#the first two used to be even brighter before I toned them down | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fluentmoviequoter · 11 months ago

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Poisonously Bad Day

Requested Here! (Thank you so much for my first Tim Bradford req!!)

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!reader

Summary: Just before your anniversary with Tim, you receive threatening messages. When someone tries to take your life, you and Tim learn the importance of talking to one another. (Or, Tim's crazy ex stalks you and Tim gets really worried about you.)

Warnings: reader is stalked and threatened, violence with a nail gun, reader has severe food allergies and uses an epi-pen, a little bit of grumpy x sunshine with our favorite grump, angst to fluff & hurt/comfort

Word Count: 4.1k+ words

A/N: I do not have much practice writing for Tim, so I apologize if he's OOC. However, I really love writing for him and trying to capture his amazing character, so I love the practice and appreciate any other requests you send me! I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think!🤍

Masterlist | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

Picture from Pinterest

Tim Bradford doesn’t believe in love at first sight. Or he didn’t before he met you. Your sunny personality drew him in, making his world a little brighter. From the moment he met you a few months ago, Tim has been enraptured by you. He’s still grumpy; his personality didn’t change overnight upon meeting you, but your sweet laugh and kind responses to his grumpiness make him happy. His smile isn’t as rare as it once was, but you still fight to see it, bringing as much sunshine as possible.

As your two-month anniversary approaches, you’re happier and giddier than usual. Toning it down as you knock on Tim’s door, you’re surprised to see him already smiling when he invites you in. It seems you’re rubbing off on him, even if he only shows you the softness that lies under the grumpy Tim you know and love. Although your relationship is very new, you haven’t even learned much about Tim’s previous relationships, you know you love him and treasure every moment you spend with your man of honor.

“Hey, you,” Tim mumbles, pulling you into a warm hug. “Missed you.”

“Long day?” you ask, pushing your fingers through his hair.

“Unbelievably. Nolan and Lopez decided to interrogate me about why I was in a ‘good mood’ all day.”

You stifle a laugh at Tim’s air quotes. He rolls his eyes when he sees your bright smile but pulls you into the kitchen anyway.

“I didn’t even know you could smile,” you tease him. “Now I want to know what caused the good mood.”

“I think you know.”

Despite his initial hesitance in getting close to you, Tim obviously knows how to treat you right and make you feel seen, appreciated, beautiful, and loved. Each moment you spend with him makes you a little more curious as to why no one has snatched him up yet. Yes, he’s grumpy, but he’s also just a big teddy bear underneath if you’re willing to dig.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim usually walks you home after dates, but he gets called into work, so you return alone. There is a small envelope slipped in the space between your door and the jamb, and you decide to open it before going inside.

The simple message reading ‘Back Off’ doesn’t give much information, so you shrug as you unlock the door. It’s probably just some kids messing around or a silly prank that ended up at the wrong house.

As soon as you lock the door behind you, your phone rings.

“Hello,” you greet cheerfully.

The line is silent for a few seconds before it beeps, disconnected from the other end.

“Wrong number,” you hum to yourself as you walk away from the phone.

When it rings again, you don’t answer. Your cell phone rings, a rare picture of Tim smiling (that he will delete as soon as he finds it) lighting up your screen as you race to answer it.

“Hey,” you say.

“I called your house a second ago, are you home yet?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, someone called right before with a wrong number, and I thought it was them again.”

Tim hums before telling you he wouldn’t be at work as long as he thought; he just needed to help with some paperwork before a case went to court.

“I can get reservations for next weekend if you’re still okay with my restaurant choice.”

You smile at Tim’s willingness to let you choose before assuring him that you only want to be with him, but you like the food there, too, so it’s a win-win.

After Tim hangs up, you fall asleep, forgetting about the note and the phone call.

✯✯✯✯✯

Someone knocks on your door as you exit your bedroom the following morning. You locate a bathrobe, pulling it over your pajamas before opening the door. Another envelope is on your mat, but no one is in sight.

The message in this one is a bit more concerning. The message, typed in a plain black font, reads: ‘I will KILL you to take him back.’

You consider calling Tim, asking him if he knows of any pranks like this going on in the neighborhood before deciding he’s probably too busy with real police work. Maybe you’re just paranoid.

Your cell phone rings, and you answer quickly, silencing when the only noise on the other end is distorted breathing. After they hang up, your thumb hovers over Tim’s number.

“Grow up,” you chide yourself before returning to your room to get ready.

✯✯✯✯✯

Throughout the day, more creepy phone calls are made to your cell phone until you finally turn it off. When you meet Tim for lunch, he asks if you got the message he sent you, and you tell him a white lie: too many telemarketers were calling, and you turned it off. He nods, but his gaze is intense like he doesn’t quite believe you.

✯✯✯✯✯

After three days of phone calls with nothing but breathing and more notes about someone killing you to get whoever him is back from you, you’re tired. However, the morning goes by with no calls, and you think maybe whatever it was is finally over. When you walk out to your car, you freeze in the driveway and nearly drop everything you’re holding.

Someone has slashed your tire and put a large building nail through it to attach a note.

You are next.

Up to this point, you’ve been more agitated than anything, but now you’re scared. Whoever this is has been close to you and knows when you come and go. But, at the same time, it’s just some notes and phone calls, not like you’re in any immediate danger.

Your phone buzzes, and you jump, an incoming text from Tim startling you. You reply to his message quickly, telling him you ran over a nail at some point and won’t be able to meet him for lunch. Seconds after pressing send, he calls you.

“Morning,” you answer, staring at the nail in your tire.

“Are you alright?” he asks, ignoring your nice greeting.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m still at home, just noticed the tire.”

“I can come pick you up for lunch,” he offers. “Or come see you.”

“It’s completely out of the way, Tim, no worries. I’ll make up for it tomorrow?”

Tim doesn’t speak for a moment, and you can nearly see the crease on his forehead as he dissects your answers.

“Sure,” he says finally. “Call me if that changes.”

As he ends the call, he rubs his chin and decides to ask you what’s going on next time he sees you. You had been so happy and excited leading up to your anniversary, but it’s like a switch was flipped in you, and now you don’t want to talk to him. He believes you about the tire, but something else is bothering you, and he intends to find out what.

✯✯✯✯✯

Eating lunch at your desk, someone brings you a box from your favorite bakery.

“This was delivered to the front desk,” your coworker says, leaving it with you.

There are no names on it, but Tim is one of very few people who knows how much you like their treats. He also knows that you have severe food allergies, and it is one of the few bakeries in Los Angeles that happily works around them. Smiling at the idea of Tim sending you something after your rough morning, you open the box and take one of the goodies out.

After the third or fourth bite, you realize something is really wrong. As your throat closes, you start to panic as you dig through your bag for your epi-pen. One of the girls at a desk near you sees you and rushes to your aid, pulling your spare epi-pen from the communal snack area and inserting the tip into your leg as she yells for someone else to call 911.

The adrenaline surges into you, clearing your throat as you take a deep breath. Immediately, you know that whoever slashed your tires knows more than where you live and when you leave.

✯✯✯✯✯

The hospital is busy, and people are in and out of your room so frequently that you can barely think straight. You hear someone yell your name, recognizing Tim’s voice anywhere. He appears in the doorway a moment later, wide-eyed as he looks you over.

“I completely forgot I put you as my emergency contact. I’m so sorry,” you apologize lowly.

“What happened?” he asks, his voice softer than it was outside as he nears your side.

“I- I ate something and forgot to check the ingredients. Then I couldn’t find my epi-pen.”

Tim knows you always check the ingredients; your allergies dictate part of your life. If you didn’t make it or order it after inquiring about its ingredients or how it’s made, you don’t eat it.

“How are you feeling now?” Tim asks, deciding it’s not the best time to press for the truth. His hand lands on your leg, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb.

“I’m okay. My chest is still a little tight but they gave me something for it.”

“Let me call my chief and I’ll take the rest of the day off so I can take you home,” he offers.

“No, don’t do that, Tim. One of my coworkers can give me a ride home so you can go back to work.”

“I don’t think you should be alone.”

“The medicine is working, I just have to give it time and take it easy for a few hours. I promise I will be fine.”

Tim nods, squeezing your hand before kissing your forehead. “If you need anything, call me.”

You nod, watching him go. The feeling of his hand on yours is still there, and you feel terrible for lying to him, but there’s no real evidence that someone is trying to hurt you. Maybe someone was trying to be kind with the treats and didn’t know about your allergies.

Even as you think it, you realize it sounds ridiculous. You’re in danger, and you’re going to have to tell someone eventually.

✯✯✯✯✯

Your coworker drops you off after you insist you can walk to the door alone. Mostly, you don’t want her to see the giant nail in your tire.

Worse, you realize, is the other one. You slow when you see your front door, with a six-inch building nail driven into it. It’s nearly level with your eyes, and a disgusting mix of red and brown paint covers the door below it. A replica of a murder scene, you presume.

Finally understanding that every little thing over the last few days has been a threat, you don’t feel safe alone in your house. Stepping back, you prepare to call Tim.

Before you can, you see a woman standing in your driveway, staring at you with a nail gun and a paintbrush hanging from her hand.

“Who are you?” you ask quietly, swallowing as you try to steady your voice.

“I’m the one that Tim Bradford is supposed to be with,” she answers, slowly moving toward you. “Everyone could see how good we were together. Then you showed up and he changed his mind about me. Whatever you did to get him away from me… I will do so much more to you.”

You step backward as she speaks, fumbling with your keys behind your back. Just as she reaches the front of your porch, you step inside quickly and slam the door, locking it and looking around frantically for something you can use as a weapon. It gets quiet outside, not even a footstep audible as you hold your breath to listen.

A key slides easily into your lock, and you scramble into the kitchen, loosening your grip on your stuff to grab a knife on your way to the bathroom, one of the only doors that lock. The front door closes and locks, her easy footsteps far too familiar with the layout of your home.

Reaching for your phone to call for help, you realize that you dropped your phone to get the knife. You stand in front of the bathtub, terrified as you raise the knife in front of your chest.

After a moment of silence that seems to last an eternity, the doorknob jiggles. You tighten your grip on the knife handle as she hums.

A nail shoots through the lock, lodging in the metal mechanisms, and you back up until your calves are pressed to the cool side of the tub. Another nail comes through the door, launching through the hollow wood and lodging into the tile on the wall behind you. You drop your head as the tile shatters, and a third nail follows quickly, her aim much lower as it hooks your pants, pinning you to the porcelain behind you. You rip your leg free, stepping away from the tub and failing to notice the stinging sensation or the blood trickling down your ankle as you climb into the tub, hoping it offers enough protection.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim clenches his jaw when his third call to you goes unanswered. You promised to keep him updated after the anaphylaxis scare, but it’s been a couple hours since he left you in the hospital, and he hasn't heard a thing.

“Tim, just go,” Angela says, a knowing look on her face. “You won’t be able to focus until you know they’re okay. Unless you’re finally willing to tell me who brought a little sunshine to Timothy Bradford’s cloudy skies,” she taunts at the end.

Tim lets out a soft “hmm,” accepting her offer and gathering his things from the edge of her desk.

“She must be important,” Angela calls behind him, smirking to herself when he doesn’t correct her.

✯✯✯✯✯

Your breaths are loud and shaky even as you focus on controlling them. Several more clicks are heard from the nail gun, and you flinch each time, curling further into the bathtub. A loud screech draws your attention, a second nail dislodging the knob and the lock before the door opens.

You take your chance, hoping to surprise her as you jump toward her, knocking her to the floor and using both hands to point the nail gun away from you. She tries to roll out from under you, squeezing the trigger and firing a nail into the ceiling as she does. A small shower of drywall dust coats the room, but you keep your head down, entirely focused on keeping her at arm’s length.

“When it ends – when you end – I get him back!” she grunts, twisting in your grasp.

The sharper end of the paintbrush she had earlier is pushed into your side, and you gasp, loosening your grip on the nail gun. She raises it quickly as she tilts to the side, dumping you onto the floor and taking the upper hand. A nail is fired beside your head, momentarily deafening you as you flinch away from it.

You are unsure if she said him or Tim, but you think she means the same either way. Tim is the only thing you can think of that someone might want to take back from you.

“Isn’t that his choice?” you ask, pushing her hands away from you as she gets angrier.

She drops the paintbrush before using both hands to push the nail gun toward your forehead. You raise your legs, kicking her forward and over your head. As she topples, she squeezes the trigger multiple times. After the last firing sound, you open your eyes and notice a nail holding your shirt to the floor.

When you hear her groan behind you, you reach over until you feel the metal trash can beside your toilet, raising it over your head and dropping it aimlessly.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim has dozens of questions he wants to ask, but as he races to your house, they slowly fade into two: are you safe, and how can he make you see that telling him everything will benefit you both? He knows he doesn’t always seem like the best listener and isn’t big on sharing, but he wants to know what is happening in your life, what you’re feeling, and what you’re dealing with. More than that, he wants to be at your side, helping you navigate a life with him.

✯✯✯✯✯

The door opens with a loud bang, causing you to flinch. You attempt to sit up before yelping in pain when something tugs your side. Someone is running through your house, and you’re torn between yelling for help or staying silent in case she wasn’t working alone.

Tim yells your name, and you sigh before answering, “In the bathroom.”

✯✯✯✯✯

When Tim turns into your driveway, blocking the sidewalk as he parks behind your car, he sees the oversized nail protruding from your tire. Walking past it, he knows that wasn’t accidental, nor was the slash below it.

Worried about you and racking his brain over who would do something like that to you, he sees the scene on your door and kicks it open before he even thinks to knock.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim stops in the hallway, his eyes raking over the nails lining the door and the few stray ones in the wall across the hallway. It appears that most of the attack was aimed at the bathroom, but whatever happened escalated quickly.

Using his shoulder, he forcefully opens the door before entering the small bathroom. He steps over your unconscious assailant, lowering to his knee beside you. Looking over you, he lays a hand on the side of your neck, a warm and welcome comfort as he directs you to look at him.

You try to move closer to him, but he rushes to stop you.

“Don’t. Don’t move. The ambulance and more help are on the way, let’s just wait for them,” he says.

You nod, trusting him but unsure why he won’t let you move.

“Is she…” you ask, trailing off.

“She’s unconscious,” Tim answers concisely. “What’d you hit her with?”

“The trashcan,” you answer, a small smile appearing and making Tim shake his head.

“I should get one of those,” Tim jokes, leaning toward you.

Sirens grow louder as they get closer, and Tim sighs in relief.

“Are you okay?” he asks. “I can’t ask what happened yet, that’s for the next cop. But as your boyfriend, are you okay?”

“I am now,” you answer, raising your hand to lay over his on your jaw.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Do you know who she is?” the officer asks as the EMT sits beside you.

“No,” you answer. “I’ve been getting phone calls and messages for a few days, but I’ve never seen her before.”

“I have,” Tim interjects, shaking his head at you before supplying a name. “My ex.”

“Any idea as to why she attacked you?” the officer asks, glancing toward Tim.

“Sergeant Bradford, I presume. She said she’d kill me to get him back, but never said who him was,” you answer.

Tim nods, lowering his voice to explain something to the officer as the EMT asks questions about how you feel.

You sigh in relief as the paramedics carry Tim’s unconscious ex out, gripping Tim’s hand as he moves to your side again.

“This is going to hurt, I’m sorry,” the kind EMT says.

Tim moves his fingers, letting you squeeze him as much as you need.

“The nail caught some of your skin, but I’m going to try to go fast to minimize the pain.”

Understanding why it hurt to sit up before, you focus on Tim’s hand in yours rather than the hands on your torso, working to free you from the bathroom floor and stop the bleeding.

“All done,” the EMT announces. “You didn’t even flinch. We’ll get you to the hospital and let the doctors check everything.”

You sit up with Tim’s help, leaning against him as a temporary bandage is placed on your side. Looking around your destroyed bathroom, you move closer to Tim, grateful for him.

“Your ex is crazy,” you mumble against his shoulder.

Tim laughs, and it's a short but relieved noise accompanying his arm across your back, keeping you close and comforted.

“We’ll fix the bathroom later,” he promises.

You tilt your head and furrow your brows, prompting Tim to kiss the crease between them. “You’re not coming back here for a few days. Don’t give me that look.”

✯✯✯✯✯

Leaving the hospital, Tim lifts you from the wheelchair, staring at you when you grab his shoulders.

“I can walk, Tim,” you remind him.

He doesn’t listen or doesn’t care, taking the last few steps to the passenger seat and setting you down before buckling your seat belt, mindful of your bandaged side. He carries you into his house, grabbing some of your favorite snacks and drinks before sitting beside you and welcoming you into his arms. He’s quiet, but you’ve grown to understand Tim’s different silences better than most people’s words.

Right now, he’s relieved, but you’re sure he has a lot of questions, too. Getting him to ask them is the hard part.

“Have any other exes I should know about?” you ask after a few minutes.

“Hmm.” He raises his fingers as he nods and shakes his head, a playful ‘debate’ over who is worthy of being mentioned. Lowering his hands and giving you a sincere look, he says, “No, I don’t think so. And I’m sorry I didn’t mention her, I never expected she’d do something like this.”

You nod, though you never considered blaming him for something so completely out of his control. This is all on her, and she’ll have a chance to explain herself.

“Think I’d be a crazy ex?”

“You won’t be an ex at all,” Tim answers, tugging you closer against his chest.

Turning toward him, you trace your finger in small shapes over his chest.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tim asks gently.

You shrug. “I didn’t know how. And it wasn’t that bad at first.”

“You have to tell me these things or I don’t know something is wrong, I can’t help.”

“But you get grumpy,” you reply with an exaggerated pout.

Tim proves you right, grumbling even as he kisses you. “I’m allowed to be grumpy when someone is hurting the woman I love.”

You sit up quickly, and Tim’s eyes widen, his hands raising to your side as he grows concerned that you hurt yourself.

“You love me?”

Tim shakes his head, rolling his eyes as he mutters, “Against my better judgment, yes.”

You giggle at his grumpiness, leaning back into his side. He pulls your legs across his lap, letting you curl completely into his side. Toying with the hem of his your borrowed sweatpants, Tim lets his mind wander before tracing a gentle finger around the bandage on your ankle.

“Tickles,” you argue when you yank your leg away from him.

Tim pulls your leg back down, pointing out, “I deserve a few tickles after the week you put me through.”

“I was poisoned, and you had a bad week?” you repeat.

“I knew you were lying, you lying liar that lies!”

You duck your head at the reminder of everything you kept from Tim over the last few days. The anniversary you were so excited about now seems tainted.

“Hey,” Tim whispers, drawing your attention. “I’m not mad at you. And whenever you’re ready to talk about it, I’m right here.”

“I don’t even know how she found out about the allergies,” you mumble.

“That’s probably my fault. I have notes and epi-pens everywhere, so if she was close enough to do this to you, she was close enough to find any of my stuff laying around.”

You shiver at the idea of her going through your things, but Tim’s hand rubs down your back and chases those thoughts away.

Taking his invitation, you start at the beginning and tell him about the notes, the phone calls, the bakery box, and how the little, seemingly harmless notes progressed so quickly. He grows grumpier with each word, so you determine you may need to make the ending a bit more interesting for him.

“And then my knight in shining armor showed up and saved the day,” you finish, kissing his cheek. “He’s just a grumpy teddy bear.”

Tim pulls you closer, glad to have your company again. “Tell me things and I’ll be even more of a teddy bear.”

You smile excitedly, so Tim clarifies, “Only for you.”

#tim bradford x reader #tim bradford x fem!reader #tim bradford fluff #tim bradford the rookie #tim bradford imagine #tim bradford #the rookie #requests #tw: violence #tw: injury #🐿 anon

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cobaltperun · 1 month ago

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Eternal Flame (8) - City Lights

Jenna Ortega x Female Reader

Summary: For her it’s a passion, for you it’s an accident. And as she continues shining brighter and brighter with each role you are left mesmerized, drawn to her flame and cherishing every time she lets herself be vulnerable with you.

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Masterlist / First Part / Previous part / Next Part

Word Count: 8.1k

-So when I touch that sky, will the ladder break? And who will be there on my fall from grace?-

You managed to dry your hair a lot easier and quicker than you thought you would, but you still remained in the bathroom, trying to calm your nerves down. This was it. You were at Jenna's house, you've sort of met her family, or at least a part of it, and you made things a bit awkward. Which was not what you wanted to do, and the last thing you wished for right now was to make things even more awkward. Your wishes meant nothing, however, because the way you would be meeting them now would be doing exactly that. It would be bizarre, absolutely ridiculous, because you wouldn't be coming in from the outside, you would be coming from upstairs, where just to make it even more awkward, their bedrooms were, down to the living room.

If you weren't so nervous it probably would have crossed your mind that it looked like Jenna had brought her lover over to her home in the middle of the night. And now that lover was coming down to meet her family after a long night together.

Damn rain.

Embarrassment and awkward meetings aside, the pain was also getting a bit uncomfortable, so you reached into your bag and downed two pills to help you with the pain. “OK, I can do this,” you whispered, and took several deep breaths, just to buy yourself a bit more time. Finally, you plucked up the courage and went back to Jenna's room to see her hastily folding her shirts. She was chewing on her lower lip, and you figured she was even more embarrassed than you. You weren't lying to her, you really did find this endearing and it really wasn't as messy as she thought it was.

Jenna looked up when she heard the doors closing, you probably should have knocked, but in your defense she left the doors opened. She looked you over, pretty much checking you out as you wore the light gray shirt that belonged to her father. It was a bit big for you, since as strong as you were you had more of a lean build than a bulky one, but it would do.

“You look nervous,” she pointed out and walked up to you, but there was no denying that both of you were feeling like that.

You just shrugged, hoping to play it cool, more for your own sake than any other reason. “I'm not really used to meeting the family,” you admitted, having no troubles in expressing how you felt about this. You wanted to meet them, you were eager to do so, but there definitely was some sort of nervousness about the entire ordeal. After all, you did have feelings for Jenna.

Jenna smiled and slowly, rather gently, caressed your cheek. “They’ll love you, just like-“ and she paused, catching herself before she could finish that sentence but you could see it in the startled expression on her face and the way her hand froze. If anyone asked you, you wouldn’t be able to say what exactly happened, but you were overcome with feelings and in that moment you just pulled her in holding her tightly and actually lifting her up. Jenna, though for a moment startled by the display affection, quickly hugged you back, squeezing you tightly around your shoulders and neck. She took a deep breath as she buried her face in the crook of your neck. “-like I do,” she finished that sentence and kissed your cheek. “And I really, really do love you a lot,” she whispered her voice shaky, the tone of it trembling and betraying the slight insecurity she felt.

“I love you too. Jenna, you mean so much to me,” you couldn't even begin to describe everything she meant to you. Even if you found the words that could describe your feelings, you couldn't tell her without telling her about the fights. And at that moment, as you felt both the warmth of her presence, and the pain from the bruises, you came to a startling realization. You trembled for a moment, almost overcome by the sense of clarity that you suddenly got. You were almost ready to just give it all up, to push through and quit fighting, to end the cycle and find a way, any way you could, to actually feel worthy of loving her.

“Y/N,” your name fell from her lips, and you were fairly certain no one had ever nor will anyone ever speak your name as sweetly as she did.

“Jenna what's taking so long? Oh shit, sorry,” the two of you were suddenly interrupted by Jenna’s younger sister, Aliyah, coming in and you quickly separated.

Jenna cleared her throat as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart down and gestured toward Aliyah. “This is my younger sister, Aliyah,” she then gestured at you while slightly glaring at her sister. “Aliyah, this is Y/N,” she introduced the two of you each other since you were already in the same room. Might as well get one introduction out of the way.

You quickly offered Aliyah your hands and she shook. “It's nice to meet you,” you said and she nodded, an amused smile spreading on her face as she looked from you to Jenna.

“Guess I don't get a hug, do I?” she teased, and with the way Jenna looked down and slapped her forehead you just knew this wasn’t going to be the only teasing you and Jenna were going to get. “Reeree, I told you to warn me if you needed a room to yourself,” oh, this was the absolute disaster, she was even more direct about it than Enrique. She might even be able to give Barbara a run for her money, and she was what? Sixteen? You shivered at the thought of all the teasing you and Jenna might have to endure when she gets older, or in the even worst case scenario, she ends up teaming up with Barbara.

“That’s not what was going on!” Jenna cried out and just as Aliyah was about to open her mouth again Jenna grabbed your hand and pulled you out. “Not a single word, we are going down so Y/N can meet everyone else!” Jenna put a stop to whatever Aliyah was going to say and you let Jenna pull you along as Aliyah laughed behind the two of you.

Yeah, this was happening, you were about to meet the family.

~X~

Fire. That's exactly how Jenna would describe what was going on between the two of you. Even now, though she could no longer feel your hands around her, she still felt like her skin was burning, yearning for the same sensation she got when you held her. The same sensation she was trying to invoke by holding your hand right now, but it just wasn't enough. She wanted more, she wanted that warmth to be surrounding her again, to feel it consuming her from the inside. It was both a physical and an emotional need, and they were both fulfilled at the same time when she felt your touch. And it felt so damn good, so addictive.

She glanced back at you, noticing the way your eyes were focusing on your hands, locked together as you walked just a bit behind her, and she wondered what you were thinking. You felt this too, didn’t you? Jenna found herself wondered if the two of you would have kissed if only you were given a few extra minutes, because she certainly felt like she was ready for that step.

You lifted her up so easily. And the way you held her, she couldn't even describe it properly. The closest description she could come up with was that you held her like you had nothing more precious in your life than her. And it almost frightened her with how intense and raw it was, how genuine and vulnerable you could be. Not to mention how you responded to her own vulnerability not by making her feel ashamed for acting like that but by supporting her through it and letting her see that you were perfectly fine with her being vulnerable.

And she wanted it almost desperately. She wanted to feel all of that with you, to feel all of those emotions, only unrestrained by this friendship, because as raw and intense as it was there was this restraint put on it all by the label you both put on your relationship. And she could no longer avoid accepting that she wanted that restraint gone.

Jenna knew, she one hundred percent knew, that if circumstances were any different, if you were alone, at her place in LA or at your place, and if that happened there that she wouldn’t just kiss you. No, she would have done so much more, letting you do whatever you wanted to do to her. She swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing her mind out of the gutter.

And to try and keep those thoughts at bay, because she wouldn’t be a hormonal teenager right now, she went and looked back at you. Because of course that would help push those thoughts away.

As she led you down the stairs, she caught you taking her childhood home in, looking at the photos her parents hung on the walls. There were many of them, after all they were a big family, and the photos showed that. There were photos of her, her siblings and her parents, as well as her nephews and even some of her extended family. Her mom loved keeping the memories through the photos and Jenna wished she could get into that habit as well. Every special occasion was accompanied with the photo, and she wondered how your own parents house was. Were there photos of you while you were filming Logan or maybe when you finished high school or maybe other things like that? Or maybe your parents were more of a ‘keeping things in memory’ kind of couple, instead of hanging everything on the walls and keeping the physical reminders of those times.

Jenna wanted to meet them. To see for herself the kind of people that raised you and made you the way you were right now. With how loving you were they must have done something right. In a way, and perhaps she just noticed it today, you treated every moment with people you loved like it could be the last one. And not in the negative way. It was just that when you cared for someone and could also relax all of your attention was on that someone.

And that realization brought those desires right back to the front of her mind. How deeply and passionately would you love someone if you treated friends like that? Jenna wondered what you were thinking right now, she wondered if you wanted her as much as she wanted you. Somehow a thought crossed your mind that you wanted her even more. And it made that warmth from the spreading through her like a flame that would never extinguished.

When the two of you reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped back into the living room, she saw the table was set, with her dad already sitting there at the head of the table, while her mom and Markus were watching a football game. It was like her family was creating a sort of a bubble around them, hoping to have a moment of normalcy before your presence sort of shattered it into pieces. After all, they all probably saw right through her and by now knew this wasn't just her inviting friends over.

Jenna cleared her throat and the bubble the family was happily in burst as they all turned to look at you and Jenna.

“Uh, hello, again” you said and raised your hand to wave slightly. That nervous grin on your face was honestly more than a little endearing to Jenna. She found this a bit more shy and reserved side of you to be a surprise, if she was honest. You've always had this air of confidence and ‘I can do anything’ kind of attitude, but here you were, meeting her family and acting a bit like a dork, which was something she could definitely enjoy seeing more often.

Jenna’s mom was the first to get up, seeing as she met you briefly. It was clear all of you were trying to ignore that you came back from upstairs and how it looked. “Y/N, it’s good to see you again,” she came up to you and surprisingly pulled you into a brief hug. You returned it, but Jenna could see you were genuinely surprised by this greeting.

“Jenna can’t shut up about you,” Jenna’s sister, Aliyah, chimed in behind you. Oh, right, she came downstairs with the two of you, and now she was going to turn Jenna's day from very, very pleasurable to potentially ‘The Teasing from Hell - Part 2: The Return of Enrique’s Disciple’.

It was one hell of a miracle that he wasn’t here as well, since he promised he’d be here to watch the show and tease her. Not that it mattered. Aliyah was here to fill in for him. Why couldn’t Aliyah be her natural shy self instead of relishing in the opportunity to tease her?

“I can!” Jenna quickly retorted and turned away from you. She did not deny that she was talking about you though, she just couldn’t deny it, or, honestly, shut up about you. She's been talking about you meeting her family ever since she plucked up the courage to tell then you were coming, and she would be the first to admit it was a bit annoying.

“Sure you can, Jenna,” Markus teased her and just like that her younger brother came up to you and greeted you, and all that was left was her dad.

The man came out of the dining room and looked you over, studying you, And Jenna herself got nervous imagining how you must have felt under his gaze. He was a cop, after all, and worst of all Jenna wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for. She just noticed he focused on your hand, and not the left hand she was holding, but rather on your right hand, and your knuckles in particular. Jenna couldn't quite figure it out, but he frowned for a moment. “You do lots of martial arts, don't you?” he asked, and Jenna couldn’t figure out how looking at your fist told him that, and sure, he heard about it from Jenna, but it looked like he would have figured it out from looking at your fist.

“Yes, I've been practicing different martial arts for several years now. Since I was roughly thirteen,” you replied casually, and her dad nodded. Frankly, she wasn't sure what else he was expecting.

“Welcome, Y/N, nice to meet you,” after what felt like eternity he went and offered his hand to you, and you accepted it.

“It’s nice meeting you all,” you said, now sounding a lot more confident than before and she breathed out a small sigh of relief because this was more along the lines of what she expected from you.

“Come on you two, let’s eat,” her mom told the two of you, and while still holding hands Jenna and you followed the rest of her family to the table. Just like before you went and pulled the chair out for her, now feeling a lot more in your element, as you pretty much, and very likely now that she thought about it, ignored the stares of her family and just focused on doing what you did the best. Making Jenna feel seen, cared for, and accepted.

“Thanks,” this time she had to hold from tugging you down so you could hug her again and instead just patted you on the back of your hand as you pushed her chair in.

“Anytime,” you said and sat down on the chair to her left.

~X~

The lunch was, in one word, amazing. Natalie was an incredible cook, both when it came to variety and the taste, making a wide array of Mexican food as well as several other dishes. You honestly weren’t even sure where to start as Jenna put the food on your plate. Natalie and Aliyah were sitting on the other side of the table, while Markus sat to your left and Edward sat at the head of the table, on Jenna’s right side.

“Thanks, Jen,” you thanked her before you all started eating, you missed the smile on Natalie’s face at the nickname you kept using.

“Could you pass me the hot sauce?” she asked pointing at the sauce close to you. By the looks of it, you both slipped right back into the old habits from the set of Scream.

“Sure,” you handed it to her, and then put it back where it was when she poured it over her tacos. She definitely loved spicy food, and you were still amazed with how well she could handle hot food.

“The food is amazing, Natalie,” you complimented as you swallowed the first bite of your own taco. It was good that Jenna told you in advance her mom was the one who prepared the food.

“Thanks, Y/N,” Natalie nodded and smiled at the compliment.

“Told you, you have competition,” Jenna pointed out. “Too bad I couldn’t save a single piece of that cake for you.”

“I don’t know, this is a tough act to follow,” and you were being honest, you could cook, but this was truly something. “But, challenge accepted, I need to have all of you over for a dinner sooner or later,” and you would actually put extra effort into that dinner. Cooking wouldn’t be an issue, the main trouble would be how you could handle finding enough space for all of them, because your apartment definitely wasn't fit for a huge family. Well, you would figure something out when the time comes.

“Count me in, I need to see if Jenna was exaggerating,” Aliyah promised you and you grinned a bit when Jenna groaned and lowered her head. “I'm telling you, she just keeps yapping on and on about you! I wasn't kidding when I said I told her to tell me if she needed the room to herself,” you shrunk a bit in your seat because of Aliyah’s words. Both the fact that Jenna talked about you so much and the implications of the second part making you feel more than a bit embarrassed.

“I don't need the room to myself!” Jenna exclaimed, blushing like crazy when she said that, and you closed your eyes. Yet, even with your eyes closed you could see it coming from a mile away, that was just the interlude into the real tease.

“Considering what I caught the two of you doing, I'm not so sure,” there. There it was. And the silence that followed those words was deafening, and you could feel Jenna's parents looking right at you.

“You should probably run,” Jenna’s brother, Markus told you and your eyes widened as you looked at him and he just nodded. “It was good meeting you,” he wasn’t even joking! Jenna had dry humor, but this guy was just being serious!

“We were just hugging!” Jenna cried out, hoping to prevent the potential harm that could fall upon you and you nodded as quickly as you could. Now that you were thinking about it, well that wasn't really going in your favor either, because you spent hours with Jenna alone and somehow you were still hugging. Could it have been nothing? Absolutely! It could have been just a friendly display of affection between friends. Yet the circumstances weren't in your favor, and you found yourself staring blankly at Aliyah.

“What have I ever done to you?” you mouthed and she just shrugged. You were met with us sorry not sorry look in her eyes.

“Right, that happened,” Natalie turned back to her plate hoping to lower the tensions and the blood pressure of her husband, and then she looked at you again. “So, Y/N, can you tell us a bit about your family?”

Someone please bring the teasing back.

You froze for a moment, nearly dropping the fork in your hand. “Sure, sure,” your voice cracked as you were suddenly put on a spot. “Yeah, of course. I am an only child,” you could feel Jenna’s eyes on you, you could feel everyone’s attention on you, even more so with that initial reaction, and you looked at Jenna, partly to calm down and in the process catching the genuinely surprised look in her eyes. She clearly didn't expect you to freeze like that, and you definitely didn't blame her. You didn't think she could even begin to imagine that your parents were no longer alive.

“And your parents? What do they do?” Edward asked, raising an eyebrow but brushing the reaction off as just you being surprised.

“Mom was a pilot and dad worked in cybersecurity,” you replied, voice hoarse as you answered. Back when you were growing up both those jobs, and your parents as well, looked like heroes in your eyes. You looked up to them, always wanting to make them proud, they looked like they were flawless when you were a child. And they made sure you never noticed or suffered because of tension and problems in their marriage, they kept you as protected from those issues as they possibly could. Maybe that was part of the reason why you felt so inadequate and useless when they were gone and you couldn’t do anything, because they created this image of always having answers and solutions, and when it was your turn to do the same you failed.

The bite Jenna took of her salad went and got stuck in her throat and you quickly patted her on the back, which luckily helped. “Sorry. I should have… Fuck, I feel horrible now,” she lowered her head, ashamed and all you felt now was guilt over making her feel like this. She caught it, they all caught it, the fact that you spoke in past tense, combined with the fact that you never mentioned them to Jenna, and how you reacted to the question. There was no doubt about it in anyone’s mind.

“I'm sorry, let's not make this awkward. It was,” you paused, putting your emotions back under control, not letting a single hint of weakness slip through the cracks. “There was an accident and they,” you looked down, forcing those feelings further down, forcing the normality without this conversation back upon you all. “Yeah, it's been a while, I’m fine now,” you tried brushing it off, and fixing the situation. “Jenna told me you've been incredibly supportive of her ever since she was starting out and now of course. I've actually been really curious to know about it,” you tried to get her family to talk about something else and luckily given the nature of the topic that was just breached it looked like everyone was really eager to make things less awkward.

Jenna actually took your hand and squeezed it and she leaned closer to you, letting your shoulders touch and it was like the weight fell from your shoulders and you could once again breathe. No one said a single word about it, not the single teasing remark even though it was in plain sight and you appreciated it, smiling gently at her to show it to her.

~X~

The guilt was absolutely wrecking her from the inside, and she thought back to all of those times she wished she could meet your parents. And sure, you never told her your parents were dead, and there was no way she could have known but at the same time she also felt that she really should have figured out something wasn't completely right. And she noticed it, but she kept trying to come up with different explanation. You came back and only Barbara was in your apartment? You didn’t live with your parents. You forgot about Thanksgiving? Maybe you had a bad relationship with your parents, or they simply didn’t celebrate it. Yet it never crossed her mind that they were taken away from you in what you described as an accident.

How old were you? You said it’s been a while. Were you as old as she was now? Younger? She glanced at Aliyah and Markus, wondering how they would take losing their parents right now? Jenna herself knew she would fall apart if she suddenly lost them, and she probably wouldn’t be able to pick up the pieces any time soon. And she’d still have her siblings left! You were an only child, suddenly left without parents!

You were completely honest when you said you didn't want to make things awkward and you did everything humanly possible to get the mood up again and make her family feel no guilt over bringing your parents up. And she barely held back her tears at that. As she realized that whether consciously or unconsciously you felt like there was something wrong with sharing this and still feeling hurt over it, and that you needed to fix it.

And in that single moment of realization Jenna understood she was helpless. For so many reasons, and she couldn’t even turn to her parents for help. After all, her family wasn't exactly the best with handling emotions, especially since you were basically a stranger they only heard about from her. And the worst thing was that she couldn’t help you either. She watched you falling apart on the inside, cracking and trying to pull all the pieces back together like someone just shattered you. All the while she couldn’t do anything and was only reminded of the time she had her panic attack.

You came in and helped her, calmed her down, saved her from those feelings and understood exactly what she needed. Now here she was, seeing you were in pain and completely unable to figure out a way to help you, to make you hurt less. And that feeling only got worse by the realization that you were putting the feelings of her and her family over your own, trying to reset things for their sake. Touching you like this wasn’t enough, this minimal contact did nothing but reveal to her how you were trembling, the slight tremors of your body barely noticeable to those watching you, but she felt it against her.

She had to do something. “Excuse us for a moment,” she quickly got up and you looked at her, startled, as she pulled you to the hall, figuring out it would give you more privacy than the living room that wasn’t even entirely separated from the dining room and the kitchen.

“Jenna,” you began, and she didn’t even need to hear you out, she knew you’d tell her you were fine, so, instead of letting you utter that lie she just pulled you down until your face was buried in her neck.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, only knowing that losing her loved ones was her greatest fear, but not having any idea how to take it that next step further and relate to such a heavy loss. “Don’t hide it from me, please,” she pleaded, her fingers digging into your hair, her lips right next to your ear. “Please, Y/N,” she whispered, no longer even trying to hold her tears back.

And instead of opening up, instead of letting her help you, you brushed her tears away and hugged her. “I’m fine,” you told her, you lied, you weren’t ready to say it, but she could feel the tension in your body lessening just a bit. “I’m fine,” who exactly were you trying to convince? “I’m so sorry, Jenna,” you were so close to telling her something, she could tell, but at the same time deep down she knew this wouldn’t get her anywhere.

Yet you still fell to your knees, and Jenna followed you down, trying her best to hold you up, to keep you from crumbling. “I couldn’t. I had no other choice, I was desperate,” you gasped for air, and she found herself rubbing soft circles in your back, trying to mimic what you did to calm her down.

“I’m with you, I’ve got you,” she whispered, and brushed her thumb along your cheek, thinking she’d brush a tear off, yet there were no tears. “You have me,” and perhaps that lack of tears, the grief cocooned in some impenetrable armor, broke and hurt her the most. You wanted to fall apart in her arms, to let it all out, and you just didn’t know how. “Y/N,” she cried your name out and your breath hitched as you desperately held onto her.

“I can’t stop. Don’t deserve to stop,” you weren’t making sense, and she felt fear creeping into her heart. What couldn’t you stop? Why did she feel like she was losing you to whatever it was, to whatever you thought you didn’t deserve to stop? “Need it. I failed. Couldn’t continue, couldn’t- I- It’s not- I should have,” it wasn’t making sense.

“Please don’t, please just stop,” she pleaded, blurting those words out without realizing what they would mean to you, breaking with every word you spoke. Feeling a pain so visceral it was pushing her to her limits and it almost felt like she was physically hurting. She wanted you to stop, to take a breath and tell her everything properly, to open up and not just crack in random places. And you just shut your mouth. “Hey, hey wait, not like that,” she cried for you, only now realizing you thought she asked you to stop talking entirely. “Y/N, no, don’t. Talk to me,” it was too late, she lost the chance. The cracks sealed up and you just pushed it all down.

She felt you pulling away from her, and she pulled you back in, holding you there with all of her strength, almost clinging to you and keeping you in place with her entire weight. “I didn’t mean that, I didn’t mean that,” but your breathing was once again steady and calm.

“Let’s just go back, your family is waiting,” you whispered, pulling her up to her feet and despite her efforts pulling away and smiling at her. “Thanks for trying,” you said and leaned back against the wall, and she shook her head, hugging you and burying her face in your chest, barely caring that her tears would be visible on the light gray shirt.

“This isn’t how I wanted things to go,” she wanted to help you, yet she failed. She didn’t have the right words, didn’t know how to reach you.

“I know,” you rubbed her back, calming her down when it was supposed to be the other way around. You were forcing yourself to be strong for her. Letting her cry her heart out for you.

“Please, I can’t lose you. Couldn’t take it and it felt like I was losing you,” she missed the way your eyes widened at those words. “Don’t want this with anyone else but you,” she wasn’t even sure what ‘this’ was, she just felt it so deep inside her heart. “I want all of you, Y/N,” and she wanted to give you all of her.

“I’ll fix it,” she nearly missed the words you whispered, almost too quietly, despite how close Jenna was to you. She certainly missed the look of absolute resolve in your eyes. Either way, for one hopeful moment she thought you had started talking again, but you didn’t say a single word after that. No. You just let her silently cry until her tears ran out, until your touch filled her with warmth once more, and only then you separated, and you wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Come on, food’s getting cold,” this time you were the one guiding her back to her family, putting on the mask of confidence and acting like what you went through didn’t come out.

So, Jenna would act like it as well, pretending in front of her family that pulling you away from them had a purpose, that it did something good for you, instead of just making you feel like you had to suppress your feelings around her. She would do it, and she wasn’t even sure why. Maybe it was to help her family and prevent them from feeling guilty, maybe there was some other reason, at this point it hardly mattered.

You all seemed to just pretend that single minute at the table never happened.

And Jenna wasn’t sure if she should feel grateful or even more worried for you.

For now she could do nothing but look at you, observe you as you began talking to her family as if nothing happened, and bit by bit she began believing the illusion as well.

As the lunch ended Jenna watched you, almost mesmerized as you talked to her mom about the different foods and recipes. Her heart beat faster as she noticed how you focused on learning which food Jenna loved the most, picking up even more secrets and information that you didn't get to learn while you were on set together. This, you with her family, was something she could easily get used to. There was a slightly selfish part of her that hoped that's maybe one day would consider her family your own family and that it would at least slightly fill the void of loss you’ve been feeling for so long. Maybe that would be the thing to help you through the grief. Maybe she just wasn’t enough on her own.

"Are you kidding me?" your eyes widened, and you turned to Jenna. It was like the cracks never showed up, and you were perfectly fine. "You got apples three times?" you asked incredulously after her mom told you about the misfortune she had when she was doing ads. It wasn’t just your effort to cover up the cracks. It was her family as well, consciously making an effort not to help you with what you were feeling, but to cover it up, unsure what to do if it came up again.

Jenna swallowed the lump in her throat, tears once again threatening to fall as this realization hit her as well. Her family couldn’t fill that void, not without a huge effort on both sides, and while she knew her family loved her and that they would love you, she knew they wouldn’t have the time to put that kind of effort in. And while you were doing your absolute best to reset things back to how they were before they all found out your parents were dead Jenna was once more struggling to do her part.

She was an actress, and right now she needed to play a role with you, to fake it until it turned to reality. So, so half blacked-out, pretending she was just acting. She frowned at the memory. She despised apples now. "Yeah, I think I'd rather starve than eat them ever again. I can't even look at them without feeling angry," she finished with a laugh, a bit forced but it worked, it did the job.

You joined her and leaned back a bit, your smile looking a lot lighter and easier than her own. "Good thing I never got the urge to make an apple pie," you may have said that, but Jenna could see you cataloguing her hatred toward apples for later. Somehow she also believed that you would make even an apple pie taste good.

"As long as you make it just make it spicy and vegetarian and Jenna will love it," Aliyah seemed to be dead set on embarrassing her. She even patted you on the back a few times as she went to put away her plate. This time Jenna let it slide because it genuinely made you smile, and that was all she cared about right now, that you were actually fine and not just forcing yourself to be happy.

"And you have to learn how to make guac," Markus just added fuel to the fire. And you just added another information to wherever you were filing the information you were getting. Even if she would much rather make guac for you herself. More than a few times, and preferably often, many, many times, just for the two of you.

"I need to make urnebes salad for you," you said directly to her. "Red bell peppers, chili peppers, cheese, it's a nice, spicy salad," that definitely sounded like something she would like, and she absolutely wanted you to make things for her. Wanted to experience so much with you, try new foods, try new things in general with you, and having you in her life as much as possible.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Jenna told you and you just grinned.

“Okay, how about we all go outside and take a group selfie?” her mom suggested taking Jenna by surprise. You did what you intended, you got everything back on track, even when you were the one that the most affected by all of this. That should have made her relax but it just made her heart clench painfully at that thought.

So, she focused on what was going on instead of on what she was feeling. Her mom definitely loved taking photos, keeping the memories of good times lasting longer and documenting anything she deemed important or worthy of a photo. So, maybe she shouldn’t have been as surprised, but it still felt a bit unexpected, and she hoped you didn’t mind. Looking at your face she didn’t notice any changes, or discomfort.

Granted, you just showed her you absolutely could mask any pain you felt in pretty much an instant. This seemed genuine though, this really seemed like you didn’t mind taking a photo with her family.

So, you followed after her into the backyard where the two of you and her family got ready for her mom to take the photo. What she didn’t expect was for you to suddenly mess up her hair just as her mom took the selfie.

Apparently, you were actually back to normal, and the grin on your face proved it to her.

“Oh my,” her mom chuckled, and Jenna saw her hair was covering most of her face on the photo.

“Y/N,” she spoke calmly, but you already began running, and fine, if that was how you were going to act, then she could play that game too. “It’s fine, I promise!” she exclaimed as she began chasing you, you were laughing and it truly was fine but as long as you were laughing then she was going to keep chasing after you. Just to listen to your laughter for a bit more, because after what happened in the hall, she needed this. She needed you to laugh with her, to tease her, to make her flustered and blush, and make her heart beat wildly inside her chest.

“Then why are you chasing me?” you laughed and Jenna found herself grinning as well, especially when she heard her family holding back their own laughs. This was what she wanted, seeing you like this, free from that tension from before.

She didn’t see this side of you on the set, the childish, silly side that somehow ended up relaxing her even more. “Because you’re running!” it made no sense, but she truly didn’t care. For some reason you got tired a bit quicker than she expected you would, and she smirked speeding up and catching you from behind, hugging you tightly. “Got you,” she laughed and leaned her forehead against your back as she caught her breath.

“Yeah, you got me,” you sounded so genuine, and she could have sworn there was a double meaning to those words. She just didn’t understand it yet.

She wanted to tell you more, but the words got stuck in her throat and despite spending over half an hour thinking about it she suddenly wasn't sure she even had the right words to say to you. “You have me,” she spoke, hoping against hope that those three worlds would convey everything she felt. That they would be enough for you to know that she was with you completely, no matter what happened, no matter what the future brought. She needed you to know that you had her on your side and that you could turn to her at any moment for anything.

“You have me too,” you replied and relief flooded her heart. You understood and then you turned around and she was sure you would hug her back. Jenna looked you in the eyes, expecting a hug, only to be met by a mischievous look on your face as you went and booped her on the nose. “Let’s go back before your parents kill me,” you joked and she rolled her eyes, letting you go and walking slightly ahead of you.

“They wouldn’t,” she denied it as the two of you began heading back toward the house. Her family was already back inside, clearly giving the two of you a moment.

“You think? Your dad is a cop and in his eyes, I’m trying to seduce his baby girl,” you whisper shouted just loud enough for her to hear and she burst out laughing.

“Guess you'll have to set your sight on another girl then, won't you,” even as she joked back she had to admit there was a hint of jealousy in her voice at the mere thought of you with another girl.

Then, as if you sensed just how much power your touch had over her, you pulled her back and into your arms. And Jenna gasped as she felt your left hand on the small of her back, keeping her body pressed right against yours. And the look in your eyes? Jenna found herself melting at the intensity and raw emotion in your gaze. “I can’t,” you didn’t need to say another word. You made your message very, very clear.

“Good to know,” her voice cracked several times in those three words and she forced herself to just very slowly step away from you because her legs weren't exactly steady right now. It wasn’t a day of ups and downs with you today, it was a rollercoaster, and it was clear both of you were trying to bring things back to how they usually were by taking things up to eleven.

~X~

Two hours later you've gotten quite comfortable around Jenna's family, even though you could still see the somewhat scary that look Edward was giving you every time you and Jenna got particularly close to one another. Just another proof that the incident from lunch was mostly forgotten, and the way Jenna reacted to your admission that you couldn’t find another girl told you things between the two of you would be fine as well.

There seemed to be a silent conversation between Jenna and her mother until Jenna finally groaned and got up, leaving you on your own with her family from the looks of it.

“Can’t escape the dishes not even in a situation like this,” she half-jokingly complained to you and you automatically jumped to your feet. “Wait, what are you doing?” she asked, laughing as she pushed you slightly, though quite frankly you were barely feeling her efforts to get you back to sit down.

“Going to help you, of course,” you could see she was about to argue against it, and you quickly argued in favor of your plan before she do so. “I have a plane to catch very soon, let's do this one last thing together and then I can be on my way?” you tried to talk her into it and from the looks of it, it was working. Much like you, Jenna wanted to spend more time with you.

“Fine, but you only get to dry the dishes,” Jenna smiled softly as you pumped your fist in celebration. Granted, the reaction, while genuine, was a bit exaggerated, but you wanted to see her smiling, she didn’t smile that often since lunch. And you didn’t want to leave her like this, you wanted her happy, thinking back to this day fondly. You went into the kitchen where there were plenty of dishes from today's lunch. “Are you sure I can’t help you with more than just drying?” you asked and leaned on the counter next to her as she pulled out some cloth for you to dry the dishes with.

“Absolutely,” she began wiping any of the leftovers off the dishes and putting them back into the sink and you caught yourself just watching her. She was focused on the task and was actually even humming a bit. You didn't quite recognize the song but just listening to Jenna like this was more than enough for you. There was a very comfortable silence in the room, filled with occasional glances and chuckles, as if you were in on an inside joke that no one else knew about and you couldn’t even begin to describe how relieved you were because of that.

“You're staring,” she giggled and returned the favor as she booped your nose with a soap covered finger.

And you suddenly sneezed, barely getting enough time to cover your mouth. The soap kind of made you sneeze. “I was about to say you're beautiful, but I guess it won't work after this,” you rolled your eyes, silently cursing the timing of your sneeze.

“Goof,” Jenna rolled her eyes and you just chuckled at that, happy that everything was once more completely comfortable between you.

She finally handed you a plate to dry and 10 minutes later the two of you had finished washing the dishes and you were about to go and grab your bag. As much as you enjoyed this, you would have to leave in the next 10 to 15 minutes.

“So, this is it?” she said and you could see a question on the tip of her tongue.

“It was a good day,” you didn't even leave yet and you already felt this sense of longing for her. You couldn't tell when would be the next time you would see her, and right then and there, in what was possibly the worst moment, right in her parents’ kitchen, you nearly said it. You nearly told her what you were doing, because she deserved to know. You were both heading toward the point of no painless return. If this kept going even for a bit longer you would just end up hurting Jenna by keeping her in the dark. And you couldn’t have that. “I-“

But before you could say anything Natalie came up to the two of you. “Y/N,” she called out your name.

“Yes?” you weren't sure if you were relieved or not that you were interrupted like this.

“We've been thinking and it would really be a shame for you to go back to Denver today. You've been here for not even half a day and we have a free room,” she began and your eyes widened as you realized where this was going. “Aliyah can go and sleep in Mia's room, and Jenna can take Aliyah's bed so you can sleep in Jenna’s,” you glanced at Jenna and saw the look of pure happiness spreading on her face and that just took away all of your capability to argue against Natalie’s idea.

“I,” you still turned to Jenna with a raised eyebrow. “Do you want this?” you asked her. “It’s OK if you don't want it,” you assured Jenna, but her mom just chuckled, realizing much better than you just how ridiculous that idea was.

“And if I want you to stay?” Jenna asked a bit cheekily.

The answer was simple. “Then I'll stay,” and so the decision was made. You would be staying the night.

“I am betting my bed will remain empty tonight!” Aliyah yelled from the living room, embarrassing both you and Jenna.

Aliyah was absolutely wrong.

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penny00dreadful · 1 year ago

Text

Comeuppance - Part 1

Part 2 AO3

It was getting beyond ridiculous now. And if no one else wanted to help, then Dustin would take it upon himself.

Steve had helped him get his first girlfriend. He’d put his body between Dustin and the demodogs in the tunnels, even though he was half conscious and fully concussed. He’d helped them escape from torture and taken the blows in their place. He’d kept silent about his bites while they strategized in Max’s trailer.

He’d been with them through almost everything.

The only thing he’d missed was that first year but even then he was defending Nancy and Jonathan.

Dustin just wanted his brother to be happy.

And if no one else was going to do it, he’d do it himself.

He’d looked at his mother, how much brighter she used to be before his dad had died all those years ago.

He looked at Lucas and Max who always had secret smiles for each other.

He looked at Hopper and Joyce who’d found each other again after years apart, there to support their partner in everything.

He wanted that for Steve.

Steve deserved it.

To be happy with someone.

Maybe Dustin had… breezed through one or two of his mothers romance novels for inspiration, trying to figure out who the perfect candidate for Steve would be. How he could make it happen. What the method might look like.

With that in mind, he pulled in the rest of the Party who seemed to go along with him more begrudgingly than anything. Maybe they’d just gotten tired of arguing with him.

He’d have to examine later if that was something he needed to work on.

How could he become a world renowned scientist or engineer if he didn’t have anyone who would push back against him?

“Eddie!” Dustin called up towards the roof of the trailer, where he could just about make out the small plumes of smoke curling up against the bright blue sky. “Stop sunbathing, we need your help.”

The sounds of Eddie’s chains and jewellery rattled against the roof, telling Dustin he’d just rolled onto his stomach, allowing his arms to dangle down over the edge as he continued to puff away.

Eddie exhaled the smoke in his lungs and took a haughty tone when he said “A man such as myself would never be caught sunbathing, Henderson. That’s jock shit.”

Something caught Eddie’s attention behind him. He glanced back and when he turned towards the Party again he had a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“Did you hear me?” Dustin crossed his arms over his chest like he’d seen Steve do on numerous occasions before, trying to exude the same authority. “I said we need your help.”

“Alright.” Eddie let out a loud exasperated sigh. Dustin could tell he was playing up his irritation, though. “I’ll bite. What do you need my help with?”

Dustin grinned wide, delighted to be able to expound on his plan. “Steve’s love life.”

Something thudded against the roof of the trailer but Eddie didn’t flinch, didn’t turn to see what it was, just continued staring down at them, blank faced.

“What was that noise?” Mike asked, staring up at him.

Eddie shrugged. “Kicked something. Pray tell, why are you coming to little old me for help with Steve’s love life?”

“You two are friends now, right?”

Eddie snorted into his elbow. “I suppose that’s one word for it.” He muttered, barely audible from all the way up there.

“And you’re a guy his own age.” Dustin had to shield his eyes from the sun as he stepped closer. “He’ll listen to you.”

That got a loud laugh from him. “The hell gives you that idea?”

“He’ll listen to you more than he’ll listen to us.”

“You’d be better off asking Robin.” Eddie propped his chin up on his hand. “They’ve got that weird mind meld thing going on.”

Dustin huffed.

Robin would never hear them out.

“We can’t ask Robin.”

“Well maybe you should stop meddling, you ever think of that?”

Meddling? What was he, a child? Some evil villain? No. He wouldn’t call what he had planned meddling. He was aiding. He was helping.

Meddling implied he didn't know what he was doing, which he did.

He'd researched.

“I’m not meddling. I’m helping. We’re just trying to make the guy happy so what’s the issue? He’s clearly lonely.”

Eddie’s expression hardened. “Clearly lonely, is he? That’s a real charming thing to say about your babysitter, Henderson. Not everyone needs romantic connections in life. He has me, he has Robin. He has Nancy and Jonathan and Argyle. And up until a few seconds ago I would have said he had you all too. But apparently you’re not enough. Because he’s lonely.” He spat out the last word like it had personally offended him.

“He’s been single for so long-”

“Have you considered that maybe he’s happy that way? Or that he already has someone and just hasn’t told you?”

Dustin scoffed, crossing his arms again.

Eddie just wasn’t getting it.

“He’d tell me if he had someone.”

“Oh, you think so, do you?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

Eddie let his voice drop low. “Because you meddle, Dustin Henderson.”

“Dude, why are you being so defensive right now?” Couldn’t he see that what Dustin was doing was for the best? For everyone? Why did no one seem to want the same things for Steve that he did? “We’re asking for your help to make our friend happy!”

“Why can’t you ask Robin?”

Robin also wouldn’t get it.

“She’s too close to the issue. She won’t be objective. She’ll side with him no matter what.”

“And I won’t?”

“No. Because I know what I’m doing? I’ve researched this? It’s not fucking rocket science. If the idiots in movies and tv can make it happen surely we’ll be able to do it easily.”

The Party was practically a protégé mix of brains. There was no way this could fail.

“Movies and tv.” Eddie muttered to himself like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Jesus Christ.” He tilted his head back behind him for a few moments, listening for something before turning to face them again. “Alright, listen. I’m not agreeing to anything yet but tell me who’s the other person wrapped up in this?”

Dustin finally allowed himself to smile, proud of the clincher he was just about to reveal.

“Nancy.” He said, puffing out his chest and cocking his eyebrow.

He’d definitely just won this argument.

Except Eddie didn’t smile back at him and immediately agree, like Dustin had been expecting.

Instead Eddie moved his whole head with an eye roll and groaned. “You can’t be serious. He’s over Nancy. He’s told us all many, many, many times. He doesn’t want a relationship with her.”

Fuck sake. What wasn’t Eddie getting about this?

That’s just what people said when they were trying to save their hearts or there was some kind of contrived misunderstanding.

Dustin had seen the way Steve looked at Nancy from the car at the Snow Ball.

He’d heard the things he said to her in the Winnebago.

“Well, I don’t believe it. There has to be a reason he’s not dating Robin and we all heard the Winnebago talk. They’re meant to be. They’re perfect for each other.”

Eddie pursed his lips but stayed silent for a few seconds, considering. “Okay. And what about Nancy?”

Dustin blinked up at him confused. “What about her?”

“What does she say about this whole thing?”

“We can’t tell her, Eddie. We can’t tell either of them. Obviously.”

“Uh-huh. So Steve’s pining after Nancy, then?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Nancy pining after Steve?”

Dustin opened and closed his mouth, trying to formulate his comeback. He hadn’t really… thought too hard about that. But like… why wouldn’t she want him?

He was handsome, he was strong, he had money, he wanted kids, he wanted marriage, he was respected around town.

He was the perfect package!

And actually, if Dustin remembered correctly, she’d smiled at Steve during the Winnebago talk so she was receptive at the very least.

But he didn’t have a chance to articulate his argument because Eddie was barrelling ahead again.

“Oh right, I get it. Nancy doesn’t have any agency in this because the guy should always get the girl no matter her opinion right?”

“No!” That wasn’t what he meant. “It’s not like that-”

“You’re telling me that Nancy Wheeler,” Eddie interrupted, “gun toting, government fighting Nancy Wheeler. The same Nancy Wheeler who is currently working on her exposé of the sexism she experienced at the Hawkins Post, which is due to publish the second she goes to college at Emerson, where she already has an internship lined up, is going to just go along with this? And also, did I forget to mention, she leaves in six weeks? If you do get the two together what’s Steve supposed to do then?”

That was all semantics.

Once they were together they could work that out between themselves! But Dustin knew Eddie wasn’t going to like that answer so he came up with something else quickly because it wasn’t that hard, because this made sense.

“He could go with her!”

“Oh, so fuck any desires he had, then? He’s just gonna drop everything here and go? Follow her like a lost puppy?”

Dustin rolled his eyes again. “C’mon Eddie, now you’re just being combative for the sake of it.” He placed his hands back on his hips, again trying to exude parental authority. “It’ll be good for him to experience things. What does he even have here to drop? I mean, it’s about time he moved on from this town, right?”

“Henderson.” Eddie snapped in warning.

There was a moment of pause where they both stared at each other before Eddie rolled back around to face the back of the trailer. He muttered something in low tones that Dustin couldn’t hear and the next second was clambering down off the roof.

He landed far more gracefully than Dustin would have thought he was capable of before stomping over. “Do not let him hear you say that. He’ll think you don’t care whether he’s here or not.”

Dustin threw his arms out at either side of him. How could Steve possibly think that? He was just stating plain facts! “Of course I care!”

“Then act like it!” Eddie threw his own arms out in a similar fashion. “You’re making these decisions without him. What you’re trying to pull is peer pressure, all of you, you understand that right? It’s barely a step away from bullying.”

“Eddie, c’mon.” Mike crossed his arms, unable to meet his eye. “You’re looking at this all wrong. That’s not-”

“Yes it is. You’re all trying to get him to conform to what you think he should do, regardless of how he feels about it.”

Dustin shook his head, looking up at Eddie and imploring him to understand. What they were doing wasn’t malicious. “I just want him to be happy.”

But Eddie wasn’t relenting so Dustin would have to compromise somewhere to make this work.

“I understand that.” Eddie started. “But this isn’t-”

“Listen okay, FINE.” Dustin huffed. He did not stomp his foot. “I swear if you help us I’ll… I’ll stop if it doesn’t work. I swear, I promise if this doesn’t work and we don’t get Steve and Nancy back together I’ll never meddle in his affairs again. Please, I swear.”

Eddie loomed over him, dark eyes, dark hair, dark clothes, intense presence and Dustin was suddenly reminded of why he was intimidated by him when they first met at school. “On your mother?”

He nodded eagerly, hope starting to rise in his chest. “On my mother.”

“Okay.” Eddie sighed. “If it doesn’t work you are to never stick your nose in his business again, you understand me?”

“Yeah, I get it.” Dustin agreed, his mind already planning far ahead. “But you don’t need to worry about it, it’ll work.”

“You’re so sure of that are you?”

“I know him best out of all of us, I know him.” He tried not to let his smugness through, he really did try. But he couldn’t help it. “This’ll work.”

“I think you’re looking at this through little kid lenses and can’t see past the end of your own nose.”

Dustin opened his mouth in offence. “I’m smarter than you, you know.”

“I know but that doesn’t mean you’re a grown up. You're sure you have all the relevant information? You know everything there is to know and there's no way this could go wrong?” Eddie was acting like he knew something Dustin didn't, which just couldn’t be true. He’d planned for all the eventualities.

“Of course I do.”

“Alright.” Eddie nodded, turning back to his trailer and pulling himself back up onto the roof. “If you’re sure. Now scram, kiddos. I gotta get back to my sunbathing.”

It was all going terribly.

If Dustin didn’t know any better he’d think that Steve was totally checked out from the romance sphere. And he was acting a little weird. During one of their usual rides to the arcade, he’d told Dustin he was happy, which was great but it had come out of nowhere.

“Okay? I’m glad you’re happy?”

“I mean it though.” Steve drummed his fingers against the wheel. “Where I am in life right now, my friendships, my relationships, I’m happy. I don’t need anything to change. I’m good with how things are.”

Dustin had to think back on what they’d just talked about.

They’d been speaking about Steve’s most recent trip to Indy. He’d been a little cagey on what he, Eddie and Robin had been doing up there, but that was probably because it was some weird grown-up thing they were doing that they didn’t want Dustin to know about. Like he couldn’t handle it, whatever it was.

There was nothing they’d talked about that might have led to this.

“Right… well thanks for letting me know?”

Steve just nodded at him like it was a job well done and the whole thing was just plain weird.

Things got even weirder when he saw Nancy. She was dropping off some of her old study notes to him and she mentioned that it was a good thing that she was single right now. She’d be going away to college soon and she couldn’t stand the idea of dragging someone away from their home just for her sake.

Dustin stared at her a little bewildered but tried to get her to see reason anyway. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone there with you, though?”

“No,” she answered lightly, “it would probably add more pressure to be honest.”

Dustin didn’t think there was any way that was true. Surely it would be easier to acclimate with someone from home to keep her company.

But despite his numerous attempts to get Nancy and Steve alone together in situations that could easily turn into dates, with soft touches or glittering eyes or whatever else the fucking books talked about, nothing had happened.

No progress had been made and it was fucking frustrating.

He’d gotten the two of them to sit together, away from the rest of the group at the cinema and they just… watched the movie?

Not once did Steve try to put his arm across the back of Nancy’s seat or take her hand or even whisper to her, getting their faces close together except to nudge her playfully for the popcorn. It was a perfect set up and he was doing nothing with it.

How was Steve so bad at this?

Didn’t he have a reputation in school?

And Eddie was less than helpful.

Every time Dustin leaned forward in anticipation of something happening between the two of them, Eddie would throw a kernel of popcorn at his head with a childish giggle, watching the scene unfold like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Dustin’s next attempt had fallen flat as well.

He’d told Nancy that all the older teens were meeting at the diner for dinner together and had gotten Eddie to pass the message onto Steve. Nancy seemed wary initially but relented surprisingly easily, without much of a fight and Dustin was convinced he was getting better at this.

But the Party watched from the bookshop across the street as the two of them chatted amicably and even laughed together a few times but that was it. They didn’t share any food between them, they didn’t feed each other, they didn’t even get the single milkshake with two straws.

That was a beginner level move!

Dustin was losing his fucking mind, just trying to get those two to do something so he had to go big.

Again he recruited Eddie to help, out of complete necessity this time.

Because there was no way Dustin could sneak into The Hideout to see how this plan was shaping up but he was confident that something would happen this time around.

He told Eddie to do everything within his power to keep the two of them together.

Alcohol is a social lubricant, it shouldn’t be that hard.

Eddie had just scrunched his nose in disgust, mouthing 'social lubricant' to himself.

But even that was a lost cause because when Eddie walkied to update him on their progress a little breathless, probably from playing, he said he’d shredded so hard on stage, Steve spent the whole time watching the performance which was the exact opposite of what they were trying to do.

Dustin was nearly ready to lock the two of them in a closet until they got to it, but he wasn’t there.

Yet.

He had another option up his sleeve.

Which is why he was shocked when Max announced she was pulling out of the whole thing.

“Listen, dipshit. It’s not working.” She’d said, frowning at him.

“It will work! You can’t pull out now!”

“I can and I will. When you come from where I come from you learn pretty quickly to mind your own fucking business if you don’t want a punch in the face and it’s getting there.”

Dustin could do nothing but throw his hands into the air as she stormed off.

It gave him the final push to start ramping things up.

“Eddie, we need you to flirt with Nancy.”

The man in question turned his head slowly and methodically until he was facing Dustin completely, his hand still hovering over the battle map he was prepping.

“Excuse me?”

“If you make Steve jealous, that might be the kick he needs to finally do something.”

“You’re playing with fire here, Henderson. You can’t toy with people’s feelings like that.”

“Who’s toying with feelings? There’ll be no feelings involved.”

“What about Steve’s feelings? What about Nancy’s?”

“You're overthinking this.” These kinds of miscommunications always worked out in the end, come on.

Eddie’s mouth was set in a firm, grim line.

He looked beyond irritated.

“And there’s no way this could possibly blow up in your face, right?”

Dustin looked at him like he had six heads.

Why was he the only one who was seeing sense here? This was how things were done.

He was saved from having to answer by the arrival of Nancy and Mike into the Harrington basement.

Steve barely glanced up at their arrival, just sending a short smile their way, too deep in conversation with Robin about the news or interior design or whatever the fuck grown ups talked about.

Dustin sent a very pointed look Eddie's way who heaved the most put upon sigh, rising from his seat and giving him, the middle finger which he sarcastically reciprocated.

“Hey Nance.” Eddie said, sildling up beside her and oozing charm and charisma. “I'm glad you decided to come today. Don't know what I would've done if I had to go without seeing your pretty face for much longer."

Steve and Robin’s conversation abruptly cut off.

Robin was blinking up at Eddie from her position on the couch with nothing short of bewilderment and Steve just raised an eyebrow looking almost amused.

God damn it, why was he amused?

Nancy herself looked incredibly confused, flitting her eyes in between Steve and Eddie for just a second before Eddie made some kind of hand gesture that Dustin couldn’t see.

Nancy smiled.

“Just a pretty face?” She asked, batting her eyelashes at him which on its own was weird. Dustin didn’t think he’d ever seen Nancy do that before.

“Oh of course not, Lady Wheeler. Everyone knows you’re more than just a pretty face.”

She reached a hand out, grasping his upper arm in a little squeeze. “Dunno if I could say the same thing about you.”

Eddie clutched at his heart, stumbling back a few steps. “Oh! The Lady Wheeler has wounded me most grievously!”

“Oh, stop it, you.” She swatted at his arm. “You’re still pretty.”

Which… this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. Nancy wasn’t supposed to flirt back!

“Would you care to join us?” Eddie asked, sweeping his arm out towards the table where the rest of the Party had finished setting up.

Dustin stared open-mouthed.

Eddie never asked anyone to join unprepared.

“I’ve heard this arena of play isn’t unfamiliar to you.” He continued, lowering his voice and leaning in close to Nancy but he wasn’t quiet enough to stop Dustin hearing him. “I’ve even heard you used to get into costume for the kiddies. You into a bit of roleplay, Nancy?”

Steve widened his eyes at Eddie and twisted his wrist.

Shit.

Steve hadn’t won most human on human fights but he could probably take Eddie to the cleaners pretty easily.

Steve wouldn’t though, right? He wasn’t that kind of guy?

Dustin was, thankfully, proven right when both Steve and Eddie went back to ignoring each other in favour of watching Nancy.

Eddie straightened up and Dustin could see a slight scowl and a glare on Nancy’s face but it was filled with more fond exasperation than outright anger.

Eddie broke away from her with one last wink and took his seat behind the DM screen while Nancy lowered herself down next to Steve and Robin.

“I’m going to pay for that later.” Eddie muttered to himself.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Mike grumbled, thudding his forehead into the table.

“Chill the fuck out, Romeo.” Dustin hissed. “You’re supposed to be making Steve jealous not getting Nancy to actually like you.”

Eddie just shrugged. “I can’t help it if I’m irresistible.”

Time flew by as they all got sucked into the game and Dustin felt his spirits lifting. Steve kept glancing in Eddie’s direction and it gave him hope that their plan had worked. Maybe he was getting jealous if he couldn’t keep his eyes off him over the top of the magazine he was pretending to read.

Dustin’s suspicions were all but confirmed in the next few days as Steve started to slowly mope around every time Eddie shot a wink in Nancy’s direction or made her giggle.

It was honestly a bit over dramatic the way he’d sigh wistfully towards them or get an honest to god pout on his face.

“This is your chance, dude!” Dustin jumpscared Steve in his kitchen, nearly causing him to spill the popcorn he’d just poured into a large bowl.

“Jesus H. Christ, where the fuck did you come from?” Steve set the bowl down a little louder than he needed to before reaching up to rifle through his cabinets for more snacks.

“Washington.”

“Har har, very funny.”

“I’m serious about this, Steve. Aren’t you jealous seeing Eddie flirting with Nancy all the time? Don’t you want to do something about it?”

"Dunno if I'd call it jealousy." He muttered.

"Come on, you need to like…" Dustin wanted to say 'mark your territory' or something but he was pretty sure if that ever got back to Nancy he'd be six feet deep before he could even blink, so he just mimed a shoving motion.

“You’re not seriously suggesting I punch Eddie for Nancy’s favour are you?”

“No! That’s not what I’m getting at at all, fucking hell. I meant for you to turn on your Harrington Charm I’ve heard so much about! Steal her away from him!”

“I don’t think anyone can ‘steal’ Nancy Wheeler, Henderson.” His tone abruptly shifted from exasperation to something sadder, like he’d flipped a switch. “Besides, what’s the point?" He sighed, like a wistful maiden. "She’s clearly more interested in Eddie than in me.”

“That’s a very defeatist attitude. You haven’t even tried anything yet.”

Steve looked down on him, turning something over in his head before nodding. “Okay. I’ll try. Now help me carry these back inside.”

Dustin happily filled his arms with snacks and followed Steve back out to the living room where the rest of their friends were waiting.

Eddie and Nancy were sitting side by side on the couch, pressed up against each other. Dustin took his seat on the floor along with the rest of the Party, spreading the snacks out in front of him and keeping an eye out as Steve flipped the lights off before making his way over to the two.

“Excuse me there while I just-” Steve lowered himself down, directly in the middle of Eddie and Nancy, practically on their laps until they squirmed away to avoid their legs being crushed under the weight of one muscular jock.

Eddie was biting his lip in the way he usually did when he was trying not to laugh and Nancy had her hand covering her mouth, maybe in shock. Probably in shock.

Robin sat next to all of them in an armchair with her hands covering her face, shaking her head and Dustin had to try very hard not to facepalm into the next century.

God this guy was hopeless.

Steve wiggled a little in place, getting comfortable and placing the popcorn bowl on his lap with a goofy grin. “Are we ready to start?” He asked, plucking the remote from Eddie’s hand and pressing play.

It was only a couple of days later when Dustin’s walkie crackled to life in the dark evening hours.

“Operation White Picket Fence, sound off.” Mike's voice came through.

One by one each member of the Party confirmed they were there, ending with Dustin. “This is Dart the Bard, checking in. Over.”

“This is a Code Orange, I repeat this is a Code Orange. Over.” Mike called.

“Hold on Paladin. We need to wait for Kas. Over.”

“That’s a negative, Dart. We need to talk without him. Over.”

But Eddie was a part of Operation White Picket Fence, even if his participation was working a little too well. Maybe that’s what this was about.

He huffed, endlessly glad they'd decided to stick to codenames, he couldn't deal with his mother overhearing any of this.

“Okay,” Dustin replied, “let’s switch to our backup channel just in case he checks in. Over.”

The Party sounded off their agreement and he turned the dial on his walkie, settling on the right numbers and waiting to find out exactly what was going on.

“The plan is backfiring. It’s going wrong. I overheard Emerson on the phone talking about Kas and Babysitter. She was going on about how she’s really started to like Kas. Like like. She has a full blown crush on him now and apparently it’s helping her move on from Babysitter. Over.”

“Shit. Shit, shit, shitshitshitshit! This is not what was supposed to happen! Over!”

“I know! What the hell are we supposed to do now? Over.”

"We'll tell Kas to stop. Maybe get him to start talking up Babysitter instead. Over."

"I don't want to see my s-Emerson get hurt over this, Bard. Besides, Kas is way better than Babysitter anyway. Over."

"But they're not meant to be! And Kas doesn’t even like her like that! Babysitter and Emerson are meant to be! We'll just have to regroup. Start pushing them harder or something. Over!"

"Yeah, because that's been working out so well so far." Lucas grumbled. "Over."

Dustin nearly jumped at the sound of the phone ringing elsewhere in the house. He sat, waiting for his mom to pick up. At least if she was on the phone he could be sure she wasn’t listening in.

When the ringing stopped and he could hear the muffled sounds of his mother talking to someone, he continued.

“Babysitter hasn’t been on a date in months and the only person he’s been hanging around with other than Red Bird is Kas! He’s not trying anymore so this has to happen before Emerson leaves for-”

“Dusty? Phone for you.” His mother’s voice came through his closed bedroom door, accompanied by her knock.

“Shit. Hold on, guys. Phone. Over.”

Dustin pushed himself to his feet and opened the door, following his mother down the hallway. “Who is it?”

“Eddie.” She replied with a soft smile.

Speak of the devil. He thought. Well, no time like the present to sort this out.

“Hello?”

“Hey Dusty-Buns.” Eddie’s infuriating smile was audible.

“I told you not to call me that.”

“But it’s so fun! Listen, I need to talk to you about this whole Nancy and Steve thing-”

“Good, because I need to talk to you about it too. You gotta dial it back, man.”

Eddie paused. “What do you mean?”

“You’re getting in too deep with her, you’re starting to pull her attention away from Steve and that was not a part of the plan.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I’m not sure if I can really do that…”

“Wha- why? Why, Eddie, why?!”

“I dunno, man.” Dustin could hear him shrug. “I kinda like her.”

“No! Nonononono! You can’t like her! You’re not allowed to like her, why do you like her?!”

“What do you mean I’m not allowed? And as for why, have you met her? You used to have a crush on her!”

“Yeah, when I was a child, you can’t be serious about this, Eddie.”

“I’m super serious about this, Dustin. I like her. I want to ask her out.”

“Jesus Christ this was not part of the plan!”

“And I didn’t want to be a part of the plan from the start! You forced me into it! I told you it wouldn’t work.”

“It will work. It still can work! We're still doing this whether you like it or not. I’ll see you at Steve’s tomorrow. Don’t do anything stupid in the meantime!”

“Dust-!”

Dustin slammed the phone back down onto the cradle, stomping back off to his room, ignoring his mother’s calls after him.

“Guys,” he said, snatching his walkie up from the floor. “Things just got so much worse. We need to come up with a new plan before tomorrow.”

Steve didn't seem too suspicious when Dustin called him to let him know the Party didn’t need a ride to his house for the get together, they’d bike. They needed time to get their plan straight anyway.

All of that was thrown out of the window, however when they pulled up to the Harrington home and heard shouting coming from inside. They all shared a nervous glance with each other, easily recognising the voices as coming from Steve and Eddie.

"-can't believe you would do this to me!" Steve yelled, standing on the opposite side of the living room to Eddie who had his arm draped over Nancy's shoulders. Robin was sitting on the couch between them, unusually subdued with a lollipop in her mouth, her eyes ping ponging between them like she was watching a tennis match.

"Steve, please! I thought you'd be happy for me!" Eddie shouted back, waving his free arm around.

"Happy for you? How could I be happy for you when you're stealing Nancy away from me!"

Nancy gave a little frown but didn’t speak.

“I’m sorry Steve but-”

“You’re supposed to be my friend Eddie!” Steve's voice pitched high like a whining dog and he sniffled… loudly.

“I am your friend! But you can’t expect me to ignore the pull of true love!”

Nancy turned her head to look at him. “True love?” She asked, her tone flat.

“That’s right. True love, shnookums, my precious little rainbow cupcake.” Eddie booped her on the nose and she looked like she was fighting hard not to punch him.

Dustin was horrified. How could everything have gone so wrong?

“This is a complete betrayal! I don’t know if I can ever look at you the same way again, either of you! In fact, I don’t think I can look at you anymore at all!” Steve’s voice was wavering as turned his back on them, facing Robin with his arms crossed who stared at him wide eyed, biting into her lollipop.

“I don’t think there’s anything more I can say to you two. I never want to speak to you again! I never want to see you again!” Steve cried, throwing one hand over his eyes and holding the other out as if to push them away. “Go on, run away together and leave me behind! I wash my hands of you two.”

“That’s too bad Steve, I’m sorry this is goodbye forever, never to see each other again, never to interact or even ask the kids about one another in passing. This is truly a terrible, irreparable breaking of the Fellowship, never to be fixed!”

Jesus they were both laying it on thick, rubbing as much salt in the wound as possible, probably hurting each other terribly in the process. How had it come to this? Was their found family really going to be so broken forever? Dustin didn’t know if he could stomach it.

“Eddie.” Dustin breathed as he and Nancy turned to face them, apparently completely unsurprised to find the Party standing in the doorway. “What have you done?”

“What have I done? I did nothing but follow my heart, struck down by Cupid's arrow! What have you done, Dustin? You started this.”

“This wasn’t the plan, Eddie! This wasn’t the plan!”

Steve turned back around, his face suspiciously dry but Dustin was too far gone to notice.

“You were only supposed to make Steve jealous!” His voice was rising into a shout. “Not fall in love! You were never supposed to seriously flirt with Nancy and I told you not to ask her out! This whole thing was to get Steve and Nancy back together!”

“What plan? What whole thing?” Steve had walked over from his far corner of the room, planting himself down right next to Eddie with his hands on his hips and a stern look in his eye.

Dustin floundered, opening and closing his mouth. “The- we- there was a plan…” he took a deep breath. Well it was all completely fucked anyway, what was the point in keeping it quiet? “The plan was to get you and Nancy back together.”

"Behind our backs?" Steve prompted, not moving. He kept his hands on his hips and kept that hard look in his eyes, waiting for Dustin to continue.

“You haven’t gone on a date in ages, Steve! And you and Nancy were so good together-”

“No we weren’t.” Steve and Nancy cut him off in unison.

“But- it’s- you two are meant to be together! Do the whole white picket fence and babies thing! You just needed a push so I said I’d give you that push!”

"You certainly 'pushed' enough, Dustin." Nancy said, unwinding Eddie's arm from around her shoulders. They were barely even touching now as if some kind of act had been dropped. As if-

"Wait."

"Personally, I think I pulled off 'straight' rather well." Eddie grinned, the picture of smug pride.

"Wait. But this… this was all an act?! But you…” He pointed between Steve and Nancy.

“Listen to me very carefully, Henderson.” Steve raised his hands and began using sign language exaggeratedly along with his speech as though to really punctuate his statement. “I. Don’t want to. Be with. Nancy. Nancy. Does not want to. Be with. Me. Your plan would have never worked-”

But Dustin just couldn’t let this go. He’d been so sure.

“It would have! It would have worked! There were just some,” he gestured in Eddie’s direction, “variables we didn’t think to factor in.”

“There were a lot of variables you didn’t think to factor in. Some of the biggest being how I would feel about this whole thing!" Steve said, jabbing himself in the chest. "Or Nancy! Or Eddie! You just ploughed through without any consideration for our own emotional investments. Did you ever once stop to think why? Did you ever think there was a reason why I’ve refused every time you’ve been bugging me about pursuing Nancy again? Or Robin? Or anyone else? No, you didn’t. You just assumed I wouldn’t know what was best for me or that I wasn’t smart enough to be making my own decisions. That I don’t know my own mind as well as you do.”

Dustin winced. He knew it was a sensitive topic for Steve, people always assuming he was stupid because he couldn’t read quickly or had difficulty hearing. But that’s not what he’d done! That’s not how he’d intended it!

“That’s not-”

“Yes it is. That’s exactly what it is. I’m very familiar with it, I’ve been listening to it my whole life. People making decisions for me about school or sports or whatever because I couldn’t possibly be able to figure it out on my own? I used to see it all the time, I know what it looks like. You ignored every sign, every way this thing could have and would have gone wrong. And because you refused to consider any of these factors you could have blown up some of my most cherished friendships forever! No coming back from it. Permanently damaged. Do you have any idea what that would do to me? To us? We are not your fucking playthings to mess around with, Dustin!"

Panic was starting to settle deep in Dustin’s chest now. He needed backup, he needed something, someone, it wasn’t malicious it was just… he was just trying to help!

“Eddie?”

“Don’t look at me, I am not on your side here, Henderson. I told you how this would end when you first approached me and you wouldn’t listen.”

“But you were bluffing! There’s no way you could have known he wouldn’t want this! You don’t know Steve that well.”

“What happened to 'you're a friend his own age', huh? You’re still assuming you know everything without a complete picture. There’s a glaring puzzle piece you’re missing out on because, and I’m sorry I have to say this, you don’t look at things objectively like a scientist should. You let your emotions run you and again refuse to see past the end of your own nose.”

Dustin crossed his arms, unable to look any of them in the eye. If he had missed something it couldn’t have been something that obvious. He just needed to find out what it was.

“What could I possibly be missing?” He grumbled.

“Oh no, you don’t get to bully that information out of us." Eddie said. "If you were meant to know, then you’d know. But you don’t get to decide what secrets people do or don’t tell you. Part of being a grown up is understanding that.”

“But why… why wouldn’t you tell me something like that?”

“This. This is why, Dustin." Steve answered, running a hand through his hair. "Because you meddle. For months we’ve been telling you not to, but you don’t listen. You’ve made us feel like we have to keep things secret from you because what if you decided this secret thing is a bad thing, even though it makes the people involved happy? If you decide it’s bad or not the best course of action, you might have decided again that you know best and try to break it. Don’t even try to deny it, Dustin, you know it’s the truth.”

“But… but if you’d just told me it makes you happy-”

“You mean like how I told you I was happy where I was now and didn’t need Nancy back in my life romantically? That I was happy with how all my relationships are now?" Steve sighed, shaking his head. "You still tried to fuck with it, Dustin. You still tried to fuck with a good thing because you think you know better.”

“The both of us went to you separately and made it crystal clear that we were happy with things the way they were." Nancy said. "We’d agreed that if you backed off, we’d back off too. But you didn’t. You could’ve destroyed our friendships, destroyed our relationships, destroyed each of us mentally and emotionally. You just kept pushing. You want to be treated like a grownup? Well congrats, you got what you wished for. Consequences. No sugar coating. Grown up consequences. Just like you wanted.”

“But what about the others? They were involved too!”

“And they’ll get their punishment. But we all know you were the ringleader.” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, unmoving.

“So that’s it? You’re happy being single? Really?” Dustin knew he was pushing. He knew he should have really kept that last comment inside, he really should have.

Because Steve had been irritated, pissed off and upset. But now he was angry. Honestly and truly angry and Dustin didn’t think until this moment that it had ever been directed at him before.

It was a soft anger, simmering and cold and disappointed.

“You still don’t get it.”

Steve was looking at him and underneath the anger and disappointment there was also a streak of heartbreak that Dustin didn’t know what the fuck to do with.

Everyone else was looking at him now, Eddie and Robin were like marble pillars, bracketing Steve at either side with a stern look on their face, Nancy was glaring down at him and all of his friends behind him had wilted.

He was the only one left standing proud and a horrible, terrible part of his brain was saying to him that if everyone in a room was telling him he was wrong, maybe… maybe he hadn’t been as right as he was sure he had been.

“But I-” Dustin stuttered. He… he hadn’t set out to hurt Steve. He would never… “It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”

“Dustin.” That was Nancy, circling around him now until she came to a stop in front of him. “I think it’s time for you to go. All of you.”

“But-”

“If you refuse to leave, it will become trespassing.”

Trespassing? What, was Steve going to call the fucking police on him or something? But a glance back at Steve’s face, resigned and hurt and angry told him that maybe he couldn’t exactly hash everything out right now.

He’d just have to wait for everyone to calm down and then they could work this out.

They could work this all out, right?

“I mean, how could it all have gone so wrong?”

They were all sitting in Will's room, the whole Party in a circle on the floor. Dustin was… confused.

He was angry. He was hurt. He was… so upset. And all with himself because… well because he had hurt Steve. Had been hurting Steve for long enough that Steve felt like he had to hide things from him.

He made Steve feel like he couldn’t talk to him, tell him about this good thing in his life because he thought Dustin might fuck with it?

And yeah, Steve hid shit from them all the time.

His rocky recovery after the Upside-Down, both mentally and physically. The amount of times he had to fight off infection from the road-rash on his back and arms. The nightmares. The panic attacks. The concussions. The hearing loss.

But all those things Steve hid from them because he didn’t want them to worry, he didn’t want to burden them with their problems.

He’d never hidden something from them, from Dustin because he was happy.

Whatever this thing was, it apparently made Steve really, really happy and Dustin never knew. Because Steve had been afraid that if he told Dustin and Dustin didn’t like it for whatever reason, he’d try to take it away, try to meddle.

God, he was starting to hate that word.

Meddle.

It felt so fucking childish.

"It was never gonna go right." Max muttered from in between Lucas and El.

And Dustin didn’t know why it was that that did it, that quiet and slightly accusatory comment from Max who rarely pulled her verbal punches that caused the first tear to spill free.

And they just kept coming. His vision was blurring and there was a terrible lump in his throat, forcing its way out.

The first sob that broke through sent a ripple throughout the group, plunging them into silence and Dustin could feel them all staring.

The next second he was set upon, everyone coming close to get their arms around him or hands on him, to comfort him even though he didn’t feel like he deserved any of it.

“What did I do?” He blubbered. He wasn’t even sure who’s shirt he was crying into. “What do I do? Steve didn’t tell me, he won’t tell me b- because he thinks I’ll try to take it away. Wh- what do I do?”

“Dustin.” Oh, that was Lucas. He was destroying Lucas’ shirt. “Do you understand why what you did was so fucked up? I’m not asking to punish you more, but you can’t fix it until you understand what was broken. It’s science.”

Science.

Yeah, okay. He could understand that.

Can’t just smash pieces back together. You gotta examine them.

“I- I ignored all the times they told me to leave it alone?”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah. Anything else?”

Someone was running a hand up and down his back and someone else had both his hands in a firm grip.

“I… I kept pushing. After they told me to stop. Af- after they told me they were happy. Because I thought… I thought, how could they be happy? I wouldn’t be happy in their position, so they must not be happy. And everything with Steve… trying to push Robin or Nancy towards him because… because he’s supposed to be with someone, right? And they’re his friends so why wouldn’t he want one of them?”

“Same reason you wouldn’t want me.” Max said. “Or El.”

“I did want you once.” Dustin mumbled. There was no point trying to deny the past. Not at this stage.

“And Steve wanted Robin once. But they’ve always been just friends.” One of the hands in his squeezed, and that was probably Max. “Could you imagine someone trying to force the two of us together now? After everything we’ve figured out between us?”

“B-but that’s different. You’re with Lucas.”

“So? What if I wasn’t and someone was still trying to push us together? Or what if we had to hide our relationship because of small minded idiots and we couldn’t say why you and I wouldn’t work out, we just had to hope someone would take our word for it. And then what if they didn’t and just kept pushing?”

Dustin hummed, a weak and shaky thing but he could see her point. It would be fucking torture to try to deal with all of that and to not be able to say anything about it.

What a terrible hypothetical.

“I…” He sniffled, trying not to wipe his nose off on Lucas’ shirt. “I need to apologise. I need… I need to talk to him.”

There was a tap on his shoulder and he glanced up to see Will holding out some tissues.

He took it with a watery smile.

“We’ll help you figure it out.”

Part 2 AO3

@augustjustice

Big thanks as always to @hbyrde36 for her magnificent beta work and to the STWG for their motivation and @hairstevington for her help with the ASL section. 😘

#steddie #steve x eddie #stranger things #eddie x steve #steddie fic #stranger things fic #fanfic #penny00dreadful #steddie fanfic #wip #ao3 #dustin henderson #the party #comeuppance #pennys anniversary event

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yoditopascal · 9 months ago

Text

Con La Brisa

summary: "give me a little bit more time 'cause my last breath I will give to show you the entire sky." or snippets into the domestic life of sanemi and his tsugoku.

warnings: none that are really that bad, post infinity castle arc, mentioned character death, established relationship, domestic fluff, implied/referenced sex, soft sanemi, some angst but not a lot, AU where all the hashira live because I said so, minor mitsuri/obanai, minor shinobu/giyu, unplanned pregnancy

a/n: this is a continuation of my fic Home taking place after my other fic My Nemi!

part 2. ohagi

It was a month later when Sanemi returned to your village. Having to go back and finish up his affairs back home he wrapped them up as quickly as he could before the winds of spring brought him back to you.

It was a cool April afternoon when Sanemi returned. You had already heard the whispers from the town gossips of a ‘scary looking stranger’ playing with the village children down by the riverside while you were out shopping so you knew he had come back before he even stopped by.

“I’m back.” called a voice from the door, you were in the kitchen of the tea shop preparing lunch for the hungry customers that had stopped by that day.

“Welcome home Sanemi!” you gave him a closed eyed smile as he approached the counter. He had wanted to lean over and kiss the top of your head but the mere thought of doing so in the presence of so many others made his cheeks burn.

Behind the counter you looked the picture perfect of domesticity. Hair tied up in a bun atop your head with a bandana, frilly apron in place as you worked hard at making food, he could definitely get used to such a sight.

“Can I get you something to eat?” you asked as you filled trays up with food preparing to serve them.

“J-just onigiri is fine.” He stuttered as you pulled him from his thoughts. Sanemi watched as you struggled to balance the trays in your arms, your brother was sick that day and it was just you running the tea shop on your own Sanemi had noticed. “I can wait though, let me help you.”

“Oh! That’s ok I-” He wordlessly took the trays from your hands before you could finish your sentence. Shaking your head you gave in and directed him to which customer got what and he simply obliged.

That was your routine for the rest of the day, You cooking and filling orders while he served them. By day’s end you had served quite a few patrons, more than you normally would have if you were alone.

“Thanks for your help today Sanemi-san, I honestly wouldn't have made it without you.” You smiled as you served him a cup of hot tea and onigiri taking the seat in front of him so you could talk.

“Drop the -san Sanemi is fine!” he said, sipping at his hot tea.

“You're right we have seen each other naked already after all.” you smiled at him while you leaned on your palm.

Sanemi choked, nearly spilling his tea all over the place. A moment of silence filled the space between you for a moment before Sanemi spoke again this time in a more hushed tone, his cheeks tinged pink

“D-did you want to talk about it?” he asked. He had yet to actually ask you about what you felt about that night you spent together when he first visited you. Was he too forward? Did you want it to happen again? What if he had hurt you?

“About the hot springs? What's there to talk about?” you asked reminiscing back to that night at the swordsmith village when you were still his tsugoku.

Oh right…that.

“Not that! I meant-” he cut himself off, unable to actually say what he was thinking out loud, cheeks burning even brighter if that were possible.

“I’m just teasing you Nemi.” You leaned across the table to kiss him on the forehead.

“You ass!” he cried placing his hand were you had kissed him.

You laughed, a hearty laugh that you hadn’t actually done in a while since being home and it felt nice.

After the two of you ate, you cleaned up and closed up the shop.

“Where are you going?” you questioned as you were leaving, Sanemi had started heading in the opposite direction from your home.

“To the Inn?”he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Why? You can just stay with me!” You smiled at him

“Don’t you think that’s too…informal? Aren’t you worried about what people might think about us?”

“Who gives a rat’s ass what people think of us, and besides we're way past being formal to each other.” You said, grabbing his hand, pulling him along with you as you walked home.

“Come on, I'll make you a bed in the guest room and make you a nice big breakfast in the morning!”

Sanemi stared after you as if he was pondering what to say next, instead he opted to follow you in silence just happy to be holding your hand.

Afterall who was he to turn down a home cooked meal and a warm bed?

The following weeks were much of the same. You’d get up early to eat together then you'd both head down to the tea shop to get some work done. When your brother returned from his illness he was surprised and a little scared to be working in the same building as someone so ‘scary looking’ he had told you, but over time he had slowly started to warm up to Sanemi to the point where he’d sometimes invite him over to drink and play shogi with him and his friends.

Weeks turned into months and soon Sanemi was a full fledged employee and one of the family. You parents were still pretty weary of him but none the less they welcomed him to their employment with open arms. That didn't mean that everyone accepted him though, a few of the regulars hadn’t been by as much as they usually would have in the past few months and though you tried to tell Sanemi it wasn’t his fault he had a feeling that it had to do with the way he looked.

“Don’t worry about them, they're a dime a dozen, I'd much rather have you around than a bunch of stuffy old geezers anyways.”You had tried to reassure him one day after a particularly bad incident.

Sanemi was going about his usual day of serving food and tea to customers, however when he got to the table of an old woman, who was new and visiting her children in town, she damn near had a heart attack at his appearance alone.

“Maybe I’m just not cut out for this line of work.”

“Nonsense! You’re great at it! Don't let one old hag get you down in the dumps man.” Your brother tried cheering him up as he hooked his arm around him. Shrugging your brother off, Sanemi silently continued to work, clearly upset by the whole situation.

That night when you returned home for the evening you prepared him his favorite meal and an extra special treat of ohagi, his favorite, which he promptly thanked you for all night till the sun came up.

From that moment on Sanemi no longer stayed in the guest room, even when he tried to go back you’d both come up with some kind of excuse as to why he shouldn’t.

“It's too stuffy in there, my room is much cooler.”

“I thought I heard an intruder, it’d be best if I just stayed in here with you for the night.”

“I can’t sleep alone, I'm much more well rested when you're beside me!”

Excuse after excuse piled up day after day until Sanemi finally said ‘Fuck it’ and moved all his things into your room officially.

It was a chilly autumn morning when you found yourself strolling the Demon Slayer Corps cemetery, you shivered as you wrapped your scarf and haori tighter around yourself, trying to protect yourself from the chill of the wind and atmosphere of the graveyard. Sanemi placed an arm around you as he guided you along the path.

“It won’t take long.” he reassured you, pulling his haori off to wrap around you.

“Take all the time you need. There’s no rush.” You said reaching out to grab his hand, giving it a light squeeze before letting go.

“Hey.” Sanemi says kneeling at a headstone, he wipes off some of the dirt and leaves that had started to collect on it as you place the incense and flowers you had bought along with you at the base. “Sorry it took so long for me to visit this time, I've been pretty busy.”

He watches silently as you light the incense, saying a little prayer as you do so. “It’s nice to see you again Genya.” You say as you move to sit next to Sanemi. “Wish it was under better circumstances though.”

You had briefly met the boy when he had come to the Wind estate for hashira training. Though he had barely spent any time there you had liked him well enough while he was there. He was a nice kid, who was polite and blushed and averted his eyes anytime you were around him, the poor boy was just trying to get his brother to love him, he didn’t deserve the fate he faced at the hands of an upper moon, he shouldn’t have been a demon slayer to begin with, he was way too sweet for that life.

“I-“ Sanemi’s starts, his voice drifting off as he looks from the grave to you as if he’s trying to think of what to say “I’m sorry.”

You place a hand over his.

“Sorry for not protecting you, for pushing you away and leaving you on your own for so long. M’ sorry for ever calling you weak and trying to hurt you, m’ sorry for ever saying that you weren’t my brother. Hell I’m just-just-“ tears brim his eyes as he cuts himself off.

Sorry.

He doesn’t say the last word as he rubs at his eyes trying to force the tears to stop but they’re flowing full force now.

“You're my brother, I should have been there for you. I should have done better!” He shouted at the grave, all you could do was look on at him in sorrow, your own tears blurry your vision as your thumb rubs over his hand.

“It’s-it’s not fair.” He says voice watery and quiet almost at a whisper. “Good people die…you, Masachika… one after another it’s just not fair!”

“You should have had a house somewhere, raised a family of your own and gotten to grow old. You should’ve had a wife and children and gotten to make them happy and share memories with them. I would’ve done anything for that life for you.” He said, gripping at his clothes over his chest, they felt constricting, the air around him heavy, almost suffocating.

“I’m so sorry Genya.”

“Sanemi…” you trail off as you move your hand to his shoulder not knowing what to say to comfort him. He places a hand over yours and squeezes reassuringly, just you being there was enough.

“I’m ok-“ he starts finally looking at you, his eyes are bloodshot but soft as he looks on sadly. “It’s just-“

“I know.”

The pair of you sit in silence for a while, leaning onto each other as you watch the incense burn. What feels like hours pass before either one of you speaks again.

“Thank you,” Sanemi starts as he sits up to kiss your forehead “for coming with me.”

“Anytime.” You say, gently carding your fingers through his fluffy hair.

A month had pass since you last visited Genya. You and Sanemi had just settled back into your routine when he received a letter. It was from Rengoku asking how he was doing, if he had settled into town alright and if he had confessed to you yet. A blush rose to his cheeks as he stopped reading the letter aloud.

Instead he shoved the piece of parchment to your chest, cheeks still rosy, and without looking you in the face asked you to reply for him.

You knew Sanemi could read but after years of practicing still couldn’t write so you opted to help him when he needed it.

A few days after your reply was sent, Sanemi received another letter, this one was from Tengen who had cheekily asked how you were doing and if you had gotten married yet instead of the former wind pillar. Sanemi refused to respond to that one.

Soon you both were trading letters back and forth between all the former hashira who had survived the final battle, until one day they all suddenly stopped.

The bell to your tea shop alerted you that someone had just walked in. Without looking up you said “Be with you in a second!” Hands busy with the task of preping food for the next rush of customers.

“Well now is that any way to greet an old friend?”said a boisterous voice with a laugh.

Snapping your eyes up, you immediately straightened up and bowed respectfully in greeting when you saw that not only was Tengen and his wives here, laughing at your rigid form, so was Rengoku and Shinobu and Mitsuri! All the hashira were here!

“W-what are you guys doing here?” You asked nervously, if you had known they were coming you would have tidied up some, you definitely would have made more of an effect to make yourself look presentable.

“We came to visit you and Shinazugawa of course!” Rengoku replied, a bright smile ever present on his face. “And no need to be so polite we’re all civilians now after all.”

“R-right, I’m sorry.”

“It’s quite alright my young friend!” He smiled a closed eyed smile though the eyepatch was making it difficult.

“So how’ve you been? Shinazugawa treating you well?” Tengen asks leaning over the counter to finger your frilly pink apron. Snatching it off you nodded in response.

“He’s perfect, I-I mean fine, he’s fine. We’re both fine!” Your cheeks darken at your mistake, Tengen laughs again sitting up to slinging his arm around Hinatsuru.

“I’m sure he is.” Tengen grinned.

��D-did you guys want something to eat? Some tea maybe?”

“Yea tea would be lovely and no need to be so nervous around us.”

“Sorry. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that you’re all so…you.”

You wanted to say intimidating, training under the wind breathing master and Sanemi for all those years had taught you that the power of the hashira was something to fear, admire even. They were the strongest warriors after all and you were just a lowly kinoe during your time in the Corps, but when you stop and look at the people standing before you all you can truly think about is…family.

“After everything you’ve all done for this world, I should be respectful. You guys are like heroes, I should be thanking you!” you bowed again, this time properly, as you came from behind the kitchen counter.

“You forget, you were there on that battlefield just the same as us. So pick your head up and come sit with us, we have a lot of catching up to do!”

Rengoku reassured you crossing his arms over his chest.

That was how Sanemi found you as he and your brother returned from dropping off an order, sitting at a table surrounded by your former colleagues and loved ones laughing and reminiscing over tea.

“Ahh Shinazugawa you finally made it! We were beginning to worry!” Tengen waves him over at he sloshes his drink around.

“The hell are you all doing here?”

“We came to visit.” Giyuu said emotionless as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, he sipped his tea quietly.

“I can see that, but…why?”

“We missed you two!” Mitsuri said excitedly as she pulled you to her chest in a tight hug, Obanai shook his head staring at her adoringly.

Sanemi sighed as he looked over his former comrades, they were laughing and just having a good time being nostalgic about the good old days, if you could call it that. Most importantly you were laughing and that image alone was enough to make his heart beat out of his chest.

Closing his eyes he smiled, committing that image of you to memory, and chuckled as he said “It’s good to see you guys.”

After a few hours at the shop you brother decided to kick you all out, saying that you were being too loud and that your friends were drinking up all the profit, so you being the good host that you were, invited everyone back to yours and Sanemi’s home for a nice home cooked meal.

You were having the time of your life during the meal, everyone was joyful and so full of life even with all their scars and missing limbs it was just what you and Sanemi had needed after working so hard for so long. You were so busy having a good time hanging out with your friends that you had hardly noticed the time.

Just as you were about to get up and start cleaning a wave a nausea hits you out of nowhere. Jumping to your feet you raced to the bathroom just before you threw up everything you had eaten that day.

“Is she ok?” Suma asks worry etched onto her face.

“Yeah…this has been happening a lot lately.” Sanemi said, raising from the table to go check on you.

“You doing ok?” He asks, you're still puking when he gets there, he bends down to rub a hand on your back trying to help soothe you.

“Yeah, sorry for the trouble.” You sniff as you wipe your mouth.

“It’s no trouble, but we gotta get you checked out by a doctor,” he says clearly worried about you, this had been a recurring thing for weeks now and he was really starting to get anxious. “this isn’t normal.”

“I know I know.” You waved him off as you stood. Shooing him out of the bathroom, Sanemi returned just as Mitsuri had gotten up to clear the table, Obanai following closely behind her. Shinobu was so lost in thought she hadn’t even noticed Sanemi’s return.

“How long has she been like this?” Giyu asks, knowing where Shinobu’s mind had gone and what she was about to start asking.

“About a month or two.” Sanemi says

“Has she had any other symptoms?” Shinobu asks her finger and thumb resting on her chin in thought.

“Just the nausea and sometimes she has some fucked up cravings but I think that’s just her.” Sanemi pondered as he thought about all the times you made him run out and get you odd snacks like mitarashi dango with natto or yakisoba with horseradish and cheese. You didn't even like natto normally.

Shinobu hmmned as she lost herself in thought again.

“If she’s up to it I can check her out at the Butterfly estate, just have her meet me there in a few days.” She said standing to put her own dishes in the kitchen. Sanemi stood with her grabbing the plates and cup from her hand, walking towards the kitchen he said over his shoulder. “She’ll be there.”

It was a week later when you found yourself outside of the Butterfly estate. You had told Sanemi that you could have just gone to the regular doctor in your village but he refused to let you go, telling you that Shinobu was the best of the best and that if anyone could help you out, it’d be her.

“Go on, she won’t bite ya.” He said, pushing you gently towards the door. You had both been standing outside in the courtyard for a good ten minutes now.

With a gulp you nod your head, dreading anything to do with doctors and the overall medical side of things, steel yourself as you hold your head up high and walk through the shoji doors.

“Welcome, please come in!” Shinobu greeted you as she led you to a back room. The room itself was stark white, six hospital beds were lined neatly along the walls.

“Have a seat and we can get started.” She said patting one of the beds for you. You swallowed thickly as you made yourself comfortable. Around you Shinobu’s assistants Aoi, Sumi, Kiyo and Naho rushed about getting together various medical supplies for her.

While inside the room Shinobu ran a series of tests on you, everything from blood samples to urine samples to throat and nose swabs, just to make sure you didn’t have any underlying conditions she should know about.

It was an hour later when she came back into the room, a single piece of paper was resting in her hand.

“Well, I got your blood work test results.” She said coming into the room.

“Lay it on me Kocho-san how bad is it?” You asked nervously, you had really hoped it wasn’t anything serious.

“It’s just what I thought it was, you’re pregnant.”

Time stopped moving completely.

Pregnant, you weren’t hearing things Kocho had said, you were pregnant.

You had sat there for a moment, too stunned to say or do anything. Your eyes glued to the test results in her hands, too lost in thought to see the gentle look come over the former insect hashira’s face.

You really shouldn’t have been surprised, since he had come home Sanemi couldn’t keep his hands to himself but you had thought you were being careful. Your cheeks flushed as a few incidents came to mind where you both had thrown caution to the wind and gave in to your primal desires.

“Do you need a moment?” Shinobu asked, sitting down next to you on the bed placing a hand on your shoulder.

“N-no I’m fine thank you.” You stammered still not sure that it had fully sank in yet. “I’m just….shocked is all.”

“I understand this can be quite a lot to take in, especially with everything that’s happened over the past year and a half.” She said standing to her feet, while offering a hand to help you to yours. “But rest assured I’ll be here for you every step of the way and I’m sure Shinazugawa will be too.”

You chewed your bottom lip as you left Shinobu.

How the hell were you going to tell Sanemi?

It’s not like the two of you were married and you definitely hadn’t talked about having children together. Did he even want kids? You knew he came from a pretty big family as a child and he absolutely adored the village children but did that mean he wanted one of his own some day?

All those thoughts swirled together violently in your head, distracting you from the warm body that stood in front of you. You were so distracted that you hadn’t even noticed how close he was until you bumped into him as you walked through the door. Arms reaching out to steady you so that you didn’t fall, Sanemi looked at you, concern etched into his features.

“You ok? What’d Kocho say?”

“Well…” you started nervously, how were you going to go about this?

“It’s not exactly a stomach bug but I am going to be sick for a little while. Nine months to be more exact.” You had said in a joking tone to hide your nervousness, hopefully that was all it took for him to get it.

“What the hell, Kocho couldn’t fix you?” Sanemi snapped, he was starting to get irritated.

“It’s not really something that can be fixed, Sanemi.” You deadpanned, it went right over his head it seemed.

“Bullshit, let me go talk to her, there’s gotta be something she can do,” he says, going to bust his way into the room, “maybe she can make you some medicine or something.”

You grab the sleeve of his haori to stop him and he turns to you, confusion settling into his brow.

“Sanemi.” You said, grabbing his hand finally placing it over your stomach.

You could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he figured it out. It was almost like he had finally added up every instance where you were showing signs, all the times you were too tired to drink with him and your brother after work, the sickness no one else but you seemed to have, the cravings. It all made sense now.

His knees nearly gave out from underneath him.

“A-are you-?” He swallowed hard, unable to finish his sentence.

“Yes.” You said gently placing a soft hand over his on your stomach.

“Holy shit.”

You were pregnant.

You were going to be parents.

He was going to be a father.

He stroked his thumb over your stomach, eyes vacant as he stared down at it completely lost in his thoughts. What if he wasn’t good enough? He could barely take care of himself, how the hell was he going to take care of you and a baby? What if he turned out like his old man? A thousand thoughts filtered through his head, his brain running a mile a minute trying to process everything.

Kneeling down on the engawa he buries his head into your stomach, inhaling your scent deeply as he wraps his arm around you. No, he refused to be like his bastard of a dad. He was going to do better, be better, for the three of you.

“Thank you.” He murmured tears prickling his eyes, he blinked them away as quickly as they came.

“W-what are you thanking me for?” You stuttered stroking his hair as you looked down at him affectionately.

“For gifting this beautiful family to me.” He smiles up at you close eyed as he pulls himself away from your stomach.

#kny sanemi #kimetsu no yaiba sanemi #sanemi x reader #sanemi #sanemi shinazugawa #sanemi shinaguzawa x reader #sanemi shinazugawa imagines #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #kny x reader

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ahqkas · 1 month ago

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Can I make a request for Tate Langdon (American Horror Story), where fem!reader is innocent/pure? I usually see people making fanfiction of him where reader is like Violet, but I'd like to see one where reader has never even touched a cigarette before, never fought at school, has a healthy family, and etc! Feel free to ignore my request if you want to!! Thanks anyway 💗 (You can do whatever subject you want, fluff, angst or suggestive. You choose!)

hi lovely !! requests for ahs are currently closed but !!! i wrote u a quick blurb

YOU DIDN’T USUALLY SIT OUT ON THE BACK STEPS THIS LATE, BUT TONIGHT THE MOONLIGHT WAS TOO PRETTY TO IGNORE. The wind was crisp, and the stars above twinkled brighter than you’d ever seen. Your parents were inside, laughing at a movie you hadn’t been in the mood for. They didn’t mind when you slipped out—you always told them exactly where you were going.

You didn’t hear him approach at first. Tate had a way of appearing silently, like the shadows themselves delivered him. He stepped into the pale glow of the porch light, his hands tucked into his hoodie pockets, head tilted like he was sizing you up.

“You’re sitting out here alone?” he asked, his voice soft but edged with something you couldn’t quite place. Worry, maybe? Or something heavier.

You gave him a nod, tucking your knees up to your chest. “Yeah, it’s peaceful out here.” offering him a small smile, you tried to not let his intensity throw you off. “What about you? Aren’t you cold?”

Tate shrugged, sitting down a few steps below you. He stretched his legs out in front of him, slouching in a way that looked completely effortless. “Not really. Cold doesn’t bother me.” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes catching the faint glow from the house. “You’ve got a nice family.”

You blinked at him, surprised. “Yeah . . . I guess I do. Why?”

“Just noticed,” he said, looking back up at the stars. His tone was casual, but his hands fidgeted in his lap. “It’s not like that for everyone, you know?”

You nodded again, unsure of what to say. There was something in his voice—a rawness you weren’t used to hearing. “I guess I’m lucky,” you added quietly.

Tate laughed softly, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “Lucky, huh? Yeah . . . you don’t even know.”

There it was again. That edge, that heaviness. You wanted to ask what he meant, but something told you not to push. “What about your family? What are they like?”

His jaw tightened, and he turned away, his curls falling into his face. “Complicated,” he muttered. “Not like yours.”

The silence between the two of you stretched, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was like the night had wrapped you in a bubble, isolating you both from the rest of the world.

“You can talk to me, you know,” you said softly. “If you ever want to.”

Tate froze for a moment, his eyes darting to where your hand lingered on his sleeve. Then, slowly, he turned to look at you, his expression unreadable. “You’re so . . . nice,” he said, like it was something foreign to him. “You shouldn’t be.”

“What’s wrong with being nice?”

“People take advantage of nice.” His voice was low, and he looked away again. “You don’t even see it coming until it’s too late.”

You tilted your head as you studied him. “Is that what happened to you?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he pulled a crumpled cigarette from his pocket, twirling it between his fingers. You’d never seen him smoke around you before—he always seemed to keep that part of himself hidden, like he was afraid you’d judge him.

“Want one?” he asked suddenly, holding it out to you with a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

You shook your head quickly, laughing nervously. “No, thanks. I’ve never smoked before.”

“Of course, you haven’t,” he muttered, almost to himself. “You wouldn’t.” He stared at you for a long moment, his eyes searching your face like he was looking for something. “You don’t belong out here, you know. In the dark.”

You frowned. “What do you mean?”

Tate didn’t answer. Instead, he lit the cigarette, the flame briefly illuminating his face. He took a slow drag, his gaze fixed on you the whole time. Then, in a voice so quiet you almost didn’t hear it, he said, “You belong in the light.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe you didn’t belong in the dark.

But looking at him, sitting there with that haunted look in his eyes, you couldn’t help but think—maybe he didn’t, either.

#tate langdon x y/n #tate langdon x reader #tate langdon x you #tate langdon headcanon #tate langdon drabble #tate langdon blurb #tate langdon fluff #tate langdon imagine #tate langdon ahs #tate langdon fanfic #tate langdon #x reader #reader insert #ahs x you #ahs x reader #ahs murder house

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stvrlightgirl · 4 months ago

Text

Heal me.

pairing: Billy Russo x F!reader

warnings: none

wc: 1k

summary: Your first relationship was toxic, and your ex made sure you wouldn’t forget it. But little did he know, Billy would be the only man who could heal you.

When you told Billy you didn’t really get to experience a true relationship, his heart broke a little. The way your eyes had dropped to the floor, as if ashamed of the past you had no control over, made his chest tighten with an unfamiliar ache. Billy was used to seeing pain — he'd caused plenty of it himself — but something about the idea of you, his sweetheart, never knowing what real love felt like was unbearable.

He reached out, lifting your chin with a gentle finger, his dark eyes softening as they always do when he looked at you. "Doll, you deserve so much more than what you've been given. I promise I’m gonna show you what it's supposed to be like, yeah?”

You nodded, uncertainty flickering in your gaze, but there was also a glimmer of hope that hadn't been there before. Billy smiled, his thumb brushing your cheek with a tenderness that made your heart flutter.

---

The next few weeks were a learning curve for both of you. Billy, who had always been confident in his relationships — however short-lived they might have been — found himself slowing down, being more mindful and patient. He wanted you to know, to feel that this was different. That he was different.

It started with the small things. He noticed how you would hesitate to reach for his hand in public, your fingers twitching with the desire to make contact but pulling back as if unsure. So, he took the initiative, gently intertwining his fingers with yours whenever you walked beside each other, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze.

"You don't have to ask for this, doll," he'd whisper, leaning close so only you could hear. "You can take my hand anytime you want."

And when you finally did—one evening as the two of you walked along the river, your fingers slowly sliding into his on your own accord—the smile that lit up his face was brighter than any city skyline.

Then there were the nights you spent together. You'd told him how your ex would use silence as a weapon, how the absence of words would leave you feeling alone even when you weren’t. Billy hated that. He hated the person who did this to you so much, that he wanted to kill them. So, he made sure to fill the quiet with his voice, speaking to you in soft tones, telling you stories from his childhood, asking about your day, and even sharing silly little thoughts just to make you laugh.

One night, as you lay curled up against him with his arm draped over your waist, you asked him, your voice barely above a whisper, "Billy, why are you so good to me?"

He looked down at you, his expression one of genuine surprise. "You're everything to me. Why wouldn't I be good to you?"

You bit your lip, still not entirely convinced. "I just… I’ve never had this before. I don’t know if I deserve it."

That broke his heart all over again. He shifted, turning you to face him, his thumb tracing the outline of your jaw. "You deserve this and more, doll. You deserve everything that’s good in this world. Don’t ever doubt that. No more of that toxic shit, okay? Just us, taking care of each other."

You nodded, eyes misting with unshed tears. The way he looked at you, like you were precious, like you mattered—it was almost too much. But you let yourself believe him, just a little bit more every day.

---

As the months passed, you began to see the truth in Billy's words. He was patient with you, even when your insecurities tried to rear their ugly heads. If you ever hesitated or pulled back, he was there with a soft smile and a gentle touch, guiding you through the unfamiliar terrain of a healthy relationship.

One night, after a particularly tiring day at work, you came home to find Billy in the kitchen, cooking dinner. The smell of garlic and herbs filled the air, and the sight of him—hair slightly tousled, sleeves of his white shirt rolled up, focused entirely on making something for you—brought tears to your eyes. And you realised that he came from work, probably worn out after training his men all day and still, he stood in the kitchen making you food. You had never known this kind of care before, never known what it felt like to come home to someone who genuinely wanted to take care of you.

"Billy…" you started, your voice wavering.

He turned, concern immediately washing over his features as he saw the tears brimming in your eyes. He wiped his hands on a towel, coming over to you in quick strides. "Hey, what's wrong sweet girl? Did something happen?"

You shook your head, laughing softly even as a tear escaped and slid down your cheek. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just…You. Never had someone who… who wanted to take care of me like this."

Billy’s expression softened as he gently cupped your face in his hands, brushing away the hot tears with his thumb. "You're my baby. Of course, I wanna take care of you. That’s what love is, isn’t it? Being there for each other, making sure the other person is okay. That’s how it’s supposed to be.” He smiled, a small wrinkles forming around his eyes.

You leaned into his touch, feeling a warmth spread through your chest that you were slowly beginning to recognize as love. "I think I'm starting to understand that now." You murmur.

He smiled, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "Good. Because you deserve to be loved like this. And I’m gonna make sure you never forget that."

And as he pulled you into a warm embrace, holding you close, you realized that you were finally starting to believe it. Billy had shown you what real love was supposed to be—patient, kind, and full of understanding. He was helping you heal, helping you learn that you were worth all the love he had to give.

And for the first time in a long time, you felt like you were exactly where you belonged.

#billy russo x reader #billy russo x female reader #billy russo x you #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic #billy russo

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bullet-prooflove · 7 months ago

Text

Home: Terry Silver x Reader

Tagging: @volumesofforgottenlore@kmc1989@somethingdarkside17@noonee333

The house where Terry lives changes subtly throughout his relationship with you. The dark, masculine paintings he used to favour are put into storage one by one, replaced with artwork that you’ve chosen together. Brighter pieces, with vibrancy and colour. A warm plush blanket appears on the back of his couch because you get a little cold in the evenings. His wine cellar begins to feature rosé, when it’s only hosted reds and whites.

He spends Sunday mornings at the farmer’s market where he buys seasonal wild flowers. He sets them in a vase he’s never owned until recently, placing them in the centre of the dining table where the two of you eat because he knows you like how pretty they are.

He starts to cook again. Once a week he sends his personal chef home and the two of you spend the evening cooking together. It gets a little messy but it’s a lot of fun, he loves the domesticity of washing the dishes in the aftermath. He can’t keep his eyes off you as you raise up on tiptoes to put things away.

Photographs begin to appear on the fridge, polaroids you’ve taken throughout the course of your relationship. You’d been thrilled to find the camera when Terry was making some space his closet. It’s an original from the 80s. He’d spent the evening cleaning it up for you, showing you the intricacies of it.

“You should keep a few things here.” He had said as he shifted around his clothes and a couple shoe boxes. “It’ll save you coming and going so much between here and Silver Lake.”

He’d stayed at your apartment a couple of times in the beginning. It’s tiny, although bright and airy. The whole place could fit within the confines of his living room. You’d been embarrassed but it had felt more like home than anywhere he’s ever lived. The only problem was the bed, he’s over six four, he doesn’t quite fit, which is part of the reason you spend most of your time at his place.

That night you’re curled up on the couch together, your head resting on his shoulder as you read the latest Karin Slaughter book. He’s flicking through Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, it’s one of his favourite books. He has the whole collection of first editions on his bookcase in the study.

“You are going to give yourself nightmares, reading that this late.” He reminds you with an amused tone in his voice. It’s happened before, if you read something too spooky or violent before bed. You have a vast imagination, one that he envies but sometimes it can work to your detriment.

“I know but it’s too compelling.” You tell him, closing the book and setting it down on the coffee table before you tuck yourself in against him. Terry sighs contently as he sets his own book down, his cheek coming to rest upon the top of your head.

“I’ve been thinking that maybe you should stay.” He says quietly as his fingertips doodle light patterns over your bare arm.

“I am.” You remind him, your palm coming to rest on the space where his heart resides. “You have me until tomorrow morning.”

“No my love.” He whispers as he tips your chin up so he can meet your gaze. “I mean you should come live here, with me.”

Love Terry S? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

#terry silver #terry silver x reader #cobra kai

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jammed-out · 1 year ago

Text

Just Upload Them

“Do you have the hours from yesterday’s meeting? I need a fresh download of them.”

You nodded and brushed down the hem of your bright pink dress. "Yes ma'am. I have them all recorded, just as you asked me to." You tapped your head, the metal of your finger banging against your metal headpiece, the chime ringing throughout the small office.

"Perfect. Then shut the door and turn on the privacy filter. You know I don't like to be disturbed while I do this."

You nodded and quickly shut the door, flicking the switch next to the light switch, the glass pane windows immediately fogging up growing dark. You slid the knob on the lights, turning them down, leaving little light in the room. Your fluorescent pink hair cast a soft glow around you, while your boss's short blonde hair cast a halo of light around her head.

She pushed out from behind her desk standing up. She immediately began to undo her suit jacket, sliding it off of her toned arms before tossing it onto the desk. She began to undo the buttons on her blouse. Following suit, she tossed it onto her jacket, standing there in just her bra.

You swallowed dryly, your lubrication systems freezing up as she crossed the room. She towered above you, her digital screen for a face looking down at you. Even though she was an older model, she was designed to be in charge with her larger frame and intimidating presence. The metal of your cheeks grew warm, embarrassed.

"I do not have time to wait today. Undress already so that I may connect to your ports." She reached towards the back of her neck. You could hear her slide the port panel up. Her hand came back with a multipronged cord, designed for interfacing. It was an older model, but once you started working for her, she had you retrofitted for use. Her use.

You quickly undid the strap on the back of your dress letting it fall to the floor. You stood there in only a small pair of underpants, your growing erection already painfully visible in them. You tried to cover yourself up, one arm crossing over your small breasts, the other covering the noticeable bulge.

Your boss gripped your shoulder spinning you around, your back to her. One hand slid up the back of your neck, pushing your long hair aside to reveal your open ports. She slipped the first plug in, sound suddenly going deaf in your ears. The second slipped in, your vision going dark as your eyes blacked out. She teased the third one around the port, static crackling off of it against your vulnerable slot. You whimpered softly, your hair glowing brighter.

She thrust in the port and immediately you felt your body slip backwards, control of your systems slipping into her hands. You felt yourself push down your underwear, your cock flopping freely in the air.

Suddenly you could see the meeting from yesterday. Instead of standing like you were off in the corner, you were standing up on the table, everyone's eyes on you. You boss looked up from where she sat at the head of the table, hand between her legs, buried beneath her skirt.

Touch yourself.

You could feel your hand wrap around your cock, you looked down at your boss from where you stood. The meeting continued around you as you stood there, pleasuring yourself on the table for everyone to look at. You couldn't feel the sensation, she was removing your pleasure, instead feeding you hers. You could feel her fingers stroking over her folds, lubricant leaking out. The screen of her face showing a pair of bright eyes and a wide smirk.

Both hands.

Your other hand wrapped around, pressing between your metallic ass cheeks, probing at your charging port. She smirked, letting you feel that. You felt your finger circle the port, electricity bouncing off the walls, running around them as you did. She pared the sensation with that of her own two fingers probing into her slit. You could feel the lubricant leak out of her.

It was getting harder to remember where you began and where she ended. That was what she wanted. You remembered being clothed in the meeting, this was all just a construct, here altering your memories, installing new subroutines, new files into your mind. You couldn't argue anymore, letting her reprogram you a bit more each week.

You felt your boss cum, a wave of pleasure fed right into you. Your dick trembled, synthetic fluid leaking from it as you came with her. She didn't let you feel it. Instead taking all of the pleasure for herself.

You stood on the table of the boardroom, cum dripping from your cock as the meeting continued. She removed her fingers and inserted them into your mouth. You couldn't taste her juices, only clean her.

I'm going to reprogram you now.

You felt the first file shoot into your mind, quickly followed by another. You felt the wires in your head start to cross as everything went to static. You could feel the rhythmic thrust of a new file followed by a rush of pleasure as your fingers thrust deeper inside of your charging port, playing with the connector inside. That was all you could feel, was the sensation of your head filling up and an instant rush of pleasure, training you, reprogramming you.

You awoke dressed sitting at the base of your boss's chair, your hair a mess, your lips coated with lubricant. Your thighs were slick and she was saying something to you as she placed the cables back into her storage port. You felt sore, and really full. Your head felt heavy, but really good. You rubbed the back of your neck, your ports were really sensitive and tender. You absentmindedly stroked them listening to her talk to you.

You nodded. All you had to do was wait until you got home and reboot. Everything would make sense then. And in the morning you'd report to maintenance to get your new upgrades installed. After all, good bimbots should like serve their bosses.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you all enjoyed this one. I have a few more bot ideas, so expect some more in the near future. I hope you all enjoyed and remember to check out the new poll and vote for what you want to see next week!

#brainwashing #hypnotism #mind control #hypnosis #mind conditioning #my writings #bimboification #bimbot #bimbotransformation #bimbo robot #robot girl

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a-not-so-clean-blog · 8 months ago

Text

Eiden x top FTM reader ♠️

The foxes toys. 1800 words

Reader keeps shirt on. Magic dildo.

Being with Eiden has been an absolute rollercoaster. You had met only a few months ago when he just came to this world, lost and almost out of his element. Despite being in a whole new world his charm and charisma was electric.

You were well aware of his growing clan, and how he stabilizes their essence. While physically you have an open relationship there is no doubt that you are the only one who has his heart. The clan members are also fully aware of you. Some are definitely more welcoming than others, but all in all you get along with them fairly well.

“Hey Eiden, I'd like to try something different tonight.” You ask as you sit next to him on the bed. He instantly perked up hearing that chime in your voice that he knows is going to lead to a fun night.

“I'm always down to try something new!” The spark of interest and excitement in his eyes shone like stars. The look only got brighter as you opened a bag filled to the brim with different shaped sex toys. “Where did you get all of these?!” He was surprised but his voice quivered in excitement as he picked up one of the toys and it started vibrating in his palm.

“I may have asked the fox to let me borrow them…” You blush a little when his eyes snap to meet yours, instantly suspicious.

He let out a low hum. “He never does anything without it benefitting him as well. What exactly did borrowing these cost you?” He asked slowly and rightfully cautious. Thankfully one look down at his pants and anyone could see he hadn't lost any of his excitement, maybe he even got a little more turned on.

You shrug. “He just wants to know which one gets the ‘best reactions’ from you.” Eiden gives a slight laugh at the air quotes. Any stress you had melted away at the sweet sound.

“That sounds pretty cheap for him, but I won't complain!” Eiden gives a toothy grin. “I don't want to waste any more time.” He takes your hand and guides it to his thigh. You chuckle softly at his eagerness. Cute and earnest, if a little demanding.

You gently push him back on the bed and take your time unbuttoning his pants. His breath hitched when you pulled his pants and boxers down around his knees. His cock sprung up and slapped himself in the stomach, letting out the sweetest whimper when you pulled away.

“What are you doing?” Eiden shut his mouth when you started to strip off your pants. His heart raced when he saw how erect your little dick was too. No matter how many times he gets to see your body he always thinks it was something glorious. He would easily worship you if you'd let him.

Taking out a blue dildo you turned it over a few times in your hand before looking at Eiden. It had a few straps attached to it and Eiden knew exactly what it was for.

“Kuya said I have to wait to use this, but said I should wear it for a while first.” You gasped softly when you put the base of the dildo to your tip and the soft material seemed to mold around your shape. You secured the straps around your waist and hips. It felt similar to wearing a jockstrap.

Eidens mouth was already watering at the sight of your new big blue dick but he only got more restless as you pulled out a few more toys, two small vibrators and a long tapered plug. He almost looked like a puppy trying to sit still while you dangle treats in front of him. You pushed him back down on the bed and took his pants all the way off discarding them in a heap on the floor, his shirt soon joining the mass of fabric.

There he laid completely bare for you, even spreading his legs to give better access to his cock and ass.

“Trying to make yourself more enticing for me?” You asked in a clearly teasing tone. Eidens smile just grew as he responded.

“Is it working?” You both already knew the answer but you also knew he got off on banter. He wanted to be a brat but was far too eager to commit.

“Yes.” You picked up one of the vibrators and settled yourself between his open legs. After turning it on to a low setting you gently pressed it against his tip. He flinched and moaned softly as you slowly slid it down his shaft and let it rest at the base for a moment before playing with his balls. Once you were satisfied with the sounds he was making you dropped the vibrator lower and pressed it against his tight sphincter. The vibrations slowly loosen the muscle until you could press the toy into his ass.

Eiden started squirming as it slipped in completely and started massaging his insides. It wasn't until after he stopped squirming did you put the plug into his ass. Slowly driving the vibrator deeper into him as well.

“Mmmnhh~” He moaned loudly as the plug popped into place securing itself and the other toy deep inside of him. You kissed up his neck and groped his chest as the toys worked their magic. He was already singing like a canary but you wanted more. Grabbing the last vibrator you turned it on and started pumping his cock with the vibrator snugly pressed between your palm and his twitching member.

His moans became louder as he struggled not to cum. He looked so hot that you couldn't help grinding your crotch into the bed. It felt so good that you wanted to melt but then again Eidens voice always made you feel euphoric.

Eiden reached up and grabbed your shirt by the collar pulling you towards him. He looked so needy, so desperate for you. It was exhilarating. You gave him exactly what he wanted in the form of a sloppy kiss that would make an incubus blush. When you pulled away Eiden had coated himself in a thin layer of his own cum.

“Awww, couldn't wait for me first~” He blushed as you teased him. He could barely think right now but still knew what he wanted, what he needed.

“I can't help that you know all my weak spots. Now hurry up and fuck me before I cum again.” He whined, shaking his hips up and down waiting for you to pull out the still humming vibrator and plug. The plug slipped out easily and the vibrator followed with a satisfying pop. Before he had a chance to complain about the emptiness you lined up your new cock to his ass.

Your knees almost gave out as you pushed the tip of the strap through his clenching ring of muscle. It felt like pleasure was injected straight into your nervous system making your whole body light up at once. The dildo was clearly enhanced because as you pressed the tip against Eidens hole you could feel the heat as if it was against your own skin.

“F-fuck, is this what your dick feels like? Gods I'm jealous.” You bit your lip to hold back your moans and you slid all the way in. Eidens face contorted into a starstruck pleasure. You had to stop though as small tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

“Eiden? I'm sorry, did I hurt you?” You gently cupped his face as you started to pull out. Immediately his legs wrapped around your waist holding you in place. He shook his head softly as he nuzzled into your touch.

“I'm just happy that I get to be fucked by my boyfriend. I'm so happy-” You cut him off with another deep kiss. Your heart felt light as your tongues danced in each other's mouths. His mouth was sweet but his moans and whimpers were even sweeter.

When you started moving again his sounds only tasted better on your lips. As Eidens legs locked tighter around your hips it became troublesome to do long strokes, so instead your thrusts became harder and shallower. Eiden was loving every moment of it. One of his hands tangled itself into your hair while his other hand clenched around your shirt. Your arms caging Eiden beneath you as you pounded harder into his ass.

It felt amazing, feeling all his sweet spots from the inside. Every time you hit a spot he liked you could feel him clench around you. You could feel how hot his insides were and how smooth it felt on your cock. Your cock, YOUR cock. Yes, your cock finally piercing your wonderful boyfriend, truly it was a dream come true.

You kept going even after you could feel yourself coming to the edge. Your head felt fuzzy and your skin sweaty, but that just added to your pleasure. Eiden was getting close too, his hard cock bouncing against his stomach every time you thrust deep inside him.

You could feel your own orgasm beginning to overflow. You wanted to cum, you wanted nothing more than to cum and fill Eidens ass with your cum. You are so close, just a little more and-

“Nnnnh~” You let out a low moan as you cum hard, like something snapped inside your gut. A lewd warmth spread between your legs as you enjoyed the feeling. For a moment you felt Eiden clench around your dick as he came as well.

Eidens eyes went wide as he stared at you in shock and amazement. “What?”

“Did you just cum inside me?”

“.... WHAT?!” You both looked down and sure enough a thick liquid was dripping from Eidens spent hole. A thick blue liquid. When you came you didn't realize that the dildo also reacted and melted inside of Eiden, acting as artificial cum. “Well that explains why Kuya gave me like seven of these.” You started to finger Eidens ass and more of the blue goo leaked onto the bed. Eiden let out a tired moan as you fingered him and you let out a small laugh.

Pulling him close you kissed him on his temple and whispered in his ear. “Let's get you cleaned up. Knowing the fox I have a feeling this ooze has some extra properties, so unless you want to find out what he has planned…”

“I'll take a bath.” Eiden smiled tiredly. “I think I've cum enough for today.”

“I'll get it ready for you.” With another chase kiss you left to go draw him a warm bath. This turned out much better than you could have ever hoped. Unfortunately now you feel like you owe that old fox. That was probably why he didn't ask for much in the first place now that you think about it.

#nu carnival #nu carnival x reader #eiden x reader #ftm reader #trans reader #♠️#a degenerate writes #i am so sorry this took me so long anon! i didn't realize it had been literal months please forgive me!

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kasagia · 1 year ago

Text

Bring me a dream pt. 2

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova/general Kirigan x fem! sun summoner! reader Summary: Aleksander has always wanted to meet you. His soul mate. But when he finally has you by his side in the Little Palace, he realises that you are not the same after all, and the passage of time has changed both him and you. Can you find your way back? Rise to the occasion and give Grisha a brighter, safer future? Wairning(s): trauma, fold, volcra, abuse, de@th mention, Baghra is a terrible mother, Genya deserves better, Aleksander is a puppy that needs a hug, the reader has a moral conflict, they are all ALONE. Word count: 5,4k Taglist: @aoi-targaryen @morrigan-crowmwell @louderfortheback @ludarklina-fan-spot @sayumiht @budugu @howibecameabadassbitch ~•♤♤♤•~ Part 1 ~•♤♤♤•~ Aleksander Morozova's Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~

Oh I'm scared to see the ending why are we pretending this is nothing? I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how... I've never heard silence quite this loud. Taylor Swift - The Story of Us

"If he thinks I'm going to wear this, I would be more than happy to go and tell him that I'm not." you snort as you sit in the huge (very comfortable) bed in the room Aleksander has assigned you in the Little Palace.

Genya sighed as she put the black kefta with golden sun embellishments and sunbeams on the bed. Kefta was beautiful… if only it hadn't been tainted by his colour.

"The general insisted that you wear black to your presentation to the royal family."

"And I insist that he shouldn't take me to that circus. Did you tell him that?" the redhead giggled in amusement, which made me smile slightly.

It was a big change for her. After the first time I disobeyed Aleksander's orders, Genya looked at me with a mixture of fear, confusion and concern. However, she quickly learned that such skirmishes between us were the norm ... or at least I wasn't punished for them in any way. Except for Aleksander's inborn malice, which he surely gained from his mother.

"Oh I did… and General told me to tell you that if he had to, he'd carry you all the way to the Grand Palace himself. No matter what you would be wearing."

"Bastard." you mutter under your breath. You get out of bed and look at the kefta Genya made for you.

"The General doesn't let just anyone walk in his colors." she tells you in a conspiratorial tone. A small, mischievous smirk stretches across her lips.

You flinch, feigning disgust. "Don't even insinuate such things to me. He must be too old for me... Better tell me how your handsome friend Durast is?" you ask teasingly, laughing as you see the blush on her cheeks.

She bends down and steals a pillow from your bed to throw at you. You toss pillows, laughing. You both stop when, suddenly, after your dodging, a pillow thrown by Genya is caught by Aleksander standing in the doorway.

"Are you two enjoying yourself?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at both of you.

"Shouldn't you knock first before entering a lady's room?" you snort sarcastically, already annoyed by his serious, sepulchral demeanour.

"Shouldn't you be dressed already?"

"I don't like black and I'm allergic to royalty, so I'm not going," you say, crossing your arms. "And give me back my pillow."

Aleksander sighs as he throws a pillow at you, and if it wasn't for your quick reflexes, he would have punched you in the face. "Genya, wait a moment outside." he says as he enters your room and waits for the door to close behind the redhead.

You look at him defiantly with your arms crossed. "I'm not going anywhere." you declare firmly.

Aleksander sighs as he walks over to you. "Don't be a brat. I have hundreds of years of plans that will go awry if you don't do this one thing for me. So, for the sake of Grishas, put your pride in your pocket and please put on this kefta."

"And how do you know your plans are good for them?"

Ever since you arrived at the Little Palace, the subject of the fold has come up many times between you... mostly it ended with you both taking offence at each other and taking your anger out on the other.

"We'll discuss this another time. Please, Y/N." he asks. You roll your eyes but take the kefta from the bed anyway. "Thank you," he says with relief.

"I'm not doing this for you." you say coldly and walk past him, locking yourself in the bathroom to change. You hear him stand still for a moment, processing your words, before storming out of the room in anger, letting Genya inside.

You could have kept quiet about his true identity and the plans he'd revealed to you, but you weren't going to stand by his side. No matter how he tries to convince you. And after looking at yourself in the mirror and at the kefta in his colours, you come to a terrible, but true conclusion.

You looked good in black…

"Her name is Y/N Y/L/N. And she is going to free as all." Aleksander introduces you to the crowd that has gathered and the royal family. You wince slightly at the drama of his words. Fortunately, in the darkness of the shadows he has summoned, only you two can see each other now.

He stands in front of you and watches carefully as you summon several beams of light.

It must not be enough for him, because suddenly he grabs you by the wrist... and then the real show happens.

You immediately feel his amplifying powers. You feel a familiar haze of daze, a sense of power and authority as light pours out of you, burning your veins from the inside out.

You like that feeling... it scares you as much as it fascinates you. And just by looking at Aleksander's smug, almost proud face, you know he's boasting that he still has such power over you... that he can still make you shine for him.

You look each other in the eye. Each with their own emotions. This time, you can see through his eyes what he feels. Pride. Admiration... the longing hidden behind the way he stared at you and your light as if he was enchanted.

He stepped aside, facing the royal family again. You yanked your hand out of his grip and, ignoring the disgruntled frown on his face, ended the show.

You were furious. You knew why he did it. He wanted to show exactly how much power you wield. That they fear you as much as they fear him. And he succeeded. Only he looked at you unwaveringly. The rest of the crowd either looked down, whispering to each other, or stared appraisingly at you.

Then the real hell began. For an hour, you were the main attraction, entertaining the nobility with your skills and your fake origin story. You didn't know what was worse. The fact that you voluntarily became a little toy at the royal court or that the constant presence of Aleksander by your side brought you some kind of relief and you were able to survive this torture thanks to him.

And the last thing you wanted to feel about that son of a bitch was gratitude. Not after he was the reason you had to come here. Therefore, as soon as you were able to leave the Grand Palace, you decided that you would act like a child and not speak to him. To which he just smiled under his breath. His mischievous grin was still as hot as it had been hundreds of years ago. Even better with his beard and shorter hair. Damn bastard.

Just as you are about to walk back into the Little Palace, you feel his hand on your elbow. You raise a questioning eyebrow at him. He doesn't answer you. He still smirks as he leads you away from the Little Palace to a place only he knows.

You roll your eyes. Apparently, you have to speak first if you want to know where he's taking you.

"All right. You won." You huff angrily. "Where are you dragging me? My room is over there." you say, pointing to the building next to you two.

"I think you'll appreciate fresh air more than closed walls. Especially after you've been stuck there with nobles and royals for so long." you snort, not for a moment believing in his sudden concern for your well-being.

Aleksander looks around, trying to make sure you're alone. He looks at you intently for a moment. A spark of mischief in his eyes. Then, at the speed of light, he unhooks your grandmother's bracelet from your wrist and runs away with it.

You stand there for a moment in shock before you run after him. "Hey! Give it back!" you shout after the retreating shadow summoner, who laughs.

Fortunately, his black kefta is easily spotted in gardens, so you have no problem tracking it. He stops suddenly, and you bump right into him. You fall to the ground, and he is beneath you.

You can't help but snort in amusement, then laugh when you see that he's somehow gotten his cheek dirty in the earth. He smiles and giggles too. You both stop when you see how close the two of you are after you reach up to his face and brush away clods of earth with your thumb.

His dark brown eyes watch you intently. You feel yourself blush under his intense gaze. But before he reaches out to cup your cheek with his hand (and maybe raise himself up on one elbow to kiss you), you reach for your bracelet and quickly stand up.

You fasten the bracelet around your wrist with his name on it and look around. You gasp as you see that he has led you to a beautiful lake with a small island in the centre.

"Do you like it?" Aleksander whispers in your ear. You turn your head towards him, freeze when you see how close he is to you. You involuntarily lick your lips as you look into his eyes.

"That's nice." you say, and you move away from him to go to the pier.

He doesn't stay far behind. After a while, he walks beside you. You both sit on the edge, arm in arm. You take off your shoes and dip your feet in the water while playing. You feel Aleksander's eyes on you, and out of the corner of your eye, you see a smirk on his face.

"I used to want to be a tidemaker. When I was a child, I was frustrated that I couldn't use my powers in public. My grandmother used to take me to the lake, and I had only one desire while swimming..."

"To be anyone else." he finishes for you. You shift your gaze from the lake to him. He stares into the distance, as if remembering the past. "Stop being afraid of being ostracised and hated by both Ravkans and Grishas. Stop being afraid that one day your "brothers and sisters" will stand against you. Stop being a changeling."

"Yeah… something like that." you reply bitterly, shifting your gaze back to the lake. The wind blows lightly across your face, blowing strands of hair from Genya's scruffy hairstyle.

You wrinkle your nose, trying to loosen the intricate bun with braids in it. Aleksander giggles as he sees you struggle with a complicated hairstyle.

"May I?" he asks, pointing to your hair.

You raise an eyebrow at him. "You know how to… undo it?" you ask, surprised. He laughs genuinely and carelessly at your reaction, sitting down behind you. You blush slightly at the sound you've missed over the centuries.

"I have a younger sister." he says nonchalantly, starting to untangle your complicated hairstyle.

It's a good thing he's sitting behind you, or he'd have seen your mouth open in shock. Somehow, you couldn't imagine him as… a sibling.

"A sister?" you ask, too curious to let the subject go. He just croons in confirmation. Annoyingly, he untangles your tresses well. You barely feel his hand movements. "Will you tell me more about her?"

"She's almost as stubborn and irritating as you are." you snort, offended, feeling the first loose strands of hair fall down your back with relief. "Her name is Ulla."

Aleksander is not effusive. He wasn't like that even when you first met. That's why there's something… intimate about him sharing a piece of his past with you.

"So… Baghra had more of you?" you ask curious.

"Perhaps... but only I was... like her." A Shadow Summoner - you think. And deep down, you suspect that Baghra wasn't the one who looked after Ulla. Aleksander snaps you out of your thoughts as he strokes your already loose hair. "Done." he says and stands up.

"Thank you." you tell him. You stand up too and grab your shoes as you both walk off the pier.

"And you?" he asks, walking beside you. "Any siblings to tease?" you snort in amusement as you put on your shoes.

"No. My mother died… quite early and I never knew my father."

"You never wanted to meet him?" he asks curiously. You know why. He never knew his father either… you wonder if he ever wanted to meet him himself…

"No." you speak quickly, sure of your answer. "I had a grandmother. I didn't need anyone else."

"Had?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. You sigh, involuntarily playing with the bracelet on your wrist.

"She died." you speak calmly… in an empty tone learned over the years, betraying no emotion.

After so many centuries, Aleksander knew there was no point in saying I'm sorry. Not for you. He knew that the last thing you would expect in such a situation were words so empty or full of feigned regret, often repeated by people. He decided to go with a rather safer and definitely more meaningful question for the people in your situation.

"When?"

"Centuries ago." silence fell between the two of you, and realisation hit Aleksander. You were utterly alone. For so many centuries. You didn't have anyone standing by your side.

If Aleksander was sure you'd let him, he'd lock you in his embrace and not let you go until he's sure you know he'll always be there for you... that he's been your shelter whether you love, like, or hate him with all your heart. He would always be there for you.

You change the subject, trying to avoid his questions. Fortunately, he doesn't insist. For a moment, you're back to those kids who met hundreds of years ago. Only Aleksander and Y/N. No summoners of shadows or sun. And you can't help feeling how easy it is to get into that old routine with him.

However, everything changes when you are back on the palace grounds. You feel Grishas' heavy, hopeful, admiring eyes on you again. And you feel overwhelmed by your new role. You were not a saint. You were not a hero or a person who changed the world.

And by the soft smile on Aleksander's face, you're reminded that the man you were talking to so freely and openly just a moment ago wants it all. He wants you to stand by his side and change the world... not necessarily for the better for everyone.

"I guess I didn't get a chance to tell you sooner, but you look lovely, by the way." he says, looking at you. The black kefta suddenly weighs heavily on you more than before… and explains the soft whispers of some Grishas.

You roll your eyes. You suddenly remembered why you couldn't trust him. And you mentally chastised yourself for letting him manipulate you. You had to raise your walls again. "I know you too well and I'm too old to be seduced by you."

"I thought you were too smart for that?" he is teasing you, remembering what you said to him the first time you met. You look around to make sure that no one can hear your conversation.

"I was wise. Before I met the Black Heretic and let my guard down." it is obvious from the slight furrow of his brow in anger that he does not like the nickname. You make a mental note to call him that way more often when you're alone.

"There was a time when names didn't matter to us. Where all you cared about was the real me. Not the way others saw me." he says, and if you were still that naive girl, you'd think you saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"You're right. At that time, I never imagined you would turn out to be..."

"I'm still the same man, Y/N..." he interrupts you with obvious hurt in his eyes. You both stop in front of the door of the Little Palace. Aleksander tries to read in your eyes where this sudden change of mood and coldness come from. "As you are the same wonan."

"No." you shake your head. "I'm not. And the boy I knew and loved died hundreds of years ago in the fold."

You see your words hurt him. And for a brief moment, he lets you see right through his eyes. He lets you see the pain and the tears that threatened to run down his cheeks.

But he doesn't let his emotions take over. You both live too long not to be able to hide them whenever you want... but that doesn't mean it hurts any less.

"What a pity... If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

You watch his receding silhouette with a heavy heart, and you can't help but wonder… did you two really seem so different after all?

You shake your head. NO. You couldn't fall into the arms of a man who took everything you knew, your last shelter... and you didn't want to admit to yourself that you still had TWO known arms that could be your shelter... Unfortunately for you, they were wearing a black kefta, symbolising his shadows.

All you remember is a scream.

A loud, soul-piercing scream.

Actually, not one. Not short. Not temporary.

And with the screams came darkness. A darkness that made people lose sight of their loved ones. It didn't matter if it was Grisha or Otkazat'sya. Everyone died. One after the another.

No one knew from where, in a few seconds, shadows appeared instead of a clear sky and sun. All that could be seen in the shadow fold were only the fingers on your hands.

And after a while, they joined the shadows. Human-eating creatures. Volcra.

You were running ahead with a light orb in your hand. Beside you was your grandmother, shooing the creatures away.

You ran together, trying to find a way out of the vast sea of shadows that surrounded you. At some point, a scared group of people started running straight at you, trying to get as close to your light as possible and hide. You split up, trying to lose the crowd of people who might remember your faces. But you couldn't leave them alone. You created a great orb of light and left the people behind, making sure the orb would follow them.

As you offered to help others, you paid little attention to your surroundings. Volcra surrounded you, and one of them lunged at you from behind. You'd be dead... if your grandmother hadn't thrown herself in front of you. But before she could create a sufficient orb of light, the volcra struck her in the heart.

Your scream mingled with the screams of the people around you. Grandmother's blood mixed with the blood of others. You kneeled by her until the end… until she gave you her amplifier, and with the last of her strength, she used all her power to illuminate the area around you, killing the nearest volcras.

You were completely alone in the darkness of the fold. Tears dripped from your eyes onto your cheeks and bleed the earth beneath you, your screams of despair slowly becoming the only audible sound in the fold.

You were all alone.

You flinched as you felt a hand on your shoulder. You closed your eyes, waiting for the volcra to attack as usual in this particular dream, but nothing came...

Nothing but a warm embrace and a familiar scent that you only associated with security and safety.

With tears in your eyes, you threw yourself into Aleksander's arms, crying into his chest. And you couldn't help but shiver as his hands stroked your back, pressing you tight against his chest as he kissed the top of your head.

"You're not alone." he whispered, holding you close to him. And for a brief moment, you wanted it all to be real...

Wandering around the Little Palace at night turned out to be something that did not bring you peace. Contrary. After overhearing a conversation between a pair of guard soldiers, you storm Aleksander's chambers, furious, frustrated, angry, and… disappointed.

You don't bother knocking or stopping at the soldiers guarding his chambers… you wonder for a moment why they even let you into his chambers late at night, but decide to think about it another time while you focus on the rage bubbling inside you.

You stormed into his war room and if it weren't for the late hour and the fact that you didn't want to wake anyone else but him, you would have slammed the door loudly behind you.

Then you see him. The object of all your negative feelings. The reason for all your anger and hurt… Grandmother was right, he should have been kicked in the ass and left to freeze to death in that lake while there was still a chance to get rid of him.

He stands before his war table, where there are maps, soldier figures, and something that looks like a fold. He drinks kvass. You send a little prayer to the saints, hoping that one day he'll choke on it.

"Aleksander." you say, warning him of your arrival before you unleash hell.

He looks at you with a slight shock that gives way to something like a sense of awe and adoration, as if he is trying to keep in his memory the way you look right now. You're suddenly very aware of your black and gold nightgown, which reveals more of your skin than he's ever seen. You could have changed into something else if you've already wanted to yell at him… or at least put on a bathrobe.

And with those puppy eyes he gives you, he almost melts your heart… almost.

"We need to talk." you say in a cool tone, trying not to give your emotions away.

"Of course. Come in. Do you want something to drink?" it annoys you. His calmness and composure when anger is burning inside you more than ever… and for some unknown reason you feel betrayed… as if you couldn't foresee that he is exactly like any man.

"No, I… You know. Give it." you say, taking a glass of kvass from him and drinking it all down. He raises an eyebrow in surprise but doesn't comment. Good for him. You decide to go straight to the heart of the matter. "Are all your female Grishas are whores for the royal family or just Genya?" you ask in an accusatory tone.

He widens his eyes, not expecting such a question. He takes the glass from you and puts it on the table. Then he turns his gaze back to you and speaks in that damn calm tone.

"Y/N... You don't understand..."

"YOU KNOW how much we suffered at the hand of the king, and yet you sent that poor girl there? And you told her to be his whore? IN THE NAME OF WHAT, Aleksander?!" you explode. Aleksander's head flies to the closed door.

Very good - you think. You want the bastard to worry about someone overhearing you... you're not sure you'll even tell him that you asked the soldiers (with all the politeness and composure you have left) to go check on the commotion in the gardens. By the time they realise there's nothing going on, you'll be done here long ago... or you'll have to hide their general's body. You don't know how it's going to end yet.

"Shh! Someone will hear." he tries to silence you and walks to the door, closing it.

"DO NOT SHUSH ME! I don't care what your plans are, but I am taking Genya out of there once and for good. And nobody can stop me."

"Y/N... please let's talk calmly." he says as he slowly walks over to you to stand in front of you.

"Do you want to talk calmly? Fine. I am calmly informing you that Genya is returning to the Little Palace and getting her own kefta. Not some white servant shit you made her wear."

"Genya's service is part of the great plan of things she willingly agreed to." Killing the king. You finish for him in your head, linking the king's increasingly deteriorating health to a mad heretic's grand plan.

You may have been different, but you knew each other's thoughts and ways of acting. It doesn't change that quickly over time… even if he has given himself more to his darkness and you more to your light. But hell will take you if you agree with his way of working…

"Because she had no other choice! You say you despise the king and everything his ancestors did to us, and that's what you are, doing exactly the same thing, if not worse, to your own people who are as loyal and faithful as dogs to you!"

You yelled furiously at him, and from the crease on his forehead and the hurt look in his eyes that turned to anger when you compared him to a king, you knew that there would be a war between the two of you today.

"You have no idea what's going on! You have no idea why I do what I do. You come here, accuse me of the worst, and make childish claims! Maybe you should finally wake up and see that, actually, I am the only one who does anything for our people, even if it means going to the worst!" you bit your lip in anger.

You both knew where to hit each other so that it hurt the most. You in his immoral, dubious ways of acting to win this eternal war for the good of the Grishas, and him in your passivity and hiding for centuries. But you're not giving this bastard the privilege of having the last word.

"And that's a very beautiful transition to the second topic, which is the fold and your plans to expand it. What is it? Another necessary evil? Do you know how many lives it has taken? Not just Otkazat'syas."

He laughs bitterly and licks his lips as you return to your most divisive topic. "Your obsession with the fold is naive."

You growl angrier at him. Only he was able to drive you crazy with one look, comment, or mocking smile. Good for him that you had similar power over him... otherwise, you would probably have tried to scratch his eyes out long ago.

"The fold took everything from me! From us all!"

"You think I don't know that? That I'm not reminded of it at my every single step?! That I forgot that I created it?! NO Y/N! I remember it perfectly! I remember the king's men chasing us and wanting to kill us like dogs, I remember the Fjerdans and Shu kidnapping and killing them either out of hatred or experimenting on us, I remember all of that, Y/N! You weren't there! You don't know why it happened, why I had to do what I did."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I don't know why, but I was there when the shadows started to cover the ground, when the innocent people living in the territory of the emerging fold started turning into volcra because a certain shadow summoner decided to play a saint!"

He seems taken aback by your words, but he quickly puts his mask on his face. He turns his back on you and walks over to the war table, staring at the map, speaking in a calm, emotionless voice this time.

"You should leave now."

"We didn't finish..." he cuts you off before you can say anything else. With every word he says, the frustration and anger in his voice get clearer. The room is darkened by his shadows.

"The disclosure of your existence has brought our enemies ever closer to the border. An uprising is brewing in the west, led by a general of the First Army. Our own people in Ravka are against us. Our resources are dwindling, the noose is tightening, and our own people are turning against Grisha just like the king once did. The last thing I need right now is to argue with you. So leave. And let me continue fighting this war alone."

You don't know why you're doing it or what drives you, but you walk over to him and grab his hand. You both don't control the power flowing within you, so when your skin touches his, you feel him amplify your powers. You create a bubble of pure white light around you that dispels his shadows.

It's like at the throne room again. The two of you are staring at each other as your white light surrounds you. Only this time, Aleksander doesn't look at you like a capture or booty; there's not a single trace of pride or annoyance on his face, as you feared.

No...

He looks at you as the last light in the darkness of his soul. A reminder that he is not alone and that as long as you are by his side, his shadows will never consume him like in his worst nightmares. You were here. Next to him. Holding his hand in yours and shining like the last star in his dark sky devoid of hope.

For a moment, he was transported back to those times when, hundreds of years ago, you were both there for each other, alleviating all insecurities, sorrows, and dilemmas without even knowing each other's names. Just being there for another similar lost and lonely soul... not much has changed in those few centuries.

You'd tell him you missed him but you don't know how...

And he was dying to know if this aloofness and mistrust were killing you as much as they were killing him.

You let go of his hand. The light around you slowly faded away, leaving the two of you in darkness as you stared enchanted at each other.

"What are you doing?" he asks in a whisper, never taking his eyes off yours. The anger is gone from both you and him. You just stare at each other, both of you unable to take your eyes off the other.

You did not know what you were doing. Really. Aleksander had a tendency to make you do inexplicable things…

He knew you were as lost as him. So many centuries on earth, and none of you have yet learned… how to live. Hundreds of years and you still felt like lost children in the mist, trying to control everything around you, pretending to others that you were in control or knew perfectly what you were doing.

That's why he didn't question your lack of response. Or that you stayed in the dark, staring through each other for a moment longer. Both of you feel that for the first time in hundreds of long years, you are facing someone who is facing similar demons.

One thing was sure.

You have never heard silence speaking about dormant feelings quite this loudly.

"You're not alone." you repeat his words from your dream, involuntarily wondering for a moment if you still haunt him in his dreams as well. The look of his dark brown eyes, focusing only on you, is too overwhelming for you to take it much longer. You look away for a moment, then take your gaze back at him, giving him a small smile. "Someone has to undermine those perfect plans of yours from time to time. We don't want your ego to grow so big that it can't be contained in this palace, do we, General?" you ask jokingly and smile as you hear something like an amused snort from him.

He leans towards you and you gasp in surprise. Gently, he brushes the hair behind your ear with his fingertips. You shiver slightly at the small, almost non-existent touch of his skin against yours.

"No… we don't want to." he whispers, staring at you for a few more moments before pulling away and introducing you to the situation.

Darkness surrounds the two of you as you both talk. The only source of light is your little orbs floating above the war table. And for the first time, both of you feel at peace.

Neither of you were alone anymore.

And you both feel in this moment some kind of peace and relief...

At least until a messenger came running in the very dawn with a letter from the colonel of the Second Army…

The Fjerdans attacked.

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gold-rhine · 2 years ago

Text

Sub afab! Kaeya x GN Dom! Reader

Repost bc my previous blog got shadowbanned. Part two of this fic, can be read as standalone, but follows the emotional arc from the first part, so I think it’ll feel more rewarding to read them in order. But you do you, ofc.

Warnings: nsfw, bondage, fingering, oral (character receiving), vaginal and anal sex, overstim, graphic description of a panic attack. It’s a bit intense and angsty at one point, but it gets better, I promise

Wordcount: 4k

Trust me/ You can be sure

You kiss him, enjoying the languid and sensual way his tongue moves against yours, low sweet hum deep inside his throat. His hands are tied to the bedframe above his head, and his body is completely in your power when you slide down, pepper him with kisses, he’s beautiful and silken and arching under you.You suck on his clit briefly and then slide your tongue into his cunt, and his hips lift under your mouth, his legs shuddering and falling apart in pleasure, but his voice is still cocky and ironic, if just a little breathless

“I’m so sorry, I’m afraid that’s a wrong hole. I thought we wanted to try the other one.”

“And I think someone wants to get his smart mouth gagged.”

“You won’t,” he says with an arrogant smirk. “You like hearing me talk.”

He’s gotten more used to the compliments, but that only means he now sounds smug when fishing for them instead of bitterly sarcastic. You still can’t help but indulge him.

“I do,” you smile, straighten up to sprawl next to him, catch his chin in your hand to bring his face next to yours. “But there are ways to shut you up for a few moments without a gag.”

“Oh, you mean with a kiss?” he grins wolfishly, reaches up for you despite the cocky tone. “That’s chea…”

Holding his gaze, you slide two fingers into his cunt and watch him choke on his words, then smile wider and start caressing him in a way you know can drive him crazy in seconds, - thumb roughly at his clit, fingers hooked deep inside him, stroking his sweet spot with slow, methodic pressure.

“I would never cheat like that,” you tell him and you can feel his face heating up in a blush from how close you are. “Not when your mouth looks so pretty gasping for air.”

He blushes brighter and bites his lip harshly to stop himself from gasping, but can’t stop his body from betraying his desire, how he clenches around your fingers, turns from glistening to soaking wet so fast. It’s a different kind of powerlessness from just being tied, helplessness from how well you know him, how precisely you can break him, and he loves that you know it, care to remember it, even if he'll never admit it.

You can tell from experience when he’s about to come, when the thrusts of his hips first turn frantic, then his entire body arches up, desperately lifting off the bed, tense legs spread at the bent knees and breath held. You slide your fingers out before he can finish and he crashes down, glaring at you indignitally and catching his breath before he can speak.

“Oh, sorry, you said something about a wrong hole? I’ll leave it alone then,” you say with a feigned innocence. “Anything you want, as always.”

He groans, rolling his eyes.

“You were not such an insufferable tease when we first met.”

“I’ve learned from the best”, you grin and kiss the corner of his scowling mouth.

You use both lube and his own slick from his throbbing, soaked cunt to coat your fingers, then slide them down and start massaging the tight ring of his asshole.

“Babe,” you tell him softly, “remember, we’re just experimenting for fun. If it doesn’t feel good, tell me, we’ll do something else.”

He flushes, looks away and drawls with pointed irritation.

“Ugh, I wouldn’t tell you I haven’t tried it if I knew you'd make such a big deal out of it. It’s fine.”

Here’s the thing, you know sometimes he tries to hide his own discomfort if he thinks it’ll disappoint you, and also that he only gets so rudely defensive when you hit his sore spot. You can hear his heart racing in his chest even as his voice is confident. The time to be most gentle with Kaeya is when he tries his damnest to be the most unpleasant.

“Okay, just don’t hesitate to say something if it changes,” you bring your mouth to his ear and whisper quietly. “You are more than enough as it is, baby..”

He takes a shaky breath, still refusing to meet your eyes. You don’t pressure him, draw a trail of sloppy wet kisses down his neck, then on his fast rising chest, tense stomach, until covering his swollen clit with your mouth. It doesn’t take long of playing with it to make both of his holes twitch, pulsing open. You press one finger inside and he clenches around it immediately, his entire body tensing up. You glance up to see him arching, his chest with hardened peaks of nipples rising up feverishly in quick frantic breaths.

“Baby, are you okay?”

“Yes, don’t stop,” he says, sounding strangled, and then you catch a barely audible, tiny “please…”

You grin against his pulsing flesh and get to eating him out, with your finger slowly moving inside his tight, tense ass. When you start picking up the rhythm, he moans, hips bucking up to meet your lips, knees shaking and falling apart, toes scraping at the bedsheets.

“So you *do* like it,” you smile, actually relieved at this undeniable display of pleasure, no longer needing to worry that he tries to hide his discomfort for your sake.

“Can you…” he swallows harshly, still doesn’t look at you, even though his hips are rising eagerly to meet your movements. “I want you in my cunt too…”

You smirk and slide your thumb into his wet, trembling entrance, suck on his puffy clit. He lets out a choked noise, something between the strangled moan and a needy whine, his pussy clenches, gushing with wetness. Hiis legs jerk up to press his knees to his chest and offer himself better to you, toes curling in the air.

“Oh, so you *really* like it, hah?” you smile, move your tongue along his beautiful quivering folds and sliding another finger into his ass, eliciting another moan, his legs raising even higher up to expose himself. It’s humiliating, but he can’t help it, wants to be open for you, loves this feeling of being filled by you, wants even more, wants you in his mouth too, even if he’s too proud to admit it, having already openly asked for too much.

But you see him lick his lips and bite them, gasp, opening his mouth wider than he had to. You slide two fingers of your free hand into his mouth, and he shudders, tenses up, looking up at you paralyzed, like a deer caught in headlights. Before this moment, he didn’t know he wanted this so badly, but now it takes over him, how good it feels to be so open, all of him in your disposal, all of his holes, and how you still look at him with such a hunger, like you want even more, like you want all of him

“Fuck, look at you. You’re so beautiful. And you’re mine,” you fuck into him, his cunt, his ass, and his mouth, and he trembles and arches, eyelashes fluttering helplessly. “Everything you have, I’ll take you whole.”

He comes harder than he’s ever had before, scream muffled by your fingers in his throat, cunt squirting on your hand, his mind completely black and blank, nothing but the waves of pleasure. You let him ride through orgasm until he goes limp, slide your fingers out and move to untie his hands, but he arches up into you feverishly, closes his legs around you.

“No, please, don’t stop yet,” part of him is embarrassed of how quickly he came, even larger part wants more of this thoughtless bliss, but there’s an unspoken, shameful undercurrent that aches to be held, can’t stand the thought of losing the feeling of being wanted so completely. (you offer him aftercare after every session and he shrugs it off, too proud of being in control, confusing genuine care for pity, because despite being brilliantly smart, he is sometimes a complete idiot) “I want more. I want you to fuck both of my holes, hard.”

“Are you sure you can take it right now?” you pause, looming over him. “It seemed pretty intense for you, baby. We can always try it next time.”

“No, let’s do it now.” He smiles seductively, his voice turning into a purr, but with a wry edge. “Come on, don’t you want me? Haven’t you promised me so many times, “anything for you”?”

You do want him, especially because he’s begging, so openly needy, arching and rubbing against you, without any irony or performative flirting. Here’s another thing. You think he has experience and knows his limits, so you can trust him when he says he can take it, and he thinks that being traumatized in other areas somehow makes him tougher in this one. This is, of course, not how it works.

You get the harness that lets you add a strap in addition to the first starp\cock. He’s on his knees in front of you, tied arms bent at the elbows, back arched and ass high in the air, exposing his soaked cunt. You cup it with your hand and stroke his swollen, pulsing clit, and he bites back a needy moan, rubs against your palm desperately, the slick petals of his folds visibly trembling open.

“Just fuck me already.”

“You can’t blame me for enjoying the sight. It’s not every day I see you begging to be used.”

“You could be,” he says quietly after a small pause.

You raise an eyebrow and make a mental note to bring it up later. You haven’t discussed many terms outside of the bedroom, and from his independent and flirty attitude you’ve assumed he wouldn’t want to be exclusive. He still didn’t tell you that he hasn't slept with anyone else, for which he has completely rational reasons, such as why would he go try some untested swivel when he already has a source of delicious wine, it makes complete sense without bringing feelings into this. And also all of the time that you’re not fucking him, he’s very glad that you don’t ask him to be yours, because that’s just more convinient for everyone involved, and the fact that he feels like dying if you don’t say it when you’re inside him is just. Hormones. Or kink. Or both, but who cares, it doesn’t matter.

For now, you align the heads of both cocks against his entrances and carefully press into him. He shudders, gasping, an unfamiliar overwhelming sensation of both of his holes being stretched at the same time. You move slowly, give him time to adjust before every thrust, run your hand soothingly over the tense muscles of his back. He’s usually not very loud, but now he moans with every movement, tied hands clawing at the bedsheets. He feels so full, like there’s no way he could take any more and yet every time you push deeper, until both of your cocks are buried inside him to the hilt.

You lean down, gently move away the long strand of midnight blue hair to kiss his stiff shoulder, whisper into his ear, sweet and dirty. His forehead, damp from sweat, is pressed to the sheets, eyes squeezed shut, mouth opening silently in gasps for air. You hold him from behind, your chest against his back, one of your hands caresses his throat and then trails down to play with his nipples, another hand slides in between his thighs to stroke his swollen clit. He turns his head abruptly to catch your mouth in an characteristically clumsy, awkward kiss, his entire body writhing against you with needy abandon, his mind too far gone in pleasure to be concerned with pride. He comes like that, just from the feeling of you all around him and filling him up.

It’s so rare to see him unraveled so completely for longer than a fleeting moment after which his defenses go up again. You want to fuck him so badly, he’s so pliant in your arms, sweet and wet and open, but you contain yourself to ask

“Hey, baby, are you okay? Do you want more?”

“Yes,” he says immediately. He’s dizzy and breathless, but all he knows through the fog of pleasure is that it feels so good and he doesn’t want it to stop, doesn’t want you to let go of him. “Don’t stop.”

You don’t need anymore encouragement, start fucking him, slow at first and then raising the pace. He screams, choked and so unlike himself that you’d be worried he’s in pain if he wasn’t screaming “Yes” and “Please”. You dig your fingers into his hips, enjoy the obscene sounds of skin slapping on skin, of his gushing wet cunt being fucked.

It doesn’t feel like usual orgasm for him, not the tight knot in the pit of the stomach, but lightning bright currents rolling through his entire aching body, turning him raw and overwhelmed, like he doesn’t even belong to himself anymore, filled and used so deeply by you. After a little while, he loses both his mind and control completely, his mouth going slack and his eyes rolling, his body trembling and shaking helplessly under you. He almost blacks out when he comes, his screams turning more and more desperate until you stop, slide out of him.

You only move away for a minute to take off the harness, thinking he’s too far gone to care. He doesn’t exactly come to his senses, but the deep-ridden survival instinct urges him to take control. His mind is still blank and dizzy, black rings under his eyelids and heart drumming in his ears, and all he knows is that he’s alone and weak, so weak and helpless and TIED, he can’t move, so he struggles, pulls at his ties, but can’t break free and he’s horrified.

You turn back at the high clinking sound and see the icy crystalyne shield forming around him. It looks fragile like cut glass, but the thought of forcefully smashing it, while he’s curled inside, scared and desperately trying to break free, is sickening. He’s weirdly quiet, he screamed in pleasure while you held him, but now he’s biting his lip and struggling silently, his eyes shut, his heart beating way too fast and his ears ringing, like he’s so sure he has no no one to help if he calls.

“Kaeya, it’s me, it’s okay, baby,” you touch the shield and it freezes your fingertips, but you don’t move away. “You need to drop your shield, darling, it’ll be okay, please, my love, you have to let go...”

You keep talking and gradually it gets through the ringing in his ears, he still can barely understand the words, but he can recognize that it’s you. All of his survival instincts scream to not trust you, not trust anything you say, because anyone can turn on him at any time, so he can never let his guard down. …but it’s your voice asking him to let you in.

He chokes on the breath, his arms tense and wringed in the ties, and drops the shield.

You move immediately, scoop him close to your chest, hold his shivering body with one arm, and clumsily try to untie his hands with the other. It’s not easy, but you’re afraid to let him go, and he’s shaking against you. You finally manage to free him and he curls against you, only now starting to sob. His wrists have deep red marks from the ties from where he pulled too harshly on them, trying to wring them out. You gently kiss the sensitive bruised skin of his inner wrists and keep telling him that it’s okay, he’s safe, you’ve got him.

He actually comes to his senses some time after, and the first thing he thinks of is how embarrassing this is. There’s a difference between being seductively helpless and horribly pathetic and he never intended to cross that line. He pushes you away, stands up, determined, if a little wobbly, and stumbles his way to the bathroom, holding onto the walls.

“I’m fine,” he snaps when you try to help him, but it’s hard to be pissed at his tone when he’s still so visibly weak and disoriented. You help him settle in the bathtub as the warm water fills up to cover him when the subject comes to him leaving after this.

“Are you kidding me? You cannot leave like that,” you say incredulously, and his gaze suddenly sharpens, turns cold blue.

“Why? You think you can actually order me around?” he drawls, voice dripping with sarcasm, but you don’t take the bait. You cover his hand with your own, look him in the eye and say slowly

“Kaeya, don’t be ridiculous. I won’t let you go alone in this state,” he visibly bristles, tensing under your hand and you continue calmly, “You can sleep on the sofa and never talk to me again after this if you want, but I won’t leave you alone like that.”

He looks away and tenses up, quiet for a long time, until he finally says “Okay, fine. Can you leave me be for a little while here at least?”

“Of course,” you squeeze his hand and stand up, fighting the urge to kiss him when he’s so obviously closed off. He still doesn’t look at you when you walk out of the bathroom.

You prepare the sofa for him and go to bed. He appears on the threshold of the bathroom sometime after, wearing your oversized t-shirt. Kaeya is someone who can make a potato sack look good, quite literally. Illuminated by the orange light from behind, ruffled hair and long slender legs and just a little of a curve of his ass visible under the baggy shirt, he looks incredibly hot.

He turns the bathroom light off and walks out to the other room with the sofa. He lingers at the threshold, glancing briefly back at you. You’re not sure if asking him to come to you will help or only spook him away, so you keep silent. After some hesitation, he walks out of the room and vanishes out of sight. You sigh and close your eyes.

Few minutes later, you look up at the quiet sound of the steps. He walks up to your bed slowly, a silvery silhouette, illuminated by the moonlight, but his eyes are invisible in the shadows.

“I thought if I’m staying at your place, I might as well enjoy the best sheets, which you will obviously have at your own bed,” his voice is confident, even cavalier, but he wavers in front of your bed, uncertain of your response.

“Of course. It’s the least I can offer you,” you smile at him in reassurance. He gives you a small, barely noticeable in the dark smirk, and finally climbs into the bed. Despite his arrogant tone, he freezes at the very edge of the bed, his back to you, visibly trying to take as little space as possible. His silhouette is sharp and tense in the moonlight and he pulls just enough of covers to put over his waist, laying exposed otherwise. It breaks your heart for some reason you can’t quite articulate at the moment, how lonely and guarded he looks just next to you, and you want to just reach out and pull him closer, but remember the cold crystalline shield and don’t do it. Instead, you carefully pull the bed cover onto him. After a few minutes, when you close your eyes and start to adjust to the cool air without the covers, he scoots over to you, bringing the sheets back to cover both of you.

You smile and softly kiss the back of his neck. He doesn’t say anything, but leans back against you, so you throw an arm over his waist and fall asleep, holding him close.

When you wake up the next morning and start stirring, the first thing you see is him looking up at you sharply, like he’s reading your reaction to seeing him. He only relaxes when you smile and say “Oh hey there, gorgeous.”

He grins and presses against you, sprawled at your side, catches your mouth in a kiss. He’s eager to prove to you that yesterday was just a fluke, that he can compensate for all the trouble, that he’s certainly, undoubtedly worth it.

He has nothing under his shirt and when you slide your hand up his thigh, it rides up, exposing his naked ass. He throws his leg over you, grinds against you a little too aggressively, when through the fog of morning sleepiness and lust you finally remember what happened last night and stop moving.

“Wait, I think you should rest up for at least a day, baby, let’s wait.”

“Ugh, I’m fine, don’t be such a bore.”

“You said you were fine yesterday and then almost gave me a heart attack. Sorry, I’m not risking it again.”

You say it in a light tone, so you don’t expect his response to be heated, but he abruptly moves away and glares at you, tensing up.

“So what, you’re just going to throw me out like that? Fine, I’ll go and finally fuck someone else then.”

“Kaeya, what the fuck are you talking about? Of course I won’t throw you out.“ He still stares at you incredulously so you throw an arm around his shoulders and pull him down on the bed next to you. “Come here. It’s way too early for this, babe.”

He freezes up against you, staring at the ceiling, your arm that’s holding him close burning him like a hot iron, but he can’t move. The sprouts of tenderness crawl under his collarbones, insidious and unwanted, his calculating mind frantically searching for any motives that aren't caring about him for you. He watches dust dance in early rays of slanted sunrise and wills himself to move away, to leave, but can’t. Fine then, if he can’t bring himself to leave, it’s not like being left instead was ever hard for him to achieve.

You start dozing off, your cheek pressed against his soft hair, when the thought of what he meant when he said finally fuck someone else crosses your mind. But before you can think about it any deeper, he plants his arm across your face.

You catch his wrist and gently move it away, squinting at him.

“Kaeya, are you trying to be annoying enough to make me throw you out to prove a point?”’

“No,” he grins pleasantly, his voice sweet. “I’m trying to find out “how” annoying I have to be to make you throw me out.”

“I won’t ever throw you out,” you tell him almost solemnly, holding his gaze, that is anxious under bravado if you know him well enough. Then you smirk at him. “But I might be forced to whack you with a pillow if you keep this up.”

He looks over you intently, his eyes searching, questioning if you really meant it, but then he grins back.

“Then I have to warn you that I’m ruthlessly proficient at pillow fighting, being an undisputed champion at the dawn winery except for the five months after Diluc hit the growth sprout first and his strategy of falling down like a cut tree log was paying off due to the sheer size advantage.”

“Hmm, it doesn’t sound like you’ve been winning due to skill then, maybe you’ve just never met a worthy opponent.”’

“Well, now I’ll have to defend the honor of my doofus brother. I can call him useless, but other people can’t.”

“I need to take your threats seriously then,” you catch his chin and gently rub under it in a way you know makes him melt. Then you kiss him and reach around to steal his pillow while he’s distracted. “So I better make sure you’re disarmed.”

He gasps in exaggerated dismay, not even trying to hide a grin at the same time.

“I cannot believe you’ve backstabbed me like that,” he says, sounding delighted, and breaks into laughter. It strikes you that you’ve never seen him laugh so carefree and openly, without reservations, not just a wry chuckle or a smirk, and how lovely and happy he looks like that. “I hope you understand that you leave me no choice but to retaliate just as ruthlessly.”

You smile at him, hoarding both of your pillows behind your back.

“Of course. Anything you want, as always.”

#rhine writes #rhine writes filth #sub kaeya #genshin smut #sub genshin #kaeya

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