#so if you want to chat i'll still be there!!! just quieter than normal

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

i might take a bit of a break today, i’m not feeling the best mentally :( i keep thinking i’m not good enough and whatnot

if you have any Childe or Foul Legacy brainrot to share please feel free to!! it’d really make me smile- anything from fluff to angst to comfort is all good

to end this on a positive note tho, look at the Foul Legacy print my friend drew me for Christmas!!!!! (the second pic is the digital version since the lighting in my house suuuuucks) they’re @ Valkxxs on instagram if you wanna go give em a follow :D

[woah-were-halfway-there]

The Makeup

aka, The Fight: Pt. 3

a/n: alrightyyyy here's the last part of this bit of the series. i think after this i'll go back to writing the scare when little man is born and mia becoming a big sister if y'all are still wanting to read that :)

word count: 9.3k

“You’re sure you’re ok?” Lexie asked from the other end of the phone. “Do you want me to come to Toronto this weekend? We can do something fun. Get you out of Mitch’s condo and do something other than work.”

“Lexie, I’m fine,” Carson told her best friend while nodding a quick thanks to the Starbucks barista who handed her the drink she ordered. It was nearing the end of her lunch break at work, and this was her last stop before returning to the office. “You’re in Chicago, babe. You don’t have to come all the way here for me.”

“Carson, you’re not fine, so don’t even try to lie to me about it.”

Carson sighed and tried to keep her composure because she didn’t have it in her to cry again.

“I’m trying to be fine, Lex.”

It’d been 13 days since Carson and Auston's fight after she found out he’d been charged and tried keeping it from her. That also meant Carson had been staying with Mitch and Steph for 13 days, and it’d been 13 days since she last spoke to Auston.

Following the fight with Auston, Carson missed a couple of work days as her depression about the situation made her feel like she couldn’t get out of bed. By the end of the work week, she returned to the office only briefly but decided to take an impulse trip to Vancouver to see her dad and sister, Mya and get out of Toronto for a little bit as she navigated her feelings.

After returning from Vancouver three days later, things went back to normal for Carson. Well, as normal as they could.

She went back to work, all while acting like nothing was out of the ordinary and continued staying in the spare bedroom at Mitch and Steph’s place. But she still hadn’t talked to Auston about anything because she didn’t know how.

Carson’s friends and colleagues at work noticed something was up. Gone was the friendly, bubbly girl they came to know and loved having as a new addition to the office, as she became a much quieter and mopey version of herself. To them, it was apparent something had happened, but they didn’t want to overstep if she didn’t want to talk about it.

Two people in that office knew what was happening. Max and Tara worked directly with Carson on the same projects, and in the short month and a half Carson had been working there, she immediately clicked with them. They knew all about Carson’s relationship with Auston, having even met him in a non-work setting when the three of them went out for drinks, and he chatted with them for a little bit before driving himself and Carson home. They knew how absolutely in love Carson and Auston were with each other and how this fight affected Carson.

Max and Tara were Carson’s rock in the office, and despite feeling her chest get heavy while talking on the phone with Lexie, she knew they’d help her get through the rest of the day.

“I know you are, babe,” Lexie spoke softly and sighed, bringing Carson back to reality. “I’m just worried about you. And I miss my best friend.”

“I know, and I appreciate you,” Carson told her honestly. “I miss you too, so freaking much. But I don’t want you to come here while I’m like this. I know you’ve seen me in a worse state, but I’m just trying to decide what I want to do about everything with Auston. This is fucking hard.”

“I still want to give Auston a piece of my mind, but for your sake, I won’t. At least not yet. Have you thought about reaching out to him so you can talk?”

“Of course I have. I miss him, Lex—more than I can explain. I miss him, our conversations, our routine, talking with his family, and the feeling of safety I had being with him. But whenever I think about any of that, I think about how he kept such a big thing from me, and it hurts. I almost cracked and told him I was at the game last week, but I knew he’d want to talk afterwards, and I chickened myself out.”

“I understand,” Lexie sighed again. “But Carse, I’m going to give it to you straight here, okay? If you don’t want to fix things, let Auston know. You also gotta let him know if you want to figure things out. It’s been two weeks, babe. As mad as I am at him for hurting you, I know this entire situation is killing him, too, and I really think he deserves to know where you stand.”

Carson took a moment to respond but slowly nodded her head as she entered the front doors of her office building.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “He’s given me space and been patient. I feel like I’ve been stringing him along, making him wait so long and in the dark. God, I just wish none of this happened.”

“I know, it sucks. But you’ll figure it out, babe. You always do.”

“Thanks, Lexie,” Carson responded and took a deep breath. “I plan on figuring it out soon because I’m over feeling like this. But anyway, I’m almost back in the office, so I've got to go. Love you. I’ll text you tonight.”

“Love you too, girly,” Lexie said. “Keep your head up, and I’ll talk to you later. Bye!”

“Bye!”

Just as Carson hung up her phone and slid it back into her bag, the elevator door opened, and she quickly scanned her pass so she could be taken up to her office floor.

Once she was back at work, Carson was greeted by her coworkers as she passed them and headed toward her office. After she set her bag and iced coffee on the desk, her computer lit up and showed the time. She still had 20 minutes before her lunch was officially over, so she decided that was enough time to eat the last bit of food she had in the fridge.

Max and Tara were still in the breakroom when Carson entered, and she couldn’t help but smile at how it was just the three of them there.

“Carson!” Max greeted her excitedly and waved her over. “You have good fashion taste. Tell me what you think of this sweater. Tara thinks it’s too extra.”

“Let me see,” Carson replied as she grabbed her container of strawberries and joined the other two at the table. Once she was sitting, Max handed her his phone, showing a tie-dye sweater from a website he was looking at. “I like it. Auston has a similar one-.”

Carson immediately cut herself off and shook her head, taken back by her comment. In the last two weeks, she’d only mentioned Auston when talking about what happened. She hadn’t mentioned him in general conversation like she always did before their argument, which didn’t go unnoticed by Max and Tara as they sent each other knowing glances, and Max slowly took his phone back from Carson.

“Well, I doubt something like that would look as good on me as it does on Auston,” he said. “He looks fine in just about anything.”

“Oh, would you stop talking about her man like that? Go find your own to thirst over,” Tara scolded before glancing sideways at Carson and noticing she wasn’t reacting to what they were saying. “Speaking of Auston…”

“Hmm?” Carson hummed, zoning back in on what they were saying.

“Auston, babe,” Max spoke bluntly but softened his voice when Carson looked at him sadly. “Still nothing, huh?”

“No, we haven’t talked,” Carson replied, then stared down at her strawberries, suddenly losing her appetite.

Max and Tara looked at each other again and sighed, knowing full well the toll this was taking on their friend.

“I see you put your necklace back on,” Tara said, nodding to the designer white gold chain around Carson’s neck. “That was a gift from Auston, right?”

“Yeah, it was,” Carson explained as she gently brushed her fingers against the two bands that linked together in the middle, making her love necklace. “He got it for me when I graduated in June. I’d only ever taken it off to have it cleaned before I took it off after our fight. Not having it on felt weird, so I dug it out of my bag to wear it again.”

“I need a man who gifts me, Cartier,” Max tsked, hoping to ease the mood, but regretted it when Carson remained silent. “Carson, honey, is there anything we can do to help?”

“We hate seeing you like this,” Tara added, leaning over to squeeze Carson’s hand. Max quickly joined and placed his hand on top of both of them.

Carson relaxed at their gesture and smiled.

“Sorry, guys,” she responded and took a breath. “Unfortunately, I don’t think much can make me feel better until I talk to him.”

“Understandable,” Max told her with a soft smile. “But also don’t be hard on yourself for taking the time you need to figure out what you want to do.”

“Exactly,” Tara agreed. “If Auston were remotely the type of guy he’s always seemed to be to us, he’d be okay with you taking your time regardless of how he’s feeling.”

“You two always know what to say to make me feel better,” Carson smiled and squeezed both of their hands. “Thank you.”

“We got you,” Max stated.

“Always,” said Tara, patting Carson’s hand before pulling away. “We’ll let you eat your strawberries in peace.”

“OK, guys, I’ll see you out there.”

“And you better actually eat them, or we’ll have issues,” Max threatened as he pushed in his chair and sent Carson a slight glare before following after Tara.

Carson just shook her head as she watched them go, then glanced down at her strawberries again before picking one up and popping it into her mouth.

About 10 minutes later, Carson’s lunchtime was almost over. She stood up from the table and went over to the sink to rinse out her now empty container before heading back to her desk to prep for the remainder of the work day. However, just as she was about to exit the breakroom, she almost ran right into someone.

“I’m sorry,” Carson stammered as she stepped back and looked up to make eye contact with Spencer, another of her coworkers.

“It’s quite alright,” Spencer replied and smiled charmingly. “How are you, Carson?”

“Oh, uh, I’m alright, thanks. How was your weekend?”

“It was good, pretty uneventful.”

Spencer was nice. He had been nothing but friendly toward Carson since she started working in the office, but something just put her off about him. Spencer’s condo wasn’t far from the one she shared with Auston, and for a reason, Carson didn’t understand; he drove to work almost every day and always offered her a ride. Their office was located downtown. Therefore, driving wasn’t always necessary, but Carson would’ve been lying if she didn’t appreciate those rides on days she was running late or the weather was bad.

However, something still rubbed her wrong with him. Spencer was charismatic, meaning he was very good at conversing. He had a way with words and could chat with anyone about anything. But, he also made many comments that had Carson pausing, feeling as though he was hitting on her, which she’d always responded to, making it known she was in a relationship.

Spencer knew she was in a relationship, but there were still times he tested those boundaries, and Carson hated it. She didn’t think this would be one of those times.

“That’s nice,” Carson told him with a smile and internally hoped the conversation would end there. “Anyways, I should probably get back to my desk.”

Carson nodded, and Spencer did the same back, but before she could walk around him, he spoke up again.

“Wait, Carson, before you go, I was hoping I could ask you something.”

“Oh, sure, of course. What’s up?”

“Are you free to get drinks with me today after work?” He asked, making Carson go stiff.

“As colleagues?” Carson hesitantly asked, but she knew better. She was sure Spencer’s intentions weren’t just friendly, but that was a boundary she needed to set.

“I was thinking it could be more like a date if you’re interested.”

“Spencer, no. I have a boyfriend. I’m not interested in you like that at all. I’m sorry.”

Spencer’s entire demeanour changed at that.

“I see,” he said and adjusted his posture, looking slightly more intimidating. “I thought you and the hockey player broke up.”

“I- no, we’re still in a relationship,” Carson explained, despite feeling a little unsure. She and Auston were still together, right?

“You stopped mentioning him, and I noticed you turned the pictures of the two of you on your desk around, so I figured you called it quits.”

There was something about his tone that Carson didn’t like. Maybe it was ignorance. Perhaps it was arrogance. Either way, though, it pissed her off.

“We didn’t break up,” Carson confirmed out loud, mainly to reassure herself. “Things are… rough right now. But we’re still together.”

Spencer scoffed.

“I doubt this will be the only time he hurts you, Carson. Maybe you’re just too naive to see that.”

“And maybe you’re just a dick who made an assumption and then got his ego hurt by a girl who is not and will never be interested in him.”

Spencer blinked, surprised at how she snapped at him, but didn’t say anything.

“This conversation is over,” Carson continued, seething. “But before I go, just know that if you attempt to corner me or anyone in the office like this again, I’ll ensure HR knows all about it.”

Nothing else could be said, so Carson stepped around him and wasn’t stopped.

Part of her wanted to cry as she beelined for her office. She was annoyed and frustrated with the situation, but one thought was prominent in everything she felt: her desire to talk to Auston.

The remainder of Carson’s work day went by quickly despite an anxious nagging feeling she had. Spencer kept his distance while Max and Tara promptly addressed the tension between him and Carson, but not in a way Spencer would hear it. Tara immediately messaged in the group chat with Max and Carson, asking what happened, which Carson filled them in on. She ended the conversation by admitting that the ordeal with Spencer made her want to talk to Auston because she hated not knowing where they stood.

Carson then internally admitted that although she was still hurt and upset with Auston, she still loved him and wanted to be with him. But she didn’t know how to go about it. For all she knew, Auston thought she was overreacting and didn’t want to wait for her to come back around. Of course, she didn’t want to believe that could happen, but Carson’s brain could be so damn mean to her sometimes.

But that’s what she needed to remind herself. Her brain was just mean. There was no way for Carson to know the future of her and Auston’s relationship if she didn’t talk to him. It wasn’t fair to Auston or herself to make assumptions and let that scare her away without first talking to him about it.

Her mind was scrambled, so Max and Tara convinced her to leave the office early and have time to collect her thoughts in a place that wasn’t the office. Carson was hesitant to leave early, but she had completed everything she needed to do that day before her lunch break and got a head start on some other things despite feeling all jumbled. About an hour went by, and she was still on the fence about leaving, but that changed when Spencer went to the photocopier that directly viewed Carson’s office despite a different photocopier being closer to the break room and his office.

Carson went stiff when she saw him walk by and didn’t miss the way he looked into her office as he went. He said nothing, but Carson was not up for playing any of his petty little games. So, after sending a message to her supervisor explaining all the work she’d completed that day and asking if it was alright if she went home early, Carson wasted no time packing up her things and leaving the office once told it was okay to leave. She didn’t even look in Spencer’s direction as she stormed out of her office, only stopping to say bye to Max and Tara and waving at those she passed on her way out.

When Carson arrived at Mitch and Steph’s condo, it was quiet. She knew Steph had things to do that day, meaning her friend probably wasn’t home, but she wasn’t sure about Mitchy.

The Leafs played against St. Louis that night, so it was likely that her cousin was home having a pregame nap before he had to get ready to go to the arena. Carson glanced at her watch to see it was nearing three in the afternoon. Therefore, it’d be odd if Mitch wasn’t home, so she tried her best to be quiet as she took off her heels before heading to the guest room to put her work things in there and maybe watch a show. However, she didn’t make it far when a familiar brown lab entered the hallway and rushed toward her excitedly.

“Hi, Zeusy boy,” Carson quietly greeted the dog as she crouched to his level and scratched behind his ears. “Is your dad sleeping?”

“Nah, I’m right here,” Mitch said as he entered the hallway. He was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, and his hair was dishevelled, showing that he had been lying down.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Mitchy. Did I wake you up?”

“No, you’re good. I was just scrolling on my phone. You’re home early, though. Everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah,” Carson mumbled as she stood back up and smoothed her blouse. “I finished all of my work early and have a really good start on the stuff I have to do for the rest of the week. I just have a lot of stuff on my mind. I know I’m not in the office for the rest of the week now because my boss is away, but I didn’t want to be there anymore today. ”

“I see,” Mitchy responded, then narrowed his gaze at his cousin, knowing something was bothering her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Of course, she wanted to talk to her twin about everything bugging her, but Carson didn’t want to bother Mitch with her problems.

“No, no, it’s ok. You have to start getting ready soon anyway. I think I’m just going to curl up and watch a show. Have a chill night in.”

“Carson.”

The look Mitch gave her as he crossed his arms showed that he wasn’t impressed by her answer, which made Carson sigh.

“Fine,” she huffed. “Let me change into something comfy, and then I’ll tell you.”

Mitch smirked at her triumphantly before calling for Zeus to follow him to the living room, and Carson went to the guest room. A few minutes later, she emerged in the hallway again wearing a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, then made her way to the living room and curled up on the couch next to her best friend.

Carson spent the next few minutes telling Mitch what happened with Spencer at the office, including the back story of how he’d been flirty before despite knowing she was in a relationship. She then explained what Spencer said after she turned him down and what was on her mind afterwards.

“First off, fuck that guy,” Mitch said once Carson finished her spiel.

“I know, he sucks,” Carson agreed, then took a sip of the water bottle Mitch had grabbed for her.

“I’m glad you put him in his place, but it wouldn’t hurt to report him to HR or something, Carse.”

“I know, I’m going to tomorrow. I don��t want him to make anyone else in the office feel like I did today.”

“Good,” Mitchy replied, nodding his head, then stopping and glancing at his cousin again. “And you think you want to talk to Auston again now?”

Carson sighed.

“Yeah, I do. I miss him, Mitchy, and I need to know where we stand. It’s just frustrating because I still don’t know what I feel or what to do, but I know I need to talk to him. How is he? Is he good?”

“Matts? I mean, yeah, he’s alright. Same old now that the season has started. Not much else is going on at the moment. He asks about you a lot, though. Every day I see him, actually. He misses you too, Carse. I don’t want you to think he doesn’t. But, you gotta do what you think is best for you.”

“But I don’t know if what I want is what’s best for me,” Carson stressed, pushing her hair away from her face as she inhaled. “And that’s the thing. Can I trust Auston again after keeping such a big thing from me? I may have never known if the media didn’t get their hands on the information. Although part of me wishes I was as oblivious to the fact as I was two weeks ago, I still can’t believe it even happened and knowing that it did is a lot. But this is something I’d want to know. I just- how many other significant things hasn’t he told me? Is it too naive of me to want to think he wouldn’t keep something like this from me again?”

“It was extremely dumb for him not to tell you,” Mitch started. “It was even more ridiculous for him to do what he did, whether it was a drunken mistake or not. I will say, though, Auston seems to be learning from it. He’s trying, and that’s really all anyone can ask for. Of course, it doesn’t improve the situation, but he’s being cooperative. And I know one thing he really wants to fix is his relationship with you as he navigates moving forward from this. However, if you don’t think that’s best for you, you’ve gotta listen to that. I can’t see you tearing yourself up because of a relationship again, Carse. I’ve already made Auston clear of my feelings about the situation, and we’re okay now, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to say, ‘Yes, you two should figure things out and not break up.’ I love you and Auston together and am always rooting for you guys, but I’ll always care most about your happiness. You’re my best friend. And if you think Auston is who will still make you the happiest, you can’t let anyone make you think otherwise. If you can forgive him, great. But if not, I’ll still be in your corner and we’ll figure it out.”

Carson stayed silent for a moment, processing Mitch’s words. She inhaled deeply, reached up to wipe away a tear that broke free from her watering eyes, and then sniffled before looking back at her cousin.

“I wish I knew what to do, Mitchy. I wish I could go back to him and not be afraid he’d hurt me like this again. And I know I may have overreacted when all of this happened, but it was like being slapped in the face. I was blindsided, and now I feel like I’m in a hole. I don't know how to escape.”

“I know,” Mitch told her softly. “But I think you gotta do what you told me when we started this conversation, and that’s talk to Auston. You won’t know what you want regarding your relationship with him if you don’t.”

“You’re right,” Carson agreed. “I just have to build the courage to reach out to him. It should probably be soon, though, huh?”

“Carson, let me tell you it has been so pathetic seeing him mope over you,” Mitchy stated, making Carson cover her mouth, attempting to hide her chuckle. “Like good, he should know he fucked up, but Auston is so miserable because he misses you, and I can’t even tease him about it because the nice guy in me doesn’t want to make him feel worse.”

“Wow, how considerate of you,” Carson teased while Mitch nudged her with his shoulder. Carson pushed back, but soon enough, they stopped, and Carson leaned her head onto her cousin's shoulder. “Thanks for always looking out for me, Mitchy.”

“Gotta make sure my twin is always okay,” he responded, leaning his head against hers. “Like your mom used to say, it’s the two of us against the world.”

“It is. And I’m lucky to have you as my best friend backing me up every step of the way.”

“You really are stuck with me.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Carson chuckled, then sat up again so she could look at Mitch. “But, you need to start getting ready, or else you’ll be late.”

“Shit, you’re right,” Mitch stated, quickly getting off the couch to gather his things. “You’re coming to the game tonight, no?”

“I don’t think so, Mitchy. I’m going to watch from here with Zeus. I don’t want to be back there just yet.”

“OK, fair. You’re welcome to join us after the game, though. Steph will want you there. I can give you a heads up if Auston comes out or not, too.”

“I appreciate it, but I’m ok,” Carson insisted. “I think I’m going to watch the game from here and think about what to do.”

“Alright. Promise to update me if anything happens or you decide you do want to come out?”

“I promise. Now go get ready.”

Mitch was ready and out of the condo within half an hour. Once he was gone, Carson put on Netflix and watched an episode of her show with Zeus before Steph got home. She was in a rush, too, having to get ready since she was going to the game that night with some of the other girlfriends. She tried multiple times to convince Carson to join her, but Carson was adamant about having an evening to herself, which Steph respected.

“I know you don’t want to come, but you’re sure there’s nothing I can do before I leave?” Steph asked as she battled with zipping up one of the tall boots she decided to wear that evening.

“I’m sure, Steph. You and Mitch have done enough for me,” Carson told her. “Go have fun tonight.”

“I’d have more fun if you came with me,” the blonde pouted, making Carson roll her eyes and smile at the dramatics. “But it’s fine, I’m fine. I’m sure Zeusy will love having you to hang out with.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

Carson then began scratching behind Zeus’ ears, which earned her a content noise from the chocolate lab before Steph spoke again.

“Ok. I’m going. You know to help yourself to any food or whatever, but please text me if you need anything or change your mind about coming.”

“You know I will,” Carson told her honestly. “I’ll watch from here and see you when you’re back tonight.”

“Ok, ok, I won’t press you anymore,” Steph said as she came over to give Zeus some love before leaving. “Alright, actually going now. Love ya!”

“Love ya too, have fun!”

And with that, it was just Zeus and Carson watching another episode of her show before it was game time.

Soon enough, the game started, and Carson hated that seeing Auston on the TV screen was still enough to feel a pang in her chest, but there was no arguing, just how much she missed him. As the game went on, Carson found herself paying more attention to Auston whenever the camera showed him than she did to the actual game, and before she knew it, the game was over.

The Leafs lost to the Blues, but Carson kept the channel on as post-game media started. She watched Will and Freddie do interviews and then felt her breath hitch when Auston came on the screen again. Hearing his voice answer questions about the game really hit her. It’d been almost two weeks since she last heard it, yet it still soothed her. She watched the entire interview, noticing how, along with the silver chain Auston wore around his neck, he was also wearing the Cartier love necklace that matched the one she wore. Both pieces of jewelry peaked out from Auston’s shirt, but when reporters kept bombarding him with questions, Carson noticed how he reached up to fiddle with the love necklace, gently rubbing his thumb over the two circles that linked in the middle.

It was then Carson decided she needed to talk to him as soon as possible. She wasn’t beating around the bush anymore; she knew they needed to speak, and there was no point in pushing it back then chickening out. But, as she waited to reach out to Auston, hoping he was home, her nerves returned, and she started convincing herself it wasn’t a good idea.

Carson’s heart pounded as she glanced at her phone again from where it lay between her and Zeus on the couch and debated what to do.

It was nearing 10:30pm. It had been over an hour since the game ended, and Carson knew Mitch and Steph wouldn’t return home immediately. Instead, they had plans to go out with some of the other guys and their girlfriends since the Leafs didn’t play for another few days. Mitch and Steoh invited Carson to join again, but she declined because she felt uncomfortable being the odd one out.

Carson didn’t know if Auston went with the group. There was a good chance that he did, and that was feeding into her debate about not calling him, but she wanted to. She needed to talk to him.

So, with a deep breath to calm her heart, Carson unlocked her phone. She opened the messages app and didn’t need to scroll to find her conversation with her boyfriend.

Carson felt like the wind was knocked out of her when she saw Auston’s name with the red heart emoji beside it and the photo of them in Arizona that past summer set as his contact picture. That feeling didn’t go away as she glanced at the text thread between them.

Despite not properly talking for almost two full weeks, Auston still messaged her every one of those days since their fight, saying that he loved her, missed her, was sorry and hoped she had a good day. The day after their fight, he still tried calling in hopes that Carson would pick up, but during his talk with Mitch, he was reminded that his constant calling was a bit overwhelming for her as she navigated her feelings about the situation. So, Auston opted to send texts.

Carson didn’t read or respond to any of those texts when she received them, but she found comfort as she scrolled through and read each one at that moment. In the days following their argument, she didn’t know what to think or feel, but receiving those texts made her feel normal. They were part of her routine, and although it was hard for her not to read them or respond, Carson thought she couldn’t until she knew what she wanted to say. Auston continued to send those messages despite her ignoring them, showing that he still cared and was willing to be patient with her like he always had been for the entirety of their knowing each other.

This was why Carson decided it was her turn to be patient with him and hear him out in a calmer setting than the last conversation they had almost two weeks prior. So, with another deep breath, she tapped his name at the top of the screen and hit the call button when it popped up.

It didn’t even take two full rings for him to pick up.

“Carse?” Auston’s voice sounded through the phone, making Carson’s breath hitch again. God, she missed him so much.

“H-hey,” Carson stammered before pausing in an attempt to recollect herself. “How are you?”

“I, uhm, I’m okay,” he responded, sounding surprised and as if he was still processing that he was talking to her. “Busy with hockey stuff, same old. How are you?”

“I’ve been better, and I’m sure you are. I still can’t believe you’ve got that ‘A’ on your jersey now, Aus. You deserve it. I was so proud seeing it for the first time in person during the home opener.”

“You were at that game?”

Carson nodded, even though he couldn’t see it.

“Yeah,” she almost whispered. “Mitch and Steph were trying to convince me to go 'cause I was originally going to watch from their place, but I didn’t decide until the last minute to actually go. So, I bought a ticket and went alone.”

“I wish you had told me,” Auston told her softly, which pulled on her heartstrings. “I would’ve wanted to know that you were there.”

“I know, but I didn’t know how Auston. Just seeing you out there made me so happy but so sad at the same time.”

Auston sighed at that.

“Carson, please know how sorry I am. I’ve spent the last two weeks beating myself up so much over this, and not saying I don’t deserve it, but fuck. I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too,” Carson admitted, deciding there was no need to hide her feelings from him.

“Is that why you called?” Auston asked, his voice a mix of unsureness and hopefulness.

“It is. I, um, I know it’s late, but are you home? Maybe I could come over, and we can talk.”

“Yes, please. I just got back. Please come home er-, I mean over. Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No, it’s okay,” Carson responded quickly, not wanting to be in such close proximity to him until she was at the condo. “Thank you, though.”

“Then, at the very least, let me order an Uber over here for you,” Auston suggested, not missing a beat.

“Auston, you don’t have to do that.”

“I insist. Please let me order it. I’d feel better if I could make sure you get here safely. Would they be picking you up from Mitch’s?”

“Ok,” Carson sighed in defeat. “And yes, it’s just Zeusy and me here.”

“Ok, perfect,” Auston said. “It says they’ll be there in five minutes. Is that too soon?”

“No, that’s great. I’ll put on my shoes and head downstairs.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“Love y-,” Carson started but immediately cut herself off, then internally cursed herself because who was she kidding? Of course, she still loved him. “I’ll see you soon. Bye, Auston.”

Once she hung up the phone, Carson wasted no time getting off the couch and rushing to the front door to get her sneakers on.

“I’m sorry, Zeusy,” Carson muttered to the lab, who was rudely awoken from his slumber when she stood up but was still happy as he trailed after her. Zeus looked up at her expectantly, thinking he was going outside with her, and Carson felt terrible for leaving him behind, wasting no time to crouch down and pet him after her sneakers were on. “I know. I’m the worst for not taking you outside again, even though I did an hour ago. But how about I give you a treat? Will that make up for it?”

Zeus’ tail started wagging at that, so Carson quickly stood up straight again and ran into the kitchen to grab him a treat. Then, with one final pet goodbye, she rushed out the door.

As Carson waited for the elevator, she texted Mitch and Steph to tell them she was going over to Auston’s to talk because she knew they’d come back wondering where the hell she had gone otherwise. Both were quick to text back.

“Good luck, babe. Let me know how it goes,” read Steph’s message.

“Are you sure? Are you staying there? I’ll wait up so you can tell me what’s going on,” Mitch texted back, making Carson smile at the difference between the two messages. They both cared but in very different ways.

She messaged them each back, saying she’d keep them posted, then entered the elevator and went to the lobby. Upon seeing her reflection in the mirror that covered the elevator wall, Carson made an unimpressed noise. The thought of changing hadn’t even crossed her mind as she rushed out of Mitch’s condo, but she sure didn’t love that the first time she talked to Auston in person in two weeks, she’d be wearing an oversized hoodie and sweatpants. Carson quickly reached up to take her long brown hair out of the messy bun it was in and tried to make it look presentable, but then remembered Auston wouldn’t care about her looking like that. He’d seen her in similar outfits over the almost three years they’d been in a relationship.

Carson knew she didn’t need to impress him but still wished she looked a little better than she did.

Once the elevator reached ground level, Carson inhaled as she stepped off and entered the lobby. Her phone buzzed with a text, and she was half expecting it to be Mitch or Steph, but it was Auston letting her know the details about the car that was picking her up. Carson replied to his message this time and let him know she saw the car was waiting outside. Auston asked her to tell him when she was in the car and when she got to their condo so he knew everything was alright, and Carson promised she would.

When she entered the Uber waiting outside, the driver expressed his surprise after Carson confirmed they were picking up a rider named Auston.

“Not going to lie, I thought I was picking up Auston Matthews, the Leafs player, for a minute when I saw the name,” the driver explained, and Carson had to contain the smile she felt tugging at her lips.

“No, sorry, just me,” she responded, chuckling but not telling them she was indeed on her way to see the Auston Matthews.

“That’s alright, maybe another time,” the driver teased, then turned their focus back to the road as they drove.

It was a short drive. In all honesty, Carson had walked to and from the two condo buildings many times before, but with it being so late, she didn’t want to be out walking alone. She also knew that if she’d even mentioned the thought of walking, Auston would’ve shut the idea down immediately. The Uber driver didn’t ask questions about the short trip either and made small talk, ironically about the Leafs, since that was the first thing they and Carson had discussed.

A few minutes later, after thanking her driver and getting out of the car, Carson was standing outside the condo building that she began calling home a little over a month prior. Another wave of nervousness hit her, but she quickly shook it off as she entered the building.

She got into the building easily, still having her keys and fob to allow her access. The concierge at the front desk recognized her, nodding and smiling as she walked by and went straight for the elevator to take her to her and Auston’s floor.

Carson almost walked right into the condo out of force of habit once she arrived at the door. However, her nagging thoughts made her stop just before she could and opted to knock instead. It didn’t take long for Auston to open the door.

He looked good, really good. He was clad in a simple outfit, a black Raiders sweater and a pair of grey sweatpants that Carson always complimented on how good they made his butt look. His hair was a little damp still from his postgame shower, and a shadow of a beard was growing, showing it’d been some time since he last shaved. Carson stood there in silence momentarily, just taking in being in the presence of her boyfriend once again.

“Hey,” Auston spoke up, snapping Carson from her trance. She didn’t realize how tense she was until she felt herself relax just by being so close to him again.

“Hi,” Carson replied, her voice already cracking. Tears immediately pooled in her eyes, suddenly reminding her of all the emotions she’d felt since the last time she and Auston spoke.

“Oh, Carse.”

It didn’t require any thinking. The moment Auston saw those tears, he stepped towards Carson and pulled her into his embrace. The gesture felt so natural. Carson immediately melted into his touch and wrapped her arms around his middle in a tight embrace while instinctively hiding her face against his chest, letting the familiar scent of his favourite body wash surround her.

“I missed you,” she whispered after the two of them stood there holding each other for a moment.

“I’ve missed you more than I’ve ever missed anything in my life, Carson,” Auston replied, not missing a beat while tightening his squeeze around her. “I don’t want to open my eyes right now because what if I do and you’re not actually here? And this was just a fever dream?”

Carson couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her mouth as she shook her head, still pressed against his chest, and then finally moved back and looked at him. Still, neither of them unwrapped their arms from around the other.

“I’m here. And we need to talk, Auston.”

“I know, I know,” Auston spoke softly as he finally let go of Carson, but only to reach up so he could cup her cheeks and use his thumbs to wipe away her tears. “God, I’m so happy to see you. But, you’re right. Let’s go inside so we can talk.”

Carson nodded in agreement and let her arms fall from Auston’s waist to her sides again, but Auston was quick to reach down his right hand and link it with her left hand, squeezing it after Carson intertwined their fingers, then leading her into the condo.

Once inside, Carson glanced around after she took her shoes off and walked further inside, not sure what she was expecting. Not a thing was changed. The same fluffy grey throw blanket she bought was still on the couch except instead of it being draped over the side neatly, it was bunched up and tossed to the side, indicating Auston had been using it. Her gaze then drifted to the walls and nearby bookshelf, which still had the same pictures of her and Auston and others of them with their friends and families displayed. On the bookshelf was her collection of books and trinkets she adored and the TV showed the paused episode of The Office Auston must’ve been watching when she called.

Carson felt at home again for the first time in two weeks and it was a perfect feeling.

“Uhm, can I get you water or anything?” Auston asked after a moment of observing Carson look around their living room, not missing how a small smile tugged at her lips as she did so.

“I’m alright, thank you,” Carson replied as she shook her arms so the sleeves of her sweater would fall since she’d pushed them up in the Uber. The sweater was large on her and it showed in the way the sleeves covered most of her hands. She then began to fiddle with and rub the hem of the sleeve between her fingers, something she tended to do when she felt uneasy or anxious. Auston knew that and wished she wasn’t feeling such a way, but mostly wished she didn’t feel that way because of him.

“Of course. Should, uh, should we sit?”

“Yeah, let's.”

The two of them made their way to the couch and sat down next to each other. It was a comfortable distance, but there was still a noticeable space between them which felt a thousand times bigger to Auston. He hated it. If it were up to him Carson would be right next to him with her legs over his thighs, both cuddled under the throw blanket as she told him about her day and he played with her hair while listening. He was yearning but was brought back to reality when Carson spoke again.

“I think you should start.”

“R-right,” Auston stuttered, shaking his little daydream from his head but not being able to hide how lost in his thoughts he got momentarily. However, he knew exactly what he wanted to say, he’d been thinking about it for almost two weeks. “You’re right. And I’m just going to start with how sorry I am, Carse. I’m sorry for what I did in Arizona and how it affected someone because of my ignorance and stupid drunk actions. I’m sorry that when me and you last talked, I didn’t take ownership of how I messed up. I know that what I did wasn’t ok. I wish I could take it all back. And I’m sorry that during all of this, I hurt you. I should’ve been honest with you about the charge as soon as it happened. It’s not an excuse, but I was embarrassed and didn’t want you to be ashamed of me. I told my family I would tell you, which is why they didn’t say anything, but I was a coward. It’s not that I didn’t trust you whatsoever, Carson. I trust you with everything I have, I was just stupid and thought I could ignore what happened. That it wouldn’t matter and I could move on with life normally. I should’ve known better. I made a huge mistake and I’m learning from it. I know I’m better than this, but I want to learn from it so I can move forward properly and nothing like this ever happens again. I don’t expect you to fully forgive me right away either, but you make me a better person. I know I can learn a lesson and grow from this. But, I really want you by my side as I do, if you’re still willing.”

Carson was so tired of crying, but she couldn’t stop the tears flowing as she hung on to every word Auston said to her. This conversation was already so different from the last one they had. She could tell the toll everything was taking on him and knew the weight of it all was crushing. But, he was taking full responsibility, seemingly accepting that this all happened on his own accord.

“I’m proud of you, Auston,” Carson spoke softly as she wiped her tears away with the sleeves of her sweater. “I feel like I’m having a conversation with a completely different person than I did two weeks ago.”

Auston felt good hearing that. During their fight, Carson voiced that she didn’t feel like she was talking to the man she loved. That, in that moment, he didn’t feel like home anymore to her, which hit Auston hard because Carson would always say it didn’t matter where they were as long as they were together, because he was her home. Hearing her say that was what pushed him over the edge that night truly realizing how badly he fucked up, but it was too late. Carson was already heading out the door and Auston couldn’t stop her.

“It shows me that you are learning from this and that’s really good,” she continued. “You owe that to that woman you distressed. But also the team, the fans, your family and yourself.”

“I owe it to you, too.”

“I appreciate you saying that, but this isn’t about me. However, that does lead me to talk about us.”

Carson paused to take a breath, already feeling herself get emotional again, but was soon met by Auston gently linking their hands together and stroking his thumbs over her knuckles. When she didn’t pull away, Auston gave her hands a reassuring squeeze.

“When I found out you kept something so significant away from me, I was hurt,” Carson said. “I felt betrayed, but also shocked because I never ever thought I’d feel the way I did and you being the one that caused it. I felt everything we built together, was a lie. Our castle was crumbling down because it seemed like you couldn’t trust me and I wasn’t sure I could trust you to not keep important things from me again. It was devastating feeling that way about the man I love more than anything in this world. We’re partners, Auston. And you didn’t treat me like one doing that.”

“I know, and again, I am so sorry, Carson. I never wanted you to feel that way and I feel terrible for being the reason you did. I-I can’t blame you for leaving,” Auston’s voice trailed off at the end of his sentence as he felt the words getting stuck in his throat. “Watching you walk out that door was one of the worst nights of my life. You’re my rock and suddenly that was gone and it was all my fault. I hardly slept not knowing when or if you’d come back, but I had to keep hoping, praying that you would. Part of me convinced myself Mitch was going to tell me that you weren’t coming back ever and I don’t know what I would’ve done if he did. I was a mess, I still am. These last two weeks have been hell and I deserved it. And I’m not saying this to guilt you into making a decision now, but Carse, if you did want to leave and not come back to this, us, I need to know. The not knowing is killing me. I don’t want to lose you, but I need to know if I have.”

Carson inhaled deeply again.

“The thing about these last two weeks, with how upset and angry I was at myself and you and the situation, not once did I think I no longer wanted to be with you. I love you, Auston. I knew I didn’t want to break up, but I wasn’t sure if staying in a relationship with you was what would be best for me. I fell into a depressive hole myself. I never thought I’d feel that low because of you and I wasn’t sure if I could forgive and move on or if this would have me feeling I could never trust you again. I can’t let myself get this destroyed by the person who is supposed to be my partner again, not after my ex. But, Auston, you are not him. You never will be him and that’s why, even with the space we’ve had since our fight, I knew I’d be coming back to you. I love you too fucking much to not even try to work through this and move forward together. I don’t want you to think we’re over because of this.”

Auston didn’t realize just how many tears had welled in his eyes until he let out a relieved sigh and smiled, allowing a couple of those tears to break free and stream down his face.

“You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that,” he said and squeezed her hands again.

“You have no idea how badly I needed to get that off my chest and actually tell you,” she replied and let out a small laugh at how emotional they both were. “God, we’re such messes.”

“I’ll accept being the biggest mess ever to exist if it means you’ll be by my side as I clean myself up.”

“Well, I can tell you that I’m not going anywhere. I mean it, Auston. You haven’t lost me.”

“Thank, God,” Auston sighed, feeling like so much weight had been lifted off his chest. “We’re good?”

“We’re good,” Carson confirmed, smiling as Auston let go of her hands and then held his arms out. She was quick to launch herself into his embrace and hold on for dear life while he fell back onto the couch cushion and she laid on top of him, feeling the safest and most content she had in weeks. “I’m glad to be home.”

“I’m never going to give you a reason to feel like you have to leave home again, Carse. That’s a promise.” Auston declared as he kissed the top of her head and started playing with her hair. “I love you, Carson.”

“And I love you, Auston,” Carson replied as she moved her head from Auston’s chest so she could look at him.

The two lay there for a moment looking at each other as Auston continued playing with Carson’s hair, debating his next move. He couldn’t help the way his gaze drifted to her lips, missing the way they felt against him so badly. He wanted nothing more than to cup her cheek with his hand and close the small gap between them with the kiss he craved. However, even though Auston knew he and Carson were good, he also knew they weren’t back to normal. Things being normal again would take time and Auston was ok with that. It didn’t matter how much time it may take because he had his love back and he wasn’t going to take any chances with anything that could push her away again.

Much to Auston’s pleasant surprise, though, Carson was the one to delicately place her hand under his chin and tilt it up before crashing her lips against his in a sweet, intimate kiss.

As soon as their lips met, Auston deepened the kiss as he wrapped his arm around her and rolled them over so that Carson’s back would be on the couch and he was on top. He used one arm to hold himself up and keep most of his weight off of her while his other hand cupped her cheek and jaw to prevent the kiss from breaking, finally getting what he had spent the last two weeks yearning for.

After a few moments of kissing, they pulled away to look at each other and laugh at how out of breath they both were. But that didn’t stop Auston from leaning in and stealing one more kiss.

“Will you stay over tonight?” He asked softly, not wanting her to feel pressured if she wasn't ready to come back home fully yet. “It’s an off day tomorrow and Mitch mentioned you weren’t going into the office, we could go get your work stuff from his place in the morning then come back here and have a lazy day together. Only if you want to, of course.”

“I would love that,” Carson replied, then pecked his lips again. “Let me tell Mitch and Steph I won’t be back tonight first, then can we go to bed? I’m exhausted.”

“Of course, beb.”

After they untangled themselves from each other and Carson texted Mitch and Steph to say she was staying, she and Auston turned off the lights before heading to the bedroom together. Carson felt so good after changing into a pair of her pyjamas she grabbed them from the dresser and then crawled into her bed after a long, almost two weeks. The best part, though, was being back in that bed with Auston. He felt better too having Carson in his embrace again as he fought to stay awake, wanting to make sure she fell asleep first. Once she did, Auston let his tiredness take over him too and both he and Carson had one of the best sleeps of their lives, together again.

[frenziedslashers]

i just loved ur rhys fic so much, ur such a good weiter and one of the few i see him writen in character. i dont have a specific request just- anything you come up with for this man im so depraved of my bb🥹🥹🥹

I appreciate this sm and am so glad that you guys are enjoying my Rhys content and overall just my Borderlands stuff 😭😭 That truly makes me so happy <3 I apologize if this isn't the best. I hit a mini writers' block tonight and I'm mad about it 😤 but I still wanted to post something lmao

Tell Me About Life On Pandora

"Doctor," Rhys called out to you in the hallway. Sprinting in order to catch up with you. The holler of your title and the quick motion caused you to turn with a worried expression plastered on your face. "Yeah?" your voice was a bit weary, quiet too. A lot quieter than it normally was, and Rhys took notice of that. He took notice of anything unusual that was going on with you. He always did, and probably always would as long as you were in his life.

He was panting a little when he reached you. He needed to work out more, really. This was pathetic, he was the CEO of Atlas and wore out from a light jog? That wasn't the point right now, though. "Hey, I haven't seen you around lately, is everything okay?" If anyone had overheard him they would have been jealous. Rhys never really went out of his way to check on specific employees of his. He was always either too busy or anxious to do so, but he was never too busy for you. He was always making sure that you were happy and all right. Plus, to make sure that you always had everything that you needed in your lab. You were one of his best scientists, after all.

You pursed your lips, brow worrying a little. Truthfully, you weren't all right, but you didn't want to go telling your boss that. Even if he was friendly with you, and you did consider him to be a friend. You still hated opening up to him. It felt wrong in a work situation. If you were outside fo work it might be a little different, but that wasn't the case.

"Yeah, everything's fine," you spoke, forcing a smile, though your eyes betrayed you. He spoke your name, frowning a little, and took a small step closer to you. "Are you sure? If you need a break from work, I won't be mad. I used to work under a CEO before, you know? I get how stressful everything can be." He told you with a lopsided smile, and you returned the smile. This time it was a little less forced. You even felt a little relieved by his words. "Thank you, sir." "Please, just call me Rhys." He was always telling you that, but again. It felt weird to you. Like you were crossing a boundary even if he told you it was okay.

The two of you stood there for a moment more before you heard your Echo go off. "Doc, we got an issue with the project," you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. "I'll be there in a moment. Please... Just scavenge whatever pieces you can from the device. We might have to start from scratch... Again." "Copy that."

You took a deep breath before looking back up to Rhys with a tired smile. "Well, Rhys, I have to get back to work. I'll see you around?" You spoke, a hopeful glint in your voice, and he nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, of course. You know where to find me if you need anything, too." You nodded, smiling at the man. "Thank you," he nodded, watching as you walked off with a sigh. He wished that he knew how to help you more.

The next few days were a lot for you. Rhys would wander the halls when he had time. Hoping that he would catch you doing the same, but he never did. The third day of not seeing you had him a little worried, as well. You normally always had the same schedule. You'd work from when you clocked in, until about thirteen hundred when you would go and eat. Then around thirteen-forty-five, you would be back in the lab. Working on work until you took your break around sixteen-thirty. Which was typically when he would catch you and chat with you for a little while.

The swish of the door opening didn't grab your attention. Your face was buried in notes that were spread across the table. Sighing deeply as you scribbled out new blueprints for the gun that you were working on for the company. "No wonder you have a headache almost every day," his voice made you jump. Turning quickly to look up at him. A hand gripping at the pencil in your hand, the other reaching for where you used to carry your gun when you worked on Pandora. You had been working under Rhys for nearly three years now, and yet you were still used to the ways of that hell site. Still used to defending yourself from bandits and other companies.

You raced to your feet, staring at Rhys with wide eyes, unable to say anything. He smiled at first, finding it a little amusing that he scared you, but once he realized how freaked out you looked, he looked more worried than you'd ever seen. "Shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." You still couldn't speak. You were moments from a mental breakdown before this, and the mix of being stressed and the memories of working on Pandora made your whole body shut down and go into lockdown mode. Trembling while you stared at Rhys with fearful eyes. "Hey, what's going on? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He tried to reach out to touch your arm. Hesitating when you flinched and your eyes clenched shut. "I'm sorry," you spoke with a shaky voice, and that only made his frown deepen.

He didn't realize how stressed you had been lately. Nor how easily frightened you were. Sure, you were always jumpy, but jeez. This was new. He didn't know what to do, really. "Hey, don't apologize, you did nothing wrong." His voice was soft and assuring. Reaching out to pull you in for a hug. "Hey, everything's all right, I'm here. Nothing can hurt you," He muttered to you, his heart racing a little when you hugged him back. Arms quickly raced to wrap around his body while you cried into his chest.

He was aware of the effects that Pandora took on you. You had warned him before you started working for him that you had PTSD from all of the situations you were in down there, but he never expected to invoke a trauma response out of you. "Hey, why don't we go to my office? It's safe there, we can sit down, okay?" He spoke, and you nodded. Allowing him to take you back to the safety of his office.

You were both thankful that it wasn't a long walk from your lab to there. His arm wrapped tightly around your shoulders and he opened the door and led you inside. Shutting it behind you both before pulling you over to a sofa on the side.

You were quick to leach back onto him. Hiding your face in his chest while he leaned back and held onto you. One hand was placed on the back of your head while the other rubbed at your back. "Hey, you're safe now, I won't let anything happen to you." "You promise?" He pursed his lips at your question. "I promise." Why wouldn't he? All he wanted for you was the best.

The two of you were silent for a moment. Just staring into one another's eyes before he awkwardly broke the silence. Clearing his throat with a sigh while turning his head to look over at his desk. Worried that he might be overstepping boundaries with you. "Well, uh, if you ever want to talk about- any of it- I'm here. I know how traumatizing Pandora can be," he chuckled, and you raised a brow. You hadn't realized that he had been on the face of that shitty place before. "Really? Why were you there?" You questioned, leaning back against the sofa. Your body turned to face him. Wanting to listen to what he had to say, wiping the tears from your face as you tried to keep calm.

Rhys pondered, thinking of how he could word why he was there. Should he tell the truth? Or lie and act like he was never actually there. "A vault key," he muttered, without even realizing it. He was as shocked as you were to hear those words leave his lips. "Were you a Vault Hunter?" You asked, a glint of excitement in your eyes. This would be one of your coolest discoveries yet. "Ha, no, that's funny though." He laughed, leaning his back against the sofa. Turning his head to look over at you with a smile. "Do you think I'd pass as one? Be honest," "No," he frowned, sighing. "What? You told me to tell the truth. It's not that I don't think you could handle yourself, Mr. Strongfork, it's just.." He watched you with an intent and curious gaze. "You're too considerate of the people around you." He smiled, nodding his head. That was one of the reasons he got into so much trouble on Pandora in the first place.

"Well, can you tell me about it? What it was like looking for the key?" You asked, and he nearly said no. He hates discussing the topic, but when he looked over at you. Just the dreamy and curious gaze in your eyes had him agreeing to tell you his story. "Yeah, but it's a long story," "Well, you could tell me part of it now, and then finish it later when you have the time." He smiled, enjoying that idea. It'd give him more time with you, at least. "Deal."

He started the story that night with you. Telling you everything he went through on Helios, with Vaughn, and Yvette, and Vasquez. How he found out the man was looking for a Vault Key after demoting poor Rhys to the status of Janitor. You were shocked, to say the least. You never expected Rhys' history to sound anything like this. You weren't sure what you had expected to hear, but certainly not this.

You watched as he told the story with his hands. Moving them and using his voice to convey the emotions of each event almost too well. You couldn't take your eyes off him the whole event. Not that you really wanted to, anyways.

"And then we made it to this race track. We had to wear bandit masks in order to race with them, you know... So they wouldn't shoot us- It was crazy! I was certain I was going to die there. But, after our cover was blown, and we did our damnest to get that briefcase back. We were saved by none other than Zer0 himself." Rhys told you with a grin, noticing how wide your eyes got. "So, that's how you met him? He saved you?" He nodded his head. "Well, he didn't mean to, he was just there to kill the lead bandit guy. I can't remember his name, DJ something." Rhys shrugged, and you smiled. "That's so... Awesome." He chuckled, finally relaxing his body once more. His hands in his lap while looking over at you. "Yeah, you think so?" "I know so. My time at Pandora wasn't anything like that. Sure, we were trained to fight if Bandits tried to break into the facility, but we never went out of our way to do stuff like that. That sounds exciting, heroic, almost." He turned his head away from you with a smile, trying to hide the bashful look on his face. "Well, jeez, thanks, I think?" "Well, what happened next?"

He wanted to tell you, he really did, but he knew if he kept talking the two of you would be there all night. Looking at his watch with a sigh as he noticed the time. "I think we better continue it tomorrow," the sigh that you let out after hearing his words made him snicker. Glancing at you with a hum, "Well, I'll come get you after I get done with my work tomorrow, how about that?" You nodded, moving so you could stand to your feet. Rhys doing the same. "I'll see you then?" He knew you would say yes, but he wanted to hear it from you. His smile growing when you agreed to see him again tomorrow to hear more about his life story. He never realized how useful this information would be in order to talk to you.

These meetings between the two of you carried on for the next week. Rhys telling you a chapter of his life before sending you home. Both of you came back to his office the next day to continue. You had more and more questions for him each day. Even a few compliments and praises here or there for how heroic he sounded. Which only fueled his ego and made him glance away from you while smiling sheepishly.

"After we defeated the Vault Monster, we got Gortys back. Loaderbot and her were happy and together again," you smiled, cheering silently in your head. "We healed up Sasha, too," he smiled faintly, staring at his hands in his lap. "Then Fiona and I left the group to run back for the Vault. What we saw inside," he chuckled, leaning back to stare at the ceiling of his office. "I can't even explain it. It was so cool, awesome, and mind-blowing. Everything was alien like. Nothing like anything I've ever seen before." He told you, a little dazed as he remembered it all.

"What happened with you and Sasha?" You blurted, truly curious, but you regretted asking it when you noticed how he seemed to recoil. His dreamy smile quickly fading, his whole demeanor shifting as he sat up properly on the sofa. Staring at his hands in his lap again. "Well, she moved on. She told me she didn't think she could continue a life with someone who used to work for Hyperion. Someone who had.." He paused, he was going to mention how Handsome Jack was in his head. How he didn't tell them about it until the very last moment. But he hadn't told you yet, worried that you would hate him for it and leave him just like she had. "Had what, Rhys?" Your voice soothed him a little, but he was still so anxious. "I had a monster inside me, okay? I wasn't me when all of that went down. When we found the Atlas facility that was abandoned, with Cassius in it. I plugged myself into this, thing. I ended up downloading an AI into my system and well.. I didn't tell anyone who or what it was until it nearly killed me and the rest of them. She tried to forgive me, but she mostly dated me out of pity after it all." He sighed.

You could tell how much it all bothered him. Not wanting to touch further on the subject if he didn't want to. You weren't sure what to say, so you reader out. Placing your hand on top of his own. You were a little worried he might flinch away, tell you to leave his office or to not touch him, but he didn't. He seemed to relax under your touch. Eyes watching your hand, closely. Turning his palm upright so he could intertwine his fingers with yours. The action making your insides burn.

"I'm glad she and I didn't work out for that long, though." You hummed, watching him closely. "How come?" He paused, thinking of what to say. "Well, I think I found someone better." He told you, turning his head slowly in order to look at you. His eyes meeting yours with a soft gaze. You were certain he was referring to you, but you weren't one hundred percent sure. Your body burning up under the tension that was forming between the both of you. You wanted to ask if it was you, but again. You had no idea how to ask or what to say. It wasn't until his eyes fell onto your lips that you were sure it was you.

"And who's that?" You asked with a small smile, and he chuckled. A flush spread over his face as he gulped. Rethinking his word choice and the predicament he was currently in with you. He fought through his worries, though, focusing on your lips and then your eyes while thinking of how to word what he wanted to say. "Well, they're in this room, and it's not me." You pondered, looking around as if it weren't obvious. "Is Zer0 in the room with us?" Rhys let out a laugh, bringing his mechanical hand up to cover his lips. "Has anyone ever told you that you're adorably hilarious?" He asked with a wide grin, to which you shook your head. Allowing him to tug you closer to him by your hands. "Do I have permission to maybe kiss you? If that's all right? If not, I get it, I'm your boss, it's frowned upon, I'm weird, and-" You were quick to grab him by his face. Pulling him in for a kiss that you had grown to want just as badly as he did. A surprised 'humph!' left his lips as you did so, but he was quick to kiss back. His own hands resting on the sides of your face as well.

"You never told me what you found in the Vault," you muttered once the both of you had pulled back from the kiss. Rhys' eyes fluttered open to stare at you with that same dreamy gaze from before. Pondering for a moment while his thumbs brushed over your cheeks. "Well, when we opened it we found a bunch of valuable items. Money, Eridium, Weapons, you name it. It's how I was able to afford to revive Atlas." "Was it worth it?" Rhys squeezed your hand. A soft smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he leaned in, his lips nearly touching yours once more. "Well, yeah. Without it, I probably would have never met you."

[jodilin65]

I was reading an article about the perception of old age and how it changes depending on how old we are, and it’s so true. When you’re under 25, you see 50 years old as ancient, and when you’re my age, you see 70 years old as elderly.

I've been very tired all day. I didn't sleep well last night. I definitely don't sleep well when I don't take Benadryl. Even taking Ibuprofen helps me sleep better. I thought of taking something, but then I figured I'd be woken up by storms, so it would be pointless. I wasn't woken up today, but tomorrow I'm almost certainly going to be. This really sucks. At this time of year, I'm wondering why we moved here. I miss being out in the country with more space around me and quieter skies, free from thunder and planes. I don't mind thunderstorms at all when I'm awake, but every time I'm on nights during storm season, it's a struggle. I don't understand why my husband can sleep through thunder without a sound machine, and I can't. As tired as I am, I'm trying to get as much cleaning and other things done as I can because tomorrow is going to be worse. I wish there was a way to flip my schedule. I don't understand how one of my exes could work rotating shifts like she did.

Believe it or not, even though I don't have a normal TSH, it looks like cutting carbs and sugar may slowly cause weight loss after all. This both pleases and scares me. It would really help my health in many ways, but because of the medication, I worry about it bringing back all that anxiety. I asked Jessie how much weight she's ever lost or gained on the medication and if she's ever had to adjust her dose because of it. From everything I've gathered from her, she's never had the kind of problem on this medication that I've had and could still have if I'm not careful. I've got the perimenopause out of the equation but not the sensitivity to the medication. I'm not completely sure I'll lose weight, though. I'm more sure that I'll never gain any more in my life than that I'll lose. If I ever gained more, something would have to be wrong because I don't intend to eat more and move less.

My new g-strings are a bit big but comfortable. The adjustable tie-dye set will be good for under shorts and pants, while the other brand will be comfortable for sleeping. When I'm wearing dresses, I still prefer a full-coverage style so I don't get a wedgie from the dress every time I bend over or stand up. Perhaps that's TMI, but you know how it is—I write for me first, LOL.

I'm allergic to cats and don't care for them as pets due to their claws, jumping, and smelly litter boxes, but they are adorable. Even when they're on sheets. The new polyester sheet and pillowcases are adorable! Now let's see how long they last before they pill. I can't believe they could pill any faster than the last two sets I got, which I'm now annoyed to have wasted money on. I should have just gotten these cheaper, prettier sheets from Temu instead of the pricey ones on Amazon. They feel nicer too—they have a smoother, less wooly feel to them.

I'm not sure about my new trimmer yet. The electrolysis has thinned out the number of hairs I have and thinned the remaining hairs, but I don't think it's ever going to completely eliminate them. Maybe I just don't do it enough. I forget or get lazy at times. It's not exactly a professional-grade tool either.

I'm kind of surprised I can do video chats with Mia. I could have sworn that was a premium feature, and it even says that it is.

I found that the quickest way to finish my latch-hook rug, because it's so boring to do, is to work on it while I watch TV. I couldn't drill or color while watching TV because I would need to look away from the screen too much.

Most people don't want to know the future. They don't want to know when they're going to die, how, or what's going to happen in their future. I'm different, though. I spent 58 years not knowing most things, so it would be a nice change of pace if I could know some things. Maybe not everything, but some things. I would really like to know if we're ever going to move or not because that would affect my goals. I would be more tempted to save for certain home improvement projects if I thought we weren’t going anywhere. I can kind of see where if we saved enough, we might have options in the future, but I don't know for sure. I guess it would depend on a lot of things, like the housing market and where it was and that sort of thing.

[ticketstomydaydreams]

5:3666

(All We Have: Part Two)

Part One

Colson x Female Reader

Summary: You and Colson fall into a night time studio routine when he starts keeping you company through your insomnia and you decide to work though some past demons

Word count: 3,200 (ish, I lost count editing)

Feels: Fluff with a dash of past trauma

Warnings: Drug & alcohol consumption, domestic violence, cursing, Colson being so sweet it almost makes your teeth hurt

Companion playlist:

Machine Gun Kelly - 5:3666

Warren Zevon - I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

The Vamps - All Night

Halsey - You Should Be Sad

A/N: If you've been affected by anything in this story, please know you're not alone. My inbox is always open and I'm all ears 🖤

______

During the first couple of weeks of moving in, you’d been partying A LOT. The guys wanted to show you just how mad it got, breaking you into their chaotic household, blending the days together. Everyone was hyper and the house was buzzing with energy. You'd been so exhausted from all of it that you'd been all but passing out each night, but you couldn’t lie, it was great fun.

You’d tried to pass on a few nights but Colson would never hear of it, often forcing you out of your room to get involved as the house was filled with people, jam sessions taking place in between drinking games. It was a far cry from your usual homelife, your last housemate mainly kept to themselves so your place was normally pretty chilled. Colson had used your place as a quiet escape over the years, but it seemed you wouldn’t have the same set up extended to you here with this lot.

With the pandemic unfolding, the house had started getting quieter, less people in and out every night and everyone was settling into a lazier way of life. The gang were mooching around the house throughout the day and while the house was still lively at night, it wasn’t quite the party central you’d almost started getting used to. Your normal working routine went out the window as everyone had started working from home mainly and without your daily routine, followed by nights out partying, your insomnia was back with full force.

______

You were lying in your bed, trying to force sleep on yourself but after trying to nod off for a couple of hours, you accepted defeat and got back up. Throwing some sweats on and one of Colson’s huge hoodies (you’d been slowly sneaking them out of his closet, finding that the masses of material drowning your small frame were super comforting), you headed down to the kitchen, turned the stove on and filled the kettle up. You were scrolling through your phone when you heard footsteps on the tiled floor. Colson strolled into the kitchen looking disheveled in a white tank top and boxer shorts, hair ruffled and looking sleepy

“Dude, it’s 3am how come you’re up?”

“Couldn’t sleep, living that oh so fun insomnia life again” you sighed “Did I wake you?”

“Nah, I was already awake. Couldn’t sleep either and heard someone moving about so thought I’d come down” He replied, climbing onto one of the breakfast stools

“Yeah, I think it’s not having much of a routine. Hate lying in bed staring at the ceiling so just got up. You want a cup?” you offered, pointing to the chamomile tea you were brewing

“Sure, thanks” he says, taking the steaming mug from you

You sit down at the breakfast bar with him and start chatting, scrolling through instagram as you do. After about an hour, as you’re talking about an article you’re reading, you notice Colson doesn’t respond and you look to your right and see he’s fallen asleep, leaning on his hand, his mouth slightly ajar.

“Hey, sleeping beauty” you whisper, rubbing his back with your hand “Go to bed”

He slightly jolts at your touch, opening his eyes “Nah man, I’m keeping you company”

“Some company” you laugh softly “pretty sure you just slept through all my rambling there”

He leans against your shoulder, closing his eyes again “Hey, at least you’re not sitting here alone. That’s something right?”

“That’s true” you smile, leaning your head against his “You’re very appreciated, do you know that”

You gently push him upright and stand up “Come on, let’s go to bed. I’m pretty tired myself, so you’ve definitely helped”

He’s laid his head down on his arm on the counter, his breathing getting heavy immediately so you pull his other hand making him stand up. He stands up and puts his arm around your shoulder as you walk towards the stairs, your legs feeling heavy as you climb each step, carrying some of Colson’s weight as he sleepily walks with you

Once you’re standing outside your bedroom doors, he pulls you in for a hug

“Night kid, don’t be wandering around bored if you can’t sleep yeah? Just come get me. Nothing worse than sitting up alone at night…”

“Will do. Thanks Col” You squeeze him a bit tighter as he kisses the top of your head

“Night” you smile, as he let’s you go and turns and heads into his room, waving his hand up behind him

Undressing and crawling into bed, your eyes feel heavy as your head hits the pillow. Colson was right, insomnia was a much less lonely experience with a friend.

______

Of course, as is always the way after your sleepless nights, you sleep in super late the following day meaning the cycle continues and you find yourself wide awake as the witching hour approaches. Feeling restless in your bedroom, you get up, and decide to head downstairs and out into the studio because you figure you might as well put this time to good use. You settle into a chair with your acoustic guitar and started playing, stopping and starting as you figure out a melody, working your latest lyrics in with it

“I wanna start this out and say, I gotta get it off my chest. Got no anger, got no malice…”

“I thought I told you to come get me if you couldn’t sleep”

You almost drop your guitar as you hear Colson’s voice behind you, “Jesus, how are you such an enormous human but you still manage to creep up on me all the time?”

“Just a stealthy motherfucker I guess” He laughs, flopping into the chair next to you

“Whatcha working on? That sounded sweet, keep playing…”

Colson knows you sometimes get a bit self-conscious with people watching you sing, so he lights his joint, rests his head on his hand and closes his eyes. You smile as you see what he's doing, thankful he always understands what you're like.

You turn back to your notepad, reading over your lyric outline quickly before repositioning the guitar in your lap and resetting the metronome

___

‘I wanna start this out and say, I gotta get it off my chest

Got no anger, got no malice, Just a little bit of regret

No, nobody else will tell you, so there's some things I gotta say

Gonna jot it down and then get it out and then I'll be on my way

No, you're not half the man you think that you are

And you can't fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs, and cars

I'm so glad I never ever had a baby with you

'Cause you can't love nothing unless there's something in it for you

Oh, I feel so sorry, I feel so sad

I tried to help you, it just made you mad

And I had no warning about who you are

I'm just glad I made it out without breaking down

And then ran so fuckin' far, that you would never ever touch me again

Won't see your alligator tears

'Cause, no, I've had enough of them’

___

“Man, that was beautiful Y/N. I got some chills right there…You just wrote that?”

“Nah, it’s something I dug up from ‘back then’. Been going through some old lyrics and samples while we’ve got all this time on our hands. It’s kinda cathartic to go over some of that stuff now there’s a bit more distance you know”

______

A couple of years ago, you’d been stuck in a really toxic relationship with your ex, Stevie. Your time with him had been a tornado of arguments, drugs and the constant heartache of him cheating on you. Every time you’d get close to having the strength to leave, you’d always cave in and the mess would continue with you losing a bit of yourself each time you stayed. You’d become pretty used to his violent outbursts, he had always been controlling and short tempered, often pushing you and throwing stuff around your apartment. Despite his own frequent infidelity, he flew into a jealous rage with you constantly.

He’d always hated Colson, despite him being one of your best friends, and while he’d play nice to his face you’d always get it in the neck once you were alone about how you and Colson were ‘too close’ and he ‘didn’t trust him’. Before that final night you’d spent with him, things had been pretty good with the two of you for a few weeks, there hadn’t been much drama and so you hadn’t thought too much of inviting him out with you and the gang for a night out clubbing. Your good run had clearly come to an end, when you felt his hand grab your arm tightly and drag you off the dancefloor where you’d been dancing with Colson. You’d been bundled into an uber so quickly, you hadn’t even managed to get your handbag from inside. You saw Colson running out of the club, followed by Rook and Slim who was holding your bag, as the cab pulled away.

Once you were back at the apartment, he flew into a rage. You’d never seen him this bad before, his eyes were dark and when you tried to argue back, calling his jealousy ‘pathetic’ he snapped. He’d grabbed you by the throat and slammed you against the wall, “Don’t you ever disrespect me like that again” he’d spat in your face, before striking you so hard with his fist that the skin across your cheek split open. It was as if his actions had knocked him back to reality, he’d let go of you and you ran to your bedroom, locked the door behind you and started packing a bag. He hammered on the door, begging you to open it and you could hear that he was crying. You looked around for your phone before you remembered you’d left it at the club. Desperate to get away, you opened your laptop and brought up instagram, managing to send Colson a message asking him to send you an uber to his house straight away. You’d thrown your laptop and a few more bits in your bag, the battery dying before you had a chance to wait for a reply, before pulling the bedroom door open and barging past Stevie. He’d tried to grab you, but you’d finally had enough “Never fucking touch me again” you spat, pushing him off you. The hatred in your voice rooted him to the spot and he said nothing as you walked out, the door slamming behind you.

Once you were outside the apartment building, the reality of what had just happened and the situation you were in started to wash over you. You had no phone, no wallet, your laptop was dead. Just as you were starting to seriously panic, an uber pulled up and Colson had leapt out of the backseat. You’d been in total shock and had just let Colson guide you into the cab and then out into his house, up to his room. He didn’t say anything as he led you to his bathroom and lifted you up onto the counter. He grabbed a flannel and soaked it with warm water, rinsing it out before pressing it softly against the cut on your cheek, gently wiping away the blood that had mixed with your mascara laced tears. The tenderness of his actions was almost too much and you started to sob again.

“Hey, hey. Y/N, look at me” he said softly, lifting your chin so you looked at him, his blue eyes misty themselves “It’s okay, you’re safe here. Don’t move, I’ll be back in a sec”

He left the bathroom and returned with a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. Putting them on the counter next to you, he crouched down and undid the straps on your heels, slipping them off your feet and then helping you down from the counter. “I’ll leave you to change”

When you came out of the bathroom, Colson was lying in his bed “Come here” he said, holding his arm and beckoning into his side. You crawled under the covers next to him and snuggled into him, his long arms wrapping around you.

“Col…” you said quietly

“Yeah?” he whispered back, stroking your hair off your forehead

“Thank you…”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’ve always got you Y/N”

______

“I hated that fucking guy. That night...I wanted to kill him after what he’d done to you”

You see him tense up at the memory and you lean over and squeeze his knee “You’re such an amazing friend, do you know that. I don’t know what I would’ve done that night without you”

"You're a fucking warrior Y/N, you'd have handled your shit. I was just happy you trusted me enough to let me be there for you. You deserve so much better than that" he says, covering the hand you'd placed on his knee with his, staring you in the eyes and returning the smile that's crept across your face

"You know there's been a few punches I've wanted to dole out on behalf of you over the years, but you've never let me" you tell him

"Too right I'd never let you. I never want you in the drama, you're too good for getting caught up in that shit" he replies, pointing at you with mock sternness

"Hey" he says, seeing your expression wash over with a tint of sadness "At least the sleepless nights aren't what they were then…

… If we're gonna work through some old demons this lockdown, I'm sure I've got some songs and lyrics that have never seen the light of day" He reaches over the desk and pulls his laptop towards him "You've inspired me… "

"Oh no, are we gonna fuck our heads up with this?" you joke nervously, worrying that Colson's going to delve into something that's going to upset him

"Nah, I got you covered and you got me, right?"

"True dat" you say, as he holds his fist out so you can fistbump, his eyes now focused on his laptop screen

______

You felt kinda bad, having kept Colson up all night with you the last two nights, especially as you'd got him reminiscing about some tough memories, so tonight you tried to sneak past his room when your restlessness got the better of you.

"Nice try kid!" Colson says as he throws his bedroom door open, causing you to yelp in fright. standing there topless with his sweatpants hung low in his hips, he lights the joint hanging from his mouth "I told you we were in this together now"

"I felt bad, making you stay up with me"

"You didn't make me do shit…Wait a sec, let me find a hoodie. If I have any left in here…" he says, giving a pointed look towards the huge blue hoodie you were wrapped in before walking back into his room and rummaging through his drawers

"Oh shush, you have like a hundred…"

"Right come on" he says, pulling a pink hoodie over his head and flipping the hood up over his messy hair "Let's see what we get into tonight…"

______

And so the nights went on like this, the two of you falling into an easygoing studio routine. If there wasn't anything else going on in the house, you'd eat dinner together then head to the studio and work through the night into the small hours, skipping out the pretense of trying to sleep. You were both pretty productive at this time it seemed, both being proclaimed night owls, and keeping busy during these uncertain times was keeping your minds off the unfolding pandemic.

Considering he’d referred to his home studio in the past as the ‘rage cage’ (and it certainly could still be party central when the entire crew got involved), it was actually a place you drifted towards to relax these days. You’d always worked well together in a studio, but over the weeks spending so much time just the two of you, you became more in tune with each other, noticing when one of you had hit a wall and it was time for bed. Sometimes you'd work in comfortable silence, side by side, engrossed in your own seperate tasks. Sometimes barely any work would get done as you put the world to rights talking about anything and everything in a late night impromptu therapy session.

This evening, you'd been sitting cross legged in your chair for hours now, focusing so hard on editing a song which was driving you mad, you hadn't realised your feet had gone numb. As you try to move, your knees crack and pins and needles shoot through your legs. Colson looks up from the screen he'd been engrossed in after hearing you groan and sees you rubbing your feet trying to bring back the feeling to them

‘C’mere’ he said, before turning his chair towards you and leaning down to grab your legs, bringing your feet up onto his lap. He pulls your socks off and begins massaging your feet. You lean your head back, eyes closed and let out a long ‘hmmm’. You don’t see Colson glancing over at you and shifting in his seat as he lets out slow breath before turning back to his screen

“Now this is the kind of work session I could get used to”, you sighed "You being my studio bitch on hand for foot rubs. Although, I imagine this enjoyment goes both ways Mr Foot Lover” you tease, throwing him an exaggerated wink

Colson throws his head back with a hearty chuckle, and light heartedly slaps your calf

"Keep it in your pants Y/N"

You laugh and wiggle your toes, Colson letting out a dramatic, throaty groan in response. "Those are some sexy little toes though" he states, sticking his tongue out.

Still laughing, you put your hand to your chest, and gasp as you feign prudishness and try to pull your feet away. He grabs both your feet in one of his hands, keeping them in place then leans over the desk and pulls your laptop towards you

"Get on with some work you, this is supposed to be keeping you motivated, not distracted"

He scolds affectionately, with a smile on his face

“Okay, okay, spoilsport” you grumble as you pull your computer onto your lap

Half an hour passes, your legs still on Colson’s lap with him still massaging your feet absentmindedly with one hand while he works, and your eyes begin to feel heavy. You don’t realise you’ve fallen asleep, until you’re awoken by a “woah” from Colson as he catches your laptop which is about to fall. Taking it from your lap, he states “Right, time for bed you”

You check your phone and see it’s already 5:36am.

You stand up and stretch then walk over behind Colson, putting your arms around his shoulders, and resting your chin on his head. Looking at his screen, you yawn “You got much left to do?”

He leans back into you, bringing his hand up to rest on your arm, “Making some good progress so just gonna finish a couple of bits”

“Okay dude” you gently kiss the top of his head and squeeze the back of his neck a couple of times as you turn to leave “Try and get some rest, we’ve got a long day of sweet fuck all to do tomorrow” you say through another big yawn

“Heh yeah, Night Kid” he says softly, letting out a yawn himself. Colson turns and watches you head out of the studio and lets out a big sigh. Feeling the back of his neck still tingle from where you’d squeezed it, he’s suddenly aware of how empty the room feels without you in it....

______

Taglist: @triplexdoublex @thisshitisfuckingdifficult @brightblaqkkheaven

Lace Up! ❌❌

[niall-is-my-dream]

Addicted to You - Part Eleven

Catch up below.

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/666267291647950848/addicted-to-you-masterlist

Monday morning rolled around too quickly. Your alarm went off at 6am and Niall snoozed it before pulling you in for a cuddle.

There was general chat while you both showered, ate and got dressed. Both of you thinking about what this week would bring. The answer to this arrived an hour after you stepped foot in your office. Joyce, Michael and Niall's PA called you not long after 9am.

"Jessica darling, Joyce here."

"Morning Joyce, how are you?"

"Wonderful, busy weekend with the family. How was yours?"

"Didn't do too much, it's been hectic here so tried to have a few days to relax."

And have lots of sex. You obviously didn't say that.

"Well that's understandable, there's a lot going on here. Which leads me to ask you to be in meeting room B at 10am if you can?"

"Yes I can be. Who's holding the meeting? Do I need to bring any paperwork from any contracts?"

"No just yourself my love, all senior management are attending."

"Oh ok. Sure that's fine."

"Don't panic ok, everything will be fine." She said, her voice quieter than it had been.

"Thanks Joyce, I'll bring you a vanilla latte." You replied smiling.

"Oh you spoil me!" She laughed.

"I try!"

"See you at 10."

"See you at 10."

You sat back in your desk for a few minutes wondering what exactly would be said in the meeting. Niall hadn't shown any indication about what it might be over the weekend. Neither Michael or Gerry had called him from what you knew and you'd barely spent a minute apart. Niall hadn't even opened his laptop, he had been given strict instructions from both Michael and Gerry to take the weekend off.

Walking across the office and towards the meeting room you saw Fortis and Adam, who like you were Senior Account Managers heading there to. Michael, Gerry and Niall were already there when you walked in, all of them gave you a greeting.

Jack, Lisa and Rob from the accounts team arrived followed by Zoe who was the Admin Manager. Last to arrive and carrying notes and her laptop was HR Manager Liz.

It was then that you knew shit was about to hit the fan.

"Morning everyone." Michael said. "I know it's Monday morning and one of our busiest times but we needed to get a few things addressed before the week starts."

You could see everyone looking around wondering what was going on. There was a great atmosphere normally at work, like Michael had said in his retirement speech the company has a lot of family values. He and Annabelle wanted to create a working environment which was both professional but comfortable to.

"Um there's no good way to say this but I wanted to let you all know before office gossip started.......um Calvin was arrested over the weekend."

Oh. You knew that would happen, but it still shocked you hearing that it actually taken place.

"What?" Jack said sounding shocked. "He said he was taking the week off, is he ok?"

Jack clearly hadn't got a clue what was happening and by the looks of neither did Adam, Fortis, Lisa, Rob or Zoe. Liz did and you saw her glance at you.

"There's no easy way to say this, but he was arrested for sexual assault and theft. Both incidents have happened here at Gables."

There are gasps around the room.

"I'm sorry, sexual assault and theft?!" Rob asked completely gobsmacked.

"Yes. When Gerry started his initial enquiries in buying Gables he did a review of the accounts and something flagged up. We know it was nothing to do with any of you. Niall here has been checking out everyone's accounts and has if anything found impeccable work from you all. With Calvin's though.......well there were a lot of discrepancies. Money going to unknown accounts etc."

"That thieving shit." Rob said his voice laced with anger.

"Niall here has been working flat out since he arrived and has gathered enough evidence for Calvin to be arrested." Michael said as he gestured towards him.

"Makes sense now all the shit he was saying about Niall." Jack said. "He knew Niall was on to him."

"We all thought it was because he was jealous of Niall and Jessica." Lisa added.

Oh so they had noticed your friendship.

"Sexual assault......shit......Jessica..... Did he?" Jack asked turning towards you.

Before you could answer Michael cut in.

"I was made aware of issues Jessica was having with Calvin when I was discussing the sexual assault allegations with Niall. He had noticed and picked up on a few situations that had made Jessica uncomfortable. But it wasn't Jessica who made the initial complaint. It was Natalie, one of our new office juniors."

"Natalie?" Zoe said. "She never said anything to me. I knew she had taken a few days off, but she said it was for a family emergency and had permission from you."

"She wanted to keep it quiet for fear of being judged, which we all know she wouldn't have been." Liz from HR said.

"We would never have judged her. That's not how we work here. We are a team and a family." Zoe replied.

You had sat quietly taking in everyone's response before deciding to speak.

"Calvin has been harassing me for over a year. Asking me out, lingering by the toilet door, walking into my office whenever he fancied."

You could see Niall tense at your words and averted your eyes towards the team instead.

"He never touched me." You added. "But I kept a log of everything that happened."

"Shit." Rob said.

"Natalie is doing ok, she's working today. You may have seen her on your way in. She's filed an official complaint against him with the police and we are working with them to in regards to the theft. He's been released on bail and isn't allowed to come near the office or any of you." Gerry spoke for the first time.

"You must let us know if he messages any of you or approaches you." Michael added.

Everyone nodded, the look of shock and confusion across their faces.

"Liz and I will be speaking to everyone individually, gathering any information you think you might have. Did you witness anything that didn't seem important but might now for example? So have a think and you can email me and cc Liz in or pop by my office anytime." Niall said and you could see he was stressed by it all.

The conversation carried on for an hour. Michael, Gerry and Niall gave as much information as they could without telling too much. Everyone had the same shocked reaction. Everyone knew he was a bit of a flirt and player, but no one expected him to do something like this. Jack noted that Calvin had always tried to get one up on everyone and wondered if he was stealing company money to keep up with a lifestyle that ordinarily he couldn't afford. The mention of gambling occurred to.

It was something that had crossed your mind to. Also was he struggling with some sort of substance abuse and needed the money to fund that? It didn't excuse his behaviour, but it certainly explained it.

In that moment you felt a bit sorry for him, only a bit but he was clearly having issues. Ordinary people don't go around harassing people like this and stealing from their place of work. But not only that Michael and Annabelle were friends with his family, had known him since she was a child. What possessed him to behave like that?

The thing that stood out the most in the meeting was how much respect for Michael everyone had. He had created a great place to work and you were going to miss him when he retired officially after this was sorted out.

On Wednesday morning the police arrived at the office to speak to you and some other colleagues. You invited them into your office before taking a seat behind your desk. Michael sat along side you, you felt it was better to have him there rather than Niall.

They took your statement and made copies of your notebook containing everything that has happened. It would be an ongoing investigation, that would take a matter of weeks to even get a hearing date. It all sounded so long winded, but you knew you had to be patient.

You spent an hour on the phone with your mum on Thursday night telling her what had been happening at work. She was upset when you confessed to her about Calvin, but thankful that he would finally get punishment for his behaviour. But the sadness at what you had been going through was forgotten when she heard that you and Niall had reconnected. When you had spoken to her a few weeks ago you had told her that he was now working at Gables.

"Oh he was such a nice boy Jessie, so polite." She had said and then proceeded to waffle on for a good half an hour about how you should ask him out. That you were a modern woman who didn't need the man to instigate it. When you'd told her that you didn't think it was a good idea considering he was your boss now she had said that was a load of rubbish and to get over yourself. This woman was desperate for you to get married and give her some grandchildren. She already had 5 of them to keep her busy, what was the rush?

Your Mum however was incredibly smug when she heard that you and Niall had got together. The I told you so conversation had happened and she asked when you were both free to come up and see them.

---------

When Saturday arrived and you were once again relieved to have some time away from the office to relax and recharge. Niall had continued to stay at yours, it was easier than staying at his considering you lived 20 minutes closer to work.

You were spending the day with Rachel today, heading into the city to have a look around the shops and have lunch. While Niall had plans with Ben to head on the driving range. You were looking forward to catching up with her and hearing about the honeymoon.

Rachel and Ben arrived looking lovely and tanned, both grinning from ear to ear as you opened the front door.

"Oh hello Mr & Mrs Dawkins!" You said excitedly as Rachel and Ben arrived at yours.

"That still sounds weird!" Rachel said laughing, as she leaned in and gave you a hug.

Niall appeared behind you and embraced Rachel after you did.

"Do you want a coffee before we go or shall we just head out?" Niall asked Ben.

"I'm good, had one before we left so happy to head straight out." Ben replied.

"Ok, I'll just go grab my wallet and clubs from the spare room."

"So, what are you girls up to today?" Ben asked after Niall left the room.

"Just fancied a mooch around the shops, don't need anything in particular. " You answered.

"Me neither, just want to gossip about you boys to be honest." She said with a smirk on her face.

You knew then that you were going to be completely inundated with questions about you and Niall but also get the full honeymoon gossip.

"Right I've got everything." Niall said as he appeared with his golf clubs. "You still happy to drive Ben?"

"Yes mate." Ben replied.

"Are we meeting you ladies for lunch later?" Niall asked as he moved and wrapped an arm around your waist.

"We can do if you want? Do you want to text us when you're done and we can let you know where we are?" Rachel replied.

"Yeah, we will only be a couple of hours." Ben said.

"I've got my keys anyway." Niall added.

You could see Rachel looking at you out the corner of your eye. And when the boys finally left a few minutes later she wasted no time in firing off multiple questions.

"Fuck me, I thought they'd never leave!"

You laughed at her outburst.

"Seriously what is going on? Is he living here? He has keys? You two all lovey dovey when he left. Like we only went away for ten days! Explain immediately!"

You laughed again.

"We kissed the week before the wedding, you know when we went out for that late lunch and you got drunk and couldn't control your level of voice?!"

"Did you?! I fucking knew it! So what happened then?"

"He stayed that night...... Not in my bed!" You said quickly. "But work had been busy, which is a WHOLE other story, so we didn't spend any time with each other until the wedding."

"He was so affectionate towards you at the wedding, I wondered if something was going on."

"Well when we got back here on the Sunday we talked about stuff...."

"Hang on a minute, you've skipped over the best part!"

"The best part?" You replied acting all innocent.

"Mate, you seriously better tell me about the sex!"

You blushed and looked away from her.

"I'll take that as a 'it was fucking amazing sex'."

You snorted at Rachel as she raised her eyebrows up and down before winking at you.

"You're terrible!"

"So you talked when you got back here? I assume it went well considering he's living here." She smiled.

"Actually he started talking about it being awkward at work and I thought he didn't want anymore than a weekend fling and honestly it was awful........ He looked so upset. I told him I loved him and "may" have cried."

"So, you just got your wires crossed?"

"Yeah pretty much. He left that afternoon to catch up on some work and then we told Michael and Gerry about it Monday morning. He stayed here that night and um.....has only gone back to his for clothes."

"Ben owes me £50."

"What?! Why?!"

"I said something would happen before the wedding and he said it would happen at the wedding."

"You bet on us!" You laughed.

"Um yeah! It was obvious that evening when we were at the cocktail bar how much you still loved each other.  I knew something would happen, you couldn't keep your eyes off each other. Don't really understand why you broke up in the first place to be honest." She said shrugging her shoulders.

"I didn't think it was that obvious that I still had feelings for him."

"Oh mate it was so obvious!" She snorted and you laughed. "So what's been happening at work that's a WHOLE other story?"

"Well...... " You said and sat and told her everything that has been going on with Calvin, from the harassment, to the assault on Natalie, to the theft. Rachel was shocked to say the least and it was an hour before you left the flat to go shopping.

You had a look around some shops and heard all about the honeymoon to the Maldives, it sounded amazing. It wasn't long before the boys called you and arranged to meet you at a pub for lunch. You spent the afternoon eating, drinking and enjoying the summer weather and not worrying about Calvin.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

Em x

[monsterfloofs]

Incubus x Reader (Sfw and anonymous protagonist!)

You sit with your car parked in your friends driveway. Your hands busy tapping on the keyboard of your phone. You glance up at his house to see him locking up the door. He hurries over to your car. "H-Hey! sorry! Did I make you wait long?" You shake your head. "Oh no! I was just about to text you." Dezzi opens the door and slumps into the passenger seat with a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I just finished folding some laundry when I spotted your car. I was afraid you had been waiting a while."

"Neh!"

"Neh?" He teases, "Is that english?"

"Yeh!"

He laughs as he pulls over his seat belt. "Okay then, so where did you want to go for ice cream? I know a neat little place but it's a little ways from here." You smile, "That sounds fine! We'll just pop in some tunes and have a mini road trip. As long as you can navigate us there and back it should be no problem!" Dezzi beams. "Oh it's no problem! It's my favorite place to go." You let the car reverse out of the driveway, turning back onto the road. The two of you chatting and listening to music as you drive. You pull up to a quaint little ice cream shop and stop the car. Car doors open and shut and together both of you walk inside.

You look around taking in the surroundings. "What a cute place, I never even knew this was here." Dezzi smiles, "It's actually a pretty popular spot. Why don't you find a seat for us and I can order?" "Ah? Are you sure Dez?" He nods "Mhm! There's a bit of a crowd, and I know that makes you nervous." You look abashed but you nod, telling him what you would like before turning to find a quiet place to sit.

You're playing with your phone until he finally comes over, you look up and start. Doing a double take at the tray in his hands. "Whoa Dezzi, that's a lot of ice cream." He blinks before looking down at the tray. "Ah? Is it? I just. . . really like it." He giggles but he looks embarrassed as he is setting the tray down. You are quick to reassure him, "Ah, hey if you can eat that much, power to ya my man! I wish I could, I love ice cream!" He perks up and gives a little smile.

---

"I didn't think you could eat that much." You marveled, Dezzi beams cheerfully, "Food isn't really filling for me, so that just means I can eat whatever I want~"

"Lucky!" You huff, before you look a little surprised, a thought just struck you. "Oh wait, that's right, is that because you're a…" but you pause in mid-sentence catching the look on his face. His eyebrows edge up on his forehead and he looks away. "Ah, yeah haha. . ." He sits back and his shoulders tense. "I'm.. actually surprised you um… wanted to hang around me. A-after you found out." you stare at him, your stomach turning sour. You hurt him and you didn't know why. "Why. . . would you think that?"

Dezzi's eyes flicker up to you momentarily before he looks down again, embarrassed. "There. . . aren't many people who um. . . don't want to tangle with an incubus. O-or um. . . the reason they want to be around us is. . . you know. . . just for sex."

You can see the hurt in his eyes, and you frown. Your hand reaches across the table, your fingers curling around his hand. "Dezzi, I like you for you. It doesn't matter what you are. You're still my friend, and I care about you a lot. Who you are and your personality is worth so much than that. And it's really sad that other people can't see that." You squeeze his hand reassuringly staring up at him. "I think you're a lovely person."

Dezzi gives a little laugh and he hastily wipes his eyes "Hah. . .I was kind of thinking, you would say that. I-I'm really glad I met you, you know? Really. . . really glad." You stand up and move around the table, ignoring his sugary sweet smell that makes your head feel fuzzy, and pull him close to you. Dezzi's eyes pop open a little nervously at being hugged but he slowly settles. His cheeks warm as he leans into the hug, his eyes softening. The two of you stay like that for a little while until it's time to pack up and head for home.

Dezzi is quieter than usual, normally he is all smiles and is attempting to tug you off towards a new adventure. You're sure that he has had a lot on his mind, and you disregard your worried thoughts. From behind you, Dezzi is watching you with a thoughtful expression. As you both settle into the car, he looks at you "How about we do this again tomorrow?" He gives a little wobbily smile.

You smile back, "Sure! You know I can never turn down ice cream!" you think for a moment before you twist your face into a goofy expression. "Though I'm super jealous of you. You know that?"

Dezzi blinks and cocks his head, "H-huh? Why. . . ?”

"Because you can eat all the ice cream you want!!" You lament dramatically "It just isn't fairrrrrrrr!" Dezzi grins and giggles. "I can't help that though!" You ham up your acting and sniffle "I don't care!"

Dezzi plays along and pats your back solumnly. "It's alright. . . there's always tomorrow." You shoot him a look. "Unless you do what you did today and practically ate all of mine too!" He purses his lips and he looks out the window. "I don't know. . . what you're talking about. . ." "Oh, sure you don't!" You laugh at his goofy side long expression.

When you finally reach his home, he unlatches his seatbelt and opens the door. Pausing before he gets out to look at you. He gives a little wobbly smile "I'll. . . see you later?"

"Absolutely! Want me to come back around the same time?"

Dezzi beams "Yeah, that sounds great! I promise I won't eat your ice cream this time."

You open your mouth to reply sassily, but at that moment he leans over to you and gives you a peck on the check. You freeze in a stunned silence and he beams, giggling cutely.

"Well, see you tomorrow!" He hops out and you watch him go. . . and then you sit for a while longer with your hands on the wheel, a stunned expression stuck to your face. Did he just. . . seriously. . . ?

[outerbankslut]

Confessions... JJ Maybank (ptersparkers’ Writing Challenge)

Summary • You had been dating JJ for the for a few months after meeting him a year before and during a Kegger one night he gains the courage to confess something.

Warnings • Underage Drinking. Swearing. Mentions of smoking weed. JJ being hella cheesy and cute. Minimal violence (punching). Makeout scene at the end and insinuated smut after.

Word Count • 3.2k (Imagine)

Masterlist

(GIF isn’t mine, let me know if it’s yours)

    BEER ROCKED DANGEROUSLY over the side of the red solo cup held in JJ Maybank's hand as he bobbed from side to side within the crowd of sweaty, buzzed teenagers. He was 7 beers and one joint deep and it had barely been 2 hours. But that was JJ for you. Getting hammered at parties and hooking up with random tourons would normally be his plan for the night. Until he met you. His life drastically changed with you around. He stayed round your house, you hung out on the boat together, you surfed with each other, comforted each other. You both enjoyed each other's presence. You felt safe in each other's arms.

Eventually JJ asked the million dollar question, not marriage though. Yet. He asked you to be his girlfriend on a boat ride, just the two of you as the sun set behind you. It was surprisingly romantic for the Maybank boy which you had told him. He simply kissed you on the lips and said when there was the right motivation for him to, which was wanting to spend every moment with you, he could be as romantic as he wanted.

JJ took the rim of the cup to his lips and let the beer wash down his throat as he turned, looking around him, searching for one person. Until he found you. His eyes landed on your head of hair standing by the keg chatting with John B gripping a similar red solo cup to JJs own. Except you weren't stumbling from side to side like him.

"Ellie!" He called out as he pushed his way through the herd of people and beamed as he saw you turn around.

"Took you long enough to get here."

As soon as he reached you he wrapped his arms around you tightly like a koala bear and nestled his head on your chest. You laughed at your boyfriend wrapping your arms around him, the vibrations coursing through your body to his as he inhaled your soothing scent. He felt so lucky to hear your laugh all the time. That melodic, enchanting laugh.

"How much have you had drink JJ?"

You asked. He pulled away counting on his fingers and held up three with a goofy grin before saying, "Five beers."

You chose not to comment on his maths considering he was already hammered so it wasn't his fault.

John B piped up from behind you, "I think he's had six or seven. And I saw him smoking a joint early on."

"Thanks, John B." You smiled, before you took JJs hand leading him over to a log that didn't have any people sitting on it. "How about we sit down, J?"

Then you felt a gentle tug on your hand as JJ stood still in the sand begrudgingly. "No, I wanna go dance."

"You look like you're about to fall flat on your face, J. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. But can you come with me? Please Ellie belly." He begged, pouting and you got so caught up in his wide innocent stare that you found yourself nodding. If JJ was there you would happily do anything with him.

He pulled you into the crowd as you made sure he wouldn't fall over from his inebriated state.

His blond hair was held back by a navy blue bandana but strays still brushed against the soft skin of his face in the wind. He quickly put his arms around your waist quickly as if to say you were taken. Both of you completely content as you put your own wound round his shoulders. It wasn't even a slow song playing as you both swayed in the moonlight but you acted like it was anyway.

After a while it got too much within the masses of people surrounding you so you left it with JJ following after you.

"Hey, where you going?" He asked his eyes widening at the thought of you leaving him. He didn't want you to ever leave him. The sight melted your heart. If this was your ex he wouldn't even have asked. And would've just stayed dancing, probably with other girls as though he didn't have a girlfriend at all.

"I'm just going to go further up the beach. Where it's quieter. You coming?"

"Yeah." He'd go with you anywhere. "Of course, I'll go with you."

You smiled and walked down the beach, your feet sinking into the sand with each step you took.

The waves were louder where you were. Mainly because there wasn't music blasting right in your ear or the loud chatter and yells of Pogues partying.

You both laid next to each other in a small area on the sand listening the water crashing against the shore not caring about the sand that most likely covered you head to toe.

"Hey look, El." He pointed his finger into the sky towards a cluster of stars. "That one looks like a dick." He smirked. "That's probably like the size of mine as well. You think?"

"Mmm, I think maybe a grain of sand is more comparable." You looked at him with with a teasing smirk and he sent you a glare. "Anyway, I don't even see—wait nevermind I see it now." You paused for a second laughing.

"What?" He asked poking your shoulder.

"Its—It's the big dicker."

JJ snickered at the pun and you fist bumped before taking his hand in yours. Eventually the laughter faded to a comfortable silence with JJ rubbing circles on the back of your hand and you holding onto his like your life depended on it. JJs touch was soft and kind and yours was reassuring and gentle.

All of the sudden JJ turned over in the sand facing you as you turned to face him too.

He cleared his throat before speaking, your faces only millimetres apart. "El, there's—there's something I've wanted to say to you about... for a while now."

He was slightly sobered up now at the thought of what he was about to say. It was big for JJ. Never once had he felt love towards someone other than his four friends. His hookups meant nothing and his family—well that wasn't love in the slightest. So for him to feel safe and comfortable with someone was rare and it was a big deal.

You laid in anticipation thinking about what he could be saying. There could've been a hundred things. But one thing popped up that made you feel giddy inside. Your mind was saying no. There was no way he was about to say that. If anything he was probably about to break up with you. But you swiftly made sure to push that to the back of your mind. Though you didn't know what to think at his long pause as he tried to find the words.

"Is it—is it something bad or—"

"No, no. Just don't freak out or anything cause I don't think I could handle that."

You pinched your eyebrows in confusion but nodded nonetheless with an encouraging smile.

"I don't know whether you feel the same way or anything, but I think—"

And just like that JJ was interrupted as John B ran over laughing. "Guys Popes about to do a Keg stand."

You looked bewildered to say the least. From your short time knowing the Pogues you knew pope rarely drank. JJ huffed quietly under his breath sending a scowl into the back of John B who was going back to the epicentre of the beach party. You pulled JJ up his hand which you hadn't let go of yet and paused holding him back for a second.

"Hey? Um, what was it you wanted to say?"

"Nothing it doesn't matter." JJ sighed and gave a thin lipped smile. The atmosphere was ruined now. He wanted it to be perfect. He wanted it to mean something. But it didn't feel right to say in that moment.

You nodded not convinced but let it go. If it was that important he would have said wouldn't he?

    AT TWO AM the party was still going and JJ had sobered up more, not wanting to be drunk if he was to try and tell you by the end of the night. He just needed to build up the courage again to say those words he'd been so starved of most of his life.

A lot of the Tourons and Kooks had cleared off going back to their holiday homes or mansions while the Pogues partied till dawn. Since they had no obligations, no one to answer to, nothing to lose.

Pope was completely drunk from the keg stand and Kiara was babysitting him for the rest of the night while trying to stop him from drinking even more.

JJ had strayed from you a few minutes before going over to talk to John B next to the campfire that was roaring while you manned the practically empty keg. You were sitting sipping on your own beer when you felt someone sit next to you and turned to see a boy who looked a little older than you.

"Hey baby." He put his arm around you as you grimaced attempting to push it off. "What do you say we get out of here  and go back to my place?"

JJ was facing away from you for a second before John Bs face contorts to confusion and the blond turns to see the boy with his arm around you, not him. Just some random guy.

"Um, no thanks. I have a boyfriend." You push's his arm off standing up and walking away until he grabs your arm tightly.

JJs grip on the plastic cup crumpled it and he dropped it to the floor as he stormed towards the scene quickly with a furious stride in his step.

"That was a little rude." His breath hit your ear and the intoxication obvious as you winced at the pressure on your arm. You looked from him to his calloused hand placing extra pressure on your arm probably leaving bruises. And then gritted your teeth in annoyance as you hissed, "Let go, asshole."

"You heard what she said asshole let go of her." The voice of your boyfriend rung out when the guy didn't relent and even having the audacity to let out a low chuckle.

"What are you her boyfriend?"

You saw the blaze in his eyes and shook your head. "JJ it's fi—"

"Yeah, actually I am. So I suggest if you've got any sense left in that pea sized brain of yours, you let go of her." JJs fists tightened slightly and his jaw clenched.

The guy let go of your arm with a scoff before pushing you forward roughly towards JJ.

"Fucking slut." He spat in your direction and turned to leave but the fire in JJs eyes only grew.

His arms caught you as quickly as they abandoned you when he gently pushed you away from him and ran at the guy tackling him into the sand. People who had gathered around gasped in shock. Though, what was shocking about JJ Maybank getting into a fight at a party?

You went to go forward but John B pulled you back shaking his head as he moved forward to pull JJ away from the boy who he had punched twice.

John B pulled his friend off putting a hand on his chest to stop him running towards the guy groaning on the floor. Luckily the guy ran off quickly not causing anymore trouble as you hurriedly stepped towards the boy grabbing his shoulders and looking over his face and body.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine. Are you okay?" He said as he looked at the red print left on your arm his hands grazing over it.

"I'm fine, J. You didn't have to do that."

"I didn't have to—Are you serious? Of course I did. He wasn't letting go of you. I wasn't just gonna stand there and watch."

"I—I could've handled it. I don't want you getting hurt just because you think I'm a damsel in distress who can't help herself."

"You're not just a damsel in distress you're my girlfriend. I did it because you shouldn't have to go through that, we're a package deal. I protect you and you protect me."

Your face softened. "J, I understand and thankyou, I just hate the thought of you getting hurt because of me."

"Well deal with it cause as long as we're together I'll take any punches thrown your way because I love you so fucking much!"

JJ let out a breath as he realised what he'd just said and his eyes widened. You stood frozen as the words spilled out, your feet stuck to the ground, your hands trapped at your side.

"You—you love me?"

JJ got over the initial shock of what he said and nodded furiously. "Of course, you're the most amazing girl I've ever met. And the fact that you care too just makes me love you more. I'll scream I love you from the rooftops if I have to. So that guys like that know that you're my girlfriend."

The boy suddenly got an idea as he spotteda red metal stand stuck in in the sand behind you. He sent you a grin before rushing over to the object climbing up holding his hands in the air and wobbling slightly before yelling to the crowd of Pogues. "Can I have your attention please, everyone?"

Your eyes widened at the realisation of what he was about to do and you held in a breath.

"In case you didn't already know I'm in love with Ellie Reed that girl right there. And she's my girlfriend so if anyone here was thinking about going near her. Think again, she's off limits!"

Your cheeks flushed red and your lip was quivering now while a tear trickled down your cheek slowly.

The boy you loved with your whole heart, loved you back. He jumped down from the stand and before he got a chance to walk any further you ran up to him jumping into his arms that he quickly outstretched. He twirled you around once you were safely in his embrace and you felt like you were on top of the world.

"You don't have to feel the same way. I just needed you to know." He whispered in your ear, he was honest and he was scared. Scared that once he said that you'd run away cause you wouldn't feel the same way. He was reluctant to even admitting this in fear of rejection. But sometimes you just need to say fuck you to your fears and go for it.

You shook your head pulling back and wiping a small tear that was in a puddle on your cheek. As he set you back on the sand you lightly hit his chest.

"You going soft on me Maybank? Oh wait no you already were before." You teased him but he didn't care. You wanted to make sure he knew exactly how you felt back. So you did.

"I love you too, JJ. Dating you has made me feel like I actually have someone who I could go to for anything. You're so supportive. And the way I've seen you with your friends, you'd do anything for them. And I admire that so much."

You took his bandana in your hand and said, "And I especially love this cute ass bandana on you." You grinned winking at him. JJ made a mental note to wear it more often. "You're an amazing person and boyfriend and I don't think words even express my love for you."

He beamed at you and he wrapped his arms around you, his own eyes watering slightly and he pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead. It felt like he was high. But he didn't need weed for the type of high he was on right then.

    THE DOOR WAS pushed open as you and JJ made your way through the entryway to JJs room lips locked. His hands slipped down to your waist grazing over the end seams of your top attempting to pull it up though it was tightly held on your body.

"Why is your top so hard to get off?" He grunted in frustration.

"I don't know. I'll just take it off." You pulled it over your head, throwing it to the side it hitting the floor and he stood still for a second.

"God, you're so fucking hot."  He breathed out before stripping himself of his baggy tank top and pressed you up against the door, it slamming shut in the process. You smiled against his lips suddenly feeling dizzy and euphoric as his hands roamed your body. You gripped his hair tightly, your hands placed on the back of his neck as he deepened the kiss.

You felt his hands tighten around your bare waist when you moved your hands from his neck down the sides of his stomach lightly brushing over his abs before you reached the button of his board shorts. You unbuttoned them hastily and he kicked them off not wanting to take his attention from you.

Then his hands went down to the skirt you wore. Pulling at the waist band before he pulled it down, his hands brushing over the red lace situated beneath.

He broke the kiss and began trailing them along your jaw before whispering in your ear. "Jump."

You did exactly that feeling a tingling sensation at his hold on your thighs pinning you against the wooden door as you wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders.

He trailed kisses further down your jaw before he carried you towards the bed and threw you down on the covers. You stared up at him his heavy breath hitting your face as he leaned down trailing the soft down your neck first and then down your chest. You were letting out soft moans and calling out his name as he sucked on your skin nicking it with his teeth leaving reddish marks left and right around your chest.

When he moved down to the lining of your laced underwear the creak of a door sounded through the room.

"JJ I—" Pope froze his eyes wide as he saw his friend on top of you only in your underwear. JJ quickly moved his body over yours.

"Jesus Christ, Pope."

"I'll—I'll leave you guys to it. Uh, have fun? And sorry."

Pope quickly exited the room looking mortified at the image of his friend having sex while Kiara and John B standing outside realised what had happened and laughed to themselves.

JJ let out a chuckle while you huffed. The thought of his friends being just outside the room was slightly unnerving as you realised the amount of times you had moaned JJs name. But just JJs touch took that feeling away. His head has rested on your chest before he sat up looking to you full of lust.

"Why don't we just finish what we started then."

Note • So I was on the fence about posting this for a while cause I just wasn’t that happy with how it ended up but I went back and edited it today and I’m much happier with how it turned out. Like it was 1.4k words before I edited it and then bam like 3k words. Oops. But the main part I was worried about was the last part cause I’ve literally just written the like 2 kisses in my other imagines. Hopefully it doesn’t cringe anyone to death. Also thankyou @ptersparkers for making the writing comp cause I kinda got out of my comfort zone writing the last part. (Also your study sessions series helped me kinda). Also this is the post that says about it if you wanted to participate :) 

[faythelyse]

Joji x Reader {female reader} Apocalyptic Setting <Part One>

The sound of your closest friends baby jolts you awake. You had fallen asleep sitting up in a chair near the window. You stand and stretch for a moment before walking into the kitchen. Jessica meets you at the doorway to the kitchen.

"We're officially out of food." She bounces her daughter on her knee.

"Alright, I'll grab Ashlee and we can hit that up this place we noticed coming back from our last haul. It looked like a department store or something. I have an extra cheese stick in my bag if Jade is hungry."

Jessica knods and sighs. You knew saving that cheese stick was a good call. After grabbing the snack for Jade you head to the garage where Ashlee was working on the truck we scored a few months ago. Ashlee notices you enter and slams her hand on the top. "We still need some gas for this bad boy!"

"No time like the present to go look for some?!" You add expecting a negative response.

Ashlees face turned sour. "We're out of food."

"Yep. You going."

"Well of course, but we just went on a trip 3 days ago. Those rations were supposed to last a week. Jess eats like a fucking pig." Ashlee starts throwing her gloves off onto the desk and prepares a bag for the emergency food trip we are underprepared for in all honesty.

"How much ammo do we have left?"

Ashlee sighs heavily "We were low last trip. We might have 5 or 6 shells left for the shotgun."

"And the handgun?" You interject.

"Fifteen." Ashlee finishes packing up leaving the shotgun for me to take. "I'm gonna take a smoke break. Meet me out front when your ready to roll." She puts the cigarette in her mouth and walks out.

Grabbing the gun you quickly head for your room to gather the essentials. Outside Ashlee was taking the last drag off her cigarette before flicking it to the road. I stare at the bikes in front of us wishing we had gas for the truck. "Jesus christ I hate these bikes, I'm wore out by the time we get to wherever we're going." Ashlee smiles. "Soon Y/N" Ashlee closes her eyes and daydreams for a moment. Imagining life with a car again.

About halfway there we stop and scout a bit. Make sure no one is out and about before we pull closer into this town.

Right on the edge of town we leave our bikes locked to a tree behind a small abandoned house. It was a soft pink color. It somewhat stood out making it easier to remember where we left our things. We chat quietly while making our way to a large department store.

The store was huge. The sign had fallen partially. A corner of the building was also caving in. Jessica, never going out on many supply trips didn't always realize the danger she put Ashlee and I in on a somewhat regular basis. Although we have become better at it over time.

As we arrived at the doors we became silent. Searching for any possible noises or animals that could get us in worse trouble than we were already putting ourselves in. Instead of going in through the front we found a side door that appeared quieter to open. Upon entering we were stunned to see lots of stuff still on the shelves. Why had this store not been hit so badly by looters. Shocked by the nostalgia and childlike joy we let our gaurd down. We casually walked down aisles and shared past memories that seemed insignificant then. We would give anything to be able to visit a store normally again. Buy a new dress to wear for date night or some shit.

"Holy shit, they have mother fucking WINE!!!"

Ashlee was almost in tears, and I couldn't contain my smile. We packed as many as we could. We still needed room for actual food.

Just then we both heard a single gunshot so we dropped immediately to the floor as quickly as possible. Readying our guns we slowly get up and sneak closer to the back of the store where the gun had fired. There is a hallway that leads back to the bathrooms and what I assume might be the head office or the workers lounge area. We see a shadow at first emerging from the hallway. We aim thinking it could be one of the infected, but it was just a man. He pulled out a walkie telling someone on the other end he's fine. Ashlee and I are frozen for a minute. We hadn't seen people in a long time. Hell it's even been awhile since we've seen an infected. They have been sparce lately. Probably just spreading out more. Although we weren't a very populated area anyway. Ashlee whispers "What do we do, ignore them?" I shrug not knowing myself. It would be risky to assume they are friendly. And if they were to rob us we would be left with nothing. Another man runs up, he has a large backpack on. Ashlee and I locked eyes for a moment. We had the same idea to potentially rob this man. I shake my head. "Maybe they will trade?" I whisper.

Ashlee shakes her head in disbelief that they would consider trading. We had not glanced back at the men for a minute, when we turned back to check on them they were gone. I turn back and shrug, if they were gone then we had no further issue. Ashlee and I nod knowing we should get a move on and wrap this up before we get spotted. While crouching we slowly walk around the nearest aisle where we are met face to face with the two men we had just spotted. Both shocked we all immediately stand, but none of us draw a weapon. After a solid 30 seconds of no speaking just staring I speak up

" We really just need to grab some food, we won't be any trouble." It was then that I noticed one of them was injured.

"You're hurt?" I said softly. Ashlee also softened her expression when she noticed the wound. Ashlee broke her silence as well, "Y/N is a healer of sorts, maybe we can help."

Ashlee and I are both suckers for wanting to help. The man with big sad brown eyes looked at me with some hope.

"Can you really hel-ehp" he stopped abruptly and grabbed the wound on his side that started to soak through his thick green coat. I couldn't tell the severity of it, I didn't want him to die though, so in the moment I just decided to say yes. His friend went alongside him to help support him. "My name is Ben" He proceeded to shake Ashlees hand and then my own. "This is George, nice to meet you. We were here looking for medical supplies, if you could help us out we would pay you back some how. Whatever you need, I promise. We'll work it off."

"I'm not a real doctor or anything man. I just started learning this stuff since the world went to shit. I've practiced on dogs, and cats, a few humans. Nothing too crazy. I've become pretty decent at sew up jobs. I just promise to do my best to help. If something goes wrong I just cant have you blaming me."

Ben smiled "Listen, its not like im going to find some heart surgeon out here. Anything you can do to help is better than whatever I could come up with."

Ashlee walks up to the other side of George and throws his arm over her neck. "I'll help walk him to the bikes."

I nod and quickly grab everything i can that is edible, even found a few seed packets. Elena will be stoked to add these to her garden.

We biked back to our little community that cosisted of 2 houses that have been conjoined by fencing in the two. Its somewhat protected by being hidden in the many trees that surround our community.

Jessica was sitting smoking outside. As she saw us pull up with two strangers she looked worried. I held up my hand to show her everything was okay and waved. We brought George in and laid him in a spare room we had set up for me to work on anyone who had been hurt. There was no bed, only a futon mattress had been laid on the floor.

"Set him down gently." Ben whispered.

Ashlee had a worried expression, I could tell she was worried about the blood loss. He appeared paler than before. I sat down and started preparing my equipment as fast as possible and urged Ashlee to grab some other things I needed.

As I neared being finished with sterilizing the needle I told everyone to leave the room. I can never concentrate while people watch. I had assumed George was knocked out when I reached down to start removing his jacket he grabbed my wrist.

"This is going to fucking hurt isn't it." He breathed. I nodded. I had nothing to numb him. Then I remembered the extra wine Ashlee and I had discovered. We had grabbed six bottles. I pulled out a bottle and handed it to George. He glanced it over.

"For the pain?"

"For the pain." I said as took it back from him to open it. After opening I asked if he would like a cup.

"Bottles fine, lets get this over with." He started to shrug off his jacket exposing the large gash on his side. Hopefully he hadn't punctured an organ or something I couldn't fix.

He took 3 large drinks and motioned for me to come to him. I started cleaning the wound to the best of my ability with what we had. It was time to start sewing. Sewing still makes me nervous.

I was ready to pierce skin when he interrupted.

"Do you have anything to bite on?"

I took the belt that was around my waist wrapped it up and handed it to him. He bit down and nodded to show he was ready.

I started and his eyes rolled back into his head, I kept going. I wanted this to be over as fast as possible. He started making a few small shrieks here and there but he was toughing it out rather well I thought.

As I was getting to the last few stitches his hand found my leg and grabbed it tightly. I felt horrible for causing him so much pain.

I started to just mumble I'm sorry over and over again until I had finally finished. His head fell back onto the pillow in exhaustion and agony. I leaned up and pressed my hand to his forehead and face and apologized some more. Trying to gauge how well he was actually doing. I stopped myself and realized I needed to finish by covering it with a bandage. I grabbed clean cloth from the cabinet and bandaged him. I look at him for a moment. I should grab his friend and let him know I've finished. He probably wants to wait with him until he wakes up. As I struggle to stand back up George's hand grabs mine and squeezes. I squeeze back giving him reasurrence, and leave to confront everyone.

Ben steps up to me immediately as i exit the room.

"What's the damage, is he cool? Are we good?"

I could tell he was nervous about the answer.

"I'm not sure yet honestly, he's all stiched up. He's also still alive and lucid which is a good sign. It's going to take a long time to heal. Maybe a month or two. It also needs to stay clean and free of infection. I recommend staying here until he's fully healed. Ben seemed pleased with my answers "Can I go see him now?" I nodded and he rushed in.

Ashlee pulled me to the side. "You reccomend they stay for two months?"

"Yes, that was my recommendation. He was hurt prerty bad, he shouldn't be moving at all for atleast 3 weeks. I think we should just chill. As long as he heals well, we could use their help."

Ashlee crosses her arms. "This is risky, but Im with you. It's nice to have new faces around."

"I agree" I smile, feeling slightly better that I may have saved someone's life.

[ren-c-leyn]

It's might get loud Friday! (That doesn't mean anything, don't bother about it)

Please rate the characters of the shackles of time on their general noisiness, thanks.

Good to hear from you as always, sleepy friend, be it a loud Friday or a quiet Saturday ^^

The rankings from noisiest to quietest, along with a number scale -

Loudest - Merle, hands down, no debate. Her voice is always just a little too loud for the situation, you can hear her footsteps echoing down the halls before you see her, even when she doesn't seem to be doing much she does it all in a way that is just a little louder than she probably meant it to be, and it only gets louder when she gets excited or is sleep deprived. It takes a good deal of concentration for her to be quiet and sneaky, but even then subtly isn't her strong suite. Noise levels 9/10.

Bramble - Between having hooves, being super high energy and excitable, having a voice that carries, and not having any reason to learn how to be stealthy, the adorable Quest Keeper tends to be noisy. She's a notch below Merle only because she doesn't cause as much noise by doing things, like she can close a book quietly while Merle kind of snaps them closed, kind of thing. Noise levels 8/10

Emlyn - Emlyn's in a fairly noisy profession. The banging of metal, crackling of the forge, multiple people moving about, she has to be loud to make herself heard. Outside of the forge, I think she's a bit quieter but still relatively loud compared to most people, particularly when she's laughing at a good joke. Is very precise in her movements, if a bit rough, so she's quieter than Merle in that regard but still a bit noisy. Noise level 7/10

Zephyr - He's quite lively and loves to talk and make merry. I also imagine there's been several nights where he's stood up on a table to get everyone's attention while he's retold the embarrassing tales of either his and Glenn's misadventures and weird moments on their quests, or someone else's. He talks at normal volumes though and does things at a normal volume and is perfectly capable of being stealthy if he has to be. Noise level 6/10

Glenn - Same noise rating as his partner, a 6/10. While he talks a bit less, his voice is just a bit louder, and he's rougher in his movements which causes some more background noise around him. He's also capable of being silent when he needs too.

Wyndulin - He's actually a hard one to rate, because if you have him by himself, I don't imagine you'd know he's there. The man walks silently and is very quiet while moving things around. Put him in a room of guild members and he's either happily chatting and laughing with them or grumpily giving lectures on safety precautions, reckless behaviors, guild codes, and/or equipment maintenance. I also imagine normally he talks at about average volume, but can soften his voice to where it's barely heard by other elves or shout loud enough to startle a dragon. So I'm leveling his score out to a 5/10 and am just setting him here in the middle for now, with the caveat that it depends on the situation and he can flip from on extreme to the other if needed and absolutely has and will do so again.

Arlen - Does things quietly and walks softly, but gets louder when he's excited about something. I imagine it's the same for him talking. He enjoys getting to know new people and listening to them, but if he gets onto a subject he's passionate about he will not stop talking. He also isn't exactly the most graceful of elves, so if you add in the occasional slip ups and falls, I'll put him at a general 4.5 or 5/10 for general noise levels.

Cassandra - The guild mom with the habit of sneaking up on people is pretty low on our current cast's noise rankings. She'll happily talk and laugh with you, but her voice is naturally soft and she has to make herself speak up to get over the crowd's ambience at times. Moves silently, does things quietly, but can absolutely make herself heard when she wants to be. Noise rating 4/10, 8/10 when angry.

Cherrenth - To everyone but Arlen, Cherrenth is pretty quiet. He doesn't vocalize a whole lot, mostly just questions Arlen's life choices through their telepathic bond. Aside from the occasional his and growl, he isn't really heard much. Riding around on Arlen's shoulders like a cat or a ferret all the time also helps reduce his ambient noise. General noise rating 2/10, unless you're Arlen in which case it's a solid 7.

Quietest, to probably no one's surprise, - Night. She grew up in a world where one stray sound could get herself and everyone around her killed. She was trained to walk in a way that produces the least sound possible, breaths in a way that's hard to hear, and only speaks when it's absolutely necessary, and even then when she speaks it's all a very soft monotone that could easily be lost in background noise. It's all things that became instinct to her, she doesn't even purposely do most of it at this point she just does. Noise levels 0.5/10, if that.

Thanks for stopping by ^^ I hope you have a lovely day/evening.