#ugh I will have just gotten back from con a few days before this
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sailorscout93 · 9 days ago
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CYNTHIA ERIVO IS HOSTING THE 2025 TONY AWARDS!!!!!!!! AHHHHH SHE’S GETTING HER DREAMMMMMM!!!!!! 💚💚💚 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGQ52zTyw8U/?igsh=aXhhZXE2aWR4dWNq
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ragingstillness · 1 year ago
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Ok so I just finished the episodes and by a cruel twist of fate I once again have to work in the morning so here’s my quick thoughts:
Calypso’s bday was clearly a pride celebration and I love that for them
I actually picked up on it surprisingly fast, like literally when Frenchie left the galley to go prepare for the party
Izzy’s voice is of course always tops, we knew Con could sing but man he really belted it this episode
Ned Low is a dick and deserved what he got
I now stan Hellcat Maggie
Not surprised murder turns Stede on, frankly it was smtg I was always expecting
While their previous two kisses have been sweet and romantic I was happy to see one with some passion
Izzy, Jim, and Wee John in drag mean everything to me
Poor Roach, he seemed to be enjoying his torture
Wish we’d seen whatever torture there was that “turned Izzy on” lol
Can confirm, people who play violin are assholes (source: I am a violinist) /jk
Ngl the episode felt a tiny bit rushed idk if that was just me
Ricky’s a dick and his speech immediately made me think of a gay priest who is denying himself and condemning homosexuality (for which specific priest, just take your pick there are a lot of them)
As much as I like Ed trying to encourage Stede not to “kill in cold blood” I think that ship has totally sailed on both their parts. Even if you don’t claim Stede’s killing of the Badmintons as “cold blood” he did totally set that ship of French aristocrats on fire
I like that the show’s acknowledging that jumping right into sex especially after trauma is not necessarily a good idea no matter how much some part of my shipper heart is like ugh why are they fighting again let them be happy
The second episode in particular Stede spends kind of acting like a dick and knowing Djenks and his team this is on purpose but it’s still unpleasant to watch
I feel like Stede’s fallen into the trap of now that he’s back with Ed he thinks everything is going to be fine and he’s turned Ed into this idealized figure again and is ignoring the actual things that Ed says
That being said, I do agree with him that Ed is being a coward by running off to become a fisherman as if he wasn’t a bloodthirsty pirate who still hasn’t made up for his actions to the crew.
Ed becoming a fisherman is clearly a “I was happy fishing for the first time in a long time I want to hold onto that feeling” decision
Essentially both Ed and Stede are running from their faults and pasts and I think they need to talk it out
Ed seems to be trying to say to Stede that he wants to have time to love himself before falling headlong into a relationship but he missed the mark a bit
Izzy briefly plays Lucius’ role in congratulating them on sleeping together and giving Stede advise
It fits him like an over large suit but I understand they needed a character to fill that role and Lucius has his own plotline now
I do think Izzy is being remarkably calm and that might not last, he’s probably bottling it up
Has the Jim/Olu/Archie polycule expanded to include Zheng? I’m so confused by it all. I don’t disapprove in any way I just feel like some of the relationships in that square are qpps and some are romantic and I can’t really nail down which is which
Fang and Roach bonding I kind of ship them a little
The Paper-azzi hysterical
Jackie’s new outfit: yes queen
The Swede’s new look: bitchin’
I feel like most of the cast have gotten hotter over the season. Shows what a few modifications in costuming can do (note, I said in costuming not in body or face or anything I’m not shaming anyone)
At one point I straight up thought Izzy was a ghost the way he kept popping up near Stede and Ed and giving commentary, idk if that was intentional
Izzy is still dealing with his alcoholism and I’m glad they didn’t pretend that’d be solved in a few days
RIP Ed’s leathers, you were hot
I knew there was smtg up with those clocks but I thought there was some sort of secret message in them not that they’d explode. That might be just because I considered it an anachronism. The earliest I can find evidence of a time bomb with a little googling is 1776 but that may be wrong
Who was firing on the republic? Was it Ricky or did the bombs somehow set off the canons on Zheng’s ships?
Stede deserved the beat down he got he was being a misogynistic dick
Also, it’s about time Stede detached from Ed long enough to realize that he hasn’t spent enough quality time with his crew to get them to stay with him when there are other options
Not surprised Ed didn’t kill Ned Low but a little surprised Izzy didn’t, as Izzy’s canonically killed everyone Ed couldn’t
Izzy mentioning how Ed shot him when he told him he loved him and Stede responding as if he’d heard that before I would have loved to see that scene
In general these two episodes felt a little rushed but idk if I’m perceiving that correctly I’m too tired
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possibilistfanfiction · 2 years ago
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avatrice + kiss on the back of the hand?
[ava + some friends, more outside pov (in the future!) for @unicyclehippo]
//
despite the fact that physical therapy is boring, and not at all your favorite activity, you like your therapist, brian, and at least you’ve gotten to consistently schedule it early enough in the morning you don’t miss your bridge group. and you’ve been compliant — mostly; you did spend more time on your feet last week than you were supposed to, but your grandson was visiting and you would never let him leave without having his favorite brisket and matzoh ball soup — and have done the exercises brian gives you to do at home every day. 
the physical therapy gym is mostly boring, more — and you hate to say it — old people, like you, recovering from total knee or total hip replacements, and a few young athletes. your son, ezra, drops you off and picks you up twice a week; sometimes his husband, marcus, fills in and he always takes you to get donuts afterward, your little secret. today you sit at the table you always start at, your walker steady and almost unnecessary at this point, and a young woman, exhausted-looking and the kind of pretty that could easily belong in a party when you were young, sitting in a sleek wheelchair by the table, smiles gently across you. you’re early by a few minutes — ezra is wonderful, but he’s a bit wound up all the time — so you smile back. ‘i’m ruth,’ you say. 
‘hi.’ the young woman seems happy to talk, cheerful. ‘i’m ava.’
‘very exciting beginning to your morning, it seems like.’
she groans. ‘ugh, tell me about it. my partner barely woke up in time to drive me here.’
you laugh. ‘not a morning person?’
ava rolls her eyes. ‘no, not at all. i love mornings though, even if they’re at physical therapy.’
‘it’s not so bad,’ you tell her. ‘have you done it before?’
‘not really.’ she shrugs. ‘i have some chronic spine stuff from a car accident when i was younger, and my doctors have tried… a lot, so we’re hoping this helps everything.’
‘i hope it’ll help.’ you gesture to your walker. ‘total hip replacement. from being old.’
ava’s smile is bright. ‘kinda cool, to get old, though, huh? and to have as cool of clothes as you do? i can only hope the same for myself, one day.’
it’s sweet, and sincere, and aching under the surface. ‘it is wonderful, to get to grow old. and —‘ you wink — ‘to get to be better dressed than everyone around you.’
‘hell yeah.’ she looks at her own hoodie and joggers. ‘i usually am better dressed than this, or, at least, more fun; i just had surgery last week.’
‘well, when you’re feeling better, i’m sure i’ll be very impressed.’
‘i don’t know about that.’ ava blushes a little, and you’re delighted. ‘i think my partner is probably the better dressed of the two of us; she’s very chic. but i’m fun!’
‘fun is the most important part. especially when you’re an old lady.’
she laughs and then brian walks up, says hi to you, and you wave. ‘good luck, ava. i’ll talk to you soon.’
‘for sure,’ she tells you enthusiastically.
/
you’re waiting on a bench in front of the physical therapy gym in the warm sunshine — not too hot, not too cold, perfect — when ava walks toward you, slowly and with a cane, but walking.
‘is this seat taken?’
‘for a pretty girl like you? absolutely not.’
she laughs, bright and warm. ‘ruth, you flirt.’
‘i’m old.’ she sits gingerly and it makes you hurt for her, just a little — not that she needs any mobility aids, but because it’s clear she’s in pain. ‘i get to flirt whenever i want.’
‘oh, is that how it works?’
‘absolutely,’ you tell her sagely.
‘well, other than me, of course, let me know if there are any crushes i should know about? i love drama, and my life is, both tragically and fortunately, drama free right now.’
‘well, sean in my bridge group, and david from shul. oh, and lee from my favorite cafe i go to for lunch.’ 
‘hmm, pros and cons? or are we playing the field?’
you laugh, and you tell her about sean’s clever hands, the beautiful way david reads scripture, how lee always offers you half his reuben. ava listens attentively, like she really cares, and, after she asks a thoughtful series of questions about how to play bridge — my girlfriend would probably demolish at this game, honestly — you understand that she really does care; she really does want to know you. so you ask her questions too; her partner’s name is beatrice, and she is, according to ava, beautiful and kind and exacting; ava grew up mostly in spain and is a bartender, which she loves, and they live in a house on the beach because beatrice, apparently, works in consulting all over europe, and also enjoys teaching aikido. ‘she has four black belts,’ ava says, and fans herself. it makes you laugh, and when marcus drives up in his practical, nice bmw hybrid, you pat her hand. 
‘see you tuesday, ruth.’
‘enjoy your weekend, ava.’
/
ava’s walking better on tuesday, and she sits next to you without asking this time, after you’re both finished. she fishes around in her crossbody bag and then holds out her hand, some candy with wrappers in mandarin on her palm. ‘they’re plum candies. they’re beatrice’s favorites, so i thought i was being sweet, but, i kinda went overboard and ordered, like, enough for a small army.’
you laugh but take one — you would never turn down an offered sweet; something of a communion — and open it while ava does the same. it’s wonderful: flavorful and sweet and a little sour, and you tell ava that.
‘ugh, i know,’ she says. ‘i don’t think bea had had them for a really long time; she cried the other day.’ ava smiles, like she’s trying not to laugh. ‘it was very sweet. a little dramatic, but i get it. i kind of go crazy for panellets.’
‘well, i’m making babka tomorrow, how about i bring you both some thursday?’
‘ruth, that’s too much.’
‘i love to share food,’ you say. ‘really, it’s part of the job description of a bubbe. they only let you in if you share your babka.’
ava rolls her eyes but then she nods. ‘i would really love that.’
ezra drives up, and you stand — easily, now, without pain and much stiffness — and wave.
/
your babka turns out as good as it always does — the best at shul, despite the fact that yael claims hers is better — and you place a few carefully in a tupperware to bring to ava, who seems a little wilted when she sits next to you. she waves you off when you look concerned.
’no big deal,’ she says. ‘just didn’t sleep too well last night. but! now i’m going to eat the world’s best babka and nap after bea drops me off. do you think i could convince her to nap with me?’
‘depends on why you didn’t sleep well last night.’
it takes ava a minute but then she laughs, brightening immediately. ‘ruth!’
‘you’re young, you should be having fun.’
‘oh, we have fun.’ ava grins. ‘don’t worry.’
‘well, speaking of fun,’ you say, ‘a few of my friends and i go to this water aerobics class at the country club together, every wednesday. i’m sorry if i was eavesdropping, but i heard kayvon tell you that some water therapy might be helpful? it’s really quite fun.’
‘that sounds awesome, honestly. i just got cleared to drive myself next week, so i would love that!’
you don’t bother to mention that everyone in the class is over seventy, mostly because you don’t really care, but, also, ava doesn’t seem to care, at all, that you’re at least fifty years older than her: you’re friends, and she’s kind, and bright. 
once again, marcus is there to pick her up before her ride, but you give her your number — and you add her on facebook, because that’s easier for you sometimes — before you leave. you send her the details later that day, and she responds with a few emojis you don’t understand, but that your grandson laughs at when you show him. good enough. 
/
‘i didn’t know, really, what to wear to water aerobics,’ ava says, happily sitting on the edge of the pool with you. she has on a simple red one-piece, her hair tied up in a bun, although short pieces escape. the back dips low and you see multiple scars, some faded and one new, and painful looking; ava’s light often makes you forget why you first met. 
‘this is great,’ you tell her. you gesture to your brightly colored, polka dotted tankini. ‘you can spice it up however much you want. just wait until you meet angela.’
as if on cue, angela, tall and Black and striking, walks in, with her perpetually perfect close cropped hair, in a pair of heels and draped in an elegant silk coverup over a royal blue bikini. ‘whoa,’ ava says, and it’s so earnest it makes you laugh.
‘listen,’ ava says, ‘i’m bi, queer, and, yeah, i have a partner who is so so so beautiful, like, god, this morning she came home from surfing and used our outdoor shower — thank god for her trust fund, am i right? — but… ruth, i have eyes.’ she looks over to you. ‘you have eyes too, right? like, no offense to sean and david and lee, but… angela is stunning, okay?’
‘she is,’ you grant her, mostly because you’re amused. angela walks over and smiles, gracious and perfect, and you gesture to ava, who gulps. ‘angela, ava. ava, angela.’
‘hello, ava,’ angela says. ‘ruth says that she’s quite fond of you from physical therapy.’
‘yeah,’ ava says, a little stunned. ‘that’s — that’s really kind, ruth.’
‘we don’t invite just anyone to water aerobics. it’s an exclusive club.’
‘other than courtney,’ angela grumbles.
’well, true,’ you admit. ‘but she’s not part of lunch. ava, next week, you should come join us.’
‘i would love that,’ she says. ‘beatrice will too, i’ll make sure of it.’
you laugh, and angela waves to rosa and farha when she sees them. class goes great; ava seems, when you look over at her a few times, to enjoy it a lot. even though you hadn’t really worried that ava would feel out of place, any nagging feelings are assuaged when she gets out of the pool and wraps a towel around her shoulders, carefully moves on the wet floor with a cane.
‘i told bea i’d be home soon,’ she says, ‘and she gets kinda nervous when i’m late. but! i’ll see you at therapy tomorrow, and i’ll definitely plan on lunch next week.’ she hesitates for a moment and then gives you a hug, which fills you with a very particular kind of warmth. ‘thank you, for inviting me.’
‘of course, ava. see you tomorrow.’
/
you see ava at therapy and you think, for the most part, she’s improving: you haven’t seen her wheelchair in months, and she still uses her cane, but you think it’s mostly because it feels safer, especially if she’s sore. you start going once a week but it doesn’t really matter, because she comes to water aerobics in increasingly fun swimsuits, including a purple stripped bikini that makes even angela whistle. ‘oh, to be young again,’ she had said, and ava had blushed.
‘so, how did you meet beatrice?’ margot asks, back from her annual trip to florida.
ava puts down her fork and smiles, so soft. ‘work, in spain. a job i didn’t even want, even. but, even from when we first met, she’s always just been so kind. we spent a sabbatical together, one summer, and that’s when i really fell in love with her.’
‘love at first sight, then?’ angela grins.
‘maybe not quite,’ ava says, then laughs. ‘i was… difficult, back then. obviously, i’m a total angel now.’
you roll your eyes and farha says, ‘oh, sure.’
‘we’ve been through a lot,’ ava says, softer and very sincere. ‘she’s — she’s the best person i know.’
‘well we need to meet her,’ you decide, even though you’ve been meaning to ask them both to shabbat soon anyway. ‘bring her to lunch friday?’
‘if that’s okay with everyone? i guarantee she has exceedingly good manners, much much better than mine.’
‘low bar,’ rosa says.
‘ha ha, very funny.’ ava tries her best not to smile but then does anyway, brighter than the noon sun overhead outside.
/
you’re just sitting down at the table, one extra seat this week, when ava perks up and then stands, steady and even, and you see who you know, from pictures ava has shown you, is beatrice, smiling a little nervously. ‘hi, baby,’ ava says, and beatrice takes ava’s hand and gently places a kiss to her knuckles, like a genuine knight.
‘absurd,’ angela whispers from next to you, and you try not to laugh loud enough for them to hear you, because they’re young but they’re not that young: they have a home together, and you know, from the few things ava has mentioned privately, usually on days that are too, too bright, things have been hard, and they’ve had to spend time apart in the past, and ava is thankful.
‘hello, everyone,’ beatrice says, her accent and posture extremely formal, in contrast to her casual but still, somehow, smart black hoodie and white sweatshorts and birkenstocks. her hair is in a messy bun, a few strands escaping that ava happily pushes behind her ears, and a big tattoo sitting above her left knee; she’s muscular and strong, but there are freckles spread across her cheeks and, when ava smiles at her, she softens, entirely. they are young, and, even though ava has shown you pictures, you’re still struck, in the moment, by how much they fit. 
there’s a chorus of hi, beatrice and it’s so good to meet you and ava talks about you all the time, but beatrice takes it all in stride, a happy little smile on her face. you understand, quickly, that they fit, the same way you and aaron had, so long ago: ava is loud and overwhelmingly bright, enthusiastic and generous with all of her affection, and beatrice is quietly funny, whip smart, and thoughtfully attentive to ava. she turns and listens, fully, to whoever is talking, and knows about rosa’s birding, and the shrine farha talks about in lahore, and the new podcast angela is listening to. she’s impressive, as a person, and ava seems distinctly aware of it, basking, a little, in being chosen by someone so special.
‘sorry i’m underdressed,’ beatrice says after you order. ‘i was surfing this morning, and then had to jump on a work call, and i didn’t want to be late.’
‘everything okay?’ ava checks.
‘yes,’ beatrice says, soothes a hand along ava’s thigh and then squeezes her knee. ‘nothing of concern.’
ava squints. ’were you just asleep? you wouldn’t lie to me, right?’
beatrice pauses. ‘i was — well, catching up on some sleep, when camila called.’
ava barks a laugh. ‘bea is the sleepiest person i know.’
‘sleep is one of the great pleasures of life,’ angela says, regal and finite in her statement, ‘among other things in bed.’ 
beatrice grins while ava blushes. ‘now i know why you like coming to these classes and lunches so much,’ beatrice says, shooting angela a wink. ‘you do have a type.’
‘ah, and what a type it is,’ ava says, sighing for effect, seemingly recovered from her momentary emabrassment.
at the end of lunch, you do invite them to shabbat, and beatrice asks your favorite kind of kosher wine.
/
‘okay, you are all sworn to secrecy,’ ava says, leaning forward at the table. it’s not particularly quiet, because farha’s hearing aides can only do so much, and rosa flat out refuses to wear any, but there’s no on important around you anyway.
‘wonderful,’ angela says.
‘i love a secret,’ you agree.
‘well.’ ava lets out a big breath. ‘beatrice and i are going to switzerland, next week, to the alps, where we spent our first summer together, and i —‘ she shakes her head — ‘this feels so crazy, but i’m going to propose.’
it sends the whole table into a flurry of excitement, asking about ava’s plan — a hike, the one they would go on every tuesday together, slowly and for fun — and the ring ava had picked out — beautiful, and elegant, and perfect, you think — and, ‘do you think she’ll say yes?’
ava gulps. ‘i know she wants to spend her life with me.’ she sounds sure, and calm, despite her fingers nervously fidgeting with her napkin. ‘she was… very religious, for a long time, so, like, she’s always been really accepting of other same sex marriages, but i think it’s taken her a minute to get her to feel ready for, like, our own very queer marriage. sacrament, and all that, i guess.’ she shakes her head. ‘but anyway, yes! i think she’s ready. i think she really wants to get married.’
her smile is gentle, serene, and you had watched beatrice — in neat linen, her hair long and swept over her shoulder, fight her way through eating multiple bites of gefilte fish last friday, even though it was clear she hated it, and say prayers in hebrew, quietly. ava had been in her chair; you hadn’t asked, and neither had anyone from shul or your family, but beatrice had made sure that she had everything she needed, unobtrusive and practiced. ava had been, unexpectedly, the life of the party, charming everyone with her laugh and her silly puns and a very spirited debate with your granddaughter about women’s soccer. they’re a pair, you understood, very clearly: at the end of the night, ava had encouraged beatrice, gently, to take extra kugel along with the challah and chicken you’d already put in tupperware for them; beatrice had gotten their sweaters from the closet and handed ava’s to hers with a kiss to her forehead, tender and private, a moment that had belonged just to them.
‘we’ll all be eagerly awaiting the engagement photographs,’ angela says with sure gravitas.
‘post them on facebook,’ you tell her, and ava laughs, but she promises, later, when you give her a hug, that she will.
/
‘thank you, for inviting us,’ you tell ava, a bit in awe, if you’re being honest, of their house. she bounces around happily, and angela just looks at you with a raised brow for a moment. there are bright red and gold decorations everywhere, and beatrice walks over with a neat bun and beautiful jacket, embroidered so elegantly even angela seems a little in love with it.
’happy new year,’ she says, and you both give her a hug as you return the sentiment, then shows you to their kitchen, with a spread of chinese food that smell so, so good, and then gestures out to the open-air doors and patio that overlooks the ocean. ‘help yourselves to whatever you want. ruth, there are plenty of dishes that i made sure meet all kosher standards; they should be labeled. and there’s plenty of seating, and come find me if you need anything.’ she pauses. ‘or ava, but she gets a little… activated when we have a lot of people over.’
‘so, did we know how rich they were?’ angela says, loading her plate with everything she can after beatrice walks away to greet more guests.
‘not this rich.’
you both wait a beat and then laugh, and you find seats by the railing; your hip doesn’t hurt at all anymore. ava finds you both eventually and steals an egg roll from your plate with a laugh. ‘i’ll get you another one,’ she promises. ‘and, i just wanted to say, thanks for being my friends. i know it’s silly, but the water aerobics have really helped me feel better — and much less bored — when my mobility has been limited. and i love hearing about your lives, and sharing mine. i just —’ she scrubs her hand along the back of her neck, her hair neatly trimmed to her chin, fluttering in the breeze. ‘i went a long time without great role models.’
it’s so sincere and so touching. angela sniffles and you fish a hanky from your purse and hand it to her; she dabs her eyes.
‘don’t call us old,’ she says, voice breaking, and ava laughs.
‘i could’ve called you my adoptive grandmothers, so count your blessings.’
you roll your eyes when she takes a big, smiling bite of her (your) egg roll. ‘you are a blessing,’ you tell her.
ava swallows her bite and then leans to hug you, tight and sincere. ‘thank you,’ she whispers.
‘happy new year, ava.’
‘yeah,’ she says, a little teary but with a huge smile. ‘happy new year.’
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mark-of-chrysus · 2 years ago
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Kinda digging the first genderbend Danny, I would like to see the other reactions from big deal to worker 2nd or you can choose this option of fem Danny trying to figure out how to Survive the love triangle of Jay and Gun as they basically go on a flexing spree for their love of Danny (They accidentally saw each others in the mall that how the flexing happen)
Oooh, I think Big Deal would definitely have a field day trying to stop this pretty menace from terrorizing all of Seoul and adopting most of their members. I'm just picturing Jerry getting hit and her kissing his forehead to make the hurt go away. Just being an adorable gremlin all around and bonding with the girls on the street. She and Lua might get along pretty well, like Danny being her big sister figure or something.
When it comes to the Workers 2nd affiliate I think things would be a lot more different. To begin with, I don't think Mitsuki would ever allow another female to join the 2nd affiliate. Like, I feel she might kick up a fuss about her trying to seduce Sinu and Ryuhei would support her like the simp he is.
But going back to matters of the heart~
---------------------------------
Being a girl meant that Danny had to actually get at least some semblance of a fashion sense. So, like she always did, she invited Jay to go shopping with her under the guise of helping her pick an outfit for some family gathering. Of course, she worded it in such a way that it made it seem like she was taking him out.
Fortunately, her kind Jay agreed in a heartbeat, shaking his beet-red head up and down repeatedly. It seemed that no matter how Danny looked this boy's heart didn't care. She had expected as much from the man who had been by her side for eons, although he didn't know that. It didn't mean that this stopped her heart from trying to pound out of her chest and dance cha-cha in his palm. Gods, how she loved this man!
So when school let out the two headed to the mall, side by side. As expected, the blonde was a fashion genius and put her in outfits that made her feel and look like an otherworldly beauty.
Danny was just admiring her new outfit in the mirror. This body was truly a work of art, that much even she could understand, but the way the blue puffy top stopped a bit above her waist, revealing the tiniest bit of milky skin, and how her black jeans hugged her legs just right made her feel so pretty she just couldn't wait to show Jay. it might not have been the most elegant or elaborate outfit, but it made her look like a pure little blossom and she figured that it went rather well with the warm sunny weather outside.
With a soft smile, she stepped out of the changing room and bumped right into a wall. No, not a wall, something much worse. Ugh! Why, god? Why did you have to do this to me today?
Gun looked down at the woman that had bumped into him and his eyes widened behind the shades. There, looking like an entirely innocent schoolgirl was the very woman who had sent him to the hospital only a few weeks prior. She was in a cute little blue top that gave him a clear view of her supple waist and a pair of skinny jeans that clung tightly to her long slender legs in a way that made every man in the store gawk at her.
She eyed him with annoyance and muttered an apology before scurrying around him and to the blonde boy waiting for her on a chair. Gun felt one of his eyebrows twitch in annoyance. What makes him so special? And as if it wasn't enough, she seemed utterly besotted with him, her face blooming like a beautiful rose when he complement her outfit (without using words somehow?). The black-haired man gritted his teeth. He could do so much better!
Several hours later Danny was starting to lose her cool. Ever since she had bumped into Gun in that clothing store he hadn't stopped showing up out of the blue and buying the most ridiculous and expensive things right in front of them. This wouldn't have been a problem if Jay hadn't somehow gotten dropped in this weird contest and begun spending the most ludicrous amounts on various things, which he gifted her despite her repeated refusal and protests.
"That's enough!" She angrily got up from her table and marched to the two who were apparently trying to buy the whole food court at the moment.
She grabbed them both by their ears, making sure to be extra gentle with Jay and pinch Gun's ear as hard as she could without ripping it off. Then, in view of everyone in the mall, she dragged them out by their ears and into the parking lot. Finally, she let them go and began scolding both of the cowed men currently kneeling on the pavement.
"I thought you were better than this Jay!" Danny tried to ignore the guilt pooling in her chest as the named male shrunk from her and then added more softly. "Go back and pick up our shopping, please."
She made sure that the quiet boy was out of sight and out of earshot before she turned to Gun. She didn't want her precious Jay to see her as a barbarian, but there were some things one couldn't resolve by being nice.
"Wipe that grin off your face!" She ordered sharply, grabbing a handful of the maniac's hair and bringing him closer to her level. "I'm going to say this once and once only. Leave. Us. Be. Don't look at us. Don't talk to us and don't ever fucking approach us or even your dear chairman won't be able to scrub your guts off the pavement. Are we clear?"
Without waiting for a reply she let him go, turned around, and walked back into the mall, unaware of the impact her words had on the man. Spoiler Alert! It was not the effect she intended. The interaction had only made his interest in her grow and alongside it, his infatuation with Danny. (Poor her!)
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nights-legacy · 3 years ago
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Hey I was wondering if I could get an Image for TodoBaku × Reader? Fluff with a little angst. The story goes that the reader has large wings she can set on fire and make fire tornados. But if she uses it to much her feathers burn up and she gets burn scars on her back and legs. How would her partners react when she goes to far in training or on a intern mission and has multiple burns and blackened feathers?
Pros and Cons - TodoBaku x Reader
MHA Masterlist Main Masterlist
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TodoBaku x Reader (meaning Poly Relationship. Don’t like? Don’t Read.)
Angst/Fluff
Warnings: Very Slight description of burns, exhaustion, and frustration
2061 Words
Artist: @ul8nl (credit for picture)
+ Injuries are an occupational hazard when in training to be a hero. Y/N is no exception to that either, especially with a fire quirk. After a long day, once Y/N gets back to the agency they intern at, they finally she the damage of the day. The burns are bad but whats worse is that they tried to hide it from their boyfriends.
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Having wings that can light up like a bonfire has it's pros and cons. Some pros are that it is very intimidating, the strength of my wings and the fire, and many others. A major con is the burns. It is easy to burn myself when I use my quirk alot. Apparently being fireproof wasn't woven in with the rest of my quirk. It's gotten better with training but still is a problem.
"Shit!" I heard Katsuki yell as he's blown back into a building.
"Kat!" I screamed as pieces of the wall fell down around him.
"L/N, watch out!" Kiri yelled at me. I lifted my wings as a shield just in time to avoid being hit by a blast of mud and rock. I shook out my wings and shot into the air.
"Kiri, I'm going to try and direct him towards you." I said into my earpiece. He acknowledged me and got into a ready position. The villain was trying to run but I cut him off with a fire fly by.
"Ugh! You bitch!" I chuckled before flying back in front. With a heavy flap of my wings, I sent a swell of flames towards the man. As it grew closer the flames swirled to form a tornado of fire. The man lodged and ran straight for Kiri. I smirked and flew above him, guiding it until he ran right into Kiri.
"Bullseye." I whispered before extinguishing my wings which in turn did the same to the tornado. I immediately flew towards Katsuki to check on him. "Katsuki? Are you alright?"
"Arg. Yeah, I think." He groaned as he moved debris off his person. I quickly retracted my wings, maneuvered in, and helped. He was in basically a crater. I pulled rocks and small borders off until he could get up safely.
"Here, give me your hand." I held mine out and he latched on. I helped him up only for him to stumble into me. "Careful there." I righted him as he grabbed his head. I reached up and brushed my fingers over his forehead. "You okay, Kat?"
"I'm a little light headed." He admitted. I felt him wrap a hand around my waist as I leaned up to look at the spot he was holding. He moved his hand and I brushed through his hair. He flinched a little When I felt a bump.
"There's definitely a bump. You're gonna need to get that looked ats Suki." He grumbled as he dropped his head on my shoulder. I giggled and nuzzled his head.
"Hey Bakugo, are you hurt?" Kiri called as he ran up. Bakugo lifted his head before calling back.
"Yes, Shitty hair." We got out of the crater with Kiri's help. Just as I got out after Katsuki, my comms went off.
"L/N?"
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey L/N! It's Deku. You're over at the crossroads of the Warehouse District, right?"
"Yeah what's up?"
"Well, I'm gonna need some help over at the docks. It's a little hectic over here and you're the closest. Is there any chance you're free to help?"
"Yeah, I'll be right over."
"Thanks." I turned back to the two.
"I have to go help Deku. He's got some problems over at the docks." I told them. Kiri took Katsuki's over arm and took on his weight.
"Be careful. And give 'em hell, babe." Katsuki smirked before kissing my head.
"I will Suki." I walked a few feet away before turning back. "And Kiri! Make sure he gets his head checked out. He hit it pretty hard."
"Will do!" He called as Katsuki grumbled again. I smiled before taking off into the sky. I may not be as fast as Hawks but I can still get around pretty quick. Halfway to Deku, I felt a familiar irritation on my skin. I hissed and paused to lift up my shirt on my side. There was a redness there that wasn't quite a burn yet but was sensitive.
"Shit." I pulled down my shirt and went on. The altercation with Deku took the rest of my shift and over.
I trudged into the locker room and flinched when I heard the crunch of my feathers. I knew they were burnt to a crisp. I carefully pulled my shirt off with great difficulty. The fabric stuck to the now present burns. I looked at them in the mirror and sighed. Multiple degrees of burns lined up from the base of my wings to the middle of my calves.
"Great. I'm not going to hear the end of this." I muttered. "At least I can hide my wings." I retracted my wings. I took a cold shower and treated the burns the best I could on my own. I wrapped them and got dressed before leaving to go back to the dorms. I may not be fireproof but I do heal quicker than normal.
"Hey there L/N." Deku tiredly called. We got back to the dorms about the same time. I looked up at him to see his sleepy smile.
"Hey." We walked in together. I tugged off my shoes and cringed at the pull on my skin. I waved at the others as I walked on and into the elevator. I nearly plopped down on my bed but stopped myself. I carefully laid down and dozed.
"Hey babe."I heard a muffled voice called through my door with a knock. I pushed up on my elbows. It was Katsuki.
"Love, you awake?" I heard Shoto follow up.
"Yeah, yeah. I am. Just a second." I pushed up anel walked to the door. "Hey love."
"Well you look exhausted." Katsuki teased. Shoto hit him in the chest and got a glare in return.
"We figured you would be so we decided to bring dinner to you." I finally noticed the plates of food in their hands.
"Oh, yeah. Thank you. You two know me so well." I moved aside to let them in. Katsuki strode in first while Shoto stopped next to me.
"It's part of the job, love." He caressed my cheek before pecking it. I blushed before closing.
"Have you been taking lessons in flirting from Kaminari again?"
"Tsk. Yes he has." Katsuki snapped. Just as Shoto set his plate down, Katsuki fisted his shirt and pulled him in close. "Waste of time really." He kissed him hard on the mouth. I rolled my eyes at them.
"How's it a waste of time if you enjoy yourself enough to reward me with a kiss?" Shoto said with a slight smirk. I covered up a giggle as Katsuki blanched.
"Why you!" He shoved Shoto back and started wrestling. I laughed and got past them and grabbed my plate.
"You mess up my room, you're fixing it." I called over their roughhousing. Shoto, who was on top, paused and looked at me.
"Of course." He said before they started again. I was halfway done with my plate when they finally settled down to eat theirs. We ate in comfortable silence. Well they were comfortable. Katsuki was lounging on my bed while Shoto took a spot on the floor. I was trying not to cringe from the growing sting of my burns.
"You got your head looked at right Suki?" I asked, getting up from my desk chair.
"Yeah, yeah. Got it looked at by the medics and then hit up Recovery Girl when I got back." He said.
"Good." I set my plate on my desk when I knocked a notebook to the ground. I leant down to grab it but my burns said no. I screamed at the sudden increase in pain.
"Y/N!" I heard both boys scream. Arms wrapped around my midriff but I Yelped at the contact. I shoved the arms off and backed to the desk.
"Y/N , love, what's wrong?" Shoto asked with concern heavy in his voice.
"Nothing Shoto. It's nothing."
"Nothing?" Katsuki snapped. "It's definitely not nothing." He went to reach for me and I flinched back. "You're hurt, aren't you?"
"No." My voice wavered.
"Tell the truth, Y/N." Shoto said in a firm voice. Both boys were staring me down. I relented and nodded. I looked down ashamed.
"Show us." Katsuki ordered. I turned and lifted the back of my shirt to reveal the bandages. "Shit."
"Why did you try and hide this?" Shoto sounded a little betrayed making me sob a little. I felt hands start to remove the bandages. I heard both gasp when they were off.
"And you were hounding me about getting checked out. This is...why did...Y/N!" He yelled and I flinched away. "Why in the hell did you..."
"Katsuki! Enough." Shoto softly snapped. In the corner of my eye I saw Katsuki throw his hands up before backing away. I sobbed quietly. A cold hand barely touched my back. I tried to move away in surprise. "Sh. It's alright."
"It hurts."
"I bet it does." Katsuki said under his breath.
"Katsuki, you are not helping!" Shoto moved behind me. "How far down do they go?"
"Back of my calves." I whispered. I felt him pause before sighing.
"I thought the burning was getting better."
"It is. I just overdid it today. Pros and Cons,right." I explain, relaxing some from the soothing cold of his hand.
"We need to take you to Recovery Girl." Kat came up again, calmer. I wanted to say something but he kissed me to stop me. "No arguments."
"But when we make it to the Pro's were not going to have Recovery Girl. We'll have to deal with the injuries."
"Yes, you're right, but..." He cupped my face. "We have this time in school, training and shit with the benefit of Recovery Girl to learn how to harness our quirks to avoid said injuries." He said. I closed my mouth, knowing he was right. "Now let's go."
"Okay." With a quick trip to Recovery Girl, I was mostly healed. I had a few sensitive spots but it was tolerable. I was also even more exhausted now. Katsuki was carrying me on his back to the dorms while Shoto was walking next to us. I hand one hand in Shoto's while the other arm was wrapped around Kat's neck.
"Please stay awake just a little bit longer, love." Shoto ran a hand through my hair. I hummed and nodded. I'm glad no one asked questions as we got back to the dorms. Once to my room, Kat softly set me down before placing his hand behind my neck to lower my head down. He sat down next to me while Shoto knelt down next to the bed.
"You shouldn't hide something like this from us." Kat was rumbling circles with his thumb on my neck.
"I'm sorry. I just..." My words caught.
"Sh. We understand love. We are just worried. We want you to be able to talk to us about these things." Shoto reached up and brushed hair out of my face.
"I know and I know I can but I don't want to be a..."
"Don't ever finish that sentence. You are not and never will be a burden to us. Never in a million years." Kat said softly. Shoto made a sound of agreement. I looked between the two who left no room for argument. I chuckled before it turned into a yawn.
"I'm sorry again." I sat up and waved Shoto to join me on the bed. He moved gracefully. I pulled them into a hug. "I'll try and do better, I promise."
"That's all we can ask for. We don’t want you playing with just the pros and cons anymore." Shoto whispered into my hair. I nuzzled into their necks one at a time before I pulled back.
"You should go to sleep now babe. You're exhausted and need to sleep." Kat rubbed my back. I laid back and grabbed one of each of their hands.
"Stay with me ‘til I fall asleep?" They shared a look before bringing my hands up to Kiss them.
"Of course, babe."
"Whatever you desire." I smiled and closed my eyes. I was quickly succumbing to the exhaustion, the soothing sounds of their breathing, and the soft rubbing of their thumbs on my palms. Sleep overtook me.
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so-writing · 4 years ago
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Sugar, Honey, Ice and Tea - Matthew Tkachuk (21)
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all parts here
_
“Don’t tempt me,” Matthew chuckled and headed down the hall toward his bedroom, “you’re definitely not ready for that yet,” he called behind him. 
He was gone for a few minutes, leaving you standing alone in his living room and feeling weird about it. You didn’t really lie about your intentions, because you did want him, but you were still hung up on letting other people know about it. 
“Here,” he tossed a ball of clothing at you, “to wear back to your place.”
You unraveled the clump of clothing and took note of the Flames tee shirt with his name on the back and the pair of sweatpants with his number printed down the side.
“Wow, no one’s going to know where I came from with these clothes, thank you for the disguise.” 
“I want them to know. I want everyone to know that you’re wearing my name and number and I want to take you out, for real this time. No bullshit, no me showing up drunk and acting like an asshole. I want to take you out on real date.”
You wanted it, you wanted that real date so badly but you still weren’t ready to share your situation with the world. 
“Matt, I…” your response died in your mouth and you felt incredibly stupid wearing clothing with him literally written all over it.
“It can be just us and it will be here. I’ll do everything, all you have to do is show up.”
*
He was practically begging at that point but it was worth it, she was worth it. 
“Just show up? That’s it?”
Matt watched her closely, hoping she’d agree, but there was no describing how he felt when he saw her wearing his clothes, with his name and his number sewed into the fabric.
Holy fuck. He had been waiting for this. He had been waiting for someone to come into his life that was everything he wanted and more. He had been waiting for someone to become a constant, someone that was more than just a night of fun, someone that actually meant something.
He had no idea she would come in the form of someone who initially hated him and still probably might just a little bit, but he wasn’t bothered by that. Matthew knew what he wanted, and as much as his past self might have argued, he had always known. Soulmates were probably bullshit but if they weren’t, he was pretty sure who his was. 
“That’s it, I promise.”
“Fine.” 
“You want me to walk you back to yours?”
“Nah, I’m pretty sure your name on my back will give everyone a pretty good indication of who I’m with.”
“You’re with me?”
Her cheeks lit up red but she rolled her eyes and gently slapped him on the shoulder, “your name is on my back. I’m also pretty sure I can make the hike to the elevator by myself, good morning, Matthew Tkachuk.”
He never planned on falling in love, but he knew she was special and it just kind of happened.
*
You didn’t immediately strip out of the clothing Matt had given you and that was the first indication that you needed to fucking cool it. You pulled the sleeve of the shirt to your nose and inhaled the smell of his fabric softener. 
“Ugh,” you looked down at Onyx rubbing against your legs, “he uses the expensive shit.”
It had been an interesting morning but you needed to get to work and get your shit together.
++
You were running late to work and to make matters worse, you had a meeting with the coaches that you were incredibly close to missing. Nearly sprinting into the conference room at the last minute, you took your seat and a calming breath. The meeting was mostly a blur until you were addressed directly. 
“You’re being presented with a new opportunity.”
*
Matt had yet to see her that day but he’d been hearing that she was supposed to have a meeting so he hung around the general area of the conference rooms, hoping to catch her after it was over. She arrived in a rush and gave him a quick wave before heading inside. He wasn’t invited into the conference room but he was able to look through the window and he saw the look of surprise on her face and he knew what was happening.
She was being presented with a new job, and it wasn’t with the Flames.
Just when they were starting to finally fucking figure it out, she was going to be ripped away from him. He couldn’t let that happen, he couldn’t lose her. If she was going to leave, he was going to follow her. 
*
The pay was only slightly better than your current salary but taking a job with the Philadelphia Flyers would bring you closer to home and that was definitely something to think about. Taking a job with the Flyers was mostly full of pros but there was only a single con that mattered— Matthew Tkachuk.
He was waiting outside the conference room, dressed in full uniform, and he looked about as stressed as you felt.
“What the fuck are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be on the ice?” 
“Yeah, but I heard you had a meeting and I had to know what was up.”
“Matt, you’re literally on skates and in pads, go to practice.” 
“What happened in your meeting?”
“Go to practice,” you pushed past him and headed toward your office but he wasn’t giving up. 
“You’re leaving aren’t you?”
That stopped you dead in your tracks but you couldn’t turn around and face his question. 
“I haven’t decided yet.” 
*
“I haven’t decided yet.”
It wasn’t his place to say anything and it definitely wasn’t his business but that didn’t stop him from grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around to face him.
“Don’t leave. Please?”
“Matt, I don’t know, I haven’t made any decisions.”
He wasn’t interested in her response and ignored it entirely, instead pulling her into his chest and pressing his lips against hers. They moved in sync for only a moment until she was pushing him away. 
“You can’t just do that! I could lose my job! Fucking go to practice, Matt!”
++
She was well aware of their date. He had made sure of it. 
She was also fourteen minutes late and he was starting to get worried that she wouldn’t show. Maybe he had fucked up too many times for her to let it go, maybe she had taken the job with the Flyers and she was already gone. 
Matt paced back and forth in his living room, freaking the fuck out, until a soft knock at his door interrupted his negative thoughts.
“Hi, Matt.” 
“Hey. I didn’t think you were coming.” 
“I’m sorry for being late. The Calgary Flames don’t care if you have plans outside of work.”
“I get it, experience and all, come on in.”
He noticed right away that she was wearing a pair of jeans and the shirt he had given her with his name on the back. 
“I like your shirt, good number and solid name.”
“You think? I like the name but I kinda wish the number was a seven instead.”
“Fuck you,” they both laughed at that as Matt lead her into the kitchen. 
“You’re fucking kidding?”
“I'm not.” 
“Holy shit.” 
*
The spread in front of you was everything you could ever want. Matt had pulled out all the stops and gotten takeout from your favorite diner, Mexican restaurant, Italian place, and Taco Bell. There was more than enough food to feed the entire Flames team. 
“I wasn’t sure what you like, so I made sure there were a lot of options.”
“Are you lying?”
You looked up at him and noticed his cheeks flush as he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, “yeah. I might have asked around.” 
“We’ll never be able to eat all of this.”
“I know. I was thinking that, if you’re fine with it, we invite some of the guys and their partners over later. Only if you’re cool with it though, I said it would be just us and I meant it.”
If you agreed, this would be your coming out party with Matt. Everyone would know that you were some sort of something and you still weren’t sure if you were ready for it. 
“We’ll see, I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. We’re on your terms tonight.” 
This was not the man you met two years ago. This was not the man with a shitty attitude and a chip on his shoulder that he took out on everyone. This was not the man that told you to sleep on the floor because he wouldn’t get into bed unless you did. 
This was a different man entirely. 
This was a different Matthew Tkachuk and you kind of hated how much you really fucking liked him. 
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darylsgirl · 4 years ago
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Mac's Girl
Request 1: Do you write for any Norman characters? If so can you do one with mac from red canyon please? Request 2: Hey sweetie! Could I possibly request a Mac fic? Like he's angry and aggressive and just needs a release and finds the sweetest most innocent virgin and just goes to town roughly on her? Love ya stories BTW!
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long with this! I decided to pretty much write the full Red Canyon film out as it just felt right! As always let me know what you thought! If you want adding to my tag list let me know!
Hope y'all having a great day :)
Love Jen <3
Warnings: Ok so just like the film Please don't read this if the movie triggered you in any way. Mentions of rape/Non-con, Blood, Rough sex, Virginity being taken, Knife play, Murder, Lots of swearing, Smut
Master List
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After a long few days drive, a lot of wrong turns and a stop by a cop, you had finally made it, The property your friend and her brother were trying to sell, It was the whole reason you had all come out here was to help them with the business side of the sale, Wanting to make the most of it the group had decided to turn it into a road trip to Utah and while you were there you were all going to go riding in the canyon’s over summer.
Once you had arrived at the siblings Devon & Regina’s property, Your boyfriend Tom, Devon & Samir their friend all stood outside laughing with a beer leaving the women you Regina & Terra to take all the bags in and get the place ready to stay in….Chivalry is definitely dead you thought rolling your eyes.
When everything was set up, The three of you had managed to wrangle up a meagre dinner. Shouting the boys inside you all tucked in before heading to bed. Tom stumbling drunkenly and more than likely drugged up behind you, Pulling your body to his chest slurring his words.
“Finally Alone Y/N, Bout time we sealed the deal here”
Wanting to gag as you felt the revulsion sweeping through your stomach.
“Go to sleep Tom” You hissed through your teeth, pulling your body away from his. You weren’t going to let your first time be with him in the state he was in, In this disgusting place. It wasn’t like you wanted anything romantic, Just not this. The first time you had sex you should at least feel something other than sick at the prospect.
“Frigid bitch” He murmured before rolling away from you, His snores following soon after.
The next day had at least been better taking the bikes from the barn feeling your body physically relax riding through the canyons as it always did when you were on a bike, That was until Samir had gotten a wheel stuck in an old tunnel coming off the bike and having to be rescued before the skin could be torn from his face.
Pulling up to the Luna Mesa afterwards so ready to drink the day away, It definitely didn't look like much but as long as the beer was cold you couldn’t of cared less, Once you had gotten your first drinks and sat down a man came over to speak to Devon introducing himself as Walter, The owner of the bar and the man taking care of the property you were staying in.
After the first drink you had started to feel the exhaustion of the day falling over you, Tom gave you a quick peck on the cheek as you both stood, Him going outside to have his cigarette and you excusing yourself to use the restroom.
Patting your chest and face with cold water you tried to wake up, It was going to be a long night. You knew the guys they would want to spend most of the night here drinking, When they were all together they usually drank until dawn, You scoffed thinking about it college boys ugh…
Leaving the toilet you glanced over to the door just as Tom knocked into Samir sending the drinks to the floor. Before you knew it Tom had been thrown into the bar.
“Easy Partner” Tom groaned, not really aware of what was happening.
“Do i look like your fucking partner? As a matter of fact i don't think i fucking know you?” The man growled back angrily.
Devon noticing the commotion rushed over to help. “Hey mac...MAC!.. It’s uh been awhile ….remember me? That’s tom he’s my cousin”
“Man Devon Ashton and his cousin Tommy, I never thought I'd see you again” Mac replied, his attention fully on Devon now getting close enough to be in his face.
Devon continued looking towards Tom and Samir trying to keep his tone light “This is mac he owns the dog”
Terra cutting in "Oh the animal lover” She scoffed.
Mac ignored this turning back to the bar and raising his voice “Reunion like this is cause for a celebration, Let’s have some whiskey”
Noticing your friend Regina, Still next to the table standing looking worried, You made your way over to her, Still listening to the exchange at the bar as it seemed everyone in the place was.
“I’m fine with beer” Devon replied, keeping his voice level.
“You're gonna have whiskey” Mac declared. The look in his eyes leaving no room for argument taking a bottle from under the counter he poured two shots handing one to Devon and one for himself.
Not taking his eyes off Devons whilst they both threw them back, Taking the glass back from Devon he walked back to the bar.
Everything was silent for a moment, Mac drawing something in the spilt salt on the bar that only Walter could see, Their eyes meeting before he swiped it away, Turning to Terra “Where did Devon find a nice girl like you?”
Terra seemingly un-phased by the tension in the room, Giggling she pointed first at Devon’s chest “Fraternity boy - sorority girl” She replied pointing at herself giving him a wide smile
“College huh? Seems like such a big waste of time to me, but your brave though, Coming out here with Regina after what happened”
Regina ran her hand through her hair when the man’s eyes met hers, “I have to pee” She mumbled nervously before running off to the bathroom leaving you alone, Feeling uncomfortable you moved until you were stood partially behind Terra your hand on her arm trying to pull her back a step, Ready to get out of the way if things were to go sour.
The stranger wasn’t deterred by this “I wouldn't be brave like that, I’d be scared...Heard after your parents little accident Someone gave your little sister a ride. Busted her wide open, isn't it nasty Devon?….”
Devon cut him off swinging a punch at him, “Fuck you”
He reacted quickly moving out of the way and pushing Devon’s head down onto the bar, Holding Terra’s arm firmly, You shook your head slightly trying to warn her not to get involved. Your eyes meeting Tom’s now panicked as he stepped forward and was stopped by a few of the man’s friends.
“That’s fuckin sick...Do you like it?” The bartender jumped into action seeming to know that this would only get worse. He hit a baseball bat against the bar top in a warning. Terra brushed you off; she stood between the two trying to separate them.
“Mac You don't wanna do that son” Mac backed off instantly, Raising the bat to his shoulder the bartender continued “Just a precaution. “Let's dance” Terra said to Mac taking his hand and trying to pull him towards the empty space between the bar and the tables
Mac looked her over once before his eyes met yours still as you stood awkwardly to the side, Throwing her hand away. “Nah” He sneered “Her...She's gonna dance with me” Terra gave you a warning glare over his shoulder, ‘Just do it!’ she mouthed with wide eyes.
Gulping you nodded nervously, Mac pushed harshly through the group, grabbing your waist and dragging you backwards, Once near the tables again both his hands finding your ass he pulled your core to his, Your chest hitting him with a thump.
In a move to steady yourself you put your hands up on the top of his arms as he pushed his face into your neck, His firm arms felt incredible in your grasp.
“You feel fuckin good princess” He growled in your ear before licking a line from the base of your neck to your ear. The breath hitching in your throat. “Real fucking good, Too good for him, I’ll be takin ya for maself” You tried to push the blush in your cheeks away, His core still against yours, you could feel his arousal growing. Taking a deep shaky breath a familiar feeling stirring inside you.
The feeling should have been fear, Surely that’s what your meant to feel as a redneck asshole was groping you, rubbing against you like he owned you. But all you could feel was electricity running through your body like you were meant to be his.
Forgetting for a moment that your friends and boyfriend were staring incredulously at you both, As his teeth nipped the pulse point on your neck, your nipples hardening in response and your panties dampening for him.
Looking him over, He was the stereotypical country boy, His hair and beard a little long, The red and white flannel shirt wrapped around his waist, He was a little dirty but the way his muscles strained against the fabric of his shirt, His well defined collar bones poking out at the top. He was fucking hot, There was no way you could deny this was a real man, Not a college boy like you were used to. The dark glint in his eye threatening to turn you into putty in his hands.
His hands had now found the hem of your Jean shorts gripping harshly at your exposed flesh mouth back to your ear “Can he even fuck, Or do you want a real man to show ya” Pulling his face back his eyes fixed on yours, Your mouth dropping open breath heavy, Not able to hide the effect this man was having on you.
It was over too suddenly your boyfriend Tom had now pushed forward grabbing your arm and all but throwing you towards the door.
Mac looked amused at his reaction, “This your man?” Tom answered for you. “Yeah i am, Let’s go Y/N”
Tom pushed you towards the door, still staring warily at Mac, Mac tilted his head with that gorgeous dark look in his eye and a smirk.
“Not for long....I’ll be seeing you Y/N” It almost sounded like a threat but Why were you wishing it was a promise?
Regina had rejoined you all now standing behind her brother, Mac’s eyes glanced over her before falling back on Tom who had his chest pushed out clearly torn between fight or flight. Pushing you again you all made it to the door.
Pulling Tom’s arm gently you all made it back to the van jumping in and heading home in near silence, Just an angry tension running through the car. Looking over at Regina, You could tell something was bothering her, Regina had been your best friend since she had moved to California with her brother, You had been fast friends even going to the same college, that was how you had met Tom.
Tom was a cocky all american jock, The guy that would usually make your eyes roll with his arrogance. You were sure if he had met you a year before he did he wouldn’t have looked at you like he did now. You were well…you. It was only when you got to college that you even started to think that maybe you could be beautiful.
When you left home moving to campus and into Regina’s sorority everything about you had changed, You didn’t want to be the person you were before.
She was dead, The girl who had been overlooked and bullied. Since leaving home the bruises your abusive parents had constantly given you had faded and you were able to step away from the baggy clothes letting the girls change your wardrobe. You were taking care of yourself more, Making an effort with your appearance, determined that college would be the rebirth of you.
No one who had known you before would have recognised you now.
You hadn’t done it for the attention that you now had an abundance of, You had just wanted to feel more like you, More free. Not realising how it would have the opposite effect when all the boys started to hound you. At first you had enjoyed the attention having gone so long being ignored but now you had grown to hate it it seemed like every idiot on campus had made it his mission to take you as a trophy even some of the professors had made more than one inappropriate comment.
It had taken Tom a while to convince you to go out with him, Even enlisting Regina to wear you down until you had said yes.
When you had eventually agreed the date hadn��t been bad, Yeah you guessed he talked a lot about himself and didn’t really seem to interested in learning much about you, But to be honest it was a welcome break, You hated when people asked too many questions, There was too much in your past that you just weren't proud of. Instead you preferred to be quiet and study those around you. You had studied him intensely, He was a very good looking guy who seemed to have a good enough intellect to keep up with you in the very least, You could have done a lot worse, Also it helped that having Tom around seemed to discourage the creepers which was a definite bonus!
When he had asked you to go to Utah with the group for the summer to ride dirt bikes you had gratefully accepted. Excited to be spending the whole summer away from your fucked up family.
You had done a good job at hiding the insane mess you had come from, It was only one night when you had, had a few too many you had opened up to Regina and she opened up to you in return, You knew you couldn’t let her go back with her brothers stuck up girlfriend without you, She would need someone who understood.
Regina never seemed to really recover from the horror’s of her past, The torment always in her eyes. She had never told you who had done those unspeakable things to her, You weren’t sure she even knew herself.
Sidling over to Regina in the car. “You ok sugar?” She flinched as you pulled her from her thoughts, Grumbling something about being fine. You put your hand in hers giving it a small reassuring squeeze as you all went back to your silence.
It was only when you all got home to the house that Tom finally broke the silence. Turning on you and blocking you from entering.
“What the fuck was that about Y/N!”
Sighing you knew it was coming “I was doing what Terra told me to! We needed to calm the situation down or someone was about to get hurt!”
Your eyes meeting his you could see the jealousy in them “Looked like you needed calming down Y/N you liked that hillbilly asshole putting his hands on you eh?”
Terra shoved Tom out of the way “Leave her alone. He would have destroyed you, He would have picked his teeth with your bones you delusional little prick, He would have killed the both of you two” Glaring at Devon and Samir. Putting her hand in yours she dragged you inside “C’mon Y/N we need a drink”
After a lot of arguing you had gone to the bedroom and pretended to be sleeping when you had felt the bed sag at the side of you when Tom had come to bed. Laying awake for most of the night you let your mind wander over how you had felt pressed against his body.
He felt like a man who knew what he wanted and took it and in the haze of that moment you wanted nothing more.
The mood between you and Tom hadn’t changed in the morning, The plan for the day had been to go for a hike as a group but with tensions high between you two and then Devon and Terra the group had split.
Regina, Devon, Samir & You had gone for the hike in the canyons whilst Terra and Tom had decided to go out on the Dirt bikes.
Terra had tried to reassure you with a soft squeeze to the arm before your groups separated. During your hike everyone had stayed relatively silent only making small observations, A few miles in, Samir had to take a break, Pulling a cigarette from his pocket, While Devon ribbed him for smoking, Samir reached over putting his hand on Regina’s leg. Which caused her to freeze up before standing and mumbling that she was heading back to the van to lie down.
Regina took off before you could stop her.
“Just let her go, It’s ok she just needs to be alone” Devon murmured, Devon wandered a little behind her before stopping and watching she was still on the right track from afar. With Devon out of earshot Samir stood walking over to you, Putting his arm around your waist.
You stiffened as his grip brought you closer to him.
“Thought they’d never leave...Gives us time to get to know each other”
“Uhhh Samir, My boyfriend is your best friend….I think we know each other well enough” You gave him an alarmed look before moving away as far as you could his hand still holding your waist.
“What he doesn't know won’t hurt him….He’s told us you know….That you still haven’t put out. Figured you weren’t interested in the pretty boy” He grinned with a chuckle.
Pulling yourself completely away from him “I don’t see how that’s any of your business creep?” You quipped before yelling to Devon that you were going to explore promising you would be back soon and wouldn’t stray too far.
Watching Samir take a resigned seat back in the shade you took off glad for a few moments alone, The hairs on your neck suddenly stand up, Feeling like prey awaiting the predator’s move. Were you being watched?
When you did a quick sweep with your eyes of the area and saw no one you thought it must just be the after effects of him last night, Letting your mind dwell now on the feelings that had overtaken you last night, Immediately heating up. Looking around now more carefully and still seeing that you were alone.
Letting yourself fully explore those thoughts, Seeing a slight indent in the rock, Perfect. It wasn’t a real cave that could have dangers hidden inside but it would at least hide you if one of the group came to look for you.
You may have been a virgin but you weren’t completely innocent, Completely in tune with your own body, Never pushing too far in to keep your hymen intact for the man you would eventually give it to.
Brushing your hand down your body you let it wander into your shorts feeling the dampness spreading through your fingers, Humming contentedly as you started to work on yourself softly pressing your fingers inside slightly before bringing them to your clit spreading your fluids rolling your clit in your fingers.
Your other hand had worked inside your top finding your erect nipple easily tweaking it between your fingers. Imagining you could still feel him pressed against you, Letting out a soft moan biting down on your lip remembering that dark dangerous glare, The need in his eyes. The need for you.
“Oh Mac..” You moaned softly as your imagination ran wild.
“What the fuck did you just say cunt?” Eyes springing open and hands pulling from their previous places you came face to face with him, The man who just thought of him had turned you on so much you just had to take care of it.
Letting the blush rise in your cheeks, Looking away from him. “Shit….I’m so sorry Mac. I didn’t know you were there…” You mumbled.
He rushed forward pressing his whole body against you bouncing your hips off the harsh rock behind you, From the twang of pain still radiating through them you knew it would be bruised tomorrow but feeling him there pressed up on you, You didn’t give it a second thought.
His hand harshly pushed your head upwards to look at him, “Did’ya just say my fuckin name?”
The Dark dangerous look was in his eyes again but there was something else there too that you just couldn’t place. Nodding slightly averting your eyes from him.
“Fuuucckkk…” He groaned, Just as you opened your mouth to apologise again his mouth was on yours, His tongue not waiting for permission just pushing past your lips and exploring your mouth, Momentarily frozen in shock as you felt his teeth smashing into yours, His hand snaking down the front of your shorts groaning into your mouth as he felt your wetness.
Before you knew what you were doing you were pushing your hands into his hair moaning along with him, Your tongue dancing with his greedily. His fingers teasing your clit rubbing in harsh circles.
His lips stopped moving long enough to make a demand of you “Say it again” he growled.
His nails scratching down your length dipping into your heat.
“Oh Mnmm Mac!” You moaned arching your hips towards him, Your lips searching for his, His fingers hitting that sensitive spot inside you making you mewl for him.
“You’re playin with the devil bitch” he breathed out, Moaning at his words feeling the burn inside you grow stronger maybe that was exactly what you needed to do, Your hand reached out brushing the tent now in his overalls.
A deep angry growl rips from him as he pulls away from you, Turning and heading into a small cave to the side. “Wait-” You tried to call after him.
“Y/N? You over here?” Shit! He must have heard them, that's why he fled. Rearranging your clothes quickly and patting your hair down, It was now or never.
Coming from behind the rock face you see Devon looking for you worried.
“Hey I'm here, Sorry I had to get some shade!” You said far too huskily the arousal still in your voice.
“Yeah, Looks it? Let’s get you back, You're looking a little flustered Reggie will kill me if anything happened to ya” Following behind him back to the van you noticed how he pointedly didn’t say Tom, He probably knew there was nothing really there between the two of you.
Back at the van you felt the eyes on you again, Smirking you pulled the water from your bag you poured it over your face and chest. Reggie raised a questioning eyebrow at you once you’d finished.
Shrugging “What it’s too hot!” You snapped at her. Climbing quickly into the van before the boys noticed how your top had gone see through with the water.
As the van starts to pull away you spare a glance in the direction you felt the glare coming from, He was standing in the open now that dark look in his eyes as he watched you leave, Bringing the fingers that had been touching you so incredibly to his mouth licking them clean. His eyes fixed on yours as the van got further away.
Your mind still stuck on Mac as Reggie shook you, “Were here lets get something to eat” Nodding at her you followed into the bar ordering quickly and barely paying attention to the conversation.
“Hey are you ok?” Nodding again “Think I got a bit of sun stroke” You mumbled. Accepting this as an answer Devon paid for your dinner before heading back to the house.
The sight that met you was hilarious, That prick tom and Terra stuck on the roof of the barn with the poor dog Tom had been tormenting on their heels keeping them up there.
“Stop fucking laughing Y/N DO SOMETHING” Tom yelled at you, sighing you leant over your bag grabbing the sandwich you forgot to eat, Putting two fingers into your mouth you let out a loud whistle.
Grabbing the dogs attention instantly “C’mere baby” As he approached you warily a snarl on his mouth. Samir was behind you holding the gun. Glaring at him “You are not shooting that dog!” You growled making him put it down and his hands up in defence.
“Less of that! Sit!" You commanded clicking your fingers and pointing down. Keeping your eyes on the dog “Reggie get me the rope!” Giving the dog the sandwich and turning to Reggie taking the rope from her. The dog snarled slightly again as you slipped it around its neck.
“How the fuck did you do that?” Tom asked, As he started climbing down from the shed. Shrugging your shoulders. “Dog’s like me I guess?” As the dog finished it noticed Tom lunging back towards him. “It’s you he doesn't like” You giggled.
“C’mon sweetheart let’s take you home” You cooed at him tugging the rope enough to get his attention. Walking away ignoring the protests. Mac’s home was only a 10 minute walk away, Once away from the others you noticed the dogs attitude change significantly. Tongue lolling from its mouth playfully playing with a stick he had found on the walk.
As you approached your heart started beating harder seeing him there, Fuck he looked hot the way his overalls hung from his hips, The way his muscles moved as he kicked the dogs pen angrily.
Clearing your throat “Loose something?” Startled Mac span around “Fuck you doin here bitch!” Pointing at the dog happily sat at your feet. Giving him a scratch behind his ear. “This little cutie decided to get loose and trap my boyfriend and friend on top of a barn” You giggled.
Mac rushing to you both he ripped the rope from around the dog's neck “House, Now” he commanded pointing at the shack. Getting in your face he growled “Get the fuck outta here before you regret it bitch”
What the fuck? You thought he would at least be happy to see you. Feeling the anger surge.
“If it weren't for me” Smacking his chest “They would have shot that dog! Could at least say thank you!” Half yelling at him.
“Thank you?” He mused “I’ll show ya fuckin thank you” Lunging forward he grabbed you tight to him, Wrapping a hand in your hair pulling you towards the shack behind him.
His lips met your angrily as you crossed the threshold of the house. Your nose wrinkled as you were met with a smell that you couldn’t quite place, A mixture of rotting food, dust and sweat.
Spinning you he thrust you towards a room “Get in there cunt”
The bedroom wasn’t too bad, It was a mess sure but the smell in here was nothing like the rest of the house, There was a huge hole in the ceiling but the sheets looked clean enough. Sensing your hesitation, Mac grabbed you again, throwing you face first on the bed.
Before you had time to turn over he was on you, hands pulling your loose shorts off, Panties coming down with them, His fingers digging into your side as he went. Flipping you onto your back he moved to your shirt ripping it over your head.
“Mac what are yo-” He cut you off with a harsh backhand to the face. “Shut the fuck up, You think you can just walk around being a fucking tease and not get whats coming to ya?”
“I wasn’t” Backhanded again “Don’t fucking LIE! The water? Playin with ya damn self! You knew i was watching”
Your head was ringing from the hits, As terrified as you should be at this moment you still couldn’t find the fear, The only feeling was the burning in your loins that you hadn’t been able to quell since you had first laid eyes on him.
In the blink of an eye his overalls and boxers had both dropped to the floor leaving him in only his ratty what used to be white tank top. Gripping your knees he forced them apart pushing them down onto the bed. In one swift move he was in you, A scream breaking from your lips as he tore through your hymen as if it wasn’t even there.
As he turned your face to his you let out a whimper, your body fighting against the pain trying to adjust to his huge size.
“You were a virgin?” He asked with a shocked expression stopping his movements, Nodding weakly “Please” You begged. His hand flew to your throat.
Chuckling “Please what? Stop? i aint had a virgin in a long ass time like fuck i'm stopping!”
“Please….More” A small moan breaking through, Between the pain you were feeling from his claiming of you and the pressure around your throat, It was enough to send you spiralling around him.
He laughed fully now “Ain’t ever had a bitch ask for more before…..” His gravelly voice was sending tingles down your spine, His lips met your throat licking a small line down from your pulse to the underside of your breast, Biting down hard, Screaming again you felt as his teeth punctured hard enough to draw blood.
Finally he moved, Drawing almost fully out of you before thrusting until he bottomed out in you again. The scream turned into a strangled moan as he licked the blood from you, Biting down again on your ribs, Drawing blood there too.
When his head reared back your blood dripped down his chin, His eyes glowing with malevolence, his tongue darting out to lick the blood from his lower lip. Fuck it was hot, So fucking hot.
You were panting now at the sight in front of you. Reaching forward you grabbed his tank pulling his lips to yours. The metallic taste on his lips only spurring you on as your tongues fought each other for dominance.
Leaning back he pushed his thighs under yours lifting your hips higher impossibly pushing even deeper into you, He let go then, Thrashing in and out of you his fingers holding on so tightly to your hip bones that they would definitely at the very least be bruised if not ripped open.
“Ahh fuck Mac!” You screamed feeling the burning growing to a new height.
“Cum for me bitch” He growled his pace moving quicker, His incredible length brushing hard against that little rough patch in you. One of his hands now came down on your clit pinching it roughly before rubbing harsh circles around it.
Everything went dark as your orgasm ripped through you, Your body arching upwards as you exploded screaming his name.
He followed straight after a string of profanities falling from his mouth as he collapsed on top of you.
Your entire body was shaking, Sure you’d had orgasms in the past playing with yourself but nothing like this, Everyone said that the first time would be painful and it would suck.
Painful yes, But no one had told you how good the pain would feel.
As the dark spots in your eyesight started to clear he pushed himself from you, His hand cupping your bruised pussy. Slipping a lone finger inside he scooped some of your mixed juices onto it before thrusting it into your mouth.
Moaning around his fingers as your combined bitter tastes enveloped your senses. You felt yourself getting wet again at this. “Fuck little bitch, Yer making me love you” His voice strained eyes wide as you licked his finger clean.
Grabbing a rag to the side of him he threw it over your face. “Clean ya damn self up and get the fuck out, I got places to be”
Shocked you did as he told you but as you moved to pull your panties back on he snatched them from you, “Not these, These are mine” The gleam in his eyes was back as he brought them to his nose breathing in the scent before pushing them into the pocket of the overalls he had just pulled back on. You’d noticed when he had put them on he hadn’t bothered to clean your blood or his cum from himself.
Nodding at him you pulled your shirt and shorts back on the sense of pride you felt knowing he had a part of you with him now, Feeling like part of you was marking him as he had you with the bites.
Shit the bites! You grabbed the rag again lifting your shirt and bra and wiped the blood that was now drying from them making sure it wouldn’t seep through your shirt.
His back was to you now as you were ready to leave, Sighing you tried to touch him, The second your hand touched his shoulder he span pinning you against the nearest wall his hand pulling your hair back so you were looking into his eyes.
“You’re fucking lucky i'm letting ya live, Might just change my mind…….Now get the fuck out of here” He yelled dragging you to the door and thrusting you out of it.
After you had returned home gratefully no one had paid much attention to you once they had noticed Regina was missing, If you thought what had just happened was crazy the night was only getting worse.
Regina had to be rescued from the cave, Mac had been arrested and now Regina had come back screaming in the middle of the night insisting she had seen her old flame Harley dead outside
Rushing out after her Devon grabbed the gun from by the door. Regina led you back to the car “he's inside!” “You sure Regina?” Devon questioned looking at his sister like she was nuts “look! I saw him look!” She pushed him towards the car “at what?”
Tom looked over Devon’s shoulder, chuckling “How many of those pills did you take reg? What’s next, pink flying elephants?” Laughing harder now, “C’mon Y/N we're going to bed” Tom reaches his arm around you trying to pull you away with him making you flinch as his fingers graze the bite on your ribs.
He had turned you both around when Terra spoke up “Guys there's something in the back” As you all moved towards the back Samir opened the boot, The sheriff's body, tumbling out. There was a chorus of “oh shit! “Fucks” as you all took in the shock of finding the dead man.
“What, Dead?” Tom asked jumping backwards, hiding partially behind you, You snorted fucking pussy.
“Yeah that's one dead pink flying elephant” Samir confirmed for him.
“Shouldn't we do something for him?” Terra asked, the fear clear in her eyes.
“What do you wanna do for him? Take him inside and give him a beer? Huh? He's dead!” Tom yelled at her.
Ignoring his outburst she replied “I don't know, cover him up?” Devon lent forward grabbing the sheriff's coat from behind him and covering his face with it.
Regina brought the attention back to her now as she stood away from the group “I saw Harley in there he was in there before!”
Devon sighed “Regina don't!”
“He’s out here! whoever killed him is still out here!” She argued
Taking in her panicked expression Devon “Are you sure you saw Harley? Are you sure you didn't just see the sheriff?”
“It could have been roger rabbit it could have been anybody” Tom cut in. You gave him a swift smack around the back of his head as Devon turned around yelling “Would you shut up!”
As he turned the gun went off, Tom collapsed to the side of you screaming, Jumping into action you followed him down seeing the source of the bleeding, Good it’s only his calf it should be okay. Putting your hands on the wound trying to stem the bleeding.
The guys grabbed him, helping bring him inside while you kept the pressure on.
Once he was back in the cabin on the couch You moved back letting Samir take over. “You fucking shot me you asshole!” Tom seethed at Devon Before hissing at Samir “Careful fuck!”
“You really got me good didn't you, You trigger happy bastard” He spat turning his attention back to Devon. He tried to excuse himself “It's not my fault it went off!” “You shot my fucking leg off” Rolling your eyes at that, Yes he had just been shot but fuck was he dramatic!
Samir asked Terra to call for an ambulance, The fear in her face said it all. No phone.
Trying to keep Regina calm was an impossible feat never mind adding Tom to the mix.
As Terra tries to suggest making a plan the lights go out Sending Regina into a worse panicked state “We're all gonna die in here. I should have never come back here”
“Were all gonna die here? We’re all here because of you” Tom spat at her and grabbed your hand pulling you to him. Terra gave you a sad look “Were all in this together”
“OH fuck together!!, She’s the one who had to go to that cave! Let me fucking tell you something! Sometimes when you look in dark places Reggie, There are real fucking monsters there you understand!” You gave him a filthy look at this pulling your hand from him
“Being a fucking asshole is not gonna help, She's your fucking Cousin! The least you could do is watch your tongue!”
After a few minutes you had all come up with a plan, Devon and Regina we’re going to Mac’s house to try for a phone and Samir was taking one of the Bikes to try and get help. Leaving you, Terra and Tom in the house.
You watched as Terra got close to Tom on the couch. Snorting you grabbed the bottle of Whiskey from the side walking towards your room.
“Y/N where the fuck are you going?” Tom snarled after you.
Stopping in the doorway to your room “If we're all gonna die, Might as well be drunk!”
“We should stay together”
Laughing at him now “I thought you said ‘Fuck together’ Tom? Thought you two would want the time alone anyway. You’ve been fucking her since we’ve been together”
They both stammered trying to cut you off “Don’t even try to deny it, Honestly i don’t give a shit” You took a long pull of the whiskey and slammed the door behind you. Settling into the bed, If this was Mac he wouldn’t kill you would he?
You had been there drinking in silence for around half an hour, Hearing a noise at the open window you moved closer and let out a shriek when Devon grabbed your arm.
“Why is the fucking door locked?” He asked as he pulled himself through the window “Where is Reggie?” You countered.
“She’s at Mac’s, Blacked out, i need your help to bring her back” Making your way back into the living room you watched as Terra broke away from Tom’s side. “We need to talk Y/N” He grumbled looking between you and Devon.
“No we really don’t” Before you could say anymore you were interrupted by a scream outside. Rushing out Reggie collapsed into your arms. Pulling her in behind you, Devon pulling her away arguing in hushed voices.
As the hour ticked on, Devon and Regina whispered to each other Terra and Tom eyeing you worriedly and you drinking, Waiting for Samir or someone to come and help.
When the sound of a truck got closer. You knew exactly who it was. It was like your blood started singing, Your heart pounding in your ears, the bite on your side itching for him.
The lights from the truck flooded the cabin, Looking out you saw him even with the Mask covering his face you knew exactly who it was.
You watched as he pulled something from the bed of his truck. Shit! Scarpering backwards away from the window pushing Reggie with you who had come up behind you to see what was going on. “MOVE” You yelled at her, As the projectile smashed through the window.
Your body was still covering hers as you both turned to look at the pole which had landed only inches from where you had just been, Was he aiming for you? I guess that answers the earlier question, He would definitely kill you. Why in the hell does that still make you so fucking hot for him.
Tom yells out “what the fuck is that? A pole he threw a fucking pole at us?”
Devon leans forward noticing the cloth wrapped around something on the end. Opening it he jumps back realising it’s Samir’s head.
The bile rushing up your throat as you notice a note attached. Devon leant forward, grabbing it before moving away again. “ ‘Shouldn’t have touched what wasn't his’ What the fuck does that mean? What the fuck did he do?” Regina interrupted him. “The tunnel, Grandpa’s tunnel”
Terra’s head flashed upwards “What tunnel? Can we escape?”
Devon got up moving Regina out of the way and hooked his fingers into a grate on the floor pulling it up“It’s a tunnel my grandfather built when they raided the place during prohibition.”
Tom cut him off “It's no time for a history lesson ok! My best friend's head is sitting on the carpet” Terra helped Tom from the couch as Devon dropped into the hole in the floor. Checking it out before giving the all clear.
Tom reached his arm out to you as he approached giving you a soft look. Giving him a small smile, You weren’t really angry, You’d probably even forgive him if you all survived this, Hell you had done the same thing with Mac. If there was one thing you weren’t it was a hypocrite.
Mac. Even just thinking his name made your heart stop. You grimaced, were you crazy? He was outside trying to kill you and your friends but yet you still wanted him.
Helping tom into the hole in the floor Terra went next then Reggie then you. As you had gotten a few feet down the tunnel Reggie gasped “My necklace!” She tried to fight past you “It was my mothers! I need to get it!”
“Ok, Ok! I’ll get it! Just stay quiet!”
Crawling back to the opening you pushed upwards almost getting it when you felt a hand in the back of your hair pulling you out. “Where the fuck did you think you were going bitch?”
Mac pulled you backwards into him as you struggled to get free. You could hear Reggie crying from the Tunnel, Terra trying to calm her down when another voice mixed in with theirs.
“Oh seriously Reggie? who gives a fuck it’s only Y/N Fucking leave her ass. C’MON” Tom yelled. This stopped your fighting what the fuck? Their noises died away, They really had just left you. All the fight left fuck it if he was going to kill you he might as well get on with it.
“Go on, Kill me then!” You spat. As you spoke he let you go, Turning to him you could see the murderous gleam in his eyes.
“You think i’m going to kill you? I’ve only just started with you Y/N” He grinned “Him though….Oh I’m going to enjoy killing him” Grabbing the pole with Samir’s head still impaled on it using his foot to pull the pole free he walked down the hallway listening intently.
“Little rats think they can scurry away” He laughed before thrusting the pole through the floor, Laughing harder when he heard the screams below. Pulling it out and heading further down the hall he stabbed again twice. He noticed you watching him curiously. “What was the note about Mac?” Your voice sounded braver than you felt.
You noticed Samir’s blood still on his hands, arms and splattered across his chest, The sadist smile still on his face as he moved closer to you. Putting his hands around your back and pulling you into him. His lips at your ear.
“I saw him, Yesterday putting his hands on you, On whats fuckin mine” He lowered his lips to your neck biting down hard. An aroused groan rising through your chest. What the hell was this man doing to you. It felt like you were losing all your faculties, All that was left was him. He was all you cared about.
“C’mon time for that later” Pulled you out of the cabin he pushed you into the passenger side of his truck before getting in himself. Driving a short distance he stopped pulling you out with him. You both stayed silent still in a stupor of sorts you followed him blindly not caring what was happening as long as he was there with you.
It didn’t take long for you to stumble across a light in the distance, With the way the light was moving it had to be a fire. Putting his finger to his lips he stalked towards the fire leaving you there. No! He couldn’t just leave you here! Following after him as silently as you could you watched as he crept over the top of the rock shielding the people from view.
His hand going to his belt, You could see the fire glinting in the metal of the huge knife. Creeping closer again you heard the scream as his hand plunged over the rock into someone.
Moving around the edge you saw who. He was wildly plunging the knife in and out of Tom. Blood poured from him as Reggie screamed and ran. The scream seemed to pull you from your trance. Eyes flicking between the direction Reggie had disappeared to and Mac who was now wrists deep inside Tom’s stomach ripping at the guts inside him.
The glee on his face was evident. Looking at you “Look apparently the gutless bastard, Had them after all! My mistake” The evil chuckle was enough to make the choice for you. You'd felt the unnatural stir inside you of approval at his actions. But you couldn't give into that evil, Not now, Not when your friend needed you.
Running after Regina you desperately tried to catch up to her, You had to find her. Stumbling along you ran for what felt like hours. She was gone. The sun had come up now and you were all alone.
You couldn’t stop walking, This was a mistake. She had left you twice now. The only one who hadn’t left you was Mac, Mac you needed to find Mac! You continued on with more determination now. It wasn’t long until you heard them.
“well what do we have here? The lost pussy! did golden boy leave you all alone”
You could see them now, Mac grabbed her face pulling her to him, kissing her before throwing her to the ground. Jealousy raged within you. It should have been you he was kissing!
“I told that little bitch not to come here but you never listen”
“Don’t fucking touch me” Terra yell grabbing a log at the side of her and hitting him around the head with it. Fucking Bitch!
He stumbled for a moment before he was back on her, Throwing her back to the ground kicking her repeatedly in the stomach, Gripping her arm and pulling her back upwards pulling her tight to his chest, Just like he did to you.
Terra tried to hit him again.
“You’re making me love you just like your little friend, that day she was the only one that got it” He threw her back to the floor kicking her knees apart “That kid fucked us all”
She tried to fight him
“I’m sick of this shit! You’ll beg to die” He growled. Diving forward, Ripping her shirt from her body, She fell to the ground as Mac shrugged out of his overalls letting them hit the ground. Terra looked wild as she got back up “Your not gonna do that to me” She screamed running towards him.
You don’t know what came over you but you just couldn’t let her. Running at Terra you hit her before she got to Mac, The force of your body hitting hers sent her tumbling off the edge of the Canyon. Almost falling off with her when you felt the arms clasp around your stomach pulling you to Safety. Peaking over the edge you saw Devon holding a screaming Regina with a dead Terra at their feet.
Mac pulled on you and when you didn’t move he tried again harder pulling you almost off your feet. Looking up at him in fear. “For fuck sake” He sighed. Picking up a rock at his feet. He bashed you around the head with it. Everything went black instantly.
When you woke you could hear him pacing nearby, Whispering angrily into a small phone.
“I’ll fuckin take care of it!....Don’t I always!......Fuck sake! You clean up your other fucking sons mess next time, I ain’t cleaning up after Devon no more!” He hung the phone up, throwing it onto a well lit table next to him.
It was then he noticed you were awake. You could see the anger rolling through him in waves. Pulling at your arms you realised they were restrained above your head. Raising your eyes you saw the hook and rope binding you there. Tugging at it as hard as you could. You heard him laugh.
“Ya aint getting outta that. What you wanted to run from me again...Stupid cunt”
“Where am i?” you asked, steadying your voice as much as you could.
“In my cave...Go on scream little bitch no one will hear you!” He pounced on you sitting on your chest with that gleeful look in his eyes again. Pulling the knife from his belt still covered in Tom’s blood.
Everything was coming back to you now, Samir, Tom & Regina all dead. But what about Devon & Regina? Didn’t he just say Devon’s name?
“Where are Devon and Regina? Are they here?” He scoffed, An indignant smile on his face.
“Baby brother? He’s probably balls deep in his little plaything by now. That was the plan. I got to take all you guys out and he got to claim her. Thought you would of been a good cunt to keep around too but you just had to run” Putting the knife to your throat.
“I’m going to fuck you bloody bitch, Make you beg for me to kill you” Running the knife down from your neck to your cleavage pressing just hard enough to cut but not too deep, The bulge in his overalls becoming more pronounced as he watched the blood following the knife.
Letting out a pained gasp you met his eyes. Keeping your stare hard trying not to show the fear that had started bubbling within you. Leaving the knife propped between your breasts his hand snaked inside his overalls pulling out his impressive length. The blood from earlier dried on there now.
“Suck it clean Y/N” He pushed it to your lips, When they didn’t open he grabbed your chin hard. You felt it click with the pressure. “Open it now, Or this” He picked up the knife “will be going in there instead."
Dropping your mouth open you let him slide inside. Balling his hands in your hair you felt the knife slide across your scalp. He thrust until his full length was in your mouth choking slightly as he slipped into your throat.
You thought it would taste worse than it did considering it had been at least a day since he had taken your virginity, Yours and his juices dried and covering him.
Having never given a blow job before you were all teeth. As he pulled backwards he hissed at your teeth dragging on him. “Fucking bite me and ill bite you back bitch!”
Trying to hide your teeth behind your lips you wrapped them tighter around him sucking and running your tongue down the underside as he pulled out fully. Once only the tip remained in your mouth you sucked harder, Swirling your tongue around it, When the first drop of pre-cum landed on your tongue you moaned wildly. Struggling to push your face forward. Wanting to feel him back in your throat again.
“Fuck. Are you enjoying this? Sick bitch” Slamming back into your throat again, The moan was more intense now you could feel the muscles in your throat vibrating around him. Taking the knife and cutting your bonds.
Your arms dropped to the sides exhausted. Pulling you to your knees by your hair he stood in front of you letting the overalls drop off him completely. Not wasting any time You moved forward bracing your hands on his thighs.
Taking him fully back into his mouth now, Feeling the courage rise back in your chest you looked up into his eyes. Wrapping one hand around the base of him and started bobbing as fast as you could.
“Fffuccckkkk!” He groaned. Hands back in your hair guiding you down onto him.
It didn’t take long for his cock to start twitching. Forcing you off him he threw you back down onto the filthy stained mattress. Knife back in hand he started at the top, Pushing the knife between your breasts again facing outwards this time, He cut your shirt and bra from you before moving to your shorts shredding them too.
He laughed, Moving to the pocket in his overalls “Still missing these?” He waved your underwear in front of you, He brought them to his nose for a moment before hanging them over his cock tugging at himself with them.
Not able to stop the groan coming when you saw him bring them back to his nose. Your core tightening at the sight of him almost naked fucking your panties.
“Mac...Please…” You begged just like the first time. “Please what Y/N?” He grinned knowingly at you.
“Fuck me please Mac...I need you…” You moaned breathily.
“You want this huh?” He dropped your panties to the floor and removed his shirt.
Your eyes wide, Mouth hanging open when you got your first sight of him fully naked. “Holy fuck!”
“Nothing Holy happening in here Y/N this the devils work” He winked. Grabbing both of your feet he flipped you onto your stomach. Using your hips now he pulled your ass into the air and thrusting into you in the same movement.
A scream ripping from your throat as he stretched you wide again. He didn’t take a moment to let you get used to it like he did last time. Just pounded away.
“Look at you! You’re dripping for me you fucked up girl, And So fucking tight still. You won’t be by the time i'm fucking through with you” He growled Your walls clenched at his words. Making him hiss at the extra pressure around his cock. Smacking your ass as hard as he could. You screamed again at the initial pain, Once his hand had left you the heat from the hit turned into instant pleasure making you gush more for him. With how wet you had now become it was easier for him to jackhammer into you at incredible speeds.
“You like that do ya, Filthy whore” He smacked you again on the other side. The pain this time makes you moan. “More” You begged.
“Fuck….Always wanting more, I’ll give you more bitch” He pulled you up by your hair so your back was flush against his chest. Pulling your head to the side he bit down hard on your pulse point. You felt the blood again rolling down your chest.
Gasping you saw stars as the pressure in your heat started to unravel for him.
Moaning loudly for him, When he released you, You fell face first back into the mattress as he gripped your hips bucking harder.
“Fuck...Mac...Mmmm” Your walls started clamp again as you felt the dam inside you burst.
“That’s it Y/N Cum for this cock bitch” He wrapped one hand around your throat tight.
Screaming into the mattress. “Mac...OH FUCK MAC!” He followed straight after, Pulsing into you, your walls gripping tighter to him dragging every drop of his hot cream deep into you.
Your legs giving in now, He collapsed on top of you pushing you into the mattress. Groaning in your ear.
“Maybe i won’t kill you. You keep this up and I’ll be keeping you around Y/N” He got off you slowly.
Redressing and throwing a spare overall at you.
“Get dressed we got shit to do”
When you had pulled the zipper up he led you out and back to his van. You looked between him and the open desert.
Gripping your arm. “You run, Not just now but ever fucking run from me again. I’ll gut you just like that spineless piece of shit. Ya understand?”
Nodding “Mac...Where else would i ever want to be, Your just like me... Fucked up...I need you” Leaning over you gave him a deep kiss. Thrusting you back against the hood of the car he took you again.
You knew now what kind of evil he was now, Although you had to give it to him that he treated you a lot better than Devon treated Regina. He trusted you enough to walk around without him instead of keeping you tied to the bed, Eventually even trusting you enough to help him with work.
His thirst for blood never ceased, He always needed to kill but stopped raping when he had you at home to come back to. Even with everything he had done everything you knew he was capable of doing you fell hard for him. All of it was worth it to be Mac’s Girl
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Master List
Tag list
@jazzy1118
@one-shot-plus-size
@marvelfansworld
@phoenixblack89
@fuseburner
@angelofthorr
@pncnsc
@jodiereedus22
@delightfullykrispypeach
@honeyswritting
@daryldixonstorm
@browneyes528
@dixonsbike666
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furikakyo · 4 years ago
Text
a return to roots | 3
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pairing: kita shinsuke x f!reader
summary: y/n is a rising star in the music industry, having almost everything you could have ever hoped for as a small-town country girl. now after releasing two triple platinum albums in consecutive years, you face the dreaded artist’s burnout… in order to recover, your manager suggests, you should return to your hometown in hyōgo for a long-deserved break. 
genre: socmed/smau, slice of life 
warnings/tags: timeskip!, mutual pining, slow burn? more like rekindling, slight canon divergence
masterpost 
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You finished sending your texts to Osamu and sat back in your bed, tossing your phone aside and then pulling the covers over your head. As you tugged and curled into your blankets, your phone fell to the wooden floor of your bedroom with a heavy thunk. Cursing, you drew back the covers and reached over the edge of the bed, trying to find balance. All of the blood rushed to your face as you huffed, still attempting to rescue your phone without actually laying foot on the ground.
Once you finally recovered it, you sat back onto your bed with a heave, any sleepiness you had now gone. You stared at the ceiling, wondering what you should do that day. A hand fisted itself into the thick blankets as you tossed and turned, trying to find some comfort in your plush bed. You hadn't been able to sleep well the past couple of days, for whatever reason. Your neck hurt, your back was sore, hell, your entire body ached for some reason, restless and yet so tense at the same time.
You sat up suddenly. What was it Kuroo had said to you? You weren't sure.
"Ugh..." You buried your face into your hands, memories of last night's conversation rushing back to you; remembering how you'd started talking about Kita when you were nodding off. It had been over two years since everything between you went down. Why couldn't you stop thinking about it? You could feel the burn of embarrassment and shame behind your eyes, your throat beginning to close up. Sniffling, you opened your phone and scrolled through your contacts. Who wouldn't be busy? Your hand stilled, and your face brightened, if only for a moment. Kenma. He had a calm and comforting presence, which never failed to mellow you out. Plus, he didn’t really talk about emotions or feelings so he wouldn’t ask you about anything related to Kita, nor would you be tempted to talk about him.
You texted your bodyguard and driver, Ichiro, who agreed to pick you up from your apartment and then drive you to Kenma’s. Thanking him for coming on such a short notice and then reminding him to not text and drive, you got dressed for the day, choosing to wear your comfiest hoodie.
A few minutes later, your phone lit up again with Ichiro’s standard “here” text, and you were out the door, not forgetting to bring a hat and sunglasses with you, though. After locking the door and slipping your accessories on, you rushed into the elevator and then made your way down to the car.
The car ride itself was silent, as Ichiro seemed to have picked up on the mood you were in and decided not to comment. Although he was usually stoic, he always maintained a conversation if you initiated it, his responses albeit short. By now you knew that the brevity in which he spoke was not because of anything against you, however, but because he was naturally a quiet person. You wouldn’t have had anyone else for the job, though.
The car softly jolted you as it pulled to a stop, and you unbuckled quickly after realizing you were already at Kenma’s apartment. “Thanks!” you called out, opening the door yourself and then shutting it. You smiled and waved before Ichiro merged back into traffic, watching the car eventually disappear in the long stream of vehicles.
Feeling somewhat better, you entered the complex after buzzing in. and then made your way to Kenma’s apartment, knocking on the door and patiently waiting. There was a long pause and some shuffling behind the door before it opened a crack. Two large yellow eyes peered out into the hall, and then landed on you. The door shut and then opened without the door chain to stop it this time, and you stepped in.
“I brought my Switch,” you proudly announced, looking to the side of the corridor where Kenma was standing, a little hunched over and slouching. You held up your video game console, which was covered in skins and cute accessories you'd purchased. Some of them you'd gotten for free from Kenma though, who got sent free stuff all the time.
“Hi, Y/N,” he said, a soft smile on his face. He pulled half of his hair back with a hair tie and followed you back to where he streamed his games, settling into the chair that all of his fans could recognize by now. “We can play Minecraft, if you want. I haven't gone on our world for a while, so we could both go on.” Kenma swiveled to look at you inquisitively, waiting for an answer.
You lazily waved a hand at him. “No! Today you’re supposed to stream, right? I just crashed your place so I don’t really have a say. You should record and then if you have time after we can play,” you insisted, sitting on the bean bag behind his gamer chair. “I’ll watch or maybe work on my own world.”
Kenma thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded, setting up his microphone and monitors. “Last chance,” he mumbled, then put his headset over his ears, blocking out everything else. You watched in the background with mild interest as he went through his usual monotonous introduction, one that his fans seemed to adore despite its lack of flair. Perhaps it was exactly that what made him so endearing to the internet. Smiling, you glanced back down to your Switch, and opened up Minecraft.
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Setting your phone down for a second after replying to Atsumu, you called out lazily: "Oiiii, Kenma.” After a beat of silence and no response, you called again, "Kenmaaaa."
He had been just finished streaming, and pulled off his headphones. "Hm?"
You sat up excitedly, startling Kenma. "When I move, you should visit! Once I get settled in, at least."
He blinked, looking up at the ceiling as if calculating the pros and cons. "Too many bugs," he finally responded with a small grimace. "And it's gross and hot outside."
At that, you broke out into a laugh, the heartiest and most meaningful you’d had in a while. His particular comment wasn't even that funny, it was just- it was just so him. Was your sense of humor breaking? “Maybe I'll be able to change your mind," you mused. "We can even stream a video collab with the both of us- we should try Animal Crossing!" You clapped excitedly, beaming. "Kenma, let's do Animal Crossing once it comes out!”
He squinted his eyes, scooting away from you and your blinding enthusiasm. "Fine," he muttered, hunched over his phone now. He scrolled for a few minutes before speaking again. "Did you see that we're trending? On Twitter and YouTube." Kenma handed you his phone, stifling a small laugh into the collar of his sweatshirt as he sat back.
"I did," you snickered, laying his phone on the table and lying back on his bean bag chair. "My favorite response is the one about the Kodzuken simps," you said, wiggling your eyebrows suggestively at Kenma and then cackling when he turned completely the other way from you. "Kenma, they're devastated!" You gasped dramatically and then draped an arm over your forehead, fainting.
He rolled his eyes at you, shaking his head. "Shut up, Y/N."
After your giggles died out, you saw him offering a controller to you. "Game night!" you cheered, accepting it and sitting up straighter. "We should get takeout!"
Kenma lifted a brow, as if to say why are you even telling me this? "Already on its way.”
The two of you chatted as you played Minecraft, Kenma being a little more open when his mind was preoccupied with gaming. He was, of course, much better than you, eyes glued to the TV screen which had been hooked up to the game console. "Has Kuroo told you who's going to the Olympics?"
You shook your head, then remembered that Kenma wasn't looking your way. "No," you replied slowly, focused on getting out of the water so you could escape the mobs that were chasing you. "But a few of the boys from Inarizaki are. As for Kuroo, I think he was going to say something, but I fell asleep last night. He said something about you and an advertisement, though?"
Kenma smiled, finally breaking his gaze with the screen and looking at you. "Hinata Shōyō from MSBY is collabing with me, to promote the 2020 Olympic games."
Your eyes lit up in recognition. "That's right! Atsumu is teammates with him. I haven't talked to him one-on-one, though. He seems sweet!"
Kenma turned his attention back to the TV, where he was almost done building a house. "He played volleyball in high school too. They beat Inarizaki his first year at Nationals."
You stopped to think, your hands stilling on the controller. Your breathing slowed. In your third year, Inarizaki hadn't progressed further into Nationals, like everyone predicted. Despite being assistant manager, you hadn't thought it would be a big deal to miss their first match in the competition; assistant managers weren’t even allowed on the actual court anyways. You had all thought you were going to get further. You had thought you would get to see your boys play one last time. You had thought you would get to see Kita lead his team to Nationals, as team captain.
You had missed out on that opportunity for signing a record deal.
Beside you, Kenma noticed how quiet you'd gotten but didn't comment, instead going to the door when the buzzer notified him of their takeout delivery. You picked at a loose string on your hoodie, remembering why you didn't often go to Kenma when in distress. While you knew he cared about you and your wellbeing, you also knew that heart-to-heart conversations weren't his strong suit. When he returned a few moments later with your favorite foods, you pushed down the eruption of guilt and self-loathing with a bright smile. "Sorry, what were we saying? Something about Kuroo..." You strained to keep your eyes crinkled and happy.
Kenma's brow furrowed. "Kuroo-"
You interrupted him, and he let you. "Oh yeah! Kuroo and I are gonna hang out on Thursday! Wanna come? I'm leaving Saturday morning, so unless I see you before then, this will be the last time you see me before I leave for Hyōgo."
You watched his face run through a couple of emotions before settling on contemplation. Kenma blew a wisp of stray hair from his eyes and then begrudgingly: "Sure..."
This time, you gave him a true smile and clapped excitedly. "Yay! Should we try to get some of the others to join us? Lev? I want to be able to say goodbye to all of you in person, if possible." Then, swiping the plastic bag from Kenma, you opened the bag hurriedly and began pulling out things. "Here are the plates... and the chopsticks..." You set everything out and then let him load his plate with food first. Soon after, the two of you were back to playing Minecraft, squabbling over who got to use what equipment. After Kenma finally relented and let you have first pick, the both of you set out to fight the swarms of mobs gathered near your shared house.
"Hey, Y/N."
You had looked away for only a couple seconds, but you were blown up by a Creeper. "BITCH," you screeched, "I just fucking died?!"
Kenma snickered, running past your character and stealing everything you'd left behind. You gasped even louder. "BITCH-"
a/n: i said there weren’t going to be as many words as the last part but 🤡 also currently the fic is moving slowly and going day by day but it’ll pick up the pace soonish
taglist (pm me to ask to be added!): @papiibuprofen​ (i didn’t know if i should just respond to your ask publicly sksksk but i added you) 
some ~fun facts~
- y/n’s bodyguard/driver is named after ichiro, one of my fav baseball players
- his name in y/n’s contacts is “bonecrusher 👹” lmao 
- he is stoic but actually a softie; he’s about 30 and has a wife and one kid, both of whom he loves very much 
- i had kenma and y/n playing animal crossing instead of minecraft at first, then realized that it wouldn’t have been released yet, since this takes place in 2020... DAMN YOU TIMELINE
- do i have a map of hyōgo so i can write this fic? yes 💀
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mostly-marvel-musings · 4 years ago
Note
Hi!! If you're taking requests, would you be interested in doing a Loki x con artist! reader? I think the acting/lying/magic dynamic could be neat. No pressure of course! Thank you!!
Enchantress
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A/N: I think this is the best request I’ve gotten in a while! Thank youu anon I hope I’ve done it justice.
Not my gif! Credits to the owner.
Pairing: Loki x Reader
Warnings: none! Fluff.
Word count: 1127
Requests & Challenges
Loki/Tom H Taglist: @delightfulheartdream @what-a-flammable-heart @castiels-majestic-wings @lokis-leah
Everything Taglist: @godofplumsandthunder @ladyacrasia @agustdowney @swaggysposts @littlegasps @suchababie @another-stark-sub @supraveng @kahlanmars @disappointmentofthefam @pandaxnienke @tom-hlover @just-the-hiddles @asmigurub @avantgardium-leviosa @imerdwarf @gladiosamicitias @fanofalltheficsx @ladyburberry
Tags are open! Send me an ask or DM if you wish to be in any of these lists :))
.
“How was I supposed to know? I can’t see into the future, I’m not a witch.”
“No? Then why do you dress like one?”
An involuntary chuckle left your lips as you passed the two rather tall, bickering gentlemen. The one with raven long hair, wearing a dark suit heard it and turned his head your way, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. Before he could locate you however, the crowd provided a perfect blend for you to disappear, leaving the God to scoff before getting back to his brother.
This was the first time Loki heard a laugh that intrigued him enough to want to hear it again.
.
The second time he heard it, there were several police cars surrounding a building along with at least a dozen worried-looking people. From the looks of it, there had been a robbery as Loki picked up on some conversations floating around while he watched from an adjacent alley.
“Fools, all of them.”
There it was again, that chuckle, coupled with an alluring voice that made him turn around only to see a cloud of white smoke and then nothing but an old bin. A few seconds later, a metal scrape grabbed his attention upwards seeing a figure rapidly ascending the fire escape stairs before vanishing from sight.
It couldn’t be magic, could it? There weren’t any known sorcerers on Midgard, not that he was aware of any other than the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange. And Loki was well aware of his magic.
This was different. Once again Loki was left wondering when he’d get to put a face to that voice.
.
“Wait here, brother.”
“Why?”
“Because the people inside aren’t too pleased with your presence. I however am pretty popul...”
“Fine have it your way. That place is too cramped anyways.”
Loki huffed, shoving his hands in his pockets and trudged onto the dark and empty street, leaving Thor behind to deal with his beloved Midgardians. A rustle of leaves gained his attention as he slowed his pace to locate the source. You tripped and fell on the curb from the bushes, hands thankfully coming in front to protect your face just in time.
Loki stepped forward to help but you were already on your feet, dusting the leaves off of your coat while your hair flew in the light breeze.
“Are you alright?”
“Ugh. Fine. Thank you.”
It was that voice. The one Loki had been searching for, the one that had him wonder what the person behind it would look like. He tried to get a glimpse of your face while you brushed some dirt off your pants, when you didn’t, he tried again.
“Are you sure?”
At that moment, you looked up at him. Narrowing your eyes just a little as you tried to place that familiar face before realisation dawned.
“You’re Loki.”
“Why yes. And you are?” Loki managed a small smile, extending his hand, very unlike his usual self. His eyes taking in the beauty he saw standing before him.
You glanced back at the house you had emerged from, a silhouette pacing about the bedroom window possibly on a phone alarmed you to get the fuck outta that place.
“Can we walk?”
“Uh. Sure.”
Loki frowned but followed without asking further questions, your walk turning into a brisk jog as you searched for a secluded and safe spot.
Once you made sure you were away from prying eyes, you leaned against a fence closing your eyes for a brief moment before realising you weren’t alone.
“You were running away from something. Someone?” He asked, warily looking around before facing you, clearly intrigued by the whole situation.
“They owed me.” You spoke quietly.
“It was you the other day. At that building with all the police, wasn’t it?”
“Were you following me?”
“Not at all. I just happened to be in the same arena.”
You eyed the God of Mischief who had just got defensive, something that clearly wasn’t new to him.
It was like a thief being caught in red handed.
Smirking at the man, you reached under your coat to reveal a piece of jewellery just for a second before making it vanish. The sleight of hand impressed Loki instantly as his green eyes sparked interest even in the dim yellow light cast by the street lamps.
“You’re a sorceress.” He whispered, the glint in his eye so obvious, it made you stifle a giggle.
“We don’t have those on Earth.”
“And what of your precious Stephen Strange?”
“Who?” You frowned, not knowing who this said Strange was.
“Nevermind. A witch then?” Loki questioned, stepping closer as if to get a good look at you.
“I prefer the term con artist.”
“Why?” He prodded.
“You’re awfully curious.”
He remained silent, waiting for you to speak.
“Well if you must know, I wasn’t always like this. Those people back there, they owed me and my family. I simply took what was mine.”
Loki only nodded, the similarities between the two of you spoke volumes. He did not miss that flash of sadness and regret that reflected in your eyes as you spoke, empathy - a rare emotion for the Jotun rose in his heart.
“How?”
“Trust of the innocent is a liar’s greatest tool.”
“What about the other day in that building?”
“A simple trickery. No harm done, but you know. People are paranoid.” You whispered for emphasis, bringing a smile to his face and yours.
Staring at his tall figure, you didn’t feel he was a stranger which actually he was, somehow he seemed not all that different from you. Loki’s striking features were unmatched, those eyes hid innumerable secrets and yet they seemed understanding. His voice was smooth enough to fool the smartest of them all and yet it held compassion.
“So you’re a thief.” Loki teased, offering his hand as you went to stand up. His cold touch contrasted your warm one.
“A trickster.”
“A trickster.” He confirmed, not willing to let go of your hand just yet.
Maybe it was the unconventionality of it all, maybe it was the way you spoke, but Loki found it difficult to let you go from his sight even as he heard Thor stomping towards the alley. Turning to face him after stealing a last look at you, he smiled when that white smoke returned, knowing you had vanished.
“What was that? Who were you talking to?” Thor frowned at his brother who simply shrugged, patting him on the back before returning to the road.
Loki glanced over his shoulder even though the alley was deserted, the word ‘enchantress’ stuck on his mind as he cursed himself for not asking your name.
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writefasttalkevenfaster · 4 years ago
Text
Aaron Hotchner / August Part I
Request: Hotch and reader become unlikely friends after a broken doorknob brings them together, and maybe start to feel something a little more? (College AU) 
Word Count: 8,224
Warnings: Fluff, angst, mutual pining, mentions of Hotch’s dad and difficult home life, Haley being jealous, a kiss (*gasp*), 
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He was never yours, you thought, your fingers grasping at the pen, the same hands that had held his once. You knew that, but you let him in anyway.
Into your apartment. Into your life. Into your heart. 
And then you let him go. 
Out of your apartment. Out of your life. Out of your heart. 
You signed your name, placing it on the arrangement of fresh cut white lilies, wrapped in plastic, before handing it to the florist.
But you wouldn’t now, not again. 
~~~
A knock on your door roused you from sleep. A groan on your lips, you rolled over on your bed, kicking off what remained of your thin blanket draped over you. A cool breeze rolled over you, cutting through the thick, sticky August humidity, but it wasn’t enough to lull you back to sleep. And the sharp rapping at your door certainly didn’t help. You grumbled, stuffing the pillow over your head, hoping whoever it was would take a hint. 
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
Apparently not. 
You threw yourself up, face twisted in a scowl, as your eyes flickered to your clock: 12:17 AM. 
Yet another knock, and you pulled on a robe over your tank and shorts, draping it over your shoulders, “I’m coming,” you growled, and the fourth knock stopped short, and you tripped over nearly every piece of furniture in your sleep, throwing open the door, “what?” 
He blinks, his dark hair as black at the night behind him, several locks falling in front of his forehead, “Sorry, I, uh—” 
“Hotchner?” you tilt your head, crossing your arms, “what are you doing here?” 
And it’s his turn to be confused, “I’m sorry, do we—” 
He didn’t remember you — how lovely, an unwelcome interruption who doesn’t bother to learn your name. You tell him your name, and it still doesn’t register, “We’re in the same criminal justice class? The one we literally started last week?” One of two summer classes that you seriously believed that you conned into taking, all in the hopes that you would be able to finish up your degree a semester earlier. If you passed, you would be done next semester.
Red runs across his cheeks, “I’m sorry, I sit in the front, I—” 
You wave him off, while fanning yourself with your hand, “I don’t care honestly, just why? Why are you here?”
A flush climbs his neck, “I just moved in next door, and I got locked out of my apartment. The door handle is rusted over, and my roommate is out of town—” 
“And?” you rubbed at your brow, your manners didn’t exactly shine at 12 AM. 
“Could I stay with you? Just for tonight,” he held up his hands, “we have that midterm tomorrow in Crim, and I really—” 
“So you remember the midterm but not my name huh?” and the flush bridges over his nose and cheekbones, “I’m kidding Hotchner.” you scratch your head — on one hand, you didn’t want to let a stranger into your apartment, but at the same time, you didn’t want him to sleep outside his apartment, you sighed, “take the couch, but I’m locking my door, and I don’t want you disturbing me unless I’m somehow sleeping through the exam tomorrow.” 
“Thank you, I—” you wave him off, “I really appreciate—” 
“Just come in,” you yawn, stretching your tired muscles, still heavy with the sleep you were deprived of, but just like that, you felt your mind rouse, sleep deflating from your head in a slow leak, “ugh fuck.” 
“What’s wrong?” 
“I’m wide awake now,” if looks could kill, you were sure your criminal justice class would be investigating Hotchner’s murder, “I have a hard time falling back asleep once I’m awake.” 
He raises a brow, “I thought you were exhausted?” 
“Well tell that to my brain,” you groan, collapsing in an armchair, covering your face, “now I’m going to be up until 5 AM.” 
He glances at your kitchen, “How about I make us some tea?” you look up, lips twisted in a frown, “decaffeinated, if you have it?” 
“Third drawer from the left,” you snuggle into the chair, hoping to lull your brain into a false sense of sleep.
  His voice cuts through your haze, the familiar click of the gas burner, “Can I ask you something?” 
“At your own risk,” you mumble, utterly too comfortable. 
“How did you know who I was?” the sink knob squeaks as he turns it, the rush of water, the quiet hum of the water as it filled the cups he was undoubtedly rinsing now, “there must be at least fifty people in that class.” 
“You make a hell of an impression, Hotchner,” you sigh, shifting in your chair, wiping the sweat from the back of your neck, “the first day of class, you argued with the professor about his opinions about criminal justice reform and the necessity of it, or as he put it, the unessential nature of it. ” 
“Well, his opinion was wrong,” you laughed, eyes still very much shut, “his opinion wasn’t even based on facts, he was just dictating to us on his own notions—” 
“I know, and you made sure he knew that,” you finally opened your eyes when you heard the tea kettle whistle, “that’s why I remembered your name — the way he asked you for it, and the way you replied—” 
He poured the hot water into each freshly washed mug, “With hopefully with an equal amount of respect,” 
“A very minimal amount,” you propped your head up on your elbow, watching him bring over the mugs. 
“So an equal amount,” you take the mug from his hand, pressing it against your lips, warming your lips, chuckling, “I give respect to those who deserve it.” 
“And what does that mean for me?” and he smiles. 
He raises his mug, a wry smile on his lips, “Well considering you could kick me out at any point, I have the utmost respect.” 
You roll your eyes, hiding the smile on your lips by taking a sip, “Smart.” 
~~~
And you soon learned Hotchner was very smart — when he touted his 100% on the exam a week later, next to your measly 98%.
“You owe me two points, Hotchner,” you would say to him, walking back to your apartment building, the humidity as thick as a fog. You tugged at your oversized shirt, hanging loosely around your torso, but somehow still sticking to your sweaty body. You felt like a drowned rat who hadn’t even had the pleasure of being in the water, “I would have gotten your score if someone hadn’t woken me up in the middle of the night.” 
“Well, how about instead of talking the professor into giving you two points, how about a coffee instead?” he offers, hands in his pockets, “on me.” 
You grin, “It better be.” 
~~~
“FBI track?” you whistle lowly, sitting across from Hotchner in a coffee shop around the corner from your building, “some ambitions you got there, Hotchner.” 
“I aim high,” he takes a sip of his drink, “What? Can’t see me as an agent?” You shrug, your eyes flickering over his form, biting your lip — well he would look good in a suit and tie, wouldn’t he? And the vest— “What are you smiling about?” 
“Just imagining you as a G-man,” you admit, a grin on your lips, “let’s just say I’ll believe it when I see it.” 
“And what high aspirations do you have?” 
“Nothing too fancy,” you stir your drink, watching the liquid swirl, “law school is the plan, hopefully eventually landing at a corporate firm and then move into the nonprofit sector.” 
“You don’t seem so excited,” you shrug. 
“Not everyone has high hopes and dreams, G-man,” and he rolls his eyes, lips pressed into a purse, unconvinced, “well I would love to be a writer, but I don’t know.” 
“You don’t know?” he raises an eyebrow, “or you’re too scared to try?” 
“Cute mind games, nice try,” you sigh, eyes falling to stare at your drink again, “it’s hard to believe in yourself when you’re the only one who does, and I can barely manage it.” 
He leans back in his chair, black locks falling across his forehead, “Well, how about I pick up the slack?” 
“You don’t have to say that—” 
“I want to,” he cuts you off, and you glance up, his gaze utterly paralyzing and earnest, that you almost want to believe and maybe you do just a little — otherwise that thump against your ribcage is something else — some other feeling you are not ready to contend with. But you don’t get the chance. He breaks your gaze to glance at the clock, and curses, “I have to get home. My girlfriend is going to be calling me soon.”
Your heart twists, but you ignore it, because this was enough — this moment was enough, “Yeah, get home quick. You gotta tell that girlfriend of yours about that grade of yours. Nothing is hotter than a nerd,” 
“Speaking from experience?” you scoff, and he pauses, “can we do this again sometime? This was fun.” 
It was enough, right? 
You smile, “Of course.” 
~~~
“Fucking fuck—” you hissed the shattered glass all over the floor, and the hot liquid splattered across the wood, “Shit.” you stare at the mess, cursing, stepping over the broken glass, as you pick up the shards with a cloth napkin, grabbing the broom and dustpan from the closet. 
You sweep up the mess best you can, but now before cutting your finger on a shard, “Shit, fuck,” you wrap the cloth around the wound, digging through the drawers for a bandage. Fuck your roommate for going away for the summer, and also moving everything around while digging through the apartment for their shit. You slam the last drawer shut, no bandages, but you found a dozen condoms of varying shapes and colors — not exactly useful for treating a wound. 
So either you walk down to the corner to the store with a cloth wrapped around your finger, or you could tie this cloth around your finger while you studied. 
Well, you glanced at the door, there was a third option. 
You and Hotchner had seen quite a bit of each other over the past few weeks— June bleeding into July — studying, watching TV, grabbing bad coffee after class. He was one of the only people in three years who had made you comfortable to be yourself — to admit to things you would have never dreamed of telling, without guarantee of a memory wipe (well maybe if he joined the FBI). 
What was it about him anyway? 
He opened the door, a smile pulling at his lips, before he glanced at your hand, “What happened?” 
“Cut myself on some glass, do you have a bandage neighbor?” you glanced at the door knob, “I see the landlord finally fixed your door knob, so I won’t have any more late night visits.” 
“Come in,” he herds you in, shutting the door behind him, “give me a second, I have to find the first aid kit.” 
You grip the cloth, watching him dart around the apartment, brow furrowed, eyes narrowed in concentration — you particularly enjoyed the way his lower lip— no. No you could not do this. 
“You’d think a first aid kit would be easier to find,” you call after his disappearing back, “since ‘first’ is in the title.” 
“And where’s yours?” he asks, as he walks back into the living room, kit in hand, “I don’t think you’d be over here if you found yours.” 
“Ah, I like the company,” he raises an eyebrow, placing the kit beside you, “plus I don’t have to use my own bandages,” you watch him grab a paper napkin, running it under water, before returning. You reach for the cloth, but he brushes you off, taking your wrist, “you don’t have to—” 
“It’s fine,” his eyes remained concentrated, as he pulled the rag away from your finger, “it’s mostly stopped bleeding now, it’s not so deep.” 
“Really, Dr. Hotchner?” and you hissed a little as he cleaned the wound, red staining the nearly translucent tissue, “did you ever consider a career in medicine?” 
He clicked his tongue, his hand was so much bigger than yours, his touch gentle, sending warmth blooming up your body, “Biology puts me to sleep,” he raises his eyes, “no jokes. Plus,” he scrunches his face and pulls the napkin away, grimacing at the blood, “I don’t like blood.” 
You chuckle,  “Come on, Mr. FBI agent, won’t you have to deal with a lot of blood?” 
His lips twist in a line, “Actually seems like I may see you in law school,” 
You furrow your brow, “What do you mean?” he sighs, grabbing a bandage from the kit, peeling the backing off of it, “Hotchner—” 
“Law school is a safer option. I can still put bad guys away, I can be a prosecutor, and I won’t be at risk of getting shot—” 
“Bullshit,” you cross your arms, “it’s not what you want.” 
“It’s not always about me—” 
“This is your life,” you get up, and his shoulder sag, “we get one life, Hotchner — are you going to waste it doing what other people want?” 
“You’re one to talk,” he snaps, “you should be a writer, but you’re going to law school, just like me.” 
You know he’s right — you know you’re a hypocrite, but you don’t care, “Why did you change your mind?” 
Your question is quiet, but heavy — it hangs in the air, in the silence, and you feel as if you know the answer already, “I was talking to Haley,” and you hold your tongue, “it’s safer if I go to law school. It’ll be better when we start our life together.” 
“Hotchner—” 
“That’s not the only reason,” he swallows thickly, he slumps in his chair, “my father — he—” his voice broke. 
You shake your head, throat dry, “You don’t have to—” 
“He abused us,” he says quietly, “He worked a lot, and if it wasn’t for that, I…” he trailed off, glancing down, “but when he was around…” he scoffed, “nothing was good enough. No one could please him, not my mom or my brother. I never tried. He didn’t like that,” he ran his fingers across his face, flinching as if he can still remember the blows, “It wasn’t long after he gave me a black eye and broke my rib that he had shipped me off to boarding school. And I never looked back.” 
Your chest aches,“Aaron—” 
“I want a good job, and I want a good life,” his eyes are hard when he looks up, “ I don’t want to be the kind of husband that my wife isn’t happy to see. I don’t want to be the father who isn’t there. I want to give them everything I have, and if this is what it takes…” he shrugs, biting his lip. 
“I understand, I get it,” and he nods, taking your hand again to place the bandage over your cut, “But Aaron, one thing?” he smooths over the bandage with his finger, glancing up, “just don’t lose yourself along the way, okay?” 
Your fingers entangle with his, he squeezes your hand, “It’s a promise.” 
~~~
There’s a knock on the door, but you don’t bother to get up from your bed. Only twisting in the sheets, burying your head in the soft comfort of the pillow. And you hear the faint and familiar call of your name through the plaster thick walls and paper thin doors.
And you knew how this went. 
So you rolled out of bed, stalking over to the door, but instead of opening it, you frowned at it, rubbing at your forehead, “What?”
“Some way to greet someone who brought you today’s notes and assignment,” and you sigh, opening the door, plucking the assignment from his hands, tilting your head. 
“Thank you. Anything else?” 
He frowns, “What’s wrong?” you sigh, shaking your head. 
“You sure that you’re here to study criminal justice? Maybe you would be better off as a Psychology major,” you mutter, allowing him in, as you collapse on the couch in a huff. And you see him sit, waiting and watching, and you slump against the cushion, “what?” 
“Words are dangerous around you,” he shrugs, “I’m waiting for them not to be.” 
“I’m just having a bad day,” you cross your arms, words sharp, “have you ever had one before?” and then you crumple at the hurt that flashes across his face, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry — this is why I wanted to be left alone.” 
And he moves, sliding in beside you, grabbing the TV remote from the coffee table, “You up for something light?” and you furrow your brow, “or we could watch what I want to watch?” 
“What are you doing?” 
“You clearly don’t want to talk about it, but I’m not going to leave you alone,” he shifts next to you, gaze unverring from the now lit TV, casting the contours of his face in a low light, “so what are we watching?” 
He clicks on some medical drama, and you snatch the remote from him, hiding your smile from him, as your shoulder brushes his, “Not this.” 
~~~
Aaron doesn’t remember when he falls asleep, but he does. When he wakes up, the sun has already peaked over the horizon, the low hum of the TV rousing him from his sleep. And he stirs, before feeling a distinct weight on his shoulder, the mumble of his name near his ear, and fingers brushing his thigh. 
His eyes flutter open, and he realizes where he is. 
Shit. You both had fallen asleep. His neck aches as he turns to look at you, making him pay for the position the muscles were forced to contort to the night before. He glances at you, biting his lip. You snore softly against his shoulder, lips parted. A few strands of hair fall across your forehead. He brushes them back, tucking them into place. He should move. He should wake you. But he doesn’t. He watches you sleep a moment — you were so peaceful, unlike yesterday. 
There was a part of him that wished you would have told him what was wrong. Told him what was bothering you. Told him what was on your mind. Told him everything about you. 
But that was normal right? Friends always want to know everything about each other? And he would consider you a close friend, right? A friend, a good friend. Just a friend. 
You murmur his name again, under your breath, and he feels a small shiver run down his spine, as he shuts his eyes again, finding your hand and resting his on top. 
Just a few more minutes. 
~~~
“Hey Hotchner,” you knock at his door, clutching your binder to your chest, hearing only silence in return. “I wanted to give your notes back, and see you were free, open up,” still nothing, you knock harder, “come on. I know you don’t have class today, I really don’t want to go to that movie alone—” Your fist nearly collides with a person’s face as the door whips open, and you rear back, finding not Hotchner, but a very upset girl, “hi, uh—” 
“Who are you?” she crossed her arms across her petite frame, her blond hair tied in a loose pony, bangs hanging loose and framing her face. 
“Hi,” you say your name, plastering a weak smile on your lips — you weren’t used to this much hostility this quickly (usually at least took five minutes before someone hated you this much), “I’m Hotchner’s neighbor, we’re in the same criminal justice class. I wanted to return his notes and see if he was free—” 
“He’s not,” a saccharine smile pulls at the corners of her mouth, “He’s spending the weekend with me. I’m his girlfriend, Haley.” 
You nod, “He’s mentioned you before, it’s nice to meet you—” 
“And you,” her fake smile informs you that it very much has not been nice to meet you, as her eyes flicker to the bathroom, “Aaron’s busy, but I’ll let him know you dropped by—” and you open your mouth, holding the notes up, “I’ll take those. Thanks again. Bye!” 
The door shuts, as you stand mouth open, staring at the door. 
And that was Haley. 
~~~
You see Aaron the next Monday in class, as he slides in beside you, rubbing his eyes, hair askew, “What happened to you?” 
“Didn’t sleep very well last night,” he mumbles, pulling his book from his bag, and you frown, opening your mouth again, only to be interrupted by your professor. 
Class passes in a painfully slow haze as always, with one exception — Hotchner wasn’t taking notes. Usually each class he would be thoughtfully taking careful notes, while you scribbled every word the professor said, hoping your notes would be legible when needed later. But today, he wasn’t. Instead, he stared straight forward, his pen unmoving, lying flat against the page between his fingers, but he wasn’t looking at the professor. Not really anyway. His eyes were glazed over, his brow impossibly furrowed, expression twisted under a thick haze of anxiety and worry. Even when the professor adjourned the class for the day, he still sat, staring at the blank notebook page. 
“You planning to attend the next class? Heard that Immunology is a hot ticket,” and he jerks from his thoughts, blinking as he glances around the quickly emptying classroom. 
“Shit,” the expletive flies from his mouth, as he gathers his things, shoving them unceremoniously into his bag, following you out of the room as students for the next class begin to file into their unassigned assigned seats. 
He doesn’t say a word as you both schlep back to the apartment building, the only accompaniment the low buzz of flies, the too warm embrace of the sun, and the silence that hangs between the two of you, much like a funeral march. 
“Okay,” you said, standing in front of him, “what is going on?” 
“Nothing, I’m fine—” 
“So you don’t want the notes from today?” his mouth opens and closes, shaking his head, “Hotchner, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to — but I just want to know you’re okay.” 
“I’m having a bad day, you ever had one before?” he echoes your words, before a smile pulls at the corners of his lips, a heavy sigh following it, but your gaze is unwavering, “You really care, don’t you?” 
Your cheeks burn, ignoring the way your heart skipped a beat, helplessly exposed, scratching at your skin under his steady gaze. You hide it under rolled eyes and a coy smile, “That’s what friends do, isn’t it?” 
Friends, just friends. Because that was all you were. That was why you cared. 
And you don’t notice the corners of his lips falling or the dimmed amusement in his eyes, “Of course,” he sighs, “I’m fine, just long distance with Haley has been hard on both of us.” 
You nod, not bothering to bring up your tension injected meeting in the hallway, “I understand, it’s tough doing long distance,” 
And you see an unreadable look cross his expression, before it’s gone in a moment, and he just sighs, “Yeah.” 
~~~
Things don’t get better. 
When Haley isn’t here, Hotchner is constantly on the phone. And when she is, you could hear the faint sound of yelling through your all too thin walls, until you chose to put on headphones to drown out the noise. 
You don’t want to hear his heart breaking anymore than he wants it broken. 
He’s quiet in class, and snapping when he’s not. He comes out less. He declines your invites. He spends most of his time on the goddamn phone. 
And it stings. 
You stare at the wall you share, the apartment feeling wholly emptier than it did at the start of summer. You glare at it, a cross between huff and a sigh filling the silence for a moment. How did Hotchner weasel himself into so deeply in his life that you felt his absence? 
Three years at this school, and you had barely made a friend. It was hard in large lecture halls and even small classrooms lined with people who were nothing like you. It was harder when you often left class right after. It was difficult to connect to people, it was difficult to get beyond small talk. But it was never difficult with Hotchner. 
Not once. 
You supposed that’s what made this so difficult. And there was nothing more to it than that — right? The question lingered in the back of your mind, an unspoken thought that did not wish to be punctuated with a question mark, but nevertheless was. 
It was stupid. It was so stupid. You lay back on the couch, staring at the ceiling, pulling a cushion over your face — hoping it would be enough to drown out the “evidence” your mind presented as signs of his affection — it wasn’t. 
He stayed with you that night. Like a friend would. 
He always is looking at you, longer than necessary. You’re imagining it. 
He was so gentle when you got cut. You were hurt, he was trying to help. 
He told you about his dad and about his dreams. Again, a friend? He trusted you, but it doesn’t mean he has feelings. 
He fell asleep with you on the couch. And then went back to sleep. You paused. That was one thing you couldn’t explain. 
You were awake when he had woken up, you had felt him rouse because you had already awoken yourself, his name flying from your lips without a thought when you saw him, felt his solid presence, his head resting against yours. You panicked. So you pretended to be asleep, and you felt him awake, heard his pause, felt his touch, and then felt him settle back in beside you. 
But you didn’t know why. 
It was easy to explain things away, it was simple — but nothing was simple when it was him. Nothing was easy. 
~~~
"No I'm sure, I don't want to go to the party tonight." you waved off Alex, who still followed you instead, her arms crossed. 
“You shouldn’t be waiting for him to call,” you furrow your brow, as she jerks her head toward the wall you and Hotchner shared, “you need to move on.” 
“I’m not waiting, I’m just tired, and unlike you, I haven’t had the entire summer off, and just came back after a fabulous vacation,” you cross your arms, lips pursed, but you know that she sees right through you, “just go, Alex. I’ll come to the next one I promise.” 
She sighs dramatically, shaking her head, "I'll see you tomorrow." The door shuts behind you and you groan. 
What the fuck were you doing? 
Who were you kidding? You collapsed onto your couch, facefirst into the couch cushions. You knew what the fuck you were doing — the exact thing you promised to never do, you sighed loudly into the cushion, pulling a pillow over your head — canceling any plans in hopes a guy would call. A guy — a guy with a girlfriend who he was in love with, one who didn’t give you the time of day anymore, and one who was barely a friend now. 
But still, he wasn’t just any guy was he? He was Aaron Hotchner. 
And that was the fucking problem. 
But right now, you turned your head to glance at the clock, your main problem was that you were still conscious, and that meant it was time to go to sleep. You looked to the wall you and Hotchner shared — you weren’t going anywhere tonight, that was for sure. 
~~~
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
You groan, pulling the pillow over your ears, “This is a joke, right?” and again, you are stumbling out of bed, half asleep and half blind, eyes barely open, “who is it?” But a part of you knew the answer before you even asked. 
“It’s me,” Hotchner intoned, and you opened the door, frown on your lips dropping when you saw his face — even in the dark, you could see the tell tale sign of tear tracks on his cheeks, barely glistening in the dim light, “can I come in?” 
You step aside, shutting the door behind you, “What’s wrong?” 
“Nothing,” he shakes his head, and he catches a glimpse of your hands crossed across your chest. He scrubs a hand down his face as he slumps down on your couch, “I just...broke up with Haley.” 
The words echo in your ears, as you gape at him, blinking, “You...what?” you shake the shock from your mind. He needs you right now. He needs your support. 
You slide next to him, “I’m so sorry, Hotchner, I—” the words die on your lips, as you see him stare at the floor, his gaze blank, “hey—” He finds your gaze, his eyes glassy but somehow still so steady, and your heart stutters in your chest, “It isn’t your fault.” 
He gives a bitter chuckle, “How do you know that?” 
“Because I know you,” you tuck one leg under the other, one hanging off the end of the couch, “and I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone, much less Haley, intentionally.” 
His expression is inscrutable as his eyes fall to his lap, his teeth grazing his bottom lip, and he looks back to you, “Are you sure?” 
And the question hangs in the air — words wrapped up in meaning, tucked away behind punctuation and subtext. And he’s looking at you — a look that you can’t pin down, but it makes your heart squeeze harder in your chest and your blood turns molten in your veins. Why is he looking at you like that? And why for so long? The way his eyes linger make you want to believe — makes your foolish heart want to believe — maybe, maybe there’s something more to his question, something he’s asking you without asking you. A question within a question, that only makes your head spin and butterflies bloom in your stomach. 
“Of course I am,” a statement within a statement, tentative and as unsaid as his, but the words were on your tongue like an ice cube, rapidly melting away like your hope was that maybe — maybe this was something more. But the moment is broken when he looks away, and silence encroaches once again, strangling and consuming — you have to say something, anything to break it. More than that, you needed to do something — so you said the only thing that occurred to you, “Do you want to go to a party?” 
~~~
You were surprised. 
And you weren’t sure by what more — the fact Hotchner agreed to go to a party on a weekday or the fact he was two shots ahead of you now. 
The party was in full swing by the time you arrived. The blaring music shook the fraternity house to the screws and joists holding the building together. The kitchen had been set up as one giant alcohol station — bottles of every kind of cheap alcohol lining the counters and shelves, much of which Hotchner was helping himself to. 
He was pouring himself another shot, and another beer into a red cup, as you watched him, eyebrow raised. 
“Pace yourself,” you tell him over the music, as he downs another, no chaser, the chaser long forgotten, but Haley seemingly wasn’t by the melancholy scrawled across his face, “have you eaten a single thing tonight?” 
“Isn’t the point of college parties to drink?” his words are more than a little slurred, his usual crisp intonation down for the count, and his balance was barely existent at this point, swaying as he spoke. 
“To drink, not to leave in a body bag,” you say, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder, and to your surprise he doesn’t brush it off — no, his hand rests over it, holding it there. His eyes flutter shut, as he leans against your hand and his, “You alright there?” your cheeks burn as his eyes open again, his gaze intense and steady, and you see something you hadn’t seen before — a look that you can’t decipher. 
“Let’s go,” he says suddenly, his hand around your wrist now, dragging you through the kitchen and the throng of people in the house. 
“Where are we going?” you call over the roar of the party, but you don’t know if he even hears you, his head still turned as he weaves through the crowd, and up the stairs, until he pulls you into an empty bedroom, the door shutting behind you. Moonlight streams in from the window beside the bed, what little light illuminating his figure in the inky black between the shutters, “Hotchner, what is—” 
“I just wanted to say sorry,” he shakes his head, sitting on the bed, gaze dropped to his feet, “sorry for pushing you away. I didn’t mean to— I didn’t want to— I just—” 
“It’s okay,” you find your way to his side, the creak of the bed beside him making him look to you, “It happens. You were going through something. I’m not mad—” 
“You’re important to me,” he shakes his head again, insistently, “I shouldn’t have— I was a fucking ass, I just—” 
“Hey, I know you’re a fucking ass,” and he scoffs, “who’s the bigger fool? The person who’s an ass or the person that’s friends with him?” 
“I always knew you were a nerd, but Star Wars, really?” he grins, elbowing you, “you are full of surprises.” 
“Takes a nerd to know a nerd,” and he leans back, palms splayed against the bed, “I am a person of many facets.” 
“I know,” he whispers, finding your gaze in the dark, “And that’s what I love about you.”
You blink, your heart stuttering in your chest, “Hotchner—” 
He leans forward, his fingers cupping your cheek, his eyes flickering from your lips to your eyes and back again. He’s so close, you can see his eyelashes flutter as he stares at you half-lidded, the heat from his body radiating off of him, as his chest nearly brushes yours now, “I’ve wanted— I want to kiss you,” he murmurs, his words sending warmth blooming across your cheeks — his scent consumes you — pine, musk, and mint, your breath stolen by his words — ferreted away in the night that covers you both. 
“Please,” you whisper into the night, and when his lips brush yours, you wonder if it is real. Or a dream of your own design in the dark. But no, it’s real as the forehead that brushes yours after he parts a moment, “Aaron,” you sigh against him. 
Your lips find his again, noses brushing, and he lingers this time — more sure, but still hesitant. Just as hesitant as you are. He’s sweet on your lips, sliding against yours softly, his thumb brushing at your cheek, before your fingers knot themselves in his hair, deepening the kiss. You want more, you need more. And you hear him moan against your lips, a deep rumble that sends a shiver up and down your body. 
Then his tongue runs across your lips and you taste it — the alcohol on his lips, and you remember — Haley, the drinking, everything — it had been just to get over her. 
And your palms press against his chest, stopping him, his quiet pants still warming your lips, “I can’t do this.” 
You couldn’t be his rebound. Not after all of this. Not after what you felt for him, what you still felt for him. You didn’t want to be something he’d used to forget, something he’d want to forget. You couldn’t be his second choice. You deserved more. You wanted more. 
But you also wanted him. 
A moment passes, another, and he pulls back, “I understand,” he nods, “I’m sorry if—” 
“Don���t be sorry, you didn’t—” you cut off, “I’m sorry if I—” 
“You didn’t,” he rises slowly to his feet, rubbing at his eyes, “let’s go home?” 
The walk home was in silence, which was somehow more eruciating than the two hour of constant, deafening music you had just endured. Your head throbbed, and whether it was from the alcohol, the music, or the night — you glanced at Hotchner — that was up for debate. Your nausea burned at your throat in time with your headache hitting a crescendo —- just not at this particular moment. 
“Good night,” were the only words he managed when he dropped you at the door, stumbling into his own apartment. And you only realize as you slide into bed that you realize you didn’t explain why you couldn’t — why you couldn’t kiss him. But with your face pressed against the cool pillow, the memory of his lips on yours lingering, and the siren song of sleep, you couldn’t dwell on it. 
Your eyes fluttered shut, the sandman’s embrace too tempting. There was always tomorrow.
~~~
Or maybe there wasn’t, you realized as you stepped out of your apartment, at least, not a tomorrow that included him. After pacing for an hour, convincing yourself to talk to him — to say something about last night — after you had re-lived that kiss a dozen times, after you practiced what you were going to say to him, and after you realized he was worth the risk. 
But you weren’t to him. 
But Haley was. 
Her lips pressed against his, right where yours were last night, her bags dropped beside their feet. His arms winded easily around her waist, comfortable and familiar, pulling her somehow impossibly closer than she already was. Her fingers cupped his cheeks, evidence of tears gliding down her cheeks. He inhales her breath, as they part, murmuring things only the other can hear, until your door bangs against its frame, still helplessly open behind you. 
Their eyes snap to you, and you have to tuck away the hurt and pain quickly — quickly, your lips somehow finding itself in a small smile, even as your heart splintered to pieces in your chest. 
His mouth opens silently, eyes painfully wide a moment, while Haley greets you with a smile, your name from her mouth painful to your ears, “It’s so nice to see you again. Aaron told me he wouldn’t have been surviving class without you.” 
Painful because you can’t hate her, painful because it isn’t her fault, painful because maybe in another life you could have been friends, painful because you had to fall for her boyfriend — “Of course,” you manage to find your voice, “someone has to keep their head on straight.”
And you had to. 
“I keep mine on,” he withers under both of your gazes, “sometimes.” His eyes linger on you a moment too long, but Haley doesn’t seem to notice, instead, stepping over her bags, and pulling you aside a moment. 
“I just wanted to apologize for how I acted before,” she shakes her head, “me and Aaron have been having a hard time lately, and I think I took it out on you — but we’re okay now. I just don’t want any bad feelings between each other because I know you’re a good friend to him.” 
Friend, the word rings in your ears, “Of course,” friend, and you wonder if your ears are bleeding by now, “we’re good. Don’t worry about it.” 
You find him unable to meet your eyes, his stare fixed on Haley instead. 
Of course. 
You were just friends after all. 
~~~
You don’t see him much after that. 
And you prefer it that way. 
There was only one more class before the final, and you arrived late, slipping into the back of the lecture hall, tucked away — out of sight. 
You left before it ended, sparing one last glance at Hotchner. 
Out of mind. 
The exam rolls around soon enough, the study period relatively short for summer courses, and you find yourself packing as you finish studying. But still, your mind drifts to him in between moments of taping up boxes and trying to remember the answers you scribbled on the back of flashcards. You would have been studying with him — he would have quizzed you while you boxed up your kitchen, he would have teased you for your barely legible chicken scratch, and he would have been here. 
But he wasn’t. You folded the flaps of yet another box down, tape gun in hand, pressing it to the lip of the box. 
Out of sight, the rip of tape across cardboard, But was he out of mind? 
~~~
“You’re moving?” he catches you moving boxes out of your place, the van you rented outside, sticking his head out of his apartment, his brow furrowed. 
“I am,” you continue down with your boxes, and he moves forward to help you, but you brush by him, heading down the stairs, “I got it, thanks.” 
But he doesn’t let you go, “I thought you still had another year left—” 
“I’m finishing a semester early,” you reply, opening up the trunk again to place the two boxes in the back, “and next semester I’m studying abroad. That’s why I did summer classes.” 
“Studying abroad?” he blinks, “when—” 
“I’m going home for two weeks, and then I’m flying to Switzerland,” the thump of the boxes is loud in his silence, as you slide them into place, “that day I wasn’t doing well— It was because I had gotten rejected from the program. My financial aid hadn’t pulled through,” you pull the trunk closed again, locking it, before brushing past him and  trudging up the stairs again, “But last week, my financial aid office helped me to find a private lender. So I’m going.” 
You hear the slow clunk of his shoes following you up, as you grab another two boxes, and you finally glance at him, finding his lips in a thin line twisted in something resembling a smile, “Congratulations, I’m really happy for you.” 
“Thank you,” you nod, bite your lip — biting back the words burning on your tongue — hauling the last two boxes into your arms. You try to slip past him again, but he grabs a box from your hands. 
“At least let me help you with this,” at least let me do this if not anything else — unspoken words lingered in the air, his fingers grazing yours as he took it, hefting it with relative ease. 
“You know, I’m happy for you too,” you say when you slide the box into place, after unlocking the trunk again. His brows knit together, and it’s not from the strain of carrying your things down the stairs, “I mean it,” and his eyes meet your gaze — you see too many emotions to pull them apart — sadness, regret, worry — and a few you don’t care to pick apart. It doesn’t matter now, “for you and Haley, it’s great you worked it out. You’re good together.” 
And you know it’s true. He’s happy, lighter than he had been for weeks, but now, his shoulders seem so heavy, weights pressed upon the corners of his lips and against his brow. 
“We are,” he shakes his head, sighing, “I just wanted to say s—” 
“We’re good,” you cut him off with a small smile, and you shut the van up, locking it. You turn back to him, only to find his lips pursed, glancing between you and the van, “I’m not leaving until tomorrow morning, so this isn’t goodbye. Can’t get rid of me that easily.” 
He chuckles, “Intent on dragging this out?” 
“I’ll never make it easy for you, Hotchner,” your hands slip into your pockets, walking back up to your apartment, adding, “but you’ll always have my respect and my friendship.” 
“I know,” he says softly, over the low buzz of the hallway fluorescents, “you’ll always have mine too,” he frowns, looking at your door and his, a question on his lips. 
“I should get to bed early,” you turn to unlock your door, “I’m leaving at 7 tomorrow.” 
“Right,” he shakes his head, stepping back, before sparing one more smile, “I’ll let you get some sleep. I should too —  you don’t mind if I say goodbye tomorrow right?” 
You shake your head, “I expect it, bright and early,” and he rolls his eyes, “Good night Hotchner.” 
“Good night,” he says your name, and even as you shut the door behind you, you love the way his mouth curls around your name — achingly and annoyingly perfect. And you remember what else he could do with those lips, how your name felt whispered against your own lips — 
And you remember who those lips would be kissing for the foreseeable future — at home, at their engagement, at their wedding. You catch yourself, heart twisting unto itself, and you had almost forgotten that it was broken — for a moment. 
And you know — you know then that you can’t say goodbye to him. 
Not in person. 
Because you wanted him still, despite it all. And wanting was enough — for a time. But now wanting only hurt because you were wanting what you would never get. You wanted him — but he was never yours to begin with, was he? 
He wasn’t yours to lose — but you did. 
And he would lose you too. 
~~~
Aaron had woken up on time. 
He woke up before his alarm went off, eyes fluttering open to sunlight streaming in his bedroom window. And he tossed off his sheets, rubbing at his eyes. 
He couldn’t be sad — he was happy for you. 
You were graduating, you were moving on, you were doing something you always wanted to do. He sat up, throwing his legs over the bed, pressing his fist to his lips, elbow digging into his thigh. He only wished he was brave enough to go after what he wanted.
What he wanted, his eyes drifted to the picture of Haley on his bedside table, did he even know what he wanted?
He slips out of bed, brewing two cups of coffee — knowing you would be on the road for quite a while. He still had some time before you were leaving.
He opens his apartment door, finding your apartment door open. The landlord pokes his head out, “Hey Hotchner, that doorknob treating you well?” 
Aaron raises an eyebrow, “It’s fine, what are you doing?” 
“Just going over to see what the damage is and if I’m going to be returning that security deposit or not,” he fussed over the clipboard in his hand, pulling the pencil from behind his ear, “looks like the apartment was in relatively good shape so guess I’ll be mailing a check.” 
“Mailing?” Aaron blinks, and the landlord tilts his head. 
“How else do you suppose I give something to a tenant who has already moved out and split?” In that moment, he brushes past him, peering into your empty apartment — the only things left were those of your roommate’s, “Left about an hour ago in a rush, couldn’t even wait for me to do my walkthrough.” 
He was on time, he was early even, he stepped downstairs to only find the truck long gone. 
But he was still too late. 
Always too late. 
~~~
But always wasn’t always forever. 
“Hey, stranger,” you nestled the phone between your cheek and your shoulder, hands full with a bread dough you were currently trying to knead for its next proof, “it’s been a long time—” 
“Did you hear?” 
“Hear what, Alex?” her voice grows quiet on the phone, “what’s wrong?” 
“You know how I’ve been organizing in preparation for the reunion in a few months?” and you lick your lips, moving to wash your hands. 
“Yeah, you told me about that and said on uncertain terms could I refuse to attend, unless I’d like to risk certain bodily harm,” you shook your head, “I didn’t forget, so is that what—” 
“It’s Haley, Haley Hotchner?” 
You pause, “Yeah Hotchner’s gi— wife?” 
“She died, just a week or two ago,” her voice falters, “I just heard about it from Paul, do you remember him? He was in your poli-sci class. He’s in the FBI too. I wanted to get Aaron’s information, and he told me it probably wasn’t a good time. And I pressed him and then….” 
“Oh my god,” you rested your back to the counter, “How did she—” 
“He didn’t get into details, but it was pretty fresh it seemed like. He’s still on leave, and the funeral is soon.” 
Your hands shook, squeezing your eyes shut as your mind returned to that summer — his smile, his laugh, his touch, his care — “When is it?” 
She says your name slowly, “Why?” 
“I have to go,” you swallow the lump in your throat, “I have to go see him.” 
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imagine-darksiders · 4 years ago
Note
I hope you feel better soon! When you're feeling better would you be able to write something about jealous Strife? That ask made me curious
“Do you really have to go?”
From your seat at the vanity, you heave an exasperated sigh and set down your lipstick, swivelling around in the chair to face the Horseman who stands sulking at your bedroom door.
“Strife,” you begin patiently, “I'm afraid my answer still hasn't changed since you asked me ten minutes ago.”
“Yeah, I know. It's just -” Averting his gaze, he crosses his arms and grumbles, “I thought we were gonna hang out tonight.”
“And I told you two weeks ago that I wouldn't be around tonight.”
You can't see his expression, hidden as it is behind the silver helm he wears, but you're fairly confident in guessing that there's a pout on his lips.
“And besides,” you add, “We hang out all the time. You practically live here. Hell, you've already turned my spare bedroom into your own personal den.”
'Den' is an understatement. Your spare room is now less of a bedroom more of an Earth museum, filled from floor to ceiling with all of the things that Strife has picked up simply because they took his fancy. For the most part, it's all junk. There's an obsolete gaming console that no longer works, a skateboard, a horse figurine made of glass, no less than three Nerf guns and not a foam dart between them...
Honestly, you're loathe to tell him to get rid of any of it, though you fear you might have to soon if you don't want the mess spilling out into the rest of your house.
Giving your head an exasperated shake, you check the time on your phone and stand up, throwing your bag over a shoulder. “Listen, it's just one evening with an old friend who I haven't seen since before the apocalypse. We can hang out tomorrow, I promise. But now, I really need to dash, he'll be here to pick me up any minute.”
Pausing to stuff your phone into the pocket of your trousers, you head towards the door, hardly noticing that the Horseman is still standing in front of it with his arms folded neatly across a broad, armoured chest. It's only because you glance up right at the last second that you manage to avoid a painful collision. “Um...Strife?” you ask, halting in your tracks, “... Move?”
In response, he simply leans back against your door and begins to inspect the claws on one of his gauntlets. “Nah... I'd rather hear about this friend of yours. You've never mentioned him.” Pausing, he shoots you a sly smirk that you can sense more than see, his golden eyes flashing, “You guys close?”
With a roll of your eyes, you mimic his posture, crossing your arms and giving him a glare that would make Death proud. “Strife, what's gotten into you? I just said I'm going to be late for my friend.”
“Yeah, I get that,” he returns coolly, “Just wanna know that my friend isn't walking into a trap.”
“Oh wow – a trap? Really? Of all the-” You cut yourself off and raise a hand, massaging at your temple. “Okay. Now you're just being ridiculous. It's not a trap.”
“Why don't you let me come with you, just in case?”
“Because!” you cry, throwing your arms up, “It'll be awkward! You remember what I taught you about third-wheeling?”
He remembers it well, in fact. Just like he remembers everything you teach him, committing the moments to memories that he'll carry with him until the day he snuffs it. He only has you for less than a hundred years, after all, and he's determined to remember every last bit of it. The Universe must have thought itself pretty hilarious when it placed you in his life. Of all the creatures in all the realms, the one he ends up caring about most just so happens to be the one with the shortest lifespan. It makes him want to hunt down the Creator and shoot a hole where a heart might be.
Shoving down his contempt for the omnipotent bastard, Strife returns his attention to you and lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “I don't mind tagging along. You know, just in case I have to watch your back.”
Your response hits him harder than a crack from Fury's whip. “I don't need you to watch my back every second of every day! Stop being so paranoid.”
The Horseman is too proud and obstinate to ever let the stab of hurt show in his eyes, but he can't ignore its presence in his chest.
He is not being paranoid... He's being a good friend - watching your back, looking out for you, all the things a friend is supposed to do. Not that he's had much experience being friends with a human. Or anyone, for that matter, who isn't a horse or his siblings. It's been a learning curve for both of you, though more-so for him, and so far, the most prominent challenge he's faced is balancing the line between being a friend and being an overprotective nuisance.
It perhaps hasn't helped that, ever since humanity was resurrected, the pair of you have been nigh inseparable. He's grown used to your presence – is dependant upon in, according to Death; a fact that Strife had vehemently tried to deny, at least until he learned that you'd made plans. Plans with someone else. Plans that didn't involve him.
It was only once he'd taken some time to reflect and found that he had indeed been glued to your side for months, that he realised the awful truth.
His older brother was right, after all. The smug ass.
A shudder rolls over the Horseman's body and he blinks, realising that in the few seconds he's been lost in thought, you've managed to reach around him to push open your bedroom door.
“Hey!” he complains as you all but shove past, and he – being the soft-touch that he is – simply allows himself to be moved aside. Grumbling, he follows you across the landing and down your sweeping staircase until you reach the front door and stop beside it.
From outside, the thunderous roar of an approaching, automobile's engine thrums in his ears.
“That's him!” you chirp, and Strife hates the way your face lights up at the mention of whoever 'he' is.
Throwing open your door, you head outside and try to pull it shut behind you, yet find your efforts abruptly halted by the Horseman sticking close to your heels. He ducks through the low doorframe and moves to stand beside you, his viciously keen gaze raking over the vehicle that idles at the end of your driveway.
By his own admission, Strife has always had a weakness for those 'motor bikes' the humans like to ride, with their shiny gaskets and noisy engines. But this one – the one upon whom sits a tall, lanky human – Strife does not care for.
“Anton!” you call out, flying down the driveway, splaying your arms out wide in anticipation of a hug.
'Anton' laughs brightly and kicks down the bike's stand as he leaps from the seat, his own arms only just opening in time to receive you when you crash into him with a whoop of delight.
As soon as those long, stringy arms wrap around your shoulders, the Horseman's hackles raise like a feral beast's and the sudden presence of Anarchy begins to claw at the confines of his ribcage. For a few moments, he wrestles with himself, weighing the pros and cons of letting his most primal form take over for a while, but after envisioning the disapproving frown that's sure to adorn your face should he pull such a stunt, he bitterly shoves a reluctant Anarchy back down and settles upon prowling down the gravel drive after you, glaring hard at the stranger the entire way. Admittedly, he is a little surprised at himself for the animosity. On the whole, he's always maintained a good rapport with other humans. He likes the species, a lot. So to suddenly be filled with such a strong disliking for this particular human strikes him as odd and out of character.
Then, Anton's hands slide down to your lower back and another bout of indignant fury flares up in the Horseman's belly. After what he thinks is, quite frankly, an obscene amount of time, the stranger releases you, holding onto your shoulders and leaning back to get a better look at your face.
“God, it's good to see you, Y/n,” he drawls, eyeing you from head to toe in a way that makes the Horseman's skin crawl, “I can't believe it! You've changed so much!”
Grinning shyly up at him, you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and reply, “Hopefully for the better?”
His own smile widens. “You were always at your best, even before the apocalypse. Still, being Humanity's Hero seems to be really suiting you, huh?”
At once, your expression falls and you pull a face, extracting yourself from his grasp. “Oh god, don't call me that. I've told the media till I'm blue in the face - the Horsemen are the ones who deserve to be called heroes. Oh, speaking of whom...” You turn to face the looming presence at your side and gesture up to Strife. “I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine.”
Anton's gaze leaves you long enough to flick over towards the Horseman and you watch as he does a very comical double-take, his eyes bulging for a moment before he manages to compose himself again and lifts his hand in greeting. “Hey! You must be one of those Horseman guys. Death, right?”
Noticing that the Nephilim's hands curl suddenly into tight fists, you interject, “Uh, actually, this is Strife, Tones.”
“Tones?” He really does try to keep the disdain from his voice when he switches his burning, golden glare between you and the other human. “I thought you said his name was Anton?”
How many other friends do you have?
“It's a nickname, Strife,” you reassure him quickly, “This is Anton.”
A nickname... Of course. The Horseman's stomach twists itself into a knot and he can't stop himself from blurting out, “How come you've never given me a nickname?”
The human concept surrounding abbreviated names was a fairly easy one for him to grasp when he first learned of them. They're terms of endearment, meant to signify familiarity and friendship.
He's your friend. He's familiar. Why doesn't he have a nickname too?
"Ugh, I'm sorry. We'll brainstorm nicknames when I get back," you huff, "But the restaurant will give our table away if we don't hurry. So -"
Turning to usher Anton onto the bike, you hardly manage to take one step before a large, metal hand is sliding around your forearm and tugging you gently to a halt. Biting back a groan, you glance over your shoulder, ready to scold him, but one look at his slouched stance and averted gaze stops you in your tracks.
"Uh. Hey, Tones?" you call, never taking your eyes off the Horseman's mask, "Can you give us a sec?"
The human behind you is careful to check that Strife isn't looking when he rolls his eyes and grunts in acknowledgement before he turns and saunters over to his bike, leaning up against it and pulling out his phone.
Once Anton has turned his attention elsewhere, you raise a brow at the Horseman and wait, patient, expectant. After working his jaw for a moment or two, he finally looks at you properly and tightens his grip on your arm, not until it's painful, but enough that you understand what he's trying to convey in the gesture.
He really doesn't want you to go.
"Strife?" you prod.
Reluctantly, he lets out a rough exhale.
Although he's far better at it than his siblings, watching Strife try to openly express emotion isn't unlike watching someone pull their own teeth out with a pair of pliers. The process is slow, and it's best to sit back and listen to him rather than try to encourage him to speak. So, that's what you do, and eventually, your patience is rewarded when after another few seconds of silence, he offers a strained chuckle and says, "This guy isn't my replacement, is he? I know the bike is cool, and all, but..."
"Your replacement?" you laugh, incredulous, "Strife. I don't know how it worked with Nephilim, but for humans, having another friend doesn't cancel out any existing ones."
He knows that. He's not some whelp who never learned how to share. Frustrated with himself, the Horseman huffs and turns his head to the side, glaring hard at nothing in particular.
"Hey..." An old habit kicks in, and before you can stop yourself, you reach up to trace your fingertips along the underside of Strife's helm, tipping it back towards you and smiling at the bewildered look in his yellow eyes. Confident that he's paying proper attention, you pull your hand away again and state, "I could search the whole universe from top to bottom for the next hundred, thousand years, and I'd never find a friend who could replace you, okay? So stop worrying. Your ranking as 'my best friend' is not under threat."
"M'not worrying," he grumbles, but inside, his heart is aglow with the warmth of your words. At the back of his mind, Anarchy rumbles happily. You said best!... He's your best friend? He tries to recall you ever calling him that before. Then he realises that, no, you can't have done. He wouldn't forget a moment like that. Not in a million years. Just like he won't forget how he feels right now after hearing those two words.
Oblivious to the fate you've just sealed for yourself, you clap your hands together, bringing the conversation to what you hope is an easy conclusion. "Good. In that case, will you please let me go with Anton now?"
The Horseman's mood sours almost immediately, but at least he peels his fingers off your arm.
"Hey, kid?" he address Anton, packing his voice with all the menace and threat that he can muster, "If I find out she gets hurt on your watch, I'll introduce you to a couple'a friends of mine..." His hands fall less-than subtly to his holsters, where the silver handles of Mercy and Redemption glint in the sunlight.
Anton's face pales upon seeing the Horseman's legendary pistols.
"Stop that," you scold him, smacking the back of your hand against the armoured chest plate before turning to your other friend and calling, "Come on, Tones, let's go."
Anton all but throws himself onto his bike, kicking the stand back and jamming his keys into the ignition whilst you climb on behind him, albeit far more gracefully. The man tosses you a helmet and you shove it onto your head.
Strife's eyes remain settled upon your hands that wrap snugly around Anton's waist and it takes everything in him not to grab you, haul you off the bike, drag you back to your home and lock you inside.
“I'll be back late tonight,” you call over the roar of the engine as you begin to pull away, “There's food in the fridge if you want to eat! And my Netflix is still logged in! I'll see you later, okay!?”
Strife doesn't respond, not because he can't think of what to say, but because there would be no point. Anton has already peeled away and pushed the bike to a reckless speed. All the Horseman can do is stand there at the end of your driveway, his shoulders drooping dejectedly.
After you're nothing more than a dot on the far horizon, he tears his eyes off you and lets them fall to the tarmac near his boots.
He never notices you looking back.
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championofsanghelios · 4 years ago
Text
Linked Universe Short - The Leg
A little idea that popped into my noggin the other day. Thought it all worth an upload. -throws this at you-.
This was written by me remember, so expect the usual typos and word bugs (bzz.) - - - "...wait...WHAT!?" Legend suddenly screams across the camp, his voice filled with a mixture of surprise and something that could be horror, but it didn't seem quite genuine enough for that. "SINCE WHEN!?"
Time startles out of his daze, realising that he'd in fact dozed off whilst writing in his journal. He looks at the half-written page before him, placing his pencil in between the pages and setting it to his right.
There was no point in going to sleep right now, not until he found out what all the shouting was about. He knew Legend had his moments of temper. It came with being a teenager. But it was late, and he could already hear the bickering that would happen in the morning if he didn't address it right away.
Standing up off his cot, he rubs at the back of his neck before stepping out of his tent and looking around the campsite. Legend is standing by Warrior's lean-to, a look of wonder and amusement on his face. Thank the goddess. Time didn't have it in him to break up a fight, and deal with the fallout of it over the next few days.
"I had no idea that it was wooden!" Legend exclaims, letting out a hoot of laughter. "You're full of surprises, Wars."
"I'm pretty sure I told you at one point or another." Warrior's voice replies as Time approaches the two of them. "It's literally my first go-to story everytime I get a drink in me."
"That'll be the problem." Legend snorts, staring into the tent with a rare grin. "When you big boys get all boozy, me and Hyrule usually bail, go looking for something else to do."
"That explains the fire in Hateno last time we were there." Warriors says, looking at Time when he appears, slightly tired. "Oh nuts. Did we wake you? I'm sorry."
"No I was just wondering what the shouting was about." Time shakes his head, looking between them. "Everything okay here?"
"Did you know that Wars has a wooden leg?" Legend gestures at the other Hero. "Like a real, proper wooden one!"
"Yes." Time nods with a small chuckle. "He lost it in an explosion during the battle for Hyrule Field."
"There have been too many of those." Warriors sighs, pulling down his right trouser leg and slipping on his boots. He'd just come out of the nearby creek after washing up when Legend caught sight of him. "...they need better names for them."
"Gets straight to the point." Legend shrugs, letting out a snort to himself. "Anyway, I better get back to my lean-to. 'Rule will be wondering where his teddy bear is."
"Teddy bear?" Time asks, eyes narrowing as he walks away out of sight. "What?"
"Hyrule likes to cuddle things when he's sleeping." Warriors says, having just buttoned up his shirt. "...it's a recent development apparently."
"Oh, right." Time nods slowly, letting out a tired sigh.
"You okay?" Warriors inevitably asks, getting up out of his lean-to. "You look tired."
"Well I was actually asleep until he started hollering." Time scratches the stubble on his face. "I thought you two were fighting again."
"Ha!" Warriors covers his mouth when he let's out that laugh. "I imagine I'd loose the other leg if I was to do that again. The boy is vicious when he's mad at you."
"Oh I know..." Time nods, smiling fondly. "The day I first met him, he nearly slit my throat."
"Really?" Warriors' eyes widen a fraction. "What did you do?"
"I may have landed on top of his bunny rabbit friend when I arrived." Time explains, shaking his head when he gets strange look. "...I'd gotten water in my Ocarina, made opening portals very temperamental."
"Ravio right?"
"Yes, that's him. You've met before?"
"Oh yeah." Warriors laughs again, this time a little more quietly. "He tried to sell me a new wrist-guard for 2000 rupees. Little con merchant."
"Which is precisely why I told him to stay away from Wind if he ever visits. " Time yawns again. "Ugh...sorry, I'm keeping you awake, when we should be sleeping."
"It's okay, I was cleaning up anyway." Warriors shrugs.
"Good." Time prods him on the chin as he turns on the spot and heads back the way he came. "Make sure you shave tomorrow. You're a Hylian, not a peach."
"Coming from you Old Man...that's a bit rich."
"Goodnight, Wars."
"Yeah. Goodnight, Sprite."
. . .
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itspufflehuff · 4 years ago
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Spidey Part2 - Sebastian Stan X Holland!Reader
Summary: What will happen between you and your brothers co-star after sparks fly in your first meeting at comic-con?
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | 
MATERLIST // TAGLIST
I wasn't planing on making a part two but as requested by @star-gazing-game here it is! You can read part one here and part three here. If anyone ever has a request or suggestion my messages are always open! Thank you for choosing to read my story and I hope you enjoy!
Word Count: 4,935 (wow for a story I didn't plan on making I sure got lost in it. This is twice as long as the first story!)
~~~~
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Once comic con ended you and Sebastian went your separate ways, making sure to exchange numbers first. The both of you still had to do some promoting for your movies and unfortunately, they were in different parts of the country. He would stay in California for a bit while you went back to New York. That didn't stop you from keeping up with each other. He would randomly message you throughout the day and it would always bring a smile to your face.
Sebastian: Another interview with the diva 🙄. I mean does he really need someone to carry all those juice boxes for him?
You were currently sitting in your apartment getting ready to have dinner. You were still appearing on talk shows promoting your movie and your career, now that people were noticing you more it was the perfect opportunity for you to talk more about your usual work and gain more of a following. Tonight you would be on SNL performing a parody skit of Wicked.
Laughing you responded back.
Y/N: Ugh I know right! He thinks he's so much better than anyone like 'oh look at me I'm Spider-Man' 🙄 go get your juice box and let the adults handle this
Less than a minute later your phone rang again.
Sebastian: I can't believe people think he's the better Holland when it's obvious you are.
Y/N: Thank you! Finally, someone who sees how much better I am than him
You set your phone down leaving it unlocked waiting for Sebastian's next reply. Instead, your phone read 'Tommy' as a video call came through. Confused as to why he would be calling you before an interview, you moved your food aside and swiped to answer the call.
Before you got to greet him Tom spoke, "Why are you texting Sebastian?"
Although his question caught you off guard that didn't stop you from thinking of a quick response.
Faking disappointment you shook your head, "Oh Tommy, have you been snooping on people's phones again? Hasn't mum talked to you about that already? Does she need to have another chat with you?"
His face turned a tint of red as everyone behind him laughed. You heard a voice call out, "Someone please tell me you got that on camera." It was Mackie.
Someone called back to him, "We got it!" Again everyone burst into laughter. Obviously embarrassed Tom cleared his throat, "I'll call you back later." Quickly he hung up the phone.
No new messages came from Sebastian after that. You assumed it was because his interview was starting. So for the next few hours, you busied yourself getting ready for your show later. This would be your first time performing for SNL, you were so excited but also nervous. You couldn't keep still all day you had to walk around, clean, jump, even sing. Anything to keep yourself busy.
They asked you to show up two hours early to rehearse one last time before the show began. You and your scene partner went over the opening scene that would lead into the song. Once you got it down you two warmed up your voices finding the perfect harmony. Your skit was second up and just like on opening night for all your other shows you were nervous. Sure you've performed live in front of people more times than you can count but each time was as nerve-wracking as the first time.
You had thirty minutes left before you had to go out when you got a text on your phone. Looking down you saw his name and a smile came onto your face.
Sebastian: Good luck tonight you're gonna be great xx
You felt a bit more at ease knowing you had Sebastian cheering you on from the other side of the country. You put your phone down and headed backstage where everyone else was talking as they waited for their turn to go up.
~~~~
"And now for our next guest, Tom Holland!" Your partner introduced. That was your cue to run out on stage. You stood to the right of her smiling and waving to the crowd. When the cheering died down you looked to her still smiling, "Actually it's Y/N Holland."
"We didn't book you today." She said faking confusion looking down at her cue cards, "Look it says right here Tom Holland. TOM. Not Y/N."
"You must've written the wrong name down because I was definitely asked to come down tonight."
She let out a nervous laugh looking at the audience, "No we called and asked for the Spidey twin. You know the new Spidey, not Toby or Andrew."
"I am the new Spidey. I don't know if you heard but I kinda did this new movie and I voiced Spider-Gwen."
"Ok, but we asked for the dancing twin?"
"I can dance too. Maybe even better than my brother." I wink to the audience who cheered.
"Wait, wait, wait," She said to the audience, "but we asked for the more successful twin. Surely that must be Tom. I mean he is Spider-Man. THE Spider-Man. He's gotten the Empire and BAFTA awards for best newcomer and rising star."
"Um tell that to my three Tony Awards for best newcomer and Best Actress." You held one finger up for best newcomer and two for Best Actress. The audience went wild cheering and clapping for you.
"Oh no." Your scene partner said, cuing the music to What is this Feeling begin.
"There's been some confusion over casting here at SNL" you both sang
"But of course I'll promote for Spidey," you sang then in a speaking voice you quickly said, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse out in theaters now."
Your partner looked at you rolling her eyes, "And of course I'll rise up above it"
"For I know that's how you'd want me to respond, yes. There's been some confusion for you see, my scene-mate is," you both sang.
"Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe," you sang.
"Y/N" She deadpanned to the audience.
The both of you continued the song just as rehearsed. By the end, everyone cheered as you two marched off stage pretending not to like each other.
You stood for the rest of this show to watch the other skits they had planned out. It was so much fun, you were getting so used to being in a small room filled with the camera crew as you and the interview sat there talking. Of course, those could be fun too but this was a nice change.
At the end of the show, Tom called to tell you how amazing you did. "Watch out because I'm coming for your Tony's with some Oscars next." He threatened before hanging up. You laughed to yourself at your dorky brother. You couldn't help but notice the noise going on behind Tom throughout your phone call. He sounded like he was at a party or something. Then your phone rang again.
Sebastian: Tom has nothing on your three Tony's the only other award he'll be getting from the Oscars is biggest diva
You smiled reading his text, you were about to respond when another came through.
Sebastian: You did great tonight, I can't wait to hear you sing in person again
You felt butterflies erupt in your stomach. Of course you liked him. He was so sweet, funny, talented, and super attractive. But you two hadn't hung out since comic con or even seen each other since then. You didn't want to think too much about your relationship with him other than being friends but deep down you wanted more.
Y/N: Once I'm back on the stage I'll get you front row tickets
~~~~
Weeks had passed when you finally finished doing interviews and promos for Spider-Verse. Sebastian was finally back in New York but you two hadn't had the chance to meet up just yet. If he wasn't busy you were. Now that you had free time you decided to take advantage and take some time off of doing shows as well. Just a few more weeks then you'd go back.
That was until they called you desperate for a replacement, both the lead actress and her understudy got food poisoning and couldn't go on stage.  They needed a new Eurydice and you knew the part. You played it once before and you did amazing. Not wanting to let anyone down you agreed to cover, you were also really excited to revisit Hadestown. You loved playing Eurydice the first time so when the chance came to play her again you took it.
You immediately texted your brother excited sharing the good news. You wanted to text Sebastian but you knew he was in the middle of an interview so instead you waited for him to let you know when it was over.
His interview went on longer than expected. By the time it was over you were already down at the theater for a mic check and to get your costume fitted. When Sebastian texted you back your phone was hidden in your purse which then happened to be buried under a pile of everyone else belongings. After an hour passed he wondered why you didn't respond. Usually, you'll respond within a few minutes or before the hours passed. He didn't want to bug and keep texting so he waited for you to respond. He walked around his apartment trying to keep himself busy until he heard his phone buzz. Quickly he ran to his phone only to see it was a text from Mackie. Disappointed but not wanting to be rude he opened it up. It was a screenshot of some news article followed by the words, "This your girl?"
He opened up the photo and read to himself in a low whisper, "Actress Y/N Holland to star in Hadestown for one night only" he read further then jumped to his feet running into his room.
She's performing tonight? Why didn't she tell me?
It was already 6:30 and the show is scheduled for 8:00. That night was the fastest he ever got ready for anything. He showered, got dressed, combed his hair, and jumped in his car all within twenty minutes but he didn't care. He was going to see you tonight.
~~~~
On his way to the theater, he passed a man and woman selling flowers on the side of the street. Quickly he pulled over running over to them. They had a variety of flowers ready to be made into bouquets, the only problem was he wasn't sure which ones to get. He had never asked before what your favorite flowers were and he was not about to ask your brother so he did the next best thing, he googled it.
~~~~
At the end of the show, you were full of adrenaline. The crowd cheered as they stood for you and the cast. You had worked with some of the ensemble cast before on other shows so they came up to give you hugs before you all bowed and the curtain dropped.
You almost forgot how amazing and fun it was to be on stage. You walked back to your dressing room ready to change back into your clothes and go home. Your bag was thrown in the corner forgotten about but the moment you sat down a thought came into your head.
I haven't texted Sebastian back all day.
You ran to your bag digging through it to find your phone. It seemed to be lost somewhere in there and you were losing patience so you flipped your purse over dropping everything onto the floor. Finally finding your phone you walked over to your chair, opened up your messages, and went to Sebastian's name.
Y/N: Hey I sorta got busy... I'll tell you more about it when you've got time
You sighed slouching down in your chair, closing your eyes, and throwing your head back. You knew he was very understanding and wouldn't be upset with you for leaving him without saying a word but still, you felt bad. A few minutes passed when you heard knocking on your door. You sat back up before calling out, "Come in."
"I have time now if you want to talk." You heard a husky voice say from your door. You turned in shock seeing Sebastian standing there in a casual blue suit with flowers in his hand. You got up from your seat and started walking over to him as he walked closer to you, "Sebastian what're you doing here?"
"Well, when I heard you would be performing tonight I couldn't miss this show. I also got you these so I couldn't let you leave without them."
"Thank you, they're beautiful. How did you know these were my favorite?" You asked jokingly. You honestly thought it was just a coincidence that the flowers he got were your favorites.
He rubbed the back of his neck as a blush rose onto his cheeks, "I may have googled what your favorite flowers are."
You couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sorry I didn't mean for that to come out. It's just- you googled me?"
"Yes, I googled you!" He was laughing now too.
"I can't believe you googled me." You were smiling at him now. He was so much taller without your heels on. You took a step back, crossing your arms feeling a bit insecure.
"Well, I was hoping I could take you out tonight. Finally, get to hang out again now that we're here together."
"Yeah, of course, let me get changed really quickly then we can do."
He nodded walking out of the room allowing you to dress in peace. You ran around grabbing your clothes and throwing everything back into your purse. It wasn't too long until you opened the door with your purse and flowers in hand, "So what did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking maybe we can go back to my apartment. I'm sure you're tired and well were not exactly dressed for the same event." He looked down at your sweatpants and t-shirt.
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
~~~~
You followed behind him in your car to his house. You were slightly nervous since this would be the first time you both properly hang out together, alone, and in his house.
When you both got there he met you at your car opening the door for you and offering his hand, "My lady." You giggled at his antics but still took his hand, "Thank you, kind sir." He walked you up to his apartment while your arm was wrapped around his.
Once you were both in his apartment he looked down at his attire, "I am going to change real quick. While I'm gone feel free to make yourself at home. If you need to use the bathroom it's just through that door right there." He walked off to his room leaving you there alone. You put your bag down on the couch taking your phone out to see a text from Tom.
Tommy: How was your show? I'm sure you did great as always! That's how we Hollands do like to do it anyway
Y/N: The show was amazing! I had so much fun I missed performing but I'm still taking a few weeks off before I jump back into it again
You got another text when Sebastian came out of his room now wearing sweatpants of his own and a band shirt. "I don't have anything w can really eat right now so we can order food if you're hungry?"
"That sounds great. I'm fine with eating anything, honestly."
"Awesome, I know this great Chinese restaurant not too far from here we can order from."
You two spent the rest of the night eating and talking. You started off just sitting on his couch but as the night went on you got more comfortable switching positions. You would lay with your back on the arm of the couch, your legs dangling over the arm of the couch, then you moved so your head was hanging over the edge of the couch until you both somehow ended up laying on the floor talking.
Sebastian's head was right next to yours but your bodies were going opposite of each other. He grabbed some pillows from the couch keeping one for himself and giving you the other.
"What happened to you giving me front row seats once you were back on stage, huh?" Sebastian joked.
You propped your arm up on the pillow and rested your head on your hand facing him, "I wasn't planning on going back so soon. They needed me and I couldn't let them down! Plus you were in the middle of something I couldn't interrupt."
He did the same as you resting his head on his arm turning to you, "Excuses, excuses. You could've left a message or something! I would've dropped whatever I was doing just to see you."
You blushed looking away from him but he put a hand on your cheek turning your head back to him. His hand lingered as his thumb drew circles on your cheek, "Have I told you I love hearing you sing?"
"Maybe once or twice." You answered nervously.
"Well, then I'll just keep telling you." You looked into each other's eyes while his hand was still resting on your cheek. You thought for sure he would lean in for a kiss but he didn't. Instead, he cleared his throat and moved his hand. He looked up at the time before letting out a whoa, "It's already two in the morning! You should really get home and get some rest."
You were a bit confused. It felt like you two were having a moment and now he's rushing you home? Sure he makes a good point it is getting late and you're tired but what the hell?
"I suppose you're right." You laid back down on the floor not wanting to get up but Sebastian was standing next to you holding his hand out for you to take. He lifted you off the floor, "Come on I'll walk you to your car."
The walk to your car was quiet, neither of you really knew what to say. When it was time to go he gave you a hug which lingered. You were grateful it did. You didn't want to let him go he smelled like old spice and his body felt warm pressed up against yours. His head rested on top of yours as he rubbed your back with one hand. "Let me know when you're home, ok?" He pulled away holding onto your shoulders until you nodded.
~~~~
Sebastian laid awake in bed waiting to know you were home safe. He could've kissed you tonight. He wanted to kiss you but the gentleman in him wouldn't allow it. From the moment you two met he knew he wanted to take you out but you being Tom's sister he didn't want to do it behind his back either.
In the morning he set his plan into motion. The first call he made was to Tom.
It didn't take long for him to answer, "Hey mate, what's up?"
Sebastian felt nervous. What if Tom said no? What if this ruined their friendship, but he had to try. "Hey, Tom I was just calling to ask something."
"Shot."
"Well, I was hoping it would be alright if I take Y/N out on a date tonight?" He let out slowly. His palms were sweating and his heart was beating fast.
"What?" Tom didn't know what to say. Of course he thought Sebastian was a really great guy but you were his little sister. Did he really want to let you go out with him?
"I would like to take Y/N out on a date, but with your permission of course. I know how close you two are and I don't want you to feel like we're sneaking around behind your back. If you say no I totally understand and I'll keep everything as just friends."
If he were being honest Tom was impressed with the way Sebastian came to him before asking you out. He thought it was nice of his friend to come clean to him instead of asking you out without letting him know, which was something that happened before. "You know what man? Go for it."
"Are you serious?" Sebastian was stunned.
"Yeah! I know we joke around a lot about you and Mackie not liking me but you really are a great friend. Plus I saw how well you two got along during Comic-Con. I know you'll do what's right and make her happy."
Sebastian was over the moon happy. As soon as he hung up the phone his second call was to you.
~~~~
"Tonight at 5:00? That sounds great!"
"Ok, I'll pick you up then." As soon as he hung up the phone you shouted into your pillow with excitement. You knew you had a moment together last night! You just thought maybe it was your crush clouding your judgment but now you two have a date for tonight!
You jumped off your bed and went straight into your closet.
What am I going to wear tonight?
You rummaged through your wardrobe for an hour trying everything on. He said you would be going out to dinner then he would take you out for a movie. Cliche but you didn't care, you were going out with Sebastian Stan! After another two hours retrying everything on and pairing them with shoes. He mentioned the restaurant you would be outdoors so with that information you settled on wearing a maroon corduroy dress with a white long sleeve underneath and some black tights underneath. As for the shoes you went with black boots that had a heel to them.
It felt like time slowed down as if it knew how excited you were for your date. At 3:30 you started getting ready, first taking a shower then quickly putting on your outfit and shoes. Seeing as how you always had to wear so much makeup on stage you hardly liked to wear any off. You only put on a bit of concealer to hide the bags under your eyes, some eye shadow, and lipstick. Once you were satisfied with your look you started on your hair. Not wanting to do too much to it you lightly curled it and pinned it to the sides. As soon as you finished getting ready you heard a buzz coming from your intercom, "Hi Miss. Holland there is a Mr. Sebastian Stan here for ya."
Excited you hurried across the room to buzz back, "Let him up. Thank you, Jerry!" Within minutes you heard a knock on your door. You had set your purse next to the door earlier so you wouldn't have to worry about grabbing it o your way out. When you opened the door you were met with a shy-looking Sebastian once again wearing a casual suit although this time it was a plaid grey. He had one single flower in his hand and a dopey grin on his face.
"Hi, you look beautiful. Well, you always look beautiful but I never mention it so I am now."
You laughed at his stammering, "Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself. I mean you never look bad but I never mention it so I am now." You said coolly mocking him.
He noticed this and laughed looking down, "Thank you. I- umm- I brought you this. Just another one to add to your bouquet." He handed you another flower, the same as the ones from last night. You took it from him happily, "You're so sweet. I'll add it to the bunch right now." You began walking back into your apartment until you realized you were leaving Sebastian standing outside of your apartment door. You turned back around opening the door up for him, "Please come in while I put this away." So he did. He stepped into your apartment but remained by the door. He looked around at the setup and decor. "Wow, you really weren't kidding about those three Tony awards were you?" He asked impressed. You turned back with a chuckle, "I don't have to lie to sound cooler than my brother." "You got that right." He mumbled to himself with a smile.
~~~~
The restaurant he chose was on a rooftop overlooking the city. The view was beautiful and even though there was a rough over your heads it was clear allowing you to see the sky above and the sides were left open so a breeze could pass through. There were strings of light running through the top to illuminate the tables as well as a small jar filled with fairy lights.
Dinner went by smoothly. As you ate you both talked about your lives and the places you've been.
"Greece is amazing! It's my favorite place to go when I need to get away for a while." Sebastian gushed.
"You've been to Greece?! Oh my, I've always wanted to visit but haven't had the chance to go yet."
"You haven't been to Greece?!" He looked at you like you just kicked his puppy. "Well, I will just have to take you someday then." He took a sip of his drink and wiggled his eyebrows at you.
"You said it so you have to take me now!"
"I will." He said with both seriousness and playfulness.
"Promise?" You raised an eyebrow as you held your pinky out.
He rolled his eyes but chuckled taking your pinky with his, "Promise."
~~~~
After dinner, he drove you across the river into Brooklyn. You looked to him confused, "I thought we were just watching a movie?"
He smiled keeping his eyes on the road, "We are."
"Then we do we have to go to Brooklyn?"
"You'll see."
Once you saw it your jaw dropped. The car made sense now. Instead of his Tesla from the other night, he was now driving an SUV. You were confused when you saw it at first but didn't think much into it. Now he was driving you into the Skyline Theater and you understood why he brought his SUV.
"It's a drive-in theater?"
"Yup, check the back seats."
Behind you were blankets, pillows, and snacks that you for some reason didn't see before. He pulled into a parking space with the back of the car facing the big screen, "Wait here." He got out of the car, opened up the back, and started putting the back seats down. Carefully he laid the blankets and pillows for you two. Once he finished he looked up to you, "Now for some popcorn, Ill be right back. Want anything to drink?"
"Just water and a bottle of soda."
"Got it." He flashed you a charming smile before closing the back and walking off.  You sat there smiling to yourself like an idiot. You haven't felt this happy in so long, it was a different type of happiness. He came back quicker than you expected with drinks and a big tub of popcorn. Seeing as he still had the keys he opened the back once again to lay out the snacks. "Come on." He nodded his head over motioning for you to join him.
You sat in the back letting your legs dangle over the side of the car, "So what movie are we seeing tonight?"
"Honestly I don't even know" He laughed looking at you.
"You don't know?" You laughed along.
"Uh-uh. It could be a kid's movie, an adult movie, or it could even be one of my movies. I don't know. I just thought it would be romantic to bring you out here for a movie."
"That is sweet but also unbelievable." You laughed but hoped the movie would be something appropriate. Luckily once the movie began it turned out to be Just Go With It.
Sebastian pushed himself back allowing him to lay down, before he did though he took his shoes off and tossed them to the front. You followed along. As the movie went on you two slowly inched closer to each other. First, it started out with him putting his hand on top of yours then he slowly put his arms around your shoulder. You leaned into him resting your head on his chest. Although neither of you could see each other's faces you both smiled at the close contact. You would feed each other snacks and when he tried tossing popcorn into his mouth and failed you both had a contest to see who could do it first, of course, you won.
By the end of the night, Sebastian took you back to your apartment walking you to your door. With your door open you leaned on the frame and looked over to him, "I had a great night Sebastian, thank you." You placed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning to walk into your apartment. He grabbed your hand before you could go. You turned to face him slightly tilting your head you scrunched your eyebrows. He walked closer to you grabbing both sides of your face, "Can I kiss you?" Unable to speak you nodded your head. You felt like your stomach was in your throat.
He leaned down closer to your face, slowly closed his eyes, and placed a soft kiss on your lips. You thought your legs would turn to jelly but luckily they stood strong. You kissed him back wishing it would never have to end.
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salmonskinrolltf · 4 years ago
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Nerdflix - Phase 1
Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3
I knew I was causing a scene in the dorm hallway, dressed in nothing but a pair of skimpy shirt shorts and my messenger bag. But what can I say! I was feeling a bit overheated from wrestling practice. And maybe I wanted to overheat a few guys and gals on my dorm floor while I was at it.
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The lock beeped when I slid my student ID into the slot, and I dropped my messenger bag on the floor with a grunt. I heard a startled Yelp from the couch. Ugh. My roommate. He’s nice enough but he’s SUCH a nerd.
“Hey Manny.” I grunted.
“How many times do I have to remind you, Teddy? It’s Immanuel.” In a huff, Immanuel pushed up his glasses, which immediately slid back down his nose again. I noticed he was wearing a dorky denim jacket with a thick lining. What a weirdo, it was like 72 degrees in here. Well I guess that’s what life is like when you’ve got absolutely no meat on your bones.
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“Bro, take it easy. Your name doesn’t just roll off the tongue.”
“It would if you actually attended your Spanish class instead of playing games all the time,” he said snippily.
“In wrestling, it’s called a match, dude. Not a game. Maybe you’d know that if you unstuck your nose from a textbook every once in a while.”
“That’s not fair! I have fun!”
“I’m sure streaming sci-fi shows and going to comic conventions counts as fun for someone, but not for me. You’d have to drag me kicking and screaming to one of your all-day binge watches.” I strutted off to my bedroom door, confident that the little pipsqueak had had enough.
As I shut the door, I could have sworn I heard him mutter under his breath, “oh no, I won’t have to drag you at all...”
————————————
The next morning I was just sitting down to my morning protein shake when I heard an entrancing melody coming from the TV. I glanced over and saw Immanuel rummaging through his knapsack to find his glasses cleaner while one of his infinite dorky sci-fi shows began. The logo blaring across the screen said “Nerdflix.” Huh. Never heard of that one before. Must be some new streaming service.
After the logo faded away, the screen flashed bright white, dazzling my corneas. As I blinked away the spots and my vision began to unblur, the entrancing melody began again as the show’s title sequence rolled through images of spaceships darting across inky black voids, daring heroes fighting bug-eyed monsters, and sexy ladies in green paint swooning beside them. It looked exactly like every other show the nerdlinger had ever binged during our time as roommates, but something about this one compelled me to keep watching. Must have been the babes. The title card read “Startales.”
I shrugged and opened Instagram on my phone.
Immanuel sat down with his bowl of Wheaties and watched Captain Tiberius con his way onto the astro-frigate of a band of pirates, hack into the mainframe, and deliver cybercredits in equal amounts to the poor families all throughout the horsehead nebula. I gasped when he nearly had his head torn off by a ravenous bat-beast, and it wasn’t until the credits rolled that I realized I had sat through the entire episode, not scrolling through my phone once.
I scratched my bulging chest, jaw agape in astonishment. “Manny, dude, that show was actually pretty cool. Mind if I watch along with you next time?”
Immanuel grinned. “Sorry Teddy, no can do. I’m actually starting a big project this week. But you can go ahead and use my account if you’re really interested. That was the first episode so you literally haven’t missed anything.”
I smiled, too broadly I thought. What had gotten into me? “You know what, I think I might! Thanks!”
After Manny left for class, I couldn’t help but wonder... was Captain Tiberius going to give the rose quartz sword to the king, or keep it for himself? I glanced at my phone’s clock. 7:45AM. I wanted to hit the gym at 9 before my 10AM Spanish class, so that left me time for at least one more episode... I glanced down at the remote. Ah, what the hell!
Tiberius had just swapped chalices with the space witch trying to poison him when I glanced down at my phone again. Shit! 9:45?! How had I sat through two and a half episodes without even noticing?
So much for my morning pump, but at least if I rushed I could make it to class on time.
I burst through the door of my Spanish classroom at 10:01, red-faced and out of breath. So much for not being late. I guess my internal timing was off. Missing a morning pump can do that to a guy. I adjusted the strap of my stringer tank, which had fallen over my left shoulder, and made a move toward my normal seat in the back row. Only... now there was somebody sitting in it. Professor Alvaro shot me an impatient look and I was forced to take the only remaining seat, all the way in the front. I wasn't used to having the professor so close to me, so I had to pretend to take diligent notes, all the while wondering whether Tiberius would end up choosing to marry the space princess Athena or his childhood best friend Xendra, the farmgirl with the heart of gold.
This did not end up working out in my favor when the pop quiz was passed around, and I got a big fat whopping D. Maybe Immanuel was right. I should spend a little more time studying if I want to keep that athletic scholarship. It hurt me to delay Startales any longer than I had to, but I promised myself that between my last class and my wrestling meet tonight, I would study Spanish like there was no tomorrow. Then after wrestling, I could return to the welcoming arms of Captain Tiberius.
Back at the dorm, when I was making flash cards for common verbs and adjectives, Immanuel came in with a huge duffel bag under his arm. He chuckled knowingly at my feverish scribbling on the notecards. "I never thought I'd see the day."
"Watch it! I might actually be doing homework like a nerd, but I can still take you down, Manny!"
"Maybe. Maybe not..." with a mysterious grin, he vanished into his bedroom. Weirdo.
That night was the final wrestling meet of the season, and everyone was counting on me to perform.
What a time for me to get the yips, right? Again and again I ended up on my back, slammed against the mat. I couldn't quite maneuver my body like I knew I could. I just felt... weak. And small. Sure, I still cut a striking figure in my singlet, but I couldn't help like I used to be MORE striking. And didn't I used to have a tattoo? No, that's ridiculous. Tattoos don't just disappear. This isn't the holodeck on the starship Experian. 
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After being used to mop the floor, I just wanted to run home and hide under a blanket on the couch, but my buddy Rico clapped an arm over my shoulder and insisted I grab a post-match smoothie with him. When we sat at the table clutching our drinks (I ordered a small, my appetite just wasn't feeling it that night), he shot me a concerned glance.
"What's with you today, man? Girl problems?"
I sighed. "I wish it were that simple. Just a bad day, I guess."
"Well, even the golden boy has to have a bad day sometimes, right? Oh hey, what did you decide you're doing next season? Soccer with your cool friend Rico or baseball with a bunch of losers who don't deserve you?"
I clapped a hand on my forehead. "Oh shit, I totally forgot to even THINK about that. My mind's been stuck on Athena vs. Xendra, not soccer vs. baseball."
"Umm... what?"
"Nevermind. When's the deadline again?"
"Tomorrow, dude."
"Well, I guess we'll both know what I decide by then, right?"
"...right."
"Well... Gotta jet."
I darted out of the shop. Hmmm, not my best social interaction of all time. A weird capper at the end of a weird day. Time to self-medicate by returning at long last to Startales! I practically ran the last few steps to my dorm, hopping on the couch and pressing play.
Three episodes later, I could hear Immanuel's cardkey pinging the lock. I turned to him, smiling warmly. "Dude! I can't thank you enough for letting me use your login! This show is the shit!"
He smiled and stuck his tongue out. "Sick! I'm so glad you're digging it, dude! I knew you would!"
My brow furrowed at that outburst. "Dude? Sick? I don't think I've ever heard you say words that have entries on Urban Dictionary."
“There's a first time for everything, brah." Immanuel grinned a cocky grin and stuck his tongue out. This cheeky mood was doing wonders for him. His skin seemed a little clearer and... were those new glasses? They actually looked kinda cute. Actually, this was a whole new 'fit, as far as I could tell. Still buttoned up and dorky, but actually tailored and showing off a lean figure that had more sinewy strength than I'd have imagined.
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I watched in awe as he sauntered over into his room. Well, I guess people really can change. If he keeps this up, I might have to check for signs of Altruvian brainworm possession, like the one that almost killed Lt. Dirgle on Startales... Speaking of, I turned back to the TV to continue my binge.
Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3
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loquaciousquark · 4 years ago
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Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E111 (Redux! Oct. 13, 2020)
Gooooood evening good evening good evening, all! I started the VOD late for this recap and somehow the first four or so minutes of the show have a Twitch audio copyright claim, so I am reduced to only reading Brian's lips when he asks if we're on the internet. Hilariously, Marisha's background room is a comfy-looking blue/gold fabric wall with a ceramic colorful abstract lamp and a yellow silk scarf over the lampshade, and Taliesin's is an industrial looking games room in grey and black with multiple monitors, overhead speakers, and mysterious metal fixtures behind him. What a treasure this group is, honestly.
Tonight's guests: Marisha Ray & Taliesin Jaffe, discussing episodes 110 and 111 again. I wildly speculate once more about what might have caused their absence: jury duty? Sam appearing on The Masked Singer? Something to do with the animated show? One day, we’ll know, one day... (One day this “copyrighted audio” section will come back from the wars, too. Ugh!) Finally! The audio comes back to reveal Brian discussing the endless reality of digital meetings and Marisha talking about (I think) her glare-reducing glasses she’s wearing. Welcome to the New Age (welcome to the New Age, to the New Age).
Announcements: Marisha suggests checking out Dimension20, another live tabletop gaming group, which premieres live on Wednesdays at 4pm (CollegeHumor). 
Brian immediately wants to know how they feel about the revelation that Molly is alive. Taliesin’s personal reaction: he “knows some things” he can’t talk about and is aware of several possibilities that might be going on, but had a sneaking suspicion that there would not be a body for them to find. He says it’s almost all there for anyone to see in past material. Marisha’s personal reaction: she just wants to know how she’s doing with her theories, & was trying to block Tal’s face out deliberately as she was going off on her theories in the last episode. Taliesin says he thought her ideas were pretty good!
Cad has no clue what to think - it’s like listening to your friends talk about Buffy. Marisha thought it was a 50/50 Molly would still be there, but Beau had no idea. Not that it mattered, because as soon as Matt went through with it the reveal still blew their minds. Tal laid out his plans for the character with Matt during Campaign One (towards the end) after they all got their VM tattoos.
It is a “horrifying and gross” thing to dig up a body, and Beau was pretty reluctant to do it. Tal, as Cad: “Sometimes dead’s better.” The moral quandary of trying to speak with a dead friend was very different here than the frequent occasions they used the spell in C1.
Taliesin says his poker face is very bad, so it’s easier for him to over-react and let it all play out. The only other player he can see very easily from his place in their current setup is Travis, and because he knows Travis doesn’t watch TM, tweet, or participate in social media, he admits he thoroughly enjoyed watching Travis freak out at his freaking out. He says he only knew about 20% of what Matt described at the end of that episode. He was picking things to mug to increase Travis’s surprise. I love this so much.
Taliesin provided the table left leg shake; Travis provided table right. Ha!
Beau is really accepting her role in the Cobalt Soul. It’s good when “as a person, you feel like you can settle into your calling. Sometimes you can do more from the inside than fighting from the outside.” It’s a mirrored but opposite path of Keyleth from C1; Beau felt like she was too good for her duty, while Keyleth thought she wasn’t good enough.
Caduceus is not a big believer in jumping to conclusions. He does have an idea/notion of the “city of the undead” and thinks all this necrotic energy must come from somewhere, and wonders if this is the “capital of anti-death.” He’s willing to believe whatever he sees. This is one of the few things that trigger a bit of loathing and disgust in him. It was terrifying that the Wildmother didn’t know anything.
Beau is pretty confident in her Charlie Day impression laying-out-the-research last episode. She enjoyed taking the things that were known & extrapolating around them; this is a huge facet of Marisha’s own personality and she really enjoys it, so she built a character this time that would allow that kind of puzzle-solving. It’s also why she repeatedly notes when Beau journals, so she can avoid metagaming. Trent’s mention of Vess Durogna’s tomb raiding was completely circumstantial, and the only reason she’d made the connection to the Tombtakers was because she’d recently reviewed those notes for a separate unannounced project. Sometimes she tries to make connections and Matt is like, “It was...just descriptive. Just flavor. The curtains were red...” and she has to discard a paragraph of notes. She feels like it’s still something they have to do because of “look at what he does! Look! It’s totally valid!”
Cosplay of the Week: @kitsunstudios with a gorgeous Caduceus with a very intricate silk vest.
Caduceus’s takedown of Trent! One of my favorite moments in the entirety of C2. Taliesin felt Trent was an asshole; Caduceus felt sorry for him because of how dumb he thought he was. Caduceus’s response was "this is the dumbest man I’ve ever met in my life. He’s so dumb! Is nobody going to tell this guy how dumb he is? Oh, they’re all freaked out. Somebody needs to tell this guy he’s an idiot before somebody gets hurt.” (Marisha: “Before?”) Tal says it was the product of several years of therapy and many drunk conversations with Whitney Moore. It was from a genuine place of concern from Caduceus. “How are you allowed to have this much power and be that dumb?”
Brian loved how funny it was to watch everyone tiptoe around Trent and then Caduceus bulldoze through the end of the meal.
Taliesin: “Damage doesn’t make you interesting or better. It’s not what makes you good. Character isn’t found in damage. Just recovery.”
Brian & Marisha commiserate going through the stage where believing surviving something automatically made you a stronger person, better for the pain; instead it just meant you had to pick up the pieces after. Marisha talks about how strength through survival may be true for some people, but it shouldn’t be considered a necessity. Taliesin talks about how he used to think he had to be miserable to write. Brian talks about how believing he liked reading and writing miserable things only limited him for years.
Marisha feels it’s a C2 theme that almost all the PCs have someone trying to handwave or take credit for their accomplishments or explain their pain as being for their own good (Trent, Beau’s dad, Obann). She thinks it’s interesting to see all the various ways people try to take credit for your work/delegitimize you as a person. She loves that RPGs allow you to explore these odd moralities in interesting ways. The only way to fight it is to have a sense of your own self-worth, which is a problem a lot of the M9 started with.
Caduceus likes everyone, and really likes people who appear to need role models (Eodwulf). “With the right friends and the right bar and the right attitude, I think he’d be okay. Come over here where it’s so much better. That seems like an exhausting friendship that you have there.”
Marisha loves the mix of personalities in the M9; Veth, Cad, & Jester were all “we kind of like them!” after the dinner, and she immediately made eye contact with Travis and they both shook their heads. She knows Beau has to go along with it for Caleb’s sake for now, but she & Fjord are pretty sus of Trent’s proteges.
Beau is less concerned about Artagan’s relationship to Jester because “he showed his ass--she’s less worried about Jester now because a little of the magic is gone.” It’s a little like becoming an adult and realizing your parents are also just adults & human. Caduceus wasn’t suspicious of the Traveler for a long time until they got to the island. Aside: Taliesin loves the pantheon in D&D. “The notion of attempting to apply common Western conceptions of religion to a world where you have a pantheon of interventionist gods as baseline makes no sense to me. Everyone admits that every other god is there and doing shit; it has more in common with ancient Rome than anything else.” Now that he knows it was a con, he feels the wind had been taken out of it. He does have a sense that Jester’s gotten back together with an ex: “I hope that I’m really happy for you.” They’re both interested to see how Jester navigates the new relationship.
My internet goes out, of course. I panic for a second, thinking I’ve lost everything above, but all is well! Thanks, Form History Control addon!
Marisha loved punching Artagan, but regretting rolling so poorly. “I miss violence.” Dani lets us know it’s been about four episodes since the last battle.
There’s no way the Cobalt Reserve doesn’t have a single document on the Eyes of Nine. Beau believes “there are no real secrets” because people are just bad at not writing things down. For there to be no information at all seems really suspicious for her.
Fanart of the Week: @oddalchemist on twitter with some awesome Beau conspiracy red-thread boards overlaid a distant shadowy Molly walking away.
Caduceus feels a little guilty for really enjoying his time right now with the M9 and not wanting to go home. He’s starting to suspect that he’s going to go home very different than when he left. “He has the softest problems. I don’t know if I want to move back in with Mom & Dad.”
Beau is trying to get comfortable with the idea of being happy. Jester is probably Beau’s first real best friend & one of the first healthy female friendships she’s ever had. As long as she still has Jester in her life, she doesn’t care. For Yasha... “At the end of the day, Beau is a lonely person and has always been a lonely person. And I think you kinda reach this point where once you’re not lonely anymore, you can kind of come out of the fog and realize that was horrible! And terrifying! And is even more terrifying now that I know what I could have, and I don’t want to go back to that. At the end of the day Beau doesn’t want to be lonely anymore. There’s always been that flirtation with Yasha, but everyone had to figure their own shit out. And now it feels like it’s coming out a little bit of that haze, maybe this actually could be...” There are a lot of ways they complement each other & are good-different from each other. Marisha believes people can be attracted to more than person at once.
Caduceus doesn’t think nature turned against him on Rumblecusp, it was just a reality of nature being dangerous and violent. “He has a complex relationship with nature.” He doesn’t expect special treatment.
Thoughts on the mansion: “Man, it’s nice to be seen.” Marisha: “I don’t know how I ended up becoming the Scanlan of this campaign, but I’m living for it.” It felt like an echo of “I’m better for having known you.” They compare Marisha taking specific notes on the campaign to Liam taking specific notes on people’s favorite tapestries, comics, etc.
They talk about missing theme parks and daydream a park version of the mansion in CritRoleLand. It’s lovely.
Taliesin never expected Divine Intervention to work; he just wanted to roll some dice. He’s still processing what he saw/heard. They all agree it was very useful in the Vokodo fight.
Vilya! Marisha: “Ah! Ah! Ah!” As a player, Marisha was so deep in Beau’s eyes she didn’t pick up it was Vilya at first (especially since Matt really emphasized they should not be looking for C1 NPCs). Marisha’s brain melted. She bawled her eyes out on the ride home after that episode. Right after it ended, Laura told Marisha “Keyleth finally gets her happy ending,” and it makes Marisha emotional again since Keyleth’s story ended so bittersweetly. She talks about the very real feelings of “just wanting them to be happy, though!” She went back and listened to all her old Keyleth playlists. Everyone was teary after the episode. “Everyone has these 100% real memories of being these characters and having these good times.”
And that’s that for that! Thanks for your patience, all, and is it Thursday yet?
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pterodactylterrace · 4 years ago
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Guys Like You Chapter 12
Title: Guys Like You
Chapter: 12
Chapter Summary:  When two hearts are meant for each other, distance isn’t an issue... right?
Rating: 18+
Warnings: Mentions of alcohol consumption. Angsty. 
Chapters:  {Prologue} {Chapter 1} {Chapter 2} {Chapter 3} {Chapter 4} {Chapter 5} {Chapter 6} {Chapter 7} {Chapter 8} {Chapter 9} {Chapter 10} {Chapter 11}
Wrapping up filming was a bittersweet event. Mostly bitter to be perfectly honest. While Faye was happy that she had completed her first big contract, she was going to miss the people she had grown close to while working there. She was casual acquaintances with a few people, but the biggest loss was going to be Henry.
You see, now that filming was over and his lease was up at his current rental property, he was moving back to his house in South Kensington. Briar was near hysterical when she found 'her room' at his house packed up. Henry spent most of that day with the little girl either in his arms, or dragging her as she clung to his leg. Not much packing was accomplished on that day.
When it was time for Henry to actually leave for his home, was the worst part of the entire ordeal. Briar had planted herself in the passenger seat and screamed every time someone tried to move her. Faye could almost swear she saw Henry tearing up when he drove away, Briar still screaming in her mother's arms.
He was loyal with his FaceTiming and phone calls, texting her as much as he could throughout the day. Not long after he had gotten home, he had to leave again for another project. This one was only supposed to take four months, but it didn't make it suck any less for Faye. Whenever Henry would FaceTime, she would slap on a happy face, delighted to see his goofy grin as he tried to show her some 'secrets' behind the scenes. Mostly the snack table, and occasionally Kal sleeping at his feet. He was so happy with what he did. Truly, genuinely happy.
While he was away, Faye had taken up a contract with some fashion designer, doing makeup for models before photoshoots and for the runway. She loved what she did, but she found doing beauty makeup was becoming boring and repetitive very quickly. She could barely remember the last time she had applied a prosthetic.
That was the biggest strain on their relationship so far. Yes, the distance was awful, but that was nothing compared to the arguments they had over Faye's job. Henry kept insisting she not renew her contract when it came back around. Faye continuously told him that she didn't have much of an option, she was in England on a work visa. If she didn't work, she couldn't stay in the country. Then Henry would suggest she take another job, and she would tell him that every offer he had was just for beauty makeup. She had had absolutely no offers for special effect makeup, like she wanted, so right back to square one.
After their latest 'disagreement' Henry had told her he was coming to visit. He cited the distance as the reason behind their animosity towards each other. Faye had a feeling it was because they were past the honeymoon phase and starting to notice all the flaws in each other. Like how he lacked detailed planning for anything, and just made general ideas like that would solve everything. Or how she would always get irritated every time he would try to help, insisting she could do everything on her own. He was stubborn and she was obstinate, neither one willing to bend when they thought they knew best.
Faye always made sure to hide her tears until after they had hung up. It wasn't because she didn't want him to see her upset. It was a matter of pride for her. She refused to let him know she shed any tears over him.
Henry would usually round his night out with either a couple shots of whiskey or an intense workout, but he made sure to never raise his voice with her. He wouldn't do that, he wouldn't act aggressively towards her, no matter how frustrated he got. She could interrupt him when he was trying to make a point all she wanted to, he refused to do anything to intimidate her or make her afraid of him.
Briar was blissfully unaware of everything going on. Henry still called her every evening to say goodnight; he had an alarm set on his phone to remind him and everything. She would even sometimes con a bedtime story out of him if he wasn't busy on set. Every time she spoke to him, she asked him when he was coming home, Henry's heart breaking even more each time she asked.
She never asked when he was coming back. She never asked when she would see him again. She always asked the same question, every single day.
"When you come home?"
It was that simple phrasing that tore him apart. She considered him a part of her home. He hadn't known her for a full year yet, but she could still get him to do just about anything she wanted just by poking out her lower lip and batting her eyelashes.
Now, standing at Faye's door for the first time in months, he didn't feel at all like he was coming home. Should he knock? Before he'd left, they had gotten to where they both just walked in to each other's homes. They gave each other spare keys and everything. He still had hers on his keychain, but she had returned hers when his lease expired and he'd just never gotten around to giving her a key to his Kensington home.
Finally he settled for knocking on the door, counting the seconds until he heard the deadbolt slide free and the door swung open.
Faye wasn't sure exactly what kind of greeting she was in for. She expected a cold one, none the less. Maybe a tight smile and a nod; perhaps avoiding looking at her and coming inside, not the giant bear hug she suddenly found herself trapped in.
"I missed you." Henry mumbled into her neck, holding her as tight as he dared, afraid she might vanish if he released her.
"I missed you too." Faye finally whispered, taking a step back to let him in when she was released from his embrace. Henry didn't make it two steps in the house before a tiny human firecracker was launched at him, barreling into him at full speed while screaming excitedly.
"And I missed you too!" Henry told the little girl, snatching her up for a hug.
"I made for you! I go get it!" Briar excitedly announced, squirming down to sprint back to her room.
"She filled out an entire coloring book for you." Faye explained, nodding him to the living room. Nothing had changed, and yet it all felt so different to him. Sitting down on the same couch he'd first kissed Faye on was now so foreign to him. He didn't even have time to speak before Briar was back, leaping into his lap and showing him her well loved coloring book. Looked like adult conversation was going to have to wait until after bedtime, which ended up taking much longer than it should have.
Faye had thankfully managed to get Briar dressed after her bath before she went running at top speed to her room, grabbing the biggest storybook she could find and dragging it out to Henry.
"This one!"
"That one?" Henry gasped, pretending to have trouble lifting the book. "Ugh, but it's so big!"
"That one, that one!" Briar insisted, grabbing his little finger and dragging him back to her room where she demanded he read no less than four of them before she ended up falling asleep in the middle of Rapunzel, giving Henry the chance to slip out unnoticed to go in search of the little girl's mother.
He found Faye sitting cross legged on her bed, working on something in her sketchbook. He cleared his throat to not startle her too much with his presence, the woman giving a small sigh before closing her book and setting it down. Now, one problem remained. How to start this conversation. Ultimately Henry just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.
"So, what are you going to wear to the season two premiere?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. There he went being a dork again.
"Uhh... probably my black cocktail dress. Hopefully I still fit in it. It was from before I had Briar." Faye responded after a pregnant pause.
"Seems a little simple, doesn't it?" Henry asked with a cock of his head.
"Well, I'm not part of the main cast. I get to go to the premiere because I was a member of the crew, but no one gives a shit about the crew. As long as I don't show up in a pair of sweats, no one is really going to care. We're not the ones getting our pictures taken, after all."
"You're not... going with me?" Henry asked, his brow furrowing as the corner of his lips tugged down.
"Henry I... no." Faye sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration. Best to just get it out of the way and see where they stood once the dust settled. "You really don't understand, do you? I'm not the kind of girl you take out on dates where you might get photographed. I'm not the girl you introduce to your friends. I'm not the girl you want on your arm at some big event. I'm not the girl you take home to meet your family. I'm a fuck up and a loser. I'm a nobody." Faye paused, taking a slow breath, forcing herself to keep the tears at bay for just a little longer.
"Henry, guys like you just don't fall for girls like me."
Taglist: @Xxxkatxo @Weallhaveadestiny @lunedelorient
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