#wait shit hold on they absolutely COULD have asked her questions couldn't they? couldn't they do Empathy on the dagger?

[poorlittleyaoyao]

gentle reminder that Wen Qing and Qin Su are both still alive and thriving because if the other characters don't ever mention their deaths again, then that means they must be fine 😌

[13lov]

tethered. | jjk

Love notes were slipped into your locker on a daily basis. Variations of messy, boyish handwriting on yellow sticky notes stacked upon themselves by the end of each school day. Every Friday night you were invited out with the promise of "You'll have fun, just give it a chance."

You could have any guy you wanted, no doubt about it. Yet somehow, the only one you do want is the tattooed, gothic one that lives a few doors down from your best friend.

✰ pairing. — emo!jk x reader

✰ genre. — early 2000s au, best friend's older brother, childhood friends to lovers, smut, light angst.

✰ word count. — 7k+

✰ warnings. — swearing, family issues, partying, mentions of drinking/drugs, friendship betrayel (?), smut [virginity loss, teasing, fingering, soft dom!jk, "i've waited so long for this" type shit], reader and jk are both 18+, minors dni.

✰ a/n. really love this pairings and would love to have drabbles with them in the future, so pls lmk if u guys would be interested in that! thanks for all the love on the teaser, hope u enjoy! <3

✰ taglist. @ahgasegotarmy116 @hellbornsworld @kissyfacekoo @littlestarstinyseven @skzthinker

Two monumental events had been etched into your brain for eternity, the first being sneaking out in the middle of the night to meet up with your friends at the community pool. The second is fifteen minutes upon arriving at the pool, seeing your best friend's older brother emerge from the chlorine-scented water as if he were Poseidon and realizing you were utterly infatuated by him. 

Jeon Somi isn't blind to this, immediately pulling you away from the crowd to question the longing gaze on your face. "Out of every fucking guy here with us, you're making eyes at my brother? You do know that Jungkook is completely gross, right?" She was so furious, you're surprised no steam was blowing from her ears.

Deny it all you want (and you certainly did within that fifteen-minute interrogation); Jungkook very clearly had a hold on you that lasted many years following that fateful night. He wasn't even your usual type; he wouldn't be caught dead around the guys you're typically drawn to. He had a rebellious side; maybe that's why getting him out of your head was nearly impossible. 

Of course, the eternal guilt of falling for your best friend's older, dumbass brother is also difficult to get out of your head.

It can't be helped, really. Anytime you'd visit their home, your eyes would automatically wander through the crack of his doorway as you'd pass by. Whether he was messily cutting his dark hair while blasting Pierce the Veil from his speakers or giving himself a new Stick-and-Poke tattoo as he waited for a CD to finish burning, you long to break away from Somi for a moment to speak to him. Ask him about his day or if his band had any upcoming gigs. You'd even talk to him about paint drying if it meant you'd get to be in the same space as him. 

So it's safe to say you were completely heartbroken when he left for college. Somi, however, is over the moon. Or so you think.

"… He's your brother, though. You don't think you're gonna miss him at all?" You ask, watching Somi delicately paint your fingernails a pretty shade of purple.

She shrugs, "I mean… it's definitely gonna be weird not seeing him around the house every day, but he'll still visit sometimes. Maybe."

Deep down, Somi knows Jungkook won't visit much. He'd been craving freedom and independence from their parents for ages, and moving away for college gave him the perfect opportunity to live as he pleased. They weren't fond of the clothes he wore or the friends he had, and absolutely couldn't bear the music his band makes. They criticized every little thing about him, and he'd finally be getting a break from them.

As you're about to ask Somi if she's okay, she stands from her bed, screwing the nail polish closed. "I'll be back. I have to let Bam out." Her voice is shaky, and she doesn't look at you as she exits the room.

You take the opportunity to make your way down the hall and to Jungkook's door, which he has conveniently left wide open as he scrolls on his desktop. His knees are pressed against his chest as he's heavily focused on editing his Facebook page. There's a rock song playing lightly from another tab that you can't quite identify; he uses his free hand to gently tap along to the beat of the music.

His room is covered in cardboard boxes, soon to be packed into his parents' minivan and making their way to the University of San Francisco dorms.

Your knuckles tap on his wooden door, your heart fluttering when he turns around, and you realize he's changed the ring on his lip from black to silver.

He nods at you, "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just know you're leaving in the morning, and I wanted to say bye. And wish you good luck, of course." You're not sure why you're so heartbroken. It's not like the two of you were ever a thing. It's not like this would be your last time seeing him. Why were you so upset?

"Cool, thanks." You assume that was his way of indirectly telling you to get out until he reaches into his desk drawer and says, "Catch," before tossing something towards you.

Careful not to mess up your manicure, you easily catch the item, unfolding what appears to be a purple bandanna. "What's this for?" You ask, inspecting the material in your palms.

"To remember me by, duh. Plus, it matches your nails.”

It'd be silly to tell him you genuinely don't need this because there was no way in hell you could ever forget about him. Instead, you clutch the bandana tightly in your fist and make a silent vow to keep it with you at all times; have a piece of him with you at all times.

You thank him and tell him it's nice, but all you can wonder is why he even wants you to remember him in the first place. Maybe you're overthinking. He probably just didn't care for the useless accessory anymore.

When you turn to leave, Jungkook stops you with a gentle call of your name. He turns his head in your direction, tugging his bottom lip between his teeth. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything." You whisper back, praying you don't sound overly desperate for a more extended interaction with him.

A beat of silence passes, and just as he opens his mouth to respond, Somi is stomping up the stairs and belting out your name. You gaze away from Jungkook to glance behind you, listening as his sister shouts about doing each other's makeup.

"Never mind, actually. It's not important." Jungkook interrupts, and you physically feel your heart sink to the floor.

You're about to be annoying and pry a response out of him until your eyes dart to his floor, and you see it. What slipped out from his drawer when he tossed the bandana at you. 

A condom wrapper. An empty one, at that.

It's embarrassing how quickly your vision becomes glossy, salty tears threatening to release with each passing second. Of course, he's fucking someone. Of course, that person isn't you. Of fucking course.

You shouldn't be surprised; he's probably more into girls with a similar aesthetic. She's probably covered in tattoos and piercings, just like him. She's probably older than you and may even have her own car, unlike you, who still had to catch rides with your parents or older sister. 

It's odd, though. You're not entirely naive; you know Jungkook definitely flirts with you here and there, catching his eye when his gaze lingers on you for a second too long. There's a noticeable tension between the two of you that even your parents have teased about. And this whole time, he's been screwing someone else?

Jungkook hangs out with so many girls it'd be useless to even attempt to uncover who this mystery person is. It's none of your business, anyway. 

So you leave.

You tell Somi you'll get grounded if you're home past curfew, and with tear-stained cheeks, you run home.

The following day isn't any easier.

Somi posted a photo on FaceBook of herself and Jungkook posing together, arms wrapped around each other, with the caption "c u l8r alligator XD". The comments are already flooded with responses wishing Jungkook farewell, some from family members or friends of the siblings.

"Don't 4get abt me!!!!!! >:( "from a girl with red hair catches your eye because it's the only one Jungkook responded to. You can't bring yourself to read his full reply, fingers moving to quickly close the tab after seeing the word 'Never.'

It's probably her, you think to yourself, the one he's sleeping with.

Maybe it's for the best that Jungkook's moving away; it'll give you some time to get over him. 

And you most certainly did.

The only time he ever crosses your mind is when Somi brings him up (which she rarely does) or when you pass by his empty bedroom. Deep down, you know you'll always care for Jungkook on some level, but time away from him was just what you needed. You were too attached to him for no fathomable reason, rejecting any guy interested in you with the premise of being loyal to a guy who didn't even want you. He'd probably been sneaking girls in through his window, with you a few doors down doing magazine quizzes with his sister; blissfully unaware of what was happening down the hall.

You’re better off without him.

That's what you've been telling yourself daily until now. It's the start of summer vacation, and Jungkook's been summoned home to spend it with his family before Somi (and you) transfer to the University of San Francisco. 

Jungkook was hesitant about coming home, as he always is. In constant fear that his parents have some elaborate plan for him to change his major or set him up with someone they deem acceptable, nothing like the girls he hangs around and probably invites back to his dorm.

It took days of convincing until Jungkook finally agreed to come home, under the premise that his parents' intentions were pure and that they simply wanted one last summer together before Somi moved away for college. They also hoped he'd be able to house-sit and watch over Somi for a few days as they took their annual anniversary trip to San Diego. That, however, took some bribing and the promise of gas money on their end.

He's not due to arrive until tomorrow morning, and you've convinced yourself there's no reason for you to see him right away. You'd be fine if the next time you saw him was in a few months as you're moving into your dorm. After years of longing, you've finally moved on from him.

Some of you have debated telling Somi about your past feelings for her brother, but there's no point. It was a one-sided relationship with absolutely zero depth, nothing worth discussing. So when she nudges your side and asks if you're interested in anyone, you reply with a shake of your head.

Somi has no reaction to this; she can't remember the last time you've been into anyone despite having the entire male population at your school practically throwing themselves at you. "Maybe you'll meet someone tonight."

She's referencing the house party you're going to, which she practically had to drag you out of your room to attend. Parties are different from your scene, especially on a day like today when you were hoping to have a girls' night with Somi. She had other plans, however.

"Maybe," you respond, sighing as the house you're attending is finally in your viewpoint. "We're not staying long, right? It looks packed."

Cars are parked throughout the street, one house, in particular, being the center of attention with loud music and drunk people decorating the front yard of a suburban-looking home. Somi looks as ecstatic as ever, looping her arm in yours and picking up her pace. She doesn't respond. It doesn't matter. Her response would've disregarded your concern.

One car catches your eye as you enter the unfamiliar house; it's parked towards the end of the street, and you swear you've been in it before. You're not able to dwell on it for too long, though, because Somi has to practically yank you through the front door.

Your nerves are at an all-time high. The music is entirely too loud, and there isn't a single sober person in sight. You're not sure how Somi even found out about this party, but you really wish she would've left you out of it. You'd go now if it were acceptable, but Somi would've stayed regardless, and you refuse to leave her alone. So, you push your feelings to the side and take her hand as she leads you towards the kitchen. 

"Thirsty?" Somi questions, forcing a red solo cup into your hand.

"Not at all," you respond, sighing as Somi pours something into your cup.

"It's just ginger ale," she reassures you, "I don't think either of us should get drunk here." For once, she's being reasonable.

Somi suggests you do a lap around the house in hopes of running into people you may have gone to school with. And to your surprise, a decent amount of your past classmates have decided to attend. You feel more at ease with them around, a bit more comfortable now that you're around recognizable people. Although you initially hesitated to show up, you're glad you did. 

"Anybody catch your eye yet? Or are you still breaking hearts?" Your old classmate, Yeoreum, questions.

You shake your head, about to explain that you're not interested in dating right now, until she gestures behind you. "That guy is pretty cute."

You shift on the couch, looking around until you spot who Yeoreum had been gesturing towards. You locate him finally, and she's right; he is cute. He just seems so familiar.

That's when it hits you.

"Oh my God," you whisper, eyes locked on him, and you slowly rise from the couch.

It's Jungkook. And the car you recognized was his. He's here. What is he doing here? He isn't due to be back until tomorrow morning.

You almost don't realize it's him until you spot the mole under his lip. He's grown his hair out and stopped dyeing it, the slew of tattoos that decorated his arm (God, did he start working out, too?) nicely connected, now creating a sleeve, and he's given himself an eyebrow piercing. Your feelings for him come rushing back in full force.

Panicked, you reach for Somi's hand, but she's nowhere to be found. Careful not to be seen by her brother, you bow your head slightly, passing through a crowd of sweaty bodies until you finally spot her kitty heels. She's leaned against a wall, swirling around her cup while flirting with some guy you'd seen around school a few times.

Creating some much-needed distance between the two, you tug Somi towards you. "I think I just saw your brother."

"What? No, he won't even be in the city until tomorrow morning." 

Frustrated, you quickly search the crowd until your eyes land on him again. You ignore the fact that he's now speaking to some girl with red hair and tattoos scattered across her arm and point in their direction, "Well, then that guy looks just like him."

Somi squints her eyes in disbelief at the boy in question until the doubt becomes confusion, and the confusion becomes realization. "Oh my God! The fuck is he doing here?" She turns towards you as if you're supposed to have the answer.

"The fuck should I know? You said he wouldn't be here until tomorrow morning!"

"Because that's what he told our parents! How was I supposed to know he was gonna be here? I never would've come if I knew!"

"What are you guys doing here?" A voice you haven't heard in so long interrupts. You don't even want to turn around.

"What are you doing here?" Somi throws back, and the two stare at each other in angry silence for a moment until Jungkook steps to the side. "Upstairs," he says, nodding towards the staircase.

"But—"

"Go."

Somi's clearly aggravated but makes her way towards the stairs. You remain in place with your arms crossed, raising a brow in confusion when Jungkook looks at you. "What?"

"You too."

"I'm not—"

"I'm not asking again," he says simply. You convince yourself that you only take his command because you don't feel like fighting. Definitely not because it's interesting to have him boss you around.

Trudging up the stairs behind Somi, you wait with her in the hallway until Jungkook arrives. "Come on," he says, entering a bathroom and turning the light on. Neither you nor Somi protest; there really isn't any point.

As soon as the door is shut, Somi is yelling at the top of her lungs. "What the fuck are you doing here?! You said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning! Mom and Dad had to push their trip back just to give you more time to arrive, and you're already fucking here?! The fuck is the matter with you?!"

"I'm not gonna respond if you're gonna be yelling like this." Jungkook says calmly, leaning against the sink, "Let me get my questions out first, then I'll answer any of yours, deal?"

Somi glances over at you, sitting on the bathtub's edge, and you nod. She returns her attention back to Jungkook, takes a deep breath, then agrees. 

"Now, what are you guys doing here?! How'd you even get invited?! And you're drinking?!" The calm demeanor from earlier slips away in a matter of seconds, clearly a hoax just to get Somi to calm down enough to let him speak.

"It's just ginger ale, and we've barely even had any! We were invited by our friends, okay? We have just as much right to be here as you do."

Jungkook scoffs, clearly unamused. "Right, and I'm assuming Mom and Dad know you're here then, huh?"

Somi nervously tucks a hair behind her ear. You wonder why you even have to be in here with them. It's not like Jungkook is your brother, anyway. 

"We told our parents that we were going to a birthday party at a friend's house." Somi mumbles, barely able to look Jungkook in the eye.

"And what did they say when they dropped you guys off?"

"They didn't drop us off," you interrupt, "we walked here."

"Well, I wasn't gonna tell him that." Somi glares at you, it takes every bone in your body to not to laugh at her.

You're so over this. You didn't want to attend this dumb party in the first place, and seeing Jungkook flirting with some girl who could've been his female counterpart was the icing on the cake. It doesn't matter if your feelings for him were gone before tonight; every little emotion you'd felt for him over the years had returned (as if they ever left).

"And how exactly did you two geniuses plan on getting home?"

"Same way we got here."

"Can you please just let me handle this? Jesus Christ…" Somi shoots another frustrated glare at you, and you can't help but roll your eyes at her. She turns back towards her brother, "Can you answer my questions now?"

Jungkook's eyes anxiously dart around the cramped bathroom, landing on you a few times before he's slowly nodding his head. "Alright, Mom and Dad basically forced me to spend the whole summer here, and I kept asking myself why they were so persistent about it. They finally told me they needed me to watch over you and the house for their stupid trip. I had plans too, you know? That I had to derail for them. My band could've spent this summer touring, making real money, and now we can't. So, they wanna inconvenience me? I'll inconvenience them right back."

"…Inconvenience them by doing what?" Somi asks the exact question you had.

Jungkook shrugs, "By telling them I'm gonna be arriving a day late, duh."

You and Somi exchange an awkward glance at one other before silently agreeing not to tease him about it. If this was his badass way of retaliating, who were you to rain on his parade?

"Are you gonna tell anyone you saw us here?" Somi questions, a noticible tremble in her voice.

"As long as you guys don't tell anyone you saw me."

It's a fair trade, you accept it. You're even more delighted when Jungkook says he's taking the two of you home. Somi, however, isn't too happy about this, claiming there were so many people she didn't get to speak to, and how'd this be the last time she'd get to see them before moving away for school. You're not sure if Somi is really good at getting what she wants, or if Jungkook was tired of hearing her complain, but he finally gives in and grants her ten more minutes to socialize before meeting him at his car.

"If you're not at my car in ten minutes, I swear to God I'm calling mom." Jungkook scolds, holding the bathroom door open as the three of you finally exit.

A loud, drunk voice suddenly shouts, "Woah, Jungkook! Two girls at the same time!? You fucking beast!"

"They're my sisters, you fucking pervert!" He shouts back.

You can't even dwell on how disgusting the original comment was, only being able to focus on the fact that Jungkook just reffered to you as his sister. As conceited as it may sound, you're not used to rejection or guys putting you in the friend-zone. Whatever little game Jungkook had been playing with you over the years was completely new territory. And right when you think things couldn't possibly get any worse, he calls you his sister.

What the actual fuck.

The next ten minutes go by in a blur; Somi has ditched you for a second time that night to talk to the guy from earlier. When it's finally time to leave, you find her Sat on his lap with her arm hung across his shoulder, laughing at an unfunny pickup line he'd used on her.

"It's time, Somi," you interrupt, helping her stand.

"Wait, wait, wait," she persists, directing her attention back to the boy, "tomorrow at five, right?"

"And not a second later." He sends her a disgusting wink that makes your skin crawl.

Somi is so love-struck you're surprised there isn't an arrow lodged in her back. She can barely form a proper sentence, erupting into a fit of giggles every few seconds as you make your way to Jungkook's car. "Wasn't he just gorgeous?"

You shrug, linking arms with her. "He was alright."

Stunned, Somi gasps at you, "Just alright? He was literally like a Greek God."

"I'm not saying he's unattractive; he's just...not really my type."

"And what is your type, Miss. Never-Has-Been-Interested-In-Anyone?"

Now, there's the question of the hour. You have to word your response very carefully; don't be too obvious about the fact that your ideal type is her older sibling. 

"I guess I prefer guys with an edgier look to them, you know? Tattoos, piercings..." Despite your attempt to sound as nonchalant as possible, your heart is beating out of your chest from the mild confession.

Somi snickers, then playfully groans. "It sounds like you're describing my brother."

Now, you really have to test the waters.

"Since you brought him up, would it be so bad if I did like Jungkook? Hypothetically speaking, of course." You're not sure what prompts you to even ask this. It's not like he's even interested in you; he literally just referred to you as his sister.

A beat of silence passes as Somi gathers her thoughts, then she says, "No."

"What?"

You've finally reached Jungkook's car at this point, beating him there. You sit atop the trunk, feet hovering above the ground as the cold, nighttime air swirls around you. Somi shakes her head, "Obviously, it wouldn't be the ideal situation, but I guess I wouldn't mind as long as you talked to me about it first."

"First?" You mimic.

"Like...assuming you'd wanna date him or something. Just so I'm not blindsided, you know?"

This is the last thing you would've expected your impulsive, hotheaded (yet oh-so-loveable) best friend to be reasonable about. Mainly because she lectured you for nearly twenty minutes when she first suspected you had a crush on Jungkook. 

You go to respond, but Jungkook, finally arriving at the car, captivates both of your attention. He finishes off his can of Pepsi before crushing the aluminum and tossing it to the ground. "Ready?" He questions.

There's no point in giving him a speech about littering; you're just ready to go home.

He fishes his keys from his pocket and unlocks the car door; Somi opens the backseat and jumps in before you have the chance, sprawling across the aged leather. "Move over," you nudge her foot with your knee; she pulls away from you.

Jungkook calls your name, "Just sit up front. She's not gonna move."

Now, this is new. You've ridden in the backseat of his car with Somi more times than you can count; he'd never allow either of you to sit shotgun with him; typical annoying older brother bullshit.

Don't make a big deal out of this, you say to yourself, climbing into the passenger seat of his car.

Somi and Jungkook bicker the entire ride to their parent's house, partially out of annoyance with each other, but you also get the feeling that neither of them were genuinely ready to leave the party. You're surprised Jungkook even enjoyed parties; he spent most of high school either working, hanging out at skate parks, or practicing with his band in their garage. College must've really changed him, and you're unsure how to feel about it. 

Jungkook parks a few houses down from their parent's house and unlocks the doors, "Get out," he says into the backseat.

"Where are you gonna spend the night?" Somi questions, stretching her arms outward.

"I checked into a motel this morning. I'll be back here tomorrow around noon. And, hey," Jungkook turns around, pointing a finger at his sister. "Don't tell them you saw me."

Mockingly, Somi points a finger right back at him. "Telling them I saw you would be exposing myself, cock-sucker. Leave me alone." She angrily begins to climb out of the car, annoyed at how little trust Jungkook had in her.

You turn to go, but Jungkook's cold hand on your bicep stops you, "Where you goin'?"

"I'm gonna walk home from here. It's only a few minutes away," you respond.

Jungkook shakes his head, "I'm dropping you off. You haven't moved since I left, right?"

"No, but it's fi—"

"Then your house is on the way to my motel. We're going in the same direction; might as well ride together."

It truly does make more sense to ride together, and rejecting his offer any further surely would raise suspicions. You don't want either of them to believe you'd feel uncomfortable being alone with Jungkook because that couldn't be farther from the truth. You're perplexed about your feelings now, and you don't want to do anything you'd regret just because of the confusion.

"Okay, then." You glance over your shoulder at Somi, "Will you need any help getting ready for your date tomorrow?"

Suddenly embarrassed, Somi shushes you, gesturing that Jungkook is literally right next to you and would prefer that he didn't hear about her dating life. Jungkook genuinely couldn't care less and is instead patiently waiting for his sister to get out.

She does finally, and Jungkook resumes his path to your house. He turns the radio on, switching between stations until he stops on one that's playing a song he's familiar with. You drive silently for a few minutes; the only sounds being heard are the distant noises from the car's motor and Jungkook humming along to the radio.

He breaks the silence by saying, "I was surprised to see you back there. You never really seemed like the type to enjoy parties."

You chuckle, "I could say the same for you; I don't remember you attending any in high school."

"That's 'cause house parties weren't my thing," he explains, "I went to raves or parties that would happen at the skate park. I don't really like being at someone else's house for too long; it feels too intimate."

Now that you think of it, skate park parties and raves seem much more like his scene.

"Well, I only went because Somi was going, and I didn't feel comfortable with her being there alone. Otherwise, I never would've gone." You admit, resting your head against the window.

"Thanks for looking after her, by the way. You're a good friend."

"I'd do anything for her." Your voice is barely a whisper now, getting quieter with every word you say.

Silence passes, and he says, "Did you know your guys' dorm room is gonna be right under ours?"

"Seriously?" You respond, genuinely curious.

"Mmm-hmm. My roommate, Mingyu, and I are gonna be the worst upstairs neighbors ever." He teases as you roll your eyes. Your mind can't decipher whether this banter is playful & platonic or romantic. Everything Jungkook does confuses you.

"If that's the case, I'll be sure to move to an entirely new building."

"What, so you can have your boyfriend protect you?"

Pause. Boyfriend?

You nearly give yourself whiplash from how hard you spun around to look at Jungkook. "Boyfriend?" You ask.

He shrugs nonchalantly, keeping his eyes on the road. "I just assumed you'd have one by now. Do you?"

There he is again with his mind games. What the fuck was he talking about?

After letting out a very frustrated sigh, you mumble, "No, Jungkook, I do not have a boyfriend."

"Good. Focus on school."

Now he's pissing you off. You wish he'd shut up for the rest of the car ride. "It's nice to see you again, by the way."

Holy shit, you feel like jumping out the window.

"Yeah, great seeing you too. Oh, there's my house. I can walk from here." You make quick work of undoing your seatbelt.

"You sure? I can drop you off at the door."

"No, no. It's best if my parents don't see you so they don't accidentally tell your parents that they saw you." You lie, racking your brain for any excuse imaginable.

He nods, deciding it's best to drop you off a little further from your house. "Then, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"What?" You stop dead in your tracks, one hand clutching the door handle.

"Aren't you coming over tomorrow to help Somi get ready for her…thing? I'll be back home by then."

He's right; you'd be back in his house, and he'll be there this time. It's no big deal. You'd only be there for an hour (at most) to help her prepare, and then you could go the whole summer without seeing him again.

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

The following day, Somi is back to her unreasonable self, expecting you to wait at her house for her to return from her date.

"Please? We're just going to get pizza; we won't even be gone that long." She pleads, adding the finishing touches to her makeup.

You'd already spent over an hour helping her prepare, and now she expects you to do nothing but await her return. You know her heart's in the right place; she just wants to be the first to hear all the exhilarating details about her date. Still, a phone call would suffice. 

"What am I supposed to do while I wait for you to come back?" You whine.

"Just hang out here! Watch a movie or something!" She suggests, trying her absolutely hardest to sound enthusiastic. Her phone buzzes in her hand before she has the chance to continue, eyes lighting up as they flicker across the bright screen.

Somi clutches her phone, locks eyes with you, then rushes towards the door. You're faster, though, quickly capturing her wrist before she's barely reached the hallway. "I'm going home."

"No! If you stay here, I'll bring you back pizza, and we can have a girls' night like we were supposed to yesterday! Come on, please?" She begs, pouting her lips.

You go to reply, but the bathroom door swings open, and Jungkook strides out. Just to your luck, he's shirtless; water droplets descend from his hair as he towel-dries it. As he enters his bedroom, he mocks his sister's high-pitched whine, earning a lethal glare and a slew of swears thrown at him.

Perhaps you should stay.

"Fine, but you're lending me your pajamas." You give in, earning an enthusiastic shriek from your best friend. 

Somi wraps you in a brief, yet tight, hug before shouting, "Be back soon!" Then she's rushing down the stairs and out the front door. It's not often that Somi makes you wait for her return, but you absolutely despise it whenever it does occur. She's never back by the time she promises and gets upset when you try to call and check up on her.

And speaking of calling, you're sure your phone is dead by now. You insisted Somi bring her's along just in case, so you're left with one option.

Jungkook's door is wide open (as usual) when you go to knock. He's fully clothed now, pairing his black sweatpants with a matching black t-shirt. His hair appears mostly dry now, chaotic as ever, but dry. You don't think he's ever looked this good before.

He's sat on his bed, flipping through the latest copy of Rolling Stone when you arrive. He glances over at you and lets out a dry chuckle.

"What's so funny?" You ask.

"You're dressed like Bella Swan." He responds casually, eyes raking up and down your body. 

"Who?"

"From Twilight. You know, that new movie that came out?" He seems genuinely surprised that you don't seem to know anything about this movie, not even the name of (who you suspect to be) the main character.

You lean against the doorframe, "Haven't seen it."

"It's a great movie, seriously. Some friends and I are seeing it in a few days if you and Somi wanna come." He suggests, flipping another page in the magazine.

You let him know you'll ask Somi if she's interested before remembering why you came to his room in the first place and ask if you can borrow his phone charger. Jungkook directs you to where it's plugged up by his desk, and you finally have the chance to stroll further into his room. You can't recall the last time you've been in here, but you know it looks much different than before. Many of the band posters that decorated the room were gone, his random trinkets and piles of clothes were gone, and not a single piece of his CD collection was in sight. It felt so lifeless, so unlike him. No wonder he always dreaded returning home; it probably didn't even feel like home to him.

"So," you say, attempting to break the silence, "you're here for the whole summer, huh?"

"Unfortunately." He mumbles, "Gonna try and go by sooner, convince my parents I have to sort out an issue with my dorm or something."

"It's nice to have you back, though." You admit, watching as Jungkook's gaze locks on yours.

"Yeah? It is?" He questions.

You shrug, "Of course. We practically grew up together; it was weird to not see you all the time."

He sits up now, closing the magazine and tossing it on his nightstand. There's something on his mind that he isn't saying; you can tell from the way his brows knit together and how he's anxiously tugging on his lip piercing. "It was weird to be gone," he mumbles and leaves it at that.

"By the way, I'm sorry about last night." He apologizes.

"For what? Calling me your sister?"

He laughs at this, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to do that on purpose, by the way. That guy was just...so weird, I kinda blurted out the first thing that would've made him feel weird for even thinking that."

Oh. That makes sense. You definitely overreacted. 

"I meant," he continues, "I'm sorry if the whole boyfriend assumption thing upset you."

"Oh," you dismissively wave a hand at him, "that was nothing."

Jungkook raises a brow at you, "Are you sure? 'Cause you seemed pretty upset afterward, you were practically running out of my car."

There's no point in lying now, considering you weren't even the slightest bit discrete the previous night.

"If I'm being completely honest, I just felt a little awkward. But that's it, I swear." You assure him, moving to lean against the bedside table.

"Awkward about what?"

God, this was so embarrassing. Is he really going to make you humiliate yourself like this?

"Because I've never actually had a boyfriend before."

Jungkook looks genuinely shocked at your confession, eyes nearly bulging out of his head as he examines yours for any sign of deception. "You don't believe me?"

"I'm not sure. I only assumed you had one just based on how crazy guys were about you in high school. Not to mention you're, like, fucking gorgeous."

What?

"I'm what?" You ask, not entirely sure if you heard him correctly.

He repeats himself again, and you make him do it a few more times until he's too embarrassed to say it again. You somehow manage to get back on the topic of never having a boyfriend before when Jungkook asks you another question. "Have you ever...?"

He doesn't need to finish the sentence. You know what he's asking.

You shake your head.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's none of my business." He berates himself, and you assure him it's no big deal and that it shouldn't even be a shocker to him.

After a half hour of talking about whatever comes to mind, you wind up sitting opposite Jungkook on his bed, legs perched up underneath your body as you go back and forth, questioning one another. 

"So, when are you gonna admit you had a crush on me?" His voice is barely a whisper.

"I never did." You lie.

"Really? That sucks?"

"Why?"

He shrugs, leaning his back against the headboard. "I just always thought that maybe you and I would've ended up together at some point."

You don't remember who leans in first; it doesn't matter; all that matters is after years of longing, your lips are finally intertwined with his. He must've smoked today; you can taste the nicotine on his breath. But it doesn't matter; you don't make the slightest move to pull away. Neither does he, placing his hands on the small of your back to guide you onto his lap. 

Your body is moving on autopilot, limbs moving to do whatever feels right as you silently pray not to ruin the moment. Jungkook can spot your nervousness from a mile away and stop you, "We don't have to do—"

"I want to," you pant, breathless, "I've wanted this for so long."

"Do you trust me?" He asks.

"More than anything."

He kisses you again before adjusting your current position, slowly twisting yourselves until you're lying flat on your back. He moves his lips down towards your neck, leaving a trail of kisses in his path as he settles between your legs.

You reach up to grab a handful of his hair, nearly jumping out of your skin as his delicate fingertips creep up your inner thigh, inching closer and closer until his ghosting over your clothed pussy. "This okay?" He mumbles.

You nod, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Cute," he replies, "you're already so wet." His fingertips stroke your clit through your damp underwear; you don't think to wonder how he managed to get to it so quickly, all thoughts leaving your brain as he makes small circles using his middle and index finger. 

"Jungkook…" You moan, pleading for him to do more.

"I know." He assures you, using a single finger to pull your panties to the side, making just enough room for him to slide a finger into your aching cunt. "Am I really your first time?"

You nod again out of fear that a moan would slip from your lips if you even tried to speak. His eyes are locked on yours, studying your expression as he coaxes a finger inside you. You're embarrassed at how quickly your wetness coated his finger, but Jungkook doesn't care. He likes it, makes him feel fucking amazing knowing the effect he had on you. 

"Take your shirt off." He says, and you do as told, pulling your top up and off your body and tossing it to the floor; making quick work of undoing your bra before he even has the chance to ask.

His lips are back on your neck instantly, trailing down to your collarbone until he reaches the curve on your breast. He halts his actions momentarily before your pitched nipple is caught between his teeth and your back arching off the bed from how overstimulating everything feels.

You curse under your breath, and Jungkook makes another comment about how cute you are, though you feel far from it. He apologizes by lapping his tongue around your nipple, easing the pain slowly as he inserts a second finger into your cunt.

You can feel his bulge against your thigh, though he doesn't even care about getting himself off. He moves over to your nipple, licking and sucking until it's completely hardened, leaving himself breathless. The two fingers that had been working your cunt had picked up the pace now, and there was an unfamiliar feeling in your gut that you couldn't identify.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" You groan, legs trembling.

Jungkook is all too familiar with these actions and asks, "You're already close? I've barely done anything to you." He teases, chuckling to himself.

You know he's being lighthearted, but you can't help but feel embarrassed at the tears forming in your eyes from how good everything feels.

Suddenly, he's pulling his fingers out of you, and now you feel like crying for a different reason. You go to protest but stop to watch as he takes his shirt off. If you weren't sure then, it's obvious now he'd started attending the gym. 

He makes quick work of tugging his sweatpants down his legs, tossing them into the abyss before reaching into his bedside table and retrieving a condom. "You're okay?"

You nod.

"Use your words."

“I’m okay, Jungkook.”

"You're still okay with this?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

Jesus fucking Christ, the saint this man is.

"I'm positive." You assure him.

You move to pull down your skirt and underwear, but Jungkook catches your wrist. "Leave them on," he says. There are so many things going on that you choose not to question.

He pulls off his boxers in the meantime, hardened cock slapping against his abdomen with precum leaking from the tip. Though you had nothing to compare it to, Jungkook was obviously slightly larger than average. You shouldn't be surprised; it's always the guys that you'd least expect.

He tears the condom wrapper with his teeth, retrieving the rubber inside before tossing the remains to his floor. Despite being fully erect, he fists his cock a few times before sliding the condom on.

He crawls over you, left arm at the side of his head, while he uses his dick to nudge your panties to the side. "This still okay?"

"I already told you—fuck!" He cuts you off, the tip of his cock slowly making its way inside you. You feel so stretched out from this alone you don't know how you'd manage to fit all of him into you.

Jungkook must be feeling the same, swearing under his breath and commenting about how tight you feel around him. Second by second, he coaxes himself into your pussy until you feel like you could split right open. "Are you all the way in?"

"No, can't take anymore?" He asks, leaning his head down against your ear.

You're embarrassed to admit he's too big to handle on your first time, but it's the truth. You don't want to overextend yourself just to please him and end up hurting yourself.

"You can move, just…not too much. Please."

Jungkook nods, "Whatever you want, angel."

He pulls his hips back and rocks himself back in, being sure to ask if you're okay with his pace. Once you confirm you feel fine and want him to keep going, he continues his movements; his eager hips snapping against yours and his cock hitting your G-spot with each deep stroke. You feel like you're on cloud nine, hands tangled in his hair as he swallows your moans.

That unfamiliar feeling from earlier returns; you feel it through your entire body this time. A moan of his name escaping your lips lets him know you're close. How he can always sense these things is beyond you; it's not worth overthinking. 

"Close?" He asks, and you nod frantically.

Jungkook picks up his speed slightly, careful not to overwhelm you, but just enough to reach your climax, until finally, the bundle of nerves in your abdomen snaps, and your back is arching off the mattress as you come around his cock.

He's only a few seconds behind with his orgasm, erupting in a loud grunt when he finally reaches it. The two of you lay in silence for a moment before Jungkook finally pulls out of you and slides the condom off, tying it in a knot and tossing it into his trash bin.

"Are you okay?" He asks for what feels like the millionth time.

"I'm fine." You respond, and it isn't a lie. Physically, you feel terrific; mentally, it was an entirely different story. "Are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good."

As much as you would love to lay naked with Jungkook in his bed for the rest of the night, you know Somi will be home anytime soon. "I think I'm gonna go wash up."

He nods, crawling under his covers once you stand from his bed, tugging your skirt to its proper length as you search for your remaining clothing. "Oh, it's um…your shirt, it's over there." Jungkook awkwardly gestures towards a pile of clothing by the end of his bed.

Almost as quickly as you shred yourself of them, you snatch your clothing and bundle them up against your chest. 

"Listen, I know right now isn't really ideal, but I meant what I said about liking you, and really think we should talk." He says nervously, barely even able to look at you.

You almost want to laugh at how cute he is; instead, you agree to talk to him about it soon. You're about to head out into the hallway when Jungkook reminds you about your charging phone over by his desk.

You retrieve it and scan the area again, ensuring you haven't left anything else behind. When everything seems clear, you stand upright, but your eyes fall toward the trash bin near his window with the discarded condom. You're embarrassed to even look at it until you realize something seems off. It looks…empty. 

Now, you're no sex expert, but imagine that if Jungkook had finished, there'd be something to show for it in the condom. Right?

Did he fake his orgasm? Was this another one of his fucked up mind games you'd been subjected to? 

You don't know what to think as you step into the bathroom; your emotions are all over the place, and all you really want to do is go home. But you promised Somi you'd be here when she returns, so you stay.

The next time a Jeon sibling asks if you're okay is twenty minutes later when Somi finally arrives and asks why your eyes are so watery.

"I'm fine." You respond, and you're lying for the first time that night.

[w2sology]

omg hi I saw your requests were open and I loved loved loved ‘all of the ways’ could you please write something about readers reaction to Harry’s goal at the charity match? Thank you!!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

this was from last year omg... how did i not see it 😃 and also as a west ham fan this was absolutely beautiful to write 🤭

the real deal, harry lewis.

summary: you attend the 2023 sidemen charity game and just to your luck, harry scores his first goal.

warnings: not proof read!

walking up the steps that led to the top of the lower blocks in the london stadium, you smiled, unable to contain your excitement for the game that was to follow.

the sidemen were having another of their charity football games, and as you always were, you came along to support harry.

arm in arm with freya, the two of you, along with faith and a few others of the sidemen family, walked towards your seats, your eyes flickering around as you took in the large amount of people who came.

it was a hot day, and despite feeling the material sticking a little to your body, you didn't regret wearing the black 'wroetoshaw 77' shirt, proud to show off your boyfriend.

leading up to today's event, harry had been moaning and groaning about not yet scoring a goal since the first charity match, but he was just happy to be out there with the boys.

"well, when you score your first," you'd told him, hand cupping his cheeks as you pulled his face towards you. "i'll be right there with you to celebrate."

that was more than enough motivation to give harry his end goal of the day ─── score a goal just for you.

collecting olive from ethan as they walked out onto the pitch, faith sat back down with the babbling bundle of joy, nervously tapping your thighs. "gosh, i can't wait for it to start already!" she squealed.

and you shared her excitement equally, a bright smile on your face as you watched harry looking around the block for you, blowing a kiss and waving your way when he spotted you.

you gladly returned the gesture, fanning yourself with the matchday program and shielding yourself from the burning sun.

as the match went on, you grew more and more interested. of course, it was for charity as well as for shits and giggles, but being with harry for such a long time, you become immersed in the sport that he loved so dearly.

with the first half over, freya had gotten you a drink with some extra ice cubes, and as you say with it, harry and the rest of the boys walked into the tunnel for their half time break, your lover giving you a wink as he walked past.

it didn't matter if he was sweaty or not; the sight of harry alone was enough to make you want to jump his bones.

holding onto that thought, you managed to make it to the second half without asking any questions like you usually would when watching football with harry.

"well, i don't get why they can't just run towards the other goal and kick it in then, if they're allowed to use their hands." you'd say.

"because... because that's just not how it works!"

and now there you were, stood on your feet as you watched vik pass the ball back towards harry instead of taking the shot himself, and your boyfriend didn't miss a beat; he kicked the ball beautifully into the back of the net.

you screamed so loud you couldn't even hear it, turning next to you to grasp freya's arms as faith turned her camera towards you to capture your reaction.

"oh my god!" you yelled, hands over your cheeks as you watched harry and the boys huddle together to celebrate his first goal for the sidemen.

breaking apart, harry turned to where you sat and held up a makeshift heart with his hands for you, albeit it looking like a circle at the first few seconds.

there was so much pride and love in your what for him, that when the game ended and he had his winner's medal and all on him, you couldn't help but smother his face in kisses, outwardly expressing your happiness for him.

"i told you you could do it," you whispered against his lips, his hair tickling your forehead.

"yeah, you did, didn't you?"

pressing his lips to yours briefly, harry pulled back to smile at you, his girl, and his number one supporter.

"looks like the wag life is about to become reality," he joked.

"oh yeah," you laughed. "the real deal."

[vettelsvee]

GOODBYES ARE BITTERSWEET | Sebastian Vettel ✩₊˚.⋆ PART 4: FAMILIAR [PREVIOUS PART] [NEXT PART]

goodbyes are bittersweet masterlist f1 masterlist | ao3 | ask anything or let's talk!

ferrari sebastian vettel x ex gf!female reader

word count: 3811

summary: seb comes back home as a surprise only to see that hanna and a little mysterious girl receive them... instead of y/n, who was supposed to finally meet him

warnings: settled on may 2018. curse words, angst, seb and little emily meeting but they don't know who they are to each other, seb being VERY suspicious. seb pov.

taglist: [ @saltycomicsanimalssalad @hc-dutch @mycenterfold @simplyamberj @spitesfvl-blog @jaydaaasworld @lottalove4evelyn @zoeyjadetice2010 @jehun @ferralari @cosmoscoffeee @mcmuppet @myescapefromthislife @sleutherclaw @youre-on-your-ownkid ]

a/n: i haven't said anything, BUT taylor made a mashup for her surprise songs in warsaw night 2 that is an absolute spoiler of this series (if you know it TELL ME ON ANON BECAUSE I LITERALLY SCREAMED). anyways, we're back with an update FINALLY. sorry to make you wait (really, i wasn't doing mentally ok and I'm still struggling but here we are!), but in the next chapter we'll have y/n and seb finally meeting... but for the moments I'll wait to see your comments, anon messages and reactions (please please please) about everything that happens on this chapter and how suspicious seb's gonna be (hope you fangirl and like everything as much as i did writing this) + also remind you that feedback and reposts are truly appreciated. thank you for all the support you've been showing me these days, love you all <3

© VETTELSVEE (2024). please, do not steal, copy or translate my works. thanks for reading!

2018

May 3rd Heppenheim, Germany

Sebastian

The exhaustion was piling up in my body, and I knew that what I was doing was crazy. I was fully aware that facing my past with just two hours of sleep was quite risky, but I couldn't wait to see Y/N again. As soon as Hanna told me she had spoken to her and gave me the green light to visit her, I forced Britta to buy me a plane ticket to Cologne to head home as soon as I finished some Ferrari ads and all that shit I absolutely hated in Maranello. My excitement and nerves were so intense that I didn't even tell anything to my parents or Fabian, who would probably go crazy for not telling them earlier.

I let go of the suitcase reluctantly and, to my misfortune, it fell to the floor with a rather noticeable thud. I sighed and did my best to ignore it, ringing the doorbell and leaning against the wall while holding the bouquet of tulips I had bought for Y/N. I knew it was silly, but I was excited to have this small gesture as a sort of belated birthday gift for her.

"Who is it?"

I was notably surprised when, instead of my mother’s voice, a child’s one chirped the question.

"It’s Seb," I replied, trying not to make a big deal out of the situation. Maybe it was just the daughter, or even granddaughter, of one of my mother’s friends.

"I don’t know any Seb! Who is it?" she asked again, this time with a slightly annoyed tone.

"I’m Sebastian."

"Sorry, but I only know two Sebastians: one is the crab from The Little Mermaid, and the other one is the man who sometimes appears on TV at Grandma’s house."

I couldn’t help but laugh. Whoever that little girl was, she was the best thing I had come across in a long time.

"Mum also says I can’t open the door to strangers, so I can’t let you in. I’m sorry, sir."

"But my parents live here," I replied as calmly as I could. It was clear that the lack of sleep was affecting my patience.

"Are you Mr. Norbert’s secret son?!"

"Emily, let me open the door!"

The door suddenly opened, revealing a somewhat out-of-breath Hanna, as if she had come running to open it and was now trying to catch her breath. Next to her was a girl about five years old, with completely blonde and curly hair that reached roughly to her waist. The little one didn’t hesitate to smile and greet me with her right hand, and almost immediately, her eyes widened as she made eye contact with me. When I turned my gaze back to my friend I was quite surprised. Her skin, which was already pale, had turned even paler for no apparent reason. The girl, however, kept looking at me, curious and, in my perception, somewhat pleased.

Had Hanna become a mother and didn’t tell me?

Before I could react or say anything, the door slammed shut in my face, not giving me a chance to say anything. My surprise came when, a few seconds later, it opened again, revealing the same scene.

“You’re…” she started to say, hesitating. She was nervous, and her nerves only made me more anxious. “Seb… but not…”

“Is something wrong, Hanna?”

Instead of answering, she remained completely silent. I knew something was wrong as soon as she started to look at the ground instead of looking at me.

“Hanna?”

“Aunt Hanna…” the little girl, still by her side, intervened, trying to get her attention by tugging at her sweater sleeve. “The man who appears on TV with the red car is talking to you,” I widened my eyes, surprised. Did the girl know me? “Mom says that when someone talks to you, you should respond; it’s rude not to.”

“Do you know who I am?” I asked the little girl, crouching to her level.

“Of course I know you…!”

“Hey, sweetie, why don’t you go play outside for a while?” My friend intervened before the little girl could finish. “Sebastian and I need to talk about some things, okay?”

“Did mommy have a surprise for me and that’s why she brought him?” the girl asked curiously, pointing at me. “Mommy said she was going to bring me a surprise when she came back from…”

“Emily, that’s enough! Go outside and we’ll talk about mom's surprise later. We can even call her if you want, okay?”

Prater’s shout startled the girl, who simply picked up a stuffed panda from the couch and a red car that looked quite similar to the one I had in Formula 1 back in 2015. As soon as Hanna turned back to her, scolding her once more, she ran towards the yard.

I found it amusing that, when my friend turned back to me, that curly-haired blonde girl peeked around the door, trying not to let us see her, possibly feeling quite curious about what we had to discuss. 

It didn’t bother me at all, but exactly the opposite. I used to do the same when I was a child and my parents had friends coming home.

“Are you here or not, Sebastian?”

Hanna quickly brushed her hand over my face. I immediately shifted my gaze from the little girl and refocused on her. She had her arms crossed, her sweater sleeves rolled up, and her face was completely red.

I wasn’t sure if she was angry with little Emily, with me, or with the situation, though she had no reason to be. After all, I was the one who had come to my parents’ house, my home, to get ready to see Y/N. It wasn’t my problem that I had encountered Hanna and this mysterious girl here, without any prior notice. At least, I didn’t see it as such.

“I’ve been here since I arrived, Hanna. You’re the one who’s gone crazy seeing me show up,” I responded tersely.

“You could have told me that you were coming.”

“Do I need to give an exact day for when I’ll be back home? Can’t I give my parents a fucking surprise?”

“Didn’t you consider that your parents might be running errands at this time? Or that…”

I left her talking to herself because the last thing I wanted was to argue, especially over something trivial like this. Her behavior was stressing me out too much, and that was the last thing I needed, especially considering that my ex and I might run into each other at any moment.

Without saying anything else, I headed to the kitchen to find a vase for the tulips for Y/N before they wilted. While filling it with water, I noticed the little girl. She was engrossed with that red toy car, moving it back and forth while murmuring commands with what seemed to be an attempt of technical Formula 1 words. She pushed her curls out of her face and suddenly decided to include the panda bear in the game.

I stared at the girl. Her face seemed familiar… too familiar, in fact. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I had a feeling I had seen her before in Heppenheim, though I didn’t remember seeing her as part of any family of my parents’ friends.

I tried to downplay the fleeting thought when Hanna arrived, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed and, as I had guessed upon looking back, with a rather unfriendly expression. 

Her eyes were analyzing me, I knew it perfectly. I sighed and placed the vase on the counter, arranging the tulips as best as I could while trying to ignore her behavior.

"Are they for Y/N?" she finally asked.

"Who else would they be for?"

"She isn’t here," she said abruptly, dropping the news.

Silence fell between us once again. I raised my gaze so quickly that I almost felt a bit dizzy. All she did was look at me, unable to continue the conversation or, at least, undecided on whether to continue it or not. Finally, after a few seconds, she decided to speak again:

"I know I told you she’d be here this week, but…" she hesitated. It was the first time I had seen her like this, and she was by no means the self-assured Hanna I had known since the first day of school. “Damn it, Seb, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but…”

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

That was the first thing that came to mind, and I immediately regretted blurting it out. Hanna laughed so hard that Emily, who was now chasing a butterfly, stopped dead in her tracks to see what was happening to her supposed aunt.

Hanna approached me. She gave me a few pats on the chest and then on the head, before giving me a hug that caught me off guard.

"How naive you are, Sebastian Vettel… Do you really think Y/N would have a boyfriend? Can you picture her having one?"

"Well, it's been five years since she broke up with me. It's about time she moved on, so I find it normal."

"Have you moved on? Do you have some secret girlfriend you haven’t told us about, Mr. Privacy?"

I didn’t answer, which was enough for her to know we were in the same romantic situation.

"I've slept with a few girls all these years, but I’ve never looked for anything serious," I confessed.

"Well, I’m afraid to tell you that you’re in the same boat as Y/N then. As far as I know, she hasn’t slept with anyone, although it’s understandable, considering she has…”

And before she could say anything more, she stopped talking. Again.

If the situation between us had calmed down, it had now become tense again. It was the second time that day, at least as far as I had noticed, that Hanna Prater seemed to have let something slip. I looked at her, searching her expressions for something that would give me a hint about what she wanted to say; she simply looked away and headed to the living room, sitting on the sofa and changing the channel from some cartoon pigs to the local Heppenheim news channel.

"What does Y/N have, Hanna? Or who does she have?"

"Y/N is in London, Seb," she finally revealed with a sigh, as if it was hard for her to tell me. “I know it’s not my place to tell you this, and even less that she would like you to know, but after your breakup… she has some contacts.”

"What kind of contacts are you talking about?" I wanted to know. Had she done something I wasn’t aware of? Was she in trouble?

"To say it briefly, because the story is too long, a guy from this very famous boyband back in the day decided to come here for a while to find inspiration for new music and see what to do with his solo career," she explained. “Call it coincidence, luck or an act of God, but Niall ended up going to the bar where Y/N works and, well… the rest is history.”

I didn’t know what to say… Yes, I hoped things were going a bit better for her than when we were together, but that she had met someone as important as that guy seemed…

"The thing is, Y/N is in London right now. But she’ll be back, so don’t worry. She’s been there for several days," Hanna continued. "Niall isn’t particularly good at keeping secrets, and since he knew she was the face behind Red, he had the bright idea of mentioning it to his label who, luckily, said they’d like to meet with Y/N to offer her a contract."

"And did you know any of this before telling me to come, or…?"

I tried not to sound angry, but the truth was I was, at least a little. To be more exact, I was more than just angry… I was upset. Upset simply because Y/N, knowing I had asked if she was the face behind that viral video that was having so much success, and now considering that she had a possibly important meeting with that record label, hadn’t bothered to respond not only to my question but also to my birthday wishes.

I felt really bad because, despite being the person who probably knew y/n better than anyone else in the world, it seemed like the opposite.

"Y/N didn’t tell me anything until the day before she left," she confessed quietly. "I swear, Seb, she was so reluctant to go that I even thought she wouldn’t go and you two would finally get to talk about everything…” Once again, a pause full of uncertainty gnawed at me from within. “The only thing she said to me before going to London was that she wasn’t going to sign anything and that she was going only because she hadn’t traveled since you two were together, and she actually was doing that because she needed to disconnect and think about a few things.”

"So… did she go for nothing?"

"She doesn’t want to sign any record deal, Seb. She just wants to put her life in order and continue it as it is now. She doesn’t need anything more than what she has."

I didn’t know what to say, but I had a thousand conflicting thoughts swirling in my head right now. It struck me as very strange that my ex-girlfriend didn’t want to accept a record deal. That was everything Y/N had worked for in this life, and now, when she had the opportunity, she was turning it down…

Maybe Britta was right and the Y/N I knew was now just a mere ghost of my past, still haunting my life to torment me with the answers I never got.

"Y/N should accept it," was all I could say, impassive to what my ears had just heard. "I can’t believe she’d turn down something she’s fought for so many years…”

Suddenly, a melody from a song I didn’t recognize started playing in the room. Emily appeared with a phone in her hand and ran to give it to Hanna who, upon looking at the screen, became quite alarmed.

"Sorry, Seb, it’s important…" she said without taking her eyes off the phone. "Emily, stay here with Seb, okay? I’ll be right back…”

Hanna left faster than I would have liked, leaving me alone with the little girl, who again kept staring at me.

"You’re just like on TV..."

The little blonde girl came up to me, too close, and began examining me closely. She placed her small hands on my cheeks and moved them across my face. I was sure she was leaving little traces of dirt, but I didn’t mind when I saw she couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.

"If my mommy were here, she’d be very happy to see you," she said, sitting next to me.

"Does your mom know who I am?"

She nodded.

"Mommy watches you on TV every day," she revealed. "Well, not every day, but when you’re on granny’s TV on weekends, she spends hours and hours watching you at your work!"

"So your mom likes Formula 1, huh?"

"What’s that?" she asked innocently. However, before I could say anything, she spoke again. "Oh, I remember now! That’s what’s on TV where the cars go really fast, right? And you drive one of them, don’t you?"

I nodded slightly while laughing.

"Mommy says it’s very dangerous and sometimes she’s scared about what might happen to you. Mommy really likes you a lot, you know? Why don’t you go out with her and be my daddy?"

"Sometimes it is a bit dangerous, yes, but don’t worry: today there are many safety measures to keep us safe, and we also take a lot of care when we drive,” I said quietly, trying to sound as calm as possible and ignoring her last request. Did this girl not have a present father?

The girl frowned, not very convinced by my answer and, possibly, upset by ignoring part of what she was surely eager to know. Her eyes, a shade of blue that was neither dark nor light, looked at me with curiosity.

"Have you ever hurt yourself while driving your red car?" she asked again, interested.

"Well, um…" I hesitated for a moment on what words to choose so as not to alarm her further. "Sometimes we have small bumps, but the barriers on the track protect us when we go off."

Emily seemed more at ease with the softened version of reality, although she still looked worried and upset. I didn’t know why I was telling her all this considering she was probably no older than five and I might be scaring her.

"Hey, now tell me something about you, since I’m on holidays and I don’t want to talk about my work! What do you like to do? I don’t know anything about you yet!"

Her eyes lit up when I asked her that. My main intention was to change the subject, but something inside me was glad to see her so happy when I showed some kind of interest in her.

"I love to paint and play!" she exclaimed. "I also like going to the park with mummy, dancing and singing at her work! And I also like tales!"

"What’s your favorite tale?"

“Mommy always tells me one about a prince who is part of a blue team and takes part in an important game every year, and he always wins! And in the end, he falls in love with a very pretty waitress, and they have a little baby and take care of it together, and they’re very happy!”

I got in absolute shock at her words.

Could it...?

No, it’s impossible, there’s no way that’s some kind of version of my story with Y/N. It must be the exhaustion and all the hustle and bustle of these last few days that are starting to make my head a mess.

I didn’t know what else to say, so while I tried to sort my thoughts, we sat in silence for a while. I changed the channel from the local one to the cartoons that had been on earlier to keep Emily entertained.

The little one didn’t say anything else, but she did snuggle up to me as if she had known me for much more than less than an hour.

When some amount of time had passed, I felt slight tugs on my shirt. I hadn’t realized I had closed my eyes and had dozed off a little. Emily’s little smile brought me back to reality:

“Is something wrong, little one?” I asked, worried that something had happened to her.

“Aunt Hanna is still on the phone, and Peppa Pig is over,” she pointed to the TV with her little hand. “And you probably have to leave soon... Mrs. Heike and Mr. Norbert are coming back any moment now!”

“But this is my house. I’m not going anywhere,” I said, trying not to laugh. “Heike and Norbert are my parents. Do you remember that I told you that before?”

She nodded, relieved and partly remembering that we had talked about it earlier. From her face, I knew she was about to say something more, but I didn’t hear her when I noticed my phone vibrating in my pocket.

I tried to disconnect as much as possible when I was on “vacation,” but given that it could be an important work issue, I decided to check what the notification was about.

To my absolute surprise, it was a message from Y/N:

Hi, Seb.

I’m so sorry for not replying to you earlier. I completely forgot...

I really wanted to, but with one thing and another, it’s been impossible. Hanna has probably talked to you about it, so I won’t say much more so I don’t stress you out more than you probably already are.

I promise that the next time you come, I’ll be there, and we’ll talk about whatever you want.

I think we have quite a few things to discuss about, and I hope you’re not upset with me when that happens.

I read the message more times than I could count, not believing what my eyes were seeing. Relief mixed with confusion at the last sentence. “I think we have quite a bit to discuss, and I hope you’re not upset with me when that happens” didn’t make me think of anything good, especially coming from Y/N.

I took some time to reply, maybe hoping that Hanna, who I saw was coming back into the house, could help me. I started to worry again when I saw a forced smile on her face, as if she was trying to hide something, just as she seemed to have been doing all day.

I started to hear the door lock and then it opening. I knew perfectly by the way of walking that it was my parents, and Emily seemed to know it as well. The little one jumped off the sofa and ran towards them, which surprised me quite a bit.

I only did the same, except I stood up as calmly as I could, with a kind of fear I couldn’t explain.

“You’ve come back home!” the little girl shouted excitedly, bouncing up and down. “Mrs. Heike, Mrs. Heike! Can I ask you something now that your son, the one who drives cars and is very liked by mom, is here?”

My mother looked at the little girl, and then at me. Her face changed completely when she realized that Emily wasn’t lying and that I was, in fact, back home. I didn’t know what Hanna was like at that moment, but I would swear she was more distressed than she had been all day.

Even my father, who normally was a person who didn’t get flustered by anything, seemed quite nervous.

Emily and I, however, seemed to be the only ones who weren’t catching on and were living in our bubble of innocence.

“Does your mommy have a nickname for you, Sebastian?” the little one asked me in a low voice, calling me by my name for the first time. Then she asked me to bend down and carefully placed her hand on my ear to tell me something so that no one would hear. “My mommy says I’m the sunshine of her life, but she always says to me not to tell anyone, that she calling me that way is a secret between us. No one answers me why when I ask them, do you know why?”

[ilovefoodandslasherswithmasks]

Brahms Heelshire x reader who is just kinda weird, like collects bones and shit. Also hates people (aside from Brahms who they absolutely adore)

OH MY GOD, okay yes totally. Idk if should write this going into spicey in the end or if you want it normal and more fluffy?? Just reply again I'll make sure to do it 🦦

(Also my first request my god I'll remember this 4 ever fr) so I'm doing it again. Let's hope it's not gonna delete 🏃‍♀️. (Update, IT WORKS SO HERE YALL GO, and here you go love since you asked for it ♡)

I'll be death itself for you.

After driving 7 hours with a heavy ass trailer behind you. You finally arrived at the Mansion you bought. In an online auction..which well is a bit questionable, thr house was cheap for its size. Condition was well not the best but it still cost a lot less than it would've. So after buying it and getting up and about, you're more than relieved when the house turned out to be real. Made of bricks, windows and doors.

"Gosh look at this place.." you exit your packed car and hold the old keys in your right.

"Yes yes I'm coming Luc" Lucifer, you're calico cat, busy scratching on the window. Surely couldn't wait to get out of the car after being stuck in it for hours with you.

Opening the door you take her leash.

"Impatient much?" Slowly making it up the stairs letting Luci smell what she felt necessary. You finally got to the door and she sat by your foot waiting. Unlocking it was a but hard, the lock seemed a bit rusty by now and when the lock finally clicked, you tried to open the door. And my god those doors! They didn't have such a huge size for nothing, they were heavier than expected. So using your whole body weight it finally budged just enough for you two to slip in.

"Pray the electricity works.." trying the first light switch, nothing, the second nothing, the third a quick flicker and then a burst light bulb. "Great" you mumble and finally decide that's a problem for the evening. Walking through the hallway and expecting the rooms with Luci was more than disappointing. Everything was dusty, one room had broken furniture, a sloppily fixed wall (hehehe) and a dead mouse in a trap in the backroom of the kitchen. A life one right next to it stuck in a saver trap. You made a mental note to go out to the woods and let the mouse go.

"Okay" you think before you pick Luci up.

"You're to slow girl, the rooms upstairs are not gonna be around all day."

Walking back into the hallway and then up the stairs, passing open doors and not finding any particularly interesting. The child's room looked so sad..and cold...almost creepy but it also filled you with the want to rebuild it as best as you can. Just because..

You settled for the last room at the end of the hall, it has a bathroom too ans the bed was amazing, so was the dresser and closet. They fit perfectly for you. You let Luci down and she imidiatly found it necessary to leave the room. And just explore again. You were fine with it thou, Luci always made sure to let you know when something was up.

"Mh...maybe I should start by cleaning...everything is old and messy..bed first"

Going to grab the old mattress and covers you imidiatly regret it. The huge cloud of dust hitting you in the face. And not just dust, it smelled horrible. You actually almost gagged while sneezing.

"Jeez need a mask huh?" After grabing a mask and some gloves, just to be sure, you finally get to work. The window were painted shut, so great, all the way downstairs and out the backdoor with the trash you go.

Hours later you finally manage to get the bedroom empty and clean, also the bathroom, which is very important ☝️.

You decided to bring up your own bed stuff mattress, pillows what not. The clothes you owned still stacked in boxes on the floor. You got yours and Luci's food...well after you decided you could carry 6 bags in one go, which cost you a stubbed little toe, a ripped open bag, and a bruised ankle.

So yeah no, one trip, was actually not enough.

You needed more than that but it's fine.

You groan as Luci just watches you gather up her spilled dry food. Luci was a diva, she wouldn't eat anything off the floor. Well this food was gonna end up in a bowl soon after anyways and she'd eat it perfectly fine.

"You hungry Luc?" Grabbing wet food you make sure she eats before heading back out and getting the box with your most precious items, your hammer and some nails.

You carry it all back up to your room and set it down on the little bench at the end of the bed. Looking at all the free wall space imagining which one would be best suited. The last wall on top of the dresser seemed perfect for your collection, you smile as you open up the box, carefully grabbing out the fragile skulls, the picture frames that held pinned bugs, two bats and the smaller bones that were inside a see through glass box. Luci liked to steal them, you'd never see them again.

Putting up all the picture frames and skulls, you were happy with it. Only small parts of the wall were still free which should keep you in check, but you couldn't wait to add more to your collection.

You loved to pin dead butterflies, moths and some spiders. You got some while on long walks, some you raised yourself. They were very important to you. The fact you could let them be in their full glory and beauty even in death was something you loved.

After finishing the wall, and the sun slowly set you decided you needed to find some damn candles. And lucky as you were, there was an entire cabinet full of them, one of the drawers was full of matches.

"Mh so busted light bulbs ain't new here huh?"

You leave the study with a huge box filled with candles and set them up. Putting a few on the tables and shelves that were safe enough to hold candles, and some in the hallway and up the stairs on those mirrored candle holders. Which were pretty rad to you. Watching as Luci scratched at a wall and smelled it, "what's up girl? Don't tell me we got rats or something in the walls?!" You gasp as you walk over to her, pressing your ear to the wall. Nothing, but a faint buzzing of the electricity...well the electricity didn't work but sure did?

"This should do.." finally done with most work you decided to eat dinner. Of course the kitchen didn't really help with that so a sandwich had to do.

Seated in the study room with Luci leaving from the small couch as soon as you arrived to go upstairs with her attitude and ready to use the bathroom.

You decided to just eat, you eyes flickering over the walls and shelves filled with books. Beautiful hard leather bound ones, some definitely seemed to have potential for a lot of money if sold well.

After picking up the one that sat on the small table next to the couch and looking through it you dropped it as you flinched. A loud crash could be heard from upstairs, Luci never broke things. Yes she was a drama queen but she never did.

When she came running down the stairs hurriedly hiding behind the couch you were seated on staring towards the stairs with growling and hissing. You get up carefully, "what's wrong baby?" you ask a bit shaken by now.

She never acted like this not for no reason at least.

Grabbing the pointy letter opener you slowly make you way to the stairs. Great, the too of them was dark, the entire hall was, hell the entire first floor was a creepy pit.

"Oh...mh okay..it's okay you're the only person in this house." Trying to sooth yourself with self talk didn't help as much as you'd hoped only the zippo in your pocket would grant you light up in that black hole.

Walking up the creaky stairs with your 'dagger' pointed and ready to be used, and you zippo lighting the steps extra with the candles that lined the wall. Swallowing hard you call in like a fool, "hello?". Like girl, be for real. You're a horror obsessed freak and don't follow the rules? Wow..

Down the hall you only see the light of your lighter, and your slight reflection in the window, "shit...I'm gonna die and become cat food aren't I?", you huff out before you start walking.

"I'M ARMED AND I'M SCARED TO USE IT!", you yell out. Again, like an idiot. You walk past all the rooms to yours and nothing. Not a person, not a broken piece of whatever broke, nothing...or...wait..

"That's not mine...." you say staring at the stuffed owl and crow that now sat on your dresser, decorating the room just as nicely as your wall.

"Okay ahahah what?!" Feeling a buzz off fright thunder through you when you hear a loud thud in the hallway. Just around the corner of your doorway.

"Mhh great.....hello?? Ghost??" you ask into the silence nothing, so the only valid thing to do was jump into the hallway with a war scream (squeal) Just to find a porcelain doll sitting up against the wall next to you.

"Who are you you little freak?" you knew who this doll was. Brahms Heelshires replacement, you knew reading up about this suspiciously cheap mansion was a good idea. You expected this place had held many deaths but well...this one the last generations of Heelshires passing was probably the saddest of them all.

The poor boy who passed away, so horribly, burned, and the parents who ended up going with a different element, drowning. You huff as you brush your hair out of your eyes (yes you got hair or a wig idc).

Crouching down next to the doll, "hi..um I hope you don't mind my intrusion, but well I own this house now..so maybe we should co-exists..or I'd have to sage your ass...which I don't wanna do you're a kid after all" you say, mostly talking to yourself like a dork.

"I don't know how you managed to bring me those stuffed animals, but uhm..thanks? They're nice? I suppose...or um a warning I suppose.."

Basically jumping out of your shoes when all the lights on the floor suddenly turned on and probably the ones downstairs as well.

"SHIT!.. gosh....pff um..Thank you?"

The rest of the night was rather pleasant, a few thuds here and there and a few of Luci's hissing at the wall and sleep seemed so easy to get.

Little did you know. This house came with more secrets than ghost's and haunted objects.

[axailslink]

When we're thirty

Riri Williams x poc FEM reader

Summary: Being best friends with Riri is a gift especially when neither of you are aware of your attraction to each other.

Snippet from the fic: “ "she tryna flip these inside out" you grab some of your perfume ignoring riri as you spray it on your wrists, chest, and ankles. Riri watches and waits until you're finished to say "why you spray your ankles?" You smile to yourself and Riri's dead serious now "you better not be ready to give up no cooky tonight bitch did you shave too?" ”

Dating for you is so common and Riri can't be more fucking annoyed in her life about it. "Could you at least act happy for me?" Riri glances up from her phone and shakes her head "absolutely not. I would but seeing as you've dated half the campus now I'm not saying shit." You scoff and put on your necklace "I'm pretty sure that was your way of calling me a whore" Riri nods "your words not mine" you groan and snatch her phone tossing it on her bed "stop being a dick and just be happy for me plesse Ri. You always telling me how I should get with a girl who cares for me as much as I care for them and this girl might be her." Riri nods "I mean maybe... No one else has made it even close to a third date with you. They look at you wrong and you get rid of em aren't you worried people might think you a...how do I say..?" You cock your brow wishing her to say the word you know is forming on her O shaped lips "you best not. I ain't no hoe I ain't just fucking very body not every body gets that luxury okay? You gotta be something special to see me naked. Especially for free." Riri laughs and shakes her head "I must be "something special" because I've seen you inside and out miss Y/n" you roll your eyes and reply "you're my best friend..." Riri nods "exactly and as your best friend I'm telling you this chick is tryna slide in your jeans" you. Can't help but laugh at Riri's terminology "girl what?"

Riri nods pulling on the belt loop of your ripped jeans "she tryna flip these inside out" you grab some of your perfume ignoring riri as you spray it on your wrists, chest, and ankles. Riri watches and waits until you're finished to say "why you spray your ankles?" You smile to yourself and Riri's dead serious now "you better not be ready to give up no cooky tonight bitch did you shave too?" You don't answer Riri's question instead you grab her by her wrist and pull her to you "hug me and see if you can smell this perfume" Riri does as asked and nods but she doesn't let the whole spray thing go away in fact she continues speaking about it as you make your way outside the door and to your car.

🤎💚🤎💚🤎💚🤎💚🤎💚🤎💚🤎💚🤎💚🤎💚

Upon your return it's written all over your face Riri doesn't even have to ask she just grabs a blanket and puts on some cartoons "come here." You do as requested immediately kicking your shoes off and taking your jeans and top off before getting in bed with Riri. "You're going to love this" no she's not she truly hates seeing you sad or upset even if it means she was right "don't say that" "at this point you the only girl I'm vibing with we should get married if we're thirty and still single." Riri laughs and kisses your forehead "you're ridiculous you'd hate fucking me cause I wouldn't let you be on top." You laugh and shake your head "see that right there I ain't no fucking pillow princess you gone get this loving cause you act like you can't be touched but we both know a little something something..." Riri cocks her brow "so what? You saying you could strap me down?" You sit up and nod "fuck yeah I could strap you down and wear you out just saying." Riri bursts into laughter causing you to scoff.

"Wow so you really don't think I could wear you out?" Riri shakes her head as she holds her laugh "man whatever not only that we couldn't get married because you a player you date everybody I'd get jealous." You chuckle and lean your head against her chest "I wouldn't date everyone if you were my girl. Only you. You care too much unlike the girls I be with... You notice the smallest changes I'd have my hands full." Riri finds this the best timing to say "and your mouth" you slap her shoulder and sigh "girl shut the fuck up and cuddle me. Remember I'm heartbroken." Riri opens her legs so you can lay in between on her chest. Riri watches as you fall asleep and shakes her head "when we're thirty."

A/n: ah sweet best friends who secretly yearn for each other but don't want to ruin a good friendship. I think imma make this correlate to the long fic I'm supposed to be posting.

[ultralovedeluxe]

Belonging || Yan! Lisa Lisa Drabble

Once again another daydream that soon became something I write about. EDIT: it’s been a while since I’ve written something omg, this is super all over the place. Hopefully, this is a nice lil taste before I write full one-shots again. Enjoy!! ^^

Warnings: minors dni, fem reader, yandere behaviors, burning (with cigarette), flirting with Caesar, abuse of power, kinda short

“Again.”

The older woman demanded as she placed the cigarette butt directly onto your arm. You cried out in pain. Despite this not being the first time you’ve been burned, it still hurt like hell. This had been going on for what felt like an eternity.

What did you even do that warranted this sadistic torture from your mistress?

Oh right. You disobeyed her.

.

.

.

Lisa Lisa had been your mistress for just a little over a year. Really it was just supposed to be for a couple of weeks. You had only decided to work as a maid and attendant to cover for your(at the time, sick) sister, Susie Q. However, your sister got too attached during your visit that she has begged you to stay; so you did.

And boy do you regret it.

At first, things were normal. You weren’t expecting to build a close bond with the older woman. But you soon started to notice how much Lisa Lisa was spending time with you. You assumed that was okay right? Surely it was normal. After all, your sister spoke very highly of Lisa Lisa, you knew the two could be considered close friends. You knew she loved this job, it wasn’t really appropriate to question anything about it. So you just shrugged it off.

Then things started getting weirder when your mistress had asked if you wanted to bathe with her. Huh..? That was odd. It was such an out of no where proposition you had to refuse. You couldn’t exactly forget the look she gave you. It was a dominating glare that lingered, and scared the absolute shit out of you. Surely there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that right? After that interaction you gave in and joined her for a bath.

From then on Lisa Lisa pulled you aside for all kinds of different reasons. Some of which were way too personal for the relationship the two of you had.

"Give me a massage darling, I've had a rough day.." Normal enough.

"Won't you join me for bed sweetheart?" Okay..odd.

"I don't want you talking to Caesar anymore." Wait what?

Your mistress had forbidden you to talk to the blonde-haired Italian. But why? Sure you had a small crush on him, and you may or may not have returned his advances towards you a couple of times, but why should that be any of her business?!

"Lisa Lisa-"

She gave you a nasty look, "That's mistress to you", she said lighting a cigarette without looking away from you. You gulped as you made eye contact with her. Sweat started to go down your face, was it worth it to even call her out on this invasion of privacy?

"Mistress, with all due respect, I don't think it's an issue that I'm talking to Mr. Zep-"

"Are you disobeying me?" Lisa Lisa asked in a stern tone. Even when she was livid, her face still looked relatively calm. "I didn't ask you to stop talking to him, that was a direct order. By the looks of it I see you hold no respect for me anymore" she said crossing her legs ever so elegantly.

You didn't know how to react. "I'm sorry mistress I didn't mean that-"

"Are you sorry?" she cut you off once again. You nodded. She signaled you to come closer to her. Reluctantly, you did. And now you were standing right in front of her.

"Sit down on my lap darling. That's also an order. Unless you're not sorry. And if you aren't there's the door, and your sister can go with you" she stated, and that alone made you obey with no hesitation. You didn't want Susie to lose her job...

"That's a good girl..but you still need to be punished, don't you?"

.

.

.

"Again darling, I couldn't hear you clearly the last time.."

You were crying horrendously. So much so your tears were blinding you. Lisa Lisa was not kind whatsoever. You were growing sick of smelling the strong scent of her favorite brand of cigarettes. Your arms were covered in burns, while your neck was filled with hickeys. You wanted this to stop, you had enough.

"I'm still waiting," she said in a low voice.

You whimpered as you felt Lisa Lisa bring another cigarette close to your arm again. "I-I'm sorry, I won't talk to Mr. Zeppeli anymore," you said closing your eyes.

She gave you a small smile, "And?"

"I will never disobey you again.." you said. "M-mistress" you whispered opening your eyes and facing her.

Lisa Lisa smiled, you trembled above her. She looked at all the burn marks and hickeys that were now on your body. All physical signs that you belong to her.

You were officially hers, and no one could take you away.

[skatermusic]

"Where are you headed this time, dear?" Elliott asked from his study.

"Oh, just gonna kick Pierre's ass. Don't wait up for me." Taylor answered.

Elliott simply nodded, engrossed in planning out his next novel. Then, his husband's words hit him, and he sprung to his feet. "Taylor, what do you mean?" Elliott asked, hands on Taylor's shoulders.

"Heard from Sam that the piece of shit's been taking credit for my produce. He bought one of my bottles of ancient fruit wine for his mom's birthday, and Pierre had the audacity to claim that he brewed it himself." The farmer was fuming by this point. He unsheathed his Galaxy Sword. In the other hand, he pulled out his phone and opened a text conversation between himself and Sam. "Get a load of this, babe."

The picture in question was of the farmer's best friend holding the bottle of wine mentioned earlier. In lieu of the "Blackwood Farm" label was a label from Pierre's General Store.

Elliott was appalled. "Well, I never!"

"Yep. I almost wish I'd let Joja settle in so I could sell my stuff there instead."

Elliott hugged the farmer. "I'm so sorry he did this. Surely Mayor Jodi will realize once she opens her birthday present?"

"Hopefully. Unless she throws the book at him, I may as well fly my stuff to the city instead." And Taylor easily could. Not only did he possess a private pilot's license, but, just before he pulled a "Fuck this, I'm out," from his job at Joja, he used his cut of his grandfather's inheritance to become the owner of a Cessna, which was parked just outside.

"I definitely wouldn't fault you for that. We do speak of the same individual who placed a bucket of water atop the door and revealed my secret to everyone in town."

"That son of a bitch!" As if Taylor hadn't already lost enough respect for the man. If Pelican Town wasn't such a tight-knit community, that could've ended with his husband being experimented on, or being an attraction for a water park!

"Agreed, and he is not the only one. Who do you suppose was in on this act of betrayal?"

Of mother-fucking-course, the douchebag who used to call himself mayor paid Pierre to do it. Yoba forbid the man spent his money on improving the town. Instead, he made a gold statue of himself and, apparently, paid shopkeepers to expose townsfolks' secrets.

Normally, Elliott would never condone violence, but he would happily make an exception for Pierre. "Remember not to tread any blood on the floor, darling. That will be an absolute nightmare to clean."

With a kiss from his husband, Taylor was off.

Just as he was about to enter the store, he saw his father in law leaving, groceries in hand. "Hey, Pops." Taylor greeted.

Willy noticed the amount of weapons the farmer was carrying. "Headed to the caves, my boy?"

"Not exactly."

Taylor and Willy walked to the saloon, where he told the fisherman everything.

"Trust me, son. I had a bone to pick with them both. Lewis was picking his teeth off the floor just before he got locked up, and after Pierre let Elliott's secret out, I had half a mind to buy a Joja membership."

Taylor patiently waited for the "But....."

"Sure, Pierre's a scumbag, but I couldn't bear the thought of the community centre being destroyed."

"Yeah, that's fair."

"Lewis deserved everything. May have broken my hand, but like hell do I have any regrets."

"What should I do about Pierre, Pops? Can't just let him get away with this."

"That's the thing-you won't. And I have an idea."

Taylor's phone buzzed, his husband's name appearing on the caller ID. He answered the phone. "You're on speaker, hon, and your dad's with me. I caught him up, and he has an idea."

"Ah. Do tell."

"One of you will blow the whistle on his ass, just like we did to Lewis." Willy explained. "The Flower Dance is right around the corner, and Pierre always uses Taylor's goods for the buffet table."

"Sounds like a plan. I think Elliott better do it, Pops. You know how I am when I'm pissed."

"Happily, darling." Elliott agreed.

With the plan made, all that was left was to wait for April 24th.

[paisholotus]

Hard Times

T'challa x black fem reader

Summary: T’Challa’s wife is dealing with the after effects of having a baby.

Warnings: Postpartum Depression, Strong Language, Mentions Of Suicidal Thoughts

Translations: Sthandwa (My Love) Intombazana yomntwana ( Baby Girl) Uthando lwam (Beloved) Ukumkanikazi wam ( My Queen) Ndiyakuthanda ( I Love You) Ndiyakuthanda, nawe ( Love You, Too) Nobabini ( Both Of You)

❗DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED❗

Requested By: @bluesapphire2

A/N: This MF Long. But I hope you like it fren. And I hope y'all like it

3rd Pov

It’s the most glorifying day for the kingdom of Wakanda. A new heir has been born.

Princess Lesedi Udaku came into the world. Her name meaning “Ray Of Light”, she gave that to her family and everyone who knew about her.

Except for the most important person. Her mother. Who couldn't seem to have any light in her eyes, when she looked at her daughter.

The King T’Challa fawned over his daughter even more since she was born. She was a perfect mix of him and his wife, having both of your features. T’Challa’s high cheekbones, your smooth coco brown skin, his tight curls, and your big beautiful brown eyes. She was beyond the words perfect, she was everything he could have imagined. T'challa thanks Bast every day, for bringing his beloved Intombazana yomntwana into the world.

➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️

Y/N Pov

I looked at her and felt nothing but emptiness. I couldn’t help the blank expression on my face when I held her close to my chest, holding her skin to skin. It’s not that i didn’t love her. How could i not love her? SHE'S FUCKING MINE, FOR BAST SAKE! Shit, I begged for her. I spent 9 months caring and nurturing her, but why did i feel nothing when she looked at me? I felt absolutely nothing, and it was gut wrenching. I waited and prayed for my child, and she's gets here and I couldn't feel nothing. What is wrong with me?

T’Challa, being the observant husband he was, noticed the joy i had during my pregnancy disappeared once our child actually came. His face held concern every time he looked at me. I would hear him ask his mother Ramonda, about what was wrong with me, and she simply replied with: “My son, she spent 12 hours in labor trying to give birth to your daughter. She is exhausted, mentally and physically. Give her time, she'll be fine and back to herself in no time."

It's been two weeks, i had multiple mood swings. I was irritable, and having thoughts about my baby that i shouldn't be having. And it scared the hell out of me, because Bast knows i would never hurt my baby. I didn't have the strength to be around my little girl, but I was constantly sad because i wasn’t around her.

What added to my stress was me not producing enough milk as much as i wanted to. I already felt like i didn't bond with her, but now I couldn't do the SIMPLEST THING which is feed my baby. I slowly felt myself getting more and more depressed. I started thinking what good is it for me to be here, if I couldn't feel any love for my child. I truly felt broken.

T'challa walked into the room as I paced back and forth beside the bed. “Why am I feeling this way, T’Challa?!” i questioned him angrily as hot tears ran down my cheeks.

He looked like he didn't know what to say, but walked towards me. “I-I do- I do not know, my love, but it'll get better. You know I'm always here for you." He said, reaching out for me.

I glared at him backing away taking in a ragged breathe. I angrily placed my hands on the sides of my head, and let out a choked sob. I looked back at him, his eyes glossy and a frown on his face. And it made me Angry! Not because of him, because of the stress and worry I was putting him through. It just seemed like I couldn't do ANYTING FUCKING RIGHT!

“Get out, T’Challa.” i turned my back away from him, so he wouldn't see me crying, and walked towards the bed, to get in the covers. When he attempted to grab me, i pushed him away.

“I SAID FUCKING LEAVE!” He slowly backed away, and began walking out of the room. I got in the bed and pulled the covers over my head, and began sobbing. What is happening to me?

➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️

T’Challa’s Pov

I went to the doctor monitoring Y/N and Lesedi. The doctor informed me that it was common for her to be extremely sad, which occurs in a lot of women after giving birth.

“The Queen is suffering from postpartum depression, my king.” he told me. I looked at him confused.

“I've never heard of this....depression.” i was genuinely confused. I did not know she was depressed. How could i not see this? I just want to understand why.

“How is she depressed? She gave birth to the child we begged Bast for? I don't understand why she isn't happy. I said, looking at the doctor who gave me a sympathetic look.

“It’s not that she is not happy, T'challa. Her hormones, her worries, the stress of dealing with a newborn, can all bring upon this depression.” he said. He went to grab his clip board and started naming all the symptoms of Postpartum Depression.

anger

anxiety

guilt

hopelessness

loss of interest or pleasure in activities

mood swings

panic attacks

I folded my arms and frowned at each symptom he named. My Love was going through all this this?

Uncontrollable crying

irritability

restlessness

 fatigue or loss of appetite

depression or fear

The thought of Y/N feeling like this, and trying to deal with it by herself hurt me. I felt tears brim my eyes but I quickly held my composure. I needed to be strong for Y/N, and to make sure she knew I was here for her.

I now had a better understanding, and thanked him, taking my leave to check on Y/N. I don't know what's going on with my Uthando lwam, but I will not stop until I figure it out.

➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️

3rd Pov

T'challa walked in the room to see you in the bedroom again curled up in a ball. You were in bed with a pained look on your face. Y/N saw his face, and looked like she wanted to cry even more. This wasn’t only hurting you, it was hurting him too. It was hurting the baby. He got into bed and after a few moments of silence, he spoke.

"I need you to tell me what's going on with you, Sthandwa."

Y/N sighed deeply, shaking her head and turning away from him.

“You won’t understand, T’Challa.”He turned your body back towards him and stared into your eyes. “You’re not letting me understand. We are one, Ukumkanikazi wam. You can't keep shutting me out. I need you, our daughter needs you." He said, softly.

"She deserves a mother that’s happy to be around her and I’m not. I feel EMPTY! And I don’t understand because those 9 months I spent with her in my STOMACH, I felt so close to her but now she’s actually here and I don't feel ANYTHING! LIKE WHAT IS THE POINT?! I CAN'T FEED HER RIGHT! EVERY TIME I TRY TO HOLD HER SHE CRIES! AND IT'S MY FAULT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A BOND! I just feel like she'll be better off without me." She said, As tears streamed down her face.

He grabbed your face. “D-Do...... Do not say that! You are everything to me and you are everything to her. Do not say you are nothing! AND SHE WOULDN'T BE BETTER OFF! AND NEITHER WOULD I! WE NEED YOU! this WORLD and this COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! Do you understand?" Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck, and cried into his shoulder and slowly nodded.

T'challa rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the side of her head, and turned her head so she could look at him. "I need you. Our daughter needs you. This kingdom needs you. You have to believe me when I say you are needed.”

After a hour of them comforting each other, T'challa got an idea, and kissed Y/N's head saying he'll be right back. Y/N sat up against the headboard and watched her husband walk out. Y/N sat in thought and tried to think positive, her and T'challa was going to make it through this, she'll just have to keep fighting.

T'challa walked in carrying Lesedi as she dranked from her baby bottle. T'challa got In bed beside his Queen, and slowly handed Lesedi to Y/N. She carefully took her and stared into her big brown eyes. Lesedi stared at her mama and reached her little chubby arm up and placed her hand on her mama's cheek, smiling letting out a gurgling noise.

Suddenly, it all hit her. A rush of happiness, joy, and love came barreling into Y/N, tears streaming down her face, as she started laughing. Y/N prepped many kisses on her daughters face. This is your daughter. This is yours. All yours. You knew you loved her with every fiber of your being, but now you finally felt it, and it was the most indescribable feeling you ever felt in your life.

T'challa looked at his wife with tears in his own eyes, and scooted over wrapping his arm around her back, and kissed her cheek.

"Ndiyakuthanda." He whispered to her. She turned to look at him with the biggest smile he's seen in a long time. "Ndiyakuthanda, nawe." And kissed his lips, pulling away and looking back at her daughter. "Nobabini"

[larry-22-blog]

Period complications part 3

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"Everything seems fine, you're good to go!" The doctor said after examining me.

"I'll make sure everything is filled in and ready for you. Just go to the reception to sign the files on the way to go." The nurse said after she gave us instructions on the treatment, giving me her number in case I have any problems or questions or anything.

"Thank you so much for everything!" I said, excited. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

Erling thanked her too then proceeded to help me dress. He insisted that he can take care of me, refusing the nurse's offer of helping me get dressed.

I swear this guy is something else. He is so possessive and protective of me.

I absolutely love it.

"Come on, love, let's get you dressed, my little snowflake" he kissed my head as he helped me put a t-shirt on (of course one of his), then helped me dress my lower half, putting on some black tights and some Manchester city blue socks, I actually bought them myself, I think that they are cute, topping it all off with a Manchester city jacket, in my own size since his is way too big for me. I refused to wear shoes, so we compromised on some Adidas slippers.

"Thank you, baby, I look like a football player" I chuckled, feeling sleepy.

"Nah, you look like you're Erling Haaland's girl" he smirked, kissing me on the nose before getting the bag with our things, making sure he covered everything.

"Good, we're ready baby, let me help you" he came back to me, helping me up. I almost fell down, if it wasn't for him holding me, my legs literally felt like jelly.

"Easy, baby, you're still a bit weak..." He pulled me closer to his body, supporting most of my weight and also carrying the bag.

"Since when walking such a hard task?" I wondered, making him chuckle.

We went to the reception to sign the papers but quickly left since everything was already paid for by Erling beforehand.

Erling helped me up into the car that was parked in the private underground parking lot. He had his Audi SUV ready, warm and comfy, my seat heat was also on, it was so damn amazing, I could die in this seat.

"Safety first, let me pull your seat belt on" he put the seat belt on around me, then kissed my head and stopped to look at me "how is everything? Are you comfy, does anything hurt? Do you want some water or a sneak maybe?" He asked worriedly.

"Everything is perfect Erl, you already took care of everything. I could never thank you enough for all you did for me... You gave me your blood, how crazy is that and you probably paid a shit ton of money for me to receive the best care, Erling, I just... You're unbelievable,  I could never repay you for all the stuff you did for me since we met... " I said, looking up at him and pulling him in a hug.

"I love you, baby, of course, I want to take care of you. Always. You don't have to thank me for anything, ever. Let alone for money, it's not important. I work hard for it, sure, doing what I love, and I have plenty of it, of course, I'm going to spend it on the people I love. " he kissed my lips before slowly closing the door, running to the other side.

I watched him getting in, putting his seat belt on then starting to drive off.

It wasn't going to be a long journey, maybe 1 hour if there is traffic, but still, I'm looking forward to spending time with him like this.

I watch him as he drives, he looks so fucking good, so confident and relaxed and so opposite of me driving so yeah, I may have a small thing for watching him drive.

"What are you looking at baby?" He asked, reaching to hold my hand over the console.

I took it in my hands and brought it up to my lips to kiss it, making him smile.

"You"

"You're going to make me blush..." he said, smiling still.

"I just love how good you are at driving, so confident and comfortable and relaxed, I wish I was at least 10% like you" I admitted, playing with his fingers.

"You're a good driver, we just need to work on your confidence, stop putting yourself down babe," he said seriously.

"Yeah... maybe" I yawned cuddling closer.

"You look like a soft kitty" he cooed.

"Mmm, not a kitty..." I tried to protest, but I feel my eyelids getting heavy.

"Get some rest, my love" it's all I hear before drifting off to sleep.

I was woken up when I feel arms about me, lifting me up and carrying me inside "mmm you smell so good" I hid my face in his neck, inhaling his addictive scent as he chuckled "I know you have a thing for my smell baby, but we got to admit I smell like shit right now, haven't washed in 2 days"

"I think you smell amazing... And I don't have a thing for your smell, I just have a thing for you, your everything..." I sleepy explained, trying to be coherent but failing as I mispronounced some words, sounding like I was speaking in my mother language, but with English words.

It happens mostly when I'm tired or stressed but Erling loves it.

Oh well, the worst was when I was really drunk, the first and last time I was drunk actually. It was at Erling's birthday party. I was totally having a conversation with him in my own language and he understood basically nothing of it but found it funny and cute appearance, he said it made him fall even more in love with me. And of course, jake Grealish got it on video. It didn't help that I was basically telling Erling that he's so beautiful and that I loved his hair and that I wanted to taste his lips and thought his thighs were sexy and some other painfully bad flirting. I was so drunk I wasn't aware he was actually my boyfriend so yeah, I daydreamed about him, speaking out loud for everyone to hear but no one to actually understand a word.

Well, at least he's also a foreigner. He understands my struggles.

He has a similar thing, but he is way better at controlling it, and it's much less obvious.

"Love your accent baby," he said as he put me down on the sofa in the living room, putting the bag down as well.

I was looking around the room when he spoke, handing me a cup of water, as he sit down next to me "everything was cleaned, don't worry about anything love" he rubbed my back.

"I'm really sorry for ruining your things, Erling, I should have been more careful..." I admitted, guilty, looking up at him as I drank some water.

"Hey, I already told you it's not important baby, they are just things, they can be replaced but you baby, you can't be. And I almost lost you because of my stupidity." He pulled me gently into his lap, arms around me.

"Erl, you know it's not your fault, it's my body that fucked up, which, honestly, nothing new, but really, you should not be guilty..." I rubbed his soft cheek, kissing his cute lips.

"I treated you like shit, I yelled and said shit and I scared you! You looked so frightened... I'll never forgive myself for it" he said, looking down at me guilty as he moved a piece of hair that has fallen on my face behind my ear.

"Did you... Were you afraid that I was going to hurt you...? Like physically...?"

"Erling...I was, I was scared of you, yes, like, I knew deep down that you wouldn't hurt me but I also, at that moment could not control my fear... It's just, you know my past, most of it, and like, you know that I didn't have the best people around me, especially not the men in my life... And well, because of it, them, I hate fights and yelling and power abuse I guess... But at the same time, you know that I sometimes am myself the problem, trying to or picking fights and trying to get a reaction because well, that's what I'm used to, what I think I deserve, to be hurt, I don't know how to explain it, but like, this is how my fucked up brain works..." I explained, playing with his fingers, trying to distract myself.

"I'm so sorry baby, I know how much you suffered in the past and how the whole yelling thing or fighting reminds you of your past, and I just, I did swear to you I would never be that guy, to make you feel small, or inferior or use my male status or power over you, but I failed, badly..."

"Baby, let's be honest, the thing is that we are just very different like this is how you express yourself. You live 1000% at the moment, you give your all, exactly like on the field and you love to scream, either in joy or frustration but it's a way of expressing yourself. Same with force, like, whenever you guys win it's a sight to see, you hug everyone and jump and pull people in or push them as you did to Jude remember" We both laughed remembering that time when he accidentally pushed Jude, so hard that he went flying, on the grass.

"And I love that of you, I love how passionate you are. Maybe one day I'll get over my trauma and become more like you" I giggled, kissing his cheekbone.

"I'll swear I'll do better love, I'll be the man you deserve..." he promised, kissing me.

"You already are, way more than I deserve" I reconnected our lips.

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[t-nd-rfoot]

To Be an Abbott Man // Rhett’s Worst Fear

Family is always a gamble for an Abbott

Summary A few days after leaving Amelia County, Rhett is forced to make a decision.

Characters Rhett Abbott x Maria Olivares

Theme Angst

Warnings Outer Rage spoilers; missing persons; family drama; hints of pregnancy; one too many words italicized for emphasis

Word Count 906

Note Inspired by this post by @sebsxphia ✨ A million thank yous again for this inspiration! Plus dad!Rhett just absolutely makes sense for his canon character arc at some point, he will be ours someday 😭 I just had to give this ficlet its own page for the Outer Range writers to find to properly edit it since I wrote the original so fast, so this is a slightly edited version! And as much as Rhett and Maria deserve happiness, I don’t think their journey is going to be as smooth as we want it to be, so this is how I interpret their season 2 start. Full fic under the cut to avoid spoilers in case you haven’t watched the show yet!

“Babe? You okay?”

That no good piece of shit. How could he leave after everything they’ve been through? It wasn’t enough that he had to bring down everyone with him—he had to abandon them there just as things took a turn for the worst.

Wait. But if he was gone, then he probably didn’t even know the state of things right now.

He didn’t know about...

“Babe?”

The rodeo. The diner. The school. The church. Those are the places he’d check first.

Amy was a smart girl. She wouldn’t just run away like that. She couldn’t.

And it’s not like Wabang was that big, anyway. If she wasn’t there, she’d still be easy to find. She's just a child. She couldn't have gotten far.

“Rhett!”

And suddenly, he was back in the motel. Maria was knelt in front of him, her hands on his forearms, shaking him back into reality, concern painted vividly on her face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

What’s not wrong, he thought, would have been a more appropriate question.

He whispered, still not meeting her eyes, “Amy’s gone. And so is Perry.”

He sniffed, a wave of emotions rushing over him at once. Anger, confusion, sadness…he didn’t know what to feel first.

Suddenly, a weight fell on his lap, as his girlfriend planted herself there to be able to hold and comfort him as tightly as she could. “Oh, Rhett…” He tried to hug her back as well as he could with the numbness in his arms.

“What did they say? Are they looking for them?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, “wasn’t really hearing much after they told me.” His fingers played idly with the hem of Maria’s shirt.

“Well, what about Joy? I’m sure they’re sending out search parties,” she consoled.

He scoffed. “Fuckin’ great. Last thing my family needs is another fuckin’ investigation.”

Sensing the frustration building in him, Maria got off his lap, and he immediately stood up to pace the room.

It didn’t make sense. Leaving Wabang felt right. It’s what he’s wanted since high school. He finally escaped the burdens of his family and start fresh—a second chance at life and at love, now that he knows Maria loves him back. He didn’t have to worry about his reputation as the Abbott Family Fuck-Up or the Town Manwhore, or whatever it is people called him. He didn’t have to be held responsible for Perry’s messes anymore, or disappoint Royal and Cecilia ever again.

So why did things suddenly feel so wrong?

His eyes finally met Maria’s for the first time since finding out, and that’s when he knew why.

Because he finally knew what it was like to be an Abbott man.

It wasn’t the name or the ranch that made him one.

It was knowing how easily family leaves with no certainty of coming back.

He witnessed it first hand with Perry. Nine months with not a single sign of his missing wife, that even the FBI gave up on it. Sure, the couple had their problems, but no one ever expected her to leave. Even more, no one expected her to not return. And now his daughter, the sweetest child on their side of Wyoming, has done exactly the same, and her father doesn’t even know it. If Rebecca’s disappearance didn’t drive Perry insane already, Rhett didn’t even want to imagine what his brother would do if he knew his daughter was gone too.

Now, he’s played a part in it with Royal. He had his faults, but even Rhett couldn’t deny anymore that his dad did everything he could to keep his family together. He didn’t have to involve himself in their misdeeds—their crimes—but still, he was the one who planned their alibi and did their heavy lifting. All to make sure he didn’t lose his own children. A futile effort, it turned out, since there he was back on the ranch without either of them.

It seemed inevitable for Abbott men to lose their children.

And all it took was one look at the love of his life to make sure the buck stopped with him.

He made his way back to Maria, still sat on the bed, and kissed her. As he pulled away, he knelt down on the floor, and placed a long kiss above her navel. It hasn’t even been a day since they found out, but he was determined to keep his family together no matter what.

“You love me, right?” he asked, looking up at her.

Maria tucked his long strands behind his ear. “Of course.”

He took his seat beside her again, his hand still on her belly, softly stroking it with his thumb.

“And you ain’t gonna leave me, right?”

The tone in his voice caused some worry in Maria. “Rhett…where is this coming from?”

“I just…I need you to understand.”

“Understand what?”

“That I can’t lose you, too!”

“And I’m not going anywhere!”

They were back to square one. Rhett ran his fingers through his hair. “You don’t get it.”

Carefully placing a hand on his shoulder, Maria tried to gauge the cowboy’s emotions. It wasn’t frustration he was feeling anymore.

It was fear.

Rhett took a deep breath. “Rebecca and Amy left Perry. And now, me and Perry, we stood up our dad.” He took Maria’s hands into his. “I don’t wanna know what that’s like. I don’t want you or our baby runnin’ out on me one day.”

A tear ran down Maria’s cheek at his confession. “I promise, Rhett. I’m never leaving your side—we’re never leaving your side.” She grabbed his hand and kissed it, as if she was sealing the promise into his skin.

Rhett studied her carefully. He needed to make sure she was sure, because he knew she wouldn’t like what he was going to say next.

“Even if we have to go back to Wabang?”

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• • • • •

GIF a-writer-and-a-reader

Disclaimer I do not own Outer Range or any of its characters. Please do not copy my work or translate without my permission.

[bonkbong]

meraki

"Told you they weren't gonna have that top you were looking for. Fairlane's too poor for that"

It was your typical Thursday afternoon.

And, in true fashion, we were skipping class and decided to put our energy into helping Sana find this top for her anniversary date that was rapidly coming upon us. Naturally, we tried to help her out and point her in the right direction for the sparkly barely-there top but—like the cheap bitch she is—she refused to look anywhere else past Fairlane.

This brings us to our exhausted little group sulking in the somewhat empty food court.

"I had a test today, you know," Nayeon huffed.

"I thought they'd have it," Sana defended which made the entire table glare.

"And we told you they wouldn't but that still didn't stop you," Aloni spoke up, aggressively eating her pretzel bites in the process.

"What mall would even have a top like that?" I questioned.

"Probably Somerset or Twelve Oaks," Ryujin answered.

That did sound about right.

"Well, before we leave we can at least grab something to eat here," Chaeryeong shrugged while looking around.

"I'm going to Cinnabon," Nayeon said, walking off.

"I'm getting Chinese," Aloni huffed.

"Me too," I stood from the booth.

"I would also like Chinese," Chaeryeong smiled.

"Facts," Ryujin yawned.

"Sana and I will stay here then and hold down the booth while we search for this top," Dahyun volunteered.

We gifted them a simple wave before heading to Chinese Wok. There were three people ahead of us once we made it over which made it easier to figure out what I wanted since I couldn't choose between noodles or chicken. But, before I could figure that out, my phone dinged multiple times with multiple texts making me mildly annoyed.

"It's Jun...isn't it," Aloni mumbled while eyeing the food.

"Unfortunately," I nodded, replying.

"I still don't understand how you guys even got together. He's so...," Ryujin trailed off, her face saying one thing while she struggled to say another.

"Crazy," Aloni chimed in. "He's bat shit crazy. You don't have to be nice about it, we all know the right word to describe it. Trust," she assured.

"Alright now...he's not that bad," I defended.

"You don't even sound confident saying that," Ryujin scoffed.

"Well, blame that bitch!" I pointed at Aloni.

Instantly, she cocked her head to side as if she was oh-so confused.

"You introduced us hoe, remember?" I blinked.

"Technically it was Vernon," she corrected.

"And how did I meet Vernon?"

Quiet.

Ain't no back talk.

"Wait a minute...you never told me that," Chaeryeong gasped.

"Right," Ryujin frowned.

"It happened junior year during PSATs..."

Tuesday, October 12, 8:30 AM

"Why the fuck are we here so early?"

"Because we have to practice taking the SAT, Jungkook," Nayeon yawned. "You are aware we take that this year to determine what colleges we're getting accepted to, right?" she questioned while eyeing him.

And when he only stared in what seemed to be even more confusion, the entire table groaned with pure disappointment.

"Dude, where have you been this last year?" Bambam frowned.

"In-"

"It's eight in the morning...don't," I warned, already knowing something disgusting and absolutely horrifying was about to leave his mouth.

"Where's your cousin? Don't yall live together?" Minghao suddenly asked.

"She had to give Hongjoong a ride," Dahyun answered.

"What?"

"Huh?"

But, before that mystery could be unveiled even further, the doors to the cafeteria swung open again, and the duo of conversation walked in.

"We were just talking about you," I smiled at my lovely cousin.

She only gazed at me before sitting down and unwrapping the breakfast sandwich she cooked earlier.

"I'm fucking starving," she muffled through the eggs and bacon.

"We can see that," Jackson snickered.

She only ignored him and continued eating her sandwich in peace until her phone dinged with a text making her smile and laugh.

"Come with me to the bathrooms," she nudged me.

"...okay?" I frowned, confused.

But, nevertheless, I followed her out of the cafeteria and into the freshmen' hallway.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I bought some weed from Vernon," she beamed.

My eyes rolled.

"Did you actually buy it or did he offer it to you in exchange for going on a date with him?"

She kept quiet.

Just like I thought.

"You might as well just add him to the roster at this point," I shrugged.

"That already happened," she mumbled.

We pushed on the doors blocking off the freshmen' hallway and entered one of the main halls where the bathrooms outside the cafeteria were to find Vernon and a boy I didn't know sitting on one of the benches outside the first-floor gym.

"Did you walk all the way around?" Vernon laughed as we walked up.

"It was the door closest to me," Aloni waved off.

"Where's my baggies?"

Without hesitation, Vernon pulled five packed bags of weed from the pocket of his sweats and handed them over with the most sickening smile on his face.

"I'll see you Saturday," he winked.

"Indeed," she nodded. "Jun, are you coming with us? My cousin here is single," she said while gesturing towards me.

My eyeballs nearly fell out of my sockets.

"Um...consent?" I frowned.

"Shut up, I'm making plays," she whispered so only I could hear.

Then she looked back at 'Jun' with a smile.

"We're going to the arcade. We can do a two-on-two...I know how competitive you like to get," she continued.

The guy looked at her with a blank face and then at me which made me immediately look off to the side and down the empty hall as if the dull-ass paint colors were interesting for once.

"Sure, I'll go"

"Great! My cousin and I will see you both there"

Oh, girl...

"Now why would you throw me under the bus like that?" I asked as soon as we re-entered the cafeteria.

"He's had a crush on you since last year's pep rally when we did that dance to that one Britney Spears song but yall don't run in the same crowd so I had to throw him a bone," she casually explained while grabbing an apple from the snack table they provided us.

"I'm sorry...he has a crush on me?" I frowned.

"Yeah. He wants you something serious...," she assured.

~

"And then we went on the date and, from there, everything just played out into what it is now," I shrugged, going over my order.

"Didn't expect you to find your abusive lover through a drug deal," Ryujin hummed.

"What about Mingyu? How'd you meet him?" Chaeryeong questioned.

"You don't know that one either?" Aloni frowned.

And poor Chaeryeong just shook her head.

"Guess I'm just giving up all the lore today...," I shrugged. "Mingyu and I met freshmen year through this project the photography students were doing."

"It was actually towards the end of the year in May..."

Thursday, May 20th 

"Excuse me"

I turned at the tap on my shoulder to see a guy I hadn't met before with a camera around his neck and a crooked smile on his face.

"Hey?" I frowned.

"I know this is super weird but my name is Mingyu and I'm in the photography program. We have this project where we have to go around and photograph people as well as ask a few questions and I was wondering if you'd be alright with being my last muse," he offered with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

"That's a weird project...," I spoke.

"It is but I need to pass to keep my A," he shrugged.

"I'll help you out then"

In the blink of an eye, I was positioned in front of the flower wall on the third floor near the photography darkroom with my trombone in hand.

"I'll take three and you can choose which one you'd like for me to put in my scrapbook," the guy told me with a smile.

"Cool," I nodded.

"My name is Mingyu, by the way," he spoke while readying his camera.

"Donavon," I smiled as the flash momentarily blinded me.

"What grade are you in?" he repositioned my trombone.

"Ninth," I played with the instrument as he snapped another picture.

"When are you at your happiest?"

My mind immediately went to be cooped up in my room with Aloni and I'vin pulling an all-nighter for God knows what.

It brought a smile to my face as I tried my hardest to come up with an answer that would satisfy me and all the things I liked to do that made me happy. But, all I could think about were my cousins as the camera flashed for the last time.

"I guess I can only say being at home with my cousins and spending time with them," I finally answered and looked back at Mingyu.

He smiled at me.

"That sounds really fun"

He then went back to his camera and turned the screen towards me as he walked over.

"Pick your poison"

I paid close attention to myself as he took his time shuffling through the trio of pictures and couldn't help but think they all looked pretty nice. 

But I fear I liked the last one a little too much for other people not to see.

"I love all of them but I'll go with the last one," I nodded.

"Yeah, that's my favorite one too," he mumbled which made my eyes linger on him a moment longer. "Do you want me to delete the other ones or do you want those? Cause I can send them to you if you want," he shrugged.

"Sure! Do you need my number?" I frowned.

"Yep," he nodded while handing over his phone.

Quickly, I typed my number in and saved it before handing it back over to him.

"I'll have these to you by tonight," he assured.

"I'll be looking forward to them," I smiled.

"See you around...," he waved.

"See you!"

~

"And then next thing I know he was at our house for a movie night," Aloni chimed in before turning to the worker and putting in her order.

"Didn't you also meet San freshmen year?" Ryujin eyed me.

"I did," I confirmed.

"And didn't you almost-"

"Hey now!" I shut her down before she could finish.

Some things are not for the public's ears.

"Wait, what happened? Did you almost have sex with him or something?" Chaeryeong guessed.

"He wanted to gobble that man alive," Ryujin snickered.

"You were thirsty for San?" Chaeryeong gasped.

"That is not how that happened," I refuted.

"Then refresh my memory because that's how I remember it happening when you and San told us the story that one night," Ryujin wiggled her eyebrows.

"In true nigga fashion, this happened during gym..."

1st-hour Gym, 10:00 AM

This was so stupid.

Not only did they give me gym an hour before lunch but our gym teacher literally has no structure and just let us exist in the gym for an entire hour and thirty minutes. To others, that was a dream come true because that meant they could literally do whatever they wanted in the gym and our teacher didn't care.

But, for me, this was torture.

It was bad enough I didn't even want the class but to be here and have to be around all the wannabe basketball players by myself made me want to kill myself.

What did I do to deserve such treatment?

"I'm telling you this is homophobic," I explained to Aloni via FaceTime.

"Isn't Jihyo in your class?" she frowned.

"She was but they transferred her out last week," I groaned, dramatically laying against the bleachers and staring at the ceiling. "I'm literally all by myself in this class and forced to watch these men play basketball the entire time."

"And you're telling me none of them are cute?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't looked that hard and I don't care," I stood up.

"Geez, you really hate that class," she shook her head as I carefully maneuvered through the floor to get to the locker rooms.

And I was almost successful...

Until I felt a throbbing pain in the back of my head, heard my phone slide across the gym floor, and was suddenly seeing pitch-black darkness.

This is officially the worst day of my life.

"Donavon? Can you hear me?"

My face scrunched as a throbbing headache crashed into my skull at the soft voice, my body going to sit up but was gently pushed back down.

"Don't get up. You need to lie down"

"I need to get off the floor before people laugh and record me," I groaned.

"You're fine, Donavon. You're in the nurse’s office. Nobody's in here except myself and your friend who brought you"

My eyebrows knitted after hearing the end of her sentence but before I could question who said friend was, she started talking again.

"I've already been in contact with your cousin and she's going to drive you home as soon as she's finished with class which is less than ten minutes"

"I have to go home with this headache?" I frowned.

"No"

Suddenly, a liquid was being poured into my mouth which I had no choice but to digest.

"This is Motrin. It should clear your headache in no time"

"Thank you," I managed out.

"Are you well enough to see your friend before you leave?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

Maybe Jihyo heard what happened and saved me from embarrassment.

The door closed once and time went by—which helped my headache a lot—until the door opened again and the smell of strong cologne filled the room which made me nauseous and my headache worsened.

"You are definitely not Jihyo," I gagged.

"I'm San. I'm the one who accidentally hit you with the basketball," he spoke.

My eyes opened at that, as I wanted to see the idiot that landed me here, but as soon as I was staring at a bare chest and an unclothed upper half...my angry thoughts flew out of the window.

"Are you okay?" the mystery guy asked, kneeling so his body wasn't towering over me.

"Mhm," I nodded, not really hearing anything he said.

"I'm so sorry. I feel like a dick," he frowned, looking all over my face. "I tried to hold the ball once I saw you walking but one of the other guys bumped into me and then-"

"Your Lord and savior is here!"

We both turned towards the door to see Aloni standing there with her belongings and mine.

"Who is he?" she pointed at the boy.

"I'm San, I accidentally hit him," he huffed, standing to his feet.

"And your naked," her eyes widened.

"I just wanted to make sure he was okay," he gestured to me. "I tried to go back to at least hit the shower but I couldn't leave without knowing if he was going to be alright or not. It was the least I could do," he mumbled.

"Well...thank you for looking after him after knocking his screws loose," she smiled, fully stepping into the room. "You can live in peace now. I got everything from here," she assured.

"O-okay, sorry again," he told me.

"It's alright. You didn't do it on purpose," I waved off.

"See you around," he waved.

We both watched as he left and once the door closed fully, Aloni turned to me with one of those no-good smiles.

"Don't get any bright ideas," I warned.

~

"But he had even brighter ideas because shortly after he asked me out to make up for what he did," I sighed, remembering the day like it was yesterday.

"So first he gave you a concussion then he made it up with dick shortly afterwards. That's romantic," Ryujin nodded.

"Now let's hear about Mark since we're walking down memory lane," Chaeryeong beamed.

"Oh, that's easy," I laughed.

January, Mark's first day

"Mark?"

The blonde looked up from his folder with wide eyes.

"I'm Donavon, I'll be your your guide for the day," I politely smiled.

He also smiled.

"Cool"

Now, when Jessi originally gave me no choice but to be his tour guide I was pissed. I didn't feel like showing a Canadian man around our ghetto school. But, as we near the end of said tour, I can see that he honestly isn't so bad. He's funny, he seems pretty school, he's cute, he's-

"So, what do you do for extracurricular?" he asked.

"I'm in marching band and a part of the competitive dance team," I shrugged.

"Nice! Do you like it?" he smiled.

"Well, I hate my band director because he's a fucking terrorist but my section is pretty cool and some of the other people are too. And all my bitches are on the dance team so, that's always a time when I'm with them," I laughed.

"That's cool. I'm thinking about joining the baseball team," he spoke as we re-entered the school after walking through the courtyard. "The coach really wants me and I was hesitant because I didn't know if I'd stay here or not but you might've swayed my decision," he smirked.

"How?" I frowned.

"I don't know. You just make me want to stay," he shrugged.

My heart nearly burst from my chest as I swore he was flirting but maybe he was just being nice considering I gave up two hours of my life to show him around.

"I was just doing my job," I nervously laughed.

"Mhm...maybe you can show me around the city sometime. I'm not well versed in the city of Detroit, you know," he walked closer, his eyes burning a hole in the side of my face.

"I probably can," I gulped.

He stopped.

"Saturday?" he asked, a cocky look on his face.

And I wasted no time answering.

"Sure"

He then dug in his pocket for his phone before handing it over to me with a new contact profile already pulled up.

"We can figure out the details later"

I entered my number and name which made him nod and laugh to himself.

"I'll see you around, Donavon," he winked.

Too stuck to say anything, I settled for a simple wave and waited until he was out of sight before booking it to the band room with tea ready to be spilled to the girls.

"I've been calling you bitch," Aloni frowned, stationed outside the closed door.

"I had to give one of the new transfers a tour," I defended.

"Yeah? Well, tour your ass to that trombone and get your shit together because Kennedy is on one," she shoved me inside the room which was in chaos.

I grabbed my trombone parts out of my case and went to grab the nearest seat in my section—perks of a section leader—which just so happened to be next to this Korean boy whose name I didn't know. Matter of fact...

I don't think I've seen him in this room before.

"Are you new?" I asked which seemed to startle him a bit.

"I just transferred and the director asked me to come to practice to see if I want to join or not," he explained at rapid speed.

"Relax. I'm the section leader and just noticed I hadn't seen you before," I laughed.

"Sorry, sorry," he bowed.

"I'm Donavon," I smiled while putting my trombone together.

"Soobin," he smiled.

"Welcome to marching band, Soobin. Hope you stick around," I encouraged.

~

"That'll be $25.60"

I handed over my card.

"And that's about where everybody came from," I turned to Chaeryeong and Ryujin.

"A two-for-one special is crazy," Ryujin laughed.

"I'm still rooting for Mingyu," Chaeryeong confessed while pulling her card out.

"Enjoy your day"

"I'm rooting for whoever is putting in the most effort," I grabbed my food.

"And who is that?" Ryujin eyed while paying for her food.

"Nobody other than Mark Lee," Aloni jumped in while grabbing a handful of the free fortune cookies.

"So is that gonna be your pick once you all start college?" Ryujin asked.

"You thinking too much. This ain't even about that," I immediately shut down.

I ain't made it that far.

Nor do I want to even think that far.

"I want to enjoy these last few weeks of senior year while we can," I told them as we walked back to the table.

"We'll revisit this after prom then...for both of you," Ryujin nodded.

And I just sighed.

There's a conversation I'm not prepared for.

[zepskies]

Aww yay!! As always, I couldn't stop smiling while reading through your comments. Diving in! ⬇️

LOL Louisa does not know what she's in for by asking. And both Loco and Frank give NO fucks when it comes to embarrassing the reader. Like the fun older brother and the favorite uncle. 😆😆

Frank's "death" did quite a number on people, and I didn't expect that to have such a strong reaction, but I'm so glad people love our stoic king as much as I do!! Frank the Tank indeed!! 😂 And I don't blame Marie for being intimidated/scared of him. A tall, dark and handsome dangerous looking motherfucker shows up with your daughter, you're gonna have questions. 😂😂

Vought is, in fact, a bag of dicks. I wouldn't put anything past them. 😑

LMAO the "bumper cars" line was indeed a favorite of mine. 😂

[How Ben can't maintain his bitterness when he sees she's injured.] Absolutely. He's got a soft center, and she's wiggled her way inside it without meaning to. And yep, he's finally facing the reality of both of their predicaments.

You're right, that's exactly how I intended it: that her safety, and him realizing on some level what she means to him, is the douse of cold water he needs to realize that he needs to put his pride aside and see about making some kind of deal with Mallory.

What, did I put him in a glass cell just so they could have the "touching hands" moment? No, I wouldn't do that. 😏😏

(But yes, they've definitely hit another turning point in their relationship from here on out.)

["A few wrinkles."] Oh, Grace has nothing but audacity. 🤣 Honestly I fucking love her for it. She's a strategist, and she's playing chess not checkers. She knows the chink in Ben's armor now, and she's 100% going to press those buttons if she has to.

Now, does she actually want harm to come to Y/N? Not necessarily. But she absolutely will do what she has to if she think it will keep Ben where she wants him.

And meanwhile, Ben is 100% taking the bait. 🤣 But maybe he's learned to be strategic too, thinking a bit more like the reader.

[Late with Starbucks.] LOL my queen. 👸 I wish I had your swagger in high school. 😂

Bwahahaa they could definitely take a trip to Australia. I hear it's lovely this time of year. 😘

["I could eat."] Lmfao of course he did. 🤣 My favorite line of his from this chapter.

That scene in the bathroom really does showcase how far they've come. 🥹🥹

["What does that mean?"] LOL I'm fucking dead. (But you're absolutely right. 🤣🤣)

Ben's an old-ass man. He was raised in the era of holding doors and shit. Not that he does all that for just anyone, but for her he will. 😉 And no, he does not waste ANY time, clearly. At least he waited until they were alone. 🤣

LMAO I apologize for being such a tease, but next chapter will have all the fun and feels, trust me. 🩷 They've reached a turning point here for sure, entering the next stage of their relationship, which will be explored more in Part 14. 😘😘

Break Me Down - Part 13

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Female Reader

Summary: You’re a private investigator by trade, but now you happily sit at a desk — leading a surveillance team at Supe Affairs. After managing to end Homelander in New York, Soldier Boy escapes custody. You are recruited for the manhunt, joining Butcher’s team.

Truly, you joined the S.A. for the right reasons. But after you become his accidental hostage, Soldier Boy will break down every single one of them…

Word Count: 6,500 Tags/Warnings: Peril, hurt/comfort, angst, and a deal… 

Part 13: A Generous Deal

Frank, Ben’s former henchman, gave you a quirking smile.

Beside him was Loco, who tossed you a wink. He carried a semi-automatic weapon in his hands. 

“You look good, corazón,” Loco said, reaching for your sister. “Let’s get you guys out of here, no?”

“Who the hell is trying to kill us?” Louisa said, accepting his hand after you guided her up from the ground. Frank covered you all while firing back at the shooters. 

Loco snorted in amusement. “Vought. Who else?” 

“Jesus, fuck,” you muttered. “What do they want with me? It’s Ben they were after.”

“Who’s Ben?” Louisa asked. Meanwhile, Loco guided you both out of the apartment and down the stairs. Frank covered you guys from the back as he followed. 

“El capitán, Soldier Boy,” Loco supplied as he pointed to himself and Frank with his gun, “Our boss.”

“Soldier Boy?!” Louisa shot you an incredulous look. You gave her a wan smile before you glared at Loco, pointing his gun away. 

“Watch where you aim that thing,” you reminded him. Loco just scoffed. He covered you when you stepped out of the apartment building, leading you to a black SUV parked illegally on the side of the road. 

Right now, you were grateful for that as bullets seemed to rain down from everywhere. But with Frank and Loco’s expertise, the four of you made it into the car. Frank was your chauffer, and he sped off down the street.

“How the hell are you alive?” you asked Frank. “You were shot point blank in the chest.” 

“Was wearing Kevlar,” he said. “And I was on V24.”

“So he fucked those mall cops in the ass with hot lead and broke me out of prison,” Loco supplied, shooting you a grin. 

You smiled back at him, but when you looked over at your sister, gripping the inside of the car door for dear life with petrified eyes, you grabbed her hand to steady her. 

You turned back to Frank. “We need to pick up my mom. If they’re after me too, then she’s not safe.”

“Where?” he asked. You gave him the address of the hospital where your mother worked. Frank turned a corner sharply in order to change course, making you grip the car handle yourself. 

“Jesus, Frank. Go a little smoother on the wheels, yeah?” Loco quipped. 

“You want a nice kiddy ride, or you want to get there alive?” Frank retorted. “We’ve got a narrow window, even less now that we’ve got a second stop.” 

“It’s not that far. Lower West Side,” you said. And you continued to instruct him through the New York traffic. He was an adept driver, but he wasn’t a New Yorker. You pointed out the best roads to take to get there within half an hour. 

Loco stayed with Louisa in the car (albeit, first with a lot of reassuring that she would be safe with this perfect stranger that she could only suspect was a criminal).

Frank escorted you inside, where you found your mom at the reception desk (thankfully) on the first floor. Her eyes lit up when she saw you. 

“Oh my God, you’re back! How are you, sweetheart? Oh, come here,” your mother said, getting up from her desk to pull you into a hug. You accepted it with a smile, but you grabbed her shoulders firmly and made her see the sense of urgency in your eyes. 

“Mom, I need you to come with me,” you said in hushed tones. She looked around, from you to her confused coworker at the desk beside her.

“What? Honey, I can’t. I’m at work—”

“Now, Mom. I’ll explain later.”

“Marie, you going on lunch break?” asked her coworker. 

“Yep, I’m taking her out,” you supplied, looping your mother’s arm with yours. “Come on! I found this cute little French bistro a few blocks away.”

“Honey,” your mom tried to whisper. She didn’t like the look of Frank hovering beside you. He was a tall man, broad and wearing a long black trench coat—and a gun concealed within. 

“Just trust me,” you told her, gripping her hand tight.  

Somehow you made it to the car without incident. But once the five of you were on the road, with all three women squished in the backseat, Louisa turned to you. 

“So you’re actually helping Soldier Boy now?” she asked, and with a sly raise of her bow, “Or should I say Ben?”

Your face began to heat up, but you clung to your stoicism. 

“Soldier Boy,” Marie gasped. “Didn’t he kill Homelander?”

“May that prick get fucked in the ass for all eternity in hell,” you muttered. Once again, your mother gasped. 

“Young lady. I don’t like that,” she said, with all due side eye. 

“You don’t like anything, Mother,” you quipped.

“Wait, wait. You’re not getting out of this.” Louisa leaned over and grabbed your hand. “What’s the deal with you and Soldier Boy? I thought the whole point of your mission was to capture him.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. 

“I was on the job, things went sideways, I got captured, and things got…complicated.” 

Frank huffed. “I think the kids are calling it Frenemies with Benefits.” 

Louisa uttered an incredulous laugh.

“Excuse me?” said Marie. You gave the man a withering look.

“Don’t help me, Frank.”

An amused smile tugged at his lips. But then it was wiped away. 

“Incoming. Three tails,” he said. Loco looked in the side mirror, and his muttered curse was a confirmation: they were being followed. 

“Where are we headed?” you asked. 

“Supe Affairs,” Frank said. He took evasive measures, banking on corners and doing his best to beat the cars tailing them through traffic. 

Until the mid-size SUV was side swiped by an even larger black one. It slammed into your side of the car, making it spin out. You all screamed as the car flipped over once and managed to land. 

You had to blink drops of blood out of your double vision, but when it cleared, you saw Black Noir had landed on the hood of the car. Your eyes widened. 

Noir raised his gun and shot through the windshield, but while Loco shot right back at him, Frank put the car into reverse—into the path of a coming bus. 

He actually sped towards it. And at the last moment, he sharply turned the car to try and fling the supe off the hood. 

It worked, somewhat. Noir was forced to stop the bus from hitting him directly, causing the front of the bus to fold up like an accordion against his hands. And while he was distracted, Loco threw a projectile at the supe’s face. 

Noir caught it with ease, but he didn’t expect the way it erupted with nerve gas in his face. Before it could affect the normal humans in the car, Frank reversed again and finally managed to dislodge the supe. 

He turned the car around and was able to get the car back into Drive, but the entire windshield was gone, and breathing felt like agony once again. If you had to guess, it was your broken ribs flaring up after the initial impact. 

Your shoulder also ached like a bitch. You didn’t think it was dislocated, but at the very least, severely bruised.

Not broken, at least, you thought bitterly. 

“Oh my God. You okay?” Louisa asked, gasping once she looked over and saw you clutching your arm.

You could also feel blood dripping over your brow and down the side of your face. Your mom also had a knock to the side of her head, but she and Louisa looked more or less fine, if scared out of their minds. 

“I’m okay,” you said, giving them a reassuring smile. You directed it at Frank next, when he glanced back at you with concern.

You fished into your pocket and found your cell phone unscathed. Letting out a relieved breath, you found Grace Mallory’s personal cell in your contacts and started the call.

She picked up on the third ring. 

“Who is this?”

“Grace, it’s me. I—”

“How did you get this number?” she asked.

“Stole it from M.M.’s phone,” you replied impatiently. “Listen, I have a situation—”

“You’re already on thin ice,” she said. “This better be fucking good.”

At that, the narrow thread of your temper snapped.

“I’m playing bumper cars with Black Noir in the Lower West Side. How’s that for fucking good?” you said, raising your voice. “He’s trying to kill me and my entire family. I need your help, right now!”

A beat of silence, and Grace replied. 

“Understood. What are the cross streets?”

“We’re in a black SUV,” you replied, and you gave her the closest streets as they passed by. “We’re heading toward the S.A.”

“Backup will arrive shortly,” she said. Then she hung up on you. 

It was a good thing too, because you lost your grip on your cell when another car bumped into the SUV, this time from the driver’s side. Your eyes widened as you saw Black Noir again, this time with a grenade launcher. 

“Heads down!” you screamed, reaching for your sister.

Just as he would’ve shot at the car, a helicopter flew overhead and shot directly at the supe. CIA units swarmed in in various cars, and it allowed Frank the distraction he needed to slip away from the supe.

Frank and Loco escorted your family to the double doors of the Supe Affairs building. You hung back real quick once they were inside, knowing the men couldn’t go in. They would likely be apprehended. 

“Thank you,” you told them. Emotion made your eyes glassy. Loco gave you a smile and rubbed your non-injured shoulder.

“Just get yourself checked out,” Frank said. He gave you a scrap of paper with two cell phone numbers on it. 

“Reach us here if anything changes,” he said. With Soldier Boy, his tone implied. You nodded and took the numbers from him. Loco left to start up the car, but you grabbed Frank’s arm, holding him back a minute.

“Why’d you come find me?” you asked. “You guys…didn’t owe me anything. You don’t even owe Ben.”

“He does technically owe us,” Frank said. 

You nodded at that. “Well, you could just cut your losses…is it that good a payout?”

His dry smile told you yes, it would be that good.  

“But that doesn’t explain me,” you pointed out.

Frank considered you, as if contemplating the reason himself. 

“We knew if Soldier Boy was going to break out, it would be because of you,” he said. “We happened to be watching you when we saw Black Noir casing your building.”

“Doesn’t totally explain why you’d risk your lives for me,” you said. 

Frank seemed uncomfortable with the question. So you let him off the hook with a smile. 

“Thank you. Again,” you said. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”

His lips curved at that. “Me too, kid.”

You ushered your mom and sister through the S.A. building, ignoring the odd and concerned looks from people going about their workday.

You knew the three of you made quite a sight, especially when your face was literally dripping blood, and your arm was pinned to your side. 

You noticed Butcher striding down the hall with M.M., and you called out to him loudly.

“Still think Black Noir isn’t a fucking priority?” you shouted.

Both men noticed you in surprise, but while Butcher was mostly curious, M.M. was concerned. You then ignored them and started guiding your family up to Grace’s office. 

As it turned out, you didn’t have to. She stepped off the elevator and led the three of you into a private office. She had already requested an on-call doctor for you, and he was there waiting with his supplies. 

Marie helped you into a chair, where you let out a shaky breath. The doctor came over to check your shoulder, during which Marie stroked your good arm and Luisa brushed your sweaty hair from your face.

“Not broken or dislocated,” he confirmed. “Just bruised. You’ll need to ice it for a few days.”

“What happened?” Grace asked at last. You met her blue-eyed gaze.

“I told you. Black Noir tried to kill us. I assume I was the target, because he found me at my apartment,” you said with a wince, rubbing at your aching ribs while the doctor wrapped your arm in a temporary sling. He next worked on blotting and stitching up your head wound, which he remarked was shallower than it seemed.

What you needed were some painkillers. 

“I want my mom and my sister placed in protective custody,” you told Grace. 

Both women protested at first. 

“What are you going to do?” Luisa asked incredulously. “You can’t do this by yourself.”

“We’ll take care of this,” you tried to reassure her. 

“And what about school? I can’t just drop out for God-knows how long.”

“I’ll talk to NYU, get them to let you complete your classes online.”

“What about me? My job isn’t so flexible,” Marie pointed out. You frowned, at a loss for what to say. Your guilt was growing by the moment; not only had your family been put in danger because of you, but their lives were about to be completely uprooted. 

“We’ll work it out with your employer as well,” Grace said. 

You gave her an appreciative look. Grace could be a bitch, but it seemed she wasn’t a complete asshole.

When you turned back to your family, hot tears welled up in your eyes and slid down your cheeks unbidden. 

“I’m so sorry,” you choked on a sob. “This is on me.”

Luisa tearfully shook her head, holding your hand. Your mom was in a similar state as she wiped your tears away. 

“I just want you to be safe,” Marie said. “Promise me you’ll be safe.” 

You nodded, but you couldn’t force yourself to lie to her this time. 

In a few hours, you saw your mother and sister off as Grace directed them into protective custody. They would be taken to a safe house tonight, and would remain there until the matter of Black Noir was settled. 

You were exhausted, in pain, and emotionally spent, and you were going to need a safe house of your own. But you agreed to spend the night here at the S.A. building, where there were cots available upstairs for when supes where occasionally held overnight. 

You debated the idea growing your mind, whether it would be good for you in this moment…

But you couldn’t help yourself. 

You had to see him. 

Your steps were slow, but you eventually made it to the “cellar.” 

The guards raised their brows at the state of you, still with dried blood, bruises, and your arm in a temporary sling. Your hard gaze warned them to mind their fucking business. 

“Open it up,” you said, raising an expectant brow. After glancing at one another, one of the guards shrugged. He pressed the button to disengage the outer walls, which parted for your entry. 

You stepped inside, this time grateful for the way those walls closed behind you. You knew the guards would be watching regardless, but the semblance of privacy was enough for you.

Ben was sitting up in his cot, back against the wall with his arms crossed. The stance was familiar to you; he was probably awake, but trying not to fall asleep due to the nerve gas making him drowsy. 

His eyes opened when he heard you coming. His mouth opened, poised to be snarky, until he actually caught sight of you. Whatever acidic words he’d been about to say died on his tongue as he took in your injuries, from stitched and bandaged head to your arm in a sling. 

He got up and approached you, until only the glass separated you two by a few feet. 

“What the fuck happened?” he asked. His voice was gruff, but you thought you detected concern behind his green eyes. 

“Black Noir,” you rasped.

You explained to him what happened from the very beginning. Your sister showing up at your apartment, followed by Noir shooting at you, then Frank and Loco showing up to extract you from the building.

“Those fuckers are still alive?” Ben noted with surprise. You could see that he was pleased by the news, and you smiled. 

“Yeah, they saved me,” you admitted. But then, your lips trembled. “Black Noir tried to take me out. Me and my whole family.”

Ben watched you tear up, his jaw tightening. The fury lighting in his blood gave him new energy as he contemplated just how slowly and painfully he’d take Stan Edgar apart for this. He had no right to sick that damn bootlicker on you. 

And probably just to get to him.

Ben began to pace. He had no other way to vent his frustration, other than hurling up his cot against the wall with a guttural sound of rage. (Which he did, not seeing how it made you flinch.)

He was in this cage, and meanwhile, you were out there. Unprotected. Taking bullets that should be his…and his alone. 

He wiped a hand over his mouth and looked back at you. You were wide-eyed, vulnerable, not sure what to make of his reaction. 

Ben wanted to continue blaming you for his imprisonment…but deep down, he knew you weren’t the one who put him here. He also knew why you wouldn’t break him out either. 

You were stubborn about your convictions—something that frustrated him to no end. But ultimately, he admired you for how you always held your ground, even against him. 

Especially against him.

But right now, you looked exhausted, in pain. He just couldn’t do anything about it. And that irritated him, he discovered.

“Did your dad order the hit?” he asked. “Stan said he was still alive.”

You tilted your head, like you hadn’t thought of that before. Despite your lingering tears, your expression briefly became cold as stone.  

“If my father knew about this, he’s a dead man,” you said.  

Ben inclined his head in agreement. It looked like even you had a limit on what was forgivable.

You sighed and stepped closer to the cell. You implored him, first with your eyes, and then with the truth. 

“Ben, I need your help,” you said. “As long as Stan Edgar and Vought still stand, it’s a target on your back. Now it’s on mine too. My mom, and my sister. Please.” 

Ben seemed to consider it, as his gaze left your face. 

Then, he came up closer to the glass window. 

“Call your boss. Tell her it’s time for a talk,” he said. 

You sighed in relief, covering your eyes with a hand as your tears fell anew. You looked up at Ben, trying and failing to get ahold of yourself. 

“Thank you,” you said.

Ben’s anger crumbled that much more. He sighed and pressed a fist up to the glass on his side to lean against it. You laid a hand against the glass, opposite his. 

His eyes met yours. As resentment drained out of him, slowly, his fingers uncurled. 

His hand laid on the glass in line with your smaller hand. You could almost pretend the window didn’t exist between you, and the cold glass under your palm was really his. A moment later, Ben let his hand fall and returned to his cot. 

Soon, you wanted to tell him. 

You would make sure of it. 

Grace’s heels clacked on the metal ground as the fortified barriers disengaged, allowing her entrance into the observing area of Soldier Boy’s cell. 

The man himself looked up at her from where he sat on his cot, his hair falling over his brows. He straightened and stood, and he met her at the forefront of the cell.

She stopped a foot behind the glass and crossed her arms. Ben’s gaze seized her up lazily—the gray pantsuit and white blouse, the coif of blonde hair piled on her head, the light layer of lipstick across her thin lips. She looked even less fun now than she had in the 80s. 

“You’ve gotten old as fuck,” he remarked. 

“As I hear it, a few wrinkles don’t bother you in the slightest,” she countered. 

His lips curved. He’d never fuck this broad on mere principle, but she was still easy on those baby blues. 

“So,” she began, “Two options. One: you can sleep in here forever, until you look as old as I am. Or two: you’ll work with my team to bring down Vought, on our terms. Which means executing approved targets only. Collateral damage kept to a narrow minimum.”

Her gaze was unyielding, clinical at best. 

“Operate within the confines of the law. And if by some miracle you pull all of that off…you can publicly retire to South America, never to step foot in the U.S. again,” she said.

“We will leave you alone, provided you don’t actively create havoc. And if you deviate from the plan in any way, we will hunt you down and bring you right back here. You will never know peace.”

Ben stared at her, almost amused at her audacity. “That’s your idea of a goddamn deal?”

She ignored him, her expression turning thoughtful. 

“Oh, yes,” Grace said, a finger tapping on her arm, as if she just remembered something. She mentioned your name, making Ben’s brows furrow.

“Should you fuck up your end of this generous deal, I will also personally make sure that you never see her again,” she said. 

Ben’s jaw tensed, his green eyes narrowing a fraction. 

But he figured his best play here was to bluff.

“What makes you think I give a flying fuck about that?” he said snidely. 

For the first time, a bit of humor lightened Grace as her mouth tugged at a smile.

“Actually, it seems you do. And a great deal of one,” she said. “That you’re considering this agreement at all is because of her.”

Ben’s lips pressed together.

“The fact of the matter is, Benjamin, I can make her disappear,” she stated, “even more thoroughly than I’ll bury you if you cross me.”

That threat nearly unhinged him. A vein pulsed in his neck as he ground his teeth.

But he managed to keep his cool, smooth as he crossed his arms and stared back at this platinum-haired bitch. 

“See, you can talk big behind that glass. But the truth is, you need me,” he said. “All you bitches do. And you’re all afraid of me. So if you want to threaten me, by all means…just don’t forget who the fuck I am.” 

M.M. carefully watched the archive footage from yesterday between you and Ben from his laptop. He saw the shift in the supe when you walked in, battered with your arm in a temporary sling. M.M. watched the man’s anger build, but for you instead of at you. 

By the time he made it to the end, watching Ben’s hand meet yours on his side of the glass, M.M. sat back in his seat and frowned, resting his chin in his hand. What the hell…

Maybe Soldier Boy did give a fuck about someone other than himself. 

M.M.’s phone buzzed, breaking him out of his reverie. It was Grace. 

“Yeah?” he answered.

“Team meeting,” she said, instructing him to head up to a conference room on the third floor in ten minutes. Sighing, M.M. closed his laptop and made his way up.

Annie and Hughie were already there, followed by Frenchie and Kimiko, and finally Butcher, strolling in to make his entrance as always. 

You were the only one not in attendance, having gone back to full-time in the Surveillance department. Though considering what happened yesterday with Black Noir, he was surprised you weren’t here…

But once Grace started the meeting, explaining what had become of her meeting with Soldier Boy, M.M.’s already precarious mood darkened even further. 

“It’s an insane fucking deal,” Butcher agreed, breaking the steely silence of the room following Grace’s little report. “But it’s one we’ve made before.”

“You’ve made before,” Annie retorted. “This is crazy. We can’t trust Soldier Boy.”

“But we all know who does,” M.M. said. His gaze shifted to the door, where you had just stepped in. It seemed you were invited to the meeting after all.

You were late, quite literally holding Starbucks. It looked like a caramel macchiato, iced, light froth. You sipped it through a green straw and took a seat beside Frenchie, who offered you a smile as he smoked a cigarette. You returned it before you addressed the group.

“Take my personal stake out of the equation,” you said. 

“So you admit it’s personal,” M.M. remarked. You shot him a glance, but you didn’t let him deter you from your point. 

“Ben is our best play against Black Noir. That’s just a fact,” you said. “He was cloned in part with Homelander’s DNA.” 

“Okay, sure,” Hughie said. “Despite all the…potential logistics problems there, what about Stan Edgar? He’s been one step ahead of us this entire time.”

That was a fair point, one you acknowledged with a nod. 

“I think we should look into Victoria Neuman. She turned on Stan once to protect herself, who’s to say she won’t again?” you said. 

“Or, she’ll pop our heads like water balloons,” Frenchie pointed out, letting out a puff of his cigarette. Hughie frowned and waved his hand across the plume.

“Do you have to do that right in my face?” he asked. Frenchie blew a kiss (and a small ring of smoke) at Hughie with a playful smirk. 

Again, you smiled. “Ben can help with that too.” 

Most of them didn’t like the idea. Annie and Kimiko frowned, while Hughie looked unsure. Frenchie might’ve been persuaded…

Butcher actually seemed to agree with you, shockingly. He looked over at M.M., whose stance in all this was obvious.

“You wanna make things safe for your daughter, taking out Vought is fucking it,” Butcher said. It wasn’t what you expected him to say…but maybe the men had had this argument before. 

M.M. was tense, his hand clenching into a fist on the conference table. 

“You don’t have to tell me that shit,” M.M. said tersely. He looked up at Mallory. “I’m assuming as a part of this fuck-ass deal, Soldier Boy walks free after all this is said and done?”

Grace confirmed this with a short nod, though you could see she wasn’t happy about it either. 

“After the work is done, he won’t be allowed to step foot in the U.S. again,” she said. 

You frowned, upset at that little footnote, but you held in your reaction as you watched M.M. rise out of his seat, his chair roughly sliding against the ground. He dented the table with a heavy fist as he strode out of the conference room.  

Ben rolled his eyes as he took the contract. It had been laid on the tray compartment where his meals were usually slotted through.

You, Grace, and Butcher stood on the other side of his cell. You also thought the contract was stupid; you all knew if Ben didn’t comply with this arrangement, a measly piece of paper wasn’t going to do shit. But Mallory was nothing if not thorough. 

He signed it with the pen and shoved both back through the slot. Mallory collected it and turned at Butcher, and then you with her sharp eyes. 

“On your head be it,” she said. Then she departed the cell, where the additional fortifying walls were left open. With a raised brow, Butcher signaled to the guards to cut the nerve gas. 

Once the mist cleared from the inner cell, Ben took his first real breath in a week. He blinked as the heavy fog he’d been resisting for days cleared, and he stood straighter. His green eyes were on you as the cell finally disengaged, sliding open with a hiss. 

You bit your lower lip as he stepped through barefooted. He still wore the clinically white clothing the S.A. provided, like he was the inmate of a psych ward or something. He eyed Butcher warily.

“Ello, gov. Back in business again,” said the Brit. Ben rolled his eyes. 

“Just stay out of my fucking way,” he replied. 

You wanted to pull him into your arms already. But professionalism be damned, you didn’t want to show your vulnerability around Butcher.

Instead, you held up a plastic bag of clothes and shoes for him to change into, meeting him with a smile. The tightness in his face eased a bit when he glanced over at you, then took the bag with a nod.

“Hungry?” you asked. 

Ben’s lips curved into a smirk. “I could eat.” 

You felt heat flare in your face as your mouth dropped open slightly.

Butcher rose a brow as he glanced between you two. He chose to ignore the supe’s blatant eye-fucking. He just wanted to get this over with.

“First off, let’s get something squared away,” Butcher said. 

He then turned his head and released a wet cough that didn’t sound pleasant. The man also looked pale, and if you thought about it, he hadn’t been looking well in the meeting earlier either. You gave him a concerned frown.

“You okay?” you asked. Butcher gave you a side glance.

“Fucking phenomenal. Here.”

He provided Ben with an S.A.-issued cell phone, and you with the address of a safe house.

“His and hers,” Butcher said, handing you the keys. You understood his meaning; since Black Noir was after you as well, it made enough sense to put you and Ben in the same safe house.

“Now, lest you think of pulling another Houdini act, it won’t hurt to remind you that you will be watched,” he said to both of you (but mainly Ben). “I myself, along with other agents, will be checking in from time to time, making sure everything’s on the up and up.”

“Whatever, are we fucking done?” Ben snapped with impatience. He started walking out of the cellar, towards the open door that showed the brighter lit hallway. Once he stepped out though, he wasn’t sure where to go. 

You gave Butcher a parting look before you caught up with Ben in the hall. You laid a hand on his arm and led him to the nearest bathroom so he could change while you waited outside. You texted with the agent that would be your driving detail, making sure the car would be ready. 

After a few minutes of waiting though, you began to get antsy and impatient yourself. You went to the bathroom door and knocked, opening it a crack. 

“Ben, you okay?”

“Yeah. Come in,” he said. 

You paused, not sure if that was a good idea. But you also didn’t know why that was your instinctive thought.

Taking a breath to steady yourself, you hesitantly opened the door to the men’s bathroom and stepped inside. Ben was already dressed, just fixing his belt.

He wore a pair of dark wash jeans, a plain black shirt, and some boots. It wasn’t his normal look, but even this suited him well. He stretched out the shirt in all the right places, particularly the arms. 

But you blushed as you noticed the smirk on his face; he’d totally caught you checking him out. 

“Well, that answers my question,” he remarked.

Your lips flickered at a smile as you drew closer. 

Looks good, you were about to tell him, but nothing came out. Your voice got stuck in your throat as you looked up at him. It seemed this moment was finally hitting you. 

There was still so much unknown shit on the horizon, between Black Noir, Victoria Neuman, Stan Edgar, your family in protective custody, and all the rest. But at least you had helped accomplish one thing today. 

Your eyes stung as they welled up with tears, and you bit your bottom lip to keep it from wobbling. 

The smirk on Ben’s face faded. But then his brose rose in surprise as you surged forward and caught him in a hug. Your arms slipped around his middle, and his arms fell around your frame, mostly on instinct. 

When he felt your tears dampening his shirt, heard you crying softly, felt the tremble in your body, he collected you tighter against him, his hands splaying across your back. Something in his chest clenched up…but then it eased. He dropped his lips to your hair. 

“What’s this now?” he asked, somewhat teasing. You shook your head against his chest, not willing to answer. His hand fell to your waist and gave you a squeeze. 

“Come on, baby doll,” he said. He grinned a little, though you couldn’t see it. “Where’s that steely bitch who didn’t cut me any fucking slack this week?”    

You choked on a laugh, despite the tears still slipping down your cheeks. 

“She’s a good actor,” you replied. Ben chuckled and soothed a hand over your hair. It gave you hope that he didn’t resent you too much. You were just so damn relieved. 

“I’m sorry this couldn’t happen sooner,” you whispered. You weren’t sorry for not breaking ranks to get him out, but he had to know you’d never wanted him to go from one cage to another.

Ben’s grin faded. He stayed quiet, unsure of what to say to you. 

After a moment, your cell phone chimed and buzzed in your pocket. Sniffling, you pulled away from him enough to reach into your pocket and read the text. 

“The driver’s ready to take us to the safe house,” you said, pocketing your phone. But you still clung to his shirt with your other hand. You were also avoiding his gaze. Embarrassed, maybe.

It made him smile. He tugged a strand of hair behind your ear, prompting you to finally look up at him. He then bucked a gentle fist under your chin. 

It got a small smile on your face, because you knew then that he didn’t hate you. The rage and contempt he’d levied at you this week, it hadn’t been the real him. This was the man you’d held out for…the man you’d caught glimmers of over the past two months. 

Ben cleared his throat.

“Well. You ready, sweetheart?” he asked, raising a brow. You nodded and let go of him, wiping your face to make sure it was dry before you stepped outside. 

Once the two of you left the bathroom, you led him out of the S.A. building. The car was waiting, another mid-sized SUV, and the driver transported you both to the safe house, which looked like it was going to be outside the city. 

Makes sense, you thought. You turned to Ben, who sat with you in the back. 

“How do you feel?” you asked. Still drowsy? 

He didn’t look it. The moment the Novichok cleared the cell, he seemed to regain his faculties. Now, you were more concerned about the potential psychological effects. You were worried about how the past week might’ve set him back.

But Ben only gave you a wry curve of his lips.

“Like a million bucks,” he replied. His gaze roamed over you, noting your healing cuts and bruises from the car chase yesterday. 

“You’re not wearing the sling,” he commented. You rubbed your bruised shoulder. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” you said, downplaying a little. 

Pain meds were doing wonders for you though. Frenchie had slipped you some of the “good stuff” this morning, which had the added benefit of chilling you out for hours. You had come off it a while ago, but you had some normal painkillers in your suitcase. 

You’d been escorted home to collect some of your things, and the suitcase now laid in the trunk. You felt bad that Ben didn’t have anything but the clothes on his back…but you were sure the CIA would provide other things for him once you two got to the safe house. 

Ben surprised you, however, by thumbing an outline around the butterflied cut on your head as he examined it. “Doesn’t look deep.”

“It’s not,” you agreed, blushing a little. “I’m fine, Ben.”

His gaze found yours then, sharp as always. His mouth twitched. 

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said. His voice was a rumble, deep and filled with promise. Your cheeks warmed further as you tilted your head at him. 

“What does that mean?” you asked. A smile started to tug at your lips. 

Ben just smirked and crossed his arms, facing the road ahead. You eyed him, but a trill of anticipation ran down your spine. 

It seemed like a small eternity until you reached the safe house, several miles out into Upstate New York. It was a modest, one-story house in the middle of a gated community. 

The outside walls were painted beige with a brown trim. The driveway paved with cobblestone, with a little walkway flanked by small bushes with little red flowers. It was the perfect unassuming place to house the most famous supe alive.  

The driver left you with your bags, which Ben grabbed before you could barely reach out your good arm. He flashed you a grin and waited for you to unlock the front door. 

“Home sweet home,” you breathed as you stepped past the threshold. Your hands fell to your hips while you surveyed your surroundings. 

Behind you, the suitcase and the small duffel bag dropped to the floor. You started to turn towards him, but apparently you weren’t fast enough on the uptake—as Ben hooked an arm around your waist and spun you around.

Before you could even blink, your back was pressed against the door. You’d clung to him on instinct as a gasp fell from your lips. But you looked up into Ben’s smirk, his heated eyes filled with desire, and maybe a flash of relief. 

You felt it too. The sweet craving fulfilled of finally being alone, as he claimed you with a kiss. You made a sound of pleasure, of acceptance as your hand rose to his cheek. 

Your fingers soon slid into his hair as you tilted your head, deepening the kiss. 

Ben braced himself against the door hard enough to shake it on its hinges. It was all you could do to hold onto his arms as his knee pressed between your legs, finding friction against your jeans.

Being with him was a relief, you discovered. And having him inside you was starting to feel like home.

AN: 😏 I know, I'm terrible for ending it there, huh? What did you think of their little reunion here?

Don't worry though, next chapter is the real reunion.

Next Time:

“You need a trim,” you said, letting out a breathy laugh. You kissed his cheek again. Slow, and with purpose. 

Ben let out a sigh through his nose. His eyes closed again at your gentler kisses, your touch. Maybe he reveled in this—being able to hold you back. It felt right. 

If he was honest with himself (and this time, he was), you were somehow able to ease the frayed edges of his mind. Edges that had been starting to unravel in that cell. 

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[dadsbongos]

OKAY SO, I posted smth about ur deku having a crush on his wife fic because it was amazing and I couldn't find it,,,

NOW THAT I HAVE RE-READ IT. Can I request something similar for Bakugo?

"Bakugo having a crush on his wife" fic UR SO GOOD AT MAKING FICS

Ur fluff fics are suppPERRRRR CUTE!

(you don't have to do this btw!)

other bnha men loving their wives - deku / shoto

awww i'm so glad you liked it <33 i looooove writing these so much they're so fun

Request for: Katsuki Bakugou Warnings: not super proofread :/, modern lingo that will one day be dated Word Count: 1K ~~~

DYNAMIGHT EXPOSES CRUSH ON WIFE - uploaded by HeroFeed, a trusted hero news network, two hours ago.

“Oh, hey,” you lean across the kitchen island, holding your phone out to Katsuki, “that interview’s already up.”

“Huh?” he turns away from the stove, brow raising, “You gonna watch it?”

“I dunno, maybe when you’re on a mission or something,” you shrug.

Katsuki leans forward and kisses your forehead, “Have fun, sap.”

“You’re the sap!”

“Fuck no.”

“I think the video would show otherwise.”

.

.

.

“Introduce yourselves,” comes from behind the camera.

Katsuki, ever the hater of interviews, huffs before following the instruction, “Great Explosion Murder God - Dynamight.”

“Bimbo.”

“No, be fuckin’ real,” Katsuki’s chuckling, oh so lightly, as he says it, “We’re doin’ this shit together.”

“Okay,” you look the camera dead in the lens as you say your hero name, “And that’s the truth.”

“It is,” Katsuki nods in your defense.

“Okay, first question - the best gift you’ve ever gotten?”

“Mina once got me a book of the worst poems ever, and on page nineteen it says ‘You ripped out my heart, so I ripped off your clit.’ And I think that’s beautiful,” you turn to your husband, placing a hand over his, “What about you, babe?”

“You,” he takes his other hand and places it over yours, “got me a shirt that says ‘Feminism’ over my boobs,” Katsuki turns his head to the camera, “and underneath, it says ‘it gives you great tits.’”

“Aw, I’m glad you like it.”

“How could I fuckin’ not?”

“Good answer,” you retract your hand but he takes it back, securing your hand within his own.

“Next - “ the voice behind the camera continues, “worst opinion you’ve ever heard?”

“Someone once said that Todoroki’s hotter than you,” you mumble, “Bad opinion.”

Katsuki nods, “I’ve heard kids call you ‘mid’, absolutely dogshit take,” he points at the camera, “I’ll kill anyone who thinks that my wife isn’t amazing and incredible because you’re all just fucking wrong.”

“Craziest dream you’ve ever had?”

“Last night,” you snap and point at the camera, “I dreamt that Katsu and I went to the zoo but all the animals were actually human babies.”

“What was I wearing?” he suddenly asks, prompting a quizzical stare from you, “You fuckin’ heard me. What was I wearing?”

“I- I dunno,” you shake your head, laughing at his serious expression, “Nothing.”

“I was butt-ass naked?” his eyes widen, “Pervert.”

“No, like, nothing of interest,” you shrug, “Dream you lacks drip.”

“Fuckin’ rude, dream me should know better,” Katsuki ‘tsk’s, then points at the camera, “Start dressing well for your wife, that’s my lesson. Even if you don’t have a wife, imagine you’re dressing for mine - and then cry because you’ll never get to know her like I do.”

“Katsu!” you lightly smack his shoulder with the hand not holding his, fully knowing he can barely feel it beneath his muscle, “That’s so rude!”

“You know who you married! I meant that shit!” he looks at the ceiling before glancing at you, “Craziest dream I had - I was chopping carrots but they all looked like Aizawa and were lecturing me on self-control.”

The woman asking you two questions from behind the camera laughs before asking the next question, “Cutest pet name between the two of you?”

“Oh! Oh! I’ve been waiting to talk about this,” you’re nearly jumping out of your seat with excitement and Katsuki can’t bring himself to smother down the small smile that sprouts at his lips, “One time, early in the morning, Katsu was all tired and said ‘Hi, Elmo,” and I assumed it was a joke or something but when I asked why he called me that, he just said, ‘I love Elmo.’”

“You call me bomb-boy,” he murmurs, squeezing your hand in his, “I like when you call me that. Makes me feel… fuckin’ cool.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll do it more.”

He nods, squeezing your hand once more, and the woman asks her next question, “Something you’ve defended the other person for, even though you know they were in the wrong?”

“She,” Katsuki’s immediate to point at you, eyes wide, “fucking hit Endeavor’s giant ass fucking car. And I sat there and defended her.”

“As you should have,” you giggle, leaning over to kiss your husband’s cheek, “And thank you.”

“Well,” he shakes, “what the fuck was Endeavor doing on your road?”

“Exactly!” you cheer, “Anyway, I once looked our old homeroom teacher in the eye and said that Katsuki wasn’t technically breaking dress code because even though his pants were sagging, they weren’t low enough to be called sagging by code-standards,” you sigh dreamily, batting your eyelashes at your husband, “And I’d do it all over again.”

“And, of course, what would you do if your significant other was a worm?”

You answer first, “I would keep him alive in the most special tank and then mourn him when he dies after four years.”

“I,” Katsuki immediately follows after, “would drive myself fucking mad as a scientist trying desperately to figure out a way to turn you human so I could marry you.”

“How romantic,” you tease.

“And, lastly, anything you two think the audience should know?”

“This guy once went out with a bunch of his friends and texted me saying he was drunk, and like ten minutes later - Red Riot sends me a picture of him passed out with his phone on and zoomed in on one of our wedding pictures,” you pat your husband’s arm, “He loves me.”

“Speaking of our wedding,” Katsuki begins, “shitty hair asked me the day before we got married if I thought I was doing the right thing,” Katsuki scratches the side of his nose, dodging your eyes, “Getting married so fuckin’ young, I mean. He asked if I was doin’ the right thing and I told him I’d love you till the day I died,” he shakes his head when you grin and kiss his cheek, “‘s so fuckin’ cheesy.”

“Yeah, but it’s adorable,” you coo.

“I’m still tough,” he points into the camera, eyes narrowing, “I’ll kill you.”

“No, he won’t,” you smile, leaning into Katsuki’s side.

As if on instinct, he brings an arm around you, kissing the side of your head, “No, I won’t. I love my wife - I do what she says.”

“That’s my big, strong husband,” you jokingly pat his muscled chest, not noticing the way Katsuki seems to beam with pride at your words.

“Hell yeah, I am.”

And he’s more than willing to exclaim it in front of the camera as long as it makes you happy.

[edddimun]

Fight or Flight?

Eddie Munson x Fem! reader

(not my gif)

description: Being an ex-cheerleader and now being friends with the 'freaks' don't mix well together. Things start to get out of hand when the cheerleaders you ditched confront you about your new personality and friends.

warnings: PHYSICAL VIOLENCE/FIGHTING! w/ Jason n cheerleaders, blood, swearing, angst, being bullied, slight mention of cheating, fluffy ending

WC: 4100+

“Do we all have to be here?” Mike whines over the loud chatter of students slowly gathering in the school gymnasium. Robin sighs and leans her head against your shoulder as you glance over at the members of the Hellfire Club who are sitting in front of you, Robin, Steve and Nancy.

Principle Higgins called everyone to gather at the gymnasium during the fifth period to discuss the upcoming plans of the school such as the basketball championships, prom and graduation. Nancy was glad that we got the seats right at the end of the row so we could dip out of here as soon as possible.

“Do you think he ever washes that tie?” Steve whispers as he eyes Higgins talking to a student. All your heads turn towards Higgins' direction, spotting the familiar brown suit, pink tie and black dress shoes. The most everyone saw Higgins in a ‘different’ attire was when he wore grey dress shoes.

“Do you think he ever washes that suit and tie? That’s the real question here,” Robin responds chuckling while nudging Steve.

Dustin turns around to face you guys with a sneaky smirk, “If you see sauce smeared on the left side of his pant pocket, then he hasn’t washed it in a week.”

Your brows furrow at Dustin’s sudden observation, “And how do you know that?” you ask suspiciously.

“Eddie over here-” Dustin nudges Eddie’s side, now earning his attention, “-'accidentally’ tripped in the cafeteria with pizza sauce on his fingers and coincidentally fell on Higgins,” Dustin remarks sarcastically. Eddie snorts remembering the incident. Robin tries her best to hold in her laughter while Nancy shakes her head not surprised by Eddie’s actions.

“Are you implying that I purposefully used him as a human napkin?” Eddie questions Henderson, confusion washes over Dustin’s face, “A wha-”

“Okay but he’s had to at least wash his pants from that incident, it would be absolutely disgusting if he didn't,” you chuckle in amusement, waiting for Higgins to turn around so you could see his left side.

“Wait, why did you have pizza s-”

Steve was cut off by Higgins loud introduction, “Good afternoon Hawkins High!”

The recognisable yet annoying voice halts your conversation; earning a quiet groan from the group, but was quickly replaced with quiet laughter and disgust as you all see the stain on his left pocket.

You’ve plaited at least four small parts of your hair during Higgins' introductory speech at this point, barely listening to his usual talk consisting of putting rubbish in the trash, respecting teachers and other shit that goes out from one ear to the other. Your eyes scan the gymnasium, observing how dirty and disgusting some of the things are in here. That was until your eyes landed on the large, fluffy head of curls sitting in front but slightly to your left. You and Eddie formed a really good friendship ever since you both met from Steve and Robin. Though you both did not have a lot in common, your personalities adjusted to each other pretty quickly. You started to find interest in his metal music, while he started to find interest in your soft rock/pop music. This infinite loop of constantly showing each other your likes eventually led up to you hanging in his trailer some nights and chilling. But the only time where you kept an interest to yourself was your interest in him. All the endless times you’ve spent with Eddie, have built your liking for him.

“Put your finger on this string-yeah, yeah-okay now-” Eddie’s fingers lightly moved your middle finger on the guitar fret. You couldn't help but stare at his face as he focused on getting your fingers in the right place; it was the way his big eyes fixated on the placement, his tongue poking out in concentration, and his eyes smiling when you got the right chord.

“You cannot be serious right now Eddie,” Your eyes widen as you hold the vinyl in Eddie’s trailer. He chuckled in response as he watched the excitement slowly escaping out of your body.

“No freaking way. Eddie Munson. Owning a Queen vinyl?” You laugh as you slap Eddie’s arm, “Not very metal of you,” You smirk.

He playfully pinches your arm, “I only got it because I know they’re your favourite band and you know- there’s actually some bangers in there,” he says with a shy smile on his face as he crosses his arms.

“I really am a good influence huh?” You ask nudging him.

“I guess that’s your only talent,” he responds with a teasing smile. You pinch his arm, earning a laugh from him.

“Time to get you into Madonna then!” You squeal.

“Oh fuck off.”

“Might as well make out with him right now,” Robin interrupts your train of thought as her eyes glance between you and Eddie. You elbow her arm, quickly looking around, hoping no one heard her. When you notice that everyone is still bored out of their minds, you exhale a sigh of relief. You roll your eyes and scowl at Robin, who has a sneering smirk painted on her face

“I’m going to the bathroom,” you whisper loud enough for the group to hear.

“Fuck my life,” You groan as you attempt to wave your hands under the hand dryer in an attempt to activate it. With a deep sigh, you brush your hands on your jeans, hoping that the wet patches would dry by the time you return. When you open the restroom door, you notice two familiar cheerleaders dangling by the entrance. The creaking of the door causes their heads to swivel in the same direction, their expressions lighting up as soon as they notice you.

“Hey Y/N!” Lily beams. She tries to link her arm with yours, but you rapidly pull your arm back. For a single second, her expression is offended, but it is swiftly masked by her deceptive and fraudulent smile. You're taken aback by Lily's unusual behaviour; you're used to hearing her snicker and gossip about you since you're an ex-cheerleader who ditched them for true friends. Obviously, you are aware that she is up to something shady, but you'll pretend to be intrigued.

“What?” You blatantly ask, crossing your arms. Lily shifts in her position for a short amount of time while alternating her attention between Rosy and you. You cut her off as she opens her lips to say anything.

“Quit the shit acting and get to point,” you spit out to the cheerleader. Lily scoffs, her true demeanour fully exposed, venom now filling her eyes as she scowls at you intently.

She takes a step closer to you, “Didn’t know you were such a bitch now,” she hisses back looking at you up and down. You scoff in response until you spot a figure in your peripheral vision. You turn around and see the one and only Jason Carver. You exhale deeply while clicking your tongue.

“Oh, so are you going to join your minions now?” you mockingly ask Jason who is slowly walking towards you. As Jason takes a step forward, Lily takes a step back, a disdainful smile visible on her face. Jason flashes a scornful grimace, his hands clasped together, his gaze trailing your form.

“What did they do to you? What did that cult leader do to you?” He whispers in fake sympathy, his eyes now meeting yours. His deceitful frown screams his dislike for your friends, particularly your relationship with the Hellfire Club. When the jocks and cheerleaders noticed you talking to Eddie Munson, shit got loose for you. That's when the bullying and snickering began. Though you never took it seriously, you could tell they had nothing better to do with their lives than gossip.

Instead of answering his question, you continue to hold the provoking eye contact. The presence of Jason's atmosphere drowned out the sound of Higgin's speech. It's the way he would suck out people's lives merely to have everything go his way to sustain his reputation.

“So you think you’re tough now?” His breath hits your face as he leans in closer, “What happened to the shy, little girl that used to always be scared of swearing and trouble?” His hands slowly reach up to brush your cheek. As he creeps closer, your breathing quickens as you gulp, averting your sight to the lockers near you.

Jason's lips twitch upwards, "There she is," he diabolically chuckles.

Your gaze returns to his, “You’re still the same dickhead that runs around looking for other girls to fuck while with Chrissy. Right Rosy?” you jeer at Jason, tilting your head to look at Rosy in the eye. You see her eyes expand in fright and Lily's eyes bulge out of her skull. That was before you were brutally thrown against the locker with a hand around your throat. Your head and back began to ache. Your hands struggle to pry Jason's hand away. Tears swirl around your eyes, blurring Jason's face which is barely inches away. Your chest rapidly rises and falls as you attempt to breathe as much air as possible.

“Aw look she’s crying,” Jason loudly laughs as his eyes continue to burn into yours, “Munson can’t save you now huh?” you watch Jason nod his head at Rosy, giving her a signal for something. His gaze meets yours one more before you feel a sharp jolt on your side torso. Rosy kicks you in the side and stomach with her heel. As you silently endure the never-ending agony, your tears coat Jason's palm that is still wrapped around your throat. The excruciating torment spreads like wildfire throughout your body. Jason then leans his body back before a punch lands on your cheek, causing you to yelp while feeling blood trickle from your nose and across your lip.

“This is what happens when you’re a freak!” Lily shouts in your ear. Anger swells up within your body, and you gulp hard, straining your throat even more. Jason tightens his grasp on your throat as you straighten your posture against the locker. Your eyes wince in pain. That was until you violently and ruthlessly thrust your knee into Jason's crotch. He shrieks in despair, his reflexes releasing your throat as he covers his crotch in agony with both hands. You then take a step back from the locker and Lily and Rosy. Their jaws drop open as they witness Jason groan in misery as he falls to the ground.,

Nancy glances over to your empty seat, then to the clock on the wall, “Is Y/N okay? She’s been gone for almost twenty minutes.”

Robin yawns and shakes her head, “I mean understandable, who would want to listen to this crap anyways?” she whispers back to Nancy.

Nancy shifts in her seat, “Should someone go check on her? I mean she doesn’t-”

A loud shush was sent by Dustin who was glaring at the two girls. They roll their eyes in response, “Well speaking of the bathroom, I’m going to go too,” Dustin whispers to his peers before getting up and heading towards the hallway doors.

You didn’t know what to do. Fight or flight? Your heart was saying to run away from them to avoid more injuries, but your brain wanted to fight them out of hatred. Your eyes rapidly pace between the girls and Jason. Rosy’s head snaps towards you, pure rage encompassing her entire behaviour. Her feet start quickly stomping towards you. You've never fought before since you're afraid of hurting people physically, but this impulsive feeling in you wanted to fight Jason's minions. And that's exactly what you did. Before she could pull your hair or do some sort of puny move, you quickly yet roughly push her back causing her to topple over Jason. You watch as her head slams on the floor, a bit too hard than what you intended. Oh shit. You didn’t want to cause serious harm obviously, but she lifted her head and started to cry in pain. Thank fuck, at least she's alive, you sigh in relief. You were so focused on Rosy that you didn't notice Lily coming at you with another swing. Her fist strikes the same cheek, prompting you to crash your back against the lockers.

“For fuck’s sake, you could’ve at least gone for the other cheek,” You groan in throbbing pain. Acting quickly, you impulsively strike your fist into her nose. Lily's loud shriek was like music to your ears, but the difference this time was that Lily was still going to fight back, unlike Rosy. Lily picks her handbag off the ground, which was packed with a lot of shit like her makeup. You could visibly see the sharp edges of the items projecting outside the skin of the bag. Before you could grasp her hair in some sort of defence, you hear a loud and terrifying shriek.

“Y/N?!” Dustin shouts in terror from the end of the hallway, observing Jason and Rosy on the floor. You and Lily’s heads turn towards Dustin, his eyes widen in pure horror as there was blood dripping down your faces. He could see the tension beginning to rise again, instead of stopping the fight he ran back to the gymnasium doors. Luckily, the doors were semi-see through and his group were sitting at the end of the row closest to the doors. Dustin was smart enough to obviously not barge in, causing a messier scene, but instead, he started to frantically wave his hands in the air silently screaming for help trying to get at least someone’s attention. Steve sees rapid movements in his peripheral vision, he looks towards the door and sees Dustin in pure distress and panic.

“G-guys- Uh Dustin,” Steve frantically says to the group, loud enough for most of the hellfire club to hear. Their heads turn towards the door and spot a startled Dustin trying to hysterically say something.

“What is he saying?” Robin asks as anxiety starts to rise within her.

“I don’t know!” Nancy whisper yells trying to read his lips that are just moving in every direction making it almost impossible. Mike starts aggressively but subtly waving his hands trying to say that no one is understanding what he’s saying. Dustin is almost in tears at this point from frustration and fear.

“Y/N,” Eddie says with clear panic in his voice. Without hesitation, Eddie immediately jumps out from his seat, leaving the rest of the group to cover for Eddie’s abrupt disappearance. Running down the corridor, he hears muffled voices along with the banging of the lockers.

“What happened Dustin?!” Eddie breathlessly shouts whilst running.

“I-I-A fight! Jason-L-lily!” Dustin can’t even say sentences because of the running back and forth and his distraught state.

“Jason?” Eddie says baffled. Eddie knows you haven't spoken to Jason since you left their group, so the sudden fight is unusual. As they round the corner, they see you standing in the middle of the corridor, your back facing them, Jason and Rosy still on the floor, and Lily crawling away from you on her back. You turn your head around as you hear shuffling behind you, spotting Eddie and Dustin. Dustin's expression of terror and disbelief reached Eddie. Eddie comes to a halt to examine the situation, particularly you. Lily was able to inflict a couple more blows on you after Dustin departed, leaving you with a split lip, a gash on your cheekbone, and a bloodier nose. It looked like a scene from a horror film, and Eddie and Dustin were your next victims.

“Eddie,” You mutter loud enough for him to hear. Your intimidating and reckless energy had dissipated, and it had been replaced with physical agony and regret. You were flustered and began to feel anxious as tears welled up in your eyes once more. The moment you called Eddie, he immediately ran over to you. His arms wrapped over your frail form. You cried into his chest and collapsed on your knees, dragging him with you. He saw the blood stains on your clothing and the cuts on your exposed flesh. Eddie saw his eyes warming up and his vision getting blurry.

“I’m s-sorry,” you manage to blurt out between sobs. He closes his eyes and continues to hold you in his arms, trying to relax your distraught figure.

“Don’t be sorry,” his lips whisper against your hair as his arms rub your back. Eddie blinks open his eyes again, noticing Jason and Rosy helping Lily up. Eddie's heart is shattered by vengeance. He removes you out of his grip and gets up, Dustin now holding you instead.

“What the fuck did you do Carver?” Eddie angrily exclaims as he slowly walks toward Jason.

Jason scoffs as he pushes Rosy behind him, “What did I do? What type of satanic ritual did you do to her? Suddenly she is like you-” Jason lingers towards Eddie, “-she fights, talks back and is a freak.”

Eddie nods his head, smirking, and clicks his tongue in delight, “Are you just scared that there’s another person jeopardising your ego?” Eddie harshly mutters, testing Jason’s water.

“How could the freaks jeopardise my ego?” Jason smiles, matching Eddie’s venomous tone whilst shifting his focus to you.

“Then how big would your ego be if you had a crooked nose?”

Jason’s brows furrow as his head tilts in confusion, “Wha-”

Eddie cuts Jason off with a solid and direct punch to Jason’s nose. The gasps of you, Dustin and the cheerleaders are heard as Jason grips his bloody nose howling in astonishing pain.

“Now, imagine just telling your friends that the freak broke your nose,” Eddie laughs in his face. Jason continues to cover his nose, not responding to Eddie.

“Is that not jeopardising enough?” Eddie lifts his fists up again, “Should I do mo-”

“N-no-s-stop-ple-please.” Jason holds his hands up in surrender, blood continuing to flow like a stream out his nose. Eddie maniacally laughs at the sight of Jason.

“Never thought I'd be saying this-" Eddie clears his throat, "-but thanks to you, Carver, my ego is at an all-time fuckin’ high right now," He loudly applauses himself, “Now that you've got me marked on your face, show it off to your friends for me, will ya?” Eddie gets in one last punch to Jason’s cheek, sending him to the floor.

Lily and Rosy whimper in fear before running off, leaving Jason behind. Jason with no hesitation takes off behind them before disappearing out of your sight.

Eddie huffs with ease as they are nowhere to be seen. He notices you and Dustin gaping at him in disbelief. You were astounded by how well he handled it. When Eddie catches your stunned expression, he lets out a huge sigh and gives you a crooked smile.

“C’mon,” he whispers before putting his arms under you. He gives you a bridal boost and leads you into the closest restroom. Eddie instructs Dustin to rejoin the group before the teachers grow suspicious and begin looking for them. Eddie places you on the sink and locks the bathroom door with a swift motion. You watch as he snatches toilet paper right away and wets it before dabbing it on your cheek's dried blood. Silence is punctuated by the damp noises of the tissue sliding against your skin. It's impossible to look away from Eddie. His wide brown eyes are fixed on you, and despite the wrath and sadness that still remains in them, you can see the tenderness he feels for you. His frizzed hair is tousled and distressed like his current state, and his damaged knuckles are resting on your waist.

However, you think about how he always puts you first in his life. His caring and affectionate side always making sure you’re okay and healthy, this is what also started your feelings for him. Eddie constantly displayed his loving side to you; he never once displayed aggression, not even on a little scale. He prioritises you in his life and has always appreciated you, giving you hope that he would reciprocate your feelings. Eddie has so much good in him that no one else has ever seen, but you. You smile to yourself and think, ha, you're special to him.

“Why are you smiling?” He asks with a small grin on his face as he grabs another damp tissue and starts wiping your lip.

“Because I’m special to you,” You snicker with a teasing smile.

Eddie's expression meshes with bewilderment, "I-I mean, of course, you are." The silence returns, his arm still holding your waist and the sole source of attention being the wet feeling on your cheek.

"Am I special to you?" The stillness was disturbed by his voice. You sit there dumbfounded. With no answer in your head coming to mind, you murmur an inaudible response to his query, not even understanding what you said.

“Come again?” He raises his brow and stares you in the eyes, still waiting for an answer. You clamp your lips as you feel an impulsive sensation in your gut; it's now or never.

“I like you, Eddie,” you blurt out.

You feel his fingers tremble upon your cheek, he puts down the tissue and hesitantly shifts his gaze from your eyes to the sink. You start to chew your bottom lip as you hoped he looked hesitant because he wasn't sure if you meant it platonically or romantically. Eddie’s hand still rested on your waist while you nervously fiddle with your fingers waiting for a response. A few seconds of stillness in the restroom started to slowly strain your heart.

“No-” you gulp, you shift your body under his touch as you feel your nerves returning, “I like-like you,” you mumble releasing a heavy breath. His eyes meet yours instantaneously, your pulse begins to tremble as you feel embarrassment rise in your cheeks. You begin twisting a strand of your hair as you glance between the restroom stalls and his intimidating stare, the bathroom deafeningly quiet as neither of you speaks.

“L-look it’s okay if you don’t f-feel the same way, I-I just thoug-no felt like it was the right time to say my feelings. And it’s perfectly-it’s ‘A’ okay if you don’t like me back, I just couldn’t hold it in for much longer and I-”

“Can I kiss you?” His raspy voice softly interrupts, his eyes dart from your bruised lip and your eyes. Your entire body becomes stiff. Fingers come to an abrupt halt. Your respiration rate accelerates as blood flows to your head. Your entire mind was flooded with a sense of confusion and satisfaction mingled with relief. Eddie gently chuckles as he watches all fifty expressions play out on your face. You slowly crack a sheepish smile and stifle a giggle that released all your buried anxieties. Nodding your head, that infectious smile of yours reflected onto his lips. He places his other hand on your torso, gently leaning closer until he tenderly touches your lips. Your eyelids flutter shut, and instead of the darkness behind your closed eyes, you're met with the illumination and vibrant fondness of your heart. The hope you tucked away exploded throughout your body, the butterflies in your stomach erupting with each passing second. He begins to move his mouth meticulously against yours, trying not to hurt you. As you both melt into each other, you suddenly remember the state you’re in and the events that just occurred. Picturing Jason’s pleading face paints your mind. You start giggling against his lips and place your arm on his shoulder pressing him back. He watches you continue to laugh as you hide your mouth. He blinks at you and cracks a half smile, his mouth opening slightly in perplexity.

“You alright?” He asks, his face sporting a confused grin as he begins to slowly laugh with you, still clueless.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath in, holding in your laughter. Nope. You couldn’t. You snort and your laughter begins to bounce off the tiles of the bathroom.

“I-it was Jason’s face! W-when he was begging you to stop!” you manage to say between chuckles. Eddie remembers that exact moment. He pushes his tongue to the roof of his mouth to prevent his laughter, but as the frightened and petrified image of Jason pops up in his head he couldn’t help but burst into laughter too, matching your loud and chesty laugh.

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 80 }

cigarette flavored kisses.

shinichiro sano x fem.reader

you always hated working the night shift at this diner, especially on a saturday night. it was always so loud, especially when these wannabe gangs kept coming in.

despite it all, you did your best to serve the customers and save up some money going from paycheck to paycheck. sometimes, the boys would get a little too handsy, but you kept your lips sealed shut as per your boss's own advice.

"just serve 'em with a smile. they're our regulars and regulars always have a special spot here."

god how you wished you could just disappear, or better yet, find a more decent job that paid just as well. but alas, you couldn't find any other alternatives, nor could you afford to.

which was why you were currently so miserable at the moment.

during the later portion of your shift, a customer kept pestering you while you waited tables. he had his eyes set on you since the moment he walked in, and he just couldn't take the hint.

you even resorted to making up a story about how you had a boyfriend that was going to kick his ass if he didn't stop, yet still- he persisted. even going as far as to follow you when you left work after your shift ended, keeping you pinned against him and the wall behind you.

"come on, give ol' me a chance. there's no way you gotta boyfriend if you're working like this. i can support you, babe, me and my crew own this city. you don't even have to worry about a damn thing!"

"i told you, i have a boyfriend and he will kill you if he sees you flirting with me! just let me go, already!"

a deep voice calls out your name, catching your attention. coming towards you was a young man you frequently saw eating at the diner. sometimes, he came with his little brother and sister, always behaving so achingly sweet while in their company.

he steps closer, and you could see his dark eyes and pale skin as a cigarette hung from his lips. he takes a drag from it while grabbing a hold of your harasser's shirt, succeeding in pulling him off of you as he takes out the burning tip of the cigarette against the man's shirt.

"shit, s-sano, t-take it easy man, i didn't think she was yours- oof!" the tall man punches the harasser in his face before taking a protective stance in front of you. "you trying to take my woman away from me?"

"n-no man, i swear, had i known she belonged to you, i wouldn't have- i'm sorry okay?!" it's then that he finally takes the hint, bolting away while leaving you alone with the man simply known as sano.

only when he disappears does the tall man let out a string of curses, holding on to the hand that he had used to punch your harasser away. the sight of his tough guy act quickly melting away makes you giggle a bit, causing sano to grimace.

"h-hey, are you okay? did that asshole hurt you or anything?"

you shake your head, gently taking a hold of his arm as you decided to lead him back to your apartment to help with healing his bruised hand. "no, but you certainly got hurt."

he groans, "no fair, it hurts my ego seeing a pretty girl laughing at me when i just wanted to defend her."

"and you did your job perfectly well, if i may say so myself." you slide your grip down from his arm to take a hold of his hand. it felt warm in yours, and you found yourself not wanting to let him go. there was a sweetness about sano that you couldn't deny, and it absolutely drew you into him.

"how did you know my name, anyways?" you ask him, staring directly into his dark eyes. he blushes a bit at your question, even managing to turn red from beneath the lamplight as he coughs and points down at your name tag still secured to the front of your work uniform.

"o-oh, right." you felt stupid for not realizing how your name tag was still on, but his soft whisper manages to make you feel better when he admits, "i like coming to that diner just to see you. mikey and emma keep pushing me to ask you out, but i always end up losing my nerves and gettin' tongue tied around you."

his confession was way more than you could ever ask for, feeling your own cheeks become heated in response. shutting your eyes momentarily, you let out a sigh before telling him, "you should have asked me out. only a fool would reject you, mr. sano."

it's then that he stops walking, with his tall form now standing in front of you. he frames at your face with his uninjured hand, thumb caressing almost lovingly against your bottom lip. "shinichiro."

"huh?"

"call me shinichiro." his touch was still so soft against your skin, and his features were so beautiful to you that you found it difficult to look away from him. you were both mesmerized by each other, remaining completely silent until he suddenly blurts out "can i kiss you?"

with a stiff nod, you allow shinichiro to adjust his hold on you before leaning down to meet your lips in a sweet kiss. it was a little awkward, but soon enough, his lips found a rhythm against yours, slanting perfectly against them as he kissed you with a fervor you had never felt before.

your first ever kiss tasted of coffee and cigarettes, and you found yourself not minding the fact that you had managed to capture the heart of this soft delinquent.

a.n. - here's another update bc reading these latest chapter for tokyo revengers makes me realize i may be a shinichiro sano girl after all.

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.