#should i ask the tour guide or is it too soon

[loosethreadsofyoursoul]

going on the supernatural tour™️ this week, hope they have some canon destiel

[surftrips]

luke x daughter of aphrodite!! maybe a super cute fluff where they help luke show percy around and just their experience with percy!

-🥽 anon

stop this prompt is soo cute ! thanks for sending it in <3

"You okay?" Luke asked the newest camper in his cabin.

"Super."

"We all have them, you know." Luke clicked his tongue. "Intense, recurring nightmares. That's normal here. For the first time in your life, you're just like everyone else."

"So are you also... Do you not know who your..." the blonde boy began to ask.

"Am I unclaimed?" Luke shook his head. "No, Hermes is my father. That doesn't matter though, we're all on the same team here."

"Why is it okay they ignore some of us?"

"Spend too much time figuring out what the gods do whatever it is they do, you'll drive yourself crazy. Sooner you can stop worrying about that, the sooner you can enjoy what this place actually does offer."

"And what's that?"

Luke smiled, guiding Percy out the door to show him the rest of camp.

The two boys ran into Clarisse and the Ares kids first. Luke explained to Percy that the Ares kids were always confrontational and brutally honest, but he had nothing to worry about, as long as he was around.

"Come on, let's go figure out what you're good at."

After crossing off archery and metalworking, and dodging several near death experiences, they sat down for lunch.

"Is there a Greek god of disappointment?" Percy sighed.

"We're gonna find the thing you're good at, I know it," Luke reassured him. "We should try-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Luke's eyes lit up and a smile crossed his face, causing Percy to turn around.

A girl came over to Luke's side of the table and kissed the top of his head. "Hi, love."

Luke beamed, turning toward Percy. "Y/N, this is Percy, I'm giving him the tour. Percy, Y/N. She's in Aphrodite."

That much he could tell, Percy thought she was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

"Ah, bonjour! Comment ça va?" she asked him.

Percy looked confused, only recognizing the first part of the sentence. "Uhhh... hello?"

Y/N smiled softly, "Guess he's not in Aphrodite then. Any luck finding out your skill, Percy?"

"No, unforunately," Percy grumbled.

"Aw, don't worry. Soon enough you'll be like Luke here," she had moved to sit in his lap by now, one of his arms curled around her waist. "Did you know he's the best swordsman at camp?"

She looked at Luke proudly, Percy swore he saw hearts instead of pupils in her eyes.

"I think it's come up once or twice," Percy responded.

The Aphrodite girl smiled again, "Have you shown Percy the lake yet?" she asked Luke.

"No, not yet. Do you want to come with us?"

"You mean, do I want to show him the place where we met? Is that even a question?"

The trio finished up their food and headed back outside. Y/N led the way, her presence enough to clear a path in the group of campers idling outside. Luke and Percy followed a few feet behind her.

"So... how long have you two been...?" Percy asked shyly.

"Three years. Since we were 16," Luke responded. Though Percy had only known Luke for about a day at this point, he couldn't help but notice how Luke's entire demeanor had changed since Y/N's arrival.

"Oh, wow. That's a long time."

"I got really lucky."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I got here, I had nobody. I mean, there was Annabeth and Thalia, but they're like my sisters. Y/N was the one that showed me what love is."

"Is that what you meant earlier? About enjoying what this place has to offer?"

He smiled. "You might be surprised, Percy."

"Are you boys coming or not?" Y/N called back toward them.

"Yes, ma'am!" Luke yelled back, jogging up to where she was. They were almost at the lake by then.

"So, Percy, anyone at camp catch your eye yet?" Y/N asked, her hand wrapped around Luke's arm.

"Babe, he just got here." Luke said.

"So? I knew I liked you the second we met."

Luke blushed, caught off guard by her sincerity. That was one thing he wasn't sure he would ever get over, her ability to express her emotions so unabashedly. It was something he still struggled with from time to time, but for her, he would let down all of his walls.

"I wouldn't say I have a crush on her or anything- she kinda just scares me but she did catch my attention," Percy interrupted Luke's thoughts.

"What's her name?" Y/N asked.

"Annabeth, I think."

Y/N nodded knowingly, looking over at Luke. "Well, I guess we'll just see if anything special blooms there. Anyway, we're here!"

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon now, painting the sky in beautiful hues of purple and pink. A gentle breeze accompanied the three as they sat down by the water.

Y/N leaned against Luke's body, savoring the warmth he offered. He absent-mindedly twirled a piece of her hair.

"Three years ago, I was sitting right here, when I saw someone a few feet away from me. He was throwing rocks into the lake and disturbing my peace," Y/N began. "When I looked over to see who it was-"

"You saw the most gorgeous man you've ever laid your eyes on," Luke cut in.

"Hey!" Y/N playfulled smacked his shoulder. "I know you've heard this story one hundred times but Percy hasn't yet."

"Yeah, I haven't yet!" Percy backed her up.

The two older campers laughed. "Thank you, Percy. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I saw this boy with curly dark hair and soft brown eyes, and I thought that's him. He's the one. This was before I was claimed by Aphrodite, but I just had a feeling, you know?"

Percy nodded, even though he wasn't sure he had experienced that feeling yet.

"But anyway, this boy looked kind of sad, so I decided to sit next to him."

"I think that's why he was throwing rocks into the water," Percy broke in.

Y/N giggled and Luke nudged her shoulder to continue.

"You're right, Percy, I had the same thought. When I sat next to him, I sensed that he was annoyed."

"Okay, love, let me finish from here." Luke softly kissed her shoulder and she buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"I wasn't annoyed-" he clarified. "At least, not at you. I had just been claimed by my father, but I was still frustrated with the whole idea of gods having children and just ignoring them. Then, this angel sat next to me and for the first time, I felt seen."

Y/N looked up at her boyfriend, her face full of nothing but admiration. No matter how many times she heard this part of the story, she still couldn't believe how she got quite so lucky.

"Percy, our parents may never redeem themselves for their wrongdoings, but I thank the gods every day they sent me Y/N." With that, Luke gently placed his hand on her cheek and leaned in to kiss her.

"Hello! As lovely as this story is, still a minor here!" Percy waved his hand in front of their faces enthusiastically, causing all three of them to burst into laughter.

[plathfiles]

Oooo for the Felix drabbles could you do something along the lines like it’s the readers and Felix’s first time together?👀

omg this is so sweet! sorry it’s so late, i got carried away <3

i hope you enjoy it xx

☙☙☙☙

pairing: felix catton x fem!reader

warnings: smut! minors dni 💋 — loss of virginity, use of y/n, language, tooth rotting fluff, p in v sex, unprotected sex, praise kink, innocence kink.

☙☙☙☙

Felix and you had been dating the last weeks of school. For the summer, he’d invited you over to his house. At first it felt like an imposition and too soon to see his family. But as charming as Felix was, he convinced you.

So here you were taking a tour of Saltburn, Felix showing you his home. “This is my room,” he said walking into a lavish room with books and papers everywhere.

“Through here is the bathroom and your room is right next door,” he smiled, walking into an empty guest bedroom.

Felix’s house was a bit overwhelming and you sat down on the bed. “This is wonderful Felix, thank you,” you smiled at him.

He sat down next you to and placed a hand on your knee. You blushed turning your head to face his. Felix admired your beautiful face, looking down to your lips and then into your eyes.

“I’ve set out a dress for you, for dinner tonight. I forgot to mention that we dress for dinner,” Felix informed you.

“It’s okay, it sounds like fun,” you said. Felix smiled softly, moving his face closer to yours. You placed a kiss on his lips, savoring his touch.

Felix kissed you back, a hand moving to your jaw softly. “I know, I know we haven’t yet. But I’d like to, if you want to,” he said softly, a look of yearning in his eyes.

When Felix first got involved with you, he knew you were innocent and a virgin. It’s what drew you to him. But whenever things got heated, he couldn’t bring himself to corrupt you just yet.

You nodded, your face incredibly close to his. “I want to. But maybe we should wait…until tonight?” You said. You felt inexperienced and vulnerable, especially under Felix’s touch.

He winked at you, pulling away. “We’ll see darling. Can’t wait to see you all dressed up.” Felix said, then exiting the room.

You felt all fuzzy inside and your stomach felt heavy. You pushed your thighs together.

☙☙☙☙

Later that night, you were dressed in a long black silhouette dress. You put up your hair in a messy bun and put on light makeup. Walking down to the dining room, you weren’t expecting to see Felix at the end of the hall.

“Hello,” you smiled innocently at him. Felix was dressed in a black suit and tie. He looked as handsome as ever.

When he saw you however, all he wanted to do was rip your dress right off you. Felix’s breath caught in his throat, you were beautiful.

“You look…amazing,” Felix said, blushing softly. He wrapped a hand around your waist lightly, to guide you to the dining room.

You sat down at the table, Elsbeth complimenting your dress. She sat you right next to Felix and he wouldn’t stop teasing you throughout dinner.

During the main course, his hand was on your thigh. His thumb rubbing soft circles. It made your stomach jolt and you could feel something fuzzy between your legs. You clenched around nothing.

Felix couldn’t have eaten fast enough, he wanted to finish dinner, take you upstairs and have you all to himself. You were looking so innocent in your dress it made him hard.

Finally dinner ended and Felix excused you both, saying you were tired after your long trip.

You walked up the stairs with him and in hushed tones you turned to him. “Felix, that was rude. We should have stayed,” you said, a small laugh escaping your lips.

He grabbed your waist softly and pinned you up against a bookcase. Looking down at you with his charismatic grin. “I can’t help it. I need you,” Felix said, almost close to a whine.

“You need me?” You asked softly, bucking your hips into his already visible erection.

Felix groaned, his head falling to your neck. “Yes, let me destroy you and make you mine, please.”

You nodded, a small and quiet “yes” echoing through Felix’s ears.

With one swoop, Felix lifted you up. You laughed a little too loudly and covered your mouth.

“It’s alright, darling. No one can hear us from this side of the house. You’ll be able to be as loud as you want,” Felix said playfully, sloppily kissing your cheeks and neck.

He carried you into his room and gently placed you down on the bed.

“Are you sure?” Felix asked, wanting to have your full and verbal consent before corrupting your innocence

“Yes, I’m sure,” you said, knowing in your heart that you wanted Felix badly.

He nodded, hovering over you and sliding a hand down your side. “I’m going to rip this dress off you,” Felix said.

You giggled, “But you’ll destroy it and I’ll have nothing to wear for dinner.”

“I’ll buy you a hundred dresses then, even more than that if you need,” Felix said, loving the thought of spoiling you.

You playfully rolled your eyes and connected your lips with his. Your arms grabbing his shoulders and pulling him on top of you. Felix sunk into your touch and melted. His hands tugged at the delicate fabric of the dress.

Felix broke the kiss and began to plant kisses down your neck, to your collarbone and then to your now unclothed breast.

Your nipples hardened under the chill in the room. A moan escaped your lips at Felix’s touch.

“Yes, darling. Make those pretty noises,” he praised and encouraged.

Soon your dress was off and most of Felix’s suit was on the side of his bed. He was laying on top of you, needing your left breast with one hand and moving his other hand to your panties.

“Felix, don’t tease,” you said, your arousal already getting the best of you. Felix hummed, slowly removing your panties and placing a finger through your wet folds.

“Such a good girl for me, already wet for me,” he praised. “You’re so innocent, bet you’ve never been touched like this,” Felix said.

You moaned under his touch, melting like butter on a hot pan. He moved his thumb to your clit, rubbing in slow circles. The knot in your stomach was tightening.

“I’m not going to have you cum yet, alright. I need to get you ready for my cock first,” Felix said, removing his thumb from your clit. The lewd words making you more aroused.

Felix gently slipped a finger into your heat, moving it in and out slowly. He then added a second finger stretching you out some more.

You moaned and after a minute he knew you were ready. Felix maneuvered you closer to him, ready to use you like his favorite toy.

“Ya ready love?” He asked, removing his boxers and his cock sprung free.

“Yes, please I need you inside me,” you begged, clenching around nothing.

Felix smirked, running a hand down your thigh. “It’s going to hurt for one second and then it will feel amazing, I promise,” Felix cooed, looking deep into your eyes.

You nodded, as Felix fit himself into your entrance. A groan fell from his lips and he stayed there. You clenched around him and grabbed his shoulders, waiting for the pain of your virginity to disappear.

“That’s my good girl,” Felix praised, beginning to slowly move in and out of you.

You both were a pile of pants and moans, feeling eachother and moving as one. Felix was soft and rough, your hands stayed on his chest.

The knot in your stomach tightened and you couldn’t hold in it any longer. “Felix, I’m gonna cum, I can’t—,” you moaned, eyes shutting in pleasure.

“That’s okay, lovely. Let go, cum for me,” Felix whimpered, getting close to his orgasm aswell.

You came, bucking your hips into Felix as you rode out your high.

Not long after Felix came, groans falling from his lips and into your eardrums.

It was so surreal and your sweaty body was tired. Felix collapsed next you and pulled your body into his. You were exhausted, the pain and pleasure overstimulating you. You fell asleep in Felix’s arms.

When you awoke, sun was streaming through the window. Felix and you hadn’t moved throughout the night. He was asleep beside you, your naked body covered by the softest sheets you’ve ever felt.

You mildly stretched, not wanting to wake the angel beside you. But it was no use, Felix’s eyes fluttered open and a soft grin appeared on his face when he saw you.

“Hello,” Felix giggled softly, nudging his head into your neck.

“Hi,” you replied, turning your sore body towards him.

“You’re glowing,” He said, looking down at your lips and then to your eyes. Felix leaned into kiss you and you felt like you were in heaven.

[thevoidstaredback]

The tale tell signs of the Batmobile pulling into the Cave reverberated for nearl a minute before it even pulled into the garage. Once parked, the driver side door opened and NightBat (Nightwing as Batman) got out before closing the door.

"B!" Red Robin waved, "Welcome back! How'd it go?"

Not even surprised that Robin had gotten tired of babysitting the Leaguers, NightBat walked to join the group. "As usual. Batwoman could've handled herself."

Everyone on comms ignored the woman's indignant call from where she and Selina had joined Barbra and Jason in the Clocktower.

"Bats!" Green Lantern called, "You left us with Robin, right?"

"Mhmm."

"This isn't Robin! He says he's been here the whole time, but he hasn't because he's not Robin!"

NightBat was trying very hard to keep his amusement to himself. It didn't help that he had people laughing in his ear. He could tell RR and Spoiler were having the same issue. "Red Robin."

Green Lantern threw his hands in the air. "I give up!"

"Seriously, man," Spoiler said, concern lacing her tone, "If you're too paranoid or you aren't feeling too well, we can cut this short."

Wonder Woman glared at the man. "No, thank you, we are fine. You were showing us the med bay?"

"Right this way!" Red Robin guided them to the large room that wouldn't look out of place in a hospital. It was closer to looking like a mix between an ER, a Post OP, a Pre OP, and a waiting room. Somehow, it worked. Somehow, it was better than the one on the Watchtower.

Martian Manhunter took the lead in this room. "This is better equipped than the Watchtower's own medbay," he turned to NightBat, "Why is that?"

"Oh, oh!" Spoiler jumped in place, "I can answer that!" When everyone's attention was on her, she said, "It's because we're all human."

"Excuse me?" Superman quirked an eyebrow.

"Eloquently put, Spoiler," Robin smacked her arm, "Show a bit of decorum, will you? Honestly."

"Again?!" Green Lantern shreaked. He was ignored.

"It's true," she shrugged, "Anyway, I gotta bounce." She turned to jog out of the room, "It was nice meeting you all!" she shouted just as the door closed behind her. After a minute, the sound of her bike revving and fading told them all she had left.

The tour of the large med bay soon ended and Robin led the group back up to the smaller med bay. It was outfitted as a small clinic and not an ER, a few chairs being the only hint at a seating area. It was, like the larger one, also completely enclosed in bullet resistant glass.

Taking seats at the meeting table, none of the visiting Justice Leaguers noticed Signal taking his suit and leaving to finish Batwoman's and Catwoman's patrol, nor did they notice Cass sneaking Spoiler's suit back into its case before she took the stairs up to the Manor. Tim had also managed to put his suit back where it belonged before going back to the Manor with Cass.

Flash was the only one not sitting, having too much anxious energy to be able to sit still. So, he wandered around the upper area, careful not to touch anything. He was, however, looking very closely at everything. Something just felt...off. "Wait a minute," he stopped the small talk at the table, "Where did those books come from?"

"What are you talking about?" Green Arrow asked.

"The books, on the table! They weren't there when we got here!"

Robin made his judgement known from behind his mask. "There have always been books on this table, Flash."

"No, there haven't!"

"I think you should sit down," Superman stood to usher his fellow hero over to the chairs, "You're obviously anxious about something-"

Flash didn't let himself be touched, focusing on every little detail now. "And, the suits!" he ran down to the displays, "Two of the suits that were missing earlier are here now! And a different one is missing!"

Green Lantern and Aquaman jumped over the railing to join the Flash. "He's right," the Atlantian announced.

"What's going on here, Bats?" Green Arrow asked as he, too, jumped the railing.

Robin muttered, "We have stairs," under his breath as he followed the adults in jumping over the railing to the lower level.

"I have so many questions." Green Lantern added on.

Wonder Woman stood at the front of the group, "Why did you change your mind to invite us here?"

NightBat raised an eyebrow under the cowl. "I didn't. The others who operate in Gotham did. I just happen to be in charge."

"And how many people, exactly, operate in Gotham?" Superman asked.

Robin was the one to give a non-answer. "How many do you think?"

"This isn't funny, Bats," Cyborg glared. "What's going on."

NightBat said nothing. Instead, he turn away from the group with a swish of his cape and headed to the locker rooms next to the training area.

Now the only Gotham vigilante there, Robin was the focus of the JL's attention. Wonder Woman knelt in front of him to talk. "Will you tell us what's going on?"

Robin scoffed, crossed his arms, and tilted his head up to look down his nose at her. "Do not be so patronising. We invited you here to prove that we do, in fact, trust you all, and you have accused us of trying to trick you?" He expertly hid his satisfaction at the guilt that took over the adults' faces. "Perhaps we should not have let you come here." He turn with just as much dramatics as both Batman and Nightwing. "Come, I'll-"

"What're you all still doing here?" Batman glared as he came out from the locker rooms, several things in hand.

"I was just showing them to the Zeta Tubes." Robin answered.

"Hn." Batman grunted, walking back to the upper level first. The visiting heroes followed him sullenly. Robin took up the rear. Nightwing chose that moment to ride back into the Cave.

"Where you all going?" He called from the garage as he parked his bike.

"Robin was just showing them out," Batman didn't raise his voice above what it normally was, even as he walked away from everyone and into the less echo-y chamber of the lab.

Nightwing pouted. "Boo," He was quick to join them on the upper level. "Why don't you pack it in for the night, Baby Bat? I'll take these guys home." His wink to the adultier adults was not hidden by his mask. How does he do that?

Robin nodded. "Very well." He promptly turned and left for the locker rooms.

"C'mon," Nightwing ushered, "B's run outta patience. I'm glad he lasted this long, though! It took forever to get him to let me and Robin show you around! And, when Spoiler heard we had company, she just had to come say 'hi'. Though, I'm sad you couldn't meet Agent A or O or Signal."

"Who?" Superman asked.

Nightwing laughed, the sound echoing in the Zeta Room. "Agent A's the one who makes sure we're all still alive at the end of the day. O is our eye in the sky, our ear to the ground, our guy in the chair. She knows everything. Nothing happens in Gotham without her knowing. And Signal is our newest addition. He's the only meta allowed to operate in the city, proven by the bat on his costume. He's our daytime hero, though, so he's out on patrol right now. A shame you couldn't meet him."

"And Batwoman?" Wonder Woman mentioned as she stepped up to the Zeta Tubes.

"Who?" Nightwing joked. The others didn't find it amusing. "Tough crowd," he mumbled. "Batwoman doesn't normally work with us. She's B's cousin. She's usually with the Birds of Prey, but she decided to come help us out for a bit."

"Birds of Prey?" Flash wondered.

"A story for another time, I'm afraid," Nightwing sighed, "The Zeta's are all set for the Watchtower. It was nice having you guys here, even though I had to leave so soon after you get here."

Cyborg patted his shoulder. "It's alright, shit happens. Is everyone at the bank alright?"

Nightwing nodded, "Yeah, no one got hurt."

"That's good."

With the final word said, the eight visiting heroes left Gotham. Nightwing was careful as he left, resetting the traps and security measures.

"And that's a wrap!" Jason called over comms.

Barbra took over just long enough to say, "Movie night at Wayne Manor!" before Selina cut everyone's comms.

Part 6 Part 8

[me-loving-woso]

Beach days, new teammates and love confessions

After literally months I am back. This is part 2 of Bruises Apologises and Cookies? It’s 15 k and probably I’ll make also a part 3 cause I am now invested in the story. Let me know if I should go on.

The season ending was a very bittersweet moment for you. From one point of view, you really didn't want to leave your club when they had given you so much.

The fans loved you, your teammates had become family, and the stadium was a second home for you. But you knew that you had to move for your career to flourish and make you reach your full potential.

The last game you played was the final of the Coppa Italia against Juventus. Your captain gave you the armband to lead your team one last time, and you were trying to hold off the emotions welling up. You almost felt like you were betraying the team in a sense. Still, you knew it was only an impression, as everyone was spurring you to go to Barcelona. They only wanted what was best for you. 

You won 1-0 in that game, with your goal making the difference. Your teammates made you lift the cup and shed one or two tears. You gave a small farewell speech, and then, for the last time, you rounded your little stadium, where you'd play all of your matches with the team, and said goodbye to your teammates and the fans.

Your mind went on autopilot after that. You pushed away all of your sad feelings in the locker room and in the car to go back home. At home, there you broke down. It was really over. The team, the club that had given you so much, was not your team anymore. And a new adventure was about to start. 

-

The following day, you fled to Eindhoven with some of your friends from the National Team to see the Champions League final. You had promised Mapi that you would be there and also because you were there to meet the coach of Barcelona to finalize the contract with the club.

As soon as you land in Eindhoven, you text Alexia, telling her you have just landed. Your relationship with her had been highly confusing since she welcomed you into her home after the defeat against your team. Something between the two of you had shifted.

She took care of you and made you feel safe in her arms. It had been a long time since you felt like being with her was just casual, on your part at least. Maybe she was just being polite and not actually caring more than necessary. Yet, you would text or call almost daily to talk about your days or just football. She was the first person you told about your move to Barça and she couldn't have been more supportive. 

As you texted her at the airport, she told you that you wouldn't see each other before the game because she was stuck in media duties. Still, she informed your friend and soon-to-be teammate that you had landed, so at least you would get to see Mapi.

As soon as you left your suitcase in the hotel, you got to the bar where you told her you would meet her.

"Soo, what are you doing in the summer?" You ask her while you are both eating some way too unhealthy burgers.

"Ingrid and I thought about going to Ibiza for a week; why?"

"Would you like to come to Italy for a few days?" You offer her, every year, you booked this tiny house for the whole summer in Praiano, near an abandoned beach. You thought it was a total steal for how much you had paid for it. You usually would go there with friends or family for a few weeks. It was really your favorite place to be.

"I would love to come, but I don't want you to third-wheel us." You chuckle. 

"What makes you say I'm not inviting anyone else?" You smirked suggestively, making her understand what you were insinuating.

"So you finally made it official?" You had asked Alexia to join you for the holidays the last time you saw her when she told you that she had never actually been to Italy if not for a match, you said it was unacceptable, so you offered yourself as a tour guide.

A week or so later, you realize that spending more than a day together would be a bad idea for fear of spilling out your deep, confused, and embarrassing feelings for her. So you decided to invite Mapi along.

"Again. We. Are. Not. Dating." You repeat to her for the millionth time, frankly also trying to convince yourself.

"So you are not going on holiday with her."

"Yes, I am. As friends." You explain, trying to find the right words.

"Only friends?"

"Well, with also some other benefits." Her face turns into a disgusted look. "What?"

"You are talking about my captain, it's weird." Frankly, she will be your skipper too, which meant that you were banging your boss? That was a thought for the future you.

"I really hope you would like to join us if you have nothing better to do." You really hoped she would say yes because you had planned to tell her you were joining Barcelona there.

"I'll talk to Ingrid about it, but you know I can't say no to Italy."

As you return to the hotel, you have a drink with your friends, and then you excuse yourself to go to bed when you hear your phone buzz.

Your Favourite Kickboxer ;)

'You up?'

'Yes, Why are you not asleep? It's late, and tomorrow you have a big game.' You reply.

'Just the nerves are getting to me. Last year with Lyon, we got demolished; I don't want it to happen again. It was difficult to keep the team united after such a loss, and I don't want to disappoint the fans.'

'Can I call you?' She sends another text.

You quickly start a video call, and she immediately picks up.

"Hey, cariño."

"Hey, Ale." You both smile dumbly at each other for a couple of seconds, but then you get interrupted by one of her yawns.

"You need some sleep, piccola, or you will be tired tomorrow. And as for the Lyon thing, you cannot predict the score tomorrow; you just can control how you play and try your best to motivate your team to be the best version of themselves. Lead them to glory, and give it your all. You won't have any regrets if you give everything on the pitch." You try to make her feel better, even though you know she will be stuck in her head all night.

"I'll try my best."

"And the least you could do, after ditching me tonight, is to score a goal for me tomorrow. It's the least." You tease her, making her smile.

"Asking for a goal in a Champions final? You know you are a very hard girl to satisfy, right?" She chuckles, making you feel relieved that you were able to make her feel a little better.

"You would be the expert on that, right?" You smirk suggestively, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, I definitely am." She replies confidently.

"Go to sleep, piccola mia; tomorrow is a big day for you."

"Goodnight, cariño."

"Buonanotte, Ale."

-

The morning after you woke up, you quickly texted Alexia for good luck. 

As soon as you got to the stadium, the tension was palpable, especially when in the first half Barcelona was down 2-0. You were getting extremely nervous and anxious. Your teammates, who were watching the game with you, noticed that. You were biting your nails to the skin. You didn't want them to lose, but if a team could turn around a 2-0, it was going to Barça, or at least you hoped so.

As soon as you saw the players come on the pitch for the second half, they all held an expression you couldn't understand. A mix of determination and hunger, especially Alexia.

The second half started, and not two minutes after, your woman bagged the first goal of the remontada. She ran to her fans, looking at you, making your initial with her hands, making all of your organs flip, fully blushing at the gesture. You really thought that she didn't take seriously what you said the day before. 

As soon as she made that gesture, your now ex-teammates, watching the game with you, noticed what had happened and put the dots together.

"It's her, isn't she?" Linari asks you, wearing a shocked expression.

"What?"

"The girl from Barça that you are seeing. It's Alexia Putellas?" You chuckle, turning around to see the game, making her understand she was right. You weren't denying it anymore.

Not even two minutes later, Alexia scores a header, making the score a draw. She ran up to the side of the field, making your initials again and then celebrating with a little bow.

Barcelona was finally on track, and you could see that the intensity was getting much higher than it was before. Alexia played some of her best football in that second half. The game found an advantage with Rölfo when she scored the match's final goal and game-winner.

You saw her lift the trophy, making your heart grow a thousand times bigger on how much you were proud of her.

Then Mapi came to you, and you hugged her, congratulating her. You mingled in the stadium for a little while and finally left to the parking lot. You wanted to see Alexia but knew she needed to focus on celebrating and her teammates. You could text her later when she had the time to reply.

.

Your Favourite Kickboxer ;)

'Meet me in the hallway at the stadium?'

You quickly excuse yourself from your friends and sneak inside the stadium again. As you were walking down the hallways to find her, you felt two hands sneak up on you, making you turn around.

She quickly picked you up from the air, giving you a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Ale!" You say, nearly tearing up.

She puts you down, turns her head to look at her surroundings, and then kisses you quickly, catching you completely off guard. "I have to return to Barcelona now, but I couldn't leave without seeing you." She says excitedly, you had never seen her this happy.

"You did it! You scored two goals. You are champions once again! I'm so fucking proud of you, Ale!" 

"Did you see! I did your initials. Two goals for you, cariño! I probably wouldn't have won the trophy if it wasn't for you." She places her hands on your cheeks, smiling.

"I didn't do anything. It's all on you. I just gave you a little reassurance."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. I have to go now! I have a trophy to bring back to Barcelona. I'll see you in two weeks, cariño." She gives you a quick peck on the lips and then leaves for the dressing room.

The next day, your Instagram was swarmed by pictures of her celebration and a video of the team that was clearly hungover Alexia included, which made you chuckle.

-

That day, you were leaving for Praiano with some of your closest friends from the Roma team. You had invited them to spend the last days in Italy with you before you moved to Barcelona.

The club announced your signing in the middle of the transfer season so as not to overshadow your signing for the Champion's League win; you thought it was totally unnecessary, but LaPorta wanted to give you a 'proper welcome.'

The day of your announcement coincided with the day Mapi would arrive in Italy. You really wanted to be the one telling her that you would be joining her team, so you talked to Ingrid, begging her to not make your friend open her phone for that day. They would stay with you for five days before leaving for Norway. In contrast, Alexia would remain with you for the whole week, which was something that you were looking forward to some alone time with her. Still, you were also nervous about being alone with her in fear of blurting out your surely unrequited feelings for her.

As soon as her flight landed, you went to pick her up, 

She was wearing some Barça shorts and a baggy t-shirt, wearing a messy bun, and walking towards you. As soon as she was close enough, you ran up to her and hugged her, which she soon reciprocated, picking you up from the air.

"Hey, cariño."

"Hi, champion." She put you down, buried her head in the crook of your neck, and placed a small kiss there.

Then you took her suitcase, grabbed her hand and led her outside the airport. As soon as you get into the car, she takes your hand again and never returns it for the rest of the trip.

"How was the flight?" 

"It was good, though nobody speaks Spanish here; they just add the S to the end of every word in Italian. It's so annoying." She pouts cutely.

"Welcome to Italy."

"So, is Mapi already here?"

"No, they are coming tomorrow morning; they had an issue with the plane tickets."

"So we are alone tonight?" She grins suggestively while you quickly nod at her before focusing back on the road. "So, what are the plans for tonight?"

"It depends on how tired you are." She had just had a whole week celebrating with her teammates, and you could understand if she wanted a relaxed night in. You turn around to see her expression, a mix between a smirk and a suggestive glare. "Oh my god, woman! I didn't mean it like that! I'm more than just a body." You remark jokingly as if you weren't thinking about the same thing as her. 

"I know. I love your body." She kisses the back of your hand. "Just as much as I love what it's inside here." She lightly taps your temple, making you slightly blush at her compliment. "SO, what are the plans for tonight?"

"If you are up to it, I wanted to take you out to dinner; since you say that Spanish food is better than Italian, I want to prove you wrong. And if you still have some energy, we can go for a walk later; I can show you around the city."

"I'm good for anything you want to."

-

As soon as you get to the house, Alexia's eyes widen.

"Oh wow, this is beautiful." She opens her mouth in wonder. 

"Wait until you see the beach!"

You stop the car and take her suitcase inside the house while she is toeing behind you. You take her outside to see the small private beach.

"How did you find this place?" She marvels, still looking at the clear water in front of her.

"We used to come here when I was little; I've actually started saving up money to buy this place. The owner loves me and has no kids, so he is okay with me buying it."

 She turns to you, taking you by your sides. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"No problem."

"Now, can you show me the room? I would like to change clothes."

You grab her hand and take her inside the tiny house. "I'm sorry it's a little messy." You still had some bottles of wine opened and some glasses on the table from the previous night. "My friends left this morning, and I still didn't have time to clean up."

"If that is messy for you, you don't want to come to my house during the holiday season." She lightly jokes.

You take her to one of the spare rooms, where she places her suitcase on top of the bed, and then she quickly looks at her surroundings, confused.

"Is this your room? Because I don't see your stuff in here."

"No, my room is over there." You point at the end of the hallway. 

"Just take me to your room; we are going to sleep on the same bed anyway." She says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I thought that you might want your own space."

"You have to stop being so accommodating. If I wanted my space, I would've stayed at home. I came here because I wanted to be with you. So stop being so cautious around me and take me to your room." She says, using her commanding voice that she only used on certain occasions, which she knew had an effect on you. 

You take her to your room, which is the best room in the house. It was the biggest and had a great sea view outside the window.

You leave to make her change while you go in the living room.

-

She wore shorts, her bikini, and an open button-down shirt when she returned. You chuckled when you looked at her; she was really feeling the beach mood. 

"Let's go outside!" She says excitedly.

"Wait, I still have to finish cleaning up, and then I have to go upstairs and finish some other stuff. I'll be there in a couple of minutes." You tell her you really wanted everything to be perfect for this week. 

"Nope." 

"What, sorry?"

"You are on holiday, so stop trying to make everything perfect; it's already perfect as it is, and come outside with me." She insists, making you giggle at her stubbornness.

"But-"

"No buts. You deserve to relax just as much as I do." She quickly approaches you, grabs you by the waist, and drags you outside.

"Alexia!" 

She puts you down on your small patio when you get outside. She places your hands on your cheeks. "Now, let me do something I've wanted to do for two weeks. Can I kiss you?" 

"You really don't have to ask anymore." You reply, standing up on your tippy toes to kiss her. It was slow and soft, and you could feel her smile through the kiss. She picks you up, and you can feel her begin moving. You needed to find out where she was going and why. But you were too caught up in her to understand what was happening. Then you hear some splashes and the sound of the waves. You break the kiss and look around: she brought you into the water, and she was wearing a mischievous smirk. 

"Alexia, don't you dare!" You warn her. She was trying to throw you into the water. She responds to you by chuckling and releasing her grip from your body, making you wrap your legs even tighter to not fall down to the water. "Alexia, come on, I still have clothes on." You tried to convince her, but she looked like she didn't care. So she began tickling you on your sides, which she knew was your ticklish spot. You tried to squirm from her touch, but you lost balance and fell in the water while the woman beside you, still standing, started laughing. 

“Tua madre in carriola!” You exclaim, slightly irritated that you had all your clothes drenched in water, but you couldn't fully care when there she was. You have never seen her as carefree and happy as now. You felt blessed that she was here, right now, with you, being like this, trying to make you finally relax and enjoy some vacation when it was nearly impossible, as you'd always stress about something. 

"You know that I didn't understand anything you said, right? Only something about my mom." She chuckles. You quickly go underwater and grab her legs, making her fall into the water.

"Tu puta madre!"

"See! At least I didn't call your mom a bitch." You tease her while she fixes her wet hair. "And this is payback!" You finish, crossing your arms and wearing a proud smirk. You see her expression change from irritation to determination while swimming towards you. She picked you up and threw you with her in the water, and that is how you spent your afternoon. Stolen kisses, laughs, and a whole lot of competitiveness. Honestly, you couldn't ask for more. 

After the both of you had calmed down after laughing and playfully fighting in the water, you swam to her. You made her wrap her legs around your waist while she was stabling herself, putting your hands on your shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, you always pick me up from the ground; we can switch roles occasionally." You tell her, lightly rubbing her thighs; you really missed having her close to you.

She replies by giving you a soft kiss, then begins to look at you, smiling.

"What?" You ask her, feeling yourself combust at the intense eye contact.

"I just really missed your face, cariño." She says, peppering feathery kisses all over your face. 

How dare she say stuff like that when you try your best to keep inside your confusing and strong feelings for her. 

"I missed you too, piccola." You blurt out, kissing her jaw, holding her a little tighter. You really didn't want to let her go. You had created this little bubble in which the both of you were enjoying each other's presence, not caring about what you were to each other, but just having fun with no constraints and being in each other's company. 

"I think we should get inside." And the bubble popped.

You get inside the house with your clothes soaked and take turns to shower. It had been more than six months since the last time you were able to touch her, and you felt your body yearn for her. Yes, you had kissed, but nothing more than that.

- 

You took her out to dinner in a small place near the city.

You really needed help to differentiate this dinner from a date. It had everything that a date would entail. Good food, subtle and not-so-subtle flirting, and great banter. The subtle touches under the table or the shared knowing glance made your heart skip a beat. This dinner felt like a date, but you knew it wasn't. And that made you feel a sort of uncomfortableness that wasn't easy to set aside to fully enjoy your night with her.

As soon as you finished eating, you took her for a walk around the city, and you would tell her anecdotes of what you did in those places you were walking by when you were a child. 

You arrive at a park, and you both sit down on the swings. 

"You know, this is actually where I had my first kiss." She turns to look at you, wearing a curious grin.

"Here? In this park?" 

"Yeah. It was here. Actually, on this swing."

"Now you have to explain." She asks you curiously.

"Well, I was thirteen. We were a group of five kids, and we would come here every afternoon to have fun and play with the ball. I remember this boy always looking at me, and one day, we were alone at the park. I was on the swing; he made me close my eyes, gave me a flower, and kissed me."

"Oh my god, it's so cute!"

"No, it wasn't. It was very weird. But I think it was just me who didn't want to be handed a rose by a boy, much rather a girl. But that would be a problem for a future 14-year-old me. In hindsight, I think that it should have been the first clue of me liking girls." You chuckle, reminiscing about that young boy who made you realize that kissing boys was disgusting.

"Turn around." You see her standing up with a determined grin.

"What?"

"Just indulge me. Turn around." You turn around, your body closing your eyes expectantly.

"Okay, you can look now." You turn to face her and see a daisy in her hand.

"Well, this might not be a rose. But it is a flower." She hands you the flower shyly, making you chuckle lightly at her cuteness. 

"And you are a girl and not a boy." You state.

"So, can I kiss you? I'll ask because I don't think that poor boy asked you."

"Nah, he didn't. But as I told you before, you no longer have to ask."

"Kissing you shouldn't be something you can take for granted." She replies, leaning into you and weighing the swing's chains.

After more than thirteen years, you recreate your first kiss. And this time, it feels right. It was as if you were meant to recreate it with someone who mattered, who would make you feel excited and nervous about how the little boy felt when he was kissing you. And you felt the same way with her, and every time you kissed her, 

As soon as she breaks off the quick kiss, you remark, "I think you are a better kisser than that poor boy."

"I mean, I'd hope. I'm 29. He was your age."

"Don't get too cocky now. You were slightly better." You tease her. Making her lean into you and give you a searing kiss so that you'd know for sure that if you weren't sat on that swing, probably your knees would give out. It had an intensity that seemed out of place for being in a children's park. But neither of you seemed to care. It was dawn, the playground was abandoned, and you missed kissing her.

And most certainly she was just getting competitive because you told her she was slightly better at kissing than a thirteen-year-old. She wanted to wipe away any doubt about her kissing skills.

She breaks the kiss by lightly biting your lower lip, making you feel all hazy.

"Just slightly better?" She smirks proudly.

You didn't hear a word she said, as you were too busy falling down from the high she had just given you to actually understand words spoken to you in a different language by one of the hottest women you have ever seen. "What did you say?"

"I'll take that as a no." She lightly chuckles, taking your hand and walking to the park exit.

"Let's go home." She whispers, placing a small kiss on your temple.

The walk back to your holiday home was on autopilot. She took the lead on the conversation, asking you questions about the week's plans with your other two friends. As soon as you get home, you go to your small kitchen to get a glass of water while she toes behind you. As soon as you finish drinking, she comes closer to you, putting her hands on your waist and making you retreat until you hit the kitchen counter.

"Thank you for tonight. I really had fun." She smiles earnestly.

"I'm glad that you like it here."

"Oh, I love it here. Even though I think that the people in this place have an average age of 72." She jokes

"Nah, 75. In fact, there is only one kid in the whole town. And the father is actually the boy of the kiss in the park."

"Well, at least he moved on."

"Yeah, it was very tough for him, but eventually, after a very long time, he found love again. But again, how could you ever move on from someone like me." You joke. 

"I don't know. Well, nearly after a year, I'm still here, so something right you must be doing." She teases you.

"Or maybe you just can't find better." You raise an eyebrow suggestively.

"I don't think there is better to find, honestly." Her gaze softens as she says those words, making you blush, hiding your face by placing your forehead on her chest, hiding from her. She pulls her hands away from your waist and puts them on your cheeks to try to move your head from her to see your face. "What?" She asks. 

"You have to stop saying things like that."

"Why? I mean it." She reassures you.

"I- You know why." You try to make her understand, not fully saying out loud feelings; try to make her understand them instead without fully exposing yourself.

"I'd rather you say it."

You take a deep breath. "Alexia, do you want to go on-" Your phone rings and you look from your watch to who is calling you "I have to take this."

You squirm away from her touch and leave to go outside. 

"Pronto, Emma. Tutto bene?" It was your best friend whom you hadn't seen in a year and a half. She never called without asking you beforehand, so you thought it was pretty important.

"Si, tutto bene. Ti devo dire una cosa.” She replies excitedly, making you release a sigh of relief that nothing bad had happened.

Ten minutes later, you come back to Alexia wearing one of your biggest smiles.

"Is everything okay?" She asks, still waiting for you in the same spot as you left her.

"More than okay!" You reply excitedly, walking quickly to her. "My best friend is getting married, and I'll be the maid of honor." You place your hands on her shoulders, then slowly move them to her neck, lightly playing with her hair. "Now, where were we?" You knew exactly how you left her; you were about to blurt out your feelings for her, but you decided to ignore the problem and not dwell on it too much. Instead, you kissed her. The kissing led to something else, and for the first time in more than six months, time froze, and you were back again in her arms.

-

The next morning, you wake up to the alarm with hair on your face and an arm holding you down. You had a headache and clearly were sleep-deprived. You open your phone and look at the time. It's 10 AM. 

"Fuck!" You sit up, making the woman on your side slowly wake up. "Alexia, wake up. We are late; we should've been in the car by now."

You say, rushing out of your bed to quickly change. You had promised Mapi that you would drive her to your house from the airport because you thought it would be a waste of money to book a taxi when you had a perfectly functioning car that could drive you anywhere.

In five minutes, you were able to dress, brush your teeth, and get in the car. Thankfully, you remembered to shower the night before, so you didn't have to do it in the morning; you felt bad for Alexia, as you could see that she wasn't used to this level of rushedness, that you were more than used to as you always tended to sleep in, and eventually have to rush to get in time to train or to games.

You closed the door to the house while Alexia was still halfway done putting her shirt on. As soon as the both of you got into the car and slammed the door, you looked at each other and started laughing.

"Okay, those were the quickest five minutes of my life." She says while catching her breath.

"We totally overslept, and we are totally going to be late." You chuckle, starting the engine of your car.

"We can always say that we found traffic." She offers.

You definitely and not-so-subtly speed to the airport and then quickly call your friend to tell her that you are finally at the airport.

"I'm really sorry. We found traffic on the way here." You tell Mapi while you go to hug her and Ingrid. As your friend goes to hug Alexia, you turn to Ingrid and whisper, "Did she already open her Instagram?" You were trying to hold off her discovering that you were a Barça player; you really wanted to tell her, and that day would be the day that Barcelona would announce your signing.

"No, she didn't, but I can't hold off her phone for long." She replies, breaking off the hug and going to Mapi's side and beginning to catch up on her life and yours. 

"Oh my God, I forgot to tell you! Emma is getting married!"

"No way! She's finally settled down?!" Everyone who knew the both of you always thought that you would be the first one to marry, as Emma has always been the hot mess between the two of you, afraid of commitment. "Is she marrying the same guy from college?" She asks you.

"Yep." You turn around to look at Alexia and Ingrid, and then you explain. "When I was in college when I met Kate, my ex, Emma met this guy who studied economics and finance at our same university. They got together way before Kate and I. He's so dumb. I love him so much. They are perfect for each other."

You turn again to face your tattooed friend, "Wait, is that a hickey?" Her face is adorned with a knowing smirk while pointing at your neck, making you subconsciously hide it with your hand.

"No, it's not! It's a bruise." You try to explain, mentally trying to remember to scold Alexia as soon as you got her alone.

"It's so not!" She chuckles, surprised, making you turn around to glance angrily at Alexia, who replies with an innocent smile. "Is that the reason why you were late?"

"No! We found traffic on the way here, as I told you before."

"Yes!" Alexia casually backs you up, making your other two friends understand it was a lie.

As soon as you get into the car, Mapi is about to take out her phone to put music on when you stop her, saying that only the passenger in the front, Alexia, could put the music on, which was a lie, but you really didn't want her to see her phone. 

-

As soon as you got home, the couple went to their room to unpack the suitcase while you and Alexia put on your bathing suit and went outside to the beach to sunbathe. You were reading some book, trying to focus on the words of the book rather than the woman who was lying half-naked on your right. Which was getting increasingly more difficult whenever she would move or place soft caresses on your back, trying to get your attention.

"Hey." You turn to look at her.

"Hey, cariño. I'm sorry for the hickey. I got a little carried away yesterday night." She apologizes shyly, making you forgive her in the blink of an eye.

"Don't worry about it." You come closer to her, placing a hand on her chest, and give her a small kiss. You brush your noses together and tell each other sweet nothings, creating a small bubble that neither of you wants to pop. "I know that I'm a person who doesn't express much of her feelings vocally, but I just wanted to say that I'm really glad that you are here with me."

"Honestly, there is no place I'd rather be, cariño. By your side is where I am the happiest."

You move your lips closer to her, about to kiss her, when you hear the door of the house open and see your friends coming outside. You make your forehead fall on her shoulder while you feel her sigh displeased. You slowly move away from her and sit up.

"I'm still not used to seeing this." Your friend says while pointing at the both of you, making her girlfriend roll her eyes at her.

You spend the morning in your small private beach playing card games and catching up with each other. 

-

In the afternoon, it was when the club would announce your signing, so you decided to tell her at that moment. You had brought your Barcelona shirt to be able to announce it away from Barcelona. You told the club that you wouldn't be able to fly to Barcelona for your signing because you had already booked your holidays, so you did all the photoshoots and signing beforehand.

The first hours of the afternoon had always been the hottest, so you all decided to come inside and plan together your four days ahead. 

You go to your room and retrieve the Barça shirt. Then you leave to go to your living room. "Oh, and by the way, I decided on my future club." You say casually, sitting down on the couch next to Alexia, facing Mapi.

"You are renewing with Roma, right?" She asks curiously. "I heard some rumors saying that they offered you a big contract."

"Yeah, they did offer me a huge contract. But I decided to leave; check your phone." You look at the time on your watch. "I think they just made the announcement." You tell her excitedly. 

She quickly checks her phone, then turns to look at you smiling. "You'll be a Barça player?" You slowly nod, taking out the shirt with your name on it and showing it to her.

"I wanted to be the one who told you; that's why Ingrid never let you use your phone today." You say while standing up to hug her.

"I'm so happy! We can finally win the Champions League together! Like we always dreamed about!" She says excitedly, looking at the shirt. "Have you already decided on the number? I know that yours has always been the 16."

"I don't care, honestly. I'm just glad to be a Barcelona player. Plus, Rölfo already has the 16. I don't want her to change numbers for me."

"It's already settled, cariñ- Y/n." Alexia interjects, making you turn to look at her. "I know how much the number means to you, and Frido already wanted to change the number to 18, so I asked her if she wanted to make the swap. If you want it, you'll have the 16."

"Ale, there was no need to do that!" You felt your heart explode with affection at the thought that she would do this for you without even asking her or talking about it.

"I know. But I wanted to." You lock eyes, and for a moment, it is as if you are the only one in the room. "Now, do you want me to take a picture of you for the announcement?"

You posted on your Instagram a picture of you and your friend holding your Barça announcement shirt, with the caption: 'Reunited with this one.'

The rest of the week passed in a blur, from boat trips to visiting nearby cities and loads of food; you finally felt at peace and ready for your new adventure in Barcelona.

-

You would stay one last week in Italy with your family to finish packing up, and then you would leave for Barcelona. You found a beautiful apartment near the training grounds, and it had everything you dreamed of. Huge kitchen, a small garden, and a great view of the city.

Everything felt perfect. Alexia was going to pick you up from the airport, you thought it was unnecessary and a waste if her time, but then you gave in, wanting to see more of the woman who had been on your mind ever since that week in Italy, maybe even from before.

As soon as you landed, you got the terrible news from your landlord that a pipe from your apartment had just exploded, which meant that for more than a week, you would be homeless.

As you walk sadly to the exit of the airport, you find Alexia smiling at you as soon as she sees you, but then, as soon as she sees your expression, her smile fades into an expression of worry. You go to hug her, circling your arms on her waist. "Are you okay, cariño?" She asks worriedly.

You bury your head in her shirt, feeling the warmth and comfort she is exuding and taking it all in.

"A pipe from my new apartment just exploded. I am homeless for a week, and I need to find a hotel not too far from the training grounds."

"We'll find a solution together. Now let's go to the car and go home." She takes one of your suitcases, puts her arm on your shoulder, and pulls you close to her, dragging you to her Cupra.

As you enter the car, you melt into the car seat, taking Alexia's hand and giving it a couple of kisses. She turned on the engine of the car and proceeded to leave the infinite parking area of the Barcelona airport. 

"If it's not a problem, you can always stay with me." She offered when you asked her if she knew any hotels near the training grounds. "Because I really don't think you'd want a week of Mapi and Ingrid together." She jokes, clearly making a point, because as much as you love both girls, they are disgustingly in love, and being around them made you feel miserable with your current situation with Alexia.

"Ale, I don't want to intrude. You need your space, and until I'm settled in, I'll take up a lot of it. And I don't want you to feel like you have to because you stayed in my home during the holidays," You say.

"I'm not offering because I feel some sort of obligation. I'm offering because I care about you, and I'd hate for you to be stuck in a hotel when you can simply stay at my place."

"Are you sure?" 

She chuckles at your stubbornness, "Yes, I'm sure, cariño. But I do have one condition that I cannot overrule." She becomes immediately serious, making you unconsciously sit up. "You have to bake me those darn cookies." Her condition makes you chuckle. "I want to bring them to my mamá."

"I'll bake you all the cookies you want, piccola mia." 

.

You get to her home, and as soon as she opens the door, you are met with a ball of fur asking for your attention, which you gladly give to her.

That evening, you baked your cookies together, fully knowing that the next day would be your first day of training, so it acted more as a stress relief rather than something you were doing for someone else. Which wasn't a problem for you, as it had always been your love language, acts of service, and cooking for other people. But strangely enough, you weren't feeling at all that anxious, and most certainly, even if you wouldn't admit it to yourself, it was Alexia's merit.

Her presence seemed to ground you and anchor you to the real world, not making you overthink or go in a spiral of intrusive and not good thoughts.

You loved how, even though she didn't know how to bake, she would try her best to do whatever you wanted her to do, making you grin at her concentrated looks whenever she didn't understand something. 

-

As you went to bed that night, you were cuddling up in Alexia's bed.

"So, are you excited about tomorrow?" She asks you.

"I am a little nervous, but yes, I'm very excited. I'm finally playing for my dream club, and honestly, I couldn't be asking for more. But I do have a question, though: Do you know how many people know about us on the team?"

"Mapi has been a good friend, but for now, only she and Ingrid know. But if you are asking me if I'll treat you differently than what I've been doing now, the answer is no. Of course, I'll not be kissing you because we are at work, but I'll never avoid you."

"You'll have plenty of time to kiss me on other occasions then." You give her a small peck on the lips and go back to your previous position, falling asleep in her arms, looking forward to the next day.

-

The next day, you have breakfast together and then leave for the training grounds. As soon as you get there, Alexia goes in for training, whereas you go and meet all the training staff and Jonatan Giraldez. You were nervous, as you always hated to meet new coaches.

"Hey, Mister."

"Hey, Y/n. I'm so glad to finally have you on my team. It has been two years now that you have been my number 6 choice. I hope we can work well together." He says, shaking your hand, making you blush lightly at the compliment. 

"I will do my best to be the best player I can be." You say.

"I'm sure you will. Now, before going to train and meet your future teammates, even though I know you already know some of them, you unfortunately have some media to attend to."

He accompanies you to a room full of interviewers from Barça TV and some other places, and the interviews begin.

"Hello, Y/n Y/ln. May I ask you some questions?" He asks politely, and you slightly nod.

"Welcome to Barcelona; what made you decide to leave your former club to join Barcelona?"

"Barça has always been my dream club, ever since I was a child. I remember that my uncle wanted me to become an Inter fan, whereas my other one wanted me to become a Milan fan, but as soon as I saw Barcelona play, I was completely taken by their style of play, and it was this club and Messi, that made me fall in love with the sport, so I will always be forever grateful to this club, for giving me this opportunity."

"Y/n, you have the impossible task of replacing one of the best CDMs in the world, Keira Walsh, who had just returned to her childhood club, Man City, with Lucy Bronze; how do you think you will fit that role?"

"Woah, huge question." You lightly joke, earning chuckles from the interviewer. "I think Walsh is one of the best CDMs in the world right now, if not the best. It's not going to be an easy task to 'replace' a player like her, if we can say that. But I'll give it my all to this team, and even if I won't be the best 6 in the world, I'll definitely be the best version of myself to play for this historic team. It's my dream."

"Who are you most excited to play with?"

"Of course, Mapi. We played together during our Atletico days, and I always thought that we worked very well together. But honestly, all of them, I'm really excited to play in midfield with Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas and one of the most underrated players of all time, Patri Guijarro."

"How do you feel about playing with Alexia Putellas, given the circumstances of your previous encounters?" You furrow your eyebrows at the question.

"You mean, given that the last time we played against each other, she nearly broke my nose?" You say lightheartedly, making the people understand that you weren't holding any grudge against her.

The English interviewer quickly nods. "As I said in previous interviews, I think Alexia is a great player and a great person, both on and off the pitch. She will be my new skipper, and I couldn't ask for anyone better. In our previous encounters, I think we were just unfortunate, and when you play with a person who is physically bigger and stronger than you, injuries may happen. But I don't hold any type of grudge against her; in fact, we actually joked about the fact that if she weren't a football player, she could definitely be a kickboxer."

"And that is all for today; thank you, Y/n."

"Thank you all for being here and Visca el Barça."

-

You quickly exit the room and speed walk to the changing rooms to get ready for your first training with the team. As soon as you put on the shirt, you immediately touch the badge of your new team and automatically smile. You had finally made it, and you couldn't be happier.

You put on your cleats and go outside to talk to your coach. All the other girls were making rondos or juggling with the ball, making you feel a little bit like a fish out of the sea. For a slight moment, you were slightly regretting coming to Barcelona but you knew that it was just your mind playing tricks on you and that you deserved to be there just as much as the girls who were already training.

"So, coach, do you want me to run a few laps or do some drills with the ball?" You tell him, feeling ready to do anything, even running, jumping up and down from your standing position.

"Oh no." He chuckles. "I don't know if you do this in Italy, but here at Barcelona, for every new player, we do the guard of honor." 

"Oh no, we don't have to." You say shyly, not wanting to be at the center of attention.

"Oh yeah, it's tradition." He spurs you on, making you go with him on the pitch to your new teammates.

"Girls!" He screams, making all of them turn around. "As you already know, Y/n will be our new 16, so take care of her and make her feel at home!" He says, making you awkwardly wave at your teammates, embarrassed. Mapi walks excitedly to you and gives you a hug. 

"Is your coach always like this?" You ask her, still embarrassed.

"Yep, get used to it."

"I will never get used to wearing these colors," you say, putting your hand on your badge.

"You deserve it more than anyone." She leads you to your teammates, and one by one, you get introduced to them, even though you already knew most of them, never leaving your side, for which you were eternally grateful to her. You leave Alexia for last, and she gives you a quick hug and a reassuring look, which is what you need to finally ground yourself.

They all line up to give you the guard of honor, which you try to make them not do, but Mapi basically pushes you to run, feeling all the smacks on your back as you are running. The training was great after that. You managed to talk and get to know everyone, and everyone was so nice to you.

The intensity, though, was something that you had never experienced before. The Barça rhythms were definitely higher than the ones from Roma, but you weren't the one who would give up that easily, overworking your body, trying to prove yourself to the coach.

You were on a water break, trying to catch your breath, putting your hands on your knees, straightening your back. You feel a hand at the back of your neck lightly squeezing, asking for your attention. You immediately recognize her touch, even though you didn't see her. You turn around to look at her, and you are met with a worried look.

“Are you okay, cariñ- Y/n?“

"So good." You say breathlessly. "I just have to get used to this much running, that's all."

"Do you want me to talk to the coach?" 

"I don't need any special treatment, Alexia." You squirm away from her and jump on Mapi's back, interrupting her from some conversation she was having with Pina and Patri. You felt bad about leaving Alexia like that, so coldly, but then again, you always hated when people were concerned about your physical health or were just trying to help; it made you vulnerable, and you hated that. You immediately regretted how you talked to Alexia and decided that after practice, you would apologize to her.

When practice ended, you were exhausted but still very happy. Alexia was practicing free kicks as everyone left to change.

"Piccola mia, I'm really sorry about how I replied to you today." You say regretfully, placing your hand on her back, making her turn to you.

"I wasn't trying to give you any special treatment, Y/n." What happened to cariño? "I am your captain; if you feel bad or worn out, it's my responsibility to help you." She replies sadly, playing with the ball on her feet.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I just hate when people are worried about me. It makes me feel vulnerable. And I know you were just worried, so I'm really sorry."

"I know you are. Come here and give me a proper hug." She opens her arms for you, which you gladly take, and circle your arms around her waist, putting your head on her chest. Those types of hugs with her were your favorite hugs.

"Now, are you ready for the initiation?" 

You break off the hug and look at her, puzzled. "What initiation? Mapi never told me anything."

"Well, it's more like a team bonding get-together with karaoke."

"So I have to sing? Will you sing too?"

"I am not singing, but you are a newbie, so you have to." She explains as if she were stating the obvious.

"The hell I am not."

"The hell you are." She chuckles.

"I do love music, but I do not sing. When I am sober, at least."

"You kinda have to; it's a tradition. Everyone has done it. It's about shedding any fear of embarrassment."

"But Ale-"

"Nope, it's settled." You sigh at her words and then leave to go to the dressing room.

“Goodbye capitana.”

“Goodbye cariño.”

-

In the meantime, Mapi and Patri were watching your interaction with Ale from afar.

"I've never seen Alexia this… soft? It feels weird." Patri states to her friend.

"Who? Alexia and Y/n?" Mapi asks dumbly, trying not to give out any details. 

"I never specified Y/n." She raises an eyebrow. "Wait. Do you know something?" The midfielder's face turns into a wide smirk.

"I don't have anything to say to you that I should say." 

"So you have something for me that you shouldn't say?" She asks, flipping the situation.

"Stop using wordy sentences to make me confused."

"You didn't reply to my question. Are they dating? Wait, is she the girl we all thought a couple of months ago fucked her?"

"I don't know anything! If you are really that curious, go and ask her!" Your friend replies defensively, really trying not to spill any secrets.

At that moment, you walked through the door and saw your friend, "You didn't tell me I had to sing?! Oh hey, Patri." You turn around to your new teammates happily waving at her, and then you go back to point your finger angrily at your friend.

"Oh, come on! How bad it could be! You were in a band, after all." She says

"You were in a band?" Patri asks curiously.

"I had a really dark past.." You explain quickly and dramatically. "Plus, you know well I didn't sing!"

"Oh, come on. Don't be too dramatic. I'll get you a couple of drinks, then you'll sing something, and that's that."

.

That evening, you were exhausted from your training, so you decided to have a power nap in Alexia's house, which she gladly joined you in. After a couple of hours, you were ready to go and left for the pub, where you would meet the girls from the team.

As soon as you get there, you leave Alexia to go to Mapi and mingle with some of the Spanish girls in that group, Ona, Aitana, Pina, and Patri. While Alexia went to talk to the older girls and her friends from the national team. Some hours in the night passed, and you were really glad that you were getting along with everybody from the team.

At first, you were very shy with them, but thankfully, Mapi, and in some instances Alexia, helped you a little to open up and make your teammates able to get to know you. Some girls were drinking, but you decided not to, and many of them started off the karaoke, making you sometimes laugh at their stupidity, whereas in others, you would clap at them. 

You knew that your turn was coming when you saw Mapi run to another room and come out with a guitar in her hand, making you roll her eyes at her, completely understanding her intentions. You used to play the guitar when you were younger, and you actually were quite good at it. But you hadn't played in so long, and as the hype woman your best friend was and the fact that she loved embarrassing you, fully knowing you hated being the center of attention, she brought a guitar just for everybody to see and ask you about it.

She handed it to you, making you chuckle at her sarcastically, but she was wearing this proud smirk, which showed that she wasn't doing this just to make you uncomfortable and tease but also to show you off, which you thought was very unnecessary.

You open the guitar case, and you see a beautiful acoustic guitar.

"Where did you get this? Did you steal it?" You joke, admiring the guitar.

"The guy behind the bar recognized us and gave me the guitar."

"Do you play the guitar, Y/n?" Ona asks you curiously, making you turn your head around the table.

"Well, I used to play it; I haven't played in a very long time." You say while you pick it up and run the strings through your hands. You stopped playing the guitar when you left for Chelsea. Usually, music was your happy place, but when you moved out from Spain and broke up with Kate, your love for the instrument dissipated, and you wouldn't bring yourself to do something that you enjoyed so much.

"You should play something for us," Patri adds excitedly. 

"Oh no." You reply shyly, putting away the guitar. "I haven't played in so long, plus I don't think I remember much, and I really don't want to embarrass myself." You chuckle nervously, hoping that they will let it go. In the meantime, the guitar thing caught some attention, so now, not only was your table waiting for you to play something, but everyone in your group and some other clients in the pub were waiting for you to play something.

"Oh nonsense, you know that you have to perform; if you don't play the guitar, you'll have to sing. So you decide…" Mapi spurs you on. You take a deep breath and move your chair to the little stage where the people would normally sing karaoke. You quickly tune the guitar, and then you finally feel all the eyes on you.

"Okay, if I get some notes wrong, please don't laugh at me." You look at Alexia one last time, who is somehow sitting with Mapi now, and she gives you a reassuring smile.

So you begin playing one of your favorite songs on the guitar; every time you play it, it reminds you of when life was fun and simple. Whenever you played it, you would get lost in the music and daydream of what those sounds elicit. (If you want to hear it, it's 'Mutter' from Rob Scallon, the live version)

As soon as you start playing, your tattooed friends turn to Alexia.

"Good luck, my friend." She pats her back ironically.

"What, why?" Alexia whispers, still trying to give you her full undivided attention.

"If she still plays like she played years ago, she has this way of conveying many emotions. Either they are sad or happy; whenever she plays something, she amplifies it by a thousand. The song that she is about to play is going to hit you like a ton of bricks, believe me."

The song begins slowly, but then it gets faster and fuller. It made you regret to decide this piece after not playing in so long, but you loved it, and honestly, you really wanted to show off a little to your teammates and, most definitely, to Alexia. Thankfully, this worry of making mistakes was quickly forgotten when you began getting lost in the music. You really missed being able to play and express yourself in this way.

As soon as you finish the song with the last chord, you don't dare to look at your teammates; only when you hear the claps do you lightly blush and turn your gaze around the room, searching for those beautiful eyes that have the capacity to render you hopeless, but you couldn't see her, nor your friend for that matter.

-

Your performance was nearly finished, and Alexia never took her eyes off you; she thought that what Mapi said was right; your performance hit her like a ton of bricks, but more than anything, it brought out a huge realization that Alexia could quite withstand, so she left, to go to the bathroom, trying to get some space. Mapi quickly followed her friend, and as soon as they were inside the small room, the defender turned to pacing Alexia.

"Woahh, hey, calm down. What happened?" She asks the midfielder, placing her hands on her shoulders, trying to stop her from walking around the room.

She takes a deep breath, "Mapi, I have a problem. A huge one."

"Okay, tell me what it is; I know that we can find a solution to it." Her shorter friend reassures her, clearly shocked to see her captain in this state.

"I don't think we can. I just realized that I am in love with her." She says, putting her hands on her face.

"Who?" 

"Who? Mapi really? Lady Gaga. No Y/n, you idiot."

"Sorry, I just wanted to check. But why is it such a problem?"

"Because we decided not to have anything serious, and I really don't want to get rejected when I was the one that continuously pointed out that we weren't dating whenever someone asked."

"I think she feels the same. No. I know that she feels the same. Gosh, I spent five days with you two alone in a house; I can understand when two of my best friends are in love with each other. Eyes don't lie. And don't you dare tell that you haven't been already acting like a couple for at least 6 months now!"

"Do you really think that?"

"I know that. Just tell her how you feel. You won't lo-"

You open the door to the bathroom, searching for Alexia. She had been missing for a couple of minutes now, so you were a little worried that she might have been sick.

"Oh, here you are! I thought you left or you were sick!" You say happily when you finally find Alexia and Mapi, but then you notice something wrong with her, as if she was shaken up. "Wait, are you okay?" You asked, worried, coming closer to her.

"I'm okay, cariño." She reassures you, and then her expression changes into something happier and more proud. "I didn't know you were so good at playing the guitar!" 

"I was better a long time ago. I haven't played in years, but this woman here." You point at Mapi quickly, "Can't mind her own business."

"Thankfully, she didn't; I know for sure you wouldn't have told me that you are good at playing an instrument."

"I would have told you!" You cross your arms, pouting.

"No, you wouldn't." She shakes her head, smiling, while Mapi nods, backing her up. "You'd hate for anybody to know that you are good at something, just in fear of being at the center of the attention." She explains, making you blink twice. It felt as if you were an open book for her to read and understand you perfectly.

"Get out of my head." You remark shyly, earning from her a chuckle. "So you liked the song?" You ask shyly and insecurely.

She gently places her hands on your cheeks, gently caressing them to give you some reassurance. "I loved it; you are a wonderful guitar player, cariño."

"Thank you." You lightly blush. For a moment, you forget that Mapi is in the same room as the two of you because you place your finger on your lips to silently ask her to kiss you. Which she gladly does, feeling her smile against your lips

"I'm still here, you know!" Mapi interrupts you from your little moment, irritated. "Bleah, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing this." You raise your middle finger at her, still kissing Alexia, fully starting to make out with her. You hear the door shut, making you temporarily pull away from her to look behind you, then resuming back to kissing her.

Five minutes later, you both decide to go back to your teammates, but as the night progresses, you feel yourself getting more and more tired, making all of your clinginess appear. You would orbit around Alexia more, trying to find some physical comfort in her presence, even though you really didn't want to show off your 'relationship' with her.

She noticed this almost immediately, so when you were passing by her, in a swift movement, she wraps her arms around your waist and dragged you to her lap; you stumble a little, trying to balance yourself, placing your arm on her shoulder, 

"Are you tired?" She whispers in your ear as if you were the only two people in the room.

"Yes, I am a little. How did you know?"

"I have already seen you tired many times, cariño. You are very touchy when you are tired." You subconsciously move away from her, but she keeps you in place firmly. "Don't move away; I love this side of you."

At first, your new teammates gave the both of you a surprised look, but nobody would dare to say anything besides Mapi, obviously, who sent you from across the room a knowing look, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. 

By the end of the night, you had played some more guitar as some of your teammates wanted to sing some more songs. But after a couple more hours, you were exhausted, and when Alexia noticed it, she decided to bring you home to sleep.

-

That morning, when you woke up, everything in your body ached somehow. You really had to get used to Barcelona's rhythms. The bed was empty, so you figured that Alexia was making breakfast, so you painfully make it to Alexia's kitchen wearing one of her big shirts and some shorts you found along the way to the kitchen, which were scattered the night before trying to get to the bedroom. She was making coffee the way you liked it, with the moka instead of using her Nespresso machine 'that she loves so much,' which made you smile at her attentiveness. As soon as you walk into her kitchen, she turns around and walks towards you, giving you a small kiss on the lips.

“Good morning, cariño. Did you sleep well?" She turns to her kitchen again, rummaging through the cabinet on top of her stove.

"I slept really well. What are you doing?" You ask her curiously, leaning on the kitchen countertop and peaking.

"So I found out that my mom had a moka in her kitchen all this time, and I didn't even notice it! So I asked her if I could borrow it since I know you prefer this coffee to the machine." She says while putting the coffee maker on the stove.

"Ale, you shouldn't have done that! I would've gladly drank whichever one you had; you didn't have to go through such trouble for me." You lightly slap her shoulder.

"I didn't go through any trouble. I just wanted to make you feel at home."

Before saying something that you most probably regret, aka replying with But you are my home. You dragged her to your height, kissed her to show all of your gratitude, and whispered a small thank you. When the coffee was ready, you both sat down on her small table and had breakfast.

You were talking about some media stuff you were going to do in the afternoon when you heard a knock on the door. Alexia looks at you confused, not expecting anybody, and she leaves with Nana in tow; as she opens the door, you hear Alexia talking to a woman who has a very similar voice to hers, and then you hear her scream, "No, Alba, no!" 

You see the woman enter the kitchen with Alexia chasing after her as if she didn't want her to meet you.

"Hello, my name is Alba. I'm Alexia's sister." You suddenly widen your eyes, shocked. She offers you her hand to shake, and you stand up.

"Hi, I'm Y/N." You shake her hand and offer her a shy smile, subconsciously searching for Alexia to help you out with this unexpected visit.

"I know who you are; my sister nearly broke your nose. By the way, I want to apologize on her behalf; she never had proper manners." 

"Alba!" Alexia screams, exasperated, while you release a light chuckle.

"Don't worry, she has already apologized. But yes, she has to work on her manners." You wink at Alexia, making her roll your eyes at you.

"Since when are you guys dating?" She asks curiously, earning another frustrated scream from Alexia.

"Oh no. We are not dating; she is just helping me out because a pipe exploded in my apartment." You reassure her while she stares at you confused, then lowers her gaze,

"So you give your clothes to all of your guests?" Alba asks her sister ironically, making you slightly blush.

"Well, I- I," The older sister stutters, making the other draw conclusions by herself. 

"So you are dating."

"It's complicated." She says. "Is there any particular reason why you are here?"

"I forgot my sweater here last week, and I need it back. But I can come at another time."

"No, I'll get it for you." She disappears into the house, leaving you and Alba in an awkward silence.

Thankfully, Alexia comes back thirty seconds later, 

"So you should come to dinner at mom's house sometime. She would love to meet your new 'roommate.'" She teases her older sister, clearly trying to irritate her.

"Well, then, you should invite Alexandre too since you live at his house more than you live at your own house." She replies sarcastically.

"I thought we reached an agreement to never talk about Alexandre ever again after the incident."

"By incident, she means when I caught them fucking in the bathroom during the semi-finals against Chelsea last year." She explains to you, clearly trying to irritate her sister, making you feel like you are getting way too much information on their dynamics in one sitting.

"Let me guess: when she saw you, she made some sarcastic remark, rolled her eyes, and left, right?" You joke, clearly imagining the scene.

"That's exactly it! Always rolling her eyes at people. So annoying! Finally, someone who gets it!"

"Uggghh." Alexia sighs and rolls her eyes at you both.

"See! She just did it again!" 

"I don't like this coalition between the two of you." She lightly pouts.

"It's not a coalition when we are simply just stating the truth!" You lightly tease her, earning an approving nod from Alexia's sister.

"I hate you both!" She exclaims, fully knowing that she was just lying.

"No, you don't." Then you turn to Alba, "It was nice meeting you; I hope we'll see each other soon. I have to get changed for practice." You leave the two sisters while you get ready for training.

After a couple of minutes, Alexia entered your now shared room; you turned to her and placed your hands on her shoulders.

"So you met my sister…"

"She's very nice; I hope I made a good impression." You say insecurely.

"You made a great impression, cariño. I'm just really sorry that you had to meet her in these circumstances. Not to put pressure on you, but my sister can't keep a secret, and she'll definitely tell my mom about you."

"What a way to not put pressure on me." You chuckle nervously.

"Don't worry. I will handle everything, okay?" She gives you a small peck. "Now, are you ready?"

Training that day was even more intense than the day before, with the exception that you were finding so many link-ups with your new teammates. Sometimes, you would forget that you weren't training anymore with your old teammates, that if you passed the ball to the right, you would find Giugliano without looking, or that Linari was right behind you, ready for a pass if you needed it. 

Now, you had different teammates, and your body had to get used to it. 

Being back on the pitch with Mapi had been so exciting. Both of your styles of play evolved so much that how you played at Atletico didn't matter anymore. She loved playing with the ball, so you'd expect more passes from her than before.

What really changed everything for you were the players up front. Playing behind Alexia and Aitana was something that didn't happen every day. The best way for them to express themselves was if you were able to cover defensively for them, which you were doing gladly. Adapting to their style of play was not simple; they played on short and fast passes and opted less for long passes, which were your specialty. 

You were practicing on free kicks, which you thought you were pretty good at. You didn't know why, but you were able to curve the ball perfectly, making the goalkeepers go crazy.

You were in a team with Mapi against Alexia and Graham Hansen, whom you were unceremoniously obsessed with her football skills.

It was your turn to shoot your first free-kick. Paños was on goal, and she was eying the ball. You go for the kick and curve the ball perfectly; the goalkeeper didn't even move because she thought it would be going out. It hit a top bin, and it was in. You throw your hand in the air competitively. "Dajeee!"

"That was a great curved ball! Where did you learn that?" Mapi asked, shocked, as she had never seen you take a free kick like that before.

You shake your shoulders nonchalantly while Caro asks you, "What are your free kick stats?"

"Like all time or just last season?" You ask shyly.

"All the time."

"Well, since I played for Roma, I was usually the one who took free kicks. I guess out of fifty-one direct free kicks, I scored forty-seven if I remember correctly." 

"Wait, really?" Alexia asks you, shocked.

"Well, I love taking free kicks, and I practice a lot on them."

"That's not normal, Y/n; that's a really high conversion rate. I don't understand why I just heard about this!" Your friend tells you.

"I don't know, I just love taking them." You shrug your shoulders. "Plus, when I go for a curved ball, I don't know how, but I do it in a way that is almost impossible to predict."

"You can do a knuckleball too?"

"I'm not that good at that." They move the ball to the place and offer you to kick it. You hit the ball hard, and it goes for the post, then bounces off the other and goes in.

You scrunch your nose, dissatisfied, getting a new ball for another free kick, while your teammates look at you, shocked.

You turn to look at them, "What? 

"Well, now we have to change teams, or it's going to get too easy for you guys!" Alexia says competitively.

"Oh, hell no! Now it's too late; we already decided on the teams!" Mapi says.

"Well, let Y/n decide." Ale crosses her arms, looking at you. "Do you want to swap teams and be with me, who is currently hosting you in my home, or that woman over there?" She points disgusted Mapi.

"Well, I-"You try to talk. 

"Of course, she's going to choose me! I've known her for more than seven years!" They kept on bickering while you and Caro just stared at them, chuckling. 

"You know? I think I'm actually switching teams." You raise an eyebrow, smirking. 

"You made the right decision," Alexia says proudly. She walks to you to get on your side.

"That's arrogant to assume that I would switch teams with you, Alexia." You give her a smirk and walk to Caro's side, leaving Mapi and Alexia next to each other. "Caro and I are going to destroy you!"

And so you did. After another twenty minutes, you finally leave the pitch and get home with Alexia. Once again, you were exhausted, but you were very happy that you were able to get along with your new teammates.

As soon as you get home, you throw yourself to the couch while Nala jumps on top of you for cuddles, which you gladly give her.

Alexia was still pouting because she lost the free-kick competition. "Oh, come on, you can't be still mad!"

"I'm not mad."

"Well, it's not every day that you get to be on the same team as Caroline Graham Hansen. You know how much I am obsessed with her football skills."

"Well, then, why don't you go and ask her if you could crash at her place."

You sit right up and drag her by the shirt to you. "Are you jealous, piccola?"

"No, I am not! Why would I ever be! Caro is in a relationship with Marta. Plus, I am the one that has two Ballon d'Or." She says, trying to convince you.

"I know. You are the best of the best. I had to basically seduce you so that my team could have a chance against you. And you don't have to worry about anyone. There is no one else." The last words unconsciously slip out of your mouth, making you mentally curse at yourself.

"There is no one else for me either. Y/n, I have to tell you something." You nod at her while placing your arms on her shoulders.

"I'm in lo-"The phone rings again. This time, it is Alexia's phone. She goes to look at it. "It's my agent. I really need to take this."

After thirty minutes, she comes back looking stressed out.

"What was the call about, that made you go on the phone for thirty minutes?" You ask curiously.

"Oh no, I was also on the phone with my mom; that's why I was out for so long."

"Is everything okay at home?"

"Everything is great!" You could see that something was up. "But you know when I told you that my mom found out about you-us?"

"No? I thought that she still didn't know."

"Well, now she does. AndsheinvitedusfordinnerandIdidn'tknowwhethertotellyoubecauseIdon'tknowifyouwanttocome."

"What, sorry? I know you have this cute little habit of talking fast when you are nervous, but remember that I am not Spanish."

"Sorry." She takes a deep breath. "My mom invited us for dinner. You can totally say no, but-"

"I would love to come to dinner, Alexia. You didn't have to be that nervous." You give her a small peck on the lips. "Tell her I will bring the dessert."

-

"So, are you ready to finally meet your mother-in-law this afternoon?" Mapi asks you while you leave for morning training together. Finally, your home was fixed from the pipe, and you were able to finally live there. There was still a lot of work to do as you had to basically furnish the apartment, which had been really hard, especially when you were away for most of the day.

Thankfully, Mapi offered to help build a table that you had bought from Ikea in your living room, so with some help, your home was starting to take shape.

"She is not my mother-in-law. I am not currently in a relationship."

"I still don't understand why you can't tell her how you feel."

"Fear of rejection. Or fear that it's going to turn out like my previous relationship. Fear of being just delusional or fear of-"

"Okay, you have made your point! I just feel like you should; maybe you'll find out that she feels the same."

"Yeah, right. As if someone like her could fall for someone like me. She's way out of my league. But anyway, you have met Alexia's sister and mom, how are they? Do you have any tips?"

"They are going to love you. Just be yourself."

"That's not helping, Mapi." You chuckle.

"Ugh, just be polite and show that you genuinely care for Alexia. They are very protective of her. Don't show off, and don't be too shy. But I really don't think you are going to have a problem doing all that."

As soon as you went home, you quickly got ready in your desolate apartment; as soon as you were done, Alexia texted you.

Your Favorite Kickboxer ;)

I'll be here in 5 minutes.

The nerves were kinda getting to you, so you paced around your empty living room until Alexia came knocking at your door. As soon as she saw you, she quickly gave you a hug and pecked your lips. 

"Hey, Cariño, are you ready?"

"So ready! You don't even know!" You fake out.

"Okay, yeah. You have to work on your lying skills. What's up? You don't have to come if you don't want to." She says calmly.

"It's not that Ale. I'm just nervous. I haven't met the mom and sister of a girl I am seeing since my ex. I'm just nervous, that's it."

"They'll love you, believe me. Now, take a deep breath; everything will be fine. We will go to my mom's for lunch, and she will show you some of my baby pictures, trying to embarrass me, and my sister will do the same. Then we'll get back home, cuddle up on the couch, and watch some of your sappy movies, okay?" You slowly nod, feeling a slight motivation through her words. "Now are you ready, cariño?"

You slightly nod, and she leads you to her car, but before that, you stop her and gently kiss her lips. "Thank you. You know I really, really like you?" You tell her.

"I really, really like you too."

-

You get to Alexia's mom's house, and the first thing she does is go up and hug you. You were taken by surprise, but after a second of shock, you quickly reciprocated.

"You must be Y/n, right?"

"Yes, it's me. You have a lovely house."

She takes you into the living room, and then she quickly disappears into the kitchen while Alba appears out of her room to see you.

You lightly chat with her until Alexia's mom screams for the two girls to come and help her; they quickly get into the small kitchen, clearly not knowing what to do.

"Do you need help, Eli?" You ask shyly.

"Oh no, you are the guest." She says, gently smacking your hands away from the pan you were stirring.

"Oh really, it's no biggie. I love cooking, plus I know how much Ale is a disaster in the kitchen. I can help if you like." You offer politely.

"For your information, I am a great cook," Alexia says, slightly offended. Neither her sister nor her own mother backed her up. All knowing how bad she was, making you chuckle. 

"Don't worry, mija, you have some great qualities too." Her mom lightly teases Alexia, making her pout cutely.

As soon as lunch was ready, you helped set up the table, and you sat down.

"So, Y/n, how do you like Barcelona?"

"Oh, I love it here. I just had a minor slip-up with my apartment, but now everything is fixed."

"You are from Italy, right? Because I don't hear any accent." Her mom asks curiously.

"Well, I lived in Spain for a long time before moving clubs. I played for Atletico Madrid with Mapi."

"So you must be happy having her back as your teammate."

"I'm really glad. Plus, Barcelona has always been my dream club."

"Is it difficult being away from home?"

"Well, I left my home in Italy when I was really young; I left to study in the USA."

"Oh wow, what did you study there?" Alba asks you.

"I studied physiotherapy."

"So when you retire from football, you could become a therapist for Barcelona or some other football club," Alexia suggests.

"Well, I could, but I actually work with prosthesis. I studied to help people who have lost their limbs to build them prosthesis."

"I didn't know that!" Ale tells you, shocked but also proud.

-

Lunch proceeded great. Ale's mom and Alba were just like Mapi pictured them. Fiercely loyal and protective of one another. You really hoped that you made a good impression because even though you weren't in an actual relationship with Alexia, meeting her family felt like a huge step, and you'd hate for them to not feel like Ale made the right decision by seeing each other.

What you really liked, though, was the fact that you could see how much Alexia was being herself around her family. She didn't have her walls up, nor did she have to keep up with her duties as the captain. She was just herself, and you were lucky enough to be able to experience it and be part of her inner circle.

As soon as lunch was finished, you stood up to help Ale's mom clean up the table, and then you brought the dessert that you had made for the occasion.

"I didn't have much time to prepare something fancier; my kitchen is still a mess."

"You didn't have to prepare anything!" Ale's mom replies while she cuts open the cake you had stress baked for the occasion.

"My parents always taught me to never walk into a home as a guest empty-handed." You simply reply. "And really, it's nothing. I love baking, so actually, you gave me an excuse to make something."

"You know, Y/n, out of all of the girls that Alexia has brought home, you might be the nicest." You turn your head down, blushing, while Alexia, embarrassed, calls out her mother.

"Well, I think that just the fact that you are here means a lot. You know, Y/n, Alexia had a very bumpy love life." Alba calls her sister out, making Alexia send her a death glare.

You were too curious now, "I wanna hear all the details." You rub your hands, waiting for Alba to fill you in.

"Well, Alexia had many situationships that ended rather quickly." 

"Alba!" Alexia warns her.

"One lasted two weeks I think, with this nice girl. For the record, she was really nice. The poor girl had the misfortune to be a cat person. Nana didn't like her, so she stopped seeing her."

"For the record, I don't regret it! My Nala is my best matchmaker, and I could never be in a relationship with someone who doesn't like my dog, who's currently living with me."

You chuckle lightly at her, "Thankfully, Nala likes me, or else, I wouldn't have lasted even a day." You tease Alexia, remembering how you met the small dog when you first hooked up with her, how Nala would try to get her owner's attention, but she was too busy on you to actually care.

"Well, thankfully, you are also a Barça fan because my sister left a fucking date because they were a Madrid fan."

"Okay, it did not go like that." Ale tries to explain herself, but she is soon cut off by her sister again.

"You told her that you played football, and she made a small comment about how she slightly preferred Madrid to Barcelona."

"She wanted me to go to the Bernabeu with her." She pauses. "On the Madrid section!"

"Poor girl, you turned down a girl just because of her club preference?" You chuckled at her stubbornness.

"She was also very annoying." 

"How many dates did you go with the Madritista?" You ask her.

"One." You all burst out laughing.

"The next girl instead, more than a situationship, was a failed date. She was a friend of a friend of mine, and after the date, Ale called me and I asked how the date went, and she replied that she thought that the girl was amazing, but she didn't like the outfit, so it wouldn't work." Alba chuckles hard, making you shake your head teasingly at Alexia.

"In my defense, she was amazing, but the outfit was too distracting, so much so that it felt like our personalities wouldn't go together."

"You got all that by an outfit?" You ask her incredulously.

"Yes." She states bluntly making you playfully shake your head at her.

-

By the time lunch was finished, you were about to leave.

"It was lovely meeting the both of you. I really hope I'll see you soon." You go to hug the two women and then leave to go to the car, waiting for Alexia to say the final goodbye.

When Ale gets into the car, she sits in the driver's seat, takes your hand, and kisses it.

"Thank you for coming." 

"Thank you, for inviting me. Now let's go home; we have a couch to build."

As you get home, Ale quickly gets ready to build your Ikea couch while you take some of your most valuable stuff, like family pictures or small trinkets that hide memories that you will forever treasure. 

You were unpacking the first ball they gave you when you scored your first hat trick, then you moved to a larger box, and you soon felt overwhelmed by how much stuff you had to unpack, making you slightly regret your life choices. 

Alexia was still on the floor trying to build up your couch when she suddenly resurfaced clumsily. 

"Why are those instructions so difficult? I just feel like Ikea should be better at making them. I should ask Frido." She complains to herself, making you chuckle from across the room. 

As you looked at her while she was building your couch, without anything in return, just simply to make you feel more at home, a warm feeling spread through your chest.

You just smiled. Smiled at the woman who came out of nowhere and turned your life around. Smiled at the woman who had taken your heart without you noticing it. And then you realize that maybe what you had with Alexia right now wasn't enough for you. You wanted more. Because those feelings that you had slowly built over time weren't avoidable anymore. What you had with her wasn't enough, and you realized that you couldn't pretend anymore that you were okay with it. 

You needed to be alone, to think, to prepare yourself. Just her being in the same house as you was just too much. You were feeling too much. Feeling too much for her.

So you quickly stood up, crossing your arms, unconsciously wanting to close yourself off as much as possible.

"Ale, I need you to get out."

She turns towards you and sees how much you were shaken. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is good. I just need you to leave, please." You try to be as convincing as possible. 

"Everything is not good. You are not good. Tell me what's wrong." She rubs your shoulders soothingly in worry.

You don't know why, but your mind figured that it would be best if you'd just rip the bandaid off.

"Ale, I think we have a problem." You take a deep breath. "I think I'm in love with you."

There was no turning back now. You could take your words back, so you waited patiently as her brows furrowed and then quickly fixed in a soft expression.

"I think we have two problems then. Because I think I am in love with you too."

[justagalwhowrites]

The Savage and the Sanctuary - Ch. 5: Fracture

You and Joel try to find a balance in your relationship in Los Angeles. A continuation of The Savage and the Sanctuary, a no outbreak TLOU story, from the prologue through chapter 4 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

CW: Very mild violence. Masturbation. Description of porn. No use of Y/N. Whole fic will be explicit so minors DNI, 18+ only.

Length: 14.3k (IDFK what my problem is)

Fic Masterlist | Masterlist | AO3 | Prologue | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

“Hey, Big Miller!” Tanya yelled toward her living room, wine glass clutched precariously in her grasp.

“Shhh!” You clamped your hand over Tanya’s mouth as she practically cackled. “Will you cool it?” 

She shoved you away playfully. 

“We need a camera man,” she said. “And I don’t think he’s busy.” 

“Can’t we ask one of your security guards?” You asked, brows raised. “Because I don’t think they’re busy, either.” 

“Yes but my security guards aren’t eye candy,” she replied, almost smug. “And they’re in the guard shack. So the obvious choice is… Oh, hello Big Miller.” 

Tanya winked at you and you turned to find a surly Joel standing in her massive kitchen, his arms crossed and a fed up look on his face. 

“Can I help you.” 

“Yes, actually,” she practically flounced over to him. “We are making a TikTok…” 

“No,” Joel said. 

“Oh, come on,” she waved him off. “You’re no fun!” 

“Ain’t paid to be fun,” Joel said. “Now if you two aren’t running off somewhere crazy, think I’ll get back to…” 

“We just need a camera man,” Tanya said, putting a hand in the middle of his back and guiding him further into her kitchen. “All you have to do is press record, hold the phone and press stop.” 

Joel looked to you like he was asking for an out and, given the new, strangely kind balance to your relationship, you wished you could give him one. 

But… you did need a camera man. 

“Ellie wanted us to make a video,” you said and Joel sighed and held out his hand for Tanya’s phone, just like you knew he would as soon as you mentioned your niece. 

Tanya squealed and clapped for a moment before walking him through what she wanted him to do. 

“Alright,” he sighed as Tanya took her place next to you. “Let’s get this over with.” 

Joel was a surprisingly good sport about the whole thing, stopping and starting the recording again and again as you and Tanya swapped places and did ridiculous looking dances and you couldn’t help but laugh when you were supposed to be standing still as your friend did her part. 

“Thank you, Big Miller,” Tanya said, taking the phone back when the two of you couldn’t think of any other stupid dances to do. “We appreciate your contribution to our art.” 

“Something tells me that isn’t going to win either of y’all one of those fancy trophies,” he said before looking to you. “Should leave soon. You’ve got early shit tomorrow.” 

“So bossy,” Tanya winked at him. Joel rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, he’s like that,” you smiled at him a little. “But we have to let him control what he can otherwise he gets grumpy.” 

“Well I guess we do have to let the men be men occasionally,” she smiled at him again before looking to you. “Do I get to see you again this trip or no?” 

“Probably not,” you said, scrunching your nose at that. “I’ve got more chemistry reads tomorrow morning, Kimmel in the afternoon, meetings in the evening, premiere the next day, flying home the day after that.” 

“Ugh, home in Texas,” she made a face. “LA is way better.” 

“I’m sorry, which of us has been on tour for the better part of a year?” You teased. “Not like you’re here for me to hang out with anyway.” 

“Hey, we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you,” she elbowed you lightly and you laughed before you both sighed. “I’m going to miss you.” 

“I’ll miss you, too,” you smiled a little. “You can always come visit in Texas, you know.” 

“Might take you up on that,” she smiled back.

Tanya loaded you down with two dozen cookies before you left and you couldn’t help but smile a little as Joel drove the two of you back to your house. 

“Thank you,” you said, looking over at him in the glow of the street lights. “For the TikTok thing, I mean.” 

“Not the end of the world,” Joel shrugged. “Don’t understand it for shit but…” 

You smiled a little and opened the cookie tin, holding it out to Joel, who glanced at it as he drove. 

“C’mon,” you shook the tin at him, making the cookies inside rattle. “You know you want one.” 

“Can’t believe you just go over to some pop star’s house to bake cookies,” he muttered, reaching over and grabbing one, taking a bite and chewing for a moment. “And they’re fuckin’ good, too, that’s even worse…” 

You just smirked, closing the tin with a satisfying snap, looking out the window as Joel drove you home. 

It had been a strange few days since the lunch with Henry. You’d been busy - which you had expected, cramming weeks worth of meetings and outings into just a few days - and Joel had been a surprisingly comfortable companion for the whole of it. 

He sat there, watching stoically from the corner as you read lines with the actors vying to be the romantic lead in Savage Starlight. He didn’t complain about the swarms of paparazzi and fans when you went to do interviews. He even kept whatever complaints he had to himself when you went for a fitting for your dress for the premiere and your stylist, Frank, dragged him in to get feedback from a man on the fit of your bodice. 

“What was your name again, I’m sorry,” Frank asked as he stood there with his hands on your sides. 

He sighed. 

“Joel.” 

“Joel,” Frank said. “Right. Well, Joel, since I’m pretty sure you’re straight given -“ he gestured toward Joel as a whole “- that, what do you think? Should we have it sit here…” 

“Frank,” you said, half pleading, half knowing it was a lost cause. “Please leave him out of this…” 

“Honey, if you won’t listen to me, listen to him,” he said, adjusting the bodice and turning his attention back to Joel. “Do you want to fuck her more with it here?” 

He adjusted it again, making it so your breasts were higher, more ample. You sighed. 

“Or here?” He said, looking at Joel. “Be honest.” 

Joel’s eyes darted to you, wide and almost afraid. 

“I… uh…” 

“He doesn’t want to fuck me at all, Frank,” you said, rolling your eyes, your hands on your hips. 

He rolled his back.

“Please, everyone wants to fuck you.” 

“You don’t.” 

“Yeah, that’s because I want to fuck him,” he jerked his head toward Joel.

“Oh, well, I’ll be sure to tell Bill that,” you teased, barely holding back a smirk. “Tell him you’re out here…” 

“Don’t you dare.” 

“…checking out bodyguards…” 

“Please don’t.” 

“…causing problems…” 

“Do you really think that paranoid old man could cope if he knew I was hanging out with that walking wet dream?” Frank asked, brows raised. “Please. For both our sakes, save me the fight and keep it to yourself and you,” he rounded on Joel. “Tell her the truth, that you want to fuck her more when the girls are higher.” 

“Can you promise me I won’t have a nip slip on the red carpet if you shove my boobs up to the sky?” You said before Joel had a chance to stumble his way through another response. “Because Quinn might kill me if I do.”

“Do you really think I’d let that happen?” He asked, brows raised. “If it makes you feel better, we’ll put some pasties on the girls, that way if your tits find some way to defy the laws of physics - which, if anyone’s could, it’s yours - you’re not really flashing the whole world.” 

“Very considerate,” you said wryly, ignoring the roll of his eyes. “Then sure, put my tits under my chin if that will bring you joy.” 

“You’re my favorite client for a reason,” he said, going about pinning the dress into place and you bit back a smile as Joel stood there, his hands in his pockets as he stared determinedly off to the side his eyes darting back your way every half minute or so. 

Joel had even been a pleasant presence at home. You’d FaceTimed Ellie the night before while you sat at your kitchen island with a glass of wine, just nodding along and listening to her talk about her day, trying not to dwell too much on the little mannerisms she had that reminded you of Anna. Joel came in - you weren’t sure why, his hand running absently over the granite counter before rapping his knuckles on it and Ellie spotted him then, perking up even more when she did. 

“Hey, Big Miller!” She called in a sing-songy voice. 

Joel came up behind you, tall and broad at your back, leaning down to get in the frame of the camera of your iPad. 

“Hey Trouble,” he said, teasing Ellie with her own code name. “Been keeping your nose clean for your grandmother? Behaving for Seth?” 

“No,” she smirked. “But remember that one debate I had coming up?” 

“I do.” 

“Well, I did it,” she said proudly, sitting up a little straighter. “And I won.” 

“You did?” He asked, pride in his voice. Ellie nodded eagerly. “Knew you could, that smart mouth of yours.” 

“I kicked his ass,” she said happily. 

“Was it that one kid?” Joel asked. “The asshole?”

“Yup,” Ellie beamed. “And I made him look like a fucking idiot.” 

“Ellie!” You scolded. 

“Sorry, Sissy,” she rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Joel. “Freaking idiot.”

Joel snorted. 

“Good for you, kiddo,” he said. “Knew you could do it.” 

Once you finished up the call with Ellie, you went and found Joel. He’d taken to spending time by the pool since the night he’d found you there. Sometimes he had a book, sometimes he just watched the water, his hands folded between his knees looking like he was lost in thought. He was there then, too, watching the water this time with a bottle of beer at his feet. 

“Hey,” you said, knowing better than to approach him silently. 

He looked back over his shoulder to you. 

“Hey,” he said before looking back at the water. 

You came and sat next to him, watching the light ripple in silence for a moment. 

“Think Ellie misses you,” you said, glancing to him as you did. He just grunted. “It sounds like she talks with you…” 

“We got time when I take her to school,” Joel said, almost defensively. 

“I know,” you said quickly, gently. “I just… I appreciate it. You being nice to her, I mean.” 

“Oh,” he said. 

“She needs that,” you continued. “Her dad was never in her life, it was always just her mom, Elise and me and now… She needs as many people as she can to care about her. She’s been through a lot. I’m glad she has someone else she can talk to like that.” 

“She’s a good kid,” Joel said, staring at the water. “Don’t mind.” 

You nodded silently. 

“Puns are awful though,” he said after a moment, smiling ever so slightly. 

You laughed. 

“God, they really are,” you said. “She has a book of them.”

He looked at you then. 

“Who the hell’s idea was that?” He asked. 

You laughed again. 

“She picked it up at school a few years ago, one of those book fair things. I think she memorized it.” 

“Jesus,” Joel laughed and then sighed. “Guess we’ll never be free of ‘em.” 

“No,” you smiled a little. “Guess we won’t.” 

It had become a strange balance. Not quite friends, not quite… whatever you’d been before. Some odd middle ground where you cared what he thought and found a disorienting comfort in his presence without the kindness of any affection. 

Your phone lit up, a link from Tanya. You followed it and watched the video on TikTok, posted for not even five minutes and already thousands of likes. You smiled at it, the look on your own face as you tried not to laugh at your friend’s ridiculous dance moves and your own clumsy, erratic movements when it was your turn funnier than you’d realized. 

“That the video?” Joel asked as you sat at a red light. 

“Yeah,” you said, holding the phone out to him just as it looped. He watched for a moment, an almost serious expression on his face before it seemed like he was biting back a smile, shaking his head a little. You laughed. “You liked it!” 

“I don’t really get it,” he said, giving you a look before the light turned green and he started driving again. “But… yeah, alright, it was kinda funny. Didn’t think you celebrities really did that kind of shit, though.” 

“Why not?” You asked, going to repost the video on your own feed and texting Quinn to tell her that you had so she wasn’t caught off guard by it. 

“Dunno,” he shrugged. “Just… seems like it’s beneath you.” 

You frowned a little. 

“You do realize we’re just people, right?” You said. “We just happen to do jobs that make us famous.” 

“I know,” Joel said. “Still. Feels weird.” 

You laughed a little at that. Yeah, fame was weird. 

“Ellie seen the video yet?” He asked, glancing your way quickly. 

“She’d better be in bed,” you said. “It’s almost 2 a.m. in Texas. But I’ll send it to her in the morning.” 

“She do one, too?” Joel asked. 

“She did,” you said, smiling a little and going to Ellie’s TikTok - which you’d insisted be locked down to hell and back so paparazzi couldn’t take advantage of it - and pulling up the video. Joel parked in your driveway and you handed him your phone, pressing play for him and watched as he smiled a little as Ellie and her friend Dina did different crazy dances in a classroom at school to the same song you had. 

“Looks like she’s makin’ friends,” Joel said, giving you back your phone. He didn’t wait for a response, getting out of the car. You sat and waited patiently for him to come to your side of the car - a safety protocol that felt excessive but you went with it - before getting out yourself. “That’s good. Can be hard for kids that age now, especially at a new school.” 

“Yeah,” you said, frowning slightly at him and biting your tongue. How would he know about kids that age? You weren’t sure of his exact age but you were pretty sure he was a few years older than you and it’s not like he had kids. 

“Driver’ll be here early,” he said once you were both safely inside and you set the cookies down in the kitchen. “Any itinerary changes I should know about?” 

“Nope,” you said. “Just going to be a busy day for me with a lot of sitting around for you. Might want to bring your book.” 

“Be sure to keep myself entertained,” he said wryly, opening the tin and getting out another cookie.

You smiled. 

“Goodnight, Big Miller.” 

“Night, Siren.” 

You brought a bag with you the next day. 

You’d done enough shit like this in your time - days where you had to run from place to place at almost breakneck speed, places where you knew you’d be photographed to hell and back and others where you had some semblance of privacy and you knew you’d be desperate for some comfort - that you knew how to plan for it. 

Joel sat up front with the driver, leaving you in the back seat alone and you sent the TikTok to Ellie, telling her you hoped she had a good day at school and that you were excited to see her in a few days. You took a few minutes to review the lines you were working with that day, making sure you were comfortable with the ones you’d be reading with the kids. You always remembered your first line readings with grown ups once you were actually old enough to fully understand what was going on, how some made you feel at ease and some made your stomach churn and skin crawl. You always wanted to be the comfortable person for these kids. You hadn’t worked with many children in adulthood but it always felt strange when you did, some twinge in you that made it seem like you were watching your younger self but not able to stop what was coming.

“Doomed by the narrative,” you muttered to yourself, skimming the lines of the girl who would play your childhood self.  

“Hm?” Joel said back over his shoulder. 

“Nothing,” you said, locking the iPad as the car pulled up to the studio gate. “Just running lines.” 

There were four kids you were reading with but one that you’d been told was the favorite and she was reading last. 

All the kids were talented, you’d give them that. Of course, they had to be to make it this far. They were all 10 to 12 years old, all excited to be there, all somewhat accustomed to this life already. But you posed for pictures with them anyway - the photos going on their agents’ phones so they couldn’t post them before they were allowed to - and performed your lines in all the different ways the casting director asked. 

Eventually, the last girl came in, a sense of nervous, almost frantic energy pouring off of her, something that seemed so far away but so familiar from your childhood. 

“Can I see her resume?” You asked the casting director quietly as the production assistant went over things with the girl. 

“Sure,” she said, rifling through a small pile before handing it over. You reviewed it quickly and found what you expected - some commercial work, a three episode arc on a sitcom, no film. She was just 12 years old and new to this. You slid the resume back and went over to the girl who, you had to admit, looked a lot like you.

She was staring at you, her eyes a little wide and you tried not to laugh. Instead, you smiled and held out your hand, introducing yourself. 

“Yeah,” she said, a little awed. “I know.” 

“Thought you might,” you smiled a little wider. “What���s your name?” 

“Catherine,” she said. “Catherine Ford.” 

“It’s nice to meet you Catherine,” you said. “Want to run some lines with me, see how we do?” 

She nodded quickly and you showed her where to stand in front of the camera that was capturing your line reads for the director to watch later. 

“Let’s go from from the top,” the casting director said, giving you a nod. “Get us started.” 

You just nodded and found the character quickly, falling into her headspace, making your eyes meet the girl who was yourself. 

“Who are you?” You asked, a panicky edge to your voice. 

“Don’t you know?” She asked in response, cocking her head slightly to match your own. “I’m you.” 

“No,” you shook your head. “No, that’s not possible, you’re not real, you…” 

“I am,” she said, all calm and wise. “I’m you and I know that you… I… crud…” 

Her face scrunched and she looked down to the paper in her hands. 

“Keep going,” the casting director said to you. “Lead her in.” 

You nodded, taking a moment to reset and looking at Catherine.

“That’s not possible,” you said again. “You’re not real, you…” 

“Don’t you know?” She said and then her face fell. “Crap, I’m sorry!” 

“It’s OK,” you smiled gently. “Want to go again?” 

“Is that OK?” She asked. You just nodded and she sighed. “OK, cool. I’ll get it this time!” 

“From ‘that’s not possible,’ please,” the casting director said and you obeyed, but Catherine missed her cue to cut in that time, freezing in the moment and then looking like she was about to cry. 

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I promise, I know my lines, I was up so late practicing, I won’t mess up like this if you actually cast me, I…” 

The casting director got up but you held out a hand, keeping her where she was. 

“Catherine?” You cut her off before she had a full blown panic attack. “It’s OK. Did you warm up before you came in today?” 

“No,” she sniffled a little. “No, I should have, and…” 

“Hey, I’m not criticizing you,” you smiled gently. “Even if you had, it’s probably been long enough since you left your house that it wouldn’t make a difference now anyway. Why don’t we take a minute, warm up, then try again. Sound good?” 

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Yeah, that would be great.” 

“OK,” you said. “Any warm ups you really like?” 

“Um,” she thought for a second. “To sit in solemn silence? Do you know that one?” 

You smiled a little wider. 

“Good pick,” you said. “One of my favorites. Want to start or do you want me to?” 

“Can you?” She asked. “I never have to…” 

“Of course,” you said, taking a deep breath. “Ready? To sit in solemn silence on a dull, dark dock…” 

You did a few warm ups with her, helping her loosen up and get relaxed before you got set to go again, tension coming back into her small shoulders as she got set for the next try. 

“Hey,” you said gently. Her eyes met yours. “It’s OK. Just you and me, two actors doing our thing, OK?” 

She smiled a little at that. 

“OK.” 

She seemed to take that to heart, hitting every word that time, the two of you falling into that rare space where you felt truly connected, that you were inhabiting these characters, building tension, pulling these feelings from each other and laying them bare. It was a space that was hard to find, you couldn’t do it with every actor, and this 12-year-old girl had managed it. 

The room was silent for a moment when the scene wrapped but then the casting director clapped, you and Catherine both turning to look at her, Catherine beaming. 

“Beautiful,” she said. “That was great, really really great.” 

The two of you did a few other scenes, Catherine finding her groove more and more each time and you couldn’t help but marvel at her talent. She had raw skill that many of your contemporaries would kill for, skill that she’d only hone over time. She was going to be an incredible actor if this industry didn’t destroy her first. 

“Who brought you here today?” You asked Catherine when the read was over, the casting director already talking conspiratorially with her assistant. 

“My mom,” she said. “She’s in the waiting room.” 

“Can I meet her?” You asked. 

“Yeah!” She said eagerly. “She’d love that!” 

 You flagged Joel down from his spot in the corner and followed her there, her mom jumping up when she saw her come through the door. 

“Hey kiddo!” She said excitedly, hugging her daughter. “How’d it go?” 

She noticed you then, her eyes going a little wide at the sight of you. 

“Hi,” you smiled. “I’m…” 

“I know,” she cut you off, her eyes still wide but going somehow wider. “Oh my God, that was probably so rude, I’m sorry!” 

You laughed. 

“It’s fine,” you said. “Honestly, if it didn’t make me feel like such a self-centered jerk, my life would probably be a lot easier if I just assumed everyone knew who I was. You’re Catherine’s mom?” 

“Yeah,” she said. “Margie.” 

“Hi Margie,” you said. “It’s good to meet you. Catherine is really incredible, you know.” 

“I know,” Margie said, tugging her daughter against her side and giving her a squeeze. “Trust me, we wouldn’t even be trying this if she wasn’t. She just begged and begged for years and eventually it was so obvious she was so good that we should at least give it a shot.” 

Catherine beamed at that and you smiled, the familiar pinch of tears at the back of your throat that you swallowed as you did. Her mother seemed nothing like your own. 

“I took a look at her resume, looks like you’re pretty new?” You asked and Margie nodded. “Well, getting started is hard, there’s a lot to navigate. Can I see your phone?” 

She all but dove into her pocket and unlocked it before handing it over. 

You entered your number, saving it with your first name and last initial. 

“Don’t share that around,” you said, giving Margie her phone back. “But if you need anything - anything at all - give me a call or a text. Alright?” 

“We gotta go,” Joel said quietly behind you. “Cutting it close.” 

You just nodded before turning to Catherine. 

“It was really great working with you today,” you smiled. 

“You too,” she said, smiling hugely. 

“Looking forward to doing it again soon,” you said, giving her a hug and a wave before going back to the audition room. Your bag was in the corner and you grabbed it before going to the casting director. 

“I want Catherine,” you said, already going through your bag for your makeup kit. 

“She was very strong,” she replied. “But she had the shaky start and…” 

“No,” you said, cutting her off. “She’s it. No one else came close. Not trying to tell you how to do your job but it’s Catherine. She’s just green but she’s young, she’ll get used to it quick. Trust me.” 

She considered you for a moment. 

“Alright,” she sighed eventually. “She was the top pick going into today but if we need to recast because she can’t hack it…” 

“We won’t,” you said. “I’ll make sure she’s got what she needs.” 

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll confirm with the director but we’ll get her.” 

You got changed into something far less comfortable than the leggings and sweatshirt you’d been wearing but looked way better for TV - Frank putting together a pair of velvet wide-legged trousers and matching jacket with a mesh turtleneck - and did your makeup and hair as quickly as you could before rushing to the car, Joel on high alert any time you were outside. 

“You were good with her,” he said once you were safely underway. 

“Hm?” 

“The girl,” Joel said, his voice gruff. “You were good with her. She was nervous, I could tell.” 

“Oh,” you said, watching the back of his head in front of you, as if that would tell you anything about what he was thinking. “Yeah. I just remember what it was like to audition like that. It’s lot of pressure.” 

“Can’t imagine doin’ that to a kid,” he said harshly. “Should get to just be a kid.” 

“There’s a reason I don’t want Ellie growing up here,” you said, looking out the window at the city going by. “Don’t want her getting any ideas.” 

The car pulled up to the theater, a hoard of people outside the doors waiting for you. 

“Ready?” Joel asked over his shoulder, his dark eyes meeting yours, something about the depth of his gaze making it impossible to look away. 

“Ready,” you said. 

He got out first and he tried to rush you through the crowd but you saw a little girl who had to be about seven or eight - wearing a t-shirt with the duck you’d voiced years ago, when Ellie was about her age - watching you with hopeful eyes. 

“Hi there,” you smiled, getting down on her level. “What’s your name?”

“Parker,” she said, smiling hugely, one of her front teeth missing. 

“Hi Parker,” you smiled back. “It’s so nice to meet you! I really like your shirt.” 

“It’s my favorite movie!” She said excitedly. 

“You have excellent taste,” you said with a wink. You nodded to the piece of paper clutched to her chest. “What do you have there?” 

Her face lit up for a moment and she thrust the paper at you. 

“It’s my drawing!” She said. “I did it myself!” 

You took it and looked down at it, a childish, colored pencil version of the duck you’d played there on the page. 

“Parker, this is so good!” You said, smiling at her. “You’re such a good artist! Is that what you’re in school for right now? Art? What college do you go to?” 

“I don’t go to college!” She laughed. 

“You don’t!” You gasped in mock surprise. “What! How old are you? 20? 21?” 

“I’m seven!” She beamed. 

“Oh, my goodness,” you said, looking back at the paper. “You were such a good artist and so grown up I figured you were much older.” 

You gave her the paper back

“Can you sign it for me?” She asked, holding it out with a pen. 

“Well, the artist is usually the one to sign their work,” you said. “But… I’ll sign it if you do, too.” 

She beamed at that and you let her use your back to sign her name on her drawing before passing it off to you. You signed it, too, and gave it back before taking a selfie with her mom’s phone. 

“Alright,” Joel said when you stood up again, his face drawn tight, his hand on the middle of your back. “Let’s get you inside, fuckin’ sitting ducks out here.” 

“Oh, we’re fine,” you waved him off, going back to the crowd and taking selfies and signing autographs as you worked your way into the theater. 

“You like trying to give me a damn heart attack?” He asked once you were inside. 

“Everyone needs a hobby,” you said wryly as Quinn rushed over to you with a production assistant at her back. “Should try getting one yourself, you know.” 

“Jesus,” he muttered, rolling his eyes but following you to the greenroom all the same. 

Quinn reviewed the final topics for the interview and you said hi to Jimmy before getting ready to go on stage and put on a show. 

Doing interviews like this one still felt odd to you. Not because they were unusual - you’d gotten used to the talk show circuit by this point in your career - but because of their very nature. The illusion of some intimate conversation between friends on display for the few hundred strangers in the same room and then broadcast for all the world to see. 

You’d crafted a version of yourself for times like this, one that was built to appeal to an audience and seem genuine and real, some artificial sheen to wrap yourself up in that you slipped into like any other character. This one, though, grated on you. The strange dishonesty of it, the character you were playing yourself instead of the creation of someone else.

The interview went along like any other for a while, the two of you bantering back and forth and you sharing funny stories from set that sounded off the cuff but were actually carefully rehearsed to make sure you and your costars’ stories aligned. 

“Speaking of Chris,” Jimmy said as your time was running down and the audience was quieting after another bout of laughter. “I do have to talk about one thing with him.” 

“Just one?” You teased and he laughed. 

“Well, plenty,” he said. “But did you know that you and Chris are going viral?” 

“No,” you laughed. “But I’m sure my publicist does and she’s thrilled. What are we going viral for?” 

“There was a moment in an interview this week,” Jimmy said. “I think we have it…” 

The screen behind you changed and the moment from the junket days earlier played, you and Chris sitting side by side as he started on his rant, one that you’d thought would never see the light of day. 

“First of all, my costar here is the most beautiful woman on the planet and the single most talented actor I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with so you will treat her with the respect she’s due…”

You sat there, cheeks getting hot, pressing your fingers into your thigh, nervous energy making your stomach turn as you watched Chris lay into the reporter. You’d hoped that this clip had been squashed by his publicist, that the reporter honing in on one of your lowest points wouldn’t be put out for all the world to consume. Apparently not.

“That’s all it takes to go viral now, eh?” You joked as the video ended. Jimmy chuckled lightly but no one in the audience laughed. 

“You’ve got to admit, that was a pretty great moment,” he said. “But I was wondering what you thought of it.” 

“I think Chris has a way with words that I can’t quite match,” you smiled a small but tight smile. “And I think if I say anything different, he might go off on me next.” 

That did get some laughs and you laughed with the audience, hoping that you looked playful and fun, not tense and ready to crawl out of your skin. 

“Well we don’t want that,” Jimmy laughed. “Thanks so much for coming on and everyone, go see As We Know It, out Friday!” 

You waved your goodbyes and looked stage right, oddly comforted by Joel’s commanding presence there, his face firm as he watched you. You walked right for him as you left the stage, one of his arms going around you as you came alongside him, something grounding in his touch as he ushered you away. 

“You’re OK,” he said quietly, guiding you toward the door you came in. 

You frowned and looked at him, Joel glancing your way as you did.

“You’re stressed,” he said. “I can tell. I’ve got you.” 

You did a more abbreviated run of the crush of fans this time, stopping for a few selfies and signing a few pictures, but not lingering, instead moving as quickly as you could for the car without looking like you were rushing. 

Joel didn’t get in the front seat this time, instead climbing in back with you. You frowned as he did but he just ordered the driver to start toward the restaurant where you were meeting with producers. 

“You alright?” Joel asked after the car was out of sight from the crowd outside the theater, his eyes oddly soft and open. “That was shitty, them springin’ that on you.” 

“It happens,” you said, looking back at him as intently as he seemed to be looking at you. “I should be used to it. I am usually, but…” 

“Shouldn’t need to be,” he said. “They should act better.” 

You watched him for a moment, trying to puzzle him out but couldn’t see past his stern face with the strangely open eyes. You didn’t understand him. You weren’t sure you ever would. 

“I’ll be fine,” you said when you’d been quiet a little too long. “But thank you.” 

He frowned. 

“For what.” 

“Caring,” you shrugged. “Not many people do. But I’m afraid I need you to look out that window for a minute.” 

His frown deepened. 

“I need to change,” you said. “Shouldn’t be photographed in the same thing this many times so look out that way, please.” 

His jaw quirked but he obeyed, shaking his head a little as he did. 

“Shouldn’t be photographed at all,” he muttered, arms crossed tightly over his chest as you got a pair of black leather pants out of your bag and set them on the seat between you and Joel.

“Probably right,” you said, shrugging out of the jacket and adjusting yourself so you could slide your pants down and off, leaving you just in the mesh top. “But comes with the territory.” 

You dropped the clothes you’d shed beside you, the velvet of the fabric brushing Joel’s arm and he glanced toward you - just a reaction, you told yourself - before he jerked his head back to look out the window again. 

“Oh don’t act like half the planet hasn’t seen me half naked,” you rolled your eyes as you got into the leather pants, a task that was easier said than done in the back seat of an SUV. “I promise, I won’t bite.” 

“Right,” he muttered. 

You got the pants into place and pulled out another jacket, draping it over your shoulders and putting the other clothes away. 

“You’re safe, Big Miller,” your teased, tossing the bag in the trunk. 

“Try to make a habit of not seeing my clients naked,” Joel muttered, settling back into his seat. 

“Sounds boring,” you said. 

He gave you a look and you laughed. 

“Don’t worry,” you said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I don’t think you’re at risk of anyone thinking you’re interested in fucking me. You’re safe.” 

He just grunted and you smiled a little, looking out the window. There was something comfortable when he was like this. You weren’t sure what to do with a Joel who didn’t seem to loathe you, at least a little bit. Even though you wanted him to like you. You weren’t entirely sure why, but you did.

The paparazzi were waiting for you outside the restaurant, too, but you’d been expecting that. Quinn had told them you’d be here and you made sure your pants were actually zipped before getting out and putting on the show you always did, smiling and waving, taking selfies with fans who’d heard you were going to be there, too. 

You kept the show on through dinner, talking with the producers of a period piece you were interested in doing, Joel sitting next to you the entire time, his jaw quirking when Leo joined the table, too. 

But Henry didn’t make a surprise appearance and, after a while, you found yourself relaxing into things, a few too many glasses of wine deep and giggling when you left the restaurant. 

“You got what you need for the premiere?” Quinn asked as you made your way to the door. 

“Frank has a vision,” you said dramatically and Quinn snorted. “Don’t worry, my tits are basically hanging out, the press will love it.” 

“Well I’ll see you there,” she said, kissing you on each cheek. “Need Frank to have a vision for me one of these days.” 

“Call him,” you said eagerly. “I’m sure he’d work his magic! Oh, we could go somewhere matching, that would be fun!” 

“OK, you’re drunk,” Quinn laughed and looked to Joel. “She’s drunk. Make sure she gets out of here safely and doesn’t talk to any of the paps outside?” 

“I’m not drunk!” You protested and Quinn laughed, taking the lapels of your jacket in your hands. 

“You’re drunk,” she said. “And that’s OK, you’ve been doing a lot lately, you deserve to have a little fun. Just don’t make more work for me in the morning when you do. See you tomorrow at the premiere.” 

“The premiere!” You said and she laughed, giving you and Joel a final wave. You turned to Joel. “We know what I’m wearing for the premiere, what are you wearing for the premiere?” 

“No one cares what I wear for shit,” Joel said, nudging you toward the door. “C’mon, driver’s pulling up.” 

“Why wouldn’t they care?” You pouted, looking over your shoulder toward him. “You’re a good looking man, you know.” 

“Alright, let’s go,” he said, shaking his head. 

“What?” You said. “You are! I’m not trying to hit on you but that’s just an objective fact. Even Frank said so.” 

The flashes caught you off guard. You’d forgotten, for a moment, that it seemed like half the planet cared that you’d had dinner here. You smiled and waved and Joel kept you walking straight toward the car, keeping you from stopping and talking to the people screaming your name. 

“That felt rude,” you said once you were in the car and things were quiet again. 

“Too bad,” Joel said, in back beside you again. “Don’t need to be talkin’ to those assholes, anyway.” 

“There were some fans in there, too, I think,” you said, settling down into your seat. “But back to what I was saying.” 

“No,” Joel said simply. “Seatbelt.” 

“What?” You frowned. “What do you mean ‘no’?” 

“I mean, put your seatbelt on,” he said.  

Your frown deepened and you looked around yourself for a moment before Joel made an irritated sound and reached over you, grabbing the seatbelt and pulling it into place. 

“OK,” you said, adjusting it and sitting up a little straighter. “Seatbelt’s on. Why can’t we keep talking about it? I’m just saying, you should take the compliment…” 

“Not interested,” Joel said. 

“Oh will you calm down?” You rolled your eyes. “I promise I’m not trying to get you into bed, you’re safe from my scary Siren claws, I just mean if you dress well tomorrow at the premiere people would notice because you’re  a good looking person, that’s all.” 

“It don’t matter because I’m not gonna be seen with you,” Joel said, his voice stern. “I’ll be on the other side of where press and shit are but the carpet will be you, some assistant and that Chris guy. Don’t matter what I’m wearing or how good I do or don’t look, alright? Jesus…” 

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “You really let them talk you into that? I’m shocked.” 

“The premiere’s got it’s own security and it’s actually damn good,” Joel said. “Not good enough for me to just stay home but you’ll be alright. Don’t need me in any more goddamn photos with you than there already are.” 

You watched him for a moment. 

“You still don’t like me, do you?” You asked. 

He frowned, looking at you. 

“Why’s it matter.” 

“I didn’t say it did,” you shrugged. “You just don’t like me.” 

“Don’t need to like you,” he said. “Just need to keep you alive. Besides, the whole damn planet likes you, ain’t that enough?” 

You scoffed. 

“No they don’t.” 

“Yeah?” Joel asked. “What d’you call that shit, the hundreds of people waiting for fucking hours just to catch a glimpse of you if it’s not like.” 

“They don’t like me,” you said. “They don’t know me. They’re obsessed with a commodity. I’m not a person to them, I’m just a weird combination of every part I’ve ever played, every passing idea they’ve decided to assign to me, some idealized creation that doesn’t exist but they’re convinced is real. You know me, at least a little, and you don’t like me.”

“You’re drunk.” 

“I’m right,” you said, your stomach twisting at that. You shouldn’t care what Joel thought of you but you did. There were so few people on this planet who knew you - actually knew you - and he was one of them. And he didn’t see something in you worth liking. 

The car pulled up to your driveway and Joel got out first, going around and opening your door. 

“C’mon,” he said, offering you his hand. “Like you or not, you got an early day.” 

You took his hand - large and warm and secure - and slipped down to the ground, tottering on your heels enough that it made you laugh, Joel steadying you as you went.

“I trust you to actually get yourself to bed?” Joel asked as he led you inside. 

You scoffed. 

“Where else am I gonna go?” 

“Sure you’d find some way to get into trouble,” he replied wryly. 

“I’ll go to bed,” you rolled your eyes. “See you in the morning Big Miller.” 

***

Joel watched you head down the hall, weaving a little as you walked before disappearing into your room, trying not to think about the way the fucking leather pants hugged your ass or the way your hips moved when you walked. 

“Jesus,” he muttered to himself, stalking off to the kitchen to get a water. 

You just don’t like me. 

Lord, how he wished that were true. 

He liked you alright. Far more than he should. Enough that the entire planet’s fucking obsession with you was starting to make sense. 

He tried not to think about that. 

Liking you was not a good idea. It was a completely horrible idea, actually. He wanted to go back to how he felt before he’d come here. It seemed like so long ago now, before he knew about your mom and Elise and Anna, before what you’d told him - and clearly hadn’t - about that fucking producer, before he saw you laughing with a friend or making kids smile just because you could. He wanted to go back to before you were a person - a real person, one with fears and wants and hurts - instead of some rich asshole he could pretend was a different species from himself. 

It wasn’t a good idea to care about you. He had to protect you, he couldn’t be distracted by things like your fucking feelings. Caring about you was dangerous. 

He opened the fridge and went to grab a bottle of water but, instead, took one of the beers that was sitting there. Not that drinking right now was a good idea, either, but fuck it. 

Joel brought the beer to the pool and sat on the edge of it, the glow of your bedroom light almost tempting. The curtain covered the window but he could make out the silhouette of you through the glass and gauzy fabric. You must not have a shirt on, the outline of your breasts clear in the hazy, warm light. He watched for a moment as the outline of you pulled on some baggy piece of fabric, covering yourself, and he forced himself to look back at the water. 

He wasn’t going to think about that. He wasn’t. 

He wasn’t going to admit that he thought about it the day before, too. 

He wasn’t going to admit that he thought he might break his fucking jaw from clenching it as he watched you with the actors during the audition shit the day before. 

You with these men all made for the screen, designed to be your fucking equal in a way he never could be even if he tried - which he wouldn’t because it didn’t matter. They read lines with you and he watched as you looked at them with adoration, touched them with some kind of longing, pressed your body to theirs, arching around them to fit yourself to them like you belonged there. Because you did belong there. If not with these men in particular then with a man like them. Not a man like him.

Not that it mattered. It didn’t fucking matter. 

No, he wasn’t going to think about those things. He wasn’t going to think about the way your tits looked in that fucking dress that Frank had asked his opinion on. He wasn’t going to think about glancing over at you in the car today when he knew he fucking shouldn’t have and seeing you there, half naked in your fucking see through shirt, your thighs looking so warm and welcoming and fucking soft. 

He wasn’t. 

He’d thought about it the night before. He wasn’t proud of that but he had, the image of you getting fitted for the damn dress at the forefront of his mind. It was like his head was a scratched record, skipping over that point in time again and again and again. 

He tried to think about anything else as he stood in the shower that night but fucking couldn’t, his cock half hard as he tried to shove the memory of you away. 

When he went to bed, he caved to his baser instincts. He decided to jerk off. Just to get it out of his system because he couldn’t be still stuck on this the next morning and he didn’t think he could sleep with his balls swollen and aching as they were. 

He tried looking at porn but he couldn’t figure out what the fuck he wanted to watch. He was absently scrolling through a site, nothing standing out until something caught his eye. Your name, on a video. 

He stared at it for a second, your name followed by EVERY SEX SCENE - COMPILATION. 

His mouth went dry. His cock was painfully hard. 

Could he watch that? It’s not like it was really wrong - it wasn’t something that had been shared without your permission and it wasn’t actual porn. It was just something he could see if he went on Netflix right now and sought it out. 

But you hadn’t made it so fucking assholes like him could jerk off to it. And it wasn’t like you were a stranger now, he knew you. Could he do that? 

His dick throbbed at the thought. 

Could he stop himself? 

Joel clicked on the video, his stomach twisting as he pressed play. There was an ad and he read the comments while it played. 

She’s so fucking hot. 

Bet she moans like a whore in real life. 

Fuck I want to choke her out.

She was hotter before, she hit the wall when she hit 30. 

The sound of you moaning in his headphones grabbed his attention, dulling the violent anger that swelling in him when he read what other people said about you. Joel took a shaky breath and made the video full screen. He was already this far down the rabbit hole, he may as well fully commit.

The first chunk of excerpts were from the movie you won the Oscar for and he could only stomach a few seconds of it. You looked disturbingly young to him, just a teenager with a softer version of your face getting on her knees, starting to take off her shirt making him jump ahead. He jumped again when it just felt too strange, watching you start to get undressed or turn around when you were obviously shirtless - seeing your skin this way feeling too keenly wrong. 

It was the last scene in the video that he found himself watching in earnest. It was something more recent, you looked almost the same as you did now, none of the childish softness to your face that had been there in the first scenes. It was a romantic scene, one that was carefully shot so the viewer saw nothing illicit. The curve of your bare waist, the edge of the swell of your breast, a hint of your ass. 

But Joel liked it this way, this moment not tinged with the wrongness the others were. You moaned as your on screen lover pushed inside you - or mimicked it, Joel corrected himself - your fingers spreading wide over the man’s back. 

Joel took his cock in his hand, swallowing hard, his heart beating fast. He worked himself slowly as he watched as the man on screen explored your body, close up shots that revealed nothing interspersed with your face as you gasped in pleasure. 

He let himself get lost in that, in the sounds you made, stroking himself harder, faster. He wanted to make you make those sounds. He wanted to press his lips to the delicate skin of your throat and kiss and lick and suck as he sank inside of you. He wanted his hands to run over the softness of you, to press his firm chest to your plush one and feel your heart beat through your skin. He wanted to feel you swallow him whole, his body slotting into yours as he made you come. 

You moaned and gasped on the video and he let himself pretend that it was for him and he came, imagining it was you and not his own fucking hand he was buried inside as rope after rope of his come spilled over his skin. 

His cheeks got hot as he closed the video and cleaned himself up, a pile of tissues on his nightstand the only sign of his indiscretion. 

He tried to clear his mind as he settled in to sleep, reminding himself of what he already knew: You were not meant for something like him. It didn’t matter what he wanted, you were for someone better than him. You needed someone beautiful like you, someone with money and power and purpose. You deserved someone like you. And he needed to get past that, at least enough that he could do his fucking job and keep you safe. That was all he was good for now. He knew that. 

He tried to remind himself of that again as he sat by the edge of the pool, his mind lingering on you, on your striking beauty and disquieting kindness and keen talent. 

He took a sip of beer. 

It didn’t matter, he told himself. None of it mattered. 

That was the truth of it. Even if you were his equal - even if he was rich and famous or you were just some waitress or school teacher or something besides the most famous woman on earth - it wouldn’t matter. It’s not like he could do anything about it, anyway. 

About a year after he lost Sarah, he’d tried dating. It hadn’t been his idea but Tommy had set him up with a friend of a friend and it hadn’t gone well. Not because she wasn’t a good woman - she was. She was kind, smart, beautiful. 

But it didn’t seem to matter what Joel did, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to really care for her. He liked her well enough. Enjoyed her company and enjoyed her body but any real affection seemed far away. He’d broken it off before things would need to get too serious, just the thought of getting any further involved making his chest get tight and his head swim. He wasn’t meant for things like that anymore. 

He’d left humanity behind when his daughter had. Anything like love and care was closed to him now, he knew that. 

So why did he keep thinking about you? 

He downed the rest of the beer and sighed before getting up, looking toward your window. He watched the outline of you pull back the blankets and climb into your bed before stretching and turning out the lamp. 

He just shook his head and went inside, putting the bottle in the recycling bin before heading to his own room, trying not to think of you lying on the other side of the wall. 

It didn’t make a difference. You were still in his dreams that night. 

You were standing opposite him like you had the men you’d read lines with but, instead of the comfortable clothes you’d worn to the audition, you were in the mesh top you’d had on that day. Just that and your panties, like you’d been in the back seat of the car. 

“Ready?” You asked, your eyes meeting his and he actually let himself look into them now, and how soft and deep they were. You didn’t wait for his response. “I’ll read you in.” 

Your body changed, the physicality of you shifting as you became someone else inside your skin. 

“What are you so afraid of?” You asked, almost forcefully. 

Joel knew his line. He’d heard it enough the day before. 

“You!” He said. “I’m afraid of you, of this power you have… I can’t protect you, I can’t…” 

“I don’t need you to protect me,” you cut him off, stepping closer. “I need you to trust me.” 

You were close enough that you were touching him. 

He knew this part, too, but he didn’t stick to his lines. 

“But I need to protect you,” he said. “It’s all I know how to do, I… I can’t…” 

You reached up and ran your fingers through his hair, your eyes meeting his, your body arching against his own and he could feel every line of you through his clothes. You moved to kiss him and he went to meet you but you stopped just short, your breath warm on his skin. 

“Why didn’t you protect me, Joel?” You whispered, your lips brushed his as you spoke. 

He frowned, pulling back ever so slightly. 

This wasn’t in the script. 

“You should have saved me,” you said, stepping back from him. 

Suddenly, he was somewhere new with you. The middle of the road, a burning car to one side of you. You stepped back from him again, cradling your arm to your chest, blood spreading quickly over your skin from a wound at your stomach. 

“No,” he reached for you, but you stepped back. Your ankle was at an odd angle, making you limp. “No, this isn’t…” 

“You should have been there,” you said, tears welling in your eyes. “You should have saved me. Why didn’t you save me, Joel?” 

“I…” he began but you collapsed then and he jumped to catch you, pulling your body tight to his chest, panting for breath. “No, no, no, you’re OK, it’s alright, you’re gonna be OK, you hear me?” 

“No,” you reached up and ran your fingers through his hair. “I won’t. Because you didn’t save me.” 

He woke with a start, ready to jump between you and any unseen threat. His chest was tight so he could barely breathe, his whole body covered in a sheen of sweat. 

It took him a moment to remember where he was, in a bed that was his but wasn’t, in a foreign land that wasn’t really so different from his own. It was still dark outside and he clutched at his chest, trying to calm himself down. 

You were safe. You were safe and he was close enough to you that he could protect you if something happened. 

He repeated it in his head like a mantra and it helped but only so much. There was this little, nagging thought that, while he thought you were safe and well, he couldn’t be sure. Not until he saw you. 

It was early, still dark outside, but he checked his phone. It wasn’t the middle of the night, at least. 

He got up on the off chance that you might be awake, glancing toward your bedroom door and seeing it closed. But it looked like there was a light on in the main part of the house so he followed it, finding you leaning against the counter in the kitchen in a bathrobe, a towel around your head. You were scrolling through something on your tablet, drinking from a mug of coffee. There were only a few lights on, the room still mostly dark, something quiet and almost illicit about his presence there. But the tension in his body eased all the same. You were whole, he could relax. 

“Did I wake you?” You frowned, glancing up at him from the glow of the tablet screen. 

“No,” he said, almost defensive. “Why.” 

“Because,” you shrugged, looking back at the tablet. “You usually wear a shirt when I don’t catch you by surprise.” 

He glanced down at himself and almost groaned. He hadn’t even thought about putting something on. 

“Just woke up,” he said, going to get a cup of coffee for himself. “Didn’t think you’d be awake yet.” 

“Well, I needed to get a workout and a shower in before the glam team shows up,” you said, taking a drink from a green smoothie that he hadn’t noticed before. “Don’t worry, I didn’t go anywhere. I just swam some laps and Quinn’s assistant brought me this.” 

You held up the cup and waggled it in his direction. He rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, because heaven forbid I’m concerned about you gettin’ grabbed by some stalker,” he muttered, getting himself a coffee and leaning against the counter across from you and tried to resist the urge to look down the neck of your robe, something that would be so easy to do with you bent over the counter the way you were. 

Then you stood up straight, setting the tablet down, making his life a little easier. 

“I’m sorry for yesterday,” you said, your coffee cup tight in your hand. 

Joel frowned. 

“What d’you mean.” 

“I mean,” you took a deep breath. “That I behaved unprofessionally. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk, I shouldn't have said the things I did. You’re right, it’s not your job to like me and it doesn’t matter if you do or not. I hope I didn’t make you too uncomfortable but, if I did, I apologize. You’re good at your job and I appreciate the work you do. It won’t happen again.” 

“Oh,” Joel said, taken aback. “Um… It’s… It’s fine.” 

“Good,” you said, downing the last of your coffee. “Glam squad will be here in a little while. You may want to hide while you can. I might promise professionalism but I can’t speak for my stylist.” 

Joel snorted at that. 

“Good advice.” 

You smiled tightly, taking the smoothie back toward your bedroom. 

“Hey, Siren,” he said, almost wincing as he said it but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to use your real name, the words seeming almost too intimate. But you stopped all the same, facing him with your eyebrows raised. “I meant that. It’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong, don’t go beating yourself up about it.” 

“Thanks, Big Miller,” you smiled a little, softer this time. “I appreciate that.” 

Joel ate something and got dressed before people started showing up for you. He met each of them at the door, making sure he knew who was in the house and what they were there to do. Makeup artists and hairstylists and, of course, Frank and his assistant. There was even a team of people escorting a fucking necklace and earrings in some oversized red box that made Joel grind his teeth. It was a little surprising, just how many people it took to get you ready to go to a fucking event. 

He couldn’t imagine what they could all be fucking doing, especially not for hours upon hours. It’s not like there was anything on you to improve, he wasn’t sure why the hell it’d take an entire day to get you ready for anything. 

But when you eventually emerged from your room, he understood. 

Frank was carrying the back of your dress while you held up the front and you were nodding along to something the woman beside you was saying and Joel couldn’t help but stare at you. 

It was like you were a sculpture or a painting, more a work of art than any mortal thing. The gown looked like it had been made for you, finding and highlighting every soft curve of your body. There was a diamond necklace with a massive center stone resting in the hollow of your throat, making him think about how delicate your skin would be there. Your makeup perfectly framed your eyes and the arch of your cheekbones and the plush of your lips. Your hair and nails and eyelashes were all longer and more elegant than they’d been just hours before and you were so beautiful it was hard to look at you. It was painful, wrong in some way. You were something beyond him entirely, ethereal and other. He wasn’t meant to look upon the likes of you. 

“You ready?” You asked, turning your attention to him. 

“Yeah,” he said, voice rougher than he’d meant it to be. “You really gonna watch an entire movie in that thing?” 

“Not the most uncomfortable gown I’ve worn, trust me,” you cocked a smile at him. “But we should go, there’s always traffic for premieres.” 

Joel just grunted noncommittally. He needed to get his shit together. He couldn’t afford to let you distract him just because you were beautiful. Not after his dream this morning, not when he knew what was at risk. 

He stared determinedly out the window all the way to the theater. 

“You’ll have to let me know what you think of it,” you said as the two of you sat in traffic, getting closer and closer to the red carpet. 

“Of what,” Joel said, looking your way for the first time in a while, forcing himself to not let his eyes linger on the swell of your breasts, the curve of your throat. 

“Of the film,” you said. “You might be the only person here who will be honest to me about it. I’m curious to know your thoughts.” 

“Not a movie critic,” he muttered. 

“I know,” you said. “That’s why I’m curious.” 

The two of you finally made it to the red carpet and the door opened, your costar there waiting for you with his hand out. 

“My God, love,” he said, looking you up and down. “Do you ever look anything but perfect?” 

“I do what I can,” you smiled, giving him your hand and letting him help you out of the limo. 

Joel got out, too, going around the back of the crowd instead of following you up the carpet, the distance from you making his heart beat faster and his muscles clench. 

“Fuckin’ risky,” he muttered to himself, following your path from the other side of the cluster of fans who were pressed against velvet ropes. There was a large screen set up, a camera tracking you and Reese’s progress down the carpet and Joel kept his head on a swivel, watching you and the crowd and the space at the edges for any threats, trying not to grind his teeth at the way your costar’s hands rested at your waist, hip, back. 

He’d very nearly relaxed when you and Reese had worked your way down most of the fans. You’d almost made it to the press, the more contained part of the carpet where you’d be more secure. Maybe, he thought, he was just being paranoid. Maybe there wasn’t anything to worry about here. 

You started talking to a young man at the end of he cluster of fans, one not much older than the college idiots that seemed to dominate Austin half the fucking year, but there was something about him that set Joel on edge. 

You took a selfie with him and signed something for him but he kept clutching at your arm, not letting you move. Reese’s usually carefree expression shifted, eyebrows drawing together, lips pursing. He put his hand at your waist and gave the man a wave, saying something and smiling a smile that didn’t reach his eyes before pulling you away. You smiled warmly at the man, probably saying something nicer than he deserved, and let Reese lead you on but the man wasn’t letting you go. Your eyes went up, immediately finding Joel’s, a spark of fear in your gaze he could see even from this far away. 

Both of the man’s hands closed around your wrist and he yanked you back toward him, pulling you out of Reese’s hold and making you stumble and Joel was moving before he fully realized what he was doing. 

It was instinctual, shoving his way through the press of fans with no care for who he knocked down on the way. Even with the tightly packed crowd, he was to you in seconds, the man’s hands locked tight around your wrist, bending it at an unnatural angle, Reese trying to pry the man’s hands away from you. Your eyes were wide, the hand that wasn’t in the mans’ grip on his elbow almost soothingly, as though your gentleness was all he needed. 

“No, you don’t understand!” The man was pleading. “I love you, I need you, I’ll do everything for you, everything, no one else will ever love you the way I do, I…” 

Before he could finish talking, Joel punched him across the face. The blow was hard and sharp and sent the man reeling, almost taking you with him before Reese caught you around your stomach and pulled you back from the velvet ropes. 

Event security appeared then, swooping in on the man as he sat on the ground, looking dazed. 

“About fuckin’ time,” Joel snapped to them before hurdling the rope and going to you. Reese had angled you away from the camera that had been following the pair of you down the carpet, cradling your wrist in his hands, saying something to you that Joel couldn’t quite hear. 

“You OK?” Joel asked, a little breathless. Your head snapped up, your wide eyes meeting his, something almost frantic in your gaze. Your chest was heaving, your breaths coming in fearful little pants and he closed the distance between the two of you quickly, taking the uncanny beauty of your face in his hand. You closed your eyes, pressing your cheek into his palm and his fingers held you tighter than they should but he couldn’t seem to pull back. Your skin was soft, smooth, warm, perfect. You took a deep breath. “You’re safe, it’s OK.” 

“Joel,” you said softly, your voice trembling and wet, none of your typical bravado to be found. 

“I know,” he said. “But they got him. Not gonna let him hurt you, you’re safe.” 

You nodded into him. 

“Do we need to leave?” Reese looked to Joel, his brows drawn tight together. 

“No,” you said quickly before Joel had a chance to respond. He frowned, going to argue with you but you cut him off. “No, we’re almost to the press, we need to just keep going, it’s fine, I’m fine. We keep going.” 

Joel searched your eyes, your face still in his hand and, as afraid as you looked, you were just as determined, too. 

“Fine,” Joel clenched his jaw. 

“Thank you,” you said quietly. 

“I’ve got you,” Reese said gently to you before turning back to Joel. “I’ll take care of her.” 

Joel nodded once, firmly, before finally - painfully - taking his hand back from you. You closed your eyes and took a deep, centering breath. You raised your chin defiantly and steeled your spine and opened your eyes again. You smiled a little as you did and, for the first time, Joel recognized a shift in you. It was like the auditions, when you embodied someone else. You weren’t yourself anymore, you were just another character now, someone with your face and voice but detached from you. 

“Let’s go,” you said, leading Reese down the carpet toward the press. 

Joel watched until you were at the backdrop, smiling and posing with your costar, making sure event security was close by before slipping back into the crowd. 

The man who’d grabbed you had been wrestled away from the crowd, tucked off to the side and now in custody of police. Joel went and found them, introducing himself to the cops and telling them about the stalking threat he’d been hired to protect against. 

The man was still yelling, fully sobbing as he said again and again how much he loved you, how all he wanted was to take care of you. Joel wished the police would turn their backs for a moment, just a moment, just long enough for him to get another hit in on him. He wanted to hurt him, scare him, make him realize that you were protected and that he couldn’t get to you.

Joel had never dealt with a stalker before, but he wouldn’t be surprised if this was the guy. The level of obsession, the passion, the willingness to hurt you to get what he wanted made it seem likely. 

That was good, he thought. If this was the guy, you were out of immediate danger. You’d be safe - or as safe as someone as famous as you could be. There was a certain sense of peace in him at that. 

But there was this keen longing in him, too. 

If this was your stalker, his contract would be up. He would go back to Texas with you, pack up the things at your house and say goodbye to this strange semblance of a life he’d found himself in with you and your niece. He’d be without the both of you, alone in the tomb of his house, waiting for the next time he could jump in front of a bullet for someone else so he could feel alive. 

He tried to ignore the tightness in his chest at that thought, the sickening feeling in his stomach. 

This had been a mistake, this whole fucking job had been a mistake. The second he knew who you were he should have told Tommy no, he couldn’t. You were too close to Sarah, the job too long lasting. It was too big a risk for him, too much of a chance for him to get attached to someone he had no business getting attached to. 

“Joel.” 

He looked around to find Quinn at his back, her face drawn. 

“She alright?” He asked, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“She made it through the press but she might have a broken wrist,” she said, her voice low. “She’s ducking out the back once the film starts, we need to get her to a doctor. She has fight training starting soon and an injury is going to be who knows how much in production delays…” 

Joel bristled. 

“And if she’s got a broken fuckin’ bone it needs to be treated.” 

“Obviously,” Quinn rolled her eyes. “I thought that went without saying.” 

“She’s not just a fucking profit center,” he narrowed his eyes at your manager. “She’s a person.” 

Quinn looked at him for a moment, considering him. 

“I know that, Joel,” she said gently. “I just wasn’t aware you did.” 

Quinn, at least, had the foresight to get your usual SUV to pick you up instead of the limo you’d arrived in. Security let Joel in the back door and you were waiting for him there, looking so out of place among the boxes and storage in your gown and jewels. You were stiff and oddly small, shoulders hunched as you leaned back against a cinderblock wall, cradling your injured wrist to your chest. Someone tried to talk to him but Joel ignored them, instead going straight for you. 

“Changed your mind?” He asked, hands in his pockets so he didn’t touch you again. 

You looked at him through your lashes, something sharply vulnerable in your eyes for a moment before you straightened and smirked a little. 

“Figured going to an afterparty with a wrist the size of a grapefruit was a bad look,” you said, showing your arm to him. Your wrist was swollen and discolored and he resisted the urge to take it gently in his hands. “Don’t want the press to be about this, we want it to be about the movie.” 

“Alright, c’mon then,” he said. “Get you checked out.” 

He put his arm around you, tucking you against his side as you held your wrist against yourself.  He stayed close to you on the drive, your body warm and relaxed against him. 

“Do you think that was him?” You asked quietly, voice small. 

“I don’t know,” Joel said. His hand was on your arm. Your skin was soft. “I talked to the police, told them about the stalker, they’re gonna investigate…” 

“He scared me,” you said softly. “I know there were threats but… It didn’t seem real. I didn’t think anything would happen.” 

“I know,” Joel said, his thumb tracing a slow, steady path over your skin. “I’ve got you. Keep you safe.” 

He said it as much for himself as he did for you. He tried not to think about why he needed to. 

The driver took the two of you to a small doctor’s office that, at this hour, was quiet. A nurse met you both at the back and you were quickly ushered into an exam room and given an x-ray, you in your gown on the cold paper of the exam table a sight that made Joel’s heart clench. 

“You did indeed break it,” the doctor said, pointing out a thin line on the x-ray. “It’s a minor fracture, shouldn’t need a full cast and just a splint for three to five weeks.” 

“How soon before I can train?” You frowned. “Can I train in a splint?” 

“That really what you should be worried about?” Joel asked, his arms crossed over his chest. 

You looked over to him, your eyebrows knitting together. 

“There’s a whole movie depending on me, Joel,” you said. “People have contracts, they have bills they need to pay. I can’t just take weeks off.” 

“Can’t make a movie if you don’t heal,” he muttered. 

“You need to take at least three weeks before you do anything extreme with that wrist,” the doctor said. “If you don’t, you’ll need a cast and you’ll be out of commission even longer.” 

“Alright Doc,” you smiled. “You win, I’ll take it easy.” 

“Good,” he said. “I’d hate to see you try to hold an Oscar in a cast.” 

It was a relief to get you back home again, in a contained space that Joel had gotten to know in the last week. Frank and a hairstylist met you there, the three of you disappearing into your room for a while and Joel considered sitting in his own, not sure he could handle seeing you again but then, he wasn’t sure he could handle not seeing you, either. So he sat on the couch, existing in a state of limbo, not sure what to do next. 

“Sounds like you saved the day,” Frank said when he eventually emerged, a garment bag over his arm. 

“Dunno about that,” Joel said. “Still let her get her fuckin’ wrist broke.” 

“Seems like it could have been a lot worse if you hadn’t stepped in,” he said. “Broken wrist will heal.” 

Joel just grunted. 

“Anyway,” he continued. “Thank you. She’s one of the good ones.” 

He left before Joel got a chance to respond. The hairstylist left not long after, a bag of hair in her hands, and, when you didn’t come out right after, he almost thought you’d gone to bed. He was considering doing the same when you slowly, almost cautiously, came down the hall, peering into the living room as though your presence in your own home was somehow illicit. 

“Oh,” you said, in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants and wrist splint. The makeup was gone, the long nails and lashes and hair, too. But you were still beautiful, maybe even more so now. It was the most human Joel had ever seen you. “Sorry, I thought you’d be in your room…” 

“Don’t need to apologize,” he shrugged. “Your house. You OK?” 

“Fine,” you shrugged. “A little sore but… I’ll be fine, it’s just a minor fracture.” 

Joel nodded slowly and you stood there awkwardly for a moment. 

“I’m going to make tea,” you said. “Eat something solid for the first time today now that I’m out of that dress. Call Ellie, check in. Want to join?” 

He wanted to say yes. He wanted to say yes, follow you to the kitchen and be next to you, have tea, talk to Ellie. He wanted to keep existing in the same sphere as you, be folded into your life the way he had become the last few months. 

But he couldn’t. He knew that. You and Ellie and your lives weren’t for him. 

“Should go to bed,” he said instead. “Been a long week.” 

You smiled - a little sadly, he thought - but nodded and went to the kitchen and he listened to you just exist for a moment before he left you there alone. 

It didn’t seem to make a difference. He dreamed of you again. 

It was different this time. You were far away from him, in the t-shirt and sweats you’d changed into, larger than life but out of reach. All he could do was watch as someone hurt you and you looked for him to help you. He ran and ran but he couldn’t reach you, couldn’t do a goddamn thing except watch you hurt because he couldn’t do the one thing he’d been built to do. 

He stared at the ceiling when he woke up, his heart pounding and body tense. 

He had to stop this. Whatever road he was going down, whatever he was doing, he had to stop. He couldn’t live his life this way, where he was always afraid and waiting for things to go wrong. He’d learned that lesson once, the hard way. He couldn’t do it again. He just couldn’t. 

“Ready to get back to the Lone Star State?” You asked, already in the kitchen when Joel got up. 

“Guess so,” he said. You watched him, like you were waiting for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. 

“Well,” you said when he was quiet for too long. “I know Ellie is looking forward to you coming back, she told me something about that video game you guys…” 

“Look,” Joel cut you off. “Ellie’s a great kid…” 

“Agreed.” 

“But, if that guy was your stalker, I got no reason to be at your house all the time,” he said. 

“Oh,” you said, your shoulders slumping a little. “Right. I hadn’t really… That makes sense. Yeah.” 

Joel poured himself a cup of coffee. 

“Should go get packed,” he said. 

He didn’t wait for a response, just going back to his room to gather his things and avoid you and it was a relief when the car was there, ready to take the two of you to the airport. 

“We do have to make one stop on the way,” you said, holding the red box that had shown up yesterday. 

Joel frowned. 

“Don’t you got people for that?” 

“Well, the original plans got a little fucked with the whole ‘crazy man at the premiere’ thing,” you said. “But keep your shirt on, Big Miller, it’ll only take five minutes.” 

“Whatever you say,” he said, rolling his eyes, wishing he was back in Texas already. 

He sat in back next to you, anyway. 

The stop at the jeweler was quick - you trading the large and ostentatious red box for a much smaller one - and it wasn’t long before the two of you were ushered onto the plane, the last people aboard as you tucked yourself into the window seat in the front row, a baseball cap tugged low over your face and a sweatshirt covering the brace on your arm. 

Joel was tense the entire flight. He hated when people realized you were aboard and started demanding autographs and selfies, when you got up to use the bathroom, when the plane hit turbulence and he knew there wouldn't be a damn thing he could do to save either of you if the plane went down and that level of powerlessness disturbed him at his core. 

He’d been stupid with you. Careless, reckless, dumb. He knew better now, he knew where giving a fuck led and it was nowhere good. He thought that wasn’t a risk with you, that your spoiled fucking attitude and obscene wealth and the ease of your life would make it so he could never care for you but he was wrong. He gave a shit. For the first time in five years, he cared. 

And he needed to get far away from that before it killed you both. 

He went wordlessly to his room at your house in Austin when you got there, Seth beating you both to the house to take over so Joel could have a few days off. He grabbed a few things he knew he’d want and resolved to ask Seth to pack the rest for him when the police confirmed that it had, indeed, been your stalker last night. For now, he just needed to get out of here and get away from you. 

“Hey, Joel!” You followed after him as he stalked toward his truck, his duffle over his shoulder. 

He gritted his teeth and turned to face you. 

“What.” 

You all but flinched back from him, blinking in surprise at his curt tone. He knew he was being short with you but it needed to happen. It had to. 

“Oh,” you said, the smaller red box from the jeweler in your hands. “I just…” You thrust it toward him, looking at him with wide and oddly honest eyes. “I got you something. I ordered it before the thing yesterday, just to say thank you for everything in LA, but it can be kind of a going away gift now, too, since… well, anyway.” 

He took it, the fact that you seemed out of sorts disorienting, and opened it. Inside was a watch. It was simple, rectangular with a silver case and black leather strap, but obviously luxurious. 

“It’s engraved,” you smiled, fidgeting with your sweatshirt sleeves. “Which is probably dumb but I couldn’t resist, I’m a sucker for shit like engraving, don’t ask me why…” 

“You think this is what I want?” He asked, holding up the box, voice cold.You just blinked at him for a moment. “That I want some fancy fucking jewelry? That I’m like your rich fucking friends you can just buy off or something?” 

“What?” You looked at him, hurt. “No, no, I… I just… Yours is broken and I wanted to say thank you for…” 

“For me doin’ my job,” he cut you off. “That’s what this was, a job. We’re not friends, you don’t need to thank me for shit. You paid me, I protected you, end of story. I don’t want your fancy fucking watch, I don’t want…” 

“Then sell it!” You snapped, angry now. “Consider it a tip, run it over with your car because you hate me so fucking much, tell the tabloids about how the movie star bought you a present, I don’t care! I know you’re thrilled to be rid of me, anyway. Nice knowing you, Miller. Have a nice life.” 

You didn’t give him a chance to respond. Instead, you stalked back into your house, leaving him there with nothing left but a hollow ache in his chest and the watch that he wished he could find a home for on his arm. 

Next Chapter

A/N: Look. If you're here because you've read my other stuff, are we at all surprised that we ended up here? Is anyone surprised that I'm back in my natural habitat - torturing Joel Miller - yet again?

I wish I knew why I was like this, I really do, but alas, here we are. Thanks for reading it and for putting up with my total lack of a posting schedule. I really appreciate you being here and caring about these characters enough to read the monster chapters I put out about them.

Love you!

Taglist: @christinamadsen@eff4freddie@brittmb115@copperhalfcent@r3dheadedwitch @pedropascalsbbg @lovelyjess69 @yopossum @moel-jiller @picketniffler @lilyevanstan1325 @reluctanthalfwayoptimism @wintersquirrel @missladym1981 @mellymbee @canthinkof1user @inept-the-magnificent @secretlyangelic @pedrobae @scarletsloveletter

[tribalauthor]

THE WISEWOMAN (roman reigns ff) <chapter 9>

word count: 3K

Sophia's POV:

I am in the makeup room with the female roster getting ready for the show. My outfit for today is a dark blue blazer dress and thigh high white boots with thin heels.

(not mine)

I am also wearing a necklace with a saphire on it and the same earrings. My grandma gave them to me when I graduated.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My smooth skin is ready for some makeup and I intend to do it myself this time since I don't wanna burden the makeup artist who has another looks to do.

I am trying so hard to get Roman out of my head after everything that happened last night but I just can't.

*flashback*

The car that Roman rented just left us in the big evergreen playfield. Although it's around 9pm, the lights are still working and you could see the empty seats.

"So this is the home stadium of Georgia Tech. It's called Bobby Dodd Stadium and it was built by students back in 1913. The oldest on-campus stadium in history." he explained to me and for a moment I thought I am on tour and he is the tour guide. His voice is so deep and smooth, this man can talk about anything and it will sound mesmerising.

"Woah." I exclaimed. "By students? That's impressive." I stated.

"Indeed." I felt him coming closer to me as we were walking. "By the way our team beat a lot of people here back in the day." I took a glance at him and he had that glow in his brown eyes filled with good memories.

"Really?" I asked with scepticism.

"Yes. Are you doubting your Tribal Chief?" he suddenly became a little annoyed and I tried not to laugh.

"No. How could I?" I replied dramatically.

"I'm a born winner, Sophia and I'm gonna die a winner." he declared with cold confidence.

"That could be used in a promo, too" my eyes widened.

"I honestly love your flair." Roman grinned.

"You do? People tend to find it annoying that I always have to involve work in everything." I spoke frankly.

"Nah, it's not annoying. I also tend to think about work a lot. When me and your uncle are together, we always scheme our next move. What should we do, what should we say to stand out from the rest. You are just exactly like him." Roman remarked and I looked down with a smile.

"Thank you for understanding my nature." I spoke softly and looked at him and he gave me that look signifying that it's not a big deal.

"I would like to thank you for spending time with an uncle like me." Roman put his hand on his chest and I started laughing loudly, not very demure.

"Stop." I slightly hit his arm. "I have only one uncle and his name is Paul Heyman." I said with the wisewoman tone.

"But I'm an uncle too. I have a lot of nephews."

"You are from those hot single uncles." I teased him and I swear he definitely blushed.

"Hot?" he asked again and giggled. "You think I'm hot?"

I looked at him with dead eyes.

"Don't act like the guy that used to play here doesn't know."

He sighed. "Back then...when was it? Twenty years ago. I was thinking differently. I was a completely different person." he looked down.

"Me too. I was almost seven years old." I replied and he looked at me with horror.

"Oh my God." Roman put his hand on his forehead and he suddenly changed his expression. "Almost seven you say? So you are almost 27 now?

"Don't remind me." I playfully scolded him.

"No. That means your birthday is soon. When is it?" Roman seemed very interested to know when my birthday is and he is not going to believe what I'm about to tell him.

"February 14th." I responded and his mouth dropped slightly.

"On Valentine's Day?!" he exclaimed and put his fist in front of his mouth.

"Yup. When is yours?" I kinda know his zodiac sign but I don't know the date.

"May 25th."

"Oh so you are a Gemini. That explains a lot." I concluded and he suddenly seemed confused.

"Why? What does it explain?"

"Geminis are usually clever and sharp minded. And two-faced."

"I'm not two faced." he sounded offended and I laughed but when I looked again he genuinely seemed pissed off and maybe he was ready to chase me, so I started running with my high heels on.

Knowing that I have zero chance with these shoes while a literal athlehe is chasing me, he caught me in less than a minute.

He caught me from behind wrapping his arms around my waist pulling me right to his body and then turned me around with his arms being in the same position.

"Why am I two-faced?" he asked me again with almost very normal breath cause that was basically nothing for him while I was trying to catch mine for a bit but it's also because I am very close to him right now and I can feel the tension rising.

"Because you tend to have several personalities. I noticed you can switch up very fast from one mood to another." I finally explained to him while we were staring at each other.

"That's just how I am." he responded calmly.

"See? Two seconds ago you wanted to kill me and now you are calm again." I giggled and rested my arms on his shoulders.

"I wanna do a lot of things to you and kill you is nowhere near the list, Soph." he said quietly and it got me wondering.

"Well, what's on the list then?" I pouted my lips while looking directly at him and he leaned to kiss my forehead in the softest way possible but his thick beard tickled my skin.

Oh my God.

Clearly, I didn't expect that. It's cold outside but I swear to God, I could feel my cheeks burning and becoming red as a tomato.

I looked down out of shyness not knowing what to say which as we know is a very rare state for me.

I felt him putting my hands away from his shoulders and grabbing them in his instead. I looked back at him.

My hands disappear from sight compared to his. He probably felt how cold they are, so he brought them to his face and kissed them as well.

"Damn, you are cold." he stated and I felt like I will explode any second right here and right now.

He is really driving me crazy right now and my question is does he plan to kiss me on the mouth or he is just playing with me.

Roman started rubbing them and I felt warmer but it could be due to the high pressure in my whole body.

"Yeah, ever since I remember myself during winter I have a poor blood flow and even if I'm inside, my hands and feet are always cold." I finally spoke.

"I'm gonna make sure I buy you warm socks and gloves then, okay?" Roman pressed his lips while I could see a slight concern in his eyes.

I laughed softly.

"Okay." I responded and then we stood there staring holes through each other, examining each other's faces.

He really has that masculine mature look and it does something to me for sure. Who would've thought? I've seen this man a lot on TV with my uncle yet I never felt anything but yeah, this is basically me. I don't see it immediately but when I do, there is no turning back.

In no way I would have imagined myself with a man like him. Slowly but surely, I am starting to. The way he is looking at me is nothing I can compare with since no one has ever looked at me like that.

All my life I have received many different looks from men and I could read through their eyes that they want nothing but sex from me.

The look in Roman's eyes right now is really far from that. I can see deep care and even a slight nervousness.

"Your lips are very beautiful, by the way." he remarked, seperating me from my profound thought process I was just having.

"Thank you." I replied quietly. My hands were still buried in his. "Yours are probably beautiful too, but can't really see them from that beard." I chuckled.

"What do you mean?" he got a bit offended and pouted his lips like a little duck. Yes, they are very pretty, I got the point.

I lifted my toes up and pecked the pouty lips of the Undisputed Champion.

He seemed completely shocked from my action. His eyeballs are probably gonna jump out any second and I just smirked and bit my lower lip.

My turn to leave him speechless.

"Is this on the list?" I asked and he completely changed his expression. From surprised it became thorough.

"Yeah. It is." he responded quietly. "But now I want more." he attacked my lips, locking them in with his, slowly devouring them until I slightly opened my mouth and he slid his tongue in it. I felt like I'm levitating for a second until I got back to my senses and kissed him back with my tongue battling his.

Okay, he is a good kisser. No surprise there. His lips definitely feel good and that tingling feeling from his beard is even enhancing the whole experience.

After a while we broke the kiss and stared at each other, knowing we both want more.

Roman had stains of my red lipstick on his mouth and moustache.

"Red lips look good on you." I stated and then I realized my lips must be smudged too but that didn't stop me from licking them and feeling the sweet aftertaste from Roman's kiss.

I finally seperated my hands from his. During this whole time they've been sitting like that and I rubbed the lip stains out of his mouth.

His lips are indeed very soft to the touch and I'm lowkey jealous, not gonna lie. Does he even put a lip balm on?

Then he gave me that lustful look since I know he is definitely going wild on the inside and he wants to kiss me again but something is restraining him.

"You just shared a kiss with the football boy. Your high school self wouldn't be very proud." Roman said with realization.

I gave him the dead look.

"That was for all the football team you once rejected." he added and I rolled my eyes, laughing at him.

"Shut up and kiss me again." I said and he didn't wait for second invitation for tasting my lips.

*end of flashback*

This was so magical. I honestly have no idea what happened to me. He just makes me feel comfortable while giving me heart attacks from time to time.

"Sophiaaa." the voices of Tiffany and Samantha trying to get me back on Earth startled me.

"What's up with you?" Sam asked.

"I'm just a bit tired from the ride." I fake yawned. "Couldn't really sleep last night."

"Is this cause the Tribal Chief didn't let you sleep?" Tiff teased me and I looked at her with playfully mad expression.

"No. I slept alone. As I always do." I lied. I know they are my colleagues and that we became friends but I don't want anyone to know what's going on between us.

1) Because everything is still very fresh 2) I don't want me or Roman to be perceived in the wrong way since I have no idea how would people react to all of this.

Roman's POV:

I am sitting in the room with my cousins and I just told them about what happened last night with Sophia.

"I swear to God, I feel like a young boy again." I giggled and saw Jimmy and Solo exchanging weird looks between each other.

"Yeah. That's the effect of being with a younger woman." Jon crossed his arms.

"There is a reason you brought her to your college field. You wanted to feel the spirit of your younger self, so you can get brave enough and kiss her since you know deep in you that all of this is wrong." Yoko just psycho analyzed me and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

They just had to rain on my parade, huh? Why do they do it? It's like I'm doing a crime or something.

"Sophia is a grown woman. If she didn't want me, I would know." I responded.

*flashback*

We started getting ready for bed. While Soph was dressing up with her pajamas in the bathroom, I put mine which is grey Nike sweatpants, no shirt. Just abs.

Suddenly I heard the bathroom door opened and Sophia came in front of me wearing a baby pink silk nightdress that wasn't very long. It was exposing her beautiful long lean legs and cupping her round perfect sized breast. Looking all natural and everything.

Maybe it was a mistake to put on gray sweatpants because I swear to God, I feel like I will get a boner.

"Let's brush our teeth together. We have two sinks." she suggested innocently flashing her beautiful grin at me and I just followed her to the bathroom.

Joseph, you can do this. You are a strong man not only physically but mentally.

As a man, I think I've mastered ignoring my intrusive thoughts but right now they are yelling at me.

Is Sophia wearing any lingerie beneath this? If not, it would take just a slight pull and-

"Why are you standing there?" she snapped me out of my thoughts as she put a toothpaste on her toothbrush.

I sighed and got to the sink.

"You are just so incredibly beautiful." I said the truth.

"Thank you." she replied sweetly and then started brushing her teeth.

I did the same thing but when I glanced at my left to look at her I saw that her breasts were slightly bouncing and then she spat the toothpaste in the sink, leaving a little on her lips.

I am actually no better than boys her age, just realized this. I have to prove that I am though.

I'm gonna try my best to keep my composure and keep the intrusive thoughts away. I turned to my previous position and tried not to think about how I want to haunt her on that very bathroom sink or in the shower cabin.

A loud thud shook me off my own sinful thoughts. Soph just dropped her toothpaste and was about to bend down to grab it but if she does that, I will see her lingerie and I'm afraid I will get an erection and it's gonna get insanely awkward.

"No." I growled in concern and swiftly bent over to grab it. "Here you are" I grinned at her and she seemed very confused.

"Thank you." she replied. "I was way closer to it, I could have done it alone, though."

"It's a psychological fact that if you don't help the person next to you lift something they dropped, means you don't care. I just wanted to show you that I care about you." I said a generally accepted truth.

She still seemed slightly confused.

"Well, you are showing me with another actions but thank you." she just said.

...

We were ready to go to sleep but honestly I have zero idea how I'm gonna do that knowing that the most beautiful and hot woman is in the same room with me.

Maybe this wasn't a very good idea. I am literally testing my limits. Is it possible that she is doing all of this on purpose to test my intentions or she just really wears sexy nightgowns to sleep?

Suddenly I am jealous of her boyfriends. I don't care what they are, who they are, they clearly didn't deserve a woman like Sophia. I don't know what they must have done in their previous lives.

But let's focus on the present. Now she is in a hotel room with me, she kissed me and she thinks I am hot.

"Will I get a good night kiss?" Sophia asked innocently.

I would give her a goodnight di-

"Of course." I replied and went to her bed. Then I leaned to her and placed a small peck on her soft lips.

"Just that?" she looked a bit disappointed. Yup, that woman is putting me to the test.

"Look, little lady. If we go deeper, I will go deeper, you know what I'm saying? Let's keep it PG." I playfully threatened her.

"Oh, I love men with self control." she purred and bit her lips.

Fuck it.

I leaned in to kiss her again but this time it was more aggressive and I got slightly over her making sure I am not hurting her with my weight and she softly placed her hands on my naked chest.

Now we got our minty breaths mixed up and it's amazing. It's also amazing how her tongue syncs with mine.

I broke the kiss and then she looked at me with fiery eyes like she accomplished something.

Earlier I described her as an angel but Sophia may be a devil in disguise.

*end of flashback*

"You are mine now, hope you know that." I said quietly almost whispering and went to bed.

"Look at him all smiling and shit." I heard my cousins gossiping about me...in front of me.

"Don't forget you have to be mad for later, uce." Jimmy reminded me.

"Yeah no shit." I responded with sarcasm. "You two are definitely helping me with that, though" I stated and put the classic grumpy Tribal Chief face again.

[oddeyecir-cle]

 ✶ ˖  ࣪  📹 .  ぅ

lee donghyuck enemies to lovers fic ideas (all fics are haechan × reader)

haechan who is your rival coworker + secretly deadpool

for the sake of this story, lets assume deadpool does hide his identity. he works at a tech company and is constantly beefing with his coworker that he's lowkey attracted to. and the plot could maybe be something like you accidentally finding out his identity and then using that information to slightly/ kind of/ in a non-toxic way blackmail him. eg: making him run errands for you, asking to tag along on his quests as deadpool. then the pair gets closer through all the time they spend together etc etc.

✶ note : hyuck HAS to be the sassiest, funniest, most sarcastic, cocky human being ever. also include some spidermark maybe

haechan as the prince of the neighbouring kingdom

historical au. very basic ik but hear me out. your kingdom's glory and power is gradually draining and it's threatened by multiple rivaling kingdoms. that is when your mother, the queen, tells you there is no choice but to turn to hyuck's kingdom for help. you hate the idea but you know everyone's counting on you so you go through with it anyways. (this is historical so there could be a very cool scene of the reader riding on a horse in battle armour to neighbouring kingdom's palace themself but whatever). they're good, kind people so they agree to help you. they send over a part of their military along with some weapons and of course haechan himself, their most prized possession who, like you, is skilled with a sword and is a wise leader. there's lots of quarrels between the both of you when it comes to the topic of which one has more power over the other and about who should be leading the troops. but you soon put your animosity aside when you realize that you have to work as a team to win. (insert dramatic battle sequence with swords and arrows flying around. at one point, you and haechan lock eyes and suddenly he drops to the ground. the world starts to blur around you when you realize he's been stabbed in his back. you frantically rush to his aid but he falls limp in your arms. its now upto the writer to kill him there itself and end the story. very angsty, i love. or they could also save him somehow and give main characters the happy ending they deserve).

 ✶ note : sloooooowwwww buuuurn. i mean this should be a long ass series with 7k+ words per chapter. should be so heavy on the angst and the hate that it makes you wonder if they do actually end up loving each other in the end. please include sword fighting scenes with sexual tension i beg you. (im big on bollywood, can u tell).

haechan as a stranger/ tour guide you meet on a family trip

you've just gotten out of a 3 year long relationship after your boyfriend cheated on you with your best friend. things get worse when your family, unaware of your breakup, forces you on a 2 week trip to *insert destination of choice" . here you meet the annoying, sarcastic, a-little-too-happy-for-his-own-good donghyuck. he is with the group your family is touring with (him being the tour guide is a pretty cute plot too but it could kind of complicate things later) and instantly wins everyone over with his charm, except you of course. in classic hyuck fashion, he tries to keep getting your attention and eventually succeeds. his company helps ease the pain of the heartbreak he didn't even know about. its bittersweet when it's time to part ways. you realise after you come back to your college dorm that you never exchanged phone numbers and you fail to find him on social media as well. but fate has strange ways of bringing people together. which is why you cant stop smiling when crash into a certain someone during a regular grocery run.

✶ note : more on the fluff and less on the angst for this one. and maybe a dash of slice of life as well.

haechan as captain of the football team.

there is no actual plot for this other than the fact that you're a cheerleader and also his academic rival (there is no trope i love more than this). my vision for this is very 2000s romcom. ik this isn't a lot to work with but there could be some sub trope like fake dating mostly.

✶ note: nothing much just make it cute

+i have a few more ideas, will probably make a part 2

++if in the future, by some miracle, people do find these interesting enough to use, please dont forget to credit me!!

[hiemaldesirae]

The Hazbin Graduate's Guide to Homicide (2)

Student Report: Alastor Hartfelt Supervising Staff: Vice-Dean Lilith Morningstar Sponsor: [REDACTED] To the esteemed and generous sponsor of one Mister Alastor Hartfelt, The following enclosed letter is a partial recount of Mister Alastor's first week during his term here at our esteemed institution. Please dispose of this report as soon as you are finished reading it for privacy insurance. We at the Hazbin Institution for Homicide Practictioners thank you for your continued interest and patronage. Sincerely, Vice-Dean Lilith Morningstar.

(Enclosed is also a photo of your charge with our current star student, Vox Vanhal. Please note that Mr. Vanhal's file is not yet open for your private purposes, but Dean Lucifer is working on it.)

[more murder academy radiostatic content] <- read the first for context! ^^

"Does this radio only have one station?" Alastor frowns at the contraption.

Having arrived at Pride House late into the semester (according to Dean Morningstar, anyway- he hadn't wanted to come here in the first place, so he doesn't see why he should be given the blame), Alastor had been stiffly informed by the receptionist- one Mrs. Mayberry- that he would have to be sharing a joint bathroom with a young woman named Charlie as a result of no other rooms being available. He'd been tempted to ask about the peculiar young man who he'd met that afternoon and how he'd assumed they might be roommates, but after one sour look from the receptionist that reminded him far too much of his late grandmother, he'd simply kept his mouth shut and taken the key.

The room he was assigned honestly wasn't half bad, if he could push out the questioning in his hindbrain of why he was given a room with a bathroom to share with someone of the fairer sex. Light from the setting sun streamed in from the open curtains, and through the window, an elevated view of the small Dutch-themed town square was easy to see. If Alastor squinted, he could see the glittering waters of the oddly named Lake Pandemonium, and past that, a thick covering of colourful flowering trees he had never once seen before in his life.

The room itself reminds Alastor a little of hotel rooms: somewhat sterile in its professionalism, and altogether unattached from any sense of home. Though he supposes it's better this way: he would rather a completely sterile and unlived in room than one bearing marks of another's absence.

Anyway. Back to the radio.

Alastor fiddles with the knobs a little, but still, the tunes of the blues persist on, with not even the slightest bit of variety.

It was ironic now, thinking of how he used to dance to songs just like these in Mimzy's company, and now he was complaining for no reason. He'd expected much less kind treatment when he'd been brought to Hazbin, after all, but after not even a day of staying here, it seemed to him that their service alongside their accomodations had been top notch. Excluding the presence of the Dean, Alastor found himself thinking that he may even end up liking this place.

That line of thought would soon be tested the very next morning, when Alastor made his way out of his rooming quarters and down to the building that housed the institution's dining hall.

Though the dean had been careful to point it out to him during the tour, he hadn't realized just the sheer size of the place: its high-sloped ceilings and massive polished columns of oak wood and obsidian enlays made for a stunning, if intimidating layout.

"Ah, Mister Hartfelt- Alastor, right?"

A voice catches his attention and before he even turns, Alastor knows who the soft hand on his shoulder is from. Lo and behold, the man with the mismatched eyes offers him a smile, one that Alastor returns after a beat of silence.

"Since you're new, do you want to come sit with me?"

"I don't see why not," Alastor responds simply. There's no harm in it, exactly- he's not quite sure what exactly he's supposed to be doing at mealtimes (see once more: coming in to the start of the term 'late') and, besides. He's been curious about the man with the gemstone eyes since they met the day prior, so the chance to sit and eat with him... well, it was quite the unexpected boon.

"Right, you'll have to get a plate for yourself, but you can always just take one from someone who hasn't woken up yet," Vox says as they make their way to the table where he was sitting. "Just be careful that the one you're taking isn't from someone really protective of their property."

"Why not?"

"They've probably already laced the plates with some kind of poison." Vox shrugs. "Most have antidotes on hand for that kind of thing, but only for their own poisons. So we try not to get the plates mixed up."

"Ah," Alastor says succinctly. "My apologies, remind me how long you've been here for again?"

"Two weeks," Vox says. He laughs a little at the face that Alastor makes, "I mean, well, you tend to learn these kinds of things pretty quick. If not cause of the upperclassman, usually staff are around to tell you what not to do... and if they're not there either, there's always the medical personnel who can help you after you've done the deed and gone belly up, so to say."

"I'm quite sure I'd rather not have to resort to said medical personnel, but to each their own," Alastor says.

This gets a laugh from Vox again, one that provokes that deep sort of familiarity inside of Alastor, and once again he asks himself where do I know this man from? It was certainly never from any radio program he'd ever heard, but he couldn't quite rule out the possibility of it being from a foreign program either, given the soft influence of german notes in the other man's speech.

He's drawn out of his thoughts when Vox pushes a plate towards him, already laden with food. "Here. Snatched this one from my former roommate a week back and he never questioned it. Guy didn't even show up to breakfast half the time."

Alastor takes it without asking any further questions, though he does look at the meal to check for any sort of poisons he should watch for. Not that he has enough faith in Vox to think that the other would be able to murder him, but, this was a school for murder, and in the current moment, he was outclassed (even if it wasn't by much.) However, there was a question he wanted to ask unrelated to the food.

"Former roommate?"

"Mm, he graduated- well, went to complete his thesis, which is basically the same thing but shorter because if you don't complete your thesis you may as well say your goodbyes- and that was three days before you arrived," Vox clarifies. "Or, well. I s'pose I shouldn't say that. I'm pretty sure he graduated. The guy was an upperclassman, and the terms here are pretty unpredictable- there's no limits on the time you spend here unless your funds are limited, and he was definitely not one of the people who have to scrape their savings together to afford a single year here. I didn't know anything about his academic career though, so it's definitely a possibility he didn't graduate."

"If he didn't graduate, then-"

"If he didn't graduate then he's dead, simple as pie," Vox clarifies once more. Alastor squints his eyes at the other man, who huffs and bites into his toast before saying anything else. "Well, hey, I mean I know I don't seem like the best roommate right now, but look, all right, I'm not gonna be looking into the disappearance of the guy who kept wrecking my bathroom setup for two weeks! Besides, when Dean Morningstar introduced you the other day, I thought that we'd be rooming together- especially since I already had the vacancy, and it'd make sense to just, you know, lump us together, right? Since I've got the room, and you need it?"

"Yes, it'd seem that way," Alastor says. He picks at his own food for a moment longer, debating between telling Vox of his actual room arrangements and keeping his mouth shut before deciding that whatever information he could get out of the man would be worth the potential embarrassment and questioning. "But instead, I was assigned to share a room with a woman."

Vox spits out his food onto the table, hacking and coughing as Alastor reaches over the table and pats him on the back firmly, shaking his head when some other members start making their ways towards him. "You- they made you room with a woman? What?"

"Well, it's certainly not as bad as you're making it sound-"

"I mean, sharing a bathroom, whatever, I know how rooming works in the Pride House so, all right, not that bad considering you'd have the double locked doors and as long as neither of you forget to lock the doors everything's all right, but, seriously, what?" Vox sounds puzzled, almost as if he himself can't work out what the staff are getting at, and in fairness, Alastor himself can't really puzzle it out himself. "Couldn't you file like, a report against that or something?"

"I'm here on a sponsorship," Alastor reminds the other man, who seems to shrink back into his chair at the reminder that he hadn't been the one to put himself into this facility. "I'd rather not risk their ire, if only for the sake of my sponsor."

That was a lie, of course. The truth was, as amiable and sociable as the man before him was- and as much as Alastor had a personal sort of curiosity towards him, he still didn't wish to room beside a man, even if it was Vox specifically who he was sharing a bathroom with.

Whatever it was that the Dean and whoever had arranged their rooms had been planning, Alastor felt free to turn a blind eye to the proceedings, at least until it affected him negatively.

"Makes sense," Vox says after a beat of silence. "Well... even if we aren't roommates, are you up to being friends, perhaps?"

"Sure," Alastor says. The other man's face brightens, and with it, his eyes too, sparkling like the gemstones he'd been silently comparing them to. "As long as you don't kill me."

"Hey, I wouldn't do that," Vox rolls his eyes. "If you wanna meet someone who'll kill you after becoming friends then you can go ahead and talk to Miss Rosetta Levi. She's taking... Mariticide as a major if I remember correctly? Oh, don't call her Rosetta, though, I hear she prefers Rosie."

"I'll keep her in mind, dear pal," Alastor chuckles. With that, he begins to once more dig into his breakfast, before a final question occurs to him. "Oh, right. I wanted to ask- if it's not too personal- what is it that you're here for?"

"Huh?" Vox blinks at him, spoonful of food raised to his mouth as he waits for Alastor to clarify.

"Your target. Because there's one for everyone here, right?" Alastor says simply. "They make you write it on the application, don't they? Whether it's your mother, your father, the organization who wronged you..."

The other man sets the spoon down gently before grabbing his glass of orange juice and taking a swig of it like a day drinker. "They do."

Alastor waits for a moment, but there's nothing else. "Well, all right then. I'm not quite sure what mine was listed as when the application from my sponsor came in- the Dean refuses to let me see more than I absolutely have to when it comes to my own paperwork- but I'm quite certain my father's name is on the list there somewhere."

He's not saying all this solely in an attempt to get Vox to open up, though that is part of it. Still, it's nice to let someone know of his own things (if only because he's a bit of a fiend for attention). "Anyway, it's all right if you don't want to say. I figure it's personal."

"It is," Vox says simply before he sighs. "Sorry. It's... well, it's a bit of a touchy subject for me. Not exactly something I'd like to spill at breakfast twenty-four hours after our first meeting."

"I understand," Alastor responds, though in his head he's already beating himself over the head for his lack of tact and how much he'd said. "I'm sure not many would."

"Eh," Vox waves his hand. The easy flow of conversation has returned now, as Vox continues, "I met a guy my first week here called Arackniss and he proceeded to tell me every single gory detail about how he planned to do away with his stepfather for the sake of his cartel's future. Lot more mob people than I'd expected."

"It's because of Prohibition." Alastor says absentmindedly, not expecting anything to come of his throwaway comment. Then he looks over at Vox, who's staring at him.

"You're that old?"

"What?" Alastor squinted. "The year is 1948, right? I'm not crazy? I'm 32, this isn't-"

"You're- no, sorry, I-" Vox laughs, hand flying up to his mouth to cover it. "Sorry, I just- you look so young."

"I am young," Alastor says. He sighs even as Vox continues laughing, pressing a hand to his temple to quell the coming headache.

"Sorry! Sorry. Different age standards, you know. It's a Hollywood thing," Vox smiles, mirth twinkling in his eyes, and suddenly, Alastor knows where he recognizes the other from.

"You-"

At that moment, a loud ringing echoes through the halls nine times.

"Ah, that'll be the morning bell. I've got Aesthetics and Disguise with Professor Asmodeus next," Vox says. He scarfs down the remaining food on his plate in record time and gets up, readjusting the uniform shirt and jacket he wears before grinning at Alastor. "I'll see you at lunch, then!"

"Right. I'll see you there."

[asterdisaster06]

i love you ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?

ghost x reader [exes], slight soap x reader [mostly platonic], platonic 141 x reader

Pt 1. Pt 2. 3.

summary > Soap interactions with you, bringing you food after you skip dinner in favor of taking a nap, Price wants to see you - see pt 1 for overall fic summary

word count > 1.6k

warnings > should be none

a/n > future chapters should be longer, this just felt like a nice cutoff and I'm just starting to get the hang of fanfic writing. gotta love our boy Soap though. it might be a while for the next chapter though since i'm working on other works too

ao3

“Goddamn, who let a little birdie in here?” He laughs. 

Soap. You had heard quite a bit about this particular Scotsman from your ex lover. You had an inkling that you two would’ve gotten along, even bringing it up to Simon once or twice about meeting him. He denied your request, sighing goodnaturedly about how you two apart are already the death of him - let alone together. You claimed that this was all the more reason to meet him, or at the very least, let him know of your existence. Simon had always paused around this point and you had never pushed it, and now you’re kind of glad. The last thing you needed was another person that was no longer a stranger around this base. You were supposed to be having a new start, and that would be very difficult if MacTavish knew of your existence beforehand.

However, you hadn’t expected to run into one of Simon’s teammates so soon into your arrival on base. The world seemed to have different plans though. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know how to get to my room?” You ask politely, pulling out your information to show him.

“Aye, I do happen to know the way, follow me, Lass.”

You were honestly counting on him not knowing, but you’re realizing now that he’s the kind of person that would figure it out whether he knew initially or not. It seems like you’re stuck in the company of this man and his mohawk for a little while longer. It’s not like you particularly disliked him, in fact it was quite the opposite. It’s just the memories of your past are being dredged up by him, and his association with Simon wasn’t helping.

“So, what’s up with the mask,” He asks, drawing out the ‘a’ in the last word, coming off as teasing you. 

You were attempting to come up with a half truth, because you truly hadn’t worn this mask minus on missions at your old base. It was simply this place that brought out that side of you. Or maybe it was a person rather than a place.

“I just find it comforting, y’know?” You decide on, finally. It wasn’t a lie, the mask truly did offer you comfort around here. It just probably isn’t for a reason that Soap would detect. 

“I think you’d get along well with one of my masked comrades, maybe bond about hiding identities or somethin’” Soap chuckles.

You offer a slight smile in return, the anxiety that had recently left coming back in full force. You knew exactly who he was talking about, and you vehemently disagreed with what Soap had to say. 

“You should join us for dinner after you get settled in, I could be your little tour guide,” Soap says, winking at you. 

“I’ll have to think about it, stranger,” You offer back, smiling.

“Oh yeah! The name’s Soap. Soap MacTavish,” He laughs. 

“You can call me Angel,” You say, blushing as you realize the implications.

He sends you a curious look with an eyebrow raise. “Oh? Let me at least take you out to dinner first, Bonnie.”

“Very funny, it’s my callsign. Like I assume yours is, unless your parents really hated you,” You joke, almost enjoying this banter with Soap. 

“Oi, we don’t judge around here,” He laughs, referring to your silly callsigns. 

“I suppose I’ll see you around, Soap?” You ask, ready to settle down in your own space. With your own silence to accompany you.

“Is that a yes to dinner?” He jokes, aware of the double meaning of his sentence.

“Oh knock it off, I’ll have to think about it,” You smile, wondering if this is how it could’ve been in another life. A life where you had actually gotten to meet Soap under different circumstances. You unlock your door, entering and turning back to see Soap still there. 

“Don’t think too hard! I wouldn’t want you to worry that pretty little head of yours too much, Bonnie,” He teases, already deciding on a nickname for you it seems.

“We hardly know each other, and you have no clue what I look like,” You laugh, pushing him out of your doorframe, amused at his antics nonetheless.

“Oh, I’m sure you look slightly better than a troll under the bridge at least,” He says with a toothy grin. “You’re not ugly, are you?” He asks ironically.

“Quite the opposite,” You offer up with a crooked smile. 

“That’s what I thought,” He says with a smile that rivals the Cheshire cat. “Now, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner?”

“You’re a big boy, I’m sure you’ll be fine alone,” You say, tiredly. It’s not like you wanted to cut your friendly banter with Soap short. On the other hand, you didn’t exactly feel like socializing. Not after your tiring day already. 

“Alright, alright rookie. But I am bringing something around later to make sure you eat. If it wasn’t me it would be Price, so don’t think it’s any trouble,” He says, predicting your words before you could even voice them.

“Who are you calling a rookie, Sergeant?” You chirp out. 

“Are you not one? Price just mentioned that we would be getting someone new, or maybe I was zoning out when he mentioned your details. Actually no, I definitely was. I think I was throwing crumpled up paper at Gaz - you’ll meet him later,” Soap explains, smiling at the end.

Gaz. Kyle “Gaz” Garrick. Simon had spoken less of him specifically but whatever he did have to say, it was only full of praise. That or another story of his unfortunate luck lending him time hanging from a rope out of a helicopter. That story had always made you laugh. 

“I’m technically a Lieutenant,” You manage to say between laughter. 

“Jesus Christ, another one? I wouldn’t have coined you for one,” Soap exclaimed.

“And why’s that?” You ask, curious but already knowing the answer. People have always underestimated you based on looks and size. Starting from your first days at the academy to when you first got your callsign to even after you were nicknamed the ‘Angel of Death.’ Other soldiers had only reinforced Simon’s words that you weren’t worthy of your position, let alone the opportunity to even try. 

“Just the way our Lieutenant, or I guess I should start referring to him as ‘First Lieutenant’ now, responded to the details that I didn’t hear. He almost seemed to be. . . worried about having someone else to worry about. Looking at you now though, I can tell we’re going to have nothing to worry about,” He ends with a smile.

Huh, that was new. You didn’t expect that from Soap, but you suppose he’s just full of surprises. Fitting for the demolitionist that has a knack for gunpowder filled surprises. Nonetheless, you had luggage to unpack and sleep to catch up on. You eventually get Soap to leave you alone to your devices, putting on your playlist and unpacking about half of your shit before getting too tired to continue. Laying back on your freshly made bed, your eyes flutter closed and you fall into unconsciousness. 

A knock at your door wakes you and you shake off your sleepiness - rubbing your eyes and stretching as you do. The blurriness of both your vision and mind makes you almost forget where you are. Only for a second though. 

“Open up, Angel!” Soap yells through the door.

He really had no capabilities of being subtle, did he. You stumble a bit getting out of bed but find your footing and make your way to the wooden door, turning the knob and opening it. The brightness of the hallway makes you flinch slightly before your eyes adjust to the lighting. 

“What do you want?” You ask the man who’s simply standing and staring at you.

“You- you don’t have your mask on-” He stammers, seemingly caught between staring and shielding his face out of politeness. 

“I mean, I don’t sleep with it on, and you did kind of wake me up, MacTavish,” You sigh, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. 

“Oh right! Here’s your food,” Soap smiles sheepishly, taking the tupperware out from behind his back. It has a silly little doodle of himself in cartoon form saying “Food for Angel, No touchy” which you found amusing enough to smile at. 

“Thank you Soap, genuinely,” You offer up, taking his gift of food from his hands. 

He smiles back at you, sending you a mock salute before heading off to presumably his room. Before he gets to the end of the hallway he suddenly stops and turns, yelling back at you that Price wants to see you in his office after you finish eating. He really waited until the last minute for that one, didn’t he? Despite the slight annoyance you held, it was overshadowed by the simple amusement you had watching the man. He might not have known you knew of his famous shenanigans before you even set eyes on him, but you would get there. You take a deep breath, inhaling the aroma of what the mess hall had to offer for today. It exceeded your expectations, but that could just be the fact that your old base had shit food. 

You truly wondered what Price had to say to you, deciding that he was calling you down to fire you for the disrespect you had shown him and your apparent partner by leaving so suddenly. Obviously, it was not going to be that dramatic, but you still worried a tad bit. You were aware that you would likely be working alongside Simon, and some small masochistic part of you accepted this job despite it. Maybe in spite of it. You wanted to prove yourself to him, though you’re now realizing that he’ll eventually need to know your identity. Something you aren’t keen on sharing. 

That part of you had been shed long ago, and now your new feathers have grown in.

[multiversefanfics]

Miss me?

Colby Brock x fmedium!reader Summary: Sam and Colby met you in one of the many haunted locations they've explored, but he didn't expect you two, to meet up again. IF YOU ARE NOT OKAY WITH THE PARANORMAL PLEASE DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER!!

warning: paranormal, cussing, mention of death, finding out you were a medium, slight possession, fluff A/N: This is based on the crescent hotel video with Celina and Kris, because I really like that video.

"What's up guys, it's Sam and Colby" Just as Colby finished the sentence the bell tower rang everyone freaked out laughing "You're Jesus" Kris said while still laughing. They go on to talk about the history of the hotel walking around waiting for their tour guide. You were at the front desk asking for a new key because your key wasn't working "I'm sorry but we don't have any extra keys." You sighed and leaned on the desk "Is there another room that you can give me?" The man at the desk sighed and shook his head "Again, I'm so sorry but we're completely booked up." You nodded and fixed the bag on your shoulder "It's okay, I understand" You set your bag down to get your wallet out so the man can issue you a refund for the misunderstanding, soon you heard a familiar voice behind you. You looked over your shoulder and saw, Sam, Colby, Celina, and Kris. You turned your attention to the manager and took your card back "Thank you, is it okay if I wait here for my ride?" He nodded and you took a seat in one of the chairs in the lobby. "Hey, wait we know you." You looked up and saw Sam approaching, you smiled and stood up giving him a hug "How are you?" Soon the rest of the group came over "Oh, Y/N, this is Kris and Celina, guys this is Y/N. We met her at the Conjuring house." You smiled at them and exchanged hellos "Where's Colby?" You asked looking around "He was just here." Sam shrugged and looked around as well. "So, what are you doing here?" You adjusted your bag on your shoulder and pulled your hair back into a bun. "I'm here visiting family and they live close to this lovely haunted hotel so I decided to stay here, but my key doesn't work and they don't have any other rooms, so I'm waiting for my sister to come pick me up." Colby jogged over out of breath "I didn't notice you guys stopped" You looked over as a wide smile spread across your face when you saw Colby but you quickly dropped it when you saw Sam staring at you "Colby, you remember Y/N right?" He looked over at you smiling just as wide as you were before "Yeah, hey how are you?" He pulls you into a hug and it lingers for a bit until Sam cleared his throat you both pulled back and looked at Sam. "Y/N why don't you tag along with us, we have two rooms." You shrugged and nodded “Sure, should be fun, let me call my sister and let her know” You walk away from the group to call your sister and tell her your change of plans. Kris looked at Colby and smirked “I think Colby has a little crush” He chuckled nervously and shook his head “I do not” Everyone exchanged looks “Dude, you totally have a crush on her” Sam said elbowing him a bit, Colby's cheeks turned red as Sam continued to tease him about his crush on you.

You all met up with the tour guide walking around as he's explaining the things you didn't already know about the hotel and its history. You kind of trailed behind still listening to the guide, but at the same time not. You felt like you were being guided somewhere, and even though you didn't want to pull too far from the group you couldn't shake the feeling. You found yourself stopping and, looking at one picture, it was of the hotel being built. "That picture was taken before Michael fell, he's right here." The guide pointed to a very handsome young man that you felt like you'd seen before, you stared at the picture for a minute "I feel like I've seen him before." Celina looked at you and smiled "You're a medium, I knew it the second I saw you." You scrunched your face and looked at her "A medium? There's no way." You smiled and you all continued on the tour, you guys got to the grand ballroom "I read somewhere that if you dance to a specific song you can see their apparitions." Everyone exchanged looks "Would anyone like to dance?" Colby said holding his hand out for someone to grab it, Sam and Colby end up dancing while Sam holds the camera "You're probably just showing my fucking mouth" Colby gritted through his teeth while Sam laughed "It's a wide-angle" The cat ball went off and Sam started freaking out. Colby put on a different song, it was upbeat "This is not- This isn't right" Kris exclaimed giggling a bit "It's an ad!" Colby screamed while laughing, you sat down because you couldn't concentrate on anything, and your head felt heavy. You rubbed your temple trying to get your eyes to focus, but the background noise seemed to fade and you felt almost as if you were in a trance “You should relax dear, don’t let this place overwhelm you." You looked up and saw a misty young woman sitting in front of you, you looked around to see if anyone else noticed her but everyone else was caught up dancing and laughing “What do you mean?" She smiled sweetly and looked around the room "This was my favorite room in the entire hotel, the music was beautiful and I flowed through the room like I was walking on air" You listened intently as she explained the feeling of dancing and just having fun, she started humming along to the song as if she knew it, then disappeared. You finally snapped back and looked over at the group Celina was right you thought to yourself, you've always felt a little special but not like this. Colby noticed you looked a little pale and walked over to you “Y/N.. You okay?” You nodded and got up to dance with them, just then the tour guide came in saying you were being too loud, you cut the music off and went to a different part in the hotel.

You went to the basement where the meat locker is, Kris was talking about how Colby wanted her to go into the meat locker while they shut the door, you all played “nose goes” and Celina lost so she went in first she asked if anyone was in there and if they could make a sound there was a tapping noise and she asked if someone outside the door did it, Colby said no and then you all went in to see what she was talking about. They stood in silence for a bit but you, something was messing with you and you couldn’t shake it. Finally you guys left and went to sit on the floor to use the planchette, you all sat in a circle with your hands on it. Colby noticed that you were zoning out a bit and asked if you were okay, you tried to focus your eyes on him but you couldn’t help but feel dizzy, and your head was pounding. Your shoulders slumped and when you lifted your head your eyes turned a different shade of Y/E/C and you just stared ahead of you “You’re playing a dangerous game.” You gritted through your teeth, balling up your fists “Y/N what are you talking about?” A devilish smile spread across your face as you turned to look at Colby “You shouldn’t be in here.” It was still your voice but they can tell that you were not there, everyone exchanged looks and Colby reached for your hand “Y/N..” You snatched your hand away and growled at Colby “Don’t you dare touch me!” You screamed staring deep into his eyes. Everyone backed away “Celina, I know you saw me earlier and your friend was so gracious to let me use her body, she made it so easy” The smile on your face started to fade and your eyes started to roll, they can tell you were trying to fight whatever it was that was attacking you but it wasn’t gonna go away that easily. Celina remembered she actually brought holy water with her and started splashing it on you, Colby took off his cross necklace playing it around your neck, gently but also in a hurry your body started seizing and whatever it was left and you had the biggest headache you’ve ever had. “Y/N!” Sam screamed looking at your face “We need to get her out of here” Colby picked you up and carried you outside sitting on the front steps. You put you hand on your head groaning softly “What happened?” You could barely mutter, feeling the cool air wash over you “You-You got possessed.” Colby still hasn’t taken his hands off of you, making sure you were okay, you rubbed your eyes looking over at Sam “I am so sorry you guys.” They all shook their head, Sam came over rubbing your back “It’s okay, and it’s okay if you don’t want to continue, we definitely understand” You shook your head “I want to continue” you fixed your shirt and tried to stand up, that’s when you noticed Colby’s arms are still wrapped around you.

“I want to do the estes method.”

Masterlist

A/N: I hope you guys like it

[albatris]

Do you want to share a bit of your own writing that has made you laugh recently? Give us a wee spoiler?

thank you for the ask!! I'm always happy to share a spoiler or three but I haven't done much writing recently....... hm.....

how about Ripley in her unhinged work uniform? :3

Ahead of them all, the lift dinged and someone emerged from inside it. The look of them was so bizarre and starkly out of place it jolted Nat temporarily out of his haze; the only word he could use to describe them was ghostly. Their face was milk-white, their eyes sunken and hollow, their veins thick dark spiderwebs. Their dress was flowing, grey and gothic, smudged with brown like it had been dragged through mud as its owner clambered out of a grave.

The ghost said brightly, “Hey, Desmond! Hey, Marie!”

The voice was Ripley’s. Nat felt his face twitch into a frown, anxious and unsure what to make of this new information. He had a mission to complete, but... what the hell was going on?

The Ripley-ghost spotted him next and waved to him excitedly, hitching up her dress as she hurried over and past the Larsons.

Nat decided he had no time for this, whatever it was. Hunting came first. He attempted to flow right past her and continue after his prey. They were almost at the lift now and he needed to be in there with them. He’d be so close and there would be nowhere for them to run.

The Ripley-ghost snatched his arm as he passed her and yanked him back. “Whoa, now, Nat. I think you better stay here.”

“Get off me,” Nat growled under his breath. “I’m busy. I need to—”

“Come inside my apartment! Yeah, I agree!” the Ripley-ghost hauled him back the way he’d come, her free hand digging in her cross-body handbag for her keys. Nat tried to pull away from her unsuccessfully. Vampiric strength cancelled out vampiric strength.

Ripley’s strange appearance was even stranger in the context of her apartment. The living room was alive with colour. Fairy lights draped across the place like glimmering dewdrops. Several hanging pride flags found their home behind her TV—rainbow progress, bisexual, intersex. Shelves were filled with comics, movies, figurines, plushies.

Up close, Nat saw that Ripley’s face was caked in pale foundation and black eyeshadow stormed around her eyes. Her veins were painted eyeliner.

aaaaand

An indeterminate amount of time later, Ripley nudged him awake again. Now she was standing, looming over him in her ghost garb again, her terrifying makeup making his heart skip several beats.

“I’ve gotta head back to work soon,” she announced. “Gotta drive all the way out to the old railyard. But I want to make sure you’re okay first. Do you want me to walk you to your car?”

The old railyard was on the other side of town and had been closed for years.

“Do you work as a ghost?” Nat asked.

“Close!” Ripley beamed. “Ghost tour guide! I drag people around haunted locations and let them hunt spirits. I like to look the part.”

“Ohhh.”

“You should come for a tour sometime. You like ghosts, Nat? I tell spooky stories, too.”

[horny4hetfield]

Rockies Christmas - Day 15

Warnings:  Fluff, Send offs, poignant moment

Guide: CBF = Cali’s Boyfriend / CGF = Castor’s Girlfriend / MBF = Marcella’s Boyfriend {I didn’t want to give them names}

There’s a loud buzzing in the room.  I feel James roll to his back.  The buzzing stops.  It’s dark outside.  He pats my lower back, “I want to see the kids off” he mumbles.

I swim to the side of the bed, “I would like to do that too.”

We get ourselves pulled together and head into the kitchen.  “Do we do coffee now or later?” James asks. 

“I’m awake enough to need it.”

He gives me a wonky grin, “Coffee it is!”

I sit at the bar while he starts the maker.  I can hear the kids getting their things together.  CBF is the first to round the corner with his bag.  He puts it by the side door with a very mumbled “morning” in passing.

Cali isn’t far behind, “He doesn’t do mornings well” she apologizes with a smile.  CBF takes her bag and puts it by his.

“Especially early mornings.  I completely understand” James grins at the young man.

Castor, MBF, CGF and Marcella soon make the turn, all with bags in tow.  “Morning” is mumbled by all.

James looks with concern at his boy, “You good Castor?”

“I just need some coffee.”  I shove my cup in his direction.  “Thanks!” as he almost chugs the whole cup.  He gives me a look.

“What?”

“Where did you learn to drink coffee?”

“I spent a summer in Seattle.”

“Ah” Castor looks into the mug.  “That explains it.”  James pours more coffee into the mug.  Castor takes another drink.  “That’s better.”  Then chugs the contents.

James goes to the living room and powers on the TV.  The very early morning news is on.  We have to wait for about 10 minutes for the weather and traffic report.  The news is good.  The trees on the freeway have been cleared overnight and the plows are running non-stop.  But the reports say that some side streets are still blocked.

“You better load up and get on the road.  I’d rather you sit at the airport than miss the flights because of the trees” as James turns off the TV

The kids all bundle up.  James and I pull on our boots and help the kids load up.

James pulls Cali to the side, “You keep me informed on this” he puts his hand on her belly.

“I promise Dad.”

“We will be on tour in the spring in Europe.  But should be stateside before this one makes its appearance.”  He kisses her forehead, “We will get to you as soon as possible.  Promise.”  He gives her a hug.

Cali steps to me, “Thanks again for the baking soda tip.  It really helped.”  She gives me a hug.

“You’re welcome!” hugging her back, “I will get your Dad to you as soon as possible when it’s time.”  I smile at her, “Promise.”

“Thanks!” Cali says stepping back, hand on her belly.  Her eyes light up, “Dad” she grabs his hand and puts it on the baby.

I watch as his eyes close holding both daughter and grandchild.  That moment burns into my mind.  Then he stands up, “You stay in touch.”  He helps her into the van.  “Be safe.  All of you.”

“We will”   “Ok”   “You got it Dad”  all came simultaneously. 

“Text me that you got there ok.”

“And when we get home” Marcella smiles.  “Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, baby girl!”  Pointing, “I can’t wait to hear the new tunes, son!”

“As soon as I get home, Dad!”

James steps back as Castor backs the vehicle up.  There are waves and shouts of “bye!” and “Love you” from the van.  James reaches back and I take his hand.  Together we turn and walk back into the house.  The now very quiet house.  I can see he’s already missing the chaos of having that many people in the house.  I just wrap my arms around him, holding him.  He wraps his arms around me, sighs and rests his cheek on top of my head.  I don’t know how long we stood there just being together.  He gently pats my lower back, “I should check the back of the garage again, just to make sure that no other branches came down.”

I loosen my grip, “Ok.  Be careful.  It’s slick out there.”  He smiles at me.  “I’m going to start the laundry.”

“That’s going to be an all-day event” he grins, grabbing his phone before heading back outside, this time with a jacket on.

I go to the rooms that the kids had used to pull the bedding off, only to find that they’ve already stripped the beds.  Going into the laundry room, they have piled all their linens and bath towels on top of the Media Room blankets.  Smiling, I sort things out, then load and start the washer.  Returning to the kitchen, I pull out the last loaf of date-nut-bread and slice it.  I am spreading cream cheese on a slice when I hear James come in through the garage.  He joins me in the kitchen, “Want a slice?”

“Yes, please.”

Gathering up coffee mugs, the bread and some napkins we move to the living room.  James turns on the TV just as his phone buzzes.  “They made it to the airport and are through security.”  I can feel him relax some.  “Castor says that the road was slick in spots, a few smaller branches down, but otherwise clear.”

I smile at him, “I’m glad they got there safely.”

We watch the news for a bit. 

Then James turns to me with a massive grin on his face, “I’m going to be a Grandpa.”

- -- - - - - -

Sorry this one is so long! I couldn't do one holiday without the other! I do hope everyone had great holidays!!!

~H4H

[shesinshambles]

Ghost bc Whump Month Day Two: Collapse

Little late with these but better than never I guess!

TW for a character forgetting / neglecting to eat

You never minded working hard, and it wasn’t that you were trying to grind yourself to the bone. It was just, easy to forget about everything else on tour. There was always something. Last minute costume fixes, scheduling issues, keeping the bus clean. And the ghouls. The ghouls. Swiss and Dew making a mess after one of their shenanigans, Swiss and Dew at one another’s throats, trying to get Mountain up for rehearsals— The point was that there was always something to do!

And today was one of those days. Everything that could go wrong, was kind of going wrong. First, you were up early to get coffees and breakfast for everyone because a particularly plucky fire ghoul fried the outlets last night and no one had had time to repair them yet. Thankfully, Aether was up early too and offered to come with and help you bring it all back so you got some mercy there. Then you broke up a squabble about who took the last cinnamon roll and went about making calls to reschedule interviews, make sure the venues were prepared, let the hotel know you would be late to check in because of course, the bus was having problems.

You’d been busy. And breakfast was far gone. But you still had work to. So, you ignored the neglected rumblings of your stomach and your shaky hands and pushed through the best you could. It was your turn to clean the bus anyway, and you were nearly done, only the kitchenette left. You’d eat as soon as you were done. You’d bent down to pick up a fork you’d dropped while doing the dishes when footsteps resounded behind you, coming to a casual stop.

“Hey sister, do you know if we have any crackers left?” Dewdrop asked, yawning. Probably just got up from a nap.

“Um.” You frown, standing up. Blood rushes from your head and you steady yourself with a hand on the counter, little black spots slowly creeping their way into your vision. “Check the cabinets,” you sigh. “Can’t remember.” Every second that goes by the black spots creep further and further in. You shake your head, gripping the counter. Just push through. Almost done. You take a glass from the sink, fumbling for the dish rag.

“Hey, you good?”

“Hmm?” You turn around, leaning back on the counter. Dew’s voice is coming from somewhere, but right now you can’t possibly pinpoint exactly where that somewhere might be.

“You didn’t answer my question.” His voice is hollow, and why is everything spinning? The glass slides from your hand, shattering on the floor with a loud crash. “Shit!”

“Oopsie Daisy,” you mumble. You hear a distant “Fuck!” as the world goes black.

“She just went down.” A cold sweat sweeps over you, and as you crack your eyes open, you’re vaguely aware of two shadowy heads looming over you.

“Did she hit her head?” There’s cotton in your ears, fuzzy, muddled.

“Nah, caught her before she fell.”

“What happened?” You groan, trying to sit up.

“Hey, hey, hey, easy.” Aether’s guides you up to sit slowly with firm, gentle hands on your shoulders, and you blink in confusion.

“You passed out on me,” Dew says softly. Then there’s a glass of water thrust into your hand. You take a small sip, and then another. The cold water soothing your befuddled mind, lifting that heavy fog.

“We should get you to your bunk. You need to rest right now,” Aether murmurs. All you can do is nod weakly, letting the Aether ghoul help you up from the floor and walk you to your bunk. He settles you in with a cold facecloth on your forehead, saying he’ll come check on you in a bit.

You’re alone for a few minutes, finishing off your glass of water when there’s a knock on the outside of your bunk. You pull back the curtains to find Dew holding a plate with some crackers, cheese, and a few candies on it

“Feelin’ good enough to eat something?” You offer him a small smile and scoot over on the smell bed, patting the empty space next to you in offering. The fire ghoul huffs, but takes your offer, handing you the plate before settling in, tucking a hand behind his head.

“Thanks,” you murmur, gingerly taking a bite out of a cracker. When it doesn’t upset your stomach, you wolf it down, putting a slice of cheese on the next one.

“Figured you hadn’t eaten,” he chuckles, and you nod.

“Got busy.”

“I know. You’ve been going non-stop all day.” He frowns at you, a very unfamiliar crease forming between his brows. He’s worried.

“Sorry,” you murmur sheepishly around another cracker, and Dew shakes his head.

“No, no you don’t have to apologize. It’s just—you scared me is all.” He grumbles it out, a hand scratching at his brow. And your heart melts a little bit at that. You snuggle closer to the fire ghoul, and though you’re fully expecting him to pull away, he doesn’t. “C’mere,” he mutters under his breath, sliding an arm under your head, pulling you into his side. You rest your head on his chest, feeling Dew tuck you under his chin, his warmth calming you.

“Thanks.”

“For what?” You shrug.

“Worrying about me.” A puff of soft laughter tickles your hair.

“Someone’s got to.” You merely hum, finishing off your snack and popping a candy into your mouth. Dew places the plate on the floor, and for awhile, the two of you lie together in total silence; him, petting your hair and gently purring, you with a small smile on your face.

“Can’t believe you said oopsie daisy before passing out,” Dew snickers, and you squeeze your eyes shut in embarrassment.

“Shut up!” you groan, but you’re laughing along with him.

“It was cute.”

“Yeah?” You crane your neck up, and he looks down at you, grinning in amusement.

“Yeah.”

The exhaustion of the day is getting to you, and Dew’s warmth and the sway of the bus are certainly not helping. You fight to keep your eyes open.

“Hey,” Dew murmurs, noticing as you try to rub the sleep from your eyes. “Just sleep, you got nowhere you need to be.” And as though he’s pulling the thoughts straight out of your mind, Dew adds: “I’ll be right here when you wake up.” You smile into the fire ghoul’s chest, and with the feeling of his cheek resting atop your head, you drift off into much needed slumber.

[lykaios2]

Hello :D can you do a Rise Leo x fem reader where Leo has a crush on the reader but is scared to confess because he is a mutant but then realize that most of readers fictional crushes are not human? (For example: sidon, venom, jack skeleton)

this was very fun to write but for some reason I was really struggling to incorporate all of my initial ideas and have a story that flowed well :/ so I do hope this is okay, I worked very hard to try and make this work. I also tried something different and kinda wrote it from leo's perspective, I thought it might be interesting

Human or Not

rise leo x fem reader, friends to lovers

cw: fluff

word count: 2397

One night, Mikey came into Leo’s room to ask him a question.

“Hey Leo, I invited y/n to our Hidden City outing later tonight. Is that okay?” Leo looked up from his phone.

“Yeah, that’s fine, it would be cool if she could join us.”

“Well…she said yes! So expect her to be there.”

Leo started to get ready for the outing. Leo was happy to hear from Mikey that you were coming on the trip. He truly enjoyed spending time with you. He had had a crush on you for a while now, and this was just another chance to show off how amazing he was. He knew he shouldn’t come in a suit and tie because it was just supposed to be a fun night out to the Hidden City, but he took a considerable amount of time making sure he would look very nice for you. Mikey even stopped by to check on Leo and see if he was ready and said he looked good, so he must have done a good job.

“Come on Leo, we gotta leave soon if we want to pick up y/n.”

“Coming! Be there in a second.” Leo looked in the mirror to make sure everything was good and then he was off.

Leo followed Mikey out of the lair and to the spot where they were supposed to meet you. After a couple minutes, Leo spotted you around the corner. You were looking stunning on this particular night.

“Hi y/n! I’m so glad you could join us tonight!”

“Yeah! I’m excited, I haven’t been to the Hidden City before.”

“Well luckily for you, you have the best, most handsome tour guide to help you navigate.”

“I'm so lucky to have you. But we can’t forget about Michelangelo, our favorite tour guide assistant.”

“Aw, you’re too kind. Come on, let’s go! There’s so much to show you!”

Mikey led you through the portal, with Leo following close behind. As you stepped through the portal, Leo watched as you marveled at the wonders in front of you. It appeared to be an incredibly large underground city, but with towers that reached to the sky. The crowd was bustling, but before you could take everything in, Leo grabbed your hand and tugged you along.

“Vamanos, amiga!”

Leo and Mikey took you around to see all of their favorite spots. Their favorite stores, sightseeing spots, and all of the cool shortcuts and secrets they had discovered during their trips here before. The final spot Leo and Mikey took you to was one of Mikey’s favorite restaurants in the Hidden City. You showed some concern considering it was youkai food, but Mikey reassured you that it was perfectly fine to eat.

“You know, since our esteemed guest has never been here before, I only think it’s fair that someone should pay for them. Food is on me tonight.”

“Oh Leo, you really don’t have to, I brought money-”

“Please, allow me. You’re our guest, it would be rude of me to not pay for you after you’ve had such a great time tonight. Hopefully. Have you been having fun?”

“Yes, Leo, I’ve had an amazing time with you and Mikey tonight.”

“That’s good, or else your best, most handsome tour guide would have failed to do his job.”

“Huh, as if I would ever fail to give only my best.”

“Oh, come on guys, we gotta order food.”

After ordering and eating, you complemented Mikey on his choice of food and started to leave. Leo walked behind you and Mikey and you laughed and chatted the whole way home. It was enough for him to see you happy. You turned around to look at him, and he just smiled.

“You okay, Leo? You look a little red in the face there.” Leo regained his composure, not realizing he had started blushing.

“Oh, me? Yeah, I’m just a little warm from all this walking. I’ll be fine.”

You seemed to buy it and turned back to Mikey and kept walking. Leo took a breath of relief and tried to distract himself for the rest of the way home.

After saying your goodbyes, Leo and Mikey headed back to the lair. Leo and Mikey went to their rooms.

“Come on, Leo, just stop. She doesn’t like you like that. You don’t have a chance with her.”

While Leo was talking to himself, Donnie happened to walk by his room.

“Oh, hey Leo. How was your- uh, Leo? You’re talking to yourself, are you alright?”

“Donnie? What- what are you doing? You didn’t hear any of that, did you?”

“Something about “her”, which I assume might refer to y/n. May I ask what?”

“You promise not to tell anyone if I tell you?”

“I’ll determine that after I hear what it is.”

“You- you’re so- whatever. I’ll tell you anyway. So you know y/n? Well, I kinda have a…crush on them. But…I never told anyone, because, well, I’m a mutant and y/n is just a human. So I kinda figured that it wouldn’t work out.”

“You know, that actually makes a lot of sense now. Well, I can’t exactly help you with all of the feelings stuff, but I can tell you that I happen to know that youkai and humans have been together in the past, so it’s not completely unreasonable.”

“Wait…so you mean I might actually have a chance with y/n?!”

“I’m just saying that it wouldn’t be illogical if you two were to get together.”

“Oh, thank you so much Donnie! You have no idea how happy that makes me!” Leo ran over to give his brother a hug.

“Hey, watch it. I just said I’m not good with feelings, weren’t you listening?”

However, Leo still had his doubts. Sure, he now knew that a mutant and human could be together, but did you even like him? He could love you all he wanted, but that didn’t guarantee any feelings in return. And would you even like a mutant? I mean, you hung out with him and his brothers so you probably didn’t hate mutants, but would you ever consider getting together with one? The thoughts clouded his mind and wouldn’t allow him to sleep, but he would just have to figure it out at some point.

Leo woke up the next morning, feeling tired from lack of sleep. He was very sluggish, and took a while to get out of bed. At breakfast, everyone noticed that Leo hadn’t joined them.

“Hey, where’s Leo?”

“Uhm, I haven’t seen him since you guys left last night.”

“I talked to him last night after you guys came back. I don’t think he left his room.”

“I’m going to go check on him, you guys keep eating. I’ll be right back.”

Raph walked up to Leo’s room to see him lying in bed, eyes half closed.

“Who goes there?”

“It’s Raph. You okay? You look tired. I know you have trouble sleeping, but it’s not normally this bad.”

“Yeah, just a…particularly bad night. I’ll be fine.”

“Well, breakfast is ready. Want me to help you down there?”

“No, I’ll be okay. I’ll be down in a second.”

Raph headed back to the kitchen, and Leo followed behind shortly after. Leo slowly made himself some breakfast. He sat down and began to eat.

“Mikey, you never told me about your trip last night. Donnie, you said you talked to Leo last night, right?”

“Oh yeah, but it wasn’t exactly about the trip.”

“What was it then? Now I’m kinda curious.”

“He said he’d rather not talk about it. Unless, Leo, you wouldn’t mind me sharing?” Leo looked up from his food.

“Uhm…what was it again?”

“About a certain someone…”

“Oh, right. Uh…I guess.”

Donnie proceeded to explain what Leo had said the night before about y/n, and why Leo hadn’t told anyone. Raph and Mikey waited until he was done explaining before they said anything.

“Oh Leo, that’s so sweet! I think you and y/n would be so cute together.”

“Mikey’s right. You and y/n are like peas in a pod.”

“Heh, thanks. But…I don’t know if she’ll even want to be with me. I guess I’ll just have to find out the hard way.”

“Don’t think like that, it’ll only make it worse. Besides, we can help you. Don’t sweat it.”

“You guys are so nice.”

“It’s our pleasure to help a brother out. And it would be so adorable to see you guys get together.”

Now the only one that didn’t know about Leo’s crush was you, but Leo planned to keep it that way, for a little while at least. He would have to tell you at some point, or you might figure it out on your own. That would make it worse. But Leo didn’t want to think about that right now. All he wanted to focus on was making a good enough impression on you.

A few days later, Raph texted you unexpectedly. It wasn’t often you got a text from him.

-Hey, has Leo ever been over to your apartment?

-uh, no? why do you ask

-Okay, that’s what I thought. He said he’d never been, even though he’s known you for so long. You should invite him over, I think he’d enjoy it.

-that sounds fun! totally, I’ll shoot him a text

You texted Leo, inviting him over. He responded almost immediately, saying that we would very much love to come over, and that he was free tomorrow. You texted back saying that it worked for you as well, and you two finalized a plan for him to visit tomorrow. Leo was surprised. You had invited him over? He didn’t even ask. But he dare not question it anymore. He had to prepare for this incredible opportunity. To be alone with you was something he could not miss.

“Guys! y/n invited me over! Did she invite anyone else?”

“Wow, really?” Raph turned to Mikey and winked. Mikey got the hint. “She didn’t invite me over.”

“Me neither. Guess it was just you.”

“Aw, what? Now I kinda feel bad for making it a big thing.”

“Nah, man. You should take this opportunity, spend a little alone time y/n. You know, since you have a crush on her or whatever.”

“Yeah, when’s the last time you spent time alone with y/n?” Leo thought for a moment.

“I don’t know, but are you guys sure you wouldn’t mind?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Well, if you guys say so.” Leo went to his room to get ready, but before he could get far Mikey stopped by his room.

“You know, I wouldn’t sweat it if I were you. You don’t have to make a grand entrance or anything, just be yourself. I know it sounds cliché, but it really does work. It helps the relationship not feel forced.”

“You’re right. I’m just…really stressed out. I don’t know if this would be a good time to ask her, or if I should wait…I mean, we’ve known each other for a while now. But…yeah, I don’t know.”

“Well, if you’re unsure, you can always text me and ask. But I suggest you go with your gut.”

“Thank you so much. This is causing me a lot more stress than I think it should. I’ll be fine though, I just need to relax and be myself.”

Eventually, tomorrow rolled around and Leo left for your apartment.

“Good luck out there.”

“Like I need it.” Mikey chimed in.

“Have that attitude and you certainly won’t.”

Leo left the lair and made his way to your apartment. He was looking at the directions on his phone most of the way to your apartment, so he didn’t notice you standing outside waiting for him.

“Hey Leo! Over here!”

“Oh, hi y/n! Didn’t see you there. So, this is where you live? Nice place.”

“Come on inside, it’s a little chilly out here.”

Leo followed you inside and looked all around. The main thing he noticed were all your posters all over the walls. So many different characters.

“Come sit down, you don’t have to stand. You want something to eat?”

You and Leo hung out for the next couple hours. Sharing stories, watching movies, playing video games. Leo was having a great time, completely forgetting about any stresses he had before coming. However, while playing one game, you ran into a side quest that involved passing letters between two secret admirers.

“So weird that I have to do this, if they love each other so much, shouldn’t they be able to talk to themselves?”

“Yeah, right? Imagine if you had to do this in real life.”

“Not like I’d have anyone to do it with.”

“Oh? Is there anyone that you do like?”

“Well, kinda. I mean, no one real, heh.”

“So like fictional characters? I got you. Who would you date if you could, any character from any video game or show?”

“Ooh, I know this one. Monty Gator from Security Breach, Shadow from Sonic, just to name a few.”

“Wait, so you like…don’t care if they’re human or whatever?”

“I mean, not like animals, but yeah, I could care less.”

“So like, mutant animal-human hybrids wouldn’t be off the table?”

“Yeah, no, not really.”

Leo knew this was it. Everything had fallen into place, everything was perfect, he just had to say it.

“Uhm, then…can I tell you something?”

“Sure, what did you wanna tell me?”

“Well, you know we’ve been friends for a while, and we’re pretty good friends but…I-I like you. Like, more than a friend. And I’ve only been keeping it to myself because I wasn’t sure if you would even like me back, what with me being a mutant and all. You don’t have to like me back, but I just figured-”

“Oh Leo, come here! You know, I wouldn’t mind being with you. You’re such a good friend to me, I would love to be your girlfriend.”

“R-really? You mean it?”

“Yes, silly, I do mean it. Now come here, because if I have a boyfriend, I’m going to want to cuddle with him. And if you pick out something to watch, we can turn this hangout into a movie cuddle date.”

“I think I’d like that.”

[lilacmingi]

ALICE IN WONDERLAND AU: HOSEOK’S ENDING

My works are 14+ ONLY. If you’re under 14 DO NOT interact with me or any of my works

Pairing: Red Queen!Hoseok x fem reader

Word count: 1,645

Note: There’s no tag list for the separate endings. If you haven’t read the series yet, you can find the intro here or find it on my masterlist which is linked at the end of the imagine

Every single one of them were amazing and beyond perfect, but your heart seemed to be pulled towards one of them in particular.

You turned your attention to Hoseok, who had a hopeful expression on his face. As soon as he made eye contact with you, he smiled knowingly. You gave a shy grin, darting your gaze to the checkered marble floors  momentarily while letting out a long breath.

"I choose Hoseok."

An excited noise escaped The Red King. He was unable to hold back his enthusiasm as he rushed over and hugged you tightly, lifting you off the ground, spinning in a circle.

"Thank you, Y/n. Thank you. You have no idea how happy you've just made me." He whispered once he set you down.

You grinned widely at him as he pecked you on the cheek.

Brief goodbyes were said to the six boys. Hoseok promised to attend one of Taehyung's tea parties as the both of you left Jin's castle, waving at everyone as you made your exit.

Upon returning to Hoseok's castle, one of the guards rushed up to him.

"Your highness! Thank goodness you're back. They didn't try to hurt you, did they?"

"No." Hoseok chuckled. "Actually, we patched things up. It's something that should have been done a long time ago."

"Ah. I'm happy to know everything has been resolved."

"I am too."

Hoseok led you the rest of the way across the courtyard and into the massive castle he called home.

"Do you want anything, pretty?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine. I could use a nap though, if I'm being honest. It's been a long day."

"Of course. You've been through a lot."

He carefully took hold of you hand and guided you up a staircase that led to the second level of the castle. The hallway you walked down looked familiar, as it was the same one you were brought down earlier when Hoseok was giving you a tour.

The both of you made your way down the long corridor until you entered Hoseok's room.

"I can have some nice pajamas made for you. In the meantime, you'll just have to wear some of mine. Is that okay?"

You nodded, the thought of wearing his pajamas making you giddy.

Hoseok began to rummage through his dresser drawers, letting out an "Ah!" when he found what he was looking for, pulling out a set of neatly folded red silk pajamas.

"Here you go, sweetheart. These should be nice and comfortable. I'll step out in the hall and let you change."

You thanked him timidly, taking the stack of pajamas from his hands while he left the room.

The clothes Jin had provided you with were comfortable, but Hoseok's pajamas seemed like they'd be more suitable for napping.

You swapped your current outfit for the red silk pajamas. The pants had metallic gold hearts going down the sides of the legs while the shirt had hearts around the cuffs of the sleeves. You briefly imagined what Hoseok would look like wearing them, a smile creeping onto your face at the mental image.

The sleepwear was a little big on you, but that was the best part about wearing his clothes.

You took your old attire and went to open the door, finding a servant standing outside the room instead of Hoseok.

"I was sent to get your old clothes." The servant spoke.

You handed over the clothes from Jin and thanked the man before watching him scurry off.

Hoseok then rounded the corner, hurrying over and apologizing for running off. He had been talking with the tailors to try and get you some pajamas of your own.

When he stopped rambling, Hoseok was able to get a good look at you, his cheeks instantly turning pink at the way his pajamas hung off your frame.

"You look so cute!" He gushed, lifting you off the ground to spin you a few times.

When he set you down, he squished your cheeks, making cute noises while doing so.

"Look at your cute little hands. The sleeves swallow them whole! And look at your cute toes! Those pants are so long they cover your feet!" He went on.

Your face was set ablaze by his gushing, getting bashful due to all the praises.

His cheery personality had quite the effect on you. Watching his over-the-top reaction had you murmuring under your breath, "You're so cute."

"No you're so cute!" He beamed, pulling you back into his room. "Just give me a minute and I'll get in some pajamas too. Then we can have that nap."

He scampered over to his dresser and pulled out some pajama pants that looked identical to the ones you wore before running across the hall to change.

An unconscious smile crept onto your face as you made yourself comfortable on his bed, sitting on the edge of it.

While waiting for Hoseok to return, you scanned his room, taking everything in and picturing living your life in an enormous castle. It would take some getting used to, but you were confident you'd love it there.

The sound of Hoseok reentering the room grabbed your attention and when you saw him, your breath caught in your throat.

He was only wearing pajama pants. Your eyes widened as they dragged down his slim and toned torso, unable to tear your gaze away, wondering how it was possible that someone with a face as bright as his could have a body like that.

The door slammed shut and your eyes snapped up to Hoseok's face, meeting his gaze. His features held an amused and mischievous look that differed greatly from his usual happy demeanor. You quickly cleared your throat and diverted your eyes, pretending as if you weren't just drooling over his body.

"What's got you so distracted, princess?" He sauntered over, his voice taking on a far different tone than before.

His eyes visibly darkened, his red bangs hanging low in front of his brown irises, which only made him more desirable.

"I could see the way you were checking me out." His voice carried a sultry tone. "You can't deny it."

He climbed onto the bed, hovering over you.

"Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" He inquired, dragging his thumb across your bottom lip.

"I..." You trailed off, struggling to find words.

"Ah. You're flustered, dear. Let me help." He rasped before slamming his beautiful lips against yours.

Your arms and legs instinctively wrapped around him to keep him close while your hands ran up and down his bare back, feeling every inch of soft skin under your palms and fingertips. There was no easing into the kiss as Hoseok bit down on your bottom lip, a soft gasp escaping you. He tilted his head to the side, slotting your mouths closer together which made you melt under him.

Your hands were unable to stay in one place for long and moved up to thread your fingers through his dark red hair. He hummed against your lips, shivering lightly at the sensation of your nails grazing his scalp. His hand, which was planted on your waist, caressed your skin, lightly squeezing every so often.

Initially, the plan was to take a nap, but you couldn't be too upset with how things played out.

Hoseok pulled away after what left like a long time and also not long enough. Both of you were huffing and panting, his shoulders and chest heaving up and down with each breath. It was quite a sight.

"I... didn't know you could be like that."

"Then you don't know me very well." He smirked.

Two weeks later

In the past couple weeks you had lived with Hoseok, you were able to learn a lot about him. He's really... extra. When he does anything, he goes all the way. He had done so much for you it was hard to keep track of it all. He had a closet full of clothes made just for you, including about six different dresses. He even had a tiara made because, "You're my princess and a princess needs a crown."

Never had a man treated you the way Hoseok had, and honestly, it was making your head spin. He was practically at your beck and call, always ready to give you whatever you needed, though you never really needed anything, he was always ready.

"Y/n!" Your name was called out in a singsong voice from somewhere outside the kitchen.

"Yes, Hobi?"

Hobi. A nickname you'd picked up from the others, as that's what they sometimes called him.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." You responded as casually as possible, hastily scrambling to hide the huge breakfast you weren't quite finished with.

"Did you make breakfast?"

"No."

"Sunflower, you're too nice."

You frowned in disappointment.

"What's wrong?"

"It's not done."

"What do you mean?"

"I needed to pour us up some juice."

He started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"It's not a big deal." He said between laughter.

"It is to me." You huffed, pulling a pitcher of juice out of the fridge and pouring it into two glasses.

"Thank you, sunflower." Hoseok kissed your forehead appreciatively.

You smiled, all the mild frustration you felt melting away in an instant.

"You even made the pancakes heart-shaped! You're adorable!" He squeaked as you sat down at the table.

"Just for you, love. Sorry the kitchen is a bit of a mess. There's a sink full of dishes to wash."

"That's okay. I'll wash them for you."

"I'm the one that got them dirty."

"You cooked this incredible breakfast, so I'll wash dishes. It's a fair trade."

"You're too perfect, How are you so nice to me all the time?" You whined.

"Because I love you." He beamed.

"I love you too, Hobi."

Masterlist ᝰ

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