#when I get home I should give him some scars. they can be nice n faded like I feel like he scars less than peipre does but still

[trollbreak]

Btw gave marrow :P last night

[lokigodofmyheart]

DATE

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Zuko x Female Reader.

Words: 2.910

Summary: After escaping the Fire Nation and deciding to go to Ba Sing Se, Zuko, Iroh and Y/N found themselves working on a tea shop. Y/N and Zuko had been friends for a long time, and when he was banished, she followed him in his hunt for the Avatar. One day, while they were working, a girl that was a costumer of the shop, asked Zuko out on a date and his uncle made him say yes

Warning/Content: fluff, smut, friends to lovers.

A/N: Zuko and reader are both 18.

Zuko looked at himself in the mirror, while Y/N was sitting on the bed, reading a book “How do I look?” 

She forces a smile “You look...” 

“Like an idiot.” He finished. 

“I was gonna say good.” She chuckles. “Maybe just...” Y/N got up and messed his hair “Now, it’s perfect.” 

“Hey, uncle took his time doing my hair.” Zuko complained, making her smiles. 

“It's better now. Really. You’re looking good.”  

He smiles at her, feeling just a little more confident “Thank you. I hope she likes me.” 

“She will. She would be an idiot not to like you” Y/N says before sitting back and look at her book. 

Zuko nods, taking a deep breath as he looks at himself one more time “Alright, let’s do this.” 

“Wait.” She called him. 

“What is it?” Zuko turns to look at Y/N. 

“Don’t forget the flowers.”  

He chuckles softly, realizing he had forgotten “Right, of course. Thank you for reminding me.” 

She forces another smile “Have fun.” Zuko nods at her, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness wash over him. Y/N stays back, alone. Even Iroh had gone out that night to play with some new friends. 

His date with this girl was nice. She liked the flowers that Y/N had chosen for him to give her. She complimented him and after dinner, they went to a walk and talked. As they did, she tries to touch his face, more precisely his scar, but he grabs her wrist stopping the girl. He never let anyone touch his scar...anyone but Y/N. Zuko accompanied the girl back to her home. She kissed him a goodbye, and he step back as soon as her lips touched his. 

“I’m sorry, I...” Zuko started. 

“It’s okay. I understand.” The girl smiled “She’s beautiful by the way.” 

“Huh?” 

“The girl you like...the one you’re work with.” The girl says, making Zuko blushing as he returns home. 

After a couple of hours he had left, he was already back on the apartment, making Y/N, that was now sitting on the couch, confused “You’re back already?” 

“Yes, I...I don’t think it’s going to work out with her.” He sighed and sit down by her side, looking a bit tired. 

“I’m sorry. But hey, there are more girls on the city. I’m sure you’ll find someone.” 

“I know, it’s just...this whole situation we are is kind of messed up” Zuko sighs again and leans back into the couch, closing his eyes for a moment. 

“Everything in our lives is messed up right now.” She chuckles. “But I think we can make this new life work for us.” 

“Yeah...” Zuko replied. 

“We should sleep. We have to work early tomorrow.” She gave him a soft smile. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Good night, Y/N.” He smiled at her and stood up from the couch, heading towards their bedroom. 

“Good night, Zuko.” She stays on the couch for a few more minutes, before she heads to their shared room. Y/N tossed and turned through the night, her mind consumed by jealous and confusion about her feelings towards Zuko. 

The next day was a normal day at work. A lot of tea, costumers say how good it was Iroh’s tea, girls giggling at Zuko and making Y/N rolls her eyes. 

“You’re getting famous around the girls here.” Y/N said, teasing him. 

Zuko just rolls his eyes, trying to hide his blush, before turning to her with a smirk “Don’t worry, Y/N. I won’t forget who my real friend is.” 

She just rolls her eyes at him. As the day goes by, Zuko started noticing she was a bit distant and somewhat annoyed. When they shift finished and they went back to their new home, Y/N went to take a shower and get dressed. She was wearing a cute dress. 

Zuko was sitting on the couch, his uncle had got the play again, and he waited there, eager to talk to Y/N about what was bothering her. When she finally emerged from the room, he couldn’t help but gasp at how beatiful she looked in that dress. 

She made a small turn “So, how do I look?” 

“You’re stunning, Y/N. Absolutely stunning.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her. 

“Thanks.” She smiled at him and looked at herself in the mirror one last time. 

“Is there somewhere you wanted to go?” He asked her, trying no to sound too hopeful. 

“Actually, I have a date tonight.” She replied. 

“A date?” Zuko’s heart sunk at the news. He tried no to show it on his face, but he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealous. 

“Yeah. One onf the costumers always asked me out and today I thought I would give it a try.” 

Zuko forced a smile “Have fun, Y/N.” He turned away, going to the room. 

“Thanks.” She smiles softly before she left. As he hears the door close, he sunk onto his bed. 

After only an hour, Y/N was already back home. Hearing the door opening, Zuko sit on the bed and forced another smile on his face “Did you have a good time?” 

“No.” She sits on her bed. “That was the worse date ever.” 

“Oh,r eally? What happened?” Zuko felt relief that the date hadn’t gone well. 

“That guy only knew how to talk about himself and didn’t even let me talk about anything. How “amazing” he was, how “rich” he was.” She rolls her eyes remembering “He didn’t even got me any flowers.” 

Zuko chuckled at Y/N describtion of her date. “I’m sorry, Y/N/N. You deserve better than that.” 

“Yeah, I do...” She looks down. 

There was a small pause, before he took a deep breath and finally says what has been on his mind for so long “Y/N, there’s something I need to tell you...” 

“Can we talk tomorrow? I’m not in the mood do to anything but sleep.” She looks at him, she was still angry with her date. 

Zuko frowns, a bit disappointed that he won’t be able to confess his feelings. “I understand. Tomorrow then.” 

“Good night, Zuko.” She says before laying down on her bed. 

“Good night, Y/N. Sleep well.” 

The next day they did it all again. Woke up early, went to work and served tea all day. At night, when they were done, they were all tired. But tonight, Zuko had a plan. He asked his uncle to leave for the night. He then got back at the living room, looking at Y/N that was sat down on the couch “Do you want to go out and grab a dinner?” 

“Sure.” She smiles, getting uo. 

“Why don’t you put that nice dress you used yesterday?” Zuko smiled. 

“Why?” Y/N asked confused. 

“Oh, I just thought it would be nice to dress up a bit.” He tried no to sound too nervous. 

“Okay.” Y/N got the dress and went to the bathroom to take a shower and get changed. When she got back to the living room, Zuko was wearing the same clothes he used on the date with that girl. “I’m ready.” 

Zuko smiled at her, trying to hide his nervousness as he took her hand and led her out of the apartment “Shall we?” 

She smiles and nods at him. Zuko took her to a nice place to dinner and after that they walked to a fountain. He looked around and they were alone, so he used his firebend to lit all the lights. Y/N got too distract admiring the beauty of that place to notices when Zuko got a single red rose. He smiled and handles her the flower, his heart racing slightly “Here you go. This is for you.” 

“Thank you.” Her face lights up “You’re such a gentleman.” 

Zuko blushes slightly at her words, feeling even more nervous. He took a deep breath before leaning in closer to her “Y/N, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you...” 

“What is it?” She asked him. 

“I think...I think I might be falling for you.” He says. 

“...what?” Y/N asked in a whisper. 

Zuko swallows hard, his heart pounding in his chest as he looks in her eyes “I...I think, no, I know. I want to be with you, Y/N. More than just friends.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense. If you like me, why would you go on that date?” She asked looking at him. 

He sighs, he knew that date was a mistake, and he should have told her sooner. He took her hands in his and looked in her eyes “I only went on that date because uncle insisted.” Y/N just looks at him, with no reply this time. Zuko felt a knot forming in his stomach as the silence stretched out between them. He knew he messed up, but he still wanted to fix things with her. “I never meant to lie or hurt you, Y/N, I just-”  

She stops him with a quick kiss, making him froze for a moment, his eyes widening in surprise as she kisses him “You talk too much sometimes. You know, I just went to that awful date to try to make you jealous.” 

Zuko’s heart skipped a beat at her confession. He pulled her closer, his hands resting on her his as he kissed her this time “You didn’t have to do that.” 

“Well, it worked, right?” She chuckled before kissing him one more time. Zuko held onto Y/N tightly, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief wash over him. “We should go home.”  

He just nods, still a little breathless from their kiss. He took Y/N's hand and started leading her back to their home. As soon as they entered, she called for Iroh, but had no response. 

“Uncle went out today...again.” Zuko said. 

“Oh, that’s...good.” She smiled at him. They were alone. Y/Nkissed him again and soon they sit on the couch. Zuko eagerly returned Y/N's kiss, feeling his heart race while he presses his body closer to hers. His hand found her thigh, going further as he caressed her inner thigh under her dress. He could feel himself growing harder underneath his pants. 

Y/N could feel herself getting wetter with Zuko’s touch, to she decided to break the kiss. “Zuko...we need to stop.” He pulled back, panting slightly as he looked into Y/N's eyes. “Is not that I don’t want this. I do. But I want you to be sure you want it too.” She says, her hand caressing his face. 

Zuko nodded, understanding her concern. He took a deep breath to calm himself “I do want this, Y/N. More than anything.” His hand moved to her cheek, tracing her jawline gently. 

“Are you sure?” She asks him. 

His eyes locked into hers, his heart beating rapidly in his chest “Yes, I’m sure.” 

“Okay.” Y/N stands up, holding his hand “Come.” 

Zuko followed Y/N to their room, both their heart racing with anticipation. She closed the door behind her, before she smiles at him and opening slowly his clothes. He just watches as she undid his top, revealing his chest. 

Y/N smiled at him shirtless. Not that it was any news to her, while they were on the ship, Zuko used to train shirtless “ I don’t know how many times I’ve seen you like this” She chuckles. 

He chuckled too, looking at her “More than you know.” 

Her hands caressed his face, this time on the side of his scar. Unlike when the girl he went on a date, he let her do it. He had always been self-conscious about it, but with Y/N it felt different. 

Y/N smiled before she guides his hands to the back of her dress. He hesitates only for a second before opening the zipper and pulling it down, revealing her body. Her hands reached the button of his pants “You’re sure about this?” 

Zuko nodded, his heart racing feeling her hands so close to his groin “Yes, I’m sure.” Y/N nods at him, before opening his pants and pulling down with his underwear, making Zuko gasp as she finally free his erection. “Y/N...” His voice was filled with desire. 

“Relax.” She whispers in his ear, as her hand reached for his cock and started to stroke him slowly. Zuko close his eyes, feeling her touch. She kept doing it, speeding up just a little, making him moan softly as his hips starts to move involuntarily. After a few more seconds, she stops smiling at him “Sit on the bed.” 

He opened his eyes, panting slightly from the pleasure, but he nodded and did what she said. Y/N kneeled on the ground between his legs, stroking him a few times before she put him on her mouth. That made Zuko groans, feeling an intense wave of pleasure as she began to suck him. She did it slowly at first, her eyes never leaving his face. Zuko’s head rolled back, his hand was gripping the sheets tightly. When Y/N notices, she took one of his hands and guided to her hair, so he could be in control. He guides her deeper, as his cock hit the back of her throat as his hips bucked off the bed, making Y/N moans. Zuko felt his climax approaching, so he pulled Y/N off him. 

She smirked at him “Did you like that?” 

Zuko looks in her eyes, his breath heavy as he nods with his cheek red with embarrassment “I...yes...It was amazing.” 

She chuckles at how cute he was like that, and she sits on his lap “What do you want to do now?” 

He was still trying to catch his breath “I want this.” 

“What exactly?” She asked while she guided his hand to her wetness. 

Zuko felt his face flush as he slowly dipped his fingers into Y/N's wetness. He gently circled her clit, making her moan “I want to make you feel good too.” 

“Do you want me to lay down?” She asks him. 

He nods “Yeah, that would be good.”  

She left his lap and lay down on the bed, spreading her legs to him. Zuko took a deep breath, still nervous about what he was about to do. He leaned down and kissed her inner thigh, gently moving forward until his tongue found her wetness. He then slowly entered her with one finger. Y/N moans when he did that. Zuko smiled as he felt her body respond to his touch when he begun to move his finger in and out of her, carefully watching her reaction “Does this feel good?” 

“So good...” She says between her moans.  

Encourage by that, Zuko added a second finger, slowly stretching her “You’re so tight...” Y/N doesn’t answer, she just moans. He kept pleasuring her with his fingers, watching her body tremble with each touch “I want to taste you.” 

“Please.” She nods. 

Zuko leaned down tasting the sweetness of her nectar. He then slowly inserted his tongue in her wetness, exploring every inch of her. 

“Oh gods...” She moans. 

He continued to lick and kiss her, listening to her soft moans that filled the air “More?” 

“Please...”  

Zuko smiled at her answer, as he pushed her legs up to her chest, exposing her fully to him “Beautiful...” Y/N moans loudly, and she was thankful they were alone. Zuko was driving her crazy. 

He smiled devilishly as he continued to pleasure her with his mouth. He could feel her walls trembling around his fingers as he added a third, pushing her to the brink of ecstasy “Are you close?” 

“Yes...” She moans, her walls clenching around his fingers. 

Zuko picked up the pace, his tongue flicking against her sensitive clit as he felt her body tensing up. Just as she was about to climax, he pulled away, leaving her gasping “Not yet.” 

She whines desperately “Please, Zuko.” He just smiled and goes on top of her, kissing her neck. She bucked her hips against his to get some relief “Just fuck me...” 

Zuko chuckles feeling in control as he enters her with one stroke, making them both moan. He starts thrusting slowly in and out of her, feeling her walls clenching around him and loving the feeling.  

“Faster...” She whispered. 

Zuko quickened his pace, thrusting into her with more force. Y/N cried out in pleasure as he pounded into her. 

“I’m so close....” She says. That made Zuko picked up the pace even more, his hips slamming against hers as he goes deeper inside of her. His hands gripped her hips tightly as he felt himself getting closer too. With one final thrust, Zuko’s body tensed up and he let out a long moan of pleasure. His hips bucked against Y/N's, feeling her completely as he released himself inside of her. That made her climax as well. Zuko’s body trembled from the intensity of that. 

She smiles at him, laughing softly. He smiled back at her. “You were amazing.” 

Zuko blushed slightly as he kissed her cheek. They lay together on the bed, Zuko pulling the blanked on them and soon they sleep peacefully in each other’s arms. 

Iroh got back to the apartment later and had no answer when called for his nephew or Y/N. As he opens the door of their shared room, he was meet with the image of them sleeping together under the blanked and their clothes all around the room. He closed the door quietly to not wake them “Finally...” 

[httpsghostie]

Under one Roof pt 1

pt 2

OK finally IT'S HERE

smh I'm down bad for roommate ghost I am sobbing

my hand is literally burning I wrote this aT COLLEGE

and YES my love language is food pls dont come for me

Summary: you never knew you needed a military roommate until you've got one.

Word Count: 1k (sorry it's short

Warnings: roommate!ghost x female!reader, slightly suggestive (if you squint), mentions of trauma, fluff/comfort, no use of y/n

masterlist

Ghost was an old friend of a friend of yours, and he happened to be needing a place to stay for a while, that ended up being a few more months, and now it's currently been a year since he moved in. He doesn't plan on leaving, you know it, you know that despite the independent man that he is, he likes having someone to come home to.

He was cold at first, so cold. And for many nights you cursed yourself for letting that rock of a heart get into your sweet home. He wouldn't talk much when he was there, you'd almost forget he was around if it wasn't for random coughs or sneezes.

That man smoked like a chimney in the first days he's spent around, he was anxious and that wasn't very cute, he was always smelling like cigarettes, but thankfully he didn't smoke inside.

He appreciated your effort on cooking for the two of you, but you couldn't help it. How could he survive when he wasn't eating properly? Yes, frozen pizza is cool… until it's the third day in a row that you're eating frozen and instant food and you can barely stand.

He also had a fucked up sleeping schedule that you just went along with it, you once got scared when you walked in the kitchen and found him just laying on the wall, eyes closed and snoring slightly. That day you scolded him to go back to his room and made him lay down on the bed.

"You're gonna lay down on this bed and you're gonna have some nice hours of sleep, alright? I'm gonna leave the door open, if I see you awake I'm punching you." You sounded like a mother, almost, and he was so tired he couldn't fight back.

And the days went by, he'd go away, he'd come back as tired as he left. But at least he was slowly opening up to be a really cool guy. You two started to bond, and the more he talked, the more you wanted to spend time with him.

Oh and don't even get started on dad jokes, he's cracking them up whenever he's helping with house chores, or when you two are eating peacefully.

He became a friend, a very good friend, one that wouldn't mind you venting out to, plus he was a good listener. He'd just sit there listening to whatever haze your brain was going through, and slowly he learned that he shouldn't be giving you reasonable ways to solve your problems, he should just tell you it would be ok.

And you found yourself slowly falling for him. Of course destiny had to put you together. Only if it wasn't for the way he handled things around the house.

"Oh, the living room lamp broke? Let me fix it."

"Those boxes are heavy, hand them to me."

"Go find a movie for us to watch, I'll do the dishes. Find a good one, though."

"Goddamnit, I told you not to be climbing on that fucking balcony, you're not a cat, you're gonna hurt yourself one day." Said as he picked you up when you were trying to reach the top of the cabinet. "Just ask me, I can reach it without putting myself in danger."

Or maybe if it wasn't for the fact that he'd purposefully get out of the shower with that pretty little towel wrapped around his body, that made you clench your fists. The way he was still a bit wet, a few drops running down his abs. He was surprisingly cool with his scars around you, maybe because you didn't make a big deal out of it.

That's because it wasn't. You expected that when Gaz, your friend, told you that the friend he was sending to you was his 'work buddy'. And he phrased it exactly like that. 

"Don't mind him, he's big and scary, but he'll be a good roommate, I promise, he's my work buddy." You chuckled when you read the text.

And yet Ghost didn't mind the stare of admiration coming from your burning gaze across the living room, when you thought the most ungodly things a brain has seen.

He started to become more and more warm, he found safe with you, like you could actually be his home. One night, he found a deep conection with you when you were casually drinking together, sat by the coffee table, playing video games. 

She should know the truth about me.

He thought. And that was the night he dropped his heavy armor. He told you the bare surface of his past, even though most of it had been blocked from his memory, like a dark spot he couldn't remember, and would die without trying to take a peak at it.

You cried, and he couldn't understand why you were crying until you said it wasn't his fault.

"It's not your fault, you didn't deserve any of this." You sobbed, hugging him close.

He broke down. Like he needed someone to reassure him that he wasn't the villain from his past. He realized what you meant to him, and he swore to God he would try his best to come home to you when he had to work.

Some days were strange after that, like he regretted telling you about his story. He had that feeling in his gut that you weren't looking at him the same way, like you were pity. He didn't want your pity, he hated that look on your face.

But that changed.

He had come home one day, texting you while he was at the airport waiting for a ride. You ran to get groceries and make him a good meal, but the only thing that came to your mind was the old recipe of lasagna you kept from your grannie.

That old lady, always saving your life.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

A Place To Call Home: After Shocks

Summary: The reader is feeling guilty after doubting her parents after the stunt her birth parents pulled. But with her parents going away to film a new project soon, the only solution may be for her to go with them for some much needed bonding...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x foster daughter!reader

Word Count: 11,100ish

Warnings: language, angst, fluff

A/N: This one takes place directly after Long, Long Time!

________

“Y/N.” You felt TJ behind you, his strong arms wrapping around your waist, holding you close. “What do you need right now?”

You smiled to yourself, closing your eyes. For every bad thing that’d happened in your life, you were still amazed at how lucky you were to have found someone that loved you wholly. He was still the one person that you’d never once doubted cared for you, never struggled with sharing the dark parts of your past. 

There were things you’d only told him even, the details behind vague statements to your parents. Yet he stayed and never complained about what being with a person with scars was like. It’d be so much easier for him to have found a normal girl, so much less for him to worry about.

“I probably would have wound up with a not so nice guy if I’d not gone to my parents when I was a teenager. I would have fallen for the first guy that was nice and sweet just so he could get me in bed or worse. I was so fucking starved for attention and love back then. I was so goddamn lonely.”

He squeezed you tighter, tucking his head down so he could burrow his face in your neck, kissing it softly.

“My dad showed me what to look for in a man. My mom too. They taught me how I was supposed to be treated when I was in a relationship.” You opened your eyes, staring out the back window again. “How did I let those assholes make me afraid of my parents? I hate that I pushed them away, TJ. It’s better now but it’s not. I feel so guilty.”

“It’s only been a few days since things got back to normal. Give it some time. Try therapy with them, bring ‘em to a session.”

“Honey, I know exactly what the therapist would say. I had this same conversation when I was in college. I know it’s because I want people to be angry at me when I make a mistake. It’s what I expect. It’s what my childhood taught me, my time in foster care did.”

“Alright,” he said, kissing the side of my head. “So how’d they say to not feel guilty back then?”

“They suggested I spend time with them so I could understand that my guilt had no basis. That they loved me no matter what and that’s what the whole unconditional thing meant. It’s not bad to get afraid. It’s human and we shouldn’t be ashamed of being afraid.”

“So go spend some time with your parents,” he said.

“I spend too much time with them already,” you said, squeezing your eyes shut as he spun you around in his hold. “Other people our age-”

“I don’t give a fuck about other people our age. Our family lives around the corner and frankly, I hope they always do. I love them. I enjoy their company. Honey, I can promise you that having a close, loving family is a good thing. Allie and Colin? They fucking adore their grandparents. They regularly get to see their aunts and uncle. We have amazing family friends they get to grow up with. Those two kids are never, ever, going to doubt they they are loved and supported. You and I could die tomorrow and I know those two will turn out amazing. I promise you, we will never spend too much time with our family.”

“I worry you think I’m too needy sometimes,” you whispered, meeting his gaze. His face was gentle, short black hair still damp from his shower. “But I’ve never doubted you. I just don’t want to put too much on you. I don’t want to take away time that should be yours.”

“Oh you sweet, silly, adorable, idiot,” he chuckled, tucking your hair behind your ear, letting his finger trail down the side of your throat. “We have forever together. I know how lucky I am to spend as much time as I do with you. My job is flexible and only getting more with time. And you? You’re turning set design into a career now. What couple our age gets to spend so much of our time together? Believe me, I’m greedy to be with you as much as I can be but I am more than happy to share you with our family.”

He cupped your cheek, smiling while he gently stroked over your cheekbone. “Give spending some extra time with them a shot for me. Okay, silly goose?”

“Where did I find you?” you whispered, nuzzling into his chest.

“Orientation. I was the boy awkwardly staring at you for so long you asked if I had heatstroke.” You laughed at the memory of him just blank faced, sweating in the boiling summer heat as you stood with your orientation packet and attempted to find your parents in the crowd. You thought he was from out of state with the way he was dripping and offered him some water while finding him some shade to hide beneath. 

By the time he’d gotten his words back, you’d realized he was there on his own. No family to help him move in, find buildings, buy books. It wasn’t a conscious thought back then but you knew that ache of loneliness. Even people who came from homes with parents could feel like they were by themselves. 

“Lucky for me you took pity on me and instead of thinking I was a creeper, you showed me which line to get my packet from and pointed out where buildings were on maps and all of it. I was in love with you before I even knew your name.”

“Thomas,” you said, cheeks flushing. “Don’t be cute when I was feeling crappy five minutes ago.”

“Ah, but that’s my favorite thing to do,” he teased, kissing the tip of your nose. “Now off you go.”

“To where?” you laughed, TJ walking you over to the front door. 

“To your parents, silly. It’s only nine and we both know they don’t sleep until late. Go hang for a bit, talk to them about being together more. Me and my perky butt will be waiting here for you when you get back.”

“Okay, well that’s just cruel to put that image in my mind and then send me away,” you said as he bent down and slipped a pair of sneakers on your feet. He looked up through his lashes, putting on a sultry smile. “TJ! Stop turning me on!”

“Don’t blame me for you being stunning,” he said, rising to his feet and pecking a kiss to your lips. “Drive over for me.”

“Okay,” you said. “What are you planning on doing in the meantime?”

“Check on the munchkins, play a video game, lay in bed in my birthday suit to greet you when you get back.”

“Just don’t scar the children for life,” you laughed, feeling a gentle pat on your ass. TJ ushered you to go when you nearly dragged him towards the bedroom and finally you were out the door. Two minutes later, you were walking into your parents house, the place pretty dark. JJ was at a graduation party and spending the night there. The twins were up in the family room watching an old movie with the lights off, totally engrossed with it. You figured your parents were on their private balcony and headed for their room.

“Oh fuck!” you shouted when you saw way more of your father than you ever wanted to. You quickly slammed the door and stood outside the room, pacing away as you shook your head. “Nope. Nope. Nope. I didn’t see that. I did not see that.”

The door opened after a moment, your mom slipping out in a pair of joggers and a silky black pajama shirt.

“I am so sorry, honey. I thought dad locked the door,” she said as you kept walking, shaking your head. “Are you okay?”

“Was he giving you a fucking naked lap dance?” you said, a coy smile on her face as she shrugged. “Mom!”

“Oh, you’ve seen his ass before when you watched The Boys,” she said.

“I knew that was going to happen! And I saw a whole lot more than just ass,” you said, shivering your whole body as the twins came down from their movie.

“I remember when I walked in on them,” said your brother, wearing a shit eating grin as you groaned. “Dad’s got a huge-”

“I don’t need a reminder!” you said, your dad clearing his throat as he came out in a pair of sweatpants and gray t-shirt. 

“Things going okay out here?” he asked, forcing a smile.

“Talking about your apparently huge dick,” said Arrow. Your mom couldn’t help but laugh as your dad groaned, the twins starting to giggle. “What? It’s the truth.”

“While I normally appreciate how open we are as a family, I mean this in the nicest way, we are never bringing this topic up again,” said your dad with a sigh. “Go finish your movie and for the love of god never talk about this again.”

Your mom was still laughing, earning a small headlock from him. “It’s your fault you didn’t lock the door!”

“Yes, I know,” he groaned, letting her go and standing in front of you with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for scaring you for life, kiddo.”

“It’s fine,” you sighed, crossing your arms. “In terms of traumatizing events, this ranks pretty low for me. Besides, mom told me when I started having sex with TJ about your sex life.”

His head whipped around and she held up her hands. “Hey. She had questions and I answered them.”

“I wouldn’t have told her how big…you know,” he grumbled. 

“I didn’t. I just said above average is nice!”

“As much fun as this conversation is, I’d like to repress this memory if possible so I’m going to let you guys continue with your magic mike moment-”

You heard the twins howl in laughter, your dad storming past you and over towards the stairs.

“You two start high school in the fall and guess what talk we’re having tomorrow?” he said. They both groaned for a moment before you heard noise again, your dad wiping his hand over his face. 

“They both know what sex is,” you said, his eyes wide. “I gave them both the talk like years ago.”

“You did?” they both asked.

“Yeah. I gave it to all of them. It’s a lot easier for big sis to tell you than mom and dad, especially when dad makes talking about sex so freaking awkward,” you said, cocking your head.

“Well, thank you,” he said, nodding once. “And if that’s something you want to discuss, then we can.”

“I’m good. I just enjoy torturing you in return for the trauma I endured tonight,” you said with a smile. Your mom giggled as he pushed you both into the bedroom, closing the door behind himself.

“Well the mood is gone so what’s up?” he asked as you sat very specifically not on the bed and wandered over to the large window out back. You spun on your heels, both of them watching with concerned eyes.

“I…have been feeling guilty about doubting you guys that you’d hurt me like the sperm and egg donor did and…I’d like to try that thing we did when I was younger and spending more time with you guys helped…if that’s cool,” you said, biting your bottom lip. 

“Honey, of course you can hang out with us more often,” said your mom. She wrapped you up in a hug, letting you melt into her. “Dad and I were talking earlier and hoping we could steal some time with you. We missed you.”

“I missed you guys too,” you said, feeling your dad come up behind you and hug you, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“You don’t have anything to feel guilty about,” he whispered, kissing the top of your head. 

“I know I shouldn’t but I know I hurt you both and that’s something I have to deal with.”

“It hurts more knowing how much you hurt yourself for being human, kiddo,” he said.

“I know how scared you were that I’d stop-“

“You didn’t stop loving us,” he said. “You were afraid and sometimes, your kids get scared. It’s that simple.”

You nodded, enjoying being squished between them, a calm feeling settling in your bones. 

“There she is,” he murmured as he felt you relax. “Better?”

“Yeah,” you said. Your mom tugged you over to the bed, your eyebrows raising.

“It’s clean, I promise.” She slid into her side of the bed, tugging you down in the middle as your dad moved in on your other side. “So we could watch a movie, play a game-“

“Guys,” you said. “It’s okay. You had other plans-“

“And now our plans are to spend time with you,” said your dad, throwing his arm over your shoulders, tucking you into his side. You glanced up, frowning at the deep worry in his eyes. “Honey, you never have to ask us to be with you like you’re some kind of bother. Please know that.”

“You know me,” you said, your mom scooting closer, taking one of your hands in hers. “Can I maybe, I know how this is going to sound-“

“Y/N. Ask like we’re your mom and dad, not strangers,” said your mom. 

“I know that too. I’m a little shaky I guess,” you breathed out, both of them holding your closer. “Can we spend more time together, like one on one? Like make a night or something for us like we did when I was younger? That really helped me back then and TJ thinks it’ll help now too.”

“Knew there was a reason I loved that boy,” said your mom. “Of course we can do that.”

You felt your dad stiffen though, your head turning up. He looked sad, pouting almost. 

“You have to go away for a project soon, don’t you,” you said quietly. 

“Oh no,” said your mom, her hand leaving yours, both of them covering her mouth. “We both have to for two weeks starting on Tuesday. Daddy’s gone for over a month.”

“JJ was going to be in charge and we were going to come home on the weekends but-“

“You have work. I understand.” Still, tears prickled in the corner of your eyes. Why’d you have to be so stupid and push them away for the past month? Now they were both going to be gone.

“Come with us.” Your dad turned your cheek to face him, wiping away a stray droplet before it could fall. “We need to be together again for a little bit. Come to the project with us for two weeks and then you can decide to stay with me or go home with mom but either way you got at least one of us.”

“That’s a long time to be away from Allie and Colin,” you said, biting your bottom lip. “But I know TJ can handle it. I need to talk to him first. I can’t make that kind of decision on my own.”

“We understand. Trust me. Dad and I have had a lot of those conversations over the years.” You already knew TJ would tell you to go and have fun. But you’d never spent more than a few days away from the kids. 

“The little one’s will survive. Give ‘em a call and facetime them everyday and it helps. Believe me, nothing beats a hug from them when you’ve been gone for a few weeks,” said your dad. “They’ve dealt with TJ being gone for a week for work before. They’ll be alright if you choose to go.”

“I know they would. It’s me I don’t know about,” you said, closing your eyes. “Let me talk to TJ and I’ll give you guys an answer in the morning.”

“Whatever you want to do. We can always hang out when we get back too,” he said, kissing your temple. “So can I interest you ladies in a game of Mario Kart?”

Three days later you were walking into an upscale cabin you were sharing with your parents, most of the other cabins at the unique little hotel filled with cast and crew for the movie your parents were making. They were producing it and your dad was starring as the main character. You’d done the set design on it nearly a year prior and while you’d forgotten most of the story, you were excited to see one of your sets in person. Plus you hadn’t seen your dad on a film set in more than a few years and knew seeing him act in person was a rare treat.

After you ditched your bags in the spare bedroom, you changed and met up with your parents for a pre-shoot dinner they were hosting at a restaurant in town with the cast and some of the higher ups. While the dinner was fun, you were tired from traveling all the way to Vancouver all day. You ducked outside to give TJ a quick call but were reluctant to go back inside and have to be social again when you were exhausted.

“Hey,” said a woman around your age if you had to guess, her hair silky and tied back in a loose ponytail, a black floral tank top and jeans on. “You’re Y/N, right?”

“Uh yeah,” you said, offering her a smile. “You’re Cara Micks. You’re playing Maddie. My parents were really glad they managed to get you. Everybody wants you in their stuff after that indie film.”

“One little Oscar nom and suddenly I’m not surviving off ramen in an apartment with four roommates,” she laughed, nodding her head. “I uh, I’m really glad I got this role, even if it’s not what my agent wanted me to pick. Working with your dad is like a dream come true. He has such a good reputation. I know this’ll be a good set.”

“I can guarantee it’ll be one of the best you ever work on,” you said as she wiped off her forehead.

“Plus it’s a good story. You did the set design, right?” she asked. You hummed, her eyes lighting up. “I got to sneak down and see some of the set mock ups earlier today. They look really cool. I’d love to know more about how that kind of stuff works. If that’s okay. People seem to think I know a lot about this business when I’ve really only done a few gigs before.”

“Well, I’ve never been on a set I’ve designed before so I’m right there with you but I’d happily answer any questions. I’ll leave the acting stuff to my dad though. I can barely tell you what a mark is,” you said, Cara smiling as she closed her eyes. “You good to drive?”

“Yeah, just tired. I’ll see you tomorrow though. Maybe we can grab lunch?” she asked.

“Sure,” you said, Cara handing over her phone. You exchanged numbers and watched her drive off as your parents walked out of the restaurant, others trailing out. 

“Ready for bed? We got an early day tomorrow,” said your mom. You hummed and closed your eyes, your dad rubbing your back.

“Come on. Sooner we get back soon you can head to sleep.”

“Oh my god! It’s my basement!” you said, hopping up and down when you walked onto set the next morning. 

“And what a lovely torture basement it is, kiddo,” laughed your dad. You walked around the set, poking at the shelves, surprised they actually put the cobblestone walls in. He nudged you when you ran your hands over it, a proud smile on his face. “It does look good. Appreciate the fact you know an old shack would have cobblestone and not cinder blocks.”

“That was the point,” you said, walking around the space, stopping at the chair in the center of the basement. “They even found the same chair!”

“They do tend to make the sets match what’s designed,” he chuckled, following you around set, hands clasped behind his back. “You should do this full-time. Design.”

“I don’t know,” you said with a shrug, watching him take a seat on the wooden steps. You sat down in the chair across from him, resting your chin in your hands. “TJ has great benefits so it’s not like a fear of having to be self-employed or not getting gigs. I could not work and we’d be perfectly fine.”

“If you have a sense of obligation to stay at the brewery-”

“I know I don’t have to,” you said. “The team does all the real work.”

“So what’s keeping you from giving it a shot? I mean,” he said, leaning back on his elbows, kicking his legs out in front of him, “You’ve got more than a few projects under your belt. You have the resume, connections. You can set your own schedule. Granted, yeah, it’s not going to be every single day and there’ll be long days sometime but you’ve already handled that with two small kids and working another job.”

“I know,” you said, his head cocking as he smiled. 

“So…” You closed your eyes and sighed.

“My brewery job you gave me. And somehow people always know I’m your daughter, even when I use Hanover in projects. I just…if I do this full time people are going to assume I got the job because of my dad and I’ll never know if it’s because I’m good at it or if a director wants to work with you. You know?” He nodded, smirking as he glanced down at the concrete floor. “You know it’s true.”

“Nepotism is a thing in this industry for sure. But I also am a product of that through grandpa and people he knew. Nepotism gets you in the door as a guest and it’s right to acknowledge that. Talent gets you invited to stay at the party long after all the wannabe’s head home.”

“But I didn’t earn it like someone off the street,” you said. He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“Cold hard truth? No one knew who the fuck you were when you submitted that first portfolio for your first project. Nobody. I know that because I worked with the director of that project after and he had zero clue you’re my kid. He recommended you to other projects before I came along so you did earn it. You’re right. You’ll never know for sure but you shouldn’t stop because of it. You don’t always have to start in last place to be worthy of earning first.”

“But nepotism is basically cheating your way to first,” you said.

“Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes, it’s a kid who is talented who got in on her own and won’t give herself a break to do something she clearly loves because she thinks it was a gift. Even if it was a gift, take it. Life threw enough shit at you. Take the nice crap too.”

You pursed your lips, looking around. “You think I’m good at this?”

“Mom and I didn’t approach you to do this project for shits and giggles. We knew you’d do quality work and sure as shit, you did. There are not a lot of sets on this film. Most scenes take place out in the woods so the pieces we do have, they need to be fucking good. And this room doesn’t even have four walls and it’s scary as hell so yeah, I’d say you’re good at this.” He stood up, holding out his hands. “Come on, let’s go check out the rest of the sets.”

“Has anyone seen Cara today?” asked the director, Dave close to lunchtime. You glanced up from where you sat in your dad’s chair, your mom over at the film tent with the other producers.

“She’s still not here?” asked your dad as he walked off set. They’d been filming for a few hours for his scenes at the police station but those were wrapped up, everyone ready to start in the basement once lunch break was over. “That doesn’t seem like her.”

You pulled out your phone and dialed, getting no answer. You tried a few more times and got more of the same. 

“This fucking kid,” grumbled Dave, leaning back in his seat. “Can someone get over to her hotel room and tell her to get her ass on set? I don’t care if she was nominated for a fucking Oscar. She pulls any diva shit and I’ll kick her out.”

“She said she was tired last night,” you said, several heads turning your direction. “When we left dinner. She looked a little ill too, like sweaty.”

“Well if she’s sick she’s supposed to call in. She better be fucking dying for not giving notice,” said Dave. You raised your eyebrow at him, Dave giving it right back. “I’m not being dramatic. It’s in her contract what she’s supposed to do if she’s sick.”

“Maybe so but a little common decency doesn’t hurt. You shouldn’t wish for someone to be ‘fucking dying’ because they’re not at work on time,” you shot back. You could feel the eyes on you, most of the nearby crew watching you. 

To your surprise Dave nodded, his face relaxing. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. Let’s have someone get over to her place and see what’s going on.”

People dispersed for lunch, your parents holding hands as they stopped at the chair and your dad grabbed his phone.

“Sorry I did that,” you said as you stood. They shared a smile, your dad tucking you under his shoulders as you walked out of the studio.

“We’re not,” said your mom, tilting her head up to your dad. “Remember when she used to be scared of men?”

“You wouldn’t know it with that little display,” he said, squeezing your shoulder. “And you think you’re riding off my reputation in this business. Think again, tall munchkin. Things like that are why people want to work with you.”

“I could have done it privately,” you said with a shrug.

“Don’t take shit on a set. We both did,” said your mom. “It’s nice to know you won’t.”

“Well, what’s the worst that’ll happen? I get fired? So what,” you said. 

“We did good,” said your dad, releasing you to high-five your mom. You rolled your eyes and walked ahead, turning around to walk backwards.

“Excuse me but I did good. Y’all were just like…there,” you said, smirking. Both their faces fell and you sighed, stopping in your tracks. “Oh my god, it was a joke! Guys. You two driving me insane as a teenager was incredibly helpful. You definitely did good. Promise.”

“Well,” said your mom with a smile, “It was a team effort.”

“It was,” you said, your dad biting his bottom lip. You spun around and smiled. “It didn’t hurt having a good guy want to be my dad. He set the bar high so I don’t accept shit. I appreciate that.”

You glanced over your shoulder and caught him smiling off to the side, his cheeks a hot pink.

“Dad are you blushing?” you teased. He snapped his attention to you and rolled his eyes, failing to keep his lips from curling up. 

“God no. I don’t blush,” he scoffed. 

“Sure you don’t,” you said, smiling as you headed for the catering tent. “I forgot you’re a super tough manly man.”

“Damn straight I am,” he said. You shook your head and got in line, looking up when you felt him by your side. “You shouldn’t feel guilty.”

“Dad-” you said quietly as you both stepped forward. 

“Your parents hurt us, they hurt you. You didn’t do anything to us. I wouldn’t be strong enough to risk getting hurt by another set of parents let alone believe they love me. I’d be terrified. You’ve always been the strong one in this family, kiddo. You don’t have to say nice things to make me feel better.”

You shook your head, smiling when you looked down. “I don’t say things to you to make you feel better, dad. You or mom. I only say what I believe and genuinely, you made me know what to expect out of men and if they don’t deliver, I’ll let them know about it. I’m not blowing smoke up your ass.”

He smirked, nodding to himself. “You stopped feeling guilty before we even got out here, didn’t you.”

“What can I say? You guys give good pep talks,” you said, feeling your mom hug your waist from behind. “It’s still cool that I came out though right?”

“Don’t ask dumb questions, kiddo,” he chuckled. “Let’s get some lunch and hopefully Cara will be back by then.”

“We have a big problem,” said Dave, stopping by your lunch table about twenty minutes later. Your parents left, leaving the rest of you wondering what was going on. When your lunch break was up, people headed back to their various departments, your dad appearing out of nowhere and giving you a strange look.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“Cara has food poisoning it sounds like. The PA that went over found her vomiting. She’s taking her to the hospital to get some fluids in her. Hopefully she’s feeling better later.”

“Oh. Well that’s good,” you said, that strange look still there. “Dad…”

“Technically the scenes we need to film this afternoon are all my coverage. Since Cara’s stunts don’t start until next week, her stunt double and stand in aren’t here yet. But you may have noticed you and Cara share a certain-”

“You want me to fucking double for Cara Micks? Me?” you asked as he smiled.

“You guys are the same height, size. Your hair’s almost the exact same. Literally all you have to do is put on some clothes, sit in a chair with some make up on and make sounds like you’re scared. It’s not going to be hard at all.” You stared at him, his eyes searching yours. “I promise it’s as easy as-”

You crossed your arms and glanced down, kicking at the pavement. “You’re filming the scenes where Ben finds Maddie. Your coverage.”

“Exactly,” he said, voice dropping slightly. “You don’t have to. We can find another woman to I’m sure. I just thought you’re perfect for it already. But you don’t-”

“Dad. It’s not the being a stand in. I don’t mind that,” you said. He cocked his head when you raised yours, sighing deeply. “I’m nervous that…I know that scene. I remember it from the design. Maddie is tied up in a chair in a basement. And I know it’s a film set and it’s safe but…”

You shrugged, smiling wearily.

“House six,” you whispered, his head nodding. “I’m just-”

“I never should have asked,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.” 

“Dad, no,” you said, grabbing his arm before he could go. You tugged him away between some trailers, letting go when you ran your hand through your hair. 

“Tall munchkin, there is no way I would make you do that. I am so sorry I-”

“Stop. Please.” He snapped his lips shut. After a beat you leaned back against a trailer wall, breathing slowly. “Ben’s a cop. House six, that prick was a cop. I need…I don’t know the script that much, only the early parts, if at all. Tell me Ben’s a good guy.”

“He has his rough spots but by the end of the movie, Ben and Maddie are basically father and daughter. It’s a big step for her considering her own father is the one that had her kidnapped and then tried to kill her.” You pursed your lips, his eyes scanning the clouds overhead. “This is going to sound corny as hell but just listen to me for a minute.”

“Okay,” you said as he met your gaze.

“You’re a grown woman. I recognize that and respect it. You can make your own choices, own mistakes, successes. You have a husband and children and I know when you’re in trouble, I’m not the first person you turn to anymore. That’s okay. It’s normal.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and smirked. “But you’re still my little girl. I will always do my best to protect you or I’ll go down swinging in the process. You don’t have to worry about if the character I’m playing is good or bad. I’m your dad. Behind every character is me. And you know me and what I’d do for you.”

You looked away, nodding a few times.

“You don’t have to do this. At all. But understand that I would not allow anything to happen to you if I didn’t believe it was safe. I’ll let you get some bumps and scrapes along the way cause that’s life. But no more scars. Because I told you that night on the road my job is to protect you, that I’ll never hurt you. You know that deep down but you need to hear it out loud sometimes because you get scared.”

You felt him step closer and forced yourself to face him. “What?”

“I will never let anything like what happened in that house happen to you again. Understand?” 

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he smiled, giving you a hug. “Why don’t you go hang out in my trailer for a bit? It’s going to take a little bit to find someone and start filming again.”

“Well,” you said, his eyebrow raising, “You or mom will be nearby the whole time right?”

“Absolutely,” he said. You shrugged and nodded. “You change your mind?”

“I can do it,” you said. “You sure you can?”

“Me?” he laughed. “What do you mean?”

“You gonna be cool with seeing me with fake blood and stuff?” He cocked his head and smirked. 

“Fake blood I can handle,” he said, your mom stopping by the end of the trailer. “She says she good with it.”

“Oh thank you,” she sighed, quickly grabbing your hand and dragging you behind her. “Jensen, you need to change while I get her ready.”

“See you on set, kiddo.”

“Thank you everyone,” called Dave at the end of the day. You stretched out as you stood up from the chair, your dad rubbing your shoulders that had a small ache to them. “That’s a wrap for the day.”

“How you feeling?” asked your dad, massaging the muscles with my force, the ache soothing away.

“That helps,” you said, Dave coming over to you. 

“I really do appreciate you filling in for us today, Y/N,” he said. 

“It’s no problem. I didn’t have to do much,” you said.

“Well thanks anyways, and for calling me out earlier. I want this to be a fun set.”

“I think I figured that out when dad started carrying me out of the scene upside down,” you laughed, your dad chuckling. “How’s Cara feeling?”

Dave shared a look with your dad, his hands falling away from you. “She still at the hospital?”

“Appendicitis. It fucking popped this afternoon.”

“Shit,” said your dad. “That’s bad.”

“She was being prepped for surgery when it happened, which was good, I guess. They were able to go in fast and clean her up. I was going to drop by in a bit and check up on her.”

“Dee and I’ll go too. Her parents know?”

“On the way but Florida’s pretty far. They won’t be here until around midnight. I’ll see you guys there,” he said when he got pulled away by another producer.

“Can I go?” you asked. 

“Sure. Let’s stop by hair and makeup so they can clean you up first.”

The Next Morning

“What do you think they’re going to do?” said the key grip as everyone ate breakfast together. Cara was doing better but she was on strong antibiotics so she didn’t get an infection and her surgery had been more invasive than if her appendix hadn’t burst. All in all, it meant she was on bed rest for a few weeks and looking at a full month before she was going to be cleared for work.

Which wouldn’t have been a big problem if your dad didn’t have a project lined up for six weeks from now. 

“There’s no way we can finish on time unless they got in a backfill today,” said Molly, your dad’s PA, slurping down a bowl of oatmeal. “Jensen has two different films he’s supposed to be in once we wrap and they’re big studio ones. No way he’d drop those to finish this late with Cara.”

“Couldn’t they just push until after he does the movies? That’s only a few weeks, really randomly too. He wouldn't be needed every day at those,” you said. The key grip, a very, very tall man named Ivan shook his head.

“Cara’s got a Marvel role she starts prepping for then. By the time both their schedules are free it’s late winter and we can’t film in that, not when the movie takes place in the early fall. So that pushes us back to next summer which a lot of the time means we’re dead in the water.”

“Yup,” said Molly with a sigh. “I liked this job. Your dad’s not a dickhead and I’ve worked with some dickheads before.”

“How hard is it to find another actress though? Couldn’t they call up like the girl that came in second in the auditions?” you asked. They shared a look and you frowned. “I clearly am not in on the gossip.”

“It’s okay. You just got here,” said Molly, slurping up more oatmeal. “Rumor is it took like five months to find someone to play Maddie. No one could pull off the intense moments in the script until they got Cara. It’s an amazing script but damn, the lead actress has to be able to do a fucking lot.”

“What do you mean? How’s that different than any other story?” you asked, Ivan chuckling. “I am so out of the loop.”

“Set designers normally are. We hardly ever see you guys to be fair. But basically Maddie in the story has be vulnerable but funny, a whimpering mess but also frighteningly creepy. Soft but strong. Do a number of fight scenes with grown ass men twice her size. All while running around in the woods most days, freezing her ass off during the many night shoots and being able to not oversell the emotional moments and have it come off as cheesy instead of awesome. It’ll be a miracle to find someone like Cara Micks.”

“Oh. Well that sucks. The movie sounds cool. I really want to see if get made,” you said, your mom ducking into the tent with a smile, waving you over. “I’ll be back guys.”

“Let us know if you find out anything!” said Molly. You gave them a smile and walked out of the tent with your mom, surprised when she was practically jogging away.

“Where are you going?” you laughed, following after, grateful you were in a pair of sneakers and leggings today. She just waved and you followed her into your dad’s trailer, many pairs of eyes on you. Your dad and Dave were there along with the other producers that were on set, the assistant director, the writer and a few other people you didn’t know. “Hi.”

You took the only open seat at the far end of the little couch across from your dad, Dave walking over and squatting down in front of you. “Uh, can someone explain what’s happening?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard we’re a bit fucked without Cara. We can’t film a two lead movie without one of our leads. She’s a hard girl to replace,” said Dave. Your eyes flicked up to your dad, his lips pressed into a thin line. “We would like it if you’d entertain us for a few hours and try to film a few scenes with Jensen. You already did the stand in work yesterday and that was great-”

“I played a barely conscious girl yesterday. I didn’t have to do anything.” You got to your feet and shook your head. “I can’t act let alone replace the girl who almost got an Oscar. I will happily be a stand-in but guys…y’all do realize I’m not related by blood to these guys, right? There is zero chance any acting talent was passed along. I haven’t acted since the fourth grade where I played girl #4. Does that sound like the person you want starring in a freaking movie with him?”

Your dad shrugged. “I think you’re selling yourself short.”

You were wide eyed, mouth dropping. Had he lost his mind?

“You’re very smart. You had a lot of good suggestions during pre-production,” said Dave, taking a seat on the couch. 

“Sets. Sets I get. I have a degree in architecture and so does my husband. I know walls and floors and ceilings. This? I have zero fucking clue about acting.” Dave looked at your parents, slowly returning his gaze back to you. “I can’t do it. I’ll ruin your damn movie.”

“Well we can’t film shit without Cara so let us try for two hours. If you’re as shitty as you say you are, then I have no problem telling you that. Let us try to grab a life preserver before we go down with the ship. That’s all we’re asking,” said Dave. You grumbled, putting your back to the room before sighing.

“Fine. But no one get mad at me when I can’t do it, alright?” you said, turning around with a huff.

“Perfect. Get her a script and in hair and make up. Jensen, we’ll give you twenty minutes to rehearse before we’ll try on set.” You were ushered out of the room and twenty later you were back there with a wad of paper in your hand, wearing the same dirty t-shirt, leggings and sneakers you wore in the basement scene yesterday.

“Why the fuck would you volunteer me for this?” you said the second you were in his trailer, your dad snapping his head up from where he sat on the couch with his own papers. “When have I ever expressed an interest in acting? I look like shit. I’m not a bombshell like Cara Micks. I look like damn roadkill. You are insane for thinking I could pull something like this off. Why, why do you think I can do this? What is wrong with you, dad?”

He looked you up and down, a soft smile on his face. “Stop smiling! I’m pissed!”

“You do realize the qualities Maddie has in the movie are all ones you have, don’t you? You can do it because you have done it. And don’t tell me you can’t act,” he scoffed. You threw up your hands, dropping your papers.

“Of course I can’t fucking act! Why on earth would you think I can?” you said. He walked over in front of you, crossing his arms and staring you down. “What is wrong with you? I can’t-”

“You can act with the best of them.” You could only stare with wide eyes, growing angrier at the smug expression on his face.

“Stop saying that!” you shot back. “Why would you make me do this? I’m going to humiliate myself and you and mom and-”

He started to laugh and you’d had enough. You turned to leave, his hands gently catching your shoulders. You swore your eye was twitching when you faced him, that stupid smile still there.

“Oh, kiddo. I watched you put on a class act for months when you first came to us. Before that? Acted your ass off in those shitty foster homes. Acted your ass off when you put in anonymous calls to get the truly awful ones shut down. Pretended it was all okay to those monsters faces when it was eating you up inside. Even with your birth parents you pretended to be perfect for them.” He got in your face, tilting his head ever so slightly. “You can act and it’s like I told you yesterday. You’re safe here. So trust me to keep you safe and you can act when your damn survival doesn’t depend on it for the first time in your life. Trust me, it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier than the last time you acted.”

You frowned, growling as he leaned back. “Has anyone ever told you how irritating it is that you always have a fucking point?”

“I recall being told once or twice by a certain munchkin,” he chuckled, picking up the papers and handing them over. “Oh and Y/N? You are beautiful, even with that bruised makeup on your face. Believe me.”

“Dad. You have to say that.”

“Hm, no I don’t,” he laughed, taking a seat. “You don’t know how many death glares I’ve handed out over the years. Plus your husband never shuts up about how pretty you are.”

“Don’t make me smile. I’m still annoyed with you,” you said, sitting down at his kitchenette table, fixing your pages. “Do I have to have this memorized?”

“Let’s just practice a few times and go from there.”

Two Weeks Later

It was quiet out. Then again it normally was at two in the morning. You sipped on your thermos of hot coffee while the crew took a short break. You passed it to your dad beside you, the two of you sat in front of a fire in the forest. Above you was a clearing in the sky, so many stars out in the deep wilderness.

“You’re happy.” You glanced to your right, the shadows dancing across his face. 

“Yeah,” you whispered, looking back up at the sky. “It’s so pretty here.”

“I’m really glad I get to do this with you,” he said quietly. 

“Me too.” You took the thermos back from him, taking another sip. You were both quiet, watching the flames in front of you. He wore a long sleeve henley while you were still in your t shirt and leggings. But at least tonight you got to wear his warm flannel between takes. Until he’d give it to you in the scene at least. You set the thermos behind the log where it’d be hidden from view when they turned the cameras back on in a few minutes, catching your dad close his eyes. “Dad. Don’t fall asleep.”

“I’m not sleeping. Just happy.” You hummed, connecting the stars in the sky, trying to find the big dipper. “Kiddo?”

“Yeah?” 

“It’s to the left of that branch.” You spotted him with eyes open, darting around as they made connections.

“I used to sit outside when I was a kid and stare at the stars. No one ever bothered me when I did that,” you said, pointing out the little dipper to him. “Always seemed so peaceful up there.”

“Did you find a little peace down here?” You nodded, laughing quietly. “What’s so funny?”

“You wonder where I get it from,” you said, shaking your head. “You want to be told you’re loved as much as I do.”

“I suppose I do,” he said, the heat of his gaze on you. 

“Yeah, I found my peace down here. Don’t think I ever told him the night of my seventeenth birthday was the first time I slept through the night in a decade. I got my peace a very long time ago, just was afraid of losing it.”

“Afraid anymore?” he whispered. You shook your head, catching Orion far off on the other side of the clearing. 

“No. No one can take my peace away from me ever again.” He shifted closer, letting you rest your head on his shoulder. “This is the longest I’ve ever been away from TJ since we’ve been together.”

He hummed, breathing softly.

“How do you stand being away from mom for weeks at a time?” He crossed his arms, smiling to himself.

“Why do you think I’d fly all night just to see her and you guys for half a day? We know how to make long distance work. Our whole relationship has always had an element of it. But getting a hug when you get home eases that ache that forms.”

“I miss Thomas,” you whispered. 

“You’ll see him and the babies tomorrow,” he said, crew memembers starting to gather back around, eyes fluttering open. “He has a surprise for you.”

“Oh god. What’d he do?” He held up his hands and scooted back over to his mark. You put on puppy dog eyes, a sigh leaving him. 

“He and the kids made you a cake. He misses you too.” You inhaled deeply. “Do you regret-”

“No. I just need a moment with him is all.” You forced a smile and nodded. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

Three Weeks Later

“You’re so pretty,” whispered TJ as you exited the bathroom in a pair of pajama shorts and one of his t-shirts. You laughed, pushing back your damp hair before crawling into bed with him. “I can’t believe I’m sleeping with a movie star.”

You slapped his chest, TJ giggling, rolling himself so he rested his chin on your chest. You ran your fingers through his dark strands, TJ inhaling slowly.

“If this was something you wanted to try, you know we’ll figure it out, right?” You smiled, nodding once.

“People said I did good.”

“If you mean your parents bragging about how fucking incredible you did then sure, you did good.” You traced your finger over his cheek, concern growing in his eyes. “You’ve moved on from the brewery and we both know it. You can clearly do this acting thing if you wanted.”

“Thomas,” you sighed. He wrapped his arms under you, giving you a squeeze. “The only reason I did it in the first place was to help. I did it to spend time with my parents. I got to hang out with my dad so much and a lot of the stuff we filmed…I couldn’t have done that with someone else.”

“I have no problem with you not taking your career that direction if you don’t want to do it. But I don’t want you to not try because you do want it and you’re scared. I want you to go after everything you want in life,” he said quietly, tilting his head up, kissing your jaw. “That’s all I want from you.”

“I don’t want it,” you said, closing your eyes. “I want to get into set design full time. Being away for so long, even coming home on the weekend in the middle there…I don’t want to be gone from you guys for that long regularly.”

“I understand, believe me. We missed you too,” he said, giving you another squeeze. “But we’d go with you if you wanted.”

“I know you would,” you murmured, slowly peeling open your eyes to find him with a smile on his lips. “Let’s put it in the maybe someday again category, if it were with my parents. Until then, I am ready to take a few weeks off and spend some time home.”

He nuzzled you and chuckled. “Why not make a vow to not leave this bed? That can easily be arranged.”

“You’re cockier than usual, my sweet boy,” you teased, TJ lifting himself up on his hands, leaning down over you. “Feeling needy?”

“I haven’t slept with my wife in three weeks. I’m fucking needy. Now if the movie star was so kind-” You smacked him with a pillow, TJ putting on a shocked face. “Is this how you hollywood types are?”

“You’re such an ass!” you laughed, hitting him again, TJ plopping all of his weight down straight on top of you. “Thomas!”

A throat cleared in the room, TJ spinning around and in front of you quickly, your dad smirking at you both. “Well I didn’t mean to interrupt this strange…whatever flirting thing this is but I do need to talk to Y/N. It’s kind of important.”

“What’s up?” you asked, shoving a pillow in TJ’s lap to hide the tent in his pants. 

“Your birth parents got wind that you were doing a movie.” You narrowed your eyes as he sighed. “They gave an interview an hour ago. My team is freaking out. I couldn’t care less what they say but-”

“But it could damage your reputation.” 

He was blank faced but you knew it could be turn into a big deal. “I don’t give a shit about mine. But they said you only got set design jobs because I got them for you and I know how much it means to you to make your name on your own. Just don’t look at your phones or go online for a while. I’m going to fix this. I promise.” 

“Is there anything we should do? Or I guess shouldn’t?” asked TJ. 

“I know you two are careful about handing out your numbers but don’t answer any calls-”

“I know how to fix all of this,” you said. You felt both of their eyes on you as you climbed out of bed and tugged on TJ’s hoodie sitting on the bench at the foot of it. You glanced back at TJ and then to your dad.

“You want me to release that video. The security footage from the back porch with your parents,” he said. 

“Yes and no.” You slipped past him and went down the hall to the kitchen, both of them following as you grabbed an empty coffee mug from the cabinet. You set it under the coffee machine and after a moment it was churning, the pair of them looking very confused. “On a scale of one to ten, how much will your team freak out if you don’t say anything for like…twelve hours?”

“Considering this is the most controversial thing that’s ever happened to me, probably like a fifty. Why? You’re thinking of something,” he said.

“Like I said, I know how to fix this. But I need time and a few other things.”

“This isn’t your mess to fix,” he said. “I’ll release the video with a statement or-”

“Or…you can give me what I need and I can guarantee anyone with a brain who thinks you and mom manipulated me will change their minds.” You could tell he didn’t want to have to get you involved. He knew how much they’d hurt you. All he wanted to do was protect you from them ever doing that again.

“Give her a chance, Jensen,” said TJ, getting out another mug for himself. “I know my wife. If she has an idea, let’s give it a shot.”

You stepped forward and stood in front of him, his lips pressed into a thin line. “It’s your choice, dad. We can do whatever you and your team want. I just feel like if I said something first it’d mean more. I really need you trust me with this if you-”

“What do you need?” he asked, a small smile on his lips. You nodded, inhaling deeply and grabbing the pad of paper and a pen from nearby.

“You instagram password to start.” He jotted it down, giving you a look to not do anything stupid with his account. “I also need the login to the cloud account with the video backup at the house.”

“I can send you the video of your parents directly. It’ll be easier than-”

“Dad. Just give me the login.” He wrote down more on the pad, his eyes concerned now. “How far back does it go?”

“Since we had the house. What-”

“Is it just video or audio too?”

“Both…I’m pretty sure the security company compresses the files.” You hummed, grabbing the paper and picking up your mug, heading for your home office.

“Uh, is there anything we can do?” asked TJ. You spun around and took a sip of coffee.

“Keep the coffee coming and dad, tell your team you need to discuss with your family and you’ll have a statement out by the morning. Otherwise, do not disturb me.”

You slipped away into your office, leaning back against it. 

“This is gonna be a long night.”

Twelve Hours Later

You yawned as you exited your office, quickly making your way down to the bedroom and plopping down next to a sleeping TJ. You were asleep in an instant and woke up a few hours later at noon to TJ shoving on your shoulder.

You were pretty sure you growled at him but he knew how tired you were after the jet lag and staying up a full day. But you needed to try to get your schedule back on track so you reluctantly let him pull you up to sitting.

“You’re on CNN! Come look!” he said. You shook your head, TJ hoisting you up, carrying you bridal style into the family room where what looked like your entire family sat watch the news.

And there was your face from the video you’d made in the middle of the night smack dab in the middle of the screen. TJ set you down as heads turned, your mom rushing over and hugging you.

“How did you make that so fast? How…you didn’t have to share those things, honey,” she said, holding on tight. 

“I just wanted people to know the difference between a bad parent and a good one,” you said, surprised to find your dad missing. “Is dad mad? I know I put a lot of private moments in and things he’d probably wished had stayed a secret.”

You spotted him come out of the hallway where the half-bath was, his face neutral. He was mad. Of course he was mad. You’d been sleep deprived when you put that video together. You fucked it up. You should have just let him handle it so you didn’t make it worse.

“Dad, I’m sorry. I should have…” you trailed off when he held up his finger and stepped in front of you. He looked you up and down and nodded a few times. “I’m sorry.”

“You make a video telling the world how miserable you used to be, about some of the bad things foster parents did and calling them out by name, about how mom and I changed your life, about how I…” he clamped his mouth shut, glancing away with a scrunched up face. You swore his bottom lip wobbled and smiled, watching him put his back to your siblings who were all watching intently. 

“Was it the part about you being the only real dad I’ve ever had that got you or how I called you a good man that anyone would be lucky enough to have in their life?”

“Goddammit, Y/N,” he said, wiping off his face, keeping his head turned away. “It’s one thing when we say that shit in private but you had to say it to everyone?”

“Yeah because everyone should know. Those assholes tried to fuck with you. My whole life assholes fucked with me and now they tried to do it to someone I love. I’m not letting that shit go anymore. So fuck my birth parents and fuck my other foster parents. If people find out that you’re a good person in the process then that’s a bonus to me.”

He sighed, forcing himself to turn around, a sad smile on his face. “I just wish you hadn’t felt forced to share those things.”

“I didn’t,” you said, his eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise. “All I wanted to do was send a message to those people that they can’t hurt me anymore. I’m sorry if I royally screwed stuff up for you or violated your privacy. I just wanted them to leave us alone from now on.”

“You didn’t, sweetie,” said your mom, tucking you into her side, your dad nodding, easing a bit. He cleared his throat and ruffled your hair, his smile relaxed now. 

“You with me for a second,” he said. You followed him down the hall to your room, frowning when you were alone.

“Dad I really am-” He pressed a finger to your lips shushing you, fixing your hair behind your ears.

“Do you remember after the accident when I couldn’t take showers and there was that time you helped me wash my hair?” You nodded as he fixed your part, smiling to himself. “I realized something that day.”

“What?” you asked quietly. He rested his hands on your shoulders, breathing slowly.

“You’re a good person too,” he said softly. You cocked your head, a sliver of a chuckle slipping past his lips. “I knew before then but in that moment, when you with one arm in a sling offered to help me, I just knew I was damn lucky I wound up with a kid like you.”

“You were hurt and I helped…how does that make me a good person for doing what I should have in the first place?”

“Welcome to life in my head the past three hours while everyone in my life tells me how amazing I am when all I did with you was what I was supposed to.” 

“Well…” you groaned, stomping your foot. “How do you always do that! Every single time you turn it around on me. It’s not fair!”

“I’ve been playing the game longer than you have,” he chuckled, picking up a hair tie off your dresser and bunching up your hair. “Something I learned with your youngest sister is if you start braiding their hair, then you have a captive audience so you can get out of them whatever intel you need.”

You raised your eyebrow at him as he started to work the hair together, ignoring your face. “And what intel are you looking to get out of me?”

“Just sharing a parenting tip,” he chuckled. “You? You I think I have a pretty good idea of where we stand.”

“Oh you do, huh?” You glanced down, annoyed at the fact he could do a far better fishtail braid than you ever had. He slipped the tie off his wrist, twisting it in place a few times before humming.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m apparently the best dad that ever existed so…” he said, chuckling when you lightly punched his arm. 

“You’re just…” you trailed off with a shrug, a smile on his face. “Are you mad? About me showing all those videos of us from home over the years?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Honestly, I loved it. Made me cry like a baby but I loved it. I know you’re pretty damn selective about who you let in but I’m glad I made the cut.”

“Yeah, well, you’re alright for an old guy.” You smirked, getting one in return. “I love you?”

“Yeah you’re lucky I’m still in a good mood,” he said, cocking his head. “Want to know why you’re on the news?”

“Because you’re oh so famous,” you said dramatically, his eyes narrowing. “You so want to give me a noogie, don’t you.”

“The desire is strong,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back. “In news surprising no one, your birth parents were keeping more secrets. Apparently they stole money from their shady employer. A lot of money. Which then the attempt on their lives were made. They were never in witness protection. They were working a deal with the government. Go undercover and they wouldn’t be arrested for partaking in those shady deals themselves. They took the deal and ran. Feds lost them a long, long time ago. You were only supposed to be in foster care a few weeks. But when those dummies got money hungry…they seem to have forgotten they’re fugitives. Pretty interesting have people like that call me the manipulator huh?”

You parted your lips, holding up a hand. “Did they arrest them?”

“It was in process on the news when you came out,” he said as you stood and headed for the door.

“Oh, I want to see this.”

“Knock knock,” said your dad that evening as you lay in bed, ready for a full night’s sleep. “Need anything before we head out?”

“I’ll take a hug,” you said as you sat up. 

“Those I’m an expert on.” He walked over and sat on the edge of the mattress, giving a big squeezing one. “Get some rest. You had a long day.”

“So many phone calls. On the plus side my birth parents were arrested, the DA is looking into most of my old foster parents and you gained like a couple hundred thousand followers in like twelve hours. You can tell your PR team thank you.”

“She’s so modest and humble,” he teased, kissing your temple. “Tomorrow will be better. We’ll do breakfast burritos like a normal Sunday. How’s that sound?”

You hummed, closing your eyes. “Can you do one more thing before you go?”

“Shoot,” he said quietly.

“Can you go in my closet and get rid of the duffel bag with the files in it?” He leaned back, letting you lay back against your pillows. “I think it’s time for it to go. I don’t need it anymore.”

He smiled and stood up. “Okay then. Mind if I hang onto it?”

“Do as you please,” you said, closing your eyes. 

“You sure you don’t need these papers anymore?” he asked.

“I have my letters from you. That’s all I ever needed,” you said, shuffling the background. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, tall munchkin,” he said, tugging your blankets up. “You realize the studio wants us to make another movie together after this, don’t you?”

“It’s gotta be at a resort or no deal,” you said. He chuckled, quietly opening the door. “You can negotiate that right?”

“We’ll see,” he said. The room grew quiet for a beat before you heard his heavy exhale. “I’m really glad I managed to prove you wrong about trusting me. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to.”

“You’re annoyingly relentless like that,” you said, turning on your side, tucking your covers up. “Love you.”

“Love you back. Sleep tight, kiddo.”

__________

[accihoe]

Meeting The Family

Pairing: 40s!Bucky x fem!reader

Summary: Turn of events, and Bucky is home after the war. He gets to meet Y/N's family, which happens to be his healing.

Warnings: none? Idk Lmk if there's any upsetting stuff that I didn't mention.

A/n: As always, please don't steal my work. Y'all have a nice day now. God bless.

xxxx

"Honey, I'm just popping down to the store for extra candles before my family arrives." Y/N tells her husband. Oh, right, her family is going to be in their home for two. Weeks. James remembers. And not even a small fraction of them.

"Alright, dollface. I'll be here." Bucky answers. Y/N kisses his cheek before leaving. Once she's back, Bucky is stuck between wearing the brown or the green tie. Y/N stands in the bedroom doorframe with a smile, watching her husband get frustrated at the ties. "The brown one is lovely. But green is my father's favorite color." She says.

Bucky decides on the green one with a smile. "You're positive they'll like me?" He asks, going to her. "Buck, I'm positive. Besides, if they want to stay here they'll have to like you." She says. Bucky chuckles. "I still don't know where everyone's going to sleep." Bucky says. "We'll figure that out when they arrive.".

Low and behold, when the family arrives, they're even more than what he expected. Kids, babies, teenagers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and parents. He stands shyly in the corner as they pile into him and his wife's newly bought lakehouse. Y/N decided that James needed a spot to recover after the war. He didn't mind living on the streets as long as she was by his side.

"Alright everybody gather round then you can go pick your rooms." Y/N claps her hands. Bucky's own hands get sweaty, and his stomach churns as all the people turn towards him. He takes ahold of Y/N's skirt and fiddles with it. "This," she takes ahold of Bucky, "is my husband. James.". Bucky's cheeks flush as they clap hands, and some males wolf whistle.

The people then scurry off to find a sleeping place. "And? By the way, this isn't even half, or a quarter of them." Y/N grins, hugging her husband tightly. "There's so many of them. Very loud. But I like them." Y/N laughs at her husband and kisses his cheek. In half an hour's time, the sleeping arrangements are sorted, and lots of the family have gone down to the lake.

"Think we should join them at some point, love." Y/N says as she finishes cutting the last slice of carrot for the copper penny salad. "I uh.. what about my scars, honey? Won't they upset the children?" Bucky asks. Y/N turns to him, and her heart aches for him. "Jamie," she takes his hands into hers, "no. They will not. They might ask questions, especially the adults, so be prepared. But I'll be there all the way.". Bucky smiles in relief and leans down to give his wife a sweet kiss.

After a while, Y/N and James join the members at the dam, giving James a chance to meet and greet those who aren't in the water. He looks dashing in his swim trunks and his terry cloth shirt (long sleeved to cover the arm). Once he's greeted all those on land, he stands on one side as Y/N chats to someone he assumes is her cousin.

"Hey, what you waiting for, my love? Go swim." Y/N startles James slightly, which makes her giggle, but her heart aches at the same time for him. "I don't feel like it sweets." He tries to lie, but Y/N gives him a pointed look. "Come on, my darling. Join me, please? I promise I'll make it worth your while." Y/N pleads, batting her lashes at Bucky.

Bucky put chuckles and nods, taking her hand. "Alright. Let's go.". At dinner time, after James said Grace, the family is all together (those who are there) and asking him questions. Bucky finds himself happier with each question asked. Although the war topic stings, their genuine care and respect, especially for those lost at war, soothes the sting when they ask questions related.

At the end of the night, as Bucky lays next to his wife in a spot he'd never thought he'd sleep in his own house, he feels contentment. "I like your family a lot." He whispers. "That's great, because they love you." She whispers back. "Perhaps we should have waited a while before marryin'. We could have had the fam there too." Bucky whispers. "We have them here now." Y/N says, kissing her husband's nose, that is tinted red from the sun.

"Would you do that thing you do, doll, where you tickle me a bear or something?" Bucky asks. Y/N giggles quietly, and to James's surprise, reaches for his left arm instead. Y/N traces her finger around his palm, saying some things Bucky can't hear over the pounding of his heart.

Y/N notices his discomfort and gets his attention by bringing the silver knuckles to her lips and kissing each one of them. Bucky's lips part in surprise. "When I say that I love you, I mean that about every inch of you." Y/N whispers. Before she knows it, her husband is pulling her into a tight hug and kissing feather light kisses all over her face.

Once they pull apart, Y/N cups James's cheek, swiping away a wet trail with her thumb. "Welcome to the family, honey.".

xxxx

Fin. As literally every other BB works, I want to make this a series. Should I?

[saintrvckwell]

Till the end (ellie williams x reader)

ellie williams x fem!reader

summary: in the midst of brutal madness, ellie finds a moment to confess what she fears the most.

warnings: fluff, swearing, slight angst, soft moments of ellie and the reader

words count: 3.3k

a/n: oh yeah. i’m still alive. and finally wrote something that does not have ten thousands words wow? owed you something nice, tried my best to achieve that. it's short, but (i hope) comforting, at least. seattle ellie deserves the whole world.

"For all that it's worth, I would have loved you till the end."

‣

Ellie never wanted you to become a part of this. Her complicated, unresolved issues with Joel, her own inner fight with the guilt of not dying for something she considered to be the purpose of her life and repayment for those she had lost along the way. Nor be part of the inevitable outcome that Joel’s actions had caused.

Ellie never wanted to scar the only pure, untouched safety net she had in her life. 

But when she stood upon Nora’s body she had previously beaten to death, sourcing the information she came for to Seattle in the first place, she could no longer escape. To the person she was becoming, to Joel whose eyes were slowly fading away from her memory. From the look, you gave her when she came back to the theatre and Jesse let her in.

With the bloodstains on her clothes, and bruises on her arms, she handed Dina the map and you couldn’t help but notice how fragile her whole body has suddenly become. 

You didn’t say much, knowing there wasn’t anything that could fix the way Ellie felt, that could find the parts of herself she already lost while avenging someone whom she couldn’t even face after the heinous act she just committed.

Joel never wanted her to lose the remaining bits of innocence she had within her. He never wanted her to taste the ugliness of the world the way he did. Yet here she was. Convinced she had to finish this, no matter what was it going to take. How much was it going to cost. 

Jesse and Dina stood aside with a bloodstained map, marking Abby’s supposed location while you carefully grabbed Ellie’s wrist, wishing to take her to the back and clean her wounds. She couldn’t even look into your eyes, avoiding it the whole time you walked through the seats, all the way backstage. 

You sat her down on the couch, letting her take the clothes off while you went to search for some useful supplies. Back there, Dina and Jesse were upstairs, sitting by the radio, contemplating a good way of finding Tommy and the easiest route to hunt down Abby and be done with this whole thing. 

The minute you walked in, Jesse couldn’t help himself. “That was definitely not her blood.” 

Two days in and you already noticed how much this had cost her already. 

You didn’t comment, still searching through the cabinets. 

“Maybe we should just pack it up and leave,” Jesse whispered. “Right in the morning. We were in deep shit yesterday already. After this, they must be patrolling for us. We should just find Tommy and get the fuck out of here.” 

“And go where?” you dared to ask, shifting your attention to him. 

“Back home?” Dina shrugged his shoulders, joining the conversation.

“See,” you closed the cabinets and stood up, finally paying both of them your full attention. “She doesn’t have that anymore.” 

None of them would dare to argue about that. 

Jesse meant well, you were well aware of that. After all, Ellie was the reason he came to Seattle in the first place. But even though he was determined to help his friend, Jesse would never understand the full reason and justification of the way Ellie felt—why she was doing all of that.

You couldn’t help but sigh. “Ellie can’t see the sense of right and wrong right now. And the more you tell her how stupid and dangerous this is, the less she will listen to you..” 

“So you’re supporting this?” he wondered, disgruntled. 

“No,” you replied. “But I know that I can either give her shit and go home or stay and make sure she’s not going to lose the only parts of herself she has left.” 

You found what you were looking for, parts of that. Combined with what you packed before you left Jackson, you had nearly enough to fix all of Ellie’s injuries. Without uttering another word, you left Dina and Jesse to their own thoughts, not feeling the need to add anything else. As much as you understood their need to go back before things get significantly worse, you knew she would not go. 

And you would never forgive yourself if you just left her here, all alone. 

Especially after what happened a few minutes later. 

She was sitting on the old sofa by the time you got back to her, facing you backward. Before you even tried to whisper her name, you were stopped by a sight that immediately caught your attention. Most of her clothes were lying on the floor, soaked in blood and dirt. She sat there, half-naked, with her back displaying endless bruises, cuts and wounds. You couldn’t count all of them even if you tried. 

Ellie knew you were already there, but didn’t dare to look at you—not after you saw that. She was too weak to face you. Not because she was afraid of seeing the sadness and worry in your eyes; she had already gotten used to seeing that in the last two days.

More than that, Ellie would never be able to face a disappointment, not from you. Not from someone who was there for her. Who never asked why she stopped talking to Joel, why she begged you to switch patrols so she could avoid him. 

You were the last person who could see the good parts, despite digging through blood and tears to find them. And after Joel, she couldn’t afford to lose that. 

“Ellie?” you whispered, pulling her out of her thoughts. 

She wiped her tears away and nodded, giving you space to continue. 

“Is it alright if I clean your wounds?” 

You felt the need to get her approval.  

Doing her absolute best to stop those sobs from escaping her trembling lips, she covered her mouth and nodded again, giving you what you had asked for. 

You sat down quietly, right behind her, with your bucket, cloth, and nearly empty first aid kit you brought from Jackson. First, you cleaned the rest of the dry blood on her shoulders and lower back while she sat still. She let you help her, repeatedly wiping away the tears that were now heavily streaming down her bruised cheeks. 

Most of her wounds needed just some cleaning to prevent any further infection. You took your time with each one of them, making sure you were not hurting her anymore. She felt how delicate you were with your touch, how carefully you were trying to help her ease the pain.

The softness and care you had allowed her to forget about what she did out there for a second and enjoy the comfort you provided. 

A long exhale left her rosy lips. She found her mind drifting towards that the day; and the events that inevitably followed. She set her mind on leaving for Seattle the minute she left that place, despite Tommy’s desperate attempts to talk her out of it. Even when he decided to head out there first in order to protect her, she couldn’t appreciate the good thought. The pain clouded her judgment.

That day, when Tommy left, she fought with you for hours. It was the first time you saw Ellie since the horrific incident at the lodge. She was standing by your fireplace, announcing that she was leaving for Seattle and she was hoping (more like counting on the fact) that you were going to cover her ass while she quietly goes on her revenge quest.

And being the person you were and having the amount of love you had for her, of course, you would not let her go alone. 

“I don’t need a babysitter,” she stopped the minute she heard that proposal. “This isn’t your fucking business. And I’m not making you a part of that.” 

“I’m not asking for permission, Ellie,” you whispered, stepping closer to her. “I’m going with you, end of conversation.”

It went on for another twenty minutes when she was trying to talk out of you joining her. She was harsh, calling you a naive idiot more than once. But you knew that all those words, all this pain were coming from the same place of sadness she was trying to suppress. You would never hold any of this against her. 

Eventually, as she understood, it didn’t matter how hard she tried, how harsh she might have been to you. You were determined to go and there was nothing Ellie could change about that. 

Thinking about it now, weeks later, she felt guilty for the way she spoke to you. You were the last person who would deserve such treatment, given how faithfully you stood by her this whole time.

Throughout most of the days on the road, Ellie was withdrawn, immersed in her own thoughts. She wasn’t talkative but if she happened to say a word or two, she was taking out her own frustration on you.

After everything she said over the past couple of weeks, you had a full right to turn away at any point and head back home. But you didn't. 

You always stayed, despite how unbearable it was at times. Ensuring her that you were not going to walk away, in Seattle or anywhere else.

And now, as you were sitting here, cleaning her blood-stained spots and washing away the shame and guilt she had been wearing around, Ellie knew how high the stakes were—how petrifying was the thought of losing you. Despite her numerous attempts to chase you away, despite the fact that you never really established where you stood when it came to the other, you meant a lot to her. More than she was willing to admit. 

“Ellie, this one’s really deep. I’m gonna need to sew it,” you whispered, grabbing the needle and the thread, interrupting her thoughts. 

She didn’t respond, just left you to do your thing and stayed immersed in her head. 

“It’s probably gonna hurt a little,” you warned her before sticking the needle through the skin of her shoulder. 

“It won’t. I don’t feel anything,” she mumbled; for the first time. 

The response forced you to stop for a second and rethink what you have just heard. You didn’t know whether you should ask for more information. Instead, you finished your job and within a few minutes, the open wound was gone.

Ellie suddenly felt the coldness wrapping around her as soon as your hands left her body as you handed her a clean t-shirt from your backpack. 

“You should get some rest,” you whispered, standing up and grabbing the bucket with blood-soaked clothes. “I still have your snacks in my backpack, in case you were hungry.” 

There was no reaction from her. She put on the shit and stayed in the same spot, still not willing to face you. 

Part of you wanted to rush over and comfort her. But knowing how withdrawn she was lately, you didn’t want to drive her away any further. So you stood there for a second, with a bucket in your hands, and watched her, wiping away the tears from her puffy, red cheeks. 

“Please, don’t leave me.” 

It was the moment you reached for the doorknob, halfway out of the room, when she suddenly uttered that pleading statement. The walls she had been so determined to build around her aching existence were slowly falling to the ground, leaving her on her own.

There was a thought in Ellie’s head. Thought that appeared when she was gripping the iron pole, beating the words out of her enemy’s weakened body. Nora was on the verge of her own strength, not having any more power to fight Ellie, so she gave her friend up.

She handed Ellie what she came for in the first place, leaving her space to strike for one last time—finishing what she started, ending Nora’s prolonged suffering. 

And the moment she did that—hitting the one last punch, she saw you. She saw the thought of you in her mind and froze. She glanced down upon the lifeless body—but saw you. Saw you lying in your own blood, dying by her own hand. And for the first time, she feared the person she was becoming. Facing the outcome. 

Making you collateral damage of her revenge quest was a risk of its own. But being capable of hurting you on her own what was she feared the most. 

For a second, you had to process what you just heard. It wasn’t until the sobs that left her trembling mouth you felt the need to turn around and take a look at her. 

She was now standing right in front of you, finally daring to face you. 

Daring to face her what she feared the most. 

“I’m scared.”

For weeks now, she was quietly suffering, mourning in her thoughts. Now the pain crawled on the surface and she could no longer avoid it. For the first time, she let you see all of that—see the desperation in her faded green eyes and realize how long she has been suppressing all of this inside. 

“What are you scared of?” you whispered and took a step closer to her. 

She took a deep breath, trying to get ahold of her sobs before she continued, still looking into your eyes: “Of what I did.” 

You knew Ellie was not always as tough as she tried to portray herself. But seeing that right in front of you, seeing her falling down felt like a shot coming through your chest. 

“What did you do, Ellie?” 

There was a curiosity in your mind, followed by fear of what you might get. 

“I made her talk.” 

It was somehow enough. Enough to understand that the desperate need for a feeling of consolation was growing with each strike Ellie hit and with each toll it took on her.  

“Ellie—“ you took a step closer, reaching for her but she swiftly pulled away, shaking her head. 

“I’m scared,” she repeated, daring to look into your eyes. “What if I might—“

“No,” you stopped her without hesitation, knowing where this was headed. “You won’t.” 

Brushing her tears away, she suddenly looked down. “You don’t know that. You don’t know what I’m capable of. I don’t even know what I’m capable of.” 

There was a genuine worry in her voice, fear of her own self. But after all those years, after everything you’ve encountered together, you trusted her enough to confidently proclaim that she would never hurt you. 

You trusted her. But she didn’t trust herself, that was the core issue.

Which you became aware of the second she bursted into tears. 

Ellie was never quite an emotional person; she mostly tried to deal with everything on her own and as quietly as possible. Until now.

“I can’t lose you.” 

And there it was. 

The revelation between uncontrollable sobs made you come closer. 

“But I’m afraid it’s gonna happen anyway and it terrifies me to death.” 

She came to terms with the fact that you might never become hers, long before this. For all those years, Ellie yearned for you in silence, realizing she will accept any kind of role in your life, as long as she is part of it. Only now she was realising how dangerous this wish had become.

Because suddenly, there was a price. 

She was never more honest in her life than right now, displaying all of her worries in front of you. Displaying how important you were for her. For a moment, you thought, if there, perhaps, was more to her words. 

“You’re not gonna lose me, Ellie,” you whispered, slowly reaching for her hand, again. “That's just not gonna happen,” you intertwined your fingers with hers. 

“You don’t know that,” she mumbled, trying to pull away her hand but you stopped her. 

“I do. As long as I have a say in it,” you objected, stepping even closer. “No matter what you say, what you do. I’m not leaving. You can yell at me, for all I care—just like you did in my living room. But I told you then and I’m telling you now. I’m not leaving you, now or ever.” 

At that moment, Ellie suddenly didn’t know which thing she feared more. Whether it was the idea of losing you by her own force or knowing that despite her capacity to hurt you, you were never going to walk away.

Ellie couldn’t pull you into her darkness—but at the same time, she couldn’t leave you. You were her home, her whole world. Or at least, what was left of it. 

“Can you stay?” she pleaded, reaching for your other hand. 

You nodded, letting a fleeting smile slip onto your lips as you pulled her closer, wrapping both of your hands around her neck. She was hesitant at first but the second her body crashed against yours, she gave in. There was a sigh of relief escaping from her lips as she buried her head into your shoulder; tightly gripping your waist.

Making you realize how starved she must have been for that hug.

You stayed together in that little dressing room, lying together in the dark with Ellie’s hand caressing your cheek. You promised yourself to stay up and alert to watch over her but found yourself falling asleep in her arms. Now she was lying in front of you, studying your appearance, her mind drifting away to different ends. 

She wondered. About her. About you. 

She wondered if things were different, if perhaps, there was any other ending for you—one less threatening. She wondered if she would, under different circumstances, find the courage to finally confess. She wondered if the two of you would have a shot at having a relatively normal life together, despite the world you were living in. 

She wanted the best for you, and nothing less. She wanted to protect you. From the heinous world outside, and sometimes from herself as well. Looking at you, lying so peacefully next to her, she couldn’t help but think of Joel’s words. 

Perhaps now more than ever, Ellie was facing her own moral battle. There was someone in her life, someone for whom she would quite frankly walk to the edge of the universe and back. Someone whose life was carrying more value than her own. Feasibly, now she had a chance to understand the nature of his actions. 

When she had her own something to fight for. 

“Are you okay?” 

It was your voice that pulled Ellie out of her mind. 

She snapped out of her thoughts and saw your eyes.

“Did I wake you?” she whispered, concern in her voice. 

“No but you should’ve,” you chuckled. “I’m supposed to be making sure that you’re still breathing.” 

Ellie couldn’t help but laugh. “You’ve been doing that for the past couple of weeks. Now it’s my turn.” 

You felt her hand, still resting on your cheek. There was a look in her eyes that you could not quite define. In the darkness surrounding you, the two of you were staring into each other’s eyes.

Before she filled the silence with her voice. 

“Hey,” she mumbled, slowly drifting closer to you, her breath dancing on your lips. 

“Hm?” you raised your eyebrows, curious. 

“If things were different,” she whispered, guilt in her voice. “I would’ve given you a lot more than this.” 

Most of the time, Ellie struggled with her words. But now, it was crystal clear. In her own way, she made sure you knew how important you were.

For her.

You leaned closer, grabbing Ellie’s hand and intertwining your fingers. Only then, you looked into her eyes again and smiled, reassuring.

Message received.

“This,” you squeezed her hand, “is enough for me.”

“So, you think you can love even the least I can offer?” she whispered.

There was a smile on your lips. Smile that eased Ellie’s worried mind once you moved closer. “Been doing that for quite some time, already.”

She wanted to give you the world, that and so much more. In Ellie's eyes, that was what you deserved. She wanted to make sure you were going to be happy, despite the circumstances life had both given you.

Both of you were hoping for something else, for so much more.

Yet, you would never walk away. No matter the conditions you were under, you had each other. And that was enough. Enough to stay. Enough to do more than that.

[fantasylandbitch]

Summary: After Ghost Face made his presence known in New York, Sam retreats to the bathroom to contemplate. Meanwhile, Ethan and Quinn join you in the kitchen to help you make dinner as Mindy, Anika, and Chad sit in the dining room wondering what to do before Tara goes to Quinn for help with finding out who is killing people in their new home.

Warnings: Long Story, Fluff, Flirty, Cussing,

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5  Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 Chapter 9 (Chapter 9.5 Coming Soon)

“Sam let me into the bathroom,” you hear Tara say to her sister through the bathroom door while you were in the kitchen slowly cutting the few tomatoes that you picked up with Samantha as the events of your night were off-putting to you.

“Need help with anything?” you hear Ethan ask, making you jump as you look to your right, before composing yourself.

“No, I'm good here," you say to Ethan and he stays there because he can tell something is bothering you "Actually yeah can you start putting water into that pot for me?” and Ethan happily obliged getting the required pot to put water into as Quinn walks up to you on your left.

“Hey babe, nice scar you got there” and you instinctively cover it up with your left hand as you look at her.

“Hey Quinn, and uh thanks I woke up with it,” you say going back to cutting your tomato not noticing that Quinn had licked her lips at your neck. After Ethan puts the pot of water onto the stove he overhears Quinn talking to you so he turns around to see that she's flirting with you making him burn holes into her head when he noticed the scar on your neck knowing what it means so he walks back over to you wanting your attention.

“Hey Y/n would you like me to also break these long noodles?” and you smile because he said long noodles instead of spaghetti noodles.

“Yeah could you?” and he smiles.

“Yes I can” he says before giving Quinn a look causing her to smirk.

“How did he find us?” Chad asks his sister.

“He didn't it was some shitty caller who pulled a prank on all of us but I think we should have a meeting tomorrow just in case” Mindy says picking up her phone to give everyone a time and place

Making Anika say “Okay baby”

As your phone pings making you stop cutting the tomatoes as you slowly look at your phone seeing Mindy’s notification when Tara calls you over.

“Hey, Y/n can you come over here!?” Tara yells starting to get angry so you ask Quinn to take over quickly and walk over to her. “What can I help you with?” you ask and she gives you a stern look so you give her some space.

“I need you to get Sam out of the bathroom while I talk to Quinn" Tara says.

You take a deep breath and nod as Tara walks away from the bathroom door leaving you to take care of Sam for her "Hey, Sam, you in there?" you started as Sam looked at herself in the mirror.

Then Sam started pacing back and forth in the bathroom while she was trying to calm herself down unable to hear you through the door so you text her.

She texts back as you hear the door open, but before you can register what was happening you are being pulled into the bathroom at the same time you are sensing Sam’s anxiousness, making you take a deep breath to calm yourself down so you don’t feel the same way, while Sam closes the door behind her. Now it's just you two in the small space called the bathroom “Talk to me, Sam” you say watching her movements.

“Y/n I need you to listen to me” she starts as she makes eye contact with you “What they showed on the news that wasn’t me..I was just..protecting my sister..” she continued as you see her eyes become glassy.

“Sammy,” you say getting closer to her “You don’t have to prove yourself to me, I know you didn’t do it. Because I see how you are with Tara, you just want her to be safe.” You look up at Sam as she holds onto your arms before rubbing them, bringing you into a hug which you reciprocate by hugging her back as your eyes close hearing her heartbeat against your ear as she kisses your crown. You both stay like that for a few minutes just basking in each other's presence and holding each other as you fill the other's cup with care by mere touch alone and with a sigh of contentment you say "You'll get through this Sam, you and Tara will get through this'' and for the first time in a while, Sam believes in someone's words and not just their actions causing her to tighten her hug on you making you laugh before it was interrupted by Tara knocking on the door.

“Sam open the door!” making you two separate.

Then Sam opens the door fully revealing to Tara that you are there with her in the bathroom and Tara gives you a look as you scratch the back of your neck trying to collect yourself before making eye contact with her, before crossing your arms leaning on the wall.

“What's wrong, Tara?” Sam asks her sister as Tara shoves the phone in Sam's face.

“Take the phone, Quinn's dad is a cop and he can help us. Before you make the decision to leave the fucking state and abandon my education” she says, Sams nods.

“Mr.Bailey hi” you hear Sam say as you try to listen to their conversation. “Well my sister thinks I’m probably overreacting” she continues as Tara studies you while you walk past Sam “What's going on?” you hear before you stop, turning around to look at Sam.

“Everything okay?” you ask and she shakes her head getting off the phone to hand over to her sister so she can give the phone back to Quinn.

“I’ll be back, I have to go to the police station for questioning,” Sam says getting her bomber jacket and phone before walking out the front door before you can ask to drive her, and not long after you see Tara wearing her pink sweater going for the door as well.

“Hey Tara where are you going? Your sister would want you to stay at home,” you say, grabbing her arm to stop Tara when she tried to shove you.

“Leave me alone Y/n I want to be with my sister,” Tara says, removing her arm from your grasp and leaving.

Then you hear the door slam as Anika locks the door so you walk to the window to watch their interaction seeing Sam stop in her tracks to tell Tara to probably get back into the apartment and when Sam moves her hand towards the apartment, she spots you in the window. You take this opportunity to pull your phone from your pocket to text the girls in a group text.

Their texts made you smile as you look back out the window waving to them as they walk away from the apartment but it still didn’t shake this feeling that something bad was going to happen so you mention to the twins that you are going to retrieve something from your car that eases your anxiety and they gave the okay as they took care of dinner for you. On the way out you take your jean jacket with you to put on and when you got to your car you stopped because you heard a scuffling sound, so you quickly opened your car door to get your fidget ring to put on your finger when you heard a familiar scream asking for help, and you run to it. Then you heard a gunshot making you slip near a car for cover knowing that it came from the bodega across the street so you walk over before another shot goes off making you quickly duck by the entrance before quietly going in and hiding behind a shelf near the entrance of the store. The silence causes you to peek around to your left when you see multiple dead bodies making you want to gag when you went back into hiding again as you started sweating before checking your right where you saw Ghost Face walking down the aisle. Then you look closer at the shelves where you notice a pink sweater so you reach for an empty can near you and throw it in a different aisle at the same time as someone else in the store, making Ghost Face move to an aisle down.

As you watch Ghost Face leave you silently crawl to where you saw the pink sweater last before stopping when Ghost Face shoots in your direction, unable to move until you heard a tiny gasp making you look up to find your girls Sam and Tara making you sigh with relief when Tara’s hand gives away your position causing you and Sam to look at each other before looking at the gap between the shelves. You both watch as Ghost Face searches for her and Tara before you see him turn his head in your direction causing you to shove the shelf towards him “Girls RUN!!” you yell ducking as Ghost Face's gun goes off as Tara lifts you up to run with her and her sister, and while watching their backs Ghost Face pulls you by the collar of your jacket throwing you across the room while Sam and Tara run away before they realize you weren’t with them.

“Tara where’s Y/n?” Sam asks her sister.

“She was just behind…me” Tara stops as she realizes what happened and they look at each other before going back to the door of the bodega only to find that the door was locked causing Sam to yell.

“NO! Leave her alone!”

You hear Sam yell from outside the store as you watch Ghost Face lock the top lock of the door before turning away from it with the shotgun still in hand to face you. When you got up from the floor you had to refrain from showing pain as you started picking some of the glass off your face before looking around you to find something anything to hit him with when you spot the food weighing machine behind you so you swung it at Ghost Face as hard as you can hitting him in the process and staggering him when you booked it for the backdoor only to find that it was locked.

“Fuck me,” you say as you turn around and watch Ghost Face get ready to shoot you.“Think Y/n, what would Sam do?” you ask yourself before spotting a bag of flour on the ground so you pick it up and brake it, throwing it into the air as a distraction when you had slipped on beer at the same time Ghost Face shoots his gun at you, shooting the locks off the back door in the process. Then you scrambled to get up from the floor as Ghost Face was about ready to run at you but you don’t give him the chance as you sprinted out the back door and turned right off the alleyway running towards the street while you hear his footsteps behind you, as you hear him cock the shotgun again before you tripped out of one of your shoes to hide behind a dumpster the gun going off. But before Ghost Face could do any more harm to you, he disappears allowing you to retrieve your shoe which now has holes putting them on and tying them when you hear the cops arrive on the scene making you turn around when you hear a police officer tell you to put your hands up to which you do before being escorted into the police car wondering if Sam and Tara are okay.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5  Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 Chapter 9 (Chapter 9.5 Coming Soon)

I figured out what happened guys I had to literally break the paragraphs because they were too much for the Tumblr Word Count to handle.

Stay in my mentions crew: @daddy-carpenter @lummaland

Scream 6 : A Love so Understanding Playlist

[wazzappp]

I am thinking. About Robbie purring. Again. (Adding a read more because my thoughts really started zoomin with this one godamn)

Thinking he just finished fighting a lot of people and is actually feeling a little satiated, a little more satisfied for the moment. He’s walking back to the car when he notices the sound of another engine but it’s far far more muffled, and sounds happier (?) than the hell chargers violent background drone. Then he realizes it’s actually him. And it’s. Weird. But he’s already on fire and has a leather suit instead of skin so why the fuck w o u l d n t he make weird rumbley noises ghost rider is weird already.

So he snuffs out and goes home to Gabe, who just figured out how to do some kind of math problem by himself and is so excited to show Robbie. And Robbie is just. So proud. Gabe asks him for a hug and OF COURSE he gives one. And things just seem kind of right for the moment. His more violent needs are actually sort of satisfied (for now), Eli has shut the fuck up for once in his life, and Gabe is happy and learning and. There it is again. He can feel it in his chest this time which is extra weird because he can feel his lungs and his heart and his entire godamn ribcage VIBRATING.

Robbie immediately shifts too PANIK because he’s supposed to be HUMAN right now and HUMAN PEOPLE can’t make that fucking NOISE. But it also just won’t stop and dear god is it getting LOUDER? Gabe is confused but just keeps hugging his brother until his breathing goes back to normal and he stops radiating heat like a damn furnace and all thats left is what has grown to be a very comforting sound.

I’d imagine Gabe kinda loves it. Partly for sensory purposes because cat purrs are proven to help calm people. But primarily because it’s an easier way to read his brother. Very easy to tell when someone is actually happy when they have a noise dedicated to it.

Robbie is freaking the fuck out and actually starts to question how human he actually is even when he isn’t burned up. Scars and weird eye colors are… fine. But what the f u c k. What if other stuff starts leaking through (I personally think other stuff already HAS and if you x-rayed him he would be weird as fuck) He tolerates this though because of Gabe. If there was any other instance where he started purring elsewhere he would be fucking mortified.

Eli is m a d. The godamn indecency of it Robbie, why did you make us come back so fucking w e i r d. Well obviously its your fault I’m the one who knows what I’m doing. We are not a fucking CAT- oh wait that’s a really nice knife, great polish very shiny you should buy it

[mrs-johansson]

Strangers in the night - Scarlett Johansson x Fem!Reader

Part 10:

“What does it say?” I looked through the mirror at my agent Ester who had just found an article about Scarlett and me.

“The title is, Valentine’s Day meeting for Jojo Rabbit.” She read it out loud and I immediately rolled my eyes. “The pair met up on a very odd day, that being Valentine’s Day. Lady Bird actress Y/n Cole and pal Scarlett Johansson enjoyed dinner at Pablo’s Jazz Bar in Manhattan on the day of lovers. Sources say, the pair were having a great time, cozy with each other and they left together. It is known that Cole is directing her first movie Jojo Rabbit later this year, with Johansson as the starring actress.” “I feel like I can’t meet up with anyone anymore without having tabloids everywhere,” I murmured while looking at the first dress. Melanie, my stylist, held the dress’s skirt part as I turned around, facing Eater. “What do you think?” I asked, smoothing over the material. “Did you have to go out on Valentine’s Day?” She spread her arms.

Letting out a sigh I stepped back up to the podium in front of the mirror. “Let’s look at the next one,” I told Melanie and once we took the dress off and she left the room, I reached for my robe.

“It was just a friendly dinner. We’ve been talking a lot lately and we thought we should meet up before filming, getting to know each other. It was just a coincidence that it was Valentine’s Day.” “And how was it?”

How was it? It was amazing. I had the most fun of my life, and I’m just mesmerized by this woman.

“Great. We had fun.”

***

Scarlett🌷: how was the fitting?

me: it was fine, got the dress and the accessories so everything’s done

Scarlett🌷: can I get a sneak peek?😏

me: hmm… I promised didn’t I?😌

me: (let’s pretend it’s a picture)

Scarlett🌷: god if they don’t give you the award in this dress then I’ll be very upset

Scarlett🌷: you look stunning y/n

me: thank you❤️ but I don’t think I’m going to win

Scarlett🌷: why wouldn’t you? You did amazing

me: there’s meryl who even though has a 100 of them, she still gets them every single time

me: Margot who played a real person and let’s not even mention the rest

Scarlett🌷: and still you’re there because you did a spectacular job at such young age

me: I don’t know

Scarlett🌷: whatever happens, I’m proud of you and I think you should win💛

me: it means a lot Scar❤️

***

It’s been a week since our date and honestly I kind of miss her. Yes, we talk almost every day, but Rose got home this week and of course, I understand that she has less time for me, but we’re gonna meet this weekend.

And today my dad is staying till we go to Los Angeles and I told him I’ll pick him up from the airport. Usually, he says that he’ll just catch a taxi, but I wouldn’t want him to suffer through an hour drive with a stranger.

Mom doesn’t have time to visit, as usual, honestly, I’m not even disappointed anymore.

Waiting for dad at the parking lot I was just reading the Bombshell script trying to memorize my lines then the text from dad popped up, that he was here.

Stepping out of the car I looked around the parking lot, hoping to catch his tall figure.

Even though I made sure to put glasses and a baseball cap on, some people still let their eyes linger and two younger girls even came up to me. But they seemed nice.

“Hi, we wouldn’t want to bother you but we’re big fans of you, is there any chance we can take a picture?” The girl on the left asked with hopeful eyes, she was shy but the other one seemed more anxious.

I couldn’t say no, they were polite and respectful. “Of course, what’s your name?” I took my glasses off, so I don’t look like an asshole in the pictures, no offense, but I don’t like when famous people do that.

“I’m Ava and this is my sister Nora,” the same girl said and her sister smiled shyly, picking on her nails.

We took a couple of pictures and the girls asked me about Red Sparrow a little bit but I couldn’t tell them much of course. Mostly Ava was the one who was talking

“And you Nora? What’s your favorite movie?” I looked at her and her eyes widened, cheeks got tinted with color. She shifted in her place and uncrossed her arms. “I like Lady Bird. I just relate to her a lot and I think you’re amazing in it. I hope you get the Oscar,” she said and I smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you.”

After a couple of minutes, my phone started ringing and I said goodbye to the girls and then took the call. “Hi honey, I just got out. Where are you?” Dad spoke. “I’m in the parking lot, you should see me if you come out on the A exit,” I kept looking that way then a couple of minutes later I saw his gray hair and waved to him which he thankfully saw.

***

“How was your flight?” “It was great, I got some work done,” dad said. “That’s great, what do you want for dinner?” “We can have takeout, you don’t have to cook.” “Are you sure?” I glanced at him and he nodded. “How’s mom?” I looked back at the road, watching the light turn green.

“She’s good, she says hi,” he said awkwardly. “Great.” “How are you? What have you been up to lately?” He quickly changed the topic.

“I’m good. I spend a lot of time with my friends a lot. Actually, this weekend, not sure if it's Saturday or Sunday, but I’ll have a friend coming over and it’s kind of new and I’m not sure if it’s time for you guys to meet yet…” “I’ll be gone for the day, don’t worry. Is it a guy or a girl?” I saw from the corner of my eyes that he was looking at me with a smirk. I glanced at him carefully then turned back. “A woman.” “Oh a woman, okay. Do I know her?” Dad asked with a teasing voice. “Probably,” I cleared my throat, already nervous about the whole conversation. “So she’s famous?” “Yeah, but it’s like really new. We only had one date so far,” I smiled shyly, trying to control my joy. “That's great, kid. And how was it?” “The best date I ever had. I don’t know, I feel like it’s already serious you know. And I really like her so I hope everything goes great.” Really hope it will, honest to God. She’s one of the best things that happened to me in the past couple of months.

“I’m glad Y/n. What’s she like?” “Well… She’s like a ray of sunshine, to be honest. She’s really funny and flirty and she makes me blush like all the time. She is uhm divorced and she has a daughter. She’s amazing really.” “A daughter?” The surprise in his voice. “Yeah, she’s three and she’s really cute.” “So she is older than you?” “Yeah, a little but it doesn’t bother me. She’s very intelligent and doesn’t really care about other people’s opinions, so she’s just… I don’t know, open-minded I guess.” “Maybe that’s what you need. I mean someone mature and seen the world.” “Okay, she’s not that much older, only by 8 years.” Furrowing my eyebrows, I pulled up to the driveway. “Oh, that’s not much. Will you tell me who it is?” Dad asked as we got out of the car.

“Hmm…” “Oh come on, you told me basically who she is, just not her name.” He got his suitcase from the back and I walked up to the door, unlocking the house. “You swear not to tell anyone though,” I watched as dad rolled the suitcase in, closed the door behind himself, and looked at me with big eyes.

“Swear on my mother’s grave,” he put his hand over his heart. “Especially not mom,” I took my coat off alongside my shoes. “Why can’t you just tell me? You know, you can trust me,” he spread his arms. He's right though.

“Okay… uhm,” nervously walking around the living room, I finally sat on the armrest of the couch. Dad stood at the living room door, on the edge for sure. “She’s a friend of Chris’s,” I started. “Okay…” I saw the wheels turning in his head. “It’s Scarlett Johansson…” I mumbled quietly, looking everywhere but at him. “Who?” Dad pushed his head forward, since I was so quiet. “Scarlett Johansson.”

He leaned to the door frame, crossing his arms. “Didn’t I raise you right?” “Oh my god…” I closed my eyes, hanging my head low. “What? She’s a very good-looking woman and she’s very successful. And from what you told me, she’s an amazing person. I’m proud of you, kid.” He walked up to me, wrapping me up in a big hug. “Thank you? I guess… but we’re not dating, you know?” “Yet! It seems like she’s got you wrapped around her finger pretty bad.” I smiled at his words and nodded. “She really does.”

***

In the next couple of days, we were at home mostly. Once or twice we went out to dinner or lunch or just walked around town for a while.

It was Friday night, Dad thought it was the perfect time to watch a movie after we had dinner. Opened a bottle of wine and settled down on the couch, watching a film of his choice.

“I don’t even like this guy,” I murmured as I watched Matt Damon on the screen. “Why not?” “Because he has an asshole face. I’ve never met him though.”

I’m not mean I swear, I just have people who I look at and I don’t like them, does that make sense?

My phone started buzzing next to me and I quickly reached for it to see that it was Scarlett. “I’ll be back,” I said as I was getting up from the couch, taking the call.

“Hi,” I said swiftly, really nervous about the call. Gosh, I felt my Palma being sweaty and I swear my heart was racing. “Hey, I just wanted to check if we’re still on for the weekend,” Scarlett spoke and I smiled like an idiot as soon as I heard her voice. “Yes, of course. Which day is better for you?” I fidgeted with my fingers anxiously, waiting for her answer. “Tomorrow is great if that’s alright for you.” “It is, yeah…” I felt the nerves linger through the phone call, neither of us knowing what to say.

Taking a sharp breath in, I had to break the silence. “I uhm… I miss you,” I bluntly stated and I felt like someone knocked all the air out of my lungs. I was so nervous and scared about how she was going to react but then she spoke. “I miss you too, darling. I honestly can’t wait to see you. It’s a shame you’ll leave for three months, I hope you won’t forget about me,” she said and I could imagine that smirk on her face that drives me oh so crazy. “Of you? Never. On the other hand, I hope you won’t forget about me, there are a lot of people who would like to get their hands on you…” I smirked, hoping to hear a good reaction. “Oh Y/n, no one compares to you. I met you for a reason and I’m throwing that away,” okay my heart just burst out of happiness and joy. “You’re making my ego so much bigger with this,” I chuckled shyly, feeling the heat creeping up my neck right to my cheeks. “You started this when you were screaming my name, don’t you remember?” Now, I was definitely blushing at that sentence and how she lowered her voice… god this woman. “Isn’t Rose there with you?” I cleared my throat. “No, she wanted to sleep over at my mom’s.” Oh wow, she’s so much. Of course, she’s doing this on purpose. “You’re something else, aren’t you?” I asked, walking up to my bedroom. “Don’t tell me you don’t like it,” yeah she’s just really good at this. Talks her way into my head then somewhere else… “I did not say that. Don’t put words in my mouth,” I grabbed some jeans from the wardrobe and started to get dressed. “I thought you liked having things in your mouth, but I guess I was wrong,” she sighed dramatically. “You’re hooked already wow… so desperate,” I murmured with a smirk. “You’re the one who’s already getting dressed, who’s desperate now?” How proud is she… but she’s right, I was almost out of the house. “This was your plan all along, don’t pretend it wasn’t,” I grabbed a leather jacket and walked downstairs. “Oh, it was.” “I know, I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” “Can’t wait.”

[bookwormscififan]

I Would Destroy Our World, Chapter 2

Reminiscent Reflections

Read on AO3!

Chapter 1

A/N: Memories with Jackie, and did you know raccoons can purr?

Warnings: There's some implied smut in a flashback.

--

Jackie looked around the house with wide eyes, wringing his hands in front of him. The back door had been left slightly ajar, with the smell of fresh baking wafting through the street making his mouth water. Moving quietly toward the kitchen, Jackie paused at the steaming pies sitting on the counter to cool.

“I wasn’t sure what flavour you liked,” A voice said behind him, making him start. “I’m great at baking, so if you like a specific pie filling, just let me know.” Turning around, Jackie came face-to-face with a human standing awkwardly in the kitchen doorway, one hand tucked into his pocket while the other scratched the back of his head. His black hair fell into his eyes, which complimented the scarlet colour of his button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to avoid getting flour on them.

“You…” Jackie recognised this man, someone who kept following him as he moved around the back alleys of the town. “You made food… for me?” He asked as the man’s words caught up to him, turning back to look at the pies, lifting a hand to pull a tray closer to him.

“You seemed hungry,” The human answered with a shrug, moving into the kitchen to stand behind the counter. “I couldn’t just let you run around town scavenging trash from people’s homes. That one’s blackberry,” he stated, nodding toward the pie in front of Jackie.

“Why are you being nice to me?” Jackie asked, taking the spoon the human handed him before digging into the pie, eyes brightening at the taste. “Most humans aren’t nice to hybrids. I shouldn’t even be in here.” He bit the inside of his cheek to stop from snarling when the human moved around the counter to touch his hand lightly, turning his face away until he schooled his expression back into neutrality.

“My name is Phantom,” he said softly, pulling his hand away and stepping back to give Jackie space. “I am not most humans. I’m fascinated by you, your appearance, the way you behave, all that stuff. Just-I just want to get to know you.” He offered Jackie a kind smile when the hybrid looked back at him with wide eyes, stepping forward into Jackie’s space hesitantly.

“Jackie,” he replied quietly, lifting a hand toward himself before his gaze returned to the pie. “My name’s Jackie. I reserve my right to come and go as I want, but you can get to know—” Jackie froze, eyes going wide, when Phantom closed the gap between them by pressing his lips to Jackie’s swiftly, pulling back with a blush. “Did you just… kiss me?”

“I’m sorry, I should have—”

“Do it again.” Jackie smiled against Phantom’s lips when the human kissed him again, sliding his hand up his chest and around to the back of Phantom’s neck to pull him closer.

----

Jackie sat on the porch step of Mad’s cabin, watching the sun shining over the lake as bees buzzed around his head. He sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes before leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees.

Memories were still coming to him in short bursts while he slept, either a reminiscence from his time in the facility or some reminder of when he and Phantom were a couple, and he always found himself waking in a cold sweat, shaking as his heart raced. Phantom had been helping him to cope with the reactions, talking him through the dream-memories and logging them into notebooks, giving Jackie far more patience than he thought he deserved.

Remembering his first kiss with Phantom was both calming and disorienting. For the short time he was stuck in the memory, Jackie felt safe and loved, only to wake up to the harsh reminder he was scarred and traumatised, escaped from a facility that tried its best to make him forget the human he loved.

Coming to Mad’s cabin had been the fox’s idea. Going somewhere that didn’t reek of the twins’ scents, spending some time to just be alone with thoughts, Jackie discovered that his panics were getting fewer because his mind wasn’t confused by memories. So, he sat on the porch, counting the seconds that passed as the morning breeze made the grass gently sway.

----

“Jackie, I’ve got to put this away,” Phantom protested as Jackie climbed into his lap, tail almost hitting the human’s notebook off the desk. “Let me just—” He was cut off by Jackie holding his face in both hands, pulling him into a deep kiss that bordered on heated.

“Come to bed,” Jackie whispered against Phantom’s lips, brushing their noses together. “It’s cold without you. You can continue your notes under the blankets, can’t you?” His question ended with a soft purr, rolling his hips slightly before Phantom stopped him, thumbs brushing the skin under Jackie’s shirt.

“I could,” Phantom breathed, kissing Jackie again before pulling him closer, rolling his hips up against the juncture where Jackie’s tail met his body. “But I’d probably get too distracted to write anything useful.” One hand moved down to squeeze at Jackie’s ass before he pulled away, tugging a whine from the back of Jackie’s throat as his teeth latched gently on his bottom lip.

“Phan…” Jackie reluctantly climbed off Phantom’s lap when he was nudged, tapping his toes against the floorboards as he watched Phantom clean up his work. “You can’t work all night.”

“No, I don’t think I can.” There was a smirk on the human’s face as he pressed against Jackie, hands resting on the desk behind his hips. “Not with such an insatiable raccoon to make me rest.” Winking at Jackie, he leaned forward to kiss the hybrid deeply, trailing his hands up his back under the shirt, swallowing down Jackie’s moans as he ground against him.

----

“It’s past lunchtime.” Mad sat beside Jackie on the porch, a small tray of food in his hands. “What are you thinking about?”

Jackie took the tray from Mad, poking at the food before he paused, catching the scent of Mare all over Mad. Glancing at the fox, Jackie carefully lifted a hand to smooth down Mad’s hair, noting the faint blush and squeak that Mad let out at the contact.

“Memories,” Jackie whispered, pulling his hand away. “There’s more of the peaceful memories than the facility ones, but I can’t—I can’t figure out what’s real and what’s just my subconscious thoughts.”

“The twins are kind,” Mad said quietly, running his fingers through the coarse fur on his tail. “Whatever you’re remembering, it was probably real. And I’m sure that Phantom still loves you the same way, if you want to go back to that relationship.”

Jackie sighed, looking down at the meal in his lap with tired eyes. His ears tilted forward slightly, and he frowned when he heard a soft purr beside him. Looking up, he flinched a little as Mad rested a gloved hand on his forearm, quiet rumbles sounding in his chest with wide eyes searching his face.

“Phantom used to be home for me,” he started, turning his arm so he could press his palm to Mad’s. “The things they did to me in that facility… I want to see him as my home again, but I’ve got this fear that I’ll be hurt again, and I can’t take it.”

“Tell him that,” Mad pressed, shuffling to sit closer to Jackie and hesitating before resting his head on his shoulder. “He can’t fault you for being afraid, not after everything you went through. Until you’re ready, you can stay here as long as you need.”

“Thank you, Mad.” Jackie sniffled, resting his head atop Mad’s, careful not to disturb his ears, and he closed his eyes to embrace the purrs Mad let out again. Separating their hands to wrap an arm around Mad’s shoulders, Jackie took a deep breath before gently purring beside the fox, his sounds slightly less rumbled but equally calming.

----

Jackie closed his eyes, leaning his head into Phantom’s fingers gently combing through his hair, quiet rumbles sounding in the back of his throat. He blinked when the human stopped his hand movements, looking at Phantom in confusion.

“I didn’t know you could purr,” Phantom chuckled, eyes filled with tenderness as he met Jackie’s gaze. “I’ve still got so much to learn.” His voice was laced with awe as he spoke, resuming his combing through Jackie’s hair, free hand sliding down the hybrid’s bare back to rest in the dip.

“Haven’t really had a reason to purr,” Jackie mumbled, shifting slightly to free his tail from under Phantom’s hips. “Until now.” Tilting his head, he peppered kisses along Phantom’s jaw, nuzzling into the crook of his neck as his purrs got louder.

----

Phantom sighed as he stepped out of the store, tilting his face to look at the sky, watching pure white clouds cross the blue lazily. Adjusting his grip on the bag in his hand, he sighed once more before walking down the road toward the edge of town.

Humming softly to himself, he almost didn’t notice the suited men heading in his direction until they were standing right in front of him, clearing their throats to get his attention. Catching sight of the logo on their blazers, Phantom bit the inside of his cheek as he waited for the suited men to talk.

“Have you seen any hybrids cohabitating in town?”

“No, sir.” He really hoped he sounded believable.

“Do you know anyone who may know about the hybrids?”

“No, sir.”

“We’re searching for an escaped hybrid. He isn’t dangerous, but if you see anything suspicious, please give us a call.” Pressing a business card into Phantom’s hand, they nodded curtly before walking away.

Phantom watched them go for a few moments before turning on his heel and hurrying down the street. Once he was out of town, he held up the card to read the writing on it, then curled his lip and flipped it over his fingers.

The card burst into a brief flash of red flames, then crumbled to ash in Phantom’s hand, red smoke faintly circling his wrist before the breeze blew it all away.

------------------------

@iamvegorott @brokentimewatch @dungeon-dragons-dragons @rattyboyisemo

[mister-supernova]

A Very Good Bad Night

Pairing: Gerri Fields x Reader

Word Count: 8.1k

Summary: It’s Valentine's Day and you’re in need of a date who can get you through the night for your parent’s wedding anniversary dinner. Who better than your best friend?

Warnings/Genre: Explicit language, minor injuries, shitty family dynamics, FLUFF, light angst, friends-to-lovers

a/n: the way I wrote this with the intention of posting it on Valentine’s Day lmaoo better late than never plus I love me some fluffy Gerri shit

There was no sugarcoating the fact that Valentine’s Day was your least favorite day out of the year, but it wasn’t for the same reason that most single people hate the holiday. Ever since you were a kid, your parents made it a tradition to spend their anniversary bringing your family together for a formal dinner.

In theory, this sounds like it should be a nice night out with the people who brought you into this world and it probably would be if your parents weren’t such self-absorbed assholes who treat you like the black sheep of the family.

The obvious way out of this situation would be to avoid the dinner altogether, but being that they’re the reason you’re not homeless living in the heart of New York, you have no choice but to show up or fall into crippling debt.

Instead of spending Valentine’s Day whining about not having a significant other while eating your weight in chocolate covered strawberries, you get a night where your egotistical parents and headass of an older brother hound you about your life while bragging about how perfect theirs are, making you want to gauge your eyes out with a butter knife.

You’re highly aware that tonight will be no different in comparison to the previous years, but you’ll be damned if you have to go through it alone this time.

This brought you to the person you know you can count on for absolutely anything.

Carefully digging through a potted plant that’s littered with thorns no matter how hard you try to avoid them, you only prick the back of your hand three times before finding the spare key that unlocks the front door to the Fields Residence.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite intruder!” Mr. Fields greets you warmly from the kitchen, already making your day better. After tossing the key back in its place, you walk inside, removing your snow-covered boots and winter coat.

“Still haven’t thought of a less harmful place to store your spare, Danny?”

Formalities with Gerri’s parents were aggressively thrown out the window the very first night you met them. After meeting her over a year ago in your college’s music theory class, the two of you became close friends and the first thing you did during Thanksgiving break was meet her family.

Immediately, you loved their warm and welcoming energy seeing as it was something you weren’t used to with your own parents. The Fields family made it clear from the beginning of your friendship with their daughter that you were always welcome in their home.

This in turn made you feel more homesick for her home rather than yours whenever you were back at school.

“You never know with all the crazies out there, Y/n. I’m just surprised Gerri hasn’t given you your own key at this point.” The man teases, half-joking since you show up here so often, sometimes when Gerri isn’t even home.

“It would definitely help with the pain, no offense to Barry,” that’s what the cactus is named, “Though, the scars do make me look kinda badass, especially when I nick my knuckles.” You ponder, flexing your hand outwards to show Danny the healed up cuts and he puffs out his lip, nodding his head in agreement.

“Very badass.” The two of you laugh as he gives you a brief but tight side hug, “Gerri’s up in her room, by the way, kiddo.”

You thank him, casually thieving a chocolate covered strawberry on the counter and nearly inhaling it before also wishing him a quick Happy Valentine’s Day.

Trotting upstairs, you follow the sound of Gerri’s speakers loudly playing Love Story by Taylor Swift. Her door is already halfway open, but you slow to a stop before taking a peek around the corner.

With the music blasting at max volume, Gerri is unable to hear your footsteps creaking down the hallway, lost in her own world as she dances around her room and sings the lyrics at the top of her lungs.

You watch Gerri jump around, her wavy brown hair slowly falling out of her already loose lazy bun, dancing with such fluidity while holding a stuffed bear you won at Coney Island yet she insisted on keeping.

A smile can’t help but form on your face at the adorable sight and you’re too entertained by the show to announce your presence. Even when looking like a total doofus, you still thought of Gerri as the most beautiful being you’d ever set your eyes on.

That’s not something you could bring yourself to tell her out loud, though.

Before the bridge of the song, the brunette twirls and finally sets her eyes on you, but she doesn’t shy away from the fact that you caught her in a private moment.

That���s not your Gerri.

“I got tired of waiting,” she smiles mischievously, tosses the bear back on the bed, and beckons you over with her index finger, “wondering if you were ever coming around, my faith in you was fading, when I met you on the outskirts of town,” she continues to sing and move her shoulders to the beat of the song.

You shake your head amused, remaining in your spot against her door frame.

“I said, Romeo save me, I’ve been feeling so alone, I keep waiting for you but you never come.” Not taking no for an answer, Gerri skips forward until she’s pulling you into the room by your shoulders.

Now she’s singing in your face with enormous passion, shaking your body back and forth as she grows impatient with your silence, but it’s very difficult for you to sing through your smile.

“Is this in my head? I don’t know what to think,” As Gerri slides her hands up to the sides of your face to shake your brain around instead, you hold onto her wrists to keep her from giving you whiplash or accidentally bonking your heads together. “He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said…”

Unable to deny her any longer, you finally give in, belting out the words while bobbing your head up and down. Gerri’s smile widens and she intertwines your fingers together as she pulls you closer to the middle of her room.

“I love you and that’s all I really know!”

Next thing you know, you’re getting yourself lost in Gerri’s world, too, shuffling your feet and spinning around like you’re the only two people to exist. The comfort of her carefree energy never fails to envelop you into a safe place that makes you feel more at home.

When the music ends, the two of you gracefully fall side-by-side into Gerri’s bed, both out of exhaustion from jumping so much and to slow the intense dizziness. One of her hands has yet to let go of yours, making your head spin even more.

“That was fun.” The brunette pants, letting out a breathless laugh as she looks over at your smiling face.

“Yeah, it was.”

When you return her gaze, you notice that her hair had fallen completely out of its bun, the brown strands beautifully lying around her head upon the mattress.

Every word known to man could never accurately describe her beauty and what it does to your heartstrings.

With her fingers still laced with yours, Gerri lifts it up to observe the damage you’ve taken today, “You prick yourself again?” She asks, softly grazing her thumb over the new marks on your skin.

You hum a yes, incapable of tearing your eyes away from the concern that shows on her face. The way she worries for you over some harmless scratches that were no bigger than the size of a tic-tac made the butterflies in your chest flutter.

“Sorry, we really need to get you your own key.”

Huffing out a laugh, you softly pull your hand away so you can sit up, “Your dad was telling me the same thing.”

Routinely, Gerri stands from her bed to grab the mini first aid kit from her dresser. When she returns, she sits in a criss-cross position, pulling out some mini alcohol wipes and band-aids from the plastic box. “I feel bad having to patch you up every time you come over.”

You turn your body so that you’re facing each other, “Well, first off you don’t have to patch me up. It’s a tiny scratch from a thorn, not a bite from a rabid subway rat,” you inform the girl, making her eyes roll slightly as you instinctively place your injured hand on her lap, patiently waiting for her to clean the fresh cuts, “Second, it isn’t that big a deal. I mean, if you guys placed your spare right next to a wasp nest instead, then we’d have some bigger problems.”

Gerri giggles softly, rubbing the alcohol pad on the open wounds and stinging them for just a moment before little band-aids are placed. When she finishes, Gerri carefully lifts your hand to her lips, placing three gentle kisses on the patched up skin.

Closing both of her hands around yours, she keeps it in her lap, leaning forward slightly as she smiles cheekily at you.

“There. All better?”

The playful yet gentle stare in those gorgeous green eyes makes your stomach turn in the most exciting way possible, but you push the feeling down as you always do. You chuckle, squeezing her hand as you look at her adoringly, “All better. Thank you, Dr. Fields.”

The softness in your voice makes Gerri’s eyes light up, making her subconsciously bite her lower lip. You watch the action with a racing heart, looking back up to find her pupils had dilated as her gaze flickers between your mouth and eyes.

Surely this is part of your imagination, right?

Before either of you could pluck up the nerve to lean in first, you’re both startled when a hamper full of clean clothes is thrown into the room. Breaking eye contact, you and Gerri see her little brother standing in the doorway.

“Were you two about to kiss right now? Because you jumped away from each other like you were about to kiss.” He wonders with an amused smile, narrowing his eyes between the two of you and making you both blush madly.

“Karl, get out! Now!” The brunette exclaims, dropping your hand to shove the boy out. He laughs loudly as Gerri shuts the door, leaning her back against it to ensure he doesn’t come in again.

She covers her face in embarrassment, unable to look you directly in the eye for the moment.

Quietly laughing to yourself, you let Gerri regain her composure and stand from the bed to empty out the hamper, helping sort out her clothes.

“Damn, Gerr. I didn’t think the idea of kissing me was that repulsive.”

“That’s not– I wasn’t–”

“Just jokes.” You look at her over your shoulder with an assuring smile.

Gerri lets her shoulders fall after exhaling out a relieved sigh.

Slowly, she makes her way back over to her phone, playing another song for the two of you to listen to before she begins picking at the clothes you had already folded and starts putting them away.

This routine became a regular thing after your first couple of visits to Gerri’s house. Once she was comfortable having you in her room so often, she started getting too lazy to put her laundry away and you did not want to be lying on a mountain of clothes that were scattered across her bed.

When this habit of you cleaning her own messes began, Gerri felt bad watching you do it alone, so she decided to lend a hand. To her pleasant surprise, it was actually really relaxing having you around to help. Plus, the chore would be done in half the amount of time compared to if she were to do it by herself.

“So, what are the rest of your Valentine’s Day plans?” You casually question, silently praying that her schedule is open.

“Probably just going to throw on some shitty romcoms and get sick from eating too many chocolate covered strawberries. Why?”

You swallow your nerves, reminding yourself that this is just you, a friend, asking for a favor from Gerri, another friend.

It doesn’t have to be a nerve-racking conversation, but you wonder why your palms are getting so sweaty and what it was that was making you hear the sound of your own heart pounding in through your ears.

“Don’t you have that family dinner for your parent’s anniversary tonight?” She asks, taking the handful of bundled socks you give her.

Oh good, she remembered. “I do. I’m not exactly looking forward to it though, because it’s the worst night of my year, surrounded by literally the worst people on this planet.”

Gerri is aware that you’re not very close with your family and that you don’t like to talk about them much, but you’ve never gone into detail as to why that was.

She noticed the way your entire mood deflated whenever she asked about them in the beginning of your friendship, how the mere thought of them brought up some uncomfortable feelings in you, so she quickly stopped asking.

“Why don’t you just tell them you can’t go?” If this night was so dreadful for you to go through, Gerri wondered what was stopping you from ditching the event completely.

You chirp up, playfully pretending to be shocked, “Oh, wow! You know, I’ve never thought to do that. That’s actually a really good idea, Gerr. Why hadn’t I-”

Gerri lightly smacks your bottom with a shirt she’s putting away, making you both laugh, “Okay! You don’t gotta be a smartass about it. Geez.”

“Trust me, if I could avoid tonight, I would. To my terrible misfortune, I can’t afford to pay my college and housing bills on my own yet, so my parents financially keep my head above water. Not without a price of their own, though. They’re not that generous.”

Gerri watches you carefully from the foot of her bed as you start getting lost in your own rambling, but you continue folding her clothes to distract yourself.

“The deal is that they keep me stable so long as I attend their stupid yearly dinner at their stupid favorite restaurant where I have to sit and listen to their stupid lecture about how unsuccessful I’m destined to be in life. Meanwhile, my dickhead of an older brother gets all the loving praise for being the most mediocre man in the world.”

You stop folding the clothes, pausing your ramble to take a deep breath in an attempt to relieve the stress that’s already brewing in your chest.

“You know, I can’t even remember one time in my life they were happy for me about anything. My valedictorian speech at my high school graduation? With such a small school it shouldn’t have been that hard to get in the first place. We also have a conference that weekend. My NYU acceptance letter? Well that’s useless since you’re wasting college on a silly music degree, Y/n. Why can’t you study business like your brother?”

It was unfair how poorly your own family thought of you, like you weren’t even a part of them, especially when you did nothing in the past to make them treat you this way.

“Literally everything I do is wrong in their eyes. It’s the fucking worst, but then again they’re the fucking worst so what else should I expect?”

You slump back down on the bed and massage your temples, attempting to erase the stress that’s already festering in your brain just thinking about going through tonight.

“I know I didn’t exactly paint the prettiest picture of them to you just now, but I really don’t want to sit through this hellish night alone again and I’d hate it a lot less if I had you there with me,” you tell Gerri, nervously fidgeting with your new band-aids, “It’s a lot to ask and I’m not expecting you to say yes, but I just… I need you there, Gerr.”

With your shaking leg, hand fidgets, and cheek biting, all of your anxious tics were on full display for Gerri to see and the dinner hadn’t even started yet. This night weighs you down so heavily that your friend would be a fool to let you carry it on your own.

Pulling you away from your fixed stare at the floor, Gerri places her soft hands upon your face and tilts your head until you look up at her calming gaze. You immediately loosen your jaw, fluttering your eyes shut when she runs her fingers through your hair, letting the rest of your muscles relax beneath her touch.

“Hey,” she calls to you gently and you open your eyes, leaning into her hands as she links them behind your neck, “I’ll be there.”

You smile up at her softly, pushing your body forward until you bury your head into Gerri’s stomach. She laughs, lightly scratching your scalp and tracing her fingers along the nape of your neck.

Everything is so easy with Gerri, you sometimes find it hard to believe that she’s real.

“Thank you.” You mumble into her shirt before looking back up to meet her eyes. “I can’t promise that it’s going to be the most fun time of your life, but-” The brunette squishes your face together to shut you up.

“Don’t worry about it, okay?”

You nod your head, slurring out an “okay” with your smushed face, making you and Gerri chuckle before she drops her arms back to her sides. You miss her touch instantly.

Standing up, you feel a lot lighter than you did before coming over. Gerri just knows how to make everything better and you’re already more at ease thinking about tonight knowing she’ll be by your side.

“I’m gonna go get ready right now and I’ll come pick you up at seven,” you say, opening her bedroom door and taking a backwards step across the threshold, “Just dress like you’re going to any regular formal event.”

“Well, now I’ve got a lot of clean options to choose from,” she gestures to her rack of clean clothes, “so I’ll see you at seven!”

“Cool,” you nod, feeling a small box of candy in your jacket pocket, “Oh! Almost forgot,” you toss her the heart-shaped candy that she happily catches, “I got those at the gas station for you.”

“How romantic,” Gerri smiles as she pulls one out, reading the little printed words aloud and she shows it to you, “Be Mine?”

Before you can wonder whether her tone in that question was serious or playful, she tosses the light pink sugar heart into the air and you easily catch it in your mouth. “Seven o’clock!” You remind her while making your way down the hall.

“Seven o’clock!” Gerri repeats back to you, now having the feeling that out of all the clothes hanging in her closet, she has absolutely nothing to wear.

- Seven O’Clock -

The clock barely changed and you’ve already checked your watch five times as you anxiously waited for Gerri to walk downstairs.

You couldn’t tell if the nerves were from the possibility of being late to the restaurant or the fact that you were taking Gerri out for dinner on Valentine’s Day—not that it was going to be a great one that you’d much rather take her on.

When it comes to the person you are or the people you surround yourself with, you don’t give a shit about what your parents think, but the last thing you want is for Gerri to see you differently and believe your future is becoming carbon copies of them.

“Sorry, sweetie,” Mrs. Fields—or Kate as she prefers—gives your shoulder a comforting squeeze as she notices how tense you are, “Gerri ran a quick errand after you left, so it took her a little while to start getting ready.”

“It’s no problem. The reservation isn’t for another hour anyways.” You say, nervously messing with a rose petal from the bouquet you brought. You didn’t really consider buying Gerri flowers until your drive back over here, thinking it’s the least you could do for her agreeing to endure this torturous night.

Gerri’s mom sits across from you at the dining room table, smirking as she observes the color of the flowers you choose to bring tonight, “Are these for Gerri?” Looking up from your fiddling, you nod your head, “You do know what yellow roses with red tips mean, right?”

No, you do not. You swallow dryly at this new information, “They have different meanings? I just thought they looked the coolest.”

The older woman laughs, only inflaming the intensity of your nerves, “I’m sure you’re fine, Y/n.”

“C’mon Kate, what do yellow roses with red tips mean?” You plead for an answer before panic begins to set in.

“Just friendship…” she shrugs, leaning back to take a sip of her wine, “amongst other things.”

Your eyes widen, making her laugh even more as you smile nervously, “What other things?”

“Honey, stop torturing the poor kid,” Mr. Fields gives you a supportive pat on the back, amused at your cluelessness and for a moment you’re content, “But seriously, you don’t know what the meaning behind these roses are?”

Burying your face deep into your hands, you groan helplessly at their teasing.

You’ve grown a little used to having Gerri’s parents mess with you about possibly crushing on their daughter, but you’d be lying if you said it doesn’t fluster you. Just when you think one of them is on your side, they team up against you in the end.

“What’s so funny down here?” Gerri’s voice fills the room, silencing her mom and dad’s laughter and drawing your attention to the kitchen’s entryway.

If your heart wasn’t racing already, now it’s only a couple of beats away from pounding out of your chest.

Dressed in a red quarter-sleeve dress with floral lace designs that leave just enough room for imagination, Gerri Fields made you forget how to breathe. The girl was already naturally beautiful, so it only made sense that she could transform herself into an even more attractive goddess.

You might just run late from staring at her in complete awe.

“Y/n/n, you okay?” She nervously grins, taking note of your flustered state.

“Uhh…” Clumsily standing from the chair that skids across the floor, you can’t bring yourself to take your eyes off her, “Yeah, I’m uh…” Danny picks up your bouquet of roses and pushes them into your chest. Without looking away, you hold onto them a little too tightly, “I’m good.”

Gerri giggles softly, walking forward until she’s standing in front of you, “Are these for me?”

With a small grin, you nod, now too mentally incapacitated to move your mouth to speak, especially when she bites her lip while smiling at you like that.

“They’re beautiful.” She says, purposely letting her touch linger on you as she takes the flowers from your hands.

“You’re beautiful.” Even you’re shocked by how naturally the words fell out of your mouth, possibly flustering you more than the blushing brunette in front of you.

She briefly hides her smile behind the bouquet before lowering them down so that she can lean forward to kiss you softly on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You quietly say, nearly losing your voice towards the end of your sentence.

Caught in your own bubble that is Gerri, the two of you miss the knowing smiles her parents are sharing from behind you both.

Clearing your throat, you take a look at your watch and note that you still have plenty of time to make it to the restaurant. “Um, I have the car warming up in the driveway.”

Gerri’s eyes widened in realization, “Right! Sorry! Dad, could you…” she quickly hands him the roses and he moves to put them in a vase.

“Have fun, you two!” Kate yells from the kitchen as you and Gerri help put on each other’s coats by the front door.

You share a strained smile with the girl and snicker, both knowing tonight will most likely end in disaster. At least you’re not going through the fire alone this time and you wouldn’t want to have anyone else on your side.

During the 30 minute drive to the restaurant, you and Gerri sang along to every song that played on the Hits 1 radio, even the ones neither of you knew the lyrics to, and it set you at ease. Of course, Gerri’s presence alone brings you peace.

However, all of your anxiety came rushing back to the surface when you arrived at your destination.

You sat in front of the steering wheel silently for a solid five minutes, mentally preparing yourself for the amount of hell you’re going to be dragged through and how everything might go wrong. Before you can start biting at your fingernails, Gerri takes your hand and traps it between the both of hers.

“What’s going on in your head?” She asks, playing with the rings on your fingers.

“Just remembering that there’s a reason I don’t introduce anybody I care about to my family. They’re terrible people, Gerr,” leaning the side of your head against the seat, you look at the brunette, “I’ve learned how to put up with their bullshit, so I’m used to it by now, but if you’re having second thoughts about coming here with me then I—”

“Y/n.” Gerri halts your rambling, squeezing your hand between hers, “I’m here for you, okay? I don’t care how awful they are, I’m not going anywhere.”

You breathe out a large huff of air, leaning the back of your head into the headrest and closing your eyes, silently praying to any and every God that this won’t turn into the worst night of your life.

“Hey,” opening your eyes, you look back at Gerri, watching as she brings your hand to her lips and presses three soft kisses upon the skin, “All better?”

Three little big words nearly slip through your mouth, but you conceal them with a smile that nearly conveys the very message you’re keeping to yourself, “All better.”

With Gerri giving you the strength you need, you finally exit the car and her hand never leaves yours as you walk inside the restaurant.

When you give the hostess your last name, the two of you are immediately escorted to the same table your parents reserve every year. It’s a circular table that seats six in the back corner of the place, close enough to the restrooms and the A/C hits the area just right according to your mother.

God forbid anyone else takes this table and whoever does will have hell to pay. Five years ago, they made an unnecessary scene when another party was seated here and forced the manager to move them to another spot.

You still cringe at the memory to this day.

Arriving at the table, you see that your parents are already seated, but they're too distracted with their phones to realize that you’re there.

Realizing they’re not going to look up anytime soon no matter how close you get to them, you try to speak up, but your father beats you to the punch, “We’ll start with the bottle of white merlot.”

Goodness, at least this wasn’t the worst way the night could’ve started.

Gerri looks over at you and judging by the annoyance on your face, she comes to the conclusion that your dad doesn’t have a sense of humor and this isn’t him trying to be funny.

“Not the waiter, dad. It’s your child.”

His eyes never leave his phone, neither do your mothers. Instead, your dad sighs like he’d rather have the waiter here, “Hello, Y/n.”

It was pointless to go around to their seats and give them a hug like most loving children would. They weren’t exactly the physically affectionate type of parents—not with you anyways.

You shake your head before pulling out one of the empty chairs for Gerri, giving her a sorry smile as she sits down and you take the seat next to hers.

“You didn’t happen to catch your brother and his fiancee walking in, did you?” Your mother asks as you settle in.

“No, but there’s someone I want you guys to–”

“He said he’d be running late, dear.” Your father talks to your mom while scrolling through his phone.

“Guys, can you–” You try getting their attention, failing again.

“I told him traffic would be heavy right now. Hopefully they’re not too far out.” Your mom shakes her head, more concerned about your brother’s arrival rather than the stranger sitting at the table.

“Hello?” The music in this place isn’t blasting, so you know very well that they can hear you speaking.

“It looks like they’re fifteen minutes away on the tracking app.” Your dad shows her the map on his phone and she looks at it closely.

“Y/n talking here.”

“Oh yes, that’s not too far at all. They should get here right as the crabcakes are brought out. He likes them fresh.”

You clap your hands together loudly, finally capturing their attention, “Oh, good. Your ears are still working. Guys, this is my…” suddenly, you didn’t know how to introduce the girl next to you to them, your mind still calming down from them ignoring you seconds ago, “...Gerri. My-my friend Gerri.”

Blushing lightly at your first slip up, the brunette presses her lips together in a tight smile to the intimidating eyes that lock on her, “Happy anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. L/n. It’s really great to finally meet you both.”

They stare blankly at the girl in front of them without so much as a friendly smile back, then your mother looks at you, “You didn’t tell us you would be bringing a guest, Y/n.”

You clench your fist under the table, digging your fingernails into your palm to redirect the anger you’re beginning to feel, “I, uh I didn’t realize that I had to. No one usually sits in the extra chair and you guys always hound me about not bringing a friend, so…”

“I’m just saying it’s inconsiderate of you not to inform us beforehand that you were bringing someone with you. What if your brother also brought one of his friends with him?”

You shrug, “It’s almost like we’re in a restaurant that has extra chairs for that very unlikely instance.”

Your father points an accusatory finger at you and speaks in his authoritative voice, “Hey, don’t be rude to your mother, Y/n. She’s right, it was very thoughtless of you bringing this on us at the last minute.” He shakes his head at you in disappointment, returning to his cell phone.

You could go on about how rude they’re acting to Gerri after she kindly introduced herself to them, only to not even receive a simple ‘hello’ back. You would’ve taken a cold greeting in response rather than them ignoring her completely.

It was one thing for them to act like assholes to you, but when it came to the girl by your side, you were more than willing to call them out on their shit.

Before you can start a fight, Gerri keeps you from the screaming match by placing her hand over your tightened fist. Relaxing to her touch, she intertwines your fingers together and gently brushes her thumb across your skin.

“It’s okay.” She whispers with a soft smile, taking a deep breath that you instinctively mirror to relax. A small fragment of your stress fades for the moment and you give Gerri a grateful smile, reminding yourself that this dinner won’t last forever.

Your parents begin discussing work with each other, leaving you and Gerri completely out of the conversation, but you could care less.

You imagined the two of you sitting in the comfort of her bedroom, watching cheesy rom coms like Gerri had initially planned to do tonight.

Maybe you would find the moment to confess about the crush you’ve had on her since the day you met. You’d tell her how she’s the first person in your life who has ever felt like home.

You would say that you were in love, and in a perfect world, she would tell you that she feels the same.

You couldn’t say those three words out loud, not right now, so you secretly traced those letters on the palm of her hand instead.

Gerri’s lips twitch up into a faint grin when you initiate a few games of thumb war underneath the table, biting back laughter as you get a little more competitive each round. This is the first time you’re glad that your family is way too caught up in their own conversation to pay either of you any attention.

“The favorite has arrived!” Your older brother announces in a sing-song voice as he confidently saunters over to the table, his fiancée in tow a couple of feet behind him. Meanwhile, you and Gerri have broken out of your bubble.

The peace was nice while it lasted.

The bored expressions on your mom and dad’s faces change almost immediately, now beaming with happiness as their precious baby boy approaches. They stand up, engulfing their son with tight hugs and kisses on cheeks.

The stark difference as to how you were greeted shocks Gerri, but looking at your reaction or lack thereof, she can tell this was normal for you.

After your brother’s finished saying hello to your parents, he turns to you with a half-assed wave as he and his new wife take a seat, then his eyes land on Gerri.

“Who’s the new broad with you, Y/n? You had me convinced you didn’t have any friends.” He cackles idiotically.

How your brother has yet to get socked in the mouth for the things that come out of it is a mystery to you.

You wanted to confess your reasoning for never wanting to introduce your good hearted friends to your cold hearted family, but you save the argument.

“Yeah, good to see you too, Richard. This is Gerri.”

With a friendly smile, the brunette waves at him, “Hi, nice to meet you.”

He laughs like he’s just heard the funniest joke in the world, making Gerri shift in her seat uncomfortably, “Jerry? Like a guy? What, did your parents hope for a boy or were they on drugs?”

Oh. Fuck. No. You sit up a little straighter, slightly tightening your hold on Gerri’s hand, “It’s unisex, you ignorant piece of—”

“Y/n. Let’s not do this already.” Your mother quietly warns you from across the table, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Do what? He’s being disrespectful to my friend.”

“It was a joke. No need to be so sensitive about it.” Richard rolls his eyes with a scoff, snickering arrogantly with the most idiotic grin.

“Oh, I must be the one losing my hearing at this table now because not a single person here thought that was funny.”

“Christ, Y/n, will you relax? I’ve been here for two seconds and you already have a stick up your ass for no damn reason,” he looks at Gerri, “You’re being paid to be here, aren’t you, sweetheart?”

You could tackle your brother where he sits. Your jaw clenches and you have to bite your tongue to keep you from flying out of your seat, “Talk to my friend like that again and I’ll put an actual stick up your ass, Dick.”

If there’s one thing that gets under your brother’s skin, it’s when you use his all-too-accurate nickname that he lives up to.

He scowls at you next, just as ready to jump you across this table.

“That is enough, Y/n!” Your dad silences you with his raised voice that means you’re already skating on paper thin ice, “We’re not putting up with this tonight, you hear me?”

Richard smirks in victory, knowing your parents will always take his side no matter how out of line he acts. With an annoyed huff, you lean back into your seat and refocus on Gerri’s hand that’s still holding yours.

You shouldn’t have brought her here and had you known your family would be this disgustingly rude to her, you wouldn’t have invited her in the first place. Gerri was too good of a person to have to sit through this.

“It’s Richard, right?” Gerri speaks up, earning your brother’s attention and he nods, “Well, Richard, the answer to your previous question is no, I’m not being paid to be here. Y/n talked about how important this night is to your family and because of how important they are to me, I came. I also don’t appreciate the inappropriate jokes you made to me like we’ve known each other for years even though we just met.”

“I assure you, he meant no ill intent with his comments towards you. That’s just how he is.” Your mother comes in for the rescue, making infinite excuses for the thirty year old man who has the brain of a psychotic, tantrum-throwing toddler.

“Seriously, mom? He’s a grown man. There’s no need to jump to his aid like he’s a kid who’s been pushed on the playground during recess.”

Richard rolls his eyes, “Jesus, why do you have to ruin the night for everyone? It’s mom and dad’s anniversary for Christ's sake.”

“You’re saying inappropriate things to my guest. If this were the other way around, all of you would be on my ass.”

“Yeah because every time you come out with us now, you act like a psychotic little brat. I honestly miss when you were quieter because your bullshit is fucking exhausting to put up with.”

You laugh heartily in disbelief, “Oh, you find me exhausting? Now that’s a great joke, Dick. Seriously.”

His face burns red and you can almost see smoke blowing out of his elephant ears, “Fucking Christ,” he groans, pausing for a beat as he debates on whether or not he should say more. With just enough wine in his system, he decides to say, “You know, this is exactly why I didn’t want you at our wedding.”

Your amused smile begins to fade and you give him an inquisitive look, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Richie.” Your mother sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose, but she doesn’t look guilty.

“What, you thought your invite got lost in the mail or something?” He teases with a sickening grin when he sees that he’s properly shut you up, “Thought it was just a simple mistake?”

“Rich.” Your father warns and that’s when you see the golden wedding band on Richard’s ring finger.

“Newsflash, you weren’t sent one in the first place and the way you’re acting tonight is a spectacular example as to why that was. I didn’t need you fucking things up on the happiest day of my life, so mom, dad and I came to an agreement. The wedding would be a close friends and family only event. We all think you’ve proven yourself to be neither of those things.”

You look to your parents, the smallest part of you hoping they’d come to your aid just for once in their goddamn lives. Instead, they remain silent in their seats, awkwardly sipping on their wine and avoid eye contact with you completely.

Fucking typical.

You could break down right at this table because of how terrible this night is going. Not that you expected anything less, but it was embarrassing to have this happening in front of the only person you care about in the room, witnessing you get tormented by the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally.

The sound of Gerri’s laughter catches you off guard and your attention turns to her.

“I’m sorry, are you people out of your mind? Do you-do any of you know anything about this person right here? Like, have you actually tried getting to know them?”

Your family is silent, some huffing out annoyed sighs, but you’re only staring at Gerri as she continues.

“Did you know they can finish a six page essay in one hour and end up getting an A? Or that they’re a master at balloon darts and can hit two at once? Or that they know every lyric to Taylor Swift’s entire discography? Or the fact they hate dancing but will do it anyway just to make you smile? Or that they will help you do just about any house chore out of the kindness of their heart without asking for anything in return?”

Your gaze softens as your heart fills with nothing but love for the woman sitting by your side. All you could look at was her and fall even deeper into all that she was–your parents and brother no longer taking an inch of space in your mind.

“Within the twenty-something years you had to really know your own child and sibling, I only needed one to see that they’re pretty fucking incredible and it absolutely blows my mind that such an amazing person can come from assholes like you.”

Eyes widening slightly at the sudden profanity, you look over at the mortified expressions on your family’s faces at Gerri’s closing statement. “How dare you speak to us that way, young lady.”

“No, how dare you for showing so much love and attention to Satan’s spawn while neglecting the literal best thing in your life.”

“I think it’s time for you to leave. Both of you.” Your father says sternly, looking around the establishment for a manager to wave over.

Gerri sighs in relief, pushing out her chair first and you slowly follow suit as she pulls you with her, “That we can agree on.”

Moving around the table, you don’t miss when Richard mutters, “Bitch.”

Knowing you’ve already caused a scene, you thought it wouldn’t hurt to spill his glass of red wine all over his white button up and khakis. “Dick.” You mutter back, not wasting another second being in their presence and quickly making your way out of the restaurant.

The drive back to Gerri’s house is radio silent, the two of you processing tonight’s catastrophe. When you pull up to the house, Gerri breathes heavily as you walk through the front door, the grip on your hand tighter than the one you had on hers.

While she was coming up with different ways to murder your family in her head, your mind was still reeling in the fact she had the courage to stick up for you in front of the people she just met and that you couldn’t love her more for it.

The brunette sighs in exhaustion, turning to face you when you find your way into her bedroom, her mind still running a million miles a minute from what just happened, “I’m sorry for flipping out in there, I just couldn’t fucking stand them talking to you like mmph–”

You abruptly cut Gerri’s sentence short, using your free hand to cup her face and press your lips against hers. She gasps in surprise, taking a few seconds to process the new sensation but then quickly matches the kiss before you can think about pulling away.

Her lips move against yours softly and sweetly as she feels her knees begin to weaken slightly, needing to slide her hands onto your shoulders to keep herself from falling.

Though you’re both completely lost in each other’s touch, Gerri suddenly recalls the situation you just walked out on and gasps, being the first to break the kiss.

“Oh my God, I totally fucked things up for you back there didn’t I?” She pants, her breath blowing across your face as hers remains close.

You could care less about the effects of tonight’s dinner from your parents. The one thing you knew for certain was you wanted to hold Gerri and not let her go, “I’ll figure it out.”

Your lips find Gerri’s again, feeling like it was exactly where you were supposed to be. The brunette sighs with contentment, her arms now wrapping around your neck to pull you closer as your hands slide down her waist.

“I really like you.” You say between kisses, making the girl laugh through her nose.

“I really like you, too.” She whispers.

Your big idiotic smiles makes it harder to keep kissing each other, but you do so anyways. With one last long lingering soft press against her lips, you slowly pull away, leaning back just enough to get a better look at the brunette’s face.

Her sea green eyes stare into yours longingly and you swear that looking into them feels like home. One that you’ve been searching for forever and one you’ve found that doesn’t need four walls and a roof, just those gorgeous orbs that make you feel the most peaceful you’ve ever felt.

“Y/n, I-”

“Gerr-”

You speak over each other, immediately laughing afterwards as your heads lean forward until they’re leaning together once more.

“You go first.” You offer.

“What if we both go?” Gerri suggests, brushing her nose against yours and making your head spin faster than it already was.

“What if we say two different things?”

She softly bites her lip, containing a small smile, “Call it a hunch.”

You chuckle, feeling your heart begin to beat harder and race faster at the thought of her thinking those same three words as you.

Leaning your head away, you meet her eyes and nod.

“Okay. On three.” You say, squeezing her waist in anticipation. “One.”

“Two.”

The both of you take a deep breath, “Three.”

“I love you.” You say in unison, making your breath hitch at the sound of her confession. For a moment you think you’re imagining things until Gerri smiles widely.

“God, I love you so much.” She repeats, pulling you forward by your shirt to bring your lips back to hers, kissing you slow and languidly.

Matching her tenderness, your hands slide around and up Gerri’s back, pressing her body impossibly closer to yours like she would fly away if you let her go.

She sighs against your mouth, guiding herself backwards until the backs of her knees meet the edge of the bed and she pulls you down on the mattress with her. One of your hands is quick to move onto the cushion to keep yourself from crushing the girl beneath you, but your lips never leave each other’s.

Beginning to lose oxygen, you reluctantly pull away but continue your trail of kisses over to her cheek, along her jawline, and down to her neck. Gerri’s eyes remain closed, fingers now tangling through your hair and your lips set her skin on fire.

She gasps softly when you find the spot that drives her crazy and she holds you there, craning her neck back to allow you more access and moaning as your tongue runs over her pulse point.

Before she can further lose herself in your touch and grow even more tempted to rip off your clothes in record time, something else pops into the brunette’s mind.

“Shit, I almost forgot!” She gasps, making you abruptly stop what you’re doing and pull away to look down at her with a worried expression.

“What? What is it?” You pant with a face of concern that makes Gerri smile adoringly.

“I got you something.” She says, pecking your lips once more before urgently pushing you to the side and making you roll over on your back.

Relieved that it wasn’t a serious matter, you chuckle as you watch her push off the bed and quickly grab a small box from the dresser.

You push yourself to sit up on the mattress when she takes a seat next to you, nervously biting her lip as she places the item in your hands.

“Little early for a proposal, isn’t it?” You tease, getting Gerri to nudge you slightly.

“Shut up and open it.” She wraps an arm around your back, tracing gentle patterns with her fingers while resting her chin on top of your shoulder and placing a kiss on your cheek.

You smile, excitedly examining the little cardboard box for a second before removing the cover and revealing a single golden key with a chain necklace and a small engraving of Gerri’s initials at the top. Recognizing each curve and edge of the metal, you immediately know what it’s meant to unlock.

“Now you’re able to come and go as you please, free of being pricked by digging through Barry to get the spare.” She tells you with a soft smile, taking the long chain out of the box and delicately placing it over your head until it rests on your neck.

Looking down at the gift, you take it between your fingers and graze your thumb along Gerri’s initials. A few tears build in your eyes, feeling more love from the beautiful soul next to you within a single night than you have for your entire life.

“You’ll always have a home here, Y/n.” She utters, one hand traveling up to scratch along the nape of your neck while she presses another kiss to the single tear falling down your cheek.

Chuckling softly, your head turns to look at the brunette with a loving stare that she returns. “Having you around alone, anywhere is home for me, Gerri.”

Eyes darkening slightly, it doesn’t take long for Gerri to lean forward and kiss you again, this time without any intention of stopping for the rest of the night.

[alycosworld]

Tainted

Scaramouche X Reader

WARNING: mentions of (nearly) sexual assault

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A/N: I seem to have more angst/comfort ideas for genshin but I'm not sure why...also, I'm on holiday in a foreign country! I have no work and I'll probably spend all my nights on Tumblr after exploring the city in the day, so please please please send in some requests! I'm bored and although they might take some time, they might help me get back into writing more regularly. I'm pretty sure this is gender neutral but if I made a mistake, feel free to tell me. This has NOT been checked for any errors (I'll get around to it at some point).

I'm not sure if Scaramouche is ooc, since he doesn't say anything that nice in the game or in any official works, but I definitely think he has the capacity for it. And I like soft Scar <3.

If at any point you feel uncomfortable, PLEASE DO NOT READ ON. I felt a little icky after writing the assault bit so do not force yourself to read any further or read at all. I do not want to make anyone reading this unhappy. Any victims of sexual assault or harassment, I hope you heal

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Keep walking. Just keep walking. Get home as fast as possible.

Avoid dark spots, avoid all people, avoid secluded areas. Just get home now.

That's what you told yourself after it happened. Archons, you didn't even know how you should feel. Ashamed? Angry? Disgusted? Upset? Confused? Afraid? The amalgamation of these emotions just made everything worse. You felt sick to your stomach. You wanted to cry and scream and vomit and disappear all at the same time.

You felt like you were covered in grime and you don't even know how you managed to get away. You should've done something, anything! But in the moment, you couldn't.

Your day had started normally. You went to the Adventurer's Guild in Inazuma, doing your commissions and taking up a few extra quests to help people out. Even though you were walking home later than normal, you didn't think much of it. Until somehow, you lost your way. In the dark, things became a little more vague and confusing, so you ended up taking a left and ending up in a dark alleyway between two dimly lit buildings.

You walked through, lost in your own thoughts, until you heard some chuckling and some incoherent remarks made by someone exiting one of the buildings out a back door and into the alleyway.

Glancing up, you saw that the person was a man - quite tall and well built with flushed cheeks: he was clearly not sober. You paid him no mind, staring at the ground as you continue to walk, determined to get home to see your boyfriend, Scaramouche. Though he wasn't one to worry, knowing that you could handle yourself, you did want to see him as soon as possible.

"Well, what do we have here?" The man asked, and you looked up at him again, tilting your head in confusion but staying silent.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing out here all alone?" He asked, a suspicious smirk on his face.

"I'm going home." You said firmly, not wanting to give him any ideas.

"Oh? A handsome young thing like you, going home all by themselves? Let me walk you, I promise I don't bite." He continued, clearly not getting the hint.

"I'm alright, but thank you for the off--"

"Stop being such a fucking tease! Wearing an outfit like that, you're begging for it." He pinned you against the wall despite your attempt to politely refuse any moves he tried to make. He caught your arms above your head and harshly shoved one of his legs between yours.

"Don't like to me, hon, you know you want this." He whispered huskily. You had fought countless hilichurls, abyss mages and monsters far more intimidating and dangerous than that man that day, but you couldn't seem to move. All you could manage was a fearful 'please, don't do this'. Struggling was futile, for some reason you couldn't escape his grasp. You had fought beasts ten times this man's size but violating you like this? It made you break.

He gripped you harshly and even managed to kiss your neck a couple times, making the tears stream down your face uncontrollably, until he heard some voices. You recognised them immediately: members of the Adventurer's Guild. He must be known it too because he stopped as soon as he heard, offering you a sickening grin and scuttling away before you could react.

"We'll finish this some other time, sweetheart. I promise."

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈❀┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

You didn't get any help from the Adventurer's Guild members who you heard, instead opting to rush home as soon as possible, trying to figure out what to do next.

The only solution in your mind was to crawl into your lover's arms and tell him what had happened. You didn't want anyone else to know - you know you could trust Scaramouche and you knew he would help you.

But he didn't.

You got home and wiped your tears before entering the house, hoping to look somewhat presentable despite having experienced such an impactful event. You dropped your belongings carelessly, not flinging at the loud sound they made as they hit the floor. You immediately made your way to the guest room Scaramouche had turned into an office of sorts, for him to work on Fatui business. The bedroom door was open and empty and he was nowhere to be found on the first floor, so that was the only other place he could've been. You were relieved to see him sitting at the desk, deep in thought with some maps and other sheets of paper laid out in front of him.

"Scar, I--"

"Not now, (Y/N), I'm busy." He said hot even bothering to look up at your frazzled and shattered state.

"I know but, please, Scar. While I was--"

"If you know that I'm busy, why enter in the first place? I'm working. Leave me alone." He said harshly. You didn't say anything, instead opting to nod silently and close the door. Since this was the first time you had experienced this pain and discomfort from being touched and defiled in such a way, you decided that maybe you should put it aside. After all, maybe it was something so jarring. Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe Scaramouche's nonchalance was justified. In a twisted way, you blamed yourself for overreacting and decided to just forget about the incident. If it didn't mean enough for Scaramouche to even look at you, it clearly wasn't something worth fretting over. You were just exaggerating, right?

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈❀┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

You tried you absolute hardest not to let the incident bother you, but you unknowingly started changing your habits to prevent what had occurred from happening to you again.

"Wearing an outfit like that, you're begging for it..."

You started wearing less revealing clothing, going as far as wearing gloves at some point and covering your neck with collars and scarves through the hot weather.

"We'll finish this some other time, sweetheart. I promise."

Initially, you just avoided dark or secluded places, even when you were with other people, but eventually, you were too scared to leave home at all. You didn't leave the confines of your small garden and if someone passed by, you would quickly hide yourself away. When Scaramouche had unknown guests and colleagues over, you would hide in your bedroom and make him promise not to mention you or acknowledge your existence in the slightest.

You even started taking longer showers and refused to bathe with Scaramouche, confusing him since you used to enjoy it so much. But you wouldn't let him see you in such a vulnerable state now that you were contaminated. You didn't want him to know that you had been tarnished in such a vulgar way, and you spent long moments scrubbing at the parts the stranger had touched. You were worried that Scaramouche would blame you for being assaulted - because in a sick way you thought it was your fault, despite having been nothing wrong. You had twisted the story in your mind to make it seem like you were responsible for the crime committed against you.

Eventually, Childe had to visit for business purposes, but you had become good friends with the eleventh Fatui Harbinger since he was friends with-- well, he and Scaramouche had a relationship, to say the least.

"So where's (Y/N)? Normally they're all over you and making you as embarrassed at possible." Childs grinned, and Scaramouche just frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"They're in our room. They don't really want to see anyone right now." Scaramouche said. Even though you told him not to mention you anymore, since you were so hellbent on avoiding all human interaction, he thought it would be okay to tell Childe. He was your friend too, after all.

"Is something wrong? What happened?" Childe asked, concern in his eyes.

"I don't know. They've been avoiding everyone, including me. They barely talk to me and insist on sleeping downstairs." Scaramouche confessed.

"Let me talk to them."

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈❀┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Childe exited your room after hearing what to had to say, and he was disturbed and sympathetic, at the very least. Scaramouche saw his wide-eyed, grim expression when he exited the room and immediately had questions.

"What?" Scaramouche asked.

"I'll come back tomorrow to continue our work." Childs said, referring to the business he originally came for.

"But we have to--"

"Scar?" Scaramouche stopped all his trains of thought and turned to the sound of your voice. It was hoarse but still as beautiful as ever. He knew you had been crying from your puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"I think you have other matters to take care of." Childe winked, before giving Scaramouche an informal two-fingered salute and showing himself out.

As soon as the door closed, Scaramouche turned his attention to you, not coming too close in case you didn't want to be near him.

"Yes, Love?" He asked, more concerned than you had ever seen him.

"Can I talk to you? If you're busy, that's okay, it's not that impor--"

"I'm not busy." He shook his head, and you offered him a sad and grateful smile before sitting on the edge of the bed while he took a seat on a nearby chair.

"So, uhm, a couple of days ago I was walking home and I kind of got lost...so I tried taking this alleyway and--" You stopped yourself, meeting Scaramouche's attentive gaze before continuing.

"There was a guy. And he-- he t-touched me. I-- I didn't know what to do. I could've easily fought back but I just got scared and froze up because that's never happened to me before and he kept saying that I wanted him-- but I didn't! I swear, I didn't. I know it sounds bad since I didn't stop him but I really tried, I just couldn't. And he started k-kissing me...here," You gestured to the spots on your neck that you could still feel being violated.

"And I felt so horrible and he didn't go any further because some people were coming, so I ran home. I-I...I didn't know what to do but I felt like I should tell you because I thought you would help me, but you said you were busy so I just-- It-tried to brush it off but I just couldn't get it out of my head! And before I got away, he told me that he'd come back and finish me off and so I didn't want to go outside anymore in case I ran into him. And I started to cover up since he said I was asking for it because of what I was wearing and then I just got scared and I felt dirty. I tried so hard to forget and clean myself but it kept coming back-- I can still feel him on me! I hated it, I still hated it! You have to believe me, I wasn't trying to get him to notice me, I just..." You broke down after finishing what you had to say. You had already been crying since you told Childe, but now you were choking out sobs and your face was drenched. Scaramouche stood up from his chair and sat next to you on the bed, a safe distance away just in case you still weren't comfortable with being touched.

"I believe you. I know you're not like that." Scarsmocuhe started calmly. In all honesty, he wanted to interrupt you as soon as you said that this man approached you. His blood was boiling and he was ready to murder this man for you but kept himself in check because you didn't need senseless violence or revenge right now, you needed comfort. What hurt him the most was that you were blaming yourself because he didn't bother listening to what you had to say on what was probably the worst day of your life.

"It's not your fault you were touched like that. You are not to blame, at all. I-- I should've listened to you when you came to me - as soon as I turned you say I thought something was wrong but I didn't bother asking about it. That's entirely my fault." He admitted, which surprised you. It took Scaramouche a lot to admit his mistakes, but for you? He didn't care. You constantly put up with his sour attitude, he can definitely listen to you and admit he was wrong.

"You sure? Because I still--"

"I'm sure." He said simply.

"But why did you start avoiding me?" He asked, wanting to understand the situation entirely.

"Well, because..." You started, unsure if he would get angry if you told him. While you were contemplating, he offered you an encouraging expression. It wasn't a smile, but it was more than enough to put you at ease.

"I didn't want you to think I was tainted. Of course, you wouldn't want to be near me after that had happened." You sighed, wiping up the last of your tears.

"You really are an idiot, you know?" He said, but after seeing the clueless and almost hurt look on your face, he immediately wanted to take it back. He didn't mean to be insensitive, he just...well, he often explained positive emotions with his very wide negative vocabulary.

"No, I didn't-- uhm..." He mentally cursed himself for not knowing what to say, but you didn't interrupt him and made a small gesture for him to keep going.

"What I mean to say was, I don't think that you're tainted or anything like that. And I still...want to be...near you-- eugh!" He pretended to be grossed out at his own words in true Scaramouche fashion, but he knew you knew he didn't really mean it and was beyond delighted when he saw you giggle at his facial expression.

He sighed and acted angry as he opened his arms ever so slightly. You noticed the movement and quirked an eyebrow when he hesitated.

"Is it okay if I come closer?" Scaramouche asked, unsure if you wanted to be touched after the incident.

Your heart swelled at his care and then you slowly watched as he stiffly wrapped his arms around you comfortingly. Although you had hugged and cuddled on countless occasions, he still wouldn't stop being so robotic unless you did something. It made you laugh and he pulled away slightly to glare at you, so you decided to just pull him back in and hug back.

And when you relished in the touch of another human being, the touch of the person you love, you began to cry. The last time anyone willingly touched you was in that alleyway, and so to have someone be so gentle with you and have no bad intentions, you were overwhelmed with emotion.

Scaramouche must've felt your tears staining his clothing and skin, and quickly pulled away with poorly hidden concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked, but you just continued to sob and nod.

"I love you!" You choked out. He sighed and gently patted your back.

"I...love you too." He said, before making another expression of mock disgust. He slowly moved to hold both your wrists in his hand and kiss down to your neck, pulling you into his lap with your legs straddling one of his.

You soon realised that he was covering up the placed the stranger had touched you with his own ministrations, effectively replacing the grime you felt you gained after the incident. After you came to that conclusion and Scaramouche was done, he didn't meet your eye, blushing profusely. It was justified since he didn't usually initiate any kind of affection acts, but you just cupped his jaw and kissed his cheek, smiiling at him with purity and a newfound confidence in the both of you.

"Thank you, Scar."

[hxney-lemcn]

No One Like You — Hunter x gn! reader

Summery: Reader stumbles on a strange book vendor and meets someone new.

tw: none

a/n: I have a few things to say. 1. I try to keep my fics inclusive (I was really shit at that before), so when I write the reader flushing, I mean they feel their cheeks warm up, doesn't mean that you can see it (it depends on the reader). 2. I haven't finished the fic yet, this is kinda a teaser (yes I have so far written eleven chapters, so don't worry, I'm almost done). but thats all, enjoy reading!

wc: 0.6k

Chapter One

Master List

Walking through the market, people were shouting about their wares everywhere. I looked down at the list my parents gave me. I need to get some nightshade next…

I looked around for a stand that sold tea. Instead my eyes landed on a stand selling books. I felt drawn to it, so I decided to check it out. Walking over, no one really seemed interested in the books. Looking closer they were...were these restricted books? Why are they selling these out in the open during the day? Shouldn't they be a part of the night market? I looked around, in case an Emperor coven scout thought I was up to no good or something.

Seeing as no one seemed suspicious of me, I looked back at the books. Flipping through one I noticed it was about the savage ages and about wild magic. The pictures of old magic and creatures and traditions...it honestly seemed interesting.

"Good eye," The vendor said. Their cloak obscured their face, but I could still see their sharp teeth showing from underneath. "All of these are rare books, for...collectors."

Red flags were going off, my anxiety coming full force. Was this a sting operation to find witches who are interested in wild magic? Am I in trouble? This all was sketchy as hell.

"I uh..." I slightly stuttered.

"I like you kid," The vendor said, all I could stare at were those sharp teeth. "I'll give you a discount, 30 snails."

That was the price of a regular book. Well I guess this isn't just a regular book. But the discount seemed like this really was a sting operation.

"That's an interesting book," Another more boyish voice spoke up. Turning around I felt my eyes widen. Only to see...another kid. Oh.

He had blond hair that was slicked back (though a strand hung over his forehead). He also had these magenta eyes that I've never seen anything like with dark eye bags. He had a scar on the right side of his cheek and part of his ear was clipped almost. He honestly looked like he's up to something.

But my moms taught me better than to judge someone on their appearance. But this entire situation is just...off.

"It does look interesting," I agreed. "But my moms wouldn't want me coming home with something that could get me in trouble with the Emporer's coven."

"Smart," He nodded.

"I just wish learning history wasn't something to be looked down upon," I mumbled, mostly to myself but I could tell that he heard. "Just because I read about something doesn't mean I'm going to participate in it. I've read horror books with murderers, but I'm not a murderer now."

"That's...true," He agreed, hand under his chin like he was thinking deeply. "Maybe you should get it then."

I looked up at him suspiciously, "I mean...is it worth being sent to the conformatorium though?"

"If you keep the book hidden..." He trailed off.

"Are you trying to set me up or something?" I asked straight out.

"Wh-wha?" He exclaimed wide eyed. "No, no of course not!"

I stared at him for a few seconds with squinted eyes, then looked down at the book. After a few seconds I decided 'screw it, it's just a book'. Giving the vendor my money, I put the book in a satchel that I was carrying.

"Uh...nice meeting you?" I said to the guy with a slight questioning tone.

I waited for a reply as he seemed to be having a dilemma, but I really needed to finish this grocery shopping, and I spent enough time at this book stand.

'Maybe he's not going to reply,' I thought and slowly turned around, still giving him a chance to say something.

"N-nice to meet you too," He settled on, and I waved before walking off.

Next Chapter →

[yeosatinyngz]

hey! :)

how about a one shot with baji, mitsuya, and chifuyu with fem reader?

this is an angst request so… heads up, it’s triggering content. (sh, depression)

how would the said boys react and comfort their s/o when they found out she goes through depression and self harm? she goes through these episodes because of bullying and feeling like she has no purpose in life.

have a good day/night <3

This is my first time writing something like this so I really hope that it was ok and that I don’t offend anyone. Don’t expect too much from me😭Thank you and you have a good day/night as well <3

TR boys react to their S/O that self harms & has depression

��Fem Reader | Mostly Angst, A little Fluff if you squint

TW: Self harm, depression

Request Rules ➣ Masterlist

You’re currently curled up into a ball on your bed. What’s the point anymore, at this point I should just give up on life. You heard knocking from your balcony. You looked up from your bed and saw that it was Baji. You should’ve known because he was the only person that enters your room through your balcony. You opened your balcony door for him and he stepped in. “What brings you here Kei?” “Can I not visit my S/O?” “It’s not that…just I want to be alone.” “Hey, I’ve been noticing that you’ve been looking sad, are you ok?” “Yeah, just tired.” You said with your face turned back to him as you went back to lay in your bed. “You know you’re not fooling me right, somethings wrong and you’re not telling me.” “Lay off Kei.” “No, I care about you and want to know what’s wrong.” “I don’t want to talk about it.” “Even so, it’ll be better for you to get it off your chest.” “I already said-” Before you could continue your protest Baji harshly grabbed your arms to turn you to face him. He was hurting your self harm injuries and you let out a hiss of pain which caused Baji to lighten his hold on your arms. “Sorry Y/N, I didn’t mean to hurt you, are you ok?” He worrily said as he was rolling up your sleeve. “NO!” You quickly smacked his hand away but it was too late. On full display was your recent injury along with a bunch of other scars. “When did you start doing this?” “Kei let’s just forget-” “I SAID WHEN DID YOU START” You looked down “...A few months ago.” “And why?” “It’s pathetic saying it out loud but I’ve been getting bullied and one thing led to another and now I’m doing this.” “Why on earth would you think that’s pathetic, you should have came to me as soon as the bullying began.” “I didn’t want to burden you.” “Nonsense, you are never a burden! Now give me the names of whoever is bullying you, my fists wants to have a nice long chat with them.” “Omg Kei, please don’t kill them, instead torture them as long as you can >:)” “You already know hehe, Imma have to make a call to Chifuyu too >:)”

Mitsuya decided to take you out because it’s been a long time since he had free time to take you out with his responsibilities as the home economics club’s president and the captain of the second division in Toman. He brought you to a cafe to just catch up and get a bite to eat. Everything was going well until some girl accidentally tripped and her hot coffee spilled on your arm. Your arm that was full with recent injuries that you inflicted on it. You winced from the burn and Mitsuya quickly rushed to your side. “Omg I’m so sorry.” The girl apologized. “It’s alright, I’ll be ok.” You threw a fake grin her way and she quickly grabbed some napkins and was about to touch your arm when Mitsuya stopped her. “I’ll take it from here.” “Alright then, I’m sorry again.” The girl bowed in apology and left. Mitsuya went to roll your sleeve up to check your burn but you stopped him. “It’s alright Taka, I can clean it up myself.” “Nonono, don’t worry, I got it.” “Sincerely, I can take care of myself.” “I insist.” “Just wait here, I’ll be back.” You stood up to head to the bathroom but he was already rolling up your sleeve. “Y/N- what is this?” “I-I can explain, just not now.” You quickly ran to the bathroom to clean up your arm. You were greeted with a worried Mitsuya when you came back from the bathroom. “Let’s go somewhere more private to talk about all this.” He said as he grabbed your hand and dragged you to your house. Finally when you’re up in your room he asks the dreaded question. “Can you please explain?” You quickly inhaled and deeply exhaled. “So…I have been getting bullied. I ended up feeling completely worthless and that life has no purpose haha surprise.” Mitsuya to say the least, was not amused at you trying to crack a joke at this time. “Sorry.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” “You know…you’ve just been so busy with home ec and Toman that I just didn’t want to add on to more of your stress.” “I- I’m so sorry you felt that way, you’re more important to me than all of that, please come to me with your problems next time. You’re my top priority and I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad boyfriend.” “Nono it’s not your fault, you’re the best boyfriend I could ask for.” “Great, now I just have to deal with that bully of yours, I’ll have them experience hell for making you feel like shit.”

You gripped the box cutter in your hand and dug it into your skin. The red liquid oozed out as it slowly started dripping down. I’m so tired of this all. Your thoughts were all ringing in your head that you didn’t realize Chifuyu was calling out for you outside the bathroom door. “Y/N? I’m coming in.” Chifuyu gasped in shock and started tearing up at the sight before him. “Y/N, why? Why didn’t you tell me?” “Chifuyu I-” You dropped the weapon in your hand and turned away. You couldn’t face him like this. “You’re my S/O, did you not trust me enough to tell me?” His voice let out in a whisper, the hurt in his voice was killing you. You didn’t want to burden him with your problems so you just kept to yourself and the way you unfortunately cope was to harm yourself. You couldn't just drop this huge weight on Chifuyu. “I’m sorry Fuyu, I just couldn’t tell you, I’m so lame aren’t I?” “You aren’t lame but please can you finally tell me why?” “I…I’m being bullied and no matter what I say or do they just won’t stop tormenting me and making my life a living hell. I’m tired of it all Fuyu-” You finally look him in the eyes “-save me please.” As your plea for help left your lips, tears started rolling down from your eyes. Your sight is now a blur from your ongoing tears. You didn’t see Chifuyu approaching you to embrace you into his arms. “It’s ok now, I’m here.” He softly said as he stroked your head. All you did was cry in his arms while he whispered sweet nothings in your ear. (As he was plotting revenge against your bullies)

[photogirl894]

oh my...could be 3 and 12? or just 3 if you have to choose, for Tech?

I can definitely do that! This should be fun! Thanks, anon! 💜

"Terrible Liars"

3. “I’m not jealous.”

12. “Say it!”

Pairing: Tech x fem reader

***

You were a waitress at 79's, the Clone bar on Coruscant, during the Clone Wars. So that meant a lot of the Clone soldiers came in pretty frequently, usually after missions or before going on leave elsewhere. It was usually easy getting to tell a lot of them apart, despite them all having pretty much the same face. They all had different hairstyles, tattoos, scars or sometimes even different voices or accents.

Then things changed when the Bad Batch first showed up.

You almost didn't think these guys were Clones at first, but after taking a good look at a couple of them, you realized they were. They just had much different appearances. They were nice and tipped well and you found their company rather enjoyable.

Especially the goggled one named Tech.

Something about his sophisticated appearance and demeanor really stuck out to you and you thought he was cute and sweet. Secretly, you'd fill his drink just a little higher than the others. You'd catch his eye sometimes and give him a little wave, which he would return. He even held a brief conversation with you a time or two before just before he and his squad would leave the bar. Though, sometimes you wondered if he even knew you were flirting with him.

One day, you were working and one Clone who'd had a little too much to drink sidled up next to you at the bar as you were returning a tray with some empty cups.

"Hey cutie, when do you get off tonight?" he asked you, leaning against you.

You simply chuckled and replied, "Too late for you, I'm afraid, because I think it's time you head home. You've had a bit too much tonight."

"Oh, I'm just fine," he replied, his words slightly slurred.

"Mmm-hmm, sure," you hummed sarcastically, putting the cups on the bar.

You heard the door to the building open and saw the Bad Batch walking in. Seeing Tech in the back of the group made you smile. He caught your eye and went to wave, but then his hand faltered a little at seeing the other Clone now almost draped over you.

"Help me," you mouthed to him, hoping he could help get this guy away from you.

Tech noticed right away and you watched him get Wrecker's attention, whisper something to him while pointing in your direction and Wrecker gave a nod. The two of them came over and Wrecker put his arm around the drunk Clone's shoulder.

"Hey, reg, why don't you get outside and get some air? You look like you could use it," Wrecker said as he started leading the Clone away, who just incoherently agreed with him as they walked.

With a sigh, you said to Tech, "Thanks, Tech. That guy was pretty drunk and wouldn't lay off."

"Indeed," he agreed. "I did not like how he was practically hanging off of you. It was quite unbecoming."

You shot up an eyebrow. "Tech, were you jealous?" you inquired.

"I'm not jealous," he responded, though you could see a tint of red in his cheeks as he diverted his attention.

"You Clones are terrible liars, you know," you stated as you went around to the other side of the bar to start preparing more drinks.

For a moment, Tech was silent, looking like he was contemplating something. As you turned your back to grab a bottle, you heard him ask, "(Y/N), there is a request I wish to make of you."

"Have you decided what you wanted to order?" you asked back, as you turned around to face him, assuming that's what he'd been thinking about.

"Uh...yes," he answered.

When he didn't tell you what he wanted, you urged him, "Well...say it. What would you like?"

He mustered up his courage and spoke, "If I may, I would like to have dinner with you."

You froze, surprised at his answer.

Then he went on, "I was indeed jealous because I actually think you are a very beautiful and kind woman that I have come to fancy and admire. Seeing that Clone with you seems to have finally given me the push I needed to formally request a date with you...that is, if you are interested."

If you weren't at work, you would've squealed and jumped for joy at the fact that Tech had actually asked you out! You thought he never would.

Instead, you grabbed a bottle of his favorite drink, poured it into a cup, slid it towards him and said, "On the house." Then you smiled widely and told him, "I get off in an hour. Then I will gladly go to dinner with you."

Then Tech got the sweetest grin on his face you'd ever seen from him. This was shaping up to be a good night.

Writing Prompts For Days

More Tech fics

Bad Batch Writing Requests

[prettyboypucey]

Weird ~ G.W.

Summary: George is gorgeous. Charlie is a meddler. The snow is cold. (this summary sucks...just read it) 

Pairing: George Weasley x Y/N 

Word Count: 2,404 (who do I think I am?) 

Warnings: mentions of bullying. mentions of food/eating. george is unknowingly triggering? reader cries. idk? let me know if i missed something. 

A/N: part 2? maybe? translations are for romanian via google translate. do not come for me if they are hella wrong. 

Translations: draga - darling; dragoste - love; tampit - stupid 

     I had never been normal. From the time I was a toddler I had stars in my eyes and dirt on my knees. While the other kids in my grade were playing with dolls and dressing respectably, I was riding imaginary dragons and wearing mismatched socks with dungarees and a butterfly headband. Normalcy evaded me even further when at 11 years old, I got a letter declaring me a witch.

     When I first came to Hogwarts I spent the majority of my time alone. It appeared that even children who could wave a stick around and makes things fly wanted nothing to do with the colorful little girl. Meeting Luna Lovegood in my second year was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Here was a girl who allowed me to be exactly who I was with no judgments. And then she introduced me to Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley, and suddenly that little girl who thought her only friends would always be the rocks she painted faces on, had found her people.

     Of course, being friends with Ginny Weasley meant knowing her many brothers. So after graduation when I went off to Romania to work with dragons it made me feel slightly better knowing Charlie Weasley would be there. He quickly took me under his wing and became the older brother figure I had never had. After working together for three years, and electing to stay at the sanctuary for the last two over the holidays, he had finally convinced me to come home with him. I was reluctant to leave the sanctuary - the one place I truly feel safe (despite the massive fire breathing creatures).

     Charlie had warned me that being with one or two of the Weasleys was very different from being with the entire Weasley clan. Obviously I knew Charlie and Ginny, Ron had always been nice to me, and I had met Molly a handful of times in passing. However, Bill was known to be quite intimidating, Percy was supposedly very no-nonsense, and the twins (albeit never cruel) had a reputation of being hell-raisers.

     Apparating to the edge of a marsh with Charlie by my side I could see the rising structure haphazardly balanced slightly ahead.

     Pausing, I glanced at the back of the familiar red covered head, “I don’t know Charles, maybe I should just go back. I really don’t want to be a burden.”

     Charlie very quickly rounded behind me to continue guiding me towards his home, “No, no, no, no, no. No. You’re not a burden to anyone draga. Keep your head up and if any of them give you grief - remind them of the giant, winged beasts you can feed them to.”

     Quickly placing a kiss to the side of my head Charlie bounded ahead again to open the door and announce your arrival. Before I could toe off the first boot to leave next to the dozen other pairs in the entryway, a pair of arms had flung around my neck.

     “Y/N! I missed you so much!”, Ginny pulled back, keeping her grip on my shoulders, to inspect for any major injuries.

     I held onto her elbows, keeping her close, “Hi Gin, I missed you too. A lot. I’m loving this new look by the way.”

     She reached up to brush the now short locks behind her ears. A grin on her face as the two of us looked the other over for the first time in months. Ginny was wrapped in a pretty baby pink sweater with shades of red and white running through it. The material was soft against my palm as I hooked it around her crooked elbow to follow her into the living area.

     “You know”, she started, “I was starting to think maybe Charlie had let you get eaten or burnt to a crisp in the land of dragons. It’s been so long since you’ve come to see me or left the sanctuary.”

     “I’m sorry Ginny. It’s just that after everything, I had to keep myself busy.”

     Ginny’s smile softened into one of understanding. The war had taken a part of all of us. Although Fred had recovered after many months, that fear of almost losing such a vital part of their family had rocked the entire Weasley family to its core.

     “I get it, I do, but I worry about you. I just want you to know you’re not alone Y/N.”

     I pulled the girl into another tight hug, “I know.”

     Ginny pulled away first, clearing her throat, “Okay! Now that’s out of the way - it’s time to introduce the one and only Y/N L/N to the Weasley’s.”

     I hummed, “Hmmm and which of us should be more scared?”

     “Oh definitely the Weasleys.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

     Meeting the Weasley family had gone much better than expected.

     Molly had opened her arms and home to me as if I was one of her own children. By the time the night was over she had me stuffed full of warm food and drink and donning my very own coveted Weasley sweater, the lavender initial in the middle marking it as my own. Arthur had been very interested in my muggle parents and upbringing, questioning me about the functions of a rubber duck. Bill and his wife Fleur were the most stunning couple I have ever seen, and not nearly as intimidating as people portrayed them. Fleur was pleased when she found out I spoke a bit of conversational French and promised to have me over to Shell Cottage (apparently they have an amazing collection of wind chimes that I am dying to see). Percy was a bit more refined. Completely polite and friendly but he seemed reserved. Ginny had explained in one of her letters how much guilt Percy carried after the Battle of Hogwarts over how he had behaved in the years leading up to that day.

     The twins were much different than I remembered them being from the few times we were around each other in school. The physical differences were clear - George’s missing ear and Fred’s dragging limp were both signs of the prices they paid in the war. More than that however, they had matured greatly. They were still happy and made sure to pull at least two pranks over the night, poor Molly nearly lost her voice after they blew up the turkey. However, there was something in their eyes that had been dimmed. Especially in George.

     His twin almost died that night, and it reflected in George’s eyes each time he looked at his older brother. It was clear that he was still afraid because whenever Fred left a room George followed, never letting his brother out of his sight, and if he happened to lose track of him a panic began to swirl in his brown orbs.

     I was in the middle of watching as George yet again made his way to Fred’s side, clapping a large hand on his twins shoulder and throwing his head back in laughter.

     “So which one are you staring at dragoste?”, Charlie whispered as he appeared out of nowhere.

     I ignored the burning in my cheeks as I looked away from the scene in front of me.

     “I am not staring at either of them tampit.”

     “Mhmm, sure, absolutely, I believe you.”, after a quick pause he said, “It’s George isn’t it?”

     I turned and scoffed at him, “No!… How did you know?”

     Charlie let out a chuckle, “Because I know you my little dragon. I also know my brother, and just between us, he definitely likes you as well.”

     At this I let out an incredulous laugh and glanced back to where George was now telling a story, his hands moving animatedly. There was no way that George Weasley had even a remote attraction to me. He was kind, strong, clever, and so bloody gorgeous it truly was a privilege to look at him. And I am…me. Nothing special. Just a girl who had more dragon friends than human ones and whose hands were covered in scars and callouses and whose socks never matched and had never even kissed a man before. So no, there was no way that George Weasley would ever like me.

     “Hey. I know that look Y/N. Stop those thoughts right this bloody second.”

     “Charles it really is annoying when you read me like that.”

     Throwing his arm over my shoulder he began to lead me towards the twins, “Yes I know and I am sorry in advance but this needs to be done. Fred!”

     Charlie’s voice had gone from a rushed whisper to a jovial shout when we reached George, Fred, and Ron by the fireplace. George’s smile as he turned to look at us sent a million butterflies off in my tummy.

     “So Freddy, I was hoping you could help me out with a top secret project tomorrow for mum and maybe show me around the joke shop. I heard you added some new displays that I want to check out.”

     “Sure Charlie”, Fred glanced at George as he spoke, “I’m sure we can make some time for our favorite brother.”

     Ignoring Rons protest, Charlie gripped my shoulders and pushed me in front of him, “Actually George I was thinking you could stay here and show Y/N around the area. She mentioned wanting to talk a walk tomorrow and I would hate to disappoint her on her first Christmas out of the sanctuary.”

     “Um-”

     I interrupted the rejection coming from George, “No please, I would hate to be a bother and make you be stuck with me all day. I’m sure Ginny can take me.”

     George smiled and shook his head, “No it’s completely fine Y/N. I would be happy to show you around.”

     “Okay great! It’s settled then!”, Charlie looked rather too pleased with himself and obviously missed the look exchanged by his identical younger brothers.

~~~~~~~~~~

     The next morning the Burrow was a flurry of movement as everyone began their day. Apparently Charlie and Fred weren’t the only ones on their way out. The others still had some last minute gift shopping to do and Ron was spending the day with Hermione’s muggle family. After breakfast, a quick wink from Charlie, and a slam of the front door - George and I were alone in the house.

     The two of us stood facing one another in the living room for a few awkward moments before George spoke, “Well, um, did you want to head out as well?”

     “Oh sure! Yes, let me just grab my boots really quickly.”

     George led me out the door and onto the snow covered path towards the small, iced over river. Nothing was said for a while, the only sound was the crunch of snow under our boots and the occasional sniffle from one of our red noses. I was mentally imagining all the ways I was going to kick Charlie’s ass when he got back for suggesting a walk in the middle of winter when we came to the top of a hill and stopped.

     Everything as far as the eye could see was blanketed in sheets of white. Stomping my boots down into the fresh snow, I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as the snow gave way underfoot. Feeling a pair of eyes on me I remembered that I wasn’t alone and turned to see George watching me with an unidentifiable look on his face.

     “Sorry, sorry. That was - I don’t know why I did that. I liked the feeling of the crunch of the snow I guess. Sorry.”

     George grinned, “You don’t have to apologize. It was cute.”

     I could feel my face flush at his words. His smile grew even wider at the sight of my heated face. My gaze dropped from his pretty face down to my boots. I could feel the thick socks I had on beginning to grow cold and wet from how long we’d been outside. Looking back up I could see George’s deep eyes glaze over. Assuming it was because he had been apart from Fred so long I glanced out at the view one last time before turning back the way we came.

     “We should probably get back. We’ve been gone a while and my toes are getting wet. I feel bad enough that Charlie forced you to do this anyways without you getting frostbite or something. I’ve had frostbite, it’s not fun. And now I’m rambling. I’m sorry. Sorry”

     George was shaking his head at me and said, “You are so weird.”

     Ouch. My chest tightened and the small smile I had been wearing dropped from my face. If I had been able to see past the tears forming in my eyes that were making my sight blurry, I would have seen George’s face do the same. Unfortunately, all I could focus on was that word. Weird. Strange. Abnormal. Freak. 

     Weird weird weird.

     The walk back was silent. A thick tension surrounded you both as thick snow flurries began to swirl down in the midmorning air. Just as thick was the lump forming in my throat as I fought back tears. I know I shouldn’t let his words affect me. He’s just some guy. But deep down I also know that he’s not just some guy. This is George fricking Weasley. With his stupid perfect face and gorgeous eyes and his loyalty to his family. I couldn’t help but be enamored with him from the moment I walked in the Weasley’s front door. So it hurt to hear the man I liked call me that nasty word that has haunted me my entire life.

     When we finally reached the Burrow, George tried to reach for my arm but I pulled away and ran into the house. I could hear that some of the others had returned and really wanted to avoid a confrontation. Once again, luck wasn’t on my side. Charlie came walking out of the kitchen and saw me in the entryway. His face immediately became concerned at the sight of me and he lowered the sandwich he had from his mouth.

     “Draga?”, Charlie’s voice followed me as I finally reached the stairs and launched upstairs.

     As I reached the first landing I heard him speak again, his voice rough and hard.

     “What did you do?”