#steal those clothes elena!!!

[30sims4ever]

Willow Creek - 30+ Sims4Ever Save File

Lore

There has always been a rivalry between San Sequoia and its smaller cousin, Willow Creek. Mostly friendly, it has included sports rivalries, festivals, and contests, but it has recently spilled over into the political arena as well. As a result of the mayor of San Sequoia passing more favorable tax bills for businesses, most of the major industries have deserted the small city for the bustling metropolis. The biggest industry left in Willow Creek is tourism, and even that is beginning to fade.Desperate to revitalize the city, the mayor relaxes several local restrictions to allow more fishing and restart the previously decommissioned riverboats. Meanwhile, he heavily advertises to the movie industry, leading to a surge in movie tourism after a major period drama is filmed there. The movie shoot itself isn’t without issues. The leading man goes missing for nearly 48 hours, causing the crew to panic and eventually call in the local sheriff, who finds the star in a compromising position with a young waitress.Overall, the plan works, and Willow Creek begins to distinguish itself as a destination, but the costs are high. The historic downtown area is cleaned up but also gentrified, and many workers can’t afford to live nearby, being pushed to the outskirts of Newcrest. The fishing and riverboats have brought in tourists but also gangs of environmental protesters, angry at the pollution and habitat destruction. But hey, the money has been good, and construction on the mayor’s new estate has finally finished.

Unit 1:

Unit 2:

Unit 3:

Unit 4: Chamberlain

Kiersten Chamberlain, yes of THOSE Chamberlains, has led a charmed and carefree life. A little too carefree life it seems. Her latest antics have caused Daddy to cut her off. She had enough of her allowance for the month left to cover the first, last, and deposit on a place at Garden Essence Townhomes, but she's not got much left. Now she's got to find a job and learn to make it in this world on her own.

Traits: High Maintenance Snob Lazy Aspirations: Leader of the Pack Career: Unemployed for now.

image to be updated *

Unit 5: Brower

After years of barely making it, Brandon and Cierra have spent their nestegg buying the Garden Essences Townhomes. Now the 6 of them are crammed into a 3 bedroom apartment and Brandon is juggling being a landlord and a Code Monkey in between a wild toddler, a vocal, troublemaking dog, and a teen who wants to be everyone's friend, Cierra's got her hands full just keeping the home going. Young Elena just wishes she could find some peace and quiet to keep up on her studies.

Traits: Brandon - Geek, Childish, Loyal Cierra - Love Outdoors, Erratic, Active Brock - Outgoing, Insider Elena - Practice Makes Perfect Brittanie - Wild Goldie - Friendly, Troublemaker, Vocal Aspirations: Brandon - Computer Whiz Cierra - Bodybuilder Brock - Friend of the World Elena - Mind & Body Career: Brandon - Tech Guru - Code Monkey (Lvl3) Cierra - Stay at Home Mom Brock - Manual Laborer

image to be updated*

Unit 1: Havili

Angelo “Angel” and Reyna “Rey” Havili were born identical twins. Estranged from their family, they live together in an apartment taking on the world together. Angel is transmasc and a computer nerd, he wants to get into programming/gaming/computer science and is a bit of a neat freak. Rey is more of a free spirit who wants to become a musician, she’s very kind hearted but is a bit of a slob and steal’s Angel’s clothes all of the time which drives him insane. Despite sometimes getting on each other’s nerves, they have a close relationship. "Bean", full name Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Pink Little Paws Beankitty, was a stray Rey found by a dumpster and took her in without consulting Angel. At first he was mad and wanted the cat gone, but now they’re not-so-secretly the best of friends.

Traits: Angel: Practice Makes Perfect, Geek, Neat Rey: Generous, Party Animal, Slob Bean: Clever, Affectionate, Playful Aspirations: Angel: Computer Whiz Rey: Musical Genius Careers: Angel: Quality Assurance Rey: Amateur Entertainer

Unit 2: Caldwell

Jasmine is known around the neighborhood for favoring ensembles in one jewel tone and having multiple articles of clothing she's knit/sewn of her cats, and also knits sweaters for her cats. When you get past her wardrobe and obsession love for her fur babies, she's a great mentor and holds a lot of wisdom. She also kinda speaks to ghosts some times.

Jasmine: Wise, Cheerful, Cat lover Walter: Aloof, free spirit, skittish Gretchen: Glutton, Lazy, Affectionate Franklin: Clever, Playful, Curious Aspirations:Friend of the Animals Careers: None/retired(edited)

Unit 3: Rossi

A single mom to Luna, the father is not in the picture. Sharing a single bedroom apartment with a baby crib wasn't how she pictured her early adulthood, but now she's willing to do anything to provide a good life for Luna. Her experience with the bio father has left her romantically reserved, but she remains hesitantly hopeful she'll find someone to be a true father to Luna.

Traits: Family-Oriented, Loyal, Romantically Reserved Aspirations: Super Parent Careers: Sofia: Substitute Teacher

Unit 4: Williams

Unit 5: empty

Unit 6: empty

Novak Family

Meet the Novak family: Luke, Paulette, baby Starla and faithful doggie Donna. Luke and Paulette work hard to make means to an end. After their hometown of Willow Creek was the home of a movie set, Paulette's gotten her eyes up for acting - will the small town family life be enough for her and her big dreams?

Traits: Luke: Erratic, socially awkward, family oriented, outdoor lover Paulette: Lovebug, ambitious, gloomy, outgoing Starla: intense Aspiration: Luke: Big happy family Paulette: Master actress Careers: Luke: Backhoe operator (manual laborer) Paulette: Sales floor clerk (retail employee)

Ryder

Ryder loves developing different skills. His high school obsession with video games got him a scholarship to UBrite. Now freshly graduated with an Honors Fine Arts degree, he nabbed a job as a set painter in Willow Creek's burgeoning film industry. With a new house that's all his, a new gym membership, and a new interest in gardening and juice fizzing, He's got plenty to fill his time. Maybe learning to dress will come later.

Traits: Practice Makes Perfect, Creative, Geek Aspirations: Painter Extraordinaire Career : Master of the Real

Horne Residence

After being promoted to VP at her job, Bethenny's realized money isn’t everything. Her husband, Richard, is distant and obsessed with proving his worth to his now deceased father. Their only child, Stephanie Anne, has grown up spoiled and wants to become a famous actor with her own section in the town’s film center. Will Bethenny’s mid life crisis help bring the family together or push them to achieve their own, separate, life goals?

Traits: Bethenny is a Snob, Art Lover, and Squeamish. Richard is Ambitious, a Snob, and Proper Stephanie Anne is Materialistic and Self-Absorbed

Aspirations : Bethenny wants a Big Happy Family (as a result of her midlife crisis Richard wants to be a Mansion Baron Stephanie Anne wants to be a World-Famous Celebrity Careers: Bethenny is a Vice President Richard is a Hedge Fund Manager

Walsh

image to be updated*

Maerina Walsh is practically an urban legend in Magnolia Promenade. The business owner is known for being an especially strict and tyrannical boss and few employees last long. Some people say her business is haunted by the ghost of a former employee and their body rests in the basement. It's a common hazing ritual for teens to dare friends to sneak down there to try to find it. There is in fact a body in the basement, but it's her former husband.

Aspiration: Renaissance Sim Traits: Mean, Overachiever, Snob Career: Registered with Ministry of Labor as a business owner

Unit 1: Patten

Clementine is an avid partier. She loves feeding her friends and family, and then dancing off that sugar high. Her neighbors don't always appreciate her outgoing ways, and poor Prince is constantly having to go next door and ask her to keep it down. Clem owns the bakery in Magnolia Promenade and prides herself on being the go-to baker for birthdays and weddings.

Traits Childish, Foodie, Party Animal Aspiration Appliance Whiz Career Culinary(edited)

Unit 2: Stone

Prince has an uncanny ability to see the positive in almost any situation. If anyone dug a little bit, they'd see that his uplifting exterior hides a broken heart after losing the love of his life too early. To his neighbors Prince is "the plant guy", or "the cat guy". To his customers he is a gift - always knowing the right floral patterns and herbal smells to improve their spaces. When he isn't working in his garden, or at his shop, Prince is very busy spoiling his cat, Myrtle.

Traits Loves Outdoors, Green Fiend, Good Aspiration Freelance Botanist Career Retired Gardener (floral designer)

Unit 3: Metzgers

Freddy and Solomon met at a university art event. They were both vying for the same painting, and decided the best answer to the problem was to just... fall in love and move in together to share the art. The Metzgers are homebodies, but enjoy entertaining - or any excuse to show off the newest addition to their antique collection. Local hospitality businesses especially love this couple - Freddy is always ready to give a good deal to a neighbor, no matter which neighborhood they're from.

Traits Freddy - Art Lover, Proper, Adventurous Solomon - Bookworm, Good, Snob Aspirations Freddy - Archaeology Scholar Solomon - Careers Freddy - Writer Solomon - Art Critic

Unit 4: Bouras

Astraia owns the salon in Magnolia Promenade. She's always got the good gossip around town from her clients and friends. Her husband, Dion, dreams of being a professional athlete. He played sports in school, but after an injury he had to take some time off. Their pup, Opie, is the apple of their eye. They love to dress her up and show her off!

Traits Astraia - High Maintenance, Materialistic, Insider Dion - Active, Slob, Romantic Aspirations Astraia - Fabulously Wealthy Dion - Curator Careers Astraia - Business Dion - Athlete

River's Family

Drborah Rivers grew up with her brother Ricky and his best friend Ezra Waite. She eventually fell off with them in high school to focus on her friends and boyfriend. After school she became a nurse, got married and had 3 kids right after graduation. She is still is in touch with Ezra, and sees Ricky at family gatherings but isn’t super close with either of them anymore.

Bobby Rivers - Husband Kimberleigh - Daughter Brody - Son Addyson - Daughter

White Family

image to be updated*

Ezra White's family has been in Willow Creek for decades, so it's not a surprise when he easily won his election for Mayor. It was not long after that he met Lillian, a Simfluencer who just looooves helping people at a city function. Lillian championed Ezra to suggest a number of ways to reinvigorate the town, and maybe help themselves along the way. There's nothing wrong with that, right? What politician doesn't have their own slush fund.

Traits: Ezra - Bookworm, Loyal, Loves Outdoors Lilian - Ambitious, Materialistic, Romantic Merle - Couch Potato, Independent, Sleuth Rex - Jumpy, Loyal, Sleuth Aspirations: Ezra - Friend Of The World Lilian - Mansion Baron Career: Ezra - Politician (Councilman - Level 7) Lilian - Nano-Simfluencer

Hawthrone Family

Image to be updated*

The Hawthrones have lead the North East Hub for generations. Terrance Hawthrone was a beloved leader loved by the people and for the people. During the last election he stepped down and had his son Ronald Hawthrone proceed in power. This decision to step down was due to Damien Mesquite of the South Eastern Hub. Damien Mesquite has a plan for the North East Hub that will be revealed in the next phase of the save file. Ronald however despite being a good person is very disliked by the people and while everyone is focused on what Ronald is doing, they should probably be watching Evelynn..

Henry Hawthrone Traits: Romantic, Outdoorsy Aspiration: Serial Romantic Activities: Captain of the Football Team Grades:B Harper Hawthrone Traits: Perectionist Aspiration:Social Butterfly Activities: Llamacorn Scout Grades:A Terrance Hawthrone Aspiration:Neighborhood Confidante Traits: Good, Cheerful, Loyal, Gregarious Career:Retired Political Leader Angela Hawthrone Aspiration:Mansion Baron Traits:Snob, High Maintenance, Materialistic, Buisness Savvy Career: Retired Housewife Ronald Hawthrone Aspiration: Successful Lineage Traits: Generous, Ambitious, Cringe, Domestic Career: National Leader Evelynn Hawthrone Aspiration:Seeker of Secrets Traits:Evil, Insider, Overachiever, Dastardly Career:Corporate Raider

The remainder of the lots for willow creek will be posted with Magnolia Promenade due to a photo capacity limit *

[rebelumbrella46]

Rewatching TUA - 3x04 “Kugelblitz”

The scene where we finally see the mothers, blew my mind and along with the music it's one of my favorite scenes of this season.

But seeing it again made me want to look for similarities between them and their children... So based just on what we see in the scene and a few other things...

Monica (Luther's mom): She works in a company, seems to be giving a presentation, she gives me business woman vibes, strong and with leadership. She's tall, she wears baggy clothes, her coat reminds me of the S1 Luther coat.

Elena (Diego's mother): Her clothes and surroundings are yellow, which is a color that resembles joy and warmth. Which is something I feel Diego always looked for in Grace.

There's something about her cooking that reminded me of Grace offering those comforting pancakes to Diego in S1.

Victoria (Allison's Mom): She's a teacher, a profession related to children (that seems to be Allison's focus this season, getting back to her daughter). To be a teacher she must be an intelligent, patient and disciplined woman. 

There's something about her dress that she also reminded me of Allison's dresses in S2. The simplicity of a beautiful life in Dallas with her husband.

Rachel (Klaus's mom): Rachel was Amish, I don't know much about them so I don't want to speculate, but she seems to me to be a simple, open and very spiritual person, which is probably why she was able to find peace after dying like that. In addition, the aura of kindness and calm that she emanates during the encounter with Klaus is something that resembles the personality that Klaus displays with his siblings on several occasions.

But it's also a contrast, Klaus used to live in luxury in S2 and usually always wears extravagant clothes unlike Rachel's simplicity.

Efa (Five's mom): The first thing I noticed about her was how small she is... She works as a butcher, which is not a job typically done by women, so I imagine her strong and stubborn, very sure of herself and of her convictions and very hard-working. Her surroundings, as well as her clothes, are quite neutral.

The use of the knife and the blood on her hands and clothes are a very entertaining nod to Five.

Tatiana (Viktor's mom): The first mother we met in S1. What I notice about her is how young she is... I wouldn't know if she's a swimmer or just in a class. But from the scene when Reginald arrives to take Viktor away in S1, she seems to me to be a simple young woman, a little shy (for the way she jumps into the pool after stealing a kiss from the guy) The contrast in the scene between the yellow colors in her clothes and the blue color in the surroundings is interesting, for what has been said, yellow resembles joy and energy, and blue, on the contrary, resembles sadness and the tranquility. Viktor is not necessarily a happy or sad person, he has his moments. 

Moments in which he is the calm among the storm in the family but also the one who sets fire to shit.

Ben's Mom: We don't really know her name, she's probably the youngest of all the moms. In the scene on the train, we can see that she is carefree, playful, and seems to be in love. There's a softness about her that resembles Ben. She is surrounded by her family in the scene where Reginald arrives, and they seem protective of both her and baby Ben. Which also reminds me of the protectiveness that the Umbrella have over Brelly Ben.

The school uniform is probably the nod to Ben

[navstuffs]

Chapter 1

Pairing: CEO!Ezio x GN!Reader

Summary: You finally decide to let it loose, only to discover the man you had a one-night stand with is now your CEO.

Warnings for this chapter: modern au!, self-depreciative reader, awkward reader, some smut, alcohol drinking, comedy

Author's Note: hello, this is my first project for a long fic in a very long time. im very nervous and excited and i will appreciate all feedbacks i get! thank you so much for reading and lets go!!!

You hate clubs. Loud music. None or barely any good warm food. You can barely see with those lights. Too many people in the same place, rubbing on each other. You remind yourself you were there for support: your best friend and co-worker Elena called you crying that Saturday night, sobbing her girlfriend of five years broke up with her. Elena needed to party and, for some reason, needed you there for support. Until Elena didn't anymore, finding comfort in a very tall curvy redhead lady, the two disappeared on the dance floor.

You wonder if you should go home or at least make good use of the money you spend to get into that place. When was the last time you went to a club anyway? Oh yeah, when you turned into the legal drinking age. By the way, you got drunk with two tequila shots and swore never to drink again. Ever. You have always been known to study and work a lot anyway—no time to fool around.

You find the bar on the club's second level, far from the dancing area. Happy you finally found a chair for your butt to fall into, the bartender asks what you want, and you reply, "Everyone's favorite?".The song doesn't blast as loud, and the people here seem calmer. Good.

At least if you were going down, you could have some fun. Two cups maximum. The bartender places your drink in front of you, and when you give her your card, she waves, pointing at someone.

"Gentleman over there already paid."

Blinking surprised, you turn to where she is pointing and have to hold your lips together. Man is literally a fucking Greek God. He is well dressed, wearing black social pants and a black social shirt with a few open buttons. You can see a tiny bit of his hairy chest. He has a trimmed beard and a smirk on his lips. You look down on yourself, wearing simple clothes. Could it be a prank? Maybe. What if it was roofied? You were getting drugged, and he was stealing your kidney?

Well fuck it. You said you weren't going to have fun? Having fun has its risks.

Grabbing the cup, you toast the man, and his smile grows wider. Well, he is staring at you like he is going to eat you. It has to be a prank-oh shit, he is coming your way! 

"Is this seat taken?" The man asks with a deep voice. You nod, wanting to say no. He sits by your side, requesting another drink from the bartender. "Name is Ezio. Yours?"

You tell Ezio your name, sipping your drink. Now that he is closer, you notice he is strong. He wears his hair in a ponytail and has a smile that is a lady killer. And he smells good. Unlike all the smelly people in this place, Ezio smells reeaallly good.

"Thank you for the mhm drink," You say, and Ezio waves his hands like it was nothing. "I must tell you, I am not in my best shape. I'm unhealthy. Diabetes. Cholesterol is high. I might have a heart attack at any moment now."

"You don't look sick," Ezio looks at you confused.

"Appearances, right?" You giggle awkwardly, drinking your drink at once. Ezio seems to ponder for a minute before nodding, a funny smirk on his lips.

"I am sorry for your situation. I hope you get better soon."

"Oh, I will be fine. Every time I go to the doctors, they change the prospect. Anyway, I would be a bad product in the black market."

"The black market, you say?" Ezio's voice tone is humorous. You nod excitedly, asking the bartender for another drink.

"You seem happy for someone who might die any moment now?"

"Oh, you see. It is life. I try to live every day as if my last. Because it could be."

When the bartender gives you the other drink, you swallow, this time much easier. You start hearing a loud laugh coming from Ezio. You look at him, your turn to be confused.

"What is it?"

"I am not selling your kidneys in the black market," Ezio laughs. You blink a few times, charmed by the sound.

"That, that is exactly what an organ dealer would say!" You exclaim, and Ezio laughs louder, attracting looks from nearby.

You roll your cup between your hands, looking down. Your tactic didn't work, and you weren't roofied. Maybe just a little drunk. You decide this will be your last cup of the night.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have laughed like this. Your concerns are valid," Ezio declares. "That is not the reason why I paid for your drink."

"Oh?"

"I find you attractive."

Now it is your turn to laugh. You hit his arm, murmuring right right, finishing your second cup.

"What is it?"

"You find me attractive? You? Me? Pdffttt."

Ezio gets his chair close to yours, closing the distance. That shuts you off.

"Can I not find you attractive?"

"Do you use glasses, sir? You might need them."

"Do you have a problem with people finding you attractive?"

"No, I have a problem with extremely hot people finding me attractive!"

Wellllll, shit. Your damn open mouth. Ezio smiles victoriously.

"So you find me attractive?"

"Well, duh. I mean, look at you. Then look at me."

"An attractive and desirable person?"

You shake your head. It had been a long time since someone had shown any sign of interest in you. At least, so direct like that. Indeed, Elena said people looked at you with desire left and right, you just didn't want to notice.

"Look, mhm, this was very nice and all, but it is not nice to play with someone's feelings like that," It is the alcohol. It has to be. It is what you will blame tomorrow.

"I am not playing," Ezio's tone brings a chill down your spine. He looks at you like he wants to have you right here and now. On top of the bar counter in front of you, everyone. And deep down, you would let him do it.

You first think about what you came to do here: have fun with your best friend, but she was busy with someone else. You already spent money anyway, accepted the drink from a handsome strange man, called him an organ dealer, and he is still showing interest in you.

He could have any of those other sexy people around you, but no, Ezio seems genuinely interested in you.

Getting up from the chair, decided, you pull Ezio by his shirt into a kiss. It surprises you both, but he is fast on kissing you back. When you two break apart, Ezio holds your face.

"Is this what you truly want?" His tone is serious, just making you want him more.

"If you are still interested."

-x-

Monday, 6:30 am

You wake up, your body still sore. You get up from your bed, getting a good look in the mirror. You had sex. It is screaming in your relaxed stance. You had sex with a freaking Greek god on the back of his car, had lots of orgasms, and bonus: no organs lost. Maybe except your sanity. 

You hop into the shower, remembering Ezio's hands on your back and ass. He touched you all over. He was generous, ensuring your eyes rolled numerous times during the night. You had never done it in a car before, and he was patient until you finally got comfortable. Always making sure you were feeling good. Not that stopped Ezio from pounding inside you like a madman, making the car shake. The beard scratched against your skin every time he gave you kisses. And his moans, shit, you were trembling just thinking about it.

You realize your shower is taking a little longer than it should, so you turn into cold water. After drying yourself, having breakfast, and brushing your teeth, it is time to go to work.

You work for a winery corporate office named Auditore Vinos. It had recent operations in your country, primarily based in Italy. You enter the company's building, saying morning to your co-workers until you reach your table. 

Elena comes running when she sees you, and you turn your face away, upset.

"I am sorry, okay? I am a horrible friend!" Elena apologizes, but you still have pouty lips. "I will pay for your lunch for a whole week!"

"Two weeks!"

"Deal. Seriously, I am sorry. I went crazy Saturday. Besides, if I didn't leave you alone, you wouldn't have gotten your brains fucked by—"

"Shhhhhh!" You look around but don't seem anyone else heard.

"You got to tell me! Everything! All of it!"

"I will, I will. As you as well! Leaving me all alone to make out with redhead Lady Dimitrescu."

"Word of advice? Watch out for whom you fuck. They might wake up in the morning saying I love you, marry me, can you meet my family like today?"

"Serves you right for leaving me alone."

Elena puts her hand on her heart, pretending to be insulted as you open your email. Your boss Mario Auditore has sent a meeting for the whole company at 10 am at the small reunion office. You ask Elena, but she shrugs.

"You know Mario loves those motivational speeches once in a while. To keep the moral of the team, we are his family, but we still could be doing better, blah blah blah."

At 10 am, you get together with everyone at the reunion office. Some people are whispering, and gossip has run wild since the company has fewer than fifty people. Some say Mario is finally retiring, and others say Mario will probably talk about sales. Stiles, part of the IT team, worries that Mario will fire everyone. You find Elena in the crowd, sitting in the middle of the room as she waves in your direction. 

"Oh my God, can you believe Mario has a son he never told us about?!" Elena exclaims as soon as you sit by her side.

"What?"

"I just heard that Mario has a man in his office that looks old enough to be his son. Maybe that is it. Mario will tell us he has a son! He has been hiding all these years!"

You laugh, wondering if your friend has watched too many soap operas. Finally, your boss Mario Auditore enters the room alone, and all conversation shuts down.

"Yes, yes, I know the gossip has already spread around! No, I am not dying, not I am not selling, no, no one is getting fired, Stiles!"

Stiles silently celebrate, and everyone laughs.

"I have some news this morning, sad for some and happy for others. I have to be absent from the CEO position. For a while."

The murmur of "What?" filled the room. Elena mouths, "Sickness?" and you shake your head, worried. Everyone loved Mario: he was a great boss. He had given you a chance at the company despite your lack of experience. You really liked him like so many other employees.

"I have some business I need to solve. Don't worry, everyone, I am not dying. Doctors said I need to slow down for a while, that is all. Put my feet up a bit, and enjoy some vacation time." 

You feel Elena's hand around yours, and you squeeze it back. Mario looks out of the room, nodding to someone.

"Well, while I am away, my nephew will stay in my place. He takes care of operations in Italy, so he knows the job. We also decided it was about time you got to know the crew in Italy, Ezio, please come in!"

Ezio?

EZIO?

You squeeze Elena's hand so hard you can hear her groan low with pain as the man who fucked your brains out on Saturday night enters the room. Fuck, he is wearing a fucking blue suit. You can hear your ears ringing as Ezio speaks and your friend whispering your name, worried.

Please, don't notice me, please don't notice me.

Ezio's eyes are glancing around the room. He presents himself looking at the employees' faces when he stops at a very familiar one. He loses his composure for one second, enough for his uncle to notice, but goes back on his rant. When Ezio is done, he looks anywhere but at you. The employees clap, and Mario disperses them. He pulls Ezio close to him, asking what the heck happened as they walk to the CEO's office.

"Niente, zio, niente."

Inside the reunion room, your ears are still ringing. Most people show excitement, admiring how the new boss is sexy and handsome, and start leaving. When you and Elena are alone, she asks you urgently.

"What is going on? You are scaring me."

"It is him," You whisper.

"Who?"

"Ezio. It is him."

Elena takes a second to realize who you are talking about. As she does, you can see her face going from shocked to amused to shocked again.

"The hot Italian God with a huge penis?"

"I hate you! This is all your fault. I'm going to HR. I have always wanted to be a digital nomad anyway."

"Well, if it is my fault you got the best sex in your life, then so be it. Come on, we need to get out of here before Mario, or mhm, he comes wondering why we are still here."

You jump from your seat as if electrified, Elena guides you back to your table. Your table was far from Mario's office, so you were okay. You drop into your chair, Elena still holding your hand.

"Look, breathe. Breathe. Think, he is probably as embarrassed as you are right now—"

"Worse than me? Never!"

"—well, technically, he is the boss. Our new boss, you know? He probably does not want this story to go around as much as you."

You get a sip from your water bottle. Elena was probably right. Ezio would pretend he never saw you. Maybe he would get on on his day, treating you normally since you two just fucked. It was just a casual fuck, a really, really good one that had you both utterly breathless by the end of it, staring at each other's eyes and, for some crazy reason, feeling you made a special connection to each other, but still in the end just a one night stand. No feelings attached, nothing. You were an adult. You could do this. 

"You are right. I am an adult, and it was just sex. Just that. An accident that could happen to anyone, right?"

Elena rubs your back, uncertain if she should say no, no, it doesn't, but she doesn't want to crush your spirit more.

"Sure, anyone in the world. Totally possible."

You smile back at her, thanking Elena for her support. You were going to need it.

Niente = Nothing

Zio = Uncle

[carnivorousyandeere]

Elena, Wisteria, Thorn, and their darling all being roomates, with darling either being oblivious or knowing that all of them are yanderes and just wants the chaos

I hope you’re ready to be at the center of a tug-of-war, here, Darling. Thorn will cling to you near-constantly, Wisteria will pout and try to coax you into spending time with faer and faer alone, and Elena will try to drag you out of the house to go on adventures with her. However, none of them are really liable to get violent with each other unless you’re hurt under their watch— they’ll all begin to blame each other and things could get ugly then. But as long as they all do their part to keep you safe and happy and separated from anyone besides them things will be somewhat peaceful. However, you should probably not be surprised to know that sometimes Elena watches you sleep, Wisteria’s got your room and bathroom bugged, Thorn likes to use your toothbrush, and that they all steal/borrow your clothes, albeit for varied purposes.

A clueless darling has them conflicted— it’s equally frustrating and endearing when you misread their approaches as platonic and selfless in nature. They worry even more about your safety out and about in the world, even with one or multiple of them there with you. They’ll probably keep you inside with them as much as possible. You’re just too gullible and sweet 🥺

A willing, even enthusiastic, darling is, of course, in for a good time~! They adore you, adore the fact that you accept them for who and what they are. The way you indulge them, the way you tease them and rile them up just to watch the chaos— it’s exhilarating, in the best way. You’re a drug they cannot get enough of. Unlike the clueless darling, they’re more comfortable taking you places with them. They don’t have to worry about hiding their true selves, or you leaving them for anyone else. In fact, you seem to enjoy watching them deal with anyone who gets a little too close to you— something that is comforting to them, in their own sick way.

Kirby loves Elena the most even though she calls him “Juice Box,” and pretends she’s gonna eat him. Maybe because she’s the most playful out of the three, and he can play fight as roughly as he wants with her because she doesn’t really feel pain from his bites the way that the humans of the house do. Thorn, of course, is a little bummed that her baby boy loves somebody more than her, but she’s a liiittle lower energy than Elena anyway so sometimes she just sits back and watches them play

Kirby fucking HATES Wisteria (because she tried to put him in an itchy lavender sweater one (1) time), hisses at her, and loves to scare fae by running out from under the couch to bite her before running away 😭

Elena dislikes how messy Thorn and Wisteria leave their shared living space and the fact that she can’t really throw parties with those dweebs around— Wisteria is antisocial and would throw a hissy fit, and Thorn has a special talent for getting shitfaced and embarrassing Elena. It also feels a liiiitle hypocritical to her (“You can play video games as loud as you want and yell at screens all night long, but if I have a few friends over for drinks it’s a problem?” 😒)

Thorn, as always, has no concept of personal boundaries and WILL eat other people’s food, use their shampoo, etc (especially Darling’s things~ 😏). It’s not uncommon to find her snoring away facedown in somebody else’s room either, usually without permission 😬

Wisteria is the only one who can cook even a little bit, so unless Darling wants to cook too there’s mostly gonna be takeout and energy drinks in the fridge 😭 (Elena doesn’t usually bother, can’t eat human food anyway. Thorn could probably burn cereal)

[cherrybombfangirl]

Meet Indy Ride - an OC Intro

Name (full): Cindy Marie Ride

Other names: Indy, Firefly

Fandom/Appears In: Marvel/Agents of SHIELD, appears in seasons 2-8

Age: 15 (Season 2), 16 (Season 3-4), 17 (Season 5-6), 18 (Season 7)

Birthdate: Unknown

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Personality: quiet but not shy, mischievous lil’ shit, kind of twisted imagination, everyone’s little sister, very emotional and opinionated, goofball, will fite you

Gender ID: She's honestly not sure, likes She/Her pronouns

Sexuality: Thinks she might be bisexual

Hair: Light brown, usually in a braid or ponytail until Daisy cuts and dyes it for her in Season 6

Eyes: Hazel

Skin: On the paler side

Faceclaim: Amelia Zadro

Identifying Features: thin white scar along jawline on the left side, light brown birthmark across abdomen

Combat skills: SHIELD training- hand-to-hand and combat shooting training, Inhuman abilities

Supernatural abilities: Thermal manipulation- she can manipulate her body temperature to extreme temperatures and burn or freeze whatever she touches. She is also unaffected by extreme temperatures and temp. based injuries, and has weak thermal vision later on

Disabilities: Schizophrenic, anxiety disorder, selectively mute due to trauma, CPTSD

History/Background:

Indy was found at a HYDRA base (about early/mid Season 2) by SHIELD agents; Agent Morse, Agent May, Agent Coulson, Agent Johnson, and Agent Hunter. According to her and HYDRA data, she had been there ever since she was 2-3 yrs old or as long as she could remember, as a lab rat for HYDRA’s experiments (they did not find any additional information on her, her family or where she was from). The agents who found her brought her back to SHIELD HQ, and after about six months of rehabilitation and therapy (and learning basic words/sign language), she joined SHIELD as a field agent.

The only clue they had to who she was was a scraggly teddy bear with a faded name written on it's foot- Daisy could make out the name Indy, so that's what they called her.

It was quickly discovered after her rescue that she had supernatural abilites- the ability to alter and manipulate her body heat to extreme temperatures, and even project it out of her own body. She has since learned to control her abilities and use them in combat situations.

Relationships: Daisy Johnson (big sister figure), Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez (close friend), Jemma Simmons (close friend), Melinda May, Leopold “Fitz” Fitz, Phil Coulson, Bobbi Morse, Alphonzo “Mack” Mackenzie (friends/adoptive family), Unknown biological family (deceased)

Aliases: SHIELD (Field Operative), Inhuman (by HYDRA experimentation), Firefly (Call Sign/Alias)

Additional Notes/Facts:

loves astronomy and Superman comics

Daisy was the first person to encourage her and train her while being gentle and not pushing her beyond her limits, and since Indy reminds Daisy so much of herself, they have an unbreakable sister bond

So Daisy became her main Supervising Officer and unofficial big sister

they spend most of their free time together, and if one is having a rough night they go stay in the other’s quarters and the two have a sleepover 

Daisy will ruffle Indy’s hair and get a whined “Daisyyyy” out of Indy as she bats her hand away

they playfully tease and bicker like cats and like sisters before long and are inseparable

Daisy is, according to Mack and Coulson, a “bad influence” on Indy

they casually call each other bitch or asshole a lot (much to Coulson’s dismay), Daisy also calls her “little shit” or “little hellspawn” and Indy calls her “big asshole”

Indy loves stealing Daisy’s clothes even tho she’s half Daisy’s size, especially jackets and beanies. Daisy pretends that it’s annoying but she secretly loves it

“whoa whoa whoa- where did you learn those kinds of words? No no no, you will watch your goddamn fucking lang- Ohhhh…” ~Daisy to Indy at some point

Indy becomes a fan of punk rock music and fashion because of Daisy’s influence

has a deep love for Chinese food, especially egg rolls and dumplings

she and Daisy leave takeout boxes all over the base/Zephyr and it drives the others up the wall

She also loves pizza with pepperoni peppers olives bacon and onions

Fanfic: When Angels Fall (coming... eventually)

[insomnihan]

I CHANGED THE MUTUAL TAG AND PUT INDIVIDUAL TAGS FINALLY THAT TOOK F O R E V E R

late addition but for SOME REASON its bothering me so imma just tag:

@hand0ngs ​ @f-scott-inebriate ​ @monmielbebe ​ @sadienita ​ @caitys-xoxo ​ @siyoos ​ @acegreatprank ​ @wickymicky ​ @gowon-yyxy ​ @fortheyeoreum ​ @k-kyungwon ​ @ohsua ​ @loonatenshi ​ @in-somnias ​

[silentcrowsilentravens]

Heya Raven! If you're still doing requests I'd love to see the the resident evil ladies (and maybe magnet man) with a fem!S/O who's basically Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia? Like drinking blood and becoming someone else and if they have powers being able to use them... I had a hell of a night last night. Power was out, no sleep, huge storm, sirens everywhere... I'd appreciate the comfort if that's ok

Hope everything's okay where you are. <3

I'm assuming you're talking about the RE 8 ladies, but if not, feel free to drop another message in my inbox. Cut Mia from this one since my character limit is 8, and she's technically a RE 7 lady anyway. Sorry, Mia.

Daniela Dimitrescu, Cassandra Dimitrescu, Mother Miranda, Bela Dimitrescu, Alcina Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento, Elena Lupu, and Karl Heisenberg with a s/o who takes the appearance and powers of others after drinking their blood.

(Fem reader).

Warnings: blood, mentions of violence. 

Masterlists here!

Daniela Dimitrescu

So... If Daniela grabs a bottle of vintage and you drink a glass, you'll turn into the maiden whose blood was used to make it, right?

That's so cool!

The things the two of you could get up to together... The chaos!

What would happen if you drank the blood of multiple people mixed together? Will you only turn into one? Will you turn into one, then another? Will you become an amalgamation of them? Do you want to test it?

...Do you want to drink Daniela’s blood? Wouldn’t it be romantic if you both drank each other’s blood?!

(Everyone in the castle dreads days when there appears to be two Daniela Dimitrescus running around). 

(You can’t help it if being able to dissolve into insects is a fun time). (And Daniela can’t help it if her energy level is always cranked up to eleven). 

Cassandra Dimitrescu

Ooh, Cassandra's never been with a woman that drinks blood. She’s fairly excited when you tell her. 

I feel as though Cass isn’t usually into the idea of her partner drinking her blood, but if it’s you...? Go ahead.

Occasionally, she’ll try to bribe you to turn into a particular person because wants to screw with someone. 

The two of you do this thing where you borrow somebody else’s face and Cass tries to track you down. 

She gives you one of her knives. That way you always have a way to spill blood. : )

She won’t lie, there’s something particularly attractive about you when your face and clothes are smeared with red. 

Mother Miranda

Miranda deduced what your whole schtick is before you even told her, piecing together subtle accidental hints you dropped here and there.

Also, one time, she literally walked in on you downing one of the blood units she keeps in her lab.

You turned around, having taken on the appearance of a villager that’s now deceased. Your eyes are wide with surprise, explanations about to spill forth. 

But Miranda simply greeted you with a “hello, dear”, an unamused look, and directed you to a different drawer, filled with units closer to expiring. You can dip into those. Hands off the fresher stuff. 

As a woman of science, Miranda is mildly fascinated by your ability. She’s going to ask you loads of questions. 

Would you allow her to run a few tests on you? 

Bela Dimitrescu

As expected, Bela is delighted to hear about your love of blood.

She asks a decent amount of questions about your power. She thinks it's interesting, and she wants to fully understand!

Unlike her sisters, Bela doesn't encourage you to cause loads of trouble with your power.

...For the most part, that is. Hunts can be so much more fun when you're added to the mix!

Alcina Dimitrescu

Ah, another woman with a palate similar to Alcina’s.

It never stops catching her slightly off guard when you steal a sip of her wine, and she turns back around to find someone else in the spot you were once occupying.

Your power never fools her, though. She always knows when it’s you.

Donna Beneviento

When you tell Donna, she seems entirely unfazed by the information. 

(A part of her is jealous of your ability to change your appearance, to be honest).

She thanks you for trusting her with the knowledge, asks a few questions, and that’s mostly it. 

No, wait. Donna asks one thing of you. If you’re going to approach her while wearing someone else’s face, please tell her that it’s you. She doesn’t want to assume and end up being wrong. That'd be mortifying!

Angie is endlessly entertained and interested in your shapeshifting antics.

Elena Lupu

You don’t tell Elena until after the two of you have been dating for a while.

You were planning on telling her sooner, but when you saw how she got when the Lords came up in discussion? Specifically Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters? ...You couldn’t do it. You didn’t want to scare her off.

Elena won't lie, it does freak her out a little bit at first. The blood-drinking part, that is.

The whole thing takes her some getting used to.

One day, she cuts herself while cooking and decides to let you try her blood.

Seeing herself standing in front of her is certainly a bizarre experience for Elena. Especially when the second her stands like you, talks like you, and looks at her the way you do. She isn’t sure how to feel.

Karl Heisenberg

When he first met you, Karl thought he was gonna have to essentially deal with another Dimitrescu.

But he ends up finding himself fond of you. Very, very fond.

Although you aren’t a vampire, Karl does manage to find plenty of vampire-esque nicknames for you. 

He builds you a lil’ something to make the whole blood extracting/drinking process quicker. 

[fbfh]

I think you've horribly misread the situation [shitty roommate pt 2] - leo x reader

wc: 2.3k

genre: contemporary drama, you're definitly going to get second hand embarrassment, cozy fluff

pairing: leo x reader, attempted isabella x leo

reader: gender neutral, they/them

requested: hell yeah

warnings: mild swearing, roommate tries to steal your man once again, mentions of various mainstream vampire media (twilight, the vampire diaries etc.), brief mention of castlevania (even though i haven't seen it yet lol), breif mention of videogames and assassins creed, very mild delusion (roommate is secretly convinced leo is a vampire that's in love with her), attempted age gap relationship (she's 17 and leo's 19, he shuts that down real fast), very bad poetry

summary: You and Leo are both looking foward to spending a long weekend together, and Leo is determined not to let anything interrupt it, even if it means turning down your roommate's attempts to seduce him in the kitchen.

a/n: absolutley no hate or shade or judgement to anyone who has the same or similar traits as isabella!!!!!! at her core she's annoying because she's the antagonist, not bc of any isolated trait or traits

also she's shitty cause she keeps trying to steal your boyfriend?????

Edit: I forgot to mention before, but this is a college au where you're both still demigods, so you went to camp and on quests and stuff together

This weekend is going to be all about recharging. Recharging from the ridiculous back to back closing and opening shifts at work, recharging from having to redo that stupid project twice because your professor couldn’t decide on a clear way to define the criteria, and recharging from Isabella having her townie friend Regan over almost non stop to “completely shake up her look” as she put it.

Between the constant presence of someone you’d barely consider an acquaintance and Big Time Rush’s self titled album blasting on repeat out of her giant airpod shaped speaker, it’s been harder than usual to get in some effective self care. You have no idea how many more times you can hear the phrase “I’m going for Jade West meets Elena Gilbert, with just a little Buffy Summers” before you lose your fucking mind.

Thankfully, the hard part is almost over. There’s some minor holiday tomorrow on friday, so you and Leo both have a three day weekend ahead of you, which you intend to spend entirely together. You planned ahead, frontloading homework, chores, errands, and everything you could think of to remove anything that isn’t cuddling or playing video games and watching netflix together from your horizon.

This includes going straight from work to the grocery store to stock the fridge and get any snacks you and Leo want. You had texted him a while ago asking for anything he was craving, and head into the store with a concrete list. After a while, you circle around some aisles, avoiding the check out.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something,” you muse, knowing it’s untrue, but hoping to trigger a memory anyway. You can’t put it off any longer, finally checking out and heading back to your apartment. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t avoiding Isabella just a little.

You know bringing in all these groceries would be way easier with Isabella and possibly Regan’s help, but you just don’t have the social energy to talk to anyone, much less her, right now. By some miracle, you bring everything in yourself, and hope to get it put away before you see Isabella.

You turn to the freezer, putting away the ice cream. When you turn back around, you’re suddenly met face to face with Isabella, who has opened one of the boxes and is picking at a pastry.

“Hey girlie,” she says, elongating the hey.

“Hey,” you reply lethargically, putting the last of the groceries away. She looks at the pastry in her hand like she’s just noticing it.

“Sorry, I can’t help it, I’m italian.” She smiles, endeared by her own behavior. You have no idea what being italian has to do with asking before you open a box of your roommate’s food, but this really isn’t out of character for her. She brings up the fact that she’s half italian more than Lele Pons blames her behavior on being latina.

She’s wearing sweatpants that say chaser on the leg in red and gold varsity font, and a tight tee shirt that says “it’s okay to love them both” with silhouettes of the male love interests from one of the vampire shows she always watches. You collect the plastic bags to put in recycling, and see a piece of paper on the counter.

It reads as follows:

Drowning in my mind

No one hears me cry

Who was I before society

Before society put me in a pink dress

And handed me blonde hair dye

And told me to lose ten pounds or be labeled a freak?

The happiest people cry the most

Let the lyrics be your story

But I’m not like the other skinny blonde pretty girls

I’m

Different

-b.g. xox

You hold back a sigh.

“I think this is yours.” you say, handing it to her.

“Oh, it’s just some of my poetry I left lying around, that’s so embarrassing.”

I know, you think, you do that all the time.

“Did you read it?” She asks, hopefully.

“Nope.”

“Thank god, that would have been so embarrassing. My poetry is something really… deep, and personal to me.”

“Uh huh. Hey, I’m going to be doing a lot of self care this weekend, so-”

“Oh!” she interjects, eerily similar to Phoebe Buffay - you guess she’s been watching friends again - “I wanted to ask… is Leo coming over later?” Her voice is riddled with subtext, the expression on her face a little too invested in your answer.

“Uh, yeah. I told you the other day we’re spending the weekend together…”

She cuts you off again, a sudden, intense look on her face.

“When will he be here?”

You check your phone, scrolling through your recent texts.

“By 7 at the latest.” It’s around 6:40 now.

“Oh my god, I have to change,” she rushes back to her room, presumably digging through her recent additions to her closet.

You’re frozen for a minute after the interaction, left with a furrowed brow and the beginnings of a headache. You blink, then choose to reschedule processing why she feels the need to change for your boyfriend to a more convenient time. That’s enough of that for today. You don’t care what else happens, you’re not talking to anyone besides Leo for at least the rest of the day. You retreat to your room to finally shower and change into something comfy. As you pass by Isabella’s room, you hear her talking to Regan.

“...There’s something almost… supernatural about him.”

You bite back a laugh.

“Do you think he’s a…” Regan begins, ending the sentence with something too quiet to hear, but you’d bet almost any organ she said vampire.

So close. So, so close, and yet… here you are.

Not much later, Leo texts you to let you know he’s here. You read his text, and run out to hug him in the living room before even typing a reply. He picks you up, and spins you around. The embrace is warm and fulfilling and familiar, and you wish it would last forever.

“Hi, Sparky.” you murmur into his neck.

“Estrella…” he says, rocking you back and forth gently and pressing a kiss into your jawline, “I missed you so much.” He punctuates the sentence with another kiss, this one to your lips, and you smile more genuinely than you have all day. You’re about to agree when you remember the good news you’ve been saving to tell him in person.

“Guess what I got on sale for like, half off,” you start, excitedly, continuing at his invested expression, “the Assassin’s Creed bundle I showed you!”

“No way,” he starts, and you nod.

“I’ll go get everything set up, drinks are in the kitchen!” He watches you retreat into your room, disbelieving how he could possibly get someone as perfect as you to fall for him. He’s not going to question his luck. He grabs a couple caffeinated sparkling ices, and meets you in your room, setting down his bag and grabbing some comfy clothes to change into.

As you both get settled in, you fill each other in on all the ridiculous shit you’ve been through this week. You finally conclude the bizarre - yet somehow standard - Isabella escapades.

“So I will be avoiding all contact as much as possible,” you laugh.

“Yeah, no shit,” he agrees, “Consider me your human buffer.” You thank him, hugging him again and pressing a kiss to his lips.

The next couple hours are spent cuddling and finishing season 4 of Castlevania. Both reeling from the season finale, you agree this is a good place to take a break, get some food, and decide what game you should start with. It’s already 10pm, which most people would consider too late for dinner, but you have all weekend to fuck up your sleep schedules.

“Let’s review,” Isabella says, holding up two red lipsticks. She turns to Regan. “Which one?”

“That one,” Regan says, pointing to the one on the left, then turns to her list, and continues. “Here’s what we know; we’ve never seen him eat, and he never seems tired. He’s really smart-”

“Almost too smart,” Isabella adds, selecting black rose dangle earrings from her jewelry. Regan agrees, and continues.

“He’s almost hypnotically attractive, and his smile is a little too dazzling.”

“There’s something… supernatural about him. Like he’s not… all human.”

Regan writes this down.

“Plus he’s always wearing black and red, and those flowy button up shirts? It’s all adding up, Ree. That dream that someone was outside my window, the ring, everything…” She says, referencing the black and red cocktail ring she’d found with her stuff when she’d first moved, “I’m not saying it’s definite, just that… there’s a chance.”

“What about…” Regan says hesitantly, nodding toward your room.

“Please,” she scoffs, “he’s only with them to get close to me, like Damon and Caroline. Edward couldn’t have just approached Bella out of the blue, he had to infiltrate her friend group first, to seem less suspicious. Not to sound mean or anything, but they really don’t seem like the type someone… like him… would choose.” her voice gets dreamy when she mentions him.

In spite of having seen most mainstream vampire media almost as many times as Isabella, Regan still considers her the expert on these things, and decides not to point out that Edward didn’t infiltrate Bella’s friend group. Maybe it comes up in one of the retellings she hasn’t read yet.

“So, what now?”

Isabella sets down her lipstick, and turns to her friend.

“I tell him.”

Regan’s eyes widen.

“You’re going to tell him you know?”

“No… not yet. It’s too soon, we don’t have enough evidence. I’m going to tell him I know he’s in love with me, then once he’s secure in our relationship... we’ll see where it goes.”

She stands up, assessing herself in the mirror. She chose her outfit carefully; short red dress with black roses and black mesh collar, black rose bracelet to match her earrings, snug faux leather jacket, and black stiletto ankle booties with a very skinny heel, the zipper on the outside gold, not silver. She fluffs her wavy hair and turns towards the door. She looks back one more time, holding onto the doorway.

“Wish me luck.”

Leo enters the kitchen, seeing Isabella already there, leaning against the counter seductively. She’s wearing an outfit and jewelry this late at night that makes Leo wonder if she’s going to an emo tea party. He puts the takeout in the microwave. She’s still staring at him.

“Uh… hey.”

She lets out a dainty giggle, looking him up and down.

“... Hi.”

At a loss for words, and really wanting the awkward silence to be over, he continues, “Did you need something?”

“What I need,” she walks closer to him, tracing her finger over his collar, “is you.”

What the fuck?

His brain seems to stall for a moment, and she uses this opportunity to continue.

“I know why you’re here. I know that you’re only using them to get closer to me. I know-”

“Woah-”

“That you’re in love with me.”

Okay, double what the fuck.

She takes his stunned silence as shyness, and steps closer, putting her arms around his shoulders.

“You don’t need to play so coy, I-”

This time she’s the one that gets cut off. He grabs her arms and gently steps away, trying to make it abundantly clear that he’s not into this.

“Woah, okay, slow down. First of all, you’re 17 and I’m turning 20 in a couple months, so that’s a hard no. Second, I don’t know where you got this idea, but I am not dating them to get closer to you. We’ve known each other since we were like, 15, and have been through everything together. I’ve only known you for a couple months. I love them. Probably more than I’ve loved anything ever. I thought that was pretty obvious.”

He doesn’t want to be mean, he really doesn’t, but he can tell from the look on her face that she still thinks this is all part of some game.

“So why don’t I ever see you eat? Why are you so smart, and always up at night? I know what you are.”

He has to physically hold back a laugh. He takes a step back, and places his hands on the counter.

“Isabella, I have adhd. And I’m literally an engineering student. Why wouldn’t I be smart and have a shitty sleep schedule?”

She starts to protest, and he pulls out the reheated take out from the microwave.

“And for the record, I do eat.”

Exiting the kitchen quickly and retreating back to your room, he hands you your food.

“I got the game set up!” you say excitedly.

“Nice!”

You take one look at his face and can tell something happened. He sees this, and continues.

“I just had a very… interesting interaction with Isabella,” before he finishes the sentence, your head is already in your hands. You let out a groan.

“What did she do?” you mutter from behind your hands.

He pulls you into his lap, rubbing your back.

“I’m not totally sure,” you laugh, “but I think she thinks I’m secretly in love with her…” you’re both laughing before he can even finish the sentence.

“No…” you laugh, “no fucking way…”

“Believe me, I put an end to that as soon as it started.”

“Oh, I do.”

He runs his hand over your back, and you’re quiet for a moment.

“You know,” he continues, “I think getting our own place has definitely moved up the priority list.”

You couldn’t agree more.

[axwalker]

If The World Was Ending: Even if he was wicked

Synopsis: When Bianca leaves her son without looking back, Drake has to live on the streets until he finds a home with Angelica Ortiz--Lexie’s grandmother and a foster mom. With the Ortiz, Drake finds a family and falls madly in love, until a tragic night changes everything, threatening the life Drake fought so hard to get.

To catch up (HERE)

Pairing: Drake Walker x Lexie O’Brien (MC) The Royal Romance.

A/N: This will be a very angsty, full of drama, small town romance.

Words: 4,120

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixelberry, except for Lexie’s grandmother and mother.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Child neglect, abandonment, sexual assault, prison and a very entitled, “evil” Liam

Due to the several trigger warnings and some of the subjects I’ll be dealing with, I will only tag people who actively asked for it. If you want to be tagged in the following chapters --or untagged, please leave a comment. 

Drake

2008

When I was 12 years old, my mother took off with my little sister leaving me in Cordonia with my father's best friend. I reminded her too much of my father, too much of a life she would do anything to forget. That "anything" included abandoning her oldest son. I'd like to say I was surprised, but the truth is I wasn't. Bianca Walker had never been a motherly woman. The only reason she had taken Savannah with her was that my Aunt Leona adored her. I was sure my mother would dump my little sister on her and never look back. I hoped that was the case, Leona despised me, but she was great to Savannah. 

A short time after that, Bastien passed away and my mother was nowhere to be found. That's when I started to go from one home to another. The first year and a half were the hardest ones. I lived with four different families, each one worse than the last. First, the Lockes, where the family barely talked to me. Then, the Ruiz that made me take cold showers and sleep on the floor. The Godwins where the “mother” used the check the state gave her to buy alcohol instead of groceries. And finally the worse, the Fields. They seemed nice enough when I met them. Not kind but polite. The first few weeks everything seemed normal. Then one day, I got in trouble at school, and Mr. Fields --the pastor of his community, beat me up to “teach me some manners.” His punishments became a usual thing after that. 

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I escaped. Better to be on my own than believe some family was going to love or adopt me. Obviously, there was something very wrong with me. My own mother had left me, and I had never found my place anywhere else. 

I lived on the streets for 6 months. I did all kinds of jobs. Not a lot of them were legal but there were few opportunities for a 14-year-old runaway kid. The most money I got was when I stole car parts that I got to resell to a gang called the Mercy Park Crew. The boss, Mr. Kaneko was fair and paid well enough. I could’ve kept living by myself if something hadn’t got terribly wrong at my last job. One of the boys from a rival gang decided to teach me a lesson and I ended up in the hospital with a concussion. A nurse called social services so here I am in a car with another social worker on the way for another foster home. It doesn’t matter, I know it won’t last anyway. 

When you’ve been in the system as long as I had, you learned to look for certain warning signs when placed in a new home. Drugs, ulterior motives, threatening fathers, drinking mothers. After an hour, we drove through a town looking like something straight out of a movie. Valtoria. I’d heard of it before. The family my dad had been protecting when he died lived there. The house we pulled up to, was a large two-story construction with dark brown siding and an immaculate green lawn. 

Joelle, my new caseworker had popped up out of nowhere in the hospital and told me I was coming with her. Just like that. From the way Joelle talked about the new place, I figured it was some sort of transitional home for rejects like me. Too old to get adopted and too troubled for anyone to voluntarily take on. I didn’t ask her anything else because I knew I didn’t have a fucking choice. Besides, I knew words don’t mean anything. I was a kid in the system. I went where they took me. Sometimes, I hated it. Sometimes, I really hated it. This time was different. In more ways than one. Usually, I was dropped off by my caseworker, and the people receiving me were about as excited as they were about junk mail. No one has ever come out to greet me before. As long as the woman at the door wasn’t sizing me up for a skin suit, it didn’t matter.

The social worker got out of the car as I grabbed the trash bag that I used to carry my shit around. She rang the bell, and a small, older woman opened the door. Joelle had told me in the car that the woman fostered several boys and I knew what that meant. She wanted the money the government gave her for keeping us. Well, I wasn’t going to make it easy for her. If she wanted to cash a check at the end of the month it was going to cost her. I’d make sure of it. 

I had seen it all, but I still was caught by surprise when the tiny woman opened her arms at me and gave me a one-sided hug. A fucking hug. 

“I’m very happy to meet you, mijo,” she said in a strong accent. “My name is Angelica Ortiz but everyone here calls me Abuela. Grandma in Spanish.” 

The woman was deluded if she thought I’d call her grandma. She was obviously trying to impress the social worker with her fake kindness, hugs, and stupid names. I wasn’t going to be fooled that easily. 

I didn’t even answer her as we stepped into the house. Another woman, a younger version of the one staring at me was waiting for us in the living room. 

“Hi, you must be Drake. I’m Elena. Welcome.” She gave me a smile. Fake, I was sure but at least she hadn't tried to hug me. The older woman was talking to Joelle about me. Probably about my problems with authority, anger issues, and lack of communication skills. I knew my file by heart. 

I barely nodded at Elena, and the three women exchanged a look. “Let me take you to your room, Drake. You’ll be sharing it with Maxwell. He’s doing his homework with my daughter in our house across the street. You’ll get to meet all the boys and my daughter Lexie tonight.” 

She walked me to a room on the second floor of the house. It seemed clean and comfortable. Another ploy for the social worker. Two bunker beds with blue blankets and a wooden desk full of books were the biggest pieces of furniture. The left side of the room was covered in posters of who I figured were famous boy bands. There were a few of David Beckham, the only guy I recognized. Other than that there were clothes everywhere. That Maxwell dude was a fucking slob. Great. 

“I told Max to take down some posters so you can decorate half of the room to your liking; This is your room as much as it is his. He's usually much more organized than this." I notice she speaks with a sort of fondness. "It was picture day for the school yearbook and he took hours getting ready. ” 

I shrugged. I wasn’t planning to stay long anyway. I couldn’t care less if that Max kid left his posters on the walls or not. 

She glanced at my garbage bag. “Are those your clothes, mijo?” 

I scowled at her. I knew what mijo meant and I was nobody’s son. “My name is Drake.” 

She smiled. “Of course, Drake. So, are they?”

I didn’t bother with an answer. A nod was enough. 

“I cleared you this part of the closet, so you can keep them there. When you’re ready come downstairs; my mom and I will show you the rest of the house. The boys are out but we’ll all diner together tonight. Do you like Mexican food?”

I shrugged.

The woman smiled. “Shrugging is not an answer, mij- Drake. Either you like it, you don’t, or you haven’t tasted it in which case I can tell you, you’re missing out. Especially when mami cooks.” She winked at me as if we were friends or something. The woman was insane. “So, what is it, Drake?”

I’d never had it before, but she wasn’t going to tell me how to answer a damn question. “I hate it.” 

She frowned --clearly disappointed, and I almost felt bad for her. Almost. “I’m very sorry to hear that. We already made Enchiladas for tonight and we don’t waste food. You can tell us your favorite dish though so we can make it for you.”

I shrugged again. Generally, that's when the person talking to me loses her patience but Elena Ortiz only smiled at me again. “Think about it. Every Sunday night, we pick someone’s favorite and cook it. It’s really fun. Next Sunday will be your first here, so you get to pick. Mami is a great cook and she can make anything from a mean chocolate cake to the best cheese pizza. See you downstairs, honey.” 

Great. I’ve only been in this house for a few minutes, and I already hated it. The only thing worse than a home where you were beaten up as a welcome was a home where people pretended to care. My third foster home had been like that. Ms. Godwin had been all kind and nice at first. I almost felt like she cared about us. A week later, she had gotten drunk. For two days, neither I or the two girls she fostered had anything to eat because she hadn’t bought any groceries. I had to steal a twenty euro bill from her purse to buy food. She got angry and called the social worker who had come for me and taken me to the Fields. The worst home I ever lived in. 

I wasn’t going to go downstairs but I decided that if I wanted a chance to escape it was better if I knew the house. Before I could explore a little, I heard my name from what I assumed was the kitchen. 

Elena was crouching in front of the oven. “Drake has such sad eyes, mami. He’s only 14.” 

The woman that had asked me to call her abuela, answered as she chopped an onion. “This boy has been living in the streets for more than a year. Do you realize it? Pobre angelito. So young and he has already seen more horrors than most people see in a lifetime.” 

“Joelle told me that he had escaped from his last foster home.”

The older woman scoffed. “Home? If that’s how you call people that foster kids only for the money, they get in exchange. I don’t want to imagine why he fled those places." She turned to her daughter who had finished whatever she was doing in the oven and was drinking a bottle of water. "Stop watching me work, Elena and help me with diner, por Dios.”

Why was she pretending she didn’t care about the money? It was obvious. No one did anything for free. There was always a catch. 

“Dónde está mi venadito?”

“Lexie and Max are at our house doing homework, mami. Be careful, though, if Lexie hears you calling her “your little deer” she’ll kill you. The boys called her Bambi for months after they heard you the last time.”

“Nonsense. She’s my venadito and that’s that. You two will come to eat here tonight. I want Drake to meet everyone.”

Elena rolled her eyes but patted her mom on the back. “Yes mami. Lexie is dying to meet him, she and Max made a chocolate cake for him. I’ll call her in a minute. Where are the boys by the way?” 

“Bertie is trying to teach Leo how to drive. Poor boy, I hope he makes it alive.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Leo will be careful. Bertrand will be fine.”

“Oh, it’s not Bertie I’m worried about, it’s Leo. Bartie has no patience with him.” 

I left the kitchen before they said anything else. I was sure I was going to hate this stupid place. I was angry. More than angry. Furious. After a year of successfully running away, I was back in the damn system. Back in yet another home where people seemed to care about me in front of the social worker just to ignore me –or worse, once she left. I had to admit that my new foster “moms” played their part better than most. The old one had hugged me and the other one had given me a smile that seemed real. But I knew better. No one really cared for me. No one gave a shit where I slept, what I ate, or if I was ill or scared. Not that I was ever scared. I had seen everything. 

The front door was locked so I went to the backyard. I saw a small wooden house on top of one of the trees. I decided it was a good place to hide and be myself. 

I sat there for a few moments when I heard someone climbing the tree. 

“Hi!”

I looked up and saw a girl a couple of years younger than me. She had the biggest pair of brown eyes I’ve ever seen and was smiling at me as if I was her best friend. 

“I’m Lexie! I live across the street. I’m Angelica’s granddaughter. You’re Drake, right?” I didn’t think it was possible to smile more but the girl proved me wrong when her grin widened. I simply nodded. 

“Welcome! I know that it must be hard for you to feel at home because you like just arrived but you’ll love it here. I promise. Valtoria is great. We have lakes and the mountains and when it’s warm enough we can go camping all night. You’ll love the house too. I mean between you and me the boys are kind of a pain in the ass but they’re pretty great when they want to. Or when they're not teasing me. Especially Leo and Maxie. Bertrand is a know-it-all. He thinks because he’s sixteen he knows everything." She rolled her eyes clearly offended by the idea that someone could know more than her. "Abuela, that how we all call her because she’s Mexican and would murder us if we call her grandma, is amazing. I mean don’t get me wrong, she's super strict, and as my mom says the woman is never wrong but she’s the best person I know.” 

I blinked. I didn’t know a person could talk that much without taking a single breath. 

“Do you camp?” She asked as she folded her legs in front of her.

I did before. Before my dad died and my whole life blew up in a million pieces. Not that I would explain any of that to the chatty girl, so I just nodded again. 

“Great! It’s getting warmer and Leo wants to go to a new camping site next weekend. Don’t tell him I said this but he’s like the worst camper ever. I have to double-check everything he does but I don’t tell him anymore because my mom said it wasn’t nice.” 

I wondered how could someone carry a whole conversation by herself. I hadn’t pronounced a single word since the girl had shown up. 

“I want to be your friend but I can see we’re about to have our first fight.” She told me in a teasing tone. “You’re wearing a Liverpool t-shirt. We worship Barcelona in this house. Well, Abuela, Leo and I do. The others couldn’t care less about soccer.” 

I looked at the shirt she was wearing. It read "If they don't have soccer in heaven, I'm not going." 

She noticed I was looking at her shirt and beamed. "Abue said my shirt was disrespectful to God but mom thought that was dumb and bought it for me anyway." 

"Do you like soccer?" I finally asked. 

“Like it? I love it! Did abuela saw your shirt? She hates European teams. She thinks Tigres is the best.”

“Tirgues?”

She laughed, and the sound of it did something weird to my stomach. “Tigres. It’s a Mexican team. She goes crazy when they play.”

“What team you like?”

“Barcelona, obviously.”

“Liverpool made it to the finals of the last Champion’s league.” I pointed out. 

She shrugged. “They lost so it doesn’t count. Do you play?”

“Sometimes.” I tried not to show how much I loved it. It was something else my dad and I shared that had stopped when he died. 

“I play too. How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“I'm twelve. Well, almost thirteen, my birthday is in May.”

I frowned. “It’s November.” 

“I know. I’m almost there.” She beamed. "I'm almost closer to thirteen than twelve anyway." 

“Do you always talk this much?”

She laughed and my belly did that weird thing again. “My mom says I was a parrot in another life. I talk more when I’m nervous.”

“You're nervous?” I liked that I could make her nervous but I didn't know why. 

She blushed and I liked it too. “A little. What happened to your eye?” 

“I got into a fight.”

“Wow. You can’t do that here. Leo is always getting into fights and abuela has to ground him.”

She sure mentioned that Leo guy a lot. “Is Leo your boyfriend?”

“Gross!! Leo’s is like my brother. He, Bertie, and Max live with abuela. We’re a family. You’re family too.”

Fuck that. No matter if the girl was sort of cute. I didn’t have a family. “No, I’m not. I’m not staying.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I don’t belong here.”

“Yes, you do; I swear. Plus, I need someone to coach me, so I can get into the school team next year. Leo promised he would, but he never has time.” 

“I suck.”

She shook her head and smiled at me again. “Somehow I don’t think you do.” Then she gave me a conspiratorial look as she pulled out something from her jacket pocket. "You can't tell my mom about this but I took this from her room." It was a white iPod. After scrolling a little through the screen she settled on The Beach Boys. She couldn't possibly know it but they were my dad's favorites. She passed me an earbud and we didn’t talk after that. We just sat together for a while hearing music until we heard our names being called. 

“That’s abuela. We should go. She hates to wait. Plus, I'm starving and we're having enchiladas. You'll love them.” 

Lexie ran to her house to --as she put it-- 'hide the evidence.' I went back to her grandma's house and stepped into the kitchen. 

“Drake, pass me the salt, mijo. It’s next to you on the counter,” Angelica said as she kept on turning the sauce she was making. “You like enchiladas?” 

What was with all these women asking me what I liked to eat? I leaned against the black counter while she opened the lid of another steaming pot on the stove, and stirred its contents with a long wooden spoon. I shrugged. I didn’t know if I liked it. But it smelled better than anything I ever tasted, so it couldn’t be all that bad. My mouth started watering, and my stomach growled. Come to think of it, it had been a while since I’d last eaten.

“You know, I know you feel weird now. And you don’t like to talk a lot. Soon, you’ll learn that this is a safe place. We aren’t gonna judge a single word that comes out of your mouth or any of them that don’t.” 

I suddenly felt like I owed her a verbal response in exchange for her kindness. Fake or not. Besides, I just knew the chatty girl I’ve just met wouldn’t be happy if I was rude to her grandmother. “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled at my verbal response. “But just so you know. We do have a few rules in this house.” 

Here it comes. The catch. Angelica put the lid back on the pot and leaned over the counter on her elbows. “You just need to go to school, find a hobby or sport you like, don't swear, respect the curfew and keep your room clean. Every child in this house has chores but it’s too soon to figure out yours. For now, you only have to get to know us.” Her eyes crinkled as she smiled at me. At that moment the timer of the oven rang and Angelica took a huge dish out of it. She covered it with more steamy, tomato sauce, sour cream, and grated cheese and put it back in the oven. At least, I might get some good food while I figured what I was going to do next. Because no matter how nice and kind everybody acted, I was not going back to school. I used to be good at it without much effort; I had friends and a soccer team. But I had missed a lot in the last two years. I felt dumb and stupid. 

Suddenly, the front door slammed open. “Cuidado muchachos! Be careful with that door against the wall, or you’re going be spackling and repainting this entire house,” Angelica yelled out. Three teenage boys filed into the house, followed by just as many apologies. 

“Sorry.” “Oops.” “It was Max’s fault.” “

“These are Maxwell, Leo and Bertie,” Angelica introduced. “Boys, this is Drake.” 

“Hi, man!” The blond one said with a shit-eating grin. “Abuela, Lena, you guys didn’t tell me you were buying a Liverpool fan.” 

“Adoption is not a purchase of people, Leo” the oldest one --Bertrand, corrected. 

“Yeah, cause if it was, then you got Leo from the clearance rack,” the youngest one joked, checking his reflection in the hallway mirror, smoothing back an out-of-place dark hair. “I hope you kept your receipt.” 

“Fuck, off,” the blond one replied with a middle finger. 

“Watch it, Leo,” Angelica warned. “Boys.” 

Max kissed her on the cheek. “Sorry, abue.” She forgave him with a smile, then swatted at his hand with her spoon when he dipped his finger into the pot. 

“I’m glad you’re here, bro” Leo said. I stood, and he gave me a fist bump without touching my hand. 

“Me too! And we’re going to be roomies,” the kid named Max said. He grabbed a stack of plates from the counter. I followed him over to the long dining room table and helped set the table for seven people.

2020

I lost count of how many days I’ve been in the hole. It wasn’t my first time in here and it sure as hell it wouldn’t be the last. It was always the same routine. Days and nights blended into one making it impossible to know what day it was or how much time I had been in here. 

I have been in jail for six excrutiating years. I had known from the day I heard the sentencing that the only way I was going to survive was if I didn’t think about her. It was the hardest thing I had to do but after a while, my routine was running smoothly and when my head hit the pillow at night, I was too fucking exhausted. She haunted my dreams and my nightmares, but I didn’t think of her beyond that. Except for the hole. Locked up there, cold, hungry, and utterly alone her face, my memories of her were the only thing that helped me go on. 

I replayed in my head our first encounter, our first kiss, our first time. I obsessed about her full lips, her expressive brown eyes, her gorgeous smile. I could spend hours picturing every single corner of her soft delicate curves. Sometimes, I wondered if --maybe, I didn’t start fights in the hope of being sent to the hole where I could spend my time fantasizing about her. It was pure torture, but I couldn’t help myself. The memories I had of her, of us and our short time together were the only light in my otherwise bleak life. 

She still wrote me every week but I hadn’t open any single one of her letters. I didn’t want to know if she was moving on with her life or worst if she was waiting for me. Because that was what Lexie didn’t understand. Even if nothing happened and I was released in one year, I would never be that boy again. The Drake Walker she had known and loved was dead and she wasn’t going to like the man that had been left in his place. I was damn sure about that. 

Tagging:

@mskaneko

@burnsoslow

@kingliam2019

@kat-tia801

@petiteboheme

@tinkie1973

@twinkle-320

@thegreentwin

@forallthatitsworth

@marshmallowsandfire

@marshmallowsaremyfavorite

@princessleac1

@lilacsandwhiskey

@lovingchoices14​

@lovingchoices14​

@nomadics-stuff​

[happywitch416]

"I don't see your mother." Serana went up on her tiptoes to peer over the crowded gym, almost wishing she had picked boots with a higher heel.

"Don't worry." Runa patted her hand. "Mama has a good costume."

"Well, I'd hope so, little one, since we match." Came Elena's rumble of laughter behind them. Her vibrant hair was braided up into a mohawk, the gold beads worked through it glittered and gleamed. And just like Runa, dark paint covered the bridge of her nose, both eyes and back up her temples. Metal and leather bracers were strapped to her forearms, the short dark shirt sleeves baring the tattoos on her arm before meeting the rest of the night black armor. They wore matching wolf medallions. "I am not giving Aunt Oddie these boots back." She tapped the toe of one on the floor soundlessly.

"They won't fit her." Runa’s brows creased.

"True enough." Elena squatted before her, playfully inspecting her as Serana enjoyed how every line of the leather pants she wore hugged every curve. "You appear to be respectable."

"We're Nords." Runa sneered with a grin. "Respectable is for Imperials."

"That's my girl." Elena chuckled before turning serious. "It gets too loud, you tell me, okay? There's no point in making yourself miserable."

"But what about the others?"

Elena waved it off. "Pa is here too. They'd be fine."

"Can I go play then?"

Elena straightened. "Go on and get then, witchling." With a gleeful yell, Runa disappeared into the party.

"What are you two?"

"Witchers, from a book series. We had proper theatre swords but they were not allowed at this fun killer event." Elena chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's not a child appropriate one but it was the first thing that popped into my head when she asked. And now she's counting the days until she's old enough to read it." Elena eyed her, the dark clothes and breath stealing corset that made the vast room far too warm. "Vampire?"

"Everyone else has thought witch." Serana gave her smile, the lipstick sharp and red as blood with a single drop falling. Elena looked away, her itchy fingers wanting to reach out and wipe it away, wondering if those golden eyes would go as dark as the shadows that wreathed them.

"Witch is a career choice, so you could be both." Elena crossed her arms and Serana grew warm following the line of her biceps, the dance of dark lines across her skin, only half listening to what Elena continued to say. The shirt laces were completely undone, framing the wolf medallion in such a way to make it glow against her pale freckled skin. Her gaze dipped lower as Elena half turned to her. "Are you alright?"

At the amusement in her eyes, Serana was absolutely certain she had been caught out. She cleared her throat. "I didn't think you liked parties."

"Eh." She shrugged with a smile. "These ones are pretty good, no one cares who you are behind the mask. And there is absolutely nothing work related here."

"Oh, I'm sure someone will ruin that." Serena's nose wrinkled, pulling a laugh from Elena as Lucia and Sofie ran up to them.

"Mama! They have an archery game." Sofie exclaimed, pulling back the cowl of her Nightingale costume.

"That sounds fun."

"It's rigged." Lucia stomped her foot, her glare strong enough to split mountains. "Runa's shot was perfect but it bounced off the center because it's not paper there."

"But you could obliterate it." Sofie suggested, bouncing up onto her toes as Elena very carefully took Lucia's flute that she was wielding like a bat.

Elena's brows arched as she inclined her head. "Let's go destroy them then." She shot Serana a grin. "Care to join us?"

She made a face. "I'm supposed to be taking over the apple barrel."

A smirk grew on Elena's face, lip catching between her teeth as her gaze lingered over Serana a moment longer. "Don't get too wet."

"I am going to throw one at you." Elena's full-bodied laugh kept her warm even as she inevitably got soaked by overzealous bobbers for apples.

The party was winding down when Serana saw them again. The girls were giggling as they held each other up, parts of costumes stuffed into their buckets. Elena was carrying a pile of stuffed animals and another bucket of candy that she handed off to the large orc with them. "I'll catch up to you."

She wound her way to Serana, the girls stopping to watch and giggle. "There was a witch." Elena started, twirling a blood dark rose in her fingers, her gaze focused on it. "She suggested I give this to a beautiful woman, and I could think of no one better." She looked up then, uncertain of Serena's reaction. "If the lady would be willing to accept it, that is."

"Oh." Her fingers brushed Elena's as she took it, a spark passing between them as she smiled. "I can accept that."

Elena's whole face brightened and she bowed low with a wink. "Then I wish you a good evening, my lady." With that she sauntered off, the girls ready to explode with glee and Serana watched them with flushed cheeks and a racing heart.

"You are going to be the death of that woman, laddy." Magurn grunted, thrusting the candy bucket back into her hands.

"I hope not." Elena glanced back over her shoulder to see Serana smiling down at the rose. "I would be sad."

"Mama is in loooove." Lucia informed as she hung off Elena's arm.

"Hush you." Elena suggested, turning as red as her hair as she lifted the cackling girl from the ground and attempted to playfully shake her from her arm. "Your hands are sticky."

"Not as sticky as your brain." Sofie suggested with a wide grin.

"You should try sticking to Miss Serana." Runa added with her own devious smile.

"I am eating all your candy when we get home, monsters."

"Noo!" The girls cried as Magurn roared with laughter.

Elena Songschild Master List

The Witch Writes Master List

[storiesnobodyreads]

ENDLESSLY INFURIATED [1]

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Story: You hate Bucky Barnes more than anything and are not shy to let everyone know about this. Will things change when Steve convinces you to join him on a fancy night out?

There were not many things that endlessly infuriated you. Bucky Barnes, however, was definitely one of those things. His brooding, quiet self frustrated you to no end, and there was no clear explanation for this, not even to you. He had technically never done anything wrong. Always a gentleman, always polite, always oh-so-willing to sacrifice himself for his friends. Sometimes it seemed that Barnes had decided that he wasn’t supposed to be alive at this point anyway so he might as well rescue others no matter the cost.

“Want some coffee?” Barnes asked when you trudged into the kitchen of the Stark Tower early in the morning.

Unfortunately, Barnes was always the first one up and ready, so whenever you felt motivated to go for a run or workout early in the morning, this good motivation was instantly killed off by Barnes’ presence. “Ugh, no, fuck off,” you groaned.

“Good morning to you too,” said Barnes without a care, pouring some coffee into one cup for himself.

You rolled your eyes, fetching some cereal and milk and thudding down on a high chair at the bar. To your absolute dismay, Barnes joined you at the bar. You stared at him. “What the fuck?”

Barnes raised his eyebrows at you. “Didn’t realize you own this place. Last time I checked I’m free to sit wherever I want.”

You put up your ultimate bitch face. “Fine, dickwad. Just don’t talk to me. Don’t even look at me.”

For some reason, it pissed you off possibly even more that Barnes never seemed to care about your blatant verbal aggression toward him. He simply slightly shook his head and took a sip of hot steaming coffee, which admittedly smelled really good. He twirled his cup in his hands, looking relaxed in his grey sweatpants and over-sized white sweater.

Cute, you thought quickly, but you soon pushed that thought very far back in your mind. You finished your breakfast as fast as you could, in absolute silence. Barnes didn’t look at you once nor did he seem to feel the need to start a conversation. In a sense that you despised, breakfast was actually quite peaceful like this. When you were done, you got up to place your used stuff in the dishwasher. 

“I can clean up,” Barnes offered, “so you can go on your run.”

You narrowed your eyes and stared at the man with as much hatred as you could gather, violently placing your bowl in the dishwasher and practically throwing the spoon in its holder. Without saying another word, you marched out of the kitchen, where you bounced into Tony. “Oh, good morning, Tony!” you said cheerfully, pressing a kiss on the man’s cheek. 

“Mornin’, lovely,” was Tony’s response. He was wiping some sleep out of his eyes, clearly having had a long night. You didn’t quite know what project he was currently working on, but it was fair to say it was robbing him of his sleep. “You’re up early,” he commented.  

You nodded, ponytail swinging. “Felt good today. Am going for a run.”

“Alright, love. Have fun.” 

“Thanks, thanks. Maybe after I could help you with your project, if you got anything to do for me?”

Tony scratched the scruff on his chin, suppressing a yawn. “Yeah, I might have some things for you to look at later. Thanks for offering. Now go run, kid.” You grinned when he sent a wink in your direction. 

Barnes spoke up from the bar, “Have fun, Y/N.”

In reaction to him, you simply raised your middle finger and strolled out of sight. 

Running had always simultaneously been your most favorite and least favorite activity. You loathed it because it was often boring, leaving you alone with your thoughts which soon turned into a mentally challenging exercise. You loved it because whenever you felt anxious, you could just run as fast as your legs could carry you and sweat all the anxiety out. Sam’s explanation for this had been that when humans get stressed, their fight or flight reaction gets triggered, because in the good old days stressors were things like wolves. After being confronted with the wolf, you would either be safe or dead, but not anxious. With the stressors of the current society, you can’t run away or fight, leaving you with an uneasy feeling. But running, sometimes, helped you get rid of that feeling.

On top of that, it was a wonderful morning. Not too hot, not too cold, not a cloud to be spotted in the bright blue sky. The nice smell of fresh bread oozing from the bakeries as birds awoke and fluttered through the air. Despite having had breakfast with Barnes, it was a good morning. And it felt like today might be a good day. 

You returned to the Stark Tower an hour or so later, when you presumed most of the Avengers had woken up. You happily greeted Elena the receptionist and said hello to some of the security guards, waving cheerfully at James from Human Resources through the glass walls of his department. After a quick stop to send your best wishes at the Youth Centers Tony had set up for children and teenagers in need of books or an internet connection or any form of help, you made your way up to the Avengers headquarters. 

Needless to say, you were relieved to find Barnes’ seat empty. 

“Y/N!” you were welcomed enthusiastically by Steve, who waved you over to the couch in the living room. All the glass walls, which according to Tony emphasized openness and honesty among the Avengers, made it easy to see whenever someone entered. You made your way over to Steve, moving past Wanda who used some of her red flaring magic to pull you closer to her so she could plant a kiss on the top of your head. Wanda spent most of her time using her magic to fly around the kitchen and living room, simply to annoy the other Avengers that they couldn��t fly. Thor had once started the argument that he could, in fact, fly, but when Wanda had dared to do so without the help of his hammer, his big mouth soon vanished. 

Having arrived at the couch, you let yourself fall down, sprawling your legs over Steve’s lap and letting your head rest on Sam’s knees. “What’s up, losers?” you smiled. 

“Ew, you stink,” Sam coughed exaggeratedly. He faked trying to push you away from him. “Take a shower before you come poison us!” 

“Steve asked me to come here!” you argued. 

Steve grinned and patted your shins. “That was before I realized what a sweaty human being you were. Disgusting, Y/N, really—anyway, the reason I asked you over here is because I kind of need you to do me a favor.”

You instantly became suspicious. “Oh no. What?”

“Well, remember that nice new girl that is working for James in Human Resources now?” Steve started with a nervous laugh. 

You shot up straight and gently hit Steve against his chest. “You didn’t!” 

Steve was laughing, “I did, I did. I asked her out on a date. We’re going out tonight.” 

“No way!” you exclaimed excitedly, throwing yourself at the man to hug him. “I’m so happy for you! Lucie is so nice, Steve! The two of you would make such a lovely couple!” 

“Alright, calm down there,” Steve lifted you up from him, smiling widely. “Thank you very much for introducing us, though. I owe you one.” 

“This is going to be amazing, Steve, I—” you realized suddenly that Steve had started out this conversation stating that he was going to ask for a favor. “Right. I’m very happy for you, but what do you want from me then?”

“Well,” Steve cleared his throat. “When I was asking Lucie out for a date tonight, I might have accidentally, you know, in the heat of the moment, I was very nervous, I might have said that it was going to be a double date... Um, to make it less awkward.” 

You stared at him. “To make it less awkward? To make it less awkward you thought it’d be a good idea to invite me?”

Steve put up a broad smile. “Yes?”

You grabbed a pillow and threw it into Captain America’s stupid face. “WHY?” you exclaimed incredulously. 

“Because she knows you and she likes you!” Steve defended himself, raising his arms to stop to downfall of more pillows on top of his head. “And somewhere in my rambling I thought it was easier to a group activity than it just being the two of us--”

You emphasized every word with a hit, “you – are – so – dumb!” 

“That’s not even all I— damn,” Steve laughed, fighting back to steal the last pillow away from you. He put up his puppy eyes. “Please tell me you’ll come with me. Please. I really like Lucie and I need your help.” 

Raising one brow, you marvelled at how Steve was usually such a strategic leader out in the field and yet here he had turned into a begging boy, nervous because he liked a girl. You shortly remembered how Steve hadn’t always been this good-looking and still had a sense of insecurity when it came to his looks and getting girls. “My god. Okay. But that means you owe me twice, Steve.” 

Steve attacked you with a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

“Gosh,” you tapped out on Steve’s back, unable to breathe with him on top of you. When he let you go, he looked so relieved you decided it might actually be worth it to help him out this way. “Right then. Where do I have to be?”

“Down at the reception, at 7? I’ll choose the restaurant and everything. It’s going to be fancy. That’s a warning.” 

You glared. “Why do you say that like I am incapable of looking fancy?”

Behind you, Sam barked out a laugh. “Because, sweetheart, you are absolutely gorgeous, but it is an odd day to see you wear anything other than gym clothes. Look at what you’re wearing right now.” 

You scoffed indignantly. “I just came back from a run!” 

Sam and Steve continued teasing you and making you laugh until you decided that it presumably was time to go for a shower. After cleaning yourself up you stepped into an old pair of jeans and shirt to join Tony in the basement to see if you could help the exhausted man out. 

You found Tony lying beneath an old car, sparks flying out of underneath the vehicle as machines were whirring loudly. You kicked Tony’s feet. “Oi!”

The man startled and bumped his head against the car. “Jesus!” he cursed, before rolling from underneath the vehicle to face you. “For fuck’s sake, can you make an entrance like a normal human being for a change?”

“Not really,” you smiled while fetching an iced pack from the fridge and tossing it in Tony’s direction. “You know me. Such a diva. Always the centre of attention.”

Tony grumbled some inaudible cursing words as he pressed the iced pack onto his forehead. “Not a bigger diva than me, you’re not. You’re too comfortable is what I’ll give you. You feel like you can be your most annoying self with the Avengers.”

You raised one eyebrow. “And can I?”

Tony shrugged. In a short burst of honesty, he said: “Of course. We all love you. Would be lost without you.” With similar ease, he barked at you: “Now will you help me out and fuck off out of my sight?” He proceeded to explain what you could do in order to help out with a small piece of his project. You were no expert in engineering like Tony, but he had taught you a fair amount over the years. Even though you weren’t gifted like Peter, you were a fast learner and possessed the power of common knowledge and google. 

Peter wasn’t present in Tony’s basement that morning, even though it was generally his favourite place to be. Tony didn’t tolerate many people in his basement, as his usual working vibes included loud AC/DC music, an excessive amount of coffee, red bull and alcohol, and as few living things to bother him as possible. You and Peter were the only Avengers that were allowed to come and go as you pleased. 

As soon as Tony had finished his instructions, he turned up the volume of his music and vanished back underneath his car. 

You twirled some tools in your hand and made your way to the back of the basement, where you wouldn’t be in Tony’s line of sight. As you moved around a high stack of apparatus to reach a free desk, you found the one person sitting there that you didn’t want to see. 

“What the fuck are you doing here, Barnes?” you called out. 

Barnes didn’t even look up. Massive noise-cancelling headphones rested atop his head, seemingly so to avoid going insane thanks to an overload of AC/DC. He was wearing a simple white shirt; his back somewhat sweaty and muscles tensed as he tinkered on the machinery before him. His black hair was bundled up in a small knot in his neck. His metal arm operated smoothly, all his movements perfectly under control. 

You gawked at the man for a while. Probably a little longer than was socially acceptable. Likely a lot longer than was socially acceptable. 

There were many negative things you thought about Bucky Barnes, but you couldn’t fault him on his looks. The man was extremely good-looking and fit, and no one could deny that. 

But then you remembered his personality and instantly felt annoyance bubbling up in your chest. God, he was infuriating. You picked up some nails from a desk and tossed them softly against Barnes’ back to catch his attention. 

The man shot up straight, struggling his headphones from his head and face up to you. The temporary panic flaring in his blue eyes, the way his hands clenched to fists... Then he recognized who you were and his posture relaxed, the fear flying out of his expression. 

He breathed out. “Hey.”

Suddenly you were very aware of how you were looking. Messy bun on the top of your head, over-sized sweater that did not accentuate your shape, and small jogging pants that barely covered your butt. Compared to how good Bares was looking while engineering, you felt kind of insignificant. 

But Barnes didn’t look at you like you were insignificant. There was a sparkle in his eyes that you couldn’t quite place. “You...” he seemed to have lost his tongue. “Um, you look...”

You pushed your insecurity away and felt rather annoyed with yourself that you allowed this man to throw you off guard. “I look what?”

“Good,” Barnes blurted out. “You look... You look good.” 

Staring at him, you squinted. You were feeling all kinds of feelings, which infuriated you, and you reacted to Barnes the way you wanted to react to your feelings. “Fuck off. What are you doing here anyway?” 

Barnes was blinking. “Oh, um, my arm has been malfunctioning a little lately. Stark wanted to fix it for me, but I figured it was about time to learn how to do it myself. So that’s what I’ve been trying to do.” 

“Can you do it somewhere else?” you demanded rudely. 

“Not really,” Barnes replied, unphased. “I think I need this...” He gestured toward the fiery machinery he had been working with. He proceeded to vaguely repeat the instructions Tony had given him to create a tiny chip that would solve the issues of his metal arm. Within about two seconds of hearing Barnes speak about his unfortunate invention, you realized that he had no idea what he was talking about. 

You sighed tiredly. “You are the dumbest person I have ever met. I can’t even. Move out the way. I’ll do it.” 

Barnes opened his mouth, presumably to protest, but you pushed him out of the way before he could make a noise. Remembering that Barnes had started out willing to do this on his own, you started explaining every little thing you did, including your entire thought process. Barnes listened intently to every word you said, letting out small ‘oh’s and ‘ah’s when he noted where he had gone wrong. It took hours and hours to finish Barnes’ issue, but both of you were patient and focused and time flew as you worked together. As soon as Barnes got the hang of it, you trusted him with the slightly smaller tasks as you multi-tasked and worked on Tony’s project as well. Tony showed up with sandwiches for the three of you at a certain point of time before vanishing under his car again. Barnes set you cups of coffee so that the two of you could continue tinkering with focus.

When Barnes’ new arm was completely finished, you helped attach the thing to his shoulder. He looked extremely uneasy but didn’t let out a single noise of complaint. Once it stuck, he closed his eyes to concentrate and got his fingers to move, explaining it was always a little weird to have this extension of his body. He commented it felt like a good arm, though, and within minutes he was using it as if he had used it his whole life. Somewhat exhausted, the two of you ended up sitting next to each other with your feet up the desk, silent and staring at Barnes’ old arm. It was quite peaceful. A satisfying silence, somehow.

“Alright.” You placed your hands flat on the table and got up. Barnes’ gaze followed your every move. “I’m done,” you grunted, wiping some concentration sweat from your forehead. “Can’t believe I spent so much time on your dumb ass.”

Barnes leaned back in his chair with a smile, studying you as you shook your hair out. His hands were folded in his lap. “Thank you so much. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I know,” you confirmed with a nod. “You couldn’t have. And that’s because you grew up without having electricity. And you’re old.”

Barnes’ face cracked open in a wide grin. “Can’t argue with that. You’re a lot smarter than me anyway, even if I had been born in the same time as you.”

You narrowed your eyes, not trusting these compliments. How was Barnes still nice to you after all the shit you gave him? “Absolutely.”

The man continued smiling, looking straight at you, happy. You didn’t know what to do with yourself or where to hold your hands, his warmth radiating. You cleared your throat. “What time is it anyway?”

Barnes checked his watch. “Eleven past six.”

You blinked. “In the evening?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit,” you cursed, remembering your promise to Steve to join him for a dinner to make his date with his crush Lucie less awkward, “I have a thing. I have to go.”

Barnes moved up from his chair. “Yeah, Y/N, I think—”

“For fuck’s sake, why did I spend so much time with your today?” you busted out, rapidly gathering your things. “Glad I really have to go so I don’t have to waste another minute with you. Have a horrible evening, Barnes!”

“Y/N—” Bucky tried to say, but before he could finish his sentence, you ran out of Tony’s lab. You checked your outfit and realized you were still in short jogging pants and a large sweater—after Sam’s comment of you never looking fancy, you could impossibly show up to the dinner dressed like this. You wanted to prove Sam and Steve wrong and dress up like how you had never dressed up before. And there were two people you knew to be perfect for this job. Therefore, as you were running through the Stark Tower, you texted your two best friends with a code red. And when you finally made it to your own room, you expected nothing less than to find Nat and Wanda waiting impatiently for you on your bed.

Wanda leaped up, looking worried. “What is code red?”

You let all your engineering stuff fall on the floor. “I’m going out for dinner tonight at 7. It’s supposed to be fancy.”

Both Wanda and Nat’s facial expression went from indignance that you were not dying, to absolute excitement. “Does this mean what I think it means?” Nat breathed out. “Are you going to let us dress you up?”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes. Don’t be too girly about it.”

But both Wanda and Nat were already squealing like the girliest girls in the world, more than exhilarated that they got to have their girly moments in their lives filled with heavy tasks of being an Avenger. “I’m getting my stuff!” Wanda squeaked, vanishing from the room with a red flash. Nat threw her hands up in the air. “Dresses!” she yelled, and ran out of the room as well. Both of them returned within no time, arms filled with make-up and clothes and a bunch of stuff floating behind them thanks to Wanda’s red magic. “I just realized we only have half an hour!” Wanda was screaming. Nat pushed you, “Wash yourself! Hurry!”

They granted you one minute of showering before pulling you out, throwing a sexy pair of lingerie to you (“You never know where the night goes!”) and then setting you on the bed. Nat held up several outfits for you to judge while Wanda got to work on your make-up and did your hair. Nat selected a little red dress for you that wouldn’t be too revealing. When you put it on, it hugged the curves of your body nicely and made you look way hotter than you thought you actually were. Wanda had finished your face, hair and eyes, with only lips to go, when Nat started yelling: “It’s seven o’clock!”. “LIPSTICK!” Wanda shouted back, which resulted in Nat tossing a deep dark-red lipstick at Wanda and her smearing it somehow perfectly on your lips. They rushed you up in front of the mirror. You were absolutely confused, having gone through the most stressful getting-ready process ever. But when you looked into the mirror, your jaw dropped.

“I look fucking stunning, babes.”

Wanda and Nat cheered. “Yes, you do!”

They showered you with compliments as they led you downstairs to the reception, moving slowly on your heels, despite the time being way past seven. You felt powerful and beautiful, ready to confuse the hell out of Steve and make it a wonderful, hopefully not-so-awkward night. Strolling down the last set of stairs, you spotted Lucie and Steve standing arm in arm. Lucie was wearing an extremely cute, long, dark-blue dress while Steve was dressed up in suit and tie. Once Steve’s eyes fell on you, he choked on his own saliva and his eyes popped out of his skull. “Hot damn, girl!” he called out.

You laughed, throwing your hair back in your neck. “Who says I can’t look fancy, eh?” Wanda and Nat had left you to get to the reception on your own, though you could still hear them whooping and whispering compliments behind you. You cut around the corner, finally having arrived at the reception of the Stark Tower, perhaps a little past seven, but fully dressed in a fancy outfit. And then you saw that it wasn’t just Steve that had dressed up in suit and tie.

Bucky Barnes was dressed up as well, looking immaculate. His face clean, beard and hair well groomed, smelling fresh and sweet, in a pristine suit that made him look even more handsome than usual.

It was the second time today you found him in a place where he wasn’t supposed to be. It was also the second time today you stood gawking at how gorgeous this man was.

Barnes was looking at you with his eyes wide, a flicker shining that you couldn’t quite explain. His lips parted as he looked over your appearance, but he couldn’t quite seem to find his tongue.

Your cocky expression had faded, but you did find your tongue. “The fuck are you doing here?”

Steve immediately came in between the two of you. “It’s a double date, Y/N. I told you this, right?”

You tore your eyes away from Barnes to stare furiously at Steve. “You most certainly did not, Rogers.”

“Well, it is,” Steve forced a smile. He proceeded to wrap his arm around Lucie, who stood nervously eying the situation. “And we are very excited to go on the double date, aren’t we, Lucie?”

Lucie nodded, eyes big. “Yes. You, um, look really beautiful, Y/N.”

Lucie was so very obviously shitting herself that you felt bad for her. You sighed. It mustn’t be an easy position for her, ending up going on a double date with three well-known Avengers. Even though you talked to her all the time and you would consider yourselves somewhat friends, at the very least good acquaintances, it made sense she was still nervous. Were you really going to make this even more nerve-wrecking and miserable for her? Were you that much of a bitch, that just to get across your hatred for Barnes, you would ruin the night from Lucie and Steve?

You took a deep breath. “You look beautiful as well, Lucie.” You eyed Barnes, realizing you were now officially on a date with him. “Let’s go.”

[thewidowsghost]

Fox - Chapter 13

Previously on Fox:

"Wait here," (Y/n) tells Natasha, and she run into the Hanger and pull the Quinjet out onto the tarmac. (Y/n) opens the back and Natasha walks in sitting in the copilot's seat. (Y/n) gets the Quinjet in the air and puts in the coordinates for the airport in Malibu.

"Malibu?" Natasha asks, looking at the coordinates.

"We're going to steal all my Dad's money," (Y/n) says with a straight face.

Natasha sends her an incredulous look and she laughs. "Not really. We need to get you out of my clothes, and I need to pick up some things from my dad's house." Natasha rolls her eyes and (Y/n) hits her lightly on the arm.

(Y/n)'s POV

After about an hour or two, we land in Malibu, Natasha and I having changed clothes on the Quinjet. "Be warned, you might go blind," I tell Natasha and she gives me a kind of half smile. "Remind me to keep a car at this fricking airport," I tell Natasha and she laughs.

"Sure, no problem," she says.

"Let me call someone to give us a ride unless you'd like a normal ride," I say. "If I call my dad, you might just die," I say and Nat gives me a strange look. "He's... special," I say and Nat's green eyes sparkle with amusement.

I pull my phone out of my back pocket and call Pepper. "Hey, Pepper," I say.

"(Y/n)! How are you, we haven't heard from you in a few weeks," Pepper says.

"I'm good," I tell the auburn haired woman. "I have a question," I say.

"Shoot," Pepper answers.

"Me and a friend are at the airport, can you please pick us up?" I ask.

"Of course, I'll be there in a few minutes," Pepper says.

"Thanks, Pep," I say and Pepper ends the call.

"My dad's friend should be here in a few minutes," I tell Natasha and she nods. "Wanna go get something to eat once we get a car?" I ask.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Natasha says.

A few minutes later, Pepper arrives and when she sees me, she wraps me in a hug.

"Pepper... can't... breathe," I gasp out and Pepper quickly lets go.

"That would be a terrible liability issue," Pepper says, and then she looks at Natasha. "Who's this?" she asks.

"This is my friend Natalie," I tell Pepper. Just go with it, I tell Nat through my mind.

"Hello Natalie, I'm Pepper," Pepper introduces herself and sticks out her right hand. Natasha takes it, smiling and shakes it.

The three of us get in the car, Pepper in front, and Natasha and I in the back.

"Your dad might just kill you (Y/n)," Pepper says and Natasha looks at me with a strange look on her face.

"That wasn't my fault," I mutter. "That was work's fault," I add and Pepper laughs.

"I told him that and he didn't believe me," Pepper tells me and I roll my eyes.

"What, did he think I got a boyfriend since I'd left?" I ask sarcastically.

"I don't know what, but you're about to find out," Pepper says as we pull into Dad's driveway.

"Come on, Nat. Let's hide you away before I get brutally murdered," I joke, leading Natasha into the house and up to my room. "Make yourself at home," I tell Nat. "Hopefully I'll be back in a minute," I say, and I let out a snort of laughter, making my way back down the stairs.

Taking a deep breath, I walk downstairs to Dad's lab and punch the code in and the door opens. I walk in silently and stand and watch my dad working on the beginnings of a hot rod.

"Uh, hi," I say and Dad whips around, staring at me.

He walks over, his brown eyes meeting my (E/C) ones. "Are you planning on leaving tonight?" He asks sarcastically.

"I wasn't going too," I say my gaze steadily meeting his, and his eyes soften before pulling me into a hug.

"I'm glad you're home," Dad murmurs.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought a friend from work," I tell him once we break from the hug. "Can I show her around town and maybe borrow some money?" I ask him and he smiles, pulling out his wallet and tossing me a credit car.

"You need a car?" he asks and he waves his hand towards his cars. "Go ahead and pull one out front. I'll see you later," he says, hugging me on more time.

"Thanks Dad," I say jogging over to my car and pulling it up and in front of the mansion before darting back in and up the stairs to see Natasha looking at some of the pictures on the wall before moving to look at my two guitars and viola hanging on the wall.

I knock lightly on the open door and Natasha turns around as I walk over to stand beside her.

"You play?" Natasha asks - just as everyone else asks when they see my guitars.

"Guitar?" I ask, pulling the galaxy one off the wall - the one that Dad and Pepper had gotten me last time I had been home.

I go and sit down on the bed and pat the bed next to me and Natasha sits down beside me. I grab a pick off my nightstand - who know why I kept guitar picks on my nightstand - and I begin to play the same song I had played for Clint a couple of weeks ago, Hey There Delilah.

"Hey there, Delilah What's it like in New York city? I'm a thousand miles away But, girl, tonight you look so pretty Yes, you do Times Square can't shine as bright as you I swear, it's true

Hey there, Delilah Don't you worry about the distance I'm right there if you get lonely Give this song another listen Close your eyes Listen to my voice, it's my disguise I'm by your side

Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me What you do to me

Hey there, Delilah I know times are gettin' hard But just believe me, girl Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar We'll have it good We'll have the life we knew we would My word is good

Hey there, Delilah I've got so much left to say If every simple song I wrote to you Would take your breath away I'd write it all Even more in love with me you'd fall We'd have it all

Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me

A thousand miles seems pretty far But they've got planes and trains and cars I'd walk to you if I had no other way Our friends would all make fun of us And we'd just laugh along because we'd know That none of them have felt this way Delilah, I can promise you That by the time that we get through The world will never ever be the same And you're to blame

Hey there, Delilah You be good, and don't you miss me Two more years and you'll be done with school And I'll be makin' history like I do You know it's all because of you We can do whatever we want to Hey there, Delilah, here's to you This one's for you

Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me What you do to me, oh oh, woah, woah Oh woah, oh Oh"

I finish and I glance up at Natasha, her green eyes flickering slightly. I stand up, smiling softly, and gently set the guitar back on the hook on the wall.

"Come on," I say gently, grabbing two leather jackets - one emerald green, and my Air Force jacket - out of the closet. I toss the emerald green one to Nat and she catches it, then pulls it on. I jog down the stairs, Natasha following right behind - and we get into my car.

"You mind pizza?" I ask and Natasha shakes her head.

I pull out of the driveway and drive towards the pizza place I had worked at a few years previously. "Come on," I tell Natasha and the two of us get out of the car and walk inside the restaurant.

"(Y/n), what are you doing here?" Elena, the owner, comes over and wraps me in a warm hug.

"This is my friend Natalie," I introduce Nat, and Elena hugs the former assassin, who tenses at first, then relaxes.

"Well Natalie, any friend of (Y/n) is a friend of mine," Elena says leading Natasha and me to a table. "What would you girls like to drink?" Elena asks, pulling a notepad out of her apron. "Wait, let me guess, (Y/n), you want a root beer?"

"Elena, you know me so well," I confirm her question.

"What about you Natalie?" Elena asks.

"I'll take a root beer too," Natasha says.

"I'll be right back with those root beers," Elena says, walking towards the counter.

"So, what do you feel like doing today?" Natasha asks.

"I was going to take you to get clothes," I tell her and she looks incredulously at me. "You're stealing all mine," I add jokingly, and her eyes flash with amusement, glancing down at the emerald green jacket.

"I'm sorry," she mutters.

"Ah, don't be," I tell Natasha. "Didn't have anybody to share anything when I was a kid, feel's nice to do it now," I say and she smiles.

"Here you girls go," Elena says, setting the root beers down in front of each of us. "You guys know what you'd like to order, or do y'all still need a few minutes?"

"Just a couple more minutes, thanks Elena," I say and she smiles, walking away. "Know what you want?" I ask Natasha.

"Pepperoni, I guess," she answers.

"Ah, Miss Romanoff, we're going to get along just fine," I say and she laughs softly.

Elena comes back over. "Y'all ready?"

"Can we get a large pepperoni with sausage on half?" I ask and Elena nods walking back over.

"The pizza here is actually amazing," I tell Natasha. "They hand toss the dough and bake them in a brick oven," I continue.

"You know a creepy amount of information about this place," Natasha says and I laugh.

"I used to work here," I say looking around at the decor - the same as when I had worked here about five years ago.

"Really?" Natasha asks.

"Yeah, I got a job here when I was fifteen and worked here for about two years before my mom died, then I went to live with my dad," I tell Natasha.

"What did you do after that?" Natasha asks interestingly.

"For about a year, until I was eighteen, I started learning how to use my abilities. Then when I turned eighteen, I joined the Air Force. I did a tour, ran a couple hundred missions for the US Government. About two months ago, I joined SHIELD. Going to find you was actually my first mission, and on my first day." I tell Natasha.

"The woman from the equipment room said something about a mission in Sokovia, what was that about?" Natasha asks and I take a sip of root beer, thinking for a moment.

"Here you girls go," Elena says, and she sets down a large pizza.

"Thanks Elena," I say, smiling up at the woman.

"No problem, kiddo," she says, smiling first at me and then Natasha, and then she walks away.

I take a piece of my sausage and pepperoni, taking a bite before answering Natasha's question from a few minutes before.

"About seven or eight months ago, my Commanding Officer sent me on a mission in Sokovia," I pause for a moment before continuing. "Sokovia was having problems with bombings at the time. I was stationed in a safe house right beside an apartment building. I wasn't quick enough to block the first shell and the apartment building collapses halfway," I take another bite of my pizza. "I make my way up to the top where these two kids were hiding under a bed, the middle of the apartment building had complete collapsed." I sigh before continuing, feeling Natasha's eyes on me, and me not looking up from my plate. "There was another bomb sent and I was able to keep that one from blowing up the rest of the apartment. Another one hit and thankfully, it didn't blow, because I wouldn't have been able to keep that one from blowing. It landed about two feet from my face where I was blocking the entrance trying to keep the kids safe. It took two days to get us out of the building, and each shift below I thought it was going to blow," I finish. "It didn't really go how it was supposed to."

I look up at Natasha, thinking she'd look disappointed, but she just looks sympathetic.

"It's not your fault it happened," she murmurs.

"Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had been able to stop the first shell," I mutter softly, taking another bite of pizza. I clear my throat then change the subject as we finish the pizza.

"Can we have the check?" I ask Elena when she comes back around to me and Nat's table.

"Sure, sweetheart," she says walking over and coming back over a few minutes later with the check. I pull out Dad's credit card out of my wallet and fill out the tab and put Dad's credit card on the tray. Elena takes the tray and brings it back a minute later.

Natasha and I stand up and Elena gives me a hug on the way out.

"Come on, Romanoff," I say playfully and we get in the car.

The two of us sit in a comfortable silence as we drive to a clothing store.

"Just go look around," I tell Natasha, and she nods, then she walks off.

I walk over to the leather jackets and find a maroon one.

I throw it over my arm and go to find Natasha. It doesn't take long because I find her near the back of the leather jacket section.

"How's it going, Nat?" I ask, and she turns to look at me.

"I think you've gotten me attached to wearing leather," Natasha says, glancing down at the green jacket she is wearing, and I laugh.

"Go on," I say, I go to say something else when my phone rings.

I answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey, (Y/n)," I hear Laura says.

"Laura, hey, how's it going?" I say.

"Good here!" she responds. "There's someone who wants to say hi," I smile at her words.

"Hi Auntie (Y/n)," Cooper says cheerfully.

"Hey Coop, how are you doing?" I ask.

"Good, but I miss you!" he complains.

"I'll come by soon," I tell him.

"Hey! Let me talk to Auntie (Y/N)!" I hear Lila complain.

"Lila, please don't yell at your brother," I say and I hear Laura laugh.

"Hi Auntie (Y/N)!" Lila says.

"Hey Lila!"

"Are you coming to visit soon?" Lila asks.

"As soon as I can," I answer.

"Hey, (Y/n)," I hear Laura say, presumably getting her phone back from her two kids. "Clint is going to be home soon, he wanted to talk to you when he gets home."

"Alright, I'll keep my eyes and ears open for his call," I say.

"Alright, bye (Y/n)," Laura says, ending the call.

I look over at Natasha who still has the same jacket in her arms.

"You can get more than one," I tell her, amusement sparkling in my eyes. "We have infinite money," I add and Natasha smiles.

Natasha grabs a couple more jackets, a few t-shirts, a couple pairs of jeans and a few sets of pajamas.

The two of us check out, and we go back out to my car. I look down at my watch, seeing that it's about 4:30. I drive back to the house, the two of us in a comfortable silence. We park in the driveway, and I let Nat out of the car, driving it into the garage.

I get out of the car to see Dad still working on his hot rod.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" he asks, looking up.

"Good," I tell him. I pull out my wallet and pull out his credit card and go to give it back, but he stops me.

"Keep it," he says.

"You sure?" I ask uncertainly, and he nods. "Thanks, Dad!" I give him a hug. "Oh, what do you want for dinner?" I ask, my hand on the door handle.

"I don't know, maybe something Italian," He says, and I nod.

"Sounds good," I open the door and sprint up the stairs to let Natasha in. "Sorry about that," I tell her apologetically.

"It's no problem," she says, following me into the kitchen. "So, what are you making today?" Natasha asks.

"I was thinking, maybe fettuccine," I tell her and I get started.

I make fresh pasta dough and go onto making an Alfredo sauce.

"How'd you learn to cook like this?" Natasha asks as I saute some garlic and butter together.

"My mom taught me to cook," I tell her. "Sometimes she had to go on business trips and I'd have to cook for myself."

I drain the pasta noodles and add in the Alfredo sauce, and mix it up. "Could you grab four plates out of that cabinet?" I ask Natasha pointing to a cabinet.

I grab a large spoon, and take the plates Natasha had handed to me and begin spooning fettuccine onto the plates.

I take three of the plates and set them on the dining room table for Pepper before running one down to Dad.

"Come on, we can eat in my room," I tell Natasha and the two of us walk upstairs to my room with our plates. "Wanna watch a movie?" I ask and she nods.

I walk over to my TV and put Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone into the DVD player.

The two of us eat while the movie is playing and when we're done, I take Natasha's plate and run it downstairs. While I'm in the kitchen cleaning up, my phone rings and I stop what I am doing and answer it.

"Hey, it's Clint. How it going with Natasha?" he asks.

"Fine, we went out to lunch and then I took her to get more clothes," I tell him. "She's attached to leather now," I laugh.

"Seriously," he complains. "I have two partners who are obsessed with leather." I laugh at his words and he continues. "I want you to come by the farm next week," Clint says. "Fury gave me the week off. Bring Natasha," he adds.

I smile at his words. "Trust her that much, huh?" I ask.

"If I can trust you to keep my secret, I can trust Nat," he says.

"When do you want us to head out?" I ask.

"I'd say Saturday," he says. "They kids are really excited to see you again," he adds.

"Yeah, they called me earlier. I had to tell Lila not to yell at Cooper. Laura laughed at me," I tell him. "Does they know about Nat yet?" I ask, looking up meeting Natasha's green gaze. She had clearly walked back downstairs, and I send her a warm smile.

"No, I plan for it to be a surprise."

"That'll be good for the kids."

"That's what I was thinking," he says. "Speaking off, here they come. I've gotta go, (Y/n). See you and Nat soon," he says.

"Bye!" I say, and I end the call.

"What was that about?" Natasha asks as the two of us head back upstairs.

"That was Clint," I tell the redhead. "He has something planned for next week."

"That sounds nice," Natasha says.

"I'm going to say good night to my Dad," I tell her. "Feel free to use my bathroom if you need to get changed or whatever."

I jog downstairs and to Dad's lab. I find him slumped over his hot rod, fast asleep. Gently, I pick him up and carry him up to his room and set him on his bed. He sighs and relaxes into his blankets and I pull them over him. "Good night," I murmur.

I run back downstairs and grabs his plate before walking into the kitchen to wash it. I finish cleaning up the dishes and go upstairs to see Natasha asleep on my bed. I grab a blanket and throw it over the redhead, who tenses for a moment, then relaxes. Smiling softly, I grab a spare pillow and settle down on the floor on the other side of the bed. I lay looking at the ceiling for a little while before falling asleep.

Word Count: 3521 words

Onto the next chapter!!!!

Love, Kaitlynn 😍❤

[shianhygge-imagines]

FFVII: Dating Headcanons [Rufus Shinra]

AN: Oooohhh yeah! Let’s do this! My brothers and I have been on a cooking spree, my bedroom is a mess, and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna get grief for not cleaning up the move in boxes, but I really need to write something for Rufus TT^TT He needs some love, too!

edit 05/29/2020: So... this was posted before I was aware that the official age for Rufus in the remake is 30 :3 I love him so much 😍

This is so long >.< Somehow it’s just so easy to write for him... 

|Masterlist Link|

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ First and foremost, yes, I know he’s a jerk. But he’s a jerk who almost died, and is now not as much of a jerk. He’s working on it! He’s so young! He has time to improve! I mean Sephiroth almost destroyed the Planet a few times, and Genesis kick started the mayhem, but we still love them!

~ Rufus has dated before the events of FFVII, so if you’re one of the poor unfortunate souls that tried to pursue him before his near death experience... (*sighs and pats your shoulder sympathetically) 

~ Pre-FFVII Rufus learned all his relationship tricks from observing his father’s habits and behaviors from when he was young. Namely, pursue what you’re interested in without hesitation.

~ Pre-FFVII Rufus would never pursue anyone he considers lower than his station. In fact, ‘the help’ pretty much don’t exist in his eyes much like they don’t exist to many other rich folks. Any attempts to catch his sky blue eyes will be unnoticed.

~ He’s only learned to spoil the individual of his affections with materialistic things. Emotional vulnerability isn’t something that he knows how to express to someone that he should treat as an equal without it being related to business.

~ His near death experience humbles him an immense amount. It is around this time that he’ll take notice and respect those who weren’t born into affluence

~ It is very unlikely that any relationship Meteorfall would last. The world, and Rufus, had changed too much to continue with the old as if nothing happened.

~ But you must be wondering about how you’d fallen into this man’s life if he was so unavailable to the normal populace. 

~ You were an AVALANCHE plant into Shinra, where you worked as one of the staff that attended to President Shinra and Rufus Shinra. Your cover story was that you were orphaned in recent years due to escalated conflict between AVALANCHE and Shinra. You were taken in by your mother’s sister, who was sickly and unable to work. As a result, you decided to get a part time job while you completed schooling. Normally, this wouldn’t fly, as you were two years younger than Rufus at the time, but Shinra was never bothered by child labor.

~ You had originally volunteered to spy on the Company executives as a Turk trainee, but Elfie, the leader of AVALANCHE at the time, didn’t wish for someone so young to be put in a place where you were at the mercy of Shinra.

~ Still, working as a maid was hardly dignified work when your employer had a habit of leering at the staff. You had more use as a chef due to having to cook for yourself from an early age.

~ While President Shinra has little problem bribing and seducing members of the work staff into his bed each night, you noticed that Rufus Shinra had not shared his father’s sentiments... at least, not to the same extent that his father did.

~ Rufus Shinra did not take random maids into his bed every night. No. If he ever took a woman into his bed, it was some social climber or heiress that he’d met during a company gala. He would strive to enjoy her company to the fullest of his ability, but rarely did the women he brought back last further than a month with the company heir.

~ You did your best to stay anonymous while feeding information back to AVALANCHE, barely even causing a need for concern when your talents as a chef were discovered and you were transferred to work the kitchens. Even when Rufus had been kidnapped by your fellow troops, and his plot to betray his father revealed, you remained dutiful and inconspicuous.

~ Eventually, you were sent with some of the Turks and part of the main staff with Rufus when he was placed under home arrest. President Shinra had attempted to pursue you during the years of your employment, but you’d remained steadfast and unwilling despite the loyalty that you’d demonstrated during your years of service. Which was why he decided that you were trustworthy enough to spy on his son for him. The humor in the situation was not lost on you.

~ Rufus, in turn, had the Turks under his command run background checks on all the staff that had followed him from the main Shinra estate.

~ Normally, Rufus would have taken zero interest in you. You were, after all, an average civilian by all means. But the one thing that he really took note of, was that you’d been part of the cleaning staff at first before somehow getting transferred into the kitchen staff. Rufus had been impressed by the quality of his food as of recently, so he was pleased to put a name and face to the work.

~ And then he noted that you were younger than him and fairly attractive. He wondered if you had ever slept with his father for money.

~ When Tseng reported that you had been one of the only members on staff that hadn’t slept with President Shinra, Rufus found himself intrigued. Most commoners only ever showed interest in pleasing the rich for their money. For you to turn down the excessive amount of money that his father normally offered in payment... well, you were rather strange.

~ He kept an eye on you after that. Just a notice of what you were doing every so often. Sending his compliments whenever you cooked a particularly delicious meal.

~ After the fiasco with Elfie and Veld, AVALANCHE needed people within Shinra more than ever, sending others into the company to spy. With your established presence in Shinra, you were tasked only to spy on the comings and goings of the executives that visited Rufus, or monitor any business dealings that the newly appointed Vice President was involved in.

~ For a while, you were content with your job cooking meals and occasionally sending out encrypted correspondences to your superiors. And then Rufus left the island for a business meeting that was supposed to be several days long... only to return within the same night because he simply refused to eat anything other than what you cooked.

~ It had been around midnight when Reno sheepishly roused you from your sleep, stating that the vice president was back and he hadn’t been able to eat a decent meal all day. In the back of your mind, you stressed and screamed how it would be possible to cook a full course meal in such little time alone.

~ Still, you hurried to wash your face and brush your teeth, not bothering to change out of your nightwear as you left the room, feeling that haste was more important than propriety. It’s not like Shinra ever comes into the kitchen anyways. I’m going to have to change out of these clothes when I finish cooking. You sulked, not wanting to go to sleep in pajamas that smelled like cooked food.

It is when you were in the middle of making the meal, with a black apron draped over your pajamas, that the door to the kitchen opens. Expecting Reno, who normally came in to snack on whatever you were making, you didn’t turn around. “Reno, for the last time, when I’m cooking for Mr. Shinra, you’re not allowed to mooch for scraps!”

“Does Reno often enter the kitchens to steal food?”

When you were asked by Elena and Reno what your reaction was, you denied being overly startled... even if you did drop the wooden stirring spoon into the large pot of broth.

Quickly fishing the utensil from falling further into the broth, you set the spoon aside and turned to face Rufus Shinra with wide startled eyes. “Mr. Shinra! I... um apologize for my lack of professionalism.” There’s an unasked question to your expression as your gaze darted back and forth between the stove top and your boss. What are you doing in here?

Rufus, for his part, only smirked and gestured to his own attire. Black button down and loose sweatpants, his normally brushed back blonde hair hung in his face. “I believe I’ve inconvenienced you enough by asking you to wake up to cook, Y/N.” His smirk widened, “Don’t mind me, continue as you would.”

The nervous smile on your lips betrayed your thoughts as you turned back to finish up the meal, trying and failing to ignoring the observant blue eyes directed at your back. After a time of silence, with just the vice president staring at you as you cooked, you spoke up with a stutter, “Um... Reno does occasionally come into the kitchen for a snack. B-but it’s not that much of a bother!” You didn’t want to get the friendly Turk in trouble.

“I can have him removed from the kitchen, if you’d like, Y/N.”

The way he said your name sent strange shivers up your spine, and you turned to peek at your boss. “Um... n-no. That’s really not necessary, Mr. Shinra. Reno’s like an annoying big brother. I can handle him.”

Silence settled over the kitchen once more, and you turned to continue stirring the soup, checking the oven for the roasting vegetables. “If you don’t mind my asking, Mr. Shinra... why have you decided to come into the kitchen today? You normally wait in your office or the dining room for the waiting staff to serve you.”

After a beat without answer, you’d begun to think that you’d offended the vice president... and then, “To be honest, I wanted a change of pace from the usual propriety. Eating alone gets tedious and frustrating after a while.” His eyes took on a glint as he stared at you, “And I found myself curious as to who you were. I can’t say I’m disappointed.”

Your shoulders were so tense that you were sure that you’d wake up the next day with an ache. “So, I take it that you’ll be eating in the kitchen?”

Rufus smirked, “That would be a correct assumption, Y/N.”

~ After that night, Rufus would often take his meals in the kitchen unless he was particularly weighed down by work. This caused quite the panic among the kitchen staff, and only served to annoy you when he laid off half the staff in favor of just having you as his private chef. Simply put, you went everywhere that Rufus did.

~ Despite the professionalism you exhibited, serving private meals to Rufus and his dates helped you learn more about the young man. There seemed to be two sides to him, Vice President Shinra, and Rufus.

~ Vice President Shinra was ruthless and fearsome. His business savvy rivaled only the harshest of businessmen, and he treated others with calculated cockiness and false generosity. He often acted in this manner.

~ The other side of him, Rufus, was quiet and reserved despite his business upbringing. This man rewarded loyalty and human gestures, he had a weak spot for desserts, and often made sarcastic comments. He was immensely lonely despite his power and renown, though he hid this part of him behind layers and layers of arrogance. If you were honest with yourself, you had become fond of Rufus Shinra.

~ It is the brief glimpse of humanity that was the reason you found yourself in Shinra Headquarters as Diamond Weapon approached the city.

~ You hadn’t been given orders from anyone in AVALANCHE in a long time, and took that to mean that the organization had shifted its focus elsewhere. This meant that you were free to do as you pleased. And with how close the Diamond Weapon was to Midgar, you found yourself racing to the President’s Office to get the stubborn man out of the building.

~ You reach the office at the same time that the Turks did. They shot you questioning looks as you shoved your way into the office. Out in the distance, a bright light lit up the metropolis, and you didn’t have much time to think before you’d jumped over a desk to pull Rufus to cover. Only a second later, the entire office was blown up.

~ After assisting the Turks in escorting Rufus out of the building and onto an evacuation helicopter, you revealed who you were to the Turks and Rufus. Although you were interrogated further on to what you’d been doing while in Shinra, the worst that you were punished with, was to be let go from your position.

~ Nearly a year later, after you’d used your savings (more than eight years worth of your salary) to open up a small cafe in Edge, you had moved on from your time with Shinra. While you still thought of Rufus and the Turks, you’d never allowed yourself to hope that they might stop by and visit.

~ And none of them showed up, until after you were afflicted with Geostigma.

~ It was a strange moment, when Reno and Rude both walked into your cafe, a cocky smirk on the red head’s face and Rude stoic professionalism. You’d been summoned by Rufus... well, the exact wording was that you were invited to join Rufus for lunch. And while you were slightly peeved at having to leave the cafe to your employees for the day, you went with the Turks regardless. You were just glad to have the opportunity to see them again.

~ Seeing Rufus in the wheelchair at the Healen Lodge, with cloth and bandages covering him... prompted you to reflexively clutch at your own bandaged arm, which was hidden from sight by the jacket you wore. Still, Rufus had always been an observant man.

~ He’d confessed to you his theory that Geostigma was caused by the lingering malicious will of Sephiroth in the Lifestream. And although you’d never blamed Shinra for the plague that was Geostigma, you could tell that Rufus didn’t want you to blame him for that state that you were in.

~ There was no cure, you were told. For you, and for Rufus, your time was short. And then a proposal, “Would you like to return to your previous position?” Somehow, you weren’t quite so sure that was what he meant to say.

~ It is later, when Rufus had retired for the day, that Elena pulled you aside and explained that while Rufus had missed your cooking, he’d missed the companionship that you’d provided. His words, “Would you like to return to your previous position?” was Rufus’ way of asking, “Would you like to spend the rest of your life with me?” or perhaps more accurately, “Would you stay by my side as I die?”

~ And damn it, you were always a bleeding heart, weren’t you.

~ The next morning, when Rufus awoke, a grant breakfast awaited him, with you already sipping your coffee, apron still on.

~ The two of you eventually fell into a comfortable routine as you moved into the Healen Lodge, running your business from afar while remaining by Rufus’ side. At some point, Rufus had taken to holding your hand during meals or when you’d rest against him on the sofa. He’d started to walk around you without the bandages and sheet, only using the wheelchair when the Geostigma became too painful.

~ You didn’t even know that you were dating Rufus until Reno said that he’d get in trouble for flirting with his boss’ s/o. Rufus had been in the room at the time, and did not refute the sentiment, only reinforcing the fact by lacing his fingers with your own and stroking the back of your palm with his thumb.

~ It is so like Rufus to be absolutely certain that you returned his affections. Stupid stubborn fool.

~ Rufus is sweet when the two of you are left to your privacy. He’s as much a cuddler as you are willing to put up with, and he’ll put up with any amount of cuddling you desire.

~ He’s prone to spoiling you, though when you tell him that you would prefer more meaningful gifts, he starts to think about what is useful to you rather than simple showering you with designer clothing or jewelry. He learns to clean and cook just to make you happy.

~ He’s stubborn, refusing to acknowledge that he’s severely weakened even to himself. But it’s during these times where you need to support him the most. Because eventually, the disease will take its toll, and you have to be there to catch Rufus when he falls.

~ It’s almost like the two of you are living each day like your last, except for the fact that Rufus, ever stubborn and determined, has been using his resources to find a cure. Because he can’t accept that the two of you are going to die. Not when he’s only lived his life in a way that he now regrets.

~ At night, when he presses chaste kisses to your lips and pulls you close, Rufus often recounts the things that he regrets most. And letting you go after Meteorfall was his biggest.

~ “It’s my biggest regret. And now, when I have you here by my side, what I want more than anything is more time with you.”

~ The Geostigma doesn’t take either of your lives. Within the month, Elena and Tseng go missing when the remaining Turks are sent to retrieve JENOVA’s remains. Though you don’t wish to go, Rufus sends you away from the Healen Lodge. Some time later, a miraculous healing rain descends from the sky, healing you and Rufus of your Geostigma.

~ That same day, Rufus Shinra proposes to you. ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-fi!

[bamon4bamily]

TVD 9x16 - What happens in Vegas... (part 1 of part 1) Enjoy!

Cut to - The Salvatore mansion family room, present day. Damon is watching Bonnie sleep. She wakes up slowly…

BONNIE: Ian?

DAMON: Ian? Who the heck is Ian? And tell me where he is, so I can kick his ass!

BONNIE: (Smiles) Sorry, had the craziest dream… And your name was Ian, for some screwed up reason…

DAMON: Oh, okay… then Ian is cool in my book! (Smirks and gives her a kiss).

BONNIE: What time is it?

DAMON: Almost 3pm…

BONNIE: What! Oh my god! I had to be at the airport an hour ago to meet Elena! Shit! Shit!

DAMON: Uhm… Bon… don’t you remember?

BONNIE: Remember what?

DAMON: About Elena…

BONNIE: What about Elena?

DAMON: Her flight got canceled; she got another one straight to Vegas. You don’t remember?

BONNIE: I do, I do… Told you, strange dream… I’m still a bit drowsy.

DAMON: Well, she won’t be able to help you bring all that “bachelorette” stuff. But the bachelor boys are heading the same way; I’m sure we can fit some of it; just promise me there’s nothing illegal in those bags.

BONNIE: (Mischievous smile) I can’t promise you that…

Cut to – Two days later, somewhere in the middle of the Mojave desert. Damon, who looks like hell, is dialing on his cell. Behind him, a crashed police car with Alaric, Iker, and Kai inside; also looking like crap. They are wearing nothing but their underwear.

 DAMON: Care, it’s Damon… Listen ...The bachelor party got a little crazy and, well...we lost Stefan.

BONNIE: Uhm…think we might have a problem of our own…

DAMON: Bon?

BONNIE: It’s me, I think… Anyway; the bachelorette got a little crazy too, and, well… we lost Caroline.

Cut to – A couple of hours earlier. A Sky Villa at the Palms Casino Resort. 

Damon wakes up confused, he is lying on the bathroom floor, drool coming out of his mouth, brain drilling headache. His vision is blurry, but he manages to recognize a familiar face, lying inside an empty bathtub, completely passed out. The familiar face is Kai, dressed in what seems to be a ballerina tutu. 

He stares at him for a minute, wondering why he is there… not in the bathtub, but in Vegas; he hadn’t been invited. Oh well, he’ll figure it out later. For now, he needs to do an overall casualty assessment. He gets up slowly, holding on to whatever is at hand. He eventually gains the balance to find his way out of the bathroom, and into the living room. The place is a war zone, the hotel bill won’t be cheap! Amongst the debris of the previous night, he searches for other survivors… 

Soon enough he finds Alaric, also passed out, half of his body hanging over the piano, which, to Damon’s surprise, a monkey seems to be playing.

DAMON: What the…  (shushes the monkey away from the piano, shakes Alaric to wake him up, no response… He hears a sound coming from a mount of sofa cushions and clothes; someone is under there… it’s Iker, who slowly fights his way out).

IKER: (Looking messed up and disoriented) Hey, man… (looks around, grabs his head) What the hell happened last night?

DAMON: Beats me… I can barely remember my own name… 

(Alaric wakes up suddenly, holding his hands up in a cheer).

ALARIC: Jackpot, bitches!!!!!!!!!!! (He realizes he has no idea where he is, or making any sense). Hey, guys… where am I? What are we doing here?  

DAMON: (Sarcastic) Oh, boy… I have a feeling this is gonna be fun!

(Kai walks out of the bathroom, passes them by, but apparently doesn’t notice they are there, and goes into the master bedroom, throws himself on the bed. Just as he gets comfy, he realizes something is very wrong… 

There is an elephant in the room; literally. Jumps up, screams like a little girl, runs out of the room and shuts the door).

KAI: Holy shit! There’s an elephant in the room!

DAMON: I’d say you’re right, stalker boy. What the hell are you doing here?

KAI: … I have no idea, but I swear, there is an elephant in that room!

DAMON: Are you sure it isn’t Stefan? He can look pretty scary in the morning…

(Goes to check it out, vamps back about a second later) Nop, that ain’t Stefan… and there is definitely an elephant in the room... (takes a drink).

ALARIC: So, where is Stefan? And, why the hell is he (referring to Kai) here!

DAMON: Ric, I think we have more important things to focus on right now… Like, for example, there is a freakin elephant in the room! It’s a baby elephant, yes, but still, a freaking elephant! Those things are dangerous! Oh, and I’m pretty sure there’s also a loose monkey somewhere around here! What the hell did we do last night? Rob a zoo?!

IKER: The only thing I have a vague memory of, is a steakhouse, a casino… a strip joint?

KAI: That pretty much describes all of Las Vegas, so, not a lot to go on.

DAMON: Okay, okay, I’m sure we can figure this out.

ALARIC: Let’s just find Stefan and get the hell out of here, before they put us in jail.

DAMON: Fine. Shouldn’t take too long. Ric and I will check every corner of the villa. Iker, you and psycho boy check around the hotel… restaurant, pool area, casino, etc.

IKER: (To Kai) Think you can keep up, princess?

KAI: (He hadn’t noticed he was wearing a tutu until this moment; he looks at Damon) This was definitely your doing! (Takes the tutu off).

DAMON: (Sarcastic smirk) Probably… Okay, let’s move.

 (They search everywhere, Stefan is nowhere to be found. They teamback at the villa).

 ALARIC: Well, we’ve searched everywhere, he’s not here. (Sarcastic) This is great! The wedding is tomorrow, our plane leaves in a couple of hours, and we are missing the groom... 

We should call Caroline, maybe he ditched us and joined the girl’s party.

DAMON: And if he didn’t?

ALARIC: They can help us find him.

DAMON: Did you get brain damage last night?! 

No way we are calling Caroline! I’d like to live a long and happy life with my Bon-Bon, so, not an option!  Just chill, we’ll find him. He couldn’t have gone that far… it’s Stefan, he’s probably hunting bunnies. All we have to do is retrace our steps from last night, and we’ll find him.

ALARIC: The main issue being… none of us seem to remember anything about last night!

KAI: (Coming from another part of the room) Okay, I just called reception, they assure there is no Stefan Salvatore at any of the area hospitals, morgues, or police stations…

DAMON: No shit, Sherlock, he is a vampire! Of course he wouldn’t be in any of those places…

IKER: Wait… a police car… I remember we were in a police car!

DAMON: Ooh, that can’t be good…

KAI: Oh, oh, oh, no, no, no… (looks at his hand) This can’t be good either (shows them a very tacky ring).

DAMON: Come on, that’s just your daylight ring.

KAI: No, no… I don’t need a ring for that… which means this is … (takes the ring off, sees it’s engraved) most definitely a wedding ring!  

ALARIC: Who the hell would be crazy enough to marry you?!!

IKER: (Cracking up) Shit, this too funny…

DAMON: (Takes the ring from Kai, reads the inscription) “To my knight in shining armour, from your damsel in distress” - Cupid’s Wedding Chapel. Well, boys, I believe we have a lead… 

We need to go to this chapel, ask them if they remember us; and if Stefan was with us.

KAI: And who the hell I married!

DAMON: (Sarcastically) Oh, I’m sure she’s a lovely gal.

ALARIC: I’ll get us an uber…

Cut to – Cupid’s Wedding Chapel. 

As soon as they walk in, the receptionist recognizes them.

RECEPTIONIST: Oh, shit! You guys are back!? Please, just no stealing the “King’s” costume this time!

DAMON: You remember us?

RECEPTIONIST: Of course I remember you! You guys are crazy! Specially you, damsel (winks at Kai). Where are the other three?

ALARIC: What other three? We are only missing one…

RECEPTIONIST: Uhm, no you aren’t; there were seven of you. You four… the wolf man, the cop, and the handsome hero hair guy.

DAMON: So Stefan was here with us, that’s a start!

ALARIC: And, apparently, Matt and Tyler too… So, not only did we lose the groom, we managed to loose two members of the wedding party. (Sarcastic) Fantastic!

KAI: Listen, I really need you to tell me who I married last night...

RECEPTIONIST: Sure, you married Whitney Houston; you lucky bastard!

KAI: What!? I mean, I love me some Whitney, but, really? She married me?

RECEPTIONIST: (Looking confused, and a bit sorry for him) 

Well, an impersonator, obviously. The real Whitney has been dead for a while. Boy, your hang-over must really be screwing with you.

IKER: Don’t these places usually offer packages? Like photo albums and stuff…

RECEPTIONIST: We sure do.

IKER: Did we, or he (referring to Kai), buy any?

RECEPTIONIST: The whole nine yards. I thought that’s why you guys came back. (Takes out a box of wedding souvenirs and a photo album) Look… mugs, crystal balls, pins, key chains…

DAMON: Let’s go straight for the album… (They go through the photos. Some are “somewhat” normal...

Others, go along these lines…  Kai, dressed as a ballerina, and the bride dressed as a noble knight. Stefan, wearing an Elvis outfit, mastering every single one of his iconic poses. Iker and Damon playing catch with the bride’s bouquet. Alaric, sneaking about, in full Indiana Jones mission. Matt, riding an inflatable unicorn, role-playing to be the Lone Ranger. Tyler, on all fours, howling).

DAMON: (Terrified at the pics they just saw) Oh god… I don’t even want to know...

ALARIC: (Sharing the sentiment) Oh, fuck no... apparently, I was the one to walk Kai down the aisle… Those pictures really need to be destroyed….

RECEPTIONIST: I’m telling you… you guys are totally insane!

ALARIC: You don’t happen to know where we were heading when we left here, do you?

RECEPTIONIST: No. But you did mention something about settling a debt; getting Britney Spears back for something…

ALARIC: Britney Spears?

RECEPTIONIST: Yep; the hero hair guy kept going on and on, about her owing him big time; and that he was going to collect… And you (referring to Damon) kept saying “It’s Britney, bitch!” That’s all I got, hope it helps. (Alaric looks at Damon to see if he remembers anything from hearing that …)

DAMON: Sorry, man, I’m at a blank…

IKER: Wait… I think I’m getting a flashback… of you (referring to Damon), strip dancing to “Gimme More”?

DAMON: No… I’d never strip dance to that! Britney Spears? Nice try, but nop.

KAI: Oh, come on, everyone loves Britney!  

ALARIC: I think I remember that… God, please, take that image out of my head! Of all things, that’s what you chose for me to remember?! Have some mercy!  

DAMON: If I did… I probably rocked it (winks and smirks).

IKER: Okay, I’m definitely gonna need therapy after this trip.

ALARIC: Well, we got all the information we are going to get from this place; and I don’t think I want to find out more. So, what’s next?

DAMON: I say we pay Miss Spears a visit…

ALARIC: First, no one would ever let us be less than 300 feet from her. Second, that’s ridiculous; she is obviously not involved, aside from you stripping to her songs. What we need to find is that strip joint we apparently went to after, or before, this place.

IKER: (Who has stumbled upon a box of matches in his pocket) Maybe this can help… (shows them a very tacky match box, which reads: Mystic Divas.

Cut to – Mystic Divas strip joint. The place, given the hour, is obviously closed. Just as they are about to leave, a woman, wearing Whitney’s “Queen of the Night” outfit, spots them as they are about to leave.

 LADY: My princess! (Runs to hug Kai and kisses him) Why you bail on me last night?! Thought we were having fun!

KAI: Uhm… I’m guessing you are, my knight in shining armour?  

LADY: Sure am! Till death do us part… (Sees Kai’s terrified face and laughs) Don’t worry, it was only pretend, honey, nothing permanent. We were both really drunk and thought it would be fun.

DAMON: (Sarcastic) Aw…what a love story! (To the lady) Sweetheart, you think you can help us put some dots together?

LADY: I can, but there is no way I’m letting you on my stage again. And, don’t call me sweetheart.

ALARIC: So, we were here last night?

LADY: Physically, yes. But I’m not sure any other part came along. Y’all were completely wasted.

IKER: All, meaning us four; or were there more?

LADY: Shit! You really don’t remember anything?

DAMON: (Trying to avoid the whole Britney strip thing) Nop!

LADY: Well… you were all here; plus the other three dudes.

ALARIC: I’m assuming that was before “the wedding”?

LADY: Yes. This is where (looks at Kai) we fell in love. But we came back here after the reception. Well, only me, my hubby; you fine looking thang (referring to Iker), and you, the ultimate party pooper (referring to Alaric). Don’t know where the rest of you went. All I know, is that my princess here, pulled a runaway bride after he got a call, and you two (referring to Iker and Alaric), left along with him.

ALARIC: Do you know around what time that was?

LADY: I’d say three-ish? Anyway, I have to go (kisses Kai on the cheek) It was lovely being your wife for the night. Good luck boys! (Leaves).

IKER: Not bad, psycho boy, she’s hot!

KAI: (Proud smirk) Totally hot!

ALARIC: Kinda reminded me of…

DAMON: (Before Ric says the name, he knows he’s going to say, he changes the conversation) Kai, check your phone…

KAI: (Rubbing it in his face) What... she remind oyu of someone, Damon?

DAMON: Please, you wish! 

Now, check your freaking phone!

KAI: Fine, fine… (looks at his received calls; sure enough he has an inbound call, from an unknown number, at 3:13 am) Well… Yep; I received a call, clueless about the caller, but seems like we had a lot to talk about, call lasted 20 minutes…

DAMON: (Sarcastic) Gee, I wonder how we can find out who the mystery caller is?

KAI: We could try to hack into the local police system, they have a huge database. Except, we’ll need a computer, preferably a stolen one so it’s untraceable…

IKER: (Also sarcastic) Or, maybe just call the number?

KAI: Of course I was gonna do that first! I was just thinking ahead, in case we get no answer. Amateurs! 

(Calls the number…) What a surprise… no answer! Oh, wait… (someone answers: Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital, how can I help you? Hangs-up immediately).

DAMON: So, who was it?! Why did you hang up!!

KAI: Ooh, I’m getting a bad feeling…

ALARIC: Give me that (takes the phone from his hand, calls the number… Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital, how can I help you? Hangs-up immediately) Shit…

DAMON: So, who the hell was it?!

ALARIC: Not who, but what…

DAMON: Ric, I’m too hung-over to be playing guessing games.

ALARIC: Does anyone remember anything about a psychiatric hospital?

DAMON: Now, that’s definitely a place Stefan could be at…

KAI: Specially if he was found hunting bunnies…

DAMON: Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go one flew over the cuckoo’s nest…

ALARIC: I’ll get us another uber…

IKER: Wait… 

Uber! Of course! I can’t believe we didn’t think of that! Everyone, check your phones for any trips we took last night.

DAMON: Duh! Man, we are really out of it!  (They check their phones…) Well, I have one at 5:30, from the hotel to the Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, downtown. And another one at 7:40, from the steakhouse to the Bellagio… That’s it.

IKER: I have one, from the Bellagio to Mystic Divas at 1:06am.

KAI: As for me, one, at 3:33am, from Mystic Divas to the Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital…

ALARIC: I don’t have any from last night.

DAMON: Okay, so far, our best bet at finding Stefan is at that psych hospital. Let’s move.

 TVD 9x16 (part 2 of part 1) coming very soon! Hope you stop by, read, and enjoy! =)

P.S Had to split it into more parts otherwise it would be too long for one post per part. 

[random-fangirl003]

Notice Me - Nathan Drake

Fandom: Uncharted

Character(s): Nathan Drake, OCs, Sam Drake, Elena Fisher, Sully

Pairing(s): Nathan Drake x OC

Type: Oneshot

Warning(s): Cussing, Arguments, Pregnancy Mention, Teasing

Summary: Tired of playing second fiddle to Elena, Nathan's best friend decides to prove a point.

A/N: NEW TO THIS FANDOM, MIGHT GET STUFF WRONG!

Anyone who looked close enough, could tell that Savannah Grant was in love with Nathan Drake, and they could also see how much Nathan Drake loved Savannah Grant, but the two of them were as oblivious to their affections towards one another. So, they constantly spent time together, whether treasure hunting or otherwise, as best friends do. On the latest treasure hunt, Savannah had dug up information on the location of a map for Alaric's treasure, which was being sold in a charity auction, meaning that they would have to break in and steal it, or honestly bid on it, which was causing a bit of a dispute between the two best friends currently.

"No! No way!" Nathan huffs from where he's sitting, leaning back on two legs of his chair. "You can't just go into that auction unarmed and alone!"

"What?! I'm not strong enough to do it? Is that what you mean?!" Savannah demands, placing her hands on her hips.

"I never said that!" Nathan replies. "It's just too dangerous to go it alone!"

"Yet you had no problem sending Sully in alone, last time."

"That's different."

"How? How is it different, Nathaniel?! How is my going to an auction, while you do the exact see thing as last time, any different? In case you forgot, this is my treasure! I found it!" She growls, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It just is!" He replies as he stands up, pressing his hands on the table.

"If it were Elena, you'd have no problems with it!"

"That's different too! She's-"

"What?" She demands, cutting the treasure hunter off. "She's what? Stronger? Smarter? Prettier?"

"I never said any of those things!" Nathan yells, anger flushing his cheeks as she slams a hand on the table herself.

"You didn't need to." She growls as she presses off the table, her anger turning her vision red as she turns away. "I'm going! And if you're so fucking worried, I'll ask Michael to accompany me as my date!" She stalks off, leaving Nathan fuming behind her, Sully and Sam are off to the side of the room, completely forgotten.

"Michael?! How could she just invite that pompous, arrogant-?!"

"She is in charge, Nate. She's been doing most of the work this time." Sam points out, causing his brother to turn on him with wild eyes, raking a hand through his hair.

"But, he's played her so many times!" Nathan shouts as Sully holds up his hands.

"She's a big girl, she knows what she's doing." Her annoyance had bit at Nathan, and he knew she threw Michael's name into the fray, just to anger him, but he also knew that she would keep her word, and that jackass would be escorting her to the auction tomorrow evening.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it." Nathan retorts sharply, leaving the room. Elena and Savannah are sitting on the roof top patio in the hot evening sun of Southern Italy, where the blonde journalist is trying to calm the ginger treasure hunter down.

"Look, he didn't mean it like that, Vannah." Elena grasps her friend's hand. "You just have a tendency to go head first into things, without thinking them through."

"Seriously?! You just don't understand why I'm doing this, do you?!" Savannah exclaims, rage still burning in her words. "Nathan sees me as a burden! All I ever do is screw up, some way or another. I want to show that I'm worth being in this, being by his- I mean your guys' side."

"You don't always screw up," Elena shakes her head, patting Savannah's hand. "I mean, remember the time Nate didn't remember to write down the pattern to a puzzle in his journal, and you remembered it all, in order? Or how about the time none of us could speak that one language, uh-"

"Taushiro. I wouldn't have learned if I hadn't wanted to show up Nate." Savannah sighs, leaning into her fist.

"Exactly! You and Nate may fight, but you bring our the best in each other. You just have to understand where you both are coming from, ya know?" Elena's words make Savannah sigh again as she runs her other hand through her wild curls, pulling away her hand as she grimaces at the muck that always seems to find it's way there, due to the constant running, fighting, and everything else that is entailed with treasure hunting.

"I guess you're right." Savannah stands with a hesitant smile, heading towards the stairs, only to pause. "Elena, you don't happen to... like Nate, right?" She asks, looking at the blonde from over her shoulder.

"I, uh-" Elena pauses, and let's out a shocked laugh. "No, it's not like that. Nathan is like a brother, I mean once, yeah, I did. But, you know how it is, I mean-"

"Is it Sam?" She turns bright red at that, causing Savannah to giggle, shaking her head. "You might want to talk to him about that."

"Like you can talk?" The journalist teases, causing Savannah to scoff, entering their hotel room.

"Savannah, I-" Nathan starts as he walks over to her from the other room, but Savannah pushes past him.

"I need a shower, Nathan. Then to make a call." She slams the door to the room that she and Elena share, grabbing her toiletries, clothes, and a towel, before exiting her room to enter the bathroom, leaving Nathan standing in the hallway, stunned at her behavior.

The silent treatment continues through the night, and into the next day, where Elena and Sully go over the layouts of the mansion where the auction is being held, and the plan for the others, while Savannah spends the day getting ready. At half past eight, she finally leaves her room, entering the living room in a shimmering blue dress with a slit up her thigh, and silver high heels on. "God, my stomach is in knots." Savannah says as she walks over to the kitchenette, Nathan's mouth dropping open at the sight of her, Sam's and Sully's mouths aren't far along.

"Don't you look nice!" Elena says brightly as she pulls out supplies for a sandwich. "You are probably hungry."

"No, I'm in heels and a dumbass dress, that feels like I had to be slathered in Crisco to get into. I hate being unable to wear my boots, and clothes I can fight or defend in. You ever see someone ungraceful, who could dodge a bullet in a dress?" Elena shakes her head with a laugh, and starts to spread mayo over her bread.

"Well, eat before you go. You'll feel better." Elena says.

"No way, if I eat one bite, every seem in this thing will split open." Savannah says as she glances back at the dumbstruck men, who are watching her, instead of preparing for the night. "Are they alright?"

"You look like a girl!" Sam says, causing her to snort.

"I am a girl." She points out, causing Nathan to snap his mouth shut, slugging Sam in the arm.

"Yeah, but you don't look it!" Sam replies, causing Savannah to sigh, threading her fingers through the one long sleeve of her dress, feeling rather sheepish now.

"Well, you look lovely, Sav." Sully says, pressing out of his chair, before crossing to her with a cigar clenched between his teeth.

"Thanks Sully, I'd give you a hug, but Elena lent me her expensive perfume, I don't want to smell like cigarettes too, I'll smell like a hooker." She giggles at Sully's affronted expression, there's a knock on the door that silences them all. "That'd be Michael." She says, grabbing her clutch from the table by the door, and opening it to show a suave man in a tux, his black hair is slicked back, and he has a cocky smirk on his clean shaven face.

"V-V." Michael sweeps her up in a hug, causing her to let out a surprised laugh, hugging him back as Nathan grits his teeth, clenching a fist behind her. "How have you been, luv?" He asks as he pulls back to set her to the floor.

"Living one day to the next." She answers honestly, before walking over to grabbing her shawl from the chair beside Nathan, not even sparing him a glance as she walks back towards Michael. "Well, are we going?"

"Indeed," He grabs her hand, bringing it up to press a kiss to her gloved knuckle, before tucking it into his arm. "far well all, enjoy your evening." He bids, telling them all that Michael has no clue what is really going on as Savannah waves, closing the door behind them after, a sweep of her shawl over her shoulders. During the drive to the mansion, Savannah and Michael make polite conversation with one another, while back at the hotel the others are getting dressed, and preparing for the sting, while Nathan seethes in his anger.

Pulling up to the mansion, Savannah removes the invitations from her pouch as Michael rounds to the other side of the car, opening her door, before offering a hand to help her out of the car. Taking it, the ginger treasure hunter stares up at the manor, her green eyes wide as Michael chuckles, tucking her hand through his arm. "Are you sure you'd rather be here, than somewhere else for our date? I'm only in Italy for the weekend."

"Michael, you're my escort, this isn't a date." He fakes a wounded look as he walks her towards the door, where the guards study their invitations, and scan her purse, before allowing them in. The main foyer is full of people in fancy dress, the artifacts are spread out on the tables for examining, there is music, dancing, a grand chandelier, and a champagne fountain with flutes next to it for drinking. "Will you get me a drink? I want to look at the artifacts." Michael nods, giving her a teasing bow as she starts towards a table, pretending to be examining a golden plate as she pulls out a lipstick container from her purse. Pretending to put the lipstick on, she pulls the ear piece out of the bottom, sticking it in her ear, before smacking her lips together as she puts the lipstick away.

"Check check, Sav can you hear me?" Sully asks as she let's out a hum of acknowledge, though to others it might seem like she's humming along to the music.

"We're outside right now," Nate says, his voice a welcome distraction from the pit in her stomach. "I'm working on getting the passage under the mansion open for the others."

"V-V, luv?" She turns to the British ambassador as he walks over with two champagne flutes, offering her one as she bites her lip.

"Actually, I haven't ate yet. I really shouldn't drink on an empty stomach." She says, causing Michael to deflate as Nathan chuckles in her ear, causing her to struggle not to roll her eyes.

"No matter," Michael sets the flute on a passing waiter's tray, tucking her hand into his arm again. "I do wish you had mentioned something, I would have made sure you ate before we had come."

"I'm alright." She says as they both start to wander around, her looking for the artifact that hides the map, and Michael watching Savannah's expressions and mannerisms.

"Savannah, I need you to open the servant's door leading to the kitchen." Nate's voice is in her ear, making her swallow thickly as she glances at the clock.

"Michael, I'm going to go to the bathroom and fix my make-up-"

"Ah, luv, no need, you are beautiful, as always." Michael reaches up to brush a wild curl from her face, and she blushes.

"Oh please." Nathan says in the ear piece, making Savannah's face to crumple, and Michael frowns.

"What's wrong?" She shakes her head, forcing herself to smile convincingly.

"My stomach is eating itself. I'm going to pop into the kitchen and grab something."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Michael asks, grasping her hand as she pulls away, and she looks back at him.

"I'll ask permission if anyone spots me." She gives a teasing grin. "Besides, mister ambassador, I remember the two of us having quite a bit of fun sneaking around, while we were younger." Michael chuckles, rubbing his neck as Nathan makes a gagging sound in the mic as Savannah struts away, her path towards the kitchen dead ahead. Slipping into the kitchen is fine, the servants merely sent questioning looks, though seeing her attire they left her alone, most guests were allowed to do as they wished, as long as they caused no trouble. The area around servant's door to the kitchen was abandoned, but she was careful when resting upon the wood, her back flat against it as she looked around, watching the servants carefully as she unlocked and opened the door.

"Finally!" Nathan groans as he enters, dressed to the nines as she glares at him, holding out her hand for her pistol- with Nate, shooting was never far behind. He hands the weapon to her, making her throw back the skirt of her dress from the slit, and slide the gun into the holster on her leg, Nate's eyes trailing up and down her legs as she tugs the gown back into place.

"Have you found the artifact?" Elena asks, entering the kitchen in a waitressing outfit.

"The map is in the vase, like I thought. Lot number 31." Savannah says, holding out a stolen apron from a kitchen cart. Elena pulls on the apron, tying up her hair as Sam ties the apron behind her back, he's in his own waiter outfit, and Sully is obviously waiting in the car for their getaway.

"Do we need the vase?" Sam inquires, causing her to roll her eyes.

"The map is in the vase." She replies, making him frown. "It's also from the year Alaric died, we might need it- it could contain a clue, or be part of a puzzle, so yes. It's not a very big vase, and it's more than likely full of dirt, considering it looks like an urn, but the marking indicate that it isn't."

"So, we're stealing the map, vase and all." Nathan replies, and Savannah looks at him, before frowning.

"You're supposed to be a waiter."

"I couldn't find a uniform in my size, so I knocked out a guest, and stole his clothes." She wrinkles her nose, attempting to hold back a giggle as Nathan smiles. "I'm a guest now."

"Well, Michael knows who you are, so if he asks why I didn't come with you, tell him the truth. We're fighting." She states.

"Are we really?" Nathan asks, causing her to glare at him. "You are beautiful tonight... so beautiful." He says softly, causing her to blush as she looks away, shuffling a bit until Sam clears his throat, looking up as Elena elbows the older of the Drake brothers in the stomach, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and starts towards the party.

"Show time." Elena says into the ear piece, making Savannah paste a smile on her face, exiting the kitchen alone. She heads over to Michael, an apology on her lips as he smiles at her.

"Sorry, I had to meet Nate at the door. We're fighting, but he insisted on coming." Michael frowns as he glances around, probably for Nathan, as Savannah smiles up at him. "I'll take that champagne now." He nods his head, grabbing her hand to tuck it into his arm, before escorting her towards the champagne fountain.

"I hope he doesn't interrupt our time again, tonight. I have missed you V-V." She forces herself to continue to smile.

"Gross. Watch, next he'll say he wants to get back together." Nathan hisses in her ear as she takes the flute of champagne from Michael, sipping on it the bubbling drink.

"I mean it, V-V, my love. I made a mistake, I wish to be with you once more." Savannah chokes, spitting her drink right in Michael's face, coughing out an apology as Elena, as a waitress, hands him a napkin from her apron. Savannah takes the other napkin, dabbing at her chin as Elena shoots her a sympathetic grin, walking behind Michael to hover.

"I-I am so sorry." She coughs, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to-" He wipes his face with the napkin.

"No no, you didn't do anything wrong, luv." Elena pretends to stick a finger down her throat behind him. "I merely chose the wrong moment to speak my mind." He continues to wipe his face as she sets the drink down.

"I-Look, Michael, you really hurt me last time, you took advantage of my heart and my feelings, and I just- I just felt that I could never love again. You know how difficult it was for me to trust you, the only other person I could ever trust like that, was Nate." Michael clears his throat, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"So, you have turned me down. My heart is now the one to have been played."

"Michael, I never said this was a date, and I never implied that we'd be in a relationship. I needed an escort, that is all. And, as a friend, I thought we could-"

"You've still rejected me!" Michael says, anger in his voice.

"Shh, please, don't make a scene." She begs softly.

"Can I at least be told why? Am I not man enough? Did I hurt you too much?"

"No, that's not it. Well, it's sort of it, but I just-" She bites her lip, looking around. "I just-"

"She's with me." She jumps at the feeling of a familiar arm falling around her waist, pulling her tightly against the person's side, and she looks up to see Nate. "We've been fighting, so I asked her to at least, if she didn't want me to come, invite someone she knew could be trusted, to escort her tonight. What can I say? We fight, but I love her." Savannah's heart pounds and sputters at those words, making her blush as Michael looks at her for confirmation, and she freezes, then slowly nods.

"I see. As far as I can tell, you've made up quite well, and I shall be on my way." Michael bows, walking away with arrogance in his stride as she glances back up at Nate, before she pushes him away a bit.

"I had that!" She snaps, causing Nate to roll his eyes.

"Not from what I saw. Elena was about ready to pour champagne on the guy, to get him to leave." Rubbing her arm, she swallows thickly, glancing at Elena, who is handing out drinks to guests, and she sets her own down.

"So, you decided to play the noble hero and sacrifice yourself for the greater good of the mission?" She scoffs, roll her eyes as she walks away. Nathan grabs her by the wrist, turning her back to him.

"Hey, I never said that! What the hell is with you lately?" Her face falls as she jerks her wrist from his grasp.

"Let's just finish this mission, and I will be out of your hair for good!" She snaps, stalking off towards the artifact, waiting until everything goes dark, and her night-vision contacts come flooding to life, allowing her to slink silently to the table. She quick in grabbing the vase from the table, before hurrying towards the kitchen door. Just as she slips inside, Nathan, and Elena right on her tail, the foyer floods with light again. Tossing the vase to Nathan, who hides it in his pocket, Sam meets them at the servant's door, the four of them exiting without anyone noticing. Or so they thought.

"So, hey," Nathan whispers as they slink through the mansion. "what did you mean by out of my hair "for good"? Are you leaving after this hunt?" She glares at him as she takes measured steps, ignoring his question.

"Who goes there?!" A guard shouts, causing her to flinch at the sound of her heels hitting the floor, and Nate turns his flashlight on them. "The wind?" The guard asks, causing her to glance at the guard from behind the pillar, watching him walk away. Her breath stutters in her relief as she stands flush against the stone pillar, the others are just as quiet around her.

"Take them off, Sav!" Elena whispers in a rush, causing Savannah to nod.

"I'm on it." She shuffles nearly silent as she struggles to get the heels off, then she tosses them to Sam, who hurriedly catches them, before padding up to the guard as he turns back towards them, his flashlight barely hits her toes, before she swings her arm up. Driving her elbow into the guard's head, she knocks him out as he drops to the floor like a sack of rocks, his flashlight rolling across the floor. Nathan whistles softly, impressed as he drags the unconscious guard behind a flower box to hide him, and the four of them continue on their route.

"Are you going to answer me?" Nate asks after a few minutes of silence, then as they round another corner, she just shoots him a glare.

"Now is not the time, Nathan." She retorts as the whistling of a bullet goes past her head, skimming across her cheek as it blows her hair past her eyes, and they all turn, Nathan pushing Elena behind the nearest cover as Savannah dodges another bullet, dropping behind cover. The darkness provides ample cover as she pulls out her gun, and she nods to Nathan, who in turn nods to her, the two of them taking turns to pop out of cover to shoot, not a single word said between them, while Sam scouts ahead.

"How about now?!" Nathan asks as he presses against the pillar, reloading as Savannah pops out of cover, shooting one of the guards in the shoulder, making the guard scream as he falls.

"No, Nathan!" She replies, shooting down another guard. "Why does it always end in a firefight with you?"

"Brilliant question! Let's ask them next time." Elena says as Nathan pops out of cover, firing as Savannah drops back into cover, reloading her gun.

"Are you leaving?!" Nathan asks as he fires one last round, and the final guard falls, the three of them standing as Sam pops up from the route ahead, beckoning them silently. "Hey," Nathan grabs her hand, tugging her to a stop as Elena and Sam continue on ahead. "are you?"

"Nate-"

"Don't Nate me! Are you leaving? Are you done after this?" Nathan asks, his face is sad.

"I-I don't know." She answers truthfully, looking at the ground. "I just don't know." She pulls away, starting towards the exit, followed by Nathan. Sully is as quick a get away as always, the four of them are in the car with the door barely closed, before Sully is peeling out of the mansion gates, the guards start to pile out of the mansion, guns firing. "Heads down!" She shouts, pushing Nate's head down as she drops her head into his lap, a bullet piercing the back window, and out the front. Sully drives like a mad man, swerving and stopping and driving in and out of alleyways and places where a car can barely fit, Nate's arms are around Elena, making Savannah feel bad as she struggles to stay in her seat from the jostling, unable to latch her seatbelt, unlike the others. The bridge on the way to the hotel starts to lift up before them, and Sully clenches the wheel, gunning the engine.

"Hold on!" Sully shouts, driving off a bridge as she let's out a scream, Nathan's eyes go wide when he sees her flying from her seat, his arms reaching out to catch her, jerking her into his lap as Sully lands on the other side of the bridge, and the guards chasing them have no choice but to stop as Sully speeds away. She gasps, clinging to Nathan's arms that are secured firmly around her, heart pounding for two different reasons as Nathan murmurs calming words in her ear, stroking her arm. Nathan holds her shaking form all the way back to the hotel, where Sully swerves around the back, into the underground parking space, allowing Sam to help Elena out as Sully climbs out, Nate muttering that the older man is a "son of a bitch" as he unbuckles, pushing Savannah into a sitting position as he slides out of the car. She sits still as a stone, her heart pounding so hard that it aches, and her eyes wide from the terror flushing from her veins, she doesn't even notice Nathan opening her door, turning her around as he places a warm hand against her cheek.

"Sav? Hon? We're back." Nathan murmurs, causing her to blink, sucking in a sharp breath as she looks around, head jerking from one direction to the other, before she slowly climbs out of the car, her bare feet touching the ground for barely a moment, before Nathan sweeps her into his arms, Bridal style.

"N-Nate?" She asks in confusion.

"You're still a bit shocked, right?" He closes the car door with his shoe, following the others to where they disappeared into the hotel, and when they return to their hotel room, nobody says anything while Nathan whisks Savannah away to his bedroom. "You've got a bit of blood on you," Nathan says as he comes back from the bathroom with a damp rag, having set her on the foot of his bed. "I also grabbed some bandages for your feet. You didn't say anything, but you probably have blisters on your ankles from those heels, huh?" Savannah looks away, sheepishly as Nate scrubs at her elbow, where she can already feel a bruise under the blood, from knocking that one guard out, and then he moves to her cheek, where the first bullet had barely gazed her. He hadn't said anything, but his heart about stopped when he heard and saw that bullet coming at her, and while he pushed Elena down, he had wanted to tackle Savannah to the ground, and shield her with his entire body. "You were shot."

"I'm fine." She answers truthfully, he drops the rag, his hand coming up to cup her cheek, before she looks at him, eyes finally focusing. "I am, Nate." She covers his hand with her own, causing him to lighten up on the pressure, taking a deep shaking breath. "I'm fine." He leans up, pressing a kiss to her forehead, before he pulls back to kneel, taking her foot to clean it, before placing a bandage over one of her heels, where a blister is. He does the same with the other as she let's out a soft sigh, looking out the window beside the bed. "You were reckless tonight." She says, causing him to glance up at her, she realizes that he's shed the jacket of his pilfered suit, and he is now fiddling with the strap to the holster on her leg. "I understand that you're worried about Elena, but how many times has she been through this?"

"I don't know what you mean." Nate says defiantly as Savannah sighs.

"You were circling Elena like a guard dog, you wouldn't even give her a gun. It was an argument for her to even be allowed to join us on this mission!" Savannah pushes a stray curl from her face. "You know that she can take care of herself, she has more proved it, I just don't get why you suddenly have become so overprotective of-"

"Elena is pregnant." Nathan says as he sets her holster on the bed, looking up at her from where he squats, watching her press her lips together in a firm line, her eyes flicking across his face to determine if he's telling the truth.

"She's... and are you-?"

"No!" Nathan scoffs, rolling his eyes at her implication. "Sam is." She snaps her mouth shut, smiling a bit as she shakes her head.

"And they didn't want to distract from the treasure hunt, so they hid the pregnancy and kept their relationship a secret." She rolls her eyes.

"You've been after this treasure for a couple years now. It's understandable on why they'd want to keep quiet if you finally got a lead." She huffs a curl of hair from her face, but it just drops back down, making her sigh as she pushes it back behind her ear.

"So, you aren't with Elena?" Nathan blanches at that, as if the idea makes him sick. "God, if someone had just told me that!" She groans, pressing her palms to her eyes. "I mean, Elena said there was nothing going on, but with how protective you've been, and reluctant you've been about treasure hunting, I just thought- I guess I dunno, that you guys wanted out, so you could settle down in peace? I thought maybe Elena told me what she told me, because you guys were trying to cut me out!"

"Never, Sav. You are my best friend." Nathan says as he stands, and she slowly rocks to her feet.

"Now, don't even try to lie to me about your relationship with Chloe, after we all separated from each other a couple years back." Nathan groans as he presses his face into his hand, shaking his head.

"You're never going to leave that be, are you?" He asks as she waltzes to the bedroom door, tugging the fraying hairband out of her flaming mane, letting the curls fly free.

"She dumped you in the end, didn't she? What happened there, Nate? You were a good match, the double agent and the blind buffoon." She teases as Nathan glares playfully at her.

"None of your business, huh? The only thing she was right about, is missing her ass." Nate retorts as she throws back her head, laughing as the first rays of the sun catch in her mane from the window, lighting it on fire as she slips out, ready to finally look at the map to Alaric's treasure, and get some sleep after being up and on the run all night.

It takes weeks of searching, clue after clue, until eventually they find the treasure- Elena and Sam had taken off almost a week previous, for the safety of the baby, and Sully had ducked a week before with the same excuse as always, "I'm getting too old for this shit!" and that left Nate and Savannah, still slightly at odds, left to chase the treasure. Of course, like all of the hunts involving the Drake boys, this one was a race to the vault, in the middle of a Southern Italian countryside, and lots and lots of guns. "Duck!" Savannah shouts at Nathan as she tosses a grenade over their cover, dropping down as the little ball rolls into enemy cover, and Nathan throws his hands out, slapping them over her ears as the explosion goes off, leaving his ears ringing.

"Think before you throw, Sav!" He hisses as he rubs at one of his ears, and she gives a sheepish grin as she leans around the stone they're behind, firing quickly at any stragglers.

"Ah shit!" She shouts, swinging back around to press against the stone, her hand gripping her shoulder of her dominant arm, gun having been dropped in her panic.

"W-What?" Nathan asks as he continues to fire, and she shakes her head.

"No, it's nothing. Keep shooting." She says as she reaches into a pocket of her cargo pants, ripping a bandage from the pocket, and sliding her shirt sleeve up, her hand pressing the adhesive bandage to the bloody wound. "Are you ready to move ahead yet?" She asks, shouldering her shotgun after she grabs it, and Nate looks at her, spying the blood smeared down her arm.

"Sav, are you okay?!" He asks worriedly, causing her to nod, wincing noticably, making him give her a look that says he's not buying it.

"I'm fine, let's just get to the treasure vault." She rolls out of cover, back flush against a barrier that one of the enemies had setup, before she glances around the corner, then clambers to her feet with her shotgun holstered, her dominant arm useless while injured. Picking up a fallen enemy's pistol, she checks the clip, before she slides it back in, cocking the gun, readying to shoot as they move through the countryside.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a look at that?" Nate asks as he watches blood seep through the white bandage and the green of her shirt. "You might need stitches." She shakes off his hand when he reaches for her arm.

"I'm fine, Nate! Let's just get to the vault." She says again, making Nate groan, chasing after ambitious young woman as they duck around passages, shooting a couple more enemies, and solve a couple more riddles, before they both enter the vault, where the leader of their enemies- Michael himself (honestly, why is she not surprised?), is stalking back and forth, flaunting and rambling his victory to the rest of his men.

"-this wealth, nobody would dare to reject me again!" He booms as they press against nearby pillars, and Nate shoots her a look.

"You dated this guy? What does he have performance issues that he needs to compensate for?" Nathan hisses as she rolls her eyes.

"I wouldn't know, we never went that far." She reaches into a pocket of her pant, pulling out silencers for their pistols, one of which she tosses to Nate. They waste no time screwing the silencers onto their guns, before she lurches around a cover, and a muted shot leaves her gun, striking one of the men on the balcony above in the middle of the forehead, he drops dead as she leans back into cover.

"Nice shot." Nate whispers as she blushes, watching him do the same from his place, they are silent at picking off the men on the balconies above the vault as the other men start to carry out the treasure, the opposite direction of where the treasure hunters are.

"With this, I can make her pay, make them all pay!" Michael rambles, unaware of his men dropping dead around him, until they've all been picked off. Putting away her pistol, she shoulders her shotgun, training it on Michael as Nathan watches her back.

"Michael!" The British ambassador turns, eyes wide as he sees her. "What've you done? Why are you here?"

"Ah, V-V, my luv. I see you've brought... your friend." He grimaces at Nate, before looking back at her. "I figured that since you had an interest in this treasure, perhaps you might be willing to come back to me, if I had it first. I had planned on telling you back in England, but you were a saucy minx, and hot in my trail. I needed to move quickly."

"What happened to you?" She asks as Michael gives her a crazed grin.

"Love, my darling. It does things to a man, things he never thought possible." Michael trains his gun on Nathan, making her freeze as she looks back him, seeing Nathan freeze as two big guys come in, grabbing him by the arms after wrestling the gun away from him, one kicks it towards Michael, making her eye it as she throws down her shotgun, she knows the drill by now. "Now, I will give you a choice- it's not a hard one. Come with me, and live in the lap of luxury and be my wife. Or, choose Mr. Drake over there, and die with the man you love."

"What?!" She barks, looking at Nathan, who shakes his head, urging her to not sacrifice herself for him. "You can't be serious, Michael! You can't just kill him, f-for-"

"I can and I will!" Michael booms, his shout making her flinch as she glances at Nate, who watches her in fear. A plan forms in her head as she turns to Michael, and she starts to edge towards him a bit.

"Michael," Her voice falling into a more sultry tone as she sways over to him, making the Brit grin sickeningly sweet.

"Sav, what're you doing?!" Nathan exclaims as she turn to him, pinning him with a glare, before discreetly shooting Nathan a wink, before she wraps her arms around Michael's neck.

"Oh, Michael, can't you tell when a girl is playing hard to get?" She asks, running a finger up the ambassador's chest, causing the man to purr as he wraps his arms around her, and she rests her head against his chest. "I had Nathan fake being my boyfriend at the party, to make you jealous. You're so sexy when you're jealous." She swallows the rising bike in her throat as she leans up on her tip toes as Michael grins, leaning down with their lips hovering near each other, until he freezes as she buries the pistol into his stomach, making him freeze. "Call them off." She hisses as he glances up at her, before he looks at the man, then waves the men off, and they drop Nathan, who dives for his gun, turning to sink a bullet between both the men's eyes. "Now, we are leaving-" She let's out a choked noise as something sharp sinks into her side, pain lancing through her side.

"NO!" Nathan let's out a panicked shout as Michael pushes her away, and she stumbles back, her hand coming to her side to press against the soaked material of her shirt. She looks up, seeing a blade glistening with her blood, in Michael's hand as her knees become weak, she falls to the floor as he brings the blade up, licking the gleaming silver with a disgusting hum. Nathan let's out an enraged scream, unloading the remaining clip of his gun into Michael's body with a scream. "No no no no!" Nate murmurs quickly as he scrambles over to her, once Michael's body collapses, dropping to his knees to press his callus covered hands on her side, making sure to put pressure against her wound as he looks around. Eyeing the only other exit, he lifts her into his arms, following the trail that the looters took, leaving her behind a cover as he takes out the rest of the men on the only truck, which is loaded with gems and gold.

"N-Nate," She calls weakly as he rushes back to lift her into his arms, the world is blurry as she looks around, letting out a whimper when he starts to run, jostling her wounds. "Nathan-" She whimpers, and he shushes her as he lays her in the front of the truck, buckling her up.

"You're fine. You'll be fine!" He repeatedly says, turning the key in the ignition, gunning it through the trees, gravel spitting everywhere as she groans at the jerking movements of the truck. "I'm sorry, Sav. I know sweetheart, I know. I know it hurts, but it'll be okay, you'll be okay." He promises as he starts towards the small town they were staying in now, not far from the vault as he starts making calls while he pulls into town. He barely has the truck in park, key out of the ignition, before he rounds to her side, climbing into the giant truck to lift her, carefully, out of the truck, yelling at the townies for the doctor.

Days now move sluggishly as he paces constantly outside of the medical clinic, his eyes flicking from his phone to the door, to the truck to back again. The treasure they had loaded into the truck was a good amount, but nobody knew except for Nathan, but he couldn't even focus with Savannah incapacitated. Sully, Sam, and Elena eventually make it to the town, if you could even call the practical village, a town, but the doctors still do not give any updates on Savannah's status, despite Nate constantly prodding and camping outside of the clinic every night and day.

"If she dies-! I-If I lose her-" Nate groans, running his fingers through his short hair.

"Nate, kid, relax. You ain't gonna lose her." Sully says from his spot on a crate, flicking his cigar.

"No, Sully, she was distracting him for me! She sacrificed herself, made herself vulnerable for me! So, I could escape. It's all my fault." Elena huffs as Nate's stalking back and forth before the door increases, his fingers digging against the root of his hair.

"I always knew that Michael was an off bastard, but this is sickening." Sam says as Sully and Elena both nod in agreement. "He licked her blood off the blade?"

"Yes." Nate replies, he remembers the look on Michael's face as he licked Savannah's blood off the blade, the disgust rolls through Nathan again at the memory of ecstatic look that Michael had on his face, from Savannah's blood on his lips. "He looked like an addict getting his fix."

"Like an addict getting his fix?" Elena shutters as she looks at Sam, who clenches her hand in understanding of her concern. "God, and Savannah once thought she was in love with that creep."

"Let's not talk about that." Sully says as Nathan runs his fingers his hair, tugging his hair at the roots as he groans, stalking up to the door to the clinic, fist poised to pound on the door, when it flies open.

"D-Doc?" Nate's voice is worried as the doctor wipes his hands off on a rag, tossing it over his shoulder.

"Your friend will live. We did not want to give you news until we were sure." The Doctor says as he looks at everyone, before he looks up at Nate. "You may see her, but only one at a time." The Doctor enters the clinic, leaving the door open as Nathan looks back at the trio that are looking at him.

"We can wait, Nate. Go see her." Elena urges, causing him to nod, ducking into the clinic towards the back room, where the Doctor had motioned him to be, and he pauses outside the door, before opening it to the room. The bed occupies Savannah's weak form, with bandages wrapping her shoulder and her stomach, up over her chest, so she is left in only her pants, and a threadbare blanket over her legs. Her long ginger mane is pinned beneath her, tied back with a strip of leather, and caked with sweat, congealed blood, and muck. Walking around the bed, Nate kneels on the floor beside her, grasping her hand that was resting on her stomach, his eyes down-turned as he rests his forehead against her hand.

"Sav," He sighs weakly, his thumb rubbing back and forth across her soft knuckles. "I am so sorry. For everything." He murmurs as he looks up at her. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but if you could just... I know the doctor said you'd be fine, but I need to to pull through. I need you to open your eyes, and show me that you'll be fine. I-it's been almost a week, so please, let me know that you're okay. Just open your eyes, Vannah." He groans as he runs a grungy hand over his face, then looks up at her face again. "You said that you wanted to leave, that you were done... can you please wake up, and tell me that you are done. Call me an idiot again. Anything. If you want to be done, we'll be done together, I promise. If you want to start a normal life, we can start a normal life together." He reaches up to caress her freckled cheek. "I can't live without you, Sav. I-I love you." He rests his forehead on her hand again, feeling exhaustion washing over him. "Did you hear me, Sav? I'm in love with you! So, just... open your damn eyes! Let me kiss you, or you can yell at me, you can slap me for all I care! Just wake up!" Nate pleads, clutching her hand tighter as he grits his teeth.

"Nate?" His head snaps up, but Savannah is still unconscious, causing him to turn, seeing Elena standing in the doorway, her eyes are sad. "I-I couldn't wait, I was so worried."

"It's okay," He clears his throat as Elena looks at Savannah, then back at Nathan.

"She loves you too, you know?" He furrows his brow as Elena smiles to herself. "She'd kill me by now, if she were awake, but you deserve to know." He runs his fingers through Savannah's hair, before he presses off the ground beside the bed.

"I'll be outside if-"

"No no no, you deserve to stay in here. Be the first thing she sees when she wakes up." Elena waves him off, pressing a hand to her back to stretch, after the last couple weeks, she's starting to show a bit. "Besides, Sam and I are going to head to the hotel, your niece or nephew is killing me."

"Alright," He pulls her into a hug, letting go the minute that he hears an agonized cry, turning to see Savannah's eyes wide open as she holds her side, while trying to sit up. "Sav!" He crosses to her side once more, easing her up off her elbow as she let's out a tearful whine. "It's okay, easy hon." He props the flat pillows up, leaning her back against them as he sits on the side of the bed, tucking a wild curl behind her ear.

"N-Nate?" She swallows thickly, causing him to grab his canteen off the belt, twisting the cap off, and placing it to her lips. She takes long pulls of the water, before turning her head away, wiping her mouth on her arm as Nathan chuckles, putting the canteen away. "Where are we? How long have I been out?" She murmurs, causing him to smirk.

"We're in the village, not far from the vault. You've been out for a week..." She looks at him questioningly, but he shakes his head. "The longest week of my life. I've missed your voice." He cups her cheek as she frowns.

"I'm so-"

"No. You didn't know." He leans forward, pressing his forehead to her own. "You just wanted me to be safe, I just wish you hadn't had to get hurt by that freak, in order to keep me safe." She looks confused as he pulls her close, kissing her deeply. She makes a noise of surprise, but falls into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You don't know how long I've been dying for that to happen." She murmurs as she leans away, looking up into his blue eyes, seeing them spark with light after her words register with him.

"You have been?" He asks softly, causing her to blush, pressing her lips together in a firm line as she nods. "I'm in love with you, Sav. I have been for years."

"Really?" She asks softly, skeptical and hoping as he smiles, nodding. "You couldn't have told me, I dunno, before I almost died?" Nathan chuckles at her words, leaning in to kiss her again.

Hope I've done the characters justice, I'm seriously new to this fandom- like I just started watching a playthrough yesterday. But, Nathan is just so nnn. I couldn't not write a story. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, sorry if the characters are a little OOC.

[insomnihan]

@just-a-little-salty replied to your post “HOWDY YALL-”

nice

bless up 🙏