#this is confirmation that our hard work to steer the place back is working

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Good. In. All. Areas.

Literally two of the worst days ever. No sleep. Shaking with stress. Eating shit and working from 5am to 2am. My faculty. Fuckin'. Smashed it. Yes.

YES!

[rainstts]

F. A: Birthday Wish.ᐟ

random moments of your life being Toji's wife and Megumi's stepmother

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

✰ pairing. Toji Fushiguro x wife!reader

✰ content. MDNI, fem!reader, crack, fluff, reader and Toji already have a 5yo girl (Fuyumi), found family, pregnancy, birthday sėx, pụssydrunk AND making love!Toji (partially), breëding plus pregnancy kınk, creämpıe, praising, talking through it, unprotected, pet names, dırty tālk

✰ word count. 4.9k

✰ A/N. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR GORGEOUS BIG BOY!! And happy new year, sweeties <33

The trip to Kamakura was scheduled months ago, when Satoru offered his house to host the New Year’s party, and, with that in mind, you were able to organize everything you’d need for Toji’s birthday party too. Decorations, cake, candies and salty food, just how he liked. And when the day came, Megumi worked as your partner in that sweet crime, going in Nanami’s car with Nobara and Yuji so Toji wouldn’t see the decorations to be done. 

Only when your stepson confirmed that everything was in its right place and decorated, you stopped holding up and finally handed Toji the last suitcase so you could go. Hiding your anxiety on the road wasn’t easy, nothing passed unseen by his eyes. But, luckily for you, he was distracted this time. 

He was… Jealous?

“I’ll never understand what they see in him. Seriously! Even Yuji was there.”

Ah, yes. Another day, another complaint about how Megumi liked his teacher and family’s friend, Nanami. He was nothing different from Gojo in terms of friendship with the two of you, and yet…

“He’s polite, was always close and helpful with the kids…”

“I see, I see. Praising another man in front of your husband.”

“Toji!” You argued, seeing him rolling his eyes. “Your son can make his own choices. Maybe he just wanted to go earlier to spend more time with his friends.”

“And not with his father? Today is m-” Toji stopped himself, pressing his lips in a line and focusing on the road again. But he noticed your curious gaze, making him sigh softly. “I’m not getting younger, and he’s already fifteen! Three more years and he’ll be leaving for university, with no time for us.”

“He’ll always have time for you.”

“No he won’t. I know how teenagers are.”

“You are hard-headed, just like one.” Your reply made him huff low, hands tightening the grip around the steering wheel. “He loves you, honey. He listens to you, he looks for your advices and guidance. You have no idea how much effort he puts on himself to make you proud.”

With your head turned to him, your eyes captured how your words affected the man. His gaze softened upon the road, his hands relaxed, knuckles turning back to his skin tone, not so white anymore. His right hand moved to your thigh, feeling the fabric of your dress under his digits. With a long breath, he calmed down, and looked at you once he stopped by a red light. 

“We’re lucky to have you. And her.” He motioned to Fuyumi, your younger daughter sleeping on the backseat, and moved closer to give you a quick kiss. You smiled when you felt the scar brushing on your skin softly. 

“It’s mutual.”

Your smile made his shoulders visibly relax, and he moved his attention back to the road after a quick look down at the GPS. The car was yours, and you had the license for years now, but you still loved relaxing beside him, enjoying your passenger princess privileges while looking at his arms when he drove the SUV. 

“Just don’t make me smile to that stupid blon-”

“Toji, be nice. His wife is pregnant.”

Your reply made him click his tongue, controlling himself to not roll his eyes. Again.

“That’s why the kids are with him?”

“I don’t know, but behaving is for free.”

“Not if I pay with my patience.” He sighed, taking the road to the coast, almost getting to the house. “You know…” He started talking again, clearly having some disturbed ideas. “The kids love you. Kugisake always compliments how beautiful you are.”

“Spit it out.”

“We could…” He smiled, not finishing his statement, but you could read right through his eyes.

“I’m not getting pregnant just for you to be the “favorite uncle” again.”

“Come on! It’s not a big deal!”

“Toji! It’s a baby!”

“And? We have Fuyumi, I have experience. Sometimes I even miss how I used to hold Megumi by the neck of his shirt.”

“Oh, for God’s sake!”

“He liked it! That choked laughter was awesome.” He smiled, clearly remembering times in between his grief and the moment he met you. “Come on, think about it, uh? I know the test was negative, but we can always try again. And again. And again…”

“You’re lucky she’s sleeping.” You slapped his arm, making him stop teasing about it, while you looked at the five-year-old girl still deep asleep. 

“Think about it, please? I don’t wanna be the one dragging Shiro and Kuro everywhere while my son is with him.”

“I won’t think about anything.” Rolling your eyes, you looked away, holding your tongue to not tell the truth right then and there. 

The familiar house came into view, the sight of the beach was still heavenly and beautiful, even mid-winter. Toji parked beside Gojo’s car, leaving his seat to open the door for you, and let you wake Fuyumi while taking the dogs out by the other side. 

“Now smile and behave, we can talk about your pregnancy later.” He stated, simply as that.

“What? Toji!”

The front door was opened by Gojo, making you stop talking and walk towards the man after seeing your husband’s cynical smile, the one that never failed in teasing you to the limit. The dogs ran inside after hearing Megumi’s voice, and Fuyumi was right behind. Gojo greeted you and Toji, with him leaving the suitcases by the entrance hall, and letting the white haired sorcerer guide you both inside, towards the living room. 

The curtains were down, the room was silent and dark by the moment you came with him. Until Megumi turned the lights on. 

“Surprise!” 

Toji’s hand tightened the grip on your waist when he heard the voices in unison. He ran his gaze around the room, decorated with balloons in metallic blue and silver, a large table with the cake and sweet treats, and another side with salty food for lunch. The guests had party hats matching the colors, and Gojo handed one to you, which you quickly put on his head, ignoring his stare.

“How did you do that?” He asked, a small smile creeping up at the corner of his lips.

“I’ve had help.” You shrugged, taking the lighter with Shoko and pushing Toji closer to the table. 

His eyes immediately landed on Megumi, knowing the son had a part in it, and the boy just shrugged, just like you, standing by his left when everyone started singing “happy birthday”. Your smile was sincere, and your eyes never left Toji, while his eyes never left the candles, the cake, and every other small detail organized by you. Every new thing that was made just for him.

By the end of the song, more clapping was heard, and you felt the dark-haired man pull you into a kiss, firm and quick, respecting the others around. And, in a sweet and fast movement, he pulled Megumi into a hug, ruffling his hair when he moved away, making the boy laugh. 

“Me too, papa!” Fuyumi yelled, making the others laugh.

Toji then took her on his arm, kissing her cheek and leaning to blow the candle with her help. Closing his eyes and staying silent for a few seconds, it was clear when Toji made a wish, only leaving you curious about what it was.

Even though you felt like you could guess easily.

“Now I understand the whispers around the house.” He commented, eyes narrowed. 

“You didn’t even question it.” Megumi replied in a quiet tone, noticing his father laughing.

After taking a family picture, Satoru, who had been insisting on a speech, quickly started recording when Toji finally seemed to accept. Your gaze let him know that it needed to be a special moment, and he understood.

“Meg,” He called, making the boy raise his head in curiosity. “I’m not used to showing how grateful I am for you being a special and incredible son, the blessing your mother left for me. You overcome the expectations I shouldn’t have, and I’m proud of you, son. Thank you for the surprise.”

Megumi nodded, clearly emotional but covering up with a small smile. But Toji knew. He always knew. Satisfied, he turned to you, his next victim.

“My love… Thank you, for everything, I feel like I’ll never be able to form enough thoughts in this messy head of mine to tell you how much I love you, how you saved me, my girl. And how I’m happy for this precious little gift you gave me.” 

As Toji hugged Fuyumi, she giggled happily, and you felt tears running down with no control while you took in his words, the turmoil of both surprises you kept from him now taking its toll. But definitely a good one. 

The moment ended with a family hug, and Yuji and Nobara helped you to serve the cake as the others gathered around the table to get their lunch. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon with conversations about the expectations for the New Year, engaging topics about family, the kids’ improvements and travels. 

Close to the sunset, the kids decided to play at the beach, in front of the house, and Megumi insisted on taking his sister to give you and Toji free time, with the only advice of “behaving”. It made you laugh, of course, but your husband only shot you a smirk, murmuring a song while you led the way to the guest room you were staying in. 

“How did you find out?” Toji asked when you both stepped into the room, closing the door with a soft click when locked.

“Naobito.” 

Your answer was enough to make him remember the day you gave Maki a ride home. Toji hummed, sitting on the bed and taking his hoodie off, trying to gain courage to take a shower. You walked towards the man, placing your hands on his shoulders and massaging his muscles. 

He breathed out with the touch, a small smile could be seen on his lips before he leaned his head on your abdomen. His left hand moved up from the side of your leg to your stomach, caressing there with his thumb. It wasn’t as flat as it used to be, and he knew it. He had noticed before, and had that sweet feeling in his chest.

“How far along are you?” He asked, voice low, but slowly looked up to meet your eyes. 

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb, mama.” He smirked, both thumbs caressing your warm skin under your belly button. “You can hide the party plans from me, but not your body.”

Staring down into his eyes, you could see his proud smile, hands keeping you in place while his slender thumbs moved around your lower abdomen, silently appreciating the job he had done as his dark eyes caught every little reaction of yours. Your expression and eyes letting clear he had caught you red-handed. 

“I know when my wife is sleeping more, eating more, and throwing up.” He pointed out every little thing he had noticed. Things he didn’t miss on your first pregnancy, and certainly wouldn’t this time. “Ruined the surprise, didn’t I?”

“Yes!” You replied, slapping his shoulder softly, making him chuckle audibly. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

The man smiled widely, his eyes shining against the lights as he continued caressing you softly. Almost a strange touch coming from hands that years ago did such a dangerous job. It was at that moment you decided to take the picture off the inner pocket of your jacket. The movement caught Toji’s attention, gaze moving down to your hands, and back up to meet yours as he breathed in to say something. 

But the words died in his throat when he saw the picture in your hand. 

The usual gray, white and black glitched screen of an ultrasound, with two circles on it. The image made him open his mouth, trying to find words when he got the picture on his hand. The first circle showed a mark named “baby A”, the second one, “baby B”. 

“I- You-” Toji stuttered, blinking forcibly.

This was another level of a surprise. 

“Twins?” He asked, almost gasping for air. 

“Twins, love.”

Toji couldn’t hide his happiness even if he wanted to. The urge to just hold you close and tight made him pull you onto his lap, arms around your waist and shoulders, keeping you close as he felt that pure joy fill his mind and heart. As you finally felt the weight of the secret being taken from your shoulders, happy tears stained your face and his shoulders, and he soothed you with a soft caressing on your back, his warm touch moving up and down until you got a grip on your emotions again. 

“I didn’t know you could… We could…”

“Me neither. It was out of luck.” You smiled, caressing his chin with your right hand, the man leaning into your touch with his eyes focused on the picture. “They’re fraternal.”

“What does that mean? Are they okay? Is this a health issue?”

“No, darling. They’re perfect. They’re just non-identical, not sharing the same placenta.”

“And… And you know if there’s a boy or a girl?”

“No, I’m almost exactly three months in, so… It won’t take long for us to find out.”

“Almost three months and you’re already showing?” He asked, the deep chuckle not fooling you. Toji was proud of what he did. 

“I was huge while carrying Yumi. Need to prepare for the worst this time.”

To your words, Toji placed both hands on your stomach, feeling it once again. But the clothes bothered him, making the raven-haired man lift the fabric of your clothes to touch your skin properly. 

“Then it’s my job to make you feel better.”

His hands carefully moved down to your thighs, gripping as much flesh as he could, marking his digits on your skin easily. That heat, so characteristic from whenever he touched you, increased when you felt your lips on yours, a deep warmth spreading from your chest through your body. Toji’s hands moved to your ass, groaning loud as he slapped with one hand and tightened the grip with the other, taking a muffled moan from your lips in between the intense kiss. 

When he moved his hips up, pressing against yours, the two of you moaned. The feeling of his growing erection pulsing against your core. With a low hum of approval, Toji moved just enough to make you ride him slowly, firm hands pressing your body down against his, teasing you with soft and quick pecks. 

“Toji…” You breathed out, feeling his kisses move to your shoulders now. His large hands gripping your ass and thigh, desperate to feel you. Starving. “Love, I-”

“Don’t stop ridin’, doll.”

His words made you breathe out low, trying to control your voice, thinking about what to say back, unsure if he was actually willing to continue. Not that he never fucked you when you were pregnant previously, quite the opposite. But this wasn’t your house, and Toji usually didn’t like whenever you couldn’t vocalize for him. Moan. Scream his name.

But the way he continued to kiss you was confirmation enough, the man grunting as he pushed his hips against you again, looking for some minimal friction as he moved his hands up to your hips to move you against him again, and back down, squeezing your ass with pleasure.

The touch made you moan audibly for him, hearing the hoarse and deep sound escaping from his throat when he kissed your neck, biting your shoulders in response. Toji quickly took your jacket off, tossing it on the floor along with your shirt, taking his time to stare at  your much swollen breasts and the beautiful black lacy set embracing your skin perfectly. 

“Fuck, mama… Is this new?” Toji asked, black eyes stuck on the drawing of the lingerie on your skin, and how it made your curves look more delineated, the details he so much loved on display like a meal. 

“All for you.” Your voice was sweet, barely louder than a whisper when you leaned closer. “Rip it off.”

He pulled you closer, hooking a finger under the middle of your bra, pulling the lacy down with no second thoughts, ripping the fabric off your skin easily, and having the perfect vision of your breasts. Massaging one, Toji quickly moved to take the other on his mouth, his tongue travelling up and down the soft skin, groaning when your body shivered from the contact. 

Your back was arched for him, both hands on his chest, feeling his skin, and your mouth half open, gasping and moaning only for him to hear. Toji’s hands held your waist tight, changing positions carefully, laying you on the queen-sized bed. As he moved down, kissing your abdomen and hips, his hands moved your pants down, taking in the sight of the wet patch barely visible on your panties, his index finger moving to pull the side and make it snap back against your skin. 

Your body jolted from the impact, the skin soon reddening and his smirk widening at the sight. “So delicate, aren’t you, angel?” 

Desperate for more of his touch, you couldn’t reply, and it only made Toji chuckle more, a soft movement pulling your panties to the side. His tense breath hitting your skin, a soft movement of his hands spreading your legs open for him, exposing your wetness. 

He didn’t waste time, pressing his tongue against your pussy and letting out a rough moan when feeling how hot and sweet you were for him, keeping his eyes closed to enjoy it a while longer. 

“Toji!” You cried when he moved just enough to see your face.

The man laughed slightly at your desperation, passing his muscled arms down your thighs and pulling you closer like that, unable to move. 

“Easy, love.” 

It’s a matter of seconds for him to push his index finger into your slick entrance, sliding in easily, making you choke on your words of hurry and a low moan. Toji then started moving his fingers back and forth, curved up like a hook, hitting that sweet spot that made you squirm so easily. 

The movement made your cunt pulse and tighten around his finger, taking a pleasured moan from him, closing his eyes to enjoy how you were always so responsive. “Feels good, doesn’t it, princess?” His voice had a hint of teasing, the smile on his face proved it. 

“Y-Yes. Toji…”

“Y-Yes.” He mocked, thumb moving up to press against your clit. “I’m listening. What do you want?”

“Your mouth.”

There was no time for more stuttering, not with your husband. Toji wanted you, to celebrate with you for what he had done, and anything you asked, he would give. His tongue quickly met your pussy again, savoring you with need, with the desire he had kept in, not minding being rough when liking and sucking your wet folds and your already sensitive clit. 

Your body shuddered entirely with the feeling, his fingers getting more wet as he added another one to fulfill your pleasure, and the sound explicit and wet echoing in the room against the silence, his hand hitting your entrance while he took his sweet time on your spot.

“Mhn- Toj-i! Fuck, don’t stop!”

He didn’t dare. Not this time. Toji kept on sucking your clit with strength, licking your wetness clean as his fingers pushed in and out. You could already feel that pressure on your lower abdomen, flowing down your legs in waves, and back to your pussy in his mouth.

Until the tension on your body imploded, and you relaxed all at once, your orgasm hitting you, leaving you still in bed. Left hand in the middle of his dark hair, and the right pulling the sheets, using the grip to control your voice. Your husband wasn’t akin to share your pretty sounds with the other guests. 

Breathless, you moaned when Toji moved away, taking his fingers off you and sucking them, tasting more of you, addicted.  Only then he took his time taking his pants off, teasing you and giving you a little show, knowing how much you loved every sight of his muscles. And only got better when he got rid of his boxers.

“Keep ‘em open f’me, love.” He said, coming back to bed, right above your body, when you tried to close your legs. 

His hands moving around his aching cock, masturbating in soft motions while watching you under him, possessive, and clearly pleased that you were already showing off now two more of his offsprings. 

The vision of his large body shivering and slightly shaking with pleasure made you breathe out low and touch your thighs, gripping your flesh to control yourself. Toji’s hands met your hips, keeping you still for him again, before he pressed your thighs down, the obscene mating press making him growl.

“We’re going slow, for now.” He spoke up, teasing you while brushing the red tip against your wet cunt. “I’m gonna appreciate my sweet, little wife. Only when you cum around me, I’ll fuck you senseless. Deal?”

“Deal.”

His voice was clouding your mind, barely letting you notice how much he was holding back for your sake, and could only go back to your senses when you felt him moving your chin to face him properly. With his left hand, Toji massaged your clit, increasing the pleasure you felt when he pushed all his girth inside slowly, opening your wet folds around him. Feeling you pulsing, your husband knew you were ready for him, already shaped for his size and his only, he smiled when his tip reached your soft cervix, your sweet moans filling his ears when he pushed out and back inside. 

“That’s s-so good!” 

“Yeah? Your pussy is so warm right now, ‘luv. All tight around m-me.” He had his eyes closed, leaning to whisper in your ear. “Fucking missed this so much!” 

Your hands finding balance on his shoulders when he started his thrusts, the massive size making room for itself in you, his hips moving smoothly back and forth against yours, hitting your spots, pubes rubbing against your sensitive clit over and over and over. 

“T-Toji! Fuck, oh my-” Your voice was melting in your throat while he didn’t stop, body covering yours easily, grunting and moaning too close to your ear. “Y-Yes! Feels so- good!”

“Feels too- damn good for me, too, mama.” He was affected by your words and tightness around his girth, and not stopping meant going faster. Harder. Even if he wanted to keep it easy for you. 

He didn’t want to hurt you, no. Never his sweet, little, pregnant wife, but each thrust felt harder and rougher than the previous one, making you moan louder against his ear, fueling his fire. It was too hard for him when your cunt tightened uncontrollably around his throbbing length.

Looking down, he used the visual stimulation of your pussy swallowing his dick to move more tenderly against you, leveling his need to fuck and make love to you. It made him burn in fever while he drowned in the pleasure taking you both. 

“Ohh-h! To-ji! E-easy, love!” Your hands moved to his shoulders again, leaving red marks on his skin while your body was being flooded by that ecstasy. 

“Keep goin’, mama.” His rough voice continued, soothing you. “That’s right, cum for me again, yes.” 

Your husband kept his harsh and fast thrusts, just how it made you melt, controlling himself while his hips hit your body slowly. In the room, the wetness, moans and breathless whispers were echoing while he continued working through your orgasm, taking more reactions from you. 

“Breathe, doll.” He asked, kissing your forehead while trying to not apply pressure above your stomach. His kisses move down to your neck and breasts again. “That’s it… Can you handle one more?”

“Y-yeah… I think-”

“You can.” Toji cut out, kissing your temples on both sides. “Hold still.”

He moved you in a soft motion, helping you get on fours and placing the pillows under your chest, keeping your hips up for him. A small slap on your ass was all the warning you got before he started pushing himself into you again. Your hot walls taking his size, making the man pulse with his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling. 

Holding your hips tightly to keep you in place, he moved his own, the speed perfect for both of you, stealing moans and gasps. Opening your eyes, you looked at him from over your shoulder, noticing Toji staring down, amazed, his mouth half open, forehead sweaty with his disheveled black hair stuck. 

“No wonder why you hid your pregnancy from me, mama,” He started, not taking his eyes away while didn’t dare to stop pounding hard, hips hitting yours again and again. “If you just wanted me raw in this- fuck! T-Tight cunt, could’ve told me, ya’ know?” 

“T-That’s not-”

“Ha-ah!” Both hands pressed firmly against you, fingers digging against your warm skin. “Don’t lie to your husband, sweet thing.”

Your moan was low, choked, hands holding tight against the mattress and blankets, while you kept your eyes on him and called his name in a low, weak tone. Toji almost couldn’t handle it, too close to his own orgasm to think too hard about it, focused on fucking you like he promised. 

Faster

Harder. 

Pleasantly painful. 

“Toji- Please! It’s too-” You started, but he clicked his tongue, staring at your knitted eyebrows and teary eyes with a wide smirk. 

“Let me hear her, mama.” 

He placed his right knee on the bed, firm hands keeping you right where you were, not allowing your escape. With a pleased groan, he pushed in roughly again, your body jolting with the contact. His focus was on his movements only, bringing pleasure to both of you while hitting your sweet spots inside, heavy balls hitting your clit, reddening your skin. 

You moaned for him, mixing with the sounds of your pussy welcoming his dick. The bed hitting against the wall at each thrust, and his grunts and moans out in the open for you, the swearing escaping from his lips and the twitch of his length inside made you clench, your velvety walls more wet, spasming while cumming, calling his name.

“Fuck, sweet! She’s s-so warm!” He grunted. 

The never ending praises taking soft moans from your overstimulated cunt, the lubrication helping him slide in and out fast and faster. Your broken moans led him to another wave of pleasure, this time shooting his thick, whitish seed inside you.

“Hah! Yes… Always so- damn good f’me.” He breathed out, now moving slowly, edging himself while leaving every drop in.

Your hearts were beating rhythmically, fast, and you could only calm down when he pulled out, both hands on your thighs, keeping them open to watch his seed escaping, thick fingers rubbing your clit and pulling it back inside. 

“Ngh! Toji!” You cried, hips shaking, making him laugh. “Too much already.”

“Only because I don’t want you too tired, ma’.”

The man moved to lay on the bed, carefully pulling you closer, resting your head on his chest and kissing your forehead. Both arms wrapping around you, keeping you close. 

“How do you feel?” Your husband asked, staring back at you, hands moving, rubbing your thigh and shoulder. 

“Tired.” Your voice was quiet, an aching body soothed by his soft touch. “I need a shower.”

“We both do.”

“Don’t move.”

“As if I could.”

Leaving bed, Toji walked towards the bathroom, taking some time there, before he came back to you. Carefully, the tall man wrapped you in his arms, calculated steps guiding you towards the bathroom, a sweet perfume filling the place as he slowly put you in the large bathtub, warm water embracing your body, relaxing your muscles. 

Soon, he joined too, staying right behind you, hugging your torso and bathing you, spreading water over your arms and shoulders and massaging your skin with the liquid soap. That silly smile never left your face. 

“I love this side of you.” Your voice made him look at you, the beginning of a smile in the corner of his mouth, that little scar charming as always. 

“Just being better for my little family.” He shrugged, still washing your body first, knowing you would most likely sit on his lap to pay back. “Now a big family.”

“Yeah… We are now six. Eight, counting Shiro and Kuro.”

“I’m gonna need one of those ugly large cars.” He had a false pained tone in his voice, making you chuckle lightly.

“A minivan.”

“Hell no. Don’t torture me, it’s my birthday.” His response made you laugh, shaking your head at his drama. 

“And you’re already graying…” 

“That’s an illusion. You’re tired.” 

“You are! Look, right here.” You tried to point it out to the side of his hair, the few gray and white strands already being easily seen. 

“Shh, poor thing, you’re exhausted. Go to sleep, mama.”

His attempt in gaslighting made you laugh, moving back to relax your head against his chest yet again, stopping the teasing for now. You would let him have his happiness during his birthday, he certainly deserved it.

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[waynes-multiverse]

Polaris – Chapter 2

Series Summary: When Beau Arlen moved to Montana, he left behind a past he wasn’t proud of. But when a series of murders requires the FBI’s help, Sheriff Arlen‘s ghosts come back to haunt him one by one. With a wrong turn waiting at every crossroads, it’s hard to make the right choices and find his way back home – back to you.

Pairing: Beau Arlen x FBI Agent!Reader

Warnings: 18+, flashbacks to past relationships, awkwardness, mentions of cheating

Word Count: 6.1k

A/N: Jenny and Cassie should come with their own warning 😂 Probably the lightest chapter of this series. Just some getting-to-know fun (& tons of awkwardness on all sides). Enjoy the peace while it lasts 😉

Series Masterlist || Main Masterlist || Tag List

Chapter 2: No Signs, No Compasses

Motel coffee sucked. It was a well-known, globally accepted fact.

You had tasted enough of those in your career to know it wasn’t even worth a try at this point. Thus, finding a good source of caffeine became sort of an adventurous challenge on every work trip. Back in Houston, you had your spot and the server knew your order by heart. Here, in Helena, you were new and still had to navigate your way around.

In search of a decent cup, you passed a sign on the highway and entered the Blue Fox Diner. It was a bit on the outskirts of town, but, frankly, you had no idea where the border truly ended. Everything was damn far apart from one another, the only houses which adjoined were the ones on Main Street USA. That was it.

The diner was bright and comfy, giving you an immediate welcoming feeling of home-cooked food and a good roast. Your first sip of black, delicious liquid confirmed it – this was your spot.

“Special Agent Y/L/N?”

Your head snapped up from your cup of joe to a female voice, recognizing the blonde deputy from the Sheriff’s Department yesterday.

“Deputy Jenny Hoyt, right?” You gave her and her friend a smile as the two women sat across from each other in a booth by the big window. You could tell by their curious and mischievous looks that your spectacular entrance wasn’t lost on them.

Great…

“Uh, yeah. You wanna sit with us? Heard you’re staying for that serial killer case,” Jenny said and offered you a seat next to her.

“Sure.” You accepted her invitation without hesitance, knowing you had to get over the awkwardness at some point. After all, you had to work together, and you wanted to get it out of the way rather sooner than later. How did you so gloriously fuck this up in the first place? You usually were professionalism personified – someone J. Edgar Hoover would’ve been proud of.

Right. Beau. There was your answer.

“Cassie Dewell,” the other woman introduced herself and shook your hand as you slid into the leather seat next to Jenny. “I’m a private investigator in town. Special Agent Y/L/N, was it?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve passed by your agency. Nice to meet you,” you said, smiling. “And Y/N is fine.”

“So, how do you like Helena so far?” Cassie asked curiously, although you caught the underlying question between the polite smiles. ‘How do you like our sheriff so far?’

However, you weren’t going to make this easy for them. “Well, uhm, not seen much aside from my motel, the Sheriff’s Department, and this diner. Coffee’s great, though.”

“Leave it to Donno to brew a decent pot,” Jenny muttered with a bitter huff and rolled her eyes.

You threw her an inquisitive look, partially amused. “You don’t seem to be a fan.”

“Oh, it’s about the owner, Tonya. Jenny doesn’t like her,” Cassie explained.

“Then, why exactly are you here?” You were happy the conversation steered clear of you. For now. You knew this bliss and peace wouldn’t last forever. They were just warming you up for the Spanish Inquisition.

“To keep an eye on her. She used to work for a cartel,” Jenny replied.

“Before she went legit and became a real estate agent,” Cassie added.

“Legit my ass,” the blonde huffed. “Pretty sure she stole those fifteen million…”

“She did help us with Gigi,” Cassie countered, which didn’t seem to convince the blonde too much. “And that whole Avery situation.”

“Well, you know, you could always tip off a rivaling cartel. Might get rid of your problem,” you suggested jokingly. “I have a few contacts.”

Jenny’s lips curved into a delighted grin. “I like that idea.”

Cassie snorted, laughing. “Yeah, nice.”

“So… you and Beau are… dating?” Jenny questioned quite forward.

And there it was. The one you’d been waiting for. You sighed internally.

“Jenny!” Cassie chided and threw her friend a look over her directness as the blonde mouthed back an innocent “What?”

Your cheeks blushed slightly, but you were all about being direct as well. You cleared your throat, tapping your nails on the table. “It’s fine. After my more than embarrassing entrance, I deserve the third degree.”

“Good answer.” Jenny smiled encouragingly, making you feel a little more at ease. They weren’t aiming to claw your eyes out; they were just curious about you. If the roles were reversed, you’d be as well.

“And it wasn’t that embarrassing,” Cassie placated your nerves. “Trust us, me and Jenny had our fair share of drama. You’re good.”

“Well, I’m glad, I guess…” You let out a relieved chuckle, hoping you wouldn’t stay the small town gossip for long. “And, uh, to answer your question: No, we’re not dating. He’s a nice guy, but it’s nothing like that. We just go way back, and I guess old habits die hard.”

And boy, was that true. Beau and you had once been inseparable. It still felt weird to think about that now you weren’t and hadn’t been for a while. Your heart still ached and longed all the same. That stupid, useless feeling of missing him. He was cut out of your soul, but the phantom pain remained.

Jenny nodded and shared a look with Cassie. “Honest. I like it.”

“Me too.” Cassie’s mouth formed a smile of agreement and reassurance. “So, how long have you guys known each other?”

That was when the cop portion of your chat started. You hadn’t expected anything less, but you were determined to keep it professional and, most of all, shallow. Chitchat and oversharing were more Beau’s territory, but it certainly wasn’t yours.

“About ten years.”

Jenny nodded pensively, thinking about her next question. “You worked a cartel case together, right?”

“Oh, a few cases over the years, actually. I’m stationed at the FBI field office in Houston. Used to work Narcotics before switching to Major Crimes,” you said.

“Hence the serial killer here,” Jenny filled in.

“Can’t believe we’ve got another one,” Cassie remarked with a huff, shaking her head into her coffee cup.

“Oh yeah, right! Heard about the Bleeding Hearts Killer at that campsite.”

You remembered a newspaper article about it. Occasionally, you did still check up on your ex like every sane person would. You even followed him on Social Media, although all he ever posted about was fucking trout fishing. But that same news article had also informed you about Beau leaving his early retirement in the rearview mirror, being referenced as the acting sheriff on the case. It almost seemed like a weird coincidence that one of your active cases would lead you right to him not long after. Cosmic jokes and such.

“Yeah, Sunny and Buck Barnes,” Cassie provided.

“Cassie is actually dating their son,” Jenny told you, smirking at her friend.

“Yeah, we’re not that official yet,” Cassie deflected but noticeably blushed. “You guys need any help with your serial killer?”

Jenny looked at you, knowing you were the one who called the shots now.

Nodding, you twitched your shoulders. “Sure. The more the merrier. More female eyes might even help, considering we’re probably dealing with a woman.”

Jenny cocked a brow. “A female serial killer?”

“It’s rare, but our profiler sure thinks so. As do I,” you confirmed.

“Oh, this just got interesting.” Cassie grinned, intrigued. “We sure never had that one before.”

“No, we did not,” Jenny reiterated, chuckling.

“What didn’t we have?”

Beau’s gravelly voice startled you from behind, but you tried not to let it show. Of course, you’d run into him. It was a small town, after all, and this diner was probably the only place to get good coffee. Avoiding him was not only improbable, but it was an impossibility.

Beau was a good man. But the truth was that he was more than the Southern-charming, bad-dad-jokes, never-shutting-up sheriff everyone had grown to love in Montana. There was another side to him. A side that defied authority, broke rules, and caused trouble. A side you knew better than anyone.

“Female serial killer,” Jenny supplied with a grin.

“Really? A woman?” Baffled, the green-eyed sheriff lifted a brow and looked at you.

“Why, you think a woman can’t do it?” Cassie challenged him with a teasing grin. You knew there was a reason why you immediately took a liking to her.

You watched Beau purse his lips as he struggled for an answer. You had a feeling he had to do that a lot with these two. It almost seemed unfair.

“No, women can do murder just fine. Especially you three,” Beau retorted and then circled the booth with his finger, sipping his coffee. “The three of you bonding is my nightmare.”

“Oh, c‘ mon.” Jenny snorted in amusement.

“Yeah, we’re harmless,” Cassie added.

“Right… Who are you tryna fool here, huh?” Beau chuckled and scratched his beard. “Mind if I sit down?”

“Sure, hop in,” Cassie said and offered up the seat next to her.

“Yeah, I was about to head out anyway. Have to call my supervisor with an update,” you excused quickly and stood up before Beau even sat down. “By the way, I have eight boxes of files in my trunk. It’s gonna be a fun afternoon for us.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to it,” Beau said, trying to remain professional, even though you could tell he was bothered by your abrupt exit.

You, however, weren’t ready to face him yet and spend a whole afternoon with him. You needed more time… and space. Which was hard, considering you two had to work a case together.

Hard but not impossible.

“Oh, uh, Beau, that’s not necessary. Cassie offered to help, so we have enough hands on deck for now,” you said innocently and tried to hide your astute smile as best as possible. “I don’t wanna keep you from your sheriff duties. I saw the giant pile of files on your desk. But I’ll let you know when we need you.”

Admittedly, that was a little mean. You knew how much that man hated paperwork.

Defeatedly, Beau pursed his lips and overplayed his loss with a sour smile. “Yup, alright… thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You grinned and didn’t care he knew exactly what you were doing.

“Hey, Y/N, you know, uh… it’s kind of a tradition to buy a round of tequila when you first arrive in town,” Cassie noted with a smug smile.

You matched it, amused, although you could smell an ambush from a mile away. “Oh, yeah? Well, that’s a tradition I can get behind. Where and when?”

“Tonight? Bar called Boot Heel around eight o’clock?”

“I’ll be there,” you accepted the invitation. “But just a heads-up, pouring tequila into me isn’t going to make me open up more.”

“Really isn’t,” Beau confirmed wryly.

“Dammit,” Cassie sighed in feigned disappointment but grinned nevertheless.

Jenny coolly shrugged it off. “Was worth a shot.”

Beau watched you leave with dread in his heart. As soon as the glass door fell closed behind you, he let out a longing sigh.

“Alright, what did you do?” Jenny’s voice ripped him from his thoughts. The blonde crossed her arms over her chest and arched a brow.

He had almost forgotten they were here, too.

“Yeah, she’s been barely here twenty-four hours. That’s fast, even for you,” Cassie chimed in with a teasing smile.

“Okay, I didn’t do anything, alright?” Beau defended with a creased brow and a bark in his voice, but his curiosity soon got the best of him. He leaned in closer, resting his elbows on the table. “Why? Did she say somethin’?”

“Yeah, he stepped in it,” Cassie commented dryly and looked straight at Jenny, taking his question as a confirmation of their theory.

“Yup.”

Beau rolled his green eyes, his patience already thin after the sleepless night he had. “Alright, did she say something to you guys or not?”

Cassie sighed. “No, she was very… courteous.”

Jenny nodded in agreement and shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, she kept it professional. Said you were nice.”

Beau felt a surge of relief. “Well, that’s good, right?” he asked but watched both women shake their heads with pursed lips. “It’s not-… it’s not good?”

“Nope.”

“Nuh-uh,” Jenny retorted, “You don’t wanna be called nice. Not in that way, at least.”

“I don’t?” Beau cocked his eyebrow at the two, feeling rather confused at this point. “So, what’s the verdict?”

“Depends on what you did there, cowboy,” Cassie taunted him with a grin, which was mirrored by Jenny.

“Oh, I’m not telling you guys,” Beau huffed, shaking his head. Contrary to popular belief, he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

“You’re not talking for once?” Teasingly, Cassie popped an eyebrow at him.

“Must be bad then,” Jenny finished the thought. “Did you-, you know… cheat with her on Carla?”

Perplexed and slightly offended, Beau furrowed his brow. “What? No! Nothing like that. Carla and I were already separated. As in papers served and signed… I’m a very loyal-commitment kinda guy, alright?”

Beau didn’t want to admit his answer might have been a slight overcompensation on his part. While it’s true that he never cheated and would’ve never even considered it, he wasn’t without faults, either. There had been certain feelings towards you fermenting in his stomach, slowly but surely festering in his heart before he even knew what was happening and could put an end to it.

“That sounds like she was your rebound,” Jenny pointed out.

“Yeah, and casual,” Cassie threw in.

“No, it was nothing casual, alright? And she wasn’t my rebound,” Beau replied with an exhaustive breath. Jesus, did you get the third degree as well? At this rate, he should consider himself lucky if you were still in town by tomorrow. His head was spinning. “I mean, if she was my rebound, I was hers, too.”

Dammit, he said too much. He knew the two women would take that piece of information and run with it over the mountains of Montana, probably even making it over the border to goddamn Canada.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jenny questioned as expected. “Is she married? I saw the ring on her finger.”

“Yeah, looked like a wedding band,” Cassie mused.

“Okay, Sherlock and Watson, enough, alright? She’s not married,” Beau replied, but only to save both your reputations. “It’s a sentimental thing. There’s a lot of history there.”

“What kinda history?” Jenny’s knitted brow practically stared at him.

Beau grew tired of their interrogation and dragged a palm over his face, leaning back in his seat. “It’s complicated.”

The two women then shared an inquiring look that held an entire conversation, knowing their interview had run its course. Beau wouldn’t answer any more of their questions.

“Want our advice?” Cassie offered.

Beau hesitated for a moment, puckering his lips in thought. He was desperate, and they could smell it like coyotes. “Alright, lay it on me. What d’you got?”

“Nothing.” Cassie twitched her shoulders and met his annoyed glare with a pleased smile.

“Yeah, see, you actually have to tell us first what happened before we can help you,” Jenny elaborated.

“Alright, I’m done,” Beau said frustratedly, tapping his knuckles on the table once as he rose from his seat.

“Oh, Beau, c’mon, we’re just messing with you.” Cassie chuckled softly and looked at him apologetically. “Fine, you want our advice? Apologize.”

“For whatever you’ve done,” Jenny added.

Pensively, Beau nodded and clicked his tongue. “What if I’ve done that already?”

“Do it again,” Jenny advised simply. “Until she hears you.”

“Yeah, get down on your knees, you know,” Cassie deadpanned. But as Beau suspiciously eyed her at the particular word choice, she burst into laughter.

“Nice.“ Jenny joined in, tears stinging the corners of her eyes as the two clinked their coffee mugs together for a toast to their cleverness.

Beau chuckled out of sheer uncomfortableness, his cheeks flushing embarrassingly red. “Oh, you two are hilarious… I’m heading to work,” he grumbled. “You know, you might wanna join me if you wanna keep your job, Hoyt.”

With a sigh that resembled a yawn, you stretched your shoulders and spine as you got up from the uncomfortable wooden chair in the Sheriff’s Department. You checked your watch and noticed it was already past 2pm.

“Alright… you guys want something for lunch? I’m buying.”

Technically, the government was buying, but you would take any chance you could get to make yourself a little more popular with your colleagues. Jenny, Cassie, and Deputy Poppernak (who told you to call him Mo and started looking you in the eyes again after you brought him a sandwich and a coffee this morning) then gave you their lunch orders, and most importantly, where to get it. What you didn’t expect, though, was Beau appearing behind you out of nowhere after he had locked himself (pun intended) in his office all day and had given you your requested space.

That courtesy apparently was over.

“I’ll come with you,” Beau announced. And although his facial expression resembled a friendly, soft Golden Retriever, you detected the stern bite in his voice. He wasn’t going to be cast aside again.

Stubborn as you were, you still had to try.

“Oh, you don’t hav–,” you tried to interject, but he swiftly waved you off.

“Nonsense. You can’t carry all that alone. I’ll help. Part of the sheriff duties,” he said in his most neighborly tone and grinned triumphantly at you, beaming with Southern chivalry.

You huffed a sigh. Great…

Ignoring Beau Arlen was like trying to avoid air – it was impossible unless you planned on suffocating. Not even a fast pace could get him out of breath enough to stop pestering you. His voice trickled like slow poison into your mind. One of these days, it would infect your heart and destroy your defenses.

“Y/N, hey, can you slow down a little? I didn’t bring my marathon shoes to work, alright? Don’t make me write you a ticket for speeding!” Beau huffed behind you in a half-joking tone, chuckling at his own wit. “C’mon, I just wanna talk. Lord knows you already had your fun today.”

With a heavy sigh, you stopped in your tracks and turned to face him on the sidewalk, Beau almost crashing into you. He clearly hadn’t expected you to actually listen to him.

With a fierce glare in your eyes, you crossed your arms over your chest. “Look, I’ve got nothing left to say to you, okay? Can we just keep this civil?”

Beau pursed his lips but quickly recovered, offering you a charmingly desperate smile. “Well, lucky for you, you would just have to listen.”

You rolled your eyes and started marching ahead again, feeling Beau hot on your trail.

“Y/N, c’mon!”

“Dad?”

At that, both you and Beau spun around, recognizing the voice in an instant as Emily walked out of a shop.

Beau’s face immediately lit up. He gave her a tight hug, kissing her temple. “Hey, kid.”

“Aunt Y/N?” Emily’s face tilted in surprise, brow knitting as she noticed you and left her father’s arms. She greeted you with a bright sunshine smile.

“Hey, Em,” you said and happily mirrored her smile. You had always loved that girl since she was little. Something she wasn’t anymore. It had been a while since you’d last seen her. “Wow, look at you. You’re all grown. You look like you’re about ready to head off to college.”

“Don’t remind me,” Beau mumbled with a sigh next to you.

“Yes, please don’t make him cry,” Emily begged you, chuckling, but her look was still pleadingly serious. It made you laugh. You remembered how protective Beau was of her. It was endearingly sweet, which made it a little harder to be furious with him. “What are you doing in Montana? Are you visiting Dad?”

“Oh, uh, I’m here for a case, actually,” you replied, swallowing, and shot Beau a quick glance to check how much you were allowed to share.

“What kinda case?” Her brow furrowed as she looked at her dad with concern. It broke your heart a little to know that, whenever you were involved, Emily thought her father was in danger.

“Em,” Beau warned her softly.

You had figured he still refrained from talking about work with his family, not wanting them to worry unnecessarily. After what his daughter had been through this summer, you couldn’t really blame him.

“Right, sorry,” she said meekly and bit the inside of her lip.

“Beau?”

Every molecule in your body shuddered at the sound of that voice. God, you so didn’t want to do this right now. The last time you’d seen Carla, it didn’t end well. If you could, you’d teleport yourself somewhere else – preferably Hawaii.

Beam me up, Scotty!

Beau flashed you a glance over his shoulder that said pretty much the same thing – shit. With a thick swallow, he angled his face toward his ex-wife and forced an awkward smile to his lips.

“Hey,” he rasped, his throat drier than the Death Valley.

“Y/N?” As soon as Carla spied you, her brow arched and her features turned sinister. The unhappy surprise of finding you here was written all over her face. And if it hadn’t been, her words soon made her feelings for you abundantly clear. “What are you doing here? Wrecking more homes? At least you’re wearing clothes this time that don’t belong to my ex-husband.”

Yup. You hadn’t expected a warm welcome, but that even exceeded your expectations. You gaped at her, a bit speechless. Even Beau seemed temporarily at a loss for words and was taken aback. Only Emily looked the most upset and voiced it, too.

“Mom! Really?!”

Carla then looked apologetically at her daughter, aware of her inappropriate comment, her mouth falling open in shame. You knew it was a knee-jerk reaction.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” you retorted. As you spun around, you glanced up at Beau and touched his shoulder comfortingly, letting him know you were still here, even when you were mad as hell at him. “Call me when you’re finished here. Or if you need an alibi…” you muttered into his ear in passing.

“I’m coming with you,” Emily announced with a scowl over her shoulder at her mother. She hopped next to you and looped her arm through yours, following you inside the restaurant.

As soon as you and his daughter were out of sight, Beau glowered at his ex-wife and shook his head. “Really, Carla? Was that necessary? You know nothing ever happened when we were married.”

“I know, I know,” Carla agreed and sighed, clasping her temples. “I’m sorry. I really am… It just came out. I guess it’s just old wounds, you know? I was surprised to see her here.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Beau bobbed his head in understanding, smacking his lips. He hated everything about this and knew he could only blame himself for it. “I mean, c’mon, you two used to be friends once, right? What happened? You’d think after what you went through with Avery, you’d have a little more compassion for what she’s gone through.”

Carla pursed her lips and bit the insides of her cheeks, surely stifling a fiery comment. “You wanna know what happened between us? You did, Beau,” she snapped, but before he could open his mouth to respond, she heaved a sigh and shot him a remorseful look. “But you’re right. I’ll apologize to her later.”

“Thank you,” he said graciously as his shoulders deflated and passed the tension.

“What’s she doing here? Everything okay?” Carla asked, lines of worry etching her brow. It told Beau that she still cared about him, even if it was just a smidge.

“Uh, yeah. Just work. Serial killer,” he replied. Since their eventful summer, Beau tried to be more open and honest, keeping a clear line of communication with his ex. It was a step forward. “Three victims so far.”

“Serial killer? Again?” Carla raised her brow and scoffed. “I guess it’s good I’m bringing Emily back to Houston, then.”

“You still wanna do that?”

A part of him hoped they’d stay because he wanted to stay here. Montana had given him a fresh start. One that was much needed. Houston, on the other hand, was haunted and full of ghosts he didn’t want to face. He had been running from them for a while now, although they were slowly catching up to him.

But he also needed his family, his daughter. He wanted to be a constant in her life, not just a variable.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Carla sighed and looked a bit torn and helpless, which was rare for her. But Avery’s secrecy and death had done quite a number on her, and Beau supposed she was still working through a lot. “What d’you think?”

Beau thought it was ironic she was suddenly asking for his input, considering she didn’t ask for his advice the first time she took their daughter and moved several states away. But he knew better than to say that out loud, especially since he was partially at fault.

Rubbing his beard, your earlier words reverberated in his head. His daughter wasn’t a little kid anymore and would fly the nest soon, as much as he didn’t want to admit it.

“Maybe we should ask Em what she wants. I mean, she’s almost seventeen. If your work isn’t a factor, then maybe we should let her decide.”

Carla nodded pensively as if she was actually considering it. “Yeah, okay,” she agreed and let out a sentimental sigh. “She’s growing up.”

Beau’s smile carried a drop of sadness. “Yeah, she is.”

Surprisingly, his talk with his ex-wife went better than expected. He just wished things would be as easy with you. All he wanted was just a chance to make it right. He couldn’t screw up another relationship.

“Beau… For the record, I want you to be happy, okay? No matter how, where, or with… who,” Carla told him and gifted him a cordial smile that showed her sincerity.

He appreciated her words. There’d been bad blood between them. Divorce made people bitter, he supposed. But old wounds had to heal eventually, too.

As you stepped outside the restaurant with Emily, you flashed an insecure glance at Carla. You averted your gaze to Beau, holding up a big brown paper bag. “You ready? Got the food.”

Beau checked quickly with his ex-wife, who nodded, letting him know that they were done here.

Carla then turned to you and cleared her throat, and you were sure it took a lot for her to even look at you. “Y/N, I’m sorry about earlier.”

You nodded, accepting her apology. You’d never done anything wrong, but the situation was complicated. It was hard on all of you.

“It’s fine. We’re good,” you assured her and gave her a half smile. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, too. I heard about your husband.”

“Thank you,” she replied courtly and motioned for Emily to follow her. “C’mon, honey. Let’s go.”

“Bye, Dad.” Emily waved at her father.

Beau quietly watched his family saunter down the street before he glanced at you and offered you a clumsy smile. “Well, this went better than expected, right?”

You didn’t share his humor, however, and threw him a dark glare. You spun on your heel and trudged back to the Sheriff’s Department. “I have to get back to work.”

Beau exhaled heavily. This wasn’t how he had imagined his outing with you, wishing for a sign or at least a damn compass to show him the way.

March 2014

“Maybe it was the courier?” Beau suggested as he caught the pigskin before throwing it back to his partner across the desk. Passing the ball had become a ritual, helping them work through their case theories one by one.

“Nah, I don’t think so.” Randy shook his head when it was his turn. “What about the maid? She certainly had motive.”

A few more exchanges and tosses back and forth happened before you waltzed into the police station. Randy missed his catch, the football almost flying through the Captain’s window, but you gracefully caught it just in time and placed it securely down on the desk.

“Nice catch,” Beau complimented you, impressed.

“Hi, honey,” your husband greeted you and found your lips, kissing you deeply. You giggled and locked your arms around his neck as he pressed you into the edge of his desk.

“Geez, really? Get a room you two,” Beau huffed jokingly, making both of you laugh enough to stop your make-out session but not enough to detangle yourselves from each other.

“We’re newlyweds. We’re supposed to make you sick and scratch your eyes out,” Randy quipped with a grin.

Smiling warmly, Beau shook his head at the two of you. “You got married eight months ago. When’s that honeymoon phase ending, huh?”

“Never,” both of you replied in unison and started kissing again, causing Beau’s eyes to roll back.

“God help me…” He sighed dramatically.

His sigh of exhaustion was soon joined by a second one. “Ugh, again?” Carla asked as she stepped into the station and tilted her head at you and your husband.

“Yeah,” Beau confirmed, amused, and kissed his wife’s cheek. “How did that court case go?”

Carla exhaled a breath of fatigued annoyance. “Y/N’s buying drinks tonight. Thanks to her Oscar-worthy performance on the stand,” she replied as you grinned winningly at her. The two of you had a deal – whoever won a court case was inviting the other for consolation drinks. “You know, I’ve never seen someone so convincingly fake-cry during cross.”

“You’re welcome.” You smirked slyly. “My high school drama teacher taught me that. I think he would’ve been proud of me today. Those were real tears, you know?”

“Oh, the jury certainly thought so.” Carla laughed bitterly.

“So you lost?” Beau glanced at his wife. “I’m sorry, darlin’.”

Carla arched an eyebrow and knowingly crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you, Beau?”

“Nah, not really.” He laughed and said, “You did defend a tweaker who killed three people over a little bag of meth, so…”

“Well, I know better than to argue with two cops and a federal agent over the rights of American citizens,” Carla fired back.

Beau snorted in amusement. “Wow, okay. Y/N really pissed you off, huh?”

“Again, you’re welcome.” You beamed with self-satisfaction.

“Oh, you both are pissing me off,” Carla retorted jokingly and then looked at you, smiling. “I gotta get back to the office. I’ll see you at the bar.” She then turned to her husband, pointing a finger at him. “And I’ll see you at home.”

Beau leaned in to kiss his wife goodbye, but Carla already rushed out of the station before he got a chance. He heaved a small sigh, his eyes drifting to Randy and you as you giggled like two lovesick teenagers.

“I gotta get back to work, too,” you said as you withdrew from your husband’s lips. But then you noticed an opened case folder on Randy’s desk. Curiously, you tiptoed up and spied over his shoulder to get a better look at it. “Unless you two got something fun here…”

“Ay, hands off! That ain’t your jurisdiction,” Beau warned you playfully and stopped short of batting your hand away.

“C’mon, we’re stuck. She might be able to help,” Randy interjected with an innocent shrug and a puppy dog look.

Beau heaved an exasperated sigh and then smiled challengingly at you. “Alright, what d’you think, Special Agent Y/L/N?”

Grabbing the file, you leafed through it for a moment and then mused, “Hmm, couldn’t have been the maid. Her schedule doesn’t match time of death. But maybe it was the courier? There’s a theft ring hitting several states. They use bike couriers.”

Beau’s smile widened to a triumphant grin as he pointed a finger at his partner. “Ha! That’s what I said.”

“Alright.” Your husband groaned defeatedly. “Let’s check it out.”

“Oh, now you suddenly want to, huh? After the wife said it? That hurts, man,” Beau teased.

Randy shrugged smugly. “Yeah, well, she’s a lot smarter than you.”

Beau pursed his lips and nodded, hiding his smirk of amusement. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“Well, you guys have fun with this,” you said and kissed your husband’s lips one last time. “I have to get back to work. The tweaker Carla defended gave up his supplier in Brownsville. The DEA wants me to come down to Matamoros with them tomorrow. They think the guy is Gulf Cartel.”

Randy furrowed his brow, and you could see the concern shimmering in his eyes. “How long will you be gone?”

“Two weeks maybe?” You shrugged, not knowing exactly how long assignments sometimes could last. Worst case, you could even be undercover for a couple of months, and your husband knew that.

“So, we’re gonna have fun tonight?” Randy smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, resting his palms on your hips as he pulled you closer.

You grinned smugly. “You bet we are, baby. Bring the handcuffs home.”

“Guys, c’mon, I’m standing right here,” Beau complained and threw his arms up, making both of you laugh and blush.

“Alright, be careful,” Randy reminded you with a peck on your lips.

You nodded and then turned to Beau. “You’re gonna protect my boy here while I’m gone, Arlen? Have his back?”

“Yes, ma’am. With my life. Promise,” Beau said and smiled at you reassuringly, putting you at ease before you walked out of the station.

Randy let out a worried sigh as he watched you leave. He looked up when Beau patted his shoulder in comfort.

“She’ll be fine. She’s a tough one,” Beau said in an attempt to calm his partner’s nerves.

“Yeah, she is,” Randy agreed quietly before his teasing nature returned. He grinned up at him and quipped, “You couldn’t handle her.”

“Sure, I could! Have you met Carla?” Beau retorted as both of them fell back into a brotherly banter. “Trust me, once your sickening honeymoon phase wears off, you’re gonna be right where I am.”

“What, happily unhappy?” Randy sassed and cocked an eyebrow.

“Exactly,” Beau replied wryly, clicking his tongue.

“Nah, man, that’s not me and Y/N,” Randy stated with a surefire grin.

“Alright, lover boy, let’s put our courier in the hot seat. C’mon,” Beau grunted with a roll of his eyes and brushed off his feelings on the subject, although he began to doubt his own statement. He was admittedly a bit jealous of his partner’s relationship.

Maybe some couples were just happier than him and Carla.

Beau tossed the old football into the air and caught it again. With a thoughtful sigh, he placed it on his desk and sunk back into his chair, his palm still resting on the ball.

“You were right, man. Who would’ve thought…” The sheriff clicked his tongue. A knock on the door ripped him from his trance, his green eyes darting to the visitor.

Jenny carefully peeked her head inside and checked on him, “You okay there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured her. He didn’t bother to form a smile, though.

She pursed her lips, clearly not believing him, but nodded her acceptance. “You wanna join us at the bar? Might give you a chance to talk?”

“Uh, yeah, but you girls go ahead. Still have a few things to finish up here,” Beau said.

“Alright.” Jenny gave him a small smile, but she didn’t leave yet, her hand resting on the doorknob. “You know, when I first saw you with Carla, I thought I had it right. But this-… this is an entirely new look.”

Beau grimaced. “Shut up.”

Jenny laughed lightly. “If you love her, you should tell her.” Beau only shot her a deadpan glare, to which the blonde raised her hands in capitulation. “Alright, just sayin’…” With that, she closed the door behind her again.

Beau’s eyes then landed back on the football on his desk, smacking his lips in thought. Sometimes the guilt was eating him alive, burning him from the inside out like acid.

“You’d be okay with this, right? I know you’d want her to be happy,” he verbalized his thoughts out loud, hoping it would give him some clarity. He wasn’t sure, however, if he was just saying it to alleviate his own guilty conscience and justify his actions.

“I think I could really make her happy, you know? At least, I’d try,” Beau said. Two fingers rubbed his mouth as he spun on his chair and glanced out the window to the dark sky and the stars above. “C’mon, man, I just need one small sign…”

Chapter 3: Pour The Whiskey

More glimpses into the past and maybe some much needed talking coming next week! Let me know all your thoughts in the comments, loves 🤍

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[ancha-aus]

Ghosts & Medium Au Drabble - Exorcism Backfire

I am back with this one :D Mostly because I felt like it :3

Last time we left our.... Heroes. Killer joined Dust and ash on their trip. The only one happy about it is Killer! :D

Dust figures a quick trip to the priest should solve this right?

Right?

Warnings: Killer's flirting. And very pointed sexual comments. also whatever is going on between dust and killer probably requires a warning so Kist.

*----------------------*

Dust grips the steering wheel harder as Killer keeps making comments.

Ash groans and leans over his shoulder "Please tell me we are almost there."

Dust nods to confirm it. They are almost at the location Dust had been aiming for.

The last week had been... challenging. Killer would not shut up and Dust had woken up so many times with Killer just haning ove rhim and staring. Only to get a comment about how sweet he looks when he sleeps and how Killer wishes he could touch him.

right.

Fucking weird.

Dust also has not seen Ash that enraged and pissed since the whole coach situation.

Dust at first tried to exorcise Killer himself. It isn't like this is the first time he got haunted by another ghost after Ash got noticed. But Killer for some reason could not be removed.

Dust fears it has to do with the fact Killer anchored himself to Dust's soul. Much like Ash did.

Which means they will need a bit of a stronger ritual.

Killer leans against the chair and shoots him a grin and wink "I may be dead but you are drop dead gorgeous. How about we go out? Make a date of it."

Ash is seething beside Dust and Dust goes back to the unual answer "Not interest. Also not possible as you are a spirit."

Killer grins and waves it off "Our love will conquer that with time!" he grins and wiggles his eye brows "I may not have a body to please you but i am sure we can work something out-"

Ash covers the sides of his skull as he speaks loudly "LA LA LA LA LA NO ONE IS SAYING ANOTHER WORD ABOUT MY BROTHER IN THAT SITUATION LA LA LA LA"

Killer pouts at Ash "What a prude. Come on! I can make him so happy and loved and pleased-"

Ash starts shouting louder "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA"

Fucking hell Dust hopes this plan will work.

He breaks hard and his little van stops right before a building. "We are here."

Killer blinks confused and pulls a face at the religious symbols "Kinda a downer of a place for a first date."

Dust starts walking towards the enterance "This isn't a date. this is an eviction."

Killer appears in front of him and looks very serious "I am not leaving you."

Dust just keeps staring at the other unimpressed "Yes you are. That is the eviction part of the deal."

Killer pouts and shakes his skull "nuh-uh! I can't leave my mate!"

Dust sputters nad glares as he feesl very embarresed "We are not mates."

Killer grins "We will be! With time! I will proof it to you! One date! Come on please!"

Dust shakes his skull "No. you are getting evicted." and he moves closer towards the enterance.

Killer mutters and pouts as he follows him.

The building is empty and Dust searches the area. He knows it is late but there should always be at least one priest available...

"Dust!"

Dust looks up and smiles in greeting "Hello Cross."

Cross rushes to his side and looks excited "Are you finally ready to let me help you make your brother move on? To move on yourself?"

Dust shakes his skull as Ash hisses. Dust speaks "Nah. I am here to get you to evict the other ghost."

Cross frowns but mutters a quick spell as he holds his own holy symbol and he opens his eyes. Now both glowing with magic. He yelps and takes a step back when he sees Killer leaning very closely to him.

Killer looks Cross up and down and nods "okay okay. I can admit he is a looker." he grins at Dust "so how do you want to do this sweetheart? Want to fuck him while I direct him? the other way around? Him just staying quiet while i speak instead to pull up the illusion I am pounding into that sweet-"

Dust glares and know she is blushing "Shut up! You are getting evicted!" he looks at Cross and ppoints at Killer "I want him gone yesterday!"

Cross isn't looking much better and looks deeply flustered but nods "Right... right... the problem... eum... If you only want one gone... that means a specific ritual and wlel... a circle."

which means that Killer needs to get into the right circle for it to work. Shit.

Killer clearly realises it too as he happily grins and floats around him "Yeah no. You are not getting me into any circle! I must prefer to stay near my future husband." and he blows a kiss into Dust's direction.

Dust looks desperately at Cross as Cross looks though books and he mutters "There are some rituals... I think I know one that could work but he still needs to be in the right spot..." even as Cross says this he starts drawing it out in chalk in the ritual area.

Dust glares at Killer and Killer just grins back.

Dust points at the circle he needs to be in "You are going into the circle."

Killer huffs "Why would I? Seems like a stupid idea seeing as I want to stay wth you."

Dust groans as he rubs his skull thinking "What do you want in trade for it?"

Killer just brightens up at that "A date! Full date! I get to plan it!" and he grins.

Ash mutters "What an idiot.. once he is unlinked there is nothing that will make him able to find you." Dust just waves his bro off and hopes Killer didn't hear him as he nods at the poltergeist.

"Okay. You go into that circle and let Cross complete the ritual. After it... I will go on one date with you." Dust hopes that the ritual will make Killer move on as well but his freedom form Kilelr in trade for one date is not the worst.

Killer cheers and happily floats into the circle "Be quick church boy! I got plans to make!"

Cross looks at him with pity but Dust just shrugs. Dust sits down in his spot and studies the circle. Huh... looks weird and unlike the exorcism circles he uses.

Cross starts to pray and mutters the spell as the circle lights up.

A bright light blinks Dust.

Dust blinks open his sockets and looks around. Killer is gone.

Dust grins and jumps from his spot "Cross you did it!" one check around him also shows that Ash is still be his side. Ash looks cheerful as well.

Then Cross turns to him and- that isn't cross. what-

'Cross' grins and hugs him "Dusty!"

Wait he knows that voice!!? Dust stares with horror at Cross's body "Killer?!"

Killer hums happily and nuzzles his skull "You are so light! Oh this is amazing!"

Dust looks around the hall and sees Cross's spirit hanging in shock above them.

Dust stares "Waht did you do?"

Cross looks panicked "I don't know?! he... he stole my body?!"

Killer at this point has let go of him to poke and prod at his stolen body. seemingly interested in getting to know it.

Dust looks from one to the other and eyes the door. Ash agrees and mutters to him to make a run for it.

Cross glares at him and appears before him "don't you dare!"

Dust throws up his hands "what do you want me to do?! I came to you because you should know more about exorcisms than me! And look at where we ended!"

A loud whistle and Dust, Ash and Cross both turn to look at Killer. Who is looking into Cross's pants which is lit up wiht magic "Nice assists!"

Cross makes a very curious sound beside him "Don't look at my bdoy like that! Knock it off you weirdo!" Cross appears to be trying to hit Killer but with hsi new status can't hit the other.

Dust ends up leaving the hall. Best just... go while he is busy.

Sadly it didn't work.

In the end Killer got Cross's personal wallets and IDs and stuff. And quickly got to Dust's van and get in.

So now his van counts. Him. Cross nad Ash floating and making light discussion in the back. and Killer in Cross's body in the byrider seat.

Dust stands before the red light. waiting it to turn green.

Killer grins at him "So. about that date..."

Dust just lets his skull fall on the steering wheel.

*----------------------*

So no. Dust's problem was not solved. He just has an extra party member and body switch shenenigans going on.

[nochuelinha]

Chapter 8: Race Against Time

After leaving Kamski's house, silence filled the car as we drove back to the department. Each of us seemed immersed in our own thoughts, reflecting on the intriguing encounter we had just experienced.

I glanced at Connor in front of me, noting his serious and concentrated expression. It was evident that he, too, was processing Kamski's enigmatic words, trying to connect the dots and figure out what they might mean for our ongoing investigation.

The scene before us was disheartening. The FBI had already taken over the site, which meant our hands were temporarily tied. However, this did not diminish our determination to continue our investigation and seek the answers we so desperately sought.

I looked at Hank, and I could see the frustration written on his face. He was clearly annoyed with the situation, and I shared that sentiment. We needed time and space to scour the area for the right clues. Perhaps there was a loophole in the FBI's operations that we could exploit, or maybe we had to search for clues in less obvious places.

"You two go to the evidence room and search everything we need to get a clue. I'll distract them," Hank said as he walked towards Agent Perkins, being arrogant and inconvenient. Connor and I rushed inside as fast as possible, but I caught a glimpse of Hank punching the agent. Hank was doing his part in the plan, and I just hoped he could keep Perkins busy long enough for us to do our job without interference.

I looked around the room and saw a scene that left me speechless: all the bodies of the androids we had found during our investigation were there, arranged as if they were pieces of a macabre puzzle. It was a disturbing sight, but at the same time, it was confirmation that we were in the right place to find the answers we were looking for.

I walked cautiously among the bodies, examining each one in search of any sign that could provide us with a clue about what had happened. Every wound, every detail, could be crucial to understanding what was behind these heinous crimes.

Connor, by my side, shared the same sense of urgency. Together, we meticulously examined each body, searching for any evidence that could lead us to the culprit of these terrible acts. It was hard work, but we were determined to get to the bottom of it.

I heard footsteps outside and a characteristic whistle; it was Gavin. I looked at Connor urgently, whispering for him to keep searching. Carefully, I left the room and came face to face with the unbearable Detective Reed. His eyes sparkled with a mixture of disdain and arrogance, as if he were about to provoke or cause trouble.

I maintained my composure in the face of Reed's provocation, responding with a slight smile and a calm tone of voice: "The pleasure is all mine, Detective Reed. We're all here to do our job as best as possible, aren't we?" He looked at me as if I were an alien, and I held back a laugh. "Reed, I know our interactions in the past may have been a bit tense, but maybe it's time to put that aside. Perhaps we can find a way to understand each other better... in a more... personal way." I couldn't believe those words came out of my mouth. As I expressed these words, I felt a mixture of nervousness and determination. I knew that seducing Gavin Reed wouldn't be an easy task, but I was willing to try anything to get him out of my way at that moment. My voice trembled slightly, but I kept my gaze steady, hoping to see some reaction in his eyes. I was surprised to see Gavin's smile, indicating that he was falling into the trap I had prepared. It was an unexpected turn of events, but also an opportunity I couldn't let slip away.

I approached Gavin with a confident smile, capitalizing on the momentary success of my tactic. He seemed receptive to my words, which gave me a sense of control over the situation. Skillfully, I began to steer the conversation towards more neutral topics, keeping him entertained while making sure not to reveal more than necessary. I tried to convince him to go for a coffee or a drink, but then he put his hand on my waist.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, let's leave it for another time," he stepped away from me. Well, I had no other choice. Before he got too far away, I elbowed him in the face; he looked at me, his nose bleeding. Without hesitation, I delivered a punch straight to Gavin's face, using all my strength. The impact was solid, echoing in the room. His body rocked with the blow, and he staggered backward, holding his injured face, "YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY ?"

I tested my luck and left. As I walked away, I could hear Gavin shouting behind me, probably enraged by my attitude. I kept walking without listening to him. When I reached the main hall, Hank was being handcuffed; Agent Perkins seemed to have a broken nose. Everything was chaos, and I felt my arm being firmly held by Gavin.

My muscles were tense, my heart pounding hard in my chest as I faced the pressure of the situation. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, and my gaze frantically searched for an escape route. Gavin seemed even more furious at my attempt to resist, his eyes flashing with anger as he tightened his grip on my arm.

"You'll pay for this, S/N!" He growled, his voice laced with threat.

I stared at Gavin firmly, trying to hide my own apprehension behind a determined expression. Despite the fear swirling inside me, I wouldn't allow him to see weakness in my eyes.

"Bring on your threats, Gavin. I'm not afraid of you," I replied, trying to keep my voice firm and controlled, even in the face of the tension spreading through the room. I saw Connor stealthily leave the department; I sighed in relief and turned to face Reed, then spat on his face.

My action was instinctive, a mixture of anger and disgust at Gavin's words and actions. I knew my actions could have consequences, but at that moment, the satisfaction of seeing him bothered by my response outweighed any other concern.

Gavin was shocked for a moment, his wide eyes reflecting his surprise at my reaction. For a brief moment, silence dominated the room as everyone watched the scene in astonishment.

Then, Gavin exploded in fury, snarling threatening words as he tried to wipe the spit off his face. I stood my ground, keeping my gaze locked on his, refusing to show any sign of weakness or regret.

I just hoped Connor had found something.

[snuggerudism]

warnings car accidents and severe injuries under the cut. please don’t read if this triggers you.

takes place december 2024

it was snowing, and it was snowing hard. jimmy had been trying to convince teagan to not go to work, because their classes had been canceled for the day, deemed not safe to drive or walk to classes in the storm

“jimmy, we’re already so short staffed, i have no other choice but to go. plus, i really need this money, plus the tips.”

“please tee, it’s not safe. i really don’t think it’s a good idea. nobody’s going to be at the restaurant in these conditions.”

“i don’t want to argue about this jimmy. this is my job, and i can’t lose it,” she rests her hand on his cheek, cupping it. “i’ll be home by 8 tonight. my shift is short.”

he gives one final attempt at convincing her to stay home, with hallie and him. “please don’t go tee.”

she sighs, but hallie interrupts her before she can get a word out. “no go mama.”

she sends a look jimmy's way for saying those words and getting hallie to. she bends down to hallie, fixing her daughter's hair. “mama’s gonna be home right before you go to bed sweetheart. i love you.”

she kisses hallie’s cheek, a smile coming to her face when her daughter kisses her back. “wuv you mama.” she waves.

teagan turns to jimmy, pressing a kiss to his lips as his hands fall to her waist. “i love you tee.” he mumbles, forehead against hers.

“i love you so much j.” she kisses him once again, before grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

__________

everything happens so fast. the light had turned green, and she had gone straight, like she was supposed to. the two cars collide, and teagan screams before everything goes silent.

she can feel her body start to shake, blousy seeping out of a gash in her head, and the various cuts that the glass shattering had created. she was gasping for breath as her car flips, beginning to roll off the main road. there’s a cacophony of sounds that she can register until she starts to get woozy.

all she can think about is hallie and jimmy, screaming out their names in her head. she should’ve listened to jimmy, and none of this would’ve happened.

the sirens start to get closer as everything around her goes black, and her head hits the steering wheel.

__________

teagab had forgotten her apron, and jimmy knew she would get yelled at for not having it. it’s not snowing out anymore, so after having elise come to watch hallie, he bundles up and starts to brave the ten minute walk to her work.

he sees an ambulance and fire truck speed past him as soon as he steps outside into the cold. he shakes it off, figuring someone must’ve swerved off the road due to the snow.

he sees them stop in the distance, and he lets curiosity take over him when he’s closer. he pauses when he sees the car. that’s the same car teagan has.

he sees a girl being loaded onto the stretcher, and he just knows it’s her. his fear is confirmed when he sees her work uniform pants.

“sir, you can’t be here.” the firefighter stops him before he gets closer to teagan.

“that’s my girlfriend, what happened. is she okay? tee?” he rambles, yelling for her.

the man’s face softens at jimmy, sighing. “look kid. i’m gonna be honest, she’s in rough shape. i can’t tell you exactly what happened to her, but i’ll let you go in the ambulance with her.” he moves over so jimmy can move into the ambulance.

teagan is not awake, and there’s gauze wrapped around several parts of her body as the emt’s work on her.

he lets out a choked sob, reaching for her free hand and pressing several kisses to it. “please teagan, please be okay. hallie needs you,” he blinks away tears, letting out more sobs. “i need you,”

all he can think about is her, and how he’s going to explain this to hallie.

“teagan, i’m so sorry i got mad at you, please wake up. i need you here, i can’t do any of this without you. i love you so much, please don’t leave me or our bug.”

[justsomestoicguy]

The Red Means I Love You

It's been a week since my ill-fated slip-up with Stain. 

He left things off on a "let's continue this another time" note. But it's the kind where he purposefully tries to steer away from the topic.

And honestly? I'm grateful we haven't resumed that convo, because I am far from ready yet.

But on a lighter note, I managed to escape my group's wrath with the 'ol "family emergency" excuse. 

Well… mostly.

Tanaka gave me hell for ditching the project and my work. I had to play the sympathy card hard, claiming, "Family's complicated, you know?", knowing damn well she wouldn't buy it for one bit. But hey, it was enough to keep her off my back.

So now, I've settled into a routine: Ops on Tuesdays and Thursdays—schoolwork and friends the rest of the week. 

Oh, and keeping in touch with Stain through a burner phone. Very secret agent-y, if I do say so myself.

Today, I'm back at the 2nd Training Corps, which apparently only consists of Toga and me for now. 

I had some suspicions about why Stain placed me here with her, and they were immediately confirmed when Stain mentioned Scourge left him a list of people to take in in case of a worst-case scenario (shrewd as always, Scourge).

He thought that, by extension, that also meant getting me close with said people, and so he did what he did and put me here.

It left me wondering, though, what other names are on that list? Dabi? Twice? Other "salvageable" members from the League of Villains?

Unfortunately, I couldn't ask Stain about it since he's too busy running the Ops. Dude's surprisingly competent. 

And as for Toga, well…

"Ran-kun!" she calls out, her voice bright and bubbly. "You done sweeping over there?"

I finish up the last bit of dust and lean on my broom, glancing at her. "Yeah, just about. Sensei'll have our heads if she finds a speck of dirt left."

Why are we on cleaning duty, you may ask? Well, because according to our very wise and very pretty mentor, Onibi-sensei (or just Sensei as we call her), "Discipline is the key to success."

Not quite what I imagined when I signed up for secret vigilante work, but hey, I'll take what I can get for now.

Toga skips over to me, her smile widening. "It's kinda fun, y'know? Doing this with you."

"Sure," I say, forcing a chuckle. "As long as it doesn't involve getting yelled at, I'm game."

We've been getting along pretty well, all things considered. 

Unlike me, Toga has happily left her old life behind. And while I know her reasons (thanks, MHA fandom), I'm waiting for her to tell me herself. Building rapport and all that.

But, of course, it's never that simple. 

Toga has a... unique way of expressing affection. 

Case in point: she pulls out a knife, eyes twinkling with that signature, unsettling glee. "Ran-kun…" she addresses sweetly, almost innocently.

Great. Just great. I sigh, trying to keep my cool.

"No, Toga-chan," I say firmly, holding up a hand. 

Her smile falters, eyes darkening with a hint of hurt. I quickly add, "You shouldn't just rush into people like that. It's not polite. You should ask nicely first if you want something from them."

She blinks, caught off guard. For a moment, I think I've made a terrible mistake. But then her face lights up with pure unadulterated joy. 

"Oh! Okay! Er, Ran-kun, can I taste your blood, please? Pretty please?"

Don't be so blunt about it!

Still, I reluctantly (though I tried not to show it) nod. "I—sure. But let me do the dirty work myself. And no drinking directly from me, okay?" I motion for her to give me the knife.

She pouts, clearly not thrilled with the stipulations, but agrees, handing me the blade.

I scream internally, grabbing a cup from a nearby counter and mentally preparing to make a small incision on my hand. 

C'mon, Ran. Just get this over with.

Angling the knife, I slice swiftly, drawing blood from the back of my hand over the cup.

Y'ouch.

It hurts, but I'm thankfully able to keep a neutral face. Toga watches with rapt attention, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

As the cup fills to about a centimeter, I pull my hand back and press some tissues against the cut. 

Toga snatches the cup and downs it all in one go, her face glowing with satisfaction as her eyes fluttered shut in apparent ecstasy. 

Shivers. Everywhere. 

Yeesh.

"So sweet," she murmurs. "God, you're so sweet, Ran-kun." Toga grins and clings to my arm with a dreamy look. 

"I love you sooo, so much!"

Ah, the "L" word. Here we go.

Gotta shut this down, fast.

"I don't like girls," I blurted out. If there's anything that can get her to back off, it's this.

She blinks in surprise before beaming again. "That's okay! I can turn into a boy for you!"

"No," I said instantly, "that wouldn't be true to yourself, now wouldn't it?"

That finally gives her pause, and she sulks. "Oh..."

"But," I continue, searching for the right words, "you have the cutest smile a girl could ever have, y'know? And your love for people is... intense, to say the least. Which I deeply admire."

Her face lights up again. "You really think so?"

"Absolutely," I say, patting her on the shoulder. "But you deserve someone who'll love you the way you love them. And that someone just isn't me."

She looks down, clearly disheartened, but I emphasize, "Don't worry, I'll still be here for you as a friend, okay? We're friends, right?"

Her face brightens once more. "Yeah! Friends!"

I chuckle weakly, inwardly sighing in relief. 

It's hard work being in good graces with Toga, but I'll put up with it.

She was one of my favorite characters in MHA, for one.

For another…

Having someone with her quirk—perfect for infiltration and espionage—on my side could be invaluable. 

Especially with the goal I have in mind.

Just then, I hear the door creak.

Geh—Sensei's back.

"Boss Stendhal!" 

…Now that catches my attention. 

I turn around and see Stain approaching us.

"Boss Stendhal!" Toga repeats, waving at Stain excitedly. "Ran-kun and I were just finishing up our cleaning duties!"

Stain nods. "Good. Discipline is important."

He then turns his gaze toward me. "Akako Ran, I'd like to have a word with you."

My eyes widen, and a smile begins to blossom.

"Are we finally gonna talk about it?" I ask, skipping as I walk toward Stain.

He nods again. "Yes."

"Talk? About what?" Toga chimes in, gaze flicking back and forth between Stain and me.

"It's confidential, Toga Himiko," he replies.

This makes her pout. "Fiiine," she drawls, huffing her way away from us.

I watch her leave with a chuckle. It's good that she didn't protest, at least.

"Akako Ran."

I glance at Stain.

"Let's go somewhere private," he states.

My nerves and excitement become almost too much for me to handle.

"So you'll hear me out on my plan?" I whisper, wanting to make sure.

Stain studies my face.

"Since it concerns the Hero Public Safety Commission, after all."

Heh.

My grin broadens.

—

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Chapter 1

[wouldduskwood]

Descendants of Despair Part 84

Methodical. Always methodical. I scanned every room, despite knowing that Jake had not spent much time in the vicinity. I couldn't afford to make a mistake. Not now.

My steps thudded through the building, sending clouds of dust into the air. It couldn't be helped. To try and muddy any evidence further, I spent some time running in various directions, standing on the footprints that were left behind, scooting my feet so that they were smeared and hard to read. It was a small act and probably made very little difference but it gave me something to focus on.

Leaving the loft that had been so temporarily Jake's home, a sense of finality hung in the air. The door slammed shut behind me, seeming to confirm this feeling. The closing of that part of my life. I cast one last look at the building then forced myself into the driver's side of the car, cringing as a hint of Jake's familiar smell assaulted my nostrils. Leaning against the steering wheel, my head in my arms, I took some deep steadying breaths then forced myself onto the road. If I were caught here with Jake's gear, then I risked being held as an accessory to the crime.

As the wheels hit the open road, I found myself driving without really thinking of where I was going. My head spun with all that had happened since I had made that fateful decision to leave Jake's presence. What I had thought would be our salvation had really turned into our destruction. I wasn't angry with him for getting caught, even after he had promised so faithfully he would remain safe. I knew that whatever had occurred, it would have been for some noble reason. Especially after he had decided on his future.

Eventually, I looked up and found myself at the small cottage that had been our first real home together. Bordering the Duskwood forest, it wasn't far from where I needed to be, but it still offered some privacy. Jake's belongings would be safe enough here and there was a chance that, if he were to be released, he would be able to find them no matter what happened to myself.

I unloaded the car, placing his set up back into the room it had once been in. Making a hasty decision, I connected it as best as I could and began scanning the strings of code that booted on start up. As my eyes scanned through string after string, I sat back with a start, realising just how much trouble he had been in.

A string of unfamiliar code met my eyes. The code that would terminate everything if an unfamiliar user were to enter the space. Including my only connection to Jake. Our phones. The only thing that had prevented this from occurring when I had stepped, almost carelessly now I realised, into the building that had housed his equipment was there was an emergency release that picked up on my phone signal and had disabled the process. Jake really did think of everything.

As I leaned back on my heels, I considered my options. My best guess was that Alan and his crew, potentially working with other agencies, had managed to get to Jake somehow. I had no doubt in my mind that they had used his feelings for me to manipulate him into their bidding. There was no way that Jake would have allowed himself to be taken from my life if that wasn't the case. At that moment I wished he had been able to come to me instead. We could have ran away together. Fuck Hannah and fuck the whole Duskwood situation.

I made a split second decision and switched off Jake's computer. In an attempt to conceal his equipment, I moved it all into a cupboard in the same room and piled a couple of our threadbare blankets onto it. Grabbing Jake's bag, I chucked it in as well. Then, semi-satisfied with my attempts at concealment, I left the room and drove the car behind the house. Nobody would spot it there. There were no neighbouring buildings - at least none that had any inhabitants - and it was surrounded by dense forest.

With one last look at the home that had been ours so briefly, I took off running into the night, heading back towards Duskwood. Towards Dan's and an unknown future. With each step, I felt the cold and manipulative person I was sink back into every pore of my being.

[the-trinket-witch]

A TWSTed Christmas Carol

(I don't know whether to put this as an entry to @bunnwich's Holiday Fan Event , only cause it's generally Holiday themed, not specifically Green One themed U_U CAN ALSO BE READ ON AO3 )

Azul Ashengrotto has always been a hard working mer. But will his drive for success cause him to lose his holiday spirit? Potentially more?

The Holidays were fast approaching, and such times sounded like easy money to be had at Azul's Monstro Lounge. Octavinelle typically hosted New Years, as most dorm denizens had to stay on campus over break due to 'inclement weather'. Of course for Nightraven College's Merchant of the Deep, any chance afforded to rake in more business was always welcome. Fliers had been plastered across campus of the Lounge's special holiday hours, which in itself drummed up a bit more business than usual. 

One such day, the final day before break officially let loose for Yule, found him holed up once again in his office. The piano that had been enchanted to play continued its tunes as backdrop noise for his accounting. A familiar voice rang out over the trill of the music; one of Azul's partners had momentarily pulled his focus from the pages. 

It's in the singing of a street corner choir

It's going home and getting warm by the fire

It's true, wherever you find love

It feels like Yuletide

A cup of kindness that we share with another

A sweet reunion with a friend or a brother

In all the places you find love

It feels like Yuletide 

It was nice to have someone more actively musical in his life than he was currently; it left more room on his shoulders for things to advance him financially. Said responsibilities didn't leave room, though, for him to seemingly enjoy the season as the rest of those poor unfortunate souls. He hadn't noticed the song having ended until the rap of knuckles on his door alerted him of company.

It is the season of the heart

A special time of caring

The ways of love made clear

It is the season of the spirit

The message, if we hear it

Is make it last all year

"Azul? Do you have a moment?" Albert asked. Always polite, he waited for confirmation before entering. "Still have your nose to the grindstone, Love?"

"Indeed. Last year was a resounding success in pulling in business over the holidays. This year's looking similar. Tomorrow's going to be our busiest day next to New Years, and I don't plan on letting a single mark slip by."

He passed a few sheets over: projections, estimates and the hours needed to make it happen. Albert sat silent as he perused, but as his brow knit the further he read, the more nervous the Octopus became.

"Dear, I may have missed it but there's no days off from now through New Years. Is that right?" 

"It is-but remember, again: it's a busy part of the year. There's no time to have downtime."

Hearing that dropped Al's expression from confusion to frustration. "You should at least have a day off. Most businesses are closed tomorrow for Yule, anyway. You won't be out much at all if you had even just a day to relax."

"Are you saying my business is non-essential?" A twitch of a smirk crossed Azul's lips, trying to steer the subject away. 

"You know that's not what I mean," Al replied, a bit more indignant than Azul would have liked. "I'm saying you are more essential than all the madol in the world. You look utterly exhausted. I had wanted to have you three over for dinner tomorrow but if you're not taking it off, then neither can I." He offered back the stack of sheets, now heavier with disappointment. 

"Well that's not fair." He was pouting now, another tactic with his partner to try getting his way. "I'll be just fine; and once I'm done with my shift tomorrow, the Twins and I can stop by-" 

Albert drew in a breath, trying to reel in his shaking from a scarcely-seen anger. Azul never liked being the source of his human's frustration, and like any other time, it made him feel about as minute as krill. Worse yet was he could pinpoint exactly what he'd said that put him in hot water, once it had passed his lips. If Albert's unique magic hadn't been time manipulation, it might have been being able to sniff out a lie. 'I'll be just fine' was one such lie that he'd grown keen on sussing out. It didn't take the bags under his eyes nor the smell of coffee replacing tea in his cup to see that. 

"No; if I'm coming in tomorrow with you, there won't be time even with an extra hour from me to make dinner. I have to go, though. I need to see what I can make for Yuu and Grim tonight so it's ready by tomorrow."

He disappeared in a blink before resuming time around himself to close the door behind him. Azul deflated back into his chair, his final tasks seeming more daunting without his previous gusto at his sails. 

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Kitchen prepped, drinkware polished, decor placed; the Monstro Lounge was ready to go for Yule. Somehow it felt…hollow as Azul turned in for the night. He periodically checked his phone, but why? Was he expecting Albert to text him? Debating on whether he should send a text? What would he even say? Why was he even worrying about this? It’s not like this dinner plan had to be tomorrow. But then…something roiled in his gut; he hoped it was just the coffee giving him indigestion and not something like guilt. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day, so he found it best to curl into bed to at least try sleeping. The sound of waves far above were a familiar, comforting sound, soon carrying him off to sleep.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Part of him hoped that whoever had the gall to demand his attention this late at night had heard his groans. He stumbled towards the door, grumbling a, “Just a moment,” as they knocked again. A thinly veiled look of contempt flashed on Azul’s face before one of confusion took over; Yuu leant into the doorframe, arms crossed and a sharp frown being the only visible part of their face not hidden by ringlets. 

“Ah, Yuu. What can I possibly do for you this very late evening?” He didn’t really care why, but it was always best to at least pretend cordiality to prospective clients.

“I think you know why I’m here.”

“Might it be a contract for your little Grim to at least pass with a C this semester?” At this point, being coy was more of a way to kick back against being awoken. 

“If a contract’ll get you to close shop tomorrow so you three can come over, then I guess-”

“Not possible. As much as I’d like to debate what you even might have as comparable collateral, Tomorrow is too big of an opportunity to miss out on. I know he’s concerned about me, and I’m sure Jade and Floyd’s added nagging is because of him, but he’ll see once everything’s been counted out that the added profits will let us do more extravagant things later. I just need him to be patient.”

“You do know he likes smaller kinda affairs, right? Like, his birthday, remember?”

While yes, he did remember, he also had wanted to keep in mind the preferences of the Twins, who leaned more towards larger types of parties. Yuu shook their head, tossing back their bangs waiting for an answer. They cocked a now visible eyebrow when an answer wouldn’t come, as well as let out a resigned huff. 

“Whatever, Scrooge. Not my relationship, not my dinner plans; just means Grim gets maybe another half a day of leftovers. Don’t be surprised if some Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present or Future show up or something. ‘Night.”

Yuu didn’t give Azul much time to further protest, or ask what a Scrooge or Christmas was before they disappeared into the dark Octavinelle halls. Well, at least they weren’t bugging him anymore and he could go back to bed. The clock ticked, tocked, ticked as his eyelids lost the fight to keep open, finally bringing him to sleep. 

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Azul had always been a light sleeper, so it only took a faint giggle in his room to jostle him back awake. Accompanying this giggle had been light flaps and squeaks of something airborne and battish. 

“Who’s-!”

He instinctively clamped his sheets to his chin at the sight of a familiar 3rd year floating at the foot of his bed: Lilia. Not in his typical Diasomniac wear, instead, the bat fae donned a similarly colored black and green Feileadh Mor, draping like wings over a festive red leine tunic.

“Ah, good. Lil Ashengrotto’s up~ Get any good sleep yet? Ya look a bit worn out.”

“Mr. Vanrouge, what’re you doing in my room?!”

“Hmm? Nah, I’m the Ghost of Yuletide Past. A little birdie told me you’re in need of a little bit of perspective~ Got a lil time to go on a fieldtrip? ‘Course ya do. C’mon.”

The spirit that only looked like Lilia floated a bit closer, a hand outstretched in invitation. 

“I have to be dreaming. No one’s ever snuck up on me before. This has to be a dream; there’s no other explanation.” His pale blue eyes darted back and forth from the fae’s, erm, spirit’s hand to his face. “I think I’m going to go back to sleep, thank you very much. And I’d appreciate if you locked the door behind you when you go.”

“Well, before you do, since ‘this is a dream’, You wouldn’t have trouble going along with this-?” The Spirit purred, before snatching the Octopus’ wrist, lurching him from his cotton sanctuary. In an instant the entirety of Azul’s room melted away to reveal the dark trenches of the Coral Sea. Not just that, but his human form had reverted to his more cephalopodic one. Oh to not have himself exposed to his upperclassman in such a way. This was turning into an outright nightmare. Seeing his tentacles again drew out a howl of fright, seemingly to the Spirit’s enjoyment. 

“Oh calm down, my fishy lil friend. C’mon, I got something-well someone-to show you~”

Like a marlin, the Lilia-shaped Spirit shot, still clamped to the cecaelia’s arm. Through the sea they swam, darting over cities and shanties alike under the sea. A familiar set of city lights eventually broke through the dark, ones that indicated he was coming home. And home was where they stopped. 

"Wh-what're we doing here? HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE I LIVE?" He demanded. 

The Spirit answered with a nudge through the door to a cozy mer home. No decorations had been laid out; most mer either didn’t celebrate Yule, or made not as much an extravagant display as their neighbors on land. Each room sat quiet, of course being the middle of the night, save for one small room, his room. The two floated up towards where soft, almost inaudible sniffling. They poked through the small doorway, finding it equally dark. Along the ceiling hung shells littered with scratches and scrawls, all hanging off of loose strands of net like some conspiracy mobile. Below the shells,  curled in a little black ball of weeping was a much younger Azul. It was a common memory for him, to lay in bed letting out his frustration in tears of ink. Ink that also laid out spells scrawled on the shells above him; testaments to his dedication to becoming better. 

"I don't know why you're showing me this. I know what my past was like, I see these moments everytime I got to sleep."

"Well, I'm not so much showing you just this, but to show what you'd been missing all around you."

The fae-spirit floated back down to where a larger, mauve cecaelia sat at a table, staring down in thought with a much more refined, troubled look. 

"I wish I knew how to help him. Cooking just seems to push him away, now. I can't just demand those children stop. Asking him to ignore them just seems to make them try even harder…."

She held her head, now even heavier with worry. It made Azul's hearts contort into knots. He wasn't surprised his mother wanted to help, but he'd been better for being allowed to figure his problems out on his own. 

"This…doesn't surprise me. If we're done I'd like to 'go back' so I can finally sleep." 

"Fufu, if you insist~"

The spirit once again took Azul by the hand to float back to the surface. His gaze turned back one last time, to see two long figures-eels-staring into his window. For a brief moment, he wondered if the look they seemed to wear was also concern, pity, or something else. They’d been watching him? Why? By the time he tore his gaze back, they had been fast approaching his room. His skin prickled at their speed;  fast, way too fast, he shut his eyes waiting for impact with the floor, only to bounce back onto his bed. 

Dark, quiet, Azul was once again back in his room-albeit with much more disheveled sheets and a singular heart beating at a hundred miles an hour. Breathe. He just had to breathe to settle down, give himself a second to collect his thoughts. This had to have just been a dream, or some fae magic he wasn't privy to, yet. The thought that his coffee may have been laced with…whatever Jade had brought back on his last hiking trip, while still concerning seemed a placating possibility. He just had to sleep off the supposed mushrooms and mentally note to have Floyd make the first pot tomorrow, instead. Once his heart rate was back to a more manageable level, did he try attempting to sleep once more. The sooner he could sleep, the sooner he didn’t have to think about the salty moisture dripping from his hair to the pillow, or the notion that his visit was more than a dream.

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

The mer tossed and turned; his bed was becoming way too uncomfortable to lay in. His gaze bore into the ceiling, now awake and irritated. First the bed lost its comfort, and now some growing chatter, clanging and ringing ebbed in from behind his door. Whatever forces were out to deprive him of even a wink of rest, he hoped they’d give up if he somehow could hide under his sheets. It was darker and cozier, anyway.

"Azul, what're you still doing here?! Come on! We got places to be, new horizons to pursue!" 

The shout made the mass under the sheets flail and kick and holler until it finally revealed the other housewarden, once again huffing for air. A quick smooth over his hair and retrieval of his glasses did little to polish up his image, or bury the floundering he’d done just moments ago. 

"Kalim," Azul took a sharp, 'calming' breath. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night, can this wait til morning?"

Standing as open and jovial as ever, was the Prince of The Scalding Sands: Kalim al-Asim. Or, at least, someone that looked like him. Whomever it was, had been dressed in a warm-looking red kafka and band of holly where a turban otherwise would have been.

“Can’t wait-all we got’s the present! More like ‘Ghost of Yuletide Present’, am I right? C’mon! There’s so many cool things going on, still; gotta catch it before it’s gone!” 

This particular ‘dream’ was already beginning to grate on the cecaelia’s nerves. He let loose that sharp breath of his, and defiantly tucked himself back under his sheets. If this was a dream, he’d just wake up from it in a moment and-

“Hey now, you’re gonna miss out on all the food-right guys?” Kalim asked.

Cheers rang out around him, and the waft of exotic spices and cooked meat flooded in with him under his covering. Azul’s gut betrayed any attempt he might have had at protest; it all smelled too good. He flipped off the sheet to be immediately accosted by a harsh breeze. Once his eyes adjusted to the gust he could finally catch sight of the enormous spread laid out along a tablecloth, resting on…the magic carpet? But as his eyes trailed further and further back, and the longer he saw the ornate rug stretch behind them with what seemed like all of Scarabia seated, the closer he came to realize just how high they were up in the air. A chill not caused by the wind ran down his back at the sight. On complete instinct he tangled his lankiness around the young prince for some kind of stability. 

“Get me down, get me down, GETMEDOWN!”

His panicking only seemed to incite another hearty laugh out of the Kalim-shaped apparition. “Hang on, then! Have a bite while we land?” 

This Spectre of Yuletide Present kept his jovial smile on as he rolled an apple down his arm in offering. While Azul did catch it, it was only a moment before resuming his clamp on the spirit for purchase. With a steady anchor, he caught glimpses of the world passing by below him. Any observers below could have seen the persian rug procession and mistaken it for a festive dragon floating through the Yuletide sky. But per request, their magic carpet ride had begun to descend. It wove through headstones and trees, gliding to a hovering halt at the front door of the no-longer Ramshackle Dorm. Oh how he wished it wasn’t here. He hadn’t prepared anything to say, to rebuttal, to offer in apology…

“Awe, that’s kinda disappointing. I thought he’d have done some more decorating. Wonder if he’s done anything inside…”

The Spirit mindlessly took a hold of Azul’s sleeve, leading through the door as if it hadn’t been there, or rather, as if they weren't even there. Inside immediately silenced the laughter and merry-making from the caravan of spectral partiers, but not for replacement with its own festive sounds. 

For a place still rather holey, the fire raging in the main den did a wonderful job in keeping the cold at bay. Its warm light danced across the furniture and garlands of festive colors. Something had clattered away in another room, the kitchen. Whatever was being made smelled wonderful, and again his gut protested being teased with only the scent. He had to know what was being concocted. Azul instead took the lead towards the source of the smell and noise, giving the door a nudge open. 

Inside, Albert had finished washing up before laying protection over a dressed turkey and resting it somehow in the fridge. The smell, though, had been attributed to a tray of cooling ramekins of creme brulee. 

"There. At least it's done and ready to bake. I better put instructions out for Yuu. Maybe they'll invite Malleus' crew over instead of them going out. Are they even here? -sigh- If anything, once it's done tomorrow I can bring some prepped plates over after,” he murmured to no one, as he covered the ramekins and laid them also to rest over the turkey. 

Albert sat, finally done prepping, to begin scribbling down instructions to cook. His brow scrunched once in a while as he thought about something, and as Azul approached, he saw the detail of his instructions. Even Grim had a possibility of being able to follow them. He didn't care at this point whether his partner could see him or not, he just desperately wanted to tell him sorry. He rested a hand to his human's shoulder, but something seemed to come over Al in that instant. The human under him blinked, and immediately fell asleep, but only for a moment before jerking back awake. Azul had seen it happen before: micro-sleep. It meant that this wasn't the first night he'd spent sleeplessly. 

Al just rattled, frustrated again and rubbing at already red, raw eyes before thrusting out of the chair to find something-anything-to wake himself up. Squats, stretching his crackling back, checking his phone, he settled eventually to pace across the lounge. Azul merely followed with the Spirit behind, now, watching him make lap after lap. Certain spots were not tread on, which made Azul assume they must have been creaky boards. Eventually even that wore out its effect on his wakefulness, landing him on the sofa. From there his attempts to keep himself awake began to falter. A weak rub against his legs, running hands through his hair; eventually he just seemed too tired to even do that. He gave one last glance back to the doorway, the one Azul and the Yuletide Ghost took up, and for a moment the mer wondered if he had actually been seen. And with it, Albert eventually succumbed to slumber.

Azul curled his arms into himself, knowing that peaceful look on his partner’s face was only temporary. 

“Take me back.” Azul demanded. He wasn’t going to just sit there and let this dream make him watch his partner wrestle awake from his own nightmare, especially if there was nothing he could do about it.

“Yeah, I gotcha,” The spirit said, but sounded much older, more mature, than the one Kalim he knew. 

Azul turned to see why, only to find a much older, wizened Kalim curled in on himself with age. It gave him a start, but reminded himself it was all just a dream. The old spirit led back out to the carpet and banquet. Upon coming back to view, the patrons, food and merriment all but dissolved into sand, only to blow away with the winter wind. He didn’t know why he looked back to the now even older Kalim for some explanation, but his query must have been easy to read on his face. 

“Sorry to cut things so short, but that’s the present for ya. Sooner or later the future just becomes ‘now’, and then even that’s gone. Ya might wanna hurry back if you don’t wanna catch your-” The spirit’s words faded away as his form did, too, disappearing into blowing sand. 

Now alone, there was no option in this supposed dream other than to get back to Octavinelle and hope he’d wake up this time. It seemed as if the wind had it out for him, what with it blowing directly against him. He could hardly see anything, let alone the open grave so haphazardly laid just off the path. One moment his foot hit solid snowy ground, the next: open air. 

Down, down, down he fell; roots flew by too fast to grab, and nothing else offered itself as some form of ledge. His eyes closed, he didn't want to see the bottom come up to greet him, or how long it would take for it to do so. This seemed to be the end, if not to this dream, then more regrettably, his whole life.

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

But a worn sofa ended up being his landing pad, not frozen grave dirt. Azul painfully bounced on the cushions before finally coming to rest. He clamped onto the seat to give his heart a chance to come down out of his throat. Once he finally had a chance to process the danger having passed, could he get stock of his new environment. Not a grave, but a living room, equipped with Ignihyde-blue accenting from the TV, coffee table, and sofa itself. 

"Greetings, Foolish Mortal, hehe" a voice hissed behind him. 

Azul whipped around to find a pale face behind a simple dark hood, famed by shoulders trembling with giggles. He seemed more 'Dungeon Master' than 'Spectre of the dreaded future'.

"I-Idia?" Great, the dream wasn't over yet, it seemed. 

The hooded figure eeped, "N-no! -ahem- I'm:

'死の恐怖: ユールタイドの未来の亡霊~!'"

A blue blush flooded the hooded spirit's face; he seemed to have practiced rather hard on the execution of both the pronunciation and pose he flexed stiffly into. All of it in vain against a very unamused octopus' scrutiny. 

"-sigh- Th-The Ghost of Yuletide Future," he clarified. "OK ok, look: let's just get this over with. Here ya go," the spirit moaned with a lazy plop of a controller into Azul's hands. "Also, in case ya get any ideas~"

Azul let out a groan of protest, making the controller groan in turn with his octopod grip. The Idia-shaped ghost flipped the television on before the octomer got any ideas about up and leaving. On the screen flashed an ornate purple script, 'Azul: The Game'. Underneath were the only options to check the control scheme and Continue. With no other choice, he pressed to continue. A quick chime and he was off.

The graphics were very well rendered, it was almost eerie. His first-person perspective let him maneuver through a house he didn't recognize. He thought the decor was quite tasteful, something he could imagine a future home of his own being decorated like. A photo on the nightstand of himself between Albert and Jade caught his eye-they all looked still rather young. A series of frames lined a wall with his now-larger collection of coins; Jade let his terrariums fill space on shelves all over. His perusing led him down the hall, finding it also modestly decked with distinctly individual tastes that somehow came together nicely. The den had, of course, a piano he'd recognized as Albert’s family's own. A small dining table took up the space across from the den, on which neatly piled papers were beginning to skew and a starched, rendered Jade. The model had been filling out papers when the option to allow Azul to interact appeared. 

"What a time to go, Dear. Hardly a wonder Albert disdains this part of the year. It's getting late; he's probably off shift by now."

Jade wrenched himself from his seat, leaving the unreadable paper alongside a newspaper clipping. Hovering over it allowed him to interact with that, too. The script of the image flashing on the screen only offered a picture and the beginning of an obituary. 

"Azul Ashengrotto

Azul Ashengrotto, 30, of Altus, Shaftlands, died suddenly December 18th due to heart complications. The young restaurateur had established……"

"What?! No, that's not fair! I'm right here!" Azul about chucked the controller in defiance of what the screen had read. "So then, am I controlling my ghost? Someone else?"

"That's the neat thing about this game: it doesn't tell you," the spirit of Yuletide Future smirked. "What do you think you're seeing right now? Good ending? Bad ending? True ending? Only the devs know."

>Stay Here

This was such an 'Idia' answer. Azul went back to steering the camera towards the door, to follow Jade. The options when touching the door only offered:

>Follow Jade

So much for options. Taking the only logical path, he was greeted with a momentary loading screen. Out of the dark screen came a serene, but no less chilling sight. A cemetery blanketed in white, noiseless in its crystalline batting. Headstones stood straight and proud, cockeyed and crumbling, or simply hid much like the bodies they marked below them. Simulated snow crunched under his perspective’s non-existent feet as he trekked along the path. Where was Jade, though? Tire tracks weren’t of much help, plenty of vehicles seemed to have come by recently. A hushed voice could be heard, but it was difficult to follow. 

“Sorry, I know you would have wanted to have the Lounge open today, but…I just can’t. It all just makes me think of you. I keep thinking I hear you, and I know it’s not. I should have led a better example-maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

Once again, he could hear Albert’s voice. Closer and closer he came, the white ground making way for kicked up dirt and packed snow. Azul had finally come face to face with it: a plot of freshly dug dirt now packed back into place, and a modest headstone with room for two more names. Albert had been kneeling next to it talking to, assumedly, the contents of the grave. His face had been flushed red, raw with grief and the biting cold. This was only a game, but by the Seven, he just wanted to reach out and hold him, tell him he was right there. All Azul could do was position the camera down, to try prompting an interaction. Pressing the button to react, sent things into a cutscene. His hands reached out to hold his partner’s face, who seemed to react to his voice.

"Albert, I'm here. Please-I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

It only made him withdraw further in to try containing more sobs. A car squeaked to a halt on the path further off, revealing Jade. The rendered figure strode over to rest his own arms around their simulated human. Game or not, he didn't want any of this to happen; he didn't want to die so young, he didn't want to be cried over…His frustration made the controller creak with the pressure he'd put on it. He felt so helpless as his character just sat there as the credits began to roll and his partners began to walk away. 

"That's. NOT. Fair!" His fists beat on the coffee table, punctuating his words. "I did everything right! There has to be something…" He began pacing, wracking a quickly frazzling mind for some solution.

"You ought to slow down, you'll work yourself to death. Heh, 'work yourself to death', PFFF," the spirit mumbled, seeming to be enjoying Azul's squirming. 

"What?! I'll show you!" 

Azul whipped back at the ghost with a fist reeled back. But as he turned to sock him, what greeted him wasn't some Ghost of Future Yuletide. A skull, jagged in tooth and wreathed in blue flame, stared back. It made no indication of pain as the momentum carried Azul's fist into its jaw. The sight of it sent a frigid chill down his back. It began to advance closer, a hand now stretching out to grab him. Each step the blue-clad pile of bones made, Azul would take one back. It came a hair away from touching his cheek, if it weren't for the coffee table knocking into his legs and tripping him backwards into it. 

His teetering sent him slamming onto the table, breaking it open, and once again sending him back down down down into darkness. His descent had been much quicker; cold hard wood bashed up against his back before more planks began to surround his front. Trapped. Dark, cold and alone, this would have been a comforting place similar to his octopot, if it weren't for the coffin shape surrounding him along with the smell of 6 feet of dirt on top. All that came out were screams, pleas and knocks from within the box. He beat against his confines for however long, his tears all but dried up. Before his exhaustion won out, he weakly pressed his face against the lid, some kind of last plea for release. But the lid hadn't felt like the rotted wood he'd been pummeling, but cool white tile. 

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Cool white tile that only Octavinelle's dorms had. Azul’s eyes fluttered open once more to find himself facing the floor. His back arched uncomfortably, legs hung over the side of the bed, and every sheet had been utterly rumpled. While it was uncomfortable, he didn't consider moving until his eyes had fully registered where he was, on some off chance shifting might send him back to where he was. But, when all seemed calm, did he finally chance to peel himself off the floor. 

Stretch, lean, shake off the nightmarish remnants of sleep. He flopped back onto the bed, he wanted to re-register the sensation of his sheets, the tile, his nightwear. As he recognized each texture, and giving his heart a chance to slow, a knock came at the door. The knock was only a courtesy as, quickly after, the door burst open with Floyd dashing in. The eel must have been quick about waking and entering, what with his disheveled hair and pj's. 

"What's up? Where're they? Who needs a squeeze? Eh? Azul, you okay?" Floyd demanded.

"We heard quite the commotion coming from your room and wanted to see what all the fuss-omph!"

Before Jade could finish, their boss hand wrangled the both of them into a tight hug. 

"That must have been quite the nightmare," Jade finished with a quiet hum of amusement. He smoothed over his partner's hair, relishing his affection being leaned into. 

"Yes-yes it was. What time is it?" He soon withdrew to better compose himself. 

"It's like…a lil after 6.00, why? What're ya missing?" Floyd asked. His face drooped a little as his partner retreated.

"Then he might not be here yet. I still have time. We need to hurry and get to Pentergeist, quick. There's a few things I still need to bring, I need dressed…"

His scattered organizing was interrupted by Floyd’s sigh, "On top of opening the Lounge?  Ehhhhh~ isn't he comin' over anyways?"

"Exactly why we have to hurry. We have to catch him before he gets over. Well? Go on, get ready."

Floyd groaned, reluctantly turning back to go change. But, his face immediately began to light up at the note Azul wagged in the air as he plodded towards the Lounge. 

Anyone attempting to enter the Monstro Lounge would, instead of being greeted by eels, be greeted with a notice in a handwritten notice tacked to the door:

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

"The Monstro Lounge will be closed on Yuletide, due to unforeseen circumstances. Business will resume regular hours 12/26. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

-A. Ashengrotto"

Albert had a rather long night, prepping what was supposed to be a Yuletide meal for his partners and more to send off with Yuu as salvage for whatever they were met with when attending Malleus and company’s dinner invitation. The same nightmare that had plagued him for close to two years now had made its presence once again. But instead of being startled back awake from its familiar events, a knock jostled him from sleep. He almost forgot about his journey to the couch, now a bit thankful that he was closer to the door. But he wasn't expecting company. More over, looking at the clock showed he needed to hurry so he could make it to help opening the restaurant. 

"Just a moment!" He called. 

Al creaked for the door, both from the floorboards as well as his own chilled joints. Whoever was at the door, he hoped it was quick so he could-

"Happy Yule, Dear," Azul declared. His presence only received a confused look in response. 

"Oh, sorry. I must have overslept, if you're coming to get me. Give me a moment, I'll-"

Albert wasn't able to finish, immediately being swept into another of Floyd's squeezes. Both twins erupted into peals of laughter, most in part from their human's even more confused expression.

"You're not goin' anywhere, Kajiki~"

"And neither am I," Azul added. 

"I-I don't understand. Don't we have the Lounge to open?" Al asked. 

"It seems Azul has had a change of heart since last night. I'm a bit curious as well what's come over him. Not to say I'm complaining," Jade noted. 

Once Floyd came to release his human, Azul took to swooping in, grasping at him desperately close as if he'd disappear. Nothing mattered in that moment but the real, waking tangibleness in his arms. With just the twins to watch, he felt no shame holding Albert to take in everything from the bristle of his hair, to the faint wood smoke smell on him, to the subtle beat of his heart in time with his own. Al was more than happy to reciprocate, just content to bask in the moment. 

"So then…?"

"Yes. We're having today off. I'm so sorry for just dismissing you like that. I've…come to realize how much you just want to look out for my health. Just know I plan on doing the same for you. All of you," Azul sighed.

"Eh? Is Azul gettin' all sappy now?" Floyd teased, poking at his cheek. 

"No! I'm just stating my new year's resolutions early!"

"In any case," Jade interrupted, "while we are cold-blooded, it is dreadfully chill out. Won't our Gracious Host offer us inside?" 

"Of course," Al smiled. 

Everyone gathered in the modest little kitchen to begin their dinner prep. Drinks were passed, snacks chewed through like the logs on the fire, and a very specific set of cooking instructions Azul would ignore, having seen them once before. He had to feign surprise at the small custard desserts, but found himself anticipating them all the same. Everything slowly came together in the freshly renovated dining hall, when a knock rang out. 

"Happy Yule~ Little Yuu here invited Malleus over. They also seemed to extend the offer to the rest of us; might we come in? If I'd have known sooner, I could have made a better cake, but I think this'll work in a pinch," Lilia announced. Yuu took up the rear of the procession of human and fae. A quick glance towards Azul, they gave both a surprised but welcoming smirk. 

Before long, the table had finally been set, drinks passed and everyone sat down. Good thing, it seemed, as Grim had been getting antsy and taking chances to sneak a bite before the rest. Yuu took Grim into their lap as everyone else but Azul seated. 

"I'd like to thank everyone for being here today. I understand it's a busy part of the year for everyone, but we come together like this…to give ourselves a chance to slow down." It was a bit difficult for Azul to keep himself composed. "While yes we have to work the rest of the year, time is a more precious commodity than anything. So we have to spend and invest it wisely. Thank you."

To that, everyone raised their glass in agreement. 

"A Merry Yuletide, everybody!" Grim hollered. 

[cloveroctobers]

DECEMBER PROMPTS ❄️— 2. Angel Reyes

Prompt: “the car is stuck.” + “are you telling me we’re stranded?”

Warnings: just the usual banter with one of our fav men

*************************************************

“the car is stuck.” Was actually the sentence that pissed you off.

The second was getting confirmation that you would now be stranded out here in the boondocks in the middle of the night with your idiot of a boyfriend, Angel Reyes.

You thought your night went pretty well, spending Christmas Eve with your family and Angel back in your mountain of a hometown. Angel was more excited—at the start to bond with your side of the family and see you in your element, ignoring the fact that this whole ordeal was “pretty serious,” Ez’s words not his that he was doing this. When Angel loved he tended to love hard, majority of his previous relationships were temporary but they still had meaning…somewhat. With you it never felt like that and you made sure that if Angel really wanted to give it a go then you were going to put in the work.

You laid it all out on the table for him while you downed a whiskey and him a beer, which was something he admired. You were always a sharp shooter and not here for the bullshit. You knew how to put Angel in his place and he knew how to give you the love that he desperately wanted from someone.

The both of you just worked despite the common knowledge that you tended to be at each other’s throats, that was the way you expressed your love to each other—verbally. So why did it take half an hour into the ride back to santo padre for Angel to lower the radio and let out a dramatic sigh as the car glided over the snow covered road?

This was the third time he lowered the radio while you were getting your jam on to each track from your Spotify playlist and this was the last time you realized he was doing this on purpose. You tapped the screen on your phone and then tapped it again to silence the music, deeply you inhaled and rested your head back against the headrest.

“Something on your mind, Angie?” You clasped your hands in front of you as you stared out the window shield.

Angel felt his eyes tick to give you a side eye knowing that nickname was only used when he was beginning to get irritated by you, “I don’t know querida, you’re the one playing Ashanti and Sza, so you tell me.” 

You held up your finger and shook it, “nope we’re not doing this back and forth. Just spit it out.”

Angel shifted in the drivers seat and pinched as his nose as he switched positions to grip the steering wheel with one hand instead, “that guy at your parents house.”

“There were a lot of men at my parent’s house, you’re going to have to be a little more specific.” You glanced at your festive nails, being patient with the man beside you.

Angel clenched his jaw, “that ol’ smug bastard who started the soul train line in the living room and decided to pull you in to be his partner. Your cousin Ronnie told me y’all used to be a thing back in the day?”

Amusement was in your eyes as you glanced at Angel who was already looking at you briefly, “Ronnie’s just jealous that Kai used to wash his ass on the court so he’ll say anything to stir the pot when it comes to Kai. It’s their light beef.”

Angel hummed, “maybe so but why did Ronnie feel the need to bring you in on it when he knows that I’m dating you?”

You sighed, “I don’t know that’s just Ronnie talking out of his ass. Kai and I had a crush on each other back when we were like twelve- thirteen? Then I went away to camp and came back to find him dating Julissa—girl who lived across the hill from me. That was my first heartbreak actually.”

“…i knew I should have drop kicked his ass.”

You laughed and fanned your hand, “we’re whole adults now and definitely moved passed that.”

Angel was quiet before he decided to ask, “what if you decide this holiday season that you suddenly come to terms that he’s the one you want instead? You know? like those corny movies where the main character realizes they had or can have something better with someone else?”

That’s when your stare burned into Angel’s face and he could actually feel himself sweating in this moment. With shaky hands he reached the knobs again to turn the heat down and this time you didn’t argue with him on the temperature.

“Are you fucking Emily?”

Angel almost slammed on breaks at the accusation, “why would you say some wild shit like that to me?! I would never and Ez and I never go for the same type, believe me.”

“Then don’t say stupid shit like that,” you ordered, “stop trying to push me away by thinking you’re not good enough for me. I don’t want Kai, he’s for real like family at this point.”

‘A family member that you used to like as a kid,’ Angel thought to himself but decided against saying that.

He knew he could be insecure in relationships and day in and day out you always reassured him that there was nothing he needed to be worried about when it came to you. It was one of his flaws that he was still dealing with, his own baggage that he was trying to heal from and you didn’t judge him—not even once.

“…Okay.” Angel found himself whispering as he sat up trying to gain some confidence back.

You uplifted that as you reached over to scratch his beard, “I love you, Angel Ignacio Reyes. Not some dude named after children of the corn. I still love you even when you get piss all over the toilet seat when you decide to leave it down—

“Aye, whatchu bringing up old shit for?”

You scrunched up your lips, “you just did it the other day right before we left to come up here! Why do you think I threw a balled up sock at the back of your head?”

“That was you? I thought that was Hilda?” Angel held his mouth agape.

“Who?” You quirked up a brow.

Angel smirked, “my side ghost girlfriend that stays at your place sometimes, I named her Hilda.”

You held up your hand not bothering to dig dipper into that with this man who laughed as he reached over to bring your hand up to his lips. You welcomed his kiss to the back of your hand with a playful scrunch of your lips before intertwining your hands. Angel’s hands were always much bigger, sometimes clammy, and rough against yours.

The small moment was cut short once you felt the car struggling to carry on. Your heart was in your ears as you heard Angel start to complain almost mashing on the gas more but you knew this car hasn’t sound right in a couple of weeks now. You already had PTSD with cars especially riding in them in snowy conditions due to a car accident you were involved in at sixteen. Angel knew this and yet as the car began to rattle on, the wheels glided on a slick spot in the road and that’s when you began to scream.

Thankfully the car only slid sideways over towards a ditch on the opposite side of the road. The car yielded on a slight incline not falling completely into the ditch but enough to leave the both of you a little shook.

“You good, y/n?” Was the first thing Angel asked you.

When you didn’t answer, Angel unbuckled his seatbelt and reached out to grab your shoulders making you flinch. His eyes held comfort as you leaned into him, leaving his ring covered fingers to cradle the back of your head.

“We’re okay, it was just the ice I bet.” Angel held onto you for some time before pulling back to look around at your surroundings then deciding, “I’m going to check to see if there’s any serious damage to the outside and get the both of us out of here, okay?”

All you did was nod as you watched Angel like a hawk as he circled around the car, he slid himself a little bit on the snow almost falling into the rest of the ditch himself. His feet crunched against the thick snow as he got back into the car resting his head against the headrest for a few seconds panting.

You carefully watched him as he shook out the cold from his hands and reached for the keys to turn the ignition…

You guessed it.

The car won’t start!

He tried a twice before he stopped knowing that he could potentially ruin the car if he kept at it. So he turned off the headlights and slowly looked at you.

“The car is stuck.” He started, “there’s this big block of snow that’s probably in the exhaust pipes and I don’t know what the fuck that other noise was before we went gliding.”

“So you did hear it!” You screamed, “the noise I’ve been telling you about since it’s got cold and you chose not to ignore it tonight?”

“Well it hasn’t done it this entire trip.” Was his sheepish reply.

You huffed reaching downwards to locate your phone and attempt to call someone, anyone.

“Who are you calling? Kai the movie and basketball star? You think he knows more about cars than me?” Angel fired off without thinking.

You laughed in disbelief. Here he goes with this shit again. Why would you even think to call Kai? You would pick a tow since it was late.

“I knew we should have waited until the morning,” you hissed ignoring angel’s jab, “we could be in a warm house right now but noooo you’re telling me we’re stranded!”

“We’re not stranded.” Angel argued.

You held up your phone right to Angel’s face in which he lowered your phone by your wrist to see that you did not have any service. He quickly checked his own phone and groaned.

“…we got blankets in the back. You planned for natural disasters remember?” The bearded man looked over his shoulder reaching on the back floor for the fleece blankets.

“Yes but listen to yourself, this wouldn’t be happening if you just checked out the car when I asked you to. It’s always ‘I’ll get around to it, it slipped my mind but I got us, don’t worry.’” You mocked the man who rolled his eyes.

“Are you worried?” Angel bit back, tossing the fleece over you and pulling the other side to wrap around himself, “you don’t gotta be, you have me.”

You laughed incredulously, “exactly.”

“Aye, fuck you. I know how to take care of you, I’m a man after all.”

“Oh shut up, Angel.” You crossed your arms as you angrily stared out at the flurries that began to fall.

You weren’t sure when you fell asleep but Angel had no problem nudging you awake to the point your head rolled around. You fought back to get him to leave you alone, but he wouldn’t stop yanking you around.

“What do you want?!” You finally pried your eyes open to Angel to see him flashing your flashlight from your phone towards the window.

You puffed out a breath to see a herd of reindeer surrounding your car. Cautiously you turned to your right to see more reindeer on that side as well.

You sighed.

“They’ve been here for…I don’t know, five minutes just watching.” Angel told you.

You swallowed, “I guess this is where we fucking die and I wish I could have my mom’s scalloped potatoes and my dad’s prime rib one last time. I also wish I could tell my great-aunt Dora to shove her nasty fruitcake up her ass since she traumatized not only me but my cousins with it for years.”

Angel rested his hands on your thigh not really hearing you as he kept his eyes on the animals around you two, “ssh look they’re beginning to move.”

The ones on your side moved behind the car and that’s when it began to shift.

“Fuck are they doing?”

“Oh Beyoncé, They’re going to flip us over like pancakes! Damn, I won’t get to have those anymore either.” You shook your head sadly, now clinging to Angel who watched in uncertainty.

In awe the reindeer managed to push you both back on the side of the road. The leader seemed to look back at you two and let out a noise that puffed out into the frigid night before running off with the herd following behind them.

Resting your head against Angel’s arm you let out a breath you were unaware you were holding, “that was…wow. They’re so cute and now I want one for Christmas, we’ll call them Rudy.”

“I wonder if people eat them.” Angel added making you quickly lift your head.

“You sick bitch, they helped us and this is what you’re thinking?!”

“What? You’re the one over here screaming your last wishes and switched up after they helped us out? And they could have eaten us first!”

You tisked in shame while Angel attempted to defend himself but you didn’t want to hear it anymore. So he gripped your face and pulled it up to bring your lips together before letting out some laughter that broke the kiss which you shortly followed, laughing your behinds off from beside each other.

What a night.

*************************************************

Continue along with my anthology December prompts here.

[havethetimeofyourstyles]

in which harry joins a new gym and you’re a trainer there.

a/n: happy new years loves! wishing you all a lovely and happy 2021! first fic of 2021 and im so excited to write more stories this year! to start the new year, here is boxer!harry for you, and this is for my very own timetravelathon fic challenge! if you’d like to join, please let me know, I’d love to have you on board! this story takes place in the 1990, and i know some of the songs mentioned weren’t released specifically in 1990 (just a few years after), but just pretend it was lol because they’re too good to not mention in this story hehe, but happy reading and pls reblog and leave feedback <3

thank you to @sunflowers-styles for beta reading this for me, love you always!

WORD COUNT: 22.6k of (kinda) boxer!harry x trainer!yn filled with angst and smut

WARNINGS: mentions of abandonment and blood 

COME INTO MY INBOX AND LETS TALK ABOUT ‘143’ i’d love to know your thoughts!

pls rb to share! <3

16 August 1990

With every move he made, Harry felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face, down his back, and trailing down his chest. Small huffs of breath were released from his mouth, trying not to make it known that he was exhausted, but he continued until all of his energy was used up through the very end. 

“C’mon,” he muttered to himself, anticipating the certain words to be yelled out. 

He’d been going at it for a while now, muscles aching as he felt like he was about to collapse any minute. But he was determined to finish, to feel the satisfaction running through his veins, knowing that this was his best round. 

“And time!” His trainer yelled at him, clicking the stop button on his timer. 

Harry got in one last punch before putting his arms down, the soreness made his limbs feel like jello as he shook them out. The black leather punching bag was swinging back and forth, the chain that held up the speed bag rattled and slid against the metal bar. Harry loved that sound because it indicated that he was going his hardest to where the chain couldn’t keep up. 

“Nice one, kid.” Henson, his trainer said as he fist-bumped Harry’s red glove. 

Harry simply nodded in appreciation, too exhausted to speak as he placed his gloves onto his knees, leaning down as beads of sweat dripped down onto the matted floor. Several harsh breaths came out of his mouth as he sniffed in the fresh oxygen that was mixed with the musky scent of the gym. 

Benny, Harry’s best friend, exited the ring, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his arm before walking towards Harry, who was still leaning on his knees. Benny tapped Harry’s glove, making him stand up straighter, and Harry patted Benny’s back. 

“Good job out there, mate,” Harry told his best friend. Benny was in the ring with one of the other trainers, Mike, doing one of the nonstop routines. Harry liked training with Mike in the ring, but not when it was for cardio and timed rounds; he liked when it was chill, so he knew how hard he had to hit the target, which were the pads. But for the timed rounds they did, Harry was usually by the speed bags and Mike was in the ring. 

“You too, man,” Benny breathed out with a smile. 

They headed over to the bench to take their gloves off and catch a breather. The pair would do a  cardio day every Thursday to get a good, sweaty workout in, and it always left them exhausted, but definitely much stronger. 

“Hey, I’m not gonna be able to workout next Thursday,” Benny mentioned. Harry furrowed his brows as he put the end of the strap between his teeth to pull it off from the velcro, taking one glove off. 

“What? Why not?” Harry asked confusingly. They never really had to call off a workout, especially Thursdays, unless one of them was sick, but other than that, neither of them missed any workout days. 

“I’m taking the wife on a date,” Benny smirked, clearly very excited to spend some time with his wife, but Harry wasn’t amused. 

“On a Thursday? Why can’t you do that on Friday?” 

Benny rolled his eyes. “Because we both called off Friday, so we’re having a four day weekend to ourselves,” he explained. 

Harry huffed, clearly not entertained. “Guess so…” 

Benny knew Harry was always like this, ever since they were younger. The two had been so close ever since they met, now that Benny had a wife, Harry always felt like the third wheel and that he rarely saw Benny, however, that wasn’t entirely true Benny exercised with Harry every night during the weekdays, and sometimes they even grabbed a bite to eat afterward when Benny could use that time to be with his wife, Marianne. 

Harry had an overwhelming fear of abandonment, it led him to have anxieties about how Benny could just get up and walk out of his life, even though he wouldn’t. Maybe it was why Harry is so attached to him; he’s the closest to Harry and it would completely destroy him if Benny ever decided that he didn’t want to be his friend anymore. That fear only grew based on an unfortunate turn of events that happened in college, four years ago, and it left Harry to pieces. Benny had never seen Harry so broken where he literally had to pick him up and take care of him. He never wanted to see his best friend like that ever again because it absolutely crushed him. 

“It’s two days that we’re not going to be seeing each other, chill out. Didn’t know you were that in love with me,” Benny joked, hoping to lighten up Harry’s mood. Luckily, it worked because Harry breathed out a chuckle, throwing his towel at Benny’s face.

The two collected their belongings and walked over to the trainers as they always do at the end of every workout to have a light chat with them. Henson and Mike told them they did a great job and asked to confirm if they were still on for tomorrow, which Benny and Harry both agreed to. Benny also mentioned about not being able to work out next Thursday and Friday, including the reason why he wasn’t able to. 

Henson and Mike looked at each other as if they were keeping something from the two. Harry titled his head  and looked at Benny as if he was asking if he knew the reason why they were looking at each other weirdly, but Benny just shrugged his shoulders, just as clueless as Harry. 

“Are you gonna tell us why you’re acting suspiciously?” Harry asked. The two trainers both sighed defeatedly. 

“About that…” Henson started. “Next Friday…we’re closing,” he added. 

“Like, closing for the day?” Benny asked innocently, hoping they didn’t mean what he really thought. 

“No…for good,” Mike stated. Harry and Benny’s eyes both widened, words coming out of both of their mouths profusely. They were both talking over each other, disagreeing and not accepting the fact that the gym was shutting down. 

“You can’t just do that-”

“-No, we refuse to let you close down-”

“Alright, guys! Settle down. You’re starting to act like kids, for god's sake,” Henson interrupted the tantrum that was about to start. 

“You guys can’t just do that!” Benny exclaimed. 

“Why are you guys even doing that?” Harry asked. 

Mike sighed. “We mutually decided that it was best to close down because…we really need the money. My rent has been skyrocketing crazy high because more people have just decided that moving to Los Angeles is fun.” He rolled his eyes, and Harry slightly chuckled because it was true. Hollywood was the place to be and people from out of state had just figured out their new profound dream to move to one of the busiest cities. 

“Fight Night will never be forgotten, alright? We’re just ready to let this place go. Plus, the roof is leaking and the wall is tearing apart, and that’s gonna be a pain to fix,” Henson added. 

Mike and Henson were brothers and built Fight Night when they were in college. With the help of their father, they decided to build a place to gain strength and power, all while helping others defend themselves. Harry and Benny had been frequenting it ever since college, and it felt like home to them. Aside from the yelling and stuffy scent, it was a place for them to release any type of anger or stress.

Benny introduced Fight Night to Harry when he had physically picked Harry up from the ground on, what possibly was, the worst night of his life. It was something Harry looked forward to after classes, anxiously bouncing his leg up and down, waiting to get to the gym. Fight Night helped rebuild him, and now, he was in disbelief that the gym was closing. 

“We’re old as fuck now. We wanna live our lives freely. Time to retire now, don’t you think?” Mike said with a sad chuckle. They were both in their late fifties, so Harry and Benny understood why they wanted to be free of work. 

The four of them hugged it out, a very emotional and sentimental hug that was heartwarming but sad. Eyes were slightly watered before Henson pushed them and said, “We’re closing the gym next week, not fucking dying! We have time for this bullshit for an entire week.” 

Harry and Benny left the gym with bittersweet hearts, but they kept Fight Night close to them, knowing that they owed a lot to the gym and the two men who built the facility. Mike had recommended some gyms that were close by if they were still interested in boxing, which they definitely were, so they were planning to check them out first before signing up. 

“Do you wanna get something to eat?” Harry asked once they were outside of the gym. The air was humid, nothing different from inside the gym since it was summer and the sun was beginning to go down. 

“Nah, I’m good. Gonna get home to Marianne. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Benny pat Harry’s back, nodding. 

Harry waved. “See you.” He watched Benny walk away before getting into his silver 1990 BMW 5 series, sighing. He always hated going home, and he always tried staying out for as long as he possibly could. 

As he drove home, he anxiously tapped his hands on the steering wheel as he couldn’t quite keep them still. It’d been happening for a while, a lot more often than he’d like, but he couldn’t help it. 

Walking into the darkness and emptiness of his home, he sighed sadly as he sulked all the way to the restroom to shower. The hot steam relieved his achy and sore muscles, but he was hoping for this shower to also release any occurring and bad thoughts he had in his head. 

He couldn’t help but think about the gym closing down. After going there for years, he couldn’t imagine going to a new gym; he’d adapted and adjusted to Fight Night that it would take him forever to find a gym that truly made him feel wanted. He was scared, to say the least. 

Harry was never a big fan of change. He liked being comfortable and stable and didn't like to move around a lot. So, the thought of going to a different gym that wasn’t Fight Night, terrified him. It only added to the list of things that had abandoned him. 

Once he was out of the shower, white towel secured lowly on his hips, showcasing his beautiful toned torso that was filled and inked with tattoos, his pager beeped. He wondered who it was as he walked over to his nightstand, considering that it was nearing nine in the evening. 

He deeply sighed when he saw the pager read ‘345987,’ immediately knowing who it was. The pager code meaning ‘I’m horny’ could only mean it’s coming from Lizette. 

Deciding not to answer the page, Harry set his pager down before walking back to the restroom, only for his home phone to ring, causing him to stop in his steps and answer the phone. 

“Hello?” Harry answered. 

“Hey, baby,” Lizette said seductively. His brows furrowed, holding the towel to his waist as it had loosened up a bit. 

“What do you want?” 

“You know what I want…” He knew exactly what she wanted. If she hadn’t paged him, he would still know what she wanted from him since all he provided to her was sex. “Isn’t it such a coincidence that I’m outside of your door right now?” Harry didn’t say anything but pinch the bridge of his nose before hanging up. 

He walked towards his front door, sighing before opening the door that revealed Lizette on the other side, wearing a low cut top, cleavage clearly showing, and high waisted denim shorts. She leaned on the doorframe, smirking as she looked Harry up and down, noticing that he wasn’t wearing anything but a towel. Harry gulped as she stepped forward, placing her hands on his stomach before completely taking the towel off, and a smug smile plastered on her face. 

Harry lets her take over like he always did. The feel of someone else’s body holding his, and lips kissing his own and his skin was something he couldn’t compare to anything else. Harry simply only did this to have some companionship, and Lizette made him feel a lot less lonely even if she was only there to have sex with him. He enjoys it twenty-five percent of the time—the other seventy-five percent was him actually wallowing in wanting someone to love him for him. 

After they were done, Harry immediately covered himself with the blanket as Lizette got out of the bed to change back into her clothes. Even though they had sex multiple times and she’s seen him naked, there was something about the vulnerability after the sex that he didn’t want her to see because she didn’t quite deserve that if he was being honest. 

“I had fun. Call you next time,” Lizette bid him goodbye before smacking a big kiss to his cheek, leaving a lipstick stain on his skin. She walked herself out, and once Harry heard the slam of the front door closing, he cringed slightly, wiping the lipstick off. 

He turned onto his side, deeply exhaling. He didn’t feel anything but numbness—it was always like this. He used sex to cope with how he felt, but it only made it worse. Honestly, he didn’t know what else to do, so it was the only thing he turned to, other than boxing. 

Harry fell asleep in his lonely room by himself. His heart was empty and felt like an isolated building that only carried his sadness. 

The entire week had gone by in a flash — Fight Night was officially closed down for good. 

Harry and Benny helped clean the space out as they reminisced and talked about the memories that were made in that gym. A lot of the stories had to do with girls walking by the gym, glancing through the window to see men working out, and then promptly walking into the gym to try and hit on the guys. 

Harry had tried convincing Henson that he could run the gym, but he shot down the idea before Harry could convince him. 

“Kid, look. If you want to run your own gym, do it. I want you to own a gym under your name. Not mine or Mike’s. You deserve to have something of your own, and whatever that may be, work for it. Work hard for it. I know you got it in you because you’re a hard worker, determined. You need to see that for yourself.” 

A conversation that was supposed to convince Henson to let Harry run the gym turned into a sentimental series of words that Harry really needed to hear. Harry didn’t say anything else and nodded as he took in Henson’s words to his heart. Henson was someone Harry looked up to. He was an old man with wise words, and everything he said was either meaningful or mean, in a way to show tough love. So, his words were something Harry lived by. 

The following Monday after Fight Night closed, Benny and Harry were on the search for their new gym. They didn’t plan on quitting the gym after their favorite one had closed down, and Henson and Mike made them swear they wouldn’t stop working out. 

Now, the two were walking into a gym that was up the same amount of time Fight Night was. ‘Don’s Box’ was what the gym was called. The building was newly reconstructed, making the place seem more modern and a little less dingy. The space was quite big, able to fit two rings, six punching bags spread throughout, eight-speed bags, and a weight rack. The walls were painted black, but the amount of natural light from the window was plentiful enough to make the gym feel bigger and brighter. 

A decent amount of people were at the gym, sectioned off with a few kids from eight to twelve on one side, and the rest of the adults on the other. There was a good mix between women and men, and everyone hyped everyone up with motivating words and claps over the music that was playing through two speakers that were hung in the corner. 

“Can I help you?” An older man with gray hair had asked the two. He looked quite intimidating; wearing nylon sweatpants and a black long-sleeved shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, showing his gold watch. The look he had on his face was stern as he crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. 

“Uh, yeah. We’re interested in joining your gym,” Benny told the man. The man looked the two up and down and scoffed. 

“Sure you guys are ready for that?” 

“We’ve been boxing for years, so yeah, we are.” Harry chimed in, a slightly defensive tone added to his words. 

The man glared at Harry, stepping towards him. Harry was slightly taller than him, but he knew the man could definitely take him at any given moment, but Harry wasn’t looking to fight the man, honestly. He wanted to act and look tough in front of him, so the guy wouldn’t give him any crap for it later down the road during his workouts. 

“Alright, alright. Take it easy, pa.” You interrupted, placing a hand on the man’s shoulders, making him turn his head. You raised your brows at him before tilting your head a bit, telling him to step back. The man backed off, giving Harry a snarly glance before huffing. 

“I’m just messing. Gotta know how tough my athletes are to be here,” he spoke in a lighter tone than he was to the man in front of him, putting his arm around you. 

“Thought you were gonna ‘stay on the sidelines’ and let me handle it?” You quoted your father’s words back to him, and he chuckled, putting his hands up, surrendering as he knew he couldn’t win against you. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll let you handle it.” Don, your father, quickly looked at Harry up and down, and you rolled your eyes, knowing he wouldn’t do anything to potential customers. He walked away and you breathed out a chuckle, scratching your head. 

“Sorry about that. You two are interested in joining?” You asked the two men in front of you. They were rather…attractive, you noticed. The one on the left was gorgeous with beautiful brown skin that looked so smooth. He was wearing a pair of red short-shorts and a white muscle tee. You noticed that he was wearing a wedding ring, so you averted your eyes off of him. The man next to him, however, was absolutely stunning. His left arm carried a sleeve-full of tattoos, and you wanted so badly to examine and look at every single one. With chocolate brown curls, his green eyes had a tad bit of a glimmer to them, not too much though, because if you were being honest, they were a bit dull, like he was exhausted and needed to let off some of the stress that he held based on how tense he looked. 

You tried not to observe and think about it too much as your ability to read individuals thrived while meeting new people. You shook it off the thought, not wanting to assume things about their lives and seem too creepy in front of new and potential members. 

“Yeah, we are. I’m Benny, by the way.” He shook your hand, smiling. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Y/N. I run this place.” You offered the same smile back. Your eyes looked over at his friend, and he gave you a soft smile. “Y/N,” you repeated, taking your hand out for him to shake. 

“I’m Harry. Harry Styles,” he introduced fully. A beautiful name for a beautiful man, you thought. He shook your hand as you felt the softness of his skin mixed with a tad bit of roughness from the callouses, probably from heavy-lifting. 

Something about Harry introducing his full name had made you a bit weak in the knees. His deep and accented voice had made you a bit flustered as chills ran up your body. You’re acting like a fool, your subconscious told you. You were never one to show your obvious attraction for men, you were more into watching them from the side. But once Harry walked in, it seemed like you didn’t know how to keep your chill. 

“Perfect. Nice to meet you both. Signing up shouldn’t be too long—don’t want to keep you two from working out.” You led the two men to one of the offices, knocking on the wooden door to greet Jamie. “Hi. These two are looking to sign up. Do you mind helping them out?” 

“Of course! Come on in, guys,” Jamie greeted them, offering them to take a seat along with some water, which they both said yes to. 

“I have to get back to my session, but you both are in great hands. Jamie is one of our best,” you told the two. You sent an innocent wink at Jamie, which he sent one back while Harry watched the entire interaction, feeling uneasy. 

It was quite obvious how attractive and pretty you were. The moment he first saw you, his breath had immediately hitched in his throat. You had the most gorgeous face he’d ever seen, and when you spoke, your voice was soft and gentle, making Harry a bit more safe in a place he’s new to. 

Jamie had gotten their details and credit card information down before asking them if they needed a tour of the place. They both had said no, seeing as things were pretty self-explanatory and they’d been to a boxing gym before. 

They headed out of Jamie’s office and to the main floor, walking over to the heavy bags since the section was less crowded to start stretching. Harry rolled his shoulders and neck around, swinging his arms forwards and backward as he looked around the gym. 

This was something he had to get used to—being in a new place, surrounded by new people. At Fight Night, he was around the same people for four years, and he was comfortable — he was fine with it. But now, he had to go through the same process all over again. Nerves and anxiety crept up his skin as he tried to jump around lightly, warming up a bit but also trying to shake off the unwanted feelings. 

“Hey, you okay?” Benny asked concerningly as he stretched. 

Harry’s brows raised, covering up his anxiousness. “Hmm, yeah, I am. Y’know, just a, uh, new place, that’s all,” he brushed him off. 

“Okay. Well, whenever you’re ready to go, just tell me,” Benny told him before going into his bag to grab the wrapping tape. 

Harry nodded, smiling in appreciation. Benny had always been a great friend to him, and Harry was a great friend to Benny as well. They always took each other’s feelings and concerns into consideration—always making sure the other is okay. They both really appreciated it because some friends weren’t lucky enough to talk about their feelings and be that vulnerable with one another. They trusted each other; they were like brothers. 

Harry grabbed his jump rope, deciding to do a little five-minute warm-up to get his heart rate going. He faced the boxing ring to the left of him, noticing that you were in the ring, so he decided to casually watch you box. He then noticed that you had boxing pads on instead of gloves, and the people you were training were the kids that he had seen earlier. 

He watched you instruct the excited kids who were prancing around with their boxing gloves on, in every color imagined. You helped them fix their form, their stance, and their punch; telling them that they had to be quick with their hit to bring their glove back to the side of their face quickly, so their opponent doesn’t have a chance to take a hit. The kids demonstrated for you, punching your right hand that was covered with the pad. You praised all of them, of course, correcting a few things, but overall, everyone was a natural fighter. 

Harry’s heart rate definitely started to pick up, and he didn’t know if it was how fast he was jumping rope or because of the flutter he felt as he watched you interact with the kids. He truly never felt this kind of feeling where his heart picked up from the simple act of looking at someone. 

You had definitely noticed Harry staring at you from your peripheral view, and you had thought it was a simple glance, but he never looked away. So, you took the opportunity to take a quick look at him while the kids were practicing. 

Your eyes met him and you sent him a small smile, along with a wave with your boxing pads. Harry’s eyes widened, realizing that you were waving at him, and what happened next had embarrassed him even more. With how fast he was jumping, he suddenly got tangled with the rope, causing him to trip against it. Luckily, he caught his fall, but he was already embarrassed enough. 

Harry’s heart completely dropped, cheeks flushed. He couldn’t believe he had made a complete fool of himself, especially at his new gym. He so badly wanted to tell Benny that he was ready to leave, but when he looked over at his friend, he had already started his workout, being so focused and in the zone that Harry didn’t want to be a burden. 

When he turned back around to see if you were still looking, he jolted back a bit as you were behind him. 

“Are you okay?” You asked concerningly. 

“Uh, yeah. I…yeah, I’m okay. Thanks.” He cleared his throat, trying to cover up the fact that his voice almost cracked. He was so stunned by you. The way you made sure he was okay was possibly the nicest thing someone had done for him as you looked at him with your sweet eyes, and your posture was giving him your full attention. His heart pounded through his chest; the simple action and effort that was being put into this was making him overwhelmed. 

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything, yeah?” You told him as you looked at him intently. He simply nodded, knowing that he couldn’t process any more words. 

You gave him one last smile before quickly going back to your students. He watched you climb into the ring so effortlessly before continuing your training class. 

Harry took a deep breath before walking over to one of the speed bags that was in the corner, hoping to hide away from the embarrassment that he felt. Wrapping his hands up, he anxiously scanned the room, noticing that everyone was doing their own thing. There was a possibility that no one else had seen him almost fall on his face, except you, which he really wished that it was the entire gym who saw him instead, not you. He lazily hit the speed bag, trying to warm up and shake off his mortification. Harry continued hitting the bag, eventually getting into a rhythm as his fists alternated between one another, along with the rhythm of the music of Montrell Jordan’s ‘This Is How We Do It.’ 

Soon enough, all the worry and stress that was in Harry’s head and body was shaken off and completely forgotten about as he focused on his strong punches, making sure to connect his mind to his muscles, so he could feel his muscles working. 

And for the time being, life wasn’t all that bad. 

A month had passed since being at Don’s Box, and Harry and Benny quite liked it. They had newer equipment and their music was always on point, playing the best of 90s R&B and Hip-Hop. It was their favorite music to listen to, especially while working out. The people there were nice and cool, never getting in each other’s way and letting everyone do their own thing while still having fun, keeping the space safe and comfortable. 

Harry found himself walking into the gym at nine at night, an hour and a half before it closed. Usually, he wouldn’t work out this late, but during the day, he had felt so unmotivated and lazy to even get out of bed. He could put the blame on Lizette because she had gone to his house the night prior, doing the same thing they always do, but he knew she wasn’t the one to blame. Something about saying no to her and having her not talk to him had physically pained him. They were in a specific arrangement, he knew that. But having someone leave him again was something he couldn’t go through. 

‘What’s Luv?’ by Fat Joe, Ja Rule, and Ashanti was playing when he set his bag down onto the ground against the wall, next to the heavy bag. He started to stretch as he took a look around; not many people were working out at this time, which he liked. 

His eyes continued to search the gym, in hopes he would find you still here. Before the slightest bit of disappointment could settle, he saw you walk out of the hallway with Jamie, smiling and laughing at something he had said. He made a face as a hint of jealousy rushed through as he saw you with Jamie. He knew that there was no point in being jealous because he barely even knew you. But for the past month that he’s been at Don’s Box, you always had this look of excitement on your face when you saw and greeted Harry. It made his stomach flutter every time you would flash him your beautiful smile as you would carry the conversation, asking him about his day and if the music was good, which he commends you for putting his favorite songs on. 

Looking away, he decided to just focus on the quick workout he could get in before the gym closed, so he retained his attention back to stretching before bending down to grab the tape from his bag to wrap his hands. 

“Uh, hi, Harry,” you smiled as you greeted him. He looked up at you. The way the light was positioned behind your head made you look like an actual angel; you were ethereal. 

He stood up and smiled softly. “Hi. How are you?” He asked, trying to contain his nerves from just looking at you. You were gorgeous, as you always are every day. You were wearing a pair of black leggings and a light pink t-shirt that was tied into a knot with the word ‘angel’ that was surrounded by wings printed in the middle. Kind of a coincidence, he thought, thinking back to when he called you an angel in his head. 

“Good, good. You’re here later than usual—without Benny too,” you pointed out, but immediately cursed at yourself for making such an odd observation and telling it to his face as if you were keeping track of the times he’s gone into the gym. 

“Yeah, I was pretty…tired during the day, so the only time I got a burst of energy was right now. And Benny is with his wife and in-laws tonight, so it’s just me tonight,” he explained with a soft chuckle. 

“Well, glad you got the chance to make it in,” you said genuinely. He simply nodded, not knowing what else to say but instead he captured himself into you as you stared at him with your captivating eyes that spoke right through him. What was happening to him? He thought. This hadn’t really happened before, and he was good at letting his walls go up and guarding his precious heart. 

“Hey, I’m gonna head out,” Jamie said, greeting you goodbye, and taking Harry out of his thoughts. “Hey, man. Have a good workout.” He shook Harry’s hand, and Harry smiled, nodding. 

“See you tomorrow,” you told Jamie, smiling a bit as you waved. Jamie left the gym, and it was just you and Harry, along with a few other people who were wrapping up their workout. 

“Are you not gonna go with him?” Harry asked, and you raised your brows in confusion. 

“Why would I go with him?” You wondered. 

“Oh, I just thought you would leave with him, y’know, your boyfriend…” he trailed off, slyly slipping in the word boyfriend in that sentence. 

You giggled, shaking your head. “No, no. Jamie isn't my boyfriend. I’ve known him since I was ten, but nothing’s ever happened between us. Besides, he has a boyfriend of his own.” Harry raised his brows in shock as his shoulders visibly relaxed. “No need to worry, Harry. I’m all yours,” you flirted a bit. You normally wouldn’t flirt so easily with someone, especially if they were a member of your gym, but something about Harry had made you release all the stress you had once you saw and talked to him. 

Harry blushed, grinning as his dimple popped out on his cheek. Your eyes lightened once you noticed that feature, making you think that he was ten times cuter than he already is. 

“You’ve been in the ring, right?” You asked curiously. Harry nodded, and the corner of your lips turned up. “Great! We have about a little less than an hour and a half, so if you’re looking for some intense cardio, I could do it with you—y’know, train you and guide you, and whatnot,” you suggested. 

If Harry’s being honest, he wasn’t planning on doing cardio today—just a few routines to get his muscles warm, but the way you’re looking at him and how you spoke to him so softly and effortlessly, he couldn’t say no. 

“Yeah, I’m up for it,” he responded. Your eye brightened, resisting the urge to squeal from excitement, telling him that you were going to get the mitts and to meet you in the ring. He chuckled slightly as you walked over to the equipment room to get the mitts. Harry quickly hit the speed bag to warm up until he saw you walk out of the room. 

He put on his gray sweater and a green packers beanie, so he could sweat more before he met you in the ring with his gloves pressed between his arm and the side of his body. You put the mitts in between your legs as Harry handed you one of the gloves. Holding onto the end of it, he put his hand inside as you pushed the glove towards him, so it would sit on his hand tightly before strapping it securely for him before proceeding to the next one. The proximity between you two was quite close as you helped him put on the gloves, and you could smell the faint scent of cologne mixed with the slightest bit of sweat, giving him that unique musk; the one that doesn’t smell horrible at all but lured you in. 

You quickly snapped out of your thoughts and looked up at Harry. “Good?” He nodded, punching the gloves together to make sure they felt comfortable. “Ready?” 

“Let’s do this,” Harry said, skipping in place to warm his body up before getting into his stance. His left leg was a few feet away from his right leg as he bounced around a bit, waiting for you. 

You faintly smirked, nodding your head before you put on the mitts. Since Harry was very familiar with the mitt workouts, you figured that you didn’t need to explain what each number represented since mostly all trainers and coaches use the same numbers for the same punch. 

“Okay, let’s warm up a bit. Give me one,” you instructed. Harry put his gloves up to protect his face as you held your right mitt up. With his left hand, he punched your mitt, not giving his full strength. “Is that all you got?” You challenged, knowing that he had more power in him. 

“I-I don’t want to hurt you,” he said honestly with a small pout, standing straight from his boxing stance. Usually, you would take offense to that statement, barking back a comment saying that just because you were a girl it didn’t mean you couldn’t take a hit, but you didn’t go that far into it, knowing Harry didn’t mean it that way whatsoever. 

“You’re not gonna hurt me, Harry. I’ve trained so many people—all with different body types and strengths. My hand has felt all different types of power, so hit the mitt like you mean it.” You hit his shoulder, building up his motivation. He nodded, getting back into his stance as did you. “Now, give me one.” 

This time, Harry’s glove met your mitt with full potential and force, and you took the hit well—not moving back or being stunned. 

“There you go! Keep going,” you told him, and he continued giving you jabs. ‘In Da Club’ by 50 Cent was blaring through the speakers as Harry breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. Several huffs of breath came out loudly as he punched, moving and dancing around the ring with you as the two of you occasionally shifted and switched positions. 

Harry got in a few more punches before you switched it up, telling him, “1-2.” Harry jabbed with his left hand and crossed jabbed with his right hand, putting his full range of motion into his right punch. He did that combination five times as he started to feel sweat dripping down his back and the sides of his forehead. 

You were yelling out words of encouragement and motivation, praising him for his punches, to which he responded back with a better and solid punch to your mitts. 

“Nice!” You took a step back to move around the ring to take advantage of the space as Harry jumped and skipped around to wherever you directed him to. “Wanna take a break?” You asked. He shook his head no, determined to finish this workout that he couldn’t even think about wanting to take a break because he really didn’t want to. “Okay, 1-4-3,” you told him. With force, he jabbed, hooked with his left hand, and hooked with his right hand. 

This feeling that he had felt—being in the ring with you—was something entirely different than when he was in the ring with Henson or Mike. The stress that he physically carried onto his shoulder had washed away into nothingness, leaving him with a drive that didn’t include overthinking and fear. The fear that had left him worried and depressed, that his life would amount to nothing—that fear disappeared inside him once he threw the first punch. It was exhilarating and fun, and he didn’t know he could have this much fun in the ring. But this was the most pleasure he’s ever felt while boxing. 

You ordered him to do some different combinations, such as ‘1-2-3-5,’ which was a jab, cross jab, leading hook, and rear uppercut. You also included moments when he had to duck because you were swinging at him. He definitely had gotten into a rhythm, punching and moving faster. You were the trainer, the person that was supposed to instruct him, but you matched his rhythm and energy and moved quicker with him as well. 

You were starting to get a sweat in as well, and that was mostly because of the adrenaline rushing through your blood as you moved excitedly around the ring. 

After a while, a timer had gone off, telling you that it was time to close up as Harry’s focus was cut off—the sound making him look up hastily. Throughout the time you were working out with Harry, people were slowly starting to make their way out, but the two of you were too focused on working out that you hadn’t even noticed that it was just the two of you left in the gym. 

“Oh, guess we’re closing.” You stood up straighter, wiping the sweat on your forehead with your forearm. “Feelin’ good?” You asked Harry with a proud smile. 

“Feelin’ great,” he smirked. 

“Good, I’m glad. You did great!” You complimented, ripping the velcro strap with your teeth as you took off the mitts. Harry did the same, shaking out his arms as he clenched and unclenched his fists to relieve the ache from making a fist for more than an hour. 

“Thank you. You’re a really great trainer, by the way. This was…the first time I had fun in the ring,” he told you honestly, and without knowing, the slightest bit of him had opened up to you. 

Your eyes brightened, a glimpse of shimmer reflected on your eyes. “Really? Thank you, that makes me really happy, actually.” You felt like you were going to cry on the spot. No one, except your younger students, had ever told you that they had fun in the ring since most people used boxing as a way to get stronger and improve their punches. But fun? That was the first, and you would definitely keep that with you forever. 

You and Harry walked to one end of the ring as Harry held open the top two ropes with his hand as he stepped on the bottom two ropes with his foot, holding it open for you to get out. You blushed, thanking him before you got out of the ring as he followed you out. 

Once you two were on the ground, you turned around to face him. You watched as he took off his beanie, shaking his hair out as they bounced; curls were now formed into waves because of the heat and the sweat that had produced in his beanie. He looked…extra good right now. With his cheeks flushed, hair messy, and sweat dripping down his forehead, you couldn’t put into words how incredibly sexy he looked. 

You cleared your throat, not wanting to get caught for ogling him. “I, uh, have to check on some things before closing. Take your time! And I’ll see you on Monday?” You raised your brows and curled your lips in as you looked up at him. A sense of flustered-ness settled in you as you waited for his answer. 

He breathed out a chuckle as he looked down briefly before looking back into your eyes again. “Yeah, I’ll see you.” You nodded your head, waving at him before you headed over to the office. Harry smiled as he watched you walk into the hallway until he couldn’t see you anymore. 

A small blush formed onto his cheeks as he contained himself from smiling too big and too wide. He put all of his stuff back into his bag, grabbing his towel, ridding the sweat off his skin. Grabbing his belongings, he took another glance at the hallway, hoping to get another look at you before he took off, but you were occupied with closing the gym, so he didn’t bother staying any longer. 

With a small smile on his face, he walked out of the gym, taking in this new profound feeling that he’d never felt before, hoping this feeling would last. 

The next morning, Harry had a sudden urge to go back to the gym. His upper body was quite sore, but he figured he could do some leg exercises to balance the soreness he felt. He normally wouldn’t workout on the weekends since those were his rest days, but despite being sore, he didn’t feel tired. It could also do with the fact that he wanted to see you again, not wanting to wait until Monday to do that again. 

When he walked into the gym, ‘Ride Wit Me’ by Nelly was playing and his head slightly bopped to the music, walking over to the corner of the gym to warm up. He scanned the gym, looking for a particular person, but couldn’t find you. There were a decent amount of people, not too crowded or too little, so it should’ve been easy to find you. Thinking that you were probably in your office, he shook off the slight disappointment and got ready to workout. 

Throughout his workout, his head wasn’t in it. He kept glancing through the mirror to see if you had shown up, but you hadn’t. His eyes were always looking over at the front door every time someone would walk in, but a small frown settled onto his face when he realized it wasn’t you. 

He wrapped up his workout an hour later, thinking that he somewhat still got a good workout in. He walked out of the gym, saying bye to some of the guys that had caught him before he left. 

It was nearing noon when his stomach had growled, urging him to consume some food. There was a Mediterranean hole-in-the-wall restaurant right across Don’s Box, and his mouth watered at the thought of it. He walked to his car that was parked on the side of the street to drop his bag off before walking across the street to the restaurant. 

He scanned the menu, standing on the side since he didn’t know what he was ordering yet. The sound of the door ringing and a voice that was speaking to him brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Are you in line?” Harry turned his head towards the voice, and his heart nearly beating ten times faster when he saw you. He had a shocked expression on his face, not expecting to see you, especially when you were wearing the complete opposite of what he normally sees you in. You were wearing a pair of blue denim overalls with a black t-shirt underneath, along with white Reebok sneakers. You had a bit of makeup on; an orange sparkly eyeshadow look with some mascara that made your eyelashes look full and natural. Your lips were painted in a red-orange lipstick stain, bringing out more of your natural lip color. 

The beauty that Harry’s eyes were blessed with made his knees weak, sending shivers to his skin. Your angelic appearance had struck him so hard that he was sure he would see the light of day, hoping to meet you up there since you were a real-life angel. 

“Y/N…hi,” he managed to spit out. 

“Hi, Harry. Did you just workout?” You asked. 

He nodded, feeling a bit nervous. “Uh, yeah, I did.” 

“You don’t usually go in on Saturdays…” you noticed, only seeing him during the weekdays. You’re off on Saturdays, but there was one Saturday that you had gone into the gym briefly, and you didn’t see him there. 

“Yeah, I felt like going in today,” he said, obviously leaving out the part that he only went to the gym to see you again, but you didn’t need to know that bit. There was a moment of silence between you two until Harry remembered that he was probably holding up the line for you. “Oh, you could go ahead. I’m not ready to order yet.” 

You smiled, nodding your head as you stepped forward in the line. “Have you ever been here before?” 

“No, I haven’t. Do you have any suggestions?” 

You slightly squinted your eyes at him. “Do you trust me?” You asked. 

That was a difficult question for him, and somewhat vague. Did you mean overall, at the moment, or for his food order? Either way, he nodded because he knew that it didn’t matter what you meant--he had this sense of security with you that he would trust you with his life, and that said a lot, considering that he’d only known you for a month. 

“Yeah, I do trust you,” he stated honestly. 

His words brought a grin to your face, looking at him appreciatively. Based on your observations of him, you noticed that he was a bit closed off; he didn’t open himself up, and if he did, it took a lot in him to do just that. So, hearing him tell you that he trusts you made you grateful, and you would never do anything to take advantage of that trust because he didn’t just give it out easily. 

“I got you,” you simply said before turning back around towards the cashier. Harry softly smirked as he took a step forward to stand next to you. You looked at him, flashing him a toothy grin before quickly facing forward. 

You ordered your favorite dish from the restaurant, which was a beef kabab plate, for the both of you. Harry quickly got his wallet out, offering to pay, but you told him that you got it this time, hoping your words conveyed that you wanted there to be a next time. He shyly thanked you for the lunch, keeping your words in mind because he would definitely be up for a ‘next time.’ 

Luckily, you didn’t have to wait long for your order to come out, which was fortunate for Harry because he was starving. You suggested eating outside since it was a beautiful day out and Harry agreed, following you out of the restaurant. 

You two sat on the metal chairs, digging into your dishes. Harry’s mouth watered as he ate, his stomach being satisfied. There was a comfortable silence that settled between you two, only making small conversation when you asked if he liked the food, which you were glad to hear that he loved. 

“So, how long have you been running Don’s Box?” He suddenly asked, wanting to get to know you better. 

You raised your brows at his question. “For about two years now. My father, Don, opened the gym when he was twenty-five, that’s when he had me as well. But when he opened the gym, it practically changed his life. He’d boxed all of his life, and he was happy training other people when he started getting more people to come into his gym. When I was about six, he told me that he wanted me to run the gym when I turned twenty-five, only if I wanted to. But of course, I did. I looked up to him all of my life, and the gym made me happy as well,” you explained, smiling at the memory of when you were younger, being excited to turn twenty-five to do the same thing your father did. 

A soft smile appeared on Harry’s face as you reminisce on the memory. 

“How long have you been boxing?” 

“Since I was eight. Don showed me the ropes when I told him I was ready. There used to be a seating area on the side of the ring because when I was younger, I used to sit there and watch him work and train people. So, I was pretty interested and intrigued about fighting to get myself stronger, even at the young age of eight,” you chuckled. 

You were a daddy’s girl, always had been since you were born. Don had always set a pretty amazing example of how you should go about living your life. He would always say ‘Live your life with a strong punch. Keep your head up, and don’t let anything get to you because you’re so much more than what other people say. But if you need to cry, you can—there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.’ 

As your eyes watered from the thought of your father’s words, Harry watched as you got emotional and he couldn’t help but think that you’ve crossed a line in asking too many questions. 

“Sorry, I always get emotional-”

“I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped—I should’ve kept the questions to myself-”

“Oh, no! You didn’t overstep whatsoever. I’m glad you asked me those questions, I just get soft and emotional over my dad, so hence, I’m tearing up,” you let out a somewhat pathetic chuckle as you couldn’t believe that you almost cried in front of this gorgeous man. You dabbed the corners of your eyes with your napkin, stopping the tears from falling out. 

Harry nodded understandingly, waiting for you to regroup yourself. You kept apologizing, but he kept telling you that you had nothing to be sorry for. 

“Really, if you need to cry, you can…” he told you. Your eyes widened; you were just thinking about your dad’s words two minutes ago, and for Harry to say the exact same thing Don had always told you without even knowing that Don had said those words. 

Not wanting to cry in front of him, you simply nodded your head, holding the napkin on the outer corner of your eye, so the napkin would catch your tears. 

Harry quickly changed the subject, sensing that you needed it, and you really did, so you were grateful for that. He busied himself by telling you what his favorite ice cream flavor was since he was suddenly reminded that there was a shop just down the street. He kept you occupied by talking about all the sweet treats that he used to eat with his mom back home, and how much he missed walking down the streets in the city to eat some ice cream. 

“My mum used to make this really great chocolate mousse pie, and we would eat it every weekend. It was extremely sweet, but it was delicious. I really miss it…” he told you. That had been a while ago, but it was like he could still taste the dessert as if he just ate it yesterday. 

“Is your mom back home in England?” You asked, figuring that there wasn’t any harm in asking to get to know him since he asked you some questions as well. 

“Uh…actually, I don’t know where she is…” he said honestly, and you knitted your brows in confusion. “I mean, honestly. I don’t know where she is. Ever since I went to uni, she’s been all over the place, taking vacations and barely calling. I-I feel like she’s forgotten about me,” he spoke ever so softly as he was fragile. 

You listened to him intently, giving him your full attention as he was opening up a part of his life that you knew he doesn’t tell a lot of people. A part of him that he’s kept in for so long and just the passing sense of relief he felt saying those words and speaking up about this subject had made him feel so much better. 

“I’m sure she didn’t forget about you.” 

“Seemed like it. We inherited my grandfather’s will—left us a generous amount for each of us that’ll take care of us for the rest of our lives. And she took that and ran with it. I mean, I get it—she wants to live her life, and now’s the time to do that because she’s got the money for it, but I feel…abandoned. She got up, said goodbye, and just…left. It just makes me think that I’m not good enough—that I wasn’t good enough to stay.” Harry opened a can of worms that he can’t take back anymore. But the trust that he had in you already made him want to talk about everything with you; to open up about all of his stresses and insecurities. 

Boldly, you reached your arm across the table but immediately pulled away because you didn’t want to touch him without asking. But before you could open your mouth and ask, Harry had reached forward, meeting your hand halfway as his palm was facing up as if it was a way of saying ‘you can hold my hand if you want.’ Blushing, you reached forward again and took your hand into his. 

The touch was sweet and tender as you two held hands; the want to hold each other tighter was present, wanting to take away Harry’s pain. 

“Harry, you will always be good enough. I know we just met a month ago, but I already know that you’re the sweetest, kindest person. Please know that. You are enough, and I’m grateful that you’re here and that I’m sitting across from you, eating lunch,” you declared. Harry sniffled, not knowing what to say as he put his head down, so you continued. “For as long as we’re friends, I’m gonna stay.” You spoke with complete honesty as you caressed the back of his hand with your thumb. 

Harry’s head lifted up at your last statement in disbelief as if this was the first time someone had ever said that to him. 

“Really?” 

You squeezed his hand, making his heart flutter. “Yeah. As long as you want me to,” you reassured, nodding. 

Harry gave you a soft and appreciating smile as he took a deep breath. The breath that he held in throughout the entirety of the conversation was finally let out in relief. He shrunk back into his seat, still holding your hand as you continued rubbing it, and he breathed out a chuckle. It was an overwhelming feeling that was riddled with happiness and a sense of security washed over him. 

It was like he had been waiting for you; someone new that unexpectedly came into his life was scary because it was change, but it was a good change. A change for the better. He had been vulnerable enough to open himself up, and it all led to the tight bond and trust you two had with one another, sealing your friendship and relationship. 

And you both knew this moment was going to change everything. 

Time had passed by rather quickly as it was nearing the end of October. The weather was getting chillier as the sun was beginning to disappear behind the clouds earlier. There was something about the fall weather that Harry adored. It may have to do with the fact that the gloomy sky had occurred more often, or how he got to call it a night early. Whatever it may be, he liked it, or he used to. 

In recent times, he wanted the sun to stay out until it was time to go to bed. He wanted warm days instead of gloomy. His new changed attitude towards life had to do with you. 

You and Harry had been hanging out quite a lot; getting to know one another, getting a bite or drink, and working out together, it definitely gave Harry the chance to let go of his past. He was happier, smiled more, and laughed a lot which he didn’t know he was capable of doing those things again until he met you. 

Benny loved it, though. He sure cherished it because seeing his best friend happy again was something he was afraid he wouldn’t see again. But that didn’t stop him from having a little talk with you, trying to protect Harry and set you straight. 

When Harry was occupied with hitting the speed bag, Benny walked over to the ring, where you had just finished another class with your younger students. 

“Hey, Benny!” You greeted him once you saw him walk towards you. 

“Hey, do you mind chatting for a minute?” You raised your brows, nodding your head. Benny usually didn’t talk to you privately nor was it anything serious, but by the look on his face, it seemed pretty serious. “So, you’ve been hanging out with Harry a lot, hmm?” 

You smiled softly. “Yeah! Hope you don’t mind that? Know I’m taking your best friend and all…” 

“No, I don’t mind. I’m actually glad you are. He seems quite taken by you, and I haven’t seen him like that in a very long time,” Benny said honestly. You seemed to know where this conversation was going now, and now that you thought about it, you expected this from Benny because they were like brothers and Benny would do anything to protect Harry. “What I’m trying to say is…if you’re only hanging out with him to fuck with him, don’t bother. He’s been through enough, and I know he can’t handle anymore of that and I can’t stand to see him like that again.” 

“Like what?” You hesitatingly asked. 

“Like…just know that he was a mess. He couldn’t get up, eat, drink, shower, or anything. I had to physically help him. I don’t want to see him like that ever again.” Benny shook his head as if he was reliving the horrible nightmare that he went through a few years ago. 

“Is this about his mom?” 

“He told you that?” He asked, just to make sure, and you nodded. “Kind of. But that’s only half of it. He’ll tell you when he’s ready, but I’ve already said too much. Just…take care of him, okay? He tries to act tough sometimes, but he’s trying his best to not break down. Although, I haven’t seen that kind of look on him since he’s been hanging out with you, so you’re probably doing something right.” 

You nodded understandingly. “Thanks for talking to me. I don’t plan on breaking his heart at all, and I’m quite taken with him myself,” you admitted. 

“Good. I’m glad you are. He’s a great guy.” Benny smiled, and you agreed. 

Benny didn’t talk to you for much longer before he started getting cold from standing around, so he ended the conversation and went back to working out. 

Meanwhile, as you and Benny were talking, Don took the chance himself to talk to Harry, seeing as you were occupied. 

“Harry.” Don made himself present around him. 

Harry immediately stopped his workout, greeting your father. “What’s up, Don?” 

“So, I’ve noticed that you’ve been hanging around Y/N a lot.” Don’s stance changed as he crossed his arms, sporting a slight frown. Harry gulped; he always found Don to be quite intimidating, ever since he joined the gym, but Harry didn’t want to seem like he couldn’t have a serious conversation with the father of the woman that he’s slowly falling for--no, he couldn’t act like that. “What’s that all about?” Don added. 

“I’m just…we’re friends, so we’re just hanging out. Nothing more,” he told Don honestly. Although he would like there to be more, he didn’t know how you felt about him or if you even felt anything for him at all. 

Don nodded. He could tell that Harry was holding back on something he wanted to say, and he had an idea of what that was. So, he let loose of the intimidating and protective act, knowing that wasn’t really him anyway, and his expression softened as he uncrossed his arms. He placed a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder, taking a deep breath. 

“You have this look of wanting to say more and you don’t have to tell me, but I will tell you this…if you want to date her and go out with her, you can. This isn’t approval and a ‘yes’ for you to take her out because I don’t need to do that--she can make her own decisions. All I’m saying is that if you want to, go for it. Life is too fuckin’ short to not do anything, to not say anything.” 

Harry’s shoulders relaxed and he smiled in appreciation at Don’s words. “Thanks, Don. I definitely want to take her out, but I just don’t know how she feels about me.” 

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she feels something for you--she hasn’t told me, but I just know. You’re the first guy in a while that she’s been hanging around with consistently, and that comforts me, in a way. Knowing that she’s living her life and not holding back anymore.” Harry stayed silent, taking his words in. He tried not to overanalyze what Don had said because you’ll tell him and open up to him when you want to, just like how you’re patiently waiting for Harry to open up fully as well. “Just…don’t break her heart, okay? She’s been through enough and I just want her to be happy.” 

Harry nodded understandingly, saying a soft ‘okay’ before Don changed the subject and talked about how  Harry should train with him one of these days, which Harry immediately said yes to and they planned for the following week to train. Don left him to finish his workout, telling him to have a nice night as you and Harry were going out to dinner. 

Benny and Harry finished up their workout, and before they were able to head out the front door, Harry stopped, telling Benny to give him a minute. Harry fast-walked towards you, lugging his bag on his shoulder. You were coming out of your office, which was why Harry couldn’t say goodbye to you after his workout. 

“Hey, we’re heading out,” he said, wiping the bit of sweat on the back of his neck with his towel. 

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you later?” 

“Yeah, I’ll pick you up,” Harry suggested, pursing his lips into his mouth as he contained his smile. You nodded, eyes sparkling as you looked up at him. “I’ll, uh, page you,” he slightly smirked. 

“Okay,” you mindlessly responded as you were getting quite lost in his green eyes that looked at you intently with a gleam that sat so perfectly against his irises, making his eyes glimmer brightly.

He gave you one last smile and a little wave before walking out of the gym with Benny. You were left stunned as you stood there, completely drifted away from reality as you were in a dream about Harry. You felt a small nudge on your shoulder, causing you to snap out of your thoughts and dream as you turned around to see your father laughing. 

“Get back to work.” A smug plastered on his face. 

A breathy chuckle was released from your mouth as a hint of embarrassment emerged onto your face with wide eyes. You got back to work, focusing your attention on training your next client, but your mind was racing at the thought of Harry. 

As he promised, Harry paged you when he was outside of your apartment complex. He wanted to knock on your door like the proper gentleman that he is, but the buzzer machine to let people in wasn’t working, so paging you would have to do for now. He waited for you outside of his newly washed car, making sure it was nice and clean for you as he leaned against the passenger door. 

You walked out of your building, and Harry was immediately blown away. You were wearing a black skirt with stockings that hugged your legs, and a white knitted sweater since it was on the chillier side. 

Every time he saw you, his heart would beat incredibly fast, pulse pounding through his veins. His stomach was in flits of butterflies, soaring in his heart and stomach, making him extremely nervous. Every time he saw you, everything would stop, like you were the only person in the world and everything was okay. 

“Hey, H,” you flashed him your smile, one that he looked forward to every time he saw you. 

“H-Hi,” he stuttered, clearing his throat to start over. “Hi. You look really nice.” 

You blushed. “Thank you! You look great as well. Love this top.” You reached forward, lightly tugging at his red-orange knitted long-sleeve. He paired it with blue jeans that flared at the bottom with white sneakers. His fingers were covered in beautiful silver rings, making his hands look quite gorgeous. 

“Thank you, shall we?” 

“Yeah, oh, I got you something.” You reached into your bag to take out the cased CD, and before Harry was about to protest, you handed it to him. “I made you this mixtape. Just some songs that I think you’ll like—I’m sure you know all of them, but they just made me think of you,” you said shyly. 

You weren’t normally shy and you would call yourself a pretty strong and confident person, but you had been so nervous to give this to him—even making the tape left you anxious and shaking. 

“Wow, this is…very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much.” Harry looked at the CD with the songs written in your handwriting. There were 10 songs, and Harry knew all of them. They were all…romantic songs. 

“That’s not weird, right? Y’know, making you a mixtape?” You asked unsurely. The odd feeling had popped into your mind at the last second as you watched Harry observe the CD, not giving a bad nor good reaction to your gift. 

“No, not at all! I really appreciate this. No one has ever made a mixtape for me before, so this is really nice and special. Thank you again.” He reached forward, wrapping one arm around your shoulders as both of your arms found their way around his waist. You somewhat weren’t convinced that he liked it, and he could tell just by how you were looking at him--looking for some more reassurance--that it seemed like he didn’t like it. When he pulled away, he looked at you before saying, “Really, it makes me happy that you took the time to make this for me. It’s so sweet and thoughtful of you, and I already love all the songs on here, so I’m one-hundred-percent going to enjoy this.” 

You nodded, smiling softly as he opened the door for you and you thanked him, blushing as you got in. It seemed very much like a date and you couldn’t help but smile at the thought of that. 

Harry drove to the sandwich shop that waited for you both. It was twenty minutes away on the other side of the town, but Harry had been raving about it so much to you that you told him that you two should go, which Harry was more than happy to take you. 

The sound of Boyz II Men filled the speakers of Harry’s car as the two of you sang your hearts out to ‘On Bended Knees,’ putting full emotion and passion into singing. You held up your water bottle, pretending that it was a microphone, and Harry kept shifting his gaze on you, trying to keep his eyes on the road, but also wanting to look at you as you sang. He smiled to himself, absolutely loving how you were so carefree--something that he admired about you. 

His heart fluttered, curling his lips into his mouth before he did something that was quite bold of him to do. Reaching over, he grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers together. Your body was frozen, but you continued to sing, covering up the fact that Harry was holding your hand so casually. You were stiff as a board, so you tried loosening up, swaying your body from side to side, slightly averting your eyes towards him as he continued to drive. 

The moonlight cast through the car window, giving him a dim glow, accentuating his features; jawline prominent, his lashes shadowed down onto his cheeks, and his eyes were calm; the light reflecting against his glassy green eyes. Your heartbeat a million miles a minute as you looked at him. You had this appreciation and admiration for him--that you were lucky and grateful that you have him and that there was nothing more beautiful than the man sitting beside you. 

With your face on fire, you smiled as you carried on, singing with the warmth of Harry’s hand connected with yours. 

You were sitting across Harry, munching on your sandwich as you listened to him talk about how he wanted to actually find a job. He’s been sitting around, living quite wealthy as his inheritance sat safely. But he’d been getting bored. Every day was a routine for him and it was a pretty boring routine, he would say. The only places he really went to were the gym and the places that the two of you went together, but that was it. He needed a hobby, something that he could escape to that doesn’t require breaking a sweat from punching bags and mitts. 

“You said you like books, so maybe you could see if the bookstore down the street from the gym is hiring. That would be a nice little place to work at,” you suggested. 

Harry’s eyes lightened up, apart from thinking that was a great idea and the other part from being surprised that you remembered such a small detail about him when he’d talked about books briefly with you. 

“I should definitely do that, thank you. I love that bookstore, it’s-”

“Y/N?” Harry was interrupted by a man who had walked over to your table. Harry looked up, observing the guy as he was looking at you so intently. He quickly looked at you as you were looking up at the man with a shocked expression on your face, wide eyes and mouth slightly opened. 

“Uh, hi,” you said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Your eyes glanced at Harry and he had a worried expression on his face, eyes asking if you were okay. You nodded softly, bringing your attention back to him. 

“I-I’ve been calling the gym and paging you, but you haven’t been answering any of them…” the man mentioned slyly. You were quite speechless, not expecting him to be here and not knowing what to say. 

“I, uh-”

“Can we talk right now?” He asked. You were flickering your eyes between Harry, someone that you were completely infatuated with, and the man that you were completely irritated with. But if you didn’t talk to him right now, he wouldn’t leave you alone and wouldn’t stop calling you, so you made the mistake of saying a soft ‘okay’ as you got up, looking over at Harry, giving a subtle smile. 

Just by the way he was looking at you, you knew you had regretted your decision and you wished that you hadn’t given in so easily. 

Once you were outside, you crossed your arms, in a way to seem reserved and closed off, but in reality, you really were. The uncomfortableness you felt was something you haven’t felt in a while as it felt like your stomach was boiling as bile salivated your mouth. Your fists were hidden underneath your arms, clenching, and your lips were curled into your mouth to immediately spew inappropriate sayings and vile remarks. 

“What do you want to talk about?” You asked, brows pinched together. 

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for quite a while now, but I just wanted to talk. I hate how we ended things…” he said remorsefully. You tried not to fall for the pouty look he was giving you as if he knew quite well you would fall for it. 

“It’s been six months, Max,” you reminded him. You and Max had an ugly breakup, and you had been picking up your own pieces yourself. You two had been together for nearly a year until he started to act differently. Noticing that he was going home late, staying at the bars until the early hours of the morning, and being quite rude and dismissive towards you, it ended in a screaming match where he ended up spitting out rude comments at you--calling you ugly, useless, and boring. It also caused him to confess that he was cheating on you for half the time you were together with him, and you thought that was a lie he made up just to make you angry, but a month after the breakup, you had found out that was true because you had accidentally bumped into the girl he was cheating on you with. At the time, you couldn’t blame him because the girl was absolutely gorgeous and seemed a lot of fun, but now, you know your worth and you absolutely didn’t deserve that whatsoever. 

For six months, you hadn’t seen him, but he had been leaving you countless calls to the gym phone. However, Max wouldn’t dare to step foot in the gym ever again because Don had clearly threatened him when he saw Max on the street, pinning him up against the brick wall by his shirt and yelling in his face that if he ever came close to you or the gym ever again, he wouldn’t see the end of the day. 

Don would’ve lost his shit if he saw Max in front of you. 

“This is pointless. I was fine living my life for the past six months without you. In fact, I haven’t even thought about you until you showed up. Couldn’t you see I was doing just fine? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Your tone was scornful, not wanting to be in front of him anymore but instead the lovely man inside. 

“I just assumed you wanted some sort of closure…” 

“If I wanted closure, then I would’ve called you. But I don’t need closure. I was doing okay-” 

“With who? That man inside the restaurant?” He interrupted, brows raised. His demeanour suddenly changed just because you had given him the slightest bit of attitude. Max went from soft, wanting forgiveness to the Max that you saw last--completely offensive, rude, and a dickhead.  

“Yeah, his name is Harry, by the way. I was doing okay until you showed up!” You rolled your eyes, making your way back inside to Harry, who was waiting for you inside. 

Of course, Max wasn’t done until he got the last word, so he yelled out, “You know, whatever you’re doing with him, he’s gonna leave you; just like how I left you.” You slowly turned around, heart aching as his words had definitely done something this time. “You think Harry cares about you Y/N? Think again, he’s gonna leave you and you’re gonna be alone. You’re nothing, Y/N--not without me, at least. You aren’t worth anything, and you had to take over your dad’s gym to feel like you are. Stop fooling yourself.” 

Your eyes watered, trying your hardest not to let them slip from your eyes. You had already felt weak tearing up in front of him, so you couldn’t imagine what he would think if you bawled your eyes out. Suddenly, you heard the bell above the restaurant door chime. You didn’t bother turning around, but you somehow knew that it was Harry who was behind you. 

“Everything alright here?” Harry asked warily, eyes pointed towards you. 

“Yeah, man. See you, Y/N.” With that, he walked away, hopefully for good. Harry knew everything wasn’t alright with how you’re ready to burst into tears. As much as he wanted to follow him, force an answer out of him as to why you were in such distress, he was more worried about you. 

Standing in front of you, Harry placed an arm on your shoulder, his other hand held the brown paper bag that had both of your leftovers as he didn’t want to eat without you. Your body was tense, not because of Harry’s touch but because of the words that had taken such an effect on you, and you were doing everything to not break down in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“Hey, you okay?” Harry asked softly, bending down slightly to look you in the eyes. Your eyes were pointed down at the ground, thinking that if you looked Harry in the eyes, you were going to break. 

“Uh, c-can you take me to the gym, please?” You asked once you fully gained the courage to speak, but your voice was shaky. 

Harry immediately nodded. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Let’s go.” He put his arm around your shoulders and you comfortably nuzzled into his side as he guided you to his car. 

The drive back was silent—the complete opposite from the drive to the restaurant. Instead of happiness radiating out of your bodies, the space felt gloomy. Harry’s mind had spiraled as he drove, thinking about what that man could have possibly said to you. He was torn between wanting to be angry, but he was more concerned for you because you had never been this silent before. 

Once Harry was in front of the gym, you immediately got out before he was able to turn off the car. Using your keys, you unlocked the front door, turning off the alarm system before throwing your purse, not caring where it landed and rushed towards the heavy bags. 

This was where you let all your anger out. The place where you screamed at the top of your lungs with no care on who might hear you. This was your safe space, and if someone was going to judge you for utilizing your safe space, then they didn’t belong there. 

You screamed, punched, and kicked the heavy bag with full force as your tears had streamed down your face. Your heart was beating painfully with every scream you forced out of your body. Your punches were solid, making the bag swing back and forth, but your knuckles were starting to redden because you didn’t wrap your hands. 

Harry quickly followed you, a frown plastered on his face as he watched you let your anger out all on the heavy bag. He let you do your thing, watching from the sidelines before he waited for the right moment to cut in. 

“You. Fucking. Stupid. Piece. Of. Shit,” you yelled out with every punch. You sniffled, continuing to punch the bag, eyes glossy from your endless amount of tears. 

The friction from the leather and your bare skin was rubbing against each other, cutting and peeling open your skin. Your hands had numbed the pain, so you carried on with your punches until Harry had wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest and away from the heavy bag once he started to see redness and blood scattered onto your knuckles. You screamed, your body protesting, wanting to continue punching, but you knew you didn’t have any more energy. 

Turning around in his arms, your face was met with his chest, sobbing into his shirt. Harry’s hands soothed your back, comforting you as his heart ached from the sadness you radiated. Your bloody hands clutched his shirt as you cried, tears staining his shirt. Your whines and whimpers filled the empty gym, echoing back at you. 

Everything hurt—your heart, eyes, body, and your hands were now starting to sting. Harry held you tighter, carefully taking a seat onto the ground and bringing you down with him. You sat in between his legs and your head rested on his shoulder. 

After a moment, he felt you calm down and your body physically relaxed. Mindlessly, his hand brushed your hair back from your forehead, pressing a kiss to your skin. Harry hadn’t realized he did that until he pulled away and he hoped he hadn’t crossed a line by doing that. But when he kissed your forehead, you pulled him closer, burying your face into his neck. 

“Talk to me—tell me what you need, angel,” he said softly, wanting to help and be there for you. The nickname had completely slipped out as he’d been calling you that in his head. He’d never seen you break down at all, so this was very new to him. 

You shook your head, nickname going over your head. “Nothing. Just you.” 

Harry nodded his head, heart fluttering at your words as he held you tighter. He continued to soothe your hair and back as he heard you sigh deeply at the comfort. Looking down at your hands, he realized they were still bloody and cut up, and he knew that your cuts needed to be treated as soon as possible. 

“Can I take care of your hands? I’m still gonna be close, just wanna bandage you up.” You sniffled, nodding your head. Harry slightly smiled, carefully getting up before helping you up. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, first asking you where the first aid kit was, and you two walked to one of the offices to get the kit before going to the restroom. “Wanna sit?” He asked, patting the cold counter. Nodding your head, you placed your hands on the counter, but he quickly stopped you, taking off his jacket for you to sit on. 

“Thank you,” you softly said to him gratefully before jumping to sit on the counter. 

Harry opened the box that contained multiple and different types of bandages, an instant cold pack, thermometer, antiseptic wipes, and scissors. Harry washed his hands well before grabbing the antiseptic wipe and ripping it open. He situated himself between your legs, gently grabbing your hand to rest on his. He looked up at you, first asking you if it was okay to start, and when you said yes, he slowly and carefully started to wipe the area around the cut. 

You watched him as he cleaned your cuts; he was so focused on wiping the blood that stained your skin and was careful not to press too hard because you were starting to bruise already. As you watched him, you felt immensely grateful. It’d been a while since you had a true friend that would help you with anything and take care of you. Your feelings for him had skyrocketed, heart pounding so loud you could feel it in your ears. 

“The guy at the restaurant was my ex-boyfriend, Max,” you suddenly said. Harry looked up at you to let you know that he was listening as he continued to clean your hands. “It was a bit of a messy breakup; he called me names, insulted me, and confessed that he was cheating on me. When I saw him at the restaurant, that was the first time since the breakup, and it was like I relived that day again.” 

“Did he say anything to you?” Harry asked, holding back his anger because he knew the answer,  Harry watched through the window the entire time and noticed your posture and demeanor change, causing Harry to quickly pay and rush outside just in case anything happened. 

“Y-Yeah.” Your voice croaked. “Said I didn’t amount to anything—that I wasn’t anything without him-”

“That’s bullshit, Y/N-”

“I’m so mad at myself.” Tears were forming in your eyes again as you looked down at your lap. Redness brimmed your eyelids as you sniffled. 

“What? Why?” Harry asked confusingly. 

You shook your head at yourself. “For years, I’ve been training—learning how to defend myself for when I need it. I was raised to have a strong mindset, to not take shit from anyone because Don told me not to. But when he came around, I didn't say a word, let alone move a muscle. I hate how he made me weak. I hate how I didn’t stand up for myself.” Your voice was shaky and your tears streamed down your face as you paused for a moment. “He told me that you were gonna leave me just like everyone else in my life did,” you added. 

Harry was seething, breathing in through his nose as his face hardened. He masked his anger because his priority was to comfort you, so he tried to let go of his anger for a moment. 

“Listen to me.” He placed his hands on the outside of your legs, bending down to look you in the eyes. Your glossy eyes looked at him, a small pout on your face. “You’re the strongest person I know, alright, angel?” This time, you heard the pet name loud and clear, making your heart do backflips. “You didn’t let him walk all over you, no, you’re much more mature than him to ever start something. He wanted to see you angry, and frustrated. He wanted to add fuel to the fire, and you didn’t give him the satisfaction. You aren’t weak at all. You’ve got a strong heart, and I’m sure that punch of yours to his nose would damage it for good.” 

You breathed out a chuckle at his last statement, nodding, knowing he was right. Harry smiled, dimples showing proudly as he wiped the tears that were falling from your eyes. Giving him a half-smile, you leaned forward, pressing your face against his collarbones. He stood up straight to wrap his arms around your back. You daringly placed a kiss onto the exposed skin that was peeking out from his shirt. Harry’s face warmed up at the touch that was so soft and delicate, yet felt like it was burning through his skin. You pulled away, looking up at him as you thanked him. 

Your eyes darted between his eyes and his lips as your face was just inches away from him. His face was delicate and his beauty shined over the darkness of the world. It was as if he didn’t seem real like you couldn’t believe someone so beautiful and breathtaking was standing right in front of you. You studied every curve, movement, and freckle on his face as they all very well defined him, heightening your admiration with every look of his perfections and imperfections. 

Harry blushed under your stare, clearing his throat as he felt nervous. He pulled his face away a tad bit, offering you a small smile. “Of course. Always gonna be here for you. Now, let me just finish cleaning your hands before taking you home.” 

You nodded, letting him finish with his task. His hands were gentle as he wrapped the bandage around your hand. Your heart was filled with so much admiration and gratitude that you simply wouldn’t know what to do if Harry weren’t there today. The growing feelings had taken over your heart and mind that you were a bit scared, but nonetheless, you let them take over. 

Harry sat at the bar next to Benny, nursing a beer he had ordered ten minutes ago. It had been a while since they hung out together, but that was because Benny was trying to get his wife pregnant, so when Marianne calls, they spent their time baby-making. The other reason was that Harry was spending most of his time with you, which he loved every minute of. 

“So, a little bird told me that you’ve been going to the gym on Saturdays now,” Benny mentioned, a hint of tease in his tone. 

Harry chuckled. “Really? And who told you that?” He asked, taking a sip of his beer. 

“Starts with a D and ends with an N,” Benny laughed, giving you the obvious answer. 

“Well, I’ve been going in on Saturdays because Don always schedules our training sessions on Saturdays. Nothing else,” he slightly lied. After his first training day with Don, Harry told Don that he wanted to continue training with him because he gets a good workout with him rather than by himself, hitting the heavy bag or speed bag, so Don always scheduled for Saturdays since those were the easiest days. 

But other than the training sessions, he also got to see you on Saturdays, which he really enjoyed because sometimes after his workout, you two would grab a bite to eat or plan to hang out later that day. He liked it, he liked you. 

“Hmm, interesting. It doesn’t have to do with a particular trainer who also happens to own the gym?” Benny raised his brows. 

“Not really into Don, to be honest,” Harry joked, bouncing around Benny’s question. They both laughed, slamming their hand on the bar top. 

“Really, though. I’m happy for you. You’ve been in such a happier mood, and that’s all I want—is for you to be happy. She’s doing a great job,” Benny said honestly. Seeing his friend happy after everything he’s been through had lifted a certain weight off of his shoulders, and it seemed like he didn’t need to worry about Harry. 

Harry simply nodded, smiling as words weren’t necessary. He always felt like Benny was always concerned about him, and although he appreciated him being worried, he didn’t need to anymore because Harry was finally feeling much happier than he was before. 

“There you are.” A voice was suddenly heard next to Harry along with a hand on his shoulder. Harry tensed up, and he hadn’t in a while, but he knew that wasn’t your voice nor was it your touch. Harry turned his head to the side to find Lizette sitting on the stool next to him, giving him a smug smile. He didn’t say anything but look at Benny, and saw his eyes narrow, confused as to why Lizette was here. “I’ve been calling your home and paging you. Why haven’t you been answering me?” She pouted. 

Harry knew that pout all too well. She used it to trick you into saying yes to her and getting what she wanted, but Harry was stronger than that now; he knew how to hold his ground. 

He hadn’t seen Lizette ever since the week before he joined Don’s Box. With all of his time spent with you, he hadn’t really thought about Lizette, if he’s being honest. You had fully taken every inch and space of his mind that it was maximum capacity, but he still found a way to make space from the invading thoughts of you. 

“Just been…busy, Lizette, that’s all,” he said, not giving her his full attention as he looked at his bottle. 

“Too busy for me?” 

“Yeah, something like that.” He didn’t want to outright be rude to her because naturally, Harry was a kind and thoughtful man, so he kept his harsh thoughts to himself. 

She inched closer to Harry, close enough to where her mouth was against his ear as she whispered, “Well, since I so happened to run into you, how about we go back to yours?”

Harry took a deep breath. He felt like he was his old self again—making impulsive and not so thought out decisions that end up fucking him and his emotions over in the future. Being with Lizette was something, and it helped make him feel a little less lonely, even though she immediately left right after she got what she wanted. 

But Harry hadn’t felt lonely at the moment and in months. He had his best friend next to him, having a drink, and he had you. He wasn’t lonely at all. So, why was he getting off the stool and putting his coat on before closing his tab for the night? 

Benny’s eyes widened, looking at Harry as if he was asking what the actual fuck was he doing. Harry simply shrugged, patting his friend on the back before following Lizette out of the bar. The air was cold, but it wasn’t a delightful cold that he wanted to be in. It almost seemed kind of eerie as the gray clouds hovered over them. 

Lizette hugged Harry’s arm. “I’m glad you agreed.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek, but he immediately pulled away, taking his arm out of her hold. 

“You should go home,” he told her. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out as she was confused. “Get a ride home. I’m not taking you home nor am I going with you. I don’t want to do this anymore, Lizette.” 

“But you came with me-”

“That didn’t mean I was saying yes to your offer. I came out here with you to get you off of me and not embarrass me in front of my friend and the entire bar.” Harry’s voice was stern as he crossed his arms. “I know you’ve never really cared about me, so please just do me a favor and leave. I’m happier now-”

“You’re happier? With some other girl, huh?” Harry nodded and Lizette rolled her eyes, expression annoyed as she was beginning to get angry and defensive. “You think she cares? Guess what, Harry, she doesn’t. She’s gonna leave you just like your mom left you, your ex-girlfriend left you. Remember when she fucked your best friend in college? That she left you to be with him? And look at them now, they’re married! They don’t give a single fuck about you! What makes you think that this girl you’re seeing does?” 

Lizette had definitely hit a nerve. Harry had gone four years without hearing the story on how his ex left him for one of his friends from uni. The situation was quite sad, and it left Harry in pieces. Not to mention, Lizette was his ex’s best friend and she somehow seduced him into regularly having sex with her, which wasn’t entirely her fault because Harry was lonely and needed to feel something to fill the void of his loneliness. 

“Don’t think you’re so easy to love, Harry. It takes a lot of effort to do that, especially with you. You’re gonna continue being scared and closed off, and people are gonna continue to run away-”

“Harry?” Lizette was suddenly interrupted by you. You were walking to the bar because Benny had invited you, thinking that it would’ve been a nice surprise for Harry and to hang out with just the three of you. But you had seen Harry and some woman on the street and his face looked angry. “Uh, hi.” 

You turned towards the unknown woman as she looked you up and down before turning towards Harry, raising her brows as she figured out who you were and who Harry had been spending so much time with. 

Harry completely blocked you out, his attention was towards the statements Lizette had made. He had been doing so much better, and all of a sudden the relapse hit him ten times harder, like his accomplishment of being okay with himself completely disappeared. 

 Was he that hard to love? He knew that he pushed people away, that’s for sure, but he didn’t realize that it was difficult to love him. Harry then thought about the people that had left him because they didn’t love him enough to stay. His ex left him for his friend, it seemed like his mum had forgotten about him, and soon enough, Benny was gonna get tired of him and so were you. 

“And you are?” You asked, scowling at the woman in front of you. Lizette smirked, seeing as there was an opportunity right in front of her. She didn’t find you 

intimidating whatsoever. 

“Oh, guess Harry didn’t tell you, but we’ve been sleeping with each other for years. Friends with benefits, if you will,” Lizette answered with some sass and a snarl to her tone as she watched your expression turn into a hurtful one. 

Your face had softened as your eyes welled up with tears, but you didn’t dare let them fall. You looked at Harry and it seemed like he was in his head, but you had no clue he was ‘seeing someone.’ It felt like you had been cheated on, even though going out as friends didn’t mean anything to a fuck buddy. All of the moments you spent with him—the laughs, storytelling, training, and tension-filled moments had connected you both to one another. It made you feel special that you were seeing a side of Harry that no one else had, but you were wrong. 

“Guess you’re the new girl he’s seeing?” 

“What’s it to you?” Your brows knitted. 

Lizette shrugged. “Nothing. Just know that Harry’s difficult and loveless. So, just get out while you can.” She reached over to touch your shoulder, but you quickly stepped back before she could. She was talking as if Harry wasn’t right next to you two, and if this was a ‘women looking out for women’ type of situation, you weren’t going to accept it because she outright just insulted Harry. 

You were livid as your eyes turned dark, stepping closer to her. “Stay away from him, or I swear to god-”

“Or what? What are you gonna do?” Lizette challenged, stepping closer. She was slightly taller than you since she wore four-inch leather boots.

“Wanna find out? Next time I see you with him or hear you talk shit about him again, then you’ll find out because I can guarantee you’ll never see the light of day.” You held eye contact with her as she looked at you with such fierce emotion. 

“Cute. Harry’s got a little bodyguard,” she scoffed, stepping back. “I should go,” Lizette suddenly said, breaking you out of your heartbreaking thoughts. “I’ll call you,” she told Harry, despite what you had just said. It seemed like he wasn’t even listening as his blank stare was trained onto the ground. She walked away, her heels clicking against the cement. The satisfaction she felt right now felt good, knowing her words had definitely affected you both. 

When Lizette was far enough, you turned back towards Harry. This time, he was looking at you in a confused state, and it didn’t seem like him. 

“I-I didn’t know you were seeing someone-”

“You should go…” he said straightforwardly. You raised your brows as you were taken back. 

“I’m sorry?” 

“You should leave. For good. Get out of my life while you can. I promise I won’t get mad.” His voice cracked and was shaky. He couldn’t even look you in the eye while he was talking because he knew that would break his heart even more, especially if you were to actually leave for good. The negative thoughts had taken over, and this was what he did—pushing people away and giving them a way out before they realized that Harry wasn’t a lovable or worthy enough person to stay around for. 

“What makes you think I’m going anywhere?” You questioned confusingly. You wondered if he even thought about the conversation you two had a few moments ago when you had told him that you were staying for good. 

“They all do, anyway. They all leave and they never come back.” His voice was starting to raise slightly, frustration and anger pouring out of his veins as his eyes were starting to tear up. A pout remained on your face as you watched the distress never leave his angelic face. “Just please go.”

“I’m not going anywhere-”

“Why won’t you-”

“Because I care! Why don’t you get that?” You raised your voice, not too loud to startle him, but enough to convey your emotions and frustrations to him. 

“Because you’re going to eventually! You’re gonna leave and use me and never love me. I’m used to it, so you could go now!” Harry was starting to cry, light sobs were coming out of his mouth as he was trying to hold them back. You took a step forward, wanting to comfort him as your heart broke at the sight, but he stepped back, not wanting your touch. 

Your heart sank when he stepped back away from you because he had never done that before. You two were always comfortable with one another that both of your touches had felt like security. Your tears had streamed down your face, quickly wiping them. 

“Harry, I’m not gonna leave…” 

“It’s fine. You don’t know what it’s like for someone to leave and never come back. You don’t know what it’s like to feel completely loveless that someone physically had to get out of your life and not want to be in it anymore. You don’t know what it’s like!” He spoke firmly as he cried, tugging his curly locks in frustration. 

“I don’t know what it’s like?” You spoke loudly, and Harry looked up at you. “I know exactly what it’s like because my own mother left me when I was eleven-years-old, and I have no idea why!” You vented, sniffling. “You don’t think I know what it’s like to constantly wonder what you’re doing wrong because the people that were supposed to be there for you completely vanished? Because I do! I know that feeling quite well. So, don’t tell me I don’t know shit because it seems like we’re in the same boat.” 

Harry was speechless. Sure, you two had been close and had talked about your lives and childhood, but this was something that you two had to dig deep for because it wasn’t something you regularly spoke about nor did you tell new people that you’d just met. 

“I-I’m sorry I had no idea…” 

“You couldn’t have had any idea, Harry. But just know that that day my mom left me still confuses me. The look on my dad’s face when he told me that mom left still haunts me. The crying I did since I was eleven hurts me because she didn’t love me enough to stay.” 

“Y/N…” 

“It’s fine, I get it. I know we’ve known each other for only a few months, but I did not expect this from you, especially because of all that we’d talked about. I’d say I’m the newest person in your life but I’m also the closest, besides Benny. So, don’t shut me out.” Your heart was beating through your chest and all of your emotions began to pile up like they were leaves, falling from the branches of the trees. 

Harry looked defeated, knowing that you were right. He sniffled, not knowing what else to say because all he felt was a painful feeling in his chest since Lizette had gone up to him at the bar. 

When he didn’t say anything, you just nodded, knowing that it was best to give him some space so he could realize that you were here for him and that you weren’t going anywhere. 

“Call me when you wanna talk…” you told him before turning around. Harry watched you—he knew that he should go after you, not be scared and let you in, perhaps tell you that he’s practically in love with you, but he doesn’t move, feet glued to the ground. 

When you were only a few feet away, you turned back around, knowing that you hadn’t gotten your final words out yet. Harry looked up when he heard footsteps approaching him. 

“Fuck whatever people say to you; trying to degrade and bring you down because whatever they say, it’s not true. I will always be there to defend you, Harry. Don’t think I won’t be because I will always be on your side.” You paused for a moment. Your heart was fully opening and was beginning to be vulnerable. Trying not to let it overwhelm you, you continued. “Don’t think you’re not easy to love because you are. You’re extremely easy to love, y’know that? I would know because…I love you. And that’s crazy to say because we’ve only known each other for a short period of time, but I can’t help what I feel. So, there you go.” 

Before Harry was able to say anything, you walked away, and he could hear you sniffling and crying. Harry’s mouth was ajar, completely speechless and shocked, but his heart fluttered as he took in your words. You really loved him, he thought. No one had said those words and really meant them or they hadn’t felt real to him when he heard them, so the shock that he felt was new. 

You were far enough where Harry couldn’t see you. He hadn’t even moved an inch, and he knew that later on, he was going to be very disappointed in himself for not chasing you down and telling you that he loved you too. But for now, he needed to take it all in and hope that when he did tell you, it wouldn’t be too late. 

Taking a deep breath, you walked inside to your apartment, sniffling as you went straight to the bathroom to take a long and hot shower. Before you left your place to go to the bar, you had been contemplating your appearance because you wanted to look good. Nerves were all over your body as you were getting ready, and you sulked at how the events had completely turned tonight around. 

When you were out of the shower and changed, ready to get into bed despite the night only being nine in the evening, your pager beeped. Picking it up off the bedside table, the message was sent from Harry, reading ‘143.’ You raised your brows, reading it again and reading it once more. Your heart was pounding, studying the numbers to make sure you read them right. The simple code for ‘I love you’ was printed on your pager and you wanted to scream. 

Before you could actually scream, there was a knock on your door. You walked quickly, opening it as Harry was standing behind it, holding his pager out as he smiled softly at you. You had just finished crying in the shower, so your eyes were red and a tad bit swollen, but you were close to crying again because of how overwhelmed you felt. 

“Did you mean it?” You asked hesitantly, holding your pager up. 

“Of course I do. Did you mean it?” He retaliated back, wondering if you meant your three words as well. 

“Of course I mean it, Harry. Why wouldn’t I?” You asked, wiping the tear that had slipped down your face. 

“Because I love you. I love you so fuckin’ much that it hurts,” he claimed in one breath, feeling the tension and weight that he held in his shoulders release. “You’re everything to me, and you make my world less frightening. I just see your pretty smile and my day completely turns into a great one. I don’t wanna waste a day not telling you that now, and it feels pretty damn good to say it.”

You slightly nodded until you remembered one of your concerns earlier. “What about Lizette?” 

“Lizette was someone I used to sleep with. I haven’t seen her nor slept with her in months—before I even met you, I promise. And I’m sorry for assuming that you didn’t know what it felt like for someone to leave and that you had to tell me under those circumstances. But just know, that I’m not gonna leave, unless you tell me to, that is.” Every bit of him was opening up and he wasn’t hiding away. He was being completely vulnerable and it had scared him a bit, but when his words came out, he felt himself get better. 

You looked at him through your glassy eyes, vision blurred for a moment until you adjusted them and clearly saw the gorgeous man in front of you. His eyes were filled with tears as well, and you thought, how could someone still look so pretty while they cried? But that was Harry for you; someone who was genuinely beautiful no matter what. Someone who had a heart of gold and a flashing smile that made your heart swoon and knees weak. 

You simply reached your hand out and Harry walked towards you, into your apartment as he came close to your face as your bodies were pressed up against one another. The back of his fingertips gently brushed the side of your face, admiring the beauty that stood before him as he opened his heart up completely, not wanting to go another day without saying those three words back to you. 

The corners of your lips turned up and your tears were replaced by happy ones. You had walked away from Harry after you said I love you because he was looking at you like he had seen a ghost, not a friendly one, but more of a scary one. So, hearing those words were just music to your ears. 

“You mean that? That you love me?” You wanted to hear it again and again and again. 

“Ever word. I love you, angel,” he repeated, adding your nickname. He pressed his forehead against yours, inches away from your lips. 

“Never stop calling me that,” you instructed him, smiling. The first time he had said it, you came to the conclusion that you absolutely loved hearing that name come out of his mouth, especially if it was specifically for you. 

“Only if you never stop telling me that you love me,” he slightly smirked, dimples poking out. He was so immensely happy that his heart could burst just because of the love that he felt for you. 

You giggled. “I love you, baby-” 

“I, uh, wait. Do you mind…not calling me that?” He hesitated, and you raised your brows confused. “Someone else called me that, and I just don’t like hearing it. Never have since it came out of her mouth,” he explained shyly. 

A sudden realization came to your face as you realized that Lizette probably called him that. “Okay. I won’t call you that, ever…darling.” Harry’s lips began to slowly turn up, already liking that name so much better than the other one. He hugged you; and you smiled, closing and opening your eyes to make sure you weren’t dreaming. Your arms snaked around Harry’s waist as he cradled your delicate face in his hands. 

“Never stop calling me that,” he repeated your words as you two smiled and laughed until your jaws started hurting. 

His eyes flickered down to your lips and back up to your eyes. You pursed your lips, blushing as you watched his eyes glance back up and down. You rubbed the tip of your nose against his, pulling him closer; hearts beating in sync as butterflies filled your stomach. 

He brushed his lips against yours before fully connecting them, feeling every spark and shiver that traveled down his spine. You smiled into the kiss as the softness of his lips moved and molded against yours, feeling completely in bliss. The way his lips slotted perfectly with yours made you saturated and dizzy off of his love and touch. Butterflies were still in your stomach, but they were calm like they had been fluttering around for this moment, his touch, in order to relax. 

Pulling back, he smiled down at you, eyes love-struck, before giving you another kiss, and pulling away and kissing you again once more. 

“Kissing you is my new favorite thing,” he stated, drunk off kisses. You breathed out a giggled, wrapping your arms around his neck as you breathed in his scent. You felt his breath against your neck, feeling completely happy and content in each other’s arms. 

There was no fear in the air; just the two of you with open hearts and arms, welcoming in the new and profound feeling that you both took in, knowing that it’s going to change everything for the better. 

You pulled him inside and Harry kicked the door closed with his foot. His arms were holding you tight as you walked back to your bedroom. Opening your mouth slightly, Harry took the chance to meet your tongue with his, swiveling and tasting each other causing a shiver to run down your spine. 

You pulled back when Harry laid down on the bed, taking in the gushy feeling you had as you smiled. 

“Want you,” you simply stated. 

“You have me, angel.” 

“I know, but I want you. Need you,” your eyes pleaded for his touch, to feel him inside of you, for him to make you feel good. You desperately craved for his hands on all of you, his mouth kissing every inch of your skin, and his love passionately pouring out of his veins. 

Harry nodded, smiling. “Need you too. Need you forever,” he said, connecting your lips again as he hovered over you. 

You two kissed for a while, giggling against each other’s lips and having his weight on top of you as your hands roamed his back. You bucked your hips into his, feeling the hard-on that was growing in his pants, which made Harry grind into your center, moaning softly into your mouth. 

“Please do something,” you said, and he nodded, getting off of you before taking his jacket and shirt off swiftly. His tattoos were showcased in front of you and all you wanted to do was kiss every single one of them. “You’re beautiful, Harry,” you complimented, and he blushed, a soft ‘thank you’ came out of his mouth. Next was his pants, and before he was able to take his briefs off, you stopped him, telling him that you wanted to do it. 

You got off the bed, switching positions with him as you were now standing up as Harry laid down on the bed. You smiled, eyes glancing all around his body. He suddenly felt shy and intimidated under your stare, but he knew he had no reason to be because you were simply admiring him. This time around when it came to physically be vulnerable with someone, he knew he didn’t have to worry anymore when it came to you. 

You took off your lilac nightgown, exposing your body to Harry’s eyes. Your nipples had hardened due to the exposure to the cold. His eyes glimmered as he gazed at your stunning and beautiful body. Every curve and inch was something he tried to remember, and he was quite speechless at the sight. He reached out, gently grabbing your hips as he roamed his hands up your body and to your breasts, grabbing both in each of his hands. 

He looked up at you and you smiled down at him as he placed his mouth on your left pebbled nipple, sucking and licking it as his hand fondled with the other. You laced your fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp as he did so, switching over to your right nipple. 

Harry pulled away, looking at you. “You’re an actual angel. You’re so beautiful.” 

“Harry…” you blushed. 

“You are, angel. So beautiful. Can’t believe I get to see you like this.” He kissed the valley of your breasts and down your stomach before getting up and pushing you down onto the bed with ease. He settled in between your legs, arms hooked under your thighs. 

Continuing kissing down your stomach, he reached the hem of your underwear, looking up at you before asking, “Can I take these off? Wanna make you feel good—the same way you always make me feel good.” 

“Please. Take them off. Wanna feel your mouth on me,” you pleaded as your arousal heightened. You wrapped your legs around his back, eagerly pulling his head towards your center, making Harry let out a chuckle. 

“Easy, angel. Not going anywhere.” Harry kissed your stomach once more before pulling off your beige underwear. You were glistening below him; you made a complete mess in your panties. “Fuck, you’re so wet. This all for me?” 

“Mhm. All for you, Harry, please,” you whispered impatiently. Harry’s dirty talk had only increased your need for him as it was quite surprising to see this side of him since he was more on the shy and reserved side outside, but nonetheless, you loved both sides—you loved him. 

Harry leaned down, pressing multiple kisses to your inner thighs, nibbling on the skin gently. You bucked your hips as he trailed his kisses towards your pussy that was eagerly waiting to be touched and licked. When he got there, he pressed a kiss to your clit before kitten-licking your sensitive button, making you softly moan. 

His tongue licked into the entrance of your pussy, gathering your arousal on the tip of his tongue to lubricate your clit even more. 

“Fuck,” you groaned as your hands found his curly locks, tugging at them gently. 

“You could do that harder, I don’t mind it,” Harry told you before going back to eating you out. You pulled harder and Harry deeply groaned against you, sending vibrations up your body. 

His hands wandered around your body, feeling the softness of your skin against his hands. Your skin had formed goosebumps due to his touch, and Harry smoothed out your skin so you were warm. He sucked on your clit quite harshly, earning a moan of his name from your lips as he grabbed both of your tits in his hands, squeezing them. 

You placed your hands on top of his, squeezing them with him, and Harry almost came at the sight of that. There you were, moaning his name out, getting your pussy eaten, and squeezing your tits on top of his hands. A sight he truly was lucky enough to see. 

Harry pulled one hand away to rub your clit as he tongued around your wet hole before tongue fucking you. He rubbed your clit at a moderate speed, enough for you to thrust your hips off the bed. Harry pulled his other hand that was still on one of your breasts away to pin your hips down onto the bed. 

“Stay still for me, angel,” he instructed, voice deep that made you even wetter. “You taste so good. Could eat you out all day.” 

“Harry…” you trailed, whining desperately for your release. “W-Wanna…cum…need to.” Your sentences were broken and Harry thought that was a good sign, knowing that he was doing so well you couldn’t form a proper sentence. 

“Tell me what you need. Let me know, so I can get you there.” 

“F-Fingers,” you told him, and he immediately brought his fingers to your clit, rubbing it before inserting two fingers inside your pussy. He thrust slowly, curling his fingers up to feel your walls.

He felt you pulsing around him as your legs were wrapped tightly around his back as you screamed his name over and over again. 

“C’mon, love. Give me one,” he encouraged, thrusting his fingers a bit faster. 

Once he hit the spot over and over again, you saw stars. Your vision had gone white for a few seconds, and you felt dizzy. The pleasure that ran through your body was overwhelming in the best way possible and you choked out a few sobs. It had hit you like a brick that you saw coming, but you were still surprised and shocked by the impact. 

Your hands held Harry’s hair tight that he thought for a moment that you might actually rip it off. Harry rubbed your pussy as you came down from your high, licking your orgasm that was seeping through your cunt, taking every drop of it. He looked up to see your head thrown back, chest heaving, and a vein that was bulging against your skin. He kissed your thighs while his other hand trailed across your body. 

When you finally were able to catch your breath, Harry kissed up your body, leaving the softest and loving kisses to your skin as you were quite sensitive. You grabbed his face, bringing his lips to yours as you immediately stuck your tongue in his mouth, swirling it with his to taste yourself on him—a mixture of his taste and your orgasm all on his tongue had made you wetter. 

Harry was grinding himself against your leg, trying to relieve some pressure. 

“Want you,” you told him once he pulled away, looking at him intently. 

“You sure?” 

“Absolutely. Please? Only if you want to-”

“I definitely want to. Just wanna make sure you were sure,” he breathed out a chuckle. 

“Course I want to.” There was a bit of silence between you two as you were simply just admiring him as he hovered over you. “Are you gonna fuck me, Harry?” You broke the silence, and Harry broke out of his trance, shyly giggling before getting off the bed. 

He peeled away his briefs, cock standing straight up from the slight painful restraint. He was big—girth and length wise, and you felt your mouth salivating from just looking at him. He got back on the bed, in between your legs as he sat on his knees. Spitting on his hand, he grabbed a hold of his dick, stroking it to relieve the pressure. The view was beautiful in every single way possible, and you didn’t dare to bat an eye because you didn’t want to miss one second of it. 

Wanting to take over for him, you reached forward, replacing his hand with yours as you slowly stroked his cock for him. Harry had a smug smile on his face but soon changed into a face of pure pleasure as your hand worked against him. His mouth was open as he let out a soft moan, looking down at your eyes as you were looking up, completely loving his reaction to your touch. 

“You’re so pretty, Harry,” you complimented as you continued to touch him. Your other hand reached forward to fondle with his balls, rolling them into your hand as Harry whimpered. “Love seeing you like this. Most gorgeous man I’ve seen in my life.” 

“Please, angel, you’re being too nice…” he managed to groan out, hands gripping your thighs. 

“But it’s true. Look so pretty when you’re like this, but also when you’re hitting the heavy bags. When we go out to eat and you mindlessly drink your entire drink while waiting for the food. But I think you’ll look extra pretty than you already are if you cum.” Your words of declaration were getting him on the edge as you stroke him. The way your voice slightly changed as you looked up at him with the most innocent eyes made him thrust into your hand, gripping the flesh of your skin as he threw his head back. 

“You think so?” 

“Mhm. Gonna be so pretty when you cum all over my body, my tits. Can you do that? For me, can you do that? Please?” You were completely begging for it, but even with all the begging, he knew that you had all the control right now. 

Your feet rubbed his calves up and down, and it was the simplest touch, but it heightened Harry’s need to let go. 

“Wanna cum for you, yeah.” His breaths were heavy and harsh as your touch was focused on his tip, wrapping your delicate hands around the head where he was most sensitive. 

Harry’s moans stuttered as a series of profanities slipped from his lips, spilling onto your stomach and breasts. You smiled to yourself as you studied his face when he came undone; his mouth was open, occasionally biting his lip, and eyes shut closed as his head was thrown back—he was the most beautiful person you’d ever seen, and the fact that you got to see him like this was an honor. 

When he came down from his high, he slowly opened his eyes, meeting yours, staring right at him. You smirked, body covered in his orgasm, and he thought that was a picture worth taking. You were gorgeous covered in his pleasure that you caused, and you seemed to love it too since you made no effort to wipe it off. 

Boldly, he leaned down, dragging his tongue from your stomach to your tit, spending the most time on your breasts as he nibbled and licked your nipples, collecting his orgasm from your skin and held it on the tip of his tongue until he reached your mouth. You willingly opened your mouth as his tongue delved right in, feeding you his cum. 

You two passionately kissed, tasting him ever so sensually. You moaned into his mouth, thinking about how the sight of Harry licking his orgasm off of your body was the sexiest thing you’d ever seen. With your hips jerking up, you felt yourself getting wet again and in need to release once more. 

You whimpered, pulling away. “Please. Need you so bad.” Harry nodded, agreeing. 

“Condom?” He asked, and you immediately reached over to your bedside table, ripping open the condom before rolling it onto his dick that was still hard. 

Harry curled in his lips, watching you. You gave him a few extra strokes for good measure, earning a soft moan from his mouth. He took his length in his hand, running the tip up and down your slit, collecting your arousal and lubricating his cock. He gave you one last look and you nodded before he slowly pushed in, indulging in your wetness and softness. 

A moan came out of both of your mouths, feeling completely full and warm for one another with the stretch Harry had on you. He planted his elbows on both sides of you, holding himself up over you as he slowly began to thrust. 

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Feel so good for me.” He placed a kiss on your lips as he whispered. He found a rhythm as he started to move faster, rocking his hips against yours, making you moan. 

It was a feeling like no other, and it was the amount of love you two had for one another that made this experience much more special. Love was practically oozing out of both of your veins, filling the room to its maximum capacity as the both of you moaned out in pleasure. 

You wrapped your legs around his waist and your arms looped around his back, hugging him closer to you as if he couldn’t get closer. You whined into his ear, the sounds of your pleasure were music to his eyes, sending a shiver down his body, making him jerk. But that jolt had hit your g-spot, and you screamed out in ecstasy. 

“Right there. Keep doing that. Keep fucking me,” you managed to say. Harry maintained his pace, going deeper, and fucking you into oblivion as you kept crying and screaming his name out. 

Harry’s lips attached to your neck, nibbling and licking your skin, leaving a few decent size love bites that he was sure to admire when they’d fully formed. Your nails had raked down his back, leaving a burning but pleasurable sting down his skin, letting him know that he was doing an amazing job. 

“You like that?” He groaned into your ear, leaving chills rising onto your skin. 

“Mhm. Just like that. Don’t stop. I-I’m so close.” You threw your head back into the pillows, and Harry took the opportunity to attack your exposed neck with kisses again. Your hands found Harry’s hair, tugging at his curls as he kissed you. That encouraged him to fuck you harder and faster, repeatedly hitting your special spot. “O-Oh…” 

“Come on, angel love. Cum for me, please. Wanna see you make a mess around me,” he encouraged you. 

With a few more thrusts, you were done. You had fully and completely released around him as your orgasm hit you like a ton of bricks. Your vision had gone white for a few seconds, head dizzy, and your breaths were caught in your throat as your hips involuntarily jolted, meeting his thrusts that were fucking you through your high. 

Harry started to thrust sloppily, burying his face in your neck as he spilled into the condom. His hot breath was against your skin as he started to slow down, coming down from his orgasm. 

The room was silent as the only sounds present were the heavy breaths and the post-orgasmic whimpers coming from your mouth as you two held one another. Your nails gently scratched down his back, contrasting to the desperate and needy scratches that you had given him just a few minutes ago. 

Harry lifted his head up, meeting your eyes before connecting his lips against yours, tongue meeting first before your lips moved in sync so passionately and lovingly that you both unspokenly agreed to never taste another pair of lips again. 

“I love you so much,” Harry said, resting his chin on your chest. 

You smiled down at him, eyes gleaming as you looked at your love, your entire heart, the man that had stolen your breath and heart just by one look. 

“And I love you too.” 

Waking up to the warmth of the body next to you was your favorite thing in the morning—had been for six months now. The sight next to you was something you wouldn’t get used to as you always found yourself feeling so lucky every single time you woke up next to him. 

But a pout formed onto your face when you saw that the space next to you was empty. The crinkled yellow sheets were left, missing a certain person that you had been excited to see this morning since you closed your eyes the night prior. 

Turning over to your bedside table, you grabbed your pager, seeing if you had any messages, and one specifically stood out to you, making you sleepily smile at your pager. 

“Goodmorning, angel,” Harry greeted as he stood in the doorway of your bedroom. He was wearing a gray sweatsuit, holding a white paper bag in one hand and a smoothie tray, that held two smoothies, in the other hand with a loving smile plastered on his face, making his dimples poke out. 

“Mm. Hi, darling.” Your arms reached forward, gesturing him to come to you, and he gladly did, situating himself on your body as you wrapped your arms around him. 

You two stayed like that for a moment, basking in the presence and gratitude of one another. It was nice until your stomach started growling, making Harry chuckle. 

“C’mon, gotta feed my girl before we head to the gym.” He got off of you, helping you up and out of the bed before helping you make the bed. He walked over to the kitchen before you went to the restroom, and when you walked out, Harry had your breakfast set on a plate. 

You two made light conversation, mostly enjoying the silence and tastiness of the food before you got ready to go to the gym. 

When you walked into Don’s Box, you were immediately greeted by a few of the members, giving you high fives, as well as saying hi to Harry. The entire gym had found out you two were together when they started to notice Harry coming into the gym almost every day and staying until the gym closed, so a few people had their speculations. Don was certain you two would get together from the very beginning, and he had told you that the only reason he was trying to act intimidating when Harry first walked in was that he sensed that something would happen, and he was right, something did happen. 

Benny was ecstatic; jokingly telling Harry that he could now spend time with his wife since you had taken all of Harry’s time now, which Benny earned a push from Harry towards the ropes of the ring. Benny’s wife was also pregnant and wanted Harry to be the godfather, which Harry immediately took on that responsibility and role. But that also meant since you and Harry were planning on staying together for the long run, you were becoming a godmother as well, which you were very excited about. 

You climbed up into the ring as Harry followed. You had a day off, and no one needed your attention other than Harry, so you helped him put on his gloves after you wrapped his hands in tape, and you put on your mitts, making sure they were tight before clapping the mitts together—Harry punched his gloves together, making sure they were comfortable. 

You raised your brows at him teasingly. “Ready, darling?” 

“Ready as always, my angel,” he responded, and you smirked. 

“Give me a good one. Give me 1.” 

talk to me about your favorite moments, your thoughts and feelings about this pls! thank you for reading <3

[plush-rabbit]

Uncertainty in the Household

Picture Perfect Series

TW: talk and action for miscarriage, slight manipulation

Word Count: 4.1K

A/N: I wanted to explore the reader and Danny’s relationship in this chapter, so i hope you like it, first part is p rough with the whole miscarriage, so you're free to skip to after the second - if you're uncomfy with that

-

Tears fall into your palms as your fingertips dig into your scalp, your belly- while still early in the pregnancy, still feels as if it’s protruding, and you sit on the shared bed, a faint smell of cigarettes and alcohol lingers in the air and you’re alone. For now, at least. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it were Danny who was the father. You want to kid yourself, to tell such lies that he could be the father, that sleeping with- that being forced into whatever sick game Ghostface has with you- that he didn’t impregnate you. You blame yourself. You should have taken the morning after pill, you should have purged yourself of everything and anything to make sure that you didn’t let yourself have his child. Your stomach twists and turns, a thin veil of acid on your tongue and you wonder how to explain this to Danny. If you even should. It’s still early, maybe you could get rid of the child before anyone has to know. Your eyes widen and you sit up, your eyes scanning the room and you let out a breath, nodding to yourself.

You can get rid of the child. No one knows. You made sure to throw away the pregnancy tests in a dumpster at a park and rip the receipts before anyone could ever see. No one has to know.

Loneliness, while always being your aggressor, has finally worked in your favor. You rush to put on your clothes, ignoring the burning desire to cry, your purse in your hand, you walk to the front door, pausing to leave a note to your partner.

“Went out, I’ll bring dinner.” Something short and simple. Marked with a little heart at the end that makes you feel a bit sick, like it’s something like a lie that you’re telling him. You place the pen down and grab the car keys, rushing down the steps. Each step down the stairs is something that feels heavy, chains around our ankle and the child- no, you can’t call it that. You know you’ll get attached. You’ve heard about the tactics that are used to pressure vulnerable people into keeping their unborn children, and you won’t be one of those. You can’t. Not now and you’re sure not ever. The car purrs to life, the steering wheel a bit too hot from being under the sun and you wait, letting the cool air fan against your already hot body and you reverse out of the parking lot.

-

You return with tuna, alcohol, fenugreek, a peppermint and aloe vera plant, a thin bag that is filled with peaches, different varieties of caffeine that you can already taste, and pineapple. Your hands ache, the base of your fingers sore from the heaviness of the bags that you stubbornly carried up to the apartment. You were not going to make multiple trips, that much was certain about your day. You hear his voice before you see him, a greeting cut off as he realizes just how much you’re carrying. Danny’s eyes widen, and he rushes off the couch, taking bags away and your palms are redden from the indents of the bags.

“Are we having a feast?” His hands are inside a bag and he pulls out wrapped fish, and he stops, turning to you, a tight smile on his lips that you don’t recognize. “I didn’t know you liked fish.” He places it down and watches as you carefully place a clinking bag down onto the table. “Alcohol too, huh? What-” he turns to you, a nervous chuckle filling the space of his words- “Did I forget a special date?”

You shake your head no, already biting into an unwashed peach, trying to ignore how many hands and bacteria have touched the fruit before you. “Just-” you speak with a full mouth and turn your head, covering your mouth with your hand and taking another bite. You swallow and take a gulp of air. “I was just craving fish is all. Why? Do you not like fish?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just that I- I just wanted soup, and-” your smile falls and he shakes his head. “I can get soup tomorrow. How long until the fish is down?”

“Actually-” you reach into another bag and pull out two containers- “I was able to buy some sushi on the way home.” You pull out a pack and slide the container to him. You spare him a glance as he stares at the sushi with an odd, angry feeling. “Oh, I’m uh, I have tomorrow off, by the way.” You meet his eyes for a minute and he gives you a nod, allowing you to continue.

“You’ve been throwing up lately,” he adds, taking a bite from his plate. Your heart sinks and you try to mask your emotions, turning around to grab a bottle opener from one the drawers. “I’ve been worried, you know. Maybe-” the chair squeaks and when you turn, he’s sitting down, an unopened beer beside his plate- “I should take tomorrow off too and we can go to the doctor. Just to see if you don’t have the flu or-” he tilts his head, his lips twitching- “if it isn’t anything else.”

A part of you wants to tell him your fear. You don’t want to be pregnant, and you hope that if you manifest it enough, it’ll be true. But you also fear that he wants a family and you’ll be the one ruining it for him. Maybe you aren’t even pregnant. Maybe it’s just needless worry over a few faulty exams, but you can’t risk it. Not now. Not if it has the chance to be someone other than Danny’s.

With a bottle opener in hand, you walk towards Danny, his eyes on you the entire time. You place the bottle opener beside his drink, a hand on his shoulder and the other brushing back his hair, combing it to the side. His hands leave his meal and rest against your hips, his gaze up at you and there’s a hint of a smile at his lips, and you lean down, pressing your lips over his scar that adorns his forehead.

“We have bills to pay Dan,” you mutter, “at least one of us should be responsible.” You close your eyes tightly to avoid tears spilling over, the hand on his shoulder tightening and when you pull away, he looks unbothered for a moment before giving you a forced smile. “Let’s eat, okay? You can tell me about your day.”

-

All it takes is one doctor appointment to confirm that you are not pregnant. It was just a scare. And as if life and everything else in control of you wanted to laugh, you bled through your underwear on the ride home. The vomiting in the morning was your body simply pretending to have the signs, your mind so strong that it created a falsehood of pregnancy, just because you were so scared and sure of it.

Life is odd for the moment. You tried so hard to get rid of the unwanted child and they were never there to begin with. You had to go through with the nervousness that consumed you. The call to the doctor, the waiting, the glances that Danny gave you as if he knew something. You wonder if he did know. He isn’t dumb, a bit dense when it comes to your feelings, but he’s smart in a way that matters. You hope that he doesn’t know, for both your sake and his. The little scare will be something that you take to your grave, hoping that it’ll remain just that.

The fan is turned on with a simple swipe of your hand against the light switch, the room filling with white noise. You sit on his couch, your body stiff as if it were the first time that you had visited his home. You still remember how it was. Dirty. You hadn’t expected that from him. There was trash all over, a sort of musty smell and an empty fridge. He hadn’t seemed embarrassed, but rather mildly inconvenienced even though he was the one to invite you over. However, now the place is as clean as it can be, the musty smell now replaced by a slight twinge of alcohol and tobacco, but with an overlapping floral scent from one of your candles. You can’t help but wonder if he minds that you added bits and pieces of yourself into his home. He calls it your home too, almost too eager to make sure that you know that you belong here, but even so, it doesn't feel like your home. It’s too empty, too devoid of your touch. You still feel as if you’re a guest, waiting and cleaning, tending to him when he needs it.

The simple fact of the matter is, this isn’t your home. Your stuff, your personal items that you decorated your home are still in boxes shoved under the bed. You miss your home. “I miss my home,” you say to yourself, tears pricking in your eyes. The rent was cheap, and the landlords were kind enough, but it’s gone. The place scooped up by some stranger and the thought has your stomach rising.

You’ve thought about leaving here. Perhaps not Danny, but maybe that would be a consequence of you leaving. It was too rushed. You were too scared of Ghostface invading your life again. You made a rash decision that the both of you now have to pay for. He lost his space, his privacy and you can tell he holds some resentment, the way he slams the doors close, how he locks the rooms and won’t speak to you until he needs something, until he’s pressuring you to kiss him with a half-hearted apology on his tongue.

You glance at the coffee table, old and cracked, the paint on the wood chipped and revealing the unfurnished finish. The photo frame is cold, a slight layer of dust over it, concealing your nervous smile and Danny’s wide one. He isn't happy, but he’s smiling. You both only have a few pictures with each other. It isn’t much, and you’re surprised that the photographer wouldn’t want more, but it can’t be helped.

The photo is placed back on the table, and you lay down on the sofa, grabbing at the throw blanket that you added. Your arms act as a pillow underneath your weary head, and you stare at the photo, training over how his arms are wrapped tight round you and how close that he holds you.

-

Daniel walks into his shared apartment with you, and he immediately spots your shoes in a different position than when he left. He frowns, walking further into the apartment, his eyes scan the room, his eyes landing on a crumpled bag of fast food on the table, the drink creating a water ring on the table. It isn’t like you to be so careless.

The drink rattles in his hand, nothing but cold liquid is inside the container. His bag is heavy as he leans it against the wall on the floor, and he finally finds you. You’re asleep on the couch, your body curled with the decorative throw blanket covering your body as the fan spins above.

He lowers himself to watch you, your soft breaths and the way your face is relaxed. You’re asleep and it brings him back to a time where you were under him, where night concealed him and he was able to hover above you. It’s much different now, you’re still scared but he’s able to kiss you, to have you rake your nails down his back and hold his hand as if it’s the only thing to keep you sane.

A calloused hand cups your cheek, your skin soft and blemished with faded scars that he’s studied meticulously night after night. You wake up with his fingers tracing over your face and he doesn’t make a sound, everything about him is stoic and he wonders how you are seeing this situation in your eyes. Are you scared? Do you know? Are you pregnant? What are you thinking of him at this very moment? You blink slowly at him and he’s reminded of a cat, watching and tired, and there’s a burning desire in him that wonders what you would do if he strangled you right now. Slowly, his hand lowers, his knuckles brushing over your cheekbones and down your jawline, touching against your pulse on your neck and he feels it quicken. Your eyes never leave his and he doesn’t look away. He’s sure that he could convince you that it was a joke or that maybe it was just a dream that you had. It’s been a while since you had such a vivid dream.

Your hand creeps from under the blanket and you hold the back of his hand, moving it back to your face, letting your lips press against the side of his palm in a soft kiss. “Danny,” you say in a sleepy voice as your eyes close. “How was work?” Your hand that holds his becomes limp and he watches as it slides down his hand, catching on the cuff of his sweater until it dangles off the couch.

It wasn’t smart of him to invite you to live with him. He was too reckless, too needy and desperate to have you beside him that he just wasn’t thinking. Even if you are naïve and easily pulled into a false sense of security, he can’t just explain his costume, he can’t explain the knife and all the careful cleaning kits that he has. This is all too risky.

But he can’t throw you out either. He’s become attached. You’re like a pet to him now, and as every disgruntled man says on television, don’t name something or else you’ll get attached. And now he’s fallen victim to it. It’s nice to have such an easy fuck around, to know that he cold do whatever he wanted to you and you’ll stay here with him, because the other option is much scarier. The corners of his lips pull upwards and he pulls his hand away, fixing the blanket above you and he rises from his knees with a sigh.

“Another dead body,” he says with a chipper voice that he can’t seem to hide. “All signs point to our residential serial killer.” It’s much too risky to have Ghostface visit you, you thought this as your safe haven, you have to know and think that it still is, but fuck does he miss your fear and how pitifully you cried. “You never told me why you hated him so much.” He has to bite the inside of his cheeks when your brows knit together. “I know he’s a killer, but did he ever hurt anyone close to you?”

Your eyes shift and you pull the blanket closer to you, the folds stretching across your frame and showing the curves of your body. “I’m not sure, I just-” you catch his eyes and he sees you visibly shrink away from him- “I’m scared of his mask.”

His mouth fills with saliva as he thinks about just how frightened you are. “What a shame, I was hoping to get into roleplay.” He could think about you know, how you'd hit and scream, how he could pretend that it was all part of the act and just hold you down, thinking about how you would put the pieces together and sob.

“That isn’t funny,” you say in a high-pitched voice, already cracking and sitting up to lessen the distance between the two of you. He rolls his eyes in response, standing up from his crouch with a hiss between his teeth. “People are dead,” you whine, as if he hasn’t been keeping up with the news with you. “He killed people.” You’re much more emotional than he thought, but you’ve held your mouth for so long, suffered in your silence and in your vulnerability; it's only natural you would have such strong emotions.

“Relax, it was a joke.” He takes off his jacket and tosses it beside you, watching as you pull yourself closer, further away from his jacket and only staring at it with confusion, as if he dared to have the audacity to throw something your way.

“A dumb one,” you say with with a pout, gripping tighter onto the blanket.

“I said relax,” Danny says in a stern voice, already done with the conversation. He may have been the one to start it but he was hoping for a more playful one, or rather one where you go along with him rather than try to fight him.

“Whatever,” you huff, and he sees you bundle the blanket in your arms, pushing yourself to the further end of the couch, looking at the wall with furrowed brows as your hand tries to discreetly cover your pout.

“Great,” he says sarcastically, turning around and walking towards the fridge. “Now, you’re angry,” he says loud enough for you to hear.

He rises back up with a bottle in his hand, toying with the cap, letting the ridges play against his fingertips. You don’t respond and he can feel his anger start to rise, something thick that lodges in his throat and makes it impossible to swallow. You aren’t answering him. Usually this would be a good sign, something that means he still has you wrapped around his finger, but it feels different. You aren’t moving from your spot, and you aren’t apologizing to him. He puts the bottle down, and runs his hand down his face with a heavy sigh.

“I think,” your voice is small, and he can barely hear it, but he can, “we both rushed into this… relationship. We should have taken it slow.” When you turn to him, he sees that your eyes are wet and you try to take steady breaths but to no avail. “I’m happy with you, but I don’t think we were thinking clearly when we chose to-” your eyes glance around and you look away from him- “to do this.”

His jaw twitches and he watches you, anger boiling inside of him, white-hot that makes it impossible to think and if he could, he'd grab the knife on the counter and stick it in your back but he can’t. Copper fills his mouth and he turns on his heel, the bedroom door slamming behind him, loud enough that he can hear your yelp and loud enough that it makes his ears ring. He wonders what the neighbors would think of it, but he can’t really bring himself to care. He’ll find an excuse, he always does.

His name is muted through the door and he rummages through the closet, pulling out a worn backpack and knocking a few clothes off the anger that he steps on. You enter the room just in time to witness him opening your drawer and throwing your things inside without a care.

“Danny?” Your voice sounds so fearful and it makes him stop for a second, and when he looks at you, your foot slides back out of the room. You’re terrified of him right now. “Danny, what are you doing?” You ask in a small voice, as you take a tentative step inside the room.

“You want to leave right?” He asks in a condescending tone, stepping closer to you with the back held tight in his hand. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll help you pack.”

“I didn’t-”

“Didn’t you say that we rushed into this?” With every word he stalks towards you and he tosses the backpack onto the bed, only to miss and have it slide down, the contents inside spilling onto the floor. You look away from him and that only adds fuel to the fire that is tarnishing him from the inside. “Didn’t you?” He shouts, slapping his hand on the dresses, rattling your bottles of perfume and creams. He stares at you, his nostrils flared and jaw tight as he tries to keep a sense of composure. “Did you or did you not?” He asks, his voice eerily calm as he lets his nails drag along the wall. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

“I’m sorry, Dan,” you cry, your eyes spilling over with tears. “I wasn’t thinking. Please, I promise, it was just a long day and I’m sorry.”

You’re pathetic and not in the way that he wants you. He turns around and you grab his arm, latching yourself around his forearm. His name is on your tongue and before you have a chance to finish it, he turns around, his hand raised, and mouth pulled into an ugly snarl. You let go of him immediately and try to shield yourself, but he aims for the wall instead. His palm stings and you let out a choked sob.

He can’t think. Not with you here. Not with his emotions running so high. Not when his palm stings and there’s something dark brooding inside of him. He takes a deep breath and he forces himself to look at you. You stare up at him with worry creasing your features.

“It's okay,” his words are still tense, but your body lowers its defenses slightly, and he knows he’s on the right track. “I was angry.” He pulls his hand away from the wall and rubs it with his other, the palm of his hand a light shade of pink. “Why don’t we have dinner, huh?” He tries to give you a charming smile, but it falls flat. “We’ll talk about it over dinner. You know-” he reaches for your hand and grabs it in both of his- “like couple’s therapy or some shit. How does that sound?”

You break away from his gaze, glancing at the floor, and he knows your habits and tics by now. You’ll scan the floor, and look up at him and smile and nod. You play your part so well, and if he had to be honest with himself, he can’t lose that. Not yet. Not when you’re so dependent on him and him on you. He waits for our smile, to give you his own to show that he’s okay, that his anger has subsided for now, but you never give him that. Your mouth parts open and there are tears in your eyes, your hand shakes and grows clammy in his. He calls your name, but you don’t respond. Your breath is ragged, sharp inhales and shaky exhales, and he follows your gaze to the floor under the bed.

In the corner of his eye, he spots white and his nails dig into your skin. “Go get me a beer, I’ll-” he looks down at you and your eyes are stuck, glued to the floor where you can see the face that has haunted you- “I’ll clean up, okay? Just give me a moment.” It isn’t enough, you’re still looking where the mask lays, the bottom half of the face peeking from under your undergarments. Your mouth opens in a silent question and when you look back at him, you’re scanning his face. His body runs hot, his mouth going dry and he says the only thing that can come to mind. “I told you I wanted to try roleplay.”

“I thought you were,” you hesitate, and your tongue peeks to wet your lips, “I thought you were kidding,” you say breathlessly, your words slow as if you were hypnotized and the truth of the matter is, is that you are. You’re ruined by the mask that lies on the floor, the mouth of it the only thing that you can see. You peel away from him and have your back turned to him, your arms coming up to give yourself a hug. “I’ll go get you a beer,” you say in a daze, and when you turn back, your smile is weak, and you can’t look at him for long, your eyes magnetized to the mask on the floor.

He’s left alone in the room, his nails digging into the palm of his hands and red in his vision. The worst part of it all is that he can’t go out tonight. Not when you saw his mask. You’re naïve, and easily spooked, but even you could put two and two together. Even your suspicions would start to rise as you questioned why there was a murder the night he went out. Why Ghostface hasn’t come back for you. You’d suspect him and he can’t have that, not when you’re already so fearful of him.

[markosmate]

taken away

Pairing; Marko x Emerson!Reader

Summary; Moving to a different state with your younger brothers and mother just to live with your grandfather was hard enough, but falling in love with a vampire and then watching your brother do the same thing? Much different story.

Warnings; strong language

au:// Woohoo y’all part 4 and we’re finally getting into the good stuff, only two more chapters till the smut ;)

Part 3   -   Part 5

“Where you going, Star?” My eyes snapped up to the owner of the voice, and they temporarily widened when I realized it was the same man the girl had left with the night prior. Apparently, her name was Star. His gaze was sharp, a silent warning that she better not defy him and proceed to get on Michael’s bike.

“For a ride. This is Michael.” She explained softly, gaze never leaving the mullet man. My own gaze flicked away from the conflict and towards my right where not even two feet away sat Marko, sitting atop his bike, and eyes already on me. He grinned a devilish kind of smile when my eyes met his and he sent me a small wink when I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyes away for a good few seconds.

“Let’s go.” Michael’s voice broke me out of it as he continued to try and get Star to leave with him. It didn’t work.

“Star.” Mr. Mullet warned. My eyes flicked between him and Star as she finally gave up and stepped away from Michael’s bike, grabbing the man’s shoulder and hoisting herself onto the back of his bike. I raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding the dynamic of whether or not they were together.

Once Star was seated comfortably and the dark-haired biker pulled the small child onto the back of his bike, Mr. Mullet turned his attention back to Michael. “You know where Hudson’s Bluff is? Over-looking the point?”

Michael scoffed a bit and shook his head. “I can’t beat your bike.”

Mullet grinned deviously and revved his engine. “You don’t have to beat me, Michael. You just have to try and keep up.” Before any of them made a move to leave, his gaze flicked to mine. “You’re more than welcome to tag along, doll. Wouldn’t want to leave a girl like yourself here alone.” And despite everything screaming in my head that I would be crazy to leave with these guys, and that I promised myself I wouldn’t associate with them and would turn in the other direction if they even glanced at me, I nodded.

His face lit up in an arrogant smirk and before I could even make the move to mount the back of Michael’s bike, Marko locked his gaze onto mine. “You could ride with me sweet thing, I’ll keep you safe. Promise.” There was a teasing tone to his words, and I rolled my eyes at his stupid pet name, but accepted his invite nonetheless. I hated riding with Michael, he was always jerky with the steering and switching between going way too fast and way too slow. These dudes couldn’t possibly be worse drivers than him, no matter where they were taking us to.

I pushed myself up and off the railing and walked around the side of his bike. I didn’t miss the victorious smiles the two long-haired blonds sent each other, but I chose to ignore it. I grabbed his shoulders and hoisted myself up onto the seat behind him. He looked back over his shoulder with a sly grin and whispered quietly to me. “Hold on.” I listened to him, wrapping my arms tightly around his torso and holding on for dear life as they set off. 

The four bikes sped down the boardwalk, weaving between crowds of people and almost hitting a few concession stands, and finally the boys all quite literally jumped the staircases onto the beach sand. They must have done that a thousand times, because Marko was able to steady the bike as soon as it hit the sand and he kept going as fast as possible without ever making a move to slow down. I lifted my face from being buried in the back of his shoulder and turned my head to see how Michael was holding up.

He seemed to slow his bike to a stop at the top of the staircase, hesitating and debating his options, before eventually opting to rev the bike down the stairs. His back tire kicked out as he hit the sand, but he quickly balanced the vehicle back out again. Once I knew he was safely traveling behind us, I turned back around to face the direction we were heading in. The boys seemed to be riding in a kind of diamond shape so they could all make eye contact with each other if need be. From my spot, I caught sight of Star turning to catch a glance of Michael before turning to face forward and grin happily as the boys cheered. 

I loosened my grip on Marko’s middle slightly, but not too much because I liked being this close to him in a weird sort of way. He turned his head to cheer with Paul who was laughing his ass off on his own bike a few yards away. I laughed and pressed my cheek to his shoulder blade to watch the ocean as we drove across the entirety of the beach. Soon the bikes moved into a line instead of the previous diamond, and we were speeding through the wooden stakes of the pier and swerving over a dirt path leading through the woods.

Finally, we emerged from the woods into a large cloud of fog, something completely abnormal at this time in the night and near this close to the bluff. I hugged myself closer to Marko as he, and the two other bikers pulled off to the side to let Michael and Mr. Mullet play a rather dangerous game of chicken leading towards the edge of the point.

At the last moment, Michael laid down his bike, skidding to a stop just before he plummeted over with his front tire hanging inches off the edge. Mullet braked his bike just in time, and he and Star stared out over the edge down towards the waves crashing against the bank. Marko and the two others quickly stopped their bikes as Michael stood sharply and whirled on Mullet.

I quickly stood from the bike and moved off to the side to get out of the boys’ way. The three bikers pushed themselves off their bikes, laid them down to the ground, and quickly moved closer as Michael ran towards Mullet. “What the hell you doing, huh?”

“No!” Star’s short scream of protest cut through the air as Michael pulled his fist back before punching Mullet clean across the face. The three others of the group quickly grabbed ahold of my brother and yanked him backwards, but he reciprocated just as fast and used both arms to shove back the dark-haired biker and Marko on either side of him.

He pointed at Mullet and began speaking once more. “Just you, come on! Just you.” He repeated, glaring Mullet down as the biker turned to look back at Michael with an eerily calm grin. “Come on, just you.” Michael mumbled again as Marko turned to grin at the other blond at his side.

“How far you willing to go Michael?” He mocked, watching with calculated eyes at Michael’s next move. Mullet gestures for his three friends to head down into the cave, and they all disperse from the three and begin to move their bikes so they’re out of sight. Before I can even try to make my way over to Michael to check if he’s alright, a pair of arms wraps around my waist from behind and swings me for a short moment. I let out a short squeak of a laugh, deciding that the chances of it being Marko are very high and there was no need for me to panic at the contact.

The wind blows hard from behind us, and a few locks of curly hair are blown forward across my shoulders. That confirms it, I note to myself.

After Michael’s and Mullet’s bikes are hidden away with the others, the eight of us make our way down a set of stairs that lead to an opening in the rock. The dark-haired boy leads us, a large burning stick in his hand that he uses to light a couple of fires around the cave.

The glam-rocker dude jumped down the last rock hand-in-hand with the young child. “Rock bottom, bud.”

“Yeah.” The kid laughed along, moving off to the side towards a large radio speaker. Marko gripped the loop of my jeans, pulling me to jump off the last rock and land next to where he was standing. I tore my eyes away from where Michael was to look at the curly-haired boy next to me. He was watching what Mullet was doing, not looking me in the eyes, but a smirk curled his lips when he noticed me staring.

As Mullet began explaining the history behind the cave we were in, Marko scooped a pigeon up from where it was picking at crumbs, and held it against his check as he pulled my belt loop to have me leaning against one of his legs. “Not bad, huh? This was the hottest resort in Santa Carla about 85 years ago.” Mullet’s voice echoed through the cave as glam-rocker leaned down to grab the heavy radio from the kid. “Too bad they built it on a fault. In 1906, when the big one hit San Francisco, the ground opened up, this place took a header-” He clapped his gloved hands together loudly as he walked around the fountain and in the direction of the corner where Marko and I stood. “- right into the crack. So now it’s ours.”

“So check it out, Mikey.” Glam rocker teased from on top of the fountain, busying himself with lighting a blunt. The guys all laughed at his teasing, before Mullet turned to where Marko and I were standing. 

“Marko,” Said boy immediately stood a bit straighter, shifting from foot to foot and loosening his hold on the pigeon and I. “Food.” Marko gave a short nod, letting the pigeon go and turning to me. He jokingly kissed my cheek before whispering a little too softly into my ear.

“Be back soon, sweet thing.” When he pulled back he was sporting a large Cheshire grin, and he winked as I smacked his hair with a small laugh before turning and hopping back up the rocks we originally came down.

Now that he was gone, I couldn’t make myself look occupied and avoid contact with any of the other boys. I watched as Mullet held the blunt glam-rocker had given him up to Michael and offered it to him as an appetizer. Michael declined, and while Mullet’s attention was diverted I analyzed everyone else to see who the most approachable was. I decided on glam-rocker, shyly moving over to the couch he was seated on and plopping down next to him.

He grinned at me when he saw me make myself comfortable. “Hey, babe. Nice to meet you.”

I smiled back at him and gripped the hand he was offering to me, shaking it firmly. “Ivory.”

He laughed, almost a disbelieving kind of laugh, before locking eyes with me again. “Oh, we already know. Marko told us. I’m Paul, that’s Dwayne,” He pointed towards the dark-haired one sitting on the furniture opposite of us who sent me a small smile and tiny wave. I waved back before keying back into what Paul was saying. “And that’s David. You might wanna start calling him his name, I don’t think he takes too kindly to just ‘Mullet’.”

I felt my face flush and my eyes shot back to lock onto Paul’s. “Oh no, have I been calling him that out loud?”

I don’t remember calling him that out loud at all to be completely honest, but Paul grinned back at me like he knew something that I didn’t and went right along with it. “Oh yeah, definitely. Like three times, if I’m telling you the truth.”

I shot him a bewildered look before laughing. “Well, great first impression for the scary one I guess.”

Paul chuckled along with me. “Hey, you’re after Marko right now, if there’s anyone to be labeled the scary one - other than David - it’s him.”

I shrugged at his words. “My feelings for the blond can’t be helped.” I quite enjoyed this little banter we had going back and forth, it was flowing easily and I enjoyed being able to have an ongoing conversation with someone without it turning awkwardly quiet halfway through. After a little more banter between Paul and myself, footsteps echoed across the rocks and Marko jumped down into the cave.

“Feeding time, come and get it boys!” He called out voice echoing. 

“Alright.” Paul cheered quietly as Marko carried the large box towards where David was sitting in his wheelchair.

“Chinese... Good choice.” David complimented when he saw the food inside the carryout box. Marko handed a container to David, before turning and tossing one to Dwayne.

“Over here bud.” Paul called out and Marko tossed one to him as well. The curly-haired biker then pulled out another container and leaned over to hand it to me, shooting a small smile my way when I thanked him.

I leaned back against the couch, Paul at my side, and watched as David opened up the box of rice in his hands. He took a bite of it before leaning over and offering some to Michael. “Guests first.”

“No.” Michael politely declined, holding up his hand and shaking his head softly. “You don’t like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong?” David questioned, his joke causing the other boys to laugh at Michael’s expense. Mike snorted quietly before leaning over and excepting the rice, pulling the fork out and taking a bite.

I shifted in my seat, pulling my knees up to my chest and watching as David grabbed another box from Marko’s hands. A weird feeling filled my chest as I watched David look up at Michael instead of continuing to pick at his noodles.

“How are those maggots?” David’s voice suddenly broke the air and my eyebrows shot up. Michael looked up at him, eyebrow quirking and eyes filling with confusion.

“Hm?”

“Maggots, Michael. You’re eating maggots, how do they taste?” Michael rolled his eyes at what David was saying but looked down at his box nonetheless. I followed in his steps and brought my gaze down to my own box. Rice, that’s all that was in mine. My eyebrows furrowed and I lifted my gaze over to Michael’s box and had to physically fight myself against gasping aloud. Maggots wiggled around each other, almost completely overflowing from the container. Mike’s eyes widened and he threw the box to the floor, leaning to the side to spit out the creatures while the four boys laughed and Star protested against what was going on.

Mike reached up, and grabbed a piece of rice from his lip before looking back down at the box. We both stared in disbelief as the contents spilled on the floor weren’t even close to resembling maggots anymore - now all that sat there was the same rice in the rest of the boxes. “Sorry about that. No hard feelings, huh?”

“Nah.” Michael shook his head, obviously trying to play it off cool as I switched my gaze between the spilled rice and David, who shoved his chopsticks into the noodles he was holding. How had he done that? I had clearly seen maggots rummaging in the take-out container, but the next second they were back to looking like parcels of rice.

Suddenly, David leaned over and offered Michael the box of noodles in his hand. “Why don’t you try some noodles?”

I watched Michael physically recoil from the offered food and I was almost scared to look down and see what it was this time. “They’re worms.” Michael wasn’t lying, I caught a glimpse of the box before David pulled it back to himself and there were, indeed, clumps of worms twisted around each other.

“They’re worms.” David snorted in disbelief, rolling his eyes and collecting a few on his chopsticks.

“Hey, don’t eat that-” Michael tried to protest but shut his mouth when the only thing that was wrapped around the chopsticks and getting stuffed into David’s mouth were a tangle of noodles.

David swallowed his food, before looking back down to Michael with a small satisfactory smirk. “They’re only noodles, Michael.” I stared at the platinum blond in admiration, how had he managed to make both of us actually see something that wasn’t really there? How had he managed to make both the maggots and the worms seem so realistic? 

“That’s enough.” Star spoke clearly, trying to get the boys to listen to what she was saying.

“Ah, chill out girl.” Paul shushed her from beside me, clearly enjoying the show David was putting on for them at Michael’s expense.

Suddenly, David’s cold eyes turned to me. He smirked, and gestured Marko over to him.

Marko leant over, letting David speak quietly into his ear and letting his eyes lock onto mine as the leader spoke. He nodded a bit, breaking his gaze from mine, dropping his food onto a small side table, and turning and walking over to an old, dusty collection of drawers. I watched him intently, feeling in that moment like I could live the rest of my life completely content if I could just watch Marko do absolutely anything. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a large bejeweled bottle with red liquid swishing around on the inside.

He carried this bottle with both hands and made his way back over to David’s side, handing it over to his leader as gently as possible. Everything became silent, and Star made her move to stand over to the side of where Michael was sitting against a broken fountain. Marko maintained his spot beside the platinum blond, but this time his eyes stayed on me - regardless of if mine returned his gaze or not.

David popped the cork of the bottle and raised it to his lips, taking a large gulp of the liquid and letting his eyes roll back into his head in pleasure after swallowing it. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched the interaction unfold. He opened his eyes, now a faint bloodshot, and locked them immediately with Mike’s.

“Drink some of this, Michael.” I didn’t like the feeling I got in my chest just then, a deep unsettling feeling that shook me to my core and made me want to run up and out of the fallen hotel and hightail it home. Judging by Michael’s expression, he obviously didn’t have even close to the same idea I did. He watched David with interested eyes as he spoke his next few words. “Be one of us.”

[thetaleoflevi]

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Company

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Pairing: Levi x Reader

Content Type: SFW, Modern AU, Fluff

TW: Mentions sex for a split second, smoking, heartbreak, mentions death

Description: Reader gets stood up and gets a ride home from her waiter, Levi.

Word Count: 3.4k

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There you sat in that booth. Alone, starving both socially and physically. You were at a restaurant waiting to meet the man of your dreams. You met him on a dating app and the chemistry was too good to be true. He was charming and funny. He comforted you and brought peace to your mind about your biggest insecurities. His personality checked every single one of your boxes for what you described as a “perfect man.”

One thing you failed to remember was his inability to make time for you. He always said he would call you at a certain time and you believed him every. single. time. You waited hours just so that he wouldn’t. He didn’t even text you an excuse for why he had left you hanging.

Why you believed him this time was beyond you. You were waiting for him like you always were. It’s been two hours already. It’s ten o’clock and you are alone, sipping tap water through a skinny black straw. “Ma’am, I’m here to let you know that we close at ten thirty. Are you sure you don’t want to order anything? Not even to-go?” The male waiter looked at you with sympathetic eyes. His name tag read ‘Levi’ in uppercase letters.

You sighed disappointedly and stood up, plopping the napkin that rested on your lap the entire time onto the table. “No, I’m okay. Thank you for all the water refills. This is for you.” You gave him a thirty dollar tip, which you thought was bizarre until you remembered that this was a high-end establishment and people usually tipped amounts in the hundreds. “Thank you, Miss. Have a good night.” He put the money in his apron. “You as well.” You replied squeezing out of the booth and exiting through the large, bulky-knobbed doors.

You were starting to regret wearing such a dress out in public. It was a long burgundy dress that hugged the curves of your body, with straps that hung off your shoulders. Your decision to ditch your jacket was not appreciated with the cold breeze that whistled through the night. The open area on your back had goosebumps that spread to your entire body when you sat down on some steps and leaned on a wall covered in cold, blue square tiles just outside the restaurant.

You were unsure if you should walk home or call a taxi. Both seemed unsafe with the apparel you were sporting. ‘I think i’ll wait here for a little,’ you thought to yourself. You looked down at your phone to see a message from your supposed date. “Sorry. I had to work a little later today. Raincheck?” You scoffed and blocked his number as fast you could. Later you would stupidly regret it when you felt lonely, but for now that was the best choice you could’ve made.

You hugged yourself as the ruthless breeze continued to mock your sleeveless arms. Suddenly a door to your right opened, and out came the waiter who attended you. He was holding a take-out box and the black apron that was tied around his waist before now hung on his forearm. He looked down and flinched in surprise when he saw you sitting on the stairs against the wall.

“Miss, what are you still doing here?” He questioned leaning down to talk to you at eye level. “Don’t ask me that question. I’m too embarrassed to answer.” You closed your eyes for a second and the second after you opened them he was seated next to you. “Cigarette?” He extended an open box towards you. “Don’t you know those things are deadly?” You asked, discreetly voicing your pass on the offer.

“You’re right about that…” He confirmed, pulling one out and stuffing the box into his pants pocket. He put it between his lips and lit it, inhaling for a few seconds before slowly exhaling. A medium sized cloud of smoke left his lips. “…but we’re all going to die someday. We can’t be afraid of the inevitable.” You nod in agreement. “You’re right about that.” You say, returning his line.

Your whole body shivers when the wind strikes your bare arms again. The man next to you notices and looks at you with slightly widened eyes. “I’m so sorry, you must be freezing. Let me get you a jacket-“ “No, no. I’m alright, really.” You interrupted, waving your hands in front of you. “I’m going to get you a jacket. Please, wait here. My car is right across the street. I’ll be back in an instant.” He put out his cigarette and stood up. “Levi, I’m okay.” You say calmly, grabbing onto his arm before he could leave. When he stopped, you slowly retracted your arm.

“I like you. You pay attention to detail. Most people would have ignored my name tag.” He gave you a soft smile. He must have been new to smoking because his teeth still looked nice and he didn’t sound like an eighty-year-old man. “What’s your name?” You stood up so that you could talk to him without having to tilt your head up so harshly. “Y/N.” He nodded in acknowledgement. “Pretty name. So listen, Y/N. I don’t want you to freeze out here. You can’t walk by yourself or take a taxi home this late at night. If I let you do either of those things, I would feel responsible for any horrible thing that could happen. Please—and I’m asking in the most respectful way I can—let me take you home.”

He cringed at himself when he saw how you laughed at the way he phrased his question. “That still sounded bad, huh?” “Yep.” You responded with another chuckle. “Well, you get what I mean. Let me drive you to your house.” You rolled your eyes in defeat. “Fine.” “Great.” “Awesome.” “Spectacular.” “Stupendous.” You were both bickering like children before you finally made it to his car.

“How does a woman like you get stood up on a date?” Levi asked curiously, shaking his head in disbelief. “What makes you think I got stood up?” You say in a playfully defensive manner. He gave you the ‘i’ve-seen-it-happen-like-a-billion-times’ look for a second. “Yeah, I got stood up.” You admitted sheepishly. “Tell me about it. The guy must really be somebody to let you down like this. If I were him, I’d be begging for your forgiveness for hours.” You turned to look at his wide-eyed expression. A slight tint of pink was visible on his cheeks with thanks to the moonlight.

“I-I mean, I wouldn’t do it for hours, but I would definitely beg for your forgiveness.” He facepalmed at his forwardness. “Just tell me about this guy before I pull over and let you drive yourself home.” Levi’s flustered state was the cutest thing you had ever seen.

“Okay, just don’t make fun of his name. Even if he deserves it.” You muttered the last part. “His name is _____. He-” Before you could continue introducing _____ to Levi, Levi had burst into a snickering fit. He was trying so hard not to laugh, trying to remain respectful while you told your story.

“Rude! Anyway,” you continued,“Apart from his name, this man would have been what you would describe as a soulmate, if it weren’t for his awful routine of letting me down when he promised he wouldn’t. He’s funny, he’s handsome, and he was SO good at comforting me. That all goes to waste when you can’t make time for someone. That’s how he went to waste.” The car went silent for a few seconds.

“I know how that feels. Something similar happened to me a few years ago. There was this girl I was crazy about. She was so beautiful and elegant in everything she did. She was a complete opposite to me. We were supposed to get married one winter, but she called it off a few days before the wedding—something about her mom being really sick.” He looked ahead at the road with a look as if he still resented her after all these years.

“It wasn’t until I saw a post— a picture of her and her family in a cabin in the woods. Her mom was alive and well and her new man was doing just fine. The part that left a scar on my heart wasn’t even the fact that she left me for another man days before our wedding. I could’ve dealt with that if she had told me that she had fallen out of love with me and wasn’t going to marry me. But the part that left a scar on my heart is that lie. It had me wondering what other lies there were hidden in our relationship.” Once again the car went dead silent.

“We’re here.” Levi said as he put his car in park. “Thank you for bringing me home, Levi. I don’t know how to repay you. I gave you all the money I had in cash.” Levi chuckled at this. “You don’t owe me anything, but, if you really want to repay me, how about giving me your phone number?” He opened the contacts app and created a contact for you in his phone. He handed it to you so you could put your phone number in.

“Why would you want my phone number?” You ask, taking his phone and typing in the digits. “I really enjoyed your company today, Y/N. Maybe we’ve just been talking to the wrong people this whole time.” He said placing one hand back on the steering wheel. “You think so?” You ask as you hand his phone back to him. He smiled at the numbers printed on his screen before his screen clicked off. “I do.” He says turning his body to face you.

The silence is deadly. It’s intoxicating. Intoxicating enough to plant bad ideas into your head.

“Do you maybe want to come in for some coffee or tea?” Twelve words that would decide whether the two of you still believed in love.

You noticed the way his lips threatened to form a smirk. “We’re not having sex, i’ll tell you that right now.” You say putting a hand on the car door. “That’s not at all what I had in mind.” He said with a cheeky smile. “Good. So are you coming in or not?” You released your grip on the door and backed up a little. He turned off the car and exited, meeting you on the sidewalk. “I’ll have some tea, please and thank you.” You smiled and led him to your house.

You closed the door behind you and watched as Levi let his eyes wander around your house. “It’s small, but I didn’t expect anything too luxurious either. Considering the fact that you tipped me a mere thirty dollars and you’re single. Is this enough for you?” Levi inquired, exploring the walls and looking at the occasional pictures on your walls. You furrowed your eyebrows as you filled a tea kettle with water to heat up on the stove. “First of all, I gave you thirty dollars for serving me four glasses of tap water. Second, how would you know about the way I live based on my relationship status? Third, yes, this is enough for me.”

He changed the subject nervously as he walked into the small room that was your kitchen and dining area, “You have good taste in tea. I’ve been trying to find this specific brand for days now. I see you’re the one cleared the shelves.” He opened a cabinet to reveal boxes on boxes of tea from your favorite tea brand. “It’s kind of an addiction.” You say quietly. He chuckles as he closes the cabinet and stands next to you.

“The water is ready. How do you like your tea?” You held a small white teacup. “That’s alright, I can make it myself.” You give him the teacup and move away from the stove to give him access to the kettle. “Feel free to rummage through my fridge and cabinets for anything you want to add to your tea. I’m gonna go change into something less attention seeking.” He nodded as you walked away, eyeing the way you held the length of your dress to prevent yourself from tripping.

You first went to your bathroom to remove the minimal effort you had made to try makeup. After, you changed into a plain white t-shirt, some gray sweatpants, and some fuzzy socks. Apart from the fuzzy socks, it was a boyish look, but you preferred it over booty shorts and camisoles. You went back to the bathroom to remove the bobby pins that were in your hair, letting every hair that was pinned previously fall into place.

“I’m sorry, have we met?” Levi said teasingly as you made your way to the living room. “Funny.” You replied, sitting far from Levi’s end of the couch.

“So, why did you invite me into your house?” The dark-haired man asked after taking a sip of his tea. You didn’t expect such a question, making it difficult for you to come up with an answer that was quick and sincere. You went with what rolled off your tongue easiest, which wasn’t a safe thing to do with a question like that. “I wanted company.” The sincerity was definitely there.

You brought your knees up to your chest and hugged them. “I waited those two pathetic hours at the restaurant because I wasn’t expecting to come home alone again. Somebody promised to be there.” Levi tilted his head at your words. “Well you managed to do the first part. I’m here. And I may not be the person you expected, but I can do those same things he did better.” He set his cup down and watched as you chewed on your nails, as if it was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

You stopped once you felt the annoying feeling in your chest tone down. “I think you should stop smoking. Lung cancer isn’t pretty.” He picked up the teacup in the strange manner you had noticed before and took another sip. “Give me a really good reason and i’ll consider it. Don’t make it a scientific one either, like cancer and shit like that.” He set the cup down on the table once again. He crossed his legs as he waited for you to give him your great reason for preventing an entire addiction.

“I want to have enough time to befriend you. I can’t do that if you’re slowly decreasing your lifespan.” You lowered your knees to sit more comfortably in a cross-legged position. He stood up and walked closer to your end of the couch and ended up sitting a foot away from you with your legs touching.

“Why would you want to befriend someone like me?” You could see the tiredness in his eyes. From the short distance between you two, you could finally appreciate the attractiveness of the man in front of you. He had the prettiest gray eyes that you could see your reflection in. He had beautiful inky hair that was styled in a way that made him look professional, not to mention, handsome. The bags under his eyes hinted that he was potentially an insomniac, but who were you to judge? You frequently partake in sleepless nights as well.

“You’re a good guy, Levi. I can see myself falling in love with you and your chivalrous charm. Though you’re still a stranger, I invited you into my home because you’ve gained some of my trust. Unlike the disgusting men i’ve talked to before, you still haven’t asked me where my bedroom is. You’re not pushing me to do anything I don’t want to, and frankly, you don’t bring me the slightest bit of discomfort. You also haven’t let me down tonight. Not once. You brought me water every time I almost finished my glass and you got me home when in my head I didn’t know how I was going to get there.”

He had the most grateful look in his eyes, like you had saved his life from an endless void. “Can I kiss you?” He asked in almost a whisper. Your heart went from relaxed to racing as soon as you heard the word ‘kiss.’ You were visibly nervous and Levi caught on instantly. “Is it too soon?” So many questions had been asked today yet none of them had your heart threatening to show itself like the last two.

“Do you really want to?” You asked obliviously, continuing the line of questions. “Yes, so badly.” He reassured.

You pulled him closer to you by the collar of his white dress shirt. His lips softly locked with yours, enveloping you with warmth internally and externally. There was no lust poured into this moment. It was a scene that demonstrated the mutual appreciation of two souls who thought love was not to be counted on. You could smell the deep scent of black tea on his lips as you brushed your lips out of his hold, only to be brought back for more.

His hand landed on your waist, bringing familiar goosebumps to your skin. You weren’t on earth anymore. You were roaming the clouds outside the gates of heaven. This innocent display of affection brought tears to your eyes, which rolled down your cheeks and left gray spots on your white shirt. Your hold on his collar loosened when you brought your right hand to his cheek, caressing it gently. Levi’s hands rode your sides up and down slowly over your shirt, wishing he could feel the warmth of your skin on his fingertips.

You both pulled away slowly, looking into each other’s eyes with pure admiration. His thumbs instantly went below your lower lash line and cheeks to dry the tears that had escaped your eyes. “What’s wrong?” His eyes went soft as you held his hand in place. “I’m so damn deprived of affection. This is the first time i’ve kissed—touched someone and let them touch me like this in over two years.” You bring his hand to your lips and kiss the palm.

“I thought you and _____ were close.” You rolled your eyes internally at the thought of that guy. “We’ve never met. Today, uh…” You let out a weak chuckle. “…we were supposed to meet in person for the first time.”

Levi furrowed his eyebrows slightly in disgust and hatred for the man. “Nobody deserves you, Y/N. Not even me. You’re too good for people. Don’t let this guy place a value on your worth when he didn’t even bother to meet you. He’ll never know what it’s like to kiss your lips, or to inhale your debilitating scent. He missed out, and i’m glad he did. No offense.”

You chuckled at his sweet words. “You’re too kind, Levi.”

The conversation between you two continued for hours. It varied from what an ideal man would be for you and what an ideal woman would be for him, to what plans you both had for the future. You never thought you’d be sharing so much with a person that you met literally hours ago.

The night ended for you two at two in the morning. “Thank you for staying for so long, Levi. I appreciate the wholeness you brought to my house.” You walked behind him as you followed him to his car. “I’ll be using your number often, so don’t forget about me.” His hand found it’s way to your cheek again and shielded you against the cold wind. “You’re still not wearing a jacket, Y/N. Unbelievable.” He teased.

He opened the back right door of his car and brought out a forest green hoodie. “Put this on.” He requested, putting it in front of you. “No.” “Y/N.” “No.” “Y/N, please. For me?” You sighed, annoyed at the moment at his protectiveness. You slipped the hoodie on, it looked just slightly oversized on you. “Thank you. Now your turn.” You rolled your eyes playfully and muttered,“Thank you,” under your breath. “Huh? What was that?” “Thank you, gosh!” He chuckled as he pulled you into a hug. You could feel his shoulders shake which made you smile like an idiot.

“You look so cute, and now I have an excuse to come back. Whoops, I ‘forgot’ my hoodie.” “You’re a goofball.” You reply, planting a kiss on his cheek, then one on his forehead. “I should get going. If I don’t leave now, I’ll want to stay with you all night.” He kissed your forehead, the breeze cooling down the spot instantly. “Goodnight, Levi.” A gentle smile formed on your lips. “Goodnight, Y/N.” He got into his car and drove away until you couldn’t see the lights anymore.

I won’t smoke anymore cigarettes, Y/N. For your sake.

[anagentinwriting]

Lifeline - Part 18

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: 3800+

Warnings: Angst, blood, violence

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

After receiving information from dispatch about the location of Billy’s cell phone, Thor called in an anonymous tip to Fury’s team, but instead of waiting around, Nat and Thor pulled onto the interstate, following the cellphone south to San Diego. 

Thor stared out the window, resting his elbow on the window railing with his chin in his hand. “I’m sorry, Natasha, for acting like a jerk earlier. I know you were doing your job and following orders. I would’ve done the same.”

“We’ve good,” Nat replied, giving him a once over. “You doing okay?”

“I keep thinking everything will be okay, and everything will work out--” he rubbed his eyes “--but um, I don’t know… I don’t know what we are going to find when we get there? Is she gonna be mad at me, is she going to be hurt, is she gonna be…” Thor took in a sharp breath, clearing his throat. “Billy threatened to kill her once before, you know, and he almost killed Steve. I’m afraid of what we are going to find.”

“Don’t think like that,” Natasha reassured, patting him on the shoulder. “We’ll find her.” She bit her lip, nodding to herself for her own reassurance. “YN’s strong…and with everything she went through, she rebuilt her life and herself. Billy might have her, but I have a feeling he has no idea who he is dealing with now.” 

Thor nodded, “If Billy lays another one of his grimy hands on her, he will suffer a fate worse than death. He’ll be…”

“More dead?” Nat asked, trying to contain a chuckle in this highly stressed situation. 

“Yes, but I was thinking more like being stuck in rush hour traffic for the rest of his life,” Thor smirked, trying to keep the conversation light. 

“Oh yes, that sounds so much worse.”

_____________

“Where are we going?” You questioned, sneaking a peek at Billy, gripping the steering wheel. 

“We’re starting over. I’m saving us from this tricky situation you put us in.”

You leaned back into your seat, chewing on the inside of your cheek. “Right, because everything is my fault,” you grimaced, rolling your eyes. “Why don’t you get it over with and kill me? I mean, isn’t that your plan.”

“WHOA, WHOA, WHOA,” Billy retorted, widening his eyes. “I can’t imagine my life without you. Why would I want to kill you, YN; I love you. You’re all I have.”

“But, that’s it, you don’t have me,” you mumbled, wringing your hands together. “I just never got a say in the matter.”

He huffed out a breath, shaking his head. “What’s with this attitude?”

“Well…what more do I have to lose? I lost my friends and family…like yesterday, and now, you’re all I have,” you admitted with a shrug. “It’s what you wanted, right? Me and you, both ghosts, living in the shadows, or did this car come with new identities, too? Oh wait, is that what’s in the duffle bag in the backseat?”

“Why would you think that?” He narrowed his eyes, licking his lips.

“Well, a creepy guy with a scar and milky eye drops off a car at a gas station. Now, doesn't that sound like the start of a bad joke? I mean, he definitely didn’t look like a criminal or a bad guy in his dark suit, and his name sounded so original, Agent Orange. I think I know a few people by that name.” You pressed your lips together, tilting your head. “On the other hand, if he looked like a dad, wearing crispy white boys on his feet, jean shorts, and a polo shirt. It would have been an immediate red flag.”

Billy smirked, shaking his head. “Luckily for you, you don’t have to worry. I have our lives all planned out, but I did miss your snarky attitude. Whatever happened to it?”

“I will give you a hint,” you leaned over the center console, “if you look in a mirror, you could probably spot the reason.” 

“Touche,” He added, cracking a smile, making the corners of his dark eyes crinkle. He gently grabbed your hand in his, sending an unpleasant shiver through your body, and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of your hand. You tried not to make a face as he lowered your conjoined hands back onto the center console. 

“I want you to know it isn’t going to be like this forever. We’ll get past this like we always do. I will forgive you, you will forgive me, and we’ll start over in this new city, meet new people, and create a whole new life for ourselves.” He squeezed your hand. “You can forget about the life you created yourself because you're never going back to that. This is our chance to start over...together.” 

____________

Nat pulled up behind two other police cruisers and a Chrysler 300 Black Sedan. Thor jumped out before she could get it into park and jogged up to the Chrysler but was stopped by Fury's hand. 

“Thor, for what do I owe this pleasure?” Fury asked, his one eye-widening, looking him up and down.

“Is she here? Is my sister here?” Thor gulped, looking past Fury to try and get a better look, but the officers were retreating away from the vehicle. 

“No, she’s not.” Thor’s shoulder sank, letting out a breath. “But, I assume you were the one who called in the anonymous tip.”

“Me… anonymous tip…no, no, that doesn’t sound like something I would do.” He shook his head while Nick stared him down.

“Odinson, I listened to the tape, and it sounded just like you.”

“Did it? Huh?” Thor rubbed his chin, staring hard at the ground.

“Seeing it will be better if we just work together at this point. I want you to know that we were able to recover the video surveillance from your sister's home, and we can confirm it was her husband, Billy Russo.” 

“I told you this. I told you the night it happened.” Thor shook his head. “And it’s her ex. Ex-husband,” Thor corrected, placing his hands on his hips. “So what…we have nothing now?”

“Russo is smart and is playing his moves carefully. He knows what he is doing, making all the right moves, but he'll mess up, and when he does, we will find him.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from him given his background,” Nat stated, coming up to stand next to Thor. “Are we even sure this is the right vehicle?”

Fury narrowed his eyes at her, raising his voice. “Believe it or not Ms. Romanoff, but we do know how to track a phone and find a vehicle.” She smirked at his change in attitude. “And for your information, there was a 911 call placed earlier this morning from a gas station near San Diego. A mother and daughter found a note with YN’s name, Russo’s name, the vehicle description, and the license plate number. It said to give this information to the police. This would explain how Russo’s phone ended up in this car.” Nick pointed over his shoulder at the Chrysler. “YN made a smart move, but Russo must have pulled a fast one on her and switched cars at the last minute, so it doesn’t do us much good right now.”

“Did they see YN at all? Was she okay? Was she hurt...”

Fury held up his hand, and Thor shut his mouth. “Yes. The woman mentioned her looking a little beaten up but seemed hopeful.”

“When I find this bastard, I am going to…” Thor bit his tongue, clenching his fist and punching it into his palm. He mumbled to himself, shaking his head, stepping away from them.

“How’s your friend in the hospital? Any word yet?” Fury asked Nat, who narrowed her eyes at the scene behind him.

“He’s in recovery now. They're keeping a close eye on him.”

“Good.” Fury’s eye caught on to Thor’s unexplainable gestures while he paced back and forth. “What would you say about getting your friend a bulletproof vest; he looks like he could do something reckless.”

“I do have an extra one in the cab; I’ll give it to him for safe measure.”

“Excellent.”

“Since this is the correct car, who is the man behind the wheel? Any connection to Russo?” Nat questioned, staring at the black sedan. Thor returned, giving Nat a reassuring nod.

“We haven’t looked into much yet, but his name is William Rawlins. He is the COO of Cerberus and says it’s a company vehicle but doesn’t know who used it before him. He checked it out to run a quick errand over his lunch break, but we are headed back to his office now to look over the record logs.”

“What’s Cerberus?” Thor asked, looking between Nat and Nick for more information.

“It’s a security firm in San Diego, but I think they have different branches all over the country now. It protects public officials, and they also have a private investigating sector that started up a few years ago. I was on a case with one of their ‘agents’ as they call themselves, and he was an asshole.” Nat informed him, Nick nodded in agreement.

“Sounds a lot like Anvil,” Thor added, rubbing a hand over his scruff. “If this is a company vehicle, then someone must be helping Billy. For all we know it’s this Rawlins, and he’s playing us.”

“As much as we want to speculate at this point, it’s too early to tell.” Nat shrugged, and Fury nodded.

“Why would Cerberus remind you of Anvil? What is this Anvil?” Nick inquired, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh, it’s a security firm Billy works at in New York City. He’s in the private investigating sector there.”

“Is there any reason to believe that Anvil is a branch of Cerberus?” Nat raised a brow at him, and Thor narrowed his eyes, processing the information.

“If there is a connection between the two, this could be it,” Nick answered.

_____________

You sat back in the passenger seat, opening up the glove box, seeing a map of California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona. “Where is this new home of ours going to be?”

“You’ll see,” Billy replied with his elbow resting on the door and his head in his hand.

“What are you going to expect me to do? Am I going to get a job, or are you going to make me stay at home and be your trophy wife?”

“Would that be a bad thing? It’s not like you liked being a 911 dispatcher.”

You swallowed, wringing your hands together. “But, I did.”

He scoffed, shaking his head.“You like being in the action, getting dirty in the line of duty, and seeing it first hand. You don’t like being behind a desk, waiting to answer a monitor every time a call comes in.”

“I might not be where the action is, but I am still helping people. I might not see them or get to meet them, but I’m here to help them with whatever they are going through. Using your voice to help is hard, but sometimes that’s all people need to hear to put them at ease and give them a sense of safety.”

“Hmmm, okay,” he snorted, smirking into his hand. 

“You have to give me something.”

“I don’t have to give you anything,” he grumbled, running his hand through his hair. 

“Well, how do you expect me to trust you again if you don’t tell me what’s going on?”

He licked his lips, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. “Trust me; You want to know how you can trust me? That’s rich because I could ask you the same question. Can I trust you?” 

“You don’t have to trust me, but don’t you think I should know what we are getting into. Shouldn’t we at least have a plan once we get to where we are going? People ask questions, Billy, and don’t you think it would be a good idea to figure it out before we get there?”

Billy remained silent, gripping the steering wheel tight. He licked his lips, scrunching up his face enough to form a crease on his forehead. “Do you think I’m an idiot? How do I know that if I tell you, you aren’t going to use the first phone you find to call someone.”

“You don’t,” you answered with a shrug. “But you’re gonna have to trust me a little eventually if you want to make us work again.”

He glanced between you and the road, fighting a battle in his head. He clenched his jaw, letting out a defeated breath. “You’re right; you’re always right.” He licked his lips, shaking his head. “I’m giving us the fresh start we both need, and everything we need is in the bag in the back.”

You turn in your seat, reaching for the bag, and put it on your lap. You unzip it, staring at the contents inside. A rubber band was wrapped around new Arizona IDs and new passports with new names on them. A container with an assortment of keys and enough cash that could get you through at least a few months. 

You reached into the bottom of the bag and pulled out three framed pictures of you and Billy. One of you posing and smiling at each other when you first started seeing each other, another one of you at the wedding altar saying I do, and the third, standing close to each other on your honeymoon with the ocean behind you. You swallowed, staring at each one. They were supposed to bring back happy memories, but it only brought back the nightmares this relationship turned into. 

“It’s not a home without a few personal touches, right?” Billy shot you a warm smile, and as much as you wished it was sincere, you knew it wasn’t.

“Right,” you breathed, putting everything back and tossing it in the backseat. “So we are moving to Phoenix, then what?”

Billy raised his eyebrows. “We’re going to lay low for a bit until this mess dies down, and I can trust you again.” He throws you a quick glance, rubbing his gauze-wrapped wrist where Cosmo bit him. “Then, once we are a happy couple again, I’ll be taking on a new position at the Cerberus Phoenix branch.”

“What do you expect me to do once we are a happy couple again?” You bit your lip, feeling a lump rise in your throat. 

“Let’s not get into specifics right now.” He reached over and grabbed your hand.  “I want you to focus on forgetting about your life in LA and everyone in it. They’re not important anymore. It’s you and me, together forever, like we always planned.” He nodded, squeezing your hand for reassurance. 

You gave him a quick nod, fighting the tears threatening to escape. You turned your head to look out the passenger side window. The world outside was becoming a blur, and you were stuck inside with Billy, and there was no way to get out. He had a solid plan that left little room for error. Once they arrived in Phoenix, you wouldn’t exist anymore; Billy wouldn’t exist anymore. You would disappear, and those you cared about would be left wondering. Wondering if you were okay; wondering if you were even still alive; wondering how they let this happen to you. You blinked, feeling a few tears escape down your cheeks as you swallowed back a sob. Your friends, family, and Steve were gone, and right now, you might as well be too. 

____________

The police unit pulled into Cerberus, following the Chrysler through the electric gate and up the short drive until they came across a facility beyond the gate. It was a modern building, heavily secured and well secluded from the main road. 

Fury and Nat walked behind Rawlins while Thor stayed towards the back, taking everything in. He readjusted his bullet-proof vest underneath his shirt and sweatshirt, trying to get used to the tight feeling around his upper body. He didn’t want to wear it, but Nat insisted.

Inside the building, everything had white and gray tones to it from the furniture to the walls. Everything looked pristine and clean, almost like they were hiding something. Thor smiled at the lady behind the front desk, causing her to blush. He continued following the rest of the group up the floating steps to the second floor to an office at the end of the hall.

Fury and Nat began questioning Rawlins, sitting behind his desk. Thor stood off towards the back of the room, half-listening and half scanning his surroundings. If something was connecting him to Russo, he wasn’t going to talk about it; instead, he would have to search for it. 

His office looked like every big wig’s office he’d seen in the movies.  Floor to ceiling windows, showcasing a beautiful view of the trees on the property. Another wall was lined with artwork and a few bookshelves, filled with books that were probably more for show than actual reading. Thor’s eyes traveled to the walls behind him, noticing a bunch of framed photos hanging on the wall in sort of a college way. He took a step closer, noticing how each frame had an engraved plate under it, stating what branch of Cerberus it was and its location.  

“Would anyone else have access to company vehicles?” Fury asked with his pad and pen in hand.

“No, only company employees.”

“Does that include employees from other branches of Cerberus or just current in-house employees, so to speak.”

“Nope, all employees from any branch are welcome to a vehicle as long as they have proper ID,” Rawlins answered, leaning back in his chair. “Who is the young lady that is missing? Maybe one of my teams can assist you. We don’t do many missing person cases, but we are more than happy to help.”

“Oh no, that won’t be necessary,” Fury replied, holding up his hand. “But, we do have reason to believe you know the captor.”

“I’m sorry.” Rawlins looked taken aback, and in some ways, offended. “But this is news to me. I have many employees, so you will have to be more specific.”

Thor read off the frames one by one and glanced at every single picture. He needed to find a connection so he could find you. He clenched his jaw, reading the plates: Vistacorp, Arizona; Vancorp, Texas, and his eyes stopped on the next photo. He didn’t even need to read the plate to know it said Anvil, New York City. He narrowed his eyes at the picture, seeing Rawlins shaking Billy’s hand, and he had that stupid smile on his face that could win everyone over. 

“His name is Billy Russo.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t recall anyone by that name.”

Thor growled, tearing the picture off the wall, starling everyone, and marched across the room. “Don’t know him, then why are you shaking his hand in this picture,” Thor shouted, throwing the picture on the desk. 

“Oh, look at that he works at the New York branch.” Rawlins scanned the picture before placing it back on the table. “Why are you including me in this accusation? I don’t have anything to do with him or this abduction. I didn’t even know he was in town.” He sat up straighter in his chair, folding his hands together, and placed them on the desk in front of him.

An officer opening the door pulled everyone’s attention away from Rawlins and to the female officer. She handed Fury a piece of paper, whispering something in his ear. Fury nodded, dismissing her. He unfolded the paper, reading what it said before folding it backup and stuffing it in his pocket. “It’s a bit funny how this picture is saying one thing, and you’re saying something completely different. It’s like the picture is lying, and you are telling the truth. I don’t know what I am supposed to believe.”

“I am telling the truth. I have had no contact with--” he pulls the picture back to him “--this Russo since this picture.”

“Then, why was Russo the last person to check out the car, and according to this, he has yet to return the vehicle back to this facility. So how did you check the car out at noon if it wasn’t even on-site?”

Rawlins sat on the other side of the table, staring blankly at the three of them. He licked his lips and tilted his head at them. “Huh? How about that?” He let out a dark chuckle, shaking his head. “Well, I honestly thought it was going to take you longer to figure it out, Detective Fury, but you surprised me. All of you did.” He pointed to each of them, his sinister smile never faltering. 

“Where is she?” Thor growled, leaning over the table mere inches from Rawlins's face.

“That’s the thing about Billy,” he licked his lips, challenging Thor. “He is sneaky and quiet. He can hide in plain sight, is fast on his feet, and knows just the right time to strike. If you haven’t found them yet, you aren’t going to. They're both gone, and you’re going to have to live with the fact that you failed her.”

Without further hesitation, Thor punched him straight in the face and knocked him to the floor. Thor slid across the desk to find Rawlins, clutching his broken nose as it bled into his mouth. Thor grabbed him by the collar and punched him again when an officer rushed over and dragged Thor off of him. Thor grunted, pushing the officer into the wall with his nostrils flaring. He headed right back for Rawlins, but Nat stood in his path, pushing on his chest and forcing him to stop.  

“Forget about him. Don’t listen to him, Thor,” Nat commanded. “He’s not worth it; put this energy into finding YN and Russo, and then take it out on him.” Thor stopped in an instant, giving her a quick nod.  

The officer that held Thor back went over to Rawlins and put his face down on the hardwood floor. He started reading him his Miranda Rights and slipped the cuffs around his wrists.

“You’re lucky only your nose is broken, and both your eyes don’t match, asshole,” Thor threatened as Rawlins was escorted out of the office. 

“Feel better?” Fury asked, standing up from his seat.

“No,” Thor answered in a gruff voice, leaning against Rawlins desk and crossing his arms across his chest. “He’s right, you know…Billy is good at hiding. I mean, we didn’t even know he was following her.” He ran a hand down his face. “He does this for a living. Reads crime scenes, follows the evidence, finds suspects, and solves cases. He knows what we are looking for and makes sure to drive us in the opposite direction. He is good at what he does and probably even better at making someone disappear.”

______

 AN: Thanks for reading Part 18! Just when you think they have something to go on, they are one more step behind. Thor sure did sack Rawlins pretty good though, but he did deserve it. And it's a good thing Rawlins was slacking on his paperwork, or maybe he just didn't have time to change the name to who checked the car out! 🤷‍♀️ On the plus side, at least they were able to track Billy's cellphone (the wrong one, but it was something), they know about the note she left in the gas station, found 'the other guy' but still got nothing...or do they?! 🤔 Not sure if any of you understood the crispy white boys reference, but it's usually the white tennis shoes dads wear on their feet! It's an Instagram reference me and my friends use all the time now! 😂😂 I will say she is getting more confident and seems to be pushing all the right buttons to get information from him, but he isn't giving much away. And can she trust him enough to know that he is telling the truth? The plot thickens...as always thanks for reading! Comments are always welcome! 

[kyuuppi]

Unworthy

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader (gn)

Contents: hurt/comfort; Reader has mental health issues (depression, social anxiety, possible manic depressive disorder, extreme insecurity)

Word Count: 1.3k

You don’t deserve love. 

It is a fact, etched into mind and engraved into your heart after years of painful confirmation. You are not extraordinarily beautiful nor do you have a heart of gold. On the contrary, your face barely passes as “average” and mental illness has rendered your moods a lethal concoction of manic and depressive, the ratios depending solely on the time of day. 

Nothing about you is loveable and certainly not deserving of someone like Katsuki. 

Bakugou Katsuki, the man who talks big and works more than hard enough to back it up. There is truly nothing he can’t do, nothing he is not the best at. He pointedly steers clear of nonsense, never afraid to call people out on their bullshit. He doesn’t bother with false pretenses, doesn’t bother with things that would get in the way of his goals—

Which is exactly why it’s best for you to leave him alone. You’re weighed down with emotional baggage and weaknesses both mental and physical, you’re just a nuisance and it would only be a matter of time before he recognizes it and promptly cuts you from his life. 

You figure it will hurt a little less if you do it first. 

That’s why you leave. You skip the date the two of you had planned, the one you had been so excited for just a few days ago, scavenging the mall for hours before settling on what you deemed the perfect outfit. In retrospect it was all pointless anyway, lipstick on a pig is still a pig. Maybe, if you make it home before it starts to rain, you can still return the flowy black dress. Fold it up nicely in the fancy white bag it came in. You’re fairly certain you still have the receipt sitting on the top of—

“Oi!” 

Every muscle in your body freezes at the familiar sound. For a moment you think—hope—that you’ve imagined it. The startled jumps and confused turns from the people standing on the busy street corner around you prove otherwise. 

“I know ya heard me—if you try to make a run for it I swear to god I’ll hunt you down.”

You refuse to turn around and face his voice as it comes increasingly closer but you can already see the people around shooting you curious looks from the corners of your eyes. A few people step away from you warily, silently wondering what type of dangerous person would warrant the appearance of the Number Two Hero of Japan. 

The pause of heavy footsteps is the only warning you get before a firm hand grabs your arm and forces you to turn around. For a moment you look up and meet his eyes, vermillion and boiling with an obvious anger—perhaps if you’d looked longer you would have noticed the worry as well—but you quickly let your head fall back down, too ashamed to meet his gaze full on. 

He huffs. 

“You better have some damn good excuse for standing me up on our first date.” 

A few people around gasp and whisper among themselves, no doubt shocked by the prospect of Ground Zero of all people being stood up on a date by some dull looking person on the street. You suppose you would be surprised as well. For someone who graduated in the top 10 at U.A., Bakugou seemed terrible at cost-benefit analysis when it came to finding a partner. 

“Hah?” he urges when it becomes clear you have no intention of replying.

“Don’t just fucking ignore me—and what the fuck are all you extras looking at?”

Most of the people around quickly look away and carry on with what they were doing but Bakugou pulls you away anyway, his hand still firm on your upper arm. He leads the two of you to a more secluded area, a relatively clean alleyway between a convenience store and some apartment buildings. You back is against the wall while Bakugou strategically places himself in front of you but slightly to the left, blocking the sole exit in case you try to escape. 

“We can stand here all night, princess,” Bakugou bites out, gaze nearly burning a hole through the top of your head as you continue to stare pointedly at your own feet. 

“Now why the fuck did you stand me up? If you didn’t like me you should have just said so—I’m not some loser who can’t handle rejection.”

You huff an involuntary laugh at the thought. How ridiculous—you not liking him? He’s literally perfect, the epitome of everything a pro hero should be and well beyond any normal human. Millions of people worship the very ground he walks on and you’re no different. 

“I think its for the best if we...don’t associate with each other,” you finally murmur, struggling to convey your thoughts without stating the obvious ‘you’re way too fucking good for me, why did you even ask me out in the first place? Did you get brainwashed by a villain?’

“The fuck is that s’possed to mean?” he barks back, clearly not satisfied with your vague answer in the least. 

“Are ya worried about the villains or something? I can kick anyone’s ass if they try to mess with ya, y’know.” His voice softens along with his grip on your arm, seeming to consider, for the first time, you could possibly just be scared. It would not be unreasonable—he is one of the top pro heroes, a status one doesn’t earn without making a few enemies along the way. It is not unheard of for the most detestable villains to attempt to use the friends or family of heroes as hostage to get what they want. That is hardly anything you care about though—you know Bakugou is strong. You have no doubts he can protect the people he cares about...you just shouldn’t be one of them.

You finally steel yourself enough to look up and meet his gaze as you speak your next words. 

“Bakugou,” you start, seeing his subtle flinch at you calling him by his last name for the first time in months since you’ve known each other. “I’m...not good enough for you. You deserve someone strong, smart, and beautiful—someone who deserves to stand by your side, and I am none of those things. I’m just...damaged goods.” 

You try to laugh off the last line as if it were a funny joke but your voice sounds hollow even to your own ears. 

Somehow, Bakugou looks even angrier now. 

“You’re right about one of those things,” you try to ignore the sudden sting in your eyes at hearing your own thoughts coming from him. “You are a huge fucking idiot if you think you get to decide what I do and don’t deserve.” 

He steps closer, his firm chest pressing into your own softer body in a way that makes your heart stutter through several beats. Your face heats up on its own accord and you bite your lip in attempt to keep your body from spontaneously combusting. 

“One thing I hate more than anything is being told what I can or can’t do,” his voice is low, his hot breath brushing against your cheeks while he pins your gaze with his own.

“I don’t know who fed you this ‘not good enough’ bullshit but I’ll kick their ass for saying it then I’ll kick yours for believing it—I like you, okay? I want you by my side, whether you think you deserve to be there or not.”

You find yourself nodding along dumbly.