#this is very important the wine bottle is at the front of the shot

[jaratedeguadalupe]

hello does anyone know a good expensive wine brand that janus would drink it's for his bday art thanks

[b0r3dtod3ath]

hi can i request andrey rublev x reader?

the two argue heavily after Andrey forgets about a date with Reader, some silent treat from Reader and the two make up after Andrey sees Reader having fun with another guy and thinks it's too late. (they make out at the end)

warnings: alcohol/being tipsy, kinda fem!reader, cigarettes/smoking

You had been looking forward to this evening for weeks. A rare break in Andrey's schedule meant you could finally have a quiet night out together, something that had become increasingly rare with his career. You’d made a reservation at his favorite restaurant and had even bought a new dress for the occasion.

You were supposed to meet at the restaurant. I’m already here. You texted but he didn’t read the message  immediately. 

10 minutes - he’s a bit hectic sometimes, he was gonna be here in a moment. 

20 minutes - you started feeling watched and felt sorry for. 

45 minutes - your eyes were glossy, your calls went straight to the voicemail. 

1 hour - none of the texts were read, none of the calls were answered. The knot in your throat tightened with every passing minute. 

1 hour 17 minutes - you have been defeated. It was painfully clear that Andrey wasn’t coming. You exited the restaurant after quickly apologizing to the waiter for the unnecessary reservation. 

1 hour 40 minutes - you stopped at your local grocery shop, checking for any messages while you sat in the parking lot. 

1 hour 43 minutes - you bought a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of red wine and a Cosmopolitan magazine. 

2 hours - you drove home in the rain with tear-stained cheeks. 

2 hours 15 minutes - you entered your shared flat, your face still moist with tears but you weren’t crying anymore. You turned on some jazz and slowly moved as you found an ashtray and a wine glass. With your heels abandoned somewhere in the middle of the living room, you enjoyed your groceries not letting his mistake ruin your evening. 

By the time Andrey finally walked through the door late that night, you were on your second big glass of wine. You were sat on the couch with a warm feeling, captivated by the article about an ongoing feud between two known stars. The bottle sat on the coffee table, half-empty. The ashtray next to it, half-full. 

Andrey's face fell when he saw you. "I’m so sorry," he began, dropping his bags. "I completely lost track of time after practice and then got caught up with some media commitments. I didn’t realize-"

"Didn’t realize?" you interrupted, your gaze lifting from the magazine. "Andrey, this was supposed to be our night. The one night we had planned for weeks. How could you forget?"

"I know, I know," he said, reaching out to touch your arm, but you pulled away. "I messed up, okay? I’m really sorry."

"Sorry doesn’t change the fact that you weren’t there," you shot back, your tone sharper than usual. "Do you even know how long I waited? How embarrassed I felt sitting alone at that restaurant?".

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration clear in his eyes but you didn’t look at him. Your gaze was attached to the paper in front of you.  "What do you want me to say, Y/N? I can’t turn back time. I had commitments, and I lost track. It wasn’t intentional”.

"But it still happened," you replied quietly, setting your glass down with a little more force than necessary. "It always happens, Andrey. Your career is important, I get that. But where do I fit in? I think you forgot that I’m also a commitment".

The silence that followed was heavy. Andrey didn’t have an answer, and you didn’t have the energy to push further. Instead, you stood up, walked away, and followed your usual evening skincare routine before getting to bed. The silent treatment had begun, a cold wall built out of hurt and disappointment.

For the next few days, the house was very quiet. Andrey tried to bridge the gap, leaving sweet and apologetic notes everywhere and making attempts at conversation, but you kept your responses short and distant. He knew he had messed up, but he didn’t know how to make it right.

On the fourth night, you decided to go out with your friends. You rarely went out without Andrey when he was home but you needed a distraction, a break from the cold silence that had settled in your home. You dressed up, put on your favorite lipstick, and headed out, determined to enjoy yourself. “I’m going out with the girls. Don’t worry, I will be home after midnight.” you said just before leaving. Sure, you needed a break from him but you weren’t going to be totally heartless. The evening was filled with laughter, drinks, and the comforting presence of your friends. For a few hours, you felt lighter, free from the weight of your disappointment.

At one point, you found yourself chatting with a charming guy at the bar. He was funny and attentive, and for a moment, you forgot about the tension with Andrey. But you had no bad intentions, the same could be said about him. You two just talked. Your friend snapped a photo with you laughing with him in the background, a harmless moment captured and posted on her Instagram story.

Meanwhile, back at the flat, Andrey saw the story and felt a wave of fear and regret. He stared at the screen, the image of you looking happy and carefree with someone else. He wondered if it was too late to make things right, if he had lost you for good.

You returned home late that night, your head buzzing from the alcohol. You didn’t bother checking your phone or showering. Andrey was still awake, his heart aching with guilt and worry as he watched you stumble into the bedroom.

Seeing you struggle to undress, he got up and gently helped you. "Let me," he whispered, unzipping your dress and carefully sliding it off. He found one of your sleeping t-shirts and slipped it over your head, his touch tender and caring. You kicked off your shoes, too exhausted to say much, but you felt the warmth of his presence.

"You should get some rest," he said softly, guiding you to the bed and helping you lie down. He tucked you in, brushing a strand of hair away from your face.

The next morning, you woke up with a pounding headache. Groaning, you rolled over to find Andrey sitting on his side of the bed. Noticing you woke up, he quickly grabbed a glass of water and painkillers from his nightstand. "Here," he said softly, handing them to you.

You took them without a word, the silence between you heavy but not as tense as before. After a moment, Andrey spoke again, his voice full of regret.

"I messed up," he said, his eyes looking at your face that was halfly buried in a pillow. "I’ve been so focused on my career that I forgot to make you a priority. I don’t want to lose you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right”.

You sighed, feeling the weight of the past few days lift slightly. "Andrey, I understand that your career is important. But we need to find a balance. I’m not telling you to drop everything and run to me”.

His hand stroked your hair, his heart warming at the sight of you smiling that he hasn’t seen for a few days. "You matter. More than anything”. You moved so your head laid on his chest. The tension melted away as you both held onto each other. The conversation continued, honest and heartfelt. 

"Last night, I realized how much I miss you," you said softly. "I don’t want us to drift apart”. 

"Neither do I. I’ll make more time for us, I promise."

The early morning light filtered softly through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the room. The world outside was just beginning to stir, but inside, everything was still and quiet. "I love you," Andrey whispered against your hand just before he kissed it. The gesture was simple, but it sent a thrill through you. "I love you too," you replied, feeling the sincerity in his words. Andrey shifted closer, his lips hovering just above yours. The anticipation was electric, making your heart beat faster. You could feel his breath, warm and inviting.

Then, with a tenderness that made your heart ache, he kissed you. It was soft at first, a gentle prize collected after a few days of suffering. His lips were warm and firm, moving against yours with a sweetness that made you melt. You responded eagerly, your hands sliding up to tangle in his hair, pulling him closer.

The kiss deepened, becoming more urgent. You could feel the heat of his body against yours, the sheets rustling as you shifted. His hand slipped around your waist, pulling you even closer - a sign of the ending of your absence. Your bodies were perfectly aligned - holding each other as close as possible. Everything prior to that morning had faded away.

When you finally broke apart, both of you breathless, Andrey rested his forehead against yours. His eyes were still closed, a contented smile playing on his lips. "I’m so sorry," he whispered.

You smiled, your fingers still playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. “I’m sorry, too. I should have talked to you like an adult and not just escape" you replied softly.

The silent treatment was over, replaced by the warmth of reconciliation and the hope for a stronger future together. You knew that while it wouldn’t be easy, you were both willing to put in the effort to make things right. And that was a start.

June 14, 2024

[azrielwingspan]

DISTRACTIONS (AZRIEL X OC)- PART 1

Distractions is a collection of short stories whose main characters are Azriel and Nyra (OC).

It's established that there is some heavy tension between them (everyone suspects lol) and I decided to put into words a few visualizations I've had of the both of them just pining for each other, playing hard to get, flirting, a bit of angst, some fluff and overall just being HELLA CUTE OKAY.

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

Here is PART 1 !!!

Summary :

The IC , Nyra and a couple of mutual friends decide to stay in for a night and celebrate the success of one of their more important missions. A bit of alcohol and a cozy setting can do wonders.

Warnings: Nothing major. Lots of drinking, fluff if you squint your eyes.

"Okay, bring out the expensive wine. I'm sick of whatever crap this is." Cassian said making a disgusted face at the glass of wine in his hand. Nesta, curled up by his side on the love seat in front of the fireplace , smirked at him over the rim of her peppermint teacup.

"That would've been possible.." drawled Rhys from the wingback chair adjacent to the fireplace "if you hadn't made it your life goal to rid my wine cellar of it's most expensive occupants."

A few chuckles rose around the room and Cassian scowled , halfheartedly taking a sip from the crap wine in his hand.

Despite the lack of good wine, everyone was in good spirits that day. The parlor in Rhysand's and Feyre's Riverhouse was occupied by their closest group of friends who were finally able to let loose after weeks of intense work. The fireplace cast a cozy glow over the dark wood furniture with emerald green accents and provided a warm embrace against the frigid rain lashing against the windows.

The smell of alcohol , rain and smoky cedar mixed in with the quiet chattering of the occupants , sometimes interrupted by a boisterous laugh set everyone's senses at ease and lulled them into comfort.

"I heard the party started without me."

Heads whipped towards the doorway of the parlor where Nyra stood grinning with her hands behind her back. Dressed in a gold satin dress with dark hair in a braid, her green eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Well..." said Nicolai, her best friend since childhood, "you are two hours late." He glanced at the clock placed on the mantel above the fireplace.

"I am aware. Which is whyyyy..." Nyra brought her hands forward showing everyone the two bottles of tequila she'd managed to buy before showing up.

Cheers erupted through the room, Cassian nearly jumping out his seat. Mor tackled her in a hug saying "Thank the Cauldron. I was ready to fall asleep."

She was pulled into the room , bottles taken out of her hand and replaced with shot glasses. A grin was etched onto her face as everyone assembled near the fire place to take their first shots together.

Nyra was trying very hard. She really was. She was putting every ounce of her willpower towards not looking at the male at the periphery of her vision. Being in the same room as him was enough to make her heart stutter and set off a swarm of butterflies in her stomach. Her body was attuned to his every movement and he was the first thing her mind directed her to in any room.

She would've gone straight to him and spent the entire evening by his side but this thing between them was becoming too evident. She would be asked questions that she didn't have an answer to. She wasn't ready to face that. Not yet. Perhaps she was a coward but she didn't want to face that either. That's how she had survived for so long and she wasn't keen on facing those parts of her anytime soon. There were more important things to focus on.

"To us. The dreamers and conquerors." Rhys raised his shot glass in the air and everyone followed him. Once the shots were downed, a few coughs erupting as the burn of the alcohol kicked in, Nyra made her way through the crowd talking to everyone she knew.

She would speak to him last. She could spend the most time with him. She almost rolled her eyes at her own thoughts and tried to focus on her companions words. She'd sneaked a peek at him because she couldn't help herself and her stomach lurched at how devastatingly handsome he looked. Wearing a simple black shirt unbuttoned at the top , the firelight falling across half his face making the deep tan of his skin glow against the stark contrast of his shadows, hazel eyes that were glazed from the alcohol he had consumed, he looked ravishing good. He stood near the chest of drawers, an elbow placed on the surface of the chest lazily while the other hand held his glass of...whisky. She would know for sure if she kissed him.

She had immediately turned away , not trusting herself to stop staring if she started and tried to give her undivided attention to her companion. She might have zoned out on his face multiple times because he seemed to take the hint and end the conversation before she made a bigger fool of herself.

"NYRA!" Feyre called from the other side of the room, where she was perched on the chair that Rhys occupied. She made her way to Feyre all the while being aware of the set of hazel eyes that trailed her.

Don't look. Don't look. Don't you dare.

Successfully making it without tripping on her dress or making lovesick eyes at a certain male, she listened to Feyre update her on what had happened in her absence. A couple more shots and drinks were consumed during their gossip session with Mor. Nyra had reached a point where she let out a laugh at every single thing that came out of Feyre's mouth. That tequila had done its job too well. She'd forgotten how many shots she had until that point but judging by the lightness in her head and the slight spin around her , she had enough.

Realizing it was time to sit down before she split her head on the floor, she turned around looking for an empty seat. She found one at the other end of the parlor but it didn't look as enticing as the chaise lounge chair where Azriel was seated speaking to another male. There's just enough space for her to squeeze in. She'd reached a point where her intrusive thoughts couldn't be ignored anymore.

Letting her alcohol addled mind take over, she excused herself from the fizzing out gossip session and made her way over to Azriel. His eyes shot to her the moment she moved, making her think that he'd been keeping note of where she was the entire night. Her heart pounded harder with that thought and she forced herself to breathe normally. Hazel eyes finally clashed with hers and she couldn't help that child like joy that lit up her face. She wasn't this bad during her teenage years either ugh. What had this male done to her?

A small smirk curled his lips while his eyes shone with amusement. The bastard had known. He'd known that she was trying to avoid speaking with him till now. He had known and he had waited for her to come to him because Azriel knew that she couldn't fucking stay away.

She tried not to fidget under the intense gaze that he had fixated on her as she walked towards him. The male he was speaking to rattled on and Azriel interrupted him muttering in a low tone all the while not taking his eyes off of her. Nyra didn't know if it was the alcohol causing the heat to flush her face or if it was something else. Someone else. The male he was talking to found elsewhere to be.

"Hi." she whispered looking down at him and trying to control the whirlwind in her mind. "Hi." he whispered back looking up at her , his eyes holding promises of things she didn't let herself wonder about. He shifted on the seat hinting at her to sit down.

Maneuvering herself around a table, she fit herself into the space next to him trying not to sigh in content at the immediate cocoon of warmth that enveloped her. His scent invaded her senses and seemed to be more potent than the alcohol she had. The entire room seemed to vanish when it was just the both of them and she grateful that they were seated in a dark corner of the room.

"I think you're going a little cross eyed there." Azriel said throwing an arm behind her on the couch. She wanted to lean into him until there was no space left in between. "I think I see two of you." Double the fun.

He let out a raspy laugh that set shivers running down her back. They were so close but not close enough. His shadows faded into the darkness behind leaving the both of them blanketed in glimmers of firelight running across their skin.

"And here I thought avoiding one of me was a hard task for you." he said , eyes shimmering gold in the firelight.

"Not that hard truly. I just have to keep away from dark corners."

"Corners like this?"

"Exactly like this."

"And yet here you are."

"You seemed desperate to talk to me. So I decided to put you out of your misery."

"Did I now?"

"Oh yes you did."

"Well thankyou for putting me out of my misery, Nyra." He had a wonderful way of saying her name. The R came out with a trill, a habit he had picked up from her as a way of mocking her.

"You're welcome Shadowsinger. I do need a favor in return though." she said bringing up the glass of whatever was in there upto her lips while keeping her eyes glued to him.

"Favour?" he asked ,eyes trailing the movement of the glass to her lips. She might have taken an unnaturally long sip to keep his eyes trained on her mouth.

"Yes." she said breathily watching his eyes flick back to her.

Too far. This was going too far and too fast.

Clearing her throat she said "I demand to be taken to the pastry shop that everyone here seems to rave about. If there's anything to put me out of my misery, it's deliciously sweet pastries."

"Pastries? You know I've heard people say I can be deli--"

"Don't finish that sentence." she said fighting the laughter ready to erupt.

He raised his free hand in mock surrender and tipped back his glass of whisky. She could smell it now. A kiss could could confirm though.

She stole a glance at the tattoos peeking out of his shirt as he turned away from her to place the now empty glass on the floor beside them. He turned back towards her stunning her with the intensity of his gaze.

"Do you want to go now?" he asked shifting himself into a more comfortable position. His arm continued to rest behind her.

"Now? It's the middle of the night."

"I know."

Nyra blinked once, the only indication of her confusion.

"I'm sure the baker would go beyond working hours to put a beautiful woman out of her misery. I've heard he's quite charming."

Nyra was sure that the heat rushing to her face was not the alcohol this time. It was such a cheesy line and yet she almost fanned herself to get rid of the red staining her cheeks.

Azriel who never missed anything especially when it came to her, laughed quietly earning a smack on the arm.

“I think you’ve had enough to drink for tonight.” Nyra said trying to collect herself.

“I think I need more now that you’re here.”

“Funny. I was thinking the exact same thing.”

“I think every male requires a bit of liquid courage to be around you.”

“Am I that torturous?”

“You’re resplendent.”

“Is that your new word of the week?”

“One of the many for you.”

“Why Az, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were trying to charm me.”

“You don’t know better then.”

Nyra shut her mouth not knowing what to say. Azriel was much more talkative today. The alcohol had loosened him up and they were crossing into dangerous territory. Nyra would be lying if she told herself she wasn’t getting a rush from it.

“Charmed?” He asked breaking into her thoughts. They’d leaned a little closer to each other in the past few minutes. She was able to smell the heady mix of alcohol and cedar on him that muddled up her brain.

Maybe it was the sudden surge of confidence due to the alcohol or maybe it was the way Azriel was looking at her that made her want to play along.

She leaned even closer , stopping an inch from his face and let her breath wash over his lips as she said “You have to try much harder than that, Shadowsinger.”

His eyes flashed with surprise and desire. They’d never gotten this close to each other before. They really were cartwheeling across the invisible lines they had drawn for themselves today.

A grin broke out on his face sparking something in her chest that made her feel content. He was beautiful. She wanted him.

“I like a bit of a challenge. Things were starting to get boring around here.” He said as his eyes roved over her face as if he were trying to memorise every inch of her.

“Is that what I am? A challenge?” she questioned letting her free hand trace the markings on the ring he wore. She felt him stiffen beneath her touch and felt an absurd amount of satisfaction.

“An enigma.”

“Another word for me?”

“Only for you.”

Her mouth went dry at the stampede of emotions running through her causing her to wet her lips. Azriel attention honed in on that movement and her breath hitched at the predatory focus directed towards her.

After a beat of heavy silence, he gave her another lazy smile and moved away dropping his head back against the couch.

The firelight highlighted his onyx hair and she fisted her palms to stop herself from moving away a stray piece of hair from his face. She needed to leave. If this went any farther, she was reckless enough right now to cross a line they would never come back from.

As if hearing and agreeing with her thoughts, Azriel lifted his head and said to her “Get some sleep. I’ll take you to the pastry shop tomorrow morning. We’ll see how much of your misery can be taken care of.”

She tried to ignore the twinge of disappointment as he removed the hand from behind her. He was leaving. He paused his movements, suddenly studying her face intensely as if he were trying to decide on something.

The next thing she knew, a warm caress of lips touched her bare shoulder igniting a fire within her. Her head went silent, unable to process what just occurred.

“Good night.” His lips brushed the shell of her ear, his breath setting off goosebumps. Her entire body flushed with heat and before she could mutter her response, he left.

She saw him leave the parlor and realised that everyone had already left for the night. She hadn’t even noticed.

Pouring herself another glass of wine with her only companion being the soft pattering of rain against the windows , Nyra realised she was fucked .

Truly, utterly, completely fucked.

[do-it-jakey-baby]

An Unlikely Encounter

Jake Kiszka x f!reader

Warnings: explicit sexual content, physical assault, profanity, drug use (smoking weed), alcohol consumption, tobacco use

18+, MINORS DNI

TAGLIST: @torniturntomyarrow @ignite-my-fire @hollyco

A/N: As always, please let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list! I’d also love to hear your thoughts, how you’re finding the series so far and any feedback. 🫶🏻

Chapter 6

“Fucking hell, Y/N! How much shit are you taking with you?”

You look up at Kat, shooting her your dirtiest look possible. You’re sat cross legged on the floor of her bedroom, surrounded by piles upon piles of your belongings.

“I don’t want to get to Nashville and have left something important behind! It’s not like I can just nip home.” You scowl.

“Babe, we’re going to America, not the Bermuda Triangle. It wouldn’t be hard to find anything you need. Plus, Jake would move mountains for you if he could.” She snorts.

“What about you, anyway? Do you really need seven pairs of shoes?”

“You know I need to slay in public. Plus, we’re like, famous now.”

You both crack bewildered smiles at each other. She wasn’t wrong, both of you had been circulating online. You knew the boys were famous, but you didn’t expect their fanbase to be so… pap happy. What was the most interesting was how covert they were at snapping photos of you out and about. There was the odd moment where fans would approach the band and ask for photos, which they always willingly obliged with smiles on their faces. It was evident that they held such love in their hearts for their fans, it was never a chore to interact with them. The people you met were always so nice to you and Kat, too. Complimenting your outfits, telling you how pretty you were. It was quite a pleasant experience for the most part. There was, however, a small percentage that weren’t so happy you were dating Jake & Sam. Kat wasn’t bothered in the slightest, but you on the other hand were more susceptible to the discomfort. You were struggling with the sudden catapult into the limelight, but believed that your relationship with Jake was worth it.

“Right, I’m all done. Need any help fitting the kitchen sink into your suitcase?” Kat winks.

You celebrate the success of packing with a few bottles of wine and a Chinese takeaway. You and Kat curl up onto her sofa together and sink further and further into the bottles whilst you conceptualise the decisions that got you both to this point. By the end of the second bottle, you’re both slurring your words and collapsing into a fit of giggles.

“I know, let’s FaceTime them!” Kat sways, phone in hand.

The familiar ringer sounds twice and then Sam picks up, his face illuminating the screen.

“There’s my beautiful girl. Oh, girls! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Misssed you.”

“Y/N, did you miss me too?” Sam bats his eyelashes.

“Maybeee a bit, was hoping Jakey was with youuu.”

“Are you both drunk?” He chuckles.

“Noooooooooooo, why on earth would you think that.” Kat comically scratches her chin.

“I heard a very pretty voice saying my name.”

Jake edges into the shot, smirking down at the screen.

“Omygod I could just eat you up.” You breathe.

“Ewwwwwww, Y/N. Not in front of meee!” Kat screeches, jumping on top of you. You both cackle together until you’ve caught your breath.

“A hangover on a 9 hour flight isn’t my idea of a good time.” Jake laughs.

“We just wanted to see you one last timeeee.” You blow a kiss into the screen.

“You two get an early night, we’ll see you in just under 24 hours.” Jake instructs.

“See you soon!” Sam chimes in.

You all wave goodbye and Kat ends the call with an exaggerated yawn. You both plod into her room and collapse into bed, sleep finding you almost instantly.

~

The hangover gods have spared you today, as you both wake up fresh as a pair of daisies. You go over your itinerary once more, just to be extra safe, then load your bags into the back of the Uber. It was around a 45 minute drive to Heathrow, so you popped your headphones on and flicked through your playlists. Jake had been very secretive with your flight plans, telling you both that he’d scheduled the details to come through to your email 3 hours before your departure. You’d tried to argue with him, you liked to be in control and hated not being in the loop, but he wouldn’t budge. You both sat down to grab a coffee at one of the little Cafes within the airport when right on schedule, the email pinged through.

British Airways - Flight BA 244

Departing LHR at 1300 to BNA

Business Class Main Deck

Seat 13J

Seat 13K

“No fucking way, that’s why he was being so secretive!” You huff, rolling your eyes.

“What?”

“He’s booked us business class seats!”

“Fuck yeah!” Kat grins, punching the air.

“That must have cost a bomb!”

“Girl, will you quit it. He clearly wants his princess to be comfortable. Enjoy it, you deserve it.”

You’d seen TikTok videos of people sitting in business class, but you’d never for a second expected to experience it for yourself. Once you’d checked in, which was a breeze thanks to the dedicated area for business class ticket holders, you were ushered into a private lounge. Inside, there was a complimentary buffet with an insane selection of food and drink, plus Champagne chilling on ice and even a cocktail bar with an experienced mixologist on hand. When you boarded, you were taken to your seats and handed fluffy blankets and an amenity kit consisting of luxury toiletries, toothpaste and toothbrush, an eye mask, and socks. You both squealed in excitement every time you discovered something new, such as the noise cancelling headphones, or the fact that your seats fully transformed into beds. The most exciting thing of all though, was the Wi-Fi available on board. It meant that you could keep in contact with the boys whilst in the air, or so you thought. Sam and Josh seemed to keep in constant contact for the first few hours, but you hadn’t heard from Jake. Deciding it wasn’t worth worrying about, you settled in for the long haul. You and Kat had made it through a few films together, and scarfed down some dinner and dessert before you both passed out. By the time you woke up, the Stewardesses were making their rounds to ensure everyone was back upright and buckled in, ready to land. You shook Kat gently and she stirred, before removing her eye mask and wiping the drool from her face.

“Sleep well?” You laugh.

“Like a fucking baby.”

The landing was smooth as you touched down on Nashville soil. Adrenaline was pumping through your veins like white hot lava whilst you waited at luggage claim, it felt like hours had passed before the carousel started turning. As soon as you spotted your bags you sprinted over to them, not even stopping to make sure Kat was following your lead. You grab them both and almost topple over trying to drag them off by yourself. Kat finally makes her way over and retrieves her suitcase from you, then you both head towards pick up. Your hands felt clammy as you approached the crowds of people waiting for their loved ones. You scanned through the faces, until you found one that stuck out like a sore thumb. Josh. Next your eyes landed on Sam. You kept looking, craning your neck, but no one else was there.

Jake wasn’t there.

The room began to spin as you remembered how quiet he’d been during your flight.

Kat began to run over to the two, throwing her arms out and squealing as she squeezed the life out of both of them. You’d stopped in your tracks, still rooted to the same spot. The three of them whipped their heads round, Kat’s face one of confusion, the brothers both mirroring each other with looks of… sadness? Guilt? You couldn’t quite place it. You felt yourself starting to tear up, your mind a frenzy of thoughts. Where was he? Had he changed his mind? Did he regret asking you here?

You were brought back down to earth by a firm pair of hands grasping at your arms.

“Songbird.” Josh smiles, his brow slightly furrowed.

“Where-”

“We’ll explain, but please don’t worry. He wanted to be here more than anything in the world. We’re so happy to see you, sweet girl.” He pulls you into a tight embrace.

The ride to Josh’s place goes by in a blur, with you staring blankly out of the window for most of the journey. You were confused, and with no explanation, your thoughts were spiralling. Josh told you not to worry, but you couldn’t help it. Your boyfriend wasn’t there to pick you up from the airport in an unfamiliar territory, one he’d invited you to indefinitely. You expected to go back to Jake’s place, but were told that you’d be heading to Josh’s. You had asked where Danny was, but were met with grimaces exchanged between Josh and Sam. They promised they’d reveal all when you arrived.

You walked through the door to Josh’s house and set your bags down. It was a beautiful home that captured Josh’s personality perfectly. The interior was mostly white, with floor to ceiling glass windows, faux fur rugs and gold embellishments. His decor was extremely tasteful, it looked expensive but didn’t scream ‘I’m a rockstar who likes to flaunt my money’. Sam and Kat took a seat on one of the plush grey sofas, you opted to sit yourself alone on its twin. Josh exited the room briefly before returning with four glasses and a bottle of red wine. He filled your glass first, handing it to you and watching as you took a hearty gulp. Once he has filled the remainder of the glasses, he perches next to you and looks to his brother. Sam nods and Josh turns back to you, sighing.

“Jake… has had some problems over the last few hours.”

Your throat feels constricted, so you swallow thickly. When that doesn’t ease your discomfort, you opt for another gulp of pinot noir.

“Kate, his… ex-girlfriend decided to make a re-appearance early this morning.” He pauses, running a hand through his fluffy curls. “She’d seen photos of the two of you circulating online, Must have realised that you seemed serious. She tried to win him back over, saying she just wanted to talk and apologise for how awful she’d been to him. He let her in because he still had some of her things from when she left. He brought the box to her and began to explain that he had a new girlfriend, and that you were due to turn up in a few hours so she had to leave, and she lost her shit. Threw a glass vase at him. He called us after she left, when we got there he was struggling to stem the bleeding and was barely conscious. Danny took him to the ER, he told me I needed to stay here so I could pick you up. All he could talk about was you, about how upset he was, how he wanted to see you.”

“What the fuck. Josh, is he ok?! Please tell me he’s ok!” You choked back a sob, your eyes frantically searching Josh’s face for answers.

“He’s ok. Pretty shaken, with a nasty gash on his arm. He’s had to have stitches, but he’s fine.” Josh cups your face in his hand, wiping away your tears with the pad of his thumb.

“Please can I see him?”

~

Jake and Danny had got back from the ER around an hour after you arrived at Josh’s. Jake understandably wasn’t up for guests after the incident, so Danny took him home. You parted ways with Kat, as she was due to stay with Sam. They both hugged you goodbye, then you headed off with Josh. As you entered through the door to Jake’s house behind Josh, you felt sick to your stomach. The lights were off, so Josh flicked them on and left your belongings in the corridor.

“I’m just going to find Jake, you hang tight.”

The house was a stark contrast to Josh’s, with everything in dark hues. Jake favoured mahogany over Josh’s love for pine, and his home was just as dark and mysterious as him. Walking into the house was like being surrounded by Jake, there was no doubt that this was his sanctuary. The ground floor was mostly open plan, with a large hallway spilling out into a kitchen. You found the light switch and flipped it, the room illuminating and revealing the horror hidden within the veil of darkness.

Blood.

Broken glass.

More blood.

You clapped your hand to your mouth as you took in the scene before you. The glass that once formed part of a heavy, ornate vase was thick - that explained the damage done… You were actually surprised it wasn’t worse. On the kitchen island you spot a bouquet of flowers clad in brown paper. They were astonishingly beautiful and comprised of all your favourite species; peonies, lavender, cornflowers, snowdrops, foxgloves, and a few sprigs of eucalyptus. You pick out the card that is tucked neatly into the folds of paper and open it.

My girl,

A thousand bouquets could never be enough for you, but for as long as I am alive I will continue to shower you with the most beautiful of petals. You are my sun, my moon, my stars. Thank you for coming to my home and filling it with your warmth.

All my love,

Jake

You clutch the card to your chest and let the tears that have formed in your eyes fall down onto your cheeks. A noise from the hallway startles you, causing you to lurch backwards in panic. You look up as Josh appears from the hall, his eyes widening at the scene before him.

“That fucking psycho bitch.”

He looks to you and notices the state you’re in, his face immediately softens and he extends his arms out to you.

“Oh, Songbird. I’m so sorry.”

You collapse into his arms as you weep into his chest, hot tears staining his crisp, white t-shirt.

“He wants to see you.” He whispers as he strokes your hair gently.

You pull back, peering at his face and managing a meek nod. He intertwines his fingers with yours and leads you through the hall and down a set of stairs. When he opens the door you’re met with a cosy basement, with a log burner crackling away on the far wall opposite you. A bar lines the left side, with plenty of expensive looking liquor embellishing the shelving. The right side is home to Jake’s instruments, his guitars hanging on the walls and on stands like the most prized of possessions, decorating the space with their charm. There’s a vintage looking record player sat proudly on top of a deep chestnut cabinet, with rows and rows of vinyls stacked intricately in stands. Jake sits in a brown leather arm chair in front of the log burner, a lit joint smoking away between his shaking fingers. His left forearm is bandaged and there are several smaller abrasions visible, scattered across the rest of his arms. Along his hairline, another cut can be seen, the blood now dried and clinging to his strands. He looks up at you, his lip wobbling. You can tell he’s been crying, his face slightly pink and puffy. You begin to make your way over to him, but slow down as you get closer. You’re afraid to trigger him with any quick movements, so you extend your hand to him, a silent plea for consent. His face falls, a tear slipping from his lashes and rolling down his cheek. He nods and you practically sprint the rest of the way, kneeling before him and carefully cupping his face in your hands.

“Jacob. I’m so sorry, baby.” A tear of your own falls, landing on the back of his hand.

“I-“ He begins, choking on his soft sobs. “I wanted today to be perfect. I’ve been dreaming of this day since my eyes first met yours. I can’t believe it’s been ruined. She’s stolen my happiness again.” He drops his head, succumbing to his emotions as the tears flow heavily down his perfect face.

“No. Don’t you say that. I’m here, she hasn’t ruined a thing. I’m here.” You softly nudge his chin back up, looking into his eyes as you speak. You press your lips to his and hope he believes you, that this moment hasn’t been taken from you both. He melts into your touch, kissing you back with a tenderness that steals the air from your lungs.

“Please don’t ever leave.”

~

You put Jake to bed after cleaning his face up, promising you’ll be back as soon as you’ve collected your things. Josh is stood in the kitchen, taking photos of the blood and glass that litters the floor.

“What are you doing?”

“Collecting evidence for the police report.”

“Is he going to press charges?”

“I don’t know, but he sure as hell should.” Josh snarls.

“Thank you for being there for me tonight.” You offer a small smile.

“Always, Songbird. I did it for you and for him. He knew how worried you’d be.”

You wrap your arms around him and he softens, rubbing his hands across your back.

“I’d do anything for you, I hope you know that.”

You peer up at him, his face inches from yours. His eyes flit from yours down to your lips. You inhale sharply, which causes him to pull back and awkwardly clear his throat.

“I’ll leave you to your evening. Take care of him, Songbird. Call me if you need me, I’m just up the road.”

With that, he hastily makes his exit.

What?

You walk across to the kitchen island and pull out a chair. Sitting there with your head in your hands, you re-hash the events of the day over and over.

I need a drink, or a cigarette. Or both.

You pull yourself down from the island, searching the cupboards for reprieve. Successfully finding a low ball and a carafe filled with what you assumed was either whiskey or dark rum, you pad over to the freezer to retrieve a few cubes of ice. You fill your glass and rifle through your carry on to find a packet of cigarettes and your lighter. You take a few moments to decide if you want to nurse your drink slowly or knock it back in one, then your eyes find the sliding door that leads to Jake’s back porch. You find the key hanging on a hook and let yourself out, perching on a wicker chair. You take a hearty gulp from your glass, sighing as the liquor burns down your oesophagus. You set it down on the table in front of you and pull a cigarette from the packet, lighting it and taking a long drag. You hold it for as long as you can, until your head feels all warm and fuzzy, then slowly blow the smoke from your lungs. All sense of time leaves you as you sit, chain smoking. You aren’t even aware of how long you’ve been sat out there until your phone buzzes, the screen lighting up your surroundings and pulling you from your thoughts.

Josh Kiszka: I hope you’re ok, Songbird. Thinking about you.

The butterflies in your stomach took you completely by surprise. You shook your head aggressively, internally berating yourself for the reaction.

He’s your boyfriend’s brother, Y/N! Get it together!

With that, you decided it was time to call it a night. You lock up and carry your bags up the stairs and into one of Jake’s spare rooms, not wanting to disturb him. You get undressed and put on a baggy t-shirt, then quickly wash your face and brush your teeth. You crawl into the spare bed and pull the covers over your weary body. It was uncomfortable, being in an unfamiliar bed by yourself. You toss and turn for around thirty minutes, not being able to find sleep. At around the fourty five minute mark, you give up and head for Jake’s room. You didn’t want to intrude, but you’d feel much better knowing he was next to you. You enter the room and his soft snores immediately calm you. You tiptoe carefully across to the bed, ensuring to be as quiet as possible. You pull the sheets back and slide in, positioning yourself so that you were facing him. He stirs slightly and you hold your breath, not wanting to wake him up. Still asleep, his hands reach for you.

“Mmmm, Y/N. I love you.”

You gasp softly, your eyes widening.

He’s sleeping, he doesn’t mean that.

He reaches again and pulls himself into you, his head resting between the crook of your neck. Sleep finds you soon after, with your mind finally at ease wrapped up in Jake.

~

Bzz bzz

You groan, rubbing your eyes to adjust to the light. You’re laid on your side, with Jake’s arms wrapped around your waist. He’s snuggled close into your back, his legs wrapped in yours. You wiggle forward slightly to grab your phone.

4 missed calls

5 texts

Three missed calls from Kat, one from Josh. All texts bar one were from Kat. You swipe up and reply to Kat.

Hey babe, I’m all good. Just woke up. Speak later?

You put your phone back on the nightstand and gently rub your fingers along Jake’s arm. He stirs and you take the opportunity to turn and face him, manoeuvring carefully to avoid his injuries. His eyes slowly open and his gaze fixes on you.

“Hey, good morning. Did you sleep ok?” You ask.

“Better than I thought I would. Guess that has something to do with you being here.” He tilts his head down and plants a kiss on your forehead, then pulls you in close to him, wrapping his arms around you.

“Thank you for coming, I’m sorry-”

You put your finger up to his lips. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He looks down at your finger and presses a kiss to it. You smile at him, then his hands find the back of your head and he crashes his lips onto yours. The kiss is passionate and hungry, filled with lust and want. He brings one hand to your waist and another to your thigh and pulls you into him, his knee slotting into your crotch. You moan gently as he makes contact with your core.

“Jake…”

“Mmmm.” He breathes in between sloppy kisses, trailing down your neck.

“Not now.”

He stops and looks at you, defeated and confused.

“It’s not that I don’t want to. Fuck, I want to. But you’ve been through so much, and you’re hurt.”

“Please.” He whimpers. “I need you, please.”

That’s all it takes for you to give in, and he’s right back on you. Clawing at your shirt, he can’t seem to get it off fast enough. He palms at your bare breasts, then takes your nipple into his mouth. You arch your back at the sensation of his tongue lapping over your sensitive bud.

“You’re really here, in my bed. In my house. I can’t believe it.” He whispers, his fingers dipping into the waistband of your panties.

“I am.”

He flips himself on top of you and discards your underwear on the floor, then drags his fingers through your already slick folds. One thing Jake never fails to do is make you incredibly wet before he’s even started. He begins his assault on your pussy, plunging his fingers in and out, then circling them around your clit. Your moans bounce off the walls as your orgasm quickly creeps up on you, with every sound you make his fingers move faster. He licks a stripe from your collarbone to your ear, sucking the tender skin into his mouth.

“Fuck, Jakeeee.” You whine.

“Cum for me, angel. Cum right on my fingers. Tell me how good it feels.”

“It feels.. it feels so- oh! Fuck!”

Your legs begin to shudder as you let go, the crashing waves of your orgasm engulfing you in pure ecstasy.

When you float down from your high, Jake is lining himself up with your entrance. You move your hand to stop him and he looks down at you, his brows knitting together.

“I think you deserve a thank you now.” Your eyes bore into his and blacken with lust. He looks like a deer in headlights as he nods at you. You motion for him to swap places with you, then you crawl on top of him, rising up onto your knees and sliding down onto him. His face contorts as he bottoms out inside you, pulling his lip between his teeth with a sharp inhale.

“Baby, fuck. You feel so good.”

You start to move your hips in a slow figure of eight. Jake’s hands find your hips and he digs his fingers into the meaty flesh. You lift yourself up and slam down onto him, the tip of his cock knocking against your cervix. You squeeze as you lift back up again, eliciting a hiss from his mouth. You bounce yourself up and down, relishing in the sound of his soft panting and whining. He uses his leverage on your hips to drive up and meet you as you ride him. You throw your head back and lift your hands up cup your breasts.

“I’m gunna cum, shit!” He cries, looking up at you with his perfect, fucked out face.

“Fill me up baby.”

He groans loudly as his cock twitches inside you, still driving up into you to reach his release. The sound of his pleasure fills the room, tipping you over the edge as your walls flutter around him, constricting and pulsing as his cum spurts out into you. You catch your breath and lean down to press your lips to his, then excuse yourself to the bathroom to clean up and brush your teeth, before taking the space next to him in his bed once more.

“Is that what you wanted?” You smirk.

“All I wanted and more, you’re incredible.”

You offer him a shy smile, still not used to being showered in his compliments.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” You ask, running your hand softly across his arm.

His face noticeably falls, pain searing across his eyes.

“Uhh.. I-” He’s cut off swiftly by the buzzing off his phone. He rolls his eyes and picks up the device, frowning as he peers at the screen. He answers and begins to move out of the room, but you manage to catch the first sentence of the conversation.

Good morning, my name is PD Martinez. I’m calling from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Am I speaking Jacob Kiszka?

You take a deep breath, wringing your hands nervously as you wait for Jake to finish the phone call. When Jake re-enters the room, he’s visibly pissed off.

“Fucking Josh, calling the fucking police.” He mutters, raking his hands through his hair and pacing the room.

You stand and begin to try to soothe him.

“Baby, he’s just being a good brother and looking out for you…”

He whips his head toward you, fury blazing in his eyes. “I don’t need him to look out for me, I don’t need him to call the fucking police. This situation is stressful as it is without a fucking investigation happening in my home. I just want to forget about it!”

He storms out of the room and into the hallway, you follow behind him as he hot foots down the stairs and into the kitchen. He stops just before he reaches the blood and glass still tainting the hardwood flooring, before stepping over it and knocking a fruit bowl that sits on the island flying, smashing into smithereens before him. He drops to the floor, his head in his hands. You aren’t sure what to do, and in true Y/N panic mode you dash back up to the bedroom and grab your phone, hitting dial on Josh’s number. He answers after two rings.

“Morning, Song-”

“Josh, please come over. Now.”

“I’ll be there in 5.”

True to his word, 5 minutes later he’s rushing through the door. You steer him into the kitchen, where Jake is still sat on the floor.

“Brother, what’s going on?”

Jake looks up slowly, his expression vacant. He stares at Josh for a few moments, before inhaling deeply.

“Why did you call the police?”

“Uh, because your ex-girlfriend assaulted you, Jake.” Josh huffs, clearly baffled by the question.

“Do you not think that should have been my decision to make?!” Jake glares, his nostrils flared.

Josh digs around in his pockets and pulls out a tin. He opens it, extracting a pre-rolled blunt, and passes it to Jake.

“Come on, go down to the basement and chill out for five minutes.”

The three of you pile into the basement, Josh starts up the wood burner then joins you and Jake on the armchairs in front. Jake wastes no time lighting up the blunt, toking it harshly. After a few drags, he offers it to you. You’d smoked when you were younger, but hadn’t gotten high in over ten years. Regardless, in that moment you gratefully accepted it. The first toke elicits a chesty cough from your lungs, so you pass it to Josh whilst you recover. You all sit in silence, passing the blunt until there’s nothing left to share.

“Now we’re all nicely medicated, can we talk about this like adults?” Josh points towards Jake. He rolls his eyes, but motions for Josh to continue.

“I did what I thought, and what I still believe is best in this situation. Not only did her actions land you in the ER, but they also worried Y/N. It’s inexcusable behaviour and she needs to be taught a lesson.”

You nod, silently agreeing with Josh’s words. Jake sighs, rubbing his chin.

“I get it, thank you for making the call for me when I couldn’t.”

“Are you going to press charges?”

“I think so…”

~

The next few days are spent in almost constant police presence. The officers were keen to get in and assess the damage as soon as possible, so that Jake could get his kitchen cleaned up and begin to heal from the event. The police took tapes of the CCTV which covered the entrances to Jake’s house, along with the ER department report on his injuries. They took a statement from Jake, Josh, Danny and Sam, with the promise to be in touch. The entire ordeal had done a number on Jake, he was exhausted both physically and mentally. By the end of the first week, things were starting to look up, and Jake seemed to have a new lease of life.

“So, angel. I’ve been thinking, how about we pretend today is your first day in Nashville ans I take you out to dinner?”

“I would love that, Jakey.” You giggle, pulling him into an embrace.

You take your time getting ready, ensuring your hair and makeup are pristine. You give yourself a bouncy bow out, your hair cascading in shiny ribbons down your back. You slip on a black silky, tight-fitting dress which hugs your curves in all the right places, and opt for a deep red lipstick to tie the look together. As you’re perched on the bed slipping on your heels, Jake walks into the room. He’s dressed in all black too, matching your aesthetic perfectly. His black linen shirt is, of course, only buttoned a quarter of the way, showcasing his signature silver pendants which sparkle against his tanned chest. A black blazer adorns his shoulders, his hair falling down onto them in tousled waves against the crisp fabric. His trousers cling to the muscle on his thighs, which makes your mouth water slightly.

“You look amazing, Jake.”

He steps to you and pulls you up onto your feet, twirling you around to get a 360 view of your outfit. “Says the most beautiful woman on the planet. You look positively edible, angel.”

“You can eat me whenever you want.” You wink, snatching the lapels of his blazer in your fists and capturing his lips in a kiss.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” He breathes.

He drives you to the restaurant which is about fifteen minutes down the road, his hand never leaving your thigh. Once you’ve parked up, he exits the vehicle and walks around to your side, opening the door and extending his hand. The restaurant is probably one of the most extravagant settings you’ve ever dined in, far beyond your usual price range. The decor is almost vintage-looking, with small lanterns embellishing each table, adding to the chic ambience. When you’re shown to your table, he pulls your chair out for you, then sits down and envelopes your hands in his, bringing one to his face and kissing your knuckles. He orders Champagne for the table and you clink your glasses together, a toast to your adventures in the States. The three course meal is absolutely stunning, and undoubtedly the best food you’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. You chat the entire time about your plans, how excited Jake is to have you at his home, and the next leg of the band’s tour which is due to commence in 4 weeks’ time. When you’re finished, Jake pays the bill and you make your way home. You walk through the door to Jake’s house and breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that things are finally beginning to take a turn for the better. You were so excited to spend some quality time with Jake, and for him to show you around. He’d spoken about the possibility of a trip to Frankenmuth, which you were quite nervous about. Meeting Jake’s parents was a daunting thought, but he assured you that they would adore you as much as he does.

You begin to settle in for the evening, slipping into your pyjamas and starting your skincare routine. Your phone buzzes on the bathroom counter as you’re finishing up.

Unknown Caller

You wonder who it could be, but take no chances of missing something important, so you answer and bring your phone up to your ear.

“Are you really in fucking America with him?!” The voice growls from the other end.

“Who- who is this?”

“You really are a disgusting little groupie whore, aren’t you. Running off to the other side of the world like a love sick puppy after a man who will drop you once he’s had his fill.” Pure venom drips from the tongue of the caller, their words coated in malice.

“… Connor, is that you?! You fucking stalker freak!” You scream.

“Clearly my little Instagram account hasn’t deterred you enough, you fucking slut.”

His little Instagram account?…

You drop your phone into the sink as your knees go weak beneath you.

He’s @exposingjake.

[chatterbox-73]

Twelve days of Smutcember 2022.

Day 4 - Cold shoulder.

Jean Kirsten x fem!Reader

This story is a smut story for Smutcember, I’ll be writing more characters x reader one shots for Smutcember and if you want to see a character please let me know...

finally I think it’s important to note, I might be a person who celebrates Christmas, however I know not everyone does so I won’t/try not to mention or reference any particular festive holiday in these one shots, out of respect for everyone.

You must be 18 years or older to read this...

🔞⚠️NO MINORS ALLOWED⚠️🔞

Summary/prompt: “I’m going to f*cking ruin you”

Word count: 1.9k

CW: anal, fingering, unprotected s3x, swearing, hate-s3x, enemies to ‘friends’, drinking alcohol, arguing and name calling.

You sat at the table drinking a large pint of beer, you grumbled to yourself as you watched the tall blonde Marleyan woman suck up to the higher ups, offering them some fancy wine. “Oh y/n… why not come over and have some wine” yelena smiled and held up the bottle, “I’d rather not… who knows what you Marleyan cunts could have done to that grape juice” you growled turning your nose up at the woman and she frowned, “after all this time you still don’t trust us…?” The woman walked over to you and placed a glass of wine in front of you, taking a sniff and looking down at it “smells like monkey piss…” you snarled and knocked the glass off the table only to have it shattered into pieces, you stood to your feet and looked Yelena in the eyes, “listen Yelena… why don’t you take one of your fancy wine bottles and shove it right up your a-“ you were then cut off by someone wrapping an arm around your neck and covering your mouth. “Woah wine party how cool” you heard you Commander’s voice, “section Commander L/n, why didn’t you come get me?” Hange started to pull you out of the room and into the corridor where most of the other scouts were, “now why are you starting fights with her?” They questioned and you huffed ignoring the question “you can’t hate them forever” they sighed and you chuckled, “watch me” you snapped. Hange looked amongst the group of scouts and landed on Jean, “Kirsten, take feisty pants home and make sure she stays out of trouble” they pushed you towards Jean, they knew the two of you absolutely hated each other, however they had this weird little theory, “oh, come on hange… I was planning on having a good night” he groaned and grabbed your arm before you’d try run “I don’t need a babysitter, besides I also had very important plans too… I was hoping to drink myself into a stupor” you rolled your eyes and tried to pull away from Jean, only to be yanked back. The two of you walked back to your house, both grumbling about your ruined nights, getting inside your house you kicked your boots off and staggered over to your drink cabinet, Jean stepped inside and looked around the very clean, nicely decorated house, “take your dirty fucking shoes off” you growled as you plopped down on the couch, the man jumped at your tone before slipping off his boots and placing them by the front door, “this is a really nice place… I honestly expected you to live in a sty” he sat on the armchair next to a large bookshelf, “yeah well, I like to keep things clean… this place, is also the place I was gonna live in with…” you stopped talking before looking down at the half empty bottle of whiskey and opened it taking a large drink, Jean nodded “why still live here? This place is just turning you into a miserable drunk” he sigh and to this you glared at the man, “because the man I loved bought this place for me… so we could live together” you placed the bottle down and crossed one leg over the other. “You obviously don’t know how it feels to being loved… as Mikasa is still trying to crawl up on Eren… but I’d do anything to hold onto his love for me” you snapped at the man sitting across from you and watched as his face changed from a calm, slightly smug expression, to one of burning rage, “ohhh… now that’s a scary face… don’t let her see that, it’ll push her further into Eren’s arms” you chuckled and was suddenly yanked off the couch by the scruff of the shirt, you wanted to say more smart-ass remarks but thought again. “You stupid drunken bitch!” Jean yelled in your face, you let out a chuckle and grabbed his wrists “come on I was only playin’ horse face” you smirked, before you were shaking slightly, “shut the fuck up for once… you know what if Moblit saw you right now, he’d fallen out of love with you on the spot… though I guess by now your used to loneliness” he snapped and you felt a lump in your throat, because you knew it was true…

Moblit would despise the women you’ve become and no one else wants you around because you are nothing but a sad drunk, “let go of me before I break your fucking wrists” your grip on his wrist tightened and Jean’s eyes softened at the hurt on your face, “I- I’m sorry… how about I make you something to eat?” He asked and loosened his grip, “I’m sorry too… I shouldn’t have said those things…” you softly smiled and pulled away “…and you’re right, I am lonely but I think I’m fine with that” you said with tears in your eyes, you were lying, you weren’t fine with it but it was too late now. You began walking towards your bedroom but were stopped, Jean grabbed your arm and pulled you back towards him, he wrapped an arm around your waist and tangled anything in your hair, “it’s not fine, I know it’s not… because I’m just as lonely as you” he looked down at you, watching you tried to pull away from him, “let me cook you something to eat, maybe that’ll make us feel better” he suggested and you shook your head, “I have no food to cook, now let go and leave” you snapped before finally breaking from his grip, “I’m not some replacement and neither are you” you glared at him, Jean blinked at you for a moment “of cause not… someone like you could never replace Mikasa” he chuckled and you only clicked your tongue. “Fuck you Kirsten” you flipped him off, Jean grabbed your hand “stop being so damn rude, like fuck… no wonder nobody wants you around” he snapped at you gripping your hand really tight, “well it’s no wonder she doesn’t want you… you pompous twat… you’re alway going to be a walking second place metal” you placed your other hand on his chest and tried to push him away, “I’m so much better then him… she just doesn’t know it yet” he grabs you other hand and yanked you closer to him, getting right in your face, “if you were ‘so much better’ then him… why isn’t she already with you” you whispered and smiled, suddenly you fell to the ground with Jean on top of you.

“Let me show you how much better I am” Jean growled and you chuckled, “so you know that’s pretty damn cheesy, plannin’ on ‘making love’ to me… but alright go now then” you laughed in his face “no… I’m not gonna making love to you… I despise you…” he smirked and before you could ask what he had in mind, he flipped you onto your stomach, “I’m going to fucking ruin you” he whispered as he pulled off your pants. “You’ve been a real pain in my ass ever since we first met in the 104th cadet corps… now I’m going to be a pain it your ass” Jean laughed while messily undressing you, you laid on the floor naked chest pressed to the cold wooden ground and hips high in the air, you heard Jean’s pants being unbuckled before you felt him rub something wet against your asshole, “you sure you still want this” he said as he rubbed spit on his throbbing length, “yeah I want it… it’s alright if your too scared to go through with it” you looked back and felt your breath catch in your throat once you caught sight of the man behind you. Jean had his shirt off and his unbuckled pants sitting low on his hips, he rubbed his hard member as he watched your backside closely, he spread your cheeks before spitting a large drop of saliva on your tight ring, you moan out eyes focused on his next move, he then leaned up on his knees and pressed his member into you, it hurt and he struggled but you both persisted until you found that sweet stretch. “Oh fuck, it’s some tight… I feel like you’re gonna snap it right off” Jean moaned as he found his rhythm, you whined still trying to get use to him, “give me a minute… please… dear god” you cried out, this however only spurred him on more, the man held your hips tight as he thrusted his tip rough and fast, he groaned and moan out “holy fuck… you look so fucking beautiful like this, you sweet ass is heaven sent” he moaned as he squeezed the fat of your ass cheek in his hand, you felt a tightness in your core from his words, you hadn’t expected this to feel so physical good and emotional satisfying. “Jean… can I asked you something” you asked in a small voice, it was so quiet he almost didn’t hear you, he stopped his movements and leaned down to you, pressing his chest against your back “yeah, am I being too rough?… you want me to be quiet?…” he asked as you felt your chest tighten, “can you hold me close? And umm… and keep say that stuff to me… please” Your face heated up and you heard him chuckle softly, “alright, beautiful girl” he hummed as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you up with him, Jean continued his rough and fast pace while tracing his fingers down your stomach and down to your clit, you moaned softly at the gentle circles his fingers traced, it was a stark contrast to his thrusts, “what a sweet voice, moan my name” he whispered before he licked your ear, you cried out his name and gripped onto his arm around your shoulders that was holding you up. “Jean please… I’m so close… just a little more” you whined and feeling him twitch inside you, his fingers tracing your clit stopped and moved to your entrance before slipping in and instantly matching Jean thrusts, your head fell back on his shoulder as you came undone, Jean groaned and pressed his face into your neck as he released on your lower back, he let go of around your shoulders and watched as you fell forward, you felt your eyes go heavy before you completely lost consciousness.

Jean sat on your bed watching you sleep peacefully, he looked around the room and noticed a large pile of papers and opened envelopes on your bedside table, he grabbed the top paper and began writing over it, it reads…

~~~

To my dear y/n

My love runs deeper then river; you set my heart alight; I couldn’t without your soft voice… without your gentle touch… without your warm heart… without your sincere eyes… I couldn’t live without you, I’d rather die then live a solemn loneliness without you.

You are my heart, my breath, my life…

I will love you always.

~~~

Jean sighed as he finished reading the letter, he noticed at the very bottom of the paper was dried up wet spots where your tears probably hit the paper, he placed the letter back and turned to look at you, once you lost Moblit you became a hollow shell of who you once were… gone were the days you’d sit with Connie and Sasha for hours laughing and joking, gone were the moments where you’d braid Mikasa hair, or annoyed him and Eren, or play chess with Armin… you were no longer yourself, you no longer had purpose. Jean decided in that moment he’d help you get back to your former self, or at least something close to who you use to be, “I’ll help you… I’ll be there for you, you annoying little shit” the man laid down in the bed next to you and cuddled into you.

Day 3: The pleasure of presents - Kei Tsukishima

Day 5: Roasty Toasty - Dabi/Toya Todoroki x Reader

Smutcember masterlist.

[final-girl96]

Ageless Secrets Chapter Fifteen

Yn

I sat in my house, the one that Bill and Frank gave me when I came to live here. I had a bottle of wine in my hand. I had a wine glass at first, but I gave up on that and started drinking straight out of the bottle. I was sitting outside on the porch, looking over at Bill and Franks bedroom window. It was open like Bill said in his letter.

I hated that they were just laying up there. I'm glad they're together, but I would like to give them a proper burial. I knew Joel would go for it though. They've been up there for a month. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. It definitely wouldn't smell nice either.

I took another sip of wine and set the bottle on the coffee table in front of me. I wanted to get a shower; I need to get a shower. I felt so gross, it felt like I had bugs crawling all over me. My nerves were damn near shot. Tess was gone and so Was Frank and Bill. They were the only people I had in my life. Everyone I care about is dead.

I walked into the bathroom, turned the shower on, and stripped off my dirty clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor. The hot water felt amazing on my sore muscles. I watched as the grit and grime washed down the drain. I wish it would wash all my problems down with it. I stayed under the spray of water until it grew cold.

Just as I stepped out of the tub, wrapped a towel around my waist there was a knock on the door. There was a fifty-fifty chance that it was either Ellie or Joel. I was hoping it was Ellie. The knocking got louder with each pound. “Jesus, okay!” I made sure the towel was tight around me before walking down the stairs.

My hand connected with the door handle and pulled the door open. Joel stood there, fost raised, face in a hardened expression, but his eyes raked over me. “What? What could be so damn important that you need to pound on my damn door?” I noticed he had showered too. His salt and pepper hair was still wet and slicked back. He had new jeans on and a tight fitted green flannel.

“Joel cleared his throat and averted his eyes to the ground. “Got the battery for the truck down. It's all charged up. We just gotta pack the truck up. Ellie wants to stay for the night. She wouldn't shut up until I agreed, so we're staying and leaving early in the morning.”

“Where is Ellie now?” I asked.

“She took the guest room upstairs and fell asleep.”

I hummed, “Well, have a safe trip.” I tried to close the door but Joel wedged his foot between the frame and door. “You can't stay here by yourself.” I scoffed out a laugh and shook my head. “I can and I will.”

“No, you're not. Tess told me to watch out for you and I intend to do that. You're not staying here alone.”

“Move your foot Joel.”

“Don't start getting an attitude with me. You're coming with us whether you like it or not.”

I raised an eyebrow at him and just started to laugh. “Oh, my god.” I shook my head slightly, “Why the fuck do you care, Joel? Why now? You have made it very clear that you hate me. So why do you care about me staying here by myself? Hmm? I bet you wish it had been me that was infected instead of Tess. You wouldn't have to worry about me being in your way anymore. So, why do you want me to go with you and Ellie so bad? I'll just be in the way.”

Joel just stood there, jaw clenched, not saying a damn thing. I rolled my eyes and scoffed, “Right, well, make sure you close the gate when you leave.” I turned, forgetting about trying to get him to move out of the doorframe and headed for the kitchen. I should probably go back upstairs and get dressed, but I was going to need another bottle of wine first.

I was putting the corkscrew in to open the bottle when Joel's deep voice scared the living fuck out of me. “I need you to come with us.” I looked up at him, heart pounding against my ribcage. “Jesus christ, Joel!” I didn't even hear him walk in the house. I don't know how a man his size can be as silent as a mouse.

“I can't take her by myself. She ain't safe with me, I'll only get her killed. I'm not a good person. I've done some really bad things.”

I looked him up and down. Sighing I grabbed two tumbler glasses and reached into the very back of my cabinet to pull out the bottle of whiskey I had hidden. I set the glasses down, opened the whiskey, and poured a little in both glasses. I pushed one towards him. “I'm going to put clothes on. You head outside, there's an old willow outback with a swing under. I'll meet you there.”

Joel

Joel didn't move right after yn headed for the staircase. He watched her walk away. Images of what was under the towel flashed in his mind. He could feel his jeans growing tight. “Fuck.” His hand gripped the glass and he threw back the whiskey before grabbing the bottle and heading outside before he could follow her up those stairs, bend her over the banister and fuck her; feel how tight and warm she was. Feel what it would feel like to have her wrapped around his cock.

When he got outside he tried to fix himself. His dick was straining against the zipper of his pants, begging to be let out. She always did that to him. Hell, when he and Tommy first met Tess and yn, the first thought he had was how beautiful she was. He was ashamed of himself for thinking about how beautiful a girl his daughter's age was or would have been.

He was ashamed of himself that night years ago in her apartment when she was dancing for him. The way her hips moved with the beat of the music. They had memorized him. He remembers the way his cock grew hard that night too, just like now. He would be lying if he said he didn't think of her late at night when he was by himself or when he was in the shower.

That's why he needed to push her away. Make her hate him. He wasn't good for her and he was too old. She needed someone her age; someone that could keep her safe. He knows she is more than capable of taking care of herself, but the urge to protect her was strong. It never went away No matter how hard he tried. No matter how cruel or harsh he was to her to make her hate him, he always wanted to protect her.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but he would wait outside the infirmary until her shift ended and she started to walk home. He followed her all the way back to their building, even though It was just around the corner. If he knew she was going out to walk around the QZ or even outside the walls, he was following her.

He knew it was creepy, following her like that. He was basically stalking her. It's how he knew about that fuck face FEDRA guy. How he knew the asshole had her pinned to the wall of an alleyway. It wasn't just a coincidence that he happened to be walking by. He wanted to ask if she was okay. Take her into his arms and hold her. But he didn't, nope, instead he said some really harsh things to her.

He was happy when she decided to come to stay with Bill and Frank. Not because he wanted her to leave, but because he knew she was safe. But most importantly, he wouldn't act on the impulse to just send her over anything and fuck her, make her his. He's too old for her, he's not good. That's what he needed to keep telling himself.

The way her cries and screams sounded in his ear as he carried her out of the capitol building crushed his heart. He would have done anything to make the pain stop. He would have traded places with Tess. Now the two men that were most important to her were also gone, and he couldn't fix it.

He would convince her to come along with Ellie and him to find Tommy and figure out where the fireflies were. He wasn't sure if this whole cure thing was even real or would even work if it was. But he promised Tess to keep yn safe and take care of her. He promised he would keep Ellie safe and get her where she needs to be. But he couldn't do it alone. Danger follows him, he would eventually get Ellie hurt or worse, killed.

The back door opened and yn walked towards him. What she had on wasn’t any fucking better than the towel. The pajama shorts she had left nothing to the imagination. She had a blanket and her glass in her hands. He had to shift around again to try and conceal his rock hard rejection. It got worse though when she sat down.

She sat down, facing him, back to the arm rest, and pulled her knees up to her chest. His eyes flicked down for a second when he was pulling her knees up towards herself. He wasn't wearing any underwear, he knew that for fucking sure. He noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra either. He was totally fucked.

[jgabriel1920]

Johnnytober 8°: men's 2 best friend

He shouldn't be there.

No, Jonathan shouldn't. At the door of a church, drinking centuries old wine that probably aged horrible wrong. But where should he go?

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide from the loneliness consuming him. Normally he would use other healthier methods, like killing people, however it was the most importance he didn't attract attention.

Government agents. As always. Like cockroaches always looking to try getting him. Put him in a bottle to see how to get the perfect soldier or some nonsense in the matter. They didn't have the same name, but always had the same propose, and clearly didn't like him having "fun"

Why it even mattered? He only killed "bad" people, the kind that shoots first and ask questions later. Fair fights, where they had nobody to blame but themselves.

Well, it didn't matter why it mattered, the important was for him to cry alone.

At least he was trying.

A cat got down from a tree, in front of the church. Black cat, bad luck. Luckily he already had the worse luck on all human kind so that was only a cent in his riches.

The cat came carefully to Jonathan, almost as if afraid, but too curious to ran away. He on the other hand just watched in a semi drunk state. It got to his boot, sniffing away with big ol' eyes before... Beginning to rub itself on him.

He tried scaring the cat off by moving, he didn't want to get on another being life, but the cat already made it's mind as it started purring and rubbing on his body. It head butted against his belly, demanding affection. And Jonathan gave in.

"Two hundred years just to get won over by a cat..." He murmured, scratching the cat head, behind it's ears. The cat got very happy, sitting down as it accepted his pets.

"You don't even know what you in for." Jonathan scratched the cat belly and it rolled over, purring loudly as it stretched it's body. He got up slightly just so he could pet the cat with two hands, smiling slightly as it saw the animal being so content.

However, wheels scratching sound turned his attention as he saw a car stopping in front, 4 individuals wearing blue jackets getting out with FBI behind it.

He narrow his eyes, getting up and beginning to run as the officers didn't even try to "talk" as bullets flew with silenced gun shots.

As fast as he went, he didn't notice the car following him.

I love cats :3

[ermora]

Ardyn x Drunk Reader

Here I am again with another Ardyn x Reader post. Decided to go with a drunk reader on this one, Ardyn is still probably going to be OOC but hey, the Reader is drunk soooo, yeah. Please enjoy!

‐----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You downed another drink with ease as you spoke with your friends at the table you were sitting at for the Niflheim Christmas ball. You were invited to come here with a friend and you gladly accepted the invitation as you’d never been to a ball in the grand hall before and wanted to make a good impression on your friend as you’ve had your eyes on him for quite awhile. He wasn’t around right now though as he was called away to talk to Emperor Aldercapt about some important matters regarding the empire. You tried not to be disappointed by this as you had plenty of friends here already since they worked in the palace but it had been quite awhile since your friend left and you had now downed several drinks.

“Hey, y/n, you should slow down a bit as you’ve been drinking quite a bit ever since you got here” your one friend, Tanisha, stated, you gave her a polite smile.

“I’m fine, beshides, I’m enjoying myshelf” you slurred as you poured yourself another glass of wine.

“I don’t think the Chancellor will be happy if he comes back and sees you drunk though” your other friend, Zeliek, pointed out, you waved your hand dismissively at him.

“He’sh the one who left me here with you guysh while talking to the emperor sho he can blame himshelf if he gets back to the table” you countered with a hint of frustration in your tone.

“You can’t blame him either as he’s the Chancellor of Niflheim which makes him a very busy man” Tanisha shot back.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know he’sh a busy guy but he’sh the one who invited me” you mumbled.

“I didn’t quite catch that y/n” Zeliek noted, you went to repeat what you said but the Chancellor came up to the table and sat down beside you.

“My apologies for that y/n the emperor took up a fair bit more of my time than I would have liked” Ardyn apologized.

“It’sh okay, I’ve jusht been hanging out with my friendsh here” you slurred as you downed the glass of wine in your hand. Ardyn let out a sigh and as you reached for the bottle of wine to pour yourself another drink, Ardyn quickly snatched it and put it to where you couldn’t reach it.

“It seems like I took far too long as you’re drunk” Ardyn noted in an unamused tone.

“We did try to convince her to slow down Chancellor, but… she stubbornly refused to listen to us” Zeliek said, you shrugged.

“I alsho told you guysh that I wash just enjoying myshelf” you quickly put in, feeling a bit annoyed that this conversation was happening in front of you.

“This isn’t exactly the best way to enjoy yourself at a party like this though” Tanisha pointed out, you rolled your eyes. Does it really matter how you enjoy yourself?

“Allow me to handle this as it is my fault for being away a bit too long” Ardyn stated as he stood back up before you could say anything else.

“What do you mean by that Chancellor?” Zeliek asked, Ardyn said nothing as he held out his right hand to you, you stared at it and then looked at him.

“Come with me y/n” Ardyn said in a low tone of voice, you didn’t reach out and take his hand.

“I’m not going anywhere with you right now” you mumbled in a rather short tone, Ardyn sighed and lowered his hand.

“You’re leaving me no choice but to carry you out then” Ardyn noted, you snorted while Zeliek and Tanisha stared wide eyed.

“You wouldn’t dare it” you spat, Ardyn smirked.

“Oh, but I do dare it as your current state is from my lack of attentiveness towards you” Ardyn countered as he leaned down and picked you up bridal style from the chair you were in. You let out an undignified squeak as his strength was more than you expected as you weren’t exactly the lightest person here and your arms went around Ardyn’s neck as you felt like you were going to fall as the room spun a little bit.

“Thatsh not fair… put me down” you demanded in a low voice so as not to attract anymore attention than you have as the people at the tables around you, were looking over curiously to see what was going on.

“Only once we are away from here” Ardyn stated and then left the hall with you in his arms, you crossed yours arms and felt a bit conflicted. On one hand Ardyn just ruined your fun time drinking but on the other hand, his attention was now on you.

“You really are shomething elshe right now, you left me to drink and then jusht take me away from my friendsh” you finally slurred after a few moments of silence.

“My apologies y/n, it was truly not my intention to leave you for so long” Ardyn said, you took a deep breath.

“You already apologized, jusht… put me down” you noted, Ardyn shook his head.

“Absolutely not, you are in no condition to be walking, besides, carrying you gives me a reason to tell people you are unwell and I am taking you home” Ardyn stated, you felt stunned.

“Didn’t you want to shtay?” you asked, Ardyn chuckled.

“As much as I like the spotlight, I dislike parties like this where I am unable to enjoy myself because I need to work instead of spending time with the ones I invite” Ardyn replied, you thought about his words carefully. Ardyn is quite a bit different than you initially thought and it feels nice to know that he wasn’t exactly fond of parties like this.

“I shee” you mumbled, silence fell between you two again and soon, Ardyn had walked you into an office.

“This is my office, it should be quiet enough here for us to enjoy a few drinks together if you’d still like to drink a bit” Ardyn noted, breaking the silence as he put you onto a chair, went over to his desk and pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses. You smiled at him, you never thought that Ardyn of all people would have alcohol in his office, let alone wine glasses.

“Ishn’t it a bad idea to keep alcohol in your office?” you asked.

“I don’t think it is, not when I need a drink before some meeting as they can be a bore fest, now would you like some more wine?” Ardyn asked.

“Yesh pleashe” you replied, Ardyn poured wine into the two glasses and handed you one, you took it and you clinked glasses together before downing your drinks. Ardyn refilled the glasses and the two of you began to chat about life, it wasn’t until the bottle of wine was finished and you felt truly ill that you wanted to do nothing more than sleep it all off.

“Are you alright y/n?” Ardyn asked as you struggled to even sit upright at this point.

“I-I think I should head out and get home sho that I can go to bed” you truthfully replied, Ardyn smiled as he stood up from the chair he was in and came over to you.

“Allow me to take you home then” Ardyn offered, you shook your head.

“You’ve been drinking too” you pointed out, Ardyn’s smile grew.

“Oh my dear sweet little bird, alcohol hardly phases someone like me” Ardyn shot back, you went to protest but Ardyn leaned down and silenced you and your thoughts with a brief kiss. Your mind reeled from this and you were certain that this wasn’t quite real, when Ardyn pulled away you felt a sense of longing.

“Ardyn.. I… you…” you mumbled, unable to form a proper sentence.

“Allow me to take you home now” Ardyn stated, you nodded your response and Ardyn picked you up bridal style once again and he carried you out of his office. As he carried you down the halls of the palace you rested your head against his chest and let your eyes close. Tonight was totally worth it and you’ll treasure it for the days to come.

[kyriosc]

dcviated asked:

Dogi arrives that evening, a song under his breath and a large parcels under his arm. Pushing into the bar however he wonders if he's interrupting? Ah, Edeth was just wrapping up dinner with the college girl who helps out time to time. "Aw, well that's nice. Didn't mean to interrupt or nothing! I got you something if you wanna... well, open em up." The package is set on the pool table so there's enough space. It doesn't take a genius to tell what this large flat rectangle may be. A framed photograph! But wait a minute-- "Yeup. That's from the mountain you and I went to. Remember? You mentioned you wouldn't mind seeing that sunset every day so I went back with my buddy's camera. Think they did a good job with the printing. If you want help hanging it up, lemme know alright? Oh! And this too." A ribbon'd bottle of liquor is set on the counter. The writing on it is foreign. Spanish? "Some mezcal from my last trip. Happy birthday, Edeth!!"

It had been a long while since Edeth made anything from home. Usually when she cooks it was what's on her bar menu, easier to just have a meal at work when you're there all the time, but today was different and she wanted a treat. A few dishes, nothing super heavy, but to make and taste Coquilles Saint-Jacques along with seasonal vegetables sautéed in some lemon compound butter, tying the meal with a glass (or three) of her favourite wine. It was a meal fit for a queen considering the pair had enjoyed a wonderful time out. To think she could ever felt so relaxed, maybe Edeth can make it a habit.

The sound of the front door opening brings her back to her senses as she is in for another surprise. Her cheeks turning a tinge pink at seeing the new company enter the building, a treat for the eyes since she didn't think he would ever remember her so casually saying her birth date. Not to mention last she heard he was on another trip. Did he come straight here after returning? Maybe she should make him some dinner real quick. Excusing herself from the table she meets up with the man clasping her hands in anticipation.

Uncovering the large package has her speechless. Looking back between Dogi and the picture, feeling how she did upon first seeing that sunset before they enjoyed a night under the open skies with the stars as their witness. As if by impulse staring at the frame, Edeth is by his side leaning in with a hand wrapped around his arm. Comforting. She will definitely find some space in her bar for it, and looking around she could see many spots that could use some fine nature shots. They would add a unique feel to them something that no one else had.

A bottle of mezcal was next and this present was equally as wonderful. What's more is this brand isn't found with her local supplier or stores in the neighboring cities. Truly a gem and her gears are starting to spin on a new cocktail. As an act of gratitude Edeth does her best to tip toe, one hand to tug him down a touch, the other cradles his chin. A short, sweet, soft smooch at the corner of his lips in appreciation for a wonderful moment.

"Thank you, Dogi, I don't know what more to say except I hope we can have more adventures together." A soft chuckle and the two seem to be in their own world. Hands held, smiles all around had it not been Eira's hair contrasting the background in the corner of her eye. Totally forgot she had company! Immediate embarrassment but she figures it's about time she introduces two important people to her.

"E-Eira! Meet Dogi, we, um, we took a few camping trips together as you can tell. And he takes wonderful pictures and makes delicious food! He's very special to me just like you. Likewise, Dogi, this is Eira. She's an absolute gem like a daughter I never thought I could have~!"

[marinerainbow]

I'm not the one who sent this ask (and thank you for this ask, whoever you are anon ^^), but I would not expect these answers... But at the same time, they are so f i t t i n g too?? Just more proof that you truly are the villain expert XD

As for that Psycho inquiry... That boy is gonna be in zoomie mode until the energy drink(s- oh god PLEASE do not give Psycho multiple energy drinks 😭) is out of his system 😅 like, Psycho has to DO STUFF now. He has PLACES TO GO. To where? He don't know, but he's gotta MOVE. Not even like a productive kind of moving either, so if Smartass gives him an energy drink on the job he's gonna be very disappointed XD

(I was gonna put this in tags, but it got too long for the 30 tag limit. This isn't meant to impede on your answer of course)

You know the kind of drunk Poppy gets. So trusting and adorable XD she doesn't drink often, only during important events like a wedding or New Years, and even then, she's used to something more like wine. So this girl ain't gonna last long with anything. Though she still tries to remain sober. She would absolutely try Stu's drinks though! Though unlike Psycho, she's gonna finish her drink... And then she gets into drunk mode XD (omg imagine drunk!Poppy- or sober!Poppy- interacting with drunk!Psycho!!)

Shiny however, drinks regularly. From individual shots taken while at work, to testing her own product ("I sell alcohol, and you don't expect me to drink??"). And she's experimented with different alcohols, too. So she knows how much of what she needs and what it does to her ("Just three shots of Whisky, and I'm all good baby. Oh, you only got Tequila? I'll take five of those then-")... So that means Shiny can drink the majority of these bastards under the table XD including Greasy!!! (I'm sorry, I'm just loving that your answer implies that he'd be a lightweight. They both drink the same amount, yet Shiny is the one driving her man home XD). It takes a lot for her to get over the edge drunk, she mainly just loosens up and becomes more like the 'chill aunt' kind of playful rather than the 'mischievous' kind.

I wanna see Stupid, Shiny, and Wheezy all drink together now and see which one is the last one standing XD

Moony is also a weekend drinker. After a long week, you wanna unwind you know? Possibly meet up with someone too. Though he's also responsible for his bunny, so he makes sure Cake is alright and taken care of before he goes out. He prefers vodka, and can get... A little flirty when intoxicated, but also sweet too ^^

Ben is a bastard, angry drinker. Enough said.

Henry... Actually he's more like Greaay in that he does what he can to keep sober to get away. He'll have a drink to blend in, but he doesn't want to risk slipping uo in front of the wrong people.

Terry likes beer, and he gets snoozy after a few bottles. It's why he'll just stay home if he plans on having more than one beer that night.

How would YOUR OC's be like drinking? What are their favorite drinks, and what kind of drunks are they? If they drink at all?

Thanks for answering my question about asks and requests (: you are very kind

As an ask then how do you think the Weasels will be when drunk? I don't think they are all so inclined to drink, Stu for example seems too childlike for it, but it's a fun scenario to imagine 🍷

Of course!! ^^ Sorry it took me a moment to respond to this one, work is exhausting 😅

~

Toon Patrol x Drinking

Greasy: Greasy values his wit and self control (... when it doesn't involve pretty women I mean) too much to partake. Even if everyone else is drinking and acting like drongos around him he'll be sharp as a knife.

Psycho: L o v e s to try a new drink XD According to him they're like little gas leaks in his mouth and chest and he loves the horrible feeling! XD Generally Psy wont get d r u n k, cuz he only tries a few sips each time, but if Stu is on a roll with making them then Psycho w i l l end up pissed and thats not good for anyone 😅 If you thought e was feral before- you haven't seen him on all fours moving at Top Speed.

I raise you (or anyone else who may feel compelled to respond XD ) another thought: Psycho and energy drinks XD

Smartass: Honestly I cant really see Smartass drinking that much 🤔 if ever 🤔 I feel like people will disagree with me but... eh. Maybe sometimes he'll have something? If he's REALLY stressed and annoyed?? XD

Stupid: I actually think Stupid w o u l d be a drinker!! XD I dunno, to each their own of course!! ^^💛💛💛 I just don't really think of Stupid as childlike. I think of him as d u m b, of course, really really dumb, but not childlike. I think he'd be the one experimenting with mixes and different cocktails?? XD Just imagining Stu in the kitchen shaking up a drink and offering a taste to Psy and Wheezy XD And Stu taking on the group therapist mantel when he's got that shaker in his ands, like *hands Wheezy a pink drink like a flower* duhh are you okay?? do ya wanna talk about it?? And Smartass automatically handing the drink menu over to him (Which Stu immediately ours through, like 'ooh!') if they go out XD Stu is a big boy, too, so its hard for him to get truly h a m m e r e d, but he can get there XDD Luckily, he's a nice drunk! XD

Wheezy: Wheezy can f o r s u r e hold his booze the best XD It takes a lot to get him drunk (even tipsy). If he drinks, it doesn't really take away any of his inhibitions; its just to loosen up. He's definitely one to go for a few drinks at the end of the week (He needs it after working with these freaks XD)... but its usually interrupted with a. Greasy being there and hitting on someone and him having to bail Greasy's horny green ass outta trouble (Unless he just ignores it, which is more common. But even then Greasy will d r a g him into it XD *Greasy getting dragged from the pub* el fumador help meeee! i'm being falsely accused!! Wh- dont ignore me!- hey! you with the body odor!!- fucks sake.), b. Smartass drags them back to work. In either case, he is sure to down s o m e t h i n g before he's gotta get up off the bar stool he feels he belongs on.

[topgun-imagines]

Clock Don’t Stop

Requested: no

Summary: After a big fight, you need some time away from Jake. A song that you are listening to reminds you of a very important lesson. Can you and Jake fix things? 

Word count: 1.7k 

Warnings: Angst. Mentions of fighting and arguments. 

Note: Loosely based off of the song ‘Clock Don’t Stop’ by Carrie Underwood. Part Two of ‘Try Losing One’.

Pairings: Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x fem!reader 

The door slammed behind you as you ran for your car. You jumped in and started it faster than you ever had before, desperately needing to get away from the place in front of you. Slamming on the gas, you sped away from your house. Away from Jake. 

It was a stupid fight. Something that grew out of control soon after it started, neither one of you wanting to admit you were wrong. You had been out doing some wedding planning, what exactly you couldn’t remember at this point, when some blonde had wandered up to Jake. You had instantly become jealous. Why, you didn’t know. What you did know was that instead of talking it out with him like a mature adult, you chose to give your fiancé the cold shoulder. You were silent the rest of the way home. 

It had spiralled from there. One thing lead to another and suddenly you were screaming at Jake. The fact that he had acted as if he had no idea what you were talking about didn’t help any. If anything it made it worse, leading to you leaving him in your empty home. 

You needed to get out of there. Arguing back and forth with Jake was tiring, to say the least. Honestly, at that moment you didn’t care where you ended up as long as it was away from Jake. You loved him. Of course you did. It was just moments like this where it was damn near impossible to be in the same room as him. You two rarely fought and when you did it was never this bad. This was a special occasion. One that you hoped would never happen again. So long as the two of you patched things up. 

Slowing down, you parked your car. You had pulled into the Hard Deck parking lot. Hopping out, you headed into the rowdy bar silently. There were groups of people all around you, some with familiar faces and others with complete strangers. Bob, Rooster, and Phoenix were gathered around the pool table in the far corner but you paid them no mind as you walked up to Penny. Ordering a few beers, you tried to ignore the concerned look that the older woman was sending you. You paid for your drinks quickly and rushed out of the bar.

Once you were outside you began walking down the beach. The sun was just dipping below the horizon as you reached the water line. The beach was one of your favorite places to be. Something that you learned when you first moved to North Island was that there was a beautiful part of the beach behind the bar. Usually, it was just the aviators that occupied it and since you saw most of them inside, there was a good chance that you would be alone. 

Being in that part of the beach brought back a lot of memories. That was where your first date with Jake was. Somehow, he had convinced you to give him a shot. He had held your hand the entire walk there, laid out a blanket, and unpacked the picnic he had brought. That date led to three which led to seven which eventually led to Jake proposing. It was by far one of the best days of your life. 

You set the bottles in the sand and sat down on a log. Pulling out your phone, you pressed shuffle on the first playlist you came across. Nearly ten minutes later and you were at the beginning of the fourth song. It was a familiar song but hearing the lyrics now caused you to get lost in thought. “Red dress, spilled wine, caught in a stupid fight, He’s wrong, she’s right, no kiss goodnight.” That’s all that tonight was. A stupid fight with drastic consequences. 

Watching the sunset, you let the words fill your mind. “Ring-ring, telephone, Act like I’m not home, Can’t hear the tears cry on the other end of the line.” That made you wonder. Was Jake crying over this? Was he letting this fight affect him the same way you were? Here you were, sitting alone, crying over someone who might not even care. Tears gathered on your lashes. 

“And the minutes turn to hours, and they’re flying like a jet plane, And we’ll make it right tomorrow, but tomorrow not a sure thing.” A single tear rolled down your cheek. Instantly, your mind wandered to your first big fight with Jake.

It was years ago now, so long ago that you couldn’t even remember what it was about. It had escalated quickly, much like this one, eventually ending in you retreating into your shared bedroom and slamming the door in his face. The door stayed locked for the rest of the night. Jake had slept on the couch, or attempted to anyways. The both of you never slept well when you were apart. It was something that you learned during his first deployment while you were together. 

When you walked down the stairs at four in the morning you expected him to be sound asleep, not sitting at your kitchen table with a glass of water, staring blankly into the dark. You had approached him slowly, not bothering to turn on the lights when you spoke. “Ya know, there was this thing that my mum told me all the time,” He remind stoic. So still, in fact, that you wondered if he was just sleeping with his eyes open. You continued quietly. “She told me that you should never leave someone angry because there’s no promise of tomorrow,” You could hear the hitch in his breath. “Something could happen,” you murmured, sitting next to him. “You could go, and when you come back they're gone. They could be gone forever.” 

You spent that morning crying into each other's arms. It was no secret that Jake’s job was dangerous; you often found yourself thinking of the worst possible outcomes when he was in the air. That day, you made a promise to each other that whatever should happen, you would never leave the other angry. You would always make time to work it out. Tonight that promise was broken. 

The song continued. “Head’s scared, hearts broke, burned from a band of gold, rather just be alone, Burns, just a bad joke,” Your eyes wandered to the ring on your finger. You loved Jake. You were planning to spend the rest of your life with him. There was no way that you were willing to give that up over some stupid fight. More tears fell. 

“Red dress, spilled wine, caught in a stupid fight, I’m wrong, you’re right, Kiss me goodnight.” You had made up your mind. Standing, you brushed off the sand from your jeans and headed back to your car. You quickly pulled out of the parking lot and began the drive home, desperately hoping that Jake would be there when you got there. 

Minutes later you were pulling into your driveway. Jake’s truck was parked next to yours. Hopefully, that meant he was home. Hurriedly, you yanked open the door and walked inside. A pit of dread settled in your stomach when you found it dead silent. The living room was empty; there was no noise from the TV, and there was no music playing. It almost seemed as if no one lived there. You walked into the house, holding back your tears as best as possible. Surely he would be here. Right? 

In the kitchen, you found the lights turned off. A heavy breath escaped your lungs when your eyes landed on the kitchen table. Jake was sitting in front of you with a glass of water clasped between his shaking hands. There were tears leaking down his cheeks as he stared at the wall in front of him. “Ya know,” You called softly. “My mum had this saying. That you were never supposed to leave angry after a fight,” You pulled out the chair and sat next to him. Jake released a trembling breath as you continued. “Because you never know what could happen.” It was choked out through a sob, your tears falling steadily as you watched your fiancé. 

Jake let out a watery chuckle, eyes finally meeting yours. “I’m so sorry.” You whispered sniffling He just shook his head and opened his arms. You fell into them as you sobbed into his chest. You could feel the light kisses he was pressing into your hair causing you to sob harder. How could you have jeopardized this? 

You kept mumbling into his shirt, repeating how sorry you were and how much you loved him. Jake shushed you quietly. “It’s okay, baby. I’m sorry too,” His voice was soft and soothing. His southern drawl was thicker when he was emotional, something that you always loved. “I love you, baby. So much.” You could practically hear the tears in his voice. Pulling back, you were met with the sight of Jake wiping tears from his eyes. He was never one to cry, so seeing him this upset was something new. 

You glanced down and saw the tear stains on his shirt. Before you could start apologizing, Jake grabbed your cheeks with his hands gently and tilted it up to meet his eyes. They were bloodshot and still full of tears but he was staring at you with so much love and adoration that you lost all other thoughts. His thumbs began tracing your cheekbones softly, wiping away any tears. Jake smiled down at you, kissing you softly before pressing his lips to your forehead. 

“I love you.” His words were soft. They were spoken with such certainty that it brought a fresh wave of tears to your eyes. In that moment, you realized just how much Jake Seresin loved you. It was clear in his eyes, his words, the gentleness when he held you. His words were a promise. A vow that no matter what happened, you would always have each other. Sure, there would be more fights and the road wouldn’t always be easy. But you loved each other. And that’s all that matters.

a/n: Thank you for reading! requests for mood boards and fic’s are open. 

[ragingbookdragon]

What Is A Mother, But The Woman Who Loves Us Most?

A Batmom x Batfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 3.3K Warnings: Angst

Author's Note: I know there is a story like this already (by a different author) but I should preface that this is a story that I posted a year or so before but deleted my previous blog last year, so it's not going to seem like it. I haven't copied any ideas, this is my own that I posted a year or so ago, and re-posting again now. -Thorne

You are not my mother!

The loathing words came out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he watched the cave go deathly quiet around him. Everyone's eyes were wide, even hers, but a millisecond later, they set in a hard stare as she stood straight, her jaw tightening.

She nodded, staring at him. "You're right Damian. I'm not Talia al Ghul. I'm not your mother. But I will tell you what I am." She raised her left hand, flashing the silver wedding ring on her finger. "I'm your father's wife. And what I tell you to do in this manor is what I expect from you."

He shook his head in anger, glaring at her. "This is my father's manor!"

"No Damian, this is the Wayne Manor. And I've been, to use a rather weathered term, the lady of the house for almost fifteen years. Long before you were even a thought in Talia's mind." He stopped and she crossed her arms. "I may not be your mother, but you are a child and your father and I are the adults. When you turn eighteen, you can make all the decisions you want. Until then, what we say goes."

His lips drew in a taut line and she added, "I've already talked about it to Bruce. You're not allowed on patrol after what happened at the gala. If you want to complain to him about it, he's going to tell you the same thing." Her eyes shifted to the others, then she looked back at him one last time before turning around and walking up the stairs.

When she was gone, he let out a shout in anger and threw silver coffee pot against the cave wall. It hit the wall with a clang and dropped, rolling on the ground a few times as it spilled its contents, much like his mood.

He felt their eyes on them and he whipped his head up, glaring at them. "What?!"

Tim and Jason simply narrowed their eyes at him, but Dick walked forward and knelt in front of him. "Kiddo, that wasn't a nice thing to say to mom."

Damian scoffed at him before shoving past, climbing up the stairs. “Like the three of you haven't said that to her before." There was no return to his statement, giving him all the answer, he needed.

***

He stepped out of the study stretching his arms and listening to the sound of his bones popping before he shifted, moving towards the door. The boys had left a few minutes earlier to catch a rerun of an episode of Vikings, leaving him alone in the cave.

Alfred walked up to him, handing him a sweater before motioning to the door. "Mrs. Wayne has taken a seat out on the patio. I suspect you'll wish to see her."

Bruce nodded, taking the sweater from him before thanking him and moving out of the study and towards the patio. He crossed into the living room as he did, stopping to stare at his four sons passed out on the couch. The TV was still going, so he leaned down, gently taking the remote from Dick's hand and shutting it off.

He set the remote down and started his path again, but stopped when he heard, "You going to check on mom?" He turned around, looking at a his oldest.

Bruce nodded, taking in the sight of Dick’s arms wrapped around all of his brothers. “After you boys told me what happened, I thought I should talk to her about it."

Dick nodded, reaching up and rubbing his eyes, careful not to wake the others beside him. "He didn't mean it...he'll see that when he gets over being angry."

Bruce nodded and leaned over, ruffling his hair. “Tell Jason that you two should stay at the manor tonight...it's too late for you to head home anyway."

Dick started to argue, but a look from his father and quick, “Your mother would have a fit if you two tried to drive home now or later…you know that.”

His son nodded and Bruce turned around once more, this time making his way to the dimly lit patio. His hand curled around the cool metal handle of the sliding glass door, and he quietly opened it, stepping out onto the deck. She lay on the porch swing, covered by a heavy hound’s tooth blanket, with a barely full wine glass in her hand.

He walked towards her and bent over, picking up the wine bottle; he shook it lightly before quipping, "I can't believe you've drank an entire bottle in one sitting."

As if finally noticing his presence, she tipped her head lazily to him and mumbled, "It's empty?"

He snorted and tipped the bottle upside down. "As it was the day before it was bottled."

Bruce paused and grinned as she huffed a laugh and brought the glass she had in her hand up to her mouth. He watched her down the rest of her red wine before she set the glass on the table; he set the bottle beside it and shifted her forward, easing his way behind her until they were both comfortable. She rested her back against his chest, her head dropping against his shoulder. His arms came up around her as he pulled the blanket up to her neck, keeping her warm.

He was quiet for a second then he murmured, "...The boys told me what happened earlier."

There was a moment of silence, then she whispered, "I know I should be used to it after hearing it come from each of them..." She stopped, then continued with, "But it still stings to hear it."

A sad smile crossed his lips as he pressed his lips to her temple. "Of course it stings (Y/N)...you're their mother and you love them." After he didn't receive a response from her, he tipped his head and looked down. "(Y/N)? Love?" She turned her head, and he took in the sight of the tears in her eyes; his face fell at the sight and he brought a hand up, cupping her cheek. "Oh…sweetheart."

(Y/N) choked out a sob and pressed her face into the crook of his neck as she clenched a hand in his sweater. Bruce rested his chin on the top of her head as he rubbed her back, comforting her with quiet words.

***

Damian watched them from the screen door, feeling his heart clench in his chest at the sight of (Y/N) sobbing. He swallowed thickly and stepped back, only to come into contact with someone—something. He let out a quiet gasp and spun around, seeing Dick staring sadly out at his parents, Tim and Jason behind him doing the same.

Damian looked at them and whispered, "What are you three doing?"

Dick glanced at him briefly before motioning to them. "We heard the sliding door open, and we went to listen."

"I didn't know you were eavesdroppers."

A hand came up and cuffed him upside the head; he held his head, glaring at Jason who bit out, "Shut up, two-bit. You were eavesdropping too."

Damian opened his mouth to retort, but shut it and turned back around, looking at her. A moment passed, then he mumbled, "You said the same thing I did." He looked up at his brothers, who wore clouded expressions; each of them nodded after a few seconds, and he asked, "What happened?"

Dick was the first to speak, remembering a time from when he was a mere ten years old.

***

He stomped angrily through the house, not even caring about her following him; she called after him repeatedly. "Dick. Dick, honey, stop for a second."

He didn't listen, still moving. "No! You grounded me!"

"And I grounded you for a reason. You deliberately disobeyed me." He grunted at her and she called out, her voice ringing with authority, "Richard John Grayson. Not another step young man." He stopped at it and she continued, "You left the cave tonight and went on patrol without asking. As your mom-"

He spun around, his eyes angered as he spit, "You're not my mom! Stop acting like it!" Her mouth shut, and her eyes went wide from the declarations.

She blinked, obviously stunned at his words, and she stared down at her hands murmuring, "I may not be your real mother...but I...I am...I..." She drew off, bringing a hand up to wipe at her cheek. Dick's widened when she looked up at him, and he saw the tears beginning to spill, running down her cheeks.

He raised his hands out to her. "Wait! I—I didn't mean it!"

(Y/N) looked down and she brought a hand up to her mouth, moving past him, letting out a broken, 'excuse me'. He watched her go past him, then a few moments later, Bruce walked into the room and he turned to him.

"Bruce!" Bruce looked down at him, taking in the sight of Dick, who was almost in tears.

The lecture he had ready for him went out the window as he squatted in front of Dick. "Dick?"

The boy looked up at him, tears filling those big blue eyes. "I—I messed up B-Bruce."

He reached out a hand, wiping his tears away. "What happened Dick?"

Dick lowered his head and he whispered, "I a—accidently told (Y/N) that she wasn't my m-mom."

Bruce sighed at him and murmured, “Oh, Dick." The boy began to sob, and Bruce reached out, pulling him into a hug. "It's okay, bud."

***

Dick looked at her and murmured, "I've never forgotten the look she gave me after I said it to her..." He looked down at Damian, and said, "And neither has she."

Jason nodded at that. "I'm sure she's never forgotten how I left the cave telling her I had to go find my real mom.

***

"What are you looking at baby?"

He jerked forward, clicking the screen to minimize the images. "Nothing!" He spun around to see her walking towards him, an amused smile on her face.

"And I'm assuming that nothing is not important?" She questioned.

He nodded. "Not at all."

She stared at him until he sighed and turned around, clicking the screen to reveal the images of the three women; she walked up to him. "Who are these women?"

He pointed to each one. "Sharmin Rosen, Lady Shiva, and Sheila Haywood."

(Y/N) nodded, looking at them. "They're very pretty women." She paused and looked at him. "But why are you looking at them." He dropped his gaze and picked at his fingers. "Jason? Hon?"

He looked back up at her. "One of them is my mom."

Her eyes widened as she said, "Like...your biological mom?"

He nodded. "I found out after I went back to my old apartment." He looked between the screen and (Y/N). "I'm gonna track them down." She was silent, her eyes moving to the screen, and he turned to her, rising from the chair. "I have to go find them...I have to go find my real mom."

***

"And those were the last words I ever said to Ma." They stared at Jason as he leaned against a table by the door. "And it got a lot worse when I came back...I said horrible things to Ma...about her not caring...about her not being a mother." He went silent and shook his head. "I fucked up a lot of things between us for a good couple years."

Tim watched him, then nodded. "I hadn't even realized I'd actually said it to mom...it was such an offhanded comment that I didn't even know what I said until she was gone."

***

He barely registered the sound of his bedroom door opening, let alone the sound of her footsteps as she walked up to him. He did, however, hear the disappointment in her tone as she said, "Timmy...you need to go to bed."

He shook his head, typing on the keyboard. "I'm fine."

"Honey, you've been awake for almost forty-eight hours." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's not good for your body if you stay up like this."

"I'm fine. Really, I'm good."

She squeezed his shoulder, the other hand reaching out to close the laptop. "You'll be good when you're asleep in bed." Skimming the top of this laptop, she stopped when his curled around her wrist.

He turned to her and said, "Will you stop mothering me? I'm fine. I don't need your help."

He let go of her and turned back to the screen, barely registering the way she quietly whispered, “Alright Timmy...goodnight”, and walked out of his room.

***

"The only reason I actually realized what I said was after a few minutes, I realized that she hadn't told me she loved me after saying good night." He paused, digging a groove into the carpet with his toes. "Mom didn't say anything about it the next day, but I could tell that something had shifted. She was more reserved when it came to me." He looked at Damian. "Look, I know you and I don't get along, but I'm going to tell you something brother to brother. Go apologize to mom and tell her that you didn't mean it."

It was all he said before he looked at the others and waved. "I'm going to bed.

Jason soon followed saying, "I'm with Timbers. I'm gonna go crash."

The two of them began making their way to their rooms when the sound of the screen door opening and closing brought their attention back. They looked towards it, seeing Bruce carrying (Y/N), her head pressed against his chest.

He stopped when he saw them, his surprised look giving way to a hard expression. "Were you four watching?" They all started making excuses, but he shushed them, nodding at their sleeping mother; they shut their mouths and he brought his foot back, sliding the door closed.

"Is mom alright?"

Bruce looked at Dick and nodded. "She's fine. Wine drunk...but fine." He looked down at Damian. "(Y/N) does a lot for all of us. You owe her an apology when she wakes up." Damian nodded, watching as he walked past them, carrying her up the stairs to their bedroom.

***

The dull throb in her head told her the migraine was something she was going to need some aspirin, water, and a heavy blanket to block out the light to fix. She groaned lightly as she burrowed her face in her pillow, then she opened her eyes and looked around the room.

Immediately, she took in the sight of the four of her boys curled up like cats in the bed with her. A smile graced her lips and she reached down beside her hip, running a hand over Tim's head; he shifted in his sleep, burying his face in her side and she struggled to bite back the laugh that wanted to come out. She reached over again and ran her hands through Dick and Jason's hair, watching them do the same.

She smiled at them, then a voice sounded from beside her. "Are you awake, Umi?" (Y/N) looked to her side, seeing Damian curled up beside her. Bruce's broad shoulders made him look so tiny from where he was laying and she nodded, raising a hand and caressing his head.

"I'm awake, sweetheart." He nodded, then moved under her arm, resting his head on her shoulder. Her arm settled comfortably around him, and she brought up her hand, gently running her fingers through his short hair.

After a few moments he whispered, "...I'm sorry, Umi."

Her response was to press her lips to his forehead, and murmur, "I know, baby."

He swallowed thickly, feeling the beginnings of tears gathering in his eyes. "I didn't mean to say it."

She nodded; her lips still pressed to his forehead. "I know you didn't, sweetheart. It was something said in anger."

He moved to sit up, looking up at her as he whispered harshly, "But I have hurt you! I made you cry! I...did this." He dropped his gaze, closing his eyes, and (Y/N) watched the tears begin to fall down his cheeks. He looked back up at her a few seconds later and said, "You are my mother, Umi...you are the only mother I've known."

(Y/N) shifted, careful not to wake her sons, then she cupped Damian's cheeks in her hands. "Baby...it's okay...I'm not angry at you."

He shook his head in her grip. "But you're sad because I said you weren't my mother."

(Y/N) brushed her thumbs under his eyes, wiping away the tears. "We all say things that we don't mean." He looked up at her and she searched his eyes. "What matters is that when they are said, we try our best to fix what we've done wrong."

Damian nodded his head and whispered, "I'm sorry, Umi."

A sad smile crossed her lips and she leaned forward, kissing his forehead. "I am too, baby." She pulled away and brushed his cheeks again. "I still love you though...with all my heart."

"You do? Even after what I said?"

(Y/N) nodded, pulling him to her; he rested his head under her chin, and she wrapped her arms around him as she murmured, "The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." She brought up a hand, caressing the side of his head as she whispered, "Each of you has told me as some point that I am not what I am. But I know deep down that none of you meant it. And each time I heard it, it hurt...but forgiveness is a good thing when used."

"To err is human...to forgive...divine."

She smiled at his quote and squeezed him gently. "I love you, Damian...my beautiful baby boy."

The feeling of tears gathered in his eyes, but he blinked them away, his hand clenching in her shirt as he replied, "I love you too, Umi."

There was a moment of silence between them until, "How come the demon-spawn gets all the love? We were here first."

Damian raised his head, glaring at Tim. "I am Umi's favorite, Drake."

"The hell you are, Tater-tot. If anyone's the favorite, it's me."

"I think you're wrong, Little-wing. Iwas the first. I'm the favorite."

"No one asked you, dickhead."

"Mom! Jason called me a mean name!"

"Mom! Jason called me a mean name!"

"Stop mocking me!"

"Stop mocking me!"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

(Y/N) rolled her eyes at her two oldest as they began to shove at each other, and eventually, Tim and Damian got into the mess, and she watched their fists and feet fly at each other.

A grunt sounded from beside her and she looked down to see her husband glaring at her. "You just had to get them going this early, didn't you, Mrs. Wayne?"

(Y/N) let out a 'pfft' and leaned down, pressing her lips to his before laying her head on his arm, their foreheads touching. "Yeah...but I know that when they're fighting like this, they're giving each other love."

"Tough love."

She snorted and tickled his side, feeling him jerk away. "But love nonetheless."

He opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of someone grunting cut him off. "Mom! Jason won't let me out of this headlock!"

"Mom! Jason won't let me-"

"STOP MOCKING ME, JASON!"

"You're unbearable, Drake! I am Umi's favorite!"

"Keep telling yourself that, oompa-loompa."

"I am not an oompa-loompa!"

(Y/N) sighed and looked at her husband. "Never a dull morning, is it Mr. Wayne?"

He grinned at her but grunted when one of them hit his side. "No, it's not Mrs. Wayne. No, it is not."

[cjsinkythoughts]

The Shield

Paring: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 5595

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, John Walker, Emotions, Character Death, Mentions of Blood, I know people had a hard time with that last scene so please take caution because it is in this part! GIF at end is the ending scene, so be careful when you get towards the bottom! I feel like I’m forgetting some, so just know this one’s a bit more than the others.

A/N: Here it is, folks! The Part we’ve all been waiting for! It’s the longest one I’ve written so far but so much happened and I couldn’t find a better spot to end it than where the episode ended. Thank you all for being patient with me today. I know I didn’t get this out as quickly as I would’ve the past few weeks, but you guys are so awesome! Seriously! I love that you understand I do have a life and work comes first! Thank you, thank you!

This Part is a doozy, guys, and…I’m sorry? But not really. I’m SUPER excited to see where this is gonna go, especially considering Episode 5 is supposed to be the real tear jerker. I can’t believe there’s only two more episodes! I’ve grown so attached to these characters just in the past month! I’m so glad I’m able to share some of my thoughts and feelings with you guys, too! You’re honestly the best!

I’ll be doing more One Shots this week, so look for those on the Masterlist. I’m still taking requests for them, so if there’s anything you want explored about the reader and her relationships that you don’t think will be explored in this Series, just ask and I’ll try to add it to the One Shot list.

As always, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Thank you for reading, be kind to yourself and others, enjoy this part and stay tuned!

FATWS Masterlist

cjsinkythoughts Masterlist

(I couldn’t decide on which GIF to use because there are so many good ones! Thank you Tumblr Creators!)

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

“Doll…hey. Doll. C’mon, sweetheart. We gotta get moving.”

You cracked your eyes open begrudgingly, squinting up to see Bucky’s amused grin, head tilted and eyes soft. “Huh?”

He chuckled as you rubbed your eyes, confusion lifting an eyebrow. “The funeral. Zemo said we’ve gotta go if we’re gonna make it in time.”

“Wait, but…huh?”

Sniggering again at your reaction, he held up your phone. “You passed out in the middle of a chapter, sleepyhead.” He teased lightly, grabbing your hand and gently pulling you to sit upright. “It’s almost been an hour.”

You huffed tiredly, stretching and placing your feet on the floor, taking back the phone he held out to you. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You haven’t been sleeping well.” He stated, like it should’ve been obvious. “How’s your arm feeling?”

“Better than earlier. It’s just sore. That’s all.”

He studied your features for any hint of a lie. Not finding one, he nodded, holding out his hand. “Okay. But tell me if it starts bothering you.”

You placed your hand in his, marveling for a split second at how big his hands were compared to yours - something you noticed every time but still it never ceased to astound you. He tugged you up, and you looked up to meet his worried eyes, remembering his question.

“I will, Buck. Promise.”

He nodded, tilting his head towards the door. “C’mon, cuddle bug. We don’t wanna miss this.”

A groan passed your lips, but you nodded and followed Bucky out into the main room, where Sam chuckled at you from his spot at the table. ���Sleeping beauty has finally awoken.”

You flipped Sam off groggily. “Are we going or not?”

“Do you wanna wake up s’more first?”

“No.” You answered the one armed brunette. “I’ll just splash some water on my face or something. I’ll be fine by the time we get there. Where’s-”

“Looking for me?”

Zemo strolled out, now dressed in that coat of his, that smug smirk on his lips. You scowled. “I wish I wasn’t.”

Sam stood up, standing subconsciously between you and Zemo. “Let’s head out.”

You nodded in agreement, shooting the Baron one more glare, before following him out the door and into the city, Bucky right besides you, shoulders brushing as if you weren’t ignoring him just hours prior.

The walk was mostly silent, a few jests between Bucky and Sam plus a couple comments from Zemo here and there. You talked about strategy, with Sam bringing up the fact that he wanted to try convincing Karli to step down. Zemo didn’t look pleased with the arrangement, but both you and Bucky relented, agreeing to let Sam at least try.

It wasn’t until you were close to your destination according to Zemo that anything exciting happened.

“Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit!”

Hell. No. 

The moment the voice registered in your brain, your jaw tightened, your teeth starting to grind together as you held back the very not nice things you wanted to say. 

“Ah! How’d you find us now?” Bucky called out, tucking you into his side protectively, and a little possessively you noted, as Walker and Hoskins came down the steps, the two groups nearing each other.

You were relieved when the subject of Zemo escaping jail went by relatively quickly, Walker latching onto the fact that you were going to talk to Karli instead of focusing on the escaped fugitive in front of him.

You very nearly punched him when he ran in front of you after Sam told him the plan, making the four of you stop in your tracks, but Bucky’s arm tightened around your shoulders, holding you in place next to him.

“You’re gonna let him do this?” Walker questioned Bucky in disbelief, self righteous judgement practically dripping from your tone. “You’re gonna let your partner walk into a room with a super soldier alone?”

Bucky’s jaw ticked. “He’s dealt with worse. And he’s not my partner.”

“And you?” Walker narrowed his eyes towards you. “I expected more from you; the last original Avenger.”

You snorted, shaking your head. He obviously didn’t know how chaotic the Avengers were. What Sam was proposing? You’d seen it a million times with Steve alone. Not considering Nat, Clint, Thor, even Bruce and Tony. All of them willing to try to negotiate before running in, bullets raining and hell rising. “First, I’m not the last original. I’m technically not even an original. Second, I trust Sam with my life and I’m standing by his decision. He’s my brother. As a soldier, I would’ve thought you understood that.”

Before he could respond, Sam stepped around Bucky. You saw the reluctance in Walker’s eyes as he admitted a temporary defeat once Hoskins agreed with Sam. The fact that he was so unwilling to try to save more lives - including Karli’s - made the truth that he wasn’t, and would never, be your Captain harden deeper into your heart.

Ignoring Walker’s confusion as you followed the little girl Zemo befriended - which was weird, you’d admit, but it was getting you closer to Karli - Bucky’s arm slipped from your shoulders, hand sliding across your back and skimming down your arm to grip your hand. Even through your jacket, you felt goosebumps erupt along his fingers’ trail.

You finally came to your destination and you let out a small breath. If everything went smoothly, this mission could finally be over and you could go home and take a bath, get take out, get out a bottle of wine, watch TV, and just relax.

What a dream.

“Hey.” You stopped Sam before he could go through the entrance of where the girl said Karli was, holding his forearm. “You want me to come with you?”

He shook his head. “I think it’ll be better if I go alone.”

You nodded, letting go without any hesitance. “Okay. Be careful.”

“Always.” And despite all you’ve been through, no matter how many times he’s followed Steve’s lead in doing something stupid, you knew he meant it. You nodded again, before he disappeared around the corner.

You leaned back against the wall, Bucky once again wrapping an arm around your shoulder now that you weren’t walking - he liked having mobility on the move, hence the reason he held your hand instead - leaning besides you and pulling you against his chest.

Ten minutes. You tried looking at Bucky’s watch, which was on the wrist of the arm around you. He noticed and turned his wrist slightly, bending his elbow more, which brought you even closer to him, showing you the time.

Giving a small sigh, you nodded slightly and dropped your head back against his bicep, your hands shoving in your pockets, one of your feet coming up to rest against the wall. Bucky shifted to your other side so he could stand in front of the doors to where Karli and Sam were, pulling you against his back, arms wrapping around your shoulders tightly.

It was a long ten minutes. You kept eyeing Walker, and you couldn’t help the anger burning through you as he held the shield in his hands. That damn shield. It wasn’t his. It would never be his. And he would never understand it. The fact that the shield didn’t make Captain America. The shield isn’t what made Steve a good man. Not even the Serum did. He already was one. Steve made the shield what it was, not the other way around.

But then you remembered a conversation you had, years ago, and your eyes flitted up to Bucky’s hardened face, the brunette staring intensely at the ground.

~

You didn’t get it. You were confused. You knew how important Barnes - Bucky - was to Steve. But apparently you didn’t understand it quite yet.

You watched from the entrance of the hallway, leaning against the wall, as Bucky went under once more.

Steve stood there for a moment longer, before turning and walking towards you. “Why’d you do it?”

He raised an eyebrow at you while you turned to walk with him down the hall. “Do what?”

“Give up the shield. And don’t say it doesn’t belong to you. It does. Howard gave it to you. You’re the reason it’s…a symbol.”

He hummed. “And what exactly is it a symbol for, honey?”

You scoffed. “Uh, freedom? Justice? Resilience? The defense of the whole life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness thing?”

He stopped, facing you with a strange expression on his face, thoughtful. “I dropped it because I can’t be that anymore. Not right now. People don’t have the same beliefs they used to have. How can I stand up for freedom and let the Sokovia Accords track every person they deem a threat, just like HYDRA tried doing? How can I be a symbol for justice and let Bucky take the fall for something that he wasn’t in control of? I can’t. And until the world is ready to change…I can’t be Captain America.”

~

And suddenly, it seemed to click. Steve gave up the shield for Bucky because the world wasn’t ready to admit it was wrong. Just like Sam gave up the shield for himself and his family because the world wasn’t ready for the truth that would come with him becoming Captain America.

God…when did a metal circle become so complicated?

“What’s goin’ on in that pretty lil’ head’a yours?” His whisper in your ear startled you out of your thoughts, his nose brushing against your temple tenderly as he placed a chaste kiss on your cheek.

You looked up at him and shook your head. Of all the things Steve gave up, he never gave up Bucky. And it used to confuse you, but you understood then. His blue eyes sparkling with curiosity and slight concern, his fingers tracing patterns along your collarbone with a barely-there touch that was so light it didn’t seem to exist. You finally understood. Not just Steve’s decision, but Sam’s too. And maybe you didn’t understand it fully, and that was okay, because you weren’t them, so you never would, but you understood a little bit.

“Nothing.” You shook your head, keeping your voice down so the others couldn’t hear, the conversation being a private one, “I’m just waiting for this to be over.”

He hummed, nodding in agreement, setting his chin on your head. “Me too.”

Walker started pacing the room about half way through, getting too antsy for your liking. “Shhh.” Bucky mumbled under his breath, feeling you tense as Walker started talking. “It hasn’t been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t patronize me.”

“He knows what he’s doing.” Bucky stated confidently, straightening slightly from his leaning position, arms falling from your form. The two of you exchanged glances as Walker checked the clock over on the far wall, blocked from your view.

“I’m going in.” Walker strode across the room, heading for the entrance, no doubt willing to steam roll anything - anyone - in his way.

Bucky stopped him with a hand on his chest. You glanced back and forth between the two as Walker spoke, arms crossed tightly over your chest. “Buck…we promised him ten minutes.” You reminded him, seeing his resolve crumble a bit. You could guess he was thinking of the nightmares. The people he couldn’t save. The blood he already considered on his hands.

Walker used his moment of hesitation, shoving past him roughly. “I’m not waiting.”

“John!”

“Walker!”

You followed after him, you and Bucky arguing with him and Hoskins about giving Sam more time, but it was too late.

“Karli Morgenthau! You’re under arrest!”

“Fuck.” You hissed out when you saw Sam’s panicked expression, looking at you confused. Walker was flown across the room when Karli punched him, Bucky shoving Hoskins out of the way to run after her.

“Y/N-”

You threw your hands up. “I tried, Sam! C’mon!”

You and Sam ran over to some stairs, turning corners and trying to remember what the building looked like from outside to cut her off, but you only ran into Bucky again. 

“I wish we had the layout or something.” You grumbled. “We were that close-”

“We’re not done yet, doll.” Nodding, you followed the boys out, Bucky pausing every so often to try to hear anything. “I’ve got gunshots.” At that, the three of you took off towards the sound, Bucky leading the way.

Just around the corner from where Bucky heard the gunshots, you thought you saw a couple people slip around another bend. Noticing you had stopped, Bucky backtracked. “You okay?’

“Yeah.” Deciding it wasn’t worth the pursuit, you turned to him and nodded towards the doorway Sam already went through. He gave you a look, but nodded and the two of you jogged into the room.

You sighed heavily, seeing Zemo knocked out on the floor, Walker standing over him and broken vials that were previously full of, what you assumed was, the Serum. Hoskins ran in right after you, meaning no one but Walker and Zemo knew what happened. Meaning you would probably never get the full, true story.

What fun it is to work with manipulators and liars.

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

“I don’t like him.” Bucky grumbled, the two of you walking up to the place you were staying in, Bucky holding the door open for you.

“I know you don’t, Buck. I don’t either.” You had asked Bucky to go with you to get some fresh air once you got back, Zemo having woken up a few minutes after and Walker and Hoskins had to make a call or something official like the good soldiers they were. “He’s hiding something.”

“You think?” Bucky scoffed, giving you a look.

You rolled your eyes. “I mean…I don’t know. When we found him and Zemo…my gut twisted.”

He nodded in understanding, his face twisting into a scowl. “Yeah. Mine did too.”

You stopped him before you could walk through the door to the main room. “Do me a favor?” He nodded again with a little hum. Catching his chin between your fingers, your free hand moved to smooth out the creases between his brow. “Stop brooding so much. It makes me worried.”

His tongue darted out to wet his lips, features softening slightly. “Are you really gonna leave in the morning? I know you’ve had a lot of people telling you to take a break, and it’s selfish for me to ask you to stay, but…I dunno if I can finish this without you.”

“I-” You sighed, ducking your head as you thought of a response, before looking up in his wide eyes, begging for you to stick around longer. “Let’s just finish the day and see what happens next. Okay?”

He bit his lip, nodding slightly. You gave him a smile, before tugging on his hand. “I need a drink.”

He chuckled at that. “That I can fix, doll.” He, again, opened the door for you, and the two of you walked in.

“What a gentleman. Straight outta the 40’s.” You joked, making him roll his eyes.

He took off his jacket, heading to the kitchen, while you sat on the opposite side of the island. “Somethin’s not right about Walker.”

Sam gave you two an amused look. “You don’t say.”

“Well, I know a crazy when I see one.” He opened the lid of the bottle he grabbed, starting to pour two glasses of whiskey for the both of you. “Because I am crazy.”

You rolled your eyes as Sam responded, “can’t argue with that.”

“You shouldn’t have given him the shield.”

Giving Bucky a disapproving look over the rim of your glass, you sipped your drink, narrowing your eyes when he ignored you. “I didn’t give him the shield.”

“Well Steve definitely didn’t.”

Your glass slammed down on the counter. Why did he have to bring this up right now? Seriously? You were just having a nice conversation about places you wanted to visit while taking a walk outside. Why was he suddenly snapping?

Before you could scold him, the doors burst open, making your head whip over as Walker stormed in, “ordering” you to hand over Zemo.

You stayed sitting, leaning on the counter and facing the opposite wall as Sam told him off, giving an amused snicker as you sipped your drink. Bucky sat besides you, facing Walker, and you recognized from the angle he was positioning himself that he was blocking you from Walker’s view, whether intentional or not.

You raised an eyebrow, turning in interest when Walker put down the shield, knowing Sam wasn’t about to fight the man. What an ego the blonde had.

Before anything could happen, however, a spear pierced through the air, lodging in the pillar next to Walker’s head.

Your frustration with Bucky’s comment flew out of your head as Ayo and a few other Dora Milaje walked in. Bucky sat up straighter and you stood up, leaning ever so slightly against his arm.

You nearly facepalmed, a sound of complete disbelief leaving you as Walker introduced himself. Sam looked over at you two, an entertained, slightly incredulous smile on his face.

Sam tried warning him. He really did. But Walker, you’ve come to find, was an arrogant, egotistical narcissist who only wanted to win and would do whatever it takes to do so. Even when there wasn’t really a winner. At least, not in that situation. It seemed that Walker liked ignoring the gray area in the world, which wasn’t good. Not in the least.

Which is why you couldn’t really feel sorry for the man. You saw it coming as soon as he told them they didn’t have jurisdiction. And the moment he touched Ayo?

You put your chin on Bucky’s shoulder - who had stood up from his spot - watching the Dora Milaje kick Walker’s ass, wincing and cringing mockingly at the right moments, making Bucky smirk at you.

“We should do something.” Sam said, although he didn’t look thrilled about the prospect.

Bucky crossed his arms. “Looking strong, John!”

You gave a slight snort, not wanting to encourage anything, but unable to hold in your amusement. Bucky winked at you, clinking his cup of whiskey with your own, before taking a gulp.

“Bucky.” 

You huffed and stepped back at Sam’s tone. “C’mon, Buck.”

“Fine.” Bucky grunted. “But ‘M not happy about it.”

Soon, the three of you, plus Walker and Hoskins, were all occupied with a member of the Dora Milaje. You knew you couldn’t take them; they were on a higher level that Natasha, and you could barely beat her. But you weren’t necessarily trying to win.

It was a strange fight, knowing that no one - except Walker, probably - actually wanted to hurt anyone. Of course, that didn’t stop one of them from exploiting your injured shoulder that she spotted rather quickly. The hits were quick and precise, the tip of her spear cutting along the graze, hitting the spot just perfect enough to reopen it. The stitches that had been placed only a couple days ago ripped, making you wince and clutch your now bleeding shoulder.

“Oh fuck.” You groaned. “You were always good with those things.”

She gave you an almost apologetic look, before she looked over to Ayo, who stepped through the room towards the bathroom where Zemo had locked himself in during the chaos.

When you caught sight of the shoulder thing she did to Bucky, his metallic arm now laying on the floor, his eyes wide and his stance stunned, your jaw nearly dropped. You guessed it made sense that they had a way to do that, but, still. None of you were expecting it.

“Did you know they could do that?” Sam asked once they started leaving, Bucky picking up his arm and connecting it to his shoulder.

“No.” The arm whirred as he swung it, getting it back to normal.

You couldn’t help the little giggle that left you, making Bucky raise an eyebrow at you. You tried holding in more laughs, but they just kept coming. “She-she...she disarmed you!”

Bucky rolled his eyes as you chortled, holding your stomach and bending over. “Ha ha. Very funny.”

“Oh come on!” You straightened and wiped your eyes. “That was good! Wasn’t it, Sammy?”

Sammy chuckled and nodded. “I’ll admit, it was pretty good. This, however, is not.”

Your laughter died as Sam made his way over to the bathroom, the light air that came with your cackles dissipating as quickly as it came.

“I can’t believe he pulled an El Chapo.”

You stared at the drain that was uncovered - large enough for Zemo to slip inside and escape. He did it. The son of a bitch finally did it. It took him long enough. You would’ve betted against him days ago.

“I can.” Bucky turned and grabbed your hand. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

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

“I thought you told them.”

Bucky looked up from wrapping your shoulder, an eyebrow raised. “What?”

“I thought you told them. The Dora Milaje. Wakanda. T’Challa. I thought you told them about Zemo.”

He leaned back with a sigh. “It was kinda a last minute decision. You know that. You were there.”

You nodded. “I do. But I also know what they’ve done for you. Shuri and Ayo. I was there for that, too. And you know what he did to them. To their country. Their king.”

“I know, I know. I almost died several times because of it.”

Your eyebrows pinched in confusion. “So why-”

“I thought it’d be quick. I thought, maybe, I could do it without them finding out and then we could get to Karli and they wouldn’t be disappointed. Win win.”

Your cheek caught between your teeth as you thought. “You could’ve just asked-”

He shook his head. “They would’ve said no. You know that.”

“Okay. Fine. Yes. I know that. But…but giving them a warning would’ve been better than this.” He hung his head, closing his eyes. “Bucky. Hey,” hooking a finger under his chin, you tilted his head back up to look at you. “I know it’s been hard for you. Everything has. And I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I shouldn’t have let you come along. You should be healing, and it’s my fault you’re not.” He opened his mouth, face scrunching up in disagreement, but you shook your head. “It’s true. I just…I didn’t know it would come this far.” You gnawed on your bottom lip studying those captivating eyes, before sighing. “Which is why I’m not leaving.”

He perked up, those pretty eyes going wide, jaw slackening. “You-you’re not?!”

You shook your head. As much as you wanted to run away, you couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. “It wouldn’t be fair to you or Sam. I promised to help, and I brought you into it. So I’m gonna stay.

“Are you, uh…are you sure? You don’t hafta if you don’t wanna, doll. I know I kinda pushed you earlier, but-”

“I’m sure Buck.” You nodded firmly. “Just…do something for me?”

“I dunno if I can promise not brooding, sweetheart.”

You giggled at his words. “Not that. Just…stop giving Sam a hard time. About the shield. Please.”

His soft features hardened and he scowled. “If he didn’t give it up-”

“He thought it was going to the museum. I told you about that, remember? I told you we’d go when I got back.”

Giving a slight nod, he sighed. “We never did.”

“We will. But, I’m serious, Buck. Please. It’s not his fault. He did exactly what Steve did.” At Bucky’s confused look, you pursed your lips, looking down at his hands, starting to play with his fingers. “Remember how I was thinking during those ten minutes we had?” He nodded. “I was thinking about how Steve gave the shield back to Tony. After saving you. In Siberia. You remember that?” Another nod was given, so you continued. “It was for you, James. Because you made him realize that he didn’t want to be the face of a country that preached one thing, but did another. And that’s what Sam did. He did it for his family. For himself. Because no one wants to fight for a country that goes against your personal beliefs, no matter what they say.”

“I-I don’t understand.” Bucky’s eyes squinted, his brow creasing as he tried processing what you were telling him.

“That’s okay. Not everyone will. Really only they can understand their own reasoning. But you have to try to understand that he did what he thought was best for himself. For Steve. For the shield. And I know - dammit do I know - that it’s the last thing left of him. But it is just metal. Isn’t it? Steve’s the reason it is what it is. No one else. And no one is going to change that.”

Bucky took a breath, glossy, worried eyes meeting yours. “Walker’s going to ruin it. I know he is. I can feel it. Everything Steve worked for. I don’t care about Captain America. I care about the kid from Brooklyn who wanted to make a difference, no matter how little he was. I trusted him. I followed him through bullets and blood, with only that shield between us and them. He was home on a battlefield in Italy across the ocean from New York. And that shield was the welcome mat. It doesn’t matter what it says, what it looks like…but it protected my home when I couldn’t. But now? I feel like it’s tearing my home down. Pulling out the bricks. And it hurts. It was never about the shield, Y/N. It was always about the man it protected when I couldn’t be there for him. And now?”

Gathering him in your arms as he trailed off, you gave a couple little sniffles, pressing your face in his hair, nails scratching the nape of his neck lightly. “I’ll be your welcome mat, Buckaroo.” You offered.

He shook his head, pulling away to hold your face between his hands. “No, sweetheart. You’re not the welcome mat. You’re the new bricks replacing the old. You’re…you’re my home, now, doll.”

You swallowed thickly, unable to handle the rush of emotions that just poured through you, the sudden change in topic making you feel more vulnerable than you’d like. You leaned forwards, placing a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth, feeling him go lax in your arms. “And you’re mine.” You murmured softly, before getting up and heading out for the room, unable to stay any longer. You still had a mission to do. One that became even more desperate with Zemo loose, Walker unhinged, and Karli being so close.

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

There was a silent agreement to not bring up your conversation. Not yet, at least. Sam had eyed you both when you came out of the room, saying you were ready to get moving, but he didn’t say anything either.

None of you really knew where you were going, only what you had to do. Find Zemo and get to Karli before Walker could. Both of which were a lot easier said than done.

Until Sam got a call from Sarah, who told him Karli contacted her personally and threatened her and her sons. She left a contact number for Sam, evidently wanting to meet. His phone dinged not a minute after he texted the number.

“She said come alone.”

“Well that’s not happening.” You opposed, crossing your arms.

Bucky nodded with your sentence. “We’re coming with you.”

Sam didn’t say anything against it, the three of you exchanging glances, before heading out to the location, changing into your tactical suits along the way.

Karli didn’t seem to mind you and Bucky tagging along, and you understood why the moment she mentioned not killing Sam because he wasn’t hiding behind a shield. It was a distraction. They were going after Walker.

It was confirmed only moments later when Sharon contacted Sam. “Looks like he found them, or maybe they found him.”

As soon as Sam announced that it was Walker, you jumped into action, Sam disabling Karli for just the right amount of time for you to get a head start. “I’ll send you the location. Go.” He told Bucky, who nodded and took off in his super soldier sprint. “You hitching a ride?”

You rolled your eyes at his slight tease. “I hate this so much.” You grumbled, catching his hand as he took off in the air with his bird costume. He held onto you tightly, like the millions of times you’d done this before, although it didn’t make you any less dizzy, traveling that fast, that high, with only his hold keeping you from dropping. “You’re lucky I trust you so much!”

He gave a small chuckle at your shout over the wind. “We’re landing! Brace yourself!” You followed his order, just in time for him to break through the glass ceiling of the building Walker was in. The both of you landed on a platform on the staircase just as a Flag Smasher was thrown through double glass doors, down the stairs, and into a power box. Your eyes went wide as Walker strolled down the steps, oozing a confidence that made you nervous. The moment Walker stopped the Flag Smasher - the Super Soldier - from hitting him with the pipe, you knew even before he twisted it like a pretzel.

“Sam.” You breathed out. You couldn’t even do anything, only watching as the Flag Smasher got up from being thrown again, and running down a hall.

“What’d you do?”

“They got Lemar.” Was the only reply he gave, brushing past you and Sam. You gave Sam a look, but he just jerked his head down the hall, in the direction the Flag Smasher went and the way Walker started heading. You nodded, willing to drop it for now to save someone’s life, but you were so bringing it up once this was done.

Jogging into the room, you should’ve expected the ambush in the room, but, to be honest, they didn’t take as much advantage as they could’ve, so it wasn’t too difficult of a fight. You had trained with Steve millions of times before, so you knew how to go against a Super Soldier. Granted, your Cap wasn’t trying to kill you while training, but it was better than nothing.

You protected your shoulder, knowing that was your weak point, while trying to disguise it so whoever you were fighting wouldn’t realize your Achilles’ Heel. Something you often found while dealing with Steve, and even Bucky, was that Super Soldiers, as quick as they were, tended to favor the super strength side of their enhancements. This made it easier for you to dodge the attacks, knowing most of your blows wouldn’t do much.

Knowing you wouldn’t be able to stay on the defensive for long, you decided to try to get an advantage over them. Disarming them and taking their knife was easy enough. A small advantage, yeah, but now you had a weapon, and you could work with that.

You weren’t exactly sure when Bucky joined the fight, but he did, immediately coming over to you when you body kicked your opponent, helping you up. “That was a Steve move.” Your eyes caught sight of the Flag Smasher behind him and you shoved his shoulder down, throwing your knife, making it land solidly in the man’s shoulder. Bucky looked up at you from his crouch, impressed. “And that was a me move.”

You shrugged. “I’m a visual learner.”

You, Sam, and Bucky were about to go for another round with the guys when a sickening crack sounded behind you, and you whipped around. 

Hoskins was against a split pillar, a crimson streak running down his forehead, head lolling to the side, lips red and cracked. The fight stopped as Walker rushed over to his friend, but you knew there was no way he survived. A punch from a Super Soldier? That hard?

Eyeing the Flag Smashers, you turned to Sam and Bucky when they started dispersing, Karli running out as well. They nodded towards you and the three of you took off after her, not wanting to let her get away again and, for you, at least, wanting to give Walker some time.

You weren’t expecting his grief to turn into such raw hatred. 

Running up to the city square, you didn’t actually see it happen. Just the aftermath. Which was good, considering you nearly threw up just seeing that.

You heard the change in Bucky’s breathing, barely recognizing the way he stepped in front of you, only realizing you stepped closer when you felt his sleeve against your palms, fingers tightly wrapped around his forearm. A choked sound came from somewhere, but you didn’t know it was you, even as Bucky reached his arm around to hold your waist, keeping you behind his shoulder. 

Tears leaked down your face silently, eyes unable to look away as Walker straightened, sliding the shield on his arm, too nonchalantly for someone who just murdered another in front of a crowd full of people, cameras pointed towards him.

The shield. That piece of metal you had been wondering so deeply about the past couple of weeks. The link to the first person you’d ever loved. Ruined. Tarnished. Stained.

You could barely breathe, your throat clenching so tightly it was a wonder you were able to get anything out at all.

“James…”

[cynettic]

Burning Things with Genshin Impact Characters

Summary - Burning things together, escaping burning buildings, and raiding Hilichurl camps <3 Ahh, the epitome of love.

Pairings - Chaotic Reader x Albedo / Venti / Ayaka / Scaramouche

Warnings - Mentions of fire, alcohol, suggestive themes, and uhm- ✨ c h a o s ✨

A/N - Bro- this is just my mental break after writing 6.9k of smut in my last post ;-; And my next two posts are supposed to be for Genshin women and their smut so… I need some cute fluff before I get into that.

Albedo

“Y/n… calm down.”

Urgent eyes darting over the vicinity of your apartment, you hardly spared the light haired boy a glance. “‘Calm down?’” You asked incredulously, flapping your arms around as if that would solve the issue of smolk. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but our house is ‘burning.’” The bits of ash stung your arms, smoke seething against your eyes.

“I’m aware, I’m just asking you to get off the windowsill.”

Looking down at your already prepped foot right on the metal of the only opening the room, you flashed him a glare. “Uhm… no? I’ll have you know I have things to do and places to be, I’m a very important-”

“‘Y/n,’” Albedo interrupted, exasperated. “Please, come here.”

“No!” You shot back, “‘You’ come here, you aren’t going down in flames with your lab experiment. No matter how important it was.”

You could slowly see the patience from Albedo’s face melt away. An incredible feat, it was far too bad you didnt have the time to admire his ticked off face. “And you plan to jump off and break a couple bones?

“Better than death by fire.”

This time, the alchemist simply pointed to the experiment table, unable to form words.

“Yes and? I already know you messed up your experiment.”

“And,” he continued, irritated. “The table is the only ‘damn’ thing on fire. ‘The only thing on fire.’ The entirety of the house is just ‘dandy.’ Now help me put it out.”

You removed your foot of the ledge. “Oh, now that you mention it…”

Albedo put a hand to his head, sigh escaping as he rubbed his temples. “You’re almost worse than Klee… no, scratch that. You’re worse. Klee wouldn't have run away, she has the decency to stick around and out the fire out.”

“I thought it as a life threatening situation!”

“Mhm,” he hummed, displeased. “Whatever you say, get over here.”

Venti

Your drunk figure stumbled across the plain of grass, arms outstretched as you spun around. The wind rushed past your face, cool against the heat that ran through your veins. You felt dizzy, the world spinning in circles around you.

“Hey!” You spun around, foot sliding around the grass as you struggled to keep yourself from falling back. “You- you over there.”

“Yes?” The bard spoke, whisking the alcohol bottle in his hand in circles. He too had chugged a few too many bottles, but nothing to get him as wasted as you were at the moment. “And I do have a name you know- I’m aware you’re drunk, but it still hurts to know you’ve forgotten it~”

Squinting your eyes, you racked your mind for a name. “Oh.. uh…” It took only a moment till the name flashed in your name, and with a giggle, you turned back around. “Venti!”

“Yes?” He responded, this time with a wide grin.

All that stretched in front of the two of you was a wide field of grass, a grand tree, and a hilichurl camp. The two of you were too far away to quickly make it to the tree, and far enough not to arouse any suspicion with the monsters.

Of course your focus was on the hilichurl encampment.

“Look!” You pointed to the wooden pillars perched upright, two or three hilichurls dancing around a fire. “Lets destroy it!”

Venti nearly choked on the beverage in his mouth, swallowing it before he let out a chuckle. “Destroy it?” he repeated bemused, staring at your knocked up state. “I’d be surprised if you managed to make your way there-”

As if to prove him wrong, you started sprinting.

“Uh oh- hey! That wasnt what I meant!!” And he was sent racing after you.

By the time you made it to the camp, the Hilichurls had taken notice of you. All three of them standing up with some kind of weapon in hand. Your joyous laugh sent shivers down their spine, wobbly walk making them back up.

You were ‘scaring’ them.

“C’mere,” you cooed, arms wide. “I don’t bite.”

“Yes you do,” Venti mumbled once catching up to you. Too low for your ears to catch.

When the hilichurls didnt move, you whirled around to grab the vodka from his hand. A high percentage of course, Venti couldnt get drunk on normal wine or too low of a vodka. With a squeak of surprise, he reached for the bottle.

But it was too late.

You’d throw the bottle right at the hilichurls, who dashed away right at that moment. They abandoned camp and sprinted towards the meadow to find some refuge in the trees.

But that wasnt the end of the chaos.

Oh no, the bottle just ‘had’ to spill its contents onto the grass. And well, knock over a torch light stand while it was at it, which meant what? Fire.

“Its burning!”

“Oh dear…”

Venti pulled you away from the camp, sending a gust of wind to pick up the remainder of whatever was burning and put it out. “What am I gonna do with you…” he whispered in a groan. You happily skipped alongside him, giggling at his remark. “My little menace.”

He made a mental note not to bring you to the tavern again.

Side note - No Hilichurls were harmed during the raid-

Ayaka

“‘I’m saving her.”’

Hanging on a tree just beside the Kamisato residency, you and Thoma crouched on a single branch, tipping from side to side to regain balance before falling. That wasn’t the main issue, because just beside you was Ayaka, trapped in a burning building as she frantically tried to put the fire out.

“I’m her bodyguard,” Thoma beside you seethed, pushing you lightly to get you to move. “Therefore its my jobs to protect her, move.”

You shoved back, “And she’s the girl I love, got an issue with that?” You stuck your tongue out, “Or maybe you’re just ‘jealous’, wanna play hero and get her to fall in love? Too bad, you know we’re a thing, get over it.”

“Do you ‘want’ me to hurt you?”

“No thanks, save that for your new girlfriend and your bsdm kinks.”

“HEY- I DONT HAVE-”

But you’d already jumped, grabbing with both hands onto the window ledge and hoisting yourself up. The smoke hit you, burning your eyes and making your nose scrunch up in distaste. If this was your first reaction- how was Ayaka?!

You looked around, spotting the girl trying to put out the fire. It wasnt a big one, in fact it was just the cooking stove and a tinge of the carpet was on actual fire. The rest was just too much smoke, and a coughing Ayaka spilling water over everything.

Racing over, you began stomping on the flames of the carpet. Noticing you, she put her attention on the stove, and the two of you managed to clear away all the fire in no time.

It was when she put her hand over her mouth to cough that you realized you needed to get her out of there. Picking her up with ease, you cradled her in your arms as you dashed to the window. You didnt want to know what the rest of the house, and if there was any more fire, Thoma could put it out right?

Unfortunately for you, that wasnt even your main worry as you made it to the window. Water had somehow made it just below the windowsill, and instead of jumping out with precision, you slipped you with Ayaka in your arms, screaming out in surprise.

So you did all you could do, tuck her in your arms with your back to the ground and hoped you didnt die.

“‘Umph’- holy you’re heavy.”

You weren’t dead but…

‘Being in Thoma’s arms is worse.’

His face said the same, so he dropped you and instead held Ayaka in his arms. You watched as his face morphed into one of worry and compassion, “Princess- are you alright?”

“I was the one who caught her!” You blurted from your position on the ground, stumbling up to stand.

“And I caught both of you,” he corrected, flashing her a grin before giving you a look of distaste. “By accident, it was by pure luck that you happened to be holding onto her.”

You flashed him the middle finger, “Well your jobs done, saved the day, now fuck off.”

“‘You’ fuck off.”

“You have no reason to be here.”

“And leave Ayaka with an incapable fool? How did you slip out of a ‘window?’”

“Water you dumbass, now let go of her before I beat the shit out of you-“

“Ha- I’d like to see you try.”

Meanwhile, Ayaka rest cradled against Thoma’s chest, a look that your bickering was getting to her, and that she was seriously getting ticked off.

“Can you both just ‘shut up?’”

Scaramouche

Everything was ‘burning.’

Scarlet flames licking the wooden planks, crackling as splintered logs came crashing down and silenced by the background screams. Chaos strewn from side to side, a contrast from the normal pace of your footsteps, the calm collected look on your face.

“That was fun,” you simply stated to the boy beside you, squeezing his hand. “We should do it again some other time.”

He squeezed your hand back, a gesture far beyond him. However, he didnt reply, just walking alongside you with your hands interlocked and casually walking away from the crime scene.

Side note - you could really tell I got hit by writers block on the last one ;-;

[weirdshadeofgray]

Electrified

summary: A bachelorette party in a museum? Boring. Good thing you haven enthusiastic gift shoppist to help you out when you're about to give up.

pairing: Steven Grant x f!reader

note: it's fluff. english isn't my first language and i didn't edit it so there must be mistakes. what do you think?

Who in their right mind would like to kick off their bachelorette party in a freaking museum? You were supposed to play stupid games, drink a lot, maybe go to watch male strippers. But this? Even the thought was mindblowingly boring.

As you let out a tired sigh, you leaned your back against the wall by the entrance and flipped through the brochure you found when you arrived. Ancient Egypt. Great. Mummies, cats, pyramids—that was all you knew about that period along with a few details you saw and heard in movies.

Slowly the others began to arrive, and soon the last missing person was the bride herself. Your eyes scanned the crowd, hoping she would show up soon so you could get this private tour over with. The museum was supposed to close in two hours, and knowing what a nerd your friend was, it would take you approximately that long to finish.

"I have an idea," one of the girls said as she scanned the screen of her phone. "I saw a picture of an adorable Taweret plushie you can buy in the gift shop. Let's get Chloe one before she gets here."

"Taweret?" someone asked the question you've all been thinking about.

"The goddess of pregnancy and motherhood. Also, it's super cute," she added this very important detail.

A gift shop. Did they have alcohol? Maybe a nice bottle of wine? It was worth a shot. "I'll go get it," you offered with a raised hand. "But don't you dare leave me behind."

Everyone nodded so you made your way to the gift shop to get the toy. There was a mother with her son in there, with the woman going through the postcards while the kid was seemingly bored to death. You understood how he felt so you flashed an understanding smile at him when he noticed you looking.

"Excuse me, can I help you?"

You turned around and found a tired-looking guy standing in front of you. He had a polite smile on his face as he patiently waited for you answer with his hands folded over his stomach. There was a name tag on his shirt that read Steven.

"Yes, hi. I'm looking for a Taweret plushie. Do you have those in stock?" you asked with a hopeful expression.

His face lit up upon hearing this and he gestured you to follow him. On the other side of the shop you found a bunch of hippo toys and he gave you one of them. "Here you go," he said.

You reached out to take it from him, and when your fingers brushed against his, you felt electricity running through your body. In his own, messy way he was cute, you didn't even want to deny it.

When you went to the register, Steven looked a little hesitant, as if he was about to ask you something. You smiled at him, hoping this would make him talk. And sure enough, he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Is it for a child?" he asked, and your jaw dropped upon hearing this.

For some reason you thought he wanted to ask you out, but no. Or was he just trying to get more information out of you? Were you a mother? Were you married or in any other kind of relationship? Maybe this way his way of learning more about you.

"No, it's for my friend. We came for a private tour and we thought she might like this surprise," you explained with a sigh.

"Oh, the bachelorette party," he said with a laugh, but then he stopped and raised an eyebrow at you. "Wait, wasn't that cancelled?"

"Cancelled?" The bride was running late, no calls, no messages. What the hell was going on? "Do you know why they cancelled it?"

Steven nodded. "The tour guide is sick and no one could jump in. I think we couldn't reach the one who got the appointment, now that we're talking about it."

Letting out a groan, you rested your elbows on the table and buried your face in your hands. "I can't fucking believe it." You looked up and your eyes fell on a pack of gummies. "Do you happen to have any kind of alcohol in this shop?" you asked with a hopeful expression in your eyes.

But he shook his head in response. "Sadly, we don't have any." Then there was the hesitation again. His eyes were burning a hole in you as he fidgeted with his hands. "I don't usually do this, but would you like to have a cup of tea or coffee with me sometimes?"

There it was, the question he'd been trying to ask you for long minutes now. It was flattering, really, and he was honestly handsome. So why not? "Sure, I'd love to. Do you have a piece of paper?" Steven handed you a pen and paper without thinking. "I'll give you my number, give me a call to discuss when and where should we meet."

"That—that would be great," he said with a wide smile.

"Cool, see you some other time then. Thanks for the plushie. And the info about the cancelled tour."

He waved at you when you said goodbye and you couldn't stop smiling on your way to the others. By the time you got there, it turned out the bride had just joined the group. Great, she should hear the news.

"Guys, who talked to the museum? Because from what I heard, the tour was cancelled."

One of the girls have you a quizzical look. "I don't remember any messages about this." She stopped and thought hard for a moment, then, "Oh, wait, I did have missing calls from an unknown number."

"Why didn't you answer it?" the bride asked her.

"Because I don't answer calls from unknown numbers, duh."

Oh, for fuck's sake, you were surrounded by idiots. "Chloe, while Gracie goes and checks if the tour of a go or no go," you began, giving her a hard look, "here's this little plushie as a present for us. And please, let's go out for a few drinks if there's no tour. I'm begging you."

[wheelsup]

the taming of the shrew | one

he is more a shrew than she

penelope reveals her plan to get you and spencer together. unfortunately, her plan has a few hitches. 

A/N: again, big thanks to @homoose for being my helpful beta reader, and to YOU for reading it now. 

category: fluff, spencer reid x fem!reader, series

wc: 4.1k

<- prev | next ->

Penelope came back to your place the following night, bearing a new bottle of wine and a collection of materials she mentioned were integral to executing the plan.

Very quickly into Penelope’s explanation of this Genius Plan –– her words, not yours –– you remembered what it was she did for work. Officially, she was some sort of technical computer-y person for the Federal Bureau. As you knew her, she’s a danger to society and anyone with a traceable digital presence.

She managed to construct a comprehensive list of every place in D.C. and Virginia that her friend liked going to, along with the approximate times in which you were most likely to find him there. Approximate meaning, exactly which days he visits and the roughly time of day, down to a mere one hour margin of error.

You scanned the list over, shocked at its detail. Where he cut his hair, got his coffee, bought his books. His favorite restaurants, the chess clubs he’s a member of, his local hospital.

His local hospital?!

“I’m not going to need to know that, am I?” you paused.

“Probably not, but it comes in handy with this job,” she shrugged with a nonchalance that was rather alarming.

There had to be a dozen more places on the sheet –– ranked, in order of his (assumed) preference for them. Penelope calculated it based on the frequency of his visits, their average duration per session, and how often he’d mentioned about the place.

“What?” she tossed her palms up, taking offense when you asked her if she had evil plans to take over the tristate area. “Hang out with him long enough, you tell me if you pick up a knack for researching or not.”

Researching. Mining private data through questionable methods. It’s a small difference to Penelope.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side, Penelope,” you muttered under your breath, flipping the sheet back and forth. “You could ruin my whole life with ten minutes on a computer.”

“I wanted to be thorough,” she defended, shrugging. “And I’d only need five.”

You laughed through your nose, giving the paper one last scan. “You left out one important thing, though.”

“No, I put his home address on there,” her brows wrinkled together as she pointed it out on the sheet with one hot pink polished finger.

“His name,” you berated. “Jesus, you think I’m going to show up at his home?!”

“Again! I’m thorough,” she cried at your accusatory tone. “His name’s Spencer. You’ll like him when you meet him.” 

_

You didn’t doubt that Penelope’s friend was a likeable guy, but you weren’t exactly dying to go out of your way to meet him. You told her that you’d get around to it when you had a chance and left it at that.

And two weeks later, you found yourself in need of a caffeine fix that your tea kettle wasn’t strong enough to satisfy. You started on a new piece late the previous night, and midnight rolled into four in the morning, which pushed you into the arms of seven o’clock. Reinforcements were needed.

Throwing on a large sweater to cover up your messy clothes and grabbing the closest pair of shoes you could find, you originally planned on heading to your usual spot just around your street corner. Just as you were leaving, the list, still sitting untouched in the exact spot that Penelope left it in, caught your eye.

It’d been a while since you told Penelope you’d help her out. Enough time had passed that you now felt like there was an invisible deadline over your head.

Maybe it won’t hurt to try something new?

Besides, meeting someone at a coffee shop seemed like an easy, foolproof way to go about this. From all the movies and romance novels, you knew that cafes are the pinnacle of meet-cute situations. Or, in your case, a meet-forced.

Regardless, it should’ve been simple enough, and it would’ve gotten the favor off your shoulder.

You scanned the sheet for the cafe Spencer would be at on a Thursday at 8 a.m., and got there with barely five minutes to spare before he was expected to show.

It was just your luck that he had to pick a cafe practically as far from your home as he could get, and the transfer train had to have a delay that made you walk the last three-quarters of a mile there. Call it crazy, but you didn’t expect to actually have to put in work for this. You expected it better be worth the hassle.

You took a seat in the back of the cafe to catch your breath as you waited for him to show up. Sitting in the booth, with your head down so you coudn’t be seen, the plan started to feel stupid all over again. You were running around the city, spying on this stranger, and for what?

The silver bell hung over the door frame interrupted before your thoughts could travel down that path of questioning. It rang each time a new patron enters, and within the next twenty minutes it rang only eight or nine times. None of them appeared to be Spencer.

You were prepared to call this one a failure and leave, when you realized your colossal mistake. You only had his name, and no idea what he looks like. So unless he happened to wear a name tag around you could’ve already missed him. You realized then that there were more than a few flaws in this plan.

Keeping an eye on the door, you dialed Penelope’s contact as a swarm of new patrons flooded in.

“How am I supposed to know what he looks like?” you whispered into the phone, failing to cover it with a hand cupped over the speaker. Penelope was confused for only a second by the apparent lack of context.

“Oh! He’s tall, has mousy brown hair but he cut it recently. It’s like… missing on the sides, but it’s all there in the front!” she explained.

What the hell does she mean missing?

“Pen, brunette? That’s like all the guys in here…” You took a look around the full cafe; various men typing on computers, taking calls. All of them looked the same, from their brown hair to their khakis and puffer coats. “You’re going to have to give me a little more than brown hair.”

Penelope struggled to explain and with each new feature she gave you, your mental picture of him got more clouded. “He’s skinny! Dresses like a vintage teddy bear!”

“Does he have kind of like… a hot English teacher vibe?” you quirked your head, spying a man approaching from the sidewalk and drinking him in with your eyes. Tall, brunette, clad in corduroy head to toe with a plaid sweater vest underneath. Vintage Teddy Bear F/W 1978 collection.

“Yes! He teaches sometimes! And you think he’s hot?”

Your mouth gaped even though she couldn’t see you. “No, I - I didn’t say that. I said he had the vibes of a hot teacher.”

“And how different is that from saying he’s––”

“Pen, I gotta go. Your guy’s walking in.” You put the phone away before she could pick apart what you said.

The bell on the front door rang as he came in and you stared intently at his face. If this was like the movies, he’d turn his head right then, at the perfect time, and make eye contact. He’d fall madly in love from the first look, and your work would be done. You sat at the edge of your seat, burning holes into his skull, waiting for that moment.

But alas, he never looked up from the linoleum flooring as he walked up to the counter. With a groan, you slid out of your booth and quickly hopped into the line before anyone else could claim the spot behind him.

New plan: eavesdrop, order the same coffee as him, and pretend to go for the cup at the same time. Laugh about the coincidence, how if you share the same coffee order you must certainly have a lot in common, and have him fall in love with you.

But you overheard him rattle off his order and were absolutely horrified. Black coffee, extra sugar. Like, extra, extra sugar.

You were going to need a second change of plans.

You eyed him up and down, searching for something you could approach him about. He was donning black converse under a fitted pair of dark brown corduroy trousers, with a blazer to match, and a deep green plaid vest underneath. On paper, this outfit shouldn’t work. In practice, it… really did.

A little too well, given how good he looks in it. More fashionable than a federal agent ought to be as required by dress codes, right?

“Can I help you?” you heard, and it poked the bubble of your thoughts. Your head shot up to meet his for the first time, eyes wide as heat crawled up your face.

“Uh. No ––” Shit. You didn’t even realize how long you were staring at his legs. Long, long legs. And shit, why did you say no? That was your opening to talk to him.

The man –– Spencer –– nodded his head slowly, uncomfortably, and turned away with a forced grin. He grabbed the coffee cup placed on the counter and you thought now was the time to say something. But by the time you thought of it, he’d already picked up his cup and made his way to the door.

The stupid silver bell mocked you as he left.

__

The first attempt left you slightly jilted, but a few days later you found yourself in need of a few grocery items. You just happened to be in his neighborhood that day, and though it was very much out of the way of your own, you didn’t plan on it being a problem. He’d never see where you lived anyways, and he’d never need to know how unlikely this chance encounter really was.

You had Penelope text you the address of his regular grocery store, and upon arrival, felt immediate concern. It was not a grocery store. It was a convenience mart slash liquor store at the corner of the street, below a building of worn apartments.

As you walked through the aisles, the only things you found were a large assortment of wines that took up half the small store space, an aisle of candy packets and chips, a section for household supplies, and one measly aisle for canned and boxed foods.

Cereal, instant noodles, soup cans, pancake mix… nothing very fresh.

Spencer seemed like a pretty scrawny guy. You now believed it might’ve been from the fact that his food choices were so off-putting that he simply didn’t eat. It wasn’t your place to be concerned, but you decided that if you ever ended up taking him out, a farmer’s market might be good for him.

You loitered around for perhaps longer than necessary. The inquisitive shop attendant asked if you need help –– as in, why are you still here, get out of my store –– and you told her you were just really conflicted on which detergent brand you needed. Finally, the man you were after arrived at the scene.

“Hi, Dolores,” he greete with a small wave. The attendant, Dolores, greets back with a positivity that she sorely lacked when talking to you. Dolores has favorites, apparently.

An unexpected panic settled in your stomach and you quickly turned back to your selection of fabric softeners. You weren’t hiding, you just didn’t want him to catch you staring again. You picked up your two props, pretending to read the labels on the back and compare the chemical formulas on each of them, when you saw him out of the corner of your eyes.

He went into the aisle in front of yours, and over the short shelves you saw the back of his head sweeping over the modest food section. He turned around to inspect the other side of the aisle, and you ducked your head even lower. It was in vain. He spotted you anyway.

You fixed your eyes even harder onto the bottles, afraid to look anywhere else. He shuffled out of his aisle and turned the corner into yours. You started sweating a little.

“Uhm. Excuse me,” he said.

“Yeah?” You looked up from your bottles, putting on your best caught-off-guard face. Like you were a girl in a movie, reading a book on the beach (not detergent labels in a liquor store) and your romantic interest just noticed how beautiful you looked doing it, deciding he had to introduce himself.

“Can you… can you move…” he asked, gesturing to the section of cleaners that you’re blocking.

Never mind.

“Oh! Yeah, sorry.” You burned up, moving out of his way. He reached for what he needed and you peeked down to inspect the contents of his basket. Organic whole wheat bread, cream of mushroom soup, and somehow, he’d managed to find the only two apples this place must carry. At least there was light at the end of the dark, dark tunnel.

He tossed a bottle of Snuggle fabric softener and you raised your brows. Given that he was “grocery shopping’’ in a three-piece suit –– a good one, too, black trousers, vest and blazer with an eggplant purple shirt and lavender tie –– you would’ve expected him to simply send his clothes out for dry cleaning.

“Snuggle, huh?” you said. He gave you a confused look. “Oh, uh. I was looking at these. Couldn’t pick between the two.” You raised your two bottles of softener; Snuggle and Tide.

You needed him to know you weren’t just saying Snuggle to insinuate that you would like to do that to him. You remembered Penelope telling you he had a degree in chemistry or some sort of science field, and asked, “Is… is that one like, more organic? I was trying to read the formulas but I don’t… I don’t recognize the chemicals,” you trailed off. You could see yourself losing his interest the more you spoke. He barely looked at you as he grabbed whatever else he needed.

“I don’t know… I just like it,” he bristled. You looked down at the bottle and flipped it over to the front. It had a drawing of a teddy bear on it. How fitting.

You go to comment on it but yet again he’d made an escape, already at the checkout counter and unloading his basket by the time you looked up again. You rolled your eyes, wondering if it’s even worth it to follow him into line and see if he sparks up a conversation this time.

You could tell that he wouldn’t. So you gave him the space to buy his items and leave.

You didn’t really need the detergent, but Dolores gave you a pointed look before you could even think about putting it back on the shelf. You ended up buying the detergent, a loaf of bread, and two packets of sweets out of guilt.

As you took the train home, digging into your packet of sour peach rings, you began to doubt if you can carry out Penelope’s request.

_

After two failed attempts, you were prepared to tell Penelope that this just wasn’t going to work out. You didn’t expect it to be this difficult to talk to Spencer nor did you see yourself getting closer to him anytime soon. It would be best if she just found someone else to do it.

You caught her in the hallway, leaving her apartment just as you came home from the store. It seemed like as good of a time as any to let her know how unsuccessful your escapades were going. With your tail between your legs, you approached her with the intention of breaking the plan off.

But the second she saw you, it was like she could read through you. She clocked what you were about to say and before you could, she gave you a warm hug. It was the first one you’d ever received from her, actually. And she thanked you for trying.

It didn’t make you feel guilty, per se, but it definitely made you feel weird about telling her the news. So you bit back on telling her what you were really going to say. She didn’t need to know the details of your failure, or the fact that you were seconds away from giving up on her friend.

Maybe you didn’t need to give up right away.

After all, you did only talk to the guy twice. Don’t they always say the third time’s the charm?

You left the conversation at just that –– letting her know that you’re happy to do this for her, even if you aren’t really –– and slinked back into your apartment. The list, buried under the magazines and paint tubes and half-full cups of cold coffee on your table, called for you.

If by any stroke of luck you happened to share one interest with this guy, you promised yourself to give it one more try.

According to the list, that overlapping interest was the wonderful world of Gatsby Books –– a small, locally owned bookstore residing in the heart of D.C. ’s arts district. That neighborhood was smack in the middle of your’s and Spencer’s, and it was where the gallery you showcase at was.

You’d been meaning to get down there for a while now, anyways. It really was the cutest bookstore in the world; inside it lived a white, bushy-furred cat named Gatsby, and he was always there. After all, it was his bookstore.

It wasn’t such a burden to make your visit fit Spencer’s schedule, really. And it would make Penelope happy if you did. So on Saturday afternoon, you took a lovely walk through the sunny arts district of D.C., a smile on your face and a tote in hand for all the books you were planning on hauling back.

The smell of paper and coffee greeted your nose at the door, and you practically fell into a trance, letting it lead you through the aisles of the store without much thought of where you wandered. Not that it mattered, you could’ve roamed the shelves aimlessly all day long.

In the mystery and thrillers section, you found Gatsby. He jumped down from his perch on a step stool and weaved between your legs, greeting one of his long-time regulars. He was such a good shop owner.

“Hi, Mr. Gatsby.” You smiled and bent down to give him a little head scratch when he started running off in the other direction, taunting you into following him.

He rounded the corner and came to a stop at a pair of boot-clad feet; your eyes moved up to find your favorite employee (after Gatsby, of course) restocking the shelves.

“Miles!” you whispered, but he still jumped out of his skin. He turned around, hand still over his chest, and sighed when he realized it was just you. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” you laughed.

“Hey, long time, no see. Back for some more recommendations?” You ‘ooh’ed at his offer.

“I was just gonna say, the ones you gave me last time were so good. I finished them in, like, a week.”

“Really?” He smiled, brows happily up his forehead. You nodded in assent. “Okay, well I’ll give you more this time, see if the list’ll last you a little longer than that.”

You grinned eagerly, following him to the shop counter where he pulled out a stack of bright green post-its and a pen.

“I’ve actually been waiting for you to come in, I already had these in mind for you,” he mumbled, scrawling across the paper quickly. He handed the note over, and it took a moment to decipher the chicken scratches.

“Okay, first you gave me Al-Shayk and Bradbury. Now you’re giving me Chaucer, Dickens, and Doyle,” you recited the note, giving him a teasing look. “Are we just going through the alphabet, Miles?” you joked.

“Honest mistake. But I’d be happy to give you all the other twenty-two letters of the alphabet if needed.”

“I might hold you to that.” You nodded, folding the post-it in your palm to prevent the sticky backing from gunking up. It’d make quite the good bookmark for later. “Thanks for these!”

“No problem, just a part of the job.”

Nonetheless, you thanked him again before disappearing back into the aisles. You found Miles’ books as well as a few of your own and nearly lost yourself in the rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, until you made a turn. Standing in the middle of the next aisle was Spencer.

A week ago, he was the whole point of coming to the store. That day, you completely forgot about it, and it stopped you in your tracks to see him there. He was just standing in the middle of the walkway, staring blankly at the shelf in front of him.

“Excuse me,” you grinned, “Could you move?”

You thought it was a cute reference back to the laundry detergent fiasco, a chance for you to turn the tables, but he had no reaction to it whatsoever. His face was straight as he merely pivoted his shoulder out of your way as you reached for the book you needed; The Narrative of John Smith.

His eyes narrowed at you and his nostrils flared, and you wondered if it was called for because you grabbed the last copy they had in stock.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want this?” you asked, waving the book in his face. He was just standing there for so long, you didn’t think he actually wanted anything since he never picked it up.

“No,” he said coldly.

Contrary to Penelope’s review, he didn’t actually seem that warm of a person. But you smiled tightly at him, letting a forced laugh fill the stale air.

“I… I swear I’m not stalking you,” you laughed, rubbing the back of your neck. Technically it was a bit of a lie, but he didn’t need to know. It’s just something people say when they have the happy coincidence of running into a stranger so often.

“What did you say to me?” he bit. His tone was sharper than you felt like this conversation deserves.

“I mean, I’ve just been seeing you around a lot… it was, like, a joke? Like, ‘ahh watch out, I’m stalking you!’ you know?” With each second he stared you down, you felt your throat dry out, getting more flustered as you felt the need to over explain yourself.

“Maybe you should work on your comedy routine,” he barked, his voice just faintly cracking. He shoulder-checked you as he rushed out of the store in long strides and a brisk pace.

What in the absolute fuck.

You couldn’t stay in the shop for another minute. You dropped your stack of books at the counter with Miles, giving him a rushed apology for leaving them behind as you stormed out of the shop and headed in the opposite direction of where Spencer ran off to.

The air outside was now frosty as the sun disappeared behind the horizon; the wind nipped at your hot cheeks as you charged home. There weren’t enough words to quantify the anger you felt. Your mind ran rampant with how much you now hated this man.

Not only did he bite your head off for no good reason, but he publicly embarrassed you at your favorite place and had gone so far as to bruise your shoulder to make a point. And you know what? If he really wanted you out of his way, you were more than happy to leave him the hell alone for the rest of your life.

You reached into your jacket pocket for your phone and dialed Penelope.

“Hey! How are––” she cheered.

“It’s off.”

“What?”

“It’s off. I’m not dating your fucking friend.”

“What happened? I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding––” she started in a panic. She pleaded that you overlook whatever went wrong and promised that she’d have a talk with Spencer about it. She’d try to encourage him into the direction that you need.

None of that registered in your brain, hot blood filling your ears instead of her words.

“He’s a fucking ass,” you spat. “The more I see of him, the less I like him, and… I’m pretty sure we’d rather kill each other than date at this point. So yeah, I’m done.”

☆

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