#trying to make sense of my childhood again and fix the broken cracks and she's here for me though it all

[magniloquent-raven]

I love your trans-billy! I need more <3

AW OMG IM SO FLATTERED!! it was just a little vent fic tbh, but i have been wanting to write more trans billy because the fandom needs more of it, so here is a part two!

(read part one here)

(i do get into billy’s childhood a little bit in this part, so cw: child abuse mentions)

--

seems like billy's whole damn life is just a series of stupid choices and him dealing with the consequences of his own impulsiveness.

started young and never stopped. when he was six he chopped off all his hair in the school bathroom right before class photos. didn't even consider what would happen when he walked out of that room, he just felt wrong and wanted to fix it.

he had to walk around for months with a patchy hack-job because neil refused to pay to get it fixed. his mom said she'd try to make it better but billy wouldn't let her touch it. he was afraid she'd try to make him pretty again. undo all his hard work.

after that it was easier to sneak into groups of boys unnoticed, like the kids three streets down who were always playing basketball in the empty parking lot. they'd turned him away before, took one look at him and sneered that a girl couldn't keep up.

but after he put on a pair of too-big cargo shorts he stole off the neighbours clothes' line, and a t-shirt he'd hacked the sleeves off of, with his newly shorn hair all they did was make fun of him for looking poor. but they let him play.

months later, they hadn't caught on, even though his hair was growing out, and he wore the same clothes every time he saw them. he was starting to get nervous about being discovered.

what he didn't expect was neil discovering him first.

it was the first time his dad really hit him. more than just grabbing his arm, or shoving him a little. the first time he left scars.

he said if billy wanted to act like a boy, he'd get taught like one.

and life was a constant battle after that. even when he had his mother in his corner, it was usually a losing one. after she left there was barely any point in fighting at all, but he could never seem to stop entirely.

not when this was, according to his father's standards, what it takes to be a man.

but in trying to prove himself, he ended up in some fucked up places.

on the floor in his bedroom, his back torn open and the sharp crack of a belt ringing in his ears, still refusing to admit that tearing up the dress his nana made him wasn't an accident.

under the bleachers, blowing a guy who called him a dyke one too many times. then leaving him with his pants down and a broken nose 'cause he wouldn't stop trying for more than that.

waking up in a hospital bed, eighteen years old and wondering why he's still alive. being told it's a miracle. being told he was heroic. saved some little girl. got his name in the paper.

four months later taking a bus to chicago, picking out a new name on the way and never looking back.

and he might be living a whole new life here, but that doesn't mean he left all his stupid back in california.

it's been a week since he spent an afternoon half-conscious in steve's arms, and things have been disturbingly normal between them. steve hasn't asked any weird questions, or commented on billy being pathetic and needy, or acted like things have changed.

they haven't talked about any of it, and it's making billy nervous.

he's not sure what he thought would happen when he asked steve to hold him, to stay, he wasn't thinking at all, really, so now he's gotta deal with that.

problem is, he hasn't been dealing well. he's been dodging steve's calls. he's been jumpy, freezing up when steve comes anywhere near him.

which, he's come to notice, he does a lot. always sitting next to billy when they hang out in groups, always brushing past a little closer than necessary when he slips by him to leave the room.

and now. steve's insinuated himself into billy's evening, showing up unannounced with beer and a blindingly cheerful grin, sitting next thigh-to-thigh on the lumpy love-seat. and. billy's grinding his teeth. pretending to pay attention to the tv and not steve's warm leg pressed to his knee.

touching steve has always been a special kind of glorious agony, but now. now it's all that and week-old memories of soft lips brushing his forehead, remembering what it was like to wake up in his arms, feeling dizzy with warmth and want and...

steve's knee shifts, presses firmer against his, and billy can't take it anymore.

"alright, that's it!" he's on his feet, fists balled at his side, steve blinking up at him with his big dumb precious doe-eyes, and he trembles like an indignant cat. "the hell is up with you, harrington?" he snaps, pointing an accusing finger.

steve stares at him, mouth agape. "...um. nothing?" his cheeks are pink, and billy wants so badly to kiss him 'til he blushes everywhere.

he swallows hard, and crosses his arms. "c'mon, man, don't lie to me. it's been a week—" his voice falters, but he sets his jaw, tilts his chin like a challenge.

when he woke up that night, steve drooling on his shoulder, arm securely around his waist, he panicked. he shoved steve off of him, and they spent the next twenty minutes in tense, awkward silence while billy cleaned up and ignored steve. steve, who stayed, ordered a pizza, payed for it, and then left without eating a single slice.

and then.

nothing.

for a goddamn week. hanging out like nothing happened.

"i—" steve chokes on air, breaking eye-contact. "i mean. i didn't think you—" he's sinking in on himself, retreating into the couch, his gaze wandering the room listlessly. billy would feel bad if he wasn't so amped up on nervous energy, thrumming with adrenaline, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "i'm sorry."

billy blinks. "you're sorry."

"yeah?" steve glances at him, but only for a second before he ducks his head. he picks at his nails, frowning at his own hands in his lap. "i...i can go, i...sorry if i made things weird."

"if you...made things...weird," billy repeats, slowly. like it'll make any more sense coming from his own mouth.

it doesn't.

he deflates a little. steve looks up at him, expression pinched, bemused.

"are you just gonna repeat everything i say, or...?"

"harrington, i swear to god," billy grits out, "start making sense, or fuck off."

at least billy understands what's happening when guys sneer and leave after they find out the only dick they'll ever get from him is made of silicone. this clusterfuck is just...hurting his brain.

steve opens and closes his mouth soundlessly. "um..." he runs a restless hand through his hair. "i thought...you know...i got a little too, um. affectionate. last week. and you seemed so freaked out when you woke up, i...figured we could just, like, move on. act like nothing happened. 'cause it'd be easier?"

"what."

"but clearly that wasn't it—" he cuts himself off, and sags, groaning, head falling into his hands. "shit, i'm an idiot. billy, i'm so dumb, i'm so sorry. you were worried about how i'd react to. um." he pauses. gestures towards billy's crotch. "right?"

billy flushes. "i wasn't—can you stop pointing at it, jesus christ. i wasn't worried. i was just..." he trails off and bites his lip. shifts his weight around awkwardly. he's usually so much better at thinking on his feet, but fucking hell is he so off-balance right now. too thrown off to even come up with a little white lie.  

steve drops his hand, looking sheepish. "look, i...you never said anything, so i didn't mention it either. i'm not...it isn't any of my business if you don't want it to be."

"...do you want it to be?" billy's heart is in his mouth as he says it, pulse stuttering, tripping over itself.

"i—" steve's eyes widen. they stare at each other for a beat. the moment stretches, the drone of the tv in the background the only noise in the apartment. "are you asking what i think you're asking? because i don't want to assume and—" he trails off with a strangled noise when billy steps forward and climbs into his lap.

he's barely touching him, knees brushing his hips, sitting mid-thigh, keeping his hands to himself. but it still feels...intimate. steve's gaze heavy on him, inches away. knowing that if he put his hand on steve's chest he'd feel his heart racing.

"i'm asking," billy says quietly.

he sees this kiss coming and yet he still doesn't expect it. doesn't expect to be touched so softly, his face cradled like something precious. doesn't expect the way his stomach swoops, heart clenching, tense for a second before something warm blooms in his chest.

when he curls his fingers into the front of steve's shirt he does, in fact, feel his heart racing.

[dralf0yy]

Wedding Bells || 2 || F.W x Reader

A/N: I AM SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS UP BUT ITS FINALLY HERE AAAA!! If i’m being honest, I’m not a big fan of the way I ended this bc it felt rlly unfinished but I felt the need to get it up as soon as I could. I hope you guys enjoy and sorry for the long ass wait 🥺

Word count: 1.6K (aaa she’s a bit sh0rt)

Part 1

Fred landed at the beach just outside his aunt’s old cottage.

The place he proposed to you

The weather was unironically cloudy and cold—identical to the way he felt.

Chills ran up Fred’s spine as he wandered around the beach, taking in the beautiful, calming scene around him. It reminded him of you. More specifically the way you were always remarkably gorgeous without effort, even in your darkest moments, and the way you soothed him with your embrace and kind, loving words.

It made Fred hate himself for abandoning you. You were fragile and even the smallest inconveniences would chip away parts of you that made you happy and whole. Everyone,especially Fred, knew this. He knew that you had cracked when the war broke out and he almost died. And he knew that this time, you had completely shattered, and it was all his fault.

He made his way up the sandy hills, marching through some of the long grass that had sprouted up and halted when he had reached the top. His eyes fluttered closed as he inhaled the salty scent of the ocean, thinking of the day he proposed

One year ago

“Fred where are you taking me?” You giggled as you trailed behind Fred with your hand intertwined with his.

The two of you, and George, had been helping Bill and Fleur fix up their aunt’s old cottage. It had been a long, hard day of redecorating and repainting and the sun was almost completely set

“You’ll see soon enough my love. We’re almost there.. Okay now close your eyes and wait here for a few seconds”

You nodded in response and heard Fred’s soft footsteps shuffling around in the sand. You shifted your weight back and forth between your left and right foot and giggled when you heard your boyfriend curse at the sand under his breath

After a few more seconds of shuffling, you heard Fred whisper

“You can open your eyes now, love”

Your eyes fluttered open slowly and you expected to see his face inches from yours but much to your surprise, he was on one knee clutching a small, black velvet box that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand with a heart shape dug into the sand surrounding the two of you. Fred steadied himself and gazed up into your eyes

“Y/n, these past 6 years with you have been unbelievably amazing. You have shown me what love and true happiness feels like and I will be forever grateful for that. There is no one else I would rather have by my side for the rest of my life, besides George of course,” He joked as a tear cascaded down your cheek

“no one else that I would rather give my love to, wake up next to every morning, have lots of little Weasleys with, and no one else that I would rather marry than you. And the war last year made me realise that I didn’t wanna wait any longer for this. So, Y/n Y/m/n Y/l/n.. Will you marry me?”

Tears of joy were now uncontrollably streaming down both your cheeks as you chuckled and silently—but enthusiastically— nodded your head

“Yes! A million times yes!” You exclaimed and pulled Fred up, bringing your hands around the back of his neck and pulling him in for a kiss that was so full of love and passion that it made his head spin

Present

Fred let out a loud, broken sob and collapsed onto his knees remembering the memory that had once made him so ecstatic. He stayed there with his face buried in his hands for what seemed like hours while mumbling ‘I’m so sorry’ repeatedly to the empty space in front of him

Fred lifted his head back up and the sun was barely visible on the horizon.The sky had slightly cleared in the few hours that he had been there and it became a flurry of yellow, orange, purple and pink streaks.

It was a beautiful image. It was one that you wished you could share with your dearest loved ones when things were bad. It gave Fred the a sense of calmness that he needed to clear his head

“I’m gonna make this right” He stated and disapparated back to the Burrow

***

“Here Y/n/n, have some cake, love” George offered to you. A grateful grin appeared on your face as you took the small, fragile plate with a slice of cake on it from him carefully and snuggled into his side. You sighed tiredly as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders

“Something on your mind?”

“Well.. I’m just worried Georgie. What if he’s done something reckless and got hurt or can’t get back to us—?”

“Don’t worry, love I’m right here” Both your heads turned towards the front door, and there, stood the one and only, Fred Weasley

You immediately sprung off the couch and out of George’s embrace, dropping the plate of cake in the process, and ran towards Fred. You jumped on him, wrapping your legs around his waist, and buried your face in the crook of his neck.

“Oh my Godric! You’re okay” You squeaked and hugged him tighter. He let out a quiet chuckle and gave you a kiss on the top of your head before setting you back down on the ground. He looked at you with a faint smile on his face, looking as if he was trying not to break again

He didn’t manage to keep the facade up for very long. He pulled you into his chest and burst into tears. Through his fit of sobs, you could hear him choke out an apology

“Shh it’s okay, Fred. We don’t have to talk about this right now..” You cooed soothingly—but slightly muffled— into his chest. You pulled away to look up at his face

“How about you head up for tonight? We can talk in the morning” Fred nodded and started to trail off towards the stairs with your hand wrapped inside his but stopped when he realised you weren’t moving

“A- Are you not coming up with me?” he hiccuped. You opened your mouth to answer but George beat you to it

“Actually Y/n, I think you better head off to bed. I need to talk to Fred”

Too tired to protest, you muttered an ‘okay’ and tread up the creaky stairs of the Burrow leaving the twins alone to talk.

Fred awkwardly stood in the room and rocked back and forth on his feet looking anywhere but at George who was patiently waiting for you to be out of earshot

“I’ll get straight to the point,” He snapped, “I hope you’ve acknowledged that you messed up, Fred. Y/n spent the last 5 hours crying and worrying about you, wondering what she could’ve done wrong for you to walk out on her like that—”

“She didn’t—”

“I KNOW SHE DIDN’T,” George sighed in frustration, “I’ve tried to mend her as much as I could, but the rest is up to you. She’s like a sister to me and I don’t wanna lose her because of something stupid that you did to hurt her. Now go up there and make it up to her and don’t ever take an amazing person like her for granted— because we both know that Y/n won’t give you a 3rd chance”

Fred nodded and trailed up the stairs towards his childhood bedroom, not knowing how to respond as it was a little unusual to see George so serious and worked up about something.

Fred quietly pushed the door open, expecting you to be asleep and not wanting to wake you. He stepped in and felt his heart ache at the sight of you curled up in George’s bed with tears streaming down your face, with muffled hiccups coming from you and clutching onto one of Fred’s christmas sweaters, staring at the floor

You peered up towards the doorway where Fred was standing. Your teary gaze shifted back to the floor next to a small mound of clothing. Your hushed hiccups ceased and the room was filled with deafening silence

Fred’s shoes came into your line of sight and his hand made contact with your shoulder.

“D’you wanna move over to my bed, love?” He whispered gently. You lazily nodded your head and sat up. You made your way over to Fred’s bed and hesitantly lied down on the edge of the mattress. A deep sigh left Fred’s lips as mattress dipped next to you

You unhurriedly shifted around and stared into Fred’s cinnamon coloured eyes with your own Y/e/c orbs. You noticed that they were bloodshot and slightly puffy, but nevertheless, they were still as enchanting as always.

You cast your gaze down towards the pillow, taking a deep and shaky breath. “Be honest,” You said in a voice that was barely a whisper, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” Fred exclaimed suddenly, making you jump, “Sorry I- No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just—I was being a git and I was just doubting everything, you know? I was.. I was anxious that you didn’t really wanna marry me or that I wasn’t actually ready” he said in a quieter voice.

You nodded and sighed, succumbing to the warmth of Fred’s chest and absorbed what he just confessed.

You decided to leave a lot of things unsaid. Knowing that he was willing to come back and make things right again was enough for you to give him another chance—though you knew you would no matter what he had done anyway.

The familiar sound of Fred’s heartbeat reminded you that he was there, and there for good, along with the feeling of his arms tightening around your frame and your entangling legs. Things were at a fair balance once again, and the two of you couldn’t be more content with your journey of love

***

Main Taglist: @paigeyisme @slytherinlovesgryffindor @cleopatera @accio-rogers @beacosta27 @anyasthoughts

Wedding Bells Taglist: @wand3ringr0s3 @angel-of-blue @stuckindilemma @angstywhore @imdixonsangel @girl22334 @gredandforges @dorothyofcosta @drvcopotter

Fred & George Taglist: @thisuserlovesyouandyouandyou

[mytardisisparked]

Is there any fics out there where Obi-Wan/Satine gets their heartbroken by the other? I haven’t seen any for it, and I’m really in the mood for one of them to get their heartbroken for some reason besides what obviously happens

Well, I’d say the majority of Obitine fics that aren’t a fix-it fic where Satine asks Obi-Wan to stay or they end up getting together somehow are fics where they get their hearts broken, but I’m guessing you are looking for something where they are older? I can’t think of any fics that fit that description right now so allow me to fill that gap for you.

-------

“Dance with me.”

She turned to find him standing there, hand extended and an amiable smile on his lips. She really shouldn’t have accepted, but the night was drawing to a close and the crowds were dwindling so she took his hand before she could give it a second thought.

Within seconds, they were twirling across the dance floor, faces far closer than they should have been.

They didn’t speak as they stepped in time, choosing instead to savor the way their feet moved together perfectly. Years of debating one another had left the Jedi Master and the duchess attuned to each other in such a way that made dancing look easy and natural. They didn’t realize it, but thirty seconds into the dance, everyone else moved off the dance floor and stood back to watch them in awe.

Their breath quickened as the music changed paced and their steps changed with it. Twirls and dips became faster and faster. Their feet hardly touched the floor as they spun and glided as fast as they could. Finally, the music let out one last high note, and the duchess and the Jedi snapped to a stop, noses nearly touching as they breathed the same air.

They barely heard the room erupt in applause.

Without a word, Obi-Wan stepped back, keeping one of Satine’s hands in his, and tugged her gently towards a dark hallway.

They stood in the shadows for a moment, facing each other. Satine’s pulse quickened as, ever so slowly, Obi-Wan’s hand slipped up to faintly touch her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed, savoring the touch of a lover she had not known for nearly two decades. The hand finally cupped her cheek fully and she leaned into the touch, practically melting. She opened her eyes again to find Obi-Wan looking back at her with a question in his own. To respond, she tilted her head up and leaned forward invitingly.

Satine had always found that the great poets of old were lacking in their descriptions of kisses. There were simply no words that were numerous or powerful enough to describe how much kissing Obi-Wan Kenobi felt like home; every time their lips met she became absolutely certain that their souls were connected, their hearts were intertwined permanently, and there was nothing that could disconnect such a powerful bond. Kissing Obi-Wan Kenobi felt like receiving oxygen for the first time, her lungs heaving with the delicious taste of air she couldn’t live without. It felt like exploding in a ball of fantastic light. It felt like being pulled apart at the seams. It felt like burning.

It felt like something that was going to destroy her.

Suddenly, the rest of the world came crashing in around her, and Satine stepped back, ending all points of contact between them. She looked down at the floor so as to make this as painless as possible, but she had already seen Obi-Wan’s confused and hurt expression. He didn’t attempt to pull her back to him (she knew he never would, he was achingly polite), but his hands lingered in the space where she had once stood as if to try and feel her ghost.

“I’m sorry, Master Jedi, I should not have done that.” She ignored the hot sting of tears behind her eyes because, really, she should be over this childhood romance by now and duchesses of Mandalore don’t fraternize with unattachable Jedi knights. 

“Satine-”

“No, it’s alright Obi-Wan, it was cruel of me to-” Her voice broke, the mask of the duchess cracking to reveal Satine beneath it. “I can’t do this,” she said, voice barely a whisper.

Obi-Wan’s hands fall to his sides with a sense of finality. “I would have left, you know.” She finally managed to pull her gaze up to look into his hurt face. “If you had asked, I would have left the Jedi Order for you.”

She had long suspected such a truth, but its admission feels like a knife to the heart anyway. “And that is exactly why I never asked.”

Now it was his turn to look like he had been stabbed. “What?”

She raised her chin, the little glimmer of outrage in his eyes is enough to spark her most protective shield: defiance. “I never asked you to leave because I knew you would say yes, I knew you would stay and I couldn’t let you do that. I couldn’t let you ruin your life and deprive the Jedi Order of so fine a member.”

Obi-Wan huffed. “I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, Satine. My life is mine to ruin how I please.”

“And in the course of ruining yours you would have ruined mine as well.” Satine snapped. “If I had let you stay you would have been the only thing that mattered and that would not have been able to stand.” She sighed and stepped back again, needing more distance. “This is the very reason we can’t do this now; this, us, is like a gravity well and if we get sucked in we will never come back to our duties.”

“So maybe we forsake our duties.”

Satine’s eyes flashed back up to his. His words were bold, but his eyes tell her that he knew the truth; they cannot be together or their worlds would fall apart.

So instead of fighting him tooth and nail, Satine simply smiled sadly. “No, Obi-Wan. We can’t.”

The finality of her statement is enough to keep him from protesting further. Instead, he straightened and closed his eyes, siphoning away the tears that had been there a moment ago. When he opens his eyes, the warm man who had kissed her moments before was gone, replaced by the cool, procedural face of the general.

��My apologies, Your Grace, for my impropriety.”

His voice was cold enough to freeze her heart and shatter it.

With a small bow, he left her in the dark hallway, devoid of anything but her thoughts and quiet sobs. This was for the best, she knew, but that didn’t mean that every step Obi-Wan took away from her wasn’t like ripping herself apart from the inside out.

[confusednarcissistwrites]

Teenage Dirtbag Pt. 4 (K.S.)

this one is a bit of a filler chapter?? I’m sorry it’s a bit short, but it’s very important. it’s also pretty sad :( hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless! Here is the song mentioned at the end as well; it’s always made me think of Kyle.

(cursing, mentions of death)

You really didn’t deserve Missy. The moment you walked back into your dorm with red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks she knew. You broke down again as soon as you saw the concerned but unsurprised look on her face, and she promptly wrapped you up in a hug. She was incredibly petite, but somehow she had a way of making you feel safe even from yourself. She directed you to sit on the bed and handed you a makeup wipe before fixing you both some tea. You wiped your streaked makeup from your face, shivery breaths shaking your frame.

You were so frustrated. There was no way you’d so easily slipped back into his grasp after you’d spent so much time cutting away everything that endeared him to you. You fought to recall how broken he’d left you. You wanted- no, you needed to relive it. That was the only way to extinguish these feelings bubbling back up inside of you.

Missy handed you your mug, sitting next to you with her legs crossed. “What happened, love?”

You sighed, feeling so ashamed. “I just.. I just wanted to talk to him. I wanted to try and clear the air, I guess. But..” You stared into your tea, unable to meet her eyes. “We slept together again.”

“Y/N.. This has to stop,” Missy scolded, her brow wrinkled up.

You felt defensive. “I mean it was just sex! We barely even said anything.”

“You wouldn’t have come home in tears if it was just sex to you, Y/N.” Her tone softened, placing a hand on your knee.

You were brought back to that crooked, little smile he’d given you in the back of his car, your heart aching in your chest. As much as you hated to admit it, you knew she was right. You wiped a stray tear from your cheek.

“Where do you see this going? Do you think you’ll get back together?”

You laughed bitterly, shaking your head. It was absurd to even think about.

“Then don’t do this to yourself. You have a big heart. Don’t waste it on someone like him.” She tucked a stray strand of your hair behind your ear, rubbing your back consolingly.

You let out a shaky breath, nodding. “Thank you,” you mumbled, giving her a tired smile.

“Of course, sweets. You know I just want what’s best for you always.” She pulled you into another quick hug before hopping up. “Okay, now let's watch some slasher movies to distract you.”

“God, again? Always with these things? They’re terrible!!” you protested, sipping from your tea.

“Mm, yes. But I love them and they always work.”

“Ah, yes. A good beheading is always the perfect salve for a wounded heart,” you deadpanned, throwing a pillow at her teasingly.

“Now that’s the spirit!!”

++++++

A few days passed. You’d half expected to hear something from Kyle, but the messages never came. While, of course, you overthought it all to death and still couldn’t understand him, you did find a sense of relief in the space. You had almost gotten to the point where you could pretend nothing had happened. Almost.

It was 8:30. Missy had gone out with some of her friends for the evening while you had stayed back at the dorm to work on homework. You were enjoying your solitude when a knock came from your door. Sliding the pile of books from your lap, you jumped up and answered it.

You were promptly pressed back into your room, lips you didn’t immediately recognize pressed hungrily against yours. Kyle. He kicked the door closed behind him, holding your face between both of his hands. Finally, your brain kicked into gear, and you shoved him back.

“Kyle, what the fuck?” you questioned incredulously. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you,” he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. He stepped closer, thumbing your bottom lip.

“No, stop. Don’t touch me.” You recoiled. He looked a bit surprised by that, even a little hurt. “You need to leave.”

“Y/N, I’m sorry I didn’t warn you, but I think you’re being a little-“

“Fucking go! You can’t just come back into my life and start screwing with my head. I-I can’t take it.” Your hands shook as you fought to keep your voice steady. “What exactly do you think this is?”

“I don’t understand. You sleep with me twice and now I’m the bad guy? You came to me. What’s with this sudden change of heart? You’re choosing to be upset over this.”

Anger bubbled inside of you. “Get. Out.”

He scoffed, turning his heel and leaving the room.

++++++

Kyle arrived home about an hour later after driving around the campus blasting music till his head ached. He sat in the driveway just staring into space, avoiding going inside for as long as he could. He was angry. He knew it was truly just shame that he had to come home with his tail between his legs, but all he felt was anger. He was angry at you. Angry at himself. Angry at the world. He finally pulled his keys from the ignition, his boots heavy against the concrete steps up into his home.

“Hey, sweetie.”

“Hey, mom,” he replied, already heading toward the basement. She didn’t normally try to coerce him into talking much anymore, much to his relief. That’s how he knew something was wrong when she called for him.

“Come into the kitchen, please.”

He suppressed a sigh but obeyed, placing himself down at the dinner table while his mother bustled around the kitchen preparing dinner. She put down what she was doing and sat down in the chair next to him, placing her hand over his. “We got some news today.”

Oh god. Kyle felt his gut churn at the familiar line that was always followed by something he knew he wouldn’t want to hear. Judging by the tears already welling in his mother’s eyes, it was worse than normal.

“Dr. Tice wants to put your father on hospice.”

Kyle swallowed thickly, his brow wrinkling as he fought to keep it together.

“I know I don’t really need to explain what that means to you. The nurses will be here day and night to keep him comfortable and medicated until..” she trailed off, her voice cracking.

He continued to stare at the floor, every bone in his body fighting to keep composure. He knew this was the very last thing his dad wanted, but there was nothing anyone could do. The cancer had eaten him up until all that was left was a body in a bed. As far as Kyle was concerned, his dad had died weeks ago.

He watched helplessly as his mother sobbed at the kitchen table, a sight he’d seen more times than he could count in the last few years. He took her hand, giving it a squeeze as he clenched his jaw and fought back his own tears. He knew he needed to keep it together for her. She needed him to be strong no matter what. But he didn’t know how much more he could take. He stood, unable to stand it anymore. Long strides followed a familiar path through his childhood home.

Once he descended the stairs to the basement, he pulled out his favorite Rolling Stones record and placed it on the turntable. The needle scratched and crackled for a moment before slipping into the worn grooves. He turned the volume up, removing his shirt and tossing it onto the couch. This was all ritual to him now. The space was small, but it was all his. Crates of records and tapes were stacked against the wall, and an old leather couch occupied the majority of the space. Old sketches and sheet music scattered the floor, but he didn’t care. He laid out on worn rug that reduced the chill from the concrete floor, his limbs spread out as the intro of Sympathy For the Devil began to play. His eyes slipped shut and he let the vibrations seep into his bones, the slapping bass strings bringing catharsis to the frayed edges of his mind.

His sobs shook his body.

TAGLIST: @londonmademedoit @cathyoliveros10 @yourgoddessfromvogue

[maevemarethyu]

Unexpected (5/?)

(Not my GIF)

(This is my shitty border though. First try and all.)

You weren’t expecting it. Neither of you were.

That didn’t mean you weren’t happy with how it ended.

Bucky Barnes x Reader Fic.

Warnings: I don’t think there are any in this one? Sad Boi Hours, Firearms?

“That went well.”

Before the last word can leave your mouth, the newly familiar feeling of being wrapped in Bucky envelopes your senses. Your arms wind themselves around his large torso and relief seeps into your veins as you hold each other. It was really over. You and Patrick, he and Claire. It was done and you should be relived.

You weren’t. You felt sick and in pain. It hurts. Its terrifying. And James…

He was shaking in your grip. Or was that you?

Claire’s vicious words rise in your mind and you instinctively grip Bucky’s shirt tightly.

“It’s not true.” His voice reverberates in your ear and you pull your head away from his chest to look into his ice-blue eyes. “What he said. I don’t believe a word of it.”

Instead of trying to find words, you barrel back into his chest, nearly knocking the both of you onto the floor. After silently standing there for a few moments, your mouth opens on its own accord.

“They’re wrong about the both of us. They’re bitter and scared.” As they should be. There was no mercy for them in New York.

A chuckle rumbles around you and you finally peel yourself away from the giant of a man. “Frank.” He says after a moment. “Frank Castle. So you’re?”

“Y/N Castle. I’m sorry for not telling you before. Frankie made me promise to not make it known for my own safety. Started going by Patrick’s last name when Frank was drafted into special ops and, after the trial, we kept it even more on the down low.”

You had to assume the Avengers were briefed on your brother. It didn’t seem apparent that a mass murdering anti-hero wouldn’t be on their radar.

“Nat’s gonna lose it. she used to have an interest in your brother if you know what I mean.”

You do. You do know what he means and the mental image of your brother and the Black Widow together sent a shiver down your spine. The world would never be ready for that.

The words please god no are cut off by the sound of your phone ringing followed closely by Bucky’s and, with a simultaneous sigh, you both pull out your respectful devices.

“Barnes.”

“Dr. Castle.”

Matt mumbles something incoherently from his end of the line before the familiar voice of Karen tells him to shut up. “Hey Y/N. Not to worry you or anything but, Frank just called and he’s fully intent of going to prison so if you could-“

“How’d it go?!” Foggy yells, drowning out Karen’s plea and you rub your forehead with your free hand. They know how much you hate when they talk over each other. It always resulted in an instant headache.

A gentle hand on your shoulder draws your eyes back to Bucky who appears to be getting his own array of questions. He keeps his voice low to prevent any eavesdropping.

“You okay?” The warmth in his eyes offset their icy color and you feel the tension slip from your body before nodding.

“Don’t like to me Doll.” With a grumble, he takes the phone from your hand and turns on the speaker, then doing the same with his phone. A cacophony of your friend’s voices echo through your home and overwhelm you. You loved them, really, but right now all you want to do is curl up on the couch with Laysa (who somehow managed to sleep through the entire ordeal) and maybe drink yourself into a stupor.

As if reading your mind Bucky clears his throat loudly and the voices fall silent.

“We appreciate you all but, I think Y/N and I agree when we say we need some time to-“

“Unwind.” You supply when he falters and he gives you a bright smile. “Things got a bit heated and we want the time to process everything before we tell you guys what happened.”

“And maybe get you some ice for your hand.” James adds under his breath and you nearly snort from trying to hold back a laugh.

“We get it. Just call us when you’re ready.” A man says from Bucky’s phone and you let out a breath.

“Thanks Stevie. We’ll talk to you soon.”

“Let’s just hope its before your brother goes on another spree. I won’t be able to keep him out of prison this time.” Matt mumbles before ending the call.

James doesn’t give the Avengers time to question, quickly hitting the end button and turning off his phone.

You both let out a collective sigh of relief at the sweet silence.

“I’m glad Matt didn’t dial in Fr-“

A loud bang on your door causes a shriek to erupt from your throat and, before you can fully process what’s going on, a metal arm grips your arm gently and moves you away from the noise. Bucky tucks you behind him and draws a pistol from the waistband of his jeans. His movements are so fluid that you’re almost at a loss for words.

Almost.

“James Buchannan Barnes you brought a gun into my home?!” You keep your voice low despite your anger and he throws an apologetic look over his shoulder. You open your mouth to berate him some more when the door is thrown open, the lock doing nothing to prevent the force behind it.

A rain of dust from the sheetrock causes you to cough uncontrollably and cover your eyes but, the sound of an angry growl forces them open again. You knew that noise.

“Frankie?!” You sputter, walking out from behind the wall that was Bucky Barnes.

Lo and behold, there he was, your brother in all of his furious glory. You’d only seen it yourself maybe once or twice and, for some twisted reason, you found it comforting.

To your relief, James drops his weapon instantly and moves out of the way as Frank storms into your home. You had to admire your brother’s one-track mind as he completely ignores the other man and focuses on you.

“Where is he?” He was seething, red in the face, and breathing heavily.

“You broke my door.” You deadpan, crossing your arms across your chest. Sure, he was set on murdering your now ex-husband but, that didn’t excuse property damage. “You have a fucking key.”

“Y/N.”

You know he means business when he uses your full name instead of the various nicknames he had given you throughout your childhood.

“Long gone. Took his shit and ran when I called yoU!” Before you can finish your sentence, he pulls you into a tight hug and fresh tears spring to your eyes at the familiarity of it. It hadn’t been long since the last time he held you like this, barely a week, but the circumstances couldn’t be more different. You couldn’t be more different.

Last week you had been happily married and wanting to start a real family. Now you were divorced and seriously needing your brother to come cheer you up.

A tiny squeak breaks you from your thoughts causing your eyes to fly open and lock on Bucky’s ocean blue orbs as he bends down to pick up a whining Laysa. He nods towards the hall with the nursery and coddles her into his chest before leaving the living room quietly. The way it became second nature for James to care for the little cub leaves you with a fuzzy feeling in your chest.

Frank placing a kiss on your temple brings your focus back to him and he eyes you curiously.

“Is there a reason the Winter Soldier is in my baby sister’s house minutes after I get a call about her scumbag husband?” He questions lightly.

You scoff at the thought. You know your brother and you know his question is anything but innocent as his eyes watch the hallway like a hawk.

“The woman Pat was…” You can’t finish the sentence, not in front of him. “James’ wife. He caught them on camera. Ran all the way here when he found out Patrick was married. We wanted to confront them together.”

You can’t be sure but, an almost appreciative look enters your brother’s dark eyes and a warm feeling floods your body. For some reason the idea of Frank and Bucky not hating each other hadn’t crossed your mind. You assumed that they would instantly butt heads as most Alpha males did when in the same room.

Your thought may sound primitive to others but, reducing people down to their most basic forms came with the territory when you spent all your time studying the animal kingdom.

What you had in front of you was incredibly rare and you watch with wide eyes when Bucky emerges from the nursery and Frank releases his hold on you to properly greet him with a firm shake that probably would have broken Patrick’s hand.

Two Alpha males who’re not related coexisting peacefully. Your coworker Whitney wouldn’t believe you.

“Your sister has a mean right hook.” Bucky’s soft as velvet voice forces an embarrassed snort from you despite your brother’s proud look and when Frank looks between you and Bucky with a single raised brow, you cave.

“Okay! I may have hit her but, she deserved it.” You defend and, for the first time since he entered your home, Frank cracks a smirk. “And Bucky threw Patrick!”

“It was more of a toss really.” The world renowned and feared Winter Soldier shuffles his feet shyly, refusing to meet your eyes and Frank’s smirk widens into a full blow grin.

You shake your head with a laugh before your mind wanders to the little cub in the nursery. “How is she?”

James perks up instantly. “She’s good, fell asleep as soon as I put her in the crib.”

You can feel your brother’s eyes on you but, you ignore it in favor of wiping the residual tears from your eyes. “That’s good. It’s a wonder she can fall back asleep after being so rudely awoken.”

Frank has the decency to look properly admonished and you have to mentally take a step back. You currently had two of the most dangerous people in New York in your house and yet you had both of them shuffling their feet. You were definitely telling Sam about this.

“Sorry sis. I’ll fix it later.” Frank mutters, shaking the dust off of his jacket before turning towards the door. “Right now. I’m going to go hunt down your piece of shit ex and do much more than toss him around.”

With a fearsome grin, he flashes the two firearms on his belt and you huff in exasperation. “I told you I don’t want any guns in my house! Now, there’s four.”

Both men stare at you in confusion and you roll your eyes. “Buck you have another strapped to your right ankle. You’ve been favoring that foot since you walked in. I’m not dumb.”

The blue-eyed man’s face reddens when he realizes he’s been caught and Frank barks out a harsh laugh.

“There she is.” He smiles proudly. “I’m serious about the door though. I’ll fix it later. I’ve been waiting too long to put Patrick in his place.”

“No! You’ll fix it no-“

He’s out the broken door before you can finish your sentence and a frustrated growl erupts from your throat. Once again, your brother’s one-track mind ceases to amaze you and Bucky barely manages to catch the heavy oak door before it completely falls off of its hinges.

“I’m going to beat some sense into him next time I see him.” You vow, causing Bucky to grin sheepishly as he sets the door against the wall.

“So that was Frank Castle?” James laughs lightly.

“Yeah.” You hum. “That was Frank Castle.”

Chapter shorter than I hoped but, It was necessary for the story to flow better

Tags: @luthien-t​ @vicmc624

[drethanramslay]

Without You

Pairing: Logan x MC (Lexi Cahill)

Masterlist

Word count: 2.5 K words

Warning: Just a little cursing, here and there and Angst

MC is actually not present in this fic, this is Logan's POV, four months after he had to leave LA

Author's note: I decided to take part in @rodappreciationweek so here is my submission :)) 

Thanks to @choicesarehard @brightpinkpeppercorn and @client-327 for hosting this 💙

Thanks to @mvalentine for pre-reading it❤️❤️

Title inspiration: Without You by Avicii (ft. Sandro Cavazza)

Song: Gone by Blake Rose

Forgive me if I make any mistakes.

The rays of the sun spilled through the crack in my curtains, making the white walls a yellow hue. My eyes were bleary and red rimmed. It had just been moments since I woke up and my hangover struck me like a train wreck, a familiar electric pain behind my eyes.

I shouldn't have drank so much.

I moved my head to only see an an empty bed side. Of course she left. Who would want to stick around after a one night stand?

The hazy memories of last night filtered through my head, making me wince. Another night, another rave, another tray of shots and another chick to bang.

You could call it saturday shenanigans but, this was different.

Everything was different since I left her.

All my days just seem to melt away into a haze of alcohol and drugs... Today, tomorrow, yesterday seems to fuse into this neverending torture, an ache which no matter how much I drink or how many girls I fuck, never fucking ceases to hurt. The only thing which can fix this gaping wound in my heart is Lexi.

But she is not here.

And never will be.

So this is how it has been for the past weeks. Me getting inebriated to new extremes just to numb the pain and to temporarily erase the loneliness before I become sober again.

Because when I'm in those intoxicated wastelands, I'm so out of it that I can almost hallucinate her dancing with me. I can almost smell her strawberry shampoo, tickling my nose. I can almost hear her tinkling laugh.

And in my alcohol induced sleep, I dream of her in my arms the both of us fitting together, like two jigsaw puzzles.

I despise being sober. Because when I am In my senses, the entire load of loss weighs down on me, crushing me and suffocating me. The 'could have been's' and the regret are all a heavy burden on my shoulders.

A small part of me is often wishing, praying and hoping that things could just go back to normal but, deep in my gut I know, that nothing is ever going to be the same again.

Nothing is ever going to be the same, now that she was gone...

How much time does it take to get over people?

It may be a day, a week, a month or a year. There is no definitive time span for getting over someone you loved, someone you cherished or someone who was close to your heart.

I think it depends on how much of an impact the said person had on you or how much of a void that person left in you.

I was the wild and carefree guy, with no strings attached and never saw myself being the one to fall in love because... Let's admit it, love is a vulnerability, a weakness which people don't hesitate to exploit.

But fast forward to four months later, I am in the same category as those emotional pussies crying over a breakup.

Being brought up in foster homes made me grow up quickly. Some houses were good and caring whilst some were harsh. And knowing that I am the most cursed person to walk the earth, I was always was stuck with the shitty households.

Don't believe me? I still have those scars from the fights and the beatings.

Growing up in such a hostile environment, taught me that there is no room for weakness or error and that love and feelings are just some fairy tale myth which is made by philosophical fools to give you a sense of hope.

But, hope is a dangerous thing, two side of the same coin. It can make you and break you.

I don't think I would have survived my childhood but... That's when I fell in love with cars.

It holds a special place in my heart.

The way my adrenaline spikes as the pointer on my speedometer achieves unattainable speeds, the way I feel the purr of my engine resound through my entire body and they way it's just me, my car and the open road... Nobody could ever compare to that sensation of freedom.

Well, that was before I met her.

Lexi Cahill.

I admit it started off as a way to recruit her as an informant, a tool to stay out of prison, another heart to break.

But little did I know that life would pull the fucking reverse uno card on me. But, I'm low-key glad it did.

It's been 4 months since that scum bag was thrown into the jail.

Four months since the crew went its separate ways.

Four months since I walked away from her.

I don't want to let you go...

Those words were on a repeat in his head, like a broken tape recorder and her teary eyes and broken expression is forever burnt into his brain. It was so hard to let her go. The one time I found a reason to stay, a reason to fight for, a reason to stop running, life just fucked it all up.

It was a tussle, a war between what my heart wanted and the logical side of me which just left me exhausted.

In conclusion, heartbreak sucks.

I reach for my phone and switch it on to check the time. But my eyes fall on our prom photo which I had made as my wallpaper. It's really stupid how head over heels I'm in love with her.

But it's the truth.

There is a saying that life gives you only one great love and that many people go for years without that.

I was one of the few lucky people to get that at 18.

But life is not sunflowers and unicorns shitting rainbows. It's rough, it's hard with its a mix of ups and downs. But it seems like mine is set to be on the all time low.

Staggering to the bathroom, I heavily leaned against the counter, my muscles flexing as I gripped the edge. My eyes lifted to see my reflection staring back at me.

I look like a hot mess.

This isn't you Logan... My inner conscience said, which eerily sounded like her.

God, I really must be losing it, huh?

Slowly and painfully I started my morning chores, my body on auto pilot. My mind kept on wandering to Lexi. She would be in Langston by now.

Would she be in that off shoulder sweater of hers, her feather tattoo peaking from underneath the sleeve? Would she be highlighting and colour coordinating her notes like she always did?

Would she have made new friends? Or dare I say a new boyfriend?

Logan stop hurting yourself. I said to myself as I visibly cringed at the thought of someone else having their arms around her.

The idea of someone else kissing her soft lips or someone else holding her hands or someone else running his hands along the curvature of her naked back made me equal parts angry and sad.

Angry for you know, obvious reasons but sad for the life I had to leave behind in LA.

God I hate this existential crisis shit... It's to early to question life.

I dragged myself in the direction of the kitchen, the smell of bacon waking me up. I was shirtless and wearing a pair of sweatpants because I was too fucking tired to wear anything else.

"Look who has decided to grace us with their presence."

"Shut up Carl, it's too early for your bullshit." Raven said as she slapped the top of his head.

I shot her a look of gratitude as I sank into my seat and reached for the plate of pancakes.

Carl and Raven were the closest thing to parents for me. Carl was a tough man with huge muscles, around six feet tall but, he was as goofy as a child. Raven was his girlfriend who was hella intimidating. The kohl lined eyes and the floral tattoo on the side of her shaven head made her look fierce. Both of them were in their early thirties and ran the Detroit Central crew.

We three were in a different crew when I was 15 and they really took a liking for me. They taught me everything I know and they are the family that I always came back too.

I dug into my breakfast, eating slowly and savouring the sweetness of the maple syrup.

"Thank god you are atleast eating now." Raven said as she ruffled my hair and turned towards the sink.

I shrugged and Carl picked up the newspaper to read, settling into his seat. Suddenly, the bell rang which had all of our backs becoming as stiff as a rod.

"Were you expecting someone, darlin'?" Raven asked, trying to peak through the windows.

"Don't get up, I'll do it." Carl said as he picked up the gun on the counter and pushed it into the back pocket of his cargo pants.

I was frozen, terrified. I had been very careful in escaping but me being the reckless fool and getting drunk seven ways to Sunday may have tipped them off.

I'm such a colossal dumbass.

I could hear Carl's gruff voice talking but I couldn't peek at the person on the other side of the door. I just sank further into my seat, hoping that it was some lost person and not the FBI.

"Boy this one's for you." He moved aside and the person I least expected to see walked in.

"You look like shit."

"Good morning to you too, asshole." I rolled my eyes.

Colt walked into the kitchen, wearing his trademark leather jackets and dark jeans. His combat boots made a thud sound with each step which made my headache worse.

"Will you be okay, Lo-lo?" Raven asked, her eyes flitting to the jerk standing in her kitchen.

Colt snorted at the nickname but luckily kept his mouth shut.

"Yep Ra. Meet Colt Kaneko. Colt meet Raven and Carl." I spoke at I stood up and put my dirty dishes in the sink.

"Oh you are Kaneko's boy, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"We heard about what went down in LA. Our condolences. He was a great man."

He gave a nod. It was a sore subject for me as well. That night in the alley, I wished I could take it back. I usually am not one to regret what I spew but whatever I said to Kaneko is another burden I'm gonna carry all my life.

"Also heard about your crew busted the Brotherhood? You were the mastermind behind it right?" Carl said as he crossed his arms.

"As much as I would love to take the credit, it was Lexi who came up with the plan." Colt said his eyes darted towards me, gauging my reaction.

"The newbie? Heard she drives like the wind-"

Hearing her name felt like an iron fist clenching my heart. That name will always be the source of my happiness, my cherished memories and my melancholy.

"Colt let's take this to the backyard, shall we?" Logan spoke up, interrupting them.

He walked to the back door and Colt followed him wordlessly. It a sunny day but a cool breeze blew which provided some kind of relief.

I reached to take out two beers from the cooler and handed him one. Colt raised an eyebrow.

"Beer... At ten in the morning?"

I shrugged as I popped the bottle cap off mine. "It's 5pm somewhere else."

"That's true too. Cheers." We clinked the necks of our bottles and took a sip as we sat down on the patio chairs.

I turned towards him. "So what brings you to Detroit?"

"To see your pretty face?" Colt said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

I snorted. "Always knew you had a thing for me, pretty boy."

"Always knew that you had an ego the size of Jupiter, dickhead. Some things just don't change."

I sighed. "Can't say the same for me through. Everything is different now."

Surprisingly, Colt didn't mock him. He stared down at the bottle in his hands. "Yeah... I can understand. How are you holding up?" He asked as he turned to face me.

I took a huge gulp of my beer before responding, my eyes staring at the mango tree in my neighbor's back yard.

"Not too good. It's been hard for the last couple of months. Kaneko's death, leaving LA and maintaining a low profile... It's been tough."

Life without Lexi is tough.

"Yeah I can understand. I still imagine pops opening the door to wake me up. And don't get me started on the FBI... bunch of bloodsuckers." He muttered the last part.

I snorted. "I'll drink to that."

"Good thing they are off our backs now." Colt spoke eyeing him from the corner of his eyes.

I scoffed. "Bitch please. They are anything but lazy. They are gonna continue hunting us down till the end of time."

"I meant that we are not the top priorities at the moment. Sure Mona was sent to jail but, a little birdie told me that they are after this 'world class' thief at the moment."

"That's a relief I guess."

"Do you know what this means?" He asked taking another sip of beer.

"It's too early for my brain to function. Come to the point, asshole."

"We are rebuilding the crew, dickhead."

My eyes widened. "No way."

"Yup." He said popping the 'p'. He downed the remainder of his beer before standing up. "I'm done repairing the garage. We have a job in two months and I need a crew for that. I already have Ximena on board and now I'm gonna go over to Toby's."

My mind was swimming. Mercy Park Crew was coming back for good.

I looked up at him, suddenly nervous. "What about Lexi?"

He rolled his eyes. "When I said I'm rebuilding the crew, I also meant recruiting Lexi, dumbass."

Oh god.

She is going to come back.

I was frozen in my place once again. I had often asked myself how I would react if I got the chance to meet her again. I always imagined that I would let out the loudest cheer and dance like a mad man.

But this is reality and my thundering heart was a reminder of that.

"Why are you sitting there with your mouth open like a fish? Go! Get your girl."

And that was it. I rushed to my room, put on some decent clothes and haphazardly stuffed my things into my satchel. Grabbing my keys and yelling a quick good bye to Raven and Carl, I was out and in my 2005 Devore GT.

Reving the engine I took off on the roads of Detroit, heading for the highway.

The window was open and the breeze threaded through my unruly hair, making me feel alive. My hands clutched the wheel and my foot pressed down on the accelerator, speeding through the empty streets.

For the first time, in a very long, the roads which felt like a never ending maze for me, were the very ones which were the path to my freedom.

The path to my happiness.

The path to my Lexi.

I hope you liked it 😊

Logan x mc: @kaavyaethanramsey @openheart @skylarklyon @shadowycreatorpaperopera @pixelberryownsme @magicalshepherdtreeprofessor @anotherbeingsworld​

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[littlemspeachy]

Tell me again it’s not you it’s the situation

Part One of You keep me waiting

Warnings: Mentions of Murder 

Word Count: 1.5K

He wonders how little he drank for him to remember the events of the night before, or at least remember enough to know who left those marks on his collarbone. Attempting to avoid his own gaze in the mirror he starts his daily routine and heads out to get his first cup of tea. 

He doesn't know where the habit started, not the drinking or the sex to forget the night before. But his tea habit: one in the morning before going to work, one at work, one during lunch, then several in the afternoon that soon turns into another long work night. 

"It's the stress." She tells him one night when she sits across from him in the middle of the night drinking a special brew that cures hangovers deadly hangovers before they have the chance to kill her head in the morning. The only light on her brown skin coming from the fridge. 

It's the same quote that he tells himself every time he calls her over and wakes up wondering what the hell he was doing with his life. 

Her notes started piling up in his junk drawer along with every letter from his mom he can't seem to throw away. 

Thanks for last night, made you some tea x. 

And just like that, the cycle repeats. He told himself to stop, go to therapy, something. Yet like a child, pride keeps him from walking through the door. But like every other day he shakes his head and grabs his robes before heading out the door. 

"Good morning Malfoy." The guard grunts at him as he walks in, before turning back to his newspaper. 

Draco gives a curt nod in the direction of the sound before heading to his office and starting his day. Same day, same office, and similar work that he has to do before some deadline passes. That's one thing Draco liked about being older, no matter how toxic the cycle, it all stayed the same.  

He walks into his joint office before noticing that Potter wasn't there like he normally was. Made sense considering that he was going to be a father soon. One thing Draco couldn't prove he was better at, not that he'd like to anyway. The idea of passing down the bloodline and having someone else be dragged into the whole ordeal sounded like an unusually cruel joke. Luckily he had too much work to get into before even finding someone to get involved with at that level. 

Speaking of work there was not much to get done. He thought looking through his notes that he had written about some artifacts that were to be presented during the trial against some murderous fools that found enjoyment in torturing muggles secretly. It was disgusting really; How one could see the damage and ruin that Voldermort brought and then wanted to see if they could do the same. What was worse was that they were much stupider. So much stupider that-

"Hey, Malfoy.. I know you're working but Sanchez is summoning you to his office." Came the voice of Potter. 

"Can I put it off till lunch?" He asked dryly looking up from his notes. It's not that he didn't like the man, it's just that his manners were far to American, which made him quite annoying at times. Unfortunately, he's amazing on the field and in the interrogating room making him a valuable member of their department. 

"No... He says it's quite urgent and that you've been requested immediately." Potter said opening the door to Malfoys office a bit wider. 

Draco frowned upon hearing those words because the only time you would be requested was when you were being requested for doing investigative fieldwork and he made it very clear that he was not interested in doing fieldwork. 

"Why would I be requested if you're one of our top officers, Potter?" Draco asked annoyed that he would be disturbed this early in the morning by the messy-haired man. 

"It's the nature of the case." Harry responded looking at the platinum blond-haired man. 

 "The nature? Potter, we work in an office that deals with pretty dark shite all the time. Why am I becoming a field officer all of a sudden?" 

"Listen just get to Sanchez's office and you'll get the full scope there, ok? I got an interrogation to do." 

Draco stared at his co-worker and sighed before setting down his stuff and walking to his door. "You owe me an extension." 

"Yazmeen has agreed to work on it if you get called out," Harry added watching the blond man leave and head over to Sanchez's office. 

The walk down the hallway was a short one, which is always surprising when he thought about how many people actually work there. But then he remembered that most of them were field agents so they had a simple desk set-up somewhere on a floor lower than the one they were currently on. 

He noticed the door already cracked open, he wanted to knock but was frozen in his tracks when he heard the voice from a woman that he's been trying to avoid for the past 6 months. 

"Wait, I'm supposed to be doing what?" The voice asked inside the office asked. 

"Listen, Hermione, I understand that you've made your choice to stay behind the desk and I respect that I truly do. But the type of case this is.... I just need to make sure you see this stuff and identify it. That's all I'm asking," The man inside the office paused when he saw Draco trying to awkwardly hide inside the doorway.

"Oh Malfoy, please come in."

Hermione's eyes follow Draco as he walks into Sanchez's office. 

Draco gives Hermione a curt nod of recognition but they stay an uncomfortable distance away from each other. 

"May I ask why I've been called?" He asked boredly peering around the room as to not maintain eye contact with the American that has taken the job of Head-officer and to not look too interested as to why Granger is there.

" Well you're being called because there has been a dark wizard going around London recently killed no-majes, muggles, including muggles of the magic kind; And unfortunately, he's been leaving ruins on his victims and the no-majes that aren't figuring out these ruins successfully are dying almost immediately. Currently, there have been 20 killed through murder and through the ruins and I wanted to put you two on the case since you both are my best experts in ruins. If you can't figure it out I'll have to make an appeal to bring over some people from the States and I don't feel like doing that. So please don't get killed,"  Sanchez finished looking at them with a bored yet serious tone that always unnerved Hermione.

The two make a move to leave before Sanchez speaks up again "Listen, I don't know what's going on between the two of you and quite frankly I don't care enough about gossip to learn. That being said if I find out that either one of you gets another one killed due to your differences. You'll never work again in a magic office for the rest of your life." 

Hermione clutched the papers given to her minutes before a little harder. Before giving a nod of understanding before following Draco out of the office and into the younger man's office. It wasn't until they were safely in his office that he spoke. "Would you like some tea?" 

"No, I finished my cup this morning" She pauses and looks around at the disheveled office "You know after having sex with someone you can clean up?"

Draco, who went to look back over files that he was looking at before snapping up to look at Hermione "Excuse me?"

"You and Yazmeen. and the broken awards" She said pointing to the broken picture frame that had his graduation certificate sat sadly on the floor. 

He muttered a quick fixing spell ignoring Hermione's pointed look.

A note started to write it's self on his notebook. 

"Well, Ginny's giving birth so Potter won't be much help. Speaking of help did Sanchez, did he give you some information on the case?" 

"Yeah, he did... Is there a reason why you don't like him?" Hermione asked giving him the case files. 

"I just have a thing against higher-ups," Draco responded quickly while skimming over the files given to him. 

Hermione walked over and started to read the past cases that Malfoy worked on. Case after case, all artifacts from his childhood home. How devastating. 

"Pack your bags Granger we're going to Liverpool," Draco stated before standing up and handing the files back to the curly-haired woman. 

"Why?" 

"Some lady said she saw the lady die."

Hermione sighed and walked back to the door. "Meet me at my apartment and we'll catch a cab together. Today please." 

Draco looked up at the woman as she left. Why she had to come back into his life after leaving made him want to curse at the gods, but unfortunately Gods remain a far more powerful being than him.

[starryknight09]

The dangers of birthday parties

Febuwhump Day 18: “I can’t see”

Read on AO3.

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Peter sat down in the empty lawn chair next to Tony, carefully relaxing his sore body into it and hoping Tony wouldn’t notice how gingerly he was moving.

“I’m surprised you made the drive up here.” Tony said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I’d never miss Morgan’s birthday.” He was surprised Tony would ever think that.

“Of course not.  I meant I’m surprised you managed to drive yourself.”

“Oh.” It had kind of sucked, but May had been working and Happy had left super early, so it'd either been drive himself or not come.  And the latter had not been an option.  “It was fine.”

“Uh-huh.  You’re moving like a decrepit old grandpa.” Tony called him out.

“Had a bad patrol last night.” He shrugged and immediately regretted it as pain shot through his body.

Tony’s face let him know he hadn’t missed that.

“You worry too much.” He complained, taking a sip from the bottled water in his hand.

“Hm I don’t think so.  I think I worry just the right amount.”

Peter shook his head.

Tony leaned in even closer, scrutinizing him.  Peter fought the urge to crane backwards.

“Hmm,” Tony said once he’d finished, leaning back.   “How’s the face?”

“What?” He touched his cheek as if that could answer how Tony had known.  “How did you—”

“You’re wearing makeup.”

“Oh.” Damn.  Of course that would be a tell.  “Yeah.”

“So what are we dealing with under all that?”

“My face.” He deadpanned.

Tony stared at him, waiting for him to break, and to his annoyance, he did.  

“Just a couple black eyes and a broken nose,” he said but when he saw Tony’s expression he quickly added, “But it’s already healing.  It should be fine by tomorrow.”

“Uh huh and what New York super villain managed to land so many hits on Spiderman?”

“Some guy made of sand.” He answered, looking over at the lake as he thought back to their encounter yesterday.  He was still irritated with how he hadn’t come out on top.  “I underestimated him.  I won’t that mistake next time.”

“I’m always just a call away if you need help kid.” Tony reminded him.

Peter glanced back over at Tony and smiled.  “I know.”

But he didn’t want to need Tony’s help.  After Wanda had killed Thanos, Tony had decided he wanted to take a step back when it came to the Avengers, a retirement of sorts.  He called the battle with Thanos his last big hurrah and acted like it was in jest, but Peter knew he was more serious than people thought, and he didn’t want to be the one that took him out of retirement.

“Don’t worry.  I can handle it.” He said, taking another drink of water and sinking further into his chair, closing his eyes.

“You sure you’re ok?”

“I’m fine.”

“As a future MIT student, I guess I’m going to have to trust you’d be smart enough to speak up if you weren’t.”

Peter smiled.  Tony had been so proud when he’d gotten his acceptance letter.  He still used every opportunity to bring it up in conversation.

“I can’t see!” Morgan yelled.

Peter cracked an eye open and saw her about ten feet away, blindfolded with what looked like the cut off end of a broom in her hand.  He watched as Pepper spun her in circles and then let her go while Rhodey held a string to bounce the pinata hovering a couple feet over her head.  Cute.  

He closed his eyes again and listened as Morgan grunted, swinging the stick full force at the pinata.

“Nice work Morguna.” Tony cheered her on and Peter took the moment to feel thankful for everything in his life.  He’d gotten really lucky.  MJ and Ned had gotten snapped too so he’d still had his best friends when he’d come back, and Ned was coming with him to MIT, and MJ wouldn’t be too far away at Harvard.  May was happily dating…Happy and they all lived in a nice apartment in Queens.  He had Tony and Pepper and Morgan, and ever since he’d come back from the snap, Tony had been treating him like he was his kid.  It’d been somewhat of an adjustment, but he had to admit it was more than nice.

Out of nowhere his spidey sense twinged, but instead of moving, he frowned and took a second too long trying to figure out how it could possibly be going off when he was at Tony’s cabin surrounded by Earth’s mightiest heroes.

Something smacked into his nose and he let out a sharp cry of pain, eyes flying open as he tried to identify where the threat was coming from.  But all he saw was Pepper staring at him with her hand over her mouth and Rhodey with his jaw dropped.

“I’m sorry!” Morgan yelled from next to her mom.  “I didn’t mean to.  It slipped!”

“Shit.  Pete, you okay?” Tony asked.

He looked down and noticed the wooden stick thing hanging half in his lap and half on the ground.  Everything started to make sense as he felt something warm start dripping down his lip.

He brought his hand up to his nose and felt the blood gushing out of it.  A second later the pain hit him as his previously broken nose started to throb angrily, protesting the new abuse.  

“Ow.” He mumbled and pinched it to try to slow the flow of blood even though that made it hurt even worse.

“Here kid, lean forward.” Tony directed, suddenly at his side and helping him tip forward.

“Petey I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to.” Morgan was somehow already at his other side and it sounded like she was about to cry.  Peter didn’t want that.  It hurt like a son of a bitch, but it wasn’t Morgan’s fault.  If anything, it was his own for not moving when his spider sense had told him to.

“It’s ok.  I’m ok.  Don’t worry Morgan.  It was an accident.” He tried to reassure her even as the words came out all nasally.

“Can someone get me a towel?” Tony asked and a few moments later he pressed the requested object against Peter’s nose to help staunch the bleeding.

The towel obscured his vision, but he didn’t need it to sense that people were crowding around him.

“I’m fine.” He tried to reassure everyone, not wanting to put a damper on the party.  “Really guys.  It’s all good.  You can uh, stand down.  Go back to the party.”

“Are you sure?” Morgan asked nervously from his side.

“I’m sure Mo.  Go give that pinata hell for me.”

“Ok, but I’m going to give you lots of my candy because you got an owie and that always helps me feel better.”

He couldn’t help but smile.  “Sounds like a good deal for me.  Thanks mongoose.”

Morgan patted his arm.

“Here.” He heard Tony say and the stick in his lap disappeared.  “Take this but make sure you hold on really tight this time, ok?”

“Ok Daddy.” Morgan said and he heard her walk away along with most of the others, getting back to the party.

“You doing ok kid?”

“Mmhmm.” He lied.  His nose hurt like crazy and he could feel his eyes watering from it.  He was pretty sure any progress his body had made in knitting the previous break together had just been completely undone.

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“I’m ok.  Just…give me a minute.”

Surprisingly, Tony did.  He let Peter suffer in a peace for awhile without pushing or doing anything besides holding the towel to his face and resting a comforting hand on his back.

When the intense throbbing finally started to subside, he straightened back up and pushed the blood soaked towel away.

“How does it look?” He asked, trying not to wince because he didn’t want to move his face too much and set the bleeding off again.

“Do you want me to be honest?”

He nodded.

“It’s crooked.”

“No.” He complained.  He’d had enough broken noses to dread what had to come next.  Last night at least it hadn’t been displaced.  Damn.

“We’re going to need to fix it.”

“I know.” He lightly pressed his fingers under his nostrils and they came back clean.  “At least it stopped bleeding.”

“Looks like it.” Tony said as he stood, tugging on his arm.  “Come on, let’s get you in the house so we can get you back in ship-shape.”

Peter groaned but stood slowly, the rest of his body still protesting any movement.  “You know, this really has not been my day.”

“Apparently not.” Tony agreed.  “Then again, it’s never a good day when Spiderman taken out by a five year old.”

“Ha ha.”

“So, is there anything we need to talk about?” Tony asked as he helped him up the porch steps and into the kitchen.

Peter frowned, not understanding what Tony was getting at.  “No.  Why?”

“Your powers aren’t malfunctioning?”

“No.  Of course not.” His frown deepened.  What had given Tony that idea?

“You’re sure?  That’s not why the sand guy got the better of you?”

“No.  My powers are fine.” He sighed.  He didn’t want to admit that when he’d faced Sandman he’d been more than a little tired and sloppy and that’d been the main culprit.  As close as he and Tony had become, he was still Ironman, his childhood hero, and admitting any fault or mistake to him was never going to come easy.

“Ok so if your powers aren’t malfunctioning then why didn’t your Peter tingle go off just now?” Tony asked, guiding him over to sit down on the couch.

“Oh god not you too.” He whined.  “Please please don’t call it that.  It’s my spidey sense.”

“Whatever you say kid but answer the question.  Why didn’t it go off?”

“It did.” Peter admitted as Tony took a seat on the coffee table across from him.

“If it did, then how’d you get clocked in the face?” Tony asked skeptically.

“I was thinking it was weird that it was going off here, and then before I could move…bam.”

Tony shook his head in consternation.  “Next time don’t think about it, just act.”

“Right.  Obviously.”

Peter tried not to tense as Tony brought his thumbs up to his nose.  They’d done this dance more than once but it never got any easier.  At least he didn’t have to do it to himself this time.  That was always way worse.

“This might hurt a little.” Tony warned.

“I know.” Peter sighed.

“On three.” Tony said.  “One.  Two.”

Tony pressed his thumbs together, realigning everything back into place with a grinding crunch.

He grunted, his eyes watering again with the new pain.

"You missed three." He complained.

“Sorry.” Tony said and Peter knew he meant it.  Seeing him hurt always seemed to hurt Tony equally as much, which was another reason Peter tried to avoid it at all costs.    

“It’s ok.” He wiped the errant tears away.  “Does it look better?”

“It looks great kid.” Tony gave him a pat on his shoulder.  “Want to get back to the party?”

Honestly, it was the last thing Peter felt like doing but he couldn’t let Morgan down.  “Sure.”

“Or you could lay down in here for a little while and I’ll come get you when it’s time to cut the cake?” Tony offered like a mind reader.

Peter sighed in relief.  “Are you sure?” He asked, searching Tony’s eyes.  He didn’t want to disappoint Morgan.

“It’s perfectly fine.” Tony said, already guiding him to lay down on the couch.  “Do you want me to stay with you?”

“No.” He protested instantly.  The last thing he wanted was to take Morgan’s dad away from her on her birthday.  “Go be with Morgan.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok.  I’ll be right outside if you need me.  Just let FRIDAY know.”

“I’ll be fine.  I’m just going to close my eyes for a few minutes.” He mumbled.  “Tell Morgan I’m sorry for missing her party.”

“She’ll be fine kid.  You’ll have plenty of time to see her later.” Tony ruffled his hair.  "You can stay the night.  She'll love that."

That sounded like a good idea.  He definitely hadn’t been looking forward to getting back in the car later.

Tony draped a blanket over him.  “Get some rest Pete.”

“Thanks da- uh dude.  Thanks dude.” His cheeks heated in embarrassment at the near slip and he kept his eyes stubbornly shut so he wouldn’t have to see the look on Tony’s face to know if he’d caught it.

Tony let out an amused snort.  “You’re welcome dude.”

[utterlyinevitable]

Trials & Tribulations (CH. 4)

Me Without You

Chapter 1: Afterwards Chapter 2: The Next 4 Days Chapter 3: It All Falls Down

Love Interests: Ethan Ramsey, Bryce Lahela Word Count: 3.3k Warning: angst, adult themes, possible destructive mental health triggers Summary: Have you ever been so out of touch with your emotions that you constantly make choices? Yeah… That’s what Becca’s doing.

________________________________________ 

For almost two weeks Becca left him texts and voicemails at various times of the day - anything she could think of to reach him. She needed an explanation. Things were good, she thought. Why would he up and leave without saying a word? Weren’t they in a better place now? Why did he go? 

They’d slept together a few days ago, breaking down every sacred barrier of professionalism they’ve erected since Miami. It was an initial shock for them to be on the same team come the fall but they could work though it. They were stronger than this. They’ve been through so many secrets together how could they not? 

By day 9 Becca had long left the shock of abandonment behind and just needed to hear his voice, rationale be damned. His voicemail lulled her to sleep most nights when Rafael couldn’t come over to help numb the pain. The short curt message was so distinctly him; 

“Dr. Ethan Ramsey. Leave a voicemail or call 911 if it’s an emergency.” 

She’d always hung up right before the beep. Becca was embarrassed by how many times she called each day yet was more embarrassed to have him hear the desperation in her voice. As silly as she felt, it’s like a piece of her had gone missing. Eight weeks was a long time to pine after someone who ran away. More like an entire year… She had him once, why was he pushing her away again? 

After catching him leaving their apartment that fateful morning after her ethics hearing, Elijah and Sienna held onto Becca’s deepest secret. They saw no need to start drama within their group after everything that has happened, especially for one briefly passionate weekend. 

However short-lived, it was the most freeing three days of Rebecca Lao’s life. It felt right, he felt right. Why doesn’t he feel the same way? 

Ugh I can’t keep thinking of him. 

Becca pushed him to the back of her mind every single time he popped into it, forcing herself to focus on her patients and the little distraction known as her friends. Dr. Rebecca Lao was determined to move on, her completely decimated heart be damned. 

***

At 1:12PM on that ninth afternoon Becca snuck back to the locker room and sent him another text, 

Please let me know you’re okay. 

She huffed as she shoved her phone deep into her coat pocket, ready to go on lunch and wallow in her misery. 

For the last seven days Becca hadn’t worn a lick of makeup. She couldn’t bring herself to keep up appearances. Anyone could see the cracks through her painted face, so what’s the point in putting all the effort into it? She wore the bags under her eyes proudly a reminder that, albeit everything, she’s still alive and capable of thriving. Her greasy brown hair was pulled back in a haphazard bun and baby strands flying carelessly around her forehead, she hadn’t felt like washing it in a few days. Her eyes were dull. Nothing really sparked the fire in them anymore. No one was pushing her to reach past her potential anymore. 

I can’t wait to spend all day in bed tomorrow. Maybe I’ll actually take a relaxing bath…  

“Ah, Dr. Lao!” she heard the chipper and lively voice of Naveen call a few feet ahead of her. She looked up from her fixated gaze on the stark white linoleum and to the old doctor bounding happily towards her with his cane. “How are you?”  

“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” she responded trying not to meet his inquisitive eyes. “How have you been?”  

The question was simple enough. It was obligatory small talk in most circles however here and now they held a deeper meaning. Rebecca couldn’t have been the only one taking His departure roughly. 

“Hanging in there,” he told her honestly with newly darkened eyes, and she gave him a sad smile back. Naveen extended an olive branch to the only other person that would understand, “Would you care to join me for lunch?”  

“I’d like that, yeah.” 

“Wonderful,” he beamed “I’ll meet you in the atrium in 15 minutes?”  

Beca forced a small smile, “It’s a date.” 

  Naveen and Becca sat at a table at one of his favorite local Indian restaurants near the hospital. During the fifteen minute drive over, the man raved about the chutney and how the family-run establishment was one of the only ones with a proper heat meter - “not like conservative dishes you’d find at chains”.  

The two pleasantly spoke of their last few days as if they were two lifelong friends despite only knowing one another for a few months. Once the waiter brought over their meals she finally let herself ask the question causing hives at the back of her neck, “Have you heard from him?” 

Naveen moved the rice around his plate to mix with his lamb curry and took a deep breath; he knew this was coming. 

“He sent me an email once he got there,” he said as evenly as he could manage. “I’m sure he’s fine. Ethan’s tough.” Naveen wished he could ease the woes he’s seen pass the young resident’s features ever since that day of the announcement. But his loyalty towards his makeshift son outweighed conflict in his heart. There was a reason Ethan didn’t tell her and I must respect it. However misplaced. With a slight smile he tried to reassure her instead, “Surely enough, no matter his rank, he would have taken control and whipped everyone into shape. He’ll be back home to us soon enough.” 

Email? She didn’t think of that… God, He is an old man.  

Her attention was fixed on the salad in front of her, pushing the leaves one over the other. “I jus -” There were so many questions she needed answers to. If anyone knew Him well enough to help her speculate his motives it would be his most dearest friend. Her voice was small as she continued, “Why didn’t he tell me?” It took a lot of strength to keep her voice from cracking. 

Her stormy eyes finally lifted to meet warm brown. The deep marks of age on his dark brown features arched downwards in sympathy. He set his fork down by his plate and dabbed the corners of his mouth, preparing to ease the mind of this doleful girl. 

“He told me he applied the moment he quit but didn’t expect to hear back. It was a wishful thought; he never would be able to stay retired long. We have that in common, him and I. As for why he didn’t tell you I can only speculate.” The older doctor tried to keep his features impartial and failed. “The boy has a one track mind sometimes; when he puts his mind to it nothing will stop him until he’s reached the desired outcome.” 

She’s seen Him exhibit that kind of behavior before and gave Naveen a sad smile back in recognition. 

Naveen reached across the table to cover her hand with his. “He’s been through a lot in life and hasn’t always been the best with feelings. But when you know him long enough, and get to know his expressions, it’s easy to see something...” the Chief of Medicine chose his words carefully, “intimate has become of you two.” 

Normally Becca would have scoffed at the insinuation, but now she just couldn’t bring herself to react. Naveen’s words were settling in - she knew He had scars from his childhood that he didn’t dare talk about. She knew He was closed off and an acquired taste. And she knew Naveen was half-right. 

Sadly she replied, “I don’t think there’s anything between us.”  

Naveen didn’t want to argue, he could see through the broken girl in front of him and his heart ached for them both. 

Rightfully he changed the subject, “Are you working on any exciting cases?” 

“Not as exciting as they are unfortunate,” she shrugged, picking at the salad. “I have a young girl with leukemia and a patient on dialysis with pneumonia. I’m not sure either of them will pull through.”  

“If you need any help, I’m only a page away.” His gaze cascaded a sense of comforting warmth over her. “You’re not just my grandmentee, you’re family.” 

She was happy to have Naveen in her corner but couldn’t help wondering if the offer was conditionally tied to him. 

“Thank you.”  

“Thank you for joining me,” Naveen acknowledged, “I say we make this a routine thing!” 

For the first time in a long time the corners of her lips perked up, “I’d like that.” 

That evening she sent him an email;  

Hey, 

I know you’re kicking ass down there (you know I mean the outbreak, please don’t punch anyone!), but I hope you’re being safe. I had lunch with Naveen today, he’s really worried about you. We miss you. Please please please let us know you’re okay. I’m still mad at you for leaving but I’ll forgive you if you just please talk to me. If I did something wrong, I’m sorry. I just want to know that you’re alive and well. Even if you don’t want to talk to me, please keep Naveen updated. 

See you soon, 

R x 

***

“Roo-mie Bar Crawl. Roo-mie Bar Crawl.” Sienna chanted from the middle of their living room. The gang was all dressed up and ready to let loose after a really harrowing week on the job.  

Becca hadn’t contacted Him since that first and last email three days ago. She made her peace with it. After days of trying, a deep conversation with Naveen, and receiving absolutely nothing in return for her efforts, she settled on the assumption that He was ghosting her. Her heart ached but she didn’t want to let the heartbreak consume her. Instead she’d find other distractions. 

Those distractions came in the form of Rafael, Bryce, and Sienna. Each friend mended a different part of her tattered heart. Sienna took care of her by way of baked goods, forcing her to talk about her feelings and retail therapy - Becca needed a bit of mothering in these last few days, especially since she didn’t have a close relationship with her birth mother. Bryce was her feel-good companion, he’d take her out for a drink or an excursion, anything he could possibly do to have her smile reach her eyes once again. Lastly, Rafael helped take care of her intimately - although he’s been M.I.A. the last week… 

The group congregated in their shared living room, ready to go. Becca sat on the sofa next to Bryce as he helped lace up her heels. Sienna chanted once again and everyone cheered a response. Once more Elijah listed off items and everyone patted their pockets and their bags. Phone? Check. Wallet? Check. ID? Check.

“Is Raf not coming?” Becca asked as they paraded through the hallway.  

“No, he’s got plans with his girlfriend,” Jackie said matter-of-factly.  

Becca's footsteps fell behind her friend ever so slightly. What!? 

“Really? When’d that happen?” 

Jackie retorted like it wasn’t the most important bit of information, “I don’t know, recently?”  

“She’s his childhood sweetheart,” Kyra piped in. “Just moved back and they’ve been on a few dates. Very romantic.” 

Becca bit her lip, “Yeah… good for them.”  

There were so many questions racing through her mind. They had just slept together for the fifth and seemingly final time less than 2 weeks ago. Was Becca the other woman? No matter the questions there’s just one thing Becca couldn’t shake; 

I’ve gone and thrown myself at another man who doesn’t want me. 

She was determined to have a good time regardless of the mountain of rejection forming at her core. Good thing alcohol’s the best medicine… She was prepared to spend the next few hours looming in her chaos, choosing reckless behavior instead of facing her feelings. 

***

The group pregamed at Donohues for happy hour, choosing to spend their most coherent of hours in a familiar place. They downed 2-for-1 tequila shots each and played a round of darts until the board began to move. Becca did all she could to keep from staring at the empty far corner of the bar. Every time she did she took another shot.  

Then the residents made their way to a dive bar for cheap drinks. It was a small hole-in-the-wall place with not enough space for the large group. Bryce and Kyra went in to grab the first and only round bringing it out to the side of the building where everyone else was waiting. The sun had now fully set and the group was getting cold. To warm up Jackie suggested they chugged.  

Fifteen minutes later they ended up at a sports bar and grabbed some quick grub. Elijah was drawn to the TV playing a game Becca couldn’t care less about. Her and Bryce shared a plate of nachos and a double cheeseburger with onion rings. Sienna gave a side eye at how close her two friends were becoming. After the third bar the group started to fan out, Aurora and Kyra headed home needing a solid seven hours of sleep to be functional. 

Feeling the buzz and forgetting about Raf, they powered on! On their way to the club the group passed an Irish pub with music blasting. They accepted the inevitable detour and danced in the middle of the floor to the house fiddle band. Everyone had one drink before Sienna, Jackie and Elijah bowed out afterwards overcome with exhaustion. 

The last two troops gave one another a devious smirk and headed to the club arm in arm. 

Bryce and Becca held off on drinks feeling full of life from the last few rounds and put off by the elite pricing. He grabbed her hand and led her onto the technicolor floor. They danced and danced to song after song. Occasionally she’d turn around and he'd hold her flush to his chest. The sensation releasing copious amounts of serotonin and oxytocin. 

At one point she was sandwiched between Bryce and another hopeless stranger. It seemed the two men wanted to outlast the other. She found the determined glimmer in her friend’s eye so amusing. Becca turned away from the poor stranger and back to Bryce, the two men calling a silent truce. He raised his eyebrows and she mouthed “stay”. He moved in closer and kissed her temple causing the nameless hopeful to storm away. 

They stayed. They danced. They drank. 

Bryce leaned over to speak into her ear, “That guys totally checking you out.” 

She cocked her head to see a dark skinned stranger in well-tailored clothes eyeing them. 

“Maybe he’s checking you out,” she sneered.  

Bryce’s contagious and magnificent smile lit up his face, “He’s definitely trying to figure out if we’re together.” 

She made a show of rolling her eyes.  

Pointing over his shoulder he said, “I’m gonna go get us another round.” 

The mystery stranger used that as an opportunity. 

“Hey,” his tenor voice smooth and unconflicted. 

The stranger wasn’t much taller than Becca. He had dark olive skin, enchanting amber eyes, a buzz cut which is so different from her type - she liked a man with locks she could latch on to. His shallow beard accented his chiseled jaw. He wore a navy blue v-neck that drew the attention to the defined muscles beneath. He was a small man compared to those she surrounded herself with, and was a stark contrast to what she was attracted to. And maybe, just maybe he could help her forget for a minute. 

“Hey,” Becca said back, scanning the crowd over the man’s shoulder for Bryce’s return. 

Before she knew it she was bumped in the back and tumbling towards the handsome stranger. Bryce was the culprit walking hand in hand with another girl he picked up at the bar as he shot his friend an encouraging wink.

The stranger nodded over to Bryce’s retreating form, “Looks like you’ve been dumped.”  

“I’ve been abandoned by my friend,” she clarified. Becca’s eyes locked with the olive strangers and shrugged, “Guess I’m in the market for some company.”  

He raised his eyebrows and they both moved to close the distance, letting the air around them take control. His thin hand moved to her waist while one of hers laid to rest on his taut forearm. They moved in unison. She kissed the stranger fiercely for what felt like hours in the middle of the club, their tongues battling for dominance. His left hand trailed up to her hair and the right settled on the skin at the small of her back to keep her flush to him. When they came up for air he asked Becca to go home with him. 

Without hesitation she said she’d meet him at the bar in five. 

Sitting in the dirty bathroom she couldn’t believe what she was doing. She was intoxicated, alone and willing to go home with just about anyone that would give her the time of day? No. She was stronger than this. She shouldn’t succumb to this. She wasn’t desperate enough to do this.

But the alcohol took over. 

She regretted the decision immediately. 

After all this time she never expected a response. 

First with a text, Are you ok? 

Why now? She thought as she stood in the dingy bathroom watching the notification flash over her lockscreen.

She fled. 

Becca shoved her phone deep in her pocket and retreated back to the commotion as fast she could. She scanned the room briefly looking for Bryce but spotted the stranger moving onto his next conquest. She reached the base of the stairs, her phone incessantly vibrating. She pulled it out to see the same message sent a second time. Against her better judgment she typed back;  

Not at all. 

Within seconds, flashing across the phone screen was the name she longed for. 

Incoming: Ethan Ramsey 

She didn’t have a chance to say anything as she made her way outdoors before he asked in a low and stoic voice, “Where are you?” 

“Where are you?” 

“Rebecca…”  

She wanted to hang up so badly. But his voice… How she missed his voice. And he was there. He sees her messages - he called because he cares. Well that’s what she told herself. Why else would he finally respond after all these days?  

Her words were caught in her throat - she had so many things she wanted to say to him - to ask him, but nothing came out. She was rendered mute between the embarrassment and opportunity. 

“Becca are you still there?” 

She had to open and close her mouth a few times before the words manifested on her tongue. “Right where… you left me,” she whispered more to herself than anything. 

He left. He left me. 

The two ex-lovers were silent, the load of everything she’s had to bottle up finally taking its toll and Becca started to sob. All of the feelings she’d tried to box away and shrug off came crashing down. Ethan Ramsey broke her heart. He let her into his world outside of Edenbrook and vice versa. She let herself fall for him and it became detrimental, a derailment to every hope she started residency with. 

Another person she considered close had betrayed her. 

Another man had disappointed and abandoned her. 

Becca never talked much about her past, gently refusing to confront the heartache her father caused her, what Landry had done to her, how Rafael avoided her and how her idol, her mentor and lover abandoned her. The culmination broke her. 

She dropped to the curb, her vision impared by her tears. She let her face fall in her left hand and clutched the phone in her right to her ear. One word kept running through her mind as she completely fell apart on a dim Boston street at an ungodly hour of the evening, praying that the son-of-a-bitch on the other end of the line would put her at ease; 

Pathetic. 

“Bec-” 

She hung up the phone.

________________________________________

Taglist: @ohchoices​​ @dulceghernandez​​​ @aylamreads​​ @binny1985​​​ @ramseysno1rookie​​​ @interobanginyourmom​​​ @queencarb​​​ @perriewinklenerdie​ @rookiefromedenbrook​​ @eramsey28​​ @choicesficwriterscreations​​ @heauxplesslydevoted​​ @schnitzelbutterfingers​​ @purpledragonturtles​​ @ramseyandrys​​​ @ermidc​​ @mrsdrakewalkerblog​​ @doilooklikeiknow​ @overwhelminglyaquarius​ @drethanramslay​

[sideblogformindtrash]

CW: NSFW no-con, abusive relationship dynamic, reluctant whumper, physical abuse, emotional abuse(?), mentions of death, murder and trauma; grabbing; swearing, screaming; mentions of breaking bones/restraints. 

Y’all want more random oc whump with no context? Also this one was supposed to be part of a VN plot that I scrapped bc was nervous about letting people actually see it, so It branches out a lot all the time and I kind of just reunited the pieces I liked more for this part. Sorry it’s long and angst. Also not pet whump, they just have dumb animal codenames ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

…Crow reaches the building reception. It’s darkish in there, as the only light comes from the setting sun. This part of the building does not receive electrical power. Most of The City doesn’t, anwyay. He is about to leave, but notices some movement behind him.

He turns abruptly. Bunny is standing on the base of the stairs. Crow clenches his fists. Bunny is not allowed to leave their apartment. On the other hand, he was one sneaky little bastard. He wouldn’t have noticed him if he hadn’t intentionally made noise.

“What the hell are you doing here? I told you not to leave the apartment.”

“Yeah I… I know.”

“Than what the hell are you standing there for? Run back upstairs before I beat you and drag you there myself.”

“No, just… Just listen.”

Listen. Crow crosses his arm and stares, a face that says ‘better be worth it.’

“You shouldn’t go outside today.”

Bunny is struggling to make sense of his own words. Crow lifts an eyebrow.

“Because…?”

“It’s just… I feel something bad will happen to you if you go out.”

“…And why would you care? I’ve given you plenty of reasons to not give a fuck about my safety. Thought you would be happy if I died, actually”

“NO!” It’s a half scream, as he goes down the last two steps of the staircase “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I don’t want you to die!”

…He doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. What a fucking joke. When Crow closes his eyes, he can almost see her again, her head cracked open on the pavement. One moment she was there and then… Gone.

“Yeah now you care about us.”

Bunny shakes his head, looking at the floor.

“I never wanted it to end that way.”

“You are a fucking liar, that’s what you are Bunny.”

“It’s not… I didn’t knew. I swear.” Little tears starting to form on the corners of that pretty face “Won’t you ever forgive me?”

“Maybe when you learn to raise up the dead.  You are seriously upsetting me. Go back upstairs. Now.”

“No!” He dares “I-I might not be worthy of forgiveness but I am trying to help you now, please.”

“Yeah, sure you are.”

“Please… Can’t you see I just… I want you to be safe?”

“I don’t know? Can’t you see I’m about to punch your stupid face if you don’t get out of here?”

“…Fine. You are right anyway” Bunny clenches his fists and puffs his chest, as if that could make  him look threatening.  “I do hope you fucking die!”

…He must have noticed the sparkle that lit up Crown’s face, showing that he had gone too far. Immediately he cowered again, and turned to run upstairs. Crow advances like an arrow, covering the distance between the two and blocking his path.

Bunny changes direction before Crow could grab him and tries to run outside. Again, Crow only need a moment to be over him,, this time grabbing his wrist and throwing him against the reception desk.

“N-No! Stop it!”

Bunny tries to push him away, so he punches him on the stomach. He gasps, out of air, but keeps trying to fight. Grabbing him by the hair, Crow pulls his head backwards until he lets out a cry. He tries to claw at Crow’s hands, only to get punched again.

“Just stop struggling, you’ll only make things worse on yourself”

He is mostly immobilized now, and starts to hyperventilate. He pulls his face as far from Crow as he can manage… And gives up, letting his body go limp.

“P-please…”

Crow nuzzles at his neck and runs his tongue through it, giving kisses and bites.

“Crow… Crow don’t…” He tries again “C-Can we just… Later… Please. I’ll… I’ll do it later just not-“

Crow pushes him further against the table and pulls his shirt off. He sobs a bit, while Crow slides his hands down his pants.

“Not like this. Not when you are angry…” sobs “Not just because you want to hurt me.”

Just because you want to hurt him. As if that would make him feel any better. Slowly, Crow lets go of him. They stare at each other for a moment… Bunny pushes Crow and runs out the door.

…Just like that he is gone. Crow pulls his legs closer, into a hug, silently staring, wondering if he should follow. Can’t even feel angry about this just… Numb. After a while, Crow gets back on his feet and lay down on the old sofa of the reception, a cloud of dust lifting once he falls there. Everything is dark and silent now.

He closes his eyes, hoping to dose off and get a break from his thoughts. Maybe he had really gone too far. He tried to remember what it felt like to be the one getting hurt. He had promised his younger self that he would be better than those people. That he would be a hero. What a fucking joke.

He wondered if that was an idea he had brought from the Crystal World. His home. The only thing he had left of that place was a tiny statue of a crow and that stupid City Patch, where he had come from. No one else had ever come from there, he was the only one of his kind. All alone.

Memories of childhood among huge crystal spires, ever-changing colors and cold breeze nurse him to sleep.

The feeling of being watched wakes him up again. Eyes in the dark watching him, Bunny nervously holding his shirt.

“So… You will break my legs now?” He asks, nervously twisting the fabric.

“Huh?”

“…Coyote said I’d have my legs broken if I tried to run away again. That I’d be chained to the wall.”

“Hm. Yeah, no. You came back.”

The first time it happened, Coyote had broken one of his arms. He was by far the most aggressive and vicious of the group. Crow was too angry, too sad and too lost to care, and just let the man do about anything he wanted to Bunny. But nowadays… Well, he was keeping an eye on them so that it wouldn’t go too far.

Crow sighs. He felt apologies were worthless, but…

“I guess you really wanted to help me this time, for some reason. I pushed you to it. I’m… Hm, I’m sorry.”

“I…” Bunny looks down “Thank you.”

Crow signals for Bunny to come closer. Reluctant, he does. Crow pulls Bunny over him. He flinches, but…

���I’m not going to hurt you. Just… Just stay with me. Please.”

Bunny nods, and let’s himself rest on top of Crow, laying his head on the man’s chest, hearing his heart. They both stay together as stars appear on the sky, silence and stillness cover that world like a thick dust.

“Crow?” Bunny says finally “You…. You still want to have sex?”

“That… wasn’t the point. You were right. I only wanted to hurt you.”

“I know…” he sighs “But it’s okay now. I think. Or… are you still angry?”

Bunny lifts his head, Crow pushes away a lock of hair out of the tear-stained face.

“I’m… Always angry I guess. Not at you just… At everything” Crow sighs, not wanting to hold eye contact “You don’t have to do it.”

“… Not being angry… Doesn’t mean you have forgiven me”

He leans his head on Crow chest again, quietly weeping. Crow pets his head. No, he hasn’t. But his forgiveness wasn’t worth much of anything anyways.

“The worst isn’t that you hurt me Crow” he whispers “The worst part is that I feel like I deserve it. You think so too, don’t you? You all do. But I can’t fix what I did.”

He sits over Crow, now trying to wipe away the angry tears.

“And later you regret hurting me or something and try to act nice to appease your consciousness or something, and I’ll believe you because I’m so desperate for things to get any better! Shit… You… You are doing that right now, but tomorrow will be the same shit all over again because just like everything on this stupid fucking planet, time is standing still. And there is no way for this to change because I can’t undo what I did.”

Crow tries to hug him again, but slapping Crow’s hands to the side, he falls into a much more desperate cry, hiding his face on his hands.

“I… I wish you’d love me again. Like you did before all this”

Crow’s chest tightens a little. Back then… things indeed seemed much better. And Crow did love him, and so did Ferret. But that’s what made the betrayal so much worse.

“Why would you want me to love you, I’ve done nothing but hurt you… For months now”

“Everyone has hurt me.” His sobs turn to screams that cut the heavy silence of that world “My entire fucking life I’ve been thrown around by people who didn’t care about me beyond whatever they wanted to use me for. But you are the only one that made me feel like can’t live without you… And I fucking hate you for that.”

Bunny cries louder, gasps for air and eventually… Calms down. Crow waits, patiently, lost in thought.

“…I hate myself for it too. I wish I could bring her back. I wish I hadn’t fucked up the only good thing I ever had. But I can’t”

“Bunny… Do you want to leave?”

Bunny frowns, eyes red from crying. He cleans the tears, and thinks for the longest time.

“If I say I do… Will you really let me leave?”

Crow nods.

“…No… I don’t. But you know that already, don’t you? If I wanted to go… I wouldn’t have come back”

“Did you come back because… Because of the things you just told me?”

“Yeah. I guess. But also… Where would I even go?”

And that was the question that plagues everyone on that City, all struggling for shreds of normalcy that had been stolen from them by some cruel trick of the universe.

He seems so tired, standing there, chest moving slowly, the pale skin marked by bruises. Crown envies him for his looks, skin that is still soft and not completely covered in scars like his own.

“…You and the others… Are the closest I’ve had from a family in years. And it hurts because I still love you.” He shakes his head “… I wish you would love me back or… Or just hate me all at once. I’m just so… So tired of having you toy with me like this.”

Bunny lays down again, head against his heart.

“You think you could ever love me again, Crow?”

Crow stares away into the ceiling. Loving him again meant taking responsibility for the pain he caused him. For every. Single. Bruise. Every. Single. Tear. And more importantly, never ever doing it again.

…It meant forgiving him.

“It’s too much to ask for, isn’t it?” Bunny seems to be shivering, fighting his tears again “I get it. But… Is it okay if I pretend you still do? At least… At least maybe now?”

“Yeah” Crow says, wrapping him on a tight hug “For now, is okay if you do.”

[thatfanficstuff]

Strange Fates - 15

Pairing: Mikaelson Brothers x Reader

Warning/Note: I’m really sorry about this. 

***

You relayed the details of your attack in full twice, answering what questions you could in between. When Klaus asked you to go through it again, you refused. You had long since moved from Elijah’s lap and were sat on your own on one end of the couch. You sighed and ran a hand down your face.

“We’ve been going over this for an hour. I don’t see what difference it makes. He’s very dead and I’m fine. I won’t walk anywhere on my own. And I’m very tired of discussing it.”

“I am simply trying to—”

“Enough, Niklaus. She’s right. We’ve been over it. There’s nothing she can tell us that will change what happened.”

You frowned as you shifted your attention to Elijah. Something about his wording didn’t sit right with you. After a moment, you brushed it off. Your nerves were just on edge from the conversation. That was all. You were seeing issues where there were none.

“But don’t you think—”

“Enough, Kol.” Elijah was determined to bring the conversation to an end. It wasn’t as if you were going to argue with him. You didn’t want to discuss it any more either. He turned to you with a smile. “Now, I believe we promised our mate dinner and a movie.”

***

You fell asleep halfway through the movie and Klaus carried you up to bed. Normally, they would have finished the film then all gotten into bed with you. Tonight, however, they had matters to discuss.

Once he’d seen you settled, Klaus shut the door to your room and went to join his brothers in his study. Elijah handed him a glass of scotch and he took an empty seat. The silence stretched as the three of them became lost in their own thoughts.

“We knew better,” Klaus finally said after several minutes had passed.

“Perhaps we should have,” Elijah relented, “but the temptation was too great. The pull to be with her was too strong. I find it unlikely I could have resisted even had I wished.”

Kol slammed his glass down on the table beside him. “I don’t see why we should. She was made for us. We are meant to be together. And she handled herself brilliantly.”

“You know why, Kol. She wasn’t attacked. She was targeted. Because of us.” Klaus couldn’t shake the deep sense of betrayal he felt that he would be given a mate only for the universe to try to take her away so soon.

“We don’t know that,” his younger brother insisted.

“The wolf confessed they’re talking about us. About her. For you to say otherwise only means you are refusing to see the truth of the matter.” Elijah’s words were short with anger though Klaus was sure it was directed to the universe in general and not any of them. “Throughout our lives, the people who we grew closest to have always been in danger. When they cannot attack us directly, they go after those we hold dear. It is how it has always been.”

“And in this case, it’s so much worse, isn’t it?” Klaus’s heart ached. “They need only harm her, threaten her, and they get to all three of us.”

Kol cleared his throat. “And if she were to die?”

“Well, that would destroy us, wouldn’t it?” Elijah answered.

“We could leave,” Klaus suggested.

“And go where?” Elijah asked. “Where in this world could we go where we would not have to worry about enemies on our doorstep?”

After several minutes of silence, Elijah spoke up again. “As long as we are in her life, she is not safe.”

“So, what do we do?” Kol asked, sounding completely broken.

Elijah focused on the glass in his hand. “Right now, we go to bed and hold our mate. In the morning, we feed her and walk her to work. Once she is safe behind her wardings, we will do as we must.”

***

Despite the events of the day, your sleep was peaceful. Your mates had been more attentive than usual, which honestly you hadn’t thought possible. Though all three of them had walked you to work, you had thought at least one of them would stay. It would have been normal for them to do so, especially because you had a large delivery coming in. Elijah in particular enjoyed going through shipments with you and helping put the new books away.

Instead, they’d all begged off for other business. You leaned on the counter with a sigh. Normally you enjoyed your time in your shop but today, time couldn’t pass quickly enough. You were ready to go home. Even the delivery didn’t hold your interest. Once you’d counted boxes you’d left it piled to one side to go through later.

You straightened as the bell sounded and your mates came through the door. Your smile faded as you took in their serious expressions. “What’s going on, guys?” you asked when they didn’t immediately say anything.

“Are you alone at present?” Elijah asked.

You nodded. “No one but me and the books.”

He nodded to his brothers. Kol locked the door and Klaus flipped the sign to closed. “We need to talk.”

“Of course.” You were proud of how calm you sounded though you were feeling anything but.

“We have discussed our situation and feel it best that we end this before any of us become more invested.”

You sucked in a breath, your gaze moving between your mates. “What?”

“It’s for your own protection, Y/N,” Klaus said. “The wolf was only one of many that would see us suffer. And by harming you, they could take all three of us down in one move. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Kol cleared his throat. “We can’t let you get hurt because of us.”

Your chest hurt and you bit the inside of your lip to keep from crying. “You can’t be serious. You can’t mean this.” If they had looked at you with concern or sadness perhaps you might have kept it together. But the looks of pity they all wore…well, that was just too much. “You told me you waited a thousand years for me and that I was worth the wait. That I made up for every second. You told me you loved me.” Your voice cracked at the end but there was no help for that you supposed. After all, your world was crashing down around you, wasn’t it?

“Y/N, please,” Kol pleaded.  

Elijah dropped a hand onto his shoulder. “This is for the best, Y/N. You will see that someday. We’re sorry.”

“Please don’t do this.”

All of them turned their gaze from you as they moved to leave. “I’m sorry,” you yelled and tears overflowed to run down your face. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry. I’ll fix it. Just don’t leave me.” The last words came out as little more than a whisper as your mates walked out of your life as easily as they had walked in.

Your body shook as you wept and you dropped to your knees. Before New Orleans you’d thought being alone was miserable. But to have had them, to know what your life could be with them in it, and to lose that was an indescribable pain. Your chest physically hurt as you struggled to breathe between sobs.

They’d left you. You were made for them and they turned you away. You gave them everything and they didn’t want it. Didn’t want you. Deep down you’d known that brief happiness had been too good to be true. You’d known they’d realize you weren’t worth the effort one day. You’d just been hoping it would come a decade or two down the road. Just a moment. That’s all you wanted. A moment in time when someone chose you.

You weren’t certain how much time passed before you realized Cami was helping you sit up. You wiped at your cheeks though new tears quickly replaced the old. “What is going on, Y/N? What happened?”

You shook your head, not wanting to put your shame into words.

Cami rubbed her hands on your arms. “Talk to me, Y/N.”

You looked from her to Marcel who hovered nearby. He held up his hands. “Hey, whatever they did, I’m on your side. She’d hurt me otherwise.”

“Damn straight,” Cami grumbled. You laughed which quickly turned into another sob. Cami pulled you into her chest and wrapped her arms around you. “It’s okay. Whatever happened, it’ll be okay.”

“They left me,” you managed to get out. “They don’t want me.”

Cami pulled back to look at you with a frown. “What? That doesn’t make any sense, Y/N. They’re crazy about you.”

You shrugged. “I make them weak. They’re better off without me.”

She closed her eyes. “Oh, those assholes. Those stupid, stupid assholes.”

Marcel bent down and scooped you up in his arms. “You can rant about the originals later, sweetheart. Right now, let’s get her home.”

“Yeah,” your friend readily agreed as she hopped to her feet. “I’ll put a sign on the door. She doesn’t need to worry about this place right now. Go on. I’ll grab her keys out of her bag and lock up.”

You felt like you should say something. Anything. But you just didn’t have it in you.

“You’ll be okay, Y/N. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but it’ll get better,” Marcel offered while he stood on the sidewalk outside your shop holding you and waiting for his mate.

Maybe he was right. Maybe it would get better. Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe tomorrow you’d wake up in your bed in your childhood home and all this will have been some weird demented dream. It didn’t take long to reach your little house. Cami opened the door and sat your things on the table while Marcel lowered you to your feet.

You’d managed to quit crying during the walk and now steered your friends toward the door. They’d done enough and honestly, you wanted to wallow in peace. Marcel finally resorted to physically pulling Cami outside. After you locked up behind them, you allowed yourself to look around your house.

As your eyes fell on belongings that you’d moved to the Mikaelsons with you tears flooded your eyes again. They’d moved you back home. You were sure if you looked around you’d find everything you’d taken with you back in its place. You had been thoroughly removed from their lives.

[mimiwrites2000]

Legends

Chapter Six ~

AO3 ~~

Pairings: Armin x Annie/ Eren x Mikasa (other pairings will be added as the story goes on)

this chapter contains some Armin x Mikasa platonic fluff 

Words count: 3123

* spoilers for chapter 127 and up

Summary:

an injury

a miracle

an understanding

and maybe 'everything happens for a reason' holds some truth in it, and all of it leads to that tingle of emotions with unsolvable maze that hypnotize its victims

~a story of broken hearts who are searching for a cure while mending each other’s wounds

They got to the island, and as sneaky as possible, they found a cottage somewhere in a remote area in the mountains. They decided that they would remain there until Eren wakes up and explains everything to them.

It wasn’t a big cottage, nor was it claustrophobic-small, it had two bedrooms, one of them was basically the attic -with a squeaky, barely-holding-itself staircase leading up to it- one living room, and a kitchen. They all had to share one cramped bathroom.

The construction wasn’t pathetically old, but it had been abandoned for some time, the lonely couch in the living room would dip deeper than a normal one when someone sat on it, the kitchen’s rusty cabinets doors were better detached, their squeaking would wake up the whole forest in an instant.

Mikasa would sit by the bed where Eren was resting, still unconscious, while everyone was somewhere in the cottage, trying to make the place as hospitable as they could with minimal supplies and zero mental power.

Well, since captain Levi was staying with them; everyone had to work hard to get this place to his cleaning standards.

However, Armin would forget all his troubles when he saw Annie around her father, well, she was always around him, but when he’d kiss her forehead or when she’d hug him, Armin would feel lighter, and a smile would pull at his lips.

Armin never saw Annie this carefree ever before, in fact, nor did anyone else, not even Reiner, for he himself wouldn’t bother to hide his astonished face when he’d catch Annie’s affection towards her father.

It was a tiny liberal vent to have at least someone genuinely happy and relieved, it absorbed some of the negativity in the air that was straining their minds into a choppy, dry sponge.

It was their third day at the cottage, while they were having dinner, that Annie addressed them for the first time in a while when she said: “I just realized that I’ve never introduced any of you to my father properly.”

The clattering of the utensils stopped, and no one said anything, and it’s not like they had any idea how to begin.

Hanji let out a light laugh, put down the crooked spoon they had in their hands, and said: “Well, my name is Hanji Zoe and I’m the 14th commander of the scouts, I mean, if the system is still running that is,” they cleared their throat, “nice to meet you, Mr. Leonhart.”

Mr. Leonhart nodded his head, and a small smile grazed his lips.

“We’re not very much fun to be around, so I hope we could get you as comfortable as we could, so, uh, welcome to the island.” Hanji continued, before holding their spoon again and resuming eating their meal.

Hanji’s introduction encouraged everyone to start talking, each of them introducing themselves, and the atmosphere morphed into one of a friendly dinner, it was the first time they spoke like they used to since they got to the island.

Scanning the room with her eyes, Annie realized that Armin was nowhere to be seen, she wondered where he was, and why would he miss dinner, well, it’s not like it was a fancy meal, but Hanji’s stew with some bread is extravagant juxtaposed to an empty stomach.

“Where’s Armin?” Annie asked Gabi, who was sitting beside her.

“I think he went outside, saying he needed fresh air.” She answered, her voice overthrown by the heated yet friendly discussion that erupted between Hanji and Pieck, before munching on a piece of bread.

“Is that so…” Annie fiddled with her fingers before she got up, wrapped some bread with a cloth, her father looked at her questionably, so she whispered in his ear: “I’ll be right back.” He nodded, and she left.

Annie searched around the cottage for Armin, but he was nowhere to be seen, so, she sat off through the forest, looking for him.

Annie didn’t take long to spot him; they had found a stream nearby, so she decided to search there first, also, the screams Armin was shouting didn’t make him quite hard to find.

Annie lurked around the trees, peaking through branches and taking wavering and inaudible steps, then she hid behind a bush, observing and not moving a muscle, she couldn’t see Armin’s face; his back was to her.

Armin screamed on and on, stretching his arms upwards, his lungs felt like they ignited and were on fire, but he still screamed, his vocal cords could tear, but he didn’t care about it. His cries the only other voice beside the stream and the crickets of night insects.

Armin needed to let out some of the stress that was weighing him down, and it’s not like he’s composed like others and could handle everything with a stoic face, he had to let it out somehow.

His mind railed over the people he left dinning in that cottage, he could no longer look at Mikasa and smile knowing that their childhood friend had almost destroyed the world and now was shut-eye in a bedroom unconscious for the past three days.

Armin could no longer look at any of them, nevertheless, think with a straight mind, he was clueless as to what happened and to what was to come.

He had to let it out.

When his voice faded, and it was painful to swallow, he collapsed on the dirt, dipping his toes in the cold, running water, closed his eyes, took deep breaths, and waited for his cords to heal to go for another round.

“Are you done yet?” A voice he knew too well said from behind.

The corners of Armin’s lips twitched, he splashed water; shivering from the cold: “I was planning on screaming some more, wanna join me, Mikasa?” his voice hoarse, cracking as steam erupted from his mouth.

“My throat would bleed, and I can’t heal it as fast as you could.”

Mikasa walked to Armin, and squatted next to him, they sat in silence, none of them speaking for a while.

Then Mikasa wrapped her arm around Armin’s shoulder, and he leaned into her embrace, Mikasa rubbed circles on his back and sighed, they both were lost, and nothing could ever fix what they’ve been through…

“This brings back memories,” Armin said, his eyes following a tiny golden fish swimming against the flow, he felt Mikasa nodding next to him.

“Maybe we could get those old days back.” Mikasa pondered.

“Yeah,” Armin absent mindedly agreed with her, then he flipped what she said in his head, over and over, and then blurted out: “yeah, yeah,” his voice gained confidence with every passing second, “Mikasa, why not?” He pulled away to look into her eyes; they held bewilderment, and that made the tip of Armin’s lips lift upwards.

“Why not?” Armin continued, “we can do whatever we want when all of this is over, we sure as hell deserve it, don’t we?”

“Y-yeah.” Mikasa stuttered, not sure from where this sudden enthusiasm came from.

Armin shifted his position, and was on his knees in front of Mikasa, he clamped her hands in his. Without breaking eye contact, he went on: “There are many places, that we could explore, or we could stay warm in some cozy, lovely house,” Armin shifted closer to her, “we deserve our own happy ending, don’t we?”

Mikasa’s lips parted in astonishment, she couldn’t pinpoint the line between desperation and resolve in Armin’s voice; however, she squeezed his hands and pulled on half a smile, a smile that meant this happy ending would only happen in another life, but certainly not this.

Armin’s eyebrows furrowed, and his lips pouted, he was resolute to make Mikasa feel better. So, he stood up, held out his hand to her, Mikasa took it, and without any introductions, Armin put his right hand on her waist, while the other hand held hers up toward the skies.

Mikasa promptly landed a hand on his shoulder, while the other gently laid upon his, “Armin, what exactly are you doing?” she asked him.

Armin didn’t answer; instead, he hummed some tune under his breath and started moving his hips.

Mikasa, having no idea what was going on, followed Armin with hesitant movements, then, his crooning turned into a silly jazzy combination of ‘dun dun’ and ‘tara tara,’ his voice getting louder and louder and his movements more imbecile and funnier.

Mikasa held in her laughter, biting her lower lip; Armin being silly isn’t a sight anyone would see occasionally, and when he did an exaggeratedly dramatic twirl, she couldn’t hold it in any longer; she let out a loud, chirping laugh.

Armin chuckled in return, and he felt a weight left off his chest, I didn’t get a chance to apologize to her after all, and he twirled Mikasa around, her skirt flowing around her, and uh God she’s so beautiful, she didn’t deserve any of the horrific stuff that she went through.

Mikasa twirled once again, and when she faced Armin, she noticed that his smile wasn’t as wide as it was a moment before, she looked at him in confusion before he stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

Mikasa didn’t expect that, but she hugged him back, resting her head on his shoulder. Armin swayed with Mikasa, resuming his humming, though the tune is supposed to be cheerful, his voice cracked, and the song sounded ominous and dreary.

Armin tangled his fingers in Mikasa’s short hair, ruffling it a bit, and he sensed Mikasa wrapping her arms tighter around him.

Mikasa heard Armin humming actual words, they were incoherent, and she had to focus on decoding them, but once she did, she couldn’t overlook them: “I’m sorry, oh I’m so sorry…”

Armin’s apologies stabbed into Mikasa’s heart, swift and unnoticeable, leaving her with tight lungs and trembling limbs. Her breath hitched in her throat, and soon, tears were spilling uncontrollably from her eyes, Armin shuddered, and she heard his own labored breathing.

Soon, the tunes drifted with the wind, and the pair fell to the ground, their grip only tighter around each other, as they cried their grief out, their own sobs cutting through the air, and the ambient nature only seemed to quiet down and listen to their mourning.

Annie watched from behind the bush, not making a sound, and when she saw both of them crumble to the ground, she decided it was her cue to get back to the cottage.

However, Annie couldn’t step inside; instead, she walked to a mountain of log beside the cottage and leaned against it, looking at her feet, moving the dirt beneath her shoes, then she looked up to the sky, the full moon peaked at her between the clouds…

The blue light immersed Annie’s surroundings, how the stars shone so bright but yet dull with the moon taking the spotlight, no one would look for the stars when the moon is out, she thought, right?

Annie heard footsteps approaching her, she tilted her head down and saw Armin, hand in hand with Mikasa, were approaching the cottage.

How long have I been out here?

Annie wanted to run into the cottage, but something screwed her legs in her spot, and she couldn’t move a muscle; instead, she waited until they noticed her presence.

Armin and Mikasa stood in front of Annie, Mikasa nodded, acknowledging Annie’s presence, and Annie nodded in return. At the same time, Armin was more verbal and said: “Oh, hey Annie, what are you doing outside?”

“Could ask you the same question,” Annie answered, crossing her arms.

Armin smiled, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Mikasa glanced between the two, then she let go of Armin’s hand and told them that she’s heading inside.

Armin and Annie stood there, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, not knowing what to say, then he noticed a cloth tied in a knot by Annie’s foot, something wrapped in it, he asked: “Were you planning to go somewhere?”

“No,” Annie answered, not realizing that Armin was referring to the bread she packed for him.

“Well then, may I ask what you have in that?” Armin inquired, pointing to the sack.

Annie looked down to it, and she immediately said: “There is some bread in there, thought I’d eat some out here, but I’m not hungry anymore,” she kneeled down and picked it up, producing a piece of freshly baked bread, though it turned cold, “you wanna have some?” Annie offered it to Armin.

Armin couldn’t hide his hunger, as his stomach growled. He took the bread gladly from Annie’s hand, taking a bite; it wasn’t the best bread he ever had, but considering that they were in a remote cottage in the mountains, this was the best they could ask for.

At least the airplane was packed with portions, and they were glad for that.

Annie made space for Armin to lean against the log beside her, she admired her surroundings while he munched on the bread.

“Armin, I think you deserve happiness,” Annie said out of the blue, her eyes scanning the sky.

Armin stopped chewing and turned his head towards Annie, not sure if he heard her or was just imagining it, but there was no one outside but them…

Armin swallowed, then said: “Uh, well thanks,” he looked up to where Annie was looking, “I think you deserve happiness too.”

Annie blinked; she didn’t say anything.

“You’re finally reunited with your father, now you can live the rest of your life by his side, right? Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted, Annie?” Armin said, imitating Annie and crossing his arms.

“I guess you’re right…” Annie agreed with him, eyes still aimed at the sky. She caressed the ring around her finger, turning it…

Silence draped over them, both watching the dark blanket upon them with jewelry scattered on it, but that one big diamond stealing all the glory to itself.

A ting of guilt nagged at her, she was so lost in the happiness bubble that she forgot about the bigger picture, where everyone was conflicted, barely slept, and had a ticking bomb in their hands with nothing they could do about it.

She glanced at Armin, he was watching the sky, just like her, and she wondered what kind of matters were swarming inside his head, an urge itched at her hand to reach out into his skull and pull out all the tangled thoughts fizzing inside it, and blow them away into the night, to get them lost forever.

Annie looked down at her hand, she unconsciously took off her ring, its shining rim between her thumb and finger, glistening, hiding the catastrophes it’s capable of.

Armin felt a hand close around his own, he looked down, and saw Annie securing his fingers around something small and warm, before she retreated and looked into his eyes. He shot her a confused look, he brought his fist closer to his face, and when he opened it, his lips parted in shock.

A circle of metal rested on his palm, still warm from Annie’s fingers.

“Isn’t this… your ring?” He asked her the obvious as he inspected it.

“It is, and…” Annie swallowed, “it got me to where I am, I guess, you… might need it,” no he wouldn’t, he got his own ring, you dumbass-

Annie imagined her jaw dropping to the ground when Armin silently slid her ring on his finger, he stretched his hand and observed it for a second, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out something.

He stretched his hand towards her right hand, his eyes locking with her, and when she didn’t’ back away, he held her hand, and slid something cold around her finger.

Annie looked down and-

A ring, almost identical to hers, wrapped around her finger, where her ring used to be.

“Then, I want you to take mine,” Armin said, his voice low.

a cold waft ruffled Annie’s hair, golden leaves swirling around them, and Annie heard her heart’s beats in her ears.

She wanted to reject the ring, it wasn’t about him, he shouldn’t give her something in return, something to keep her hanging on false hope and fantasies that only happened in fairy tales-

“Ahem.” Someone cleared their throat.

Armin and Annie startled and whipped their heads toward the source.

It was Mr. Leonhart.

Armin immediately stood erect, his fingers crushing the bread in his hold, his thoughts rampaged into his skull, and sudden nervousness rushed down his spine. For a moment, he thought he should probably salute him or something, luckily, Annie broke his perplexing thoughts:

“Oh, father, are you done eating?” Annie asked, not budging.

“Oh, yes, Hanji’s cooking is… unique, indeed.” Mr. Leonhart answered, then his eyes landed on Armin, “oh, Annie, you never introduced me to this young man, am I wrong?” Mr. Leonhart inquired, stepping closer to the pair.

“You’re not, his name is Armin Arlert, the Brainiac.” Annie casually acknowledged Armin.

“U-uh, yes! That’s my name! I mean my name is Arlert, Armin Arlert,” Armin stuttered, suddenly, he didn’t know what to do with his arms, so he stretched one out and said, his words overlapping: “it’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Leonhart!”

Mr. Leonhart took Armin’s hand in his, shook it twice, then, instead of letting it go, he placed his other hand over it, clasping Armin’s fingers in a warm, calloused grip, “oh, I must’ve heard about you from Reiner, the guy with wits no one compared to.” He probably was informed about how the survey corps exposed the Female Titan, but he didn’t elaborate on the topic.

Armin’s cheeks heated up, but Mr. Leonhart clamping hands grounded him, and he looked into the man’s eyes, and, even though he’s not Annie’s biological father, Armin still got the same aura from them.

“Well, Arlert, it’s a pleasure meeting you,” Mr. Leonhart let go of Armin’s hand, “I hope you don’t mind me calling you by your surname, but your first name sounds like a name your grandfather would choose.”

Armin chuckled, a smile remained on his face, “You’re exactly right.” Armin looked at Annie, his eyebrows rose a little when he saw her tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to hide a blush dusting her cheeks.

The door of the cottage slammed open, and a disturbed figure came rushing out, looking towards the darkness of the forest.

“Armin! Are you here?!” Shrieked a panicked Connie, making all of them jump.

“Connie!” Armin shouted, waving his arm to get Connie’s attention, “what happen-”

“Eren’s awake.”

~~~

I either have a very short chapter or a very long ass one, no in-between I hope you're enjoying this story!! Armin and Mikasa's scene made me cry while writing it... yeah I get emotional over my babies...

I want to thank @madninive​ for being soooo supportive and just an amazing human being, she helped me out so much with this chapter, so thank you for existing and putting up with me

[klovenhooves]

Johnny Lawrence and the Five Love Languages, Chapter Two: Acts of Service

Johnny felt like he’d been living in Groundhog’s Day. Every day he woke up, and it still wasn’t the weekend yet. He was constantly tapping his foot, jumping his leg up and down under the table, as if willing time to speed up. He wasn’t used to feeling so jittery about something – Miguel commented knowingly that Sensei Lawrence had overdosed on caffeine when he fidgeted too much during training.

 He got some extra push ups for that, not that he minded, the little twerp.

 And then, suddenly, it was Saturday morning, and he was jogging out to his car, keys jangling like his nerves, trying not to think about how eager he was to get to the beach. This time they would be without Robby, without Anthony, alone in the ocean.

 Maybe Diaz had a point with his little love language thingy.

 At least, that’s what he thought at ten in the morning. By noon, he was pretty sure the love languages thing was bullshit, because he was still waiting for Daniel to show up, and he was about to admit to himself and his stubborn pride that he wasn’t coming. He scoffed, pushing himself off the hood of his car and into the driver’s seat, trying to stifle the ripple of disappointment that ached a little like embarrassment.

 He was a high school kid again, playing games with the pretty girl and hoping she knew the rules. Except this time, he was the one who didn’t know the rules.

 He grabbed his phone from the cupholder beneath the radio where he’d left it to keep the sand and salt out of it. He almost didn’t look at it. What would he find there, but another avenue to hurt his feelings? Daniel probably hadn’t called.

 He sighed and pressed the top button. There were five missed calls on it, and a text from Robby.

 “CALL ME NOW,” it said.

He obeyed the text message, thinking ironically that whatever shit was about to hit the fan would at least distract him from Daniel LaRusso.

 “What the hell did you do?” Robby’s voice was hoarse, tired, like he’d been yelling for a while already. Johnny’s hand twitched around his keys, itching to turn them in the ignition, to find his son, find the problem. He stuck his hand under his thigh and forced himself to stay still.

 “What did I do?” Johnny repeated. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

 He could hear something in the background, deep sounds of wood hitting wood, and running water. “Cobra Kai never dies, right?” Robby sneered. “Isn’t that what you say?”

 “Yeah…” Johnny trailed off, trying to put together too few available pieces of the puzzle. “Look, I don’t know what –”

 “Cobra Kais trashed Miyagi-do last night,” Robby spat.

 Suddenly, Daniel’s absence made sense. “Send me the address,” he said firmly, speaking over Robby when he could hear his son preparing to deliver another painful blow. “Now.”

 ***

 He could see the devastation before he even got out of the car. “Cobra Kai Never Dies” seared into his vision from the side of LaRusso’s favorite yellow vintage car, black and stark and painful to look at. He grimaced, shoving the door of his car open and listening for the approach.

 It didn’t take long for Daniel to find him.

 “Get the hell out of here, Johnny,” he snapped from the porch, and even from a distance, Johnny could see that he was sunburned, sweaty, exhausted. “Before I call the cops.”

 “I didn’t do this,” Johnny answered, holding his hands up in the sign of surrender. “I swear. I would never.”

 “I don’t believe you.”

 That hurt more than Johnny thought it would. He blinked and looked down at the worn earth beneath his feet, almost sand. They should have been at the beach right now. They could have been having fun.

 He steeled himself. As much as he didn’t want to, he was going to have to swallow his pride if he wanted to convince Daniel of his innocence. More than that, he wanted to convince Daniel so completely that he would never again believe him capable of something like this.

 Because what man would love someone capable of something like this? Whoever had done this had stomped into Daniel’s sanctuary, his shrine to his dead teacher, and crushed it under their boot without remorse. Even when he was blindingly angry, drunk, miserable, Johnny would have never dared wreak havoc here.

 “You don’t have to believe me,” he said. “Just tell me what needs fixing.”

 Daniel took a step down from the porch, eyes intent on Johnny, so sharp that Johnny wanted to flinch away from them. “What?”

 Daniel was itching for a fight, Johnny could see it in his gaze. He wondered if that would make him happy, and considered giving it to him.

 But no, he would be selfish, and deny Daniel their personal brand of intimacy. Let this be a new one. “Let me help,” he said softly. “What do you need me to do?”

 Daniel furrowed his brows, eyes roving over Johnny’s face like he would find the truth in the lines around his eyes. Johnny let him look, content to suffer under his gaze, waiting to be sent away.

 “You really didn’t do this?” He wanted to believe him, Johnny could see in the sad downturn of his mouth.

 “LaRusso, if I wanted to torture you, I wouldn’t resort to vandalism,” Johnny replied, tilting his head, giving Daniel a genuine smile instead of his typical smirk. “This has teenage kid written all over it.” Then, without thinking, he blurted, “We aren’t teenagers anymore.”

 Daniel clenched his jaw, the bunched muscles protruding from the pressure. “You’re right, we aren’t.”

 ***

 Taking Johnny through the back gate brought the initial shock back; Daniel could see the wreckage as if through his eyes – the broken pots and tipped over plants, the shredded punching bag, the toilet paper all over the trees, the spray paint. He had been trying to clear it up for three hours, at least, and it still looked like he hadn’t even started. It almost made him turn around and leave – though what he would do when he left, Daniel couldn’t tell. He was stuck between wanting to fix everything, put it all back the way Miyagi had it and going to a bar and getting wretchedly drunk.

 “Holy shit,” Johnny breathed beside him. Daniel spared him a glance, enough to see that he was clearly still dressed for the beach, and felt a pang of guilt. He hadn’t called to tell Johnny he wasn’t coming – that felt like the closest thing to a courtesy he could give him when he saw the dojo. He had stood there, where Johnny was standing now, trying to reconcile the Johnny he had been thinking about against his will all week with the one who was callous enough to send his students to do something like this.

 He didn’t dare hope that Johnny had nothing to do with it, lest he be wrong.

 “Where do you need me, boss?” Johnny asked when Daniel didn’t answer.

 “Uh,” he stammered, looking around the yard. “We really just need to get the trash picked up first.”

 “Cool,” Johnny said, turning away and yanking toilet paper out of the tree beside him. “Go get some water, LaRusso, you look dead on your feet.”

 “I don’t need –”

 “You do,” Johnny interrupted, and there was that unfathomable softness again, apparent in the wrinkles around his eyes, in the set of his mouth. “Go get some water, and get some for my kid, too.”

 Daniel stared at him for a moment, trying to replace the hardened, angry face of Johnny Lawrence in his mind with this almost reasonable one. He sighed, feeling his muscles ache with the breath, and nodded. He returned a few minutes later with cold bottles of water, holding them up for the kids to see. He could feel Johnny watching him as he passed them out, cracking his own open and drinking greedily until the bottle was empty.

 When he looked back, Johnny gave him a self-satisfied smirk and kept cleaning.

 Daniel felt like he was being constantly barraged by epiphanies about Johnny Lawrence lately. He remembered keenly the understanding he felt when he stood next to him at his childhood apartment.

 “A nice house doesn’t mean nice things are going on inside.”

 The words made so many unexplained details about Johnny make sense that Daniel kept catching himself thinking about it weeks after. No wonder Johnny had been so angry as a teenager – no wonder he’d adapted so well to Kreese’s teachings. No wonder karate had always been so important, and such a dire skill to learn.

 Now, he was seeing new facets, like Johnny surfing, still boyish and energetic in the ocean, familiar and knowledgeable in the way Daniel always wanted to be about anything.

 And here he was, slaving away under the hot sun, to prove to Daniel that he hadn’t trashed his dojo.

 Daniel wanted to comment that he didn’t think a rich boy from Encino could work so hard, but he found that he was unwilling to break the easy peace they’d found. Instead, he helped Johnny unhook the punching bag from its hook and carried it inside with him.

 “I can tape it up,” Johnny said, surveying the cuts critically. “That should hold it for a while, depending on how much you wail on this thing daily.”

 Daniel nodded. “I’ll get the tape.”

 He ended up kneeling across from Johnny on the wood floor, his hands holding the different gashes together so Johnny could tape them closed, his hands both careful and sure.

 “I will find out who did this,” Johnny said after a while, peeling another piece of duct tape free. “I didn’t teach them –”

 “I know you didn’t,” Daniel interrupted, and he could see Johnny turn his head to see his face more clearly. “No criminal worth his salt would stay to clean up the mess.”

 Johnny chuckled, a genuine laugh under his breath, and Daniel smiled. He didn’t think he’d ever heard that laugh before.

 “I’m sorry I didn’t call,” Daniel muttered, ducking his head lower, closer to the punching bag so Johnny couldn’t see it. “I should have.”

 “No,” Johnny muttered, pressing the duct tape into the gash Daniel was holding closed, his fingers brushing over Daniel’s as he secured the tape in place. “I wouldn’t have called me either.”

 Daniel looked up at him, accidentally catching his gaze and holding it. There was a sadness in Johnny’s eyes that Daniel could feel, radiating from him like he was trying to warn him away. He wondered why that was. He could feel the edge of Johnny’s hand, pressed onto the punching bag right near his own, warm and soft.

 “John –”

 “Dad,” Sam blurted, trotting up the stairs and into the house. “We need more hands to pick up the statue.”

 Daniel tore his eyes away and found his daughter, face red and hair frazzled. “I’ll be right there,” he said.

 “Let’s go,” Johnny said, picking up the punching bag, his voice a forced replica of his usual tone. “I’ll help you.”

 Daniel was left to gape after him as he carried the heavy bag by himself back to its hook and replaced it.

 ***

 Johnny couldn’t explain where his strange feeling of hope came from, but once it settled in, he couldn’t shake it. Something about working with Daniel to fix that punching bag, the way they spoke plainly, even if they said it while looking at the punching bag instead of each other, felt important, like Daniel was starting to see him as something other than an immature bully.

 He followed Daniel and Sam to the tipped over statue, where tracks in the grass told him that Robby and Sam had already tried to pick up the statue themselves and stumbled. He could tell just by looking at it that it was too heavy for the kids to pick up by themselves, and maybe even too heavy to himself and Daniel to pick up.

 “Robby, can you get me those two broken fence planks?” he asked. Robby furrowed his brows at him in confusion but didn’t argue, trotting off to grab the planks.

 “What are you thinking?” Daniel asked, stepping closer to him, close enough that Johnny could smell that he was wearing sunscreen. He was reminded, again, of their plans to be at the beach.

 “If we can use those rocks and the planks to get the statue just a few inches off the ground, we can probably get it the rest of the way ourselves,” Johnny said. “I had to do this at a landscaping job I did about ten years ago. Some rich Encino broad –” he caught Sam’s close gaze out of the corner of his eye. “Some rich Encino…woman…insisted that she wanted slabs of marble sticking out of her garden in the back yard, and one of them fell over. I was the only one there, so I had to get creative to get it back up.”

 “You did a landscaping job?” Daniel asked as Johnny passed him a plank.

 “You’re the white-collar guy here, LaRusso,” Johnny remarked, shoving the plank under the statue. “Not me.”

 Daniel didn’t answer him, but mirrored his movements, setting his own plank underneath the statue and looking to Johnny for his cue.

 The statue was heavier than he expected, but after a few seconds of struggling, it started to lift off the grass. Daniel huffed a surprised scoff, too out of breath to do anything else, and Johnny grinned at him.

 Robby and Sam slipped in and took hold of the statue, Johnny and Daniel following, and after some clumsy struggling, the statue was upright again and looking as sturdy against the fence as it had before. The kids cheered, high-fiving first each other, and then their fathers.

 “Alright, you two, why don’t you go cool off in the shade and drink some more water?” Daniel said, his eyes landing only momentarily on Johnny. They obliged without argument, trudging off toward the house with heavy feet.

 Johnny could feel Daniel’s eyes on him in the wake of the kids’ absence. He turned away from him and surveyed the garden, far more tranquil than it had been when he arrived. He could hear the running water and the deep sound of the wood chimes that he’d heard when Robby called.

 He could understand, in quiet moments like this, why Daniel was so protective of this place.

 “I want you to try something,” Daniel’s voice broke through his reverie. Johnny turned to see him, a smile just barely quirking his lips upward, his hair tousled and messy from the wind and the work. The sun was starting to sink behind him, leaving gold behind in strands of his hair, his skin supple and dark in the sunlight.

 “Is this when you tell me you have weed?” Johnny replied.

 Daniel rolled his eyes and led Johnny to the edge of a pond where a round platform floated in the middle.

 “Torture device?” Johnny asked.

 “Get in the pond, Johnny,” Daniel said, toeing off his own shoes at the edge.

 “Are there fish in there?” Johnny asked, peering in.

 “There aren’t fish in there,” Daniel laughed.

 “Are you sure –?”

 Before he could finish, Daniel had grabbed him around the middle and pulled him into the pond with him. The water was ice cold when he went in, so cold he felt the shock ricochet through his body. And then he felt Daniel’s arms around his middle, just barely releasing so they could find the surface safely, and the cold didn’t matter.

 He broke the surface, spluttering, and found Daniel grinning at him, trying to hold back his laughter. He launched himself in Daniel’s direction, catching him around the shoulders and shoving him into the water, yanking him back up only a moment later, hand tight around Daniel’s upper arm.

 “You don’t want to play that game with me,” Daniel said warningly, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes, grinning like a fool. “I’ve been almost drowning my cousins since I lived in Newark.”

 “I grew up in the ocean, LaRusso, a body of water intent on drowning you without any help,” Johnny retorted, still holding tight to Daniel’s arm. “I think I can handle you.”

 Daniel raised his eyebrows at him, and before Johnny could think of another witty retort, Daniel’s leg was snaking around his and yanking his feet out from under him, sending them both below the surface of the water.

 Beneath the surface, Johnny could see the stones on the bottom of the pond, recently scraped clean of algae, if the little green spots in the cracks of the rocks were any indication. Daniel, beside him, was untangling himself from Johnny’s legs, swimming toward the surface again. Deftly, without any struggle, Johnny waited until he broke the surface, gave him time to take a breath, and wrapped his legs around Daniel’s waist, pulling him back down below again.

 Daniel glared at him, his eyes almost black under the water, and pushed them both to the surface.

 “Okay, okay, time out, we’re actually going to drown each other,” Daniel said, one arm sliding around the small of Johnny’s back to hold him up in the water.

 It wasn’t until Daniel’s hand settled on his hip that Johnny realized he still had his legs hooked around Daniel’s waist. He just assumed Daniel would break free of the hold when he made his way to the surface.

 His surprise must have shown on his face because he could both hear and feel Daniel chuckle.

 “Thank you,” he said, and if Johnny hadn’t been so close, he probably wouldn’t have heard it. “For today.”

 Johnny didn’t know what to say. Brushing off Daniel’s thanks would feel like he was cheapening what they had accomplished today, which, based on their track record of working together, was unheard of. But he didn’t really feel like what he did required thanks when really all he wanted was to prove to Daniel he hadn’t trashed the dojo.

 And then he remembered one of the love languages that Miguel told him about.

 Acts of service.

 Perhaps this was the one that would work.

 He watched, as if in slow motion, Daniel’s gaze drop to his lips. There was still water running down his face, settling at the point of his chin, dripping in the silence, harmonizing with the chimes at the back door to the house. He could lean in – he moved to unhook his legs from around Daniel’s waist, but Daniel’s arm around him tightened and stilled his movement.

 “Tighten your legs,” Daniel said quietly, the same words Johnny said to him last week, and Johnny’s gaze snapped up to his eyes, deep, soulful brown in the shade, eyelashes still wet.

 He could lean in – he watched Daniel lick his lips and reached up to grab onto the side of the pond, steadying them both against the side. He leaned in, just a fraction –

 “Dad –”

 Immediately, Johnny released Daniel’s waist and moved away, far enough that he bumped against the platform floating in the pond.

 Daniel’s eyes were still on him, dark and unreadable. “Yes, Sam?”

 “Sensei Kreese is here.”

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

Playing With Fire ~ Part 3

Pairings: Michael Gray x Pregnant!Reader

Warnings: None I don’t think??? Crappy unedited writing?

_______________________________________

Two months had passed and you were officially four months along and officially showing. You weren’t huge yet by any means but there was definitely a noticeable bump. A noticeable bump that Michael could never seem to stop looking at or touching. 

You were at the betting shop, somewhere you had become a frequent attendee since you’d found out you were pregnant. You’d also become quite close with everyone there, especially the girls. Esme and Linda were pregnant at the same time you were and knew exactly what you were going through. Esme in particular tried to help you through the pregnancy, having already been through it all. 

You sat around the table, talking to the girls as they worked. “You know,” Polly started, “You really should just start working ‘ere with us. Come join the family business.” 

The ‘family business’ made you nervous. You knew all about the ‘family business’ and it wasn’t something you were entirely sure you wanted to be a part of. “You know I would love to but I have my own family business back home.” You replied, “Speaking of which, my mom is going to kill me if I’m not back soon. Do you know where Michael is?” 

“‘M right ‘ere!” He announced, coming through the door and sitting next to you. 

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to tell my dad tonight. Baggy clothes aren’t doing the job anymore.” You were terrified of the prospect of telling your father. You’d always been his little girl, his little helper. You were simultaneously his favorite (and only) daughter and the son he never had and he’d been one of your best friends through childhood. You weren’t looking forward to how he’d react. 

Michael’s eyes dropped, “You’re gonna do it tonight?” 

You nodded in response, “Yeah, at dinner.” 

“Michael, you should go with her.” Linda mentioned. 

For Michael’s own safety you didn’t mention that. You figured that you’d just let your dad yell at you or maybe if you worked it out in a small family setting it would be better. “It’s alright. You don’t have to Michael.” 

He stared at the floor, thinking for a moment, “No, she’s right. I should be there. If we’re getting married, then I need to be on good terms with your father. Besides, you shouldn’t get all the heat for something we did together.” 

Sighing, you shrugged, “Alright, if you really want to come, come over at six. Just… I don’t know what he’s going to say or do so just be prepared.”

Thankfully, your parents were well acquainted with Michael. He’d begun coming around the house more often in the time after finding out you were expecting. Your mother grew to like him the more he was around although she was still wary of his profession. Your father, on the other hand, was not a fan of your relationship. He liked Michael well enough but, again, it was simply an issue of career. Whether or not he was strictly doing legal work (as long as your parents were concerned), he was still affiliated with the Peaky Blinders and they knew that would mean trouble at some point. 

When six o’clock had rolled around, you found yourself seated next to Michael, your father’s favorite meal that you had prepared on the table. 

Michael gripped your hand tightly under the table and he could tell how fast your heart was beating. Hell, his felt as if it were going to beat out of his chest. He glanced over at you, waiting for the slight nod of approval from you, and then cleared his throat, “Um, Mr. L/N, we have something to tell you.” What was he doing? You were going to tell him!

You slowly looked up to see your father’s face, trying to read his expression. He looked skeptical, like he knew something was going on, he just couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. He leaned forward, elbows on the table and raised his eyebrows, waiting for you to explain. 

“Well, you see sir-” Michael started, free hand rubbing nervously on his thigh.

“I’m pregnant!” You couldn’t take the tension anymore. Michael wasn’t even dragging on,  you just couldn’t bear lying to your father anymore. Gosh, how it had killed you to pretend as if nothing were wrong for the last two months but your mother agreed to wait until you were sure you wouldn’t lose the baby as to avoid any unnecessary family tensions. But alas, here you were. 

“Excuse me?” He asked as if you’d back talked him. You could see realization setting in over his face and you watched an angry glint flash over his eyes as he stood, the table jolting and silverware clanging, making you, Michael, and your mom flinch. Your dad aggressively pointed at Michael.

Before he could say anything, you jumped up and tried to knock your dad’s arm away from Michael before he could hit him, “Wait! We’re getting married! We’re getting married!” 

Your father turned to you, disappointment so clear on his face that your heart shattered. The look in his eyes told you that something was broken between the two of you that wouldn’t be fixed for a long time. “How could you? I thought we raised you better than to get pregnant and married out of wedlock!” 

A tear slid down your face and your voice cracked, “I’m so sorry.” 

“Mr. L/N, please don’t be mad at Y/N. This wasn’t her-” Michael attempted to ease your father’s anger at you.

Your father’s glare shot to Michael, who sat there, matching his stare, “You!” He shook his finger at him, trying with all his might not to kill Michael for getting you pregnant. His voice lowered to almost a low growl, “You will take care of my daughter and your child and you will keep them safe. I swear to God, if anything happens to them, I will find you and finish you myself.” 

Typically, Michael wouldn’t have taken anybody’s threats like that but you’d warned him that your father might react like this and had begged him not to do anything. Michael wasn’t going to anyways. He knew how important your family was to you and that he needed your parents to support your union for you to be happy. He nodded respectfully, “Sir, I promise I will do everything in my power to protect your daughter and grandchild. I love them as much as you do.” 

Your father couldn’t even look at him anymore, standing straighter and leaving abruptly. 

The room was painfully silent. You stared at the white table cloth, tears slipping freely down your face. Michael watched you silently shake before leaning over and embracing you tightly, a hand coming to rest protectively on your stomach. 

“I’ll go talk to him.” Your mom stood, following your dad. 

You sniffled and shook against Michael’s body and he gently caressed your hair, kissing your head gently, “It’s going to be alright, Y/N. He’s just scared for you.” 

“He hates me. Did you see the way he looked at me?” You asked, trying to keep your voice steady. 

Michael pulled you back, “Hey, hey, hey. He loves you. This just isn’t what he had planned for us. None of us did. But it’ll be okay. It may take time but things will be alright.” 

Three days. Your father didn’t talk to you for three days. In those three days, all you wanted was to be in Michael’s arms but your mom was swamped at the shop and absolutely needed you so there you were, stuck in that same old dark quiet shop. 

You’d felt numb inside for those three days, trying to think of ways to fix everything. Every day, you came up with a new plan for rebonding with your dad but you never got the chance to try anything since your dad made a b-line for the door upstairs every night when he got home and avoided you altogether, treating you as if you weren’t there. 

The other thing you had to figure out was what would happen once you and Michael did get married. You’d move in together, that was for sure. But where? And where would you work? Your mom expected you to stay and work with her at the shop but the Shelby’s expected you to start working with them like the other wives did. How could you please everyone and still do what’s best for you and your new family? 

“Ouch!” You hissed, a sharp needle prick shaking you from your thoughts. You dropped the fabric into your lap and saw the dot of blood slowly rising to the surface of your skin. Sucking on your finger, you resumed your work and your mom could sense the frustration coming from you from across the room. 

“Y/N dear, I think it might be a good time to take a break.” She suggested. 

“I’m fine.” You said bluntly. In all honesty, you did want a break. It had to have been at least three hours since you last got up and did something other than sit and sew. 

The sound of your mom’s chair scratching across the ground told you she was standing up. You ignored her and kept your eyes on your work until her footsteps stopped right in front of you, “Here, why don’t you go drop off this fabric order to the factory. Get out for a few.” 

You dropped your work and got your things together, taking the slip from her hands. You threw your coat and hat on, “I’ll be back in a few.” You promised, leaving out the front door. 

The cold Birmingham air was a breath of relief from the increasingly suffocating air in the shop. The factory really wasn’t too far away so you wouldn’t have too much time to yourself but at least you were out. 

The only problem with being out was that you felt as if everyone was staring at you. So many people in town knew your family. Almost everyone came to you and your mom when they needed something made for a special occasion and they’d all watched you grow up. The fact that you were now five months pregnant with Michael Gray’s child was definitely the talk of the town, even though they knew not to talk too loud in fear of word getting back to Michael. He wouldn’t harm your family but he would have no problem hurting anyone else who said anything against you. 

Your heels clacked on the pavement as you hurried your way down the road when 

suddenly someone called you, “Oi!” A smile spread across your face as Michael’s familiar voice flooded your ears. You honestly hadn’t realized you were passing the Garrison, mind too focused on everything else. “You alright?” He asked, noticing your face. 

“Yeah, I’m alright.” You lied, with a fake smile, “How’ve you been?” 

He chuckled, “You say that as if we haven’t seen each other in years. I’ve just been worried about you. And I was actually wondering if you wanted to come over tonight.” 

“Let’s see,” You pretended like you were thinking, “Another night at home getting ignored by my dad or a night with you? I’ll be there. What time?” 

Michael looked at you sadly, “He’s still not talking to you?” You shook your head silently, looking at the ground. “I’m sorry. If there was something I could do-” 

You put your hand up, stopping him, “It’s fine. He’ll come around. But you know what would make me feel a lot better? Having dinner with me tonight.” 

His look turned to a small smile, laughing at your cheekiness, “All right, I’ll pick you up at seven.” He stated, leaning down to peck you on the lips. 

Sure enough, at seven o’clock, Michael picked you up and drove you to his and Polly’s house. Polly had been out having her portrait painted by some eccentric artist, which apparently had become a normal activity for her. Michael had the maids prepare dinner and the two of you ate alone together for the first time in what felt like forever. 

The night had eventually led to the two of you sitting on the couch together, talking about everything from his to weird dreams you’d had to this woman who had asked you to make the ugliest wedding dress you’d ever seen anyone sketch out. “I couldn’t believe it! My mom had sat with this woman and drawn what she said she’d wanted and we couldn’t help but laugh after she left! The thing is hideous!” You giggled. 

“That’s not too nice,” Michael teased, although you knew he clearly didn’t care about you joking about a dress. 

You sipped your water, “You didn’t see the dress.” 

“You’ll have to show it to me next time I come by the shop.” 

“Maybe I will.” You said with a smile. You and Michael held eye contact as he withdrew the cigarette from his lips, blowing the smoke from his mouth and re-inhaling it through his nose. Gosh, did he realize how incredibly sexy that was? 

Biting your lip, you leaned forward, pressing your lips to his. Michael quickly fell into sync, returning the slow, loving kiss. His hand came to your waist, running gently along your body that had changed so much. He didn’t care one bit. You were still as beautiful as the day he’d laid eyes on you, if not even more so. You had this glow about you and you radiated pure strong beauty. Maybe it was a primal part of him but knowing that you were carrying his child had him that much more infatuated. 

The two of you were deep into the kiss when you jumped, suddenly. He stopped immediately, “Are you alight?” 

Your eyes were wide with shock as you felt it again. A kick. It almost hurt but wasn’t quite painful. Without saying anything, you reached out, grabbing a very concerned Michael’s hand and placing it on your stomach where you felt the kick, moving it around until you felt it again, right under his fingers. 

Michael’s eyes lit up, a sigh of disbelief leaving his lips, “Bloody hell…” 

You couldn’t help the giddy laugh that escaped, “Do you feel that?” 

He nodded excitedly, a big smile on his face, “Yeah. Yeah, I do!” He pressed both his hands to your stomach, an overwhelming protective feeling coming over him. Of course he’d known you were pregnant but this was the first time he’d ever been able to feel his child and he’d never felt closer to them. “That’s our baby.” He breathed out in amazement. 

“That’s our baby.” You smiled.  

Polly came home early the next morning, the sun just barely peeking over the hills, hoping to sneak in before Michael woke up so she wouldn’t have to explain herself to Michael. As she tiptoed through the house, she came across a sight that made her heart warm. 

Both you and Michael were asleep on the couch, your back pressed against his chest and arms wrapped protectively around your round stomach. Polly couldn’t help the smile on her face as she walked up to her son and his fiance and saw the look on his face. Even while sleeping, the love he felt for you and your child was unmistakable. 

She grabbed walked over the rocking chair in the corner and pulled the small blanket from it, laying it over your and Michael as gently as she could. While you stayed sound asleep, Michael’s eyes shot open, alarmed by the sudden movement. 

He saw Polly and his senses calmed immediately. Polly held a finger to lips and raising her other hand. She mouthed a quick, silent sorry before motioning for him to lie back down. Polly turned to leave quickly and Michael glanced down to look at you. The sight would never get old. You twisted in his arms slightly, snuggling into the blanket that had just been placed over you. Your soft fingers made their way around Michael’s arm and he felt himself being pulled closer into you. 

How could he argue with a face like that?

[lettersnorth]

Aislinn North

Name: Aislinn North

Race: Hyur

Gender: Female

Age: 32

Sexuality: Demisexual

Server: Balmung

Residence: She has a small apartment in Limsa Lominsa and is employed by a Free Company based out of Gridania.

Birthplace: Ala Mhigo

Religion: Adheres to the Eorzean religion of the Twelve.

Patron Deity: Nymeia, goddess of Fate. Her life, being as filled with chaos as it has, has taught her that the individual has very little control over what happens to them in life. All a person can do is control themselves and their reactions. “I’ve done all the preparation I can. Once the arrow leaves the bow, I have no control over whether it hits the target.“

Occupation: Takes on various odd jobs mostly related to engineering and aetherological research. Works for a mercenary company based in Gridania.

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Proficiencies: Sharpshooting, Aether manipulation through arcane maths, Engineering

Interests: Tinkering, Philosophy, Travel, Aetherlogical Studies

Relationships:

SPOUSE: None.

CHILDREN: None.

PARENTS: Deceased

SIBLINGS: None.

OTHER RELATIVES: None.

Likes: Learning new things, reading, travel, people watching, letting her mind wander, triple triad, fixing broken things.

Dislikes: Large crowds, bullies, pushy men, being touched, Ul'dah, wordplay

Fears:

Abandonment - For one reason or another Aislin has lost everyone important to her over the years; childhood friends, mentors, family. She doesn’t realize how much of an impact this has had on her over time, slowly chipping away at her willingness to open herself to new people. As a result, she tends to keep her distance, using her work as an excuse to maintain space.

The Dark - She had an unfortunate experience as a child at the hands of her bullies. To this day she can’t sleep without the glow of a lantern or candle nearby.

Black Magic - She once found herself on a mage’s bad side. The harrowing experience left her convinced there is some knowledge no one is meant to possess.

Being Dependent - Spending years as a refugee in Ul'dah, Aislinn and her father were constantly reminded of how much their survival depended on those with the coin and the power. Ever since then, Aislinn has worked hard to make sure she’s never at the whim or mercy of someone else ever again.

Personality: Generally even-keeled with a steady hand. Aislinn is easily overlooked, she’s never the loudest or the most flamboyant one in the room, but loyal and steadfast to those she’s close to. More often than not, she will put the needs of others above her own, even to her detriment. She gives off a quiet and calm energy but does light up when she gets a chance to nerd out about one of her interests. Some see her quiet disposition as aloof but Aislinn was raised not to use seven words when three will do. As a child she spoke so infrequently that some thought her mute. And while she is well past that, rhetoric is better left to someone more eloquent than she. She still trips over her words or speaks in broken sentences when she gets flustered. In combat she is often underestimated due to her diminutive stature. But what she lacks in brute strength she’s learned to make up for in speed, being quick and light on her feet has saved her many a time. She’s also a crack shot with a variety of ranged weapons. An avid student of philosophy, she prefers to retreat to quiet nature spaces for reading and reflection when she finds herself with free time. Analytical and logical, Aislinn relates best to a person when they are frank and forthright. Her weakness lies in her inability to discern subtlety and innuendo or to read between the lines.

Traits –––

* Bold your character’s answer.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

Love and Romance:

Turn-Ons: Strength, protectiveness, kindness, warmth, confidence, tenderness, a sense of safety

Turn-Offs: Loudness, Yelling, Mercurial personalities, pushiness, arrogance, cruelty, inexperience, alpha males, roughness

Relationship Tendencies:  Aislinn has built quite a shell around her due to the hardships and abuse she’s experienced in life. She doesn’t trust easy and has a tendency to withdraw. If she ever reaches out or touches someone of her own volition, it’s a pretty clear indicator that she cares deeply for that person. She’s absolutely monogamous and has no interest in playing games or competing with rivals, she will cut and run and she senses this is the case. After all she’s been through she has trouble believing anyone could see her in a romantic light and subtlety is lost on her so the other person would have to make their interest abundantly clear. Any romance with her would take time and care to build.

Physical Description: Aislinn is on the shorter side though she’s slender and fit from a life lived outdoors. Her most distinctive features are her red hair, which is usually pinned back just enough to keep it out of her eyes, and a scar across her face, just under her eyes. She carries herself with the quiet, earthy confidence of someone who is comfortable in her own skin and knows what it’s capable of. Her attire tends towards the simple and understated as if she’s trying not to attract attention. She eschews bright and garish colors in favor of subtle, muted tones. Instead of a distinct style, she will readily wear whatever is best suited for the city or destination in which she finds herself. She prefers to blend in whenever possible. Her expressions are subtle, a twitch of an eyebrow or slip of a smile is usually as animated as she gets. She’s soft-spoken, with a husky quality to her voice.

History:  A general background and more in depth stories can be found here

RP Hooks:

Tinkering - Have some piece of machinery on the fritz? A clockwork that’s gone haywire? Or maybe that gunblade of yours just isn’t shooting straight. Aislinn knows her way around a variety of magitek and only too happy to get her hands dirty repairing old pieces of machinery or devising new ones.

Ul'Dah’s Seedy Underbelly - Aislinn is no stranger to the street gangs of Ul'dah. She used to be a runner for a cartel during her time in the city. Though she’s left that life behind it’s possible she would be recognized by someone who traveled in the same circles.

Limsa Lominsa - Though the nature of her work has her frequently traveling, she currently calls Limsa Lominsa home. When she’s in town, she can usually be found in the Missing Member tavern, or lounging in the sun, her nose in a book.

Aetherlogical Research - Aislinn is always up for talking about the finer points of aetherlogical study and loves to collaborate on experiments or research.

OOC:

I’m 30+ and prefer to RP with fellow adults. Pretty chill and patient, I’ll roll with most things though I would like the people I play with to be emotionally mature. I don’t have time for toxic behavior, people who can’t keep IC and OOC separate, tantrums or guilt trips.

I’m in the EST time zone. My weekdays are pretty busy between a full-time job and a side job that takes up a significant amount of time. I’m usually around a couple of weeknights long enough to run some roulettes or do some light RP but lengthy RP scenes would probably need to happen on the weekends or in Discord.

I’m interested in plots and long story arcs, relationships that take time to build. I don’t really do tavern RP as my RP time is limited and I’d rather spend it building depth in story and character. Aislinn has a lot of walls and while the potential for romance is there, she’s not going to jump right in off the bat.

I’m absolutely up for plotting a variety of previously established relationships or how our characters might know each other.

I do love running all sorts of content and am happy to have people to run with. So if you’re looking for company for roulettes, maps, raids, etc. I’m there.

[amehanaaa]

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days

The Nalu is getting real juicy out here. It gets my blood pumping, wow.

Thank you all so much for reading so far! You all make my heart swell with happiness. 

Hope you enjoy this chapter! (Also can be read here.)

Chapter 5 – Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 Words: 4130 Summary: Lucy and Natsu are determined to take the necessary steps to fulfill their lifetime dreams. Little do they know, they have both given themselves 10 days to achieve it.

                                                 ——————–

“Hey, what are you doing right now?”

“Nothing much,” Natsu speaks into his phone as he tightens strings to a trash bag. “What’s up with you?”

“You want lunch?”

“You don’t have to ask me that even once. Come on over, Gray,” Natsu responds, not missing a beat.

Finished with his chores for the day, he waits for his friend to arrive at the station. He stands beneath an awning due to the early summer heat.

As soon Gray’s motorcycle rolls up on the driveway, Natsu’s stomach growls. He cracks a grin when he finds that Gray brought him his favorite—an Italian sandwich with spicy mayo.

Taking their usual seat at the outdoor table, Natsu doesn’t hesitate to take a large bite. “Thanks,” he says in between bites.

Gray nods while watching his friend happily eat the sandwich. Admittedly, Gray couldn’t bring himself to meet up with him yesterday after his episode with Lucy. A part of him regrets ambushing her; he wonders what she thinks of him now.

But most of all, Gray fears that he isn’t being loyal to his best friend. He can’t figure out if keeping the information about Lucy is betrayal. An overwhelming sense of guilt is scattered throughout his chest.

“So, how are you and the girl?” Gray forces himself to ask, careful enough to speak nonchalantly. “Lucy was her name, right?”

Natsu swallows the last bite and wipes the dripping mayo off the side of his mouth. He lets out a loud sigh. “Can I be honest with you? She’s a lot to handle right now. I don’t know what has gotten into her lately.”

His words cause Gray to lift a brow in response. “What has she been doing to you?”

“One second she’s great and loving,” Natsu begins. “The next second she’s being so difficult and toxic. It’s suffocating.”

Gray opens his mouth to respond, but Natsu is already too fired up to stop venting.

“I made her my famous ham last night, but she didn’t eat it because suddenly she was a vegetarian. Then, she assumed I thought she was overweight because I was looking at her plate of spinach. I can’t believe—”

“Hey, Natsu,” Gray stops him gently. “You’re starting to yell.”

“Sorry,” Natsu responds with a large gulp of water. “I don’t know how to fix this.”

“She reminds me of how Juvia used to act,” Gray mentions.

Natsu’s jaw drops at the sudden realization. “That’s exactly who she’s like! How did you and Juvia work through it?”

“Lots of a time and lots of communication,” Gray admits. He realizes that this is an opening to sway Natsu. “But do you think Lucy is even worth it? Or would it be better to cut her off?”

Natsu instantly starts to shake his head. “No way. I’m a man of my word, you know that. No matter how difficult Lucy is, I’m determined to win her over. We only have four days left, anyway.”

Gray sighs under his breath, expecting nothing else from Natsu. He perks up in his seat again when he gets an idea.

“Hey, why don’t we have a guys’ night tomorrow? You can bring your fire buddies and I’ll bring my coworkers.”

Natsu’s eyes light up at the idea. “Sign me up for that. We can have it at my place. It’s been a while since my home has felt like what it’s supposed to feel like—a home.”

The two share a nod, both satisfied that it worked out. Gray is about to stand up and ride back to work, but he freezes when he catches a glimpse of a car approaching the station.

“Lucy is here,” Natsu says.

Gray glances at him, finding Natsu stand and walk towards the car. He actually is taken aback for a second—he has never seen Natsu’s eyes soften that quickly before.

“I missed you today!” Lucy shouts while leaping into Natsu’s arms.

They share an embrace until he pulls back. “Hey, I have someone I want you to meet this time.”

He slides his hand down to intertwine fingers with her, bringing her to the table. Lucy and Gray make eye contact for a split second before they avert gazes to Natsu.

“Lucy, this is my best friend. Gray, this is Lucy,” Natsu introduces them.

There’s a moment of silence between the three of them, but Lucy makes sure it isn’t noticeable.

“Nice to meet you, Gray.” She extends her free hand to him.

“Nice to meet you, too,” he responds as he shakes her hand. He notices that her palm is sweaty, revealing to him that she is just as nervous as he is.

“How well do you know Natsu?” Lucy asks. After realizing that this is the perfect opportunity to find out what kind of person he is, she goes into reporter mode.

“Was it when we were second years in college?” Gray looks over at Natsu, trying to remember. “Or third years?”

“I thought we met our first year,” Natsu responds with a frown. “You sure it wasn’t first year?”

“No, because you had just broken up with Lisanna,” Gray reminds him.

“Oh,” Natsu says plainly.

Natsu is afraid to see Lucy’s expression, but he decides to sneak a glance. He’s surprised to see her with an amused look.

“You’ve known each other for a long time, then,” she comments.

Natsu tries not to express his shock. He expected her to investigate his past relationships, but she doesn’t seem to have any interest in that. Instead, she is more focused on him and Gray’s present friendship.

“Lisanna was a childhood friend,” Natsu explains, feeling as though he owes it to her.

Lucy slightly shakes her head with an assuring smile. “You don’t have to explain it to me. I get it.”

“Okay,” he answers hesitantly. He isn’t sure why he feels the way he does right now; he’s impressed by how relaxed she is about it.

Gray clears his throat. “Well, I should probably start heading out.”

“Wait!” Lucy abruptly exclaims. Releasing her hand from Natsu’s, she rushes over to a nearby tree. “Look, there’s a cat!”

Her hurried steps are enough to scare the cat, causing it to jump onto a branch above her. Once she reaches the tree, she tilts her head back and laughs.

“Natsu, look!” She continues to laugh and points at the branch. “You were made for this job!”

Gray has already put his helmet on when Natsu turns to him with tired eyes.

“Good luck. I’ll see you at guys’ night tomorrow.” He pats Natsu on the shoulder.

Natsu lets out a sigh as he starts to walk away. “Does she know that it’s pretty rare for firefighters to rescue cats out of trees?” He grumbles to himself.

Grabbing a ladder, he sets it at the tree and starts to reach for the unamused cat. Lucy can’t stop herself from giggling as he successfully rescues the feline.

“You should keep him,” she suggests. “Look, he’s snuggling against you!”

Natsu scoffs, not paying attention to its soft fur. “I don’t have time to take care of a cat.”

“We can co-parent!” she insists. “But he has to stay at your house. Please!”

He observes Lucy’s pleading eyes. Every part of him wants to reject the idea, but after remembering that he’s determined to win her over, he accepts the fact that he needs to show his commitment.

“Okay, I’ll keep him.”

“Yes!” Lucy cheers with a grin. “We’re going to be a happy family!”

Natsu gives a small smile in response. Although the station’s front yard is shaded by multiple trees, he feels beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He can start to sense irritation bubbling up inside of him.

“I’m going to go inside and clean up. I’ll see you later tonight,” he tells her as he takes the ladder and lugs away.

“Um, Natsu?” Lucy asks before he gets too far away. As he turns around, she points to her puckered lips.

Natsu can physically feel his shoulders slump, but he tries to hide it as he returns to her. After they kiss, she tilts her head.

“Did you have a sandwich for lunch? I can taste it.”

“Yeah, I did,” he responds simply, already turning away.

“With meat in it?” she asks, although he doesn’t bother to look back at her.

“Yep!” he answers loud enough to hear her. “See you later!”

Lucy presses her hand to her lips in order for her laugh not to leave her lips. Natsu has already entered the station, leaving her on the yard alone.

“You don’t even know what else is coming,” she giggles under her breath. With that, she leaves the station to start the next part of her assignment for the day.

                                                 ——————–

Natsu has lost track on how many times his phone has buzzed in his pocket for the past hour. He has accepted that the vibration will forever be imprinted on his leg.

Once he is back to his apartment—with a cat in his arms—he checks his phone to find Lucy calling again. He lets the call ring until it automatically declines. He groans when she leaves another voicemail. 30 voicemails, to be exact.

“What is wrong with her?” he mutters, a wave of irritation returning to his chest. “She’s making this so much more difficult than it needs to be.”

He decides that it would be best to just sit down and breathe, so he kicks off his shoes and falls face first into the couch. He shuts his eyes, finally feeling some of the pressure fade.

The moment is promptly ruined as a round of knocks pound on the door.

“It’s unlocked!” Natsu turns his head to shout at the door.

“Natsu!” Lucy shouts while entering the apartment. “Where are you?”

He raises his arm up from the couch. As she walks towards him, he pushes himself to sit up.

“So, I did something a little crazy today,” Lucy says with a bashful smile.

“What did you do?” he asks, almost afraid to know the answer.

“Well, I was messing around at work today,” she explains. “And then I suddenly came up with the perfect name for our daughter!”

Natsu doesn’t have any time to react as he watches her pull out a journal from her purse. She sits next to him, opening the journal and half of the pages landing on his lap.

“Here are all the combinations I made with our names.” She drags her index finger down the lists on each page. Her finger stops at the final, circled name. “Look, her name is going to Nashi! Isn’t it cute?”

“What makes you think we’ll have a daughter?” Natsu’s brows furrow in response.

Lucy gapes at him in disbelief. She folds her arms across her chest and turns away with an audible huff.

“I’m sorry.” He forces himself to reach over and place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have questioned that.”

“That really hurt my feelings. You don’t think we could have a daughter someday?”

The realistic side of Natsu wants to be bluntly honest, but he feels as though he has to read a script. He swallows back his pride.

“I think we can be hopeful about it,” he replies.

Lucy shifts in her spot to send him a delighted smile. “Let’s be hopeful together!”

He nods, allowing her to nestle into his chest. Both of them let out sighs, although they’re for different reasons.

“Let’s stay in for the rest of the night?” Lucy suggests.

“Please,” Natsu mumbles in agreement. “Let’s just relax.”

Before she can change her mind, he leans over and turns on the TV. Just for good measure, he closes his eyes and dozes off until it’s too late to commit to anything for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile on the other side of the couch, Lucy can hardly believe that Natsu is still invested into the relationship after being shown the ridiculous journal she made. If it was the other way around, she would be finding excuses to never see him again.

Natsu must be a superhuman if his feelings for her are still as genuine when they first met.

And yet, Lucy can’t keep herself from wondering if her initial feelings are still the same as the current, swirling ones in her chest.

                                                 ——————–

“You’re still together after all that?!” Cana bursts out incredulously once Lucy has updated her from last night’s events. “He hasn’t even tried breaking up with you?”

“I have no idea what I’m doing wrong,” Lucy groans. She takes a bite out of the Italian sandwich she has been craving all day. “I’ve been clingy, needy, whiny, obsessive… I don’t see why he’s still with me.”

“You know what,” Cana begins with a mischievous smile. “I could make up some kind of drink for you to give him. It’d definitely make him dislike you for a bit.”

Lucy shakes her head, dismissing the idea. “I feel like not even that will work. I have to do more than that. It’s already been five days. I have to do something big tomorrow.”

“Why not tonight?” Cana asks.

“He’s having a guys’ night tonight with his friends,” Lucy explains.

“That sounds like something he wouldn’t want to miss out on,” Cana points out.

Lucy’s brows raise in recognition as she takes another bite of her sandwich. She takes a large gulp of her water.

“Cana, you are so right!” she exclaims.

Cana sends her a grin before taking a sip of her mysterious drink of the day. “Don’t forget to take your notes.”

Lucy nods before hastily adjusting the outline to her next move. She planned on taking it easy tonight to prepare new, absurd ways to get on Natsu’s last nerve. But of course, spontaneity always makes its appearance.

Anticipation begins to flow through Lucy’s veins as the workday comes to an end. A part of her doesn’t even know if she’s going to be able to pull off her new plan.  

“You got it,” Cana encourages her, sensing her apprehension.

Lucy sends her a grateful smile as she picks up her belongings. “Thanks. Don’t drink too much tonight.”

“You know that’s not possible!” Cana calls out to her, causing Lucy to scoff as she leaves the office.

Once Lucy is outside, she reads her watch. Natsu should be at his apartment by now, probably setting up for the guys’ night. If she wants her plan to work, she’ll have to wait at least another hour. That will at least give him some time to enjoy, too. To kill some time, she enters a clothing store.

Simultaneously, Natsu has never felt so refreshed coming home. The best part about a guys’ night is that there is no prerequisite for setting up. All it takes is showing up and deciding what to do on the spot.

Pouring the cat some food, Natsu can’t hold back his excitement as the first round of knocks sound throughout his apartment. Soon enough, his place is filled with some of his best friends, along with some of Gray’s familiar coworkers.

“Who wants to play some video games? Elfman and Laxus, you in?” Natsu offers.

“As a man, I can’t refuse a challenge,” Elfman responds while Laxus simply shrugs in response. “Give me the controller.”

It isn’t long until the three of them are yelling at one another, roughly slamming on the controller buttons. Natsu’s stomach even starts to hurt because of how much he laughs. He genuinely is having the time of his life for the first time in a while.

“Since I’ve won each round, I’ll let someone else play,” Natsu announces proudly. He looks over at one of Gray’s coworkers. “Here, Lyon. You’re up.”

“I don’t even know how to play this game,” Lyon mumbles, but still accepts the controller.

Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, Natsu takes a long drink. He sighs out in relief and watches his friends play for a moment. He can’t remember the last time he has experienced this much freedom.

“It’s been a while since we’ve all gotten together like this,” Gray mentions as he takes another water from the fridge.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Natsu agrees. “I definitely needed this night.”

Although his words say otherwise, Lucy lingers in the back of his mind. After spending several consecutive nights together, he feels as though he should be seeing her. He isn’t sure if this means that he misses her. However, he knows that there’s a fun side to Lucy—she could surely have fun playing video games with him, too.

Making a mental note to invite her over after the guys leave, Natsu rejoins his group of friends. His stomach aches from laughing, his cheeks hurt from smiling, and his thumbs hurt from all the unsystematic button-pressing.

After about an hour of thoroughly enjoying himself, Natsu is in the midst of cheering Elfman on to beat Laxus when he hears the door behind him open. He curiously casts a look over his shoulder to see who it is.

“Hi, Natsu!” Lucy nearly sings as she enters the apartment. “I just wanted to come by and say hi!”

“How did you get in here?” he asks, wide-eyed.

“I was able to get a copy of the key,” she replies nonchalantly. She walks closer to observe Natsu’s friends, some of them acknowledging her while others remain focused on the TV. “Are these your friends?”

Without a second thought, Lucy extends her hands and shakes all of the guys’ hands with a large grin. She waits for Elfman to pause the game until she introduces herself.

“I’m Lucy. Nice to meet everyone!”

The guys mutter a hello in response before Elfman returns to the game. The sound of the TV slightly masks the awkward atmosphere.

Gray leans into Natsu’s ear. “Is she crazy?”

Before Natsu can respond, Lucy makes an announcement.

“I brought snacks!”

All of the guys’ seem surprised at her statement, some of them looking at her with hopeful eyes. The guys have been snacking on peanuts for the last hour.

Lucy reaches inside of her purse and slides out a veggie tray. She places it on the coffee table in front of the TV.

“Eat up!” she tells them excitedly. Being able to see all of their disappointment, she decides to wait until one of them feels obligated to open it and take a celery stick.

Lucy has to bite her lip in order to stop herself from laughing as she goes into the kitchen. Through the opening to the living area, it’s obvious how much they don’t want to eat it.

She stands in the kitchen for a few moments while the guys slowly start to make conversation again. In the midst of observing the back of their heads, she catches a glance of the plant that she placed on the windowsill several days ago. Walking over to it, she finds that nothing has sprouted yet.

“Natsu!” Lucy dramatically gasps. She takes the pot and brings it over to him. “Have you not been watering our plant?”

“N-No, I haven’t,” Natsu admits, helplessly stuttering. “It’s just sleeping, that’s all.”

Lucy is able to see the guys staring at them from her peripheral vision. This setup could not have been more perfect. She takes a deep breath before speaking.

“What if it’s dead already? You let our plant die! Will you let us die, too?” She doesn’t give Natsu any time to respond. “You know what… I’m leaving and taking the plant with me!”

With the pot in her arms, Lucy swiftly turns away and grabs her purse. She storms out of the apartment, not bothering to look behind her. Her hurried steps almost make it to the elevator when she hears footsteps following after her. She has to suppress her disbelief when Natsu sets his hand on her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” they ask simultaneously.

“This is getting a little weird,” Natsu responds first. “You’re acting insane, Lucy.”

She lifts a brow. “Are you calling me insane?”

“No, I said you’re acting,” he clarifies. His voice comes out harsher than he meant it to.

Lucy lets out a short laugh, pressing the elevator button. “You know, I don’t think I can be with someone who thinks I’m insane.”

The door to the elevator slides open. Once she is inside, she turns around to send him a final goodbye wave. Natsu already has his hand at the door to stop it from closing.

“Can you tell me where the real Lucy went?” he demands. “Where is the person I knew before? The one who was observant and kind? The one who wanted to be a dedicated journalist?”

Lucy opens her mouth to respond, but Natsu keeps going.

“Lately, you’ve been all over the place!” he proclaims. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

She sends him a hard gaze. “So, does this mean we’re over?”

He returns her stare, swallowing thickly. “Yeah. I guess it does.”

After he takes a step back, she nods in understanding. “Okay, fine.”

“Fine,” Natsu sighs out. His arms stay limp by his sides as the elevator closes.

Once the elevator starts to lower, Lucy leans against the wall with a loud sigh. She can sense the intensity from their argument slowly fizzling out of her body.

“Finally,” she breathes out.

She stands there for a moment, realizing that a pit is developing in her chest. Not out of hurt, but out of loneliness. It’s a heaviness that reminds her of a few nights ago. Lucy’s façade isn’t as strong as it used to be—she is finally feeling her true self peek through.

As Natsu returns to his apartment, he tries to avoid the concerned looks on the guys’ faces. He makes direct eye contact with Gray.

“It’s over,” Natsu states plainly.

Immediately, Gray charges towards him and firmly takes his shoulders. “Natsu. You have four more days! You can’t give up now!”

“Did you just see what she was like?” Natsu scoffs while taking a step back from Gray’s grip. “No way.”

“What about couples’ therapy?” Gray suggests.

“What does that even mean?” Natsu scrutinizes at him, trying to see if he’s serious.

“That’s how Juvia and I were able to work everything out between us,” Gray reveals. “Now, go catch up with Lucy and tell her you’re still dedicated to her. You want that job, right?”

Despite being exhausted, annoyed, and confused all at once, Natsu begins to recognize the reality of the situation. His heart races inside of his chest.

“Okay, okay. I’ll be right back,” he says before taking off.

Since the elevator would be too slow, Natsu goes for the stairs instead. He jumps down three at a time until he reaches the lobby. He’s out of breath as he rushes outside. Luckily, Lucy is still close enough for him to call out to her.

“Lucy!” Natsu shouts. “Wait!”

Lucy’s instantly stops in her tracks. She slowly turns around, finding Natsu catch up to her. She can hardly believe that he’s still chasing after her.

Once Natsu is in front of her, he takes a moment to regain his breaths. “I’m so sorry,” he says in between breaths. “Can you forgive me? I don’t know what I was just saying back there.”

Lucy waits until his breathing regulates. She tightly grips onto the plant pot as she watches him. If she looked insane at the elevator, she isn’t sure what to call Natsu right now.

Natsu knows how desperate he appears right now, but he also knows that he needs to embarrass himself to make his despair look believable. His words frantically spew out of him. “Can you give me another chance?”

“Haven’t you had enough already?” she asks, her voice escaping as a whisper.

“I’ll do anything to get you back,” he nearly pleads. “Gray told me about this thing him and his girlfriend used to do. It’s couples’ therapy. Would you like to do that with me?”

“Couples’ therapy?” she echoes. As Natsu nods, she suddenly gets an idea. “Actually, I know a doctor who would give us a free session. I could call her and schedule an emergency appointment.”

“Yes, let’s do that.” He reaches for her hand, brushing his lips across her knuckles.

Lucy presses her lips together and gently pulls her hand back. “I don’t have to like you right now. So, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Without another word, she continues to walk away. She doesn’t allow herself to look back as Natsu shouts out endless thank yous. She physically cannot believe anything she just witnessed.

Natsu returns to his apartment with the most clenched jaw he has ever made in his life. He cannot believe that Lucy has caused him to turn into someone he never thought he would become.