#triplets!Ari Levinson

[imaginedreamwrite]

Come Hell Or Highwater: Part 4

Andy Barber, even as young as he was compared to other lawyers who were as seasoned as him, was at the top of his game.

He was a lawyer who built himself a reputation that exceeded others around him and had just as ruthlessly defended anyone that he could have helped. While his brothers had joined the military and became navy SEALs, the two driven by some force demanded they give back to the world by saving everyone that they could.

Their impressive military careers were commendable and had secured the two of them a position with the Navy SEALs, while Andy had chosen to attend university and get his law degree. Ultimately the three of them would end up working for the same goal to aid the Witness Protection Program as best as their skill sets would allow.

While Ari and Steve had aided the program with their skills learned in the military which had provided protection for the people integrated into the service, Andy had worked through the courts to ascertain protective orders and handle the proceedings that would hopefully allow whoever was in hiding to find some level of peace.

Some level of peace that would only be achieved once the men responsible, for beating the prominent businessman and politician to death in the darkened alley on that fateful night wherein your good nature won out, had been put through court and thrown into a tiny windowless cell.

Until then you were at risk of death, or an even worse fate if they had gotten their hands on you. And while Andy, Ari and Steve would do everything within their power to keep you safe and out of their hands, ultimately there was only so much they could do and if you hadn’t played the role given to you by the program, you could theoretically be the cause of your own downfall.

Although that chance was low, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities especially not for someone like you.

Naïve and good-natured to an almost fault, there were definite avenues that could be exposed, there were cracks that the other side of the coin would try and expose. If they had gained access to your heart that you wore on your sleeve, or if they had tapped into your willingness to help as many people around you as they could, they would have you exactly where they wanted you.

However they had to find you first, and finding you would grant them the most difficulty. Especially given the numerous trials they had left that directed the organization after you in countless directions. It was a ploy, an intricate plot to have your direct location hidden.

And the benefit of being in a place that was a secure and safe community for polyamorous couples and family units was its secrecy and tendency to stick to each other. A safe place that wasn’t well accessed by the general public, the town you were hiding in was like its own little separate world beyond the usual.

Andy had stolen himself out of his thoughts by the crisp crinkle of the receipt in his hand was almost as necessary as blowing on the cup of coffee in his hand before he had a taste.

With the weight of a case on his shoulders that was a vital step to making the defences’ argument entirely destitute, Andy could have declared himself rightfully stressed. With long hours being pulled at the office and lengthy scheduled meetings to build layer upon layer before heading to the courts, Andy was rightfully stretched thin.

However, as the cords were seemingly pulling him in every which direction, he had received confirmation from Ari, taking Andy’s name as a persona, that introductions had been made upon your arrival.

Steve, Grant, was to take a job at the local mill working on stripping lumber and smoothing it down.

Ari, Andy, was going to be taking shifts at a construction yard transporting materials to the surrounding area.

And Andy, Cole, was a travelling businessman that went in and out of town frequently, a role that would give Andy an excuse to be gone for weeks.

Arrived safe. Bunny fawn is safe — A

Andy read the message once, and then again. As he comprehended the encrypted text for the second time, he raised the cup to his lips and exhaled a soft breath to further cool his black brew. There were a number of files on his desk, a number of records that alluded to your reputation as being a good girl—an exemplary being of softness and empathy that helped anyone within your reach.

And that kindhearted was had struck you on the path of these men who wanted to strike you down to keep their crimes silenced and under wraps.

They would test your bravado; they would test you within all your boundaries of sanity in order to have you crack and crumble. There was nothing more they’d love than to have you cave and give them everything they wanted while they extended their cruel hand toward you to get what they wanted.

It was the true nature of their brutality that faced you if the brothers failed.

But you were a witness they couldn’t lose, and it was Andy, Ari & Steve’s jobs to make sure you made it to court. There was a chance to finally deepen the cracks in the system, the organization that tried to cripple an entire city with their cruelty and brutality.

There had never been an opportunity like this, to commit major players to the steel and iron walls of a highly secure federal prison, one that was untouched and unable to be infiltrated by every source they knew and had.

“Mr. Barber, there’s a call for you. Someone from New York.”

Andy waited for this.

He had sat further upright in his desk chair and set his cup down, a few beads of condensation darkening the coaster beneath the porcelain. He reached for the receiver and yanked it from its nestling hold, first hearing a beat of silence and then a crack thwack of a blade meeting something dense and sturdy.

“Barber.” The voice was concise and controlled, Andy’s name the only verbal catalyst to get the conversation rolling.

You could only see slivers of moonlight that were peeking through building clouds, the promise of rain later in the early morning hours had hung over the area. While the house was still bare-boned and empty, boxes scattered with hastily packed dishes and other kitchen items were all a ploy to make this whole story more believable.

It was all a faceted cover to keep you in a safe area while somewhere else on the east coast, an entire legion of cold-blooded killers and criminals wanted you strung out because you were too kind. It was a choice you made to do good and be good, to try and help other people who needed you, that caused your life to be held in the hands of three men and the WPP they worked for.

Ari, Andy and Steve didn’t know you from Eve, they didn’t know who you truly were off of paper and out of files and yet your life depended entirely on them. Your life, your short life that barely grazed the 22nd year, was in the balance and you were meant to play the part of a young wife. A woman who was in a polyamorous relationship and new to this whole idea of having multiple husbands while in a community that was incredibly tight-knit and close.

You were cursed by your inability to mind your own business and say no. You were going to be fucked over by your innate need to be a people pleaser and overextend yourself to errands that hadn’t belonged to you.

It was your kindness that drove you to stop and grab your roommate’s prescription, saving her from going out herself. It was your inability to turn away from someone who needed help that made you a target, a witness that could put some Butcher away in a federal prison.

Your kindness, your sense of urgency to be a Good Samaritan had caused your entire life to upheaved.

And now you were in a position where you were set to play a young married wife with two men who had seen hell while in the army, and a lawyer who was deep diving into your life to build a case to protect you.

Now, you were restless.

At the moment you were unable to sleep despite the weight of the day driving you to close your eyes and find slumber.

Every time you closed your eyes you saw them, the two men abandoned in the alleyway bleeding out.

Every time your eyes shuttered you could feel the warmth of blood on your hands, the stench of copper hanging in the air while you attempted to stop the bleeding. The two men whose life had been brutalized, with one losing his life entire, and the other almost dying before the ambulance came, had set you on this path.

The men, or man, responsible for this beating had been sure that they wouldn’t live until you stepped in and when word got out that the other tangent was alive the task had been finished in the hospital room.

You were the only witness left, the only one who could possibly testify against the hellish beast that sent the two men to hades. There was more riding on your testimony and your future witnessing in the courts of law than you even knew.

If you had made it to court, you had a sneaking suspicion that you would aid in the devastation in whatever hellhound had called for the extermination of those two men.

For now, until the day came when you were thrown into court, you were going to have to keep your mind clear.

Though it was a task that was easier said than done, restfulness had found you and you had managed to shift on the bed and face the window with your hands cupped under your cheek.

Through the clouds the silver streams of moonlight had acted as a siren song, one that came over you in a haze to usher your to sleep. Your eyes grew heavy and fluttered closed like the groggy clouds shifting in the night sky, and slumber had come to you quicker than before.

Time was fickle. Time had given you sleep that felt like minutes instead of hours while simultaneously slowing down to an infinite crawl once you had stepped foot into the kitchen in the morning.

The two guards who were you faux husbands were already awake and although only Ari had been dressed for his first shift at the construction yard. The pair of jeans had been faded and worn, still in well enough shape to be used until the end of their life however you could see scuffs against the hems of the legs and a few small holes in the thighs.

Underneath the flannel he wore there was a white loose shirt with a scuff along the neckline and a small tear that could have alluded to him working with tools and lumber, just as Steve was supposed to. He truly had looked the part of a blue-collar employee, a man who was used to lugging materials and lumber around from construction yards to their destination, added by his clothing choice and the sheer size of him.

The long drive from the city to this remote and rural settlement, this closed and secured community where you’d be hidden, hadn’t affected him anymore than a single raindrop against dry sizzling earth. If anything, you were the one who’s been affected the most of the three of you, with your body aching still from the long hours in the truck, and your eyes heavy from not white enough sleep.

“Did you sleep okay?” Ari’s question bared no answer.

At least not at first.

Not until you had gotten your bearings and settled your weight on your toes instead of your heel or the ball of your foot.

Truly you didn’t know what to say to Steve and Ari, how to communicate your fears and inability to sleep due to your stress and anxiety. How could you have easily quantified your feelings while being forced to trust them despite not knowing them?

How could you open yourself up to being honest with them while feeling as if you needed to guard yourself?

Your answer was soft, mumbled and came with you rubbing your hands on your fleece-lined joggers, wiping your sweaty palms on your thighs.

“Sure.” It was a weak answer, you knew it was. It wasn’t anything close to the truth but how truthful could you really get when your head was full of garbled chaos?

“I made coffee-” Steve had just slid the porcelain cup against the cupboard toward you when a knock on the front door had rung out in the house.

Your head whipped around to face the sound, the steady knocking sounding more like an alarm than anything, and you were not the only one to think so.

“Stay here,” Steve’s hand was steady on your shoulder, directing you toward Ari and his black and red flannel, “don’t move.”

Steve brushed past you and Ari, trekking from the kitchen through an arched doorway to the front entrance, his voice calling through the door with firmness that created an illusion of a man who was not a morning person.

“Hi! Sorry to bother you!” The neighbour from yesterday called through the door, eliminating the tension almost instantly, and yet Ari still kept you close. “I thought maybe your wife might want to go to the farmers market with Sam and I.”

You heard the twist of the lock before the door opened, the subtle shift of Ari’s body next to yours had stolen your attention off of Steve and your new neighbour if only for a moment. It was enough of a distraction to allow Steve to bring Lia & Sam into the house, and even further toward the kitchen.

“Hi! Hope we’re not interrupting,” as if Lia’s gift of food yesterday wasn’t enough, she had shown up with her husband and a new basket of locally crafted jams and cookies, “Sam and I wanted to invite you to the farmers market.”

“I’m off,” Ari had whispered lightly, stooping low to kiss the top of your head as an affectionate send off, “be good, sweetheart. Grant, you going?”

“Sam, right?” Steve had stepped aside to let Ari past, and then he moved toward you, hands resting on your hips. “Nice to meet you again, yesterday was a long day on the road.”

“That’s right.” he confirmed the name with a smile and then slipped an arm around his wife’s waist, “Are you headed out to work too?”

“I’m sticking around with Danah,” hearing your fake given name for the first time with over people had been the catalyst that drew your eyebrows together in a furrow, and cast your lips into a frown, “we should go to the farmers market, love.”

This was your life for the moment, this was who you had become. This is who you were meant to be in this moment without much of an argument allowed.

For your well-being and to save your life you had to wholeheartedly accept this role as if you were born the persona, you had been assigned.

“I’d like that.” Your reply came as you accepted the basket of gifts and set it on the countertop, and then glanced down at the clothes you’d slept in, rolling your shoulders and picking at the front of the sweater. “Let me change first.”

You escaped without hearing the next spoken word, leaving the room to take the stairs back to one of the guest rooms you’d occupied while using the excuse to change as a chance to catch your breath.

[the-iceni-bitch]

Nobody Does It Like My Daddy

Relationship: Ari Levinson x Jake Jensen (bear and cubby) Ransom Drysdale x female!reader (ninja and puppy) implications of the quadrouple (NLLYL AU)

Words: ~1.5k

Summary: Father’s Day with the Jensen-Levinsons.

Warnings: explicit language, brief explicit sexual content (salad tossing, mention of blowjobs, m/m sex), a ridiculous amount of fluff, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE QUADROUPLE!!! 18+ ONLY!!

A/N: Happiest of Father’s Day to you my lovely readers from perhaps my favorite DILFs.

I am no longer doing taglists so if you want to stay up to date on my fics, follow my sideblog @the-iceni-library and turn on notifications!

Jake grumbled when he felt Ari kiss his neck, screwing his eyes closed against the morning sun that was filling their bedroom.

“Too early.” He huffed when his husband chuckled into his shoulder, rolling over and burying his face in the pillow to try to force himself back to sleep. “It’s Sunday, the triplets took forever to go down last night, let me sleep.”

“I just can’t, cub.” Ari purred and crawled so his body was stretched over Jake’s, kissing his shoulders and starting to move down his spine while he kept making pleasant noises. “Besides, it’s not just Sunday, it’s Father’s Day. And I’ve gotta show some appreciation for my favorite father.”

“Fine.” Jake let his eyes droop when Ari nuzzled into the small of his back, snorting when he kissed that damn tattoo like he always did before he nipped at his ass and slid under the covers. “But I’m gonna sleep while you eat me out.”

“Grumpy boy.” Ari started rubbing Jake’s ass cheeks before spreading them apart, kissing his little pink hole gently a few times until he heard Jake whine. “Just as long as Daddy gets a good blowjob from you once you’re awake. I’m sure we have plenty of time before the kids…”

“No!” As soon as Ari said something one of the babies stirred on the monitor and the sound of running feet filled the house, making Jake snarl at his husband even as he started licking his asshole. “You just had to say it.”

Ari didn’t have a chance to respond before their door was flung open by Isaac and Eli who were shouting “happy Father’s Day” at the top of their lungs. Jake tried to turn over but couldn’t with his bear holding down the lower half of his body, and said bear had to flatten himself out as much as possible so their children couldn’t see where he was and what he was doing.

“Where’s Pop?” Jake was bright red when Eli asked him that, fighting the urge to punch the lump in the sheets when he felt Ari chuckling against his hip. “We’re making you breakfast!”

Jake’s concern about his wild sons operating cooking appliances disappeared when Ransom walked into the room, though he did get even more red when the man smirked as he took in the extra lumpy blankets.

“You little dudes go wash your hands, c’mon. Give your dad a chance to wake up.” Ransom leaned against the door frame and grinned wickedly after the twins ran out of the room. “Morning Jake. Morning Ari.”

“Morning pretty boy.” Ari beamed at the man after flinging the blankets off his head, ignoring his husband’s scolding glare as he kept kissing his perky ass. “Where’s gorgeous?”

“Feeding the dumplings.” Ransom nodded to the monitor so they could see you sitting in the nursery and holding one of the babies close to your breast. “How long do you two need to finish up here?”

“Fifteen minutes?” Ari hushed Jake and smacked his ass when he tried to turn over again. “I guess I can wait to get my dick sucked until tonight.”

“Aww, the sacrifices you make for your kids.” Ransom sniffed the air and swore under his breath before turning and running down the hall. “Rach! That had better be toast I smell burning! I said no using the stove without me!”

“Oh god… Jesus!” Jake’s concern about what their children were getting up to disappeared when Ari buried his face between his cheeks again, arching his back and moaning while his tongue swirled around his tight pink hole. “Ugh, that feels so good.”

“I know, baby.” Ari purred as he gave one of Jake’s cheeks a gentle bite. “Now hush and let me enjoy my fifteen minute meal.”

Jake’s legs were a little wobbly by the time they made it downstairs twenty minutes later, a huge grin on his face when he saw the smorgasbord the kids had laid out for them.

“Wow, pancakes and waffles and French toast, you guys went all out.” Jake sighed when Ari kissed his temple when they walked into the dining room, his heart melting at the kids all covered in flour as they ran to hug their dads. “You guys are the best kids ever, I’ve gotta kiss all of you.”

“Oh no, dad!” The twins tried to wriggle away when Jake kissed the tops of their heads, escaping when he embraced Rachel only to be scooped up by Ari in a bear hug. “Pop!”

“It’s Father’s Day, you have to accept all of our affection, it’s the rule!” Ari laughed when they kept squirming until he let go of them, giving Rachel her own hug and smiling at Ransom when he came in holding Micah on his hip. “Hey bubba! Can you say ‘happy Father’s Day’?”

“Happy day!” Micah squealed when Ari scooped him out of Ransom’s arms and kissed his chubby cheeks, grabbing onto his beard and pulling playfully. “Happy day, papa!”

“Aw, what about me?” Jake beamed when Micah screamed for him to have a happy day as well, kissing his forehead while Ari strapped him into the high chair while he sat next to Rachel and helped her pile some pancakes onto her plate as Ransom tried to wrangle the twins. “Thank you for this, Ran. Did you guys thank your uncle?”

All of the kids said thank you as loud as they could before starting to stuff their faces, shouting again with their mouths full to say hello to you when you walked into the room somehow holding all three babies at once until Ari stood up to help you.

“Happy Father’s Day, boys!” You handed Caleb to Ari and Shiloh to Jake before sitting down with Naomi in your lap, shaking your head when your husband just let the twins climb all over him. “All three dumplings are fed and very happy. I think we have some presents for you to open.”

“Presents?” Jake laughed when the three older kids all ran to go get the gifts with a chorus of happy yells, the dogs running after them when they charged back into the room with their gifts. “Look at these, did you guys wrap them yourselves?”

Their affirmative answers were obvious from the haphazard folds in the wrapping paper and excessive tape, but they were the most beautiful presents either of them had ever seen. They got homemade cookies with paw prints in them from ‘the pets’ and gave exuberant thanks for them after you whispered that they were sanitary and safe for consumption in Ari’s ear. Ari cooed over the beard grooming kit and hiking guides, and Jake had to kiss the kids all over again when he got his book of dad jokes and a t-shirt that said ‘Dad Jokes, That’s How Eye-Roll’. And they both started crying when the giant photo board was revealed, much to the kids’ embarrassment.

“Okay, let’s all go clean up the dishes so we can go on a hike!” Ransom kissed the top of your head as he stood up, sighing when he got a look at the twins sprinting towards the kitchen with handfuls of silverware. “Little dudes, no running with the cutlery, c’mon!”

“Did you guys like your presents?” You bounced Naomi on your lap while she babbled happily, smiling at Jake and Ari when they nodded and reaching out to let Micah hold on to your finger when he pouted at you. “Well, you deserve them. You are the best dads.”

“We couldn’t do a lot of it without you and Ran, honey.” Ari cradled Caleb against his chest while he snored softly, leaning forward and kissing your cheek while watching Jake kiss Shiloh out of the corner of his eye. “Especially with these three. Do you need to pump at all?”

“No, I did last night and they emptied me out when I got here.” Naomi squealed and flailed her arms and you couldn’t help but smile. “Speaking of me and Ran, I have something to tell you that I need you to keep secret.”

“Oh yeah?” Jake grinned when Shiloh tried to snatch his glasses off before blowing a raspberry against her stomach while she kicked her chubby little legs. “Is this a good secret or a bad secret?”

“It’s a very good secret.” You lowered your voice when you heard Ransom bellow from the kitchen as one of the kids sprayed him with water. “We made the mutual decision that I wasn’t going to go back on my birth control but we didn’t really think about the fact that I’m not exclusively breastfeeding and well… I was late. And I took a test and…”

[thedarkplume]

Hey, guys I hope everyone's day is going spectacular! As you all know, today is Chris Evans 40th birthday!! I wanted to do something special for such a special day. Thus, I have compiled a list of my absolute favorite stories written for Chris Evans's characters.

Be advised, however, some of these are dubious consent, non-con, daddy kink, spitting, squirting, oral m/f receiving, creampie, anal, and all other manner of kinks I did not realize I enjoyed until joining the site.

It took me a very long time to compile this list and I may have to do some for Sebastian Stan later since some people want to cancel him. But we're not going to talk about that right now.

Here is a list of some of my absolute favorite Chris Evans stories in no particular order.

Golden Boy (Dark!Steve Rogers) - @angrythingstarlight

What sets this one apart from the rest of her stories, is that there's a deep resentment from Steve to Bucky in the very beginning of their friendship.

What The King Has (Soft!Dark Steve Rogers) - @sincerelythedarkside

I just read this one this morning. This was sooo good guys!

Hidden Solace (Andy Barber) - @ozarkthedog

This was difficult. I kept thinking I'd pick Reparations or Cock Worship, but Andy being a little touch starved did it for me.

Burning Desire (Andy, Steve & Ransom as Triplets) - @sinner-as-saint

She really gives you the best of 3 worlds here!

Ticking Clock (Dark!Andy Barber) - @syntheticavenger

Another tough choice. Synth comes straight for your heart and vagina, and you'll love her for it!

Stealth (Steve Rogers) - @afriendlyblackhottie

I may have bitten off more than I can chew, guys! It's so hard picking just one because there's nothing she's written that I can say is not one of my favorites. I'm telling you, get some wine or your favorite drink (alcoholic or not), put your feet up, and enjoy this lovely lady's artistry!

Back Rooms (punk!Me from Playing It Cool) - @fineanddandy

Not only did she use the fabulous @nix-akimbo edit for this one, but she makes you question if loyalty to a friend is worth walking away from a guy that genuinely wants you.

A Different Kind of Love (Alpha!Andy & Beta!Jake) - @river-soul

Can you imagine having both Jake and Andy in an A/B/O world? Read this story and you won't have to imagine!

Wear Me Down (Ari Levinson) - @navybrat817

Her fight is commendable, but you can't fight fate!

The Valentine's Cock Up (Steve Rogers) - @drabblewithfrannybarnes

God, this makes me laugh just thinking about it!

Original Sin (Dark!Bryce Langley) - @stargazingfangirl18

This had to be my hardest pick yet. What can I say about this ridiculously talented author? She made me lust over Robert Pronge which I promise was not an easy feat. I went kicking and screaming, but I'm here. Honorable Mention to her latest series Necessary Arrangements & Devil's Advocate.

Good Little Wife (Soft!Dark!Mob!Andy Barber) - @donutloverxo

All of her stories have a sort of soft and gentle reader that the men trip over themselves to take care of. I love it!

Goodbye Again (Endgame!Steve Rogers & Avengers!Steve Rogers) - @sweetlyscared

I can go on all day about how much I love this story! The emotions, the love, the loss, gah!!! I'll never not reblog this story.

Snowed In (Ransom Drysdale) - @the-iceni-bitch

Another author who has me lusting over Robert Pronge! I love her Ransom stories, beginning with Snowed In, because while he's still an ass, his girl gives it back just as easily.

Renewing Vows (Dark!Steve Rogers) - @gotnofucks

Dibs is one of my favorite authors. She's one of the few authors on this site that when you read her stories, especially the dark ones, you feel the obsession and single-minded desire to possess you no matter the circumstances. I love how she incorporates her culture in some of her stories as well, particularly the Happily Ever After series. You know it's wrong, but seeing the Avengers in their desi apparel still makes me go, "aww! They really want to make her feel welcomed!" P.S. I really, really came close to choosing Murder at the Whorehouse!

Dark Assassin (Dark!Silverfox!Steve Rogers) - @kleohoneyao3

It took me forever to find this story again. I've always been attracted to older men, but Silverfox!Steve is the goat! My second favorite is Of the Earth.

Little Red series (Steve/Curtis/Andy/Ransom/Johnny) - @autumnrose40

This proud Omega always gives you the best C. Evans characters stories. And she's not afraid to push boundaries with different species(werewolves, mermen, octogods, etc). I'm always so happy to see she's posted something.

Creamsicle (Robert Pronge & Dark!Andy Barber) - @sapphirescrolls

I don't think I need to list Robert as dark, do I??? While she has a cornucopia of dark writings, this is my favorite!

I Have Questions (Steve Rogers) - @royallyprincesslilly

Accidentally dirty-talking Steve Rogers? Hell yeah!

Unhappily Married (Dark!Steve Rogers) - @cherienymphe

This is a wonderfully talented dark writer. I almost chose Twice Bitten several times because (1) she writes vampires the way they're meant to be written, and (2) Steve is so unapologetically hot and cold with the reader it makes me weep. But I do love kids (set in fiction only) and poor Nathan needs a real mother!

Hirsute (Werewolf!Andy Barber) - @avintagekiss24

Whew! This was tough. I literally love all her stories, particularly Blue Ocean Floor and her latest, 'with the weight of the world at the tips of my fingers.' There's a sleek elegance to her writing that is unmatched.

Let Me Teach You (Jake Jensen) - @vannybarber

Jake Jensen does not get enough love. Luckily, he's starting to come up. This writer gives him all the love and appreciation he deserves with this story.

Tell Me You Love Me (Steve Rogers) - @lotusss-flowerbomb

We all have pasts, but if you're going to let your co-workers get drunk around your girl, give her a heads up that you may or may not have hooked up with the gorgeous red-haired spy. Loved this so much!!

Mr. and Mrs. Ari Levinson Invite You to...the Worst Wedding. Ever. (Mob!Ari Levinson) - @caffiend-queen

I've never seen Ari written like this. He's wild and crazy and utterly addicted to his new little wife.

I loved everything about this wedding, especially the author letting us see the different Jewish wedding traditions. If you didn't love Ari before this story, you will after this story!

This was fun you guys! And it gives me a point of reference in case I once again lose some of the stories listed here.

As an added bonus, here are some of my favorite @nix-akimbo edits:

[i-try-to-write-stuff]

Writing Suggestions and Prompts

Hi guys,

So I have a few ideas for some fics -

Tommy Shelby x shipping CEO! Quirky Reader

Steve Rogers has gotten Quantum sickness from time travel, Nick Fury sends chooses you for a "Lumerian Treatment" which gives you the power to see the future. Dark Steve Rogers x Reader

Captain Syverson x Spy! Reader

Jake Jensen/Ari Levinson/Steve Rogers x Reader - triplets dubcon

5. Other character prompts/ RPF?? - leave suggestions in comments :)

---

**Writing Survey** - If you have any suggestions for me

[georgiapeach30513]

I really miss Ari and Curtis with Triplets when they were lil. Pretty sure these two loved to torture them and do all the crazy stuff. Whenever you feel inspired enough please do write something about them.

We really didn't get to see much of them. They were so sweet, and even though they had their hands full, they made it work, which there was three of them. Their main argument was who was spending more time with which kid. Like you would think that since Owin is biologically Ari's he would feel more attachment, and the same with Curtis and Eva and Arleigh, but they seriously look at all three as theirs, and their Little Princess...

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Yes I Do

Summary: life with the Everett-Levinson’s

Pairings: Ari X LP X Curtis

Rating: 😊😊

Warnings: playful flirting, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 1.2K

Desperate Lives AU Masterlist

Ari & Curtis Masterlist

Ari had denied how much he wanted to be a father for so long. Terrified that his offspring would turn out as vile as his brother. But all that changed when he met you. That raging sense of wanting to see you holding his child, and producing an heir for him so strong. He couldn’t hide it any longer.

Seeing the way you were with not only him and Curtis, but how you loved seeing them together. Not everything had to be all three of you. You were left to explore different forms of couples, because sometimes, it’s just what you needed.

In the beginning it wasn’t jealousy, but insecurity that had made you dislike the two of them together. But the fact of the matter was seeing them openly together, made you love them more.

Their relationship was beyond what you had initially thought. Truly in love with one another, and it made you giddy the fact that they brought you into their circle. Loving you just as deeply as they did themselves.

Curtis was someone who was terrified of children. He, himself didn’t have the best childhood. Growing up in foster care, and treated like a free house worker. He developed a sisterly bond with two girls he always seemed to be living with. But seeing how they were treated, made him want children that much less.

Natasha wasn’t granted a life with kids, and he felt selfish for wanting them. He never wanted them until he watched Ari grunting out how he wanted to see you swollen. His usual roughness in bed was more sweet, and still so commanding. Primal, and animalistic for him to see you with his child. It offset a fire in Curtis, and he realized that he too wanted that life with you, but also his first love.

Agreeing to have his vasectomy reversed, and just hope for the best with getting you pregnant was invigorating and freeing. The three of you ending up in a sweaty pile of arms and legs, and so in love. It was a miracle that you carried a child from each of them, because you had already decided, whoever was the biological father this time around, would become the next. And seeing how they were with just ultrasounds, it was the sweetest thing, and you couldn’t wait until they had a baby to hold.

Seeing these two large men wanting to basically worship the ground that you walked on because you were making the three of you a family did something to you. You wanted to show your appreciation to them all day every day. And they were the ones getting exhausted.

You however, were not prepared to see the two of them crying right along with you as each of those babies be born. Both Ari and Curtis singing your praise at how good you were doing, and everyone getting tearful with each cry and whine from your babies.

You didn’t know you could love any of them even more. Rotating which baby was getting skin on skin with different parents because you all loved all three so much. There just wasn’t enough time in the day to soak up all the love you felt for those babies.

How early on they started developing their personalities. Owin and Eva always play fighting while sweet Arleigh would crawl to her closet parent, and laying her sweet head on their chest. It seemed that she favored Curtis the most. Her chubby little hands couldn’t stay off the back of his head, and she would just rub over the velvet like hair of her dad.

Owin had favored you the most. He was always the first to give up with Eva, and he’d find his way to you. That chunky baby that hated clothes. Preferring to be completely naked, but would settle for only a diaper.

And Eva was much more independent, but would always cheese up at her daddy Ari. The first baby to get teeth, and she had an odd way of making him know they were there. Either biting his shoulder, or biting at his beard, and giving it a little pull. Duckie was not the best nickname for her. Honey badger was better. But whenever you called her that, she would shake her head no, telling you “Uck Uck.”

Throughout the years, the six of you remained close. Even though you were scared to move, you enjoyed the constant family time you got. The dynamics between your wild bunch didn’t change much. Arleigh still your sweet girl who avoided her brother and sister’s rough housing. She was untouchable with those four constantly pranking one another. Bunny was far too cheerful and sensitive to handle it. Even crying when Ari tried scaring her as she was walking around the corner.

Almost afraid to even let him hold her as he continued to apologize to her. From that moment on, the sunny Bunny was off limits.

Owin and Eva really got into it, and giggled so much when Ari would scream at you. You give him a slap on his arm, that he didn’t feel, and he pulls you close to that hard chest, whispering, “I’ll let you show me how angry you are with me later, Princess.”

Owin had a hard time trying to scare you, he ended up just screaming a “Mama,” with his arms outstretched for a giant bear hug.”

Eva on the other hand was relentless. She wanted to scare her dad Curtis more than anything. He wasn’t easily scared. She would jump out in front of him, only to have Curtis scooping her up, with her growling at him. “I wanna scare you! Let me scare you!”

“You’ve gotta earn it, Duckie.”

That has Ari, Owin, and Eva determined for her to get her scare in. You stand cooking supper while, the three of them hide, and Curtis steps in the door. His hands wrapping around your waist and he pulls you into him. Kissing along your skin, whispering, “Where is everyone?”

“I’ve just been cooking, daddy.”

“I’ve been aching for something nice and tight. You think Ari has the kids occupied enough to just slip it in?” you moan, and hate how quickly he has you.

“Dad!” Arleigh shouts making him twist around to look at her. “Something, something is wrong with Duckie! Hurry!”

She runs away with Curtis quickly on her heels and before he gets to Eva’s room, she, resting on Ari’s shoulders screams at him.

Clutching his chest Curtis steps back quickly. “What the hell?”

“I got you! I got you. You fell for the power of Evaluna Blaze! I win! You can’t say anything Dad, because I win.”

“Little One, I believe it’s time for another kid, this one is rotten. We gotta get rid of it,” he chuckles when Eva looks at him with a mixture of hurt and anger. “Duckie, I’m only kidding. They’d only bring your mean self right back.”

“Mama, Dad’s being mean.”

“Daddy, quit,” you reach for Eva, and she gives you an unsatisfied look. “Fine, I’ll spank him later. Dad may cry, so I’ll do it when you’re asleep don’t worry though,” Ari’s eyes flutter closed, and he gives both you and Eva a kiss, swatting at Curtis’ ass.

“Daddy and I will take good care of him.”

“Good he deserves.”

“Yes, I do.”

Masterlist

[imaginedreamwrite]

More Hearts Than Mine

Summary: Ari, Jake & Steve are triplets at the same university specializing in different degrees and all three boys fall for the same reader. Sharing is caring, after all

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

[imaginedreamwrite]

More Hearts Than Mine: Part 3

Jake stood on the edge of the library, fiddling with the strap of his messenger bag as his eyes roamed the library, searching the area immediately in front of him for you.

He had been dying to ask you for hours and days on end if you would go to the hockey game with him. However, either he had been too chicken to ask, or you had been seemingly sucked into a black hole, completely gone from sight.

Ned and Peter have been giving him the gears while he ‘simped’ over you, the other IT tech in the student-run program teasing him about his fantastical crush on someone who was clearly out of his league.

Jake knew they meant well, and there were no hard feelings with their jets; he would’ve done the same if he had been in their shoes because they were not the type of guys to get pretty, cute girls who loved photography.

And yet, you seemed to show him enough interest and hadn’t told him to screw off while you were texting. You had carried long conversations that had stemmed from needing technical support, and that had been enough for Jake to want to take a risk.

And hearing that his brothers had their girls they were dealing with was an added push to get his girl. But now that he was here, now that he was in the vicinity of ‘his girl,’ jake was feeling as if he should bow out.

He had wondered if he was giving too much attention to his friends and looking at the nature of it with tinted glasses. Maybe Ned and Peter were onto something, and maybe Jake was delusional.

Or, he thought to himself, maybe he was exactly what you wanted.

With an intake of breath, Jake had started walking across the library toward your study desk near the back, every step bringing him closer to you.

He was only ten feet away from you when he stopped suddenly and gathered his thoughts, attempting to come up with something witty to break the ice. He thought about opening with a joke, but if he had screwed the joke up, then he would start to stutter and stumble over what he wanted to say.

If he began to slip over what he wanted to say, his palms would start getting sweaty. If his palms started getting sweaty, then Jake wouldn’t be able to stop himself from thinking of the correlation between sweat and body temperature. That would bring him full circle to the point where he was nervous about screwing up the joke, and it would repeat itself endlessly.

Jake inwardly groaned and shifted his weight from his left foot to his right foot, and took another short, deep breath before he approached your table, then stood at the edge.

He studied you, with your head down and a book laying open in front of you, your eyes moving across the page as you read the words while mouthing what you were reading. Jake had watched you for a moment before he opened his mouth to speak and snapped it shut just as quickly.

“Hey, Wookie.” You grinned and lifted your head, studying him while he studied you, your lips twitching at the blush that bloomed underneath his skin. “You wanna sit down?”

“You like hockey?” Jake blurted as he reached for the chair and stumbled to sit when he had pulled it out from beneath the table. “I mean, liking something is objective.”

“What?” You laughed under your breath, grabbing the strap of his bag as it started sliding down his arm as he stumbled to sit.

“Do you like hockey?” Jake asked again, his eyebrows furrowing as he swore his tongue was swelling within his mouth. “I guess liking something is objective and not specific, and I really should’ve asked if you wanted to watch hockey?”

Jake felt like an idiot as he blushed and fumbled to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose while his cheeks were aflame and his hands were shaking. He could see your fingers curling around the edge of your book, just as he could see your camera sticking out of your bag on the floor.

He was nervous, he was anxious, and he was trying to ask his crush out on a date to see his brother play hockey, and it was all fucking up.

He couldn’t flirt on a good day; he couldn’t impress any girl with his attempt at flirting, let alone his dormouse. He envied, at the moment, Ari’s ability to talk with girls so naturally and easily. He envied the part of Ari that was so naturally charming.

“I do like hockey. I don’t understand all the plays, and I don’t have a favourite team, but sometimes watching stick monkeys is entertaining.” You answered his question and had given him some temporary relief when you hadn’t immediately shut him down like he was so used to.

“Do you like watching hockey?”

“Uhh…” Jake rubbed the back of his neck and stumbled over his words. “I prefer soccer, but…hockey’s not bad..”

“Did you know that a chef’s hat is traditionally made with exactly 100 pleats to represent the 100 ways to cook an egg?” You hid your grin in your hand when your fact seemed to throw Jake off his game when it seemed to make him take a pause and blink twice before his eyebrows furrowed and his lips twitched.

“What?” Jake shifted in the seat he was in, and his puzzlement continued as he seemed to think about your fact, taking a step back from the hockey talk. “I don’t-“

“You looked like your head was about to explode.” You laughed into your hand and distracted yourself by closing the book you were reading and tucked it into your bag, your fingers fumbling with the zipper.

“Oh…” Jake licked his bottom lip and muttered under his breath, attempting to regain control of his task and his purpose. “I wanted to ask you-“

“Yes.” You answered with another quick and jovial smile, cutting him off and sending the awkward boy back into a tailspin as a steady blush crossed his cheeks.

“Y-yes..?” Jake pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and squeaked before he laughed nervously.

“I’m assuming you were asking me to the game..?” You withdrew your hand from your bag and turned back toward the tall, bashful yet endearingly cute boy who was still blushing and still trying to form words.

“Yeah. I mean, if y-you want to go to the game, I would go, and I wanted to know if you had. But I wasn’t sure if you liked hockey and then-“

“I do like hockey. I think the stick monkeys take themselves too seriously, but they can hardly help it, right?” You shrugged and angled yourself toward him, then rested your left elbow on the table and rested your chin in your hand.

“I uhh…I have a brother who plays….” Jake chewed the inside of his cheek as he drummed his fingers on the tabletop.

“Yeah? Anyone, I may know?” You questioned and had almost immediately redacted the question when Jake seemed to stiffen and draw his lips into a tight purse. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. The game is on Friday?”

“Starts at 7.” He muttered, looking away from you toward a row of bookshelves before he had looked back. “Uhh…you wanna meet at 6:30? At the arena?”

You had gathered your things in your arms and had pushed your chair back to stand, then you studied Jake as he sat at the table, his eyes widening when you stepped closer and had eventually leaned down. You brushed your lips against his cheek, and your smile grew when you felt the heat from his cheeks against your lips and the tip of your nose.

“Sounds like a date.”

Ari shifted the strap of his hockey bag further onto his shoulder and had almost grunted in surprise when his stick had nearly fallen out of his hand yet was caught at the last minute.

As he glanced out of the corner of his eye toward who had saved his stick from falling to the snow-dusted ground, he had been delightfully taken by surprise to see you standing near him with his post in your right hand and a ticket to his game in the left.

“Y/N,” Ari huskily muttered your name as he studied you, his smile growing at the sight of you analyzing his hockey stick, turning it over in your hands, “you’re coming to see me play?”

“I’m coming here with a friend, or a date, a date with a friend?” You frowned and turned the stick once before you handed it back to him. “I came early to check out the arena; I guess my professor wants me to try my hand as a sports photographer.”

“You want a tour? I can show you around.” Ari offered, his crooked smile brightening at the prospect of taking an extra ten minutes to get you to himself before you met your date.

“You take all the girls you meet on tour? Show them all the places you’ve…scored?“ You feigned annoyance, and your smirk was slow to build, but when Ari had laughed and adjusted his bag again, it had become more prominent.

“Just the ones full of piss and vinegar.” He had quipped, stealing a glance at you when you had looked toward the university facility, your head tilted slightly.

“Lucky me.” You rolled your eyes, and none too gently had smacked him with the blade of his hockey stick, laughing under your breath when he had grunted under his breath. “Being so full of piss and vinegar-“

“Do I get to know who the lucky guy is?” Ari questioned as he started walking with you toward the arena, curious about who could’ve managed to steal his girl’s attention.

“Jealous, Levinson?” You countered his question with one of your own and raised an eyebrow when he frowned and looked you over.

“What if I was?” He was oddly profound, and his almost bold admittance threw you off. “Jealous of this guy who gets to take you to a game of mine? Here I am, going to be doing all the work and this guy-“

Ari was cut off by your laugh, the natural and eased melody bringing forth a rise to his heart rate. If only you had known what you did to him. If only you had known how desperately he wanted to kiss you breathless and feel your hands gripping his biceps as he pressed you against the nearest surface, as he thought you quiver against him.

“Right, because your ability to skate and play hockey is laying out the groundwork for me and the success of my date.”

“Nice of you to admit it.” Ari held the door to the arena open for you, holding it so you could pass through, another little grunt laving his lips when you had brushed against him, pointedly drawing your fingers against his chest to tease him.

“Incorrigible.” You grinned and stepped aside, peering at the interior of the arena with mild wonderment and amazement.

From the few concession stands in the lobby, and the security office to the right, the staircases that would take spectators up to the seats closest to the doors, and the hallways that would lead to the other side of the arena and the other half of the stands.

“Have you ever been in here?” Ari asked, drawing your attention back to him with a gentle touch of his finger against your shoulder, studying you as you locked eyes with him.

“First time.” You looked away and studied the banners hanging in the lobby, the team’s success throughout the years displayed in gold ink against a red background.

There were display cases with their uniforms as they had changed in the period, from the induction in the early 20th century to the jerseys they were using now.

“Let me give you a tour before I put a show on for you and your date.” Ari motioned his head to the left, urging you to follow him.

He started walking away from the lobby toward one of the hallways that would branch off into the different sections of the arena, and ultimately the changing rooms.

You had followed along while remaining relatively silent, content enough to listen to the sound coming through the system that was being tested before they had set up the designated play-by-play announcers. It was quiet until Ari had stopped, and you had all but collided against his large, broad back.

“You okay?” He called over his shoulder, taking note of not only your silence but your general dejection. You weren’t yourself, and you had had something big on your mind.

However, you seemed either content enough to keep it to yourself, or you were trying to make yourself seem more put together than you were.

“I know we’re not friends,” you spoke, then frowned, your lips becoming pursed, “or maybe we are in a fucked up way-“

“Y/N, is something wrong?” You hadn’t been as nearly boisterous in your mannerisms; you hadn’t been almost as bold in your sarcastic digs that Ari had grown accustomed to every time he had met you.

“Are we…friends? Like if I had told you something..?”

“Y/N, are you okay?” Ari had set his bag down and his stick on top and had rested his hands on your shoulders and gently squeezed, his thumbs brushing against the negligible exposure of flesh near your collarbone.

“My parents hate that I’m not taking the kind of classes they want. They hate that I am choosing to focus on photography and theatre instead of some high-class career that will….” You sighed and placed your hands against your cheeks, your fingers massaging your temples.

“I’m uhh…I’m not doing good in my photography classes. My professor wants me to switch my focus toward something other than the traditional portraits or landscapes and nature because everything is ‘contrived.’ At some point, he’s going to have to inform my parents of the failing grades because they’re paying for my tuition. And if they hear I’m failing, not only will I never hear the end of it, but they’ll-“

“Breathe,” Ari removed his hands from your shoulders and gently placed them on top of yours, “you need to breathe, bunny.”

You glanced at Ari and chewed the inside of your cheek, the threat of tears becoming all too real the longer you held his gaze. You were feeling overwhelmed by the nature of your relationship with your parents, and the failures you had been hit with here starting to draw you toward a dive-bomb.

“Why would your professor have to inform your parents you are failing? Why would it matter to them?” Ari brushed his thumb against your knuckles, and you had inhaled sharply at the sparks that shot through you.

You had allotted a minute to feel that comfort before you had pulled away and walked toward the metal railing of the lower level and sat against the rounded edge. You had crossed your arms over your chest and nudged at a piece of compressed dust with your shoe, taking a minute to gather your thoughts.

“My parents are…influential, and they have a lot of friends who are just as influential in the university system. My father is a renowned surgeon on the west coast; I mean, he is like one of the top five surgeons in the country.” A sigh fell from your lips and you crossed your arms over your chest before you continued.

“And my mom…she’s a highly trained and overpaid psychologist. Both are intense, both are respectable, and both of them have their idea for what I should be doing. The agreement they had made was that I could go and explore my ‘hobby’ and they would pay for it, but if I failed, and if I didn’t maintain a high average, they would pull me from the school, and I would go into a program of their choosing.”

“Shit.” Ari exhaled and had joined you where you were resting against the railing, copying your stance. “That’s fucked up.”

“That’s the tip of the iceberg. Trust me. I am…I’m working as much as I can to try and afford a place to live on the off chance that I can’t get my average up. If I can drop out before they inform my parents of the poor GPA-“

“Then you wouldn’t have to move back to the west coast.” Ari finished your sentence for you, then blew air as silence came between you.

You had remained in the subtle silence before you had cleared your throat and bit down on your bottom lip. You had stood up straight and drew your attention to his hockey stuff laying in the middle of the hall, his stick on top of his bag.

“I should let you get ready. Tour can wait for some other time.”

“I’ll walk you back.” Ari chimed, pushing himself off the railing to grab his things and haul them over his shoulder once more.

“Don’t you need to get ready?” You questioned, glancing between him and his bag. “Greet your adoring fans?”

Ari grinned and nudged you with his elbow, his gaze soft as he stepped in line with you. “They got nothing on you.”

“Smooth.” You snorted and rolled your eyes as you walked with him back through the halls toward the lobby, your attention grabbed by the steady flow of people who had started to come in, though you were searching for Jake.

“Your date here?” Ari questioned while you were searching for Jake, and as your eyes glanced over the crowd to the left, you had seen him starting to walk toward you, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Ari?” Jake stopped in front of the two of you, glancing from you to him. “You two know each other?”

“You two know each other?” You mirrored his question with your own, glancing from one to the next.

Jake in a graphic hoodie and worn jeans, and Ari in a pair of sweats and a loose athletic department shirt. The two had similar features, yet they hadn’t looked identical. You had wanted to kick yourself; you wanted to kick your ass for not realizing it sooner.

“We’re two out of three triplets.” Ari trailed off, slowly connecting the dots between you and Jake.

“Triplets? You are triplets?” You didn’t know who to look at, didn’t know who to focus on between Ari and Jake.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Your head whipped around as Steve pushed himself through the crowd, his blue-green eyes moving around the three of you, as all the dots and dashes had fallen into line.”Oh my God…”

[imaginedreamwrite]

More Hearts Than Mine: Part 2

The ding that came from the bell above the door had alerted you to the presence of someone entering the café.

However, it was your slight peek from around the corner as you filled up glass containers with sugar that had made you aware of the broad and charming yet aloof boy standing in front of the register with a black beanie on his head and the tendrils of his wispy brown hair curled behind his ears.

From in the back, you could tell he was wearing the same flannel you usually had seen him in, the mix of red and dark blue complimenting him well despite knowing that he could make a garbage bag look good, and beneath the flannel was a white cotton shirt with the hockey team’s name splashed across the front.

“You back there?” He raised his voice in question; his stare fixated on the cheap menu in his hand.

“I’ll be right there.”

“Take your time, sweetheart.” Ari’s voice, husky and deep as usual, had once again let slip a pet name that you didn’t divulge in.

“Not your sweetheart.” You muttered under your breath and finished filling the sugar, choosing to set it back down on the shelf instead of leaving it and screwing the lid around painfully slow.

You would take your time and leave Ari to stew for a few minutes before you had walked out from the back to deal with him and his order, knowing he would probably order the same coffee order with the same pastries he always got.

When you were done and couldn’t stay the inevitable any longer, you had carried the glass containers of sugar out from the back and set them on the counter to your left, arranging them in the centre as not to be accidentally be knocked off and create a bigger mess. Then, as they had been arranged well enough, you had rested the heel of your hands on the edge and curled your fingers against the smooth top.

“What do you want?” You sighed, briefly studying the black lettering of his hockey shirt and the pattern of his flannel as it stretched across his broad shoulders and thick biceps, appreciating the size of the man without acknowledging the trouble he caused.

“I would ask if I could finally have your number, but every time I ask, I get shot down.” Ari’s lips twitched, and there was a moment where you thought he might have smirked at you.

However, he held onto his straight face.

“There’s probably a reason behind that.” You countered and cocked one of your hips, eyeing up his apparel and the lack of any indicators that he was going to a game, which had surprised you.

In the weeks since you’d met Ari, he had always come in either before a game or after, and it had always been with some accompanying piece of his gear as if he needed to remind you that he was captain.

“You’re playing hard to get, sweetheart.” Ari’s lips had formed a smirk, and the tease behind his voice, the flirtations, had unwittingly made you smirk in return. “It’s fine. I like playing games.”

“You mean with your goon squad? Or are you talking about your frat?” You had tilted your head, watching Ari’s tongue poke out from his mouth and wet his bottom lip, the soft drag of his tongue across his bottom lip was strikingly captivating, and the action had struck you.

“I’m undefeated at beer pong,” Ari claimed and had rested his hand on the counter as you had, then leaned in and with the bit of shift in his position, you could see a clear streak of black ink near his right pectoral. “You should come to a party sometime. I think you would have fun.”

“Again, with your goon squad or your band of brave brothers?” You had looked away from Ari, casting your eyes upon the right side of the café, where through the windows, you could see your replacement heading up the sidewalk.

“I do have brothers.” Ari quipped, looking in the same direction you had. “I’m a triplet.”

“You are a triplet?” Your surprise was unbridled. “You’d think that I would be aware of two more of you walking around campus.”

Ari shook his head and laughed, the sound not as abrasive as you imagined it would have been. It was relatively soft, deep in its melody, yet oddly appealing. It made the guy in front of you seem far less intimidating than he initially seemed, the charm and charisma seeping through every note of his joy.

“We’re not identical.” Ari had explained as he lifted his and to his beanie and removed it from his head, the soft black material crumpling in his hand when he had rested the other against the counter.

“Aww. Shame.” Your sarcasm had earned another laugh and another bright, broad smile. “I thought if there were three of you who looked identical, you could team up and raid every panty on campus.”

“Panty raiding?” Ari was briefly distracted by the ding of the bell above the door and the arrival of your replacement as she moved past you and walked to the back. “What kind of guy do you take me for?”

“The kind that has not only adoring fans, but also an entire fraternity of like-minded boys who throw wild partied every weekend.” The beeping from your phone in your pocket had alerted you to a recent message, and the temptation to reach into your pocket and read it while Ari was standing there was tempting.

“You might think I go to parties every weekend, but I’m on the team, and I have to maintain a certain GPA to stay on the team.” Ari had countered your point with facts of his own, and you had admired his insistence that he wasn’t just another drunken idiot. “And I’m away a lot for games.”

“Right.” You nodded your head, looking over your shoulder at the few things on the menu by the coffee bar. “So, what do you want?”

“My usual coffee. My brothers are meeting me here. You wanna hang around and meet them?” Ari fished around in his jean pocket for a few bills and a few coins, then set them on the counter for you.

“Ya know, as much as I would love to meet your brothers, I would rather be doing anything else.” You tapped the screen on the register and slipped in the bills and the coins before you closed it with a jerk of your hips.

“Ouch.” Ari faked hurt and placed a hand on his chest, his lips forming a pout. “Poisonous words, sweetheart.”

“Still not your sweetheart.” You countered and stepped away from the register to move toward the coffee bar with a disposable cup in one hand and a lid in the other.

“But you could be,” Ari suggested playfully, watching you with heightened interest as you made his order, adding a little extra pump of syrup you knew he liked. “You know if you gave me a chance.”

“Right, and what do you suggest I use to beat off your fans?” You quipped, pushing the plastic lid onto the cup before turning and walking back toward him, setting the cup down between you two.

“I have a stick you could borrow.” Ari reached out and grabbed the cup with his right hand, his fingers brushing against your own as the palpable flirtatious tension between you had risen.

“Problem is Levinson,” you rested against the counter and leaned in, dropping your gaze to his plump lips before you had locked eyes once more, “I’m not the only girl you’re willing to lend your stick out to. You have a reputation.”

“What kind of reputation?” His hand slid across the counter space, and the tips of his fingers brushed against yours, the small and brief touch coming across as soft and tender, and you didn’t immediately recoil.

“That you know how to score.” The double entendre had been the motion that made you not only pull your hand away but physically step back as your relief had come from the back and tied her apron behind her back and adjusted her name-tag pinned to her shirt.

“Ari! Hi!” Her voice pitched up, and the blush on her cheeks had been vibrant as she beamed at him.

“Have a fun meeting with your brothers.” You reached behind you and yanked on the ties, loosening your apron before you removed it from yourself and folded it in your arm. “I got his coffee, but he wants one of those stuffed scones.”

“Y/N,” Ari called before you stepped through the back, drawing your attention back to him, “sure I can’t have your number?”

“If that’s an open offer, I’ll take it.” Your relief giggled airily and twirled her hair around her finger. “I mean-“

“Not too late to score, Levinson.” You smirked over your shoulder and casually tossed him a wink before you slipped out of view.

“You’re coming to the game on Friday?” Ari questioned Steve, picking at the salt-covered fry on his plat, studying both his brothers as they seemed distracted and in their heads.

Steve had been quiet all night, which wasn’t a big surprise to Ari. As the youngest of three, Steve had always been calm and a little bashful, consistently preferred to be in the background than steal attention as he had.

He had revelled in the quiet and used it to sketch or draw, often spending hours by himself working on a single piece in his sketchbook that would be placed on the bookshelf in his dorm room or childhood bedroom back home.

There would be stacks upon stacks of sketchbooks or photo books filled with his work, filled with artwork that he loved and appreciated, and Ari knew telltale signs of his younger brother, if only by a minute or two, who had his head stuck on a girl.

“Who is she, Steve?” Ari leaned in and rested his left elbow on the table with his chin in his hand as he watched the younger triplet flinch. His hands stilled as he drew on the napkin, and he slowly lowered the pen and tapped his fingers against the tabletop.

“You met someone?” Jake parroted Ari’s question, pausing the game he was playing on his phone to glance at Steve to his right, his glasses falling down the bridge of his nose.

“Glad you find it so surprising.” He muttered and folded his arms on the table before he leaned in, and a shy smile built on his face. “I met her in the lightroom. She helped me place some of the photos I was working on.”

“What’s her name?” Ari was eager to ask, keen to find out what girl had gotten his shy brother’s attention.

“I met someone too,” Jake interjected before Steve could answer, and the younger of the three closed his jaw to listen to the middle child, thankful for the distraction.

“You met someone too? You wanna tell me her name?” Ari glanced from Jake to Steve, hopeful that one or both of them would feed his curiosity.

“Dormouse.” Jake grinned and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, the same kind of faint blush dusting across his cheeks and Steve’s.

“She calls me Wookie. I met her when I was fixing her laptop, saved all her assignments. She’s cute. She’s so cute. And so funny. She has such a sense of humour-“

“I call her Thalia.”

“Thalia?” Ari’s eyebrows furrowed, confused by the two of them as they sat on the other side of the table, gushing about the girls they had met. “That’s not her name?”

“Thalia. The greek goddess of theatre. She’s in the theatre group, and I saw her practising the other day, she invited me, and God…I swear I was blown away.” Steve was quick to gush, to speak about the girl he’d met with the same vigour that Jake was talking about his girl, and when they were both ready to hear about Ari’s, there was a lack of content to give him.

“Spitfire keeps playing hard to get.” He huffed, yanking another fry off the plate and biting down harder on it than he should’ve; the slight clink of his top teeth meeting his bottom teeth had drawn a cringe from Steve.

“Still?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow as he bit down on his double cheeseburger. “Thought you had a flawless streak for never being turned down?”

“Funny.” Ari rolled his eyes and rested his chin in his hand as he leaned on his elbow. “Glad you two are having such luck.”

“We are.” Jake grinned. “Better luck than you anyway.”

“Bring her to the game then,” Ari suggested before he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“We’re not proving anything to you, Ari.”

“It’s not about proving anything. I’m happy for you two; if the girls you met are half as impressive as you say, then I’m happy for you. Even if I do not have the best luck, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Invite them to the game so that I can meet them.”

“I’m going to be there anyway, taking pictures of the game.” Steve shrugged, half interested in what was going on. “I’ll see if she wants to go.”

“I’m sure dormouse will wanna come and make fun of you.” Jake had also agreed, but only after he had wiped his hands on the front of his jeans and checked his phone for a message.

“Great. Maybe they’ll give me some pointers on my won girl.” Ari grumbled, both elated his brothers had found someone and dismayed at his attempt.

[imaginedreamwrite]

More Hearts Than Mine: Part 1

The spread of pictures laying in front of him had been his focus for the past hour, and still, after the time he had spent on the work, he hadn’t found a solution to his problem.

He was halfway between the point of giving up and giving in and mustering the courage to grab his camera and start entirely from scratch.

“The urge to interrupt you before you had finished was overwhelming.” The sound of someone speaking from behind him had made the lithe boy nearly jump out of his skin as a loud squeak had been ripped from his mouth, to which he had promptly slapped a hand over his mouth.

He had watched the interrupter walk toward the light desk, a stack of photos in your hand as you stepped to the desk adjacent to his. As Steve watched you work, he felt his cheeks burning with heat when his eyes seemed to inherently he fixated on your face and the way your lips moved as you mumbled something under your breath.

You had just set the photos down onto the light desk, then you had turned toward him and cocked a hip, your right hand holding a camera much like his own, and your left hand resting on the edge of the desk.

You had tilted your head, and Steve had taken the quick moment to study your campus hoodie and the tag attached to a lanyard hanging around your neck that displayed your ID, yet he couldn’t see your name.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. I did knock.” He could see you chewing the inside of your cheek, the slight puckering in your face and lips making him believe it was a nervous habit.

He had played with his fingernails, picking at them.

“Sorry.” He stumbled over his words and blushed again, averting his eyes and focusing his contemplative gaze on the pictures he was trying to arrange.

“Project for Mr. Jones?” You questioned as you started to place your pictures on the light board, just as he had on his own.

“Yeah. I’m trying…” he bit his tongue as he wiped his hands on his jeans, his palms sweaty. “…to arrange these, but it’s not….”

“Never works how you want it to.” You finished for him, speaking from experience. “Wanna work on mine, and I’ll work on yours? Get a fresh pair of eyes?”

“I don’t know you.” Steve blurt bashfully, then swallowed his words and wanted to kick himself when you laughed under your breath. “I’m sorry-“

“Y/N L/N.” you crossed the small path between the light desks and stopped a foot from where he was. “We wouldn’t be strangers if you told me your name.”

Steve blinked languidly, the ever-present blush on his cheeks deepening when he realized you weren’t trying to take a jab at him.

You weren’t asking his name while feigning interest at the ‘tall skinny kid’ who spent too much time behind the camera or behind a sketchpad. You were genuinely curious about him, and that was a change from day to day when he was so overlooked by so many different girls in his class.

He was the youngest of three by mere minutes, and yet when girls had found out who his oldest brother was, his triplet, he was like dust in the wind.

“Steve,” he answered while scratching the back of his neck, debating whether to share his last name or keep it to himself, wondering if you had known or would know his older brother.

“Since we’re not strangers anymore, Steve,” you glanced at your work over your shoulder and then peered at his, “how about a second pair of eyes?”

“Y-yeah.” Steve cleared his throat and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Sure. That’s…good.”

“Great!” You had stood straight again and briefly moved back to your light desk to grab your pen and had tucked it behind your ear before you grabbed a small notepad. “I like to take notes. Do you mind?”

Steve shook his head and moved from his desk to yours and then leaned in with the heels of his hands resting against the edge. He had carefully studied the images in front of him, from one to the next, while formulating a plan of action, deciding which would look better where.

“I’m a transfer.” Your voice had broken the silence, and he had taken the opportunity to look your way while you were focused on his images, already rearranging the pictures. “I know it’s late to transfer; well, I mean, we’re already nearly three months in, ya know?”

“Why did you transfer?” he felt awkward with every word, his bashful and quiet nature and his inability to talk to girls without embarrassing himself, was driving the feeling of anxiousness deep within him.

“How about we move on to the next question?” You had shrugged off the question, and Steve had felt heat burst in his cheeks.

He felt as if he had pressed too much, and now he had screwed up the most extended conversation he had with a girl that didn’t revolve around his brother.

“You’re talented.” Your hands stilled, and you had turned to face him, your fingers grasping one of his black ad white pictures. “You have a real knack for photography. And…sketching?”

“Sketching?” Steve’s brows furrowed, and he pursed his lips.

“You have charcoal on your hands and your cheeks.” You had laughed under your breath, and Steve had immediately set upon wiping his cheeks free of the dust.

“I’m in art.” The answer was short, and it was fuelled with uncertainty. “I…like art.”

“I like photography and theatre.” You hummed under your breath, then exchanged one of his photos for another. “I want to be a professional photographer when I’m done with Uni. Theatre is just the tip of the ‘parental disappointment’ cake.”

“Your parents don’t approve?” He glanced toward you again, noting the silence that fell between you.

“No.” You finally answered. “No, they make it well known that I’m wasting my time playing dress-up.”

Steve had turned away again. He had focused on your images on the light table and settled himself in silence until you had announced you were done with his work.

As he stepped away and moved back to your side, he had once again leaned over the desk and roamed the setup you had completed. The range of pictures set in a way that he hadn’t even thought of, in a manner that told a story he hadn’t even known he wanted to tell.

He was so lost in the images and the arrangement that he hadn’t noticed your departure. He hadn’t seen you gathering your things; he hadn’t noticed you left until he lifted his head and opened his mouth to thank you, only to find himself alone.

He furrowed his brows and felt preemptive disappointment. He had turned toward his bag to gather his things when he noticed a slip of paper on his folder for his pictures, the hastily scribbled note. He had picked it up and studied every word, the message resounding with him as he reached for his phone and began typing away.

‘Thank you – I know this will come off as creepy, but I don’t know a lot of people yet. My number is here, and if you want to save it and text me, that’s cool. If not, you can throw this away, and I would never know.’ Beneath the note were poorly drawn stick people and an ever worse camera between them.

Steve cracked a grin and grabbed the piece of paper, folding it in his pocket before he had held his things and set them in the folder. His smile had only grown when he hadn’t even made it out the door and heard a beep; his first text was exchanged for one of yours.

Jake had been fiddling with the small cube on his desk, his eyes trained on the ceiling as he blew the air out of boredom. It had been slower than usual, and his time in the IT office as part of the student-run program had been dragging on for far too long.

Between his boredom and hearing, Peter and Ned carry the same discussion for the last hour without any change or new subtopic brought to life. As he had flung his cube in the air to catch it again, the sound of the bell at the front desk ringing had caught all their attention. The ding had been soft, yet it had drawn every distraction to a close.

“Was that-“ Jake has scrambled to his feet and swiped his ID badge from his desk, beating both Peter and Ned to the door that led to the front of the office. As he stood before the door and peered out, he could see a sleek silver laptop sitting on the desk, but not the person needing assistance.

“You got the last one,” Peter complained, drawing out the syllables. “Let me get this one-“

Jake had taken another look at the desk and had finally caught a glance at who was waiting. He was stunned silent for a moment, stunned and drawn to a place where his mind had gone blank, and all he could do was stare at the girl waiting at the desk, a faint blush crossing his cheeks when he saw you drumming your fingers on the desktop before you blew falling hair out of your face.

“I will give you everything else for the rest of the day.” Jake finally spoke, promising boredom for the sake of fixing your computer.

“Why? Who’s-“ Jake had placed his hands on Peter’s shoulders and pushed him away from the door and out view, mumbling an apology before he yanked open the door and stumbled out, his foot catching the edge of a filing cabinet.

“Are you okay?” Jake hadn’t completely tumbled, and yet you had asked about his state of being as he righted himself and rubbed the back of his neck, laughing weakly.

“Yeah. It happens all the time.” He had cleared his throat and moved toward the front desk, eyeing the laptop that had been closed to your right before he looked back at you. “You need help?”

“I was in the middle of a digital art project, the bane of my existence when the stupid thing turned black.” You grumbled and pushed the laptop toward him; your eyes narrowed at the top of the closed laptop.

“It turned off?” Jake placed his hand on top of the laptop before glancing back at you. “Just turned black?”

“I swear to God, if you make me lose everything, I will rip every wire from you and hang you from the balcony.” You threatened the computer as you set your hands on the counter and then balled your fists.

“As a message to the rest of them?” Jake cracked a grin, laughing under his breath, a blush dusting across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

“Start with one. The rest will learn.” Your smile had been brief; then it fell as exhaustion and hopelessness flitted over you. “Do you think you could save what I have?”

Jake had moved his hand from the top of the laptop before he lifted the lid and tapped the power button a few times, his lips pursed. He had a few thoughts about what could have been the problem; the first suggestion was the battery. However, the laptop looked like it was in good shape; it was not a little worn at the edge from being opened and closed too many times.

“I’m sure I can figure it out. Save it from destruction.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before he craned his neck and glanced over his right shoulder to the locked door.

He should have taken your information and sent you on our way. He should have taken your number and your name, with the promise to call you when it was done. However, the idea to bring you to the back and have you stay a little longer was almost too tempting. You were cute, God he thought you were so cute, and you didn’t talk to him condescendingly.

You didn’t walk to him or look at him like he was a loser, which was a reaction he had gotten more often than not.

“You wanna wait in the back?” Jake’s blush had brightened when you focused your eyes on him. “I mean…it might not take long, and I would hate to send you on your way and then call you-“

“Am I allowed to?” You tilted your head, moving your attention between the laptop and the closed door.

“I mean…yeah. If I’m…with you?” Jake hesitated on his answer, and movement out of the corner of his eyes had been a telling sign that both Peter and Ned were watching him.

“Sure..?” You had hesitated just as he had, yet you followed him when he swiped your laptop from the counter and tucked it under his arm.

“My office is this way.” He had swiped his ID card and opened the door, flashing a glare toward the other two when they shared a look at your arrival in the back and Jake’s insistence that he had an ‘office.’

“Roomy.” You mumbled, stepping to the side and backing into stacked boxes as Jake had come to sit at a small desk with a monitor set in the middle. “Are you sure you’re supposed to have people back here..?”

“Actually-“

“It’s fine!” Jake cut Peter off and tossed his fidget cube at the younger boy, mouthing a threat as he snorted and turned away. “It probably won’t take long.”

“Well, thanks. I have a shit ton of projects that need to be handed in, and if I lose them all-“

“You’ll hang your laptop from the balcony?” Jake teased, his stomach flipping end over end when you laughed and crossed your arms over your chest.

“By the wires.” You leaned against the stack of boxes and crossed your ankles, standing in that position for a moment before you had uncrossed your arms and rested your heels against the edge of a package.

“It should be simple.” Jake had reached for a cord that was plugged into his monitor, then hit the other end into your laptop, the screen almost immediately coming to life.

As the screen had come alive, Jake had tilted his head when the image of you at a Halloween party had caught his attention.

You were in the centre of three others wearing a set of grey mouse ears, paired with a pale blue skirt, a brown waistcoat and a red overcoat. You looked cute, even more so with tiny whiskers painted on your face, and Jake was remiss and unable to hide the grin that cracked on his face.

“Dormouse.” You groaned almost embarrassingly. “It was last year at my old university. I’m a little…obsessed with Alice In Wonderland, and my friends and I decided to dress up as Alice In Wonderland characters.”

“Not Alice?” Jake cocked an eyebrow.

“Everyone goes for Alice.” You explained, drawing your attention from him to the picture on your laptop. “Dormouse is different. Don’t judge.”

“I’m not judging-“

“Jake dressed up as a Wookie one year for Halloween.” Jake had whipped his head around and glared heavily at Peter, his blue eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched.

“Wookie. That’s Star Wars, right?” You looked between them all, though your eyes had flitted back to Jake when he turned to face you, his blush back on his cheeks.

“You watch Star Wars?” He was hopeful, eager even.

“I’ve seen them once or twice.” You shrugged. “Originals are better.”

“The sequels are trash.” Jake had turned back to your laptop, moving the mouse that was connected to his monitor as he started to work on the problem; the time between you four divided between Peter and Ned whispering among themselves and you playing on your phone.

“Done.” He spun in his chair and unhooked the cord, handing you the laptop back, your fingers momentarily brushing. “It was a glitch, I got it fixed, and it shouldn’t happen again.”

“Thank you!” You spoke with glee and relief, reaching for your bag at your feet to slip your laptop in. “How much do I owe you?”

“Owe me?” Jake lost concentration again, distracted by how pretty you looked in the dimmed light.

“Yeah, for fixing it. How much do I owe you?” You questioned, slipping your hand into your bag to pull out your wallet.

“Nothing.” He swallowed nervously. “It’s…on me. The first one anyway.”

“Well, no offence, but I hope I won’t be back.” You had shoved your wallet back in your bag and yanked the strap up your shoulder, the edge of the bag smacking against your hip.

“I’ll…walk you out….” Jake had stood abruptly, his shoe catching on the edge of his chair and had almost toppled into you.

“It’s just through the door, right?” You stepped away and adjusted the strap again. “Thanks for the help…Wookie.”

Jake remained stunned while he watched you leave, and only when the door had closed, and it was the three of them again, had he exhaled and let his shoulders drop.

“Shut up.” He snapped at the two before they said anything and fell back into his chair.

The rush had been over yet; there was a single row of tables that had been taken by a loud crowd of guys jeering each other on. You had been behind the counter, rolling your eyes at their gestures for the fifth time that hour, when their waitress approached with a dreamy look on her face.

“Meatheads.” You mumbled under your breath, watching the table of boys and their expansive order. “What’s their deal anyway?”

“Hockey players.” She had cocked a hip and tilted her head. “They’re a mix of new and old. The newest members of the team pay the bill for the older ones.”

“Right, as some kind of hazing ritual?” You studied the table and then turned away, finishing off a bill as one of your customers came to the front to pay.

“I wouldn’t mind being hazed by them.” The dreamy look on her face grew as she rested her elbow on the countertop then rested her chin in her hand. “They’re all so attractive. Ari’s the hottest thought.”

“Have a good day.” You smiled at your customer as he left a tip for you and turned around to go through the front doors, his eyes briefly cast on the group of rowdy boys. “Ari?”

“The captain.” She beamed when a few of the boys had turned to look at her, their playful smirks earning a soft flirty giggle. “He’s the real big one. He’s the captain of the team and an offensive player. He knows how to score.”

“Eww.” You scrunched your nose and turned away from the register.

You had grabbed two sets of menus for the few tables you had on the right side of the room and tucked them under your arm, stealing a glance at the table your coworker was still staring at.

As you walked away to the tables you had to serve, you greeted the first and second with the same smile and the same spiel about the specials and had given them both a few moments to decide what they wanted with the promise that you would be back with water and coffee.

As you had made your way back to the front counter, you watched your coworker heading to the back for a last-minute item and had thought nothing of her moving to the back.

You had grabbed a tray and set the glasses of water on the flat surface under coasters before you put the carafe down. With everything loaded, you had walked back toward your customers and doled out the water’s and coffee before you glanced over your shoulder and saw your coworker staring at the empty table with a dumbfounded look on her face.

“I’ll be back.” You smiled small and turned on your heel, stalking back toward the other side of the café, and joined her side as she held the bill in her hands.

“They stiffed the bill.” Her bottom lip quivered, and she looked your way with tears building in her eyes and her bottom lip quivering. “I’m going to be responsible for this.”

You gritted your teeth and stole the bill from her, shoving it in your pocket as you made the split decision to follow them. You hadn’t even made it to the door when she called your name, stopping you momentarily.

“Handle my tables. I’ll be back.” You ground your teeth together and shoved the door open, the metal frame slamming against the doorstop and blasting you with the ripping wind.

Still, you stepped outside and looked down the left and right sides of the street before you saw the last of them turning the corner. You had stepped outside and jogged to catch up with them, each step making you more irritated than the previous.

“Hey!” You raised your voice and yelled at the group of meatheads, a few of them stopping and turning towards. “Assholes!”

The sound of your voice being raised again was enough to make the rest of them stop. As their eyes came to settle upon you, you felt your heart hammer as you realized what you had done, yet it was too late to back down. With shaking hands, you stepped forward and scoured the crowd.

“Which one of you is Ari?” You questioned while shoving your hand in the pocket of your apron, your hand clenching the bill. “So you’re not just assholes, you’re also-“

“I’m Ari.” The one who had stepped up was, as your coworker stated, massive and a mountain of a man.

His broad width had undoubtedly been the kind of frame a hockey player would need, especially an offensive, and the way his flannel seemed to accentuate his frame was heart-stopping. His hair was longer than you expected, and it had brushed the back of his neck while appearing as if it would get in his eyes if it weren’t styled.

He was tall. He was massive.

He was also, like she stated, beautiful and rather attractive. However, your anger at them skipping the bill was tainting his image.

“You-!” You pointed your finger at him and dug the bill out of your pocket.

“You bring your goon squad into a place, take up an entire section, and then you decide to skip out on your bill. You get up and walk away-“ You heard the soft chuckles of the rest of the team behind him as if this was some amusing feat.

“The bill wasn’t paid?” he questioned and crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

“If it were paid, I wouldn’t be running after a bunch of arrogant stick monkeys, would I?” You snapped, drawing your attention from him to the team behind him, watching them stand together like a group of lemmings, one copying the other.

“You said you paid it.” Ari turned and focused his heady stare at a young guy, likely a freshman who had seemingly cowered beneath his gaze.

“I guess I forgot-“

“You forgot to pay a nearly $200 bill? Are you stupid?” You jeered and took another step forward, standing only a foot away from the ‘captain.’ “We are not going to be responsible for this. Pay for your goon squad, captain Ari.”

You shoved the bill into his chest and dropped your hands when he had slipped his on top of yours. You took a step back and then turned on your heel to stalk away from him, knowing that you couldn’t physically make him pay his bill, and realistically they probably wouldn’t be back to pay it. However, just the act of you going out there had made you feel somewhat accomplished.

“You survived.” Your coworker sounded surprised as you stepped through the door and finally behind the counter. “I’m surprised.”

“So am I.” You exhaled slowly and rested your back against the edge of the counter, your shoulders drooping as you relaxed. “I have never done anything like that before. I don’t even think-“

The bell above the door had rung, and both of you looked up as the broad shoulders of the guy you’d just yelled at filled out the frame. He had stepped through one door, then another, before he walked right to the register. You side-eyed the other waitress and stepped up to the machine, your gaze flicking from him to the bill in his hand.

“Sorry about that, sweetheart.” His voice was deep, deeper than you initially thought now that he was inside, and it was quiet. “The message didn’t get across. The-“

“Freshmen were supposed to pay. So I’ve heard.” You reached for the bill and took it from his hands before you used the edge of the counter to smooth it out.

“I figured as the goon squad’s captain,” he cracked a grin and leaned forward, the smile making the guy in front of you seem even prettier, “I should take responsibility.”

“For the first time in your life, no doubt.” You muttered and tallied the total, to which Ari had pulled a smooth card and inserted it into the chip reader.

“You’re funny, sweetheart.”

“I am not your sweetheart.” You snipped, crossing your arms over your chest as the payment went through, and the transaction ended with the receipt being printed. “You want a copy?”

“Could I get your number?”

“No.” you ripped the paper and slid it toward him. “You want this?”

“If I can’t have your number, can I have your name?” His smile was just as charming as the man himself, and yet when he asked for your name, all you could do was tap the name tag pinned to your shirt.

“Y/N,” his grin grew, “I like it. You sure I can’t have your number?”

“Have a good day.” You turned on your heel and swiped your abandoned tray from the counter, and tucked it under your arm. “And tell your goon squad not to skip on any more bills.”

[imaginedreamwrite]

More Hearts Than Mine: Part 4

The hard plastic seat beneath you had felt cold. The hard plastic had felt more uncomfortable than you would have imagined it to be, though you couldn’t be sure that its discomfort hadn’t been affected by your wariness.

The information flooding your brain, the neurones firing over and over again had almost triggered a flight or fight response and had it not been for Jake’s arm slung around your shoulders and the cup of overpriced beer you were sipping on; you may have taken off and never looked back.

You would have left and hurried away to deal with the mess you had found yourself in if it weren’t for the gentle geeky giant drawing soft circles into your shoulder, whispering sweet affirmations into your ear as you calmed yourself down.

“I just don’t,” you exhaled sharply and turned your head, your eyes meeting through the lack of distance and the tip of his nose brushing against yours as he leaned in, “know how I didn’t realize you were triplets.”

“We’re different, mousey.” Jake’s smile was small yet reassuring, and he had nudged the beer in your direction, urging you to take another drink, “Different enough that most people find it unbelievable.”

You had sipped on the overpriced beer, letting the taste settle on your tongue and taking your time to swallow before you had shifted on the hard plastic seat. You had stayed your reply and focused on studying the arena in its entirety as you sat next to Jake. You had cast your eyes upon the massive space, the stands and seats that had mostly been filled.

Your attention had bounced from the ice in the middle that had just been prepped for the start of the game by the Zamboni to the scoreboard that was hanging high above the ice that had been secured with a thick steel beam. A few banners were hanging along the cement wall, the victorious years of the Boston University Terriers displayed with clear and distinctive pride.

The lights had been dimmed, and the steady and heady beat of music playing before the game had been accentuated by the use of coloured lights as the countdown to the start had been displayed on the scoreboard.

There was a transparent atmosphere in the arena that had been rooted in anticipation and excitement, the kind of living motion that had coursed through the crowd and yet, you felt like you had been struck with a hot iron.

“I know you’re all different, but how could I not notice?” You had been distracted.

You knew that.

You knew you had been distracted by your failing grades and the threat of your parents hanging over your head. You knew that it was likely a reasonable excuse, yet it hadn’t made you feel any better.

“Are you okay?” Jake had mumbled in your ear, his voice and the heat from his body making you feel better than you had since you found out, and you were blissfully thankful for him being here.

“Processing.” You answered short and lifted the cup to your lips again, downing the beer. “So…Ari is oldest?”

“By a minute.” Jake scoffed and shifted in his seat, the weight of his arm around your shoulders bringing a resurgence of comfort and warmth. “I’m the middle, Steve-“

“-is the baby.” You finished for him, then huffed. You blew out the air you’d been holding in and sank further down in your chair, your eyes settled on the ice.

“We all have feelings for you.” Jake, up to this point, had been cool and calm, collected.

Then he started to talk about the way they felt about you, and that nervous and skittishness had retaken hold of him. It was endearing, and it was one of the many things you had liked about him.

But you hadn’t just had feelings for him. You had feelings for Steve too. And Ari…was attractive, and the conversation you had before his game had cast him in a different light, one that you enjoyed.

The truth was that you could and had started getting feelings for all of them. And that had made a situation that was already screwed up even more fucked than you had thought.

“I feel like a whore.” You groaned and hid your face in your hands, groaning into your palms. “Only I could find myself in a situation like this.”

“You’re not a whore, mousey.” Jake rubbed his hand along your back when you had leaned forward and rested your elbows on your knees.

His and tender touch had been the directive in which you had started to ease back from that anxious high. “You’re pretty and smart; you’re funny….”

“Are you blushing?” You had questioned when you glanced back at him, noting the pink dusting across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, the added colour making the big blonde seem like a cute little puppy.

“I mean…you’re adorable…and attractive. And you don’t…treat me like I’m a fucking dork.” Jake had rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously under his breath, reverting to his bashful manner. “I really…we like you. I mean, we all…want-“

Movement to your left had caught your attention, and from the corner of your eye, you could see a familiar blonde walking up the stairs of the stands. Steve was holding his camera in his hands, his thumbs tapping on the screen of the device with a furrowed brow and a frown on his face.

As he had lifted his head and came upon the sight of you and Jake, his grimace had morphed into a smile, and he had immediately begun making his way toward you two.

“The game is starting.” Steve had joined the two of you, choosing to sit on the space to your left, and before he had spoken to you, Steve had leaned forward and directed his attention to Jake. “Ari giving another riveting speech.”

“You’d think he’s leading an army into battle,” Jake muttered, slipping his left hand onto your right knee, squeezing gently, his thumb brushing against your kneecap.

“You wanna see some pictures?” Steve spoke to you, gently nudging you and his camera in your direction.

“No one’s naked, right?” You heat nervously, still reeling from the great discovery.

“I promise.” Steve grinned and turned to the first image, the first picture he had captured of the team dressing room, the jerseys all lined up on the hooks with their helmets resting on the bench below.

“You know you’re talented.” You chimed as you leaned over and started watching him turn through the pictures he had taken, moving from the picture of the jerseys and helmets to the players as they got ready and faithful to his word; none were half-naked or showing a bit of skin that was meant to be covered.

They hadn’t been edited and were a little rough, as would have been yours, but the angles and the contrast Steve was able to capture from a single camera, even as good as it was, were incredible. His talent for photography was undeniable, and you had felt envious of the way he could do effortlessly tell a story without seemingly struggling you had.

“You are too,” Steve had lifted his hand and brushed your hair behind your ear, clearing the view of your side profile, and you had shuddered delectably when he trailed his fingers down your jawline, “I’ve seen your stuff.”

You were at a loss for words, unable to think of what to say, especially since you knew your professor had felt otherwise. Your professor had felt as if you had no direction, no passion for landscapes and photography.

You were going to crash and burn entirely if you had kept up the track record you had of barely passing assignments one after the other. Still, the least you could do was thank him for the comment and let it be that.

Only, the conversation had been stirred elsewhere by your tongue and your curiosity of what they could have possibly said about you. Your interest in how they had all perceived you to one another had been at the forefront of your mind, and it had been enough to dictate how the interaction would go.

“Jake calls me dormouse,” you wiped your hands upon your thighs and licked your lips, “do you and Ari have a nickname?”

Steve had chewed his bottom lip, hesitating to tell you or simply not wishing to though he had caved quickly when your eyes had lingered a little too long on him, and heat had risen to his face.

You could see the blush, the dusting of pink across the bridge of his nose and cheeks, almost identical to Jake. Yet, Steve’s blush had made the youngest of three seem younger and more innocent as he bathed his long lashes at you tantalizingly.

“I never used your name. I used sugar, or Thalia. Goddess of the theatre.” Steve’s blush had deepened when you cooed and reached out to pat his cheek twice, affectionately appreciating the tender and gentle youngest triplet.

“That’s cute.” You beamed and glanced at Jake, wondering for a moment if you would have to sway him to tell you what Ari had used as a pet or code name, but he had caved almost immediately.

“Ari had a few. Or he has a few.” Jake had answered quickly, stuttering over the beginning of the words as he explained and dove into Ari’s choices. “Well, first he called you ‘hot café girl’-“

“Of course he does. He thinks with his dick.” You rolled your eyes and scoffed, annoyed by the big hockey-playing frat boy, who had shown you a sliver of the kind-hearted giant he could be.

“But then he started referring to you as ‘bunny.’ I guess he thought it fitted since you scrunch your nose when you concentrate-“ Jake had been cut off again. However, it wasn’t you who spoke over him. Instead, it was Steve.

“-and because you’re fucking adorable.”

When Steve spoke, you had looked back at him, becoming surprised by the look in his eye that shot electricity right through, the spark and aftershock ultimately warming your belly to a third degree. “You know, like if you happened to slip a pair of bunny ears on and a puffy tail-“

“Ari thinks you’re cute.” Jake had leaned back and shot Steve a dirty look, his eyes narrowing slightly, his eyebrows furrowed. “You hungry mousey?”

“A little bit.” You side-eyed Steve, interested in the look that has flashed across his eyes and the tone of voice that had sent shocks through you. “Will we have time before the game starts?”

“You can order on an app, and they’ll let you know when the food is done.” Jake dug in his back right pocket for his phone and tapped the passcode, neither bothering to hide it nor caring, and when it was unlocked, he had found the app and loaded it on his screen. “What would you like?”

“Jake, I can pay-“ You furrowed your brows after your spoke, bewildered by Jake’s soft eyes and pout, the look making him seem even more like an adorable puppy than before.

“It’s a date. Shouldn’t I pay? It is a date…right..?” His pout continued as he almost became the epitome of a sad emoji you had used far too many times in your life.

“It’s a date.” You reiterated and quickly glanced at Steve, catching him rolling his eyes and mumbling under his breath.

“Great! What do you want?” Jake questioned, tapping at the app as he ordered food of his own before he glanced your way.

You hadn’t had the chance to answer before the lights had dimmed even more than they had, and the light show had grown more erratic as the announcements had taken the place of the music. The voice coming through the speakers was loud and booming as he started announcing the team players starting with defence and leading to offence before he had ultimately and finally come to Ari.

“Your captain,” he boasted with excitement and your attention had as glued to the ice, more specifically the giant mass of a man, the captain who had come skating out with a speedy flourish, “Ari Levinson!”

It had been instinctual, the way you had cupped your hands around your mouth, cheering his name with vigour. You could have argued that the crowd and the energy had finally gotten to you, and yet it felt more personal than that.

“I know nothing about hockey!” you half yelled to Steve, your voice raised to speak over the noise coming from the speaker.

“We’ll teach you everything you need to know!” Steve had replied, his voice raised just as yours was, but you had once again become distracted.

Only now, you weren’t distracted by the noise or the announcer; it wasn’t the lights or the music that had played as they took a moment to warm up on the ice.

No, you were distracted by the arrogantly hot offensive player who was raising his glove in a wave and flirting with you from where he was on the ice with a wink and a well-meaning smirk.

[imaginedreamwrite]

“I don’t want you doing that again.” You feel every word against your back, his chest rumbles pleasant and seductively as he speaks.

“I didn’t-” you try to protest and cut yourself off, your hands wrap around the forearm that holds you to him. The bubbles are lightly scented like rose and lavender, the warmth of the water soothes and eases your muscles that ache from the unplanned run you sent yourself on.

“You did, but you were scared.” He towers above you even now, overshadowing you with his thick corded chest and his broad shoulders that are a stonewall for you to cling to.

“I’m terrified.” You kick at the water, a wet sconce of bubbles drip over the tub and for a moment you feel like a child again. “I thought…I swore someone was breaking in.”

“We would’ve known. Andy, Steve and I would have known.” Ari shifts beneath you, your bodies flush with one another, the lack of barriers between your naked body and his is apparent and bold.

“I thought I was going to die, that’s why I ran.” You feel emotional, explaining yourself and you turn your head to sniffle.

Your eyes sting with tears, you feel like a child. Again.

“We’re going to protect you, we’re all going to keep you safe.” Ari’s chest rumbles, the scent of rose and lavender brings you comfort and ease.

The lines have blurred incomprehensibly now. You don’t know where the start has gone and the end is nowhere to be seen. Its an even plane, a certainty that you’ve gone and lost yourself in them.

Andy, Ari & Steve have every part of you now. They’ve had you all, and you’ve had them.

Intimacy is rampant, its not one to be ignored and you are leaning heavily into it.

“We’re trying for a child,” Steve had proudly announced at one of the parties down the street, “its the next step for us.”

You couldn���t stop thinking about that, about the announcement Steve had made. You were aware of it, it was a necessary tactic to make the town believe you were trying to move forward with a normal life.

And you wanted children. You’d told them as much, that you wanted to one day have children and be able to raise a family while writing music. You told them that it would be your dream to own your own song writing company or business while growing your family.

You didn’t seem fame, you didn’t want to play in sold out stadiums. You wanted to write music, and you wanted a family with your partner.

“We’re worried about you. When we came home and you were gone, the door was open-” Ari kissed into your hair as tears rolled down your cheeks.

“-we thought you’d been killed.” Ari whispered with undeniable sincerity.

Like Ari had spoken now, Steve mentioned children with such unreserved honesty you almost believed it was true.

And maybe it was. Maybe Steve wanted kids with you. Maybe Andy, Ari & Steve were as lost in this as you were.

“Ari I’m sorry.” You apologized, leaning back against his bare and wet chest.

“Its okay, sweetheart.” He whispered softly, speaking as rain started to batter the windows and your shared bath continued. “We’re going to keep you safe.”

Safe from harm, but not safe from your heart breaking when this all ended.

[imaginedreamwrite]

More Hearts Than Mine: Part 5

“You’ve never been to a game before?” Steve hadn’t believed you when you first told him, but he had quickly changed his mind and taken your word for it when you were asking questions within minutes of the puck dropping.

“My parents are academic. If it doesn’t involve statistics or how to succeed in the social ladder, basically if it’s all for fun and not to further yourself-”

You were rightfully distracted by the game, enamoured by the speed and the skill of the players on the ice, and you’d visibly winced more than once when Ari had bodychecked another player into the boards.

“You do anything for fun when you were growing up?” Steve had meant it as a joke, a way to get to know you better via your childhood, which up until now had rarely been talked about.

“Fun?” You had jest in response; the ease between you and Steve and Jake was building with every passing moment. “What’s fun?”

“Haha,” Steve laughed dryly and sarcastically, draping his arm across the back of the seat and against your shoulders, pausing to kiss the top of your head when you rest your head against him.

“My parents put me in dance, horseback riding lessons, piano and gymnastics. But none of it was meant to be fun. They wanted me to have as many avenues to success as they could.”

You pushed yourself closer to Steve, only once glancing at the empty seat to your right, where Jake had been. “Is Jake okay? Is he gonna need help?”

“He’s fine. He’s gonna be back soon.” Steve reassured you with a stroke of his fingertips against your shoulder, the small circles he’d made against your shoulder was a pleasant and small affection.

“What’s going on?” You questioned when one of the refs had blown the whistle, and the game had come to a brief standstill, with the ref grasping Ari’s jersey to lead him to the side.

“Ari’s gotta go in the penalty box for hooking,” Steve explained, gently turning his head to the scoreboard and the countdown appearing on the screen, “five minutes it looks like.”

“That’s the penalty box?” You stood from the cool plastic stadium seat you were sitting on and watched the referee leading Ari to the transparent plexiglass box and as he entered, a round of boos had risen from the crowd.

“Yeah,” Steve had gently nudged you, “Ari’s got five minutes for hooking. You wanna talk to him, now’s your chance.”

“Can I?” You looked at Steve, still unsure if it was something you should be doing. “I can just..?”

“Yes, sweetheart.” Steve nudged you gently again, encouraging you to sneak past him and head to the staircases that would lead you to the box.

You had taken a step and turned back, Steve’s eyes trained on you and his hands shoved in the pockets of his coat as he watched you. “I’ll be back.”

You turned away and rested your right hand on the metal railing secured to the cement steps, sliding your hand down the smooth painted surface in tandem with every step you had taken. When you had approached the penalty box, you had stepped on the edge and tapped the back.

Ari had turned his head and cast his gaze over his shoulder, his eyes bright and his lips stretching into a beaming smile at your approach. He had set his stick against the right wall of the penalty box and pulled out his mouth guard, placing it on the seamless edge.

“Ari!” You raised your voice and placed your hands flush against the plexiglass. “You goon!”

“Hey, bunny!” His grin had only widened, and he had fixated his attention on you and not the crowd or the ongoing game. “You having fun?”

“You got in trouble for hooking!” You knocked on the glass twice more, the subtle sound muffled against every other sound and sensation.

“The asshole deserved it.” Ari’s grabbed his blade and tapped against the glass, like you had, twice in return. “You see that bodycheck?”

“You really are a goon!” You laughed under your breath. “You do that often? Get into trouble?”

“Wait until you see me fight!” Ari glanced back at the clock, at the time counting down before he addressed you again.

“Do you fight?” Your eyes widened when a player on the other team had skated close to the boards and banged his stick against the panels, the noise and the sudden collision nearly making you jump out of your skin.

“Go back to your seat, baby!” Ari’s studied the ice, picking up the number of the other team’s player that had hit the glass with his stick, his blue eyes narrowing when the player smirked at Ari from across the ice. “I’m about to go back in.”

“Ari-“ You were distracted again by the pace in which he had shoved his mouthguard back in and grasped his stick.

And when the timer was down to zero, Ari had shoved the door open and left the box, skating effortlessly across the ice toward the massive-looking player that had hit his stick against the glass.

Ari exhaled sharply as he lifted his hockey bag onto his shoulder, grunting softly from the weight he was used to, and yet the weariness of his body after three intense periods was giving him little grief.

As he had adjusted the weight of his bag and grasped his stick in his hand, he had glanced toward the door of the locker room, already feeling the buzz of electricity that was infiltrating the thick and solid steel as if it was radioactive.

Beyond the door were girls waiting to greet them, the lot of them hoping to gain the attention of any number of the players with the hopes of being invited to an after-party and the legendary sex they thought the players had.

In reality, most of the team had girlfriends or boyfriends and had been going steady for long enough that the girls didn’t make them bat an eye. Of the players who were single, they had the great pleasure of having a gaggle of screaming girls waiting for them, pawing at them.

As Ari’s gaze lingered, he had hoped to see you on the other side of the door waiting for him. He was hoping he would see his cute little bunny waiting for him to congratulate him on the big win, and if he were being honest, even if he hadn’t gotten anything but a scornful look or a quick-witted ‘congratulations’ it would have been enough.

Ari was lost for you; he was completely blindsided by the mere sight of you, more so than he had been with any other girl on campus. You were beautiful, intelligent and funny. You hadn’t shied away from taking digs at Ari, from boldly stating your dislike of the captain of the ‘goon squad’ as you had so delightfully labelled them all.

“Party tonight, Cap?” One of the defensemen had clapped him on the back in passing, one of the few single players on the team. “Lotta girls out there-“

“Unless one of those girls is a sarcastic hellcat-“ Ari grinned as the door opened and he caught a glimpse of the very girl he was speaking about, “-I’m not interested. I’ve got my eye on someone already.”

“I see Steve and Jake out there,” Sam commented, opening the door enough to scan the crowds of fangirls, parents and partners alike, waiting for the rest of the team.

“The girl standing between them-“ Ari had directed Sam’s attention to you, the mere image of you making Ari weak.

“Isn’t that the chick that chased us down in the café? Called us all stick monkeys?” Sam’s lips twitched as he started to smirk, hiding his laugh behind his hand as he watched Ari’s expression change.

“Yeah,” He grinned widely and ran his fingers through his long brown hair, his heart fluttering when he had watched you laugh and lean against Jake, “she’s our girl.”

“Our girl?” Sam questioned with one raised dark brow, hitching his bag over his shoulder like Ari had, and waited until the following few players had left the locker room before he was able to approach the door.

“I’ll tell you later, Wilson.” Ari had nudged his shoulder as the door opened again, and the gleeful puck-bunnies waiting outside the locker room had continued their shrieks and excitable nature as they had encircled the players trying to greet their parents, friends or partners.

As Ari stepped out of the locker room and the steel door closed behind him, he was made aware of the fans he had that were waiting for him breaking off from the other players to form a tight group near him as they screeched and squeaked their questions or adoration for him.

It was a part of the role he had as team captain, having his fans trying to get near him or get with him, and yet he only had his eyes on one woman.

He could see you through the crowd gathered outside the locker room, where you were standing with Steve and Jake.

Ari had noticed the look on your face and the tinge of green that was not so subtly hovering around you like a fine mist, envy and jealousy you were likely telling yourself was nonexistent for someone like him.

You had called him a goon earlier when he was in the penalty box for hooking, the quick-fired insult carrying less sting and a little more admiration, the little quip making him grin like a madman as he waited out his five minutes.

“Ari-!” One of the girls to his left had painted his number and his initials on one cheek and the other, and it was a quick side-eyed glance to see the girl was shivering in a tiny skirt and cut off jersey that would have done nothing to keep her warm this close to the ice. “I was wondering-“

Ari had to hold in a laugh that was building in his chest when the girl to his left had placed her hand on his arm, the subtle gesture making that fine little invisible green mist circulating you turn red, and he was sure if he had gotten closer he could have been able to see steam billowing from your ears.

“Not interested,” Ari had brushed her off. Finally, that laugh had been given life as he grinned wide at you, his pretty girl with a visible scowl on your face and a pretentious glare pointed directly at the circle of girls surrounding him and the other members of the team.

He had broken through the crowd and had come upon the three of you at the perfect time to hear Jake accusing you of jealousy with a half-smirk on his face as his hand settled on your hip.

His fingers had flexed against your hip the closer Ari had gotten, and Jake’s smirk had grown when you fixated your steely glare on the hockey goon approaching.

“I can’t believe they would stand around and-“ Ari had dropped his bag a foot from you, the steady thud dull to his ears as he reached out and cupped your cheeks, yanking you closer to his chest.

“You talk too much,” his wolfish grin came mere seconds before your lips met and he kissed you with intensifying passion.

Your hands had instinctively become balled into the plain grey shirt he was wearing and had become the tool you’d used to yank him back in for another kiss when he tried to pull away.

He was grinning into the kiss, unable to help himself when you had made a soft simpered sound when Ari had snaked his hands around your back. The movement of his hands continued to your ass, the kiss broken when he had squeezed your asscheeks and lifted you from the concrete floor, carrying you as if you weighed nothing.

“Ari, you goon!”You shrieked and dug your nails into his shoulders to retain your grip on him as he kept you suspended in his hold.

“We’ll take your bag then!” Sam called with amusement thick in his voice as he watched their team captain carrying ‘his girl’ like a trophy.

“Thanks, Wilson!” Ari grinned up at you, his hold unwavering even as you gently smacked his shoulder. “Ready to celebrate?”

“I was on a date.” You grunt lightly, your eyes widening when he had shifted ever so slightly. “You’re interrupting a date-“

“You’re not walking off with my date.” Jake had revelled in the air of playfulness that seemed to encompass the intimate atmosphere around the four of you. “If you’re taking her, I’m coming with you. Steve?”

The youngest triplet sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. The strap of his camera bag was twisted slightly at his shoulder, and he seemed mildly annoyed at the prospect, and yet, he seemed to agree in the next breath. “Only because you two together-“

“Happy now, bunny?” Ari had gently lift his hand from your right ass cheek only to make contact again, the light sting drawing a subtle grunt from your lips and another squeeze of your nails into his shoulder.

“I’d be happier if you’d let me go.” Your protest was only half-hearted, and Ari had quickly dismissed the request with another quick kiss.

“No. You’re stuck here now.”

[jesevans]

💙💙💙

Come Hell Or Highwater: Part 1

With his feet propped up on the corner of the desk and a lit cigarette hanging between his lips, he had felt momentarily content. The buzz from the tobacco had hit him, a welcomed kind of high that made the lingering silence in the room seem less egregious than it was.

Ari and Steve had received the call and the order to be reassigned from the case they were on, the directive had come from the captain of their specialized team and within an hour they had been ripped from one case and moved to another.

Their replacements had landed in the safety zone to relieve Steve and Ari, the two of which had been pulled directly into their top boss’ office.

“She’s 22,” Steve cursed and slammed the file against the desk, stalking around the desk and turning sharply to lean against the edge, “witnessed a high-profile murder on her way to the apartment from university. A hell of a thing.”

Ari drew in a puff and held it in his mouth for a moment before slowly exhaling, the dart between his fingertips glowing at the burning butt. He didn’t speak until he leaned forward and tapped the edge against the ashtray.

The pile of ah had been growing and he had been putting off dumping the tray in the trash like he should have, although he knew that he would eventually have to clean the glass. As he sat back, Ari finally addressed his brother.

“Wrong place at the wrong time,” Ari drew his gaze away from the ashtray and the file he had been pouring over, watching Steve tap his fingers against the edge of the wood, “22 is a hell of an age to have this kind of target on her head.”

“Fucking animal.” Steve cursed and momentarily twitched as if he could still feel Sister Mary’s switch against his knuckles, a repeated punishment they had all received from catholic school.

Their ma attempted to straighten out the triplets’ boyish and troublesome nature if only the switches and the punishments had worked.

“He’s carved men twice as big and tough, this girl-“ Ari lifted a picture of the woman they were assigned to protect and hide away, his captivating gaze studying every inch of the image in his hand, his lips forming a deep frown.

You were enrolled in a bachelor of music and composition course, and almost finished your degree with just over a year to go.

You had been kept late at campus while helping a friend create a composition that was going to be recorded for a final grade. You stayed behind because he asked you to and when it had come time for you to walk home to your apartment, you denied his offer for an Uber or an escort home.

You claimed you didn’t have long to go, and you didn’t. It should’ve been uneventful, it should’ve taken you less than fifteen minutes. Hell, you even had pepper spray in your bag in case something happened. You were, for all intents and purposes, protected one way or another.

And then your roommate asked if you could stop at the drugstore on the way home because she forgot to pick up her prescription and you were close. You were a sweetheart, you wouldn’t have let her suffer so you agreed. You took a detour because she asked you to because she was your friend.

Your errand had almost gone off without a hitch until you stepped out of the drugstore and took a side road, one that would’ve saved you a few minutes. You happened upon the assault, robbery and murder of a high-profile dignitary. The politician was recognizable, even if you weren’t involved in politics in any possible measure you would’ve recognized him.

And you had.

Not only had you recognized the infamous man, but you had also bared witness to him and his partner being robbed, attacked and brutally murdered.

You heard the twisted and sickening gurgle, you had felt the air shift as someone had taken their last breath and another was holding on for dear life.

You listened and you tried to help after coming out of hiding. You were a gentle soul who had called 911, you had waited and done all you could to support the man struggling for his life.

It was a twist of fate, a simple errand that had altered your course in life because you were a good person.

The men you witnessed from your hiding place hadn’t been aware that you were even there watching them, frozen in place and fearful that you had been next. They had killed their political target, and they had later killed the man in the hospital room. They thought they had eliminated every witness, however, they were innately wrong.

You were the only living and breathing person who could attest to their horrible acts, and that had placed a detrimental target upon your head. Once it was found out that there was a living witness, your life would be on the line and so would the case that was being built against their criminal empire.

With your safety in check, the triplets were called in. Ari Levinson, Andy Barber and Steve Rogers had all worked for the Witness Protection Program, triplets who had given themselves different last names in order to add another layer of personal protection.

Ari and Steve were the best the WPP had for agents.

The two of them were ex-navy SEALs, two men who were battle-hardened and incredibly skilled with as many weapons as they could get their hands on. They had taken every opportunity given to them to become deadly soldiers hellbent on protecting those that needed them most.

They had become out of the brotherhood and deadly them that had encroached upon some of the most terrifying and deadly missions that were thrown at their squad. They had served and served their purpose well, and only after retirement had they continued to do good with another agency.

Andy had chosen to go to law school instead of joining the military like his brothers had, choosing to take the avenue of criminal prosecution and the courts. His intent was just as noble as Steve and Ari’s, he had felt that drive and need to protect people who couldn’t protect themselves.

It was after he had graduated from law school, becoming more seasoned as a lawyer, that the three of them joined the program.

“-she’s safe. Andy is with her getting more details about that night. They’re waiting to hear just like we are, we need confirmation that the safe house and all the documents are ready.” Steve crossed his arms over his chest before he turned his head, gazing at the clock hanging off the wall.

They were called to their director’s office and told to bring what they needed for a long-term stay with no foreseeable end date.

They had been ripped off one case, set upon another and given little detail as to where they were going or what the game plan was. Even with the files they had read, and what they had been told, there was still so much hidden from them.

“Orders.” The door to the office opened, and one of their team members entered with a manila envelope for each of them, closing and locking the door behind herself. “Star witness is ready for transport and you two have gotten your alibis.”

“Married?” Steve exclaimed in surprise, turning over the fake IDs, the faux passports and two sets of keys. “This is the ploy?”

“You’re headed for an isolated, almost self-contained town in the middle of nowhere. You got married last year and are seeking relocation to escape the rush of the big city, you’re wanting to settle down somewhere quiet to raise a family. Ari is gonna be foreman with local lumber yard, Steve you’ll be working from home as an online editor, both of you are skilled with your hands.”

“And Y/N?” Ari had reached for the cigarettes to his left, flipping open the lid of the box to grab a white filtered dart, his fingertips grasping the end as he yanked it out.

“She has to be with one of you at all times. If she’s not with Steve at home, she’s with you at the lumberyard.” The agent and their longtime friend had come to rest her hands on her hips, watching the two men as they thumbed through the envelope they were given, looking at the necessary paperwork for their new lives.

“Where does Andy fit in?”

“This town you’re going to,” the agent drew in a breath and huffed it out in a short burst, “the entire town is made of polyamorous units. It’s the perfect cover for having three men living with or visiting her. No one would bat an eye at having a young polyamorous family like the one you’re acting as-“

“Polyamory? Won’t that attract more attention from these sick fucks?” Steve raised an eyebrow, gaze flitting toward Ari.

“There’s more of them out there than you think. Besides, the world is a big place and there’s a lot of rumours that she headed into Europe.” With a final look at the marriage certificate, the drivers licenses, fake passports, housing deeds, the story had been set.

“Andy travels for work, he spends more time away than home. Long stints abroad, a week here and there at home.”

The question that hadn’t been asked had received an answer and then their friend and agent nodded her head. “Let’s get you boys some wedding rings and get you settled at home.”

“And where’s our young bride?” Ari questioned, shoving his paperwork back in the envelope.

“With her third husband, waiting for you two. Let’s go.”

[imaginedreamwrite]

Come Hell Or Highwater

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Summary: You had witnessed something you never should have, you had been on the way home from work, wanting to walk on a clear night.

You witnessed the murder of a high profile businessman that was going to be a witness in an upcoming case. You were thrown into the witness protection program and given two guards that were meant to keep you safe, while your lawyer fought for you back home.

Under the ruse of a newlyweds, you were moved to a sleepy town in the foothills of the mountains with two massive and tactically trained men, with the third arriving evert few weeks to check in. Their job was to keep you safe, their job was to keep you hidden and safe under the ruse of needing a fresh start.

They were to act as your husbands, you their wife, in a picturesque town with an ideal American dream at your fingertips. It was meant to be fake, a falsified story to keep you under the radar until a slip up resulted in a small pink plus.

Ari Levinson, Andy Barber & Steve Rogers — triplets, two ex-navy SEAL’s and a highly successful lawyer were all that were keeping you from death. They were the rough and tough men who were as dedicated to their jobs as they were to you.

Come hell or high water, they were yours and you were theirs.

[imaginedreamwrite]

Ari Levinson Masterlist

Brat Taming - a/b/o polyamory, a/b/o, courting dates, omega!Jake Jensen

Come Hell Or Highwater - ex-navy seal!Ari x reader x ex-navy seal!Steve Rogers x Andy Barber, triplets with reader, witness protection program

Here’s Your Perfect — historical au, silverfox!Ari Levinson x reader x silverfox!Bucky Barnes, mercenary!Bucky, landowner!Ari

Higher Love - professor!Ari Levinson x student!Reader, hockeycoach!Ari Levinson x figureskater!Reader, a/b/o, age gap, professor/student

Like My Father - a/b/o au, mob au, mob boss!omega!Reader, polyamory

Like No One Does - ceo!Ari Levinson, best friend’s brother

Love On the Brain - a/b/o, a/b/o polyamory, polyamory

More Hearts Than Mine — triplets au, university au

Once Bitten, Twice Shy - mob au, mob!Ari x reader x mob!Bucky, childhood friends turned lovers, meet cute

Sugar & Spice - ceo!Ari Levinson, sugar baby au, older ari & younger reader

Ring Of Fire - Steve Rogers x reader x Ari Levinson, divorced au, Bucky Barnes is bad

Taste Of Honey - werebear!Ari Levinson, monster au

Thick Thighs Save Lives - reverse harem au, cowboy au, university au