all the belongings the three of you have left, and whatever else you may have bought on the way. The three of you walk into the office.

The floor in the lobby – if you could even call it that, with the two chairs, a table, and leaking coffee machine – is sticky with something that you don’t even want to know, and the harsh bioluminescent light hurts your eyes after being outside in the dark. There’s a woman loudly snapping her gum behind the front desk and she gives you a nasty look.

“What?” She snarls bluntly in a thick Southern drawl, and you can’t help but imagine what it would be like to slit her throat.

No, you don’t do that anymore. You can’t keep thinking like that. Since when did you turn into that kind of person?

Your hand itches again and you scratch it a few times.

“Hi,” Agatha says politely. “We’d like to get a room, please.”

The woman’s eyes narrow and look back and forth between the three of you. You almost groan. “Just one room?” She asks suspiciously.

“Yes?” Agatha says a bit rougher this time, like she’s daring her to keep asking questions. You kind of hope she does, just so you can watch Agatha lose her temper.

But she doesn’t, instead she just types something into her computer and hands over a key to Agatha. “Room thirteen. Two beds, of course. And there should be a pullout.” Like the thought of more than one woman in a bed is scandalous.

This time you overtly snort and you can see the woman’s cheek twitch. Agatha thanks her and you and Rio follow her back outside and down the winding sidewalk. Rio heads to the car to get the stuff for the oil change.

There’s a door open to one of the rooms with an older man sitting inside in a tank top and boxers watching television. He smirks – or at least that’s what you think he’s trying to do, it’s hard to tell – and wiggles his eyebrows before letting out a low whistle. You stiffen and walk faster.

The room looks exactly like you thought it would. Something that looks suspiciously like mold is on the peeling wallpaper, it’s dank and dusty, and the light doesn’t turn on when you flip the switch.

“Are those stains on the bed?” Agatha asks with disgust, moving cautiously closer to inspect them, and you feel red hot-blooded rage boil in your veins.

This isn’t what you imagined when you ran away with them. Although, you’re not sure what you were expecting. Were you really such a fool to think that it would be paradise?

No, but you didn’t think you’d have to spend a day in a place like this. You furiously scratch at your hand until Agatha notices and comes back over to you.

“Hey,” she murmurs gently. You know how brutal she can be, you’ve seen it first hand, and yet she is also so kind. It tugs at your heart. Is it weird to remember how nice she was to you when you met her in that clearing at the age of ten? “I know this isn’t…ideal.” You bark out a laugh. “It’s just for the day. Maybe tomorrow we find a bit nicer of a place, maybe spend a bit longer there. I know it’s been a lot. But you’ve been so good for us, honey. And it’ll get better.Thank you.”

She pulls you into a hug and you melt into her arms, feeling the anger subside a little.

Agatha presses a kiss into your hair. “And, without killing people, we won’t have to be on the lookout constantly. Just hang in there a bit longer.”

Your body tenses ever just the slightest unconsciously as you nod. There’s a sinking feeling in your gut – why does that make you feel so shitty? And why does it feel like your itch has spread all over your skin.

“Yeah, okay,” you agree.

Her hands start to stroke up and down your back, trying to ignite heat inside you. “In the meantime though, want to try out these beds? Two options to choose from.” Her tone is light and joking, and her attempt to flirt should be working, you really do try to be affected.

There’s no reaction in your body. Fuck.

You pull back and force a smile. “I think I’m going to go see if the vending machine has any Chex-mix. I’ve been craving some.” If she’s disappointed, she doesn’t show it.

Agatha just laughs and pats your ass and you grab a few dollar bills and Rio’s knife from the table and slide them into your pocket. You’ve become a little paranoid and would rather not be caught unaware.

The overhead lights flicker as you walk underneath them to the machines tucked around the corner that you passed on your way to the room. Saying a little prayer that they actually work, you press the button for a Sprite and, much to your dismay, they don’t have Chex-mix so you choose a bag of Doritos.

The graffiti next to you on the walls draws you in. On one panel, there’s what looks like a sword and then a circle with a five-point star drawn inside it. All in red.

You frown. Does it mean something?

“Hey, pretty girl,” someone says behind you and you whirl around to find the man from the room with the open door standing there. Now that he’s a few feet away from you, you can practically smell the stench oozing off him in waves, his teeth yellow and cracked, and a few bushy chest hairs peeking out from under his wrinkled white wife-beater.

Heart beating fast in your chest, you back up until you hit the vending machine. “Um,” you stammer. Should you call for help? Agatha would probably be able to hear you if you screamed.

So would everyone else. And the last thing you need is for the entire motel to hear you.

“You know,” he says, tapping a dirty fingernail to his lips. “When I first saw you, I thought you looked familiar. Thought maybe I’d seen you in some video or something.”

Your nose wrinkles at the implication.

“But then, as I was watching the news, it hit me.” He jabs his finger in your direction. “You’re that agent whose house got burned down.”

Your heart starts thumping so loud you can hear it. Can he hear it? “No, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you say quickly. All your senses have become heightened, it’s like you’re on high alert. The itch inside you has grown, completely taken over you, and you scratch at the bug bite like it’s going to do a single damn thing.

His grin is putrid. “Yeah, you are. They’ve got a nice reward for anyone who can offer information about it. Although, think I might just keep you for myself.” He lunges forward and before you can think about it, you’ve drawn the knife from your pocket and stabbed it into his gut. His eyes go wide with shock and he makes a small noise.

And when you take it roughly and he falls to the floor, you gasp as heat floods through your body.

This – this is what you’ve been missing. The exhilaration and the way it makes you feel alive, how could you ever live without it now? You’ve tasted it, you’re too far gone, this is who you are now.

And the ache between your legs is back with a vengeance. Kicking the man for good measure as he bleeds out on the ground, you walk back to your room, where Agatha is perched carefully on the side of the bed.

Your body is vibrating. The itch has become something more, a physical manifestation of your need.

“Did you get anything?” Agatha asks, looking at your empty hands – you forgot to get your snacks, but you don’t care.

You don’t say anything, just walk over to her and push her onto her back on the bed. She makes a sound and picks her head up, but you quickly kick off your pants and underwear over your shoes and move to straddle her body, the bloody knife in your pocket making a thud when it hits the floor. You reach down between your legs and swipe, gathering your wetness and keening at how good it feels.

You’re already closer than you were in the car, by a mile.

Holding your glistening fingertips to Agatha’s lips, she gives you a wicked grin before enveloping them into your mouth. Your hips jerk and a ragged breath leaves your mouth.

“Look at you, thinking you’re in charge,” she says and you huff. You know you don’t have a lot of time, anyone could find the man now – he might not even be dead! – and you don’t know if there were cameras.

Everything could be at risk, but you couldn’t care less, because you need this too bad. Your skin is burning with a heat you haven’t felt since they came back for you after you killed Tony for them.

So you crawl the rest of the way and sink your fingers into Agatha’s long dark hair, looking down at her and finding her looking just as excited as you are, and lower your sopping pussy onto her face.

She licks through your folds with her flat tongue, moaning at how wet you are, and you whimper, slowly rolling your hips. Agatha’s hands grab onto your ass and dig her nails in so she can help you start to grind as she devours you, and fuck, it feels too good.

“Agatha, oh my god,” you moan when her tongue swirls around your clit and then sucks on it, your body spasming on top of her. She lets out a muffled sound against you and the vibrations travel through your body.

Your head falls back in pleasure, fully riding her mouth now, and your hands push up under your shirt to tug on your nipples through your bra. Your hips stutter and your rhythm falters and she knows that you’re close, can feel your clit throbbing in her mouth, and she doubles her efforts, lapping and sucking and licking, her hot tongue on your wet pussy and fuck–

She roughly lashes her tongue and you pinch your nipples and the heat inside you is getting worse, it’s building up, you can’t take it, Agatha scrapes her teeth against your clit, and you cum all over her face with a loud moan.

Agatha guides you through the aftershocks of your intense orgasm, cleaning up the mess that’s still between your legs, and you fall back so you’re sitting on her chest.

The itch, both on your hand and inside you, is completely gone.

Agatha rubs her hands up and down your thighs while chuckling. “What was that, honey?”

You bite your lip guiltily, about to tell her everything, when the door gets thrown open. You jump and scramble to get off Agatha, worried that maybe it’s the homophobic receptionist, but it’s Rio.

And she looks…weird. “There’s a man who’s been stabbed out by the vending machine,” she says calmly, looking between you and Agatha with an eyebrow raised. “You two know anything about that?”

Agatha’s attention turns from her wife to you, and you squirm under both of their scrutinizing gazes.

“We might need to leave a little earlier than expected,” you say apologetically.

Agatha and Rio just sigh.

#agatha harkness x fem!reader #agatha harkness x reader #agatha x reader #agatha x you #agatha harkness x you #agatha harkness smut #agatha smut #agatha x rio #agathario x reader #agathario #rio vidal x reader #rio x reader #rio vidal x agatha harkness #rio vidal

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haddonfieldwhore · 2 years ago

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promise me? - mike schmidt

mike schmidt x gn!reader

warnings: a bit of angst but i think that’s it. i don’t know fnaf lore super well so if anything is inaccurate i apologize!! i’m trying my best

word count: 750

you arrived home from work around 8pm, a little later than usual due to heavy traffic on one of the main roads. quietly dropping your keys on the table just inside the door, you turned the lock to your small apartment. it wasn’t the greatest neighborhood, but it was all you could afford, and it had everything you needed. lately, your boyfriend mike had been staying with you, and he had gotten a night job as a security guard at a kids pizza place, which meant he was asleep right now as you crept through the apartment, the cold floorboards creaking under your weight as you walked down the hallway towards the bedroom.

mikes new job had him working 12-6am, less than ideal hours to say the least, but a job was a job, and it seemed pretty easy from what he had told you; all he had to do was watch the security cameras. it would only be his third night on the job today, but you could tell the change in sleep schedule was hard on mike. placing your bag on the floor softly, and your eyes landed on mikes sleeping form, the blankets tangled around his legs as he snored softly. you smiled, and lifted his arm carefully to crawl into bed next to him. his arms encircled you automatically, and he sighed contently as you snuggled into his chest, feeling the warmth radiating off of his body.

“hey,” he grumbled softly, his voice deep with sleep. “what time is it?”

“hey,” you smiled, even though his eyes remained closed. “it’s just after eight, you still have time to sleep.” he hummed happily in response, pulling you closer to him and kissing the top of your head as he drifted off to sleep again, and you quickly followed.

•

the sound of mikes alarm woke you up, and you tried to hide your head under the covers to block out the sound, as mike reached for his phone to turn it off.

“don’t go,” you mumbled, reaching for him to attempt to pull him back into your arms. he laughed at you and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.

“i would rather stay here, trust me.”

“is it really that bad?” you asked, sitting up as he got out of bed and began to get dressed, sliding on a pair of dark jeans and a grey hoodie. he did up the buckle of his belt as he stepped into his work boots, and he looked up at you, his tired eyes meeting yours.

“no, it’s…. it’s just - we’ll you know how they have those animatronic characters?”

“yeah,” you nodded, remembering them from when you were younger.

“they get left in this… free roaming mode at night. i don’t know it’s really weird.”

“isn’t that a little dangerous?” you asked, a worried look spreading across your face. mike seemed to think for a moment, and then sort of shook his head.

“no, i mean- they’re just robots for kids. it’s just a little creepy,” he replied, and you weren’t sure he was being 100% truthful.

“mike, if you were in danger you would tell me right?”

“of course. i didn’t mean to scare you. i think my imagination gets the better of me sometimes,” he walked over to give you a soft kiss on the lips.

“promise me if anything else weird happens you’ll quit, okay?” you pleaded. as much as you both needed the money, that wouldn’t matter if something bad happened to mike.

“i promise,” he agreed. “i gotta go. i love you.”

“i love you too.”

mike grabbed his wallet off the dresser and opened the bedroom door before turning back towards you.

“i’ll see you in a few hours. get some sleep okay?”

you nodded as you laid back down and pulled the blankets over yourself, trying to mimic the feeling of his body heat next to you. you listened to his footsteps as he walked down the hall and out the door, followed by the familiar click of it locking behind him. you sighed, closing your eyes as you tried not to worry about what he had said. you trusted him; if there was really something wrong, he would tell you.

besides, how dangerous could a children’s restaurant be, right?

#fnaf #five nights at freddy's #fnaf movie #mike schmidt #josh hutcherson #mike schmidt imagine #mike schmidt x reader #michael afton #fnaf fic #fnaf imagine #fnaf x reader

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your-averagewriter · 9 months ago

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Lipstick kisses.

Summary: At the wrap party, Cooper and (y/n) get closer and closer before (y/n) leaves him with some lipstick marks as a reminder and a promise for later (pre apocalypse!Cooper Howard x fem!reader).

Word count: 1.4K

Warnings: kissing, sexual references

“Right here in the vaults is where you can live, so get your spot now before they run out and you can be as happy as us.” I say, looking into the camera, wearing a Vault-Tec suit that is molded to my body. Cooper’s arm is wrapped around my waist as we wear matching smiles, playing husband and wife for one of the new ads. They’re cheesy but they pay well and afford me a spot in one of the vaults which I wouldn’t be able to pay for myself.

“She’s right.” He places a well-planned kiss on my cheek. “It’s as easy as pie.” Cooper says, winking and dipping his finger in the apple pie they left for the shoot. “These walls allow us to stay safe and live the all-American lifestyle, they keep out the radiation and the Reds.” He says into the camera and it finishes filming.

“That’s a wrap.” Someone from behind the camera says.

“Great, are we done then?” I ask and everyone disperses, including Cooper and me.

“Wrap party.” Someone pats me on the shoulder, I turn around and it’s Cooper.

“Wrap party? We’ve only filmed a few ads, it’s not like we filmed a movie.”

“Damn feels like it sometimes with all the takes.” I chuckle.

“So where’s the party?”

“My house starts at 8:00, most people won’t turn up until past 8:30 - you know how parties go.”

“Well, I’ll see you later then.” I say with a small smile before walking away to get into my usual clothes and head home before going to Coop’s party.

Getting home, I lay out my outfit, picking out a long red dress that is form-fitting and pack a little black handbag with my matching lipstick, a box of cigarettes, a lighter, keys and phone. Double-checking my makeup in the mirror, I slip on my heels before leaving and driving to Cooper’s house.

There’s a crash on one of the roads so the traffic is awful as I try to get to the wrap party but I end up getting there quite a bit later than expected - definitely past 8:30. Finally I pull up, having to park down the hill a little due to all the good car spaces already being taken.

It’s a short walk to get to his house, when I go to knock on the door, it’s already open and I can hear the music vibrating throughout the house.

I navigate my way through the people, talking to some as they greet me - being one of the main actors in the advertiser means my name is plastered on the billboards. I find the kitchen easily despite the people crowding it and pour myself a drink in the tacky red cups.

I busy myself with the drink, trying to ignore the eyes on my figure, noticing that I didn’t understand the dress code, ending up in a much fancier outfit than anyone else. Tiring of the loud noise and not seeing anyone I truly knew, I head outside, walking over to one of the benches, facing away from the building and towards the pool and pulling out my cigarette pack and lighter. I place a cigarette in between my lips and try to light it but my lighter doesn’t work.

I flick the lighter again and again.

“Hey darlin’, need some help?” I turn around to face Cooper with his lighter in hand. Looking up at him, he lights the cigarette for me.

“Thanks.” He sits down on the bench next to me.

“Not enjoying the party, sweetheart?”

“I don’t really know anyone here. They’re all on the business side of things and they seem to know me, it freaks me out.” I chuckle, taking a drag from the cigarette.

“Well, at least you look the part.” He grins. “You look stunnin’.”

“Thank you, I feel like I stick out.”

“You always stick out ‘cause you’re so pretty.”

“Not what I meant.” I chuckle as he takes the cigarette from my hand, lingering a second longer, his eyes on mine before lifting it up to his mouth and taking a long drag.

“Oh, I know exactly what you meant and I still think it’s a good thing. Don’t know how I didn’t see you sooner with this little get-up.”

I look him up and down, looking at the suit he’s wearing. “Since when did you wear suits?” I take another hit.

“Since I got a reputation.”

“I like you better with your cowboy attire.” I show a slightly dopey smile, maybe slightly influenced by the drinks I had earlier…

“Me too, darlin’, me too.” He laughs, taking a sip of a glass of whiskey he brought out with him. “I’ll wear the cowboy hat for you next time. Maybe we could have a party for two, dinner maybe.”

“Are you asking me out for dinner?”

“I’m asking you in for dinner. I make a mean spaghetti bolognese.” He wears a small grin on his face. “So what do you say?”

“That sounds nice. I like pasta. And you, of course.” I say, turning to properly face him, blowing a ring of smoke towards him with a smile

“Well, that’s good because I like you quite a bit.” He leans forward slightly, matching my smile, and moving forward slightly.

“Cooper, (y/n)! I hope I’m not interrupting.” Sebastian walks over, sitting down on the bench opposite the both of us.

“‘Course not.” I say, quickly pulling away with a slightly flustered look.

“You were interrupting actually, Sebastian. I was just about to kiss this pretty lady.” Both the men laugh while I sit there looking mildly embarrassed.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way. Hopefully I’ll see you later on, if you two don’t get too carried away that is.” He jokes, laughing.

“So embarrassing.” I mumble, head in hands once Sebastian leaves.

“I was just being honest, sweetheart. Now, where were we?” I look back up at him.

He pushes his lips against mine gently as I reciprocate, matching the delicate nature - almost as if he thinks I'll break. After a few seconds I pull away and can't help but chuckle as I look at his face.

“What? What is it?” He asks with a small grin.

“Nothing.” I decide not to tell him about the lipstick smudged on his lips. “Sorry.” I chuckle.

“C’mere, you.” He says, arm around my waist to pull me closer to him, a smirk on his face before he presses his lips against mine again.

I wrap my arms around his neck, resting them as we pull each other closer. I pull back to press a few kisses to his jaw, relishing the little lipstick kisses that are left behind.

“You're a little minx, you are.” He mumbles, I smile softly against his skin, continuing before making my way back to his lips.

I feel one of his hands travel up my thigh, his rough hands against the smooth skin exposed by the slit in my dress. He caresses the skin gently, rubbing little circles.

I play with his hair, my arms still resting over his shoulders gives me access to the back of his head also allowing me to pull him closer.

I feel his fingers reach under the slit of my dress and I pull back to reach for the hand with a conflicted smile.

“Cooper.” I say almost like a warning. “We're at your party and in your garden.”

“I don't mind.” He shrugs with a dopey smile.

“I mind.” I say, “Besides, people will be looking for you.” I stand up, holding his hand and leading him to stand as well. “C’mon.”

“Fine.” He huffs, worried he's missing out as he walks back into his house.

I lean over until my mouth is just by his ear.

“Y'know, if you wanted I could stay back a little later?” I whisper but it’s barely a question as I already know the answer, pulling back with a teasing smile before walking away again, leaving him with the lipstick marks as I find a bathroom to reapply my lipstick with a knowing smile.

Re-joining the party, I try to socialise with some other people but I make sure to keep an eye on Cooper talking to people trying to hide their hushed chuckles. Finally, I watch someone break the news to him as he walks over to one of the mirrors in his house, turning his face to examine the damage before he looks over at him. I send a small smile, feigning innocence as he shakes his head.

“Little minx.” He mumbles with a small grin.

AN: I hope you enjoyed reading!

I'm actually in love with Cooper, I swear (Ghoul form and not)

If you want a part two to this fic then let me know (I don't write smut though)!

241 notes · View notes

deansdelicate · 5 months ago

Text

I CAN SEE YOU

CHAPTER III: TRYING NOT TO FEEL IT

seth rollins x fem!writer+producer reader

word count: [9.6K]

warnings: no use of y/n, mild cursing, slight mention of anxiety, pining and two idiots flirting not so subtly <3

🎧 the soundtrack

summary: You and Seth's paths are intersecting deeper than any of you anticipated. With a new storyline set to begin, it leaves you both filled with a yearning to know if it only ever will be platonic, even if biting the forbidden fruit is only just mindless dreaming.

Another week came with another Monday, and this time for you it meant not just being on screen, but finally getting the chance to work behind the scenes with one of your storylines being rolled out on Raw.

You were mentally ecstatic, finally getting a chance to be in your own element behind the camera, but your body told an entirely different story.

Exhaustion infested your bones, and the last thing on your mind was getting to TV, because all you wanted to do was sleep the day away. Your body was facing the consequences of the constant travel combined with jet lag that you were positive you’d never get used to.

Getting directly off a red eye only made matters worse, muscles aching with heaviness and longing desperately for your bed to make it all go away. The drive to the hotel offered limited solace, especially with the hustle and bustle of the city—road rage and honking keeping you up through the morning traffic jam during the stretch of time where you wanted to cram in more sleep.

Instead, you found yourself staring mindlessly out the window, taking in New York city through the tinted pane, zoning off into secret gardens in your mind, escaping into your thoughts, trying to get away from the chaos pulling you back.

And then, suddenly, everything shifted. The noise of the city seeming to fading into silence as a familiar name cut through the stereo’s hum.

“Welcome to the morning show. We’re joined by none other than the man and my personal favorite wrestler, Seth Rollins. How you doing, man?”

You perked up in your seat, a small smile becoming evident across your sleepy features, when his voice finally hit your ears.

“I’m doing great, looking forward to sight seeing the big apple after this. Thanks for having me.”

His voice sounded a little hoarse, fatigued from matches, the grueling travel schedule, and on top of that, having to do media in the early hours—nevertheless, it seemed as though he was championing it a lot better than you were. Clearly he was a veteran of the fast life already and you desperately needed to play catch up.

For the rest of the drive, you found yourself not only wide awake, but clinging to his voice as if he was the stimulant keeping you up. His laughter and quick wit filling the car, making you giggle despite his physical absence, that felt as if he was right there next to you all along.

You laid back, listening intently to the rest of the radio show. Eyes half closed as Seth talked about his run with Dean and Roman, his favorite matches he’s had, and some of the memorable cities he’s visited. He had so many stories to tell, and you surely wanted to pick his brain apart just so you could hear all of them and get to know him a little better.

“One last question before we let you go: Triple H’s daughter…” the radio host started curiously.

Seth hummed pleasantly, and you swore you could practically hear the smile in his voice.

“What a debut am I right?” He spoke with a mixture of pride and affection.

Your stomach twisted into knots, teeth digging softly into your bottom lip as you tried to hold back a smile that you didn’t even realize was creeping upon you so feverishly.

“The pop she got was insane! What do you think about her so far?” The interviewer pressed for more, and suddenly you felt yourself becoming interested as you waited for Seth’s response.

“I mean other than being extremely impressed, I think the company is going to be in good hands when Triple H feels ready to pass the torch onto her.” Seth’s voice softening with sincerity as he went on.

“She’s a hard worker, and she’s hilarious, and she’s completely selfless.” Seth said, honestly.

“Any chance we can see you two working together?” The interviewer prodded, a teasing tone in his voice.

Seth laughed lightly. “Oh man, I don’t know what the future holds, but if there ever comes an opportunity, I would love to work with her.” He admitted, making you feel giddy all over as you hung your head and tried to fight the smile.

“You heard it here first, ladies and gents…”

His voice was like a looped track echoing over and over again in your mind—the cadence of every answer memorized like the melody to your favorite song.

And even then, when hours passed, you couldn’t help but still feel warm all over just thinking about all the generous things he had to say about you. It was one of the qualities you admired about him the most despite the short measure of time you knew him for. All of things he said to your face, was the same things he said when you weren’t around—a kind of authenticity that was rare to come across.

Music blared through your phone speakers, resounding off the bathroom walls where you found yourself conflicted as to why you still couldn’t shake Seth’s kind words even after the time had passed. Everyone else had met you with the same kindness that he showed you, but not in the way that left you reeling the way Seth did.

But before you could ponder it any longer and get too in your head than you already were, a knock echoed against your hotel door, prompting you to pull back from the bathroom mirror and hit pause on your phone’s music, strolling over and taking a peak through the peephole to see who it was.

You grinned, unlocking the door and opening it wide to reveal your dad on the other side, already dressed in his suit ready to head out to the arena.

“Hey honey,” He embraced you in a hug before you stepped aside, letting him step into your room, “What time did you get in?”

“A little after nine,” you replied, retreating back to the bathroom to finish up your makeup and you continued to talk, “I checked in and decided to nap. I nearly slept through my alarm, but I’m all rested now.”

Originally, you both had planned to travel together, as you often did when arriving in new cities. But your dad had to cut his weekend short, heading out the morning after your sister’s birthday to join the crew because they were short a producer for the local house show. Knowing your dad, you had mentally begun preparing for more solo trips, seeing as though he was always prone to travel changes now that he was the big boss in charge.

“I forgot to ask, how was dinner last Friday?” He leaned against the doorframe, changing the subject after realizing over the weekend you hadn’t talked about work at all.

You barked out a laugh, trying not to poke your eye out while you combed the mascara through your lashes.

“The food was delicious, and everyone was great. They’re all really nice and welcoming—I even told them about the whole ‘suck it!’ car gate situation.”

Your dad smiled upon hearing you talk about the night so up beat, relieved that you were making friends with everyone since you were going to start seeing them more often than not.

He knew that being on the road meant the constant change of scenery, which in some ways were great for your writing process, but it also brought a certain kind of loneliness with not having any established friends around to keep you company—but thankfully that was all starting to change.

“That’s nice. I’m glad you’re feeling a bit settled.” He chuckled with satisfaction, happy that you weren’t miserable on the road after all the convincing he had to do to get you on board.

“Nepotism apparently makes great conversation starters.” You quipped finished up your mascara.

Sure, you loved being in the comfort of your hometown where you grew up and where all of your family and friends were just a drive away when you needed to see them most. And it certainly wasn’t easy coming to terms that your new job meant a lack of permanence but you knew you could adjust with the more time that went on, and you were positive that you could balance your home and the town you were a guest in.

“I actually wanted to talk about your final storyline,” He paused for a moment, catching your eyes in the mirror’s reflection as you stared anxiously.

“I read through it and man…it’s good.”

Your dad smiled proudly, prompting you to squeal mainly out of relief and clapped your hands frantically. He didn’t know why you were so nervous when he was constantly in awe of everything you created, even since you were a child with a rapid imagination that he couldn’t even keep up with.

“I honestly thought you’d hate it because it’s so work.” You whispered, reaching for your powder compact and a brush, beginning to swirl the bristles into the product and tapping the excess off.

“Does it require me to do a little more work? Yeah.” He laughed, as you half rolled your eyes, gliding the brush across your face as he went on.

“But I think if we do some chemistry reads with the superstars we can find the right fit. And if not, then we’ll put a pin in it. It’s still a good script. We just need the right people to play it out.”

You were pleased with his feedback, and if anyone knew creative direction as well as you did, it was your father. You trusted him enough with your ideas, and he respected them all to want to ensure they were brought to life as vividly as they could be.

You both were like the perfect little dream team, and you couldn’t have been happier to have the best boss and father in one person.

“Look at you using my director lingo.” You mocked with a smirk, tipping the brush at him while he rolled his eyes.

“Hurry up and a pin in this,” He retorted, gesturing to the messy bathroom counter, “We’ll drive down to the arena together.”

“Sounds good. I’ll meet you in the lobby?” You replied, getting up close in the mirror to see if you needed any last touch ups.

“Preferably in the next ten minutes.” He scoffed, shooting you a knowing look as he pressed off the door frame.

“Shoo!” You waved him off with a grunt, and he snickered his way out the door, leaving you to it.

Arriving at the arena a few hours early was far better than the early morning drive that consisted of bumper to bumper traffic, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss Seth’s voice over the radio to listen to throughout the way.

You guessed it was just you being a little self absorbed, loving the way he spoke about you, but you decided to steer clear of thinking too much of it because no way did it mean anything deeper than him just being a kind person.

As you and your dad pulled up to the arena, you both rolled down the windows of the car, waving hello and smiling for pictures with fans who waited outside the parking garage gates. Heading inside, you and your dad went separate ways, you dropping your stuff off into your office and heading to set where you were going to be working behind the camera.

The camera crew and sound engineers were already getting set up in a quiet hallway, where the lights were purposely dimmed for dramatic effect. You took it upon yourself to say hello and catch up with everyone as you got mic’d up and helped frame the shot for the pre-recorded promo that would air later in the show.

Soon after, you felt a tap on your shoulder, and there towered over you the one and only Braun Strowman.

“Hey! You excited?” You said eagerly, removing the headsets from over your ears and letting them rest around your neck.

“You know I am.” He rubbed his hands together before giving you a small side hug.

Braun was still fairly new to the main roster with no big storyline or arch that truly set him apart from everyone else except his stature and strength. But ever since you had been tuning into the show for your storyline research, you knew wanted to develop him into a more prominent character and you were glad your dad approved of what you thought up for him.

“Did you want to change anything about the promo?” You asked, grabbing your binder to pull up his script.

He flipped through his copy, looking at you skeptically with a shrug as he pointed to a specific section.

“I’m sorta confused about how I should play this part.” He confessed, hoping you wouldn’t take his critique the wrong way.

You nodded, flipping to the same page as him and reading it to yourself to refresh your memory of what you had planned. You reassured him with another nod, retrieving a red ballpoint pen for edits as you waved him over to a nereby cart where you two could go over what he wanted to change.

“Do you want to go through it and then we can feel out what you want to change?” You suggested, already beginning to make notes in the margins of the script.

“You sure?” He rose his brow, expecting you to tell him to do what he was asked, instead of trying to wiggle his way into the writer’s room.

“Of course!” You nodded, and he began to get into the parts he required more clarity on and the suggestions he had for his character.

You two spent a total of fifteen minutes, revising and going over the script, and much to his surprise, and the entire crew who were listening in, you took every single suggestion with stride and trusted Braun completely to do what he felt resonated with his character and the overall promo. All the edits and suggestions he made were approved, and you were happy he felt comfortable enough to come and tell you why he felt it was right to do so.

You watched closely on the monitors as Braun stood in front of the camera, situatating himself on his mark, before you peered past the lens and counted him down.

“Okay, we’re rolling in 3…2…” your voice died out, giving him the thumbs up and he began his promo.

Seth watched from the opposite end of the hallway, not paying too much attention to the words leaving Braun’s mouth, but more so the sight of you looking as if you were in your natural habitat. You silently helped the camera man pan in different directions as you followed Braun’s movement and gave him cues to speak louder or pause.

Usually in pre-taped segments or promos there were a lot of stopping and reshooting, most times because the producers wanted it absolutely perfect. However with you the process seemed a lot more laid back. A less stressful environment that they were used to back when Vince was around constantly picking apart everything to the point where everyone felt like they didn’t have any say whatsoever.

“And cut!” You announced out, clapping your hands as Braun relaxed up and came back around the camera to see what you thought.

Seth watched as you two exchanged a few words and nods, happy with the product that it didn’t need another take, so the crew began to clear out. You embraced in a quick hug, patting his back, before you spun around to get your mic and ear piece removed.

Seth then made his way to you, brushing past Braun in the process and giving each other a handshake before the giant went down another turn in the hallway.

“Hey, hey Ms. Director.” He chirped happily, getting your attention.

A smile immediately crossed your features, looking over your shoulder while your fingers fidgeted behind your back removing your mic and handing it off to a stagehand.

“Hey you,” you grinned, arms crossing over your chest, glad that he was stopping by to say hello.

“How was the sightseeing?” You eyed the wristband wrapped around his joint, the same one you recognized from the other superstars you ran into who had the pleasure of sightseeing the Statue Of Liberty after media this morning.

Seth rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, frowning somewhat, “Gotta be honest with you, it was pretty anticlimactic.” He confessed, causing you to laugh lightly with a scorn.

“You didn’t happen to get one of those ‘I Heart New York’ shirts did you?” You joked, and he chuckled, shaking his head.

“They did try to sell me one.” He retorted with a point of his finger.

In some odd way, the familiar knots that formed in your stomach when you listened to his voice over the radio were back again, only this time they kept you grounded, beaming warmly at him as warmth flushed over your skin. You knew it was nothing other than pure appreciation, guessing that if it was anyone else who said the things he did about you, you would be feeling the exact same emotions.

“Thanks for putting me over this morning.” You finally broke the momentary silence, politely reaching out to rest a cordial hand over his arm before dropping it back to your sides swiftly.

He thought for a moment, lifting his brows unknowingly not knowing what you were talking about before realization crossed his face. “You heard that?”

You giggled, nodding as you tucked your cheek into your shoulder. “It helps when you have a driver who only ever listens to the local radio.”

“Well, I meant what I said.” He said sweetly, watching you nod, before looking down the hall.

“Your dad wants to see me in his office. It’s about some chemistry read?” He supposed curiously, wondering if you knew what it was about.

You tilted your head, surprised for a quick second that your dad thought of him for the male lead, but you understood why—especially when he possessed the talent for it.

“It’s my final assignment storyline.” You revealed, wringing your hands together nervously, hoping he would like the script when he read over it himself.

“Really?” He was stunned, thrilled to read what you had after learning about it last week. “ I guess I really gotta nail it.” He cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck comically.

“I’ll see you, Seth.” You waved.

“See you,” He nodded, heading in the opposite direction.

You thanked the crew who were still hanging around, before setting off to your office to relax and answer some emails prior to the show starting. To your surprise, when you got there Xavier and his buddies Big E and Kofi were lingering around and immediately perked up when they saw you coming around the corner.

“Ah, Ms. Levesque! I’ve been searching for you,” Xavier stood, holding his arms out excitedly as he did a curtsy.

“What can I do for you Mr. Woods?” You said in your best English accent, bowing slightly making them laugh.

“So I don’t know if you know, but I run a YouTube channel called UpUpDownDown.” He explained, and you nodded enthusiastically, pointing to him.

“Yeah! You had my mom and dad on there, right?” You laughed to yourself, remembering the time you stumbled upon the videos and proceeded to tease them about how not so tech savvy they were these days.

“Oh, man, you really did do your research.” He complimented, happy that you had a jist of what he did outside of the ring.

“Anyway, I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming on the show? I think the fans would really love it, plus I’m always looking for new people to game with.” He shimmied his shoulders, hoping you would be down for the opportunity.

You grinned, immediately nodding, “Do you have Mario Kart?”

“You know I do.”

“Then I’ll be there!”

You invited them into your office so that you and Xavier could sit down and go over a day to film the content. You both settled for the upcoming week during on an off day where there weren’t any scheduled house shows or media to get in the way and cut the day short. The three were incredibly funny and made you feel extra included which was great because you wanted to form friendships and bonds, not just soley being the new writer or boss’s daughter.

You were thankful that Xavier thought about you for his side hobby that he was incredibly passionate about, and it gave you the perfect excuse to sit back and relax without worrying about work. Soon after they said their goodbye’s, a knock echoed on your door and the familiar voice rang through on the other side.

“Ms. Levesque?” It was Eddie.

You went to open it, smiling when you saw him. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Your dad wants to see you in his office.” He informed you, pointing down one side of the hallway as you stuck your head out.

“Did he say why?” You peered over at him and he shook his head with a shrug.

“Apparently, it has something to do with the chemistry reads, but that’s about all I know.”

“Okay, thank you.” You figured it’d be best to head to your father’s office first to see what he needed then get changed for the show.

“When you’re done, meet me in catering. You have some posters that need autographs, and we can catch up.” He offered with a smile, and you nodded.

Coming across your father’s office, you turned the knob, letting yourself in, assuming it must have been urgent if he sent Eddie as opposed to shooting you a text.

“Are we putting a pin in—hey!” You greeted, suddenly taken aback, with the setup in front of you.

A few creative members and producers sat along the elongated table with a camcorder set up on a tripod facing the opposite wall where none other than Seth sat, passing you a welcoming smile as he looked up from the script in his hands.

You smiled tightly, giving him a timid wave before peering over at your dad.

“You really weren’t joking when you said chemistry reads were you?”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he handed you another copy of the script.

“Have a seat, sweetheart.”

Your dad pointed you towards the empty chair next to Seth and with everything happening so abruptly, you didn’t question his instruction and went right ahead and made yourself cozy next to the superstar.

“I want you to read from the first page to right about halfway through the second.” Your dad directed you, and you nodded, beginning to go through the lines that were practically seared into your brain from all the proofreading.

You and Seth both gawked over at your dad, waiting for his cue as he fidgeted with the camcorder, hitting the red button before giving you both a silent nod and a thumbs up.

“Isn’t there something bigger you should be chasing after? Like WWE Championship for instance?” You began, eyes looking up to meet Seth’s.

He chuckled, shaking his head, wearing a maniacal grin. “If you have already forgotten, let me remind you…I’ve already held the most prestigious championship in this company. I’ve carried this company on my back, and even when my knee gave out, I came back to reclaim what I never lost, and now I want something else.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, trying to decode what he meant. “I can’t give you what you won’t say.”

“I’m looking at her.” He whispered, staring at you deeply as if you were the only person around.

Before you could get lost, a look of disgust covered your face, as you pulled back from him scoffing begrudgingly.

“You don’t possibly think I would want anything to do with you do you? I have my priorities straight and I don’t need you getting in the way of them.”

As Seth’s lips parted, getting ready to read the next line, your father cleared his throat, holding his palm up in the air and stopping you both as you looked in his direction.

“Now I want you both to improvise. Keep it rolling…” Your dad declared, guiding his hands in a tumbling motion and you both nodded getting ready to proceed.

Seth tsk’ed, fingers rolling up the script, as he tapped it against his leg.

“Haven’t you ever thought about it? The prodigy of Triple H, myself, and his genius daughter. What’s not to like about that?”

He smirked, looking you up and down before you promptly cut in, trying not to feel the warmth of your blood seizing in your veins. It was just improvising.

“You’re power hungry. Need I remind you this time that my father only did what he did because he wanted what was best for business? And sure, it might have gotten you high up that mountain, but it came crashing down just as fast when your loyalty meant nothing to him.” You retorted sharply, watching his smirk fall into a hurt expression.

“What makes you think I’m still that man? I changed, I became better, and I am better than I ever was before.” His voice suddenly held a gentleness, as if he was trying to prove himself to you.

You stayed indifferent, pressing yourself forward as you spoke with a sternness he couldn’t look away from.

“You’ll get clouded by that same power hungry haze sooner or later. You’ll never be able to outgrow the man that stabbed your bothers in the back with a steel chair, the man that sold out for his own success, and the man who reclaimed it all not because he was destined to, but because you care all too much about proving you aren’t who people think you are because you’re scared it might truer than you think.”

You both held eye contact, searching each other’s eyes for a fleeting moment all before a faint applaud broke the scene and caused you both to grin and look over at the table and your father who seemed rather fascinated with the chemistry you had.

“Was that any good?” You bit down on your lip anxiously, hoping their applause wasn’t strictly out of pity for your mediocre acting.

Your father stopped the recording, passing you a sly and proud nod.

“If I say ‘yes’ does it mean that you’re okay with starring in your own storyline with Seth?” He responded with a convincing expression.

Your eyes widened. “Seriously?”

He nodded and chuckled, walking around to stand in front of you both.

“We couldn’t find anyone who meshed well with the script playing opposite of Seth. Originally, I was going to put a pin in it, but I figured I might as well give you a shot before I called it off.” He explained.

“I mean, if it’s okay with you then I’d be glad to do it.” You sputtered, looking over at Seth with a mix of uncertainty and excitement.

The superstar immediately nodded, washing away your initial worry about him needing to work with a rookie like you. It was safe to say that you were clearly still getting used to be on camera, and you didn’t want to hinder the path of Seth’s career that was on a steady incline.

“I’d be dumb to turn this down. I would love to work with you on your very own storyline.” He grinned, your knees knocking into one another when he reached out for you to shake his hand as if you both were sealing the deal.

You clutched his softly, his hands giving yours a tender yet encouraging squeeze before you released at the sound of your father clapping his hands.

“Well, it’s settled…do you guys want to start tonight?”

Your eyes widened, looking at him in disbelief “T-tonight?”

“Yeah,” He shrugged, knowing you and Seth’s characters needed a little revamp, a different storyline would help a ton, “A little run in segment in the middle of the show. It’ll be great for your character and we can get the ball rolling on this thing.”

“We can work something out before the show,” Seth suggested, pulling out his phone to check the time, flashing it to you, “We have plenty of time.”

“Yeah, okay, that sounds somewhat reassuring.” You gave him a small smile, turning to your dad. “Do we have to hit anything specific?”

“The audience should know you know about him and his history, and that you aren’t too fond. That’s about it.” He looked back at the table of producers and writers who agreed.

“Wanna meet in my office in like ten minutes? I just have to get changed.” You looked down at yourself, still dressed in jeans and a fitted tee, plus some sneakers.

Seth nodded, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “I’m gonna head to catering for a little and I’ll come right over.”

You both got up, taking a moment to say thank you to everyone who approved of your script to get it this far this early. Seth took an extra moment to give his thanks to your dad who picked him out of the many superstars that could’ve fulfilled the role instead. As you exited his office, you pointed Seth down to where he could find you before you both waved a quick goodbye.

Seth had a smile glued to his face on the walk to catering, pleased that it was you who he was working with on a storyline that frankly was entirely different from any other he worked on in the past.

He certainly didn’t expect himself to be picked for the role, and to be fair he was a bit hesitant to take it because he knew your script deserved the utmost justice being served to it.

But when your dad called for Eddie to find you for the read, he just knew there was no way he would be able to let anyone else play the part beside himself if it meant getting to work with you.

It was safe to say Seth was in good spirits, honored that it was him getting to work with you for your first big storyline. And while he couldn’t take you on a proper coffee outing to thank you for last week, and now the storyline under his belt—he could totally try to make you the best cup of instant coffee to make up for it.

He walked through catering doors, making a beeline for the beverage table and retrieving two cups as he got to work.

“Did you get cut too?” Finn called out to him from the table nearby.

Seth chuckled, shaking his head as he twisted the spigot of the jug to dispense some of the coffee into the cups.

“Actually, no.”

“So who are they pairing you with?” Renee suspected, keeping her eyes on him curiously.

“Nattie?” Charlotte wondered, knowing she was also called in for the chemistry read earlier in the day.

“Over my dead body.” TJ called out from another table, causing them all to laugh.

“Sasha?” Finn pressed once again.

“Nope.” Seth said quickly, ripping two sugar packets and pouring it into your cup.

“Boss lady?” Roman called out jokingly.

Seth’s silence was all they needed to hear and before he could even tell them the good news, the entire room was filled with “oh’s” and “ah’s” coming from left and right.

“No fucking way.” Dean hailed, pressing his hands against the table, sitting up straighter in his seat.

“How in the hell did you manage to get paired up with her?” Renee choked, perplexed and entertained by the sudden news.

“Paul, made the call,” Seth exhaled annoyingly, turning to them as he stirred the contents of your cup. “He called her in to read and it just felt natural. We meshed and now we’re working together.”

The group of wrestlers whistled like a bunch of high schoolers struck with the fact that their very own friend was getting closer and closer to the principal’s daughter—or at least that’s how Seth saw it. Sure, they were all grown adults, but his friends especially were guilty of their childish play and this was one of those moments he wished ended sooner, but they were only getting started.

“Maybe Paul knew all along he wanted you and her together, and he held that meeting last week mostly for you.” Kofi quipped and everyone laughed, making him roll his eyes.

“Yeah, right, are you getting paid for these conspiracy theories?” Seth scoffed, shooting them all a glare.

“No, but I do know I’m not the one who’s potentially going to get his ass fired by Triple H if I get too cozy with his daughter!” He boosted, as everyone shook his hand and laughed cheekily.

“You wanna know what I think?” Seth got ready to leave, wrapping his hands around the warm cups.

“Please enlighten us Mr. Monday Night.” Renee grinned, propping her chin up on her fist.

Seth scanned the entire room with a smug smirk on his face. “That you guys are jealous that I’m the first one out of all of us to get a script written by her and I get to work with her.”

“Oh, shut it!” Charlotte rolled her eyes as everyone boo’d him out.

“Catch you losers later.” He singsonged, strolling over to your office with a victorious smile on his face.

Stopping in front of your office, he balanced his coffee against his chest, knocking firmly on the door, letting you know it was him. There was some shuffling and mumbling coming from the inside, smoothing out your skirt and top before you pulled the door open and met him with a smile as you tossed your hair over your shoulder.

“Hey, come in.” You opened the door wider, making room for him to pass, before shutting it behind him.

Seth stepped in further into your office, holding out one of the cups towards you, “It’s not the best coffee but I did promise you some last time.”

You pressed your lips into a thankful pout, taking it from him.

“I did need an extra buzz to get through the show, so thank you.” You laughed.

He watched as you took a sip, concern muddled in his orbs, hoping you’d like it, and if you didn’t, then he’d have to hope the sugar packets hidden in his pocket could solve the problem.

“Not too bitter is it?” Seth rose his brow skeptically, and you went in for another sip before shaking your head.

“It’s actually just right.” You swirled the cup in your palm, running your tongue over your lips.

“If we’re ever in Iowa, I’ll take you to a better coffee spot.” He offered, following your lead to the couch getting comfortable.

“You know a place?” You lifted your brow, falling onto the cushions, and hit him right beside you not a second later.

“I own it.” He said proudly, containing a chuckle when you snapped your head at him in awe.

“No way, you don’t.” You gasped, poking his arm thinking that he was just messing with you.

He shook his head, holding his hands up in defense. “Believe it or not, I’m a coffee connoisseur myself and decided to open up a little shop in my hometown.”

“Okay now you legitimately need to take me out for coffee.” You insisted with a stern point, the two of you began laughing.

“You have my word.” He promised, tipping his cup into the air towards you.

Sure it was a gamble to make such a promise, especially considering everyone’s concern about him getting in trouble with Paul for getting too close, but it also came with the territory of the business and if anyone knew what that was like then it was certainly your father.

You and him were strictly business…and friends. But nothing more than that. The way that you two smiled and held conversations with each other was strictly platonic—at least that’s what he was trying to convince himself as he stared at you tenderly.

He didn’t understand why his friends were causing such a ruckus between you and him, because surely they all thought that he was better than that, right? There wasn’t any plausible way that you or he could fall into something deeper than platonic friends…right?

“Oh! Let me grab my laptop.” You remembered getting off the couch, causing Seth to blink wildly, shaking his head at himself for getting caught up in his thoughts.

You sat beside him once more, this time with your laptop in hand as you set your coffee down on the ground before lifting the screen and typing your password in. He grinned behind his cup as he took a sip, eyes trained on the wallpaper of you and your sisters, plus a few dogs that he assumed were a part of the family.

“So, how should we do this?” You puffed out a breath of air through your nose, opening an application from the toolbar, causing another screen to pop up, an empty document.

You typed your name and Seth’s in the same line, followed by ‘backstage segment’ before assigning two different colors for your lines.

Seth slanted closer to you, and you looked up at him for a quick second, doing the same so you could tilt the laptop towards him, giving him a better view of the screen.

“Why don’t I come in looking for your dad, but it’s actually you I run into?” He suggested, looking at you for approval.

You thought for a second, eyes trained up to the ceiling, trying to paint the picture in your head, and before you knew it, there was a certain twinkle in your eye, suddenly looking at him with a thoughtful grin.

“Yeah, I like that.” You nodded, getting to typing away.

Effortless was the best way to describe the time that passed as you and Seth bounced ideas off one another. In fact, your office was filled with laughter, “oh’s” and “ah’s” that reflected the ease that came with the process that most times were filled with silence and pondering. He made it all feel easy, even with the worry that lingered in the back of your mind about being on live TV again.

You bit down on your lip, fingers working across the keyboard thoughtfully as you typed.

“Why don’t you do what your mother did and be gone witch?” Seth read it aloud as you typed and he covered his mouth, and you threw your head back laughing.

“No way! Your mom would kill, then your dad.” He grimaced lightly, causing you to giggle uncontrollably, sliding your laptop off your lap as you hunched over your legs.

“I personally think the crowd would pop over it.” You caught your breath laying back against the cushions.

“I like what we have so far. Usually sitting in script writing isn’t this fun,” Seth admitted, watching as you reached for your laptop and deleted the last line.

You hummed, tilting your head, “Writing has never not been fun for me. Sure, sometimes there’s writer’s block, but I always find that jumping from script to script can help.”

You saved the script to your laptop, pulling up your emails and sending it to Eddie with ‘please print’ in the subject line followed by a smiley face. He grinned, shaking his head as he sipped his coffee, watching you hit the send button before closing your laptop.

He swallowed the bitter liquid, the two of you sitting in short silence before he nudged your side with his elbow, getting you to meet his eyes.

“I’m lucky, really. There’s no one I would rather work with.” He spoke with a sincerity that made those knots loop and tighten in your stomach all over again.

It tugged inside of you in a way that you could not even begin to pinpoint. The idea of it being because you were starting to form a little crush on him just didn’t seem fathomable for reasons that you knew were obvious. He would never go after his boss’s daughter. You were the forbidden fruit he couldn’t have, and you were positive it was just you misinterpreting his kindness so foolishly.

Before you could even thank him, a heavy knock sounded on the other side of the door, causing you both to whip your head in its direction.

“Come in!” You called out, immediately standing and brushing your palms against your skirt.

It was a camera crew and sound techs lugging their equipment, as one of them spoke.

“Is it okay if we set up?” They proposed, looking between you and Seth.

You nodded, glancing over at the superstar who stood upright beside you.

“Yeah, of course, we were just wrapping up.”

They all nodded, letting themselves in to prepare for the segment tonight.

“I’ll meet you here okay?” Seth held his arm out, letting you walk into a small hug.

“Sounds like a plan.” You murmured, rubbing his back, watching him leave, hoping time would go by faster.

As if you manifested it, time certainly did pass by quicker than you anticipated and Seth was already changed into a fitted tee and black skinny jeans. His hair tugged out of the low bun he had been wearing and misted with leave in conditioner. He was reading over the copy of his script while you got your hair and makeup touched up and the camera crew began framing the shot.

One of the producers instructed you both to get into places, anticipating the end of the second match of the night where directly after the cameras would cut to backstage. You stood off camera, shooting Seth a thumbs up and a big ole smile, while a stage hand counted down and the cameras were live.

“Hello hello, is anyone here?” He tapped on the already cracked door, pushing against it and letting himself in, looking around.

You snuck in from the opposite side of the camera, revealing yourself.

“Can I help you?”

Seth stared at you surprised, for a split second before giving you a tense nod and looking past you.

“Actually, you can’t, but if you could get me your dad, then I think I’ll be able to get my issue resolved.”

You rolled your eyes, hands resting on your hips, “Well my dad’s actually a little busy right now, but I can assure you, whatever it is you need, I can assist.”

“Yeah?” Seth crossed his arms over his chest, meeting your eyes skeptically.

“Come on, hit me.” You nodded with a smile, feigning assurance as you guided him to tell you what he so desperately wanted.

“A match against—”

“Yeah no,” You cut him off, dropping the smile on your face and causing Seth to furrow his brows perplexed.

“Excuse me?” He spoke taken aback by your harshness.

“You don’t think I’m stupid do you? I know your history, Seth, and to be quite frank, I’m not the fondest of you. To be honest, I don’t even like you all that much.”

“Look lady, I did nothing to you, so I don’t see why you’re treating me the way you are right now.”

“It’s not about what you did to me, Seth. It’s about what you did to other people. What you did to your brothers, Roman and Dean. What you did to my dad after everything he did for you. And right now, I have my guard up because I don’t know what you’ll do to me.”

“I’ll have you know that I apologized to my brothers. We’ve moved on and they’ve forgiven me. As for your dad,” Seth paused, looking at you, “He got what he had coming…and so did you mom.”

You gritted your teeth, palm lifting up as if you were going to slap him before your dad, cleared his throat, entering the frame and you hurriedly lowered your hand and shot him a sweet smile.

“Hi dad!” You beamed, attempting to cut the tension in the small space.

“Hey sweetie,” He greeted you with a hug, ignoring Seth for a moment, before turning to face him finally, “You met my daughter I see.”

“She’s a real delight.” Seth faked a smile, and you rolled your eyes when your dad wasn’t looking.

“Was there something you needed?” Hunter requested, and Seth’s mouth opened about to speak.

“He was actually just leaving dad.” You interjected, shaking your head and gesturing Seth out the door.

But he stood in place, glaring at you until you hardened your gaze and pointed him out once more.

“Bye-bye now.” You twiddled your fingers, smiling evilly when he turned his back and walked out.

The camera cut back to the ring, and you immediately broke character with a giggle relieved that it went better than you had planned, and to your surprise you and Seth worked effortlessly. Your father shook his head, impressed by how good you were at playing the bad guy, even after you were initially opposed to being a heel because you didn’t know if you possessed any of the bad guy qualities.

“I’m sure everyone is now officially going to call me mom’s mini me.” You joked, meeting your father’s palm with a high five.

“You sure are.” Your dad grinned, ruffling the top of your head, a warm gesture of his approval that you always had.

The two of you moved towards your desk, allowing the crew to clear out with all their equipment, and it wasn’t long before Seth had made his way back in, wearing the same grin that you had glued onto your face even after the cameras called cut.

“For a second, I thought you really were going to hit me.” Seth shook his head playfully, rubbing his hand over his cheek where you were going to hit him.

You gasped dramatically, holding a hand over your heart, “I would never!” You insisted, the two of you laughing as your dad watched on.

He was well aware that the decision to have you and Seth work together was the best one he could have made, despite the oppositions who argued otherwise. Sure, many of the producers and writers were weary of Paul allowing his daughter to act in her very own script, especially a romantic one, but Paul knew better than anyone that you were the perfect fit, and Seth was the perfect partner to make it all happen.

While Seth was the one who named Paul one of his biggest mentors, Paul trusted Seth with not just his creative take on wrestling, but the ability to work with new talent not just to put them over, but to make him better in the process. It was no different from trusting Seth with you, knowing he would help you develop your character for the long run while also getting the chance to explore a creative direction that the fans had never seen from him before.

Your father knew you and Seth were the perfect match for TV and that was it.

“Wanna go to catering?” Seth suggested, hoping you’d tag along since he had virtually nothing else to do for the night.

You nodded, retrieving your phone off your desk. “Yeah, I’m actually meting Eddie there. I have a few posters to sign and he wants to catch up.” You shot Eddie a quick text that you would be there soon.

“Well, great job you two.” Your dad spoke, giving you both a pat on the back, content with how the segment went and hoping the fans would be excited for next week where they got to see more of you two together.

“Fun weekend?” Seth asked, falling into step beside you, walking through the hallways.

You nodded enthusiastically, retelling what you and your family had been up to.

“It was actually really fun and relaxing at the same time. Plus, I really hit a home run when my sister opened the present I got her.”

You unlocked your phone, opening the photos app, and scrolling to find the photo your mom snapped of you and your sister as she ripped open her present.

“What’d you get her?” He stared, watching as you slid through some images before finally finding the one and passing it over to him.

“It’s one of those vintagey polaroid cameras.” You explained, excitement woven into your voice, “And it’s not the modern ones they brought back into style. It’s like an actual one from the 80s I think? I found it at consignment store and picked up some film to go along with it.”

Seth laughed, fingers scrolling through the play-by-play photos which revealed your sisters surprised expression the more she got through the wrapping paper and realized what she got. It ended with you two embracing in a hug, and Seth smiled warmly at the thought you put in, making sure you got her something that was worth a reaction like that.

“She looks super stoked.” Seth chuckled, passing the phone back to you.

You hummed, pouting slightly at the screen a little at the screen and locking it. “I’m a little jealous because I’ve been wanting one myself.” You admitted with a laugh, shaking your head at your own wistfulness.

Seth smirked, opening the catering doors for you, letting you walk in first.

“You should get one. It’ll complete the whole director look you got going on.” He spoke, walking in behind you and gesturing his hand in the air over your silhouette.

You giggled softly, looking towards the table in the back of the room where Eddie was waving you over.

“I’ll be over there.” You pointed, and Seth nodded, giving Eddie a little wave before turning his attention back to you.

“Stop by if you have time.” Seth replied, tone inviting, tilting his head towards the table where all of his friends were seated waiting for him to join them.

“I will.” You assured him with a smile, heading to Eddie while Seth went to grab food.

The fine tip sharpie was nestled into your hand and you began the time consuming and finger cramping process of getting the stack of posters signed for the beloved WWE fans. Thankfully, you and Eddie both created an efficient rhythm where you would sign and he would stack them, keeping to process going smoothly.

“How was your sister’s birthday?” He swiped away another poster into the growing signed pile.

“Adorable! She had a few friends over for her birthday party, and she was surprised my dad and I flew down in time.” You gushed, hand working overtime to get everything done in one sitting.

“That’s nice. Why didn’t I see you Friday, by the way?” He was too busy with your father’s tasks for him to find you or shoot you a text last week.

“I got dinner with Seth and a few other people, and I caught a ride with them back to the hotel.” You stopped for a moment, looking at him with a soft smile. “Thanks for sending my stuff to the suite by the way.”

Eddie nodded, keeping the posters going, but not without a little laugh getting caught in his throat before he spoke, “Seth, huh?”

You furrowed your brows, the pen still working against the glossy photos.

“What about him?” You pressed, wondering what he was getting at.

Eddie shrugged, his knowing eyes avoided with yours trained on the photos in front of you. “Nothing, he just seems to cozy up to you that’s all.”

“Oh, come on, that’s not true.” You argued, shaking your head dismissively.

“You ran into each other like a billion times on your first day—two of which I was there to see with my own eyes.” He retorted, as if it meant something deeper than two people coincidentally bumping into each other.

“Well, we work together now, and now with the new storyline expect to see more of us together.” You replied, attempting to brush off any implications that it was deeper than surface level.

“In a cozy way or?” Eddie teased, knocking his foot lightly into your calves under the table.

“Oh my god, stop.” You groaned, rolling your eyes at his childish behavior that was borderline schoolgirl like.

“I’m messing with you,” Eddie eased up with a chuckle, “Plus, your dad already made it clear that talent is off limits.” He admitted, sucking in a sharp breath at the memory of the tense meeting just a few days ago.

“He’s not actually serious about that.” You countered with a huff, defiance creeping into your voice.

Eddie deadpanned, staring at you in disbelief, “What do you mean ‘not serious’? He is totally absolutely serious about it.”

You shrugged, not understanding what the big deal was anyway.

“Well for one, I am a grown woman who gets to decide what I want, and two, he and my mom literally did what he’s now tell me not to do, which is very hypocritical if you ask me.”

Eddie nodded, understanding your point, but at the same time weary of what your father was capable of if anyone thought about pursing you.

“No I know that, but…wouldn’t he like absolutely freak out if you went against him?”

“This is all hypothetical you know that, right? I’m not actually going to go after Seth.” You laughed lightly, shaking your head at him, hoping he knew you weren’t being actually serious about you and your new on-screen interest.

“What if Seth wants to go after you?” Eddie’s tone was suddenly a lot less teasing and more so serious.

“He’d be out of his mind.” You sighed, waving off the thought of that even happening.

“He already is.” Eddie muttered under his breath, eyes catching the sigh of Seth staring at you from across the room while you tried not to feel it.

Seth settled his eyes back on his plate of salad and grilled chicken, seated between Dean and Kofi as everyone began talking about the elephant in the room, which was you and Seth—of course.

“Nice segment,” Dean patted him on the back with a smirk. “You guys have chemistry.” He added, and the table agreed with hums and smiles.

Seth chewed his food and swallowed, nodding his head thankfully, “Well I mean, that’s why Paul picked her and I.”

Dean snorted, shaking his head with a lopsided grin. “I mean, romantic sexual chemistry.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Seth cursed, shaking his head in disagreement.

The table giggled and failed to hide their growing smirks, knowing damn well there was an unspoken chemistry between you both no matter how hard Seth tried to deny it.

“It’s no surprise when we were practically barging in on your date last week.” Charlotte piped with a soft whistle, sipping her energy drink through a straw.

“Hold up what?” Xavier’s eyes shot towards Seth, lifting a troubling brow.

Seth sighed, forking pieces of dressed lettuce onto the prongs as he spoke.

“We just went out to dinner and I walked her up to her hotel room. We were on the same floor, so it was just coincidence.”

“Chivalry, my man!” Big E hooted.

“Thank you.” Seth looked over at him with an empathetic expression, knowing at least he understood what it meant to be a courteous person.

But Kofi piped in, shaking his head. “Oh, it wasn’t a compliment. You’re down bad dude.” He corrected with a laughed, reaching across the table to give Big E a fist bump.

“What does that even mean?” Seth furrowed his brows confused, before ultimately shaking his head not wanting to hear it.

“We’re friends. And you guys have to drop this, we’re gonna be working together a lot and the last thing—”

Before he could even finish his statement, he felt a hand slide across the slope of his shoulder, causing him to look behind him, only to be met by you. Your stood above him, wearing your infectious smile as your hand remained on his clothed shoulder.

“I gotta run, but I’ll try to find you later if I have time.” You told him, eyes darting quickly to Eddie who was waiting up for you near the catering doors.

Seth nodded, immediately smiling, “Yeah, of course,” He replied.

He dropped the fork onto his plate, hand reaching up to cover yours. “Good job earlier by the way.”

You squeezed his skin tenderly, his rough fingertips grazing over your knuckles as you two smiled idiotically at each other. Everyone catching the way you both acted as if you were the only two people in the room—as if it really was just an innocent start of a friendship.

“Thanks. It always helps when you have a good scene partner to work with.” You spoke softly with another gracious nod.

With that, Seth let his hand fall off yours, and you brought your arm back to your side, finally tearing your eyes away from solely his and finally acknowledging everyone else with a wave.

“Bye guys,” you chorused, looking at Seth once more, mouthing “bye” and spinning on your heel, leaving with Eddie.

“That’s what it is.” Kofi muttered, draping his arm across Seth’s shoulder.

“What?” Seth finally tore his eyes from the catering door and his smile gradually dropped.

“That look on your face.” He pointed, gesturing a finger in a circular motion over his face.

“You being so gushy mushy over her? That’s being down bad my friend.”

Seth didn’t entertain the accusation, not even in the slightest convinced as he continued to eat his food and his friends went on with their badgering. He wasn’t down bad or whatever it was they were claiming.

All of it was completely and utterly foolish—he just wondered if you thought so too.

💌 reblogs, tags, comments, + likes are greatly appreciated! leave a comment and let me know if want to be added to my taglist!! 💌

a/n: i hope you guys like chapter three of icsy!!! i had been working on this chapter for awhile and it is longer than i expected it to be, but thats just me being a typical yappersorous (my bad). let me know what you thing!!! seems like reader and seth are down bad and they don't even know it just yet 😜

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sebstanaddict · 1 year ago

Text

The Prettiest Girl

Sebastian Stan x Reader One Shot

Summary: When you interview Sebastian Stan but all he wants is to flirt with you 🤭

A/N : I've been wanting to write this for a while. It's just a little something I wrote for fun. Hope it brings a smile to your face 😊

Warning : just pure fluff and maybe A Different Man spoiler although the movie isn't even out yet, so 😆

Word count: 2.9k

My other one shots >

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Soho, New York - November 11th 2023 - 3.50 pm

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Millions of soft icy particles fell from the heavens down to the earth on that fateful Saturday afternoon in Soho, New York. They covered everything from trees, buildings, pavements and the top of people's heads. Some had stuck on one particular window of an apartment and created beautiful patterns.

Y/n looked out the window and smiled. It had been snowing all day and it didn't look like it was going to stop soon. Everything looked white and the atmosphere felt serene and beautiful. Despite the cold she had always loved looking at snow and playing with them. She couldn’t wait to go out and make some snow men at the nearest park once the snow had stopped falling. But now she had a job to do.

She sat at her working corner in her bedroom and turned the laptop on. Moments later she opened the zoom application and started setting up her webcam so it showed her clearly with one of the walls in her bedroom as the background. She tidied her hair a little and fixed her white buttoned up blouse so that she looked presentable. Satisfied with how she looked, she entered the empty virtual room in the zoom application.

Her heart rate started to rise as she looked at her laptop screen. As a senior editor at one of the world’s top entertainment media, she was used to interviewing many celebrities. But that afternoon she was scheduled to interview the Hollywood A List actor and Marvel star Sebastian Stan, someone whom she had been in love with for quite some time. Despite having worked at the entertainment media for ten years, it was the first time she got the chance to interview Sebastian and she couldn’t help but feel very nervous about it.

She picked up the paper which had a list of questions she was going to ask him as well as some facts about his upcoming movie. Yes, one of the reasons for the interview was for him to promote the new movie. She had seen the movie and it was quite an interesting movie. She couldn’t wait to hear from him more about it.

She was re-reading the third question when the screen in front of her flickered and Sebastian’s face was shown on the screen.

“Hello!” Sebastian smiled wide and greeted her, making butterflies fly around in her stomach. How could someone look so gorgeous? She pondered as she stared at the screen and admired his beautiful face. Sebastian had let his hair grow but not that much. It was short but fluffy at the top. He had a very light layer of stubble like he just shaved yesterday. But of course it was his ocean blue eyes that mesmerized her the most.

“Hello Y/n.. earth to Y/n. Can you see me? Can you hear me?” Sebastian asked and she blinked several times, finally snapping out of being drowned in his gorgeous eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I can see you. I can hear you. Sorry.” She blushed as he smiled again at her.

“Oh okay, that’s good. I'm sorry but I'm currently traveling and I'm stuck in traffic right now. So if I get disconnected or something it's ‘cause I'm on the road.” He said as he turned his camera around making her see that he was in a car.

“Oh okay. You know if it's a bad time, we can do this later.” She suggested.

“Oh no, it's okay. I mean as long as it's not two hours long. You know.” He chuckled.

“Oh of course not. Depending on your answers this could take half an hour to an hour at most.” She replied.

“Alright. I'll try to keep my answers short.” He said.

“Well, if you need to elaborate please feel free to do that.”

“Yeah.. yeah.. of course.” He smiled and for a second she could see like he was really seeing her for the first time.

“You look great by the way.” He winked and she felt like her heart leapt out of her chest.

“Uh.. thank you.You look great yourself.” She blushed yet again that she was sure she looked as red as a tomato.

“Oh, thank you.. “ He smiled shyly and she could see that he was blushing too. She loved how he could sometimes be uncomfortable when people compliment him. It was so endearing to her.

“Anyway, how are you? How is Atlanta?” she asked. As it happened, Sebastian was in Atlanta to shoot the next Marvel movie.

“I’m good, thanks. Atlanta is, well, it’s been cold but not that cold. We’ve been shooting indoors a lot with wires and stuff. It’s been hard and exhausting. But, you know, I shouldn’t complain. I really shouldn’t. It’s been great fun.” He replied.

“Can you tell me if Anthony is there?” she asked with a small smile on her lips.

“You know I can’t tell you that. I signed an NDA! I can’t.” He chuckled.

“But.. maybe off the record I can tell you. Later on.” He winked again and she felt butterflies yet again. She couldn’t believe how flirty he was to her.

“Okay, anyway, are you ready?” She asked.

“Yes, of course. Go on.” He smiled and she felt butterflies again in her stomach. Maybe this was a bad idea. She thought as she tried to compose herself.

“Good afternoon, Sebastian.” She finally greeted him after hitting the record button and smiled at him.

“Good afternoon!” He answered, smiling wide at her.

“Thank you for doing this for us and giving your time amidst your busy shooting schedule.” She said.

“Oh no, thank you for allowing me to do this.” He said and she nodded.

“So, Sebastian, you have a new movie releasing soon called A Different Man, directed by Aaron Schimberg starring yourself, the Norwegian break out actress Renate Reinsve and the British actor Adam Pearson.” She said and this time he nodded.

“I had the privilege to see it yesterday thanks to you and the director Aaron, and I must say that it is a very interesting and out of the box movie. Could you tell me how you got involved with it?” She asked.

“Oh yeah. My agent sent me the script and I think it was such an interesting script. I mean, it’s very rare to see movies with this subject matter. The director Aaron had done another movie before this called Chained For Life that had a similar subject matter. In that movie he also cast Adam. And I watched the movie and I fell in love with it. The way Aaron told the story was very unique. I haven’t seen anything like it in a long while. And yeah, I thought that the movie was something that I would love to be involved in.”

“Aside from being the main actor, you are also a producer in this movie. Is that correct?”

“Yeah I am. It’s the first movie I ever produced.”

“What made you decide to be involved not just as an actor? But also as a producer?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about producing for a while but never got anything I was excited about until this one came. Aaron needed some help and seeing his talent and his previous work I decided to jump into it and help him out.”

“I see. So, in this movie, you play someone with neurofibromatosis, and you had to change your face completely. How did it feel to be under all those prosthetics and looking in the mirror and saw a completely different version of you?”

“It felt surreal of course. It took a long long time to get the prosthetics on correctly the first time. I think it took almost a whole day. But then they figured it out and the next day I basically just had to put on like a mask and then they added some more stuff on my face to blend it in.”

“Oh, that’s really interesting. I’m sure it helped a lot in your performance looking completely different.”

“Yeah, yeah. It helped a lot in that I just needed to look in the mirror and just like that I felt like a completely different person.” He said as he snapped his fingers.

“And it showed. Being someone who have seen your work a lot over the years, I must say you have done the best job of your career.”

“Oh my gosh. That’s.. really?” He asked, his face reddened and he put one hand on the side of his face.

“Yeah. Really. It was your best work in my opinion and I wouldn’t be surprised if you get an Oscar nomination for it. I really wouldn’t.” She smiled.

“That’s.. wow.. it means a lot, coming from you. Really.” He smiled and she couldn’t help but blush again. She couldn't believe he would say something like that.

“Umm.. yeah. Anyway, could you tell me how Adam and Renate got involved?” She asked, deciding to ignore what he said. She was just going to cut that part out and pretended he never said it.

“Oh yeah, with Adam it was a no brainer really. Aaron had cast him even before I got involved. Adam was actually involved waaay before I did. As for Renate. I had seen her movie The Worst Person In The World and I loved her performance in it. It was so real and raw. I knew when I read the script I wanted someone like her to play Ingrid. So I suggested her to Aaron and he agreed and I sought her out and well, the rest is history.”

“I can see why you wanted her to play Ingrid.”

“Yeah, she possesses this instinct as an actor that I haven't seen in a while. It was really a pleasure to work with someone who can keep up with you and even challenge you in their own way. You know. It was very rewarding as an actor to be able to work with someone like her. She was really something else. Kind of like you.” He winked.

“Excuse me?” She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“Yeah.. I'm sorry but.. umm.. I really have to say this. I have never seen any girl looking as pretty as you are, especially when you blush. You’re quite literally the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” He said and her heart seemed to leap out of her chest as she heard him. Once again she couldn’t believe how flirty he was to her!

“Oh stop it, Sebastian. I will definitely edit this out.” She chuckled as her face continued to redden.

“Oh no, don’t. I want people to see that.” he teased again.

“But that has nothing to do with the interview so I will definitely edit it out.” she insisted.

“Fine, I’m just gonna repeat it along the way, on the record and off the record, later on.” he winked and she just shook her head.

“Okay, back to the topic of your movie.”

“You’re so serious. I like that about you.” He teased her again and she felt herself blush yet again.

“There it is.. the blush. I love it.” He chuckled.

“Sebastian, please.”

“Please what, Y/n?” he asked as his voice suddenly changed to be huskier, as much as she didn’t believe it.

“Please stop flirting with me. I’m trying to do my job.” she protested.

“I'm sorry. I'm being really unprofessional aren't I?” He sighed and she nodded.

“Okay, I'm sorry. I'll try to be more professional as long as you promise me something.”

“Okay.. promise you what?”

“That you'll go out with me.”

Her heart seemed to stop as she heard him. This couldn't be happening, she thought in disbelief.

“You're in Atlanta and I'm in New York. How are we going to do it?” She asked, suddenly feeling courageous enough to tease him back about it because she was certain he was just joking with her for whatever reason.

“You know I go back to New York every weekend. So, we can go this weekend!” He said excitedly.

“Okay. Sure. I need to ask my husband's permission first though.” She said as an idea popped into her head and his eyes widened.

“Your husband's permission? I should have known someone as gorgeous as you is already taken. I'm too late aren't I?” He said dejectedly and she couldn't help but chuckle. He looked so cute pouting like that.

“Well.. yeah. You are too late. I'm sorry. But, he's quite an open minded person so maybe I can ask him.“ she said teasingly.

“Oh good! Where is your husband? Let me ask him myself.” He challenged.

“Wait here.” She chuckled and she stood up. She went to her bed and picked up a life size human shaped pillow with Sebastian's face on it then brought it back to her working desk.

“There he is. Sebastian say hello to pillow!Sebastian.” She said, showing the pillow to the webcam and the real Sebastian on the screen threw his head back and laughed.

“Oh my God! Hello pillow!Sebastian! I would like to ask for your permission to ask your beautiful wife out, please. I can't stand looking at her being so pretty like that. I must have her. Please. Could you do me a favor and divorce her?” He asked and she laughed.

“He said over his dead body.” She replied after her laughter subsided and he pouted again, making her laugh again.

“Hey pillow!Sebastian, I literally bought you for her and now you have the audacity to steal her from me?! Unbelievable!” He protested.

“He's sorry but he said he loves me and he can't divorce me.” She teased him again and he pouted yet again.

“Sweetheart, listen to me. I can’t do this and sit here miles away from you when you look so amazingly beautiful like that just teasing me with your pretty face. You have no idea what I'm imagining right now.” He said, gazing at her with eyes full of love and dare she said it, lust.

“Oh, what are you imagining?” she asked. Despite knowing this was very unprofessional of him, she couldn't help but be curious about it.

“I'm imagining being there with you and placing my hands on the sides of your face and just.. kiss that pretty lips of yours.” he said slowly, his voice low and husky.

She shivered as she listened to him and felt butterflies again in her stomach.

“I miss you, sweetheart.” He continued, staring at her with longing and she smiled.

“I miss you too, Iubirea mea.” she replied, making him smile.

“There it is. I love when you call me that.” He smiled.

“I love calling you that too.” She smiled.

“So, go out with me this weekend?” He asked and she of course couldn't answer with anything else.

“Sure. I'd love to go out with you, my darling husband.” She winked and he laughed.

“Glad to hear that my lovely wife.” he replied making her smile.

Just then his camera shook and he turned to the side.

“Oh, great! We're here!” He said excitedly.

“Sorry, I have to go, sweetheart.” He turned to her.

“Oh okay. Yeah. I'll talk to you later?” She asked.

“Wait.” He said as the camera continued to shake. She could hear the sound of a car door opening and closing and then the camera turned to show the sky as Sebastian continued to move.

“Seb? Sebastian?” She called out.

It seemed he didn't hear her as his phone's camera continued to shoot at the sky and then it showed a ceiling as Sebastian seemed to be entering a building. She studied the ceiling and thought that it looked familiar. Then it seemed like he was entering an elevator. A familiar ding could be heard as the elevator stopped and Sebastian got out of it. She continued to watch with a smile on her face as Sebastian seemed to be walking. Then he stopped and turned his phone's camera back on his face.

“Sweetheart. There's a surprise for you at the door.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes.

She laughed and immediately ran out of her room and towards the front door. She opened it wide and there he was, Sebastian Stan, staring at her like he saw the sun for the first time.

“Hi.” He smiled as he switched his cellphone off and put it in his pocket.

“Hi.” She smiled back, her heart beating so fast in her chest.

“I was right.” He said as he walked slowly closer to her.

“About what?” She asked, feeling like she was going to faint seeing him so close to her.

“You are.. literally.. the prettiest girl.. I've ever seen.” He smiled as he gently placed both hands on the sides of her face and gazed at her with longing.

“Oh shut up and just kiss me.” She said and he laughed.

And with that he pulled her closer to him and gently kissed her lips, causing fireworks to explode in her chest. She pulled him into her apartment and closed the door behind him as her plans obviously changed that afternoon. Interviews can wait. Snow men can wait. At that moment all she wanted was to be with him. Sebastian Stan. The love of her life.

#sebastian stan #sebastianstan #sebastian stan fanfic #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x y/n #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan x female reader #sebastian stan fluff

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msmoony7 · 1 year ago

Note

hey!! can you please do a fic with calum hood, maybe enemies to lovers and reader is the bands photographer or something like that (it’s okay if you don’t want to🫶🏼🫶🏼)

Love your work!!

note: hope u like it! I haven't written for 5sos yet AND i’ve never written enemies to lovers so i hope it’s good and enemy-y angsty enough. also pretend the first stop was LA and that the tour was six weeks idk how long it actually was this is just what i imagined for my little fanon fic LMAO. I kinda left this on a cliffhanger. Maybe part 2 soon??

calum hood x reader

word count: 1.84k

You wake up to the sun peeking through the cracks in your bedroom curtains. Although the weather on this day is perfect, your mood was anything but, and you wake up feeling sour. Today, you are presented with the difficult task of joining the band 5 Seconds of Summer as their tour photographer. You’ve been photographing artists for years now and it has truly become your passion. Whether it’s following an artist on your, or taking album art, you are living your dream with every picture you take.

That’s not where the difficulty lies. You know that you’re capable of doing your job and doing it well. The difficulty lies within the band. The name of that difficulty being the band’s bassist, Calum Hood. By now, you have a long history with the band. They first invited you to join them on the Take My Hand tour last year. You quickly became good friends with Luke, Ashton, and Michael. But for some reason, Calum just could not stand to be near you. Many days and nights were spent bickering between the two of you. Arguments would come up, about your creative direction and other bullshit he brought up, leaving you no choice to fight back, creating a lasting vendetta between the pair of you.

Of course, he made your job difficult as well. When photographing him onstage, he would mess with you and your work. Sometimes getting up in front of the camera and in your face, sometimes not letting you take any photos of him at all. And once offstage, he wouldn’t even look in your direction. Wouldn’t even address you. Despite this, your work speaks for itself and you received a message from Luke inviting you to join them again on this year's tour, The 5sos Show.

It’s been weeks since you got the tour invitation, and months since you’ve last seen the band. All the time in the world couldn’t prepare you for six weeks on the road with Calum Hood. What he had against you, you may never know. What you do know is that as long as he presents this dislike towards you, you will be doing the same right back at him.

Was putting yourself through all this stress worth it? You ponder for a moment when you wake up, but ultimately decide you made the right choice. You are set to meet up with the band and crew this evening before you set out on the road together, marking the start of the long six weeks ahead. You put on some music and start packing your suitcase.

After a while, you’re happy with everything in your suitcase and zip it up. Living out of a suitcase was difficult, but you’ve had prior experience so you know the do’s and don'ts of packing. You pack your backpack, carry on, and your camera supplies and before you know it, the day is behind you and it’s time to converge with the band. You call an uber to take you to the address Luke gave you and you’re on your way.

Traffic isn’t too bad, so you make it to the address quicker than you would have liked. The crew is already there, but the band is nowhere to be seen. You help yourself onto the bus and begin putting your things in your designated area. You feel the bus shift as someone steps on. Before you can turn around, you can already tell who is walking up behind you.

“Well, what do we have here?” you hear a sarcastic voice say behind you. You turn around and lock eyes with the bassist. He’s wearing grey sweatpants and a green 5sos sweatshirt. He looks adorable and cozy, and you hate him for being so gorgeous and so annoying all at the same time.

“Not even the first day of the tour and we’re already fighting, are we?” you spit back at him.

“Seems that way,” he replies before scurrying off to whatever hole he’s gonna bury himself in until he needs to be found again.

The rest of the boys slowly scatter onto the bus, and your meetings with them go better than yours with Calum. Everyone picks out their bunks and once everyone is settled onto the bus, the driver begins driving to the first stop on the road and you allow yourself to fall asleep for the night.

You wake up to the sound of fighting. It takes you a few seconds to shake off your grogginess before you hear two voices shouting back and forth at each other from the other end of the bus.

“You can’t keep acting like this!” you can hear Luke yell.

“Sure I can! I can't stand her being here and I’m not going to pretend I do.”

“Whatever, man. Do what you want, I give up. Just don’t come complaining when it comes to bite you in the ass.”

You can hear them shuffling around the bus as you stay hidden behind your curtain. Although your hatred for Calum was mutual, you couldn’t help but let a tear fall down your cheek as you lay in your bunk, thinking about everything you’ve had to endure from him in the past and will have to in the future on this tour. You are tired of feeling like this. Feeling beat down by him and his words, his actions. Now, you’re determined to get to the bottom of his hatred for you. You wipe away your tears, jump out of bed, and get ready for the day.

Tonight is the first night of the tour at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles. You’re excited. After all, you do love your job. You decide that the best way to get through the tour is to ignore Calum and his antics.

The day goes by quickly. The opening band is onstage and you’ve successfully avoided Calum the entire day. You grab all your camera equipment so you have it ready to go when the boys go onstage.

Calum sneaks up behind you, bass in hand. “Where’ve you been, y/n? Haven’t seen you all day, it’s almost like you’re ignoring me. You wouldn’t do that though, would you?”

“For the love of god, fuck off. Get away from me.” You huff at him while grabbing your camera and walking towards the side stage. The lights go off and he shoots you a wink before walking onstage. You push all this out of your head and get in front of the stage and start taking photos of the boys.

The night goes as well as you could have expected given your circumstances. You get some good photos of the boys. Calum was his usual self. This time around, he decided that whenever you got too close to him, he would turn around, making sure that you don’t get photos of his face or his instrument. Despite this, you do get some good photos of him. In all honesty, you think this is some of your best work. Calum looks really good. Even if you can’t see his face.

The boys all run offstage after the encore, high off of the energy from the gig. You shoot them a congratulations and you can see Calum heading in the opposite direction of you. Typical, you think.

The next stop of the tour wasn’t for another two days, so the boys are having a party to celebrate the tour kicking off. You follow Luke, Ashton, and Michael and see that the party is already in motion. Calum’s already at the bar grabbing a drink and your body moves before you can think and all of the sudden, you’re sitting next to him.

“What do you want,” he mutters sharply, not even looking up from his drink.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“Vodka cran,” he says to the bartender and nods at you. “I swear, whenever you get within ten feet of me I can feel my blood pressure rising,” he says in defeat as he gets up from his seat.

“Where’re you going? I thought we were finally getting along.”

“Back to the bus before I say something I’ll regret.”

And with that, he disappears out the door, leaving you confused as the bartender hands you your drink.

“I don’t know what his issue is,” you confess to Luke once you find him later that night. An hour or two has passed since you last saw Calum and you’re feeling tipsy from the alcohol.

“I wish I could tell you, y/n. I really wish I could. But we have no idea why he’s like this. We all love you and we love your work, I don’t know why he has it out for you.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. If I’m honest, I’m getting to my breaking point. I don’t think I can handle it anymore.”

“Want us to talk to him?” Luke says with concern written on his face. You can tell him and the other boys genuinely do care about you. It makes you feel good knowing that you have people to fall back on in this drama.

“Thanks, but I think I’m actually gonna go speak to him now. I’m just tired of it and I need answers now.”

“Well, good luck. Let us know how it goes.”

You say bye to everyone at the party and you leave to find Calum and get some long awaited answers for yourself. The walk to the bus is not far and as you’re approaching, you see Calum sitting on a bench outside, smoking a cigarette and looking up at the sky. He hears your footsteps on the ground and groans when he realizes it’s you.

“Following me now, are you?”

“Oh shut up, will you?” you say as you steal the cigarette from his hand, taking a drag before handing it back to him. “You’re an ass, you do know that, right?”

“What do you think, y/n.”

“I wanna know why.”

“Why what?”

“What do you think, Calum? You’ve never liked me. I’ve done nothing wrong. I literally can’t do this anymore, I don’t know what to do!”

He sits and thinks for a minute, leaving the two of you in silence. You stare at him as he stares at the ground ahead of him, waiting for a response. A minute goes by, then two. No response.

“Are you gonna answer me?” you yell. Still, no response. “Whatever, I’m done. Bye.” You say as you get up. You start walking in the direction of the tour bus when you feel him grab your arm and turn you around. Before you realize what’s going on, his lips crash into yours. At first, you don’t know what to do and you stand there frozen. He pulls away and just stares at you, and you stare right back.

“That an answer enough for you?” he says to you.

“Oh will you just shut up?” you say as you cusp his cheeks, pulling him towards you once more.

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peachesvanilla · 13 days ago

Text

Right where you left me

summary: it's been two years since you left Jongin at the altar. When he walked in you don't know what to do with your buried feelings coming alive.

pairing: Jongin x reader

genre: angst, childhood sweethearts to exes, bakery au, yearning

word count: 3k (not sure this is a drabble anymore)

a/n: i am finally done with this. I have written this twice, was not feeling the core emotions i wanted to feel while reading the first version. I know the request was childhood sweethearts, and I was going to write a short maybe little reminiscing themed drabble until I had that dream. I am not quite sure I articulated the feelings that well but I did give my best. Hope you like it!

Your fingers fly across the screen punching in the customer’s order. The next door neighbor, a 60 year old woman, pushes her spectacles up her nose, the glare visible behind her huge glasses. Your neck heats up in fear, she is gonna talk about it. You hope she doesn’t, it's been so long someone talked about that day that it made me believe it became history, one with the story behind the formation of this hometown.

The hometown, now covered in the snow from the snowstorm, unable to walk properly until you are knee deep in the snow. The roads are empty, and the chances of people visiting the bakery is slim. This was the reason you accepted to look after the bakery, when mom asked. And also it's her first request in two years.

“It’s 17 dollars.” You slid the to-go box to her.

Her hands are slowly taking the notes out of her wallet, she counts through the dollar bills as you rearrange the pens in the pen holder making sure everything is aligned cap up.

“You know I loved you, right?”

The pen holder slips through your hand falling on the ground with a loud clatter. Loved. Past tense. You give a feeble nod ducking down to gather the pens.

“I have known you two since your childhood.” She continues, “he didn’t deserve it. Whatever or whoever was the reason behind your leaving, he didn’t deserve it.”

You remain rooted in your place not wanting to face her or anyone. Hoping she goes away and leaves you alone.

“And you have the audacity to come now.” The sudden influx of her anger made you wonder if she is thinking about that day, “the kid is finally happy. Smiling. The color in his face is slowly coming back.” She slams the counter, “why do you always ruin things?”

Your heart cracks further, the pain aching the entirety of my chest. You fist your t-shirt near your heart, sucking in air through your mouth. Why is it so hard to breathe?

“Leave before he knows.” The chimes hanging on the door rings upon her exit, leaving me alone in the coldest afternoon.

The suffering comes back, the long nights you spent curled upon the bed, the wet pillows, and the lonely hums of the city traffic infiltrating my room back in Seoul. No messages or calls from either your family or friends. Why would they even when you destroyed everything with your own hands?

When you left everyone behind and made a run for your life. When your life is what you left behind. By the time you realized it, it was too late. And you didn’t have the guts to show up again.

You pull out your phone, your hands shaking as you open the photos app. You click on the folder, the secret one you have locked up for so long. His face fills up the screen. His cozy smile, warm brown eyes, and the slight dimple on his cheek showing up as he kisses on your cheek posing for the camera. Jongin.

Tears fall on the phone screen. You miss him. Miss him so much that it hurts. If only you could go back in time and rectify it, if only you could tell your younger self that it was going to be okay, it was okay to get married. It was okay to live under his love. And that if you walked away you wouldn’t find his love anywhere, no one comes near him. And no one is Jongin. And no one can love like him.

This is your fault. This is your doing.

He moved on. He is happy now. You are happy that he is happy, yet it still stings. He hates you now, doesn’t he? Jongin.

The chimes ring again, bringing you out of your reverie. Once you lock your phone, and wipe your tears, you stand up with a customer-friendly smile.

“Welcome to–,” your words falter seeing him walk in, “—gom bakery..”

He freezes at the entrance, the cold air slipping through the open door causing a shiver run down your spine.

He is tucked in warmly for winter, long coat dwarfing him, muffler around his neck, covering half of his face. His sharp brown eyes widen, staring back at you. The warmth you remember seeing during the long nights you spent in his arms is nowhere seen. The initial surprise fades away, mirth taking over his features.

“It's cold, Jongin,” the girl on his left arm tugs him in by his coat sleeve. “Ugh, winters are the worst.”

Your heart squeezes in your chest. He did move on. He is happy with another girl. Tears brim up your eyes threatening to fall, and you really don’t want to cry in front of him. That chapter is over, fifteen years of love ended two years ago the minute you left him standing at the altar.

The girl tugs his coat again asking for his attention, he gives her by jerking his face towards her. She gently pats on his arm watching his crestfallen expression, “we can go back home.”

You clasp your hands behind you, pricking on your thumb trying to numb the blinding pain in your chest with physical pain.

He shakes his head, “I’m fine.” He holds her chin, pressing a kiss on her forehead, his muffler still covering his lips.

You feel a trickle of liquid flowing through the ends of your thumb, grabbing a tissue and wrapping it around your bleeding thumb. You can’t do it, you can’t take it in. Are they married? Did he finally find the one who isn’t a scaredy cat and is courageous enough?

Does he hate you with his life? Does he hate seeing you now? How can you live knowing the only man you loved, love, hates to even see you?

“We will be quick.” She intertwines her hand with his, leading him to the counter. That should have been you. She gives a tight smile, she knows you, her eyes scanning the display.

You fumble the red stained tissue in your hands, think of something else, anything, the wind, the weather. The loneliness of your life roars back. God, it’s miserable. You feel like falling apart right here.

“Excuse me,” his girl taps on the counter gently.

“I’m sorry.” You are glad your tears aren’t falling down for once. “Are you ready to order?”

She nods, pointing at two different cupcakes and a croissant.

“Anything else?”

“No.”

You nod, creating the bill, “it’s 18.”

She taps her phone on the reader. Your eyes snatch on the empty ring finger. Relief floods through your system. You sneak a glance at Jongin to find him staring back at you, studying. His eyes slowly roaming across your face reminding you of the time when you came back from a week long trip and he didn’t let you go an entire day from him.

Your lips part as you try to breathe in, unable to look away. He tilts his head to the side, his eyes turning red. Look away. You scold yourself.

You print the bill and rush to get their order. “To go?”

“Yes please.”

You neatly put the cupcakes in the to go box, wrapping it close.

“We didn’t order the blueberry cupcake.” She informs you of the third cupcake in the box.

You freeze in your place, watching the extra piece. Blueberry cupcake. His favourite. Fuck. You laugh nervously, “on house.” Your cheeks burn in embarrassment. What were you thinking?

You take a quick glance at him just the way his girl does. His eyes are stuck somewhere else, his expression like a thunderstruck him. You follow his gaze, looking down your shirt.

Fuck. Fuck.

You duck down immediately, dropping the pen holders on purpose. You tuck in the chain hanging low around your neck, the ring dancing on your shaky fingertips. The proposal ring.

You grimace at your clumsiness. How can you let him see this? When you lied about falling in love with someone else. Your cover blew up. Fuck.

Schooling your emotions, you stand up, now quickly getting the croissant so that he can leave.

“I didn’t see you around,” the girl asks you, you can read the discomfort clearly on her face.

Who would be happy to meet the ex of their boyfriend?

“I’m visiting.” You reply curtly. “Here you go. Thank you for visiting.”

She smiles, looking at him watching him stay rooted in his place. The muffler comes off his face, his plump pink lips pressed in a thin line as he glowers at you.

Did he catch your lie? You beg he didn’t. You on purpose let him, or more like everyone in the town, know you moved on from him a year later. That you found someone. When you wanted him to move on, you didn’t deserve him. You couldn’t see him wasting his life away.

“Bye.” You turn away, disappearing into the kitchen. Please Jongin, leave.

After a few minutes you hear the chimes ringing. You heave a sigh, you weren’t sure you could look at him for one more second. Days spent telling yourself you have moved on, and Jongin is left far behind in your life. All the years you spent with him are a bittersweet memory, the one you wanna forget so it can ease the pain. But in the middle of the night you crawl to the discarded phone on the floor, opening his images, sobbing to the love that would have been the love of your life if only you weren’t ambitious. If only you didn’t want different things from life.

You are glad your lie worked, he found someone else. Someone who could love him the way he deserves, even if that someone wasn’t you. It was fine, you could try to live with that. At least one of you is happy.

—

No matter how much you pacified yourself you couldn’t forget them. Does he like her more than you? Does she know he likes to cuddle? Likes when you pat his head after a long day? And he can’t eat anything bitter? He hates seeing women cry? He hates keeping secrets, especially the ones kept from him even if it's a surprise? He hates having his bed empty when woke up. And his hands find yours in the middle of night tugging you in his arms.

You tumble across the bed hoping these thoughts go away. The comparison, the analyzing of his kiss he gave her, and the ones you used to receive. You don’t think you can handle seeing him love someone more than he did you. You can’t live a life where you constantly diagnose every move of his, receive hate from the entire town, and hate yourself for something you did thinking you were protecting yourself.

You have to leave first thing in the morning. One more look at him, you will run into his arms begging for him to forgive you and take you back. And that no goals or aspirations are greater than him. You are willing to go wherever he goes. You are ready to kill a part of yourself for him.

The tears dried up on your cheeks, you stared at the frozen window listening to the snowfall. You lift your head in alert hearing a creak, the darkness engulfs your room completely, and you have no energy left to find where your phone is. Resting your head on the pillow, your fluttering close as sleep consumes you.

The door opens with a creak, you jolt up in the bed ready to scream. A hand cups your mouth preventing you from calling for help. And then you realize who it is. First the scent of his musk perfume dwarfs you in memories of you gifting it one day and he never looked back. His signature scent. Second the roughness of his palms, and third the sneaking in. He always snuck in every night, asking for cuddles and he promised he would leave before your parents woke up.

Jongin.

You grab his hand from your lips assuring him that you aren’t gonna scream. The bed creaks from his weight, he settles before you, a breadth away from your face. His hands fall into his lap, his knee nudging yours over the comforter. His scent drowns all of your questions momentarily, the need to nuzzle in his chest becomes unbearable.

“Why?” His voice is a whisper, one with the sounds of snow, you lean closer to listen. “Why, now? Two years. I waited for two years.” His angry hold on your chin jerks you up. “I was happy. With her.” His fingertips press into your cheeks, a jab of pain coursing through your body. “And then you came in.”

His hands trail to your neck searching for your chain, he tugs on it holding on to the ring once it is out of your shirt. “And I see this. Someone who moved on won’t be wearing the ring her ex proposed with.”

A flash of light from the window illuminates your room. His eyes are red, tears brimming. He is closer than you could feel, his lips hovering over yours. Pain, and hurt in his words crumbles your insides. You destroyed a man who gave you nothing but love.

“Jongin…” You hold on to his cheek. He flinches away from your touch. You drop your hands to your lap, curling them. “I’m sorry.. I didn’t expect you to come to the bakery. I am really sorry.”

He lets out a laugh. “Sorry.” He lets go of your chain. “Do you think sorry can fix me?”

You reach out for his hands in his lap. “Jongin.. Please,” your voice trembles from suppressing a cry.

“A sorry for leaving me on the altar–” you feel wet drops falling on your hands “–leaving me? After fifteen years of love? Sorry can fix my endless nights of tossing around wondering what did I do to deserve this from you? You, who knows me in and out, the one who sailed through ebbs and flow, and still you left me.”

“I–”

“I was lonely!” He spats, pushing you away. “I was lonely, I was going crazy. I couldn’t get out of bed, I couldn’t even brush. And you were in a city, posting pictures of how beautiful your life was there. I was dying here. Anywhere I go all I see is you.”

“I’m sorry.” A sob escapes your lips. “I am really sorry, Jongin.”

“And I got to know you found someone else.” His voice is shaky, “I couldn’t believe it. You, my baby, in love with someone that is not me? I can’t believe it. I waited, and waited, hoping and dreaming you would realize that it was me all you needed. And you never came. Did you forget me?”

You are conflicted. Should you confess or let him believe that you moved on. He has a girl, he moved on and no one has to know that all of your acts are a lie, and you were miserable in the new city, and you were slowly dying. But you couldn’t go back to him, not when he couldn’t even grasp your feelings then.

“It took me time,” you lie, “but I started liking other things.”

“Liar.” He grabs your chain, pulling you in. “Tell me more lies.” He nuzzles his nose into your cheek, his lips brushing over yours. “Tell me.”

Your brain short circuits at the proximity. It’s been so long, the feeling of him is driving you crazy. Your eyes flutter shut, “I don’t love–”

He crashes his lips on yours, drowning your lies. He nips and bites your lower lip. “And?” He whispers in between.

“I’m serious,” you pant, “I have a boyfriend back home.”

“What did you say to him when he asked about this ring?” He rests his forehead on yours. “What lie did you create now?” His hand slips under your tee, holding on to your waist.

You stare at his lips, listening to his heavy breaths. The kisses and his touches cracked your brain wiring, the need inside you absolutely feral. You want him. You need him. His question is not registering in your mind as your hands slip around his waist in a habit. He sucks in a breath, moving back sitting on the bed comfortably allowing you to sit on his lap.

You settle on his lap, peppering kisses on his neck, gripping his hair. You missed him. Missed the feel of his arms around you. You inhale his scent, happy pheromones releasing inside you. Home. You are finally home.

His hand spreads in your hair, tugging at your strands pulling you away from his neck. “Answer me.” He tugs it hard, “what did your boyfriend say when you had my ring on you while he fucked?”

“I—” It stings when he pulls your hair harder.��

“Did he touch you?”

He pulls you closer, your fingers brush his tear stained cheeks. Your heart aches knowing you were the reason for his pain over the years.

“Why does it matter to you?” Your voice is a whisper, “this is wrong, Jongin.” You touch is his lips one last time, some sense coming back to you. “You have a girlfriend. She seems sweet.”

You press your knees on bed, attempting to slide off of him. He tugs you back, shaking his head.

“Jongin..” tears fall down incessantly on your cheeks. “Please. Stop making it hard.”

“I broke up with her.” He confesses, his lips at your neck. “I don’t have anyone. I can’t have anyone else.” He grips your back in a tight hold, “you don’t know how much I hate you. I wanted to kill you when I saw you and also,” he hesitates, “I wanted to hold you, feel you.”

He cups your cheek, “you are rooted in my life, my soul. No one is you. No one can love me like you do. I want you back, even when you left me alone. I was an ass. I shouldn’t have rushed you. It was my mistake too. Please come back to me.”

#kai #kim jongin #kai x reader #jongin x reader #kai imagines #kai fanfic #jongin fanfic #exo drabble #exo fanfic #exo #jongin #angst

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dr-spencer-reids-queen · 9 months ago

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Worst Fears Come Alive

Pairing: Jennifer Jareau x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.9k

Warnings: angst, stalking, kidnapping, fluff at the end

Summary: After JJ is kidnapped, you and her team work endlessly to figure out what Mark wants and what his plans are. KNwoing he wants your company, you come up with a plan thatt might be crazy enough to work.

There's Beauty in Tragedy Masterlist

Square Filled: duct tape for @badthingshappenbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

He’s been sitting in front of JJ since he brought her back to his studio. Well, studio is a relative term. If studio means a boarded up old house that belonged to his dad, then sure, studio. This isn’t the first time he’s used this house for nefarious reasons and it’s not going to be the last. JJ isn’t the first woman he’s brought back here, and if everything goes his way, she won’t be the last.

JJ’s head rolls to the side and her eyes flutter open. She tries to move her arms and legs but realizes they’ve been tied down to the chair she’s sitting on. She doesn't have duct tape over her mouth because he wants to hear her pleas. He wants to hear her beg for him to release her. She looks around and panics but not as much as he’d like her to. Her eyes find him and she swallows thickly.

“You don’t know Y/N, do you?”

“I know her quite well. I just lied about how I knew her, that’s all.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“If you’re lucky and things go my way, nothing.”

“What if things don’t go your way?”

He unsheathes a long blade from his jacket and JJ’s eyes widens in fear.

“Then they’ll have a hard time finding your body when I cut it up into pieces.”

It’s been two hours since JJ said she’d be at your work for the flowers and note. She always takes your safety seriously so you thought she’d be here within twenty minutes. With a shake of your head, you pick up the phone and call the BAU. Come on, JJ. Pick up the phone. Tell me you’re running late. It’s not JJ who picks up the phone, it’s Spencer.

“Hey, Spencer, it’s Y/N.”

“What’s up?”

“Is JJ there?”

“No, she left for your office.”

“She never got here.”

That makes Spencer a bit suspicious but he tries to think of a rational explanation.

“Maybe there was traffic.”

“For two hours? I think something happened to her. You know what? I’m coming down to you. I’ll be right there.”

You hang up and gather your things without the note and flowers. You’ll deal with that later once you know JJ is safe. When you get to the BAU, everyone is gathered in the briefing room. Spencer brought his concerns to everyone else and now they are trying to locate her. She’s not answering her phone and no one knows where she is.

“I would have asked my security team to look at where she might have went but I think you’re faster,” you say to Penelope.

“You’d be right.”

She hacks into the cameras outside of the BAU to track where JJ went. She tracks her all the way to your office building. Instead of going inside your office, a man stops her outside. You’re not sure what they’re talking about and the man is at an angle where you can’t see his face so you’re left to wonder who this is. JJ follows the man to the alleyway next to your office and out of view of the camera. Penelope frantically searches for another camera but there isn’t one pointing to the alleyway. You’ll have to hire someone to put one there now. Minutes later, a black van pulls out of the alleyway and you have a sinking feeling JJ is in there against her will.

“Can you see where the car went?” Derek asks.

“Let me see.” Penelope tries to follow the van, and she can for a few streets until it pulls onto a back road that doesn’t have any cameras. “I can’t follow him in there.”

Your heart starts racing. Your eyes water with tears. Your hands shake. Your entire body feels hot. Panic overcomes your senses. JJ was kidnapped. JJ is in danger.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

You barely hear whoever said that but you do feel hands on your shoulders pushing you to sit in a chair. A hand flat on your back pushes you down so that your bent at the waist. Your head rests between your knees as you will your fears to go away.

“Okay, what do we know?”

“Can you play that video again?” you ask and sit up straight. You walk behind Penelope and watch the video again, this time paying attention to the man. When he pulls out of the alley, he looks right into the camera. “Stop it right there.” She does. “No fucking way. Sorry for my language.”

“What is it?” Derek asks.

“I know him. That’s Mark Temple. He was in my graduating class in business school.” You tell them the history you have with him. How he’s a manipulator, a thief, and a coward. “He’s been trying to buy out my company for a while now. I refuse to give him the light of day.”

“In most hostage situations, the person will likely demand what they want in exchange for who or what they’ve taken hostage--this case it being JJ,” Spencer explains.

“He wants my company. He wants my wealth, my fame, my designs, everything. I never thought he’d go this far. He was very good at manipulating with words so he never needed to resort to violence.”

Penelope works quickly to look up Mark in her system.

“Here we go. Mark Temple graduated from Harvard with a 4.2 GPA. After college, he bought Silver Linings for a million dollars from one of his classmates before running it to the ground when he couldn’t keep up with it. After that, he bought out Starship Interprises then Tech Mougles then Royalty Jewels. All of them he ended up running them to the ground before selling them and buying out the next.”

“He wans to do the same with mine,” you say bitterly.

“Wait a second. He has a record. He’s never been arrested but there are countless charges of assult and battery, domestic violence, and witness statements from women who he abused. They’re all allegations, though, but the police department kept everything on file.”

“What? He did that to those women?” you gasp at the news.

“Where does he live?” Hotch asks.

“He doesn’t have one. He only has a PO Box he visits regularly.”

You get tears at the thought of what JJmight be going through.

“What is he going to do with her?”

“Hopefully nothing,” Derek answers, “until he makes his first demands.”

“When will that be?”

“Whenever he decides to make the call.”

It as if he’s listening because your phone rings from an unknown number.

“It’s him.”

“Don’t answer it yet. Garcia?” Hotch asks.

“Already on it.”

Penelope works to tap into your phone so she can trace the call. When she’s ready, she nods for you to answer it. It’s so silent that you can hear a pin drop. You answer the call but place it on speakerphone so everyone else can hear. You plan to go into this with a calm head and voice but as soon as the call is connected, you blurt out the first thing that pops into your head.

“I swear to God if you touch one hair on her head…”

“Y/N, baby, let’s not get violent,” Mark says. You can hear the smirk on his face.

“What do you want?”

“You know what I want.”

“Is this what you did to those women and men in college? You’d hurt them and steal their designs and money?”

“What I did back then has no relevance to what I’m doing now,” he says angrily. “I have made it clear what I want.”

“You want my money? Twenty million is yours. Not enough? Fine. Sixty. A hundred! Just let JJ go.”

Mark starts laughihng and you want nothing more than to slap that smile off his fat smug face.

“See, I used to be after the money. Then I realized I can get so much more with their companies. Hand over your company to me and I’ll let her go. No harm will come to her if you comply.”

“Don’t do it!” JJ yells from the background.

Your bottom lip wobbles emotionally. She doesn’t sound hurt but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t touched her.

“Shut up before I make you,” Mark snaps at her.

“You must know by now that she is FBI. Even if you do get my company, you won’t get away with it.”

“You let me worry about that. I’ll give you twenty-four hours to make a decision or I’ll start cutting her up and leaving her on your front porch.”

As soon as he hangs up, you start crying. All your hard work will go down the drain. None of that matters if JJ’s life is threatened.

“Did you get a hit?” Derek asks.

“No. I got a very vague location but nothing to pinpoint where he is.”

You stand up and dial someone very important. There is no question or doubt in your mind on what you have to do.

“Who are you calling?” Spencer asks.

“My lawyer. I have to draw up a contract.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Derek says.

“If I don’t, she gets hurt. I love her, Derek. I can’t let her get hurt because of me.”

“He gave you twenty-four hours. Use them. He couldn’t have taken her far. He took her two hours ago. Where could he have gone in two hours?”

“I will work my magic and try to track that car,” Penelope says and leaves the briefing room.

You sit back down and put your head in your hands as you cry. You can’t imagine losing the one women you’ve loved this much in a long time. Derek walks over to you and places a comforting hand on your back.

“I know you love her but we do, too. We don’t give up here. Get your lawyer to make the contract if you want, but we’re going to use these twenty-two hours to come up with a plan. If it doesn’t work, we’ll do it your way.”

“Okay,” you nod and sniffle.

Your lawyer was pissed when he heard about what happened but was super understanding. He agreed to draft one up along with some other things but you were too emotional to listen to him. You’re still too emotional because all you can think about is what Mark might have done to those women and what he’ll do it JJ.

You’re not FBI. You’re not a profiler. You don’t know what they’re doing but you know you trust this team. JJ trusts this team to do the right thing.Four hours go by without a word from Penelope but by the fifth hour, she walks into the briefing room with her laptop.

“It took five cameras and a few zooming features but I got the license plate of the van. It’s not registered in Mark’s name. It’s registered for Joseph Manning.”

“That’s his real father’s name. He was adopted at an early age.” A lightbulb goes off in your head. “What if he’s staying at a place registered in Joseph’s name?”

“You might be onto something, Miss,” Penelope grins and sits down at the table. You look at the clock and realize you only have seventeen hours left. It’s a lot of time but you can’t help but think you only have minutes to spare. “There is one property in the middle of town that belongs to Joseph. It’s been under construction for years.”

“That’s why he needs a PO box. His mail has to go somewhere,” Derek says.

“We know where he is. Now we need a plan to get in there.”

“He wants me,” you say. “My lawyer came up with a contract that he needs to sign physically if he wants my company. Use me to get her out.”

“We still have seventeen hours to come up with a different--”

“Derek, I have a contract. I know what you’re thinking. Can you find it in yourself to trust me? I know what I’m doing.”

“Okay,” he nods after a moment.

You take out your phone and dial Mark back using the same unknown number he used to call you the first time. You place him on speakerphone so everyone can hear him.

“Am I going to have to get violent in seventeen hours? Maybe I’ll make it two and cut your time short.”

“You want my company? Fine. I have a contract stating it’s all yours. All you have to do is come here and sign it.”

“No, I’ll have someone pick it up and bring it to me.”

“Mark, this is my company that’s worth billions. Lawyers have to be present.”

You hear him curse but he covered the speaker because it’s muffled.

“Where do you want to meet?”

“My office. I’ll have everything ready. I’ll make sure we’re alone. Just us, the lawyers, and JJ.”

“Do I sound stupid to you? Like I’m going to bring her with me and have you skip out on your end of the deal,” he scoffs.

“You did the one thing that would ensure I follow this through. Bring her or no deal.”

“Fine,” he snaps and hangs up.

“He’ll come. We’ll be ready.”

You take this opportunity to tell them your plan. There is no way in hell you’re giving up everything you’ve worked so hard for when you know there is a way to get JJ back and keep what you have. Once the plan is set in motion, you and your lawyer wait for Mark and JJ in your personal conference room. You’re really nervous because what if he knows? What if this doesn’t work? What if he has already hurt JJ? What if--

“They’re here,” your assistant says over the small speaker by the desk phone.

“Let them in,” you respond.

The conference door opens and Mark walks in with JJ in front of him. It’s not surprising that she has duct tape over her mouth. What’s surprising is that he has a gun to her head. Remain calm. He might shoot her if you freak out. JJ is terrified but you have to remain calm if you’re going to come out on top.

“Where is it?” Mark asks.

You point to the thick contract on the table. “Right here.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

“Did you not hear me over the phone earlier? I love her and I will do anything for her, including this.”

“Back up.”

Mark walks JJ over to the table while you and your lawyer back away from the table. He looks at the contract and flips through the first few pages before shoving JJ over to you. She stumbles but you catch her in your arms.

“You’re safe. You’re okay,” you whisper and smooth back her hair.

Mark does the one thing you are counting on him to not do: reading it. He flips to the tabs and immediately signs it without so much as a thought. If he had read it, he’d know this isn’t a real contract. He keeps the gun on you as he finishes with the last signature. He lowers the gun but keeps it locked and loaded.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” he grins.

He grabs the door handle and pulls the door open but he’s stopped by Rossi, Derek, and Hotch all with guns trained on him.

“Mark Temple, you’re under the arrest for kidnapping, breaking and entering, harassment, and attempted murder.”

“With what proof?”

“You just signed a confession statement,” you say. He turns to you with fire in his eyes. “Everything you did, you attest to.”

“You bitch,” he growls.

He raises his gun to fire at you but Derek is quicker than him. He slams his body into Mark’s and pushes him down onto the table. The gun is knocked from his hands and you pull JJ into you to protect her. Mark struggles against Derek’s body but Derek is much larger than Mark. He doesn’t have a chance. Rossi hands him handcuffs and Derek slaps them onto his wrists. You turn to JJ and gently remove the duct tape.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”

“I need a medic up here,” Hotch says as Derek takes a struggling Mark away.

“Hotch, I’m fine--”

“You’re getting looked at. I’m not arguing with you,” you say. She nods and relief immeiately floord through your body. “This time, it’s you who needed saving.”

“As long as you’re the one who is saving me.”

You pull her in cose and kiss her with so much love but also relief that she is okay. The paramedics come and check JJ out, deeming her physically okay. You’re sitting with her on the back of the ambulance with one arm wrapped around her body.

“I don’t care whose house we move into. I need you with me. I want to live with you.”

JJ smiles and kisses your cheek.

“I’d love nothing more than that but I want you to do that not because you fear for my safety but because you want to without any stipulations behind it.”

“Using my own words against me, I see,” you chuckle.

“I’m joking. I’d love to move in with you. I’ll be honest, I quite like your house.”

“My house it is,” you grin and kiss her again.

You’re ready to put this behind you and start the next chapter of your and JJ’s life together.

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

#jennifer jareau #jennifer jareau x reader #jennifer jareau fic #jennifer jareau fanfiction #jennifer jareau fanfic #jennifer jareau angst #jennifer jareau fiction #jennifer jareau fan fiction #jennifer jareau fan fic #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds angst #cm

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floralflytrap · 1 year ago

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Gekko, Phoenix and Yoru with Photographer S/O | HEADCANONS

Word Count: 500+ I love photography as a hobby and thought yknow what, a photographer reader is so cute! love love love <3

PHOENIX

He loves the fact that you are into photography

After seeing your photography he begs asks very kindly for you to take photos of him for social media

Loves seeing the collection of cameras you have stocked up

He asks for cute couple photos all the time

You definitely take multiple photos with a Polaroid camera just for him x

You have a collection of pictures of him during training, which he has NO clue you have

He always says you should look at putting your photographs in competitions, to which you show him photos of you at the ones you’ve won, which is a substantial amount.

He’s proud that his partner is so damn talented and will 100% flaunt that

“Yo, have you heard about y/n? THE best photographer ever!”

You should be proud that he’s so proud of you <3

He saves all the photos that have fire incorporated into them in a folder called “FIRE PICZ 🔥🔥” like the loser he is

Your favourite photo of him is one you took while he was setting up the fire place. He truly looks good in warm, golden lighting.

GEKKO

First he asked about the Polaroid photos you owned

You showed him your cameras and showed him how to use the Polaroid camera

His first photo with it was a shaky one of you (it immediately went into your phone case as soon as it developed)

Absolutely loves doing photoshoots with his buddies! Wingman is a natural at modelling!

You start printing out photos and make a scrapbook as a gift for Gekko

This man bawled like a baby when he saw it

You always sneak the cutest photos of him! Gekko is naturally photogenic, a fact that you VERY much value

He is your muse <3

Asks you to send the photos you take for photo dumps online, to which he always tags you

He starts randomly gifting you a shit ton of camera equipment? Like out of NOWHERE, and it wasn’t even compatible with your cameras. But it was the gesture that counted, right?

“Y/n! I’ve got a surprise for you, close your eyes!”

Turns out he actually bought you a whole new, flashy camera.

You cherished it, and used it so much (RIP old cameras, you had a good life)

The man received many smooches <3

Y’all also definitely have multiple polaroids of the two of you smooching

Your favourite photo of him is one where he is napping on the couch surrounded by his creatures. He looked so peaceful, and that is very beautiful to you.

YORU

Was taken aback when he first saw you walking around with a camera

‘I’ve been dating this person and never noticed this whole ass camera? The fuck?’

Was “grumpy” when he saw the secret photos you took of him

He actually loved him, especially since you captured his good side

He loves the photos you take of him at casual locations and on dates

LITERALLY OBSESSED WITH THEM!

Makes them his profile picture

Although he hates you lovingly for the folder he found on your phone called “yoru eyeliner pics”

He will go through the shared folder you set up of your photos and look at them and smile because wow you’ve taken your time to set all this up and take these photos.

He feels special

Will be so chill about it to your face though, you don’t need to know he’s obsessed with the photos

Borrowed lipstick one time and told you to put it on and kiss him for a photo.

Those photos become PINNED ON HIS DAMN SOCIAL MEDIA

Cheeky mfer, that's why you love him though xx

Your favourite photo of him is one you took when he was waiting at the traffic lights after it had just rained. The way he looked surrounded by the city and lights reflected in the puddles on the road and sidewalk? To die for.

Thank you so much for reading <3

#yoru x reader #phoenix x reader #gekko x reader #valorant x reader #valorant hcs

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tektronixtechnology · 1 year ago

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junos-jrabbles · 3 months ago

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small angry man gone!

authors note, i'm not looking for gifs on this ASS wifi ever again, so don't expect pizazz from my laptop posts... (note!! i figured out how to do a hotspot, no more fiddly wire! yahoo!) continuation to this because i waaaas going to do another prompt, but i wanted to write the average autistic shopping experience (real) anyway goodnight guys!! :) enjoy the boring read i promise ill write something fun eventually, maybe something spicyHAHA Traffic Lights pt.2, Sniper/reader, 1.2k words (again!)

“Milk, eggs, lasagna sheets–” A soft snicker sounds off next to you, and you shoot a sidelong glare in it's direction.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m not gonna feed you in a minute.” That shut him up quickly, and Sniper proceeded to turn tail and head down the liquor aisle of the gas station you had had to stop at. It wasn’t exactly your choice to stop here, quite the contrary, after your little bump in the road, (and a new felony charge to add to Sniper’s repertoire, you probably counting as an accomplice) the camper had run fine, and you had about a half hour left to get to the shop, but well, it didn’t quite go to plan.

Five minutes in, the engine had began to splutter and backfire, displeasing Sniper, and meaning you had to pull into the nearest gas station. Should be good enough, you hope. Doing the weekly shop in a gas station wasn’t ideal, so you’d have to make do with getting the bare essentials for dinner, and pray someone would be willing to go out tomorrow, probably Engineer. A minute or two of searching, and you’ve found most of what you needed, almost cocking up and dropping the eggs, but you managed to steady them, teetering in the crook of your elbow. Sniper, of course, had wandered off with the basket, when he’d made it look like he’d stick around, now you’ll have to go find him. Which you will, in a minute. Maybe. These chocolates look nice. Another minute or two and you’ve got some chocolate buttons stuffed in your pocket, and you’re trotting away, a slight, pleased smile on your face as you find Sniper, who is standing, hands on his hips, staring at a bottle of hennesy the size of your heads, combined.

“I’m not paying for that.” You say, interrupting his longing stare off with the ornate bottle, and he turns, tutting and holding the basket out to you.

“Neither am I, mate. You think those cameras are on?” He asks, a playful lilt to his voice as he plucks the chocolates from your pocket and drops them into the basket atop the rest of the things. You roll your eyes, you hadn’t been planning on stealing them.

“Needed a hand free, someone fucked off with the basket, yeah?” You wipe your hands off on your pants and take the basket from him, looking around the aisle. It’s a pretty roomy gas station, in your opinion, long, wide aisles, seeming much bigger inside, than it did outside. The shelves were pretty stocked too. You walk slowly down the aisle, looking over all the labels, different liqueurs from different countries, labelled in differing languages.

“Tav- Demo would love this.” You laugh, correcting yourself swiftly, sensing Sniper looming behind you. You glance back, and he’s not looking anywhere near you, eyes absolutely pinned onto the booze.

“Shrink a little, stretch, there’s some good stuff on the lower shelves.” With that, he’s got his hands planted on his knees, glaring at the bottom shelves in peaceful silence, asides from the occasional ooh and ah. You chortle at his antics and wander off, jostling the basket in front of you to squeeze past a few narrow points, managing to find a good jar or three of pasta sauce, and lasagna sheets, huzzah!

Quest complete, and, if your morals were any further down the drain, you’d’ve darted out of the back door you’d now settled next to, staring into the ice cream freezer to it’s side. Alas, you weren’t made for thievery. Judging by the clink, and new weight of a bottle being slid sneakily into your basket, neither was Sniper.

“I said I’m not paying for it, carry it yourself Mick.” You huff warningly as you turn, looking down at the basket first, then up to the stupid fucking puppy dog eyes staring back at you. Staring. Absolutely staring, he’s not saying a word, but he’s pulling his wallet, Australian flag adorned and all, from his pocket and giving you a tenner. You can’t seem to stop yourself from shoving it back into his hand, trying to ignore the sly smirk that sweeps onto his face.

“Stop, alright, don’t look at me like that, you strange man.” He's smiling, you're trying not to.

“‘M not a strange man, I'd be buying you a drink if that were the case. I'm a very normal man, I'd say.” He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he tucks his wallet back into his pocket.

“A very normal man, with a hankering for a very normal amount of booze, yeah?” You chuckle, rolling your eyes as you jostle the baskets handle into being comfortable in your hand, he nods, and steps to the side, allowing you past with a cordial wave of his hand.

“A very normal amount.” He affirms, snaggletooth poking out from his meek smile. He follows behind you as you walk away from the back of the store, heading towards the front counters, silently scanning over every item in the basket to make sure nothing was forgotten. He didn't want to drive back up here again, and deal with more wankers on the roads.

He'd probably still have to deal with them on the way back, sadly, that he knew, but it shouldn't be too bad, it was coming up to seven at night now, after all. He picks at the old, bloomed purple line that stripes across his thumb as you make small talk with the cashier. He's eyeing the scratchies, and he can see you eyeing the cigs on the back wall.

Swiftly, as the cashier scans the items, he's grabbed a bag off the front rack and started bagging your goodies, making sure not to put the heavy stuff on top of the soft, or crumbly stuff. Like dominoes, he thinks.

The cashier asks if you've got anything on the pumps, and Sniper pat's his pockets, checking for his keys.

“No, no, erh– should be fine without, yeah?” You look back at him, and he nods, takes the two bags he's packed, and stands there idly as you pay. The fluorescents were getting to him, the dag of a man. He shifts on his feet, weight unable to settle on one leg or the other until you're stepping around the counter, and out the door, he follows suit eagerly.

The outside air is pleasantly cold, not too much so, but you can still see the slight puffed presence of your breath linger in front of you before dissipating. You take a deep breath, and turn back, grabbing one of the bags from Sniper.

“Thaaaank you!” You chirp, slowing your swift pace to walk at his side, back to the camper. “I'll sit with the bags at my feet, I don't want them rolling about in the back.” He chuckles softly and passes you the other bag once you reach the camper, fumbling for a moment to find his key, and unlock it.

In a moments notice, you're in the camper, feet squished by the hefty bags as you're clipping yourself into the seat, adjusting the seatbelt to be comfortable.

“Got everything?” The camper rattles as he shuts his side door after him, clipping in too, rolling his window right the way down. He waits for your approval before sticking his head out the window to check behind himself, then peels out of the spot he'd parked in. “And we're off, back to base, roo!” He caws cheerfully, dialling the radio up nice and loud, Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin on full blast of course. the end, thank u for the love <3 just imagine ye get back to base and cook a bomb ass lasagna aye

#tf2 fanfiction #tf2 sniper x reader #fanfiction #tf2 #tf2 x reader #oh god it's at it again

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queen-of-deans-booty · 1 year ago

Text

Enough is Enough

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Goddess!Reader

Word Count: ~2.4k

Warnings: character deaths, reader being forced to kill, revenge kills, fluff at the end

Request by anon: Heyy! Can you write a one shot of team free will x powerful demigod reader? Where the reader is the daughter of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades and blessed by the Gods and the Team need her help for some case and they summon her for help and in the end Dean or Sam fall in love her?

Summary: Sam and Dean take on a case where people are killing themselves after what appears to be a ghost touching them when in reality, something much deadlier is attacking them.

Square Filled: summoning a spirit for @spnclassicbingo

Author’s Note: i appreciate any and all comments! <3

“Okay, Sammy, tell me one more time what we’re dealing with,” Dean says as he drives into Victorville, California.

“Two people have died under mysterious circumstances. They were normal people with normal jobs until one day they suddenly went crazy and killed themselves. None of them had prior indications that they were mentally ill or had depression.”

“Yeah, that could be our thing.”

“I already called the sheriff. He’s expecting us.” Dean heads into town and stops at the local sheriff’s station. Both brothers get out and enter the station where the sheriff greets them. “Sheriff. I’m Agent Lennon and this is my partner Agent McCartney.”

“Thank you for coming out here.”

“Of course. What else can you tell us about this case?”

“I can do you one better. I can show you. Follow me.” The sheriff brings Sam and Dean to his desk where footage from a CCTV camera is already pulled up. “Go ahead. Press play.”

Sam sits down and presses play to start the video. There is a highway with passing cars and a diner on the other side of the road where someone is waiting for something. Thirty seconds pass before Sam sees something glitch in and out of the frame. If someone were scrolling through the footage, they would miss it but Sam knows what he’s looking for. As soon as the mysterious object passes through the frame, the man starts screaming in terror. He pulls at his hair and runs into traffic where he gets hit by a car.

“Poor son of a bitch,” the sheriff sighs.

Sam rewinds the footage and stops on the figure that glitches into the frame. There isn’t a good angel for it but Sam knows it’s the shape of a woman.

“Was there footage of the first murder?” Dean asks.

“No. It happened inside the victim’s home.”

“If you get any more footage, please let us know immediately.”

“Sure thing.”

Sam and Dean finish up at the police department and leave together.

“Did you see the ghost?”

“I’m surprised the sheriff didn’t.”

“We should check the diner for any signs of EMF.” Sam and Dean drive over to the spot where the second victim killed himself. CSI and the police already investigated here, so the place is pretty empty. No one wants to go to a diner where someone saw a ghost and freaked the fuck out. “Why don’t you see what you can find out? I’ll talk to the staff inside.”

Dean leaves his brother’s side and heads inside while Sam takes out his EMF reader. He walks down the entire length of the parking lot but not a single abnormality shows up on the reader. It doesn’t take long for Dean to finish talking to the staff inside and he joins his brother’s side when he’s done.

“Anything?”

“They didn't see a thing. It was too dark to see if there was another person. All they knew is that he came in by himself, ate, and left. Minutes later, he went crazy and killed himself. What about you?”

“Nothing. There is no evidence that there was any ghost here. It’s weird, we definitely saw a ghost on film.”

“What else could it be?”

While Sam and Dean ponder on that questions, two teenage kids hang out at a grocery store on the other side of town. They’re known as the troublemakers of the town. They love getting into fights, trashing people’s houses, skipping school, and causing headaches for most of the adults in town. Dylan and Jaden are best friends who feed off each other’s energy so there is no stopping them whenever they come together.

Dylan is resting on the hood of his car while Jaden is smoking next to him. They’re in the mood for a little fucking around with the locals in town. The best kind of people to fuck with are the tourists and people who pass by their town because they don’t know the boys’ reputation. Someone new moved to town not that long ago making him the perfect target for the boys’ torment.

The man is walking out of the store since his shift has finished and walks toward his car. Dylan nudges Jaden with his foot and gestures to the employee. Jaden takes a deep inhale from his cigarette and flicks it onto the ground.

“Melinoe, come out come out wherever you are,” Jaden smirks.

You emerge from the shadows with a look of hatred on your face. Dylan and Jaden smirk and point to the man walking to his car.

“I should kill you two instead,” you glare.

“Do that and you won’t ever see your heart again. Now go kill the bitch before we kill you,” Dylan threatens.

If someone is in possession of your heart, they have the ability to use you in any way they wish. If someone were to pierce your heart, then you’ll die a slow and painful death. These two idiot kids got ahold of your heart and now have power over you that no human should ever have.

You walk over to the man who has no clue what’s about to happen to him. You’re all for killing people and bringing their souls to the Underworld for punishment but only those who deserve it. The people you’ve killed never deserved it despite the two kids thinking they did. You walk past the man and touch his shoulder to let your powers flow through him. The man screams in terror and pulls at his hair as he is driven mad. He carries self-defense weapons to protect himself which he uses to kill himself.

You turn back to the shadows when you’ve done your part.

The next morning, Sam and Dean show up at the grocery store parking lot where the man killed himself. Dean talks to some of the staff while Sam takes out his EMF reader to check for paranormal signs. Much like the last scene, nothing shows up.

“Dean, this isn’t making any sense.”

“The store manager says we can look at his security footage. He got a good view of the parking lot. Come on.”

Sam and Dean walk inside the store and meet the sheriff at the manager’s office where the cameras are. The manager plays back the footage to the right after the man left for his shift. There are two kids by a car in the background that are illuminated by the light pole, and they’re watching the man walk to his car. A ghostly figure walks into the frame and they gesture for it to attack the man.

They watch as the figure walks past the man who then freaks out. He takes one of his self-defense weapons and kills himself with it.

“Who are those two kids?” Dean asks. The manager rewinds the footage and zooms in on both of them, getting a clear view of them. “Sheriff, could you identify them?”

“Yeah. I’ll have my men look into it.”

The sheriff immediately sends the footage over to his IT department who comes back with both of their identities and their addresses. Sam and Dean will take over from here, so they head over to Dylan’s house in hopes that he’s home. Dean and Sam walk up to the front door and knock three times. Five minutes later, Dylan answers the door with Jaden behind him.

“Yeah, what do you want?”

“Are you Dylan and Jaden?”

“What’s it to you, old man?” Sam and Dean push themselves inside their house and look around. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Where is she?” Dean asks and shoves his FBI badge into his face. “Where are you hiding her?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The woman you use to kill people. Where is she?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Leave before I call the police on you. Do you even have a warrant to be in here?”

Dean is about to tear him a new one when you appear from the shadows in the corner of the room. Sam and Dean take out their guns with iron bullets and aim them at you. Dylan and Jaden step back when they see the weapons to stay out of the line of fire.

“Who the hell is she?”

“Those bullets won’t do anything to me.”

“Who are you?”

“I am the thing they keep hostage to kill others with,” you glare at them.

“Kill them,” Dylan orders.

This is it. This is your way out. At this moment, you don’t care about your heart or where they might have hidden it. The fact is, they don’t have it on them right now.

“No, I don’t think I will. I’m done being your bitch. It’s time you get a taste of your own medicine.”

You disappear from sight and allow them a few seconds of pure terror of not knowing where you are. You appear behind them and place your hands on both of their heads. You let your magic flow through their brains ten times harder than you did with the other victims. Almost immediately, they begin screaming their heads off in fear.

They didn’t know it, but they were declared dead the second they possessed your heart.

They claw at their hair, run their nails down their faces so hard it draws blood, and smash their heads against the walls multiple times. Dylan did it so much that his skull split open and his brain and blood spattered everywhere. Both men slid to the floors when they died, and you turn to the brothers who have shocked looks on their faces.

“My name is Melinoe but I go by Y/N these days. I am the Goddess of Ghosts, Nightmares, and Funerary Rites. I am the daughter of Persephone and Zeus and Hades combined. I’d like your help finding out where my heart is so I can be free.”

Sam and Dean call in the double suicide before leaving the scene as fast as possible. You join them in their motel room to talk about what you’re here for and what it means to have someone possess your heart.

“We’ve met some Greek Gods in our time but never someone like you. We’ve met your father.”

“Which one?”

“Zeus.”

“Despite what people say, Zeus is worse than Hades. Zeus got jealous of Hades and banished him to the Underworld.” Sam and Dean look at each other in silence. “Look, I know you think I’m a killer but I’m not a bad person. I only kill those who deserve it so I can guide their souls into the Underworld to exact their punishment. Those two idiots made me kill innocent people.”

“How did they do that?”

“They have my heart. I shouldn’t have killed them. They hid it so I wouldn’t grab it and leave them.”

“We’ll find it,” Sam smiles.

“Thank you. I’m not all bad, you know. I can reunite people with their dead loved ones for a few minutes. Cemeteries are my favorite places to hang out in.”

You, Sam, and Dean do some research on where Dylan and Jaden could have hidden your heart. They would have chosen a place where no one would find it. A place that could be abandoned or a cave. There aren’t a lot of spots like that around town so it’s easy to compile a list.

“What will happen if your heart is destroyed?”

“I’ll die. I had ownership of my heart for thousands of years until one day I met a man. A man who heard the rumors about me and what I can do. This was during the time when Greek Gods and Goddesses were roaming Earth. He’s the sole reason why I believe in love, but he’s also the reason why I believe in heartbreak. He stole my heart and it’s been passed around ever since.”

“Greek Gods were around in 900 BC. That’s a long time to go without your heart.”

“You’re telling me,” you scoff.

“I promise to get your heart back for you.”

“Thank you,” you smile sweetly.

“Okay, I have a list of three places where your heart can be,” Dean says. “The abandoned factory outside of town, the old Well House on someone’s farm, and a cave in Long Beach. Though, I don’t think they’d drive two hours for something so precious as a Goddess’ heart.”

“Let’s check the factory first. These guys craved power. I don’t think they would allow my heart to reside on someone else’s property.”

“Factory it is.”

You three head thirty minutes to the factory outside of town. Before you step foot out of the car, you can feel the power your heart holds. It’s here and it’s calling to you. You don’t have to search the entire property because you know exactly where it is. Your heart is inside a dirty box and you scoff at the treatment it got.

“Wow, never seen that before,” Dean mutters.

You grab your heart and it glows bright green at being connected to the person it belongs to. You move the top of your dress to the side and allow your heart to be absorbed back into your body. Your entire body glows bright green before dimming down, and you turn to the brothers with a smile.

“I can’t thank you two enough for what you’ve done for me. Please allow me to repay you back. Is there a dead loved one you’d like to see again?”

“No, we’re good. I just want to get out of this God-forsaken town,” Dean chuckles.

Sam looks at his brother in thought and gets an idea.

“Actually, there might be.”

It doesn't matter where a person is buried or where they ended up after death. You have the power to draw their souls back to you for a short amount of time to give a person a chance to talk to them. Dean is shocked when you pull his mother and father from Heaven to allow him some time to talk to them. Sam never knew them, not in the way that Dean did, so he gives this moment to his brother.

“You must love your brother to let him have this,” you say to Sam.

You and he are off to the side to give Dean some time alone with his parents.

“He knew them better than I ever did,” he shrugs.

“Listen, I don’t have to be in the Underworld right now. Would you like some company for a while?”

A blush spreads across Sam’s cheeks at the thought of spending more time with you.

“I’d like that.”

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

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puzzledcretin · 5 months ago

Text

Joyride

(Written for @tmnt-write-fight for @letsdeweythis)

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Prompt: Rise Splinter and April go on a father-daughter outing Word Count: 2,702

Read On AO3

“APRIL, IF YOU DO NOT STEP ON THE GAS YOU ARE GROUNDED!” Splinter shouted at the top of his lungs.

The tires of the turtle tank bounced against the asphalt of the road. The entire vehicle jostled aggressively, but firm hands on the wheel held the old girl in place.

“Oh, I know you are not trying to ground me right now. I am the one with a license-”

“I had my license!”

“Yeah! When you could reach the pedals!” April shouted back, turning her head to look at the rat in question. Splinter looked back at her, his eyes narrowing as he took in the hurled insult. “And you can’t ground me! I am not your baby, Splints!”

April maintained her gaze on Splinter. His gaze turned forwards, his jaw seemed to clench. There was something in his expression that she couldn’t quite pick out, something that she could have sworn she had seen before. She just couldn’t place where.

“Watch the traffic light!” Splinter suddenly yells, breaking April out of her stupor.

April jerked her head forward and shouted as she slammed her hand down on the bright pink button on the console. Her goal had been to lower the suspension to ride under the traffic light, but when the explosive sound of boosters fired off behind them, they both knew this wasn’t going to end well.

The tank accelerated rapidly, the windshield on a straight collision course. April gripped the steering wheel, in the corner of her vision she could see Splinter’s claws gripping the arm rests of his seat.

The two screamed as they sped closer and closer-

“Hi, I’m April O’Neil, and you’re probably wondering how I got here.”

April moved to sit in front of her camera. She adjusted her glasses, looking down to the small note cards in her hands. They held the script she had so perfectly crafted, but as she looked up into the lens of the camera, she froze.

This felt.. Entirely phony. Which was stupid, she was doing a silly little school assignment that asked her about the influences in her life. She wanted to talk about her parents. Her mother was a strong, passionate woman. She taught April to stand up in the face of trouble and kick until she couldn’t anymore. And her father was an extremely intelligent man, he encouraged her to excel in school and to chase every opportunity to the ends of the Earth if she wanted to. Her parents were shining beacons in her life- but they weren’t the only ones.

April’s mind drifted, she knew exactly who her life influences were. A bunch of slimy mutants in the sewers who she called friends for years at this point. They shaped her!

Raphael taught her to be strong and shout in the face of evil.

Leonardo taught her to be confident, she believed she developed some of her quick wit from him.

Donatello taught her.. A lot. There wasn’t much he didn’t tutor her on. But with all of that came with her love of knowledge and investigation.

And Michelangelo taught her to have fun. Even if it was stressful, even if it was hard, she knew how to have fun.

Those were her influences. April groaned, pushing herself to lean back in her chair. She pulled her glasses off her face, wrapping her arm over her eyes. She breathed out slowly, trying to weigh her options for the time being.

The assignment required voice recording or video recordings of an interview with a person who influenced you. Talk to them about it, ask them questions.

This was a hard decision to make- and it was a dumb assignment. But she got up from her chair and walked out of her room. Her father was out of town for the week, some business related thing that she couldn’t recall off the top of her head. And her mother was working the night shift at the hospital. April could wait for her, but she wanted to get this out of the way.

April grabbed her backpack and searched through it for a moment, digging around. She really needed to clean this out at some point, too many pencils and wadded up pieces of paper. Finally, she found what she was looking for. With careful hands, she pulled out the old voice recorder she had. It was old, but her dad had found it in a thrift shop on one of his trips and Donnie tricked it out for her.

She tossed her bag back down to the floor and walked over to the door. April snagged her shoes and slipped them on as she left out the door.

Fine, she would just interview one of the turtles! That’s fine, she’ll say they’re one of her cousins. It would be easy and then she could edit it all and send it in to her teachers. Easy peasy and she can start her weekend. She had a great show to catch up on and everyday she waited was another day she risked massive spoilers!

April tugged her jacket tighter around her body as she made her way down to the sewers. At this point of the night, she should be able to catch at least one of them!

“What? Drax is taking us on a training retreat, we’re leaving right now,”

April’s eye twitched as she looked at the group of four turtles in front of her. Leo was grinning wide, a pair of bright blue goggles slapped over his eyes. They looked ridiculous with the plastic nose covering his snout. Tossed over his shoulder, he had a light blue towel to match.

“You’re joking.” April stated flatly, adjusting her glasses as she tried to think. “You.. What do you mean you’re training? Since when do you leave to train?” She questioned, looking between the turtles.

Mikey grinned, adjusting the bright yellow floaties that were wrapped around his biceps, “Draxum is taking us to an underground river to train our swimming! You know, embrace the turtle, baby!”

“I would like to not embrace the turtle, actually. Dear, April, I will stay home and conduct the interview with you-” Donnie stepped away from his brothers, but then a large hand came down on his head and pulled him back, ignoring the indignant squawk that followed.

“Sorry, Donnie. But you’ve got the best set of lungs out of all of us, little bro. You have to come with us.” Raph decided, moving his hand down to smack Donnie’s back. The soft shell stumbled forward, but caught himself with a huff.

Mikey pulled out his phone as he heard the text tone chime, staring at the screen for a long moment. He squinted at it, “Okay.. Either Drax wants us to do our laundry or we gots to go. I am putting my money on the second one but we can never be too sure,”

Leo rolled his eyes before pulling one of his katana from their sheaths. With a smooth twirl of his wrist, a bright blue portal formed beside them along with a small trickle of water that spilled from it.

“I’m sorry, April. But it looks like we have to go. But! If you’re here when we get back, I am more than willing to show off my star potential,” Leo said as he flipped his mask tails over his shoulders. “Come on, guys, we have to hit the river!”

Leo leapt through the portal first, followed by Mikey and then Raph. Donnie stopped, grabbing April’s hand, “Don’t make me go with them, I’ll do anything. Do you want your laptop overclocked? I’ll do it! April please!” Three hands came out of the portal and yanked Donnie through it. The portal swirled for a moment longer before disappearing.

April huffed, looking down at her now wet sneakers. Great, great! This was fantastic. April pushed her glasses up to rest on her head. She was ultimately screwed if she didn’t figure something out at this point. The young woman pulled her recorder out of her jacket pocket and looked down at it.

“Dang it man… Now I have to go home,” She muttered and shoved it back into her pocket.

“Young April!”

April turned her head to the side and let out a sigh, “Hey Splints! I thought you’d be out training with goat man and the boys?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

The mutated rat scoffed, swiping his hand over his old robe, “I will not have wet fur! Look at it, it’s far too nice,” Splinter said, pushing the fur along his head back. It used to be just gray, but the more April looked at it, the more she could see the white strands poking through. She remembered when she first met the man, he looked much different now. But, so did she.

“What are you doing? It’s quite late,” Splinter inquired, though his eyes seemed to linger around the area in which the portal had disappeared from.

“Nothing now! My evening plans just walked into the Hidden City along with your boys! I’m probably going to go home now, not much else I can do now,” She muttered, rubbing her chin slowly.

“Hm.. Why don’t you join me on some errands! You have your license now, right?” Splinter asked, gesturing April to follow,

“Well.. Yeah? Why do I need it?”

“And why did we have to come here?” April questioned as she looked at the old looking tea shop before her eyes. She flickered her gaze over to the elderly rat who was looking over a small list in his hands.

“This is the one tea shop in New York that carries everything I want! Now, let’s go,” Splinter said as he got up from his seat. April cocked her head to the side but followed along, walking out of the turtle tank on his heels.

The two walked up to the door and Splinter pulled a hood up over his head. April shoved her hands into her pocket as she walked through the door, looking around. Incense seemed to be on one side of the store while small artifacts lay in cases. It was bizarre.

“Splints, I’ve worked in 75% of all retail stores in this city but I have never heard of this one,” She muttered.

“That’s because this is a family store, no need for employees when they have family!” Splinter barked out a laugh at his own joke as he walked over to the counter. An old man looked down from his newspaper, looked Splinter over before scoffing.

“We have nothing for you here, go now.” The man ordered, flicking his newspaper to straighten out the pages. April arched her eyebrow further, eyes shifting from Splinter to the man behind the counter over and over. Splinter’s body seemed to tense, but he puffed out his chest and placed his hands on his hips. “Well! I am sure that’s just simply not true. Now if I can pick up my order-”

“Beat it, Yoshi.” The man glared over his newspaper, “You come in here all the time and say you will pay next time, but you never pay. Your account is closed until your debt is paid. Now go.”

April let out a long sigh, reaching behind her to pull her wallet out of her back pocket.

“No, April-”

“How much is this debt?” April asked as she stepped up to the counter. Her thumb pressed against her debit card, nail scraping against it.

The man behind the counter seemed to only grow more agitated, slamming the newspaper closed as he pulled his feet from the counter. He set the folded up paper on the counter so he could face April properly.

“1,783 dollars and 42 cents,”

April’s eye twitched, slowly turning her head to look at Splinter, who was very pointedly looking away from him.

“Hey, Splints,”

“Yes, April?”

“Why, of all things, do you have a severe tea debt?”

April’s question was met with a very long silence, followed by the man behind the counter scoffing once again and leaning back in his seat.

“I knew it,” He muttered, picking up the newspaper once again. April closed her wallet, stuffing it back into her pocket before she turned on her heel.

“Well, looks like we’re going home, Splints. Come on,” April called, stuffing her hands in her hoodie pockets as she walked to the door. She rolled her neck, pushing open the door as she pulled the tank keys out of her pocket.

“HEY!”

“Run April!”

Suddenly, the short rat sped out the door before April could and she turned her head behind her to see the man behind the counter on the phone, pulling a weapon that April couldn’t identify.

She very quickly sped out the door, slamming it behind her as she raced up onto the tank.

“What did you do!” April shouted as she got into the driver's seat, looking over at Splinter. Sat in his lap, was a small box of expensive looking tea.

“You stole something!”

“Now is not the time-”

“No, now seems like the perfect time to talk about my sudden accompanying of your crimes! What were you thinking??” April questioned. Splinter’s eyebrows drew together and he seemed conflicted. April rolled her wrist, trying to urge an answer out of the man and right as he finally opened his mouth, the tank shook violently.

“What??” April questioned as she looked at the monitor. On the back up cam, she saw three cars, one of which had crashed into the rear of the tank. “Oh Donnie is not going to be happy about that…”

“Drive!”

And that’s basically where we left off, let’s get back to that, shall we?

As the two sped towards the traffic light, April yanked her hands off the wheel in order to cover her face. Splinter looked up at her, his eyes widening before he reached over and yanked on the steering wheel. He jerked the tank to the right, speeding it down into a parking garage.

April pulled her head up as the entire tank seemed to tilt to the left, just in time to see Splinter slam his foot down onto the brakes. The tank squealed loudly followed by complete silence as Splinter twisted the key in the ignition.

April jerked her head around to look over her shoulder behind her, the three cars that had been chasing them sped on past the entrance to the garage.

“What.. What were you thinking!!” April shouted as she looked to Splinter. Splinter moved to sit back in his seat, his thumb brushing over the lid of the tea box. Once again, April’s words were met with silence, Splinter was staring at the small box and April couldn’t read the text that was on it, it was all in Japanese. Unfortunately, her Duolingo lessons would not be helping her this time.

“Splints..”

“You looked sad,”

“What?”

Splinter finally turned his head to look up at April, “You looked sad. That the boys were leaving. I understand, being left behind. It’s not the same, I know, but I understand. And I didn’t want you to be left behind. My plan was to get this fancy tea and some popcorn and we could watch some movies. But, I understand if you want to go home,” Splinter spoke softly.

April stared for a long moment. She.. Well, she had no words for this. But she did know that Splinter was an idiot.

“You stole tea for me?”

“Of course, I’d steal tea for any of my children,”

April couldn’t help but tear up just a little, reaching up to wipe her eye from under her glasses. She settled back in her seat some, tapping her fingers along the armrest of her chair. Splinter, as crazy as he was, was possibly the most unorthodox in his kindness, but it was kindness nonetheless.

Slowly, she pulled the recorder from her pocket one final time and looked down at it, running her thumb over the five dots where the microphone laid.

“Actually… Would you be interested in doing an interview for me?”

#tmnt fanfiction #rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt splinter #rottmnt april #rise of the tmnt #tmnt write fight #April is Splinter's favorite child #oopsies

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