#took me months to write just one chapter but I’m so glad I did

[dreamingofep]

I’m a day late, but yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my idea for Sinned Awakening. I had 3 ideas for this fic and I think I stayed true to my vision😂😈🩸

[hypnagogics]

how soon is now? | part two

READ THIS FIRST 🇵🇸

previous chapter. series masterlist.

♡: hallway crush!ellie x uni student!reader

☆: the long-awaited second part of this godforsaken fic (lawd she’s given me trouble). appreciate y'all's patience as always, i'm a chronic procrastinator and perfectionist but what can i do. after this, i'm gonna take a break from this series. not saying i'll never write more, but wanna work on some other stuff for a while. thank you for reading! pretty please don’t hate me or show up at my house waving torches and pitchforks for this ending ok luv u gays in my phone. + a big thank you to @total-dxmure for helping me w/ some ideas for the last little bit!

♧:5.7k word count (lawd)

◇: sfw! miscommunication (sawry). fluffy moments, angst lowkey…both of yall cry at one point or another, reader has anxiety in the last chunk. modern au but joel isn’t alive in this, and they discuss it. maybe some rushed points here and there, i’m not really the proudest of this but needed to finish it anyway. potentially horrendous pacing but ok i think that’s all? idfk i may give y’all a little epilogue eventually, but don't dwell on it for the time being!

4 months later 

Your friendship with Ellie was evolving wonderfully. You two were studying together frequently, and both your grades in the ghastly astrophysics class increased exponentially. Although that wasn't the only thing that was increasing at a rate too fast to fathom. Your crush on her. It was ripping you apart like wildfire, Ellie was proving herself to be such a wonderful person inside and out, and you were slowly but surely nearing your limit of how much it could build before you burst. A movie spin off of the Savage Starlight series had come to streaming, and Ellie had invited you to her place for a movie night so you two could watch it and discuss if it was a faithful entry in your beloved series or not. 

Dressed in some comfortable pjs and armed with snacks of all kinds, your favorites as well as hers, the time had come and you were at her door. You straighten your posture and put your hair back in place, must look presentable, then knock, knock, knock.

You could hear some faint shuffling behind the door, then a few thudding steps until she opened it for you. She was dressed in an old, worn Nirvana tee, and red checkered pajama pants, damn she looked good, even when she was dressed with less effort than usual. 

Ellie looked so pleased to see you, leaning on the doorframe. Why did she have to look so good all the time? “Hi! I’m so glad you came, ooh this is gonna be so fun.” She invited you in and took the snacks from your arms and placed them inside her room. “Oh yeah, I also put up some decor too so we can get into the Savage Starlight spirit.” Her eyes were wide and twinkling and when she stepped aside to let you see, she really had made her room so welcoming and comfortable.  

The lights were all off save for LEDs around the room’s perimeter set to a dreamy violet hue, sparkly fairy lights draped around the frame of her bed which was set up so cozily. Her laptop propped up on a pillow, the sheets arranged in a nest-like formation with two spaces for each of you. She even had a few dinosaur stuffed animals placed in a row so they could watch too.

You were so flattered she'd do that and make the atmosphere so nice for the two of you, you could just tackle her in a hug and never let go.

The thing is you were scared she'd perceive that as weird and you didn't feel like dying of embarrassment, not today at the very least. Save that for another day, maybe. Oh, how you wanted to squeeze her so bad. Your imagination had to do for now. 

She was standing there so proud of how she arranged her room into a mini theater, and you beamed at her, silently thanking her for making it so dim so she couldn't see your flustered expression in full.

“Ellie this is amazing!!” “You like it?!? These stupid lights kept on falling off but since this is an important occasion for us both I didn't give up. All for our love, Daniela.” She manipulated her voice and waved in the air with two fists, closed her eyes and put her hand over her heart, just being as dorky as ever.

Oh gosh, hopefully it wasn't going to be awkward. Sure, the two of you had grown to be great friends, but were you that close to be just, relaxing in her bed together? As long as your imagination didn't run too wild and you didn't overthink anything, it was going to be a fun time. Just two pals watching their favorite series, nothing more, nothing less.

She threw herself in the mess of comforters with a grunt, and saw you were hesitating. She patted the empty space next to her so you'd join her and the movie night could begin. “C’mere, don't be shy.” Well, no shit you were going to be shy. Suck it up. 

You crawled in next to her, unable to look her in the eyes, while she got everything ready and rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Man, if they do our girl dirty, we’re gonna have to give someone a knuckle sandwich, you with me?” Her jokes and easy going vibes always made her so fun to be around, but unfortunately for you, you fell harder for her every time. “Yeah, Ellie. A knuckle sandwich for all of them.” You retorted with a chuckle. Once both of you were settled, she pressed play and so it began.

As the movie played, the two of you laughed and debated every plot twist, cursing the directors for not portraying your queen Daniela how she deserves, and snacked on candy until your stomachs hurt. It was going so well, the friendly hang out both of you needed after so many responsibilities in life. An escape. Occasionally sneaking peeks Ellie’s way, she was just so marvelously pretty. The shadows dancing on her features, illuminating her side profile perfectly, her long eyelashes and button nose, who wouldn't get lost in admiring her?

Of course you could never fully relax around her, or forget the crush no matter how hard you tried to push it down and just be friends. Every time she shifted next to you in the bed you felt your heart seize and the butterflies in your stomach turn into hornets. At this rate, they were going to turn into whole birds for fuck’s sake.

Nearing the end of the movie, the two of you were so invested, so captivated in the events, totally spellbound.

But then the film took a more emotional turn that wasn't in the comics. Daniela and her father had an absolutely vicious argument which left the two of you speechless watching it, which luckily got quickly resolved right after the two characters had a near-death experience together.

You weren't one to get emotional over silly, trivial things like fiction, but the way they showed this entire sequence was nothing short of heart-wrenching. You snatched up one of Ellie's patterned pillows and hugged it tightly to your chest, because cuddling her would have been much too bold for the likes of you. But what you’d give to do that instead.

Seems you were not the only one touched by the scene, as you began to hear some light sniffling from next to you. Looking over at Ellie made your heart break further into a million pieces. She looked lost in thought with thin lines of tears streaming down her plump, freckled cheeks. 

You froze for a moment, not knowing the limits of your relationship with her and how you could comfort her best. So you cleared your throat and mumbled, “That was so sad…” You watched as she avoided your gaze and wiped at her face with the collar of her t-shirt, “Yeah, this kind of stuff hits me, feels a little personal y’know.” She has never opened up to you about her struggles before, in the short time you’ve known and gotten close with Ellie, it always seemed like she was there to help you out, not the other way around. This could be your chance to show her that you are there for her as well, and that she can always count on you.

Being curious but at the same time not wishing to pry too much into her private affairs, you quietly asked with the most gentle tone of voice you could muster,” You don’t have to, but I’m here if you ever wanna talk about it, Ellie.” You watched her out of the corner of your eye, anticipating however she reacts.

She stayed quiet for a beat before sighing deeply, and whispered, “We were having a fun time, I really don't wanna be a burden.” Her voice quivered, heavy with emotion, what could possibly be troubling her this much? You wanted to take all her pain and bear it yourself, she didn't deserve any sort of misfortune ever.

“You can tell me, don’t worry about anything, okay? I just want you to be all good.” You were comforting her so smoothly, putting her needs and well-being first as if it was always second nature, as if you two have known each other many lifetimes over, two souls meant to float together through the journey of life. Well okay, that was probably a bit much.

There were a few more seconds of silence as you let the question ring in the air, not wanting to press and jeopardize your cherished friendship with her. 

You continue observing her, almost seeing the gears turning in her mind, the scales of reason tipping to one side then another, as she contemplates whether it’s worth spilling. Eventually, she does.

She roughly rubs her face then pauses the film playing on her laptop, sighs and huffs, before beginning to speak her story, all while looking away from you.

“Okay I don’t like to talk about this kind of stuff, but I trust you. A whole lot.” Your heart fluttered and face heated up at her comment, but you ignored it because there was something much more important on the table now. She continues, speaking quietly but quickly to get it over with. 

“So, when I was a kid, I was an orphan and to be honest I don’t really remember my early childhood much at all, but when I was 14 my adoptive dad, Joel, took me in. And it’s been just us since then.” She stops to take a breath, then resumes reluctantly. “And well, we’ve had a pretty rocky relationship for a good chunk of these years, I never knew how to express my gratitude to him, y’know, for basically saving my life, numerous times at that. He was always my rock, and I appreciate him every day. He taught me so many things, and I don’t know what I would’ve done if he hadn’t come around. I was pretty hard to deal with back then.” She reminisces with an exhale of air, and you see her eyes refill with tears. “But I’m really bad at expressing that, and will kinda, lash out I guess when I’m met with kindness or tricky situations.” 

You nod, listening patiently, and place your hand on her shoulder ever so gently, as a result making her raise her head to give you a small smile. 

Ellie chuckled deeply, it almost sounded forced, then started to slowly wrap up her story. “And it seems that scene kinda hit me, because the wounds are still raw, or whatever.” 

She sniffles again but doesn't respond, so you delicately inquire, “What do you mean?”

“He died last year.” Oof.

“Oh my, Ellie, I’m so sorry, are you-” She interrupts your condolences. “No need for that, I’m fine. Well, taking it day by day y’know. In the beginning it was really tough, I was angry at everything but most at myself for being such a jerk, and now I can't turn back time and tell him all I wanted to.” While you take a moment to think about what to say, she hums to herself and remarks, “That actually felt good to get off my chest, I haven't told anyone about it.” She lowers her voice so it’s barely a whisper. “Didn't have who to tell.”

“Sure you're okay? I'm always here for you.” You find your voice back to soothe her some more, to which she smiles at you again, only this time it actually seems genuine. There's definitely a lot of pain behind it, but the relief that she doesn't have to deal with the burden alone was evident on her face. 

“Yeah, thanks. I guess I hadn’t processed anything, and that part of the movie made it all come out, damn I hate emotions sometimes. But I appreciate you being here for me. You're really easy to talk to, and I feel better now.” 

And you would've never in a trillion years anticipated what her next move was going to be, you were so caught off guard, the realization lagged and it didn't immediately register. 

She moved to sit on her knees in front of you, then threw her arms around your torso in a tight embrace. She hugged you. Clutched you so firmly against her own body, her strong hands landing in the middle of your back, where she rubbed in a circle. She smelled so nice, and was as warm as one of her heated stuffed animals. 

Due to the surprising nature of the motion you let out a dumbfounded gasp, then returned the hug allowing yourself to rest your head on her shoulder. You wanted to stay like this forever, until the end of time, it felt nicer than you could've ever imagined.

The thought crossed your mind that she could feel the buzz pulsating through your body, you swore your heart was slamming against your ribcage so hard it was going to grow wings and simply fly right out of your chest, and join hands with hers.

While you were occupied with the way she felt against you, so close like this, chest against chest, and how your cheeks blazed with an inferno hotter than a thousand suns, you heard her grumble against your ear. “Not gonna make that same mistake again, and from now on, I'm gonna tell the people I appreciate just how much they matter to me.”

You were much too stunned to speak, but she wasn't. “So thank you again.” She finishes her little speech and pulls away first, but not before giving you one last big squeeze and letting out a noise of contentment as she does so, then shuffles over to her previous spot in the bed. 

Not taking notice of the way you were at a loss for words, or about to set the room on fire with how flustered her actions made you. Her obliviousness was a common theme, it seemed. She clears her throat and claps, grabbing some more candy for herself, then says happily, “We still got the rest of the movie left, then we can do whatever after. I really wanna know how this ends.”

Naturally, your head is spinning, but you were too caught up in your thoughts to continue paying attention to the movie as much as you were before.

You felt awful for her, yet somehow, felt as if your crush on her had quadrupled in size yet again. You saw through the guard she put up, she broke down those walls and opened up to you. You were honored she trusted you so much, and only hoped that would never change. That, coupled with how remarkably good hugs she gave, has led you to the realization that you were properly in love now, things had gotten real. This was trouble. You vowed to always be there for her for whatever she could ever need, you'd drop everything to teleport by her side if you could. 

Goodness, what were you possibly going to do now, instead of giving you the ick, or helping you with the task of getting rid of that stupid infatuation you were so plagued by, every experience felt like a deliberate ploy to just make you fall even further for her. You couldn't help but wonder just how much love a person can feel for someone, because it only continued to grow. 

A couple days later.

Sitting in the cozy campus cafe, you were revising all your coursework. It was giving you a massive headache, but the warm and hazy lighting aided it a touch. The walls had cute plastic vines crawling up and down, and even though there was chatter all around you from the other patrons, it wasn't a distraction and in fact acted as some sort of white noise, everyone was talking in a nicely muted tone, it all blended to create the perfect ambience. 

You waved down the waitress to get yet another cup of coffee, your third one of the night, that’s healthy, before trying to resume with your aggravating studies. 

To your dismay, you've used up all your brain power for the evening, and could not force yourself to continue no matter how hard you tried. Maybe a few moments of peaceful people-watching would get you back on track?

You sip on the hot drink, then lean back against the comfortable booth seat to begin scanning around.

In one corner directly on the opposite side of where you were sitting, there was an elderly couple. They looked so in love, dressed in matching outfits, feeding each other as they shared a dessert, holding hands and conversing with a hushed tone, nodding and looking into each other's twinkling eyes. So cute, you hoped that was going to be you in the future. 

Moving your line of sight to watch beside the couple, there was another student, their books and computer were scattered across the wooden table, piles of pens and pencil cases near falling over. They seemed to have fallen asleep, unmoving with their head laid tiredly across their crossed arms. The sight made you chuckle out of familiarity, you really felt for them, studies were hard. 

But then a sound caught your attention. A bright, husky giggle fought its way over the ambience, reminiscent of a certain someone. 

Your heart jumped, your ears perked up and you immediately became insistent on scouting her out among the patrons, this was a necessary mission. 

Feeling highly nervous and antsy, you try to drown out the noise and focus on where she could be, and quickly enough, you find her.

Ellie in her natural habitat, she was so mesmerizing. Sitting far away from you where you could get a good view and hear snippets of conversation if you focused hard enough, but not close enough where she would notice your shameless gawking. She was sitting with a group of a handful of her friends, who all appeared to be gossiping and laughing with each other, you couldn't tear your eyes away.

Her smile was gorgeous, and you knew that, but there was something about just being a spectator which fascinated you, you could stare at her all day. Her energy lit up the entire room, and made your heart race.

Snapping out of your trance and trying to not be so obvious with your staring, you tried to look occupied, tried reorganizing your notes while still keeping an ear out to listen. Occasionally glancing over as  well. Yes, it's true that eavesdropping is wrong, but you couldn't help yourself. Anyone would do the same, right?

The group's passionate discussion was making you extremely curious however, and you strained to hear what they were talking about. Among the muffled chatter, you heard a woman’s voice say the word crush, then an outburst of laughter, the loudest guffaw from Ellie herself. 

You felt the budding panic start to form in your chest momentarily, but swallowed the lump forming in your throat and took a sharp intake of breath to calm yourself at once. They could be talking about anything, there's no need to jump to conclusions just yet. Fumbling around your bag for your headphones to listen to some of the song recommendations Ellie had given you, you’re led to discover that they are, in fact, dead. Of course. 

Despite any and all wishes to stop eavesdropping on them and mind your own business and abide by what they say, ignorance is bliss, you simply couldn't. She was too damn captivating. Like a painting in a museum, like a statue at a town’s center, one that people stopped in their tracks to admire. 

The way her eyes sparkled and gleamed under the warm lighting, her cheeks tinted a faint rosy hue from the exertion of laughing so hard, her sweet smile. She was too perfect. God, you hated crushes, being infatuated with someone to this degree couldn't be healthy. But what could you do? Just look at this angel.

Fidgeting nervously while still being entranced by the group of friends, you heard a man’s voice say the words “there’s no way”, followed by Ellie howling even harder than she had the whole time you've been watching them, and punch him forcefully on the shoulder. 

The curiosity was going to swallow you whole, it was like a car crash you couldn't look away from. You felt your palms begin to tremble and sweat with worry, and anxious assumptions of all kinds running through your mind, were they talking about you? No, they couldn't be, you're just overthinking it. Relax, relax, relax.

You tried your hardest to control your breathing and soothe your spinning mind so you wouldn't spiral, until you heard something that absolutely shook you to your core.

The same woman from before, not Ellie, in a highly teasing tone of voice said your name.

You felt frozen, this couldn't be happening. All your worst fears were coming true at this very moment. You had to get out of there right away, this was too much to bear. Curiosity really did kill the cat didn't it, you wished you didn't comply with the morbid desire to know everything. 

Panic-stricken like a deer in headlights, near hyperventilating at this point, the final straw was all three of them erupting into laughter simultaneously, with Ellie through gasps, going "oh come onnnn”.

Yeah that was it. Hot tears started pricking your eyes and you vigorously blinked them away before they started streaming down your face, as if you needed to be humiliated even more. You felt sadded, torn apart, betrayed. Sick to your stomach too. This time, for once, you really thought you had something going for you. From your perspective, albeit through rose-colored glasses, you were convinced she was being genuine with you all this time. How could you not be? 

The late night study sessions, the air thick with tension, the conversations draped in a sleep-deprived haze, the walks to class together, the first fated interaction, the looks you two shared from across the huge lecture hall; the looks where you two just knew when to share a glance, was all of that fake? Was she leading you on purposefully because her friends thought it was funny, that you were a joke?

The tears threatened to spill and your stomach twisted painfully with the world-shattering realizations you were just served with, and you angrily shoved your belongings in your bag.

You were too caught up in your panicked frenzy to notice how disruptive you were actually being, your textbooks thumping and keychains jingling, but frankly didn't care enough to meet the numerous pairs of eyes observing your misfortune. Who could blame you, your whole world and everything you've known just crumbled before you. 

You slung your bag over your shoulder noisily as a choked sob made its way up your throat, then speed-walked out of that cafe. You were never going to be able to go in there again unfortunately, shame, their pastries were so good.

Right as you tried to step through the door it got stuck, because the universe was being really nice to you today, and as you tugged on it to get it to open, you heard the friends lower their voices, but you could still make out a jumble of hushed words sounding something like, “oh no, is that…” Great, great, fucking great. The only solution to this was to change your name and ride up to Seattle for goodness’ sake, maybe throw yourself into a volcano as well just because. 

Finally the door swung open after what felt like eons, and you stumbled outside into the chilly autumn air, feeling goosebumps spring up all over. Where you were going, you didn't really know. This cafe was new, so it would take some time to figure out navigation so you stood dumbly in the middle of the front lawn as you tried to orient yourself.

Once you think you've got it, you start your agonizing trek back to your little room, screaming inside of your head, until you're harshly yanked back mid-footstep by a vice grip on your arm. What the fuck was it now. 

Ellie. The sight of her only made your tears increase in quantity and the emotion in your chest tighten. She looked a little disheveled, her eyes round like saucers, and she was gripping onto your arm so hard as if you were going to run away. You wanted to, but she still had a magnetic hold on you, even after all that turmoil. 

Talking was painful with how much you were trying to keep a hold of yourself, but you managed out a choked, “Ellie, what?” 

She looked befuddled, shaking her head ever so slightly and scrunching up her eyebrows, her gaze boring right into yours and following whenever you tried to break it and look elsewhere. Her hold on your arm softens, and moves to rest on your shoulder. “What do you mean what? You ran outta there like you were chased by a lunatic or something, what the fuck happened?”

Her tone startled you a little, why did she care so much? Noticing you jolt, she sighs and mellows her speech. “Sorry, what I mean to say is, I'm worried. Are you okay?” 

You worried her? Heat rushed to your cheeks as you fought to break the increasingly uncomfortable eye contact, and all you could do was shrug. Your lip started quivering and you were losing the fight of keeping your composure, how wonderful. Despite everything she was being so sweet, way too sweet. You felt helpless at this point. 

The words started pouring out of your mouth like a waterfall, you were properly sobbing now, falling apart and hiccuping as months and months of emotion spilled over. 

You were blabbering about how you loved the friendship you formed with her, but how hurt you felt that she’d laugh about you, every possible insecurity just tumbled out of your lips, as you wiped at your teary face and runny nose and glanced at Ellie ever so often. 

She let you talk for a bit until she saw you get even more upset, that's when she got a step closer to you, squeezed both your shoulders gently and kept a stern tone of voice to get your attention.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, slow down, I don't know what you're saying.” But you couldn't stop crying. Bottling up emotions was definitely a bad idea, because they were bound to burst sooner or later and unfortunately, you reached the breaking point. Sucking in some unsteady breaths as an attempt to regulate yourself, she was watching you patiently yet still cautiously. 

Your voice was weak and shaky, but you were slowly feeling a little better. For the first time during this interaction, you meet her eyes. Why was she always so pretty? She was sculpted just to spite you, you were convinced. Tears welled up in your eyes once more, but you blinked them away. “Um…Ellie…” She nodded expectantly, wanting to know what was wrong. But you could not complete your sentence as yet another bout of ache washed over you.

To snap you out of it once and for all, Ellie grabbed your face. The sheer disbelief of her action was enough to stop your tears luckily, and she held your gaze while she used her thumb to swipe at the stray teardrops adorning your cheekbones. You wanted to die, what was going on?

Once your panic was replaced with fluster and stupefaction, she let you go, but was still standing really close to you. You felt jittery from it all, nervous, embarrassed and in love and everything under the sun all at the same time. You stared at her, then looked away, then looked at her plump pink lips which were set in a questioning pout, then back up to her sympathetic greener-than-grass eyes, fuck, fuck, fuck. The intensity of the situation had caused any sense of judgment or critical thinking to long, long gone, and so your body moved on its own and before you had a chance to form a solid thought or process what you were doing.

Smooch.

You kissed her. 

Mouths colliding like magnets as you held onto the sides of her face, fireworks igniting in every single part of your body. Cradling her jaw as you closed the space between you two, the hurricane of emotion coursing through your veins as your lips caressed hers, and time felt like it had stopped. The months and months of excruciating pining had all led up to this very moment. 

She instinctively kissed you back, you felt her breaths fanning your face. You were about to ascend to another dimension. Lingering against her for a little longer, you forced yourself to regretfully pull away, and laughed loudly at her state now. 

Her lips were parted and she was gawking at you, you had broken her completely. Your own heart was working overtime, you were panting from the adrenaline of the situation, and could only hear the blood rushing in your ears. 

She seemed to be in a coma, doing nothing but staring and breathing. You punched her arm playfully, your voice breaking.

“I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU, YOU FUCKING IDIOT.” 

An frustrated confession tore itself from your throat, even the world's strongest iron bars couldn't contain it. You wiped at your face with your sleeves, a sad attempt to clear it of the residual salty tears that never once stopped their journey out of your eyes.

The sadness had left you, and you felt lighter now, truthfully. Had no idea how you would ever face her again after all this, but at least the cat was out of the bag and you had gotten that off of your chest. You both stood there in silence, now what was wrong with her? What a dork. Sucking on your teeth and kicking a pebble on the ground you admitted finally, “So, yeah. That's what's been troubling me, I guess.” 

Her pupils were dilated and huge, as she scanned all over your features, her mouth opening and closing as if she was having an internal battle of what to say. She stood there almost appearing miles more shocked than you somehow, she looked as if she was going to have a heart attack and die on you, you found it funny, but concerning at the same time. 

You watched her for a moment more, before accepting your disappointing fate and bidding her a goodbye. You cleared your throat. “Okay then. Cya in class. Bye.” You turned on your heel and began the walk back to your room, but this time for real, and didn't look back at her. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't, you wanted to leave this whole fiasco in the past. That chapter was closed, it seemed. 

The only thing left to do now was call your bestie, Abby. She has been your cheerleader through this whole thing, through all this time, gave you advice and brought you back to Earth, and you needed her support now more than ever. 

Right after you reached your dorm she was there in no time at all, after receiving your distress call she scrambled into action, with chocolates and boxed wine in hand. Maybe you should just date her instead at this point. Who else was left for you?

You talked and talked and talked to her about everything for so long, talking the night away just like old times, and she sat and listened to your every word, patted your back reassuringly as you weeped into her shoulder, then tucked you into bed at the end of it all. She left only when she was sure you'd relaxed fully.

You didn't fall asleep quite yet, and stayed awake thinking, pondering life and staring up at your ceiling. It turns out angrily confessing to the girl you've been infatuated with forever by impulsively kissing her and letting the whole campus know it was a tiring thing after all. You really did cause a bit of a scene, when you thought about it in hindsight.

But what was this all like from Ellie's perspective? You wished you could know what she thought, or at least gotten some sort of formal response. Her friend storms out of a cafe, kisses her and screams she's in love with her? It's certainly understandable she'd feel a little lost, or under great pressure to give you an answer. Her reaction did make sense though, after being met with such a shocking revelation. Wow, now that you were really thinking about it, she still did not know why you ran out of the cafe like that. You wished you could turn back time and redo this day, shame that wasn't possible. Were you two ever going to have a discussion about this, or had you just lost a friend for life. Oh no, you pushed that thought away as quickly as it appeared, you didn't have an ounce of energy left over to dwell on it.

You'd work out what you were going to face her next later, a very well-deserved visit to dreamland was way overdue. You felt your eyelids grow heavy and your breathing slow, so you turned on your side and snuggled into your bed, eventually falling into a deep, deep sleep.

Meanwhile on your bedside table:

Bzz, bzz, bzz. 

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[rapunzelbro]

The Act of Stealing a Loved One |2| (Stanley Pines x Reader)

This chapter is a flashback. So are the others. Enjoy! It's super long lmao

Story Guide

It was the Summer of 1972 when you first met Stanford. You remember it almost all too well. You went to a college for the arts, majoring in music composition. Oh! And you were in a band! It was not good by any means, you all were figuring this out as you went but you were all having fun so it didn’t really matter to you. It’s kinda funny looking back on how the two of you somehow became a couple considering how different the two of you were.

You two only met after you accidentally stumbled in his room one night after you partied too hard at someone else's dorm. You thought his room was your friend's room. His dorm had books scattered around, posters of some scientists on the wall and an absolute mess of notes on his desk. Stanford did not want to spend his night with some random drunk girl in his dorm, but he knew he had to let you in, not trusting what any of the other men on the campus would do if they saw you like this. He didn’t know why you made him so flustered, maybe it was your vulnerable state, or just because you were a girl, talking to him.

It was probably both.

“You know, I never wanted to go to this, it was some promotional stuff for my band. Did I tell you I was in a band? We are amazing!” You were laying on the floor staring at the ceiling smiling goofily, flipping onto your stomach to look at the flustered man whose dorm you broke into. He took a glance over his shoulder to look at you, trying to tell you he was listening, even if you didnt care if he was or not. “Okay so that might be a lie, Gabs is super pitchy, Jamie is still figuring out the drums but that's besides the point..I met you by going to this!” you finally sat up running a hand through your hair “You're so dorky it's kinda cute” you let off a soft giggle pointing at him.

This made Stanford physically freeze, his breath hitching slightly “Thank you I suppose, Are your friends looking for you?” He quickly changed the subject, turning around in his chair, looking at you “I think, I dunno… I kinda wanna stay here with you” you smirked. “Well I-” he started before he heard a female voice yelling in the hallway “Y/N! We gotta go!” “Oh that's Gabs! She’s my friend!” You stumbled up before heading towards the door, pausing before going back over to the man kissing his check with a giggle, causing Stanford's face to turn bright red “Thank you for saving me! I’m Y/n by the way!” “Um… It's Stanford, Call me Ford..” he managed to get out, quickly writing the phone number to the telephone that was in his room, down on a piece of notebook paper. “Just.. Call me when you get to your dorm safe..” he quickly turned back to face his textbooks he had his nose buried in hours ago “Aw you care about me… Okay loverboy. Seeya around!” you poked his shoulder before leaving, yelling at your friend ‘Gabs’ to get her attention

Ford had no idea why he did that, he never had the balls to do this sort of thing. Especially with someone as beauti- No why the hell was he having these thoughts? You weren't going to call him. He has to forget about this encounter, he concluded, going back to his uneventful night.

He got a call the next day, it was you. There was some sort of music in the background, he couldn't place what it was, some pop music maybe. “Oh my gosh is this Ford? I kinda crashed at your dorm last night, I am sooo sorry I am super embarrassed.” you rambled on before Ford let off a slight chuckle “No it's fine. I’m glad you're safe, you seemed very out of it last night” he leaned back in his chair slightly as he spoke “Ugh don't get me started about the hangover” you groaned causing him to laugh.

After that was the beginning of a relationship, you spent your off time together, he helped you with classes and you expanded his music taste, well tried to at least.

It's been 4 months since you two started dating. Ford even told his brother about this, and to say Stanley was shocked was an understatement, he rushed over surprising Ford “So you finally found a girl who doesn’t run off screaming? Tell me all about her” Stanley smirked looking at his twin brother, noticing a photo of you on his desk in a frame, you had a microphone in your hand giving a peace sign to the camera with your other hand. How the hell did his brother score you? Ford went off to ramble about you, he was a love sick mess, but the way his eyes kept shifting to the photo of you when explaining you made Stan confused, why did he have to keep looking at it to talk about you?

He noticed a few flyers to some music festivals, they looked untouched. “Who gave you these?” he picked one up, the show was for tonight, in a few hours. “Oh Y/n did. She’s in a band” Ford looked at the flier before directing his attention back to the textbook that was in front of him “You plan on seeing her right?” Stan raised an eyebrow looking at his brother “Too busy, I have an exam tomorrow” Ford shrugged it off flipping to the next page in his book “You’re joking right? Have you been to any of her shows?” Stan narrowed his eyes in disapproval, Ford didn't say anything “Some boyfriend you are” He muttered looking down at the flier in his hands. He knew what he had to do, he wasn’t going to let Ford ruin the only potential relationship he would probably ever have.

Taglist: @bluepanda08 @slay-thou-pookie @karmaisacatluzi @fries11 @marvelous-maniac @cherryblom @leo4242564 @zuzzybakaemperiment

[ladykailitha]

Icarus Part 25

Damn. I actually hate seeing that number up there. Because that means it's done. Eight months, twenty-five chapters, 52895 words, and one hell of a ride.

I'll start posting the sequel on Tuesday, and will post Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays until it's done. I hope to get it done before October's end. But that's not looking likely at the moment.

But once it's done, I will post the epilogue. This was actually written first and was a way for me to flesh out the band members. Then I just wanted to dive right in to writing the full story. A link to the original idea here.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24

~

The rest of the American tour while it had its ups and downs was pretty much was uneventful. When Steve got back to Cali, he got some actual therapy from someone Gareth’s therapist, Dr. Sam Owens recommended to him. To not only deal with the abandonment issues left by his parents and Nancy but to help deal with the sudden onslaught of fame.

It was going well.

It was the therapist that had strongly recommended going on the vacation with his two best friends. That really helped put his life in perspective.

They were out celebrating Gareth’s one year of being sober and everyone had been invited. Jeff, Brian, and Eddie, of course. Even Vickie made it out. Dustin, Will, Mike, Max, Lucas, Ellie, Hopper, Robin, all the members of The Fallen, sans persona. Gareth had really become friends with all of them, yes even Steve. Gareth and Shane became really close. It was nice to see.

“Cheers!” Jeff said holding up their glasses of sparkling apple cider that they had all brought to share.

“Cheers!” the rest of them cried, clinking their glasses together.

They had rented out a nice surf and turf restaurant for the occasion and everyone was catching up. The owner was a friend of Jonathan’s, Argyle Rivera. He had gotten his start with a pizza food truck and it just exploded.

“So what did you and Mike decide to do?” Steve asked when there was a lull in the conversation. “I know you two weren’t sure the last time I was in Hawkins.”

Mike and Will shared a bashful look before Mike said, “I wrote a children’s book and Will illustrated it. We sent it out to a couple of different publishers so we’re just waiting to hear back.”

“That’s amazing!” Dustin cried. “You guys are going to be awesome.”

“Yeah,” Will said brightly. “I finally convinced Jonathan into going in to photography at the local community collage and he’s doing really well.”

“Nancy is going to school, too,” Mike said quietly, knowing how most of the group felt about his sister.

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? What is the once great Nancy Wheeler going to be studying?”

Mike perked up a little that someone had taken a interest in what he said. “She’s actually going into journalism. Especially to be a war corespondent. After everything rightfully fell apart after the incident with The Fallen and Corroded Coffin, she took a hard look at her life and decided she hated the person she had become. So she’s been in therapy and has gotten into her dream school of Emerson.”

“That’s good,” Steve said quietly. Robin gave his a hand gentle squeeze and he returned it with a grateful smile.

“What are doing next, Ellie?” Brian asked. “Designing more epic costumes for the rich and famous? I saw that dress you designed for Lupita Nyong’o for the premier of her new movie. That was a gorgeous shade of purple.”

Ellie’s face dimpled in the force of her wide, happy smile. “Something like that. I’m just glad the dress turned out so well. I’ll be heading back to New York, to stay this time. I got a job at a fashion house that I’m really excited for.”

“What about you and Dusty?” Lucas asked, tilting his head. “I thought things were going great.”

Both Dustin and Ellie share a blushing smile.

“We’re still together,” Dustin replied. “I’ll be in Boston and she’ll be in New York. We’ll going to try and make it work.”

Max nodded. “Long distance can suck, but if the other person is worth it you can make it work.” She nudged Lucas’s shoulder and he grinned back.

“So you didn’t get traded to Lakers like you wanted?” Gareth asked Lucas.

He shook his head. “Maybe next year. But in the mean time, Max has a couple interviews at Tony Hawk’s video game company as a mo-cap performer for the female characters in his games.”

Everyone oohed and ahhed and congratulated her.

“I don’t have the job yet,” she muttered, but happily soaked up the attention anyway.

Dustin turned to Steve and Robin. “When are you two going to do something with your lives?”

Eddie winced and Steve and Robin didn’t even have to glance at each other to be suddenly on the same wavelength of doom.

If this was an anime you would have have seen the dark waves behind their heads.

“We make good money doing what we do,” Robin said darkly. “Yeah, it’s a bit jack of all trades, but it’s fun. We’re never stuck doing the same thing. We get travel all over the world. We get to meet famous people and all the perks of fame with the drawbacks of having our privacy invaded on the regular.”

“Jack of all trades, but master of none,” Dustin said to be pedantic. “Don’t you guys want to do something specific, like a teacher or a doctor?”

Robin snorted. “No.”

Chrissy hand covered hers, and Robin gave her a squeeze back. She was fine, just annoyed.

“Yeah,” Steve said. “And I don’t why being a jack of all trades is bad thing. Focusing on one thing is great for the people who can do it, but I love the different jobs. Roadie one tour, PA another, then EMT the next. It’s great.”

Dustin frowned, stabbing his plate with his fork.

“My therapist says people are like plants,” Gareth said, “some people are trees and they grow up slowly. Some are bamboo and in the right environment shoot up super fast. But some people are like periwinkle and grow out sideways. Robin and Steve are like that. It’s still growth, just not the growth you want them to have.”

“I guess,” he huffed. He looked up at Steve. “Are you happy doing what you do?”

Steve and Eddie shared a glance. “Yes, for all its faults, I am very happy.”

He nodded and they went back to celebrating Gareth’s year of sobriety. But under the cover of the loud celebration and raucous laughter, Vickie and Simon chatted quietly to themselves.

~

Steve and Eddie lay on the bed in Eddie’s mansion curled up together after sex.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked Steve when he had curled up under his chin and held on tight.

“We were out celebrating,” he murmured, “and I couldn’t even tell them we were in a relationship.”

“Most of the people there already knew, babe,” Eddie murmured. But when Steve didn’t say anything it clicked. “You wanted to tell the kids. Especially after the bomb Mike dropped about Nancy moving on.”

Steve nodded.

Eddie scooted down the bed to look Steve in the eye. “Whatever you do or don’t tell them is entirely up to you I don’t care either way.”

“You don’t care that we’ll never get to go on dates or be seen holding hands or kissing?” Steve asked seriously.

Eddie shook his head. “Do you want to know why?”

“I guess,” Steve said with a half shrug.

“Because when I first got into the music business,” Eddie murmured, “I slept with anyone who would give a passing fancy.”

Steve looked up at him in confusion. “But I thought you already had a crush on me then?”

“I did,” Eddie confirmed. “But here’s the thing, sweetheart, do you know who’s partners get torn apart the most in celebrity relationships?”

Steve shook his head.

“Those with non-famous partners,” Eddie said. “If your partner is anything other than a C or B list celebrity when you’re an A-list, you get called out for ‘slumming it’ and their partners get called all sorts of nasty names, but especially ‘gold digger’. Which is the last thing I wanted for you.”

“Is that why you were okay with being with after you found out I was secretly famous?”

Eddie rose up and tackled Steve into the pillows. “You listen close, Steve Harrington. That was absolutely not why. I didn’t even show up with the flowers intending on confessing anything other than knowing your secret. It was like I suddenly saw all the facets of the diamond I’d been admiring for years and realizing any reason I had to not put myself forward were stupid.”

Steve blinked up at him in awe. “Oh.”

“Yeah, baby, ‘oh’,” Eddie huffed. “Continuing to protect you from the shame and humiliation of the slings and arrows of the media is my mission in life, okay? And if you ever decide to come out, either as bisexual as Steve or as Steve as Abbadon, I will be there for you. One hundred percent.”

Steve’s eyes welled up and he nodded. “Okay.” His lips quivered. “I love you so much. I just want you to be happy.”

Eddie kissed him fiercely. “I know you do and you make me very happy. The Fallen, Abbadon, being closeted? All that? That’s just a part of you that I love.” He bounced onto the bed. “In fact...”

He grabbed his phone and started going through it. “Eureka!” He turned the phone around to a paint of a night, shielding a maiden from the sun and a large crowd of people. This is us, babe. I am the knight and you are my maiden. I won’t get tired, or upset that you need protecting.”

Steve blushed. He sat up and pulled up his knees to his chest. “When we first started coming up with names for us, we didn’t originally all have the same letter.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Wait, really?”

Steve shook his head. “Spence was just Death. Shane was always Astraeus. Simon was struggling with finding a name that fit.”

“And did you have your name picked out?” Eddie asked gently, knowing where this was going.

He pursed his lips and nodded. “I didn’t think we’d make it this far. I really thought we would have crashed and burned by now.” He closed his eyes and hung his head. “Part of the myth with Icarus and the wax wings that people forget was that he was flying all over the place. That if he flied straight and true like his father suggested, he would have survived. But he flew too close to the seas as well as the sun.”

Steve sighed and then looked over at Eddie. “And that’s what I thought I was doing with the band. Flying too low with the fact that we were preps wanting to break into the metal scene and then flying too high with the personas and masks. I was going to not only wreck my life but the lives of people I cared about.”

He let out a low shuddering breath. “That maybe I should have listened to my father. To go to college, to get a degree in business, to fly straight.”

“So what changed your mind?” Eddie asked. “Other than Shane wanting everyone to have all the same letter as a middle finger to everyone trying to guess your identities, I guess.”

Steve let out a watery chuckle. “Shane reminded me of the beginning of Icarus’s story. That he had grown up in the labyrinth, never seeing the sky. How could his father had not seen that of course Icarus was going to play the second they were out? That, yes they were fleeing for their lives, but this was the first time his son had seen the sun, felt the breeze on his face and touched the waves on the sea.”

“But if Daedalus had played with Icarus instead of yelling at him, his father would have been able to keep him from getting too close to the things that would have harmed him,” Steve finished. “That he would have been there to catch his son when he began to fall.”

“So what was the lesson?” Eddie prompted.

“I wasn’t Icarus,” Steve said. “I was always free, I might have fallen from grace according to my parents, but that like God in the Christian story, they were cruel and cast me out because what they wanted for me wasn’t what I wanted.”

Eddie smiled. “So you became Abbadon instead. The one that fell but God still relied on to destroy the wicked. The opposite of Steve Harrington. The boy that rose up like a phoenix from the ashes to be better than his parents dreamed.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Icarus was the first to fall mythos wise, but Abbadon was the one people fear coming back.”

Eddie pulled him close. “Well, you’re my angel, now. Fallen or not, I’m not giving you up for anything.”

Steve kissed him softly. “I’m putting a lot of trust you, Munson. Don’t fuck this up.”

Eddie laughed and kissed him fiercely. Then he proceeded to show Steve all the ways loved him.

Steve knew he might always have doubts and fears, but now he had the support system he always needed.

It was more than past time to fly and in Eddie’s arms there was no limit to how high he could go now.

And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

~

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @blondie1006

4- @yikes-a-bee @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten

5- @genderless-spoon @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

6- @disrespectedgoatman @eyehartart @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95

7- @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars

8- @ravenfrog @w1ll0wtr33 @child-of-cthulhu @kultiras @dreamercec

9- @machete-inventory-manager @useless-nb-bisexual @stripey82 @dotdot-wierdlife @kal-ology

10- @sadisticaltarts @urkadop @chameleonhair @clockworkballerina @garden-of-gay

[quin-ns]

The blue VIII (JJ Maybank x Reader)

Series summary: JJ has a secret, and he doesn’t know how much longer he can hold onto it. He discovers his breaking point when his best friend starts to show interest in you, his step sister, who he’s already fallen hard for

Series tags: step brother!jj, dual pov, jealousy, one sided john b x reader, drinking, inappropriate relationship, public sex, oral sex (f receiving)

A/N: the final chapter. I had a lot of fun not only writing but sharing my first series with you guys 🫶

Series masterlist + OBX masterlist

You hadn’t planned on JJ following you inside, but a part of you knew he would anyway.

You were glad he did, because when JJ took you into his arms, you felt a wave of comfort that you desperately needed. You had so many days to prepare for this, but it still didn’t feel like enough. Thinking and talking about how to tell your friends versus actually telling them was very different.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized.

You tilted your head up and found JJ looking down at you. You wondered if he could see your guilt as the thought of backing out crossed your mind.

JJ leaned in after a moment. His lips ghosted yours as he muttered, “It’s okay.”

Someone cleared their throat, and it wasn’t JJ. The sound that filled the room came from near the doorway. You tensed and even though anxiety made you want to bury your face into JJ’s shirt, you turned your head.

John B stood a few feet in the doorway, a look of sheer embarrassment on his face. He scratched the back of his head, eyes not meeting yours or JJ’s directly.

“Was just coming to check on you guys…” he said awkwardly, gesturing to you and JJ. You swallowed and parted from JJ, even if it was the last thing you wanted to do. You failed to speak and so did JJ. “So is this a thing, or…?”

“We can explain,” you said, not even knowing how to begin.

“Yeah, we were gonna tell you guys, we just”—JJ shrugged and looked at you—“we just didn’t know how.”

Kiara and Pope picked that moment to come into the house. A spotlight might as well have been shining down on you. You’d probably be sweating in a minute.

“What’s going on?” Kiara questioned, looking between the three of you. “If you’re back to arguing—“

“Kie, stop,” JJ interjected, lifting a hand. “No one is arguing, okay?”

Kiara pouted at being interrupted. “Well what is it then?”

You locked eyes with John B. Your heart stammered in your chest, even as he deferred to you. You looked up to JJ and found him looking at you as well. They’d follow your lead, you could see it in their eyes. They had different tells, but you knew them well enough to figure this out. It was up to you.

You gave JJ a light nod. No backing down now.

“We have something to tell you guys,” you blurted out, facing the group.

JJ reached for your hand, and you saw the moment it clicked for Kie and Pope. Confusion set in, Kie with wide eyes and Pope with furrowed brows. John B’s smile was tight lipped as he attempted an assuring look.

“You… you um…” Pope began, like he wasn’t sure how the sentence ended.

“Yeah,” JJ said. “We’re together.”

You weren’t sure what was worse, the dead silence or the stares you were receiving. Time passed so slowly in those quiet seconds.

“How long…?” Kiara wondered cautiously.

“About a month,” you admitted. “We weren’t sure how to bring it up.”

“I can see why,” Kiara muttered. You heard JJ suck in a breath. “Sorry,” she apologized, actually sounding guilty.

John B shoved his hands into his pockets, shoulders slouching. “Well it explains a lot,” he decided. His brows raised in JJ’s direction. “That's why you got so mad at me, isn’t it?”

“I was jealous,” JJ confessed. “I didn’t handle it well ‘cause she didn’t know and I didn’t think I could ever tell her how I felt.”

“I had no idea,” you added, hoping it was the right thing to say. You were at a loss for what the right thing was, truthfully. There couldn’t be a right thing to say in a situation like this. There wasn’t exactly a blueprint for how to explain your step brother was no longer that in your eyes, and that even more than that he was also your boyfriend. “This just sort of happened, but it’s working.”

There was a sense of relief that intertwined with your anxiety. At least you got the words out. They left your mind and now existed in open space. It wasn’t a secret anymore.

“I still have a lot of questions,” Pope commented awkwardly.

It was fair, you would too. So whatever they asked, you and JJ answered. Eventually the nervous energy in the room wore off and you were all able to move back out to the porch, where you continued the little Q and A. You and JJ told them everything. It was uncomfortable at first, especially when JJ started talking about the fact he’d struggled for so long with his feelings before you knew. You held his hand and couldn’t fight your frown as he voiced his former anxiety. It seemed like such a long time ago. You couldn’t imagine a world where JJ looked at you full of love and desire and you didn’t meet his gaze with the same emotions.

They finally got the truth about the night John B and JJ argued, about the movie, about the party—although, the detail about you and JJ sleeping together was one you consciously left out. The two of you were often on the same wavelength and silently agreed they didn’t need to know that much. The fact you both admitted feelings was information enough. Your friends could only digest so much in one night. Eventually JJ would tell John B and Pope on a guys day, and you’d have to tell Kie on a girls night, and they’d all talk to each other, and it would be a thing… but then it wouldn’t. That was usually how things went with this group. Everyone always found out everything eventually.

You and JJ took turns talking. It was the most you’d seen him open up in a while when it wasn’t just the two of you. Even though the looks on your friends' faces read like they were still unsure of how to react, your confidence grew. With every word of admiration JJ said with your name to follow, and how easily amazing moments with him appeared in your mind, you were certain you’d made the right decision. Your friends could understand that with enough time.

“I know—we know—it’s gonna take time to get used to,” you began, fiddling with your hands. They’d have to. They loved you, and they loved JJ. They’d have to accept the way you loved each other. “But do you think you can?” Wouldn’t they?

You looked between John B, Kiara, and Pope, and they exchanged glances between one another. You were sure JJ was doing the same as you.

“Yeah,” John B finally said. “You guys are our friends and if you're happy, then we’re happy for you.”

He sounded like he meant it, and as Pope and Kie nodded along, you could only hope they really did.

Your head hit the pillow with a giggle. JJ was all over you, pressing kisses to your lips, your cheeks, your neck, your chest… He slid down your body, lips leaving a trail down your stomach. His hands bunched in the dress you’d worn to dinner—your first official date out in the open—and pushed it up around your waist.

“You’re such a tease,” you said, face feeling warm as he pressed a kiss to your navel.

JJ looked up at you through his lashes and you just about passed out right there.

The day had been perfect. You needed a perfect day after telling your friends about the nature of your relationship.

You woke up with JJ’s arms around you and stayed in bed until you felt like getting up. Making breakfast wasn’t something you usually did, but Luke was absent from the house so you seized the opportunity to enjoy it. After that you and JJ went to an old movie theater you loved. He actually paid for your tickets to the first movie and the popcorn, but then you each got a thrill out of hopping between screening rooms, trying to see as many movies as you could before you got caught (which you didn’t, maybe they didn’t care enough to watch the cameras).

After, JJ took you to the house and you both changed into something nice. You didn’t even know he owned a pair of pants that went down to his ankles, and you laughed when he emphasized what a big deal it was that he was putting them on for you after you commented on it. You found a white sundress you’d been meaning to wear for the longest time but hadn’t had the opportunity to.

“It’s the perfect time,” he had said, voice full of admiration. “You look amazing.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” you had tossed back, taking his arm as he led you out to his bike.

There was something about being dressed all fancy on JJ’s motorbike that felt as if you were in a scene from a film. Fear didn’t dare to creep in as you held onto his waist from behind—it knew it would be crushed by your joy.

The place you went was still on the Cut, but it was one of the nicest restaurants that your side of the island had. You would’ve gone to The Wreck, but today was just for you and JJ. Kiara wouldn’t have interfered, but you two wanted to be alone. Besides, you didn’t need Mr. or Mrs. Carerra giving you questioning looks when you and JJ ordered one slice of pie and two forks.

You weren’t even sure they had pie on the menu at The Wreck honestly, but the nice place you went did. Key Lime became a new favorite.

You talked, and laughed together, and flirted of course, and forgot the rest of the world existed. You’d never had a real boyfriend, but you could get used to this. That fact that it was JJ made it a hundred times more special. He was the one for you, you never could’ve sat across from anyone else and enjoyed yourself as much as you did with him.

You could hardly keep your hands off of one another when you got back to the house—which you still had to yourself. JJ guided you back to your room, eyes full of hunger and hands moving with intent. The fond recent memories collided with the sensations he inflicted upon you now.

You gasped when his fingers tugged at your underwear. You let him remove them without a hint of protest, and your lungs contracted when he dove between your legs without a word.

His mouth was heavenly, his tongue skilled as he ran it between your folds. You finally caught your breath when his nose rubbed against your clit.

“JJ, please,” you whined.

You felt him grin against you as he lifted his head just long enough to ask, “What is it, baby?”

Truthfully you didn’t know. Words failed you and that seemed to amuse him as he returned to eating you out like it was his favorite thing to do. It might’ve been, you wouldn’t put it past him.

Your hand tangled in his hair, tugging a little when the pressure began to build. He gripped your thighs in his strong, rough hands to keep them from squeezing around his head. JJ still needed to breathe, but you forgot that sometimes. He was so fucking good you didn’t even have to guide him. You just needed something to hold onto as he devoured you like a man starved.

His tongue worked magic between your legs, lapping at you in a way that had you tensing and shivering.

When your orgasm finally hit, you let out a moan of his name, thighs quivering around his head as he suckled at your clit. He didn’t even need to use his hands.

“I love it when you do that,” he complimented, voice heavy with arousal. Coming down from your high you couldn’t place him for a moment, only trying to catch your breath, but then he was above you. You smiled when you saw blue eyes and pink lips grinning down at you. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you managed, pressing up on your elbows to capture his lips. JJ sunk into you, giving you enough leverage to get him beneath you. You straddled him, your lips leaving his to say, “Your turn.”

Your legs laid across JJ’s lap as you laughed along with your friends. It was early in the morning, and you’d all decided to meet up at the Chateau to hang out for the day.

A couple weeks had passed since you and JJ told them all about your relationship. It was going better than you had hoped, which was an immense relief.

Not too long ago they couldn’t control their expressions—you’d catch the curious gazes and side eyes between them. Now, though? They hardly bat an eye when JJ reached for your hand or when you leaned on his shoulder. You tried to keep the PDA to a minimum, but it was easier said than done when JJ looked at you the way he did.

You honestly didn’t understand how you never noticed before.

Right now his hand rested on your thigh, his thumb gliding across your skin as you tried to keep up with what was being said.

“We’re still down to go to the beach, right?” Kiara looked around at everyone.

It wasn’t a particularly sunny day, but the plan had already been made and a few clouds weren’t going to hurt anyone.

“I've been needing a beach day,” you agreed, to which everyone nodded along.

John B clapped his hands onto his knees. “I’ll pack the cooler.”

Once that was done, you all loaded up in John B’s van and headed for the beach. He took the front and Kie took the passenger side, while you, JJ, and Pope hung out in the back.

JJ sat on the ground, his back against the wall. You sat between his bent legs, leaning your back against his chest. His arms locked around you, just holding you as you chatted to Kiara and John B up front.

Out of the corner of your eye, you caught Pope watching you and JJ. When you looked at his face, a hint of old nervousness threatened to appear. Then you noticed the smile. Just the slightest half smile with the corner of his lip tugged up.

“You good, Pope?” you wondered.

“Yeah, just…” He shrugged. “I don’t know if I’ve said it, but I’m happy for you guys.”

His sweet words almost brought tears to your eyes, which surprised you a bit. It was the first time any one of your friends had said something like that. The verbal acceptance made your heart skip as you tilted your head back to meet JJ’s eyes. Sure enough he was looking down at you, a smile on his face.

“Thanks, man,” JJ said to the boy across from you both.

“You guys are good together,” Kiara added from the front. She turned her body in her seat to face the two of you. “I don’t think I’ve seen either of you this happy.”

As she said this, you noticed the way Pope watched her, while she seemed none the wiser. Had that been what you and JJ looked like from an outside perspective? The fact that no one suspected anything was nothing short of a miracle on his part. Things could’ve been a lot different if he had been asked too many questions at the wrong time.

You decided at that moment you wouldn’t mention anything until Pope or Kie mentioned it. It would likely be the former, it really seemed like Kiara had no clue. The thought crossed your mind that he could’ve talked to JJ, or if he hadn’t, that he should. JJ wasn’t someone anyone would think to go to for well thought out advice—he was a bit of a wildcard—but in this scenario he had been successful. It couldn’t hurt.

Although that could be saved for another time, another place. Right now you focused on what John B was saying, his head turning between the road and the back.

“Yeah, I mean, you’re not as handsome as me, but”—John B’s teasing was cut off when Kie swatted at his arm. “Hey! I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he assured quickly. You laughed while Kie shot you a wink and sat back right. JJ’s chest shook as he chuckled behind you, but his arms still tightened around your body. “Seriously though, what they said. You guys make a good couple.”

“Thank you, guys. That’s so sweet. It means a lot,” you said to the three of your friends.

“Of course.” John B threw a glance back towards JJ. “You got lucky, don’t let her go. ‘Cause she could do better.”

JJ took the taunt with a laugh. “I don’t know how she settled for me,” JJ joined in at his own expense. “But you’re not getting rid of me now.” That last part was directed at you. He rested his head on your shoulder and despite the odd angle, you managed to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Good,” you said. “‘Cause I’m not letting you go.”

The beach was in sight in a matter of moments out the window. Since it was a random weekday where the sun wasn’t all that clear, John B found a place to park his van with no problem.

You hummed in content as you and JJ walked hand in hand into the sand. You managed to lay down a towel for yourself before the light breeze kicked it up. You laid out on it with a content hum. A lazy smile spread across your face as bits of sunlight managed to beam down onto you from behind the clouds. Nothing was going to keep you from enjoying the beach. JJ took his place beside you while the others made a mad dash for the water. It was probably colder than usual, but you knew you’d get in eventually.

Comfortable silence hung in the air for a while until out of the blue JJ asked, “You remember the last time we were here?”

“It’s been a while.” You tried to recall the last time you were on this beach, but nothing specific came to mind.

The clouds moved a bit, so you shielded your eyes from the sun as you looked up at JJ. He had his knees up and leaned on them. His thoughtful expression nearly had you sitting up, but you just got comfortable, and the look in his eyes was one you came to recognize. It told you not to worry.

“You and John B were chicken fighting with Pope and Kie. And I...” JJ chuckled in spite of himself. “I was so jealous.”

You turned to lay on your back. Memories that felt like ages ago resurfaced, but they really weren’t all that distant. You recalled the chicken fight, and how you’d all gone back to that Chateau. You fell asleep on the couch talking to John B and woke up to JJ in the chair across from you. That morning filled you with just enough suspicion that you guessed something was up.

“What made you think of that?” you wondered. “‘Cause we’re back here?”

JJ shrugged. He looked out at the water, then cast his eyes down to meet yours. A light smile appeared on his lips

“I just didn’t think this was ever gonna happen. Us, I mean.” JJ let his legs fall flat and you pulled yourself to lay your head in his lap. God, you loved his smile. “But I’m really fucking happy it did.”

You grinned, unable to help yourself. “I’m really fucking happy too.”

End.

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[wordsofelie]

Chapter 7

🌅Don’t you dare runaway (A Phoenix and Ashes Sequel)

Miya Osamu x f!reader

Summary: Miya Osamu thinks some things will never change— Atsumu will always be annoying; his Ma’s food will always be the best and you will always be his favourite sunrise.

Content Warnings: Timeskip Setting, Manga Spoilers, ex!Suna, Swearing, Alcohol Consumption, Mention of Sex Scenes (No Description)

Words count: 5.4k

chapter 1 - chapter 2 - chapter 3 - chapter 4 - chapter 5 - chapter 6 - chapter 8

“How’s Tokyo?”

It’s only a few words, barely a full sentence. However, it took Osamu a whole fifteen minutes to write and almost a face-first collision with the glass door of Tokozu, his favourite kitchen knife store in Osaka. The man found the exercise harder than any literature essay he ever had to do in high school (and Osamu, despite being named after a famous novelist, was never fond of literature). But now, the message is sent and there’s no going back.

His meditation instructor as well as one red-haired hitter, told him he should stop overthinking, and for the last month, Osamu thinks he did a good job at calming his stormy mind. But it’s different now, you’ve been in Tokyo for three days (or what feels like six months, at least to him), and apart from the message to ask you if you arrived safely (which you did), Osamu hasn’t contacted you in 72h. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but he just needs to give space. He told you how he feels, exposed his fragile heart to you, and now what you do with it is your decision and yours only.

Still, Osamu wants to act casual like before (and also shows that he cares), something he hasn’t been good at for the past months. You miss the old Osamu, the friend you could always rely on, the one who wouldn’t mind letting food burn on the stove if you needed him. Maybe it’s time for that man to come back.

Thus, this morning, as he strolls through the streets of Osaka, heading to the store, he sends you those few words.

“Good morning, Sir,” a forty-year-old something greets him when he enters. “May I help you with something?”

Osamu’s eyes wander all around the shelves before describing what he is looking for.

“There’s a couple of knives that could meet your requirements.” The man starts showing him various options when Osamu’s phone buzzes in his pocket.

It’s you.

The younger man excuses himself and runs towards the exit. He waits two or three rings before answering.

“Hey,” he says, clearing his throat.

“Osamu,” you tell his name, his heart skips a beat (or a thousand). “How are you? Is this a good time to call?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course. I was just in town to buy a new knife for the fish.”

“Oh, maybe I should call later then-”

“No!” He cuts you off, someone passing by is startled by his sudden outburst. He avoids their gaze, “It’s fine now. So… how have ya been?”

“I’m great,” you reply, and he can hear the excitement in your voice, “I love it here. The JVA offices are in that huge building in Omiya, and everyone is wearing suits and there’s even a bakery on the ground floor, so I usually take something there and go to the park. I can’t wait for the cherry blossoms to bloom, it’s gonna be beautiful. And I need to take you to the bakery, you’d love the cannelés.”

Osamu holds back his laughter at your French accent, cute, he thinks.

“There’s already a communication team,” you continue, “everyone is so kind and to be able to discuss my ideas with everyone is such a cool thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with the Jackals but…well, the guys aren’t the best at giving advice when it comes to their social media. Except for your brother, actually.”

“I’m glad,” Osamu says with a soft voice.

“And Kuroo is amazing to work with and he’s actually kinda funny sometimes, but he has that weird laugh-anyway, I think he likes my work… But that doesn’t mean he's going to keep me on after my trial period.”

Osamu is relieved, happy even, that you’re enjoying your life there, but when he is about to express it, the words get stuck in his throat and no sound leaves his lips.

There’s a silence following your story, and you’re the one who breaks it. “I’m coming back in two days.”

“And I’ll be there.”

“Also… in three weeks or something, the National Team is having their last public practice match before the Olympics and it’s in Osaka, are you going to install a stall at the gym?”

“Yeah, I will. Ya know how the guys will react if I don’t.”

You chuckle, probably picturing some very disappointed—and hungry— Atsumu, Bokuto and Hinata (and Meian, though he’d tried to keep a straight face since he has the role of captain to uphold). “Cool, then, I’ll be there.”

“That’s my line.”

You offer him a genuine laugh and a warm feeling spreads through his stomach, which stays even after the call ends.

Two more days. Osamu counts in his head.

He takes a deep breath and enters the shop for the second time, this time being careful with not banging his face into the glass door.

“Can’t ya just stop movin’, please?” Atsumu begs and a sound comes out of his throat, something between a sigh and a groan. 

But his demand doesn’t seem to reach his brother’s ears—even though he said “please”, ‘Samu, ya spoiled brat—as said brother continues to pace like a caged animal in their cramped living room.

“I’m goin’ now.” Osamu finally announces.

“Gosh,” The setter rolls his eyes, “her train arrives in two hours.”

“What if there’s traffic on the way?”

“Ya know what? Just leave, yer so damn annoyin’ right now.”

“Moron,” Osamu exclaims, slamming the door on its way out.

It’s too late for Atsumu to say more than just an offended, “Oi!” since his twin already left the apartment.

There’s no traffic on the way and Osamu is forced to wait for you—though it doesn’t matter how long he must wait; if he had to endure a lifetime of longing just to see you again, he would agree in a blink of an eye.

The only bad thing is that time passes very slowly, and it makes him think over and over again about what might happen.

And the conclusion he comes up with is that two paths are unfolding before him: whether the kiss you shared on the doorframe of your apartment is the last remnant of what could have been, or perhaps the first tender step toward something beautiful. Maybe in a few minutes, he’ll have to pretend nothing happened and go back to being friends or stop hiding his feelings and share them with the world.

When you emerge from the station, your blue scarf sticking out of your bag since the weather has warmed up delicately in the last five days, Osamu feels the rhythm of his heart quickening.

You greet each other, get back in the car, and he starts driving.

One second after the other, even though you’re there now, he keeps waiting.

The silence is heavy but somehow it doesn’t cloud his thoughts. Osamu could be analysing each single one of your moves (you scratch your nails, you keep looking at your phone even if you don’t receive any notification), your expressions (you didn’t meet his eyes when you arrived, your smile is tense), but he doesn’t because he has learned better than to attempt to assume how you feel; it only leads to chaos. The man has no control over this situation and whatever happens, he’ll accept it. Nothing matters more than yielding to your choices. Break his heart, move to Tokyo, sever ties forever (please don’t)—he’ll endure it all if it means your happiness.

“Thank you for coming.” You finally say gently.  

 “Sure.” He waits and after a moment of hesitation, adds, “Ya know… I’ve been waitin’ to see ya.”

There’s a pause, the kind that stretches just long enough to create a knot in his chest.

“You have?” You ask, your voice quiet, unsure.

“Yeah,” he admits, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. If you’re about to turn him down, at least, he needs to be honest one more time. “Been thinkin' about ya all day. All week, actually.”

He laughs, a bit too awkwardly, trying to play it off. “Can I say that? Don’t wanna make ya uncomfortable but I guess I’m just really bad at actin' casual, huh?”

Your soft chuckle makes his heart race all over again. “Not as bad as you think, Osamu. I’m happy if we can talk openly to each other without being afraid of what the other thinks. That’s what we used to do.” You clear your throat, “And actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”

There it is, he thinks, the opening he’s been waiting for. He decides to pull over to the side of the road since you almost made it to your place. He licks his lips nervously before turning to you, your eyes don’t meet his when you speak again.

“So… I’ve been thinking. I wanted to have that conversation with you later, not in the car like that, but like you said, it’s hard to act casual…Listen, Osamu.” You finally turn to your right, to him.

Osamu thought he could know how you’re feeling just by seeing the look on your face but right now he is unsure. It’s exciting to know there’s still so much to learn about you, but also threatening because he can’t anticipate your next words and it’s suffocating.

“You’re the kindest person I know, you’re funny and you’re reliable and there’s no one in this entire world, and please don’t tell Umi, with whom I feel so at ease. I’ve never really been into stuff like soulmates you know, even with Rin, I believed he was the love of my life, and it turned out I was wrong. But with you it’s different, it’s like the universe has led me to you. That fact will never change, whatever we … become.” Your voice falters, “But… I made so many sacrifices for Rin, and I don’t regret them, they made me who I am now, but I promised myself I would never do such things again… Yet, I was in my hotel room in Tokyo, finally finding my dream job and loving the team, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. About how I wanted to be with you in Osaka, how I wanted to kiss you again… I feel so weak Osamu ‘cause I love you too. I do want us to be together but not like that. I can’t miss this opportunity. If I stay in Osaka, I will resent myself for not choosing my dream and if I leave for Tokyo, I know I’ll regret not being with you… But I have to make a choice.”

“Can’t ya have both? Me and Tokyo?”

You sigh before looking down at your lap. Osamu thinks he saw your eyes getting wet, “I wish I could, but you know how I feel about distance relationships.”

Of course, he knows; he was there when you suffered through the distance that separated you from your first love years ago and how it led to a heartbreak.

“What if I come with y-”

“Don’t even think about it, Osamu. I am not following my dream for you to give up yours.” Your voice is firm, but there’s a hint of pain behind your words. “I swear I thought about all the options because I know you’re right for me… but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Osamu was convinced there were only two paths, one where you love him, one where you don’t. But what if there is a third option? What if you love him but fear getting hurt?

It’s not that she doesn’t like you, she’s just afraid, Umi told him. He recalls precisely the moment your best friend pronounced those words to him.

There’s hope. Osamu has to hold on to it.  

“Give me one month.”

“Huh?” Your brow furrows in confusion.

“I’ll find a solution, I’ll make it work, I promise.”

“Osamu,” you sigh again, this time it sounds desperate, perhaps frustrated, “this is not some sort of romantic movie, this is real life.”

“I know that, and I’ll find a real solution.”

“What if you don’t find the solution after that month? I know how heartbreaks feel like Osamu, this is only going to hurt you and-”

“Nothing can hurt me more than runnin’ away when I could have tried making it work.”

There’s something in your eyes that shines behind your closed face and clenched jaw.

The atmosphere changes in the car, maybe because of the night falling, or maybe because of something else.

“When we were first years, we weren’t in the same class, but at the sports festival, we were put on the same team for the relay.” You start recalling, the sudden shift in topic catches him off guard, but he lets you continue anyway.

“Umi wasn’t in my team, and I was already not motivated to run the race, especially in front of everyone but it got worse when I was put before you. Can you imagine me, giving the stick to Miya Osamu? You were popular, girls loved you, boys admired you, and I was no one. Sure, I could run fast but I didn’t care about winning that damn event. I guess… the only things I cared about were having Rin looking at me and not tripping in front of your fangirls. But on the day of the festivals, do you remember what you told me?”

He shakes his head. You were always better at remembering stuff.

“You said ‘Trust me, just do your thing and I’ll make it work’. I trusted you; I did what I had to do, and we won.”

You cover your face with your hands abruptly and grumble, “Fuck, I really thought I made up my mind but…” Then, you take a long inspiration before looking at him again. Your eyes pierce his soul, find him where he is the most vulnerable, but also the most in love, “If I trust you one more time… Can you promise you’ll not let me down?”

“I’d do anything for ya to give me a chance.”

He says your name as he promises. There’s something obvious in your eyes when you look at each other, it’s not just hope that Osamu feels, it’s certain and deep. As if nothing could come between you.

You break the distance.

The kiss is softer than the last one. Osamu tries to take his time to appreciate the taste of your lips and the feeling your tongue leaves on his.

No need to rush, he knows it’s the first kiss of a long series (whether it lasts a month or a hundred years).

You pull back with a smile, “Oh, by the way, I have not forgotten that you owe me an explanation for all the times you ignore me. And you better hear what I have to say to you on that matter because you sure hurt me. It might take hours for me to tell you how bad you made me feel.”

“And I’d listen for hours.”

“You’re such a smooth talker.” You chuckle and open the passenger door, “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow ‘Samu.”

“Huh?” He raises an eyebrow, “That’s what my brother calls me, can’t ya find something else like my lov-”

“Shut up you idiot, I’m not ready for that yet.”

“Whatever you want, I’ll submit.” He teases and his grin is both sincere and charming, it makes you lift your eyes in the air.

You laugh one more time before getting out, “sweet dreams.”

He bids you goodnight in return.

Things go well.

You try to see each other often. Now that Osamu has his Sundays free, he makes the most of them to take you on dates. In the evening, you cook dinner at home and in the morning, you stop by Onigiri Miya to get the bento he prepared for you. You always thank him with a kiss on the lips, a caress on the cheeks and sometimes the make out session gets a little bit out of hand. One day, despite your complaints about how you might get caught, Osamu doesn’t stop until Sato and Nagisa enter the shop (“Oops, didn’t mean to interrupt”, one of them say and Osamu tells you later how they kept on teasing him all day long. “It’s only yer fault though”, he exclaims, “yer too pretty.” And you push him on the chest, your cheeks turning red and your smile wide.)

You receive an email from Kuroo one Tuesday night, with a contract attached to it, waiting to be filled with your signature.

It’s hard to hide your smile, “I got the job.”

Osamu jumps from his chair to yours and kisses you, “I expected no less from my Champion.”

You open your mouth to say something and your boyfriend notices how your bite your lips. The long-distance relationship is starting now, that’s probably what you’re about to say, but Osamu doesn’t want to lose this moment thinking about what’s coming after, so he goes through your kitchen’s cupboards and gets a bottle of sake.

“What are you doing?” You ask.

“We have somethin’ to celebrate, don’t we?” His boyish smile makes your heart melt, and you nod.

“Let’s go to Tokyo tomorrow to look for an apartment.” He proposes later.

Your brows knit together, “but your restaurant…”

“I can close it.”

Osamu looks at you with the determined eyes you thought he had lost. It’s confident and calm at the same time, it’s kind, and so particularly him. It’s the same look he had when you won the relay a decade ago, when he told you he got your back during your heartbreak, and when he swore he’d do anything to be with you.

This time, you're the one who kisses him, and you taste of sake. His hands find the skin of your lower back and the man wonders how he could have missed out on something so soft all these years. Maybe it’s the alcohol but his mind becomes intoxicated, still, it feels good, and the next second he lifts you to lead you to the bedroom.

The next morning, your head hurts—and so do your muscles—but Osamu makes sure to cover every inch of your body with kisses as an apology (to which you don’t complain).

Finding an apartment in Tokyo is a drag at first. Between the too high-priced single-rooms and the over-demanding landlords, your energy is drained at the end of the day.

“I’ll never be able to find something…” You whine.

“Hey,” Osamu flicks your forehead lightly, “don’t say that it’s only the first day. Let’s find an hotel for tonight and we'll continue tomorrow.”

“What about Onigiri Miya?”

“Sato and Nagisa can manage.”

“Thank you, Osamu, you’re the best. Oh, what’s Sato’s first name by the way?”

“I forgot,” Osamu gets up from the bench where you were both sat and starts walking. You don’t ask for more.

Eventually, Osamu gets back to Osaka the next day because “Osamu-san, we’re running out of spicy sauce, what’s the recipe again? I tried something but it tastes like-”, “Like shit.”, “Oi! Rin don’t say that.” And even though he loves helping you, he must admit he misses being in the kitchen.

Your apartment hunt ends up with a last-minute offer for a one-bedroom place near your office and with a view on the park.

“Yer kitchen is better than mine,” Osamu clicks his tongue.

“That gives you a good reason to come visit me.”

“I’m thinkin’ about more than just one reason to visit ya.”

“You pervert,” you tease, and he tries to defend himself, but it’s probably a lost cause, for deep down, Osamu knows you’re right.

So yes, three weeks pass, and things go pretty well between you two.

It's been a week since he last saw you, though you FaceTime every evening—both to tell him about your day and to show him the first pieces of decoration you've put up; a few flowerpots, two cups on the counter (one for him, one for you), and a framed picture of you and Umi.

And today is the National Team last public practice match, so it means Osamu gets to finally see you in person (yesss, he mumbles when rolls out of bed at dawn.)

The match starts at 1 p.m., the crowd is expected at noon, and Osamu spends the late morning setting up his onigiri stall in the gym’s hall. His hands move automatically as he arranges the ingredients and checks his prep. He tries to focus on his routine because his mind is far from calm.  Sure, he is happy to see you but he knows you’re also waiting for the “real solution” to overcome the distance. But Osamu hasn’t found it yet, not even when you packed your bags and moved in Tokyo officially.Time is running out.

Nagisa probably noticed the somehow stressed mood of his boss and finds himself even more careful than he usual is.

“Can I have one… Ginger chicken onigiri please?”

Nagisa greets you respectfully and Osamu immediately turns to where you stand with widen eyes as if he wasn’t expecting you.

“Hi,” you say.

“Hey.” He replies back and the man has to fight the stupid grin tugging at his lips. “Just give me a second.”

Osamu hands you your order, “Enjoy.”

“Those are new, huh?”

“Yeah, for the Spring Menu.” He explains, trying to keep his cool, but his smile sneaks through.

“I can’t wait to try then,” You smile back, your eyes meeting his. He could stand there all day, just soaking in this moment. But he’s working and you have a volleyball match to attend.

“Well, I’m gonna join Kita-san now. And also-” you glance behind you at the growing line. “Don’t wanna hold up the queue.”

Before he can even think of a reply, you wave and step away. He watches as you walk toward where Kita is waiting and both disappear in the stands. His heart warms at the sight.

The hours pass as the match begins, Osamu and Nagisa catch glimpses of the game through the screens scattered around the hall. Atsumu starts the first set, naturally, and Osamu can't help but grumble to himself when his brother is swapped out for Kageyama in the second. By the time his twin closes the final set with a signature service ace, Osamu rolls his eyes, already dreading the inevitable rambling about it later tonight.

“Atsumu-san is amazing,” Nagisa says and his eyes shine at the screen.

“Well, keep that for yerself please.” Osamu straightens up and starts packing up his stall.

The crowd begins to disperse, he can hear it from a distance. He’s just about ready to close up when a familiar face appears, slightly out of breath.

“Are you still open?” one Akaashi Keiji says with a sheepish smile.

Osamu simply remarks that he’s always open for his best client, and it makes Akaashi even more embarrassed. “That’s very considerate of you Miya-san. Sorry I didn’t come by earlier. I arrived late.”

“No problem,” Osamu replies, handing him his usual set of onigiri. “Yer favorite as always.”

Akaashi accepts the food, then hesitates before speaking. “There’s a new onigiri shop near my workplace, you know. I gave it a try, but... well, they don’t come close to yours.”

Osamu chuckles. “Well, thanks, I guess.”

“But don’t worry, Miya-san,” Akaashi continues, putting his glasses back on, “I’m not going to try to convince you to open a shop in Tokyo this time. I learned my lesson. Besides, you’re probably already too busy with your current restaurant.”

Osamu opens his mouth to speak but no sound comes out of it. Instead, his mind goes blank, and a cloud makes his brain unable to think. But not in an oppressive way, no, this time the cloud is light and pleasant.

Something seems to click inside him, as if a thought that has been buried suddenly rises to the surface. He’s always brushed off the idea of expanding, but now... maybe it’s time to stop putting things aside. His decision comes in a flash, and before he can second-guess it, he’s calling out to his part-time employee.

“Hey, Nagisa! Can ya finish up closin’ the stall? I gotta go.”

Without waiting for an answer, Osamu takes off, scanning the crowd for you. He spots you near the exit, chatting with a few familiar faces. His heart beats faster as he approaches.

He says your name, “Can we talk?”

You raise an eyebrow, but you nod, leading him to a quieter spot—the room where you used to work as the Jackals’ communication manager.

“So,” you begin, crossing your arms as you turn to face him. “What’s going on?”

Osamu takes a deep breath. “I’ve been thinkin’... ‘bout how I can make this work.”

“Make what work?”

“Us.” The word feels huge, but it’s the only thing that matters right now. “I’ve decided... I’m gonna open a shop in Tokyo.”

Your eyes widen, clearly taken aback. “Wait, what?”

“I’ll expand,” Osamu says, his voice is firm. “I’ll open a shop in Tokyo, so we don’t have to do this long-distance thing. I want to be with ya. There are a lot of things I need to think about like findin’ the right place and hirin’ new people, it might take a little bit of time but I have the cash, and I know it’s gonna be alright. Can ya trust me on this?”

The last question is said with more softness, maybe with a bit of fear. But there’s still this determination in his eyes that you love so much.

You seem to process his words for a moment, and he holds his breath, waiting for your reaction. Then, slowly, a smile spreads across your face. Without warning, you throw your arms around him, and he catches you, pulling you into a tight embrace.

“Of course, I trust you,” you whisper against his shoulder and Osamu feels a shiver running down his spine.

“Honestly…” he speaks again, “I’m already pretty busy with the restaurant but maybe it’s time for the business to grow.”

“And I’ll be here for you. We’ll go through this together.”

Just as you’re about to kiss—something Osamu has been craving since you entered the venue—the door swings open.

Bokuto’s loud voice fills the room with your name, and both of you jump apart, startled.

“What-what’s going on here?” The outside hitter blurts out. His expression is one of shock, like a child who just caught their parents placing presents under the tree instead of Santa Claus.

“Are-are you…?” He points his finger at you, one after the other.

“We’re datin’.” Osamu replies first.

“But we want to keep it quiet for now,” you add, not noticing how Osamu’s brows furrow. Had ya mentioned this before? he wonders but keeps the question to himself. After all, it’s fine—it’s not like he was planning on going all loud and proud about your relationship like his brother would. Still, the thought lingers.

Bokuto grins, clapping his hands together. You’re both surprised by the change in his attitude (even though you should be used to Bokuto’s moody antics by now). “About time! Anyway, the team’s going out for drinks. You guys coming?”

You both nod. Once Bokuto disappears, you sneak a small kiss on the corner of his lips before opening the door again. He holds back a frustrated grunt—he wanted more, but who can blame him? After all, he’s a Miya; aiming for more is in his genes.

You find yourself sitting between your boyfriend and Bokuto in a busy izakaya. The room is loud, and it smells like fried meat and beers. For once, you're not the only girl at the table since some of the players' partners are here too. Osamu’s eyes keep drifting back to you, even while Komori is recounting some ridiculous story about how he saved Kiyoomi’s life when they were kids—which the younger cousin firmly denies. He listens, nodding politely, but his gaze betrays him as it keeps landing on you. You’re engaged in a conversation with Meian's fiancée, something about her upcoming wedding as Osamu picks up some words related to that topic.

“Oi, listen up!” Atsumu calls once all the drinks are served. He raises his glass. The chatter dies down, and all eyes turn to him. “First of all, congrats to the team on today's win. We smashed it, boys. Let’s keep it goin’, and we’ll do even better at the Olympics!” A round of cheers follows, glasses clinking together.

“And second, let’s give a round of applause to Shoyo-kun, who’s just signed a contract with Asas São Paulo! - Is that how ya say it? Anyway, I’m gonna miss settin’ to ya man, but ya truly deserve it.” Hinata grins, showing all his teeth, and rubs the back of his head as he thanks everyone.

“And finally,” Atsumu pauses dramatically and smirks, “I gotta congratulate Tobio-kun for his solid performance in the second set... even though I’m the one who finished the game off with that perfect serve.”

Kageyama, ever stoic, only bows his head slightly and mutters some “Thank you.”

Aran turns to Osamu, “Will yer brother ever be humble?”, his tone is both desperate and exasperated.

The older twin hears the remark and starts justifying his words, but it only creates a ripple of laughter all around the table.

Bokuto suddenly stands up, taking Atsumu’s role, with an unexpected serious face. “I’ve got something to say too,” he begins and raises his glass in your direction, before saying your name. “I wanna thank you for all the work you’ve done managing our social media for almost a year. You really helped us connect with our fans, and I just-”

Akaashi, sitting to Osamu’s right, leans over and whispers to your boyfriend, “But Kuroo-san told me she’s still managing the Jackals' social media, even if it’s not her main focus anymore.”

“I will.” You announce, high enough for Koutarou to hear. “I’m not completely leaving the Jackals.”

Sakusa sighs heavily. “We already know that. Bokuto’s just being dense as usual,” he mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Wait, you’re not leaving us?” Bokuto asks and his large amber eyes get glassy.

“No, I’ll still be around. I’ll be based in Tokyo most of the time, but I’ll come by every couple of months.” You smile at him gently.

Bokuto grins before sitting down with a long sigh of relief.

The next minute, he turns to you and Osamu. His eyes scan around and he drops his voice to a whisper, “So... you’ll be in a long-distance relationship?”

From under the table, Osamu squeezes your hand, and you return the gesture with a soft smile.

“Actually... I’ve been thinkin’ about openin’ a shop in Tokyo. It’s still just an idea, though, so let’s keep it between us for now.”

“Dude, that’s another secret I have to keep! But you can count on me.” He takes a sip of beer before adding, “Oh and I’m happy for you two.”

Osamu intertwines his fingers with yours, for the first time in a while it feels like everything is falling into place. As if he can finally exhale after holding his breath for so long, because nothing can come between you now.

He glances at you; you’re absolutely beautiful. It’s almost unfair how gorgeous you appear in his eyes. There’s so much he wishes to tell you right now, so many more touches he wants to share. The desire to be selfish takes over and he leans in. As he parts his lips to whisper that he loves you, Atsumu shouts.

“SUNARIN! So cool you made it!’

You drop his hand in a sharp, almost reflexive move.

Your knees no longer touch each other, a thin void is left where your shoulder was resting.

Suna strides into the izakaya. Osamu can’t help but look at you, as his former teammate approaches to greet everyone. You’re clearly troubled by the situation, and after all, it’s only normal. What Osamu doesn’t like though, is how your gaze is glued to your ex now and how all your attention is directed towards the middle blocker, instead of him.

He feels his lungs get smashed all over again.

Because just when he thought everything was finally settling, it hits him that perhaps, there’s still one more obstacle to overcome.

author notes: i hope you love roller coasters haha

i really enjoyed introducing new characters from haikyuu even though it's only for a small part of the chapter

did you guys love this chapter? (only 1 left btw)

sorry for the delay againnn

lots of love

taglist: @wolffmaiden, @teyvatsunsets, @obibiwan, @sugacor3, @sunahsvt, @iluv-ace, @cinnamonruts

[morganalatina21]

Manipulating Death: Chapter Twelve

Series Summary: When Harry discovers he has a twin sister that was hiding for years, he wants to know all about her, specially about her ability to bring people back to life.

a/n: yo yo! (Timmy's voice). I know, I know, it's been a rough couple of months since I last posted something but i was just starting college (i passed in one of the top best in my country so I'm really glad), and now that everything's outta the way I can go back to writing so better get used to receive some news from me baby!

Aaand, Ik this one's a little shorter than usual but i just wanted to announce that im back so... yeah

(Also, english isn’t my first language so I’m sorry in advance lol)

Last Chapter | Masterlist

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When summer came and Harry had to go back to Hogwarts and then back to his uncle’s house, Sirius was ready to throw hands.

The remaining marauders grew a very solid anger towards their old headmaster after everything Y/n and Regulus told them about, and were ready to disobey him one more time, however after some long days of talking, they decided to play the game.

If Dumbledore was allowed to lie to them and risk their lives as if they were a bunch of pawns, so could the Order.

So Harry, Hermione and Ron went to Hogwarts to finish their fifth school year, the Potter would write letters to his sister everyday and once every two days they’d talk through the fireplace.

He’d tell her how his day was, how he missed the twins fooling around, how Umbridge was such a pink bitch he could throw up; and Y/n would give small hints about how their search for the Horcruxes was going, and the best way to hex his professor without her knowing.

He avoided referring to her as a sister, and just went with “a very dear friend”, and also never mentioned Dumbledore, just in case he decided to somehow capture Edwiges and read the messages.

But they were so happy being able to talk to each other basically everyday after being almost sixteen years apart.

The boy was happy he, for once, could write home, to someone who was actually interested, some family.

Of course, before, he had Sirius, but the man saw him as a replacement for James, and Harry viewed him the same way; this was different, he didn’t saw Y/n as his mother, neither did her.

But it was pretty clear he was jealous whenever someone else interacted with her.

Like this time when Hermione told him she sent a letter to Y/n to ask about some potions and how she was healing, Harry turned red immediately and wondered why she was so worried if she wasn’t her sister.

Or whenever they were talking through the fireplace and Regulus would be right beside her in the room.

“It’s like” He mumbled, “You guys have your own families and I don’t interfere, let me have mine!”

Speaking about her healing, it took longer than expected, and she hid that from Harry, not wanting the boy to worry over nothing, but Regulus only allowed her to step out of the bedroom when her brother was going back to Petunia’s house.

“Honestly, I do think I will die here.” She confessed one day when he came in with her meal. “But of boredom.”

The day Harry had to go back to his uncle's, he decided to see his sister one last time before spending the entire summer without her.

And everyone got a pretty clear view from Harry's jealousy that day.

Remus left the house to receive the golden trio outside, not knowing an exact hour they'd be there, so it was just Regulus and Sirius downstairs and Y/n in her room.

The kids' presence not being exactly announced when they arrived, both Black Brothers thinking she'd be asleep and didn't wanted to bother the poor girl.

Well, they were wrong.

Because her voice came loud and clear, not even a little groggy: "Hey Reggie?"

They perked up at that, the man standing up.

"I'm bored, do you wanna come lay with me so I can play with your hair?"

Their eyes widened, staring at the younger Black in pure shock. He nodded his head at them, as in greeting goodbye and started going upstairs.

Mid-way he started running towards her, knowing she'd probably change her mind if he took too long. "Yes!"

Harry was fuming, as red as Ron's hair.

He busted into his sister’s room and finding her messing with Regulus’ curls. The boy shooed him away harshly and dropped his own head on her lap, staring at the Black with a cold glare that made Y/n laugh.

After a couple minutes, they decided to hang out with everyone else, and Harry would never leave his sister, following her around like a shadow and even making Regulus jealous, and it was so comic for his brother.

She told Harry things they couldn't talk about through letters, like the possessor's training that Reggie was responsible for, or how the Horcruxes hunt was going in full details.

"That reminds me, I got something for you." Y/n announced before sprinting upstairs, to which Regulus was really unhappy about. But she then came back a few moments later, with an old and messy hairbrush on one hand. "It was our father's, it's the only thing I have from him and I want you to have it."

"Are you sure?" He reluctantly asked, holding it as if it could break and disappear if he as much breathed on it. But Y/n shook her head yes with a huge smile.

"Consider it an early birthday gift."

The boy felt his eyes watering, sucking in a hiccup and holding the Potter in a tight hug that almost made him cry his eyes out.

Throughout the rest of the year, Harry would look at the hairbrush almost as if he was begging for his dad's guidance. He felt back on his third year, standing by the lake, with Sirius and his own image passing out on the other side, waiting for his dad to come and save the day.

Except that right now, he knew it was basically his own mind giving him advice. The boy was desesperately trying not to get his hopes high that Y/n could bring them back to life.

She sure was powerful, but after her death she appeared to get weaker and weaker by the day.

He'd get letters from Remus or one of the Black brothers saying she was too sick to write, that they'd keep him uptaded on any important news.

But how could Harry stay fucking calm? Deep down, he felt lied to. He had no reason to suspect his godfather or his sistser's godfather, but Merlin there was something wrong.

And he was right.

Because a week after he arrived at the Dursley's, Regulus Black woke up to an empty bed except for himself.

Calling out her name, no answer.

The basement just as empty as the bed.

Sirius and Remus? Clueless.

Kreacher? Obliviated.

Y/n Potter was, once again, missing.

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Next Chapter

Taglist: @intoanothermind @moonysupremacy01 @maraudersarelifee @elleraelockwood @darkenwolfie @hopesf @lukewearingbeanies @azuredgalaxies @klazina-couch-potato @goldensunshineshit @kaverichauhan @venomsvl @mrs-billyrussooo @mikadorbs @iavenderh6ze @wizardsgrace @reblog-princess @dittos-blog-dylanobrien @roroswitherose @s-we-e-t-t-ea @ok-boke @warcelia @danyxthirstae01 @b-tchymoon @lovely-maryj @the-sander-fander @regulusblackloverr @coffeeaddictednymph @quackitysdrugdealer @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @teamspideyman @artemis-the-ace @theprettytragic @loidforgerishotashell @criminalyetminimal @amortyong @qualitywitchchaos @musicconversedance @xcharlottemikaelsonx @esposadomd

[kaihuntrr]

one-year anniversary!

HI. oh my goodness can you believe its been a WHOLE YEAR (and a day, im posting this a day later OOPS-) since i started working on this au? i dont think i started working on the chapters until... the -ber months? but the general brainstorming started now and oh my GOD the amount of changes that has happened while working on this au is insane! im absolutely floored with how much people enjoy this au, and while im too busy to be posting art (im doing some personal work!) i have all the time in the world to talk about how much this means to me.

i've written things in the past, but i havent for the LIFE of me worked on such a long project such as this (we're only halfway through act one of FIVE!) and learning and growing with such wonderful betas and partner (ehehe @mewhoismyself hello there) is just so wonderful <3

SO! in order to make this anniversary special, i've decided to post a little cut/practice scene from act two! this couldnt make the cut with what the plot has in mind, but i figured itd be best to have some nice moments with scott and martyn, eh?

OH! and before i go, the next chapter will be posted a day earlier! <3 im going abroad the day after the original chapter posting date, so i need to rest. i think this back half of the fic is gonna be really something <3

anyway, i wont keep you here for longer. i hope you have a fun time reading this, just as much as my partner and i had fun writing this so many months ago <33

Martyn tried to listen as Scott rambled on about what he’d been up to, how nice it had been to see his friends again. He even tried to let the small twist of jealousy at Scott being so happy over seeing someone else wrench his attention back into the moment, but it didn’t work. The face of Pearl kept flashing in the forefront of his mind, her eyes and jagged scar glowing unnaturally under the moonlight. 

“Oh, and…,” Scott continued to ramble on, but Martyn still couldn’t focus. It seemed that Scott had noticed as his voice trailed off and he looked at the blonde with a tilted head. “Martyn…?”

Martyn gave a grumbled response. His mind blocked out the world around him as he pictured brief flashes of the island, the hollow and desolate stares of the people, the wicked laugh coming from Pearl….

Scott sighed. “Martyn….”

Martyn could still feel a slight buzz in his head from where he was hit. How much blood did he lose back there? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he was glad to be alive. Glad that he was here, still breathing, like everyone else. Glad that he was–

“Martyn!”

Martyn jerked as Scott’s face was suddenly inches from his own. Scott’s lips were twisted into a pout and his eyebrows were drawn into a scowl. “Huh- sorry, what?”

Scott sighed, letting his head fall forward, “So you weren’t listening to me….”

“No!” Martyn said quickly, throwing his hands up. Panic leapt in his chest, making his heart beat faster. He didn’t want Scott to think he was ignoring him…! “No, I- I’m… I’m sorry…,” he hung his head. “I’m trying to listen- I’m not meaning to ignore you, I just….” Martyn looked down at the sand beneath him. Guilt welled up in his throat. He’d been so eager to see Scott while he was away, and before he’d gotten back, and now that he was actually here… Martyn was ignoring him. He was making Scott feel ignored.

Martyn shook his head, forcing a huge smile onto his face. “So, you said you saw your friends, right? Did you have fun-? Oh, what am I saying, you just said you had fun- haha…,” Martyn scrubbed the back of his head, then straightened up, rolling to his feet. “Hey, do you wanna go see if we can find your bird friend? I bet it’s missed you too!” He pointed towards a path leading up to the forest, “Bet he lives in there somewhere…!”

“Um- Martyn…,” Scott trailed off looking after him.

Martyn took a few steps backwards, away from Scott, and spread his arms, hoping he’d follow. “Or we can go down to the beach! It’s a nice day, it’ll feel great to splash in the water a little.”

“Martyn.”

“Or- oh, we can go see the decorations they’re setting up for the festival down in the center of town. You said you were excited right, so we can-!”

“Martyn!” Scott snapped. 

Martyn stopped.

Scott took the few steps to close the distance between them, laying his hand on Martyn’s arm, then sliding it down to take his hand. He tilted his head, giving Martyn big sad eyes. “Martyn, talk to me…. What’s wrong?”

It was hard for Martyn to not crack under Scott’s gaze. “It’s just…,” he trailed off, trying to put his thoughts into words. He was just engrossed in them a second ago, but now, trying to tell Scott, he couldn’t think of what to say. “I… uh….”

“You’re alright, Martyn,” Scott rubbed his thumb over Martyn’s hand in a small, circular motion. “Take your time.”

A small pause fell over him. Martyn could hear the slow ebbs of the waves before he managed to speak. “I can’t get her out of my mind,” his voice spat with venom. Pearl’s sadistic glee, her manic grin, her ever-looming presence burned in his head. Martyn’s grip unknowingly tightened around Scott until he looked the other in the eye. His grip on Scott lessened as he looked away. “What good can I be to protect you, when I can’t defend myself from one person?”

“Who said I needed protecting?” Scott raised an eyebrow, his tone still soft but with a hint of skepticism as he leaned to the side to catch Martyn’s gaze again. He let out a weak chuckle and moved his other hand to rest on Martyn’s cheek. “Besides, you can’t protect me from everything.”

Martyn leaned into the touch, not caring how warm his cheeks felt as Scott’s delicate hand pressed into his skin, lightly grazing over the scar Pearl caused. He closed his eyes as he let out a sigh and drooped his shoulders. “But I want to…,” he muttered. He looked at Scott, his face scrunched with worry. “I don’t want you getting hurt at all, Scott.”

“There’s going to be times where I get hurt, Martyn,” Scott narrowed his eyes and withdrew his hand from Martyn’s cheek. Martyn was wide-eyed, only for Scott to hold the hunter’s other hand. “When that happens, all I’d ask is for you to help me get back on my feet.”

Martyn could feel his nerves freeze up at Scott’s warm hold. His gentle stare and concern on his face nearly caused Martyn’s heart to explode. A million things swirled in his mind as the breeze wafted over. “I can’t help it,” he lowered his head, biting his lip. “You should be protected, with all the chaos going around–”

“What chaos?” Scott cracked a smile and shook his head. He shrugged, letting go of one of Martyn’s hands as he gestured around. “All there is to see is you, me, and the beach. Nothing to worry about, right?”

Nothing to worry about for now, but so many things could happen in the blink of an eye. Martyn could practically hear the sound of the sea princes’ ringing in his ears, the one from his dreams laughing as its mouth opened wide to swallow Scott as he screamed-.... 

No. Martyn needed to be prepared for anything, so nothing bad could ever happen to the people he cared for. Nothing. Never again. 

“I still want to fight for you,” his voice was barely a whisper in the wind, cracking a bit from the emotions that crawled up the back of his throat. But seeing Scott’s attentive look, with the slight tilt of his head, Martyn knew he could hear him. “Can I at least do that?” he pleaded. He needed to-. He needed to. 

“You may,” Scott nodded, giving him a small smile. Then his eyes narrowed as a smirk crept onto his lips. “So- I’d like to see how you fight.”

Martyn opened his mouth to respond- just in time for a woosh of breath to leave him as his back hit the ground. Martyn gasped, blinking for several seconds as he tried to figure out he’d gotten laid flat out on his back… with a certain ginger pinning his shoulders to the sand.

“Yikes…,” Scott teased, his eyebrows rising, complimenting the wide grin on his face.

Martyn sputtered, his face immediately flushing beat red. “I wasn’t ready! Sneak- sneak attack…!”

Scott laid one arm across his chest, propping his other elbow on top of it and laying his cheek in his hand. “Most things will take an opportunity for a sneak attack, when presented with one.” He kicked his feet in the air, as if he was lounging on a couch reading a book. 

Martyn flushed all the way to his ears. “Redo!”

Scott leaned his head down, smiling at Martyn in a way that was almost sickeningly sweet. “Are you waiting for a written invitation?” 

Martyn grabbed Scott by the shoulders and surged upwards, knocking the ginger off of him. Scott laughed as he slipped his grip, ducking under one of Martyn’s arms to wrap his arms around Martyn’s torso. 

Before Martyn’s brain could fully process that, Scott had rolled Martyn over top of him and planted him flat on his back again. 

Working on instinct more than pre-thought, Martyn wrapped his arms around Scott’s shoulders and kicked off the sand. He knocked his thigh against Scott’s hip, bumping him off balance just enough to send them rolling over again.

But Scott didn’t end up on his back underneath Martyn. 

Somehow, mid flip, he’d slithered around Martyn’s torso, ducking his arm again and getting outside of his hold. Martyn ended up with his face in the sand and a knee pressed between his shoulders, shoving him down further.

Martyn was about to push himself up with his arms, using his strength advantage to throw Scott off of him, but Martyn froze when he felt something sharp curl around his throat. 

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even swallow. He could barely even breathe. 

Suddenly the sharp points of crescent bladed scythes were touched against his neck so delicately. Suddenly the sharp claws of a hungry beast wrapped around his throat, pricking the skin above his jugular. One wrong move and she’d slid his throat. One wrong breath and the beast would tear him to ribbons.

A figure above him bent down to whisper in his ear. 

“I win!” Scott chirped brightly. He laughed as he withdrew his fingernails from where he’d curled them around Martyn’s throat. “You really do need more practice. Though I’d be happy to oblige…,” his voice turned sing-songy as he plopped back on the sand, his arms holding him up.

Martyn slowly pushed himself upwards, staring down at the sand where his face had been in utter bafflement. Why had that felt-? Why was he-? Why was his heart beating so fast? Why… did he feel like he’d just been hunted…?

“That- that uh…,” Martyn stammered, not really sure what he wanted to say. “You’re a lot better fighter than I thought you’d be.” He turned his head to look at Scott, pushing himself up so he was sitting on his knees.

“I know,” Scott smiled widely, tipping his head back and forth, “Do I impress you, Martyn?” He smiled and hummed teasingly, his eyes narrowed in a joyful satisfaction. 

“Always,” he breathed, a lot more genuine and heartfelt than he’d meant to. Scott’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Martyn felt his face flush and he looked down at the sand. Well, he was in this far. “I think you’re amazing.” 

“Thank you…,” Scott said with a shy little smile. A light hint of red dusted his cheeks. He looked… really nice like that.

Martyn shook his head, roughly clearing his throat. “Well um, as- as fun as this was… I was actually referring to- to my gun combat more than my hand-to-hand.”

“Uh huh,” Scott answered with a small smirk, not sounding like he believed him. “Well, maybe I could help you with that as well.” 

“You know how to use a gun?” Martyn asked, more than a little shocked. How… how much did he really know about Scott?

Scott opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked to the side, then looked back at Martyn. “Noooo…?” he admitted, grinning sheepishly. He sighed, rolling his eyes a bit, “To be honest I thought you were still flirting, not that that was a serious question. And now, well… I’m just embarrassed.”

“Oh.” Martyn tried to hide his sigh of relief. It was one thing to just not know that Scott was a capable fighter -he was a tavern keeper who dealt with rowdy drunks all the time, Martyn honestly should have expected it- but it was another thing to not know that Scott was a trained gunman. For some reason they felt different. Martyn felt a grin split his face. “Would-... would you like me to teach you…?”

“Teach me what?” Scott’s eyebrows pinched together for a brief moment, then shot up towards his hairline, “How to use a gun?”

“Yeah,” Martyn grinned, “It’ll be like the time I was taught!”

“When were you taught?” Scott tilted his head.

“I think I was… seven? My parents knew I wanted to be a hunter, so they taught me,” Martyn hummed, looking out at the beach. He could remember the eagerness in his voice when he asked his parents to teach him. He only knew of the dangers through them and the people he lived around, but he knew his heart was calling out to the sea more than anything else.  “I needed practice, like everyone else, but I’m a natural. A crack shot, they’d told me!” He laughed. Shooting a target from far away was much easier than fighting with swords or his bare hands. 

Scott blinked, processing Martyn’s words. He slowly turned his head to Martyn, eyes widening in shock as all sense of his playfulness dropped. “You were a child when you learned how to use those?”

“Yeah…? I wanted to be a hunter, Scott, so I learned early.” Martyn looked at Scott and shrugged, feeling the ginger’s gaze on his skin felt… different. Martyn learned how to use guns to be a hunter, not to– oh. Was Scott thinking Martyn would…? Martyn shook his head and raised his hands up. “But I can’t shoot a person. A sea monster is easy because they’re big and stupid, but a person…?”

Scott had a judgemental look on his face as it scrunched up. He pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, resting his head on it as he sighed. “Ending a person’s life is hard, and I’m happy you haven’t shot anyone, but…,” he trailed off. Martyn leaned closer to Scott as he raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think it’s a little concerning?”

“What’s concerning?”

“You learned how to shoot things, how to kill things, as a kid,” Scott looked away, gripping his arms tighter as he watched the waves flow in and out. “Every life has a purpose; from you, to me, and even the beasts in the ocean.”

Martyn narrowed his eyes. Exactly what purpose could those monsters serve? Being ocean terrors? An effective way to kill humans and destroy ships? To bring fear in the hearts of children? To kill Ren- Jimmy? Why were there monsters in the ocean? Why should there be? 

“They’re monsters, Scott.” Martyn hissed, anger rising in his voice.

“They’re animals,” Scott hissed back, his face pinching into an expression that was almost pained. “They’re just animals….” 

“They’re heartless, cruel, and always starving.” Martyn huffed, pulling out his gun to examine it under the sunlight. Horrible beasts. Disgusting monsters. Murderers. “They’re such horrible, unnatural beasts that every mechanic in the world works to develop better guns and weapons to kill them all.” 

He didn’t fully notice the way Scott shied away from the gun in his hand. “You’re lucky you don’t need to leave the kingdom to see those ugly things,” Martyn spat.

“Ugly…,” Scott grumbled, turning his head away, like he was offended by the notion. “Well, I’m sure most of them would think the same about you.”

Martyn blinked, giving Scott a double take. Ugly…? 

Scott let out a sigh as he stretched and uncurled his legs and arms to stretch out in front of him. He picked up a small handful of sand and watched it fall through his fingers. “Every life is precious, every life is running on limited time. I’m not an idiot. I know things die. But there’s no reason to cut it shorter than it needs to be. ” He smiled wistfully, tossing the rest of the sand forward. “The sea is… scary, but maybe if you had an open mind, you’d see there’s more to it than monsters.”

Martyn followed Scott’s gaze and stared. Was there anything more to them? Surely not. The fondness in Scott’s voice was hard to believe- but the man has never even seen any beast to Martyn’s knowledge. The fond tone that Scott spoke about those- those monsters with… it honestly made Martyn angry. Those monsters took away the people he cared about. The people he loved. People he cherished. Jimmy, Ren… and so many other innocent people lost their lives to the sea, Lizzie’s parents…. The ocean took all of them, and there was nothing to blame but the monsters that infested it.

“They’re monsters, nothing more than that,” he spat, emotions in his chest wrenching into a tight knot that made it hard to breathe. He swung his arm out to the side, bringing his gun up in front of his chest as he rose to his knees, almost looming over Scott. “I know what they are, Scott, and I know I’m doing all that I can to protect you and the rest of the kingdom from the beasts that would just as quickly swallow you whole as they would crush you into pieces!”

“There’s no need for you to be so hostile about it,” Scott snapped at Martyn, his eyes narrowing into a cold glare that felt like icy daggers stabbing into Martyn’s face. Scott stood up and brushed all the sand from his clothes with a sigh. “I understand.” He walked closer to the water, just enough for the waves to lap against his shoes and tightened his fist, as if preventing to lash out.

Martyn blinked. “Was I-?” he muttered to himself. 

He looked out at Scott standing in the surf. He looked… sad. The guilty feeling in his chest built up once more. 

All of a sudden, Martyn remembered just how happy Scott looked with his birds fluttering around him, with the canary nuzzling his palm. Oh-. Scott was an animal lover…. No wonder he-.

Martyn was messing everything up. First he’d ignored him, and he was pushing Scott away by getting angry. Martyn quickly stood up and ran across the beach towards Scott, “Oh, Scott, I’m sorry–”

Scott turned to look at him, a flat expression on his face.

Martyn felt his heart twist, “I- I’m sorry. I- I didn’t mean to make you feel….”

“Upset?” Scott supplied.

“Yeah…,” Martyn bowed his head. His hand twitched out, reaching for Scott’s but giving up and retreating before he could take it. Martyn turned his head away and bit his lip. “I-... I made you-....”

Scott stepped closer and held out his hand. “No need for that, silly hunter,” he smiled sweetly. Martyn took it almost immediately, surprising them both. Scott let out a chuckle and bumped his shoulder next to Martyn’s. “I’m not mad,” Scott said softly. Martyn believed him. He looked… sad instead. 

“I don’t want you to–”

“You’re just fine.” Scott assured him with a smirk. “It takes a lot more than a simple disagreement to make me actually upset. We’re okay, right?” 

Martyn bashfully nodded, resulting in a wide smile from Scott. Was he… really okay? Or was he just hiding how he felt? For Martyn’s sake? Martyn hoped it was the former. 

Scott put a hand on his chest, giving Martyn’s hand a small squeeze. “Just… try to keep an open mind, alright? The world can be… stranger than you might think.” He smiled a little bashfully, “I might have- a surprise or two… to share, eventually.”

“Like how you can kick my butt in hand to hand?”

Scott’s face split into a wide grin, his eyes lighting up with laughter. “Just like that.”

Martyn felt himself smiling, a laugh escaping him as he squeezed Scott’s hand. Yeah, they were okay.

[damn-stark]

Final chapter the last ballad of the Fallen

Final chapter of Sugar

A/N- Thank you so much for staying tuned to this series and giving it so much love, I appreciate every single one of you that gave me the motivation to keep writing! I love you all so much, thank you and I really hope you like this last chapter!!

Warning- FLUFF!!! talks of death and violence, SPOILERS!!!!

Pairing- Choso x Gojo!fem-reader, Suguru Geto x Gojo!fem-reader

Episode and or chapters- none

————

Dear Satoru,

It’s been 6 months since the fall of Sukuna. It’s been six months since the merger and curses and cursed techniques as we know them have been eradicated.

You would think the world would know some kind of peace without getting terrorized by beasts. You would assume that the Jujutsu society as you know it would collapse with no true relevance behind it anymore, but roots can’t truly die without yanking them out of the ground.

How poetic of me I know, you’d laugh at me until you heard the whisperings I’ve heard about a fallen sorcerer taking a grip on the power-hungry minds of our old world, with no promise for revival of our power, just a promise of control, security, justice, and a grander eternity, a better society.

They’re all true markings of a messiah, a god, a prophet, a savior.

You would think they wouldn’t believe it, we’re too smart for that, aren’t we? But they all bow at the feet of none other than your little sister.

It seems she truly took something from Suguru. Maybe we should blame him for feeding her his crap. But then again all he would be is glad that she’s becoming the leader he only dreamed of becoming.

If only you were here, Satoru, you would have stopped her before she even could start scheming. Now who will stop her?

All the big sorcerer families follow her because they fear losing their control and power, even the quiet Inumaki family have a lot to say about her now since she turned them into one of the big three after the extinction of the Zen’in’s. And the Kamo’s are no better.

You would think Choso would stop her, and knock some sense into her, but maybe I’m expecting too much from him, he follows her blindly. Not even Yuji could convince him to talk to her, the boy is neither here nor there. He’s neutral, and why wouldn’t he be? He lost a lot. A promise for a greater tomorrow is tempting, even to me, but I couldn’t follow her. She doesn’t even talk to me, I don’t know how long she’ll stay mad at me. Maybe forever?

All I know about her is things I hear from whispers of other people; Kirara, or Yuji, but even that’s rare since I don’t really see them anymore.

What I do know is that what she’s doing is kind of working I admit that. After all, you paved the way after you killed the higher-ups. I would scold you over the outcome, but you’re not here so I’ll let you off and actually tell you that you’re having a niece and nephew; Tsukuyomi and Suki, did she ever tell you the names she and Choso picked?

I’m sorry I don’t know more, I wish I did, I wish I knew why she’s doing what she’s doing at great risk to her beloved peaceful life. Control? Power? Fear of being weak? I don’t know, I’m sorry. I really am.

That’s all I wanted to tell you this time, it’s something I couldn’t say out loud. And even if you’ll never read this it helped.

Yours truly, Shoko.

——

*YOU*

You can hear it, the cries of regret and sorrow echoing from the fire.

You can smell the smoke and flesh like something out of an apocalypse. But what is terror compared to the adrenaline rushing through your veins as people bow at your feet, in the same way, non-sorcerers would bow to Suguru?

Even if they are escaping their demise you still stand tall over the people accepting the way things need to be.

After desiring nothing but a better world for most of your life, finally you’re seeing that dream come true.

And yes there is an argument that can be had over the fact that cursed techniques and the power behind cursed energy are gone forever, but nothing changes who you all are and the society you were all born into. Everyone bowing sees that, you see that, and the people you love see that.

“Today marks an end to the old world,” you announce proudly to the crowd of ex-sorcerers. “Today marks the beginning of change and the start of our new world. We may not have our power, but we still know who we are, no one can take that away,” you trail on softer, causing murmurs to spread throughout the crowd.

“We will not fall. We will not be forgotten, we will live on as a greater society, better than the one the higher-ups and the old stubborn heads of our clans forced us to live under,” you don’t falter or let your confidence slip. Your smirk holds your glory, and your eyes shout your pride as well as your gentleness and sincerity.

Yet there’s a drop in your voice, one only Choso, Kirara, and Hakari can detect. “Part of it is due to…my brother, the wielder of the six eyes, and the limítless technique, Satoru Gojo,” you pause and sigh, as well as feel a weight fall on your frail chest. “He paved the way when he got rid of the higher-ups once and for all. He wanted a better world for the next generation, for the students he taught and cherished, and for the people he loved. He’s gone now but his will will not be forgotten, not by me. He’s part of the reason why I stand here…as well as for the ones I've lost, the ones treated unfairly because of what they were,” you mention and remember Nanako and Mimiko before you glance at Choso to speechlessly let him know that his brothers were in mind when you spoke those words.

“The ones snubbed,” you continue and now meet the gazes of Hakari and Kirara so they know you haven’t forgotten them or the treatment they were put under. When you look back at the ground you aim to portray the same sincerity so they know you mean what you’re saying and so that they can trust you.

“…And for all of you. Today marks the start of a new world for all of us!” You exclaim and grin, and much to your surprise the crowd erupts with excitement after a promise of a new tomorrow where the power they wield doesn’t really have to die. They’ll never know true power anymore, but thanks to what you promise they’ll never know the true loss of control or be as frail as the true non-sorcerers.

That should make you happy too—you are, you’re proud. You look at Choso standing beside you and find comfort and joy in holding his hand. You glance over at Kirara, Harkari, Larue, Miguel, and the rest of your family and you’re happy that you can keep your word for a better tomorrow, but when you see the mirage of your brother standing in front of the crowd, nothing takes away from the loneliness that surrounds you.

You’re isolated in a sea of solitude without him. You thought it would go away when Choso came back to life because that’s when it really sunk in, but this loneliness is deep and scarred in your bones with the only cure being your brother.

But you can’t live like that, you can’t wait for someone who won’t return, so you lead this change in your society, but the only thing that changed is seeing him standing there watching you.

Doesn’t he understand you're doing this all for him?

——

*10 YEARS LATER*

Dear Dad,

We’ve returned to our beach house in Italy, it’s been a few days since we got here. I’m sorry I haven’t caught up with you lately, life is pretty busy being the eldest of four siblings. It makes me think that Nanako and Mimiko had it easy with me when I was young.

As always I much prefer my time away from Japan, even if it is where I was born, it stopped feeling like home when you died. I didn’t realize that uneasiness until I got older. Plus with the Zen’in bastards demanding to pick up the family title and take the lands from Maki, Mother was pretty busy, it was only until a few weeks ago that she was able to find peace once again.

Now Maki still holds her family title and the lands that belong to her. And don’t worry, Kinji and Kirara stand in my mother's stead while she’s here. With them in Japan, the bastards won’t try to take advantage of her being on vacation. Actually, I don’t think it’s possible that they’ll try anything again, Mother made sure of it.

I only hope I am half the leader she is when it’s my turn to lead. Only two years left. Of course, mother says I can take my time, she doesn’t mind, but I know she’s exhausted, she can’t hide it from me anymore, I’m 16 now. And how could I delay mothers' hard work? She’s paved the way for me to step up and take my rightful place, I’m the future.

Or at least Mother says that’s what our people see when they look at me…if I’m honest I’m quite nervous, I wish you could comfort me.

One day right?

Anyway, speaking of mother, since we’ve gotten to our beach house mother has been lost in her thoughts a lot. She’s been more quiet than usual, she’s usually so happy and relaxed when she’s away from prying eyes and work, but ever since we’ve gotten here it seems like she’s…I don’t know, sad?

Maybe it’s her technique, she says she never regrets giving up her technique to save Choso’s life, but I see her, like I see her now out by the calm shore.

She misses the feel of the water embracing her, and I don’t mean the water we see around us, the small droplets of water not visible to the naked eye. She misses the fire's warmth under her skin, she misses the gentleness of the earth, and the whispers of the breeze. I know she does, I’m looking at her now, standing on the shore, letting the waves unfurl over her feet as she watches the horizon longingly.

I wish I could find something to say to her, like you always did—but then again, there Choso goes to her with little Ryusei in hand, and the moment they meet her at shore she smiles with all the endearment and joy, as if she’d give it all away without a thought just to live to see these moments.

But I still wonder what it is that has her so lost in thought…

Maybe I’ll ask her, what do you think?

Anyway, that's all for now. I’ll talk to you soon.

Love always, Satori

——

*YOU*

When is this loneliness supposed to go away? After ten years, the grief is supposed to turn to just simple memories and deep longing for the ones you lost, but the grief for Satoru still plagues you as if you had just lost him.

Why?

You grieved Suguru and came to peace with his loss. You were able to make peace with the loss of your twins and Kiyoshi. You grieved and moved from all those you lost. Choso, who has a big heart and spent a hundred and fifty years with his brothers was able to move on from his grief, but you can’t move past missing your brother.

You see him everywhere you go, no matter how far. He haunts your mind, and your dreams, and from time to time he plagues your happiness and turns it to ashes in your mouth.

You can be happy, you find your joy in many things, like Choso and all your children; and yes that includes Kirara and Hakari too. So you can be happy, but Satoru has left you living your worst fear. He’s left you alone for all eternity, and no matter how much you want to shake it, that ill feeling stays with you as if it were a part of you.

You do try to find a solution to your solitude, but it’s not in the breeze, or in the warm salt water that washes over your feet. It's not in the warm dancing flames or in the gentle earth. It lies in the grave with him. That’s your lifelong punishment…

You sigh deeply and longly, missing the approaching footsteps hitting the sand because of the waves crashing against shore. You don’t get alerted of the approaching presence until you hear a sweet voice call out to you. “Mama!”

You immediately find a reason to smile and when you turn around there they are like a light at the end of a tunnel, Choso and Ryusei.

“You’re finally awake!” You fawn over your 2-year-old child.

“You looked quite lonely out here,” Choso says as if he can read your mind. “So we thought we’d join you.”

You meet them halfway once they get close to shore and take Ryusei from Choso’s hold.

“You okay?” Choso presses, making your smile falter, but you don’t let Ryusei see it, you keep your smile plastered and that happy gleam in your eyes.

“Yeah, I’m just lost in thought,” you don’t lie since he knows you too well, and he also helps you in your lowest moments. You don’t want to lose that because you want to spare him from knowing your complex feelings; you'll talk to him in the same way he talks with you when it’s just the two of you alone.

“Hm,” Choso comprehends and closes the gap left between him and you to cup your cheek and caress your soft flesh.

“It’s a good thing we came when we did then, hm, Ryu?”

Said boy ignores his father and fiddles with the locket hanging off your neck.

“He hangs out too much with Yuji, don’t you, little one?” You tease him and tickle his belly, making him giggle before he searches the area.

“Uncle Yuji?” Ryusei now asks hopefully.

Choso shakes his head. “He’s not here yet, he’s coming tomorrow,”

Ryusei holds his father's gaze as the gears in his mind turn. He seems to understand the meaning but looks disappointed nonetheless.

“Maybe tonight we sleep outside?” You direct at Choso and bounce your eyebrows.

“Like in the grass?”

You look at him seriously before you snort and break into a lively chuckle. “No, silly, like in a tent. After we have a nice late-night picnic?”

“Oh.”

“Oh,” you nod with a grin. “I want to talk to you.”

Choso blinks and immediately stiffens. “About?” He probes.

You glance at the little boy in your arms and then back at Choso and shoot him a taunting smirk. “You’ll have to wait won’t you?”

Choso sighs and rolls his eyes. “It better be something worthwhile. You always leave me hanging.”

You giggle and lean towards him. “Aw baby, don’t worry,” you tease him. “We’re not breaking up. It’s not that talk.”

“Tsk.”

“Tsk,” Ryusei mocks his father, making both Choso and you look at your son quietly before you can’t help but feed into his habit by laughing. Ryusei laughs along with you but he’s quick to stray away and go limp, like a dead body, meaning he wants to be put down.

He’s so dramatic.

“All right, all right,” you trail off and put him down on the sand, but stay crouched to be at his level.

“Want to put your feet in the water?” You ask as you plant your palm on the sand and let him watch the wave roll over your hand before it gently pulls away.

Ryusei sees that it’s not hurting you so he bends down to mimic you and place his palm on the sand. As the wave takes a second to approach he looks back at Choso cautiously, but your husband shows no fear to reassure the boy.

“It’s okay,” Choso tells him. “It won’t hurt you this time.”

After being shoved back by a rough wave Ryusei has been very cautious about stepping back into the ocean or lake. He likes baths just fine, it’s just these large bodies of water that he’s grown very cautious over, so ever since then you’ve been trying to pull that fear out of him as best as you can without the abilities that once would wow Nanako, Mimiko, and Satori when they were children.

Albeit it's hard, it’s safe to say Ryusei wouldn’t have inherited your elemental technique if those still existed. Perhaps not even blood manipulation, he’s too gentle for it. Maybe something new, but who knows now.

Nevertheless, the wave finally rolls back in, but the moment the water submerges Ryusei’s hand he shrieks and quickly throws himself on you to escape such an evil element.

“Oh,” you coo and stifle your laugh. “It’s okay, the water is a good friend.”

You wrap your arm around him and lean in to press a kiss on his cheek, but Ryusei immediately pulls away as if you’ve done something horrible and wipes away your kiss.

“That’s mean Ryu,” Choso remarks, but the boy ignores him and instead points at his dad, meaning one thing, so you can’t help but flash a flustered smile before you give him what he wants and lean towards Choso to give him a juicy kiss on his lips, making Choso beam at you, and Ryusei giggle and cling onto you.

If this had been Amaterasu when she was Ryusei’s age, she would have smacked you for giving her dad so much affection in front of her. She was very clinging to Choso when she was younger, she still is, but less so because she’s 6 now. “She’s a big girl”, she says—Whatever, Daddy’s girl.

Nonetheless, just as you're thinking of the girl, she comes over running as if your thoughts had summoned her.

“Daddy! Mom! Suki and Tsu are fighting!”

Of course, peace is merely a dream now in your house, and it seems that as the older they get the chaos only gets wilder. But you can’t complain, they’re the reason you smile.

“They listen to you,” Choso immediately tells you as the shouting approaches.

“Yeah because I put my foot down,” you remind him of your stricter ways. “But I don’t think they need me to intervene yet.

“You’ll ground them ma?” Amaterasu immediately searches for strife. “I told them you would, Tsu pulled Suki's hair!”

You and Choso share a knowing look before drifting your focus to Suki and Tsukuyomi approaching whilst they’re in the midst of an argument of whodunit.

“Why do you always act so grown!” Suki shouts after her brother. “You never listen to me, I didn’t do it!”

Baby Ryusei turns to watch his siblings as they get closer with way too much amusement.

“Mom!” Tsukuyomi calls out for you and picks up his pace when he spots you close to the shore. “Mom, Suki—”

“Yeah snitch to mommy, mommas boy,” Suki grumbles with no attempt to actually be discreet, which in turn causes Tsukuyomi to halt dead in his tracks and spin on his heels to let his twin sister come to a skidding stop so he can pull her hair in the blink of an eye.

Ryusei bursts out laughing as if it’s the funniest thing in the world, while Tsukuyomi exclaims at his sister. “Shithead!”

Suki grabs his wrist and doesn’t get discouraged, she snaps back just as fiercely. “Amaterasu said that because it’s true,” she snickers, and the youngest girl lunges towards them to lie and defend herself.

“No, I didn’t! Daddy,” she drags Choso in. “I didn’t say it!”

Choso brushes his bangs back and walks over to break up the fight, you would go but it would just turn into a family brawl so you stay back and watch with slight amusement that might be too provoking in the sensitive situation, but you can’t help it. Besides, Satori walks over to join in the chaos and feeds you the correct intel.

“Suki and Amaterasu read Tsukuyomi’s journal and accidentally made it known by dropping water on some pages.”

Oh, sweet Amaterasu is such a good liar. You can imagine where she inherited such a habit, but you don’t want to even think of him. If Choso was okay with lying, he would tell his kids he and his brothers were gifted to his mother by some divine miracle, but if the kids ask he’s as honest as he can be. He’s too sweet to them, and as much as it bothers you at times, you can’t stay bothered or tell him to change, you love, love! that Choso is such a sweet and caring father, but sometimes it makes you the bad guy because you’re the one that disciplines them, but you don’t mean any harm and they know that when the storm passes. And as long as they do you’re okay with being the stricter parent, all you want is for them to have a sweet Father who isn’t afraid to love them.

You and Choso never had a caring father, so you want them to know a father's love, the same way Satori still cherishes Suguru’s unconditional love.

“Are you okay?” Satori breaks you away from the tension.

“Hm?” You probe in confusion.

Satori brushes her hair behind her ear and swallows back nervously before repeating herself. “Are you okay?”

You’re worried that she perhaps saw you outside wallowing in your solitude, but you’re also caught off guard because as you stare into her dark eyes you fail to see your little girl, she’s so grown up now; so much more mature and aware. It scares you that she’s so big, but you can’t help but be in awe too.

And as much as you want to hide your problems to spare her, you know that because she’s getting older she can bear more than she could when she was a child. So with some hesitance, you actually speak the sad truth. “I just miss Satoru, that's all.”

You briefly hold her gaze and see joy in her eyes because you confided in her, but you also catch pity for you too.

“Well,” she speaks softly. “It’s like Choso says, he lives inside us now, right?”

You sigh deeply and nod stiffly. “Yeah, that’s right. It’s just hard sometimes you know?”

“Hm, yeah I miss my dad all the time,” she says, making you close the gap between you to wrap your arm around her shoulder and pull her into a partial embrace.

Ryusei sees what’s happening and hugs your neck while he watches his father talk to the kids. You watch him too with a smile filled with pride and glee, but you also watch him with impatience because of what you have planned for the two of you later when the house is asleep and you finally have time to yourselves.

With four kids in the house, your time alone isn’t as common, so your escapes to be alone are special, especially the ones you plan because he always likes to beat you to the punch.

Nevertheless, what should’ve been a nice and passionate date outside under the clear night-littered sky, is ruined. Not by your children, but by rain that caught you by surprise and ruined your camping plans.

“Damn it! This sucks!” You whine.

Choso watches the rain fall over the tent and chuckles softly, making you pout.

“I told you it was going to rain today,” he remarks in amusement.

“It smells like rain doesn’t mean a thing,” you mock him and turn away from the back door to try and think of a quick solution that doesn’t involve just returning to your room and doing something there.

“Here,” Choso offers before he speed walks past you to exit the room, but then quickly return with your picnic box that you had pre-boxed while Ryusei ate his dinner.

“As much as I do enjoy a good time in the rain, we are more fragile now,” you remind him as if it hasn’t been a decade since you lost your techniques. “And as much as I do like taking care of you while you’re sick, please don’t do it on purpose.”

Choso shoots you a smirk before setting the box down, and pulling a blanket and candles out without letting your gaze go the entire time. And this time instead of interjecting you excitedly watch him extend the blanket in front of the glass door, and light the candles with a single match.

When he sits down he points to the empty spot across from him and you beam at him with admiration before plopping down and blurt the love you can’t contain. “See,” you whisper so sweetly that honey oozes off your voice. “I needed you.”

Through the candlelight you see Choso’s cheeks grow red the same way they did when you first met.

Even so, however, he doesn’t hold back either, he looks at you with never-ending love and admiration and fills the silence with sweet words. “And I’m glad my 150 years led me to you.”

You gasp softly and hold his gaze, and just like many times before, you see your happiness and the reminder of why you’ll never regret giving away a part of yourself for him. As strong as your technique made you, you love him more. And that will be the same in every lifetime.

You’re happy your life led you to him every day, even with all the bad you endured, you’ll go through it all again just be with him.

Does it sound selfish?

Maybe, but you don’t care.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N- Don’t you love when the ghosts of the dead haunt the mc’s? I love that trope! Also if Satoru somehow lives in the manga wouldn’t a sequel of this series be cool?

Tagged- @deniseabad1928 @secondary-character-25 @starlightanyaaa @notsaelty @d4rno @moonnime @kodzukein @yozora7154 @heijihattorisgf @elegantweirdorchest @natakina

[avis-writeshq]

DETENTION — Damian Wayne 

inspired by ‘detention’ by melanie martinez

a/n: HELLAUURRR!! returning with a damian wayne fic, how typical of me hehehe >:D i actually wrote + worked on this fic for a while now, maybe two months ago? so i'm glad i've been able to post it!! i haven't edited it that much aside from the times i had to reread it to continue writing, so if there are any issues, lmk!!

tw: guns, stalking, kidnapping, s3xual assault, blood, psychopathic tendencies (not by reader or damian), arson, prayer talk, if there’s more lmk!

rating: 16+ for mature themes, coarse language, and mutual pining

wc: 6k

“Morning, Damian!” You smile, waving in greeting as you fell into step beside him. “Did you finish the maths homework?”

He nods, muttering a quiet greeting before fishing his exercise book out of his bag. “Of course I did.” He relishes in the way your eyes lit up as you grabbed the exercise book, quickly turning to the current chapter you were on. “How are you never able to do your homework on time but–”

“– But you’re the one protecting Gotham, yes, Damian, I know.” You roll your eyes as you finish his sentence, having heard the ‘lecture’ one too many times. “I was busy providing sanctum to the sad citizens of Gotham through cheese, garlic, and tomato.”

Damian was well aware of your job at Maria Pizzaria, one of the best pizza places in all of Gotham, and he was happy that you were enjoying your job — even if it did mean you couldn’t do any of your homework for the next day.  

“Alright, hurry up and finish your homework,” he says, chuckling at your frantic scribbling. “What time did you sleep last night, anyway?”

You groan, not ceasing your writing as you respond, “you don’t want to know. Ms Sanders decided to give me a one-thousand-word essay to complete, so estimate on that.”

Silence settles between you for a few moments before you snapped the books closed with a grin. “... and done! Thanks, Damian, you’re a lifesaver – literally. Oh! Did you hear about the new student? Her name’s Lilith, I think. I’m surprised you didn’t tell me about it earlier.”

Strangely enough, the name didn’t seem to ring any bells in his head. Maybe this student was incredibly new, but it’s weird that he hasn’t heard about it from his role as vice president. 

“I actually wasn’t told about any new students,” Damian remarks as the two of you enter the classroom. 

“That’s… weird.” Your brows furrow in confusion. “Did you turn up to all the meetings? Read all the emails?”

“Who do you take me for, of course, I did,” he huffed, taking his usual seat beside you in the centre of the class. “I never heard anything about it.”

You hum, taking in his words with full confidence that he was telling the truth. If there was one thing Damian never did to you, was a lie (aside from when he hid the fact that he was Robin from you – but that was on Bruce’s call, not his). 

“Alright class, can I get your attention please!” The teacher claps their hands with a broad smile. “Everyone, we have a new student today! Lilith, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

A girl, mousey looking with dark brown hair with blonde ends, piercing brown eyes, and she looked innocent enough. Just your average high schooler. But her eyes seemed… off. It was almost like she wasn’t all there. At least, it looked like that to you. Nevertheless, you were never one to judge a book by its cover, so you quickly offered to show her around the school. 

Lilith, as the girl was named, took the offer happily, saying in her thick Maine accent, “thank you, Damian. Oh, and Y/N.” Which you thought was weird, seeing that neither of you have introduced yourselves yet, but you figured that if she talked to the student council, they must have mentioned the both of you at some point. 

“No problem!” You smile, but Damian was unmoving, his eyes narrowing at Lilith and you notice the way his jaw clenches. “Damian…” You hiss under your breath, “welcome the new student.”

He doesn’t say anything, instead choosing to nod in acknowledgment. He moved his seat so that it was almost as if the two of you were sharing a table while Lilith sat in front of you. 

“Anyway,” You turn your attention back to Lilith who was staring a bit too hard at Damian for your liking. “I can show you around the school after class. Can I see your timetable?”

“Sure,” Lilith pushes her glasses up, digging into her bag. “Here you go.”

You read through her timetable, humming and nodding at the subject choices. “I have a few classes with you! That’s good, I can show you around then as we head to class. What do you think?”

“Is Damian coming with us?” She asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“Uh…” you falter, trying to ignore the small stab in your heart the statement made. 

“I’ll be there,” Damian cuts in quickly, and you don’t miss the way he brushes his pinky with yours from under the table. 

You notice how her smile widens at his announcement, and you shift awkwardly in your seat. There was one thing you knew for sure – 

*** 

“I don’t like her,” you announce to Damian over the phone, “she seems sketchy.”

“What happened to ‘I never judge a book by its cover’?” Damian snorts, and you hear a page being flicked in the background. “But, I do agree.”

“Maybe she’s just nervous,” you say, more to yourself than to him as you move to sit on your bed. “I mean, she is at a new school. Maybe she just feels awkward about it.”

You can practically hear him nod as he reads his book. Today was one of the rare times he didn’t have a patrol. Instead, Dick decided to take his place, saying that ‘a kid like him needed some down time’ which, to be fair, you couldn’t deny. 

“I agree with you,” Damian says before continuing, “give her a few days though to adjust. We can see her true nature then.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” You say, eyes glancing at the digital clock that was glaring at you from your bedside table. “Sorry. You’re probably tired. You go get some sleep – you always sleep past midnight.”

“Coming from you that means nothing,” Damian remarks, and he laughs when he hears you groan in frustration. “Okay, I’m going to bed soon. I just have to change Titus’s litter box and finish the physics homework Mr Daven gave me.”

You grin at his words, “imagine taking physics. And you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

“Why do you think I’m taking physics?”

“Shut up.”

You hang up on the phone a few moments later, falling backwards on your bed with your back against the pillows. What you didn’t know – and who would have thought – were two brown eyes who stared into your window. 

*** 

“I didn’t know you work here.”

A familiar – albeit, annoying – voice enters your ears and you do your best not to cringe. Lilith seemed to be following you everywhere. The mall, your classes, your hangouts with Damian, and now here. At Maria Pizzaria. When you saw her at the doorway, you felt the bile in your stomach begin to rise.

This has been happening for weeks now and you doubted that it was a coincidence. Damian understood your worries, saying that he’ll do a background check on this so-called Lilith Hart-Stone. So far, nothing. He did checks on her family, on her previous schools, on her life in general and it all points to one thing: completely and utterly normal. Even still, you couldn’t shake the uneasiness you felt every time she walked into the room. Damian would do his best to reassure you every time saying that she was ‘harmless’ and that he ‘wouldn’t let her hurt you if it came to it’. 

“Aneko can you take her order, please?” 

“No problem, do you mind sending this over to table 5?”

You nod, wordlessly taking the margarita and pepperoni pizzas to the table. You feel a sinking feeling in your chest, and you really hope that this ‘bad feeling’ is just you being paranoid. 

Your shift continues, long and dragging, throughout the night until 10:30PM sharp. Grabbing your bags and leaving through the back alleyway exit, you make your way to the main street. 

“So, you really do work here.” 

You flinch, spinning around to meet eye to eye with the one and only Lilith Hart-Stone, the very person you were told not to worry about. Her hair was put into two messy space buns, and an eerie grin stretches across her face. She reminds you of someone – some anime character or something – from the way she’s dressed. It’s nothing too crazy or abnormal: just her school uniform with her skirt rolled up a few times too much so that it rests a couple of inches above her knee. Even still, she looks weird. Scary, even, and you remind yourself to be on your guard.

“What about it?” You ask offhandedly, taking a step back. Bad move.

The twisted look on her face seemed to grow, and you do everything you can to not show fear, but the look on your face must have translated what you were feeling. 

“Oh, come no, Y/N. No need to be aggressive.” She giggles, high-pitched and jarring, and it takes everything in you to not cover your ears. “Don’t worry, Y/N. It’ll only hurt for a minute.”

And before you could question it, you feel a harsh blow to the back of your head, and everything fades away into yellows, greys, and blues. The last thing you see before fully slipping into unconsciousness is the evil glint in her brown eyes as she steps toward you. 

*** 

Damian doesn’t see you the next day in school. He waits outside the school gates well into the first period, and when you don’t arrive by the second class, his stomach doesn’t settle. Lilith didn’t come to school either, he notices, and he feels the burning in his chest worsen. Something was wrong – very wrong – and he pulls his phone out to call his father. Bruce answers immediately, knowing full well that Damian never calls during school hours. 

“Father, I fear something happened to Y/N.” Damian is running now, away from the school, ignoring one of the teacher’s cries of disapproval. “It might have something to do with Lilith Hart-Stone–”

“Talking about me, are we?”

Damian spins around, his eyes meeting the sinister eyes of the girl he was just enquiring about. 

Bruce asks through the phone, “Damian, what is going on?”

But he doesn’t respond. Instead, he focuses on the girl in front of him. The mousey, innocent-looking girl who didn’t seem to pose a threat. But, of course, nothing is ever as it seems.

“What did you do to Y/N?” He demands, eyes narrowing to slits as he slips his phone into his pocket.

“I’m insulted that you’d think I’d do anything to little Y/N.” She smirks. “Not that you’re wrong.”

Damian clenches his jaw, balling his hands at his side, ready to strike. His tone is dangerous as he demands, “What did you do to her?”

“Temper, temper,” she cackles before clicking her fingers, the smirk on her face never fading.

In an instant, two men are at Damian’s side and he twists around to land a sharp punch to one of their faces, and a harsh kick to the other’s torso. The men retaliate accordingly: one aiming for Damian’s head and the other aiming for his side. ‘They’re amateurs,’ Damian scoffs to himself, jumping out of the way and landing a blow on one of their necks, effectively knocking him out. The other man was not happy over the fact that a kid – even if he is almost 18 – knocked his partner out in the time span of five minutes, and aimed for another blow to Damian’s head. But Damian was quicker, and smarter, too. He grips the man’s fat wrist, pulling him down and socking him in the nose. 

Easy. Too easy. Something was amiss. Then he feels it. He swings around, just in time to dodge another attempted blow to his head, but not in time to dodge the knee that hit his stomach. 

Damian chokes, falling back on impact, his school bag as a cushion. The one who hit him in the stomach takes a hold of Damian’s collar, punching him across the face (finally landing the blow), before pinning him to the floor, face first, while another man pins his legs to the ground. There’s no escape. 

Lilith fishes his phone from his pocket, eyes flashing with excitement. Bruce, on the other end, is chanting, “Damian? Damian?” To which she responds with pure malice:

“Damian is a little busy right now. This is Lilith, by the way, but I’ll call you back soon. See you, Batsy!” She hangs up. 

“What do you want?” Damian asks from the floor, cheek scraping against the gravel with each word. “Unhand me!”

“I don’t think you’re in the position to be making demands, little bird,” Lilith squeals at her own words before nodding to the men. “You know what to do.”

Damian feels the pressure on his legs leave, and the man who gripped his collar lifts him one more time, and he takes in the smell of chemicals on cloth.

***

The cold air whips Damian’s face as he awakes, his eyes blinking as they adjust to the bright city lights. It is dark now – around 7, Damian figures – and the bright city lights flash in his view. Lilith stands over him, grinning ear to ear. It is only then that he realises the situation he is currently in: wrists chained to a pole on the roof of some skyscraper, and you sat in front of him, seeming to be in the same position.

“So the little bird finally decided to wake up after all.” She shrieks with delight as his eyes open. 

Damian grits his teeth as he fights against the metal chains. “What are you trying to do?”

Lilith hums sadistically, playing around with the gun in her hands. “You know what? I’ll amuse you. I’m doing it because I’m in love with you.”

Her words make him sick. His stomach churns and he tries not to gag. She thought that he’d be in love with her too? After all the stunts she’s pulled? What kind of person did she think he is?

“I know, I know… ‘I don’t even know you’ and all that.” She rolls her eyes, flicking her dyed hair over her shoulder. “But what you don’t know, my love, is that I know plenty about you – everything – about you. I know what time you go to sleep, what your hobbies are, how many pets you have, all your brothers, and where you came from. I know the exact route you take to get home, I know your favourite food, your secrets, everything.”

She lets out an almost sad sigh as she says, “I just don’t know how you feel.”

“That’s an oxymoron,” Damian scowls, eyes narrowing to slits, “and I feel disgusted.”

Lilith laughs, and the sound is like nails on a chalkboard. “My naive little bird. I mean… physically.”

She’s close to him now, her face was in front of his and their noses are almost touching. Her free hand tiptoeing up his chest. He pulls away, baring his teeth in retaliation. 

She scoffs, “you put me on too low a pedestal, Damian, while you make her out to be an angel. Tell me, Robin, why is that?”

The boy spits back, “Someone like you could never understand.”

She scoffs in surprise. “Don’t tell me… you’re in love with her! Big, bad, Damian Wayne – Robin himself! – is in love with poor, little, Y/N.” Lilith laughs a manic, psychopathic laugh, and Damian suppresses every feeling of wanting to lash out and yell. She continues, “and to think of all the trouble that could happen if this little… scandal came out.”

Damian doesn’t hold back as he tries to lunge at her in anguish, the cold metal chains digging into the flesh of his wrists. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, but I would,” she smirks mockingly, and Damian watches in horror as she lifts your chin with the barrel of her gun. “Y/N was so nice to me, too… but she’s the one who’s taking you away from me.” Her eyes flash dangerously, “But if I can’t have you, no one can.”

She drops your chin, and Damian sucks in a breath of relief – at least now he had a little time to come up with a plan. His father should be here any minute, but she’s armed and dangerous. She has two hostages, himself and you. There’s a fire escape on his left, but it seems to be barred and chained, preventing any sort of escape. Damian swears silently to himself. He should have seen the signs. He could have prevented all of this but he didn’t. He knows exactly what you would say to him if you heard him – “it’s not your fault” and “you couldn’t have known”. 

Lilith chuckles darkly, “you should see your face! Your look of regret…” With a powerful swing, the hilt of her gun made contact with the side of Damian’s face. “Pathetic,” she muttered, and Damian watches as she checks her watch, a sinister smile stretching across her face. “Oh don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. I just have to get your father’s permission to be yours.”

She snorts, “not like it matters! You’ll be mine either way – especially if you value your life.”

His eyes widen, Father. Of course, all his father was doing was buying him some time. He watches as Lilith skips away, swinging the gun haphazardly as she leaves the rooftop. Now was his chance. Pressing a button on his watch, letting out a breath of relief at the feeling of the machine turning on, preparing for usage. Seconds later, he was free from his bonds, and he shook out his wrists, muttering quietly to himself, “thanks, Pennyworth.”

He rushes over to you, shaking your shoulders in an attempt to wake you up. “Come on, Y/N…”

A quiet, almost inaudible, groan squeezes past your lips and Damian’s heart relaxes. He got to work at your bonds, and they gave way relatively easily – the chains that were wrapped around your wrists were rustier than his. You fall forward into his arms, shaking you awake, and you grunt in discomfort. 

“Damian…?”

“Y/N…” He lets out a breath of relief, helping you up to your feet as you massage your temples. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” You mumble, clutching your head as you adjusted to the bright city lights. “What’s- what’s going on?”

The boy pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, his gaze shifting to the barred fire escape. “You remember your friend Lilith?”

Your expression changes with the blink of an eye. “She did this? Are you okay? What did she do to you? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” He says gently, brushing some hair out of your eyes. “But that’s the least of our worries. We have to get out of here.”

“Damian, wait. You have to know what I heard.” You let out a breath, catching his arm. “When she knocked me out, she didn’t do a very good job at it. I went in and out of consciousness and- and I could hear everything.”

“What are you talking about?” Damian demands, holding your arms as he searches your eyes for an answer. “What do you mean?”

“She’s going to set the whole building on fire. She’s going to–” the words get caught in your throat and you shake your head in disbelief. “She’s going to burn us alive. Damian, there are people in here – civilians.”

The vigilante freezes at your words as he processes the severity of the situation. How many people could be in this building right now? There are around fifteen stories, from what he could tell, but it was already past the average working hours. Maybe five on each level? That’s still seventy-five people inside the building. He had no way to contact his father – Lilith and her lackeys decided to take his phone – and from the looks of it, you didn’t have anything on you either. 

From down below, he could hear the commotion of police officers with their loud sirens and bright lights. One of them was holding a megaphone, ready to state their claims, while firetrucks and police officers readied themselves if anything were to go wrong. 

“We need to get out of here and evacuate everyone,” Damian says, eyes flitting from the locked door and the officers on the ground. “I’m going to jump off the building.”

Your eyes budge out of your head at his words, snapping your head to look at him so quickly you got whiplash. “What do you mean you’re doing to jump off the building?” 

“There’s a hose next to the fire escape, we’ll use that. It’s bound by a metal fire reel and you’re going to hold onto it. I’ll scale down to the floor below us and break the glass. Then I’ll open up the fire escape.” He lets out a breath, blue-green eyes looking at you intently. “(Y/N), can you do that?”

“I-” you stammer, head reeling with the fact that you needed to support Damian, an almost 18-year-old who was mostly muscle and reached six foot two last Tuesday. “I- I don’t know, I’ve never–”

“(Y/N).” He says your name in a way you’ve never heard him say it before; with a softness and a kindness that sounded strange coming out of his mouth. “You can do it.”

You exhale, eyes shifting from the ground, to the hose, and finally to him. “Okay.”

He smiles, and you can tell it’s meant to be reassuring, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Okay.”

In moments, he’s attaching the hose to his belt loops and you’re testing the strength of the hose. The thick plastic is enough to give yourself a heart attack – what if itsn’t stable? What if it breaks? What if it unties? – but you have faith in Damian. He’s Robin; he can do this. You can do this. 

“On the count of three,” Damian says carefully, standing on top of the balcony wall. 

“One…” He tightens his hold on the hose. 

“Two…” You widen your stance against the brick safety wall that separates you and the 150 feet fall. 

“Three!” 

He begins to fall, and on his command, you grip the hose as tightly as possible, your feet digging against the wall. You feel him come to a stop and your heart lurches as you feel the pressure sink into your stomach. 

“I’m going to swing now!” You hear him yell and you wonder how his voice doesn’t waver. 

“Okay!” You scream back and your grip tighter. 

He swings, and you can feel weight of the hose shift with each movement. You’re praying now, you don’t know who’ll hear you, but you’re praying that he’ll be okay. 

Once, twice, three times he swings and finally, the fourth time you feel him swing back towards the building you hear a shatter. The glass gave way. He’s in the building. 

You’re still gripping onto the hose just in case until you hear him call, “I’m in!” 

The adrenaline is still pumping through your body, and you release the makeshift tether, collapsing backwards onto the harsh floor of the rooftop. ‘He’s okay,’ you repeat in your head, trying to calm the quickening pace of your heart. ‘He’ll be here soon. He’s going to evacuate everyone then we’re free. We’ll be okay. We’ll be okay, we’ll be okay, we’ll be okay…’

The rattling of the lock on the fire escape snaps you out of your thoughts and your heart quickens in your chest. ‘Please, please, please…’

Your gaze doesn’t shift from the door, begging to whatever higher entity there is that it’s Damian. And when the red metal door finally swings open so that your eyes meet with blue-green ones, you’ve never felt more relief in your life. 

“You’re okay.” You breathe, and you shake as you get back onto your feet, stumbling towards him. “You’re okay, you’re okay…”

He chuckles, reaching out and bringing you closer to his chest. “I’m okay. You did good.” His lips brush against your forehead and you can feel the tears in your eyes begin to fall. “You did really good.”

He pulls away from you, his gaze softening and he cups your face in his hands, swiping his thumbs over your cheeks. “We have to get out of here. I don’t know how long father can stall her for.” He pauses before continuing, “are you okay?”

You nod, head still spinning and heart still pounding in your chest. “I’m okay.”

“Let’s go.”

He doesn’t risk using the elevator, instead choosing to run down each flight of stairs and ordering for everyone to leave before the building to erupts into flames. The loud screams of the workers fill your ears as you continue to go down each floor of the skyscraper, but when you finally get to the lobby, everything seemed to be eerily quiet. 

“There’s no one here…” you pant, hands on your knees as try to catch your breath. From the corner of your eye, you can see the civilians running outside and being questioned by the police. Luckily, all were safely escorted outside while you and Damian trailed behind just in case someone was forgotten.

The crashing of a vase makes you whip around behind you, only to be met with the sinister eyes of Lilith herself. She lets out a strangled scream, her hands pulling at her hair as scrunched up her face. Her breaths heavy and her eyes narrowed dangerously into slits, she whips the gun from her belt, pointing at the two of you.  

“You!” She screeched, hands trembling. “You little bitch. You always want to make my life miserable!”

Damian pushes you behind him and you know what he’s really trying to say. Get out of here. But you know better than to leave him here by himself. 

“Always getting in my way,” Lilith rattles on, glaring at his actions. “Always acting as if you’re better than me. Well jokes on you! This building is going down, and you’re going down with it!”

“Lilith, let’s talk about this…” Damian says slowly, and he side eyes the exit. “You don’t have to do this.”

Another scream of anguish escapes from the girl, and she fires a shot into the air, hitting the ceiling. You jolt at the sound, eyes widening at the hole in the roof. 

Damian’s gaze darkens. “Drop the gun, Lilith.”

“I have to do this!” She screeched, hands trembling. “The building is about to catch on fire anyway! Burn in hell!”

“Lilith, you don’t need to do this!” You try, “we can–”

She lets out a laugh at your words. “There is no ‘we’ in this equation! And you’ll never understand because you get everything you want in life! So shut the fuck up!” 

The sound of something exploding from the floor above you makes you jump and you feel your heart jolt in your chest. Damian’s hands find yours as another explosion sounds. Bigger this time, and Lilith’s lips stretch to a wide grin. Smoke begins to billow from the doors and so does the fire. Another bang! on your left near the exit, and it promptly lights up with reds and oranges. Waiting area is quick to catch flames and the smoke fills your nose and lungs. 

“Ooh, it’s almost done! A few more explosions to go! You know, I thought you were going to be on the roof by the time I was done, so I rigged the whole thing to start at the top floor but…” She trails off, swinging the gun around again before meeting your eyes, “now I can watch you burn.”

Damian scoffs and he pushes you towards the exit. You start running just as he speaks, “Over my dead body.”

Lilith shrugs, lifting the gun and aiming it directly at the Wayne heir. “That could be arranged. But…” the smirk returns. “I’d rather kill her.” 

“Wait-” 

She doesn’t. Instead, she points the gun at you and fires. You try to move, you try to get out of the way. Your mind is screaming at your legs to do something – anything – to avoid getting shot. Damian is running after you, trying to take the bullet, but it’s too late. 

A searing pain burns through your abdomen and you press a hand to where the pain sits. Crimson stains your shirt and you look up. Your head is spinning and a metallic taste settles in your mouth. You stumble backwards, just in time to fall into Damian’s strong arms. A sharp beeping sound starts screaming in your ears along with Lilith’s loud cackling. In a quick movement, he picks you up and starts running out the door, only for the building to erupt in flames seconds later. Black spots line your vision and you see people in dark blue uniform surround you. Damian is yelling something, you can’t make sense of it, before he presses his forehead to yours. 

“You’ll be okay,” you hear him whisper, “I’m so sorry.”

You want to ask, ‘what are you sorry for? It wasn’t your fault.’ But as the noise starts and you feel someone take you away from him, the only thing you can do is close your eyes. 

*** 

“Thank you…” you mumble, taking the glass of warm water from Alfred. 

He smiles in return, “of course, Miss (Y/N). Let me know if there is anything else you require. I understand it must be difficult to be here.”

Your current situation involves one of the many spare rooms at Wayne Manor after your surgery, and despite how loud the manor usually was on your visits, the area Alfred placed you in was all too quiet. In fact, you would think that the entire family was avoiding you – best friend included. 

“It’s okay. Thank you for letting me stay here.” 

“It is our pleasure to have you here,” Alfred responds graciously, and you know he isn’t lying. “I’ll have Miss Barbara change your bandages tomorrow if that is alright. Ring the bell if you require any assistance.”

“Thank you, Alfred. And you know you can just call me (Y/N) right?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “I am aware. However, I believe that calling you Miss (Y/N) is more suitable.”

With that, he bids you adieu, and you’re once again left to your own devices. The silence of the room has you shivering despite the warm cup in your hand. The books you half-finished lay haphazardly on the bedside table, and the tv on the other side of the room deemed itself to be useless when you’ve watched every good Netflix show in the past two and a half weeks. 

You glance at the clock; fifteen past one. You would usually be asleep at this time, but it hasn’t always been easy. The pain medications make you drowsy, sure, but the feeling of sleep doesn’t wash over you like it once did. Before Lilith. 

The newspaper sits on your bed, the front cover bearing words you so desperately wanted to read. ‘The perpetrator who kidnapped the youngest son of Bruce Wayne alongside local teenage girl pronounced dead in skyscraper fire’. To you, those words released the weight from your shoulders. You didn’t have to be scared anymore. You shouldn’t have to be scared anymore. But you were. No one in the Wayne family, except for Alfred and Barbara, have spoken to you since the incident. To be fair, Dick was in Bludhaven and was probably still caught up in his work to even notice what was going on in Gotham. Jason hasn’t been to the manor in a while doing some sort of undercover mission. Tim was with Stephanie on a mission (to Greece, of all places!) while Cass came and went as she pleased. But out of all of them, you would have at least expected for Damian to show up – even if it was just for a moment. 

The quiet creaking of the door lulls you out of your thoughts, and your eyes widen at the sight of the person in front of you. 

He doesn’t say anything for a moment. Neither do you. But like everything, the silence must be broken. 

“You should be asleep,” Damian says curtly, stepping out of the doorway. 

A scoff exits your voice. “You shouldn’t have to wait for me to fall asleep to visit me.”

He flinches at your tone, a tone that you’ve never taken with him, and he closes the door. “I didn’t think you would have wanted to see me.”

Anger replaces your faux disappointment and you shoot him an icy glare. “I was knocked out, kidnapped, almost a victim of arson, shot, and you don’t think I would have wanted to see you?!”

You throw the covers off of you, stumbling as you stepped over to him. “I almost died, Damian, and you didn’t think I wanted to see me best friend?” Your chest aches and you can’t tell if it was from the gunshot or from your heart. “You thought I didn’t want to see the person who went through the same thing as I did?!” 

You jab a finger at his chest, tears falling down your face, blurring your vision; you can’t see his reaction. “I saw you jump off the fucking roof! You jumped off the roof and- and-” you swallow the lump in your throat. “You could have died! We could have died and you avoided me! I haven’t seen you in weeks, Damian! You could have been dead for all I know! And the last time I saw you was the second before the doctors took me and-”

He gently brings you into his arms, effectively rendering you speechless with surprise. With his arms wrapped securely around your waist and his nose against your jaw, you wonder if this really is the same Damian you knew before the incident. 

“I’m so sorry,” He breathes, pulling away to look you sincerely in the eyes. “This never should have happened, I– (Y/N), I failed you.”

“You didn’t fail me–” he scoffs in protest but you continue, “–you saved me.”

He shakes his head adamantly, squeezing his eyes shut before opening them again. “You shouldn’t have needed saving in the first place. You got hurt out of my own inadequacy and my own misjudgments. You got shot because of my incapabilities and foolishness. None of this should have happened.”

“No.” The word comes out harsher than intended but you speak nonetheless. “Lilith fooled everyone. It’s not your fault she did what she did. And you saved me, Damian. You saved so many people that day. Without you, none of them would have made it out of the building. We wouldn’t be here right now. You got us out of that mess – a mess that you didn’t make.”

He’s quiet for a moment, gently leading you to your bed to sit down and he sits besides you. He dries your tears with his thumbs, cupping your face gently with his palms as he does so. 

“You shouldn’t have to look at a failure.”

“Dames, you’re the furthest thing from a failure.” You rest a hand over his, gently stroking the back of his hand with your thumb. “You’re a hero.”

You press your forehead against his and you feel him lean into your touch. “I love you.” He whispers, not an ounce of shame or guilt or embarrassment in his words. “I love you so much.”

You smile, your heart bursting in your chest at his words. “I know. I love you, too.”

reblogs are always appreciated!!

no hate to people who have the name lilith 😭😭

[tyrian-witch]

In This World of My Own | Chapter One: Something Normal For Once

(Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader)

Takes place in the fall of 1985, after the events of season 3 (aka Starcourt Mall fire womp womp), reader is graduating high school as it’s her last year.

*Reader is afab and goes by she/her pronouns, given last name (to be revealed*

A/N: This is my first time writing a fic on tumblr so I’m a little new to it, and this is also my first time writing a Stranger Things fic :P

Warnings: None that I know of (unless you count my crappy writing), semi-proof read, fluff question mark? Robin being a good wingman for Steve. Slow burn?? Oh and some minor swearing

Word count: don’t know, don’t care

masterlist

~~~

October, 1985

Fall is the superior season, and what better place to enjoy it than in the small town of Hawkins? Sure, it wasn’t perfect (nothing really is to be honest), and it had this eeriness to it, but it wasn’t that bad.

If anything, the beauty of fall made up for any lingering spookiness that might have lurked in the shadows, but it was fine!

You’ve heard rumours and conspiracy theories of aliens and other things when you moved to Hawkins 2 months ago, but you thought those rumours were silly.

You didn’t really pay any mind to it, simply because you thought it might be some sort of silly hoax or whatnot. Maybe, just maybe it could be possible, but at the same time time, who knows!

For now though, it was your time to enjoy the lovely autumn environment that currently surrounded you.

It was a cloudy Thursday afternoon in October, and as soon as school finishes at 3 o’clock, you gather your things and book it out of there.

You mount on your bike, but you weren’t really in a hurry given that your shift at the local coffee shop wasn’t for another thirty minutes and it wasn’t too far away either - you figure you could get there early anyways because why not? You had nothing better to do, you were pretty much caught up on everything.

On your way there, you take in the beauty of your environment and silently thank Mother Nature for it as you cruise by yourself along the road, all while the jaunty tune of Pink Shoelaces plays on your Walkman. You feel good.

~~~

It’s very slow today, there’s hardly any customers.

You think there’d be some people coming in, especially after school. Maybe that’s just you. The Hawkins Cafe is a cozy spot, just on the corner of Main Street. In a way, you were glad it wasn’t very crowded, but again, it was concerning if you were at work doing nothing. What would be the point? You’re still getting paid, but no customers to serve. Bummer.

To kill the time, you decided to tidy up your station.

You were working by yourself, but whoever was in your place last did not do a good job of keeping the space clean. You even found a big coffee leak under the coffee maker that was left unattended.

“The hell happened here?” you mutter. You lift it up and some of the liquid spreads on the counter. “Ah shit, what the fuck? Seriously, are you kidding me?”

As you begin wiping down the spill, the sound of the doorbell chimes, signalling that someone has entered.

“Just a second!” you call out.

You finish cleaning up, before turning around to see, not one, but two customers: a guy and a girl. The girl had short blonde hair and freckles, and the guy had brown hair, and by the way it was styled, you could tell he took pride in it. It looked so soft, you could just reach out and touch it.

Huh?

You put on your best customer service face and smile. Wiping your hands on your apron, you say “Hi, what can I get for you today?”

“Hi!” the girl says. “I’ll have an espresso, please.”

“Okay, can I get your name?”

“Robin” the girl says with a smile. “We have biology together.”

You look at her, squinting briefly. Then it hits you: “Oh, yeah that’s right. Robin Buckley?”

She nods, still smiling.

You turn to the guy and say: “And what can I get for you?”

“Oh uh, I’ll just have a black coffee with some milk and 2 sugars, please.”

You nod, jotting both their orders down. Looking back at him again you ask for his name.

“Steve,” he tells you, offering a friendly smile.

“Okay, one espresso and one black coffee with milk and two sugars coming up” you affirm, heading to your station.

Meanwhile, Robin and Steve were sitting at one of the tables, talking amongst themselves.

“Veronica canceled on me,” Steve says, almost dejectedly.

“And why would that be?” Robin asks.

He pulls a face and shrugs before running a hand through his hair. “I dunno.”

Robin lowers her voice. “I think the issue is that you try to hard to charm the ladies, you just… fling yourself at them,” she tells him, doing a flinging motion with her hands to demonstrate.

“For your information, Buckley, I was this close,” he pinches his index finger and thumb together, “to going on a date with her.”

“Then why did she cancel?” 

“She said she had a family emergency,” Steve says matter-of-factly.

Robin scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Family emergency? Yeah, right.”

“What?” Steve has a confused look. “What’s wrong with that?” he asks.

He receives a look of disbelief from his friend. “Oh my gosh- okay,” she says. “You do realize that a “‘family emergency’,” she air quotes, “is just an excuse to get out of stuff, like a date, right?” She goes on.

As she’s explaining this, you catch his attention as your making their beverages. He wonders about you. Come to think of it, you’re really pretty. Wait-

“Hello, are you listening?” Robin waves a hand in his face.

Before he could say anything, he sees you coming over and stops his staring you make your way to their table, drinks in hand. “Here you go, is there anything else you two would like? you ask.

“No, thank you” they politely tell you.

You smile. “All right then. Enjoy!” Turning on your heal, you resume your front-of-house duties at the counter, awaiting new customers.

Steve watches you while you work, taking sips of his drink. In the midst of enjoying the caffeine, Robin catches this. Her eyes light up, as if a switch just went on.

“You should ask her out” she tells him.

“Huh?

Robin briefly glances in your direction.

“No, I- there’s no way-”

“Why not?” she almost yells.

“I don’t- wanna scare her off,” he says in a hushed voice.

“You don’t have to scare her off, dingus. Have you ever thought about taking things slow? Just relax.” Robin swiftly gets up from her seat then, making her way to the counter.

“Nonononono wait! What are you doing?” Steve whispers through gritted teeth.”

Robin grins cheekily. “Getting you back in your game!”

Steve was worried you could hear their conversation this entire time, but you had put your Walkman back on since it seemed like it was going to be empty for a little while longer, meaning your service wasn’t needed.

Steve feels nervous about whatever Robin is planning. If she even blows his chance to go on a date with you, he doesn’t know how he’d handle it. He normally doesn’t get flustered or embarrassed often. But he sees you now. He recalls seeing you around before, yes, you were new, but he never really paid you any mind. But he sees you - what could he do? Scare the new girl away before she even had a chance to know him, and vice versa? No way.

He wants to learn how to take things slow and easy, and not to “fling” himself like Robin said. He’d at least like to properly get to know you first, to have a chance at that. Now that he’s finally gotten a break from having to fight monsters from another dimension, he actually has the time on his hands to do something normal for once; in this case, meeting you.

“Hi again!”

Through the corner of your eye, you see Robin at the counter and immediately take off your headphones. “Oh! Yes, what can I- what can I get for you?” you stammer.

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to wear headphones. Whoops!

She sees the look of embarrassment on your face and reassures you. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell,” she winks. “I wanted to ask, you’re new here, right?”

“Mhm.” You nod.

“Have you been to Family Video?”

“No, I haven’t really got the chance to check out the stores here,” you say. “Why do you ask?”

She squeals in excitements “Oh! Perfect! When are you free?”

You shrug, thinking about it for a moment. “Tomorrow after my shift at 7, 7:30-ish, I guess?”

Robin, who continues to smile, taps the counter before heading back to sit with Steve. She points at you. “We will see you tomorrow then. Bye!”

She drags Steve from his chair, urging him that they were “gonna be late for work” followed by “hey, my coffee!”

You watch the scene unfold, finding it almost odd, like something you’d see in a comedy.

“Okay, weird. But okay,” you say to yourself. “…Oh well.”

~~~

“Dude, what the hell was that?” Steve asks exasperatedly.

He’s driving now to Family Video, with Robin in the passenger seat. She’s looking out the window, then faces him.

With raised eyebrows, she says, “Uh, you’re welcome?”

“Nuh-uh, not ‘you’re welcome,’ you didn’t have to do that for me! I could have done it myself. I would have.”

She only looks at him and laughs.

Noticing the look on her face l, he rolls his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” She feigns innocence.

He shakes his head. “I would have done it.”

“Yeah, buuuuut you didn’t.”

Steve can only glare at her.

“Relax, lover boy. As your wingman, I just did you a huge favour.” She clicks her teeth and proudly points to herself. “You’re welcome.”

“Yeah, thanks” he sasses.

Let’s hope it’s different this time, he thinks.

~~~

Hope you enjoyed! :D

-M. ♉️

➤ next part

[justmeinadaze]

Take It Out On Me Part 12 (Steddie X Plus Size Reader)

A/N: *taps mic* Is...is this thing on? Am I back on Tumblr? Lol I was totally going to post this last night but I couldn't log in on any of my devices lol

I need you to be proud of me when you read this because it took all my power to not go full "I'm in Control" and leave this chapter with ALL the angst! Lol Make no mistake...*evil laughs* There is angst but I didn't end it with a cliffhanger that would have y'all upset with me until I wrote the next chapter lol Enjoy <3

Warnings: Daddy Steve/Sir Eddie and Plus Size sub reader and all that implies (I regret nothing!), Light smut with all the angst, Y/N is referred to a lot as a whore/slut, mentions of aftermath from the last chapter (blood, cuts, bruises), Eddie talks about his trauma with his parents abandoning him.

There is a phone call and Steve's dialogue is in RED.

I'm not going to lie that's more or less the main theme of this chapter is that feeling OF being abandoned. These three are going through it but thankfully they have each other. This, however, is a completely new feeling to Y/N so I think that's why she reacts the way that she does (you'll see what I mean.)

Word Count: 5109

Your eyes remain on the floor as you sit in the principal’s office, numb to his words as he continues to shout at the other boys in the room. Blood drips from Eddie’s fingers as it flows from his knuckles where he repeatedly punched the other student in the face. Steve’s hair hung in front of his eyes, blocking the cuts and scrapes that currently adorned his own features. 

“2 months. You seriously can’t wait 2 months till you’re out of my school to pull a stunt like this?!”, Mr. Higgins screeched. “Mr. Martin and Mr. Martinez, we do not use that kind of language at our school and we certainly don’t write it.”

“Yeah. That’s why we kicked their ass. Because words like ‘slut’ are not tolerated here at Hawkins High.”, Eddie sassed. 

“You didn’t ‘kick our ass’, freak. You’re just lucky we didn’t get to finish.”

“Didn’t get to finish. I’m sure you’ve heard many women say that to you in the past.”

“Fuck you, Munson!”

“ALRIGHT! That’s enough.” Everyone becomes silent again as the principal rises to his feet. “Everyone is suspended for a week and be glad I don’t bar you from graduation.”

“If I may.”, Mr. C clears his throat as he pats Mr. Higgins shoulder trying to calm him down. “Since Mr. Munson and Mr. Harrington were trying to defend a fellow student being bullied maybe for them, we can cut that in half. Three days instead of a week.”

The principal sighs as you feel his eyes swivel your way. “Y/N, my apologies. I forgot you were here.” He turns back towards his colleague when you don’t look his way. “Did she fight anyone?”

“No. She was the one that they…”

“Okay, okay. I get it. Um, fine. Mr. Munson. Mr. Harrington. You two are suspended for three days and Y/N, go ahead and head home. Take the rest of the day to recoup and we’ll count it as excused, ok?” Again, you don’t answer causing him to exhale once more. “Maybe…we should call your parents to pick you up…”

“Pfft, good luck with that. We heard they gave her to the Harringtons. How much are whores now a day, Stevie?”

Steve stood up angrily and your teacher quickly intervened. “Out now! And make no mistake, your parents will be called.” The other boys grumbled under their breath as they left slamming the door behind them. “You three follow me.” 

As he leads you out into the hallway, Masie jumps up from the floor she had been sitting on. “Y/N! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…I was just surprised… what-what happened?”

“Miss Collins, go back to class.”

Your best friend huffs as her jaw tightens. “No! She’s my friend and I’ve known her way longer these two. Before Steve Harrington grew a fucking conscience and Eddie Munson decided to meddle in her life like she was his personal barbie doll!”

Both men froze in place causing Mr. C to push them forward till he reached his now empty classroom. “Sit. All four of you.”, he commanded. “Except Mr. Munson. Stand in front of me here.” Eddie cautiously did as he was told as the teacher dug into his desk, pulling out a gigantic first aid box. “You’re not a teacher if you aren’t ready for everything.”

He reaches out to grab the metalhead’s hand, sliding off his rings before he begins cleaning the man’s wound. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had a feeling. Since detention last year, I noticed the three of you hanging out more. To be honest, it was kind of nice to see Y/N get out of her shell.”

Masie scoots closer to you as she brushes some of your hair out of your face with her fingers. Eddie winced as his teacher began wrapping his hand with gauze. “Like almost everyone in this town, I grew up with your parents. Al Munson and I had a few classes together before he dropped out of school. Bill Harrington swung his dick around these halls like a fucking peacock. The original King Harrington for sure.”

He tapped Eddie up before gesturing towards an empty seat and beckoning Steve forward. When the boy didn’t move, Mr. C rolled his eyes as he grabbed his kit and kneeled in front of him to clean his face. 

“Your parents, Y/N, were just troublemakers, I swear to God. I remember one time your dad pulled the fire alarm to get everyone outside just so he’d have an audience when he sang ‘Let’s Stay Together’ by Al Green in a microphone in the quad to your mom.”, he chuckles at the memory as your eyes close and a tear falls down your cheek. 

“After they got married, I guess they decided to put things like that behind them. I never knew Wayne. He had already graduated when we started school and I believe trying to take care of your grandpa. The stories I heard; your uncle always seemed like a good man.”

He bandages Steve’s eye and hands him an ice pack to hold against it. After putting everything away, he comes around to lean against the front of his desk. 

“Boys, your fathers only ever cared about themselves even after they got married and started a family. Y/N, your parents knew they were in love the minute they met each other. I know Bill is over exaggerating this thing here because he needs to look like the good guy so I know the rumors aren’t true. I also know that if you are in a relationship with these two it’s real because you were raised by two people who actually made me believe love exists. You’re not a slut, Y/N, and I’m sorry this is happening because people fucking suck in this town.”

“You two…”, he points towards the guys. “…I have watched grow up, scared you would repeat the pattern of your parents. Eddie, you’ve been in trouble more times than I can count and Steve, while it may sound crass, Masie is right. You were a bit of an asshole.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Today, maybe.”, he raises an eyebrow in her direction as she smiles. 

“Since last year, I’ve noticed a change in all three of you. If this was toxic or bad in any way, I would recommend ending it now but… what I’m trying to say is don’t let these kids or your parents get to you like they did today. You have two more months. Then you can get out of here and do or be whatever you want. Fuck these narrow-minded people.”

Silently, you stand from your chair, exit the classroom and numbly head towards the parking lot. You hear feet behind you before a small hand touches your shoulder. 

“Y/N… you want to come over?”

You aggressively nod at Masie’s question as the tears start to flow more freely now. As she drives away from the school, you hear the boys screaming your name as they try and run to catch up to the car.

###########

“This…this is my fault, Maze. I don’t know what to do. I just…I just want to go home. I don’t want my parents to hate me.”

“Honey, they don’t hate you. They just…they don’t understand. If I’m being honest, I barely do.”, she sighs. “But I’ve seen Eddie and Steve with you especially after that game. They were so scared those three days you were at home. They asked about you every day.”

“I don’t understand it either. I didn’t ask for this. I just wanted to be left alone! Now I’m ruining people’s lives…”

“Hm. That’s very self-righteous of you.” Your eyes meet hers as you glare angrily at her assessment. “Y/N, you’re acting like Eddie and Steve don’t have minds of their own and can make their own choices. They CHOSE to be with you. They CHOSE to pursue you. I imagine they didn’t have a choice of falling in love with you but that just comes naturally when people are around you.” You smirk as she laughs. 

“Can I stay here tonight?”

“Of course, but I think you should call them at least. Let them know you’re okay.” She reaches for her phone, dancing it in front of your face before you concede and take it from her. “I’m going to go downstairs to get us some comfort food. Take your time.”

“Y/N?!” Eddie answers the phone after one ring. “Baby, is that you?”

“Hey Ed. Is, um, is Steve there to?” There’s silence on the other end. It takes him so long to answer you thought the line disconnected. 

“Yeah, he’s…he’s right here. Are you still with Masie? Is she in the room?”

“I’m at her house right now. She’s in the kitchen getting food for us.”

“Y/N, why are you using our names then if we’re alone.”

“E-Eddie, I…” Your eyes start to tear up again as he huffs into the phone, listening as he talks to Steve in the background.

“Do you know where her friend lives?”

“No. Why the fuck would I know where Masie Collins lives?”

“Steve, something’s wrong. She sounds different and she’s not using our titles.”

“You don’t think…”

“Y/N, tell us where you are. We’ll come get you so we can talk, ok?”

“I-I-I… No.”

“Y/N…Think really hard about what you’re doing right now.”

“I am. I…this is my fault, Eddie. I can’t have you both ruining your futures and struggling because of me. You got hurt! Twice! Steve got cut off. All of our parents are falling apart. At least… at least if they think what they think already at school, Steve can go back to ‘King’ status and you can find someone you don’t have to constantly keep fighting for!”

“What about you, Miss high and mighty? Just going to live with your red-letter A slut badge alone for the next couple of months? What will you be doing while Steve and I will apparently knee deep in pussy and favoritism from the student body and our parents?”

“Did she really fucking say that?”

“Hm. Got real quiet all of the sudden. Come on, sweetheart. I really want to know what the plan is. What’s going to happen to you?”

You placed your hand over your mouth to stifle the cries as you heard the sound of a lighter close on his end. 

“What’s the matter, baby? You don’t know? I do. Things are just going to keep getting harder. These kids are still going to pull shit like they did today but you’ll be handling it alone. Some of the meatheads may get some ideas…be a bit grabbier than usual. I mean if you want to wear the moniker so badly maybe you can give them what they want. Steve and I have shown you a lot, haven’t we, princess?”

“Please…”, you beg. 

“…fucking…I can’t…bitch…Eddie hang up.”

“Calm down, Harrington.”

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down! I fucking hate this! She thinks she’s doing us a goddamn favor?! Thanks for your sacrifice, Y/N! Now I have fucking no one! I gave you everything and I trusted you! I guess it doesn’t fucking matter now since apparently I’ll be rolling in money and fucking anything with legs…” His voice cracked as he spoke again, tearing your heart in half. “I thought her opinion about me changed. I guess she still sees me as that asshole from junior year. Fuck… I’m so stupid, dude.”

You break as they listen to you cry. Even though they are upset, it kills them to hear the sound. 

“Y/N… if you think we’d stop fighting for you just because you break up with us or whatever…then you aren’t as smart as I thought you were. We can play this game if you want and it will fucking hurt but we meant what we said to your parents. We love you.”

“I love you to, Sir. You and Daddy.”

“There she is. There’s our girl. Tell me where you are, baby. Please.”

You quietly hang up the phone, laying on your side in Masie’s bed as you close your eyes and sob. Thin arms suddenly wrap around your stomach as your friend hugs you to her chest. 

“It’s okay, Y/N. Everything will be okay.”

########

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to school today?”

“I can’t, Maze. I can’t handle all that today. I can’t handle seeing their empty desks.”

“You should go see them then.”

You shake your head as rub your arms. “I, um, I can’t. I’m going to go see my parents and then see what happens from there.”

“Can’t or won’t?” She nods when you don’t answer. “Y/N, I’m your best friend and I love you with all my heart. That’s why I’m doing this, okay?”

“Doing what?”

She looks out the window before opening the front door with a big grin right as Eddie had lifted his fist to knock. “Please come into my house. My parents are out of town this week but that doesn’t mean you can smoke inside and please no sex at least not on my bed.”

Your eyes widen as both boys slowly enter her home. 

“I may have come upstairs too early yesterday and heard your conversation.”, Masie sighs as she comes over to take your hand. “I’ve never heard you cry like that and it frightened me a bit. I get that you think you’re doing what’s best for everyone especially them but it’s not fair to make that decision for them.” She gently kisses your cheek before reaching down to grab her backpack. “So I *69ed the number and gave them my address. I love you! Bye!”

Eddie smiles after her as she closes her front door and disappears. 

“I like her.”

They both looked awful; like they hadn’t gotten any sleep. The metalhead reeked of cigarettes and both their faces were starting to bruise from where they had gotten hit. You slowly stepped forward, reaching out to touch Steve’s face but the boy quickly pulled back and moved away from you. 

“No. I can’t…handle you touching me right now.”

Your hand recoiled as you blinked back tears. “Leave please.”

“No. Your friend is right. We deserve to have a say in this.”

“A say in what, Eddie?! What do I have to do to get you guys to understand!? I don’t want to be with you anymore!”

The man sighs as he turns towards his friend. “Last ditch effort it seems. She’s trying to hurt us to push us away.”

“Yeah, well that won’t work. She already tore my heart out last night.”

“And you’re still here, Steve. You were right! My opinion of you hasn’t changed. You’re still that fucking dumbass, preppy daddy’s boy I always thought you were! And you!”

“What about me, babe? Go ahead. I’m waiting.” Eddie started moving forward, pushing you with his chest as he tried to corner you. “Need some help? I’m a freak. I’m like my dad…a no-good trouble making bad boy.”

You loop around him as you run up the stairs, his feet heavy behind you. You try to slam the bedroom door in his face but he blocks it with his hand. “Come on, Y/n! I’m waiting.”

“Fuck you!”

“Oh, I can do that to, if you want. We can go back to how things used to be especially if you want everyone to continue thinking you’re a slut. Let’s be honest though, they are probably going to think that anyway but at least we can still play with you.”

“We can play this game better, little girl. You think you can hurt us to get us to go away?” Steve sat on the bed as he watched you two talk, his tone laced with venom. “You know what, fuck it, Munson. She wants to go back to being our little fuck toy again we can do that. She doesn’t love us anymore anyway, right? RIGHT?!”

Your hair blocked your face as your head hung down to your chest. Eddie stepped closer to you as he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper to make sure you fully opened your ears and heard what he was about to say. 

“Tell us you don’t love us anymore. Look Steve and I in the eyes and say those words. As soon as we hear them, we’ll leave. We’ll disappear from your life and you’ll never see us again after graduation. These next two months, we’ll leave you be and won’t even look your way. But I promise you, sweetheart, that won’t change how we feel about you. You’ll always be ours.”

Your eyes meet his soft brown eyes as you collapse in his arms. He lifts you up, wrapping your legs around his waist as he carries you to the bed and takes a seat. Moving his shoulder, his palms grip your face as he forces you to look at him. 

“I’m just…tired of people…getting hurt.”, you hiccupped. “These past couple…of nights…I dream about my…parents and how…they called me a slut. When we got to school…I saw what they wrote on the board…and the blood on your faces—”

“I know, baby. I know. It was scary. You’ve been through a lot these past few days. We weren’t looking to start a fight. Steve tried to erase it before you got there but those kids got in his face… they swung first.”

“Daddy… I’m sorry. I don’t think of you the same way I did before. You’re…not stupid. I wish I could protect you guys…I was trying to…”

“I know, Y/N. I just need some time, okay?”

You nod, curling into Eddie’s chest as you cry. “Princess, you don’t have to protect us. It’s our job to take care of you.” He rocks you back and forth as he continues to try and sooth you. “You do so much for us already. I meant what I said. No one has ever loved me or cared about me the way you do.”

“Come on. We should…head back to your trailer.”, Steve sighs as he stands and heads for the van. 

########

You left Masie a note telling her what happened and that you’d see her at school tomorrow. As you entered the trailer, Eddie told you about how Wayne gave him some money and since you weren’t there, he had run to the nearest store to grab some clothes he thought you would like including the pajamas he handed you to get changed into. Steve was silent the entire way home, lost in his own thoughts. 

While the metalhead went outside to smoke a cigarette, an idea hit you. You wondered to where you remembered seeing Eddie’s uncle own collection of tapes, browsing them until you found what you were looking for. 

Without making eye contact, you swooped back into the bedroom where Steve was laying on the mattress. After inserting the tape, you turned to face him, hands laced behind your back. 

“Let’s Stay Together” began playing through the speakers, startling the man as he turned to face you. You smirked as you grabbed a brush on the dresser and held it to your lips like a microphone. 

“I, I'm I'm so in love with you Whatever you want to do Is all right with me 'Cause you make me feel so brand new And I want to spend my life with you.”

“Y/N, no. Not right now.”, Steve responds but you can tell its half-hearted. 

“Let me say that since, baby, since we've been together Ooh, loving you forever Is what I need Let me, be the one you come running to I'll never be untrue.”

You grin as he softly smiles in your direction. Eddie, hearing the music, comes in to lean against the doorframe as he watches you dance and sing. Swaying your hips, you move towards him. 

“Oh baby Let's, let's stay together ('gether) Lovin' you whether, whether Times are good or bad, happy or sad Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad.”

After leaning up to kiss his lips, you focus back on Steve, reaching for his hands to pull him to his feet. As you continue to sing, his palms land on your hips as he starts moving with you making your smile grow as your face presses against his chest. He clings to you, threading his fingers through your hair as the song ends and a new one begins. 

“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I love you so much.”

“Yeah, baby. Me to.”

***

That night you three crashed before the sun had fully descended, completely exhausted from the last few days. 

The sound of you groaning in your sleep caused Eddie to grumble awake a little after midnight. His hand that was currently resting on your hip casually drifted up to brush your hair back and caress your face. 

“It’s…it’s ok, baby. You’re…ok…”

Your face scrunched together as your body pushed back against Steve’s chest, jostling his eyes open. 

“Wha…huh. I’m here!”

“SH! She’s having a nightmare again.”

The man behind you sighed as his arm tightened around your frame. “We’re here, baby girl. You’re safe.” Eddie’s eyes scanned your face as his friend soothed you, his own thumb gently rubbing against your skin trying to calm you. 

The metalhead scooted himself closer to you, tracing his fingers along your lips as you continued to mumble. 

“Y/N, come back to us, sweetheart.”, he whispers as he tenderly kissed your forehead. As he continued to place soft kisses along your face, his hand slowly slid under the waistband of your panties, cupping your sex in his palm. “Come back, baby.”

Eddie’s fingers gradually dip through your folds, circling your clit as his lips land on yours. Steve’s own mouth sucks on your shoulders and neck as his hands glide under your shirt, rubbing your soft tummy. 

“I love you, honey. Everything is ok. Your Daddy and Master are here.”

Your face steadily began to relax as your body curved into the boy behind you, you hand reaching out to land on the other boy’s back as you tried to pull him closer. 

“I love you to, princess. My beautiful, perfect girl. Can you open those gorgeous eyes for me?”

A soft moan left your lips as Eddie thrust two fingers into your core. “Ed-Eddie?”

“Yeah, baby. I’m right here. Can you feel me touching you, pretty girl?”

You subtly nod your head, still not fully awake and aware. “Steve?”

“I’m here to, Y/N. I’m not going anywhere.” His hands slid further up your body as he massaged your breasts, rough fingertips playing with your nipples. 

“Can you do what I asked, little one? Can you open your eyes and look at me?” Your hand abruptly clings to his shoulder as your eyes open meeting his beautiful chocolate ones. “There she is. Back where she belongs.”

Your grip moves to his bicep, your other hand holding on to Steve’s under the pillow as Eddie pumped his fingers faster. 

“Please…”, you whimper as his forehead presses to your own. “Please, Sir. Make me cum.”

The sound of your slick filled his room as his hand moved faster between your legs. Roughly, you reached for him, yanking his lips to yours; the move itself startling him as he wasn’t used to you being forceful like that. 

You panted against his face as you came hard, tears flowing heavily down your cheeks as you slowly came back down from your high. The problem was… you couldn’t stop them. You fell asleep into a nightmare and woke up in heaven. Even though it would have been because of you, you almost lost them and for almost a day you had. The love they felt for you, how good they made you feel, the dates, movie nights in, the protectiveness, the way Eddie made you laugh, and the way Steve made you smile… for a moment it was gone. 

“Y/N, baby, you’re leaving us again. Come back.”

You hugged your arms around him, pulling the metalhead as close as you could before tugging at Steve’s hand to bring him closer to your back. 

“Honey…”

“I’m sorry.”, you whispered. “I just wanted to help…”

#######

Your father flung open the front door angrily after looking through the peep hole and seeing both boys on his front step. 

“Get away from my house.”

“We’re not here to cause any trouble. We just wanted to get some of her things so she has what she needs till she graduates.”

Eddie decided before they got there that Steve should do the bulk of the talking, afraid that either he would agitate things or not be able to control his temper. 

“Look, she wants to play adult and live this kind of life she can buy new things.”

“Sweetie.”, he exhaled at the sound of your mom’s voice. “Where is she?”

“She’s at school.”

“Why aren’t you two there?”, your dad asks in a sarcastic tone. “Fighting I’m guessing by your faces. Jesus, my daughter she can pick them. TWO of them it seems!”

“We got into a fight defending your daughter because some assholes decided to call her a slut in front of the entire classroom!”, Eddie snarled in their direction. “Yeah, but we’re the fuckers.”

“Eddie…”, the other boy warned. “Please, sir. Wayne has already done enough taking us in. Let us do this and we’ll be out of your hair.”

Your mom lightly pushes him aside and gestures towards your room. They quickly head that way, grab a duffle bag from your closet, and begin filling it with clothes. 

“Did she not want to come herself?”

“Not exactly, ma’am. She doesn’t know we’re here. We, um…never mind.”, Steve smiles politely as he focuses on his task. 

Eddie softly grins as he looks at pictures along your desk. There were so many images of you and Masie together along your vanity mirror. In frames, you had a lot of photos of you and your family including one of you making funny faces with your cousins in New York. He paused, however, when he moved some things to the side and found some images of you three hidden under some of your school papers. 

“No, please, tell me. I want to hear it.”, you mother sits on your bed as she waits for his answer. 

There was a polaroid you had taken when they were finally able to take you to the beach. The sun paled in comparison to your smile that day as you constantly beamed at them while swimming in the water or pushing your toes into the sand. You suggested a photo and Steve held it up high to get all three of you as you kissed his cheek and Eddie wrapped his arm around your neck. 

“Fun at the beach! 1984 : ) I love these idiots!”

Another picture was one Steve must of taken when he took you to that play. You were wearing a gorgeous blue gown he had bought you. You didn’t know but his friend had spent hours with him wondering the mall trying to find something you would like. Steve kept insisting it had to be “beautiful like her”. In the photo, your back was leaning against his chest and he had his arm wrapped around your chest as his cheek pressed to yours.

“Night at the theater 1983. The play was great but the company was better *Muah!*”

“She’s been crying a lot these passed two days. At first, we thought it was the shock of everything and what happened in school yesterday but… she misses you both. After what your husband did, we were afraid that…even if she came with us…her having to see you two mad at her and looking down on her…it would just hurt her more.”

This photo Eddie didn’t even know you had taken. You held the camera above you both as he slept, his back had a good gleam of sweat still reflecting off his pale skin. Some of your make up had smeared down your eyes and your head was turned, looking at him with eyes full of compassion. 

“Finally saw Dio with this goofball <3 1983.”

“We meant what we said, Mrs. Y/L/N. We love your daughter and I’m sorry but we aren’t going to let you guys break her heart again.”

Eddie grabbed all your pictures and a couple of the frames, throwing them on top of your clothes as he cuts Steve off to zip up the bag. 

“Come on, man. I think we have everything.”, the metalhead mumbled as he started heading for the hallway. 

As they reached your front door, Steve turned around to face them both. “Thank you. Once we get an apartment or something we’ll come back for the rest. Her things and mine won’t all fit in Wayne’s trailer.”

“Both my parents abandoned me.”, Eddie blurted. Everyone in the room froze in place as they faced him. “My mother ran off to protect herself and never came back for me. She knew how he was especially with me and she left anyway. My father chose to continue to break the law instead of shaping up and being a dad. “

“Steve’s parent’s abandon him in that big ass house. For as long as I’ve known him, his dad was either on vacation or a business trip in another country with his mother. When Mr. Harrington is in Hawkins, he’s focused on his own business instead of his son. When we met Y/N, I’ll be the first to admit we were both assholes. It’s always been amusing to me how she thinks she doesn’t do enough for us yet she helped make us who we are today. She’s sweet, funny, extremely tough, so beautiful…I mean I could go on!”, he chuckles before continuing. 

“She tried breaking up with us the other night because she thought it would make everyone happy and according to her best friend it nearly broke her. I want you to think about that while you two are sitting alone in this house. That you would rather abandon her or have her be unhappy then to accept that she’s in love in with two people. That you would jump to calling her a whore then to understand how she’s feeling. She deserves better than that.”

With that he turned on his heels and headed for his van. Steve gave your parents one final nod, silently agreeing with Eddie before following him out the door.

##########

@manda-panda-monium @sherrylyn628 @eddiesguitarskills

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@raptorbait529 @miarosso @micheledawn1975 @paleidiot

[stephstars08]

Memories ~ Chapter One

GF!Ethan Landry x Reader

Warnings: Family Issues, Anxiety, Reader has Social Anxiety, Adult Language, Ethan and Reader becoming obsessed with each other, Angst but mostly Fluff, Mention of Affair, Mention of unprotected sex, Abandonment, Make out session, Implied Smut, Mention of nudity, and Lying.

Word Count: 3,281

Author’s Note: Here we are the first chapter of this mini series. I’m calling it a mini series since it’s only going to have just three chapters. Second chapter will be posted next Friday and then the last chapter will be posted two weeks from today. I got many more ideas for writing! Since some people want me to write more with Ethan I will probably have one shots take place where there is no Ghostface so in some one shots Ethan won’t be Ghostface. I hope you all enjoy the first chapter and I will talk to all soon!

Y/N is a freshman at Blackmore University. Y/N was born and raised in New York. Growing up she was always the shy and quiet type of person mostly because she grew up in a big family. She’s the youngest out of five children so she was always pushed around and was always walked all over. Y/N always felt like an outcast in not just school but in her own family so right after she graduated high school she left and never looked back.

She was able to rent an apartment that wasn’t far from Blackmore University, but she knew that she needed a roommate since she wasn’t going to be able to pay the rent every month by herself. It only took her a month to find a roommate who turned out to be a very nice and outgoing girl named Anika who is also a student at the same university. Since Anika is outgoing, she is the complete opposite of Y/N, but they did connect very well and are getting along very nicely. Anika has actually gotten Y/N to slowly come out of her shell.

When the fall semester started in late August Anika started dating a girl named Mindy and immediately connected with her friends. Anika had plans with Mindy and their friends to go play mini golf and she convinced Y/N to come since she only get’s out of the apartment to just go to class or to go work at her job at Starbucks right down the street from the apartment. It took a whole lot of convincing but when Y/N didn’t have an excuse on why she couldn’t come, she knew she had to go so she agreed to go plus like Anika keeps telling her, she needs to come out of her shell and just have some fun.

Y/N and Anika were sitting in the back of an uber on their way to the mini golf place. Y/N was very nervous since this would be her first-time meeting Anika’s friends. She’s met Mindy multiple times since she’s been at the apartment a lot and she get’s along with Mindy perfectly so why would she not get along with everyone else? Anika could sense Y/N’s anxiety, so she took one of her hands and gave it a light squeeze. “Don’t worry Y/N, they are going to love you.” Anika told her with a reassuring smile. “Okay.” Y/N said with a nod which did put some of her nerves at ease.

When the car arrived at the place Anika paid the driver since she already told Y/N that she would pay. The girls got out of the car together after thanking the driver. Y/N saw Mindy standing in the parking lot with three other people but the tall boy with curly brown hair got her attention right away. She was completely memorized by this boy. She hasn’t even said a word to him yet and she already knows that she’s completely falling head over heels for him.

“C’mon!” Anika said, breaking her out of her daydream. She grabbed her by the hand again and dragged her over to the small group. “Hey beautiful!” Mindy said to Anika with a flirty smirk. Anika let go of Y/N’s hand to give Mindy a quick peck on the lips. “Hey Y/N, so glad you decided to come.” Mindy said to her with a kind smile. “Thanks for inviting me.” Y/N said returning the smile.

She felt a strong gaze on her so when she looked in the direction of the stare, she noticed it was the boy she was staring at when she got out of the car. When her eyes met his chocolate-colored eyes, she could tell he went into panic because he quickly looked away. Y/N felt her cheeks heat up which she was hoping no one was noticing.

“Y/N.” Mindy said getting her attention back. “This is Chad my twin brother and our friends Tara and Ethan.” Mindy said introducing everyone to her as draped one of her arms around Anika’s shoulders. “Hi, it’s so nice to meet you!” Tara said to her with a smile. “You, too.” Y/N said with a small smile. “Ethan is my roommate who is also single by the way.” Chad said with a wink which made Y/N’s nerves start back up. Did Chad notice her staring at Ethan before she walked over here? “Chad, seriously!” Ethan hissed as his cheeks were bright red in embarrassment. “What? Dude, I gotta get you out there.” Chad told him which made Ethan roll his eyes.

“Ugh, can we just go play golf!” Mindy said with a groan obviously annoyed with her stupid ass brother. Mindy was already walking towards the small little shack with Anika, so everyone quickly followed so they didn’t get left behind. Chad was nice enough to pay for everyone. Y/N was playing a game with the girls while Chad and Ethan stayed behind them and was just hitting their golf balls into the holes not keeping score since they couldn’t care less. Going mini golfing was the girl’s idea not theirs. Anika was keeping score for the girls.

As the game went on Y/N could feel Ethan’s eyes on her when it wasn’t his turn but when she would look at him, he would quickly look away. He must be as shy as she is. Y/N knew she was falling for the shy boy but thanks to her social anxiety, she didn’t have the courage to say anything to him so when Anika and her were on their way back to the apartment she didn’t get the chance to even say one word to him.

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

It was the next day and Ethan was with Chad. They were heading to Starbucks to get some coffee before heading to the apartment Tara lives in with her older sister Sam and another person in the group named Quinn who was preoccupied to come mini golfing last night. Speaking of last night, Ethan can’t keep Y/N out of his head since then. He couldn’t help but keep his eyes on her. He has this urge to protect her at all costs which is scary to him since he had just met her and hasn’t even said a word to her. When she would look at him, he would look away to try and hide the fact that he was staring at her, but he knew she probably knew.

When the boys walked into Starbucks there wasn’t that long of a line, so they were able to order their drinks after about a twenty minuet wait. As they waited for their drinks Ethan spotted a familiar face coming from the back and behind the counter. It was Y/N who he figured just started her shift since she was putting on her green apron.

“Dude, what are you staring at?” Chad asked him but before Ethan could answer the question, he noticed Y/N which made him smirk. “Oh, you’re staring at your girlfriend.” Chad said to him. “She’s not my girlfriend!” Ethan told him in a stern tone. “Not yet!” Chad told him as he wiggled his eyebrows. “What?” Ethan asked with confusion in his tone. “Because you are going to go over there and ask her out.” Chad told him but Ethan shook his head. “Dude, you need to stop being so shy and just fucking go for it!” Chad told him and gave him a light shove in Y/N’s direction. He knew Chad wasn’t going to let him leave the building till he talks to her, so he took a deep breath and walked over to Y/N who just got done waiting on the last person in line at the register.

“Hey.” Ethan said, getting her attention. When Y/N’s eyes met his’, her heartrate sped up quickly. “Hi Ethan, right?” Y/N said in a curious tone suddenly getting this boost of confidence that she has never gotten before. “Yeah, Anika’s friend.” Ethan said with a nod. He doesn’t really consider himself Anika’s friend. He doesn’t consider himself anyone of them a friend in the group since they just pick on him. The girls just say he’s Chad’s roommate, so it took him by surprise when Mindy told Y/N that he is her friend. The person that is the nicest to him would have to be Chad. Yes, Chad can get on his nerves but that’s just part of Chad’s personality. He loves to get on everyone’s nerves so when he picks on Ethan he’s just joking around.

“Can I get you anything?” Y/N asked him in a curious tone. “Oh no, I already ordered.” Ethan told her. “I uh actually came over here to ask you a question.” He said starting to sound nervous. “Oh, what is it?” Y/N asked in a curious tone. She was so surprised that she wasn’t acting like a nervous mess that he was since he was pretty obvious. “Are you free tomorrow night? If so, would you like to go out to dinner with me?” Ethan asked as he tried to very best to keep his nerves at ease. “Like as a date?” Y/N asked. Right after she said it, she cursed herself out in her head knowing that was a stupid question, but she had to know if the guy she had just met not even twenty-four hours ago was asking her out on a date.

Ethan answered her question with a nod, not trusting his words. “Yes, I will go out with you.” Y/N answered which took him by surprise since he wasn’t expecting a beautiful girl like her to say yes to a dorky guy like him. Y/N took a napkin and a pen from her apron pocket and slid it towards him on the counter.

“Write your number down and I’ll text you my address after I get off work.” Y/N told him. Ethan did what she told him to do, and he wrote down his phone number. He handed her the napkin and the pen back to her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She told him with a sweet smile. “See you tomorrow night.” He said returning the smile and walked away back to Chad who he knows was watching the whole scene.

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

When Y/N told Anika about her date with Ethan she was so happy and excited that she immediately took her shopping for an outfit. Y/N didn’t know where Ethan was taking her to dinner, so she didn’t get anything too fancy. She just got a short all black dress with long sleeves and a flowy skirt. When the next night rolled around Anika helped Y/N get ready for the big date. She did Y/N’s make up and curled her hair and put it into a low ponytail with some strands out on the side. After she was all ready Anika left the apartment since she had a date with Mindy.

Right when the clock struck seven there was a knock at the door. When Y/N opened the door to reveal Ethan he was starstruck by her appearance. “Wow, you look beautiful.” Ethan said as he looked at her in complete awe. “Thank you!” Y/N said as she blushed. She doesn’t feel nervous or shy towards Ethan at all, which is a bit strange since she’s that way with every person she comes across. “You don’t look bad yourself.”  Y/N said to him which was now making him be the one to blush. Ethan wasn’t dressed up too fancy either. He was wearing a nice navy-blue button-up shirt with a pair of black dress pants. “Thanks, you ready to go?” Ethan said to her. “Yeah, just got to grab my purse.” Y/N said and turned away from him. She grabbed her small purse that matched her dress.

She made sure her phone and everything she needed was in there. She grabbed her keys and stepped out of the apartment. She shut the door and locked it with her key. After checking to make sure the door was locked, she put her keys into her purse and turned towards Ethan.

“Okay, lead the way.” Y/N told him as she wrapped the strap of her purse around her shoulder. Ethan took her hand and led her down the steps and out of the apartment complex. As Ethan held her hand, she felt sparks go through her entire body that was a very new feeling to her.

“Where are we going?” Y/N asked him in a curious tone as they walked down the sidewalk together. “It’s a popular bar and restaurant that has good reviews. It’s not too far from here.” Ethan answered, which just earned him a nod from her.

They stopped in front of a red building that was not too far from an ally way right across the street. Y/N followed Ethan inside the red building. He had already made reservations so when he went up to the hostess they were right away escorted to a table. The bar looked more crowded than the restaurant part.

As the night went on, they ate and talked mostly about themselves, so they got to know more about each other. Y/N seemed to be the one to talk the most since Ethan seems to have an issue opening up which she didn’t mind too much. The most he was private about was family. “What about you? Are you close to your family?” Ethan asked her. “No, I’m the outcast of my family.” Y/N answered looking away from his eyes. “Why do you say that?” Ethan asked her with concern in his brown eyes. “I mean if you don’t mind me asking.” He added quickly in a panic tone. He didn’t want to be nosey. The panic quickly went away when Y/N giggled signaling that it was okay for him to ask. “No, it’s okay.” Y/N started. “I’m okay telling my story since I’ve made peace with it.” She reassured him. Ethan gave her a nod to let her know that she could tell him her story.

“I was conceived by an affair.” Y/N told him as she looked back at his eyes. “One of your parents cheated?” Ethan said not expecting her to say that. “It was my mom. She cheated with one of her co-workers. I didn’t find out the truth until I was thirteen. I found out when the guy wanted to be apart of my life.” Y/N explained to him, trying her best to keep herself together but Ethan could already see the tears forming in her eyes. “Was he in your life?” Ethan asked her. “Kinda of. It’s like he would come and then he would be gone in a flash. He’s not in my life anymore. I don’t have anyone in my family in my life anymore since my mom treats me terrible and my siblings just look at me as a mistake because once the word got out the guy, who I thought was my father just got up and left.” Y/N told him as a couple tears made their way down her cheeks. Before she could wipe her tears away Ethan did it for her.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. You didn’t deserve that.” Ethan said as he left his hand on her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “Thank you.” Y/N said in a soft tone as she leaned into his gentle touch.

When they finished dinner, they went for ice cream and then Ethan walked her back to her apartment. Of course, the night ended with a kiss which put both of them in lovestruck mode.

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

As time went on Y/N and Ethan fell for each other fast. They didn’t even need to have that talk asking what they were and if they were official because they already knew. They were with each other anytime they were free. The only time they weren’t with each other was when they were in class or Y/N was at work. When they weren’t around each other their hearts would ache. They were getting addicted to each other but neither of them was scared.

Ethan was at Y/N’s apartment for a study date which they have had many of. When the clock hit ten-thirty Ethan started to pack up his stuff but before he could stand up from the couch Y/N grabbed his arm. “If you want, you can stay the night. Anika is staying the night at Mindy’s.” Y/N told him as she rubbed her hand up and down his arm as she looked at him with puppy like eyes. “Okay.” Ethan said as he put his bag back down onto the carpet.

She pulled him towards her and smashed their lips together. When he wrapped his arms around her waist the book that was resting on her lap fell to the floor, now long forgotten. Y/N put both of her hands onto his cheeks deepening the kiss. Ethan pushed her back so she could lay down on the couch and he could climb on top of her. He released from the kiss so they both could get air back into their lungs.

“I’m so fucking addicted to you.” Ethan told her breathlessly as he rested his forehead against hers. “I know.” Y/N said with a smirk and pulled his head back towards her so they could kiss again.

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

Ethan was awakened by the ringing of his phone the next morning. When he looked over, he saw that Y/N was still peacefully sleeping. He quietly sat up in the bed. He picked up his boxers off the floor and stood up so he could slip them on. He grabbed his phone out of the pocket of his pants that were still on the floor. When he saw who was calling him, he cursed at himself in his head remembering where he should be right now. He answered the call and put his phone up against his ear.

“Ethan! Where the fuck are you? You were supposed to meet dad and I at his apartment a fucking hour ago!” He heard Quinn chew him out in a loud tone. Ethan hushed her not wanting her to wake Y/N up. “Chill the fuck out alright! I’m on my way there now.” Ethan snapped into the phone. He hung up on Quinn before she could say anything.

He picked up his pants and put the phone back into the pocket. He first put his pants back on and then his shirt. His jacket and shoes were still in the living room with his book bag. Before he could walk out of the bedroom, he heard stirring coming from Y/N.

When he turned around, he saw Y/N open her eyes. “Hey, where are you going?” Y/N asked as she sat up in her bed but keeping her bare body covered by the blanket. “Sorry baby, I forgot that I had to meet Chad somewhere.” Ethan lied walking over to her hoping she doesn’t see right through his lie. Of course, he can’t tell who he really is going to meet. “Oh, okay. Tell Chad I said hi!” Y/N told him with a sweet smile. “I will.” Ethan told her giving her a quick and sweet kiss on the lips. “I love you!” Y/N told him. “I love you more!” Ethan said what he always tells her when she says that to him.

He gave her another kiss on the lips and walked out of the bedroom. He put on his shoes and jacket. He grabbed his book bag and walked out of the apartment. He was so relieved that believed his lie.

~Tags~ 

@quillan-pie

[jessicaloons]

Chapter 14:

And it’s coming over you like it’s all a big mistake…

Masterlist - Previous - Next

"That is narrow…" I said as I stopped my bike and looked around.

"Yeah, it’s really tight at some corners, but you’ll be fine!" Charles said and smiled at me encouragingly.

"But the track looks fun…" I began to cycle again, Charles next to me.

"It is! You’ll see! Now come one, the loser will pay for dinner!" he said and took off.

"That was unfair!" I yelled and he just laughed.

"The race leader decides the re-start… so hurry up!" he yelled back and I tried my best to catch up to him.

"That was pretty close, ma belle!" Charles laughed as I stopped next to him, almost out of breath "But I won anyways."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" I mumbled and we left the track, both joining our hospitalities.

I gulped down some water and sat down next to Dad who looked up from his iPad, a little frown visible.

"What’s up?" I asked and he pursed his lips before he handed me the iPad. It was a Twitter feed. People were still discussing why Checo wasn’t able to fight me off.

"I don’t like what they’re implying… how they call you names…" Dad said and I looked at him, he was really tense "You didn’t go through hell and back again for a bunch of idiots to treat you like that!"

"I mean, we knew that this could happen, we saw the backlash throughout the last months since Audi announced me as their driver…" I began but he shook his head.

"Yeah, but by now? They saw how you raced last weekend! They saw how good you are! Podium in your first race!" he was getting mad.

"I know Pops, but we can’t change that… unfortunately. I’ll ignore it and you should too. That’s the only thing we can do." I sighed.

"But it shouldn’t be the only thing we can do… we should do more to protect you! And not just you! Everyone who is the target of these internet elf’s!" Dad said and I started laughing "That’s not funny! I’m serious!"

"And I totally believe you, but they’re called internet trolls… not elf’s…" I laughed and he grinned at me, before gently smacking my arm.

"Stop laughing at me!" he chuckled and snapped his iPad out of my hands, as he did the mail app opened up and I saw a mail from Michael Schüler.

"Why did Michael send you an email?" I asked and Dad looked confused for a second before he swallowed hard "Dad? Why is he writing to you?"

"He umm-… he wanted to check in on you…" he said meekly and looked apologetic "I didn’t answer him or anything!"

"What does he want?" Dad just sighed and shook his head "Michael isn’t the type of guy to just check in on someone!"

"He asked who’s your manager…" he whispered almost.

"Of course… now that I made it to F1 he would love to take me back, right? Unbelievable! After he kicked me out? 3 months after I was almost dying? Because he couldn’t afford to manage someone who wasn’t driving?!" I was furious and Dad took my hand.

"Lizzie, I’m not replying! I don’t care what he thinks he could offer you… he’s out! And with Rita I think we’re good! She takes care of everything that has to be taken care of but stays in the back."

"Yeah, she’s great! And I don’t want anyone else ever again!" I said, thinking of Rita who managed me since the beginning of the season, taking care of everything but staying as far away from everything public as possible "She just looks out for me and not for her own benefits. She’s great!"

"She really is! And we keep it that way, no slimy manager from the past will destroy that!" Dad smiled at me and I nodded "And now go to Julie, she was looking for you!"

"Aye, aye Captain!" I said and mockingly saluted at him, before I left, looking for Julie.

P11. After a penalty and a 3 place grid drop. I shook my head as I walked out of the hearing with the FIA next to Felix and Pete.

"That’s ridiculous and they know it…" Felix said and Pete nodded.

"The data showed clearly that he didn’t slow down like he said he had to, that you were out of his way fast enough… a bunch of idiots!" Pete agreed and I was glad we were speaking German, I didn’t want anyone from the FIA or Ferrari to hear us talking shit about them.

"He’s such a cry baby! He impedes his fellow drivers all the time… and you weren’t even impeding him!" Felix said and I laughed.

"We can’t change it now, I have to make up for it in the race tomorrow! Valtteri is in a good position to get us some nice points, maybe I can snatch 1 or 2 as well!" I said and we kept on walking. In front of us I saw how Carlos, Mattia and Laurent were laughing and having a good time, on my behalf. Nice.

I sat in the car. Unbuckling my seatbelts. That wasn’t the result I was hoping for. Yeah sure, another podium wasn’t on my mind. I knew that last weekend I had some luck with Checo who couldn’t catch up to me after I was overtaking him because of his engine, then the late safety car and my set of new softs, which Lewis didn’t have. But still. P9? It could’ve been a P7 at least, but I made a mistake and my tires locked up. I could only make up 2 positions in the end. And that’s nothing. I slowly got out of my car and saw how Charles was walking away from his team and looking around, because I walked behind Nico and Alex, Charles couldn’t see me and took off his helmet, grabbed the towel to dry his face up. I slowly made my way towards him, following the 2 guys in front of me. After they congratulated him he pulled me into him.

"Well done, Charlie." I said and he shook his head a little.

"I had no chance in the end." he sighed.

"It’s still a P2! And you didn’t make any mistakes… unlike someone else…" I said and he cocked an eyebrow "Doesn’t matter. Go celebrate! I’ll see you later…"

"Lizzie wait!" he said but I shook my head and walked up to Max and Carlos, congratulating them, before I left. After my weighing I walked into my garage, where the team welcomed me warmly. Felix pulled me into his arms.

"I know it’s not the result you wanted. But it’s still in the points, Lizzie! You’re doing amazing! Be proud of yourself!" he said and I only nodded, helmet still on.

I walked into the back, clapping shoulders left and right. Saying we would come back stronger in Australia. I reached my space and sat down. Taking my helmet off.

"You look like you DNFd although you’re in the points!" Dad said as he crouched down in front of me "You did a good job."

"I did a shit job! Dad, my mistake cost me 2 positions! 2! That was just so stupid! I could’ve been in P7…" I rambled and dried my face off and drank some water.

"I know, but it’s only your second race! It’s okay to make some mistakes!" he answered but I shook my head.

"Dad, I can’t afford making mistakes like this!” I mumbled and he gently patted my back "Every mistake I make is another reason for the media to shoot me down…"

"I know Lizzie! But you have to show them that you won’t let them drag you down! Show them how strong you are! Admit your mistake, but it was just that, a simple mistake that can happen, next time you’ll make it better. Period." Dad said and he smiled at me.

"Yeah… maybe you’re right… ok, ok! You are right!" I chuckled a little and he got back up.

"Come on now, Julie is waiting for you, you have some interviews to attend!" he pulled me up on my feet and pushed me into Julie’s direction.

"Hi Lizzie, second race and a P8. Little lock up of your tires towards the end. Talk us through." Natalie Pinkham from Sky UK was the first on my list for tonight and I shrugged my shoulders a little.

"Yeah, it wasn’t the best weekend. The track didn’t suit our car the best I think. I was struggling slightly on Friday, yesterday was better but then the penalty came in… the race was okay, I managed to make up a few positions but then I made a stupid mistake that made me lose P7. I finished ninth so yeah. It’s 2 points but it could’ve been a bit more if I didn’t lock up…" I answered and she smiled at me.

"That lock up looked like you were avoiding making contact with Pierre and Lando?" she asked and I nodded.

"I wanted to overtake Esteban in front of me, but he defended quiet good and the track is pretty narrow, so when I went in for the overtake he closed the door pretty sharply and I tried it on the outside but Pierre and Lando were already next to me and I knew if I’m not braking I’m straight into Lando who would probably touch Pierre in the process so I braked and then locked up… I was too harsh on the brake." I concluded and she smiled at me sympathetically.

"But all in all it was a good performance! From P11 to P8, you gained 3 positions on a track that isn’t the easiest and also new to you?" she said and I looked at her confused.

"I finished in P9?" I asked.

"Yes you did, but Lando got a 5 second penalty, so you’re in P8 now." Natalie said and I nodded.

"Oh okay, yeah well, I only gained 2 positions because of my driving, the one because of Lando’s penalty doesn’t count for me." I answered and she frowned a little.

"You’re very hard on yourself, aren’t you?" she said, smiling sympathetically and I shook my head.

"No, I’m just very aware of my driving… Today wasn’t my best race, I know I can do better than that and I hope in Australia I can showcase that…" I replied and she smiled.

"I’m sure you will, thank you Lizzie!" Natalie waved me off and I walked to the next interview.

Most of them were all the same, talking about the penalty, how I managed to overtake some cars and lastly how I made my mistake. I answered over and over the same things, again and again.

"One last interview with ESPN Spain and then we’re good." Julie said and I followed her, stopping in front of the Spanish tv crew. I immediately recognised the reporter, he was sitting next to Salva Diaz in Bahrain.

"Hola Lizzie, tough weekend for you! First the penalty for impeding Carlos and then today your lock up. Compared to last weekend it’s a little set back, isn’t it?" the reporter asked and I took a deep breath.

"It wasn’t as good as last week, that’s for sure. The penalty was unfortunate, starting from P11 instead of P8 wasn’t optimal, but I managed to gain some positions, but then I made a mistake and that’s it." I answered and he nodded.

"Last weekend looked easier, compared to this weekend? What changed?" he asked.

"The track didn’t suit our car that well. I had some problems with the track. That’s it." I replied.

"It had nothing to do with the drivers and their cars you had to overtake this weekend?" he asked then and I was taken aback for a moment.

"What do you mean?" I looked at him confused.

"Checo with a damaged car was no problem apparently…" he began.

"But Lewis was and I managed to do that, today as well, I might add, I also overtook Pierre and Lando today. It was my own mistake that made me lose positions. Thank you. Bye." I had enough. Julie nodded and we left the slightly mad looking Spaniard behind.

"Sorry, but that was annoying! I’m sick of people telling me that last weekend was not my own doing in some way…" I sighed and Julie just gently rubbed my arm.

"It’s okay, he was an asshole! Let’s get back, have our team meeting and then go back to the hotel!" she smiled at me and we walked back into our garage.

As the door opened and Charles walked in I jumped off the bed and walked to him, hugging him.

"I’m sorry!" I whispered but Charles only chuckled.

"For what?" he asked.

"For walking away, for not attending the podium celebrations…" I sighed.

"That’s nothing you have to apologise for? I know the feeling all too well… after a race that wasn’t that good you just want to be alone for a bit… it’s fine, ma belle!" Charles pushed me a little off of him to look at me "Don’t worry, okay?"

"Okay…" I whispered and walked back to the bed, plopping down.

"I’ll take a shower, I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Charles mumbled and I nodded, switching on the tv.

"Alright, what are we watching?" Charles jumped on the bed, sitting next to me, back against the headboard.

"I don’t know, maybe a movie, I’m not in the mood to party, sorry. But I’m sure you’ll have a good time without me!" I said, zapping through the channels.

"Nope, I’m good. I don’t want to party, staying in sounds perfect. But I’m really hungry…" Charles answered and I looked at him.

"You sure? I don’t want to ruin your evening, just because I’m in a bad mood after messing up my race with a stupid mistake…" I said and Charles groaned a little.

"Come on now! You’re way too hard on yourself! It’s only your second race! And you’re still in the points!" Charles said.

"But I don’t want to be still in the points! I want to be up there! Top 5 at least! Everything below isn’t good enough!" I mumbled and pulled the blanket over my head.

"Lizzie! You’re a freaking rookie! Stop that nonsense! You were good! Maybe not perfect, but you’ll get there! I know it! You made a mistake, now you can learn from it!" he tore the blanket away from my face and leaned over me "And can we now please order some food? I’m starving!"

"You know that you can go party with Max and Pierre?" I asked him but he shook his head "Just because of me you don’t have to stay in as well! You can go!"

"Nope, I’m exactly where I want to be… and now give me the menu!" Charles made grabby hands and I gave him the menu from the night stand.

"Thanks…" I whispered after a while and he pulled me close to his side.

"Always."

"It’s like a family vacation again!" Liam cheered and made himself comfortable in Charles lap "Can we go see Koalas? And Kangaroos? Oh and Wombats!"

"We’ll try to see every animal there is to see in Australia, Bubba!" Charles replied and Liam beamed up at him "It’s really sad that Marcus and Benji couldn’t join in…"

"Yeah, after Lisa had the flu last week, they’re now both sick as well." Mum sighed and I thought about Benjis heartbroken face when we FaceTimed yesterday.

"They’ll join us next time!" Dad said and I nodded, looking out of the window.

"Are you okay?" Charles whispered, when everyone was still asleep and I turned to him.

"I have a bad feeling…" I whispered and he waited for me to continue "I don’t know, it probably is nothing… it’s just. I don’t know! It feels like something is happening!"

"You’re just nervous! That’s okay! You’ll be great! Albert Park is a track that suits not just your car, also your driving style! And you know it! Just relax and let us enjoy some quiet days together, okay?" he said and I nodded, as the flight attendant stopped next to us.

"Excuse me, Sir, we will serve breakfast in the next few minutes." she said, a flirtatious smile on her lips.

"Thank you." he answered and gently stroked Liams back "Hey little man, you need to wake up." he whispered in German.

"Nope, tell Mami I want to sleep a little longer…" he yawned and snuggled deeper into Charles' chest. I had to giggle a little and Charles looked up at me, smiling. I gently tickled Liams side and he sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey Bubba!" I cooed at him and he yawned again, looking around, his look stayed on the flight attendant that still stood next to Charles, glancing at him. He slowly turned around, looking at me confusedly climbing out of Charles lap into mine.

"Who is that?" he asked me and I laughed.

"I think she has a crush on Charlie…" I whispered and although I wanted to make a light hearted joke, there was a tinge of jealousy in my voice and I hoped Charles didn’t hear it. He chuckled at my words and turned to the flight attendant.

"Is there anything else?" he smiled at her and she shook her head abruptly.

"No Sir! Sorry!" and with that she disappeared.

"She’s weird…" Liam whispered and I laughed as Sissy walked up to us "Mami the flight attendant has a crush on Charlie!"

"Oh really? Interesting…" she chuckled "Come on now, they serve breakfast and you need to sit down in your own seat, so Charlie can eat in peace!"

"Okaaaay…" Liam pouted but followed his mum anyway.

"So, are you telling me now, where our first stop will be and why we’re flying to Brisbane first, instead of Melbourne?" I asked Charles and he just shook his head.

"You just wait sunshine, you just wait…" he said and smiled his adorable smile.

"Can we open our eyes now?" Dad said next to me and I couldn’t wait for whatever surprise Charles had planned for us.

"Okay, 3,2,1… open your eyes!" Charles said and I opened them.

I slowly blinked a couple of times to get used to the bright daylight as Dad next to me chuckled.

We stood in front of the Australia Zoo.

"Oh my god…" I whispered and Dad looked at me "Dad! You know where we are, right?"

"I sure do!" he said and he looked at Charles, pulling him to his side "Amazing, Charles! What a great idea!"

"I know that you are huge fans of Steve Irwin and watched his shows all the time and now the new show with his kids. So yeah, welcome to Australia Zoo…" Charles said and a van parked next to us "Oh and look who’s here as well…"

The door opened and Mick got out followed by Seb, Hanna and the kids.

"Heeeey!" I said and hugged first Seb then Mick "What a pleasant surprise!"

Next I hugged Hanna and high fived Emilie, Matilda and Philipp. As everyone greeted each other we headed inside. I was more than excited and the kids almost freaked out when they saw that we were welcomed with a bunch of different animals for us to pet. I crouched down next to Liam and Matilda who both looked at a lizard with big eyes.

"It has a blue tongue! That looks funny!" Matilda said and Liam nodded.

"Yeah! Why is it blue?" he asked.

"It’s a blue-tongued skink, their tongues are just blue, there is no specific reason for that." the zookeeper explained.

"Looks like it licked one of those lollipops that colour your tongue…" Liam chuckled and the zookeeper nodded.

"Exactly!" she smiled at him "His name is Oscar, you can pet him if you want to!"

Liam made big eyes and looked at me.

"Can you do it first?" he whispered and I swallowed, I hadn’t planned to touch that skink but now I had to. I slowly stretched out my hand and petted the back of it and Liam smiled, then he followed my lead.

"Good job, Bubba!" Charles said as he was crouching down next to us.

"Now it’s your turn, Charlie!" Matilda said and Charles' eyes widened "Come on! Oscar is cute!"

"Yeah… he really is…" Charles looked at the reptile and with a not so steady hand he carefully petted Oscar, the blue-tongued skink.

"You’re really brave, Charlie!" I chuckled and he pinched my side. "What about petting a snake?"

"No. Definitely not." he said immediately and I laughed. Charles and snakes. That was a big no.

"We have some special guests with us, I can see!" a young male voice behind us said and we turned around. Robert Irwin and his mum Terri stood in front of us, both with a koala bear in their arms.

"Hi guys, I’m Terri, it’s so good to see you all!" Terri introduced herself and I was a little star struck. We slowly introduced ourselves one by one and Terri and Robert smiled at us.

"Who wants to cuddle with Leia, our little koala joey?" Robert asked and the kids all made big eyes "Come on, she’s the cutest little koala girl."

"And this is Maxy, he’s Leila’s older brother." Terri rubbed the koala boy between the ears and the bear snuggled into her arm. I was in awe as I walked up closer "You want to hold him, Lizzie? He’s a good boy."

"Yes please! Oh god! Look at this cute little fella!" I was over the moon when Terri gently laid the koala in my arms and he snuggled into me "I will never ever let go of him! Oh god! He’s adorable!" I scratched the little head of Maxy and he made a cute little sound.

"He likes you!" Terri smiled at me and as Maxy climbed up a little towards the eucalyptus I held in my right hand, he lifted my shirt with his leg, turning it into a crop top.

"Hey little one, please don’t undress me!" I chuckled.

We spent the whole day with Robert and Terri, they were showing us around the zoo, the animal clinic with hundreds of saved wild animals that they will return back to their natural habitat once they’re healthy enough. The crocodiles where we could watch Robert feed a huge one for us. It was an amazing day and when we were walking out, after saying goodbye to Terri and Robert the kids were chatting excitedly and Dad and I were deep in a conversation about the crocodiles.

"Charles?" he looked up from his phone "Today was… incredible! Thank you…"

"I’m just glad you had a good time." he smiled and I nodded.

"More than a good time… it was perfect!" I replied and he sat up, careful not to wake up Liam who fell asleep after we watched a movie together, earlier.

"You and Pops looked so happy today… the kids loved it too… and you and that koala? Adorable! It was an amazing day for all of us!" he said and I smiled.

"Yeah, it really was! A very long, but incredible day. Thank you so much!" I said with a little yawn.

"You’re very welcome and now sleep! We’ll go to the beach tomorrow and then in the evening we’ll fly to Melbourne!" Charles said and I scooted down, cuddling up next to Liam, Charles switched the light off and then did the same.

The Thursday in Melbourne started with the shooting of an episode of Grill the Grid, I was really excited for it. Watching it the last years was, apart from the races obviously, one of my favourite things about F1. Seeing the drivers out of their element was so much fun, even though some were clearly showing how big of a geek they are, Seb recalling all of the World Champions going back was more than impressive. I stood in front of a camera crew, next to me a chart, waiting for what I had to do, feeling giddy and ready to go.

"We’ve got a height chart for you and we’ve got magnets with all driver’s names and we’ll give you 2 minutes to put them in height order from tallest to shortest." Angelina explained and I nodded, taking the magnets from her "Ready for your first Grill the Grid?"

"Yup! Let’s go!" I answered determinedly and the crew laughed.

"Ok, your time starts now!" Angelina started the timer and I began to go through the magnets.

"Okay, easiest first, Yuki is the shortest, done. Who’s the tallest? Esteban, Alex, Nicholas and George are all pretty damn tall! I’ll put them together… okay then Max and Lance? They look the same? Yeah that’s fine… Charles is 1.80 that I know so I’ll put him here… Danny? He’s the same as Charles, no? Then Carlos, Pierre? They’re a little shorter than Danny and Charles? I think?" I talked more with myself and was trying my best to get through the grid mentally. I looked at the board and the magnets in my hand. "I think after Yuki I’m the shortest? I think Fernando is the same? Or is he maybe even slightly taller? Yeah let’s make him above me, don’t want to bruise his ego…" I chuckled and Angelina and the rest of the crew laughed.

"He’ll be delighted!" she said and I laughed.

"Who do I have left? Lewis? I think he’s also around Carlos and Pierre… yeah that looks about right… ok then I think Seb and Mick? They are the same I think? God! I was just spending some time with them! I should’ve paid more attention to their height! Yeah let’s put them under Lewis anyway… Kevin? How tall or short is Kevin?" I stood there and tried to remember a moment where Kevin stood next to someone else but my mind blanked.

"And that‘s time!" Angelina said and I was shocked.

"What?! Already? Nooo!" I put the last names on the board, in no real order.

"Alright. Let’s see!" Angelina began and looked at her clipboard "So Ocon is the tallest, then we have Albon and Latifi, both 1.86, then George… next we have Max then Lance. So far you were mostly right, technically you put Ocon higher than Albon and Russell and Latifi… so yeah we’ll give that to you. But Charles is taller than Danny Ric."

"Is he? By how much? A centimetre?" I laughed and she nodded.

"Yeah! Charles says he’s 1.80 and Danny 1.79… next up Carlos, then Pierre. Lewis is shorter than our next three drivers: with a height of 1.76 we have Vettel, Schumacher and Norris…" Angelina said and I laughed.

"Lando? 1.76? Did he wear platoon shoes when they were measuring him?" I said and they all laughed.

"That’s what he says…" she said.

"You should give that to the stewards!"

"We might!" Angelina chuckled and looked down on her clipboard again "Now we have Hamilton, together with Magnussen, then Checo and Bottas, there you were correct! And then our bottom three Alonso, you and Tsunoda…"

"I mean I aced that part for sure!" I laughed and Angelina nodded.

"That’s 14, no 15 points for you! Well done!" she said and they all clapped and cheered.

"Easy peasy, Lemon squeezie!" I laughed. When I left for the media pen I felt relaxed and was in a pretty good mood. If the rest of the weekend would go like this challenge, it would be amazing.

Charles POV:

As I walked past the Audi hospitality coming from the press conference, Lizzie walked out and spotted me, her face lit up and she sprinted up to me, hugging me tight and when she pulled away, she kissed my cheek.

"Hi to you, too!" I chuckled and she blushed a little "What was that for?"

"Felix told me… well showed me." she replied, her voice a little shaky.

"Felix told you what?" I was confused.

"The video!" she said and I realised what she meant "You and Seb! Oh well and Joris, of course! I know what your edits look like…"

"I mean, I told you that I would do everything to get you a seat… but funnily enough, Felix said they already chose you before the video, but they liked it, it showed them they made the right decision!" I laughed and she hugged me again.

"Thank you, Charlie! So, so much!" she whispered and kissed my cheek again, my skin tingling and heating up.

"You would’ve done the same…" I whispered back.

"Yeah and I would’ve edited the video myself!" she giggled into the crook of my neck, tickling my skin with her warm breath and I hugged her even closer, our bodies melting together.

After a while someone cleared their throat behind us and we pulled away.

"We want to leave…" Andrea said, grinning like a devil.

"Yeah, umm-I need my stuff…" I began and Andrea held up my backpack "Cool. Thanks Andrea!" I took it from him and looked at Lizzie "You ready?"

"Yup, let’s go…" she smiled at us and for the millionth time, it took me to another planet.

The free practices went by in a breeze, I felt good in the car, the best I felt for a long time. I was confident that this weekend could be even better than Bahrain, not to mention Jeddah…

I waited behind Max at the pit exit. Q3 was about to start and I felt how the adrenaline rushed through my veins.

"Alright Lizzie. You can push a little more in sector 2, data showed that the traction there was good and you could give a little more." Pete said.

"Whole sector 2?"

"Yes."

"How many warm-up laps?"

"Try 2."

"Copy."

The tires felt great, there wasn’t much traffic on the track and after my second out lap I breezed past the track. I almost yelled out in glee.

"S1, PURPLE! S2, PURPLE! S3, PURPLE! LIZZIE YOU’RE P1!" Pete shouted on the radio.

"No way?! Are you sure?!"

"Positive. Max is P2. Perez P3."

"Charles?"

"Starts his warm-up lap now. Box now."

"Copy."

As I drove into the pit lane I saw Charles breeze past me and I hoped he would have an amazing lap as well.

"We use the used softs from this morning, you drove only one lap on them."

"Alright. Where am I now?"

"P2. Charles P1. Max P3."

"Let’s go."

I drove out of the pits. One last warm-up lap.

"With you on track Charles, Max, Perez, Russell."

"Will I get into traffic?"

"Not if you make it through in one go."

"Copy."

Let’s go. One last lap to put my car in the front row.

Sector 1 felt fast, Sector 2 felt even faster, as I breached into Sector 3 the yellow flag was waved.

"FUCK! WHAT HAPPENED!" I was fuming.

"Alonso crashed." Pete said.

"Damn it. Is he okay?"

"He’s okay."

"Is it over?" I was hoping for a no, but then I saw the red flag.

"Yeah." Fuck.

"Charles on pole. And then?"

"Max P2. You P3. Perez P4."

"P3?" I was disappointed.

"You were amazing! You had purple in S1 and 2. Probably could’ve had purple in S3 as well."

"It’s okay." It wasn’t. It sucked. But I had 58 laps to catch up to Charles. But for now I had to accept the defeat. Head back to the hotel and get a good nights sleep to be on top of my game for the race.

"Lizzie! What a weekend! Almost your first pole! P2 today! And it’s only your third race!" Mark Webber had to almost yell his questions because of the noise and I smiled as I saw Dad with Liam on his shoulders standing at the fence hugging Charles.

"Unbelievable! After the quali yesterday I had a good feeling that we could have an amazing race and everything worked so well! The guys at the pit wall, the pit crew, it worked all out in the end!" I answered and my team cheered even louder.

"You almost overtook Max instantly at the race start but then it got a little heated with Max, Sergio, Lando and Lewis?" Mark asked.

"I don’t know what happened exactly but yeah it got a little bumpy and then I had a puncture somehow and had to pit, but again the team did an amazing job and I didn’t lose too many positions." I replied and he nodded.

"What happened with Carlos? It looked like you two had a tough battle? Before his race ended?" he looked at me and I shook my head.

"I will have to check the footage to fully understand what happened… we had a tough battle indeed and when I tried to overtake him back he locked up and lost the rear I think? I don’t know, I have to look into it. But yeah I tried to go through the field as fast as possible and now I’m here." I concluded and he patted my arm.

"And you deserve it! Enjoy your P2!" with that I was ushered directly into the cool down room, where George was already sitting.

"I think after today there is no one who could doubt that you belong here!" he said and watched at the screen that showed how I overtook first Lando and Lewis in one go and later himself "You did amazing!"

"Thanks, George! You too! Checo had no chance!" I smiled at him as Charles walked in.

"I could get used to this. You and I, in here, together!" he chuckled and I laughed.

"Me too, believe me!" I said.

"Can I join?" George joked and I chuckled.

"Guys? Are you ready?" an F1 official picked us up for the podium ceremony. My second one in my third race. I couldn’t wait for the day where I could hear the German national anthem. Rather sooner than later.

"You almost won! You were this close to beating Charlie!" Liam chirped and Charles scooped him up.

"She really was close, right? For a moment there I thought she would overtake me!" he said and Liam made big eyes.

"Yeah sure… how long did you have to wait for that jump scare? 20 seconds?" I asked.

"Something like that…" he laughed and I rolled my eyes at him.

"You’re a jerk!" I whispered and he pulled me to his side, giving me his puppy eyes while pouting "But you’re a cute jerk, I'll give you that!"

"That’s what I wanted to hear!" he answered and I laughed.

"Come on now little man, it’s late and you gotta go to bed!" Dad said and Liam whined a little.

"Can’t we stay a little longer? Mami and Omi are already gone! They won’t miss us!" he asked but Dad shook his head.

"Bubba, Lizzie and I have to go now anyways! We have team meetings! And they will take a long time! So you can go ahead and tomorrow at breakfast we think about what we’re doing until we have to leave for the airport at noon!" Charles said and I nodded.

"He’s right! The team meetings will take forever!" I agreed and Liam sighed.

"Okaaaay…" he said and I gave him a kiss on his cheek and hugged him.

"Good night, little one!" I whispered and Charles did the same, before passing him into Dads arms.

"Good night guys, see you tomorrow!" Dad gave me a kiss on the cheek and a side hug to Charles before he left with Liam.

"I’ll pick you up later and we leave together?" Charles asked and I nodded.

"Yep… see you later!" I smiled at him and walked back into the Audi garage.

After reviewing the fight with Carlos I was in a bad mood, although everyone said it wasn’t my fault, for some reason I wasn’t convinced. Charles opened the car door and looked at me.

"Come on, ma belle… Carlos DNF isn’t your fault!" he said and pulled me to his side "You can’t blame yourself for the mistakes of others!" he kissed my temple and gently nudged me to get in, then he closed the door, walked around the car and sat down in the drivers seat.

"But it was my mistake, I shouldn’t have tried to get past him there!" I sighed and leaned back into the seat.

"You’re too nice, I hope you know that." Charles started the engine and I rolled my eyes "I’m serious, he was this close to sending you into the barriers a couple of times. Wouldn’t you always leave him the space, he would’ve ended both your races."

"How do you wanna know? You were ahead of us." I said and watched how he effortlessly merged into the busy road.

"It has its perks being the race leader with no one behind you, you can watch the race on the screens." Charles chuckled and I boxed his shoulder.

"Ha-ha. Very funny!" I groaned and he just shrugged his shoulders "Do you really think so? That I’m too nice?"

"Lizzie, yes, the part of the track was narrow, but he turned into you when you were leaving him enough space trying to overtake him… and when he realised that this time you won’t back down, he locked up and lost the rear. So yes, I think you’re too nice. It was his mistake not yours. You defended your position like a lioness! And it got you a freaking P2!" Charles smiled at me proudly.

"Maybe I have to get my edge back, you know? Maybe I lost it a little." I said and looked out of the window.

"One thing is for sure, the old Lizzie would’ve eaten him alive… that mistake of his? You would’ve made him do that after his first attempt." Charles said and I looked at him "But it’s okay, it’s only your third race after over 2 years… for now I’m just so proud of you, ma belle!" he squeezed my knee and I smiled. Yeah maybe I had to try and get my edge back "Now we will have a nice shower, then dinner and then we’ll celebrate your P2! You’re coming closer and closer to that top step after only 3 races!"

"We’ll celebrate your win first and foremost! And then maybe my P2!" I laughed and Charles grinned "I would’ve never dreamt that this would happen one day… we’re celebrating your win and my P2 after our race in Formula 1!"

"I never ever had any doubts! You deserve this! And it’s just a matter of time until we’re celebrating your first win! I really believe in it!" he said with such determination that even I started to believe in it "But for tonight, it’s party time!"

And party time it was, the club was full, dark and loud, a whole lot of people grinding their bodies at each other, the table in front of us full of bottles of alcohol. Daniel, George, Lando, Max, Alex, Yuki and Pierre were celebrating with us.

"I’d like to say cheers to Charles for a dominating weekend and an amazing race, congrats winner! Cheers to our lovely Lizzie for defending like a lioness, sorry Max!, securing her P2! And last but not least, cheers to George for his P3, after a tough fight with Checo, you deserve it man! Cheers to that!" Daniel said and we all toasted our glasses. Shortly after we made our way onto the dance floor were I could feel my body tingle from the adrenaline and the alcohol. I felt hands on my hips and as I turned around Charles, with adorably flushed cheeks, smiled at me.

"Hey pretty girl, you come here often?" he said in an overly flirtatious tone and I giggled.

"No, but my best friend won’t like it when you’re coming this close to me, Monsieur!" I chuckled and Charles raised an eyebrow.

"I’m not worried about a best friend… would he be you boyfriend? Then maybe…" he whispered in my ear and his breath on my skin made me shudder.

"Yeah?" I replied and he looked me deep in the eyes.

"Yeah…" he answered, almost breathless, then he took my hand and dragged me with him in a dark corner.

And then it happened. My hands in his hair, his hand on my waist, the other carefully grabbing my chin. Charles pushed me slowly against the wall, his eyes on mine, then he closes them, takes a deep breath and his lips touched mine. I felt a shudder going through his body, like he couldn’t believe that this was happening. His kiss was soft, even a little shy at first and it coaxed a sigh of contentment from my mouth which he breathed in, a low groan emanating from his throat. He pecked my lips again, gently pulling away and looking deep into my eyes, as if he waited for me to pull away. Then he captured my lips in a fierce kiss again, my mind was reeling, breathing stopped, skin burned, butterflies created a tornado in my stomach. His tongue poked at my lips and I allowed him the entrance to my mouth. His tongue tasted like lime and ginger. I was high above the sky and the oxygen level in my body went down, until there was nothing left. And that was when I felt it. Fear. Panic. What were we doing? What the hell were we doing! I loved him, more than just a best friend, yes. But this could destroy everything, our friendship, our families, us. This was just the alcohol taking over. So I pushed him off of me.

"Lizzie…" he began but I brushed past him, he followed me but I was faster, losing him in the crowd. I walked out of the club, across the street and turned right and kept walking, bringing enough space between us. As I got my phone out to order an Uber I saw 5 missed calls and some texts. I ignored them and waited for the Uber.

I closed the door and sank down to the floor, trying to steady my breath. What happened? What the actual fuck just happened? For years I never acted upon my instincts, my feelings, even if they were yearning for me to do it. Even when every fibre of body was screaming at me to finally do it. The alcohol. It clouded my mind. I had way too much. My breathing ragged and I felt sick. Why did he do it? How many drinks did he have? Why didn’t he stop it? My mind was running wild and I leaned my head back at the door and took some deep breaths. I groaned and checked the time on my phone. 03:12. 17 missed calls from Charles, 6 from Pierre. 25+ messages. He would check our hotel first. I needed to get out of here. I had to book another room. I needed space. I threw all my belongings I could see in my suitcase, changed into leggings and a Hoodie, took my backpack and left the room.

"I’m sorry Miss Doetterer, there aren’t any rooms available. I could offer you one of our primary suits if you’re interested?" the lady at the front desk said and I shook my head.

"Can you order me a cab to the airport? Like now? I just book the first flight available at the airport that’s fine." I asked and she nodded and called a cab.

Charles POV:

"Where the fuck is she?" I stalked through our room into the bathroom but she was gone "Pierre, her suitcase is gone? Most of her stuff?"

"What happened back in the club, Charles? You guys were fine and then out of nowhere you weren’t anymore?" he asked and sat down on the bed.

"We kissed…" I sighed and plopped down next to him, my head was pounding, I was tired but also scared, not knowing where Lizzie was, was making me anxious.

"Oh… okay? And?" he asked and I closed my eyes.

"It was amazing… god Pierre! My whole body was on fire! And there was like a million of butterflies or whatever in my stomach going wild and crazy! Everything tingled! Her lips were so soft and that little sigh… It felt natural. It felt right. Like our bodies belong together… I can’t get enough of her… she’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of…" I said and Pierre laughed.

"Oh cabron. You’re down bad! But then again, you’ve always been for her! But it seems like she didn’t like it, or why is she gone?" he asked and I swallowed hard.

"Because she’s scared… I could see it in her eyes. She’s scared of this…" I said and he nodded.

"Let’s call the front desk? Maybe she asked for another room because she needed space?" this time I nodded, sat up and he took the phone from the night stand and made the call.

"Alright. Thank you, you too." Pierre hung up and I looked at him "So she asked for another room. There was non available, so she took a cab to the airport to check into the first flight to Europe, that was around an hour ago…"

"She’s gone?" I whispered and Pierre nodded. I fell back down again. Hands covering my face. I tried to take a deep breath but it didn’t work. My lungs were burning. Eyes stinging with tears. Because I couldn’t control my feelings, my instincts, my whatever, she felt the urge to flee the country. I pushed her into running away from me. Good fucking job, Charles.

"Charles? You ok?" Pierre asked and I shook my head, tears threatening to spill.

"What if I destroyed the one good thing in my life that I had? Lizzie gave her everything for me and I pushed her to the point where she had to flee the country?" I whispered, my voice hoarse, throat dry.

"Maybe she just needs some time to figure out her feelings for you, because even a blind guy could see that you two are in love for… basically forever?" Pierre said and I just nodded "Go to sleep now, Charles. Call her when you’re back home. You two will figure it out."

"Thanks, Pierre." I mumbled and sat up again as my phone rang, I grasped it from the bed and answered it without checking the ID "Lizzie?"

"Excuse me, who is this?" a male voice.

"Who wants to know that?" I ask confused and Pierre looked at me asking so I put the call on speaker.

"My name’s officer Matt Breckman, customs and border control, Melbourne International Airport, am I speaking to Mr. Charles Leclerc?" the male voice asked and I swallowed.

"Yes, Sir, that’s me." I answered "Can you please tell me what’s going on?"

"Are you in the possession of Miss Elisabeth Doetterer’s passport?" he asked then and before I could answer I heard a familiar voice in the background.

"He’s not in possession of my passport, I forgot it in our room when I left!" Lizzie said annoyed.

"Lizzie? What’s going on?" I asked nervously.

"Sir, we had to take Miss Doetterer into our custody after she checked in for a flight to Singapore without showing her passport, as we asked her to present it she broke down in tears. We assumed her passport was forcefully taken away from her as she ran away or something…" Officer Breckman began but Lizzie in the back interrupted him again.

"He’s not keeping it away from me and I didn’t run away from him! I simply forgot it in our hotel room!" she sounded mad.

"Officer Breckman, I can assure you her passport wasn’t taken away from her, in fact, I will get in the car and bring it to you, is that alright?" I offered and the Officer agreed.

"Thank you, Sir! Have a wonderful day!" I said and put on my biggest fake smile and he only nodded and walked away. I looked at Lizzie. Bloodshot eyes, pale, hair disheveled.

"I’m sorry that you had to come here. You probably were still partying or already fast asleep. I forgot some of my stuff while packing…" she began but I scoffed.

"You weren’t packing Lizzie, you were throwing your stuff in your suitcase and fleeing… because of me… look I’m sorry for overstepping the line… no, you know what, scratch that, I’m not sorry that I did what I always want to do near you… and you felt it t…" I began to ramble but Lizzie shook her head grabbing her backpack.

"Stop, I can’t!" she whispered and looked at me.

"Why are you running away from me? From this? What are you scared of?" I asked her but she only shook her head.

"Charles we… I need space." she whispered and with that she turned away, I gently grabbed her wrist, holding her back from leaving me.

"Don’t leave me, Lizzie. Please. Stay. Don’t leave me. Not like this. Please!" I pleaded, but she hung her head low, pulled her hand out of my grasp and walked to the security check in, not once looking back. Leaving me standing alone at the airport. And with my heart shattered into a million tiny pieces, she was gone…

————————————————————————

Little Note:

That's it, chapter 14 is out - it FINALLY happened… Lizzie and Charles kissed… and then she left him 🙈 oooopsie. What will happen next 👀 theories anyone?

Please leave a comment/ like/ reblog/ message and tell me how you liked it! I'm dying to hear your thoughts!

If you want to be added to the taglist, drop a comment!

Last but not least, English is not my first language and although I tried my best: please excuse any mistakes I made!

Taglist:

@silkenthusiasts @eugene-emt-roe @sunny44 @itsjustkhaos @glitterquadricorn @aundercover @kakorrhaphiphobia @alittlebitofbooksandmagic @ru-kru @glitterf1 @janeholt3

All the images I’m using are from Google, Pinterest and Instagram (or self made).

[imzadi-caskett-huddy]

It Started With a Kiss (8/?)

Thanks so much, everyone for your reviews on the last chapter! I’m so glad you all enjoyed my take on the Alex Conrad situation. And now for one of my favorite episodes of the show, To Love and Die in LA. Seriously, this episode is in my top 5…maybe even top 3 depending on my mood that day.

Date wise, the last chapter took place around April 11, and this one takes place around May 2. So that’s a 3 week time gap. Wonder what our favorite couple got up to after the way Kate kissed him in the last chapter, hmm?

Again, I want to remind you that this will be the last update on this story until after I return from vacation on June 15…and Hell Hath No Fury will be due for an update first. So enjoy this one, because it will most likely be several weeks before I get around to writing the next chapter. I promise I’ll get it up as soon as I can though!

Also…there is a section rated M in this chapter. It is clearly marked where you will want to stop reading, and then when it ends. It’s sex heavy, but not smut heavy. Still, read at your own peril, lol!

I still don’t own Castle…

xxxxx

Castle had barely seen Beckett since that night 3 weeks ago when she’d kissed him. The first week she’d been tied up prepping with an ADA for a trial, which worked out with him needing to finish a couple of chapters for the next Heat book, as well as some edits. And then Gina and Paula had worked together to ambush him with some promotional book signings and appearances in an effort to drum up more presales for his newest novel, not to mention the graphic novel for Storm that was being put together.

He’d seen her exactly twice…both times at the precinct when he’d brought her coffee. Neither time for very long, so they hadn’t been able to discuss their relationship or if the kiss she’d given him was a sign she was ready to move forward, but she had made time to spend several minutes with him in the break room since he had come all the way to the precinct just to bring her coffee. They would spend those ten minutes or so in the break room together, innocently flirting and occasionally standing just close enough to brush up against each other. And it always ended with the most brilliant smile from her, thanking him for the coffee. Castle knew he would go out of his way to bring her coffee every day for the rest of his life if she continued to smile at him the way she had those two days.

They had, of course, chatted via text and twice over the phone, but neither of them seemed to want to discuss the kiss or their relationship over the phone or text messages, and rightfully so. It was a big step for them; when it happened, it needed to be in person. She had known he was returning to the city that afternoon, so when his phone rang, he didn’t bother to look at the caller

ID, simply assuming it was her. No one else usually called him after 9 anymore.

“Did a body drop, or did you just miss me so much you couldn’t wait another day to see me?” he asked with a grin.

“Castle, I’m going to send you an address, and you need to get down here,” Lanie said simply.

“Lanie? What’s wrong?” he asked, the smile falling from his lips. Lanie never called him. Kate was the one who called him about a body drop.

“A body was found…”

He swallowed hard. “Kate? Did something happen to her?” he had to ask, interrupting before Lanie could finish her sentence. He felt his heart sink. Was Lanie calling to tell him something had happened to Kate?

Hearing the worry in his tone, Lanie realized what he must have thought. “The body we found is Mike Royce. Espo is just now calling her, so she’s not here yet, but you need to hurry. I doubt she’ll admit it, but she’s going to need you on this one.”

“I’m on my way,” he said, already out the door. He’d watched her go through hell several months ago when she’d realized Royce was part of their investigation and she’d had to arrest her former training officer. He could only imagine how his murder was going to hit her.

xxxxx

Castle’s eyes were on her the moment she got out of her unit. He could tell, just in the way she carried herself…the tension in her shoulders, the firm set of her jaw...she was torn up and doing everything she could to not appear that way.

“Where is he?” Beckett asked as she approached.

Montgomery stood beside Castle, shaking his head. “Turn around, go back home, and let me handle this.”

“Sir, I’ve seen dead bodies before,” she insisted.

The captain studied her for a moment but knew it was better for everyone if he just let her through. He nodded toward the back of the alley where Lanie was standing.

Castle was immediately at her side as she headed in that direction. “Come on, Kate…you don’t want to remember him like this,” he tried to get through to her.

“Castle, if it were me lying there, would you just walk away?” she turned to look at him.

Just the thought of that possibility sent a chill through his body and made him nauseous. He didn’t have to answer her question; the look he was giving her was answer enough–hell no, he wouldn’t just walk away. He would find whoever had hurt her, and then no one would ever find the body.

“I’m so sorry, honey,” Lanie offered her condolences.

Beckett clenched her jaw and blinked, but Castle could tell she was struggling to hold onto her composure. “Tell me what happened.”

“He was shot in the leg. Judging from the blood trail, I’d say the bullet broke the bone. He tried to hide, but…” she trailed off with a shake of her head. “I found this in his pocket,” she handed Beckett an airplane ticket stub. “He flew in from LA this afternoon.”

Castle took a step closer to Beckett then. “What was he doing in LA?” he asked curiously.

“I heard he moved there after he lost his bounty hunter’s license. I guess he was trying to make a fresh start,” Beckett answered, looking over the ticket stub.

“When was the last time you spoke with him?” he asked her softly.

She swallowed hard, staring at the ticket stub before folding it back. “When I arrested him.” She took a deep breath. “Lanie, could I?”

“Sure,” Lanie answered, stepping out of the way and exchanging a look with Castle as Beckett approached Royce’s body.

Castle watched intently as she crouched down near the body and took a few minutes. He watched as her shoulders tensed a little more. He watched as she touched Royce’s hair and either sniffled or inhaled deeply…he couldn’t tell. He was ready to move to her side the minute she stood and headed back in his direction.

“Royce had something else in his pocket. It’s addressed to you,” Lanie handed her a note.

“Is it about the case?” Castle asked her as she opened it.

After reading for a few moments, Beckett folded the note and put it in her pocket. “No.”

Esposito approached them, carrying a gun. “I think we got the murder weapon. Found it in the garbage around the corner.”

“Gun was definitely fired recently,” Ryan added as he joined them. “Shooter took the time to empty the ammo before he dumped it.”

“Worried we’d find fingerprints on the bullets?” Castle raised the question.

Beckett took the gun and examined it. “This is a cheap street gun. It’s a throw away.” She studied the gun a little more. “There’s threading on the barrel.”

“Silencer?” Castle suggested.

Esposito nodded. “Yeah.”

“Allowing our killer to shoot Royce in broad daylight,” Beckett stated, handing the gun back to Esposito to bag as evidence.

“Listen, Beckett…we’re gonna get this guy,” Ryan assured her. “We got uniforms heading to every store and apartment within a 5-block radius.”

“This is New York. Somebody had to have seen something,” Esposito added.

Castle turned to her, placing his hand on her shoulder lightly after the boys walked away. “Kate…”

“Castle, I’m fine,” she insisted.

“You’re not fine,” he said softly. “Royce was your friend. It’s okay to take a few minutes to grieve,” he added. After a minute, he let his hand fall from her shoulder. “Why don’t you let me take you home? There’s nothing else you can do tonight. You can get some sleep and start fresh on the case in the morning,” he suggested.

Beckett was about to protest when Montgomery walked over to join them. “Alright, you’ve seen him. You paid your respects. Now go home, Beckett.”

“Sir,” she started to protest.

“There’s nothing else you can do here tonight. Dr. Parish won’t have anything for you until she does an exam. Uniforms are canvassing everywhere. Ryan and Esposito will handle anything else. They’ll call you if anything pops. Go home, Beckett. That’s an order.”

She looked between her captain and her partner and finally relented, wordlessly stepping away from them to go back to her unit. Castle was quick to follow her.

“Castle, you go home too,” she told him, stopping him as he went to get into her car. “You just got back from a book tour. I know you’re tired.”

“I’m okay. I can just sit with you. You shouldn’t be alone…you don’t have to be alone,” he offered.

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine,” she assured him.

“Kate…”

“Rick, please,” she said. She needed to be alone. She was going to fall apart when she got home, and the last thing she wanted was for him to see her break like that.

The way she said his name, coupled with the look in her eyes had him nodding. “Okay. I’ll go home. But if you need anything…you call me. Even if all you need is me to sit on the phone with you in silence, ok?”

“Do you even know how to be silent?” she teased lightly, trying to show him that she was okay.

“I do, actually, when it matters. And I’m serious. Call me,” he insisted.

She nodded. “Okay.”

xxxxx

“Beckett, I’m not sending you to LA. You have no solid evidence linking Neal McCauley to this murder,” Montgomery insisted.

“He came to New York for 6 hours. Who flies in for that short a stay?” Castle pointed out.

“Businessmen do it all the time,” Montgomery countered.

“Businessmen don’t use fake IDs,” Castle countered back.

“Or pack silencers,” Beckett added.

Montgomery shook his head. “That’s supposition. I need a lot more than that to justify flying a detective across the country.”

Beckett shook her head as well. “You and I both know the longer I wait to go out there, the colder this trail gets.”

“Take a day to shore this up. And then if there’s sufficient evidence, I’ll contact the LAPD.”

“You’ll contact the LAPD?” Beckett asked incredulously. “This is my case! This happened in our jurisdiction. You think the LAPD is gonna lift a finger?”

“Kate, you’re too close to this!” Montgomery insisted.

“No, Sir, I am committed. I am not compromised.”

“You’re torn up,” he interrupted her. “Kate, things between you and Royce ended badly. I get it. But that emotion is exactly why I need to assign this to someone else.”

Beckett paused then, taking a step back. “You know what? You’re right. I am too close to this. I have some vacation days coming up. I think now would be a good time,” she stated, turning to head out of the office.

“Kate,” he called, stopping her. “I hope you’re not thinking about doing something reckless.”

She turned to face him, meeting his eyes for a long moment. “No, Sir,” she stated, leaving the office.

Castle’s eyes met Montgomery’s and both men seemed to understand each other. Montgomery’s look told Castle to follow her…something he would have done anyway…because neither man believed she was stepping back and doing nothing.

“Where are you going?” Castle called after her.

“Home,” she insisted.

“The hell you are. I know you better than that,” he tried to stop her with a hand on her arm.

“Castle, please,” she pulled it away. “He was my training officer…my friend. I just…I really need to be alone right now,” she told him, making her way to the elevator.

Castle watched helplessly as the doors closed. Why did it always feel like they’d take one step forward and then something happened to make them take two steps back? He was really beginning to hate that dance.

“You know she’s going to LA,” Espo said, coming up behind him.

“I know,” Castle sighed.

“You really think she’s going to just willingly let you go with her?” Ryan asked as he joined them.

“She won’t have much of a choice if she doesn’t find out until the plane is already in the air,” Castle stated simply, already pulling out his phone to check for the next flight to LA, knowing she’d be on it. “Whether she likes it or not, someone’s got to have her back…and I’m her partner.” He headed for the elevator himself; he had a couple of hours to pack a bag and get to the airport, already calling to arrange a hotel suite for them.

xxxxx

Kate Beckett hated the middle seats in airplanes. Unfortunately, that was all that was available to her last minute. She knew she was lucky to have gotten on the flight at all considering she’d been on standby status. Still, being squished between two larger men was going to make for a very uncomfortable flight across the country…especially if the baby screaming in the cabin didn’t eventually tire itself out and fall asleep.

“Excuse me, Detective Beckett?” one of the flight attendants approached her.

“Yes?” she answered.

“You’ve been upgraded to first class.”

Beckett didn’t even question the reason. “Thank you,” she smiled, standing quickly. “I’m sorry…excuse me,” she said to the man, climbing over him to get out of the cramped row. She followed the flight attendant to the first-class cabin.

“Seat 3C,” the attendant told her.

“Thank you,” she smiled her relief. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the man she’d be sitting next to.

“Champagne?” he asked innocently with a smile.

She took the seat beside him, fastening her seatbelt. “Castle, what are you doing?”

He shrugged with a grin. “The studio’s been after me for weeks to fly down and do a set visit for the Heat Wave movie. Imagine my surprise when I saw your name on the standby list,” he took a sip of the champagne.

“You cannot be a part of what I’m gonna do out there,” she told him simply.

“I thought you were on vacation,” he pointed out.

“Castle,” she shook her head. “Look, it’s one thing for you to follow me when we’re in New York, but I’m not a cop in LA. I don’t have any authority or backup,” she told him.

“I’ll be your backup,” he insisted. Seeing her roll her eyes, he continued. “I’m your partner. Besides, going rogue is kind of my specialty.”

“Yeah, but subtlety isn’t,” she countered with a small smile. “I’m not going to get rid of you am I?” she asked him. Seeing him shake his head, she sighed. “Okay, if we do this together you have to promise me that we’re gonna fly under the radar.”

“Of course,” he smiled, offering her the extra glass of champagne.

She studied him for a moment before taking it with another roll of her eyes. She took a sip, offering him a small smile. “Thank you for upgrading me. I was kind of miserable back there.”

“You mean, you didn’t enjoy your seat sandwiched between two of the linemen for the Giants?” he asked with a chuckle.

“No,” she smirked. “The screaming baby didn’t help either.”

He laughed softly. “You’re welcome. Besides, how are we supposed to talk strategy with you in the back of the plane and me in the front?”

“We weren’t supposed to talk strategy at all,” she laughed, nudging his shoulder playfully.

“We have a 6-hour flight, Beckett. It’s going to be a long 6 hours if we don’t talk.”

She smiled and took another sip of her champagne. “Some people sleep on a flight.”

“Are you one of those people?” he asked with a smile.

She shrugged. “Sometimes. Probably not this flight. I’ve got too much on my mind.”

He nodded, placing a hand over hers. “I’m here for whatever you want to talk about,” he offered her a smile. “Or we could just drink,” he joked.

“I think one glass will suffice,” she chuckled, stretching her legs out.

He smiled and squeezed her hand before releasing it. The surprise was evident on his face when she took his hand back in hers a moment later.

“Thanks for coming with me, Castle,” she said softly, offering him a smile and pulling their joined

hands back into her lap.

“Always,” he smiled, stretching his legs out to get comfortable as well.

xxxxx

“Is this what you call under the radar?” Beckett asked, gesturing to the red Ferrari they were currently in.

“In LA, this baby fits right in,” Castle insisted. “So what’s our first stop?”

“My hotel. It’s on Ventura Blvd.”

Castle shot her a look. “That’s all the way in the Valley. How are we supposed to work together if you’re an hour away?”

“Castle, we weren’t supposed to work together at all,” she reminded him.

He shrugged. “Okay, well the studio comped me a two-bedroom suite at a 4-star hotel. You just stay with me,” he stated as though it were a no-brainer.

She snorted a laugh. “Yeah right!”

“What?” he asked, turning to look at her. “You’ll have your own room.”

“No! I am not staying with you!” she insisted, biting back another laugh.

He raised an eyebrow, almost in a challenge. “Worried you can’t control yourself when we’re alone together?”

Her smile faltered only slightly. It was a legitimate concern of hers, yes, considering the current state of their relationship and how close they currently were to crossing the line between friends and lovers…but she wasn’t going to admit that to him. “Actually, it’s not me that I’m worried about,” she replied.

“I assure you, Detective, my intentions are pure,” he insisted as the light they were stopped at turned green. He paused a moment before continuing. “Need I remind you that the last two times we were alone together, you were the one who kissed me,” he commented nonchalantly, keeping his eyes on the road.

She tugged her lower lip between her teeth. She couldn’t even deny that. Even though it had been months ago and she hadn’t ended her relationship with Josh at the time, she’d still been the one to kiss him on Valentine’s Day over wine in his loft. And now that they were both single,

she hadn’t been able to resist kissing him when they’d gone out 3 weeks ago after he’d been so jealous of Alex Conrad.

Yes, they were here to work…at least she was…but she also couldn’t deny the attraction and connection that pulled them together, couldn’t deny that they were one “Yes” from her away from becoming romantic partners in addition to professional ones. Here to work or not, she knew it was a very real possibility that when they were alone together she would give into the temptation that was her desire to be with him. Simply having her own bedroom didn’t guarantee she wouldn’t seek him out in the middle of the night without anything holding her back anymore.

“Fine, I’ll stay with you,” she finally agreed. She knew herself well enough to know there was a very real possibility she would find herself in his bed…or invite him into hers…before they left LA. She only hoped she was ready for everything that entailed. Because once they crossed that last line between them, she knew there would be no going back. If she messed it all up, if they crashed and burned, she would lose him forever…and she wasn’t sure that was a loss from which she’d recover.

xxxxx

“We’re so happy to have you back, Mr. Castle,” Maurice the concierge smiled. “I’ve taken the liberty of setting up the suite just the way you like it.”

“Thank you,” Castle returned the man’s smile.

“And I’ve scheduled a couple’s massage at 7,” Maurice added.

Beckett paused looking around the suite for a moment to cut Castle a look. “Pure, huh?”

Castle’s eyes widened slightly. “Uh, Maurice, you can cancel the couple’s massage. We’re actually here to work, so we won’t be needing that tonight.” He didn’t ask for the champagne or flowers to be removed, however.

Maurice nodded. “Very good, Sir.”

Castle handed the bellhop who handled their luggage a tip and offered Maurice one as well. “Thank you, Maurice.” He followed the men out and closed the double doors behind them. “The last time I was here, I brought this Parisian supermodel, so he…” he trailed off when he caught the look Beckett shot him and he realized bringing up the fact that he’d been with other women here was probably not the best idea considering they were working toward a relationship with each other. “You know, that is not important. Would you like to choose your bedroom?”

She rolled her eyes and went to her carry-on to get her jacket. “No, I would like to start the investigation.”

“But we haven’t even ordered room service yet,” Castle pointed out.

“Castle, I’m not here for room service, I’m here for justice,” she stated, heading for the doors.

“Can’t we have both?” Castle called as he followed her. “Wow. In LA for all of a minute and already she’s spouting cheesy movie dialogue. Must be something in the air.”

xxxxx

“Picture this: a gullible young actress, desperate to make a name for herself. She meets our mastermind at a club. He needs a pretty girl to help him get the voice code. He tells Violet he’s a producer, promises to make her famous if she helps him play a practical joke on a friend,” Castle theorizes. He turns to face Beckett on the couch in the living room area of their suite.

Beckett turns a little more facing him, her elbow resting on the back of the couch with her head resting on her hand. The bottle of champagne from earlier is opened and mostly empty on the coffee table in front of them. “She doesn’t even realize that she’s participating in a crime until afterwards. She can’t call the cops, so she contacts Royce.”

“But then, our Mr. McCauley finds out,” Castle continues to build theory with her.

“And Royce tries to change the game. He goes to New York; home-field advantage. Classic. Classic Royce,” Beckett smiled slightly. “I was so in awe of him, Castle when I first met him. I just hung on his every word. And then later, I realized he was just making up stories to mess with me,” she gave a soft laugh, but her smile faded. “I can’t believe that I’m never gonna see him again.”

He studied her for a moment, shifting just a little closer. “You know what I first thought when I met you?” he asked her.

She turned her attention back to him. “Mm?” she hummed the question.

“That you were a mystery I was never gonna solve. Even now, after spending all this time with you, I’m still amazed at the depths of your strength…your heart…” he trailed off as the faintest smile teased his lips, “and your hotness.”

She looked down for a moment and then met his smile with one of her own. “You’re not so bad yourself, Castle.”

Their eyes locked and they held each other’s gaze. He wanted to kiss her…so badly. Under any other circumstance, he would have. But she was vulnerable now. She was dealing with her grief over the loss of her friend whom he knew she cared for deeply. He wouldn’t be the guy who took

advantage of that. He cared too much about her to be the guy who did that to her. If there was a move to be made, she was going to have to be the one to initiate it.

“I should go. It’s late,” Beckett stood, finally breaking the moment between them as she headed for her bedroom door.

“Kate…”

“Goodnight, Castle,” she stated, stepping inside and closing the door. She leaned against it, running her hands over her face and through her hair. A hundred thoughts were running through her mind: She should have kissed him. Why was she running? How badly she wanted to kiss him. How badly she wanted to lose herself in his arms tonight, let him make her forget everything else but him and the way she knew he would make her feel. But was that fair to him to do it this way? Was it fair to either of them to spend their first night together under these circumstances? Was she ready to fully embrace the depth of her feelings for him? Was she ready to embrace the depth of his feelings for her?

Her hand lingered over the door handle for another moment as she hesitated. The words from Royce’s letter echoed in her mind: And now for the hard part, kid. It’s clear that you and Castle have something real. And you’re fighting it. But trust me, putting the job ahead of your heart is a mistake. Risking our hearts is why we’re alive. The last thing you want is to look back on your life and wonder, if only. A moment later, she’d made her decision. She wanted the comfort he would provide. She wanted to touch him, to taste him, to feel him. She just wanted him. She opened the door and met his eyes as he stood from the couch. “Castle…” she breathed from her doorway.

He wordlessly approached her, coming to stand in front of her in her doorway. In her bare feet, she was a good 5 or 6 inches shorter than him, and his eyes were soft as he looked at her. “Kate…” he murmured, unable to resist reaching out to run his fingers gently across her cheek.

Her hands moved to his chest and her eyes closed as she leaned into his touch. Her fingers tightened in his shirt and she pulled him closer against her, opening her eyes to look at his lips.

He leaned down, his lips stopping just before they touched hers. Swallowing hard, he had to make sure. “Kate, I don’t want to take advantage of you,” he murmured in a whisper.

Her nose nuzzled his, her lips moving the tiniest bit closer until they were only a hair’s width apart and she could feel his breath tickling her lips. “You’re not…” she breathed, her lips barely brushing his as she spoke. “If we hadn’t been so busy the past few weeks, this would have already happened…”

He swallowed hard again. She was making it so damn hard to think straight, to try to be the

gentleman. “I thought you wanted to wait…”

The last words from Royce played over again in her head. The last thing you want is to look back on your life and wonder, if only. “I’m done waiting,” she told him.

“You won’t regret this in the morning?” he had to ask her. Because he wouldn’t be able to handle it if she did.

“No regrets,” she promised, unable to take it anymore and closing the almost invisible distance between their lips with a slow kiss. She stepped back from him into her room a few moments later, her lower lip tugged between her teeth and the look in her eyes inviting, imploring him to follow her.

He was powerless to resist her now, and he knew it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them a second later, he followed her into her bedroom and closed the door behind him.

xxxxx

IT’S ABOUT TO GET STEAMY

SKIP THIS PART IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ SEXY TIMES

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Her eyes never left his as he approached her. She took the final step toward him necessary to close the distance between them again and took his face in her hands. This time when she kissed him, the dam broke; her feelings for him, their physical attraction to each other, the past two+ years…everything poured into her kiss. She was drowning in his kiss, in him, and for once she didn’t care.

Her tongue ravaged his mouth, and he let her take what she needed, what she wanted from him while his hands gripped her hips and pulled her closer. One hand slowly ran up her back and curled into her hair, deepening the kiss until both needed some oxygen. His mouth ran along her jaw to her neck and finally along her throat, grazing her skin lightly with his teeth as he tasted her.

Her hands moved to his plaid button-up shirt and shoved it over his shoulders, causing him to release his hold on her long enough to yank his arms free from it. She grabbed his t-shirt and tugged it over his head as well, her eyes and fingers traveling the lines of muscle across and down his now bare chest appreciatively. Her lips grazed against the hollow of his neck where it met his chest, her tongue darting out to taste his skin. Her arms moved around him, her fingers sliding up the muscles of his back as she pressed an open-mouth kiss to his chest, smiling against his skin at the low groan that escaped his throat.

When he felt her fingers at his belt before he’d even had the chance to get her shirt off her, he

caught her wrists and brought them to his lips for a gentle kiss. “Not so fast,” he murmured with a smile. He caught her playful look and returned it with one of his own before grabbing the hem of her shirt and bringing it up and over her head. His eyes darkened at the exposed skin, the black lace of her bra a stark contrast against her tanned skin. His fingers gently traced along the length of her bra strap at her shoulder as he circled behind her.

The feel of his lips on her shoulder and then her neck as he pushed her hair aside drew a gasp from her lips. His mouth lightly danced along the curve of her neck as his fingers unclasped her bra. She leaned back against him as his hands slowly slid the straps down her arms until the piece fell from her body to the floor. Her head fell back against his shoulder and her eyes closed as his lips slid to her shoulder, one hand flattening against her stomach to hold her against him, the other moving to her breast, eliciting a soft moan from her lips.

He bit her shoulder gently as he squeezed her breast. One of her hands moved to cover his on her breast, and her other moved to his head, pulling him into a smoldering kiss. As she tugged his lip between her teeth and bit gently, the hand on her stomach slid lower, dipping inside her pants, his fingers lightly tracing along her underwear. She moaned her approval into his mouth and released her grip on his hand to guide the hand in her pants lower until she could press his fingers into the heat between her legs.

Even through her panties, he could feel her arousal, causing him to groan against her lips. “Kate…” he breathed, his mouth moving to her neck as his fingers slipped past the barrier of her underwear to slide between her legs. The feel of his touch where she was already so ready for him caused her hips to buck against his hand and nearly sent her spiraling. The hand still joined with his on her breast flexed and squeezed, while her hand that had guided his into her pants gripped his hip, her fingers curling in his belt loops.

He continued to work her up with his fingers at her core, his lips gently sucking and nipping at her skin, and his other hand on her breast, alternating between massaging and rolling her nipple between his fingers. It wasn’t long before he had her a whimpering mess, his name escaping her lips in a breathless moan as she crashed over the edge. His fingers continued to work her through her orgasm until she couldn’t take it anymore and gripped his forearm, tugging his hand away. He smirked against her skin, moving his hand to her stomach to hold her against him as she recovered, his lips softly caressing her skin.

Once she regained her senses, she turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and meeting his smile with one of her own. “Hi,” she murmured, kissing him slowly.

“Hi,” he returned, resting his forehead against hers. He slowly walked her back toward the bed, easing her back and lowering her down on it when her legs hit the edge. He moved over her, capturing her mouth with his in a passionate kiss, his tongue slowly stroking hers. This time when he felt her fingers slide down his chest to his belt, he didn’t stop her.

She easily unfastened his belt and the button on his pants, and then slowly slid the zipper down. Her fingers teased just underneath the waistband of his boxers before her hands moved to his hips. She pushed both his jeans and boxers over his hips, her hands sliding around to grab his ass, squeezing the ample flesh as she pulled him into the cradle of her thighs. “Get them off…” she murmured, her lips brushing against his jaw as she pushed them as far down as she could.

He did as he was told, standing and removing his last remaining clothing. She pushed up to her elbows to watch, her eyes darkening as she took in the sight of him for the first time. She sat up, her hands moving to his hips as she pulled him to stand in front of her.

“Kate…you don’t have to…” he started.

“I know,” she met his eyes with a smile. She knew he would never expect or even ask her to do what she was about to do. But she wanted him, wanted all of him; she had for awhile. “I want to taste you.”

Her lips pressed a soft kiss to his stomach, glancing up at him as one hand moved to his length, her slender fingers stroking him slowly. She smirked against his skin at the low groan and moved her mouth to his hip, nipping playfully before blazing a trail of open mouth kisses across his skin as she worked her mouth further down. She looked up at him watching her and saw his eyes close as she ran her tongue the length of him before taking him in her mouth and sucking gently.

It took all of his willpower not to buck his hips into her mouth, but he somehow managed. He forced himself to keep his eyes open, watching her, one hand tangling in her hair…not to guide her movement, but to simply caress her. After a few moments, he hand to stop her. “Kate…” he managed to choke out her name on a strangled moan, his hand gently caressing her cheek. “I can’t…you’ve got to stop…or it’s going to be over to soon…” he managed to get out, trying to force his breathing to return to normal.

She raised an eyebrow, slightly amused as she leaned back on her elbows. He moved with her, leaning down to kiss her again, moaning against her lips as her tongue sensually tangoed with his. His hands gripped her leggings and pulled them down her legs slowly, standing to toss them aside as she shifted to push herself up on the bed, resting her head on the pillows.

He crawled up the bed to her with a grin, dropping soft kisses to the inside of her knee and trailing his tongue along the skin of her thigh. When he reached her underwear, he paused and looked up at her. “You’re sure?” he asked her again.

She pushed up on her elbows so she could gently caress his face. “Make love to me, Rick…” she told him softly, pulling him to her for a slow, deep kiss as she slid her body against his.

He groaned, wrapping her in his arms as he deepened the kiss. When he finally broke away, he pushed up to his knees and hooked his fingers in her panties, drawing them down her legs slowly before dropping them to the floor to the side of the bed. He swallowed hard as his eyes traveled over her body slowly. “You’re beautiful, Kate…” he murmured in awe. His hand slowly, lightly ran up her thigh as he settled between her legs.

He trailed kisses across her stomach before getting sidetracked by the tattoo on her hip, which she’d fully expected, tracing the outline with his tongue. His mouth continued it’s path, until his tongue dipped inside her, finally tasting her, and he knew at that moment he was addicted. Each touch of his fingers to her skin, each press of his lips, each stroke of his tongue was reverent, as though her body was a temple at which he was worshiping. He took his time as he worked her up, enjoying the taste of her, enjoying the soft moans and whimpers of pleasure as he explored her body, learning the way she liked to be touched so intimately.

It wasn’t long before she was moaning his name as she came, her fingers clenching in the comforter on the bed. He gently but firmly held her hips in place as mouth continued to work her through her orgasm, and then suck on her bundle of nerves until she quickly came undone again, his name falling from her lips in a strangled scream. Only when her fingers curled in his hair and pulled him away slightly did he move his mouth to her hip, biting enough to leave a mark and soothing it with his tongue.

His kisses were slow and gentle as they moved back up her body, giving her time to recover. It wasn’t until he was settled in the cradle of her thighs with her hips rocking against his as they kissed passionately that he realized–he didn’t have protection on him. “Kate…” he pulled away breathlessly. “I didn’t bring…I mean, I didn’t expect that we would…I don’t have condoms…”

“Neither do I…You don’t carry one in your wallet?”

“Not if I don’t think I’m going to need it…which I didn’t…because we weren’t together…and I did not come out here with the intention of sleeping with you…” he murmured, moving to shift off her.

She gently stopped him, her fingertips lightly caressing his jaw. “Castle, it’s okay,” she assured him softly, pressing a kiss to his chin. “I’m clean. And I’m on birth control. So I’m good without one if you are.” He was the only man she would ever consider doing this with, and only because she trusted him implicitly. She'd never even had unprotected sex with Josh. There was no one she trusted the way she trusted Castle.

He stared at her for a moment, because he knew the level of trust that she was putting in him with that statement, with that action. “I’m clean…” he promised. “You’re…you’re really sure about this, Kate? Because I can’t promise you I’ll be able to pull out before I…”

She interrupted him with a kiss. “I’m sure. I trust you completely, Rick…”

This time it was him who cut off her words with a deep kiss. I love you, was right on the tip of his tongue to say, but he didn’t dare say it now. He’d told her before…on more than one occasion, admittedly not always at the best moment. The last thing he wanted was to send her running now if she wasn’t ready to hear those words from him again. Instead, he’d show her.

One of his hands found hers and he laced their fingers, pushing their joined hands above her head. His other hand lightly caressed her thigh and shifted, meeting her eyes as he slowly slid inside her. She gasped softly, and his forehead rested against hers as they both took a moment to savor the connection.

Her hand squeezed his and her free hand caressed his cheek as her lips met his again in a tender kiss. One of her legs hooked over his hip, pulling him in closer, and a soft moan escaped her throat. Another moan escaped, this time from each of them, as she rocked her hips against his to get him to move.

They exchanged breathless kisses, gentle caresses, soft moans as their bodies moved together almost seamlessly, meeting each other perfectly, each knowing what the other needed or wanted as though they were in a well-choreographed dance and not coming together for the first time.

As he felt his climax approaching, he released her hand and shifted so that he had a deeper angle. “Kate…I’m close…” he warned dropping his mouth to her neck.

Her lips moved to his ear as her hands slid down his back, her nails raking across his skin. “Let go with me…inside me…” she panted breathlessly, tugging on his ear with her teeth as her legs pulled him in closer to reinforce her words.

Her breathless moans and the way she moved her body with his, the way her legs tightened around his waist, was enough to push him over the edge and pull her with him. He thrust a few more times until he was completely spent, and dropped down, rolling them so she was on top of him.

xxxxx

SEXY TIMES IS OVER

IT IS SAFE TO READ AGAIN

EVERYTHING BELOW IS RATED T

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms silently, both catching their breath. He caught her hand drawing patterns on his chest after a few minutes and brought it to his lips for a gentle kiss.

“You were right…I had no idea,” he admitted with a grin.

She laughed softly and pushed herself up on his chest to look at him. “You still don’t,” she grinned. Seeing his look, she kissed him as she laughed again. “That was just a preview,” she murmured against his lips before pushing herself up off the bed. “Be right back,” she promised, pressing one last kiss to his lips before disappearing into the bathroom.

When she returned, he’d gotten under the covers and made no attempt to hide his enjoyment in the fact that she hadn’t bothered to put any of her clothes…or his…back on to cover up. She met his gaze with an amused arch of her eyebrow, turning the lights off on her way back to bed. “Staring is still creepy, bud.”

He chuckled as she slipped back into bed beside him. “Can’t help it,” he shrugged, turning on his side to look at her. “I told you before…I’m still amazed at your hotness.” He couldn’t help but reach out and let his fingers trace along her curves.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she echoed her own words from earlier, sliding closer to kiss him. She grinned against his lips as he deepened the kiss and threw her leg over his hips, quickly straddling him, running her hands over his chest as she stared down at him. “You wanna find out what you really had no idea about?” she asked in a husky tone, already sliding her body sinfully against his as she bit her lower lip.

He swallowed hard, his hands moving to her thighs. “Yes, please,” he managed to choke out. The way she was moving her body against his was similar to every fantasy and wet dream he’d had about her since that undercover date in the club back in February. Only now it was real…she was really here, it was really her body moving against his, and it was better than any fantasy.

She leaned down to kiss him with a wicked grin. “Your safe word still apples?” she purred against his lips.

All he could do was nod.

xxxxx

Okay, I am aware this is only the first half of the LA episode. I went a little crazy here…I told you guys it was a favorite of mine! And I am sorry, but you will have to wait until I return from vacation to get the chapter dealing with the second half of the episode. But I did make this a long one to tide you over in the meantime!

I really hope you enjoyed this one! And I look forward to reading all your comments for those who leave them!

[biconickyoshi]

An avatar nonshipper for years, I once found myself having an extremely vivid and emotion-filled dream of Zuko and Aang being destined for each other. Never once in my years of being a fan have I considered a possibility of shipping them, ever, but my brain casually decided to rewrite its whole chemistry in one night.

My first thought was, what the hell did I get myself into. Will my closest friends accept me as a newly converted Zukaang shipper? Will I ever find a community of like-minded people who, too, received prophetic dreams one day? Am I doomed to be in, dare I say, a rareship pit for the rest of my life?

In the end though, I am glad to have found people who see what I saw when my eyes opened to all the possibilities for the first time. The mind is a tricky and fascinating thing. I just wanted to send this as a message of support for your incredible work! It's everything I could have ever dreamed of (which I did, ironically), soft and romantic, loving and warm. There might not be as many of us, but I can see that our fandom is dedicated. I hope to see more of your Zukaang vision, as well as more others who like them as much as we do <3

Aaaa thank you so much for sending this ask, anon!! And for taking the time to read my fic! :) I absolutely love this origin story for how you started shipping Zukaang haha, because yes, it sounds like the universe basically gifted you a prophetic dream!

It seems like a lot of us started out not even considering Zukaang as a ship. That was me until one random day in 2021, when I just had an epiphany and realized the sheer amount of potential the ship had if only they had been a bit closer in age during the events of the original show (though I do still ship Zukaang with their canon ages once they’re in their 20s - they have the same age gap as me and my husband).

It was a pretty big deal that I started shipping Zukaang honestly, because while it took me like 14 years to even consider them as a ship, they are now one of my all-time top OTPs, if not my favorite overall. Prior to this, I was always an avid Kataang shipper (and I still think they’re cute and I’m glad they ended up together), but I’ve literally never been this invested in a ship before, especially not a non-canon one. This is also the first ship I’ve ever written fanfiction for too, and it’s a long fanfiction that I have consistently worked on for months now. I’ve been in other fandoms and had other ships where my interest was very strong, but never this long-lasting.

I also empathize with worrying about what your closest friends will think of you being a Zukaang shipper - that’s me as well lol. I still haven’t told mine. Thankfully my husband is super chill about it and even helps proofread my chapters, so at least I have someone irl who I can gush to haha.

I’m so happy to hear you’ve enjoyed The Avatar and the Fire Prince so much - it has definitely been a labor of love, not just for the Zukaang ship, but for AtLA as a whole. It has given me the opportunity to truly dive into the world, characters, and lore and flesh them out in ways they couldn’t be in the original show. Plus, it’s just been a blast to write! :)

Thanks again for sending this ask anon! We’re happy to have you in the Zukaang fandom! ❤️