#where I'll still be ignored probably but at least that's expected here

[yuribyrd]

Adventures

[ame-to-ame]

love being nd and have the tism wolf Inside me be so drastically uncomfortable with uncertainty that i physically cannot think about school and having to deal w the unknown of that whole situation without losing 5lbs in 2 days

[hgfictionwriter]

Self Control: Part Fifteen - Wedding (Epilogue)

Jessie Fleming x Reader

Summary: Raising a kid certainly derailed your and Jessie's wedding timeline, but after many months, the big day is finally here.

Warnings: G!P content. Oral (J receiving). Fingering. G!P penetrative sex. Possessive language. Preg/breeding kinks. Language.

A/N: Well, everyone, the closing chapter is finally here. To everyone still with me on this journey or those who are new - thank you! I hope you enjoy. Full series is here.

"How are you holding up? I hope you're having a fun night."

Jessie read your message and quietly removed herself from a group conversation to take up a seat on a nearby couch.

"Honestly? A bit overwhelmed lol. Missing you and Riley."

"Yeah, who decided to follow through with these weird traditions of us not spending the night together lol."

"Seriously haha. We can blame my friends for that. But hey - at least we spent the day together, we just aren't allowed to spend the night lol."

"Well...Riley's probably fast asleep with your parents. But, if you want a break from the unrelenting celebrations, there's nothing stopping us from running into each other on a midnight walk."

"I love that idea. Let's do it. Meet over by the dining cabin on the far end of the complex? There shouldn't be anyone over there at this hour. I need probably 10 min."

"Done. See you soon, love."

Jessie realized she was smiling as she put away her phone. She cleared her throat and ran her palms against her thighs as she began to formulate her exit.

Her neutral expression was short lived as her eyes fell upon the three newly inked lines across the wrist of her right hand, more or less a mirror of the ones she'd gotten years prior on her other wrist. These lines though - one for each member of her new family; you, herself and Riley.

"Smiling to yourself the night before your wedding - that's gotta beat sweating bullets and having an existential crisis."

Jessie arched an eyebrow at Janine as she stood.

"Yeah, none of that here," she chuckled as she started to make her way towards the cabin door. "My parents texted. I forgot a bag of Riley's stuff in the car. I'm just gonna go grab that and drop it off at their cabin."

"Oh, I can do that. Stay - this is your night. You can't leave - you're the star of the show."

"Now that has me sweating bullets," Jessie replied dryly with a teasing eyeroll as she grabbed her keys and continued walking. "I'll be back in a bit."

She ignored Janine's persisting rebuttals with a charming smile and a wave as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh mountain air as she looked up at a dark sky lit up by twinkling stars and a crescent moon.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and began the trek over to the other side of the complex you and her had rented out for your wedding.

Though both of you would've loved to have little to no fanfare or audience, it really just wasn't feasible no matter how much you tried to trim the invite list. Jessie would've loved simply eloping - going away for a weekend alone and coming back married, but that would've gotten her killed by a multitude of friends and family.

As a compromise though, you wanted to have the wedding be as 'you' as possible, meaning you both found this nice, rustic mountain resort with cabins, hiking trails, a beautiful creek and more as opposed to having it at some fancy venue in the city.

The wedding took a while to get off the ground. What with a baby in the picture and a new club season and international window to work around, all of the effort required to pull a wedding together just fell by the wayside. By the time this day came around, your baby went from a newborn to an 18-month old toddler in the blink of an eye.

The cabin Jessie went to meet you at was dark when she arrived, as expected. It was locked at this hour, but this cabin was far enough away from where all the guests and staff stayed that she wasn't entirely worried about privacy. She went around to the back and leaned against the wall as she waited for you.

She patiently looked up at the constellations until she heard faint footsteps in the distance. A smile crept across her face and evolved into a full blown grin as you rounded the corner, tentatively peeking around.

You put on a mock expression of surprise, a hand to your chest as you approached.

"Oh my gosh. What in the world? I can't believe that you're out here too."

Jessie laughed and mimicked your expression. "No way! So crazy." She shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, what can you do?" She pulled you into her arms and gave you a kiss. She smiled further as your arms came up around the back of her neck and you leaned fully in.

You rest your forehead against hers and exhaled quietly as the kiss ended. "This is so silly, but I feel like I haven't kissed you at all today. I know we did during all those games and such, but, you know what I mean."

"A real kiss," Jessie answered, knowing exactly what you meant. Doing all of these couples games and people hooting and hollering for you and her to kiss was a bit of a nightmare to begin with, but it also certainly wasn't an intimate, real kiss.

"See? You get me," you said as you gave an exaggerated, contented sigh. "I guess that's why I'm marrying you."

She chuckled and captured your lips in another kiss.

"Yeah, you're pretty much stuck with me," she said. "Pretty hard for you to back out now."

You shot her a withering look and rolled your eyes to which Jessie just grinned.

"Yeah, I'm really dying to get out of this relationship. It's the worst," you deadpanned.

"I knew it," Jessie played along and you rolled your eyes once more, this time pulling back and placing your hands on your hips.

"Well, I mean, I hardly know you," you said slowly, eyeing her up and down before reaching out and letting a finger trail down her chest. "I thought you were such a good girl, but here you are sneaking out at night and breaking the rules." Your eyes met hers and she smirked at the glint she saw in them.

"I can be bad for you," Jessie said rather smugly as she wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you close again.

"Well," you smirked as you drew teasing circles along her shoulder, "let's keep that between you and me. I'd hate for you to have an early midlife crisis and go through a belated Bad Girl phase. Fucking around and all."

She gave you a look. "You really don't get how much I adore you? Us having a baby together and getting married really hasn't convinced you yet?"

You toyed with her shirt idly, the look in your eyes shifting slightly. "People get married and have kids all the time. It's not a guarantee of anything. Feelings change. Wants change."

Jessie let out a slight laugh, but narrowed her eyes nonetheless. "Well are your feelings or wants going to change?"

"No," you replied simply and easily, holding her gaze.

"Then why would mine?" She challenged lightly, causing your eyes to drift downward towards the ground. Jessie thumbed your cheek gently and pushed your hair behind your ear. "You really don't get it. There's absolutely no one else for me. It's you. Every moment. Every day. There's no competition. I love you so incredibly much. And just when I think I can't love you more, you do or say something that makes me fall even more for you."

Even in the dim light of the moon, Jessie could see the faintest signs of blush on your cheeks.

"Whoa," you joked shyly, eyes still on the ground before lifting them to meet hers. "Save something for the vows."

"I need you to know how much I love you," Jessie said earnestly. She watched you intently and you eventually sighed.

"I know...I just love you so much. I think the world of you and I don't ever want to lose you. I honestly don't know what I'd do."

"You're not going to lose me," she assured you. "It's been years and my friends still make fun of me for how obsessed I am with you. Never mind how whipped," she finished with a smirk, but held your gaze unwaveringly. "You're the one. You're my everything. You're my best friend. The love of my life. The mother of my child. And tomorrow?" She spoke intently, eyes looking down at your lips as she caressed your cheek once more. "You'll be my wife."

The kiss started off slow - just two people in love. Jessie wanted to somehow express how deeply she felt for you and reassure you that she'd always be here.

It wasn't long until the kiss began to grow hungrier, Jessie finding herself slowly being pushed back against the wall of the cabin, both your hands and hers beginning to wander. The sounds of your heavy kisses filling the night air.

"God, I wish we were staying together tonight," Jessie mumbled into the kiss as she felt her pants beginning to grow taut against her. She moaned deep in her throat as your hand came to cup her growing length.

"Maybe we should just go to the honeymoon cabin," you suggested as you two continued to kiss. You dipped your head and began to kiss down her neck. She groaned once more and her eyes fell shut as she attempted to think.

"W-we don't have the keys," she eventually managed. You made a noise of complaint, but continued to caress her restrained cock.

"Well...," you said slowly as you began to undo Jessie's pants. "It's just us out here."

"Babe," Jessie said, half in warning, half in astonishment as you began to kiss your way down her shirt and soon dropped to your knees in the dirt and fully undid her pants.

"What?" You asked teasingly as you looked up at her. "You don't like me on my knees for you?"

A low rumble emanated from her chest as she let her head fall back against the wooden slats of the cabin wall, a blissful grin on her lips as her hand began to run through your hair.

"Jesus Christ," Jessie mumbled, though certainly not in complaint. She looked down at you again with a crooked smile. "You're talking about me being a bad girl - it's your fault. You're the bad influence." She recalled the events of the past couple of years. "Getting me hard in the back of my friend's car and feeling me up, being so fucking sexy that I just have to jack myself off while on the phone with you and getting freakin' caught. Fucking in my parents' basement and in my childhood bedroom while my mom is on the other side of the door. Got me storing a collection of dirty photos of you in the back of the nightstand. Never mind what's in my phone. And now you're about to give me head while we're outside where anyone could see."

Jessie groaned again as you reached into her boxers and released her stiff cock, your fingers trailing teasingly along its length.

"Well. When you put it that way...," you said with a smirk. "But looking at how hard you are right now and the way your cock is already leaking cum for me, I'd say you like it."

She gripped your hair tightly before releasing it and running her fingers through your locks once more. She closed her eyes and nodded her affirmation. "Yeah. You can confidently say I like it."

"Well good," you accepted with a light chuckle as you rubbed her precum across the tip of her cock and teased her a bit more. She moaned low in her chest again and subtly began to thrust into your hand. You smiled. "Hey Jess?"

"Mm?" She asked, forcing herself to open her eyes once more and look down at you. God, you really did look incredible kneeling in front of her with her stiff cock in your hand. You gave her a teasing smile.

"I love you," you said as you took her into your mouth.

"Oh fuck," Jessie said in a low voice as your warm mouth wrapped around her and your tongue teased her tip. You moaned around her cock and she clutched your hair tightly in her hand once more. "Jesus."

She let her head fall back against the cabin and she leaned back, grateful for the structure behind her because of how weak in the knees she felt already. Her breathing deepened as you took her deeper and continued to pump her up and down with your fist.

Her jaw was slack as she finally opened her eyes. What a moment - your head slowly bobbing up and down on her length, looking absolutely gorgeous on this starry night, out in the wilderness on the eve of your wedding. In all of her wildest dreams, she could've never thought this up.

It didn't take long for Jessie to feel that tightening sensation between her legs and it took so much control for her to keep her thrusts gentle, her tip nudging the back of your throat and not pushing deeper.

"I'm gonna cum," she warned you. You moaned, nearly setting her off with the vibration of it, and began to take her deeper into your throat.

Jessie held back a loud moan, a muffled grunt escaping her throat instead as she released herself down your throat, her palm flat against the back of your head as she bit her lips and emptied herself.

You eventually pulled back with a slight cough, your eyes starting to water as you swallowed her load.

"Shit, I'm sorry," she breathed as she looked down at you and leaned down to help you to your feet.

"Don't be sorry," you said with a choked laugh. "It's hot."

She tucked herself back into her boxers and did up her pants. You leaned against her, her arms wrapping around you in an embrace as you both settled. She played with your hair and kissed the side of your face as she came down from her climax.

She felt you sigh in her arms. "I wish we could just go to bed together tonight," you repeated her earlier wish.

"I know," she sighed against you as she ran her fingers up and down the back of your neck. You shivered against her.

"Cool it," you said as you shrugged her hand away. "I'm already worked up."

"Yeah?" Jessie asked, peeking one eye open and looking over at you, a devilish smile beginning to form. Her hand drifted down your body until she reached the top of your pants. You didn't protest as she began to unbutton them, instead only moaning and gently rolling your hips against her.

Any drowsiness she felt in the haze of her orgasm quickly dissipated and she flipped you both so you had your back against the wall of the cabin. She dipped her head down and began gently sucking on the sensitive skin of your neck. You gasped softly, fingers digging into her crown as she did so and it drove her crazy.

Despite her recent climax, she felt herself growing hard once again as you quietly mewled in her ear and rolled your hips against hers. She felt a rush of arousal come over her, her body tensing up as she resisted the urge to truly pin you against the wall and have her way with you. She subconsciously sucked harder on your neck.

"Jess!" You hissed, bringing her back to the moment. She blinked, pulling away in confusion as you slapped a hand to your neck and stared wide-eyed at her. "The night before our wedding?! Really?"

Jessie stared at you a moment longer until you lifted your hand away, revealing the initial signs of a hickey. She cowered slightly, heat rushing to her face but she couldn't stifle the laugh that escaped either. She stared at it and eventually gave a half-hearted shrug.

"You're going to be wearing makeup," she offered before laughing once more. Her smile turned into a grin. "Besides, everyone already knows you're mine anyway."

Your eyes flashed and you leaned forward, latching onto her neck and sucking hard. You pulled back a moment later with a very satisfied look on your face as Jessie was now the one to cover her neck with a palm.

"What the fuck!" She hissed in return. "I'm not wearing makeup tomorrow. How am I supposed to cover it up?" She gave a disgruntled noise of complaint and you simply shrugged haughtily.

"They can photoshop it out. And now everyone will know you're mine as well."

"Oh my God," Jessie said, her mild irritation waning and quickly shifting to affection. She grabbed your hands and pinned them above your head. Her cock pulsed at the wicked grin you gave her as you held her gaze. "I gave you my baby. I gave you my ring. And now my name, too. I don't think anyone would've doubted I'm yours."

You looked upward in mock contemplation before smirking at her. "You can't blame me for wanting to stake my claim on you," you said as you rolled your hips against her once more causing her eyes to drift shut as an all too fleeting wave of pleasure rushed through her.

Despite Jessie pinning your hands above you and seemingly being in control, it fooled neither of you - you were very much in control. No surprise. And she didn't mind at all.

She released one of your hands and reached down to cup your heat through your underwear. She let out a low moan of approval at the dampness and radiating heat she was met with there. She pushed your panties aside and ran two fingers through your slick folds. A grin crossed her face as your knees buckled and you melted into her embrace, clutching her closely and gasping in her ear.

"God, you are so wet for me, baby," she said as she relished the feeling of your wet folds, clit and sopping entrance. Her cock strained painfully against her boxers and pants as she slipped two digits inside of your entrance. You gasped further and let yourself fall into her waiting hand.

"Fuck," you whispered as you gripped her curled fingers. She withdrew them slightly and pushed inside once more, the sounds of fingers moving through your arousal filled the otherwise quiet night air and Jessie's jaw dropped in amazement.

"Holy fuck. You are soaking and you sound so fucking good. Oh my God." She ground out the last part and couldn't help but grind herself against your thigh.

"Jesus Christ, Jess," you panted already as you rocked into her hand. "I want you to fuck me."

"Babe," she said as she buried her face into your neck, rolling her head against you in want as she felt your core accommodating the girth of her fingers. She could feel the ridges and curves of your walls as they fluttered and flexed around her and her cock twitched as she continued to slowly grind herself against you for some semblance of relief.

"God, Jess. I know you want me too," you said as you shook off her hand and reached down to cup her once more, massaging her firmly through the taut fabric.

"I didn't bring a condom with me," she said as she slowly thrust against your palm. "They're back at my cabin."

You exhaled heavily though you didn't stop the gyration of your hips or the movement of your hand. You ran your other hand through her hair.

"Sorry I didn't think to bring one - I didn't exactly anticipate this," she said.

"Well, stop being so sweet and romantic - meeting up in the middle of the night out in the moonlight and telling me how much you love me. If you stop doing that and stop being so attractive then maybe I'll stop spreading my legs for you."

Jessie let out another low moan and her grip tightened on you. Soft noises of want and need came from you both for several moments until you finally spoke.

"Riley's 18 months old now," you started. "The doctor said we're in the clear to start trying again if we wanted to."

A low growl rumbled up Jessie's through as she pushed her fingers deeper inside of you and ground her hips against you harder. You let out a breathy chuckle.

"I know you've been dying to fuck me without a condom again," you teased.

"Oh my God," Jessie muttered as she began to hump you a touch faster. "Don't tempt me. I'm not fucking kidding."

"Who says I'm kidding?" You said breathlessly as you dug your fingers into her crown once more.

"I'm serious," she said through nearly grit teeth as her free hand dug into the small of your back and pulled you tightly against her. "If you tell me we're trying again, you're leaving here with baby #2 inside of you." She forced herself to take a deep breath. "If you aren't ready, it's fine. I can sneak back to the cabin and get a condom."

"And what if I don't want you to?"

Jessie moaned, legitimately worried she was going to bust in her pants. "Then I'm fucking a baby into you tonight."

You didn't say anything. Instead, you shifted, Jessie pulling back to look at you only to see you shimmying your pants and underwear down your legs. You nodded to her and she immediately began undoing her pants once more.

Your pants and underwear fell into a heap on the ground, Jessie's barely dropping down around her ankles before you wrapped your leg around her waist and grabbed her bare cock, positioning it at your entrance.

Jessie didn't hesitate in sinking inside of you, sliding in to the hilt right off the bat. A wanton moan escaped you, probably louder than either of you intended or wanted, but you were both so far gone that it went unnoticed and Jessie began thrusting in and out of you with a level of urgency and desperation that might've embarrassed her in the past, but the way you gasped and clawed at her it only egged her on.

"I love you so much," she panted into your ear as her wet strokes filled her ears.

"I love you too," you whimpered in return as you bounced on her cock, your shirt the only thing keeping your back from getting scratched up from the cabin walls.

"Jesus Christ, I'm going to cum already," Jessie said a short while later. She panted, forcing herself to refocus for a moment to look you in the eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Cum inside me. I want you," you told her.

She needed no further encouragement and a few strokes later was pushing inside of you as deep as she could, spilling herself with a shuddering breath. She whimpered as strings of cum continued to shoot out of her and into you, coating your insides with her potent seed.

"Fuck," she breathed as she slowly drew her hips back. She looked down, seeing a mixture of your cum and hers along her cock before she pushed back inside of you, loving the way you moaned at the motion.

You stayed in one another's embrace for as long as you could before you both agreed that you should head back to your respective cabins. You reluctantly put on your clothes and walked back towards the guest cabins hand in hand.

You reached yours first and Jessie walked you up the steps to the door, no longer caring if someone saw you two together.

"Aww, it's like a first date," you said facetiously with a chuckle as you wrapped your arms around her and she kissed you. She leaned into your ear and whispered.

"Yeah, except this time my cum's deep inside of you and with any luck you'll be carrying my baby soon."

You blushed and swatted at her.

"Stop," you hushed her as she grinned at you. You relented with a brief shake of your head. "True though." Jessie continued to grin devilishly at you and you gave her another playful shove. "K. Get to bed, you heathen. You have a very important event tomorrow and you better not be late."

She kissed you again. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

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

Despite Jessie's exceptional dislike for attention, she felt calm and elated as she stood with you at the alter in front of all your friends and family and said your vows to one another.

The ceremony was lovely. The tears started early. First being when her mom came out with Riley; Riley in her dress and Jessie's mom's at the ready as Riley waddled down the aisle as she haphazardly threw handfuls of petals on the ground, straight up into the air - sometimes at the guests - dropping the basket entirely as she spotted Jessie and ran towards her, clutching her leg tightly.

"Up! Up!" Riley asked and Jessie glanced to her mom. She was supposed to sit with her mom and dad during the ceremony. She looked down at her little girl - with her curly, dark hair, brown eyes and bright red cheeks - she really was Jessie's kid. She bent down and picked her up, holding her against her hip.

"You look so pretty, my girl," Jessie whispered to her as she kissed her forehead. She pointed towards the crowd. "Let's wait for momma, okay? She'll be here soon."

She couldn't keep her eyes off of you. She started crying the second she saw you in your dress. It must've surprised Riley, because the little one just clung to her harder and buried her head in her neck.

"My two favourite people," you cooed as you came up, kissing Riley on the cheek and cupping Jessie's face to give her a quick peck. You made a face immediately after. "Oops, am I not supposed to kiss you yet?"

"Who cares," Jessie laughed as she handed Riley over to you, the toddler reaching for you as you stood across from them.

"Hi sweetie," you said as you took her. "Did you know mommy would've never asked me to marry her if not for you?"

"What!" Jessie protested in as hushed a tone as she could muster. She could feel her cheeks heating up already. "Of course I would've!"

"I'm just kidding," you told her. You laughed at how flustered Jessie was and gave her a wink. "We're off to a good start."

You handed Riley to her grandparents and the ceremony continued, culminating with you slipping new bands on each other's fingers and sharing a kiss that had everyone cheering and clapping.

Considering how some wedding receptions were, yours and Jessie's was pretty tame - at least for you two.

Even though it was probably overkill, you'd switched to non-alcoholic, coming up with creative excuses as to why and Jessie was simply never much for drinking in the first place. Though, her friends did manage to get her to do a couple of shots that left her cringing and coughing as you watched on and laughed.

Jessie was chatting with some of the guests when she heard her daughter's laugh followed by thundering, but clumsy, footsteps as she ran through the crowd, people nearly tripping over themselves to avoid bumping into her. She'd discovered a few weeks ago that she could run - or something akin to it - and she'd been nonstop ever since.

Jessie laughed as suddenly you emerged from a group and picked Riley up mid-run. She pouted and flailed momentarily, but whatever you said to her caused her to relax in your arms. Jessie excused herself from conversation and smiled as she approached you two.

"Look who's here," you said as you looked down to Riley and pointed to Jessie.

"Mommy!" Riley exclaimed, beaming upon seeing Jessie.

"She's having a field day out here," you said slyly to Jessie with a teasing look. "Running any chance she can get. Cheeks extra rosy from running around. And look at that smile," you said as you gently poked your daughter's cheek, eliciting a giggle from her. You looked at Jessie pointedly. "She's certainly your daughter."

Jessie took a moment to kiss Riley before leaning in to whisper in your ear.

"She better be mine," she teased. You pulled back with a smirk before leaning in to whisper back.

"What? You wouldn't want me carrying and having someone else's baby?"

Before Jessie could respond, you were walking away, eyes glimmering playfully. She called after you.

"No. I'd despise that!"

You turned and shrugged, earning a dangerous look from her. You grinned and grasped Riley's hand to give Jessie a small wave before disappearing into the crowd knowing full well that conversation wasn't over.

A short while later, Jessie found herself getting pulled out onto the dance floor by you. She grumbled in protest, but allowed you to push and pull her as you wished as you danced to whatever song was playing.

"You're my wife. You're supposed to be happy about dancing with me," you teased.

"I'm happy to be with you. I just don't like dancing," Jessie refuted as she half-heartedly tried to dance along, though was always half a beat - or more - behind.

"You didn't seem too bothered dancing with me when we were at that club on New Year's a few years back," you said with a glint in your eye. "Mind you, probably not appropriate for here."

Jessie's mind flashed back to you grinding up on her. In a sea of people, she was solely focused on you and how incredible you looked and that it was her you were with. True - not appropriate for here. She gave you a lopsided smirk either way.

"I wouldn't be opposed," she joked though her eyes raked up and down your body in appreciation. "And you look even more gorgeous than you did that night."

"Yeah?" You asked as you moved in close and Jessie wrapped her arms around your waist.

"You better cool it," Jessie warned in a murmur as her eyes drifted away. "I don't exactly need wedding photos of me sporting a boner."

You cleared your throat, drawing her eyes back to you. "Well, your daughter did ask for her light up running shoes. Those are back at the cabin."

Jessie's eyes studied you for a moment as a smile crept across her face.

"Oh. Well, we should definitely go get them. That's what good parents would do."

"Absolutely," you agreed.

You both looked around briefly to ensure no one was watching either of you too closely before Jessie grabbed you by the hand and led you out of the hall. The sun was setting as you two walked the paths back to the guest cabins. She retrieved the skeleton key from her pocket and showed it to you.

"And we can get into the honeymoon cabin this time," she told you proudly and you laughed, wrapping your arm around hers and cuddling in as you walked together towards the cabin.

You were kissing each other as you stumbled through the door and slammed it shut behind you.

"Pretty sure we're supposed to wait until the end of the night for this," you chuckled as Jessie was already starting to undo her dress pants.

"Well, we've done a lot of things out of order," she dismissed with a grin as she kissed your neck and guided you towards the couch. "And who's to say we're not going to do more later."

She kissed your lips and made sure the kiss didn't break as she took a seat on the couch and pulled you down on top of her. She bundled up your dress and lifted it so it was out of the way and she could have access to your underwear. She ran her fingers along the fabric and felt herself growing harder as she could feel the warmth and definition of your lips through the thin fabric.

"Fucking me during the reception," you teased as you kissed her deeper. "Gosh, I really am a terrible influence on you."

"Fuck no," Jessie disagreed with a wily smirk. "You're the best." She lifted you off of her to stand for a moment as she removed your underwear. She grinned as she tucked them into her pocket.

"I've created a monster," you joked as you pulled her cock out from her boxer briefs and straddled her waist once more, bracing yourself on her shoulders as you held yourself up as she poised herself at your entrance.

She ran the thick head of her cock against your entrance, getting it coated in your juices before she began to gently nudge at it and push inside. She moaned in pleasure as your tunnel slowly welcomed her, enveloping her length as she inched inside of you.

"Fuck. I'm so glad I can ditch the condoms again. God." She exhaled through her mouth as she looked you up and down. "Nothing feels as good as being inside of you like this. Nothing between us."

"God," you said as you tossed your head back and ran your fingers through her hair as you sunk down onto her and slowly rose back up. "I'm not kidding you - I've soaked through these panties more than once today thinking about last night. That was so fucking sexy."

Jessie growled as she began kissing down your neck and as much of your chest as your dress would allow.

"I noticed you're not drinking tonight," Jessie commented. "Think I knocked you up that fast?"

"You did last time," you chuckled as you began to ride her at a steady rhythm, her tip stretching out your entrance, teasing her, before swallowing her once more.

Jessie exhaled heavily - already feeling overwhelmed by the way you felt around her, the way you looked bouncing up and down in her lap - in your wedding dress no less - and the way your hands explored her.

"Y/N Fleming," she declared as she pulled you into a hard kiss. "Can't believe I've waited so long to make it official. To have you take my name." She rolled her hips up into you as she pulled you down into her lap. "Fuck. You're all mine."

"Oh God," you whimpered, head thrown back once more and eyes closed. "I'm yours. And you're mine."

"Always," she affirmed with zero hesitation. Her mouth hung open as she worked to steady her breath. She could feel blood rushing to her face and knew her cheeks were red with exertion. She shook her head. "I can't believe there was ever a time before you."

"Same, baby," you reciprocated as you looked down at her, cupping her face as you sensually rocked atop of her.

Despite your agreement, Jessie felt a rush go through her. She tightened her grip on your hips as began to buck up into you from below. She spoke through nearly clenched teeth.

"I hate that anyone was ever with you," she said. "You were made for me. They didn't deserve you."

Your eyes fell shut again and you leaned into her, your hands gripping her shoulders. "Holy shit. No one's ever fucked me like you. Or loved me like you."

Jessie snickered smugly, the sound of her hips bouncing off of your thighs resounded loudly in her ears.

"Well no one could ever make me feel like you do. I'm so lucky I met you."

"Jess," you whimpered as your body collapsed into her and you held her tightly. "I love you so much."

Jessie grunted as you rode her, your walls flexing and massaging her in the most exquisite way. She began to buck into you faster and her breathing grew ragged. You clutched her and she looked up to see your own cheeks rosy and your mouth slightly open as you pleasured one another.

"I can't wait until I start swelling with your baby again," you panted and Jessie's eyes slammed shut to the point of wincing as she fought off her climax. She wanted you cumming all over her cock before she flooded you.

"Jesus Christ. You are so sexy. I couldn't keep my hands off you last time. I never can - but God you look incredible carrying my baby." She grunted as she nearly came. "My gorgeous wife. So fucking beautiful."

"Don't stop," you begged as your orgasm neared. She watched you steadily as your expressions changed and you panted and moaned.

"My gorgeous girl," Jessie praised. "You look perfect bouncing up and down on my cock like this. And soon you'll be walking around this wedding with my cum dripping down your legs."

"Oh shit," you gasped as you began to convulse around her cock. Your movements stilled, fingers digging into her shoulders as your orgasm shook you. The way your softness spasmed around her, Jessie had no hope of fighting off her climax further and let out a whining grunt as she released inside of you.

"Oh, fuck, Jessie," you panted as she began to rut into you, shooting string after string of her cum inside of you.

You collapsed in her arms on top of her as you both panted and worked to regain your breath.

When you finally went to climb off of her, you both maneuvered yourself in a way that tried to limit how much of her cum was going to spill out onto her pants. Even then, your disappearance from the reception was extended further as you both worked to clean the cum off her pants before you made your return. Eventually, you gave up and Jessie got changed into a different outfit - people would believe she wanted to get into something more comfortable. You followed suit and got changed as well.

You returned to the hall and though you both received a few comments about your costume changes, all in all your absence was met with minimal questioning. Riley was thrilled to get her light-up shoes and immediately went stomping around the dancefloor squealing with delight.

Jessie continued to mingle with friends and family, as did you, and the night wore on. But it was really only a matter of time until a familiar cry soared over the music and din of the crowd.

Jessie frowned, excusing herself from a conversation and headed in the direction of her daughter's cries. She spotted you navigating the crowd and you caught each other's eye. When you both found Riley, she was red in the face, tears staining her cheeks as her grandparents tried to soothe her.

"What's going on?" Jessie asked as she approached, kneeling down in front of her as her dad bounced Riley on his knee.

"She just started asking for you both and got upset that you weren't here," he answered.

"Oh, Ri," Jessie said as she picked up her daughter and began to bounce her in her arms. She looked to her dad. "She's probably just tired. I know she had a nap, but it's been a big day." She looked down at Riley and spoke softly, "Are you tired, sweetie?" Riley wailed louder, her little hands bundling Jessie's shirt in their grasps, but as Jessie kissed her forehead her cries tapered. "I know it's been a long day. I understand - I need a break, too," she chuckled. "You've done so well."

Riley sniffled, her little shoulders hitching as her cries ebbed. Jessie signaled to her parents that she'd handle it. She and you took Riley over to a quiet corner of the hall. Jessie sat down, resting Riley in her lap and kissed the top of her head.

"She should really go down for bed," you said as you rubbed her back.

"Her and me both," Jessie said dryly with a smirk. "I'm exhausted." You played with her hair and kissed her cheek.

"And you didn't get a nap," you joked and Jessie gave you a playful sidelong glance. You rest your head on her shoulder. "Are we allowed to leave before the guests?"

"I think that's a bit of a faux pas, but honestly, I'm very tempted," she said as she eyed the room and contemplated the option. She looked down at Riley whose eyes were heavy as the toddler hung onto the precipice of sleep. She then glanced over at you. "I mean, everyone here knows neither you or I are big partiers. And, we have a toddler to look after..."

You chuckled, tucking a strand of Jessie's hair behind her ear. "I mean, your parents are happy to look after Riley and she's supposed to be staying with them again tonight."

"But she wants us," Jessie said with a pointed glance downward at their daughter who was resting very peacefully in her arms now. "Clearly."

You leaned over and kissed Jessie's cheek. "You know? I'm sure everyone will forgive us if we duck out."

------

A short while later, Riley was asleep in the middle of the king size bed in your cabin with Jessie laying next to her in a t-shirt and shorts, you climbing into bed in your pyjamas on the opposite side.

"Is this what you would've pictured for your wedding night years ago?" You teased as you lay propped on your side looking across Riley and over at Jessie who mirrored your position.

"Stone cold sober, party still raging on at the reception, and my toddler fast asleep between me and my new wife?" She asked with a lopsided grin, her head in her hand. "No. But I adore it." You snickered and gently pushed down Riley's rogue curls as she slept.

"Same," you said.

"We have a beautiful family and we're very lucky," Jessie mused as she carefully leaned over to give you a chaste kiss. You smiled into it and laid a hand on your stomach as Jessie pulled back.

"And maybe there'll be four of us soon enough."

A/N: That's all, folks! I can't thank you enough for joining me on this ride. What started as a one-shot I was super nervous to post, has been embraced by so many of you and you've allowed me to create and share this love story with you all. It truly means so much. Thank you!

[cressidagrey]

You are the best thing that's ever been mine - Part 4

Pairing: Max Verstappen x Ariel Cane (Original Character)

Summary: Sao Paulo 2024. The Dutchman delivered a defining drive…but maybe there is a relationship that could also use some defining. 

Warnings: Jos Verstappen, angst, crying, mention of pregnancy, mention of sex and sexual acts, physical confrontation

Author Notes: Hi, hey, hello! Apparently I write F1 Fanfiction now?! Also this is the first time I am trying a social media au so my Canva Skills were put to the test. (Disclaimer: I kinda put legibility over authencity, so twitter doesn't look like twitter and messages looks like...something) Also huge thanks to @onebigfangirlworld and @leodette for holding my hand with this 😘)

Max let out a small sigh, his hands falling from her side. He got up from the couch, pausing for a moment to look at her.

Ariel’s face was still a little pale, her eyes tired, but her smile was bright, and he felt a pang in his chest at that. He hated to leave her, while she was unwell and miserable, but she was right. He had just won a Grand Prix. 

He should get his goddamn trophy.

Max leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. Then he turned around and headed for the door, his footsteps measured and steady. He looked back one more time, his gaze lingering on her figure.

Then he went through the door, closing it softly behind him.

Max did get his goddamn trophy.

He accepted congratulations and claps on his back from various people, but his mind was wholly on Ariel.

But the smile on his face was real for once, even when as soon as all the handshakes had been done and he had managed to hand that trophy off to Christian...he was back to the driver's room, where Ariel had bundled up in one of his hoodies.

He knew it was his, because it swamped her.

There was no denying the warm feeling of belonging that came over him, at the sight. 

"Let's get out of here," she told him with a warm smile, having already packed up all the things. He took her bag from her, pulling the hoodie’s hood over her bright red hair and then tugged her against her side, one arm around her shoulders, as they made their way to the car. 

Of course there was press there, waiting. He had expected that, but it still pissed him off. 

Max ignored their shouted questions, the click, click, click of the cameras, only caring that Ariel would get into that car as quickly as she could, as she used the hood of the jacke to shield herself from the media glare. She climbed in first, scooting through and he followed, pulling the poor door closed with far more force than strictly necessary.

As soon as the door was slammed shut and they were safely out of sight from the media, Ariel let out a sigh of relief, relaxing into the seat.

She looked tired and pale, her eyes half closed. The drive back to the hotel would probably lull her to sleep.

Max reached over and took her hand in his, his fingers stroking gently over her knuckles, as the car started moving.

He pulled her against his side, putting his arm around her, pressing a kiss against her hair. He could do that now.

He could do that now.

He couldn’t believe that. 

She smelled like strawberries, he realised weakly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her softly.

She leaned into his side, snuggling into the crook of his arm, letting out a weak huff.

"I'm tired," she mumbled, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. "And I still feel nauseous but it's better."He tightened his arm around her, rubbing his hand over her arm.

"Just try to sleep, Schatje," he said quietly, his voice low and gentle. The term of endearment slipping from his tongue as easily as breathing. "I'll wake you up when we get to the hotel."

It would only be an half-hour drive, but if she could get at least some rest it would probably do her some good.

The steady rumble of the car and the warmth of his embrace combined lulled her to sleep quickly, her breathing growing steady and deep.

Max knew he should be feeling exhausted from the race and all the interviews afterwards, but all he could feel was absolute contentment.

He could hold her, touch her, love her.

His grip tightened around her a little more, pulling her even closer, his thumb caressing her arm gently.

She mumbled something unintelligible, subconsciously nuzzling against him, pressing her face into his shoulder. He looked down at her. Ariel looked so peaceful like that, so calm and serene.

He continued running his thumb over her skin, a silent, soothing motion.

Max had never allowed himself to imagine this, holding her after winning a race, feeling her body against his in a way he had been dreaming about for so damn long.

The feeling of euphoria, of satisfaction and pure happiness was still buzzing all over him. He had just won a damn race, and the girl he was in love with was currently sleeping soundly against his side. 

It almost made him giddy, a smile tugging at his lips.

God, was this what happiness felt like?

The rest of the car ride passed in silence, Ariel still asleep, her head resting against his shoulder. He just sat like that, holding her against him, watching the landscape outside the window. He was tempted to run his hand over her hair, through the the long messy curls that had escaped her usual braid. 

But he didn't want to risk waking her. She needed the rest more than she needed him playing with her hair, as much as he longed to do it.

He woke her up as they arrived at the hotel, to the two interconnected suites they had taken that time. 

A shower later, he found himself reclining back onto a stupidly comfortable couch in his room with Ariel pressed against his side, resting against him, a blanket wrapped around her. 

It was better than any kind of celebration. Better than anything he ever had had before. 

Including the fact that Ariel wore pyjamas that literally featured Jimmy and Sassy all over them.

He raised an eyebrow at the sight of her in those pyjamas, a little amused. Of course she would buy pyjamas with the goddamn cats on them. He couldn't help the little laugh that escaped him.

"Jimmy and Sassy pyjamas?" he said, a teasing grin on his face. "You are such a cat lady, Schatje."

She shrugged, snuggling up to him on the couch and burying her face in his shoulder. "Hey, they are cute," she defended herself half-heartedly.

He couldn't deny that, especially paired with the way her hair was half-tied up in a messy bun, strands falling around her face. The pyjamas were cute on her, but then she could wear anything and he would think that.

"Feeling better?" he asked her as she tucked herself against his side, reaching out for his hand.

"Much," she said with a happy sigh.

He smiled, lifting their joined hands to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

"Good," he hummed, his thumb rubbing over her knuckles gently.

She felt better, looked better, and all he wanted to do was pull her into his lap and kiss her silly. 

But not yet. She was still unwell and weak. No matter how much he wanted to hold her close against his chest, he knew that his desire didn't matter in this case.

What she needed right now was to rest, not get smothered by an overly eager racecar driver.

"You should probably go to bed," he said quietly, although it took a herculean effort to get those words out.

What he wanted to say was 'stay up with me, curl up in my lap, let me hold you', but he knew she needed to sleep, more than she needed his cuddles.

"No," Ariel said, her voice soft. "I'll stay right here."

Max was selfish enough to simply hum his agreement. "Here, at least have some water," he said softly, reaching for the bottle on the coffee table. "You need to hydrate."

"I'm fine," she protested stubbornly, and he had to hold back a soft snort.

She was so damn stubborn, she always had been. Especially when it came to refusing help, or not admitting when she really wasn't okay.

He lifted his eyebrow. "Schatje," he said, his tone firm, "It wasn't a suggestion, take a damn sip."

To be honest, he was the same way. Stubborn to a fault, and even the worst illness or injury couldn't make him admit when he wasn't okay.

But damn it, she was his to look after and take care of.

Ariel wouldn't take care of herself, so he would just have to take the reins and do it for her.

"I like it," she told him suddenly. Max tilted his head in confusion, his expression curious.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his hand still holding hers, his thumb caressing the back of her hand.

Ariel was being oddly vague, he was half expecting her to say something along the lines of 'liking him taking care of her'. 

"When you call me that," Ariel admitted, a blush high on her cheeks as she did take a drink from that bottle.

His eyebrows rose in surprise, a small wave of heat spreading through his chest.

She liked him calling her Schatje??

"You do, huh?" he asked, a smirk spreading on his face.

He was never going to get sick of calling her that now.

God, she was blushing.

He could swear his heart skipped a beat every time her cheeks reddened like that.

It was an adorable sight, her face flushed with a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment, and a rush of possessive heat went through him.

She was so damn adorable, and she was his.

He chuckled softly, his arm tightening around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Noted, Schatje," he murmured, his voice dropping an octave lower.

The term of endearment rolled of his tongue as easily as his own name.

He shifted a little, getting more comfortable and pulling her more snug against his side. He was enjoying the feeling of having her so close to him. She fit in his arms like she belonged there.

Until there was a knock at the door.

Max sighed.

"Who are you betting on?" he asked her drily.

"Probably Gemma," Ariel said with a sigh. "This is a PR nightmare."

Ariel was right. As usual. 

As Max moved to open the door, Gemma Roberts, Red Bull’s long-suffering PR manager was waiting for him.

"How's Ariel doing?" she greeted him, holding out a plastic bag for him. "Saltines, Bananas, Ginger Ale...pretty much everything we could think off."

He took the bag from Gemma, nodding his thanks.

"She's doing a little better, still unwell though," he said, gesturing for Gemma to come in with a tilt of his head.

"I can't believe it hit her this hard," Gemma said as she entered behind him.

She was an incredibly efficient woman in her mid-thirties, and an absolute professional, but even now Max could see the hint of worry on her face.

"It's the perfect storm," he said grimly.

His father wasn't enough. Oh no. Food Poisoning at the same time too.

Max ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "She's barely slept or eaten anything since breakfast," he told her. "I'm getting her as rehydrated as possible, but she is still unwell and exhausted."

“I do need to talk to you both,” Gemma said with a grimace. “I would wait till tomorrow but…”

Max's eyebrow raised, and he nodded. "Sounds ominous," he grumbled, already regretting whatever the hell she was about to tell him.

He led the way back into the living room, where Ariel was still sitting on the couch, sipping her water.

"Ariel," Gemma said in greeting, and Ariel looked up at her with tired eyes.

"Hey," Max's girlfriend said, giving the PR woman a tired smile.

"Gemma brought you a few things that might help," Max explained and held out the bag of food and drinks. The ginger ale would hopefully be something to settle her stomach. He opened one of the cans and handed it to Ariel, exchanging a look with Gemma behind her.

"Thanks," Ariel mumbled. Max could hear the exhaustion in her voice, see it in the way she couldn't help but lean up against his side, his arm still around her shoulders.

He kept his arm on her, a silent comfort and support as he listened to whatever his PR manager had to say.

“I talked with legal about the…incident in the garage today. If you want to sue, it would be a cut and dry assault case,” Gemma said carefully. “We literally have the whole thing on three different cameras and have around 4 dozen witnesses.”

Max's jaw clenched in anger at the reminder of what had happened.

He was tempted, so damn tempted to press charges. 

He felt Ariel lean into his hand and he found himself exhaling.

"What do you suggest?" he asked Gemma, his voice steady but strained.

"I know you want to," Gemma said bluntly, reading his mind almost like a pro.

He couldn't deny it, he wanted to press charges, he wanted to do anything possible to keep that bastard away from Ariel.

But she was right. The press would be all over it, turning it into a goddamn circus.

“No,” Ariel said flatly.

His gaze flicked to her, he could sense the firmness in her voice, the determination.

He knew she didn't want him to press charges, he could tell from how she was keeping herself firmly against his side, her hand tightening its grip on his.

He let out a slow breath, resisting the urge to just wrap her in his arms and keep her close to his chest, away from the press, away from his dad, away from everything.

“I was the one he hit. It’s my choice. And I am not going to press charges,” Ariel said calmly.

“Schatje,” he choked out.

His heart was thumping frantically in his chest.

He couldn't deny her, he couldn't make her change her mind when she was being stubborn like this.

But the thought of doing nothing about his bastard of a father, the thought of letting the whole incident go, of letting that bastard think he could get away with hurting Ariel. The thought of his father possibly coming near her again…

"Why on earth not?" he asked, his voice strained.

Her hand came up to cup the side of his face, her touch immediately calming him.

"It's not worth it, Max," she told him quietly, her eyes on his, and he felt himself deflate a little. "It's not worth the headache and the fallout."

He wanted to argue, he wanted to fight her on this, but damn it, she was right. It would be nothing but a massive clusterfuck, and she didn't deserve to be put through that, especially not after today.

“Regardless of what happened today, regardless of what I feel towards him, he’s your father,” Ariel said softly.

He hated how she was being so understanding, so calm and reasonable when all he felt was anger and frustration.

He let out a bitter sigh, his arms tightening around her.

"He hurt you today," he gritted out. "He hurt the woman I love. And you want me to what, forgive and forget?"

"No, not forgive and forget," she clarified, her words still firm but somehow gentle at the same time.

A part of him knew, logically, that she was right, but the other part, his stubborn, possessive, protective part was itching to do something, anything to make his bastard father pay for hurting her today.

“I am saying that��� you can use today to get him to do what you want,” Ariel clarified.

Max raised an eyebrow again, his mind racing as he thought about what she was suggesting.

He could see where she was going with this, and damn it, she had a point.

He might not be able to press charges, but he could use this to his advantage, to pressure his father into backing down, to stay the hell away from him and Ariel.

He could force his father to do what he wanted, and to leave Ariel alone.

“Besides, I doubt think Christmas dinner will be a nice occasion with the in-laws otherwise,” she quipped. He could just stare at her.

In-laws.

Her words hit him like a freight train, and he found himself staring at her in disbelief for a moment. 

She had referred to his family as her in-laws.

She said it as a joke, so easily and casually, yet...

It made something warm go through his chest.

“So if I never wanted to see him again…” Max trailed off, turning to Gemma.

Gemma understood what he was getting at, and she let out a low, impressed whistle.

She had seen what happened, had seen the incident first hand, and she knew damn well that it would be better for everyone if his father just stayed away.

She nodded slowly. "Blackmailing then," she said. "Leverage he can't just sweep under the rug. I like it."

“Max,” Ariel said quietly. “Are you sure?”

His gaze flicked to her for a moment, before he let out a grim chuckle.

He was damn sure. He was absolutely, totally, one hundred percent sure.

If this was the only way to protect her, to make sure that bastard would never touch her or hurt her again, he would do it, no questions asked.

"Yes. I'm sure," he said firmly, his arms pulling her closer against him, protective and possessive.“It was your suggestions,” he said drily.

“My suggestion wasn’t to cut off all contact with your dad, Max,” Ariel said carefully.

He let out a tired sigh, letting his arms tighten around her a little.

He hated how exhausted she looked, how she should have been in bed, getting rest, and how she was instead here, trying to defend his damn father of all people.

"So what?" he said, his irritation still clear in his voice. "I'm supposed to maintain a relationship with a man who assaulted you? I am supposed to let him near our children?!” He gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching tightly.

The thought of his father getting anywhere near their future children…

His father had gotten to shape him into the perfect river. He was not getting a chance to do that to Max’s children. 

It made his blood boil.

It was a miracle he didn't just let out a loud, irritated growl.

"No," he said firmly. "God no. I'd rather break my own legs than allow him near our children."

He felt Ariel lean into his side, and he let out a slow breath to try and calm himself.

There was a complex mess of emotions there, a tangle of anger, disappointment, resentment, and even love.

He had been…a difficult father, but he had still been Max’s father. Had still been his father.

He knew she was right, it was a complicated mess of emotions swirling inside him.

His father might have been a shitty, cold bastard who had never cared a damn about him, who had put pressure on him from a young age and had forced him to be the ideal heir to his empire...

But still, he was his father.

He had to make a decision.

He didn't want to choose between his father and Ariel.

But when it came down to it…there was no real competition.

His relationship with his father had been strained, cold and distant from the very beginning.

He had always been nothing but a tool to the man, a tool to be used to further his goals.

But Ariel...

Ariel had been the one to thaw the ice around his heart, to make him actually feel things again. To make him feel alive.

He loved her more than he had ever loved anything, she meant everything to him.

Compared to that...his father was nothing.

It was simple. His choice was simple.

He could choose his father, choose to forgive him and try and maintain a relationship with that cold bastard who had never actually cared for him...

Or he could choose her, choose the woman who had become the most important person in his life, the woman he wanted to build a future with, the woman he loved more than anything in the world.

The choice was a no-brainer.

And so he chose her.

He would choose her, over and over and over again.

He would choose her, because that was all he wanted.

His future, his happiness, lay with her, with the beautiful woman sitting next to him on that couch. And who, even now, was trying to find a way to make it easy for him. 

Make it easy for Max. 

Ariel was willing to put her own feeling on hold so that he could get what he needed. 

But the thing was…he didn’t need his father. 

He needed her. 

His heart belonged to her. He belonged with her.

He would do anything for her, and his father be damned.

She meant more to him than anything. More than his racing, more than 3 world champion titles. 

He had spent so long focusing on his racing, focusing on beating his rivals and on winning races. 

He had focused on the things that didn't matter, on all the meaningless, frivolous bullshit that surrounded him like a noose, all in the name of being the best driver on the grid.

But it was her who mattered. She was the one that gave his life meaning.

She was the woman he loved, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

He would protect her, cherish her, give her everything he could.

She was the woman he would marry, the woman who would bear his children.

He would fight a thousand battles for her and for their family.

And God help anyone who would try and come between them.

"That settles it then," he said in a firm, resolute voice. "No contact with my father."

It would be difficult, to cut off what little remaining connections he still had with the man.

But he would do it.

For her.

For their future together.

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt the tension in his chest release, and his body relaxed slightly.

It was the right decision, the only decision he could have made.

His arm tightened a little more around Ariel's side, pulling her gently closer against his side.

He could feel the weight of his decision settle into him, the knowledge that he had just chosen her over his own father. And the thought that he didn't regret it one bit, that he didn't have a single shred of doubt in his mind...it was like a massive weight off his shoulders.

He pressed a small, gentle kiss to the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair, relishing in the feel of her snuggled up at his side.

In that moment, with her so close to him, her warmth and comfort surrounding him, he was reminded once again how much she meant to him.

How much he treasured her.

How she was his whole damn world.

Next Part

[starrylanex]

bf!dean having to see reader take one for the team and flirt/make themselves bait for a pervy witness during a mission. I'm just wanting to see how hard it would be for him to restrain himself from stepping in or him having to step in if things get out of hand 🤍

Thank you Pookie 😘

COST OF THE JOB, D. WINCHESTER

wordcount: 1,2k; warnings: a creepy guy, readers uncomfortable but dean comes in and saves the day.

an: hi angels, this has been in my drafts for way too long now so I think its fair it finally sees the daylight lol, so sorry to the person that requested this, but here it is now✨

———

The second Sam briefed all of you on the plan, you knew it was going to be a problem.

Not because the mission itself was complicated, just a simple case of a missing person, tied to a local creep with enough ties to the supernatural world to be suspicious. No, the problem was the role you were being asked to play.

"Carl Jennings," Sam had explained, tossing a file onto the motel room table. "Owns a bar downtown, last person to see our vic before she disappeared. Cops questioned him, but he claimed she left alone. No leads since."

You flipped the file open, scanning the contents. The guy's face was plastered across one of the pages, a middle-aged man with thinning hair and a face that made your gut twist. Not because he looked particularly intimidating, but because you recognized the type.

Sleazy. Overconfident. The kind of man who thought women were owed to him.

Dean leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "So, what? We knock on his door, ask real nice?"

Sam shook his head. "He's not gonna talk to us. But," he turned to you, "he's got a type."

You groaned, already seeing where this was going.

"Great." You dragged a hand down your face. "Let me guess, I'm the bait."

Sam hesitated before nodding. "He likes younger women, especially ones who act... interested. If we send you in, maybe you can get him talking."

Silence.

Dean hadn't said anything yet.

You glanced at him, expecting at least a grunt of disapproval, but he was just staring at the file. Too quiet. Too still.

Oh, yeah. He hated this.

"Dean?" you said, his name sounding more like a question.

His jaw clenched. "Do we really need to do it this way?"

Sam sighed. "Dean—"

"No, seriously," Dean cut in, his voice sharp. "There's gotta be another way. We can corner him after hours, rough him up a little—"

You snorted. "Yeah, because nothing says 'please tell us everything you know' like breaking someone's nose."

Dean shot you a look, but you ignored it, closing the file and pushing it away. "Look, I get it. This isn't exactly my dream gig, either, but if this is the best way to get him to talk, then I'll do it."

Dean exhaled sharply through his nose, leaning forward to brace his forearms against his knees. He ran a hand over his mouth, visibly trying to reel himself in. "I don't like it."

"I know." You placed a hand on his knee, squeezing lightly. "I don't either, but I can handle myself."

Dean's eyes flicked to yours, something passing through them. Something tight and reluctant, something that said I know you can handle it. I just don't want you to have to. But he didn't argue.

And that's how you ended up here. with Dean Winchester sitting few tables away from you pissed.

And honestly? You couldn't blame him. 

Because if the roles were reversed, if it were him sitting at the bar, laughing a little too sweetly at some pervy woman's joke, letting her place a hand on his arm, leaning in just enough to give the illusion of interest, you'd probably be throwing chairs. 

But the job was the job, and you knew what had to be done. 

It didn't make it easier. 

You could feel Dean's eyes on you from across the bar, burning into the side of your face, hot and searing. You didn't need to look to know that his jaw was clenched so tight he was probably grinding his teeth, that his fingers were wrapped too tight around his beer bottle, that he was seconds from saying screw the mission and stomping over here just to deck this guy for breathing in your direction. 

And honestly? You wouldn't have minded. 

Because this guy, Carl? Craig? Who cared, was exactly the type you hated dealing with. The kind of man who thought confidence and sleaze were the same thing, who assumed that a polite laugh was an invitation, that the way you leaned in closer was because you wanted to, not because you were trying to get him talking. 

You had the routine down to an art. Light touches. Tilt of the head. Biting your lip just enough. A perfectly timed giggle. And it was working, he was spilling information between flirty comments and drawn-out stories about himself. 

Then he placed a hand on your thigh. 

Every muscle in your body tensed. 

You swallowed the disgust curling in your throat, forcing a breathy laugh as if that wasn't your cue to get the hell out of here. As if your skin wasn't crawling under his touch. 

It's fine. You've done worse. It's just a hand. 

And then he leaned in. 

His breath was hot against your ear, his voice dropping into something meant to be seductive but landed more on the side of stomach-churning.

"You're even prettier up close," he murmured. "Bet you taste just as sweet." 

Oh, hell no.

Before you could react, before you could push him off, before you could figure out whether breaking his nose would blow the mission, he was gone. One second he was next to you, and the next, Dean was in his place, standing between you like an immovable wall, broad and solid and yours.

Oh, shit. 

You barely registered the sound of the guy stumbling back, his confused "Who the hell are you?" barely processing because your brain was still catching up with the fact that Dean had moved.

Because Dean Winchester never let personal feelings get in the way of a mission. Not when it mattered. 

But this? This was you. 

His restraint had been stretched too thin, too fast. 

And now? Now that elastic band had snapped.

"Her boyfriend." Dean's voice was rough, clipped, the kind of dangerous that had made grown men twice his size back down without a second thought. 

The guy scoffed, glancing at you like he expected you to deny it. When you didn't, he rolled his eyes. "Jesus, relax, man. She was into it." 

Your stomach churned. You were so close to just decking this guy yourself, mission be damned, but Dean's grip on the bar was white-knuckle tight, and you knew if you so much as exhaled wrong, he'd finish what he started. 

You placed a hand on his back, fingers curling into his shirt, not to stop him, but to ground him. To tell him I'm okay. I've got this.

Dean exhaled sharply through his nose, tension radiating through his body. "Yeah, well, work's over," he gritted out. "So why don't you take your slimy hands and crawl back into whatever hole you came from, huh?" 

The guy held up his hands in mock surrender, muttering something under his breath as he walked off, and only then did you feel Dean's body loosen under your touch. The moment the guy was out the door, Dean turned to you, scanning your face like he expected to find something broken. Like he was waiting for an excuse to go after the guy and finish the job.

"You okay?" His voice was softer now, hands finding your waist, pulling you in like he needed to feel you close.

You sighed, letting yourself relax into him, just for a second. "I had it under control, De." 

Dean huffed, eyes flicking to where the guy had disappeared. "Yeah, well, my self-control only goes so far." 

Your lips twitched. "I noticed." 

Dean ran a hand down his face, exhaling deeply. "Next time, I'm taking the pervy witness." 

You grinned, tilting your head. "Sure when you grow a pair of boobs."

Dean smirked, pressing a kiss to your temple, warm and steady and safe.

"Might as well."

[mocchii-writes]

OKAH CRAZY IDEA!!! What about a fake dating scenario with Thanos and Myung-gi’s sister!reader. Where she’s pissed at her brother so she gets with Thanos as payback (vice versa because Thanos wants to piss him off as well) but then they end up actually falling for each other

You're the Queen of the Superficial, How Long Before You Tell the Truth?

Paring: Choi Su-Bong (Thanos) x Fem!Reader

Summary: Your brother can't seem to grasp that he can't control you. That's the only reason you're still "dating" Thanos, right...?

Words: maybe 3k

Warnings: Swearing, Thanos might be ooc but he's just kind of a softie, half proof read, I love fake dating tropes tehe

~🍡🍡

You lean forward in the bathroom mirror, trying to fix your appearance as much as you can, seeing as you didn't have a change of clothes, let alone shampoo. Your mind keeps drifting to your most recent argument with your brother, Myung-gi, no matter how badly you want to forget about it. Siblings bicker, right?

Well, your friends had never reported stories of their siblings being THAT bitchy. Maybe he does need something to remind him that he's not in control of you. You know that it's not really a good setting to go plotting revenge plans on your older brother, but you figure you should do it while you have the motivation to ignore any guilt that might crawl into your mind afterward.

Your evil plotting is interrupted by the door of the bathroom swinging open. You spare a glance, continuing to adjust your hair, but your head whips back to the door almost immediately. You almost wanted to feel scared, seeing a man casually entering the women's bathroom, but it's not like Thanos was really that scary. At least, to you.

"I suspected you were a woman." You say smugly, returning your focus to the mirror, though you know you're not paying attention to it anymore. "I'll keep it a secret, don't worry." That makes him crack a small smile, before covering it with a scoff. You still see it, though. He walks slowly to the sink you're stationed at, and you can feel your heart rate quicken, but your face is monotone and carefree.

"You think you're funny?" He says, looking at you through the reflection in the mirror. The words appear aggressive, but you can hear the light-hearted tone in his voice.

"Yeah." You smile, making eye contact with him through the mirror. "You need something? Or are you just here to creep on poor vulnerable women?" He shakes his head, smiling again before seemingly sobering up if that's even possible.

"You close with that whiny MG Coin?" He says it like he's testing the waters. You know he's trying to see if you value your brother's reputation over whatever he has to offer you. It doesn't matter what he ends up offering. You'll probably agree. The thought alone makes you chuckle to yourself before looking back to your own reflection.

"Maybe. Why?" You can see the gears in his head moving, and you almost pity how slow they are, but you can't blame him when his pupils make his eyes look brown.

"I thought you two were a thing, at first. I realized pretty quick that I was wrong. I'm guessing close friends. Maybe family?" That surprises you, not expecting such a logical conclusion. You assume it's best to stop judging him by what you assume, then. He continues, "You don't seem to get along very well, y'know." He walks past you, brushing your shoulder before leaning against the sink beside you, resting his hands on the porcelain behind him and looking at you. It's a strong urge, to look at him, but you keep your composure, washing your hands.

"Spit it out, Junkie. I'm a busy girl." You smirk at his small scowl, but he hides it soon after. You shake your hands dry, looking lazily for something to dry them.

"Maybe I will if you let me get a breath between your fog of wit, yeah?" He laughs at his own joke, before sighing dryly as he looks around. "I think we both agree he needs a bit of a lesson, no?" That catches your attention, now. You look at him, raising an eyebrow. You look at his face, trying to read what his intentions are, but come up empty-handed.

"How so?" You sigh to yourself, failing to find towels as you wipe your hands on your jacket, waiting for his answer. When you don't get one quickly, you look back up to him, your jacket seemingly ineffective at drying you. Your eyes don't land on his, though. They rest on the paper towels he's holding to you. He's also a lot closer to you now, but your mind shakes the odd feeling in your gut as you grab them. "Thanks." You whisper, wiping your hands finally.

"Well, he's pretty protective of you, no? Seems a little suffocating, to me. Do you, like, have fun?" He's looking at your back as you toss the paper towels, turning around to him. You furrow your brows, still not able to figure out his intentions as you focus on him- until they're painfully clear. Your face relaxes from intrigue to a cocky smile, tilting your head at him.

"That depends on what your depiction of 'fun' is, now doesn't it?" You walk towards him, and you can tell he knows he's got you.

"You interested in finding out?" He doesn't try to hide his smirk as he crosses his arms, looking directly into your eyes. "Maybe fun is just about being in on the joke. It might not be funny to someone who thinks you're not joking." He's getting bolder, and you're sure you understand what he's trying to tell you.

You can feel two people staring at you, and only one of them isn't right next to you. Maybe this will be fun.

"How bold. Do you even know my favorite color? My name?" You smirk, enjoying the banter. "Try not to fall in love with me." You smile one more time at him before turning away, walking to the exit.

He doesn't say anything, but as you're walking down the hall, you feel him drape an arm around your shoulder, opening the door for you and guiding you to his corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"C'mon, I found a team of 3 for us to join." You hear Myung-gi say from behind you. You smirk to yourself before turning around, faking your expression into confusion. You already had a plan as soon as they told you to form groups of 5.

"I thought you told me to figure it out myself, no?" You tilt your head as he rolls his eyes, leaning his jaw away as he scoffs.

"Are you seriously still mad about that? We don't have time to argue over this anymore. You're coming with me." He seems serious, but you can tell he's tired of your attitude. That's alright, though, because that's exactly what you wanted.

"Mmm... Nah, I'll pass, Big Bro. I've got a team already, anyway." You smile sweetly as he widens his eyes slightly. You sigh lightly and look to the clock. "Am I excused?"

"What? No, you're joining my group. Cut it out, stop being bitchy." He sounds like he's pleading, but his face has a sense of aggression in its expression, so you laugh.

"You know, you're wasting your time." You hear another voice say. You try to suppress a smirk but fail as you feel an arm slither around your waist, and you see Thanos next to you in your peripheral vision. "The lady says she's got a group, no?"

You can see Myung-gi's gears turning as he looks between the two of you.

"You're going to get yourself killed because you're being petty?" He says, ignoring Thanos. At least, trying. Myung-gi knows what you're doing, but he has to admit it's working. He's visibly struggling to not explode at you two. But, when you don't respond, he sighs sharply and walks away, shaking his head and muttering something about not being his problem.

Guess it's working, hm?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sit on Thanos's bed, vaguely listening to whatever the group is talking about, but you see your brother enter the bathrooms, and shoot a look to Thanos, who's also watching. You smirk at him as he makes eye contact with you, watching as he looks to Nam-gyu, who follows Myung-gi into the bathroom. You wish you could laugh and watch whatever conversation they're having, but the thought of that makes you pause after they're no longer visible.

That's your brother.

What are they doing?

You hadn't really thought about where Thanos would draw the line when "annoying" your brother, but you haven't exactly seen him stop himself from doing anything threatening. Your panic only increases.

Nam-gyu was even more of a gray area. You'd seen him throw punches over simple things, seen him curse at your group members for no reason. How long before he takes out all his pent-up anger on YOUR brother?

You can feel your facial expression drifting from the calmness it adopted a moment ago as your thoughts tumble and fall like an avalanche.

"What's up?" You say. You flick your eyes back to the bathroom door before neutralizing your expression and looking at him.

"What's up with you?" His arm is loosely around your back, and you can feel his body shifting ever so slightly. He looks away, shrugging and mumbling something before distracting himself.

"You have a way of avoiding questions, Baby," You still have to get used to the pet names with him, but it's easier when you can laugh at how uncomfortable it makes Thanos sometimes.

He glances at you briefly, moving his hand to your waist from your shoulder. He brushes his hand back and forth over your side before speaking. "You have a way of asking a lot of 'em, gorgeous." You let out a small huff at that, ignoring the twist in your stomach with the way he says "gorgeous".

You realize you should say something sooner before something happens that you can't take back, or someone gets really hurt. You open your mouth, glancing at the door again before sighing and distracting your eyes.

You can see his eyebrow raise from the corner of your eye, and he seems annoyed. He removes his arm from around you, almost shivering at the loss of warmth from his touch and stands up. You look at him, furrowing your brows. He sighs dramatically before walking to the bathroom.

What?

Now you're really worried. Does he know you're having second thoughts? Is he going to take the situation into his own hands? You scoff at your own overthinking and distract yourself again.

You snap your head at the sound of the bathroom door opening again, and you see Thanos strut out, looking honestly ridiculous with his overbearing ego, but your eyes move to Myung-gi, behind him. They aren't walking like they've resolved something, but they're not walking with limps. You let out a small exhale of relief, but you hide your stressful exterior as soon as Thanos is looking back to you.

He sits down next to you, throwing his arm over your shoulder again, talking to Nam-gyu. He looks at you, noticing your staring.

"What?" He whispers. "Am I really that hot? Can't keep your eyes off me, huh?" He laughs breathily at your scoff as you roll your eyes.

"What happened in there?" You say, holding your sass in your voice high, trying to shield the vulnerability. His eyebrow raises, and he seems to look down on you for a minute, threatening to laugh or roll his eyes, but he just sucks his teeth and ignores your comment, continuing his boring conversation. You scoff at him, rolling your eyes.

He makes you want to slap him. Yell at him for being so cocky and useless, but you know you have to hold yourself up to par, at least in this setting. So, you begrudgingly move on, eyeing your brother. He seemed fine, but it's not like you could really examine him. You could swear someone was looking at you, but you kept your eyes on Myung-gi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His hand felt weird around yours, but Thanos pulled you through the crowd anyway. He doesn't drop your hand when you're both in the clear, ahead of the confused players, but it's probably because of shock, or maybe he's just distracted.

The large, round, carnival-like structure in the center of the brightly lit room caught everybody's eye, including your own. The rules are explained, a twisted game of musical chairs, with a communal touch. You want to believe that Thanos will help you through this game, but you can't help your doubts.

"Mingle?" You whisper, to nobody specifically, but Thanos replies anyway.

"Don't worry about it, pretty." He says playfully, his energy heightened along with Nam-gyu's. Their hyper personas would normally make you question or judge them, but you can't help laughing at their antics. Was it laughing at them or with? At, definitely. Right? Whatever, not your biggest issue anyway.

Pretty?

You both approach the platform, and Thanos helps you step up, keeping you close to him as you wait for further action.

You stumble, unprepared for the jerk of the surface below you as it begins spinning. You feel Thanos's hand on your back, stabilizing you briefly before it's pulled away. You shoot a playful glare at him before looking around. The music, cheery and loud, makes you want to scream again. You're not sure what it is, but the unnerving melody is certainly not helping your racing mind.

The platform halts, and you hear the first number.

"Ten."

Thanos pulls you through the crowd again, quickly recruiting some people and rushing to a room, celebrating. You want to tell him to stop dragging you around like a toddler, but when he drops your hand, you suddenly disagree with yourself. He has that effect on you, it seems. You've never gotten so twisted up in your own thoughts before over someone else, and it's starting to get on your nerves a bit, though you're not sure where to direct the anger.

Rounds go past rather quickly. Time flies when you're having fun, right? You always seem like you're a priority to Thanos, which you can appreciate, but you're sure it wouldn't be a very convincing relationship if one of you left the other to die. Yes, you trust him enough, but you can't deny stressing at the lower numbers being called, waiting for the moment his grip loosens, and you're left to search for another desperate group, but it never does.

That is, until the final round.

You're sure over a hundred people are dead at this point, but Thanos urged you to avoid your gaze from drifting to the small windows. You could feel a pit in your gut from abandoning some of your group members, but survival of the fittest, yeah?

You refocus yourself when you feel the platform stops again. You didn't stumble this time, congrats. Your success is short-lived though.

"Two."

You whip your head, looking at Thanos before immediately searching for your brother, or anybody, in the crowd. You think you hear Thanos scoff, and you can't help the anger bubbling inside you at that. He's laughing at you? Real brave of him, truly. You're sure you'll kill him if you survive, but your thoughts are cut short when you drop his hand and move away, only to be tugged back by the wrist.

"Where are you going?" He says, almost smiling. You furrow your brows, squinting at him. You look at Nam-gyu, but he's not there anymore. Your feet are moving quicker than your mind, and you're thrown against a bright blue wall, crashing to the floor suddenly before your head flies up, exasperated breaths coming from your mouth.

7 seconds.

Thanos is struggling with another guy, fighting to push him out of the room.

4 seconds.

You leap up, ignoring the ache in your thigh as you run and plant a firm kick to the side of the stranger, sending him to the ground outside of your room.

1 second.

Thanos slams the door shut just before you hear a click as you fall back to the floor, panting.

Thanos is at your side in an instant, one hand on the ground next to you, the other on your arm. "Are you okay?" You scoff, looking at the ceiling and pondering your life choices.

"You didn't have to chuck me at the wall, fuck." You roll your eyes and look down at him, but your gut seems to stab itself when you see his face. He's not smirking or annoyed, but he looks... scared. I mean, yeah. This game is scary, obviously, Jesus-

"I'm sorry. We didn't have a lot of time, though." He says, his fearful expression simmering to something more focused. Gentle, almost. You really want to be nice. To play house and be gentle, but it feels too unfamiliar to you, so you fuck it up.

"You're sorry? Hah. That's a first, isn't it? Didn't think you were this committed, but your worries should be focused on Nam-gyu's reaction. How sour was he? Saving your little girlfriend over him." You immediately feel bad, seeing the way his eyes drift away for a moment, but you just sigh, barely flinching at the gunshots in the distance.

"Whatever." He mutters, standing up and looking through the window in the door, but you know he's just trying to be somewhere other than next to you. He's not looking for anybody, just watching the guards play with their guns and shit. fuck. You want to bang your head against the wall. He was so open, looking at you like you were everything to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ugh, it's fine. He doesn't actually care, he's just pissy you're not playing along. What happened to fun? You're the one thinking too much about this. You want to clear the air, but you know you'd only humiliate yourself. You're good at ignoring your better judgment so far, though.

"So blue, yeah? I prefer pink." You say, looking to the bright walls. "Or did it look like purple in the chaotic lighting?" He doesn't respond for a second.

"I prefer purple." He says dryly. You scoff.

"That tracks."

The door opens and Thanos leaves you aching on the floor, and you tilt your jaw with a "tch", standing up and walking to exit the "arena" of sorts, your mind flooded and empty all at once.

You don't say anything to him when you're in line for dinner. Or when you sit and eat. Or after that. You figure; if he really does like you, he'll clear the air. But he never does, and you hate the fact that upsets you. You miss his eyes, but they seem to be burning holes into your face, so you don't look back up at them, even after he looks elsewhere.

Nam-gyu doesn't seem to be too angry. Apparently, he had a partner thrown at him by Thanos. Or at least, that's what you've overheard from their dry conversation. You felt like you shouldn't ask, though, seeing as Nam-gyu already wasn't a huge fan.

Thanos wasn't that good at selling your "sexy couple" vibe currently. He was sitting beside you, not touching you. He was almost moping if you didn't know better. You felt him move a bit, and you felt like your skin was being lit on fire, not in a good way. You huff, accidentally gaining his attention as you hop off the bed, walking to the restrooms without another glance. You need a minute. Maybe a few.

You push the restroom door open, glancing behind you at the eerie corridor, before walking inside. There isn't anybody else in the room, from what you can tell. You walk to a mirror and take a long breath, your hands gripping the sink dramatically. Look at you, what a mess.

Then, to nobody's surprise, the door opens. You quickly withdraw your hands from the sides of the sink, not sparing a glance to your side as you turn on the faucet.

The cold water splashes your hands as you cup them, bringing them to your face as you lean down, splashing your skin with the water. You hear footsteps behind you, a tearing of something, then footsteps around to your other side.

"This feels familiar, hm?" Thanos hums, but you can hear the softness in his voice like he's pleading with you. It's a strong urge, to look at him, but you keep your composure.

"I always knew you were a woman." You say, wiping your face with your sleeves. He laughs gently, handing you a paper towel ready in his hands. You glance at it, then finally at him. He doesn't look like a kicked puppy, but he's also not being cocky. You take it with a scoff and pat your face dry. You toss it into the trash before walking away.

"Hold up." He calls, not moving. You stop, nonetheless, and turn your head to the side. He kisses his teeth, glancing around before pushing away from the wall and walking to you. You look forward again, dropping your gaze a bit as you exhale defeatedly before turning around.

He was closer than you thought, and you have to tilt your chin a bit to really look at him. He looks down at you, his face calm and unreadable. You suddenly feel odd under his gaze, averting your eyes to something behind him, and he chuckles quietly, the sound making you swallow.

"Are you here to laugh at me?" You whisper, but it comes out less than confident. He tilts his head, his eyes shifting to a warmer gaze when you look to him again.

He looks like he's going to say something snobby back, and you wholeheartedly expect him to, but instead, he sighs lightly. He's almost smiling, just looking at you. His lips curved on the end just barely. You roll your eyes, scoffing.

"What, are you about to fucking propose?" You say, but your face is nothing like your words. Your brows are furrowed upwards, and you can feel yourself smiling.

"Maybe I am." He flicks his eyebrows up, and you laugh. He smiles at the sound, feeling himself open a curtain in his mind. He opens his mouth like he's going to say something to you, but he quickly shuts it again, making you huff lightly.

"I guess not, I just thought you were upset." You tilt your head as your expression softens. He can see it out of the corner of his eye, and it makes him stumble over himself internally. "But you're clearly just as sour as yesterday. And the day before. And the-" You scoff and shove him a bit.

"Got something to say? I'm a busy girl, junkie." You smile. He shakes his head, laughing at your callback as he looks to the side.

"Shut up! Maybe being around you is taking its toll, huh?" You shake your head as he laughs. "Maybe I should call you a bitch instead of Thanos. Actually, I like the sound of junkie." You smile playfully as he scoffs.

"Stick with Thanos. Or Su-bong." You tilt your head, smiling lightly.

"Alright." You nod, taking note of his soft smile.

The sound of footsteps makes you whip your head to the door behind you, and the air thickens. You don't realize your breath is caught in your throat until Thanos brushes past you and exits the bathroom. You follow, exhaling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The big piggy bank lowers gloriously down before filling with stack after stack of cash, thematic music and lighting creating an atmosphere that you can't deny is nice, but your eyes are drifiting to Thanos anyway. Who can blame you, right? The soft golden lighting hits his skin so pleasantly, and the angle of his jaw as his head is tilted slightly forwards is oh-so satsfying to look at.

You know you're staring, so you know the effort to glance away is useless when he looks back at you.

"Like what you see?" He says, cockily. You scoff and roll your eyes, faux annoyance in your expression as you reply.

"Hardly." You want to say something wittier, but you're almost awe-struck when he turns his face to you. You want to smack yourself for catching feelings, but you then remind yourself that admiring someone is not being in love with them.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Thanos smiles, noticing your fluster. He lets his eyes wander your face noticeably, before looking back to the scene before you two. His hand moves to rest on your knee, and your stomach seems to be misplaced. You lean your head on his shoulder, hoping to sell the "lovers" look.

Right?

That's why you're letting him rest his head on top of yours?

Your eyes unfocus, your mind lost in a whirlwind of second-guesses and unfamiliar feelings. You want to laugh at yourself for getting so caught up in the act, but you also want to admit that you feel something for Thanos. That thought makes you adjust yourself uncomftorably, biting your lip.

It wasn't an act, was it? At least not for you. You wanted him to touch you, to hold you and complement you.

But that's stupid. He'd laugh in your face. Do you even know him? His name? His favorite color?

Well, you do, actually...

You feel Thanos lift his head off yours, and you realize the gueards have left. They really talk a lot, you tend to zone them out, apparently.

Your gaze finds Thanos again, really looking at him. He looks at you and raises an eyebrow, tilting his head a bit.

You laugh softly, looking elsewhere. Your eyes land on your brother, who isn't even looking at you two. You notice you don't mind that your plan isn't working, and that only makes you think more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sit on Thanos's bed, talking to him- just unimportant chit-chat. You heard the announcement for lights out a few minutes ago, but you figured a bit longer with Thanos couldn't hurt.

A countdown begins, and you look to the open space in the center of the room. "I should probably get to bed." You whisper, glancing back at him. You want to say he looks disapointed, but you can't.

"Alright." He says.

Your eyes drift elsewhere thoughtfully. He seems to notice.

"Or would you rather stay?" He pulls his lips into a sly smile, and you hate that you can't tell if he's being serious. He probably isn't, but you have room to hope, right?

"Are you offering?" You smile back, tilting your head.

"Are you accepting?" He winks at you, and you scoff at him, biting back a laugh as the lights flicker off.

A comftorable silence falls between you, but you can still see his face in the glow of the room. You knew he was looking at you, and you only knew that because you were looking at him.

"Su-bong...?" You whisper, causing him to straighten his head and keep his gaze on you, not responding for a minute.

"Hm?"

You glance at the blankets before laughing dryly at your own shyness. He raises an eyebrow, sitting up a bit to see you better.

"Myung-gi doesn't really care about our little stunt anymore." You say, looking to the side before back at him. His eyes are somewhere left, unfocused as he hums again.

"What does that mean?" He says, looking back to you. You know he understands the literal meaning of the phrase, but you still don't know the answer to his question.

"Do we stop?" You ask, making eye contact with him.

He tilts his head at your words, seemingly trying to decipher what you said, but he comes up blank.

"Do you want to?" He doesn't say it in a way that teases you, nor in a way that makes you think he's high or fucking with you, so your jaw opens slightly.

You didn't even know the answer to that one.

Well, you do, but you're going to continue to pretend you don't.

"Do you?" You ask, your voice coming out quieter than you had wanted, the tension thick between you two.

He doesn't reply for a second, before you see his dimly-lit figure moving forward. You almost flinch, but your mind is quickly elsewhere when you feel his lips crash onto yours.

You hum, bringing your hands to his jaw, gently holding it and caressing the soft skin below your fingertips, and into his hair, tangling into his short strands, kissing him back eagerly. He smirks at your energy, hands finding your waist as rubbing your sides as he kisses you.

He pulls back slightly, both of you breathing heavy as he rests his forehead against yours, looking at you.

You yawn, causing you both to chuckle as he pulls his head away.

"You need sleep, baby." He whispers, making your face flush in the dark. You nod as he pulls you down to lay beside him, softly holding you like you were precious glass.

You sigh sleepily as your arms wrap over his shoulders. This was probably a bad idea, but when is the truth ever wrong, right?

Idk if the ending feels rushed, but I have so much writing to catch up on oh lordy lord

~🍡🍡

[maddascanbe-blog]

Ladies and Gentlemen. I give you Little Vesperia. She's a powerful punch in a petite package! I posted her design in sketches ages ago but I was SO jazzed to finally do it digital. And I finally could do Teen Zoé and Vesperia.

Buckle up folks this is a long one.

I won't go into too much detail on Teen Zoé's fit, since I already talked about it in here. But Vesperia is where things get more interesting.

Little Vesperia obviously takes more inspiration from Queen Bee since in my rewrite Zoé idolizes Chloé so much. Zoé's father couldn't really be bothered to care about Zoé, she's been at every boarding school and summer camp he could afford while still keeping most of the money Audrey sends him. She rarely sees him, and when they are stuck together he wants her out of sight and out of mind.

Then Zoé is uprooted entirely when Audrey's infidelity is exposed. To save face she gets brought to Paris, to play at being one big happy family. She may be young, but she's wise enough to know this is just another person using her for their gain. She did face bullying at her schools, and a whole lot of nothing done about it from the teachers.

She also does not speak french. Which means that a good 70% of people have no idea how to communicate with her. And Audrey was no help. Zoé vas given so little information she didn't even KNOW she had an older sister when the was taken to France. Chloé was a complete blindside to her.

And she especially doesn't expect this intimidating teenager to kneel down to her level, and in perfect english explain that it's okay to be scared and she'll make sure Zoé won't be stuck wondering what's gonna happen next.

They spend the rest of the day learning where everyone is, and what certain things are called in french so that Zoé has a better way to communicate. They also sit down and order decorations for Zoé's room.

Zoé fully anticipated André to ignore her, but he is kind like he is in cannon. Just very busy so can only get in small conversations with her. Still, he's shown her more care than her own father had in the 9 years she's been alive. Since he'll ask her about her day, anything she may need, how school has been, etc. He also manages to get a free day to show her all the cool things in the hotel that most people don't know are there. He tries to have dinner with Chloé and Zoé as often as possible and they eat lunch together at the hotel at least once a week.

Now to Teen Zoé. I'll probably write this down in a separate post but my Idea for her is because of the limits I put on the rabbit miraculous Bunnix is no longer able to fight Timetagger, but she IS able to bring someone from that point in time to help instead. And since bringing anyone that could be recognized could potentially cause a paradox, the best solution is to bring in someone who they haven't met yet.

Design wise I like Vesperia's cannon design but it does look more like a wasp than a bee. I based her top on these biker jackets that had segments on the sides and just made the segments alternate black and yellow. I originally planned to keep the black top and yellow bottoms, but it just didn't look the way I wanted it too. I think making the jacket yellow makes it look much more like a bee. Also black mask because I like how those look better.

I think Little Vesperia looks good too, different enough from Queen Bee while still looking like she took inspiration, my favorite part was making it look like she had striped socks. While Teen Zoé looks like a logical progression while also dipping into badass as opposed to cute. Also her pupils turn gold to further differentiate her from Queen Bee.

(Bonus- Verpseria with colors closer to her originals)

[jazeswhbhaven]

Demon Butler Buffet, Enjoy your stay | April Fools' Event 2025 | React/Recap Spoilers Part 2

Screenshots only this time for this post! If you want to go over the summary check it out here:

🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🖤🤍

The old man is done with these games lmaooo

Idk but my hunch that Asmo is quite keen on Belphie is starting to look correct because of how buddy buddy he's been with him this entire time

Ofc he did, because even the merch has the kings on it. I bet he sets the prices for WHB indirectly too if we're being honest /hj💀

You tell 'em Lizzy! Man I would get so annoyed at coworkers like this who had no other reason to be late other than they felt like it when I was dealing with a crowd or people or waiting to clock out and go home for the day...

They knew what was up the minute Lizzy showed concern for Jihoon getting his shit rocked by Satan (nah srsly don't touch him without permission unless you're MC)

Okay, I'll be ready. And I'll do it again, trust.

He said something sensible, and he's being cute. Look at hims.

MAMM'S NIP IS OUT.

🎵lemme suck your titties bby...ooooooo whoaaaaaaaa🎵

No frfr, he was lookin' thicccccc (all of 'em were) I also like seeing his hair this way because it gives me a better visual of what his ponytail looks like, also have y'all noticed his horn shape changes?

Ah, I was wondering where his wings were. Seems they fit under the fabric easily in the suit but with how they usually look I can tell why they would bother him...the bone is still pokin' out 😭

Sorry for the jumpscare with Beel's pale arm, but him thinking the talismans worn off and everyone was dying is so him. Asmo was like "nah they're just fainting that's normal" is also funny

Oh boy, at least they did o k a y. I would be satisfied by their butler roles 😭 but Levi in that maid outfit? the fave poster boy foreallssss

I hate that he's correct, because I actually cannot buy a realistic experience with me hanging out with the Kings for an entire day just doing random stuff and being flirty.... p a i n (yes cosplayers exist but they are real people 😭😔 it's not the same to me)

Well...yeah Asmo we know why you'd find that exciting...

Oh, well this looks like it could be Beel's true form? The color of the eye and the VIVIVI floating around??? But either way....lol they got some crazy things on their camera

Nice save, Luci <3 we would be lost without you

idk he just looks really good in this fit and tail included

Luci meant that shit, which is why Asmo just kinda nervously laughed. Even he...knows better than to play with a former angel.

Ah so that's what his side effect was...unable to count money 🥴🥴

Nuh uh, what you doin' Jihoon? 🤨🤨🤨

All I'm thinking about is taking a trip to Paris with Luci and Levi while they're in those outfits...especially after being recused from some whack dude

He was crying because the Kings were giving Lizzy things to sell and we're just suppose to "ignore that" lmaooooo

Happy Lizzy is happy <3 she can pay off a lot of things now! (Wish I were there working with them then cause shit I need some things...)

Girls trip!!! *beep beeepppppp* ( •̀ ω •́ )✧o(*^＠^*)o

literally them rn with their photos of their kings in the outfits lmao I found it hilarious that Beleth wasn't really phased and it makes me wonder if Belphie does shit like this all the time because he's an Otaku so cosplaying is literally something to expect (and because he probably has to help him change into it)

Also what I found funny is that the nobles also were talked about on Earth's social media as the "hot cosplay group" and I'm just like awh they were popular too. Which I mean they would be popular anywhere. All the while Bael is cussing out Beel in hopes to drag him back to Abyssos but I guess that ain't gonna happen

Not when we have.....the butt contest underway.....👀👀👀👀

Which concludes my react! See y'all for the second part of the event...I can tell this shit is gonna be unserious because the kings...are unserious.

[adoregojo]

★- haunted by the trails of you.

a/n: here's some more angst i had in drafts and now I'm setting it free. wanted more pain but this what yall are getting for now d: (potentially getting a part two)

summary: their first anniversary without you, and you'd still be haunting them. !! gn reader!! characters: isagi, reo, rin. warnings: men. hurt/barely an comfort, the word 'vomit', blood mentions in rin's part, appear of other characters. perhaps heavy angst?

isagi: it was at his own home. for what he can fathom, isagi isn't considered as someone who's hooked on the past. at least that's what he pinned his head to. what had chronicles should've been a lesson, something that'll help him move forward, a memory that'll get him through to his feet again.

once the past had been written, there was no undoing. only exceptions and take the moral out of it.

sometimes isagi wished he had tugged on that enough as much as he tugged his heart to yours.

he was about to send himself a clout. has he learned nothing? why can't he draw a clear line without the ghost of you obsessing in every corner of his life? so instead, he botches his hair to untidy navy-blue locks flying out of place, mumbling cusses to none other than himself.

He bet he looked like a madman, uttering loathes undertone within every step upon a stair he took. He swore he spotted a middle aged lady covering her son's ears in horror. maybe he wasn't muttering as low as he thought.

it was saturday, in which isagi takes a day off to greet his parents from time to time. and he wasn't gonna cancel that over some feelings he might've got the wrong end of the stick about, it was probably just lingering lust and affection he had for you, but I'll past. clinging to the mere possibility and ignoring the ache that remains for too long than intended.

swirling the keys with his bare hands, isagi can view the frigid smoke of his breath appearing with every puff he let out. the tips of his fingers and knuckles were embarrassing standing out an angry shade of red, he forgot his gloves, again ,recalling: yoichi never really had to bat an eye when it comes to gloves. he'll even do it on purpose since you wouldn't think twice before launching yours to his frosty hands, while interlocking your hands with the other one.

now that he mentioned it, he always recollect how futile of an attempt it was. because the back of his hand will always remain polar, but at that time, it didn't carried a feather. he didn't really mind freezing to death if it meant I'll be in your arms. then he'll die any day.

isagi remains stationary, until his forehead rests the irony of his house door. he didn't know if he was deeply disappointed in himself, or just drowned by the sweet bygone days. gabbling something about how an idiot he was before taking a deep lungful of air and finally opening the door.

flinging his shoes to gods knows where, at this state even his mother's berating wouldn't budge a bone in him, yeah, this is how bad it was.

to his astonishment, there were no trails of his parents. isagi called, shouting once, twice. and gave up on the third time. he jogs around to the kitchen era, like expected: a dangling note covering some plate, informing him that they went out and they'll be back before dinner. 

isagi just let out a defeated sigh, an obvious pessimistic wave looming over him. he was genuinely hoping to spend a family-time right away, and something to divert him away from the wraith of you.

a part of him wondered, what answer could he hand his parents, breaking the fact that you two were no longer together. his parents always loved you, adored you even. they'd definitely be shattered, he'll just muddle it by saying that you two drew apart till an ultimate downfall drilled up a hole in your relationship, leading to a break up. they’ll buy it, right?

blindly, isagi carried out the plat, slamming it flatly against the wooden table of the living room. making himself comfortable on the couch that held on the glimpse of his childhood, it was a pleasant to be at home again, and one of a great distraction.

he needed it.. anything to sway him away from the remainder of what name of this day earned..

from the corner of his eye, he spotted a second note. scoffing at himself isagi gets a grasp on it, living on the thought it might've been his parents requesting him to do chores, or just asking him to take extra care of himself. 

isagi consulted it, even when a part of him begged him not to.

‘dear, yocchan. we really hope you'll be the one to read this, but if not! hello yoichi’s partner, that's quite embarrassing if you're reading this hahaha. but anyway, we figured that today is your two anniversary, isn't that just great? We remember just yesterday they were being introduced to us for the first time. What a good time to be alive, but anyway. There's some surprise cake for the two of you to share! Happy anniversary, you lovebirds.- your mother (in law).”

‘don't get too carried away please! - your father (in law).”

isagi flouts, bitterly. so sorely that all the rock-hard grip of his hand went straight to poor paper, ripping it apart to fall into small chunks. the stomach-bug swirl, not the one with the butterflies plopping in the depths of his stomach, swarming with to define a new level of bliss. but a disgusting ache of venom mobbing, making him want to vomit in an instant. 

if it wasn't for his neighbors, isagi would've outcry his lungs out of frustration. but he wasn't on the field, where his anger planted. Now it's just a sad smile etching on his features. 

and maybe a drip of a few tears..

how long were you planning on haunting him for..

reo: he had to delete it.. for the longest period, reo had never been so glued on what he busted by his own hands, words and ego. he had no one to blame but himself, and yet no amount of strength that earth granted him, no matter how the sky have bore in tears gleaming the ground, a pool of agony cries pleading for him to do it.

all that and he’d still struggle to press the delete button. He just couldn't.

“man, just delete it already.” chigiri cried out, slamming his palms against the skin of his forehead. He was tired. and he wasn't even getting paid to deal with this shit.

“it's easier for you to say it, you don't get it.” reo sassed back, trudging inches away from the redhead who's eyes twitched in disbelief. 

nagi and chigiri一well, mostly chigiri, have been summoned by a cry for help from their shared friend. just for the end of the world to be him trying to delete the pictures and videos of you and him, his ex that lived in his head rent free. 

it was a wretched sight to see, his eyes were tearing up while scrolling through your memories together. chigiri一god’s greatest soldier, was really, really doing everything he can to encourage reo back on his feet. It was like helping a spineless creature to straighten up. 

it's quite impressive, he can use all his abilities on soccer pitches, give his best assists, be the heart, the mind and the soul of the field. Yet behind the plate was a completely different person, a hopeless guy curled up in a ball of your blanket that carried most of your left cologne, and sobbing till the sunrise. and today was a special show, he was absolutely shattered because your scent was slowly vanishing. 

all chigiri can do is pinch the bridge of his nose in foiling, “listen, how about we go out or something? there's a nearby place we can get lunch and-”

“they used to love that restaurant¦” reo whines, shoving his phone into the redhead face, it carried a picture of you smiling blissfully and unaware, cheeks rife with food. “they're.. cute, so cute it makes me want to die.” falling backwards on the silky duvet of the queen-sized bed. 

“Please don't, I still need my monthly allowance on genshin.” the one time nagi decided to finally say something, it had to be this. and chigiri never wanted to zip up someone's mouth so badly.

“you keep on stabbing yourself in the throat, you dumbass. if you can't do it then I'll do it for you.” stretching out his arm, opening up his palms for reo to hand over the phone and get this over with already.

in an instant, the phone was being embraced tightly to his chest, “no! I can do it myself, I just need some time," Chigiri just raised his hands in surrender, mumbling a quick ‘whatever’ as he jumped out the bed, leaving the extra space for his friend to grieve, alone.

it was a miracle that his tears still remain un-parched. Every photo he scroll through, the lump in his throat narrows painfully. clinching his lips upwards every time he crossed over while you were smiling, it hurts so good. He doesn't recognize whatever the knot in his stomach was reducing in sorrow or ecstatic.

he wasn't trashing any of those, he couldn't find it in his heart too. instead of criticizing himself of what he should've said to make you stay, what could've he done to swoon your heart instead of fleeting it. you'll keep on tip-toeing around his heartstrings and he'll let you without a charge.

he squeaked in his pillow, he just kept on bruising himself, torturing himself by the dim memory of what the two of you had once. something that not even money could regain or even soothe on. he yearned for one more kiss, one more embrace, one more chance to get a glimpse of you and he'll die a happy man, that's a lie, he'll misses you even after death.

he wished for you to come and haunt him, eat him to bits. but it was like he was the one haunting the crumbs of you.

on the middle of his groaning mess, an amber eyes staring sharply at him, his figure casting a shadow over his state. “here, drink up.” nonchalant, he handed him a random juice he ‘eeny, meeny’ his way to. reo accepted the drink, his arm sluggishly taking it. chigiri swore he was about to crack the glass over his head if he wouldn't stop this pitiful little act of his.

“why are you even this hardcore sad? you were never like this in the last weeks.”

“it's their anniversary, but not anymore I guess.” nagi shrugged, still too focused on the screen of his phone to pay the slightest amount of attention. turning a blind eye when reo flinches a bit at his truthful words 

“have anyone told you you're a terrible human being?” 

one sip, a second one. and his lilac eyes were watering for a million time. “they used to love this drink.” he whispered.

“i genuinely hope you choke on it.” 

rin: it got so bad, he talked to sae about it.. running a few years backwards, if you told the sixteen years old itoshi rin he'd be seeking his own deadbeat of a brother to vent he'd spit out in your face with no second thought.

and if he could, he would've. because rin was rethinking his life choices, taking a step back every second yet taking two ahead then comprehending once again. and now there was no going back, what was between him and the urgent fate was a wooden door. 

his hands buried deep in his pockets instead of making an attempt to knock. he found gazing at his pair of shoes much more entertaining. 

he didn't have it in his head to think straight, not when you clouded over like an angry storm, all he can do is take it and let your teardrop roll down his face, or maybe they were his own tears, he couldn't savvy it. 

after a deep lungful of air, rin thrust his forward, just an inch away, only to stop briskly. sae? really? just how desperate is he? very. he come to cuss himself for counting you as the one and only person he apostrophizes with. if only he’d listen when you would rant about him approving his social skills, he should've listened instead plugging his ears. He wished he listened to a lot of things you said..

in a rush, the door unlocked in a swift. almost making him funk backwards, unraveling the sight of his older brother, standing unimpressed. and before rin could speak a word, sae took the lead. 

“you know I could see your shadow casting under my doorstep, right?” 

Rin clicks his tongue in annoyance, and when he doesn't reply, the reddish head moves to the side, and rin steers his way in. shutting the door behind him, sae jog away, letting him take off his shoes. not even a proper welcome, he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

the apartment was quite tidy, a strong aroma loomed underneath his nose. Despite that, it was awkwardly dull, not even ghosts would bother haunting it. rin takes a seat in a solo couch, fumbling his fingers in a bothersome way, the silence was a deadline, not anything he wasn't used to.

It was just the first time rin had come here, by himself. without an actual family required to stick to the back. 

or without you.

unintentionally, Rin's leg keeps thrusting. a bad habit of his when the tension gets thick. every passing second he berates himself even further, damn him for having only one path to seek solace in, for allowing only one soul to soothe over his frail heart, for authorizing only one embrace to delay him.

and damn you for carving open his heart. just to leave him to bleed.

the echoing steps of sae cut his strails of thoughts. settling down his cup of hot tea. rin raised a brow at the uncivil manner. “you didn't ask for one.” his brother shrugs calmly, oh he was driving him nuts with this unchanged attitude. 

breathe in, rin.

reverberating voice called, so he obeys. straighten his pouster. “I wanted to talk to you about something. it's important.” 

“I can tell. and your sidekick is nowhere to be found, did they finally ditch you?”

his hands clutching up in a makeshift ball, rin says nothing.

“oh, so they did?” sae blows a few times over the overheated cup, taking a sip then uttering something under his breath. “Well, that's unfortunate.” adding another cube of sugar as he retorted. 

rin only got something out of this, that his brother didn't give a single fuck. and it drove him to the edge.

“You can at least pretend that you care.”

“never said I didn't.”

“you didn't have to, it's fucking showing.” rin seethed, his clenched hand striking the table balance, making the sugar cubes fall out of place. his anger was collapsing even the sweetest floras.

that doesn't nuge sae the slightest, but makes him frowns his brows a bit, because he was the one who had to sweep that off later.

the tension was solid and bulky, and Rin refused to break eye contact with the equal hues. Daring him to say something, anything. Yet he took it as a challenge, like he always does. The only way he communicates with sae is by beating him, proving himself. He'll die on that hill, even if it killed him itself. even if it has killed you already.

he knew this was a stupid idea, he should've just rotted in bed, he should've kept on living in the repeated circle of misery. He should've just lived up with every rush of breeze rustling his mistakes over and over, where he could've sworn that it was your voice.

breath, rin.

he was fucking trying. 

“So what do you want me to do about it? be your wingman and pair you together again?” 

“or, you could just say nothing. listening is enough.”

after a moment of silence, sae shoulders ease up. a guster pointed for him to keep going. so rin dose, he rants and rants like he had the time of the world right in his palms. It was mostly about you, how you were something that became his everything, how he should've stopped you like he wanted to, how he let you be driven away like he always does, how he should've apologized like he was supposed to. 

blustring about ‘what the if’s’ and what would've happened if he just.. he loved you like you loved him.. if only he tried. he can't blame it on his immense ego, his lack of communication, the digged hole on his soul that you bleeded to fill, you gave all your flesh till there was nothing left but bones.

he could've rebuilt the broken pieces of your heart, but they were too sharp to hold. He bled within every one, he was bleeding to ashes, to nothingness. 

you loved till there was nothing left to love about you. you drained down the hill. not even his blood could fulfill you.

his voice would crack, a dust cloud blows over his eyes, yet sae would stare at him ever so flatly. if he even dares to say disappointment. disappointed that his younger brother was just a copy past of him. 

someone that kills everything he touches.

When rin has nothing left to say, sae stands up. reaching his pocket for a card that carries a name and a number. as the dark-head flipped the card between his fingers, blood-thirst eyes narrowed at him.

“a fucking therapist? are you fucking kidding me?"

“you clearly need one.”

“I don't, is this some kind of lukewarm joke?”

“stop being corny, I'm trying to help you here. if you aren't willing to let yourself feel the sense of loss, you can suit yourself out.”

and with that, sae turns his back to him. like he always does. climbing the stairs to his bedroom, leaving rin to reconsider where his actions have driven him, how beyond it threw it all. 

although, he’ll never let himself feel the sense of loss. never. He'd rather be haunted by you than be alone forever, he'll be a stray till you pick him up again.

lmao wrote this with nagi plushie watching me like a hawk

[the-yersinia-plague]

Intro

Excerpt from Sabre's Journal

"I knew I shouldn't have let Plague Steve use that potion. My gut told me it was a bad idea to infect Infinity Steve with it, but I ignored it. Now it's too late. The damage done. It's just... The situation was dire. We had tried everything we could to defeat Infinity, but nothing was strong enough to harm them in the slightest. Until Plague stepped up with this potion, claiming it would surely kill them within three to six and a half days... Those couple days would be the last days, where everything was truly okay. I'm not sure who to blame for this. Plague or myself. Shifting the blame to Plague would be the easiest thing to do, sure. But it wouldn't be right without the proper proof. He didn't seem to expect such a terrible outcome. And neither did we. It started in the dead of night. Fittingly enough there was a thunderstorm going on. Lucas, Light and Rainbow were all asleep in their respective rooms in the Rainbow House. I was also in my room, but couldn't sleep. That night I was still hanging over some blueprints for an automatic defense contraption for the gate and the wall around town. The first sign that something was wrong, were odd crashes out in the storm. I chalked it up to be lightning hitting stuff and didn't think about it much further. I should've gone out and checked the situation... Maybe then I could've changed the outcome? When we went outside the next morning, it was pretty clear something had attacked the town. Signs of struggle and demolition everywhere. The Steve Temple had been broken into, judging by the smashed windows. Venturing inside revealed a scene that had all our stomachs drop. Inside the temple we found the remains of what could barely be identified as Infinity. Their body was horribly deformed and mangled. It was gruesome. I don't wish to go into detail right here and now. I'll create a proper document for the disease later on, when I have collected sufficient data. Upon discovery Lucas and I froze in shock. Light Steve passed out and Rainbow Steve began to whimper and tremble, dragging Light back out of the temptemple. What was worse than Infinity's corpse on the ground however, was the fact that the machines holding Red Steve, Green Steve and Blue Steve were ripped open and named steves missing. If Infinity attacked them, while infected, then there was a high chance the disease got transmitted to them. Which meant they were now dangerous. Lucas and I decided to be as cautious as possible. Protecting Light and Rainbow from this new threat is now our top priority. We agreed that the Rainbow House was probably no longer safe enough. So now we're hunkering down in the bunker beneath the town. Rain was confused at first, when we helped him with Light and brought him towards the bunker. After a brief explanation he quickly understood the gravity of the situation. We wanted to get Plague in with us, but he was nowhere to be found. To this day he is missing. I don't know when he left or why. Out of guilt? Or did he know? Either way, we must find him somehow. He might be our only key to stop this disease.

Lucas and I will need to haul supplies from the Rainbow House to the bunker soon. But for now we're set. Light and Rainbow are currently not allowed to go outside. It pains me to do this to them, but it's for their own safety. Then again, they don't seem eager to go outside anyway. Sadly the Light Shrine, where we used to talk to the Skypeople, was damaged after Infinity's rampage too. So we have set up a new, smaller Shrine for the Skypeople in the bunker. Hopefully their messages will still reach us down here. I trust their guidance will help us through this difficult time. There's plenty of Rainbow Stone down here too. I want to experiment with it. Maybe I can turn it into something that will help against the disease. I am by no means a scientist, but probably the most fitting one of our group to take on this task. I have to at least try. I have to."

[hedwig221b]

Fic authors self rec!

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤

I got tagged by @cozyrosykay, thank you, love!

This is gonna be interesting…

Predators

He was born for this. Nature itself whispered into his ear where he should put his hands, how to twirl his tongue just right and when to bite. Stiles knew well enough that his saliva was currently working its magic on this unfortunate man, making him hungry, lustful, and insatiable. Soon, all his thoughts would be consumed by Stiles.

And, just this once, Stiles would allow Derek to consume him.

I still consider this my best work (yet! bc I'm writing something currently and y'all… it's a contender). But it's so fucking good, I'm sorry, but it is! Each time I finished writing another piece, I closed the doc and told myself that this is the best thing ever. I love how gentle Derek is with Stiles, I love how persistent he is with his love, almost arrogant with his confidence. He's like oh well, Stiles is confused but it'll pass. I'll be here anyway. Forever. !!!!!! I love Stiles as a creature, and I love him embracing the darkness and being unapologetic about it. I love this fic so much.

Eros Mania Amor

“I am just reminding you that Stiles is married. To me. All you can do is imagine, and I get to do all of those things you’re dreaming of to him. Yes, I know. I know everything you and others think,” Hale opened his eyes and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. His smile was despicable in its selfishness. “I know what you dream of when you look at his lips—”

“Stop it.” Jordan shook his head.

“— because I am the same as you,” the wolf ignored him. “I imagined everything you did, it’s just happened that my dream became the life that I get to live. He is here,” he tapped his own temple, “and here,” he tapped his chest. “And you would have to kill me to get us separated.”

This fucking fic… I was high on reading Dracula, and I love classics, and I definitely put all my love for it here. I love the language in this, the intrigue, the misleading. I also love when sterek's love is so overwhelming and unbreakable. I also kinda ate with the imagery in last sentences... I ate in general with this fic lmao

Torn Apart and Set Anew

“Someone’s here,” Stiles whispered, feeling weirdly numb.

The metal latch clicked. With ice filling his lungs and his fingers shaking terribly, Stiles swiveled his head in the direction of a window and froze for a beat of a second.

There was a face behind the glass.

Forgettable and plain, but at the same time familiar face.

This deserves more attention, and it's probably my fault for putting a weird summary resulting in it not getting a lot. Anyway, I love the suspence. I love Stiles' stubborness and I love the plot twist. About that: I like how I make it obvious who's the villain and (I hope) the reader thinks they already got the plot twist... But then the real plot twist comes and it's like... FUCK. Also Derek in this is soo…. ugh... and the ending!!! Asffgghjjkhgrjsskr

Treasure

“I know you don’t trust me,” Derek grunted. When Stiles inhaled to retort, Derek caught his chin and pressed a finger against his lips, making the boy freeze in place, eyes impossibly wide. “Don’t argue. I expected it. Wolves don’t trust easily, too. I just wanted you to know that… I’m sorry. I was selfish and didn’t see what was in front of me. You don’t need to worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

It was a thought that grew in his mind, spread to his heart and took root there, reincorporating into a deep desire and a vital need. Derek will take care of him and his little pup, he’ll bring the hearts of his enemies and put them at the boy’s feet. He’ll court and he’ll conquer.

I have my issues with this fic but ELI!!!! KIRA!!! DEREK!!! iykyk lol but yeah I often go back to this fic just to reread Eli parts, I loved writing baby Eli, he's gonna come back in Jane Eyre au for sure. I also never cried this hard during writing a fic, not before and not since. That scene... One of the best scenes I've written, the grief is so raw and scolding... shit I might reread this...

your fangs against my skin (the sound of your bones)

This was it, then, huh? It was that easy for Derek to invite someone to his den. Someone other than Stiles.

He healed the wolf. Stiles killed his tormentor, mended his blood and bones, and let him sleep beside him. But none of it was enough.

He wasn’t a spark, after all, but a witch — evil and alone, locked up in his tower.

Witches didn’t get happy endings.

One of my recent gems, I would even call it mild in terms of darkness and angst. It's a comfort fic for me. I love how relaxed Derek is around Stiles, how both of them crave each other's comfort and give it so easily. I also loved Stiles' witchiness, he's so weird and fun lmao, also LYDIA

.

Tagging gently in case y'all already did this: @dear-massacre @renmackree @endwersed @nerdherderette @thotpuppy @invisible-storyteller @eevylynn

[givehimthemedicine]

Madwheeler and Super-El: Max and Mike's perspectives on El as the (super)hero

working on another post pondering El's role as "the hero" vs the way the show really doesn't support that concept, and places huge importance on teamwork instead.

the hero is usually the strong/capable one expected to take all the risks and save the day, and other characters feel free to throw them at danger without fearing too much for their safety, especially if they also have powers. but when the hero is a little girl, that's harder.

so today I'm chewing on how El is viewed in that light by the two people closest to her - both of whom are prone to contextualizing her powers through a fantasy lens.

so, here comes one of my favorite El-Max topics, but also one where I've shortchanged Mike in the past. I need to revise some of the old stuff I've said about Bad Guy Mike identifying El as a superhero vs Good Guy Max identifying El as just a girl with superpowers. that was a pretty superficial read on both ends.

(I'm sure the Mike parts will be kindergarten review for his fans/analysts, but I don't usually pay him much attention; this is aimed more at the Mike-hater/ignorer elmax crowd I spawned from)

this is a long ramble, but a fun one I think!

let's start with Max.

for her, El begins as a mythological figure. she doesn't believe she exists as described by Lucas. but then El proves her existence via a very badass entrance, and it only supports Max's idea of her as some kind of invincible, superhero-esque figure.

Max scoffs at the idea of El needing Hopper's protection at the lab. actually, El does need it, bigtime! closing the gate takes all her focus, and without Hopper there to fend off demodog attacks, she probably couldn't have done it.

Max doesn't see that, though, and presumably spends little or no time around El between seasons, so her first impression goes unchallenged for almost a year.

we find s3 Max locked in HARD in her faith in El as the hero who can solo the baddie, take care of herself, and save everyone else. she seems to picture that having superpowers means El has nothing to fear.

the sauna is the first time Max actually sees El fight, and it doesn't go how she expects

El fights Billy, but gets overpowered at one point. everybody's stunned: this is the first time any of the party has ever seen El not decisively win a fight, so "uhhh... should we do something?" doesn't kick in instantly. Max and the others watch as El gets choked purple. only Mike intervenes to save her life and give her a moment to regain control of the fight.

"like she needs protection" and "you have super powers! what's the worst that could happen?" age like milk here. this is when Max sees that El is not invincible and needs help. lesson learned!

... ehh well.. actually what happens is, Max doubles down on her solo-hero-El stance after this and has a bigtime attitude about it.

and, okay, I'm ready to admit that Max's overconfidence towards El's abilities leads to her treating El more like she's a superhero than Mike does during this era. not her intent, but, what's said is said. (I'll get into it, bear with me)

when Mike worries about El endangering herself, Max accuses him of not respecting El's right to make her own choices. when Lucas suggests killing the MF with fireworks, she eyerolls him for thinking any non-El approach could be of value.

nobody was 100% right or wrong, but I see Max having the most crow to eat after all this. Mike was right to worry about El's limits and fear for brain damage: she loses her powers entirely (in the sense that this is later likened to the brain-scrambling of a stroke, can it not be said that El did take brain damage from the MF? not exactly how Mike meant it, but?). and Lucas is no dummy for the fireworks idea: it's all that stops El from getting flayed at one point.

El still helps save the day in s3, but as the big powerful solo hero? nah. least of any season. Max's repeated bets on her powers lose.

so why did watching El almost die in the sauna seem to have no effect on Max's perception of her? why does she still assert that El alone will kick all the flayed butts in 3x6, after she needed some nerd's help kicking (1) flayed butt in 3x4?

there is a visible effect! just not the one you expect right away.

mid-3 is Max's guilt and denial era

3 is when all the issues are coalescing that leave Max depressed in 4: she wished for something terrible to happen to Billy, and now it is, so it feels like it's her fault. she's not ready to cope with the guilt that comes from that, or any of the other dominos that are falling as a result.

"I just stood there and watched" is textually about Billy and the flesh monster. but if Max feels guilt for inaction, she would have similar feelings about El in the sauna, where she also took no action.

Max specified that her inaction with Billy wasn't because she was scared or weak, but because she didn't know if he deserved to be saved. It being a decision not to act is why she feels so terrible about it. I see no reason to think it was radically different in the sauna: I could completely buy that she somewhat chose not to act because she didn't think El needed to be saved.

I don't think either are cases of Max blaming herself for an uncontrollable freeze response, because we see multiple illustrations of her not having that response, whether it's herself or others in danger.

post-sauna, Max has plainly seen that El did need protection, and is struggling with the fact that she didn't provide any. the bathroom scene is when her guilt is the clearest, imo.

watch how she gets lost in the sight of El's bruises and stops what she's doing, and the way she asks if it hurts. you can imagine her logic in feeling like those bruises are her fault: both for "causing" the greater situation and for not making a move to help.

but what's really telling is the abrupt change of subject and tone from "are you in pain?" to "lol that Mike's a yapper amirite?". she has a lot of nerve putting Mike down after he's the one who just saved El's ass, right? but that's exactly why she does it. this is 14 year old coping with heavy feelings in an immature manner, as they'll do.

choosing Mike isn't just a random "lol madwheeler worsties" attempt to cheer El up. it's an attempt to bury her shame at her own inaction compared to his action in the sauna. by getting a laugh out of El at Mike's expense and shifting the theme of the scene towards making fun of the boys, she's steering into waters that reflect more favorably on herself, and her bond with El, than him/his.

so I think that's one big reason Max is doubling down on her confidence in El in mid-3: to absolve her guilt. she's trying to convince herself that El really CAN take care of herself despite what she saw. because if El is superheroically powerful, Max has nothing to feel guilty about (and in fact, is El's only good, supportive friend for having faith in her!)

season 3's war of the sexes

here's another reason I think Max doubles down. she has some male-specific trust issues at play behind the scenes in this season that have been messing up her relationship. as a result of El coming to her for advice, Max's private personal trauma-foibles get projected out into this "stupid boys" war of the sexes that clogs up most of the party's season.

why do I bring up trust issues? because Max does. her framing in the cabin argument is pretty bullshit: she spins Mike's concern for El's wellbeing into an issue of trust. which is a kinda odd word for the situation, especially considering it does not play to her advantage.

look at her regret that she let that word escape containment lmao:

Max thinks boyfriends can't be trusted, so it follows that girlfriends should always be trusted - and "trust" here means "trust El to save the day without killing herself". even though I trust it's been explained to her that that's classic El behavior.

she presents her case to Nancy and Jonathan, but a fair trial for Mike goes out the window when only Nancy weighs in. yep, the Nancy who's fresh off her own war with Jonathan about workplace misogyny and how he should've trusted her about the rat story. so Nancy's ruling (while none of it is wrong) has a heavy bias in the same direction as Max's, and totally glosses over the valid aspects of what Mike's saying. lmao at the way Jon mutes himself for this discussion. she's never wrong, son.

El's agency and ability prevail as the only real issues among the loudest voices in the room - neither of whom share the trauma of already having witnessed El exercise both to sacrifice herself.

oh, but then look what happens as soon as El starts losing another fight:

at least some of that was denial, because it ends abruptly right here. Max doesn't need it anymore, because she has something way better: another chance.

I think if the sauna truly hadn't changed Max's mind about El, then Max would've done the same thing here (stood and watched). but she doesn't. this time when El gets overpowered fighting the flesh monster and almost gets yoinked, Max jumps in to help pull her back.

(this is how we can be sure Max's inaction with Billy and the FM wasn't merely a freeze response. "I imagine myself running to you, pulling you away" - they showed her able and willing to do exactly that for El)

this is a huge step. but still, the anti-Lucas-fireworks stuff happens even after this. (she's a work in progress, okay?)

in fairness, El's powers are the more effective approach. she still has them here, and nobody foresees her losing them over a leg injury. if all had gone as expected, El would've probably done the heavy lifting in another FM fight at the mall. Max doesn't have to be so dismissive of conventional backup plans, but she's not wrong-wrong about this particular one, either: fireworks don't kill the FM. they're an invaluable distraction, yes, but not fatal.

by this point, Max understands now that El needs help/protection even though she has powers, but still places her faith in those powers above all else to handle the supernatural fighting. which I'd call a fairly reasonable, if sucks-to-be-El assessment.

more progress is made when El loses her powers:

this little piece of action is sooooo tasty as a bookend to the sauna scene.

this time, Max doesn't wait to see how the fight goes and then jump in for backup if needed. she takes the defensive lead this time, stepping out in front. none of these three have the physical strength to beat Billy, so she figures that as Billy's stepsister, the responsibility falls to her to try to stop him a different way. doesn't work even a little bit, but, credit for the effort to defend. (Mike too, full credit for trying)

s4 Max on El's power loss

we don't know of anything Max ever said TO El regarding her power loss. but during her curse era in season 4 she's still out there wishing for El to get her powers back.

this line was a rock in my shoe for awhile because I thought Max should've grown past the solo-hero-El mindset after s3. I wish the burden wasn't always on El, and I'd like to see Max express that too, and spend more time helping think of conventional solutions instead of just relying on El's powers to save the day.

but actually I just misinterpreted the line.

she doesn't say this during the discussion about how they're gonna stop Vecna. this is specifically in reply to Nancy pointing out that they need to find a way into the UD in order to do that. so Max isn't saying she wishes El would come kill Vecna / rescue her / save the day, she's just saying she wishes El could poke a hole into the UD for them so they can do it. opening a portal is the part the kids really can't do on their own. shooting/stabbing a guy, sure.

once a gate presents itself, Max never wishes for El's help again. she volunteers as bait while the others kill Vecna, which is an entirely conventional solution.

so, this still fits a general trend away from regarding El as a solo/super hero. as always, Max looks to El for the stuff that can only be accomplished with superpowers; what's really changing is that her perception of "things that can be accomplished without superpowers" is expanding. s3 to s4 shows an enormous decrease in her reliance on El for supernatural battle.

ooh but the final step (so far) is my favorite

Max really no longer expects El to solo, even when she shows up with powers and gives explicit instructions to let her solo. ("stay back" -> so, "just stand there and watch"? mm tasty)

Max does listen, initially, but when things go south, she tries to stab Vecna in El's defense (or more realistically, tries to distract him for a second).

the interesting piece of character growth here is not that Max tries to protect El even though El has powers. that's not new.

it's the implications of Max growing past volunteering her protection unasked, all the way to insisting on protecting El even after she said not to.

a very interesting choice from little miss trust-El-who's-saved-the-world-twice.

[Regina George voice:] so you agree? it is possible for El to overestimate her own limits? and her decisions should sometimes be challenged or overridden for her own protection?

like. Max and Mike are the only ones El has ever "stay back"ed. I mean, she's fought for everybody, but they're the only two people she's ever explicitly, individually, fought instead of. are we seeing it?

are we seeing how Mike's feelings in that s3 argument had a lot to do with watching El fight the demogorgon after keeping him back for his own protection - and that the instant Max has the vaguely-equivalent experience of watching El fight Vecna after keeping her back for her own protection, her actions get a bit more Mikey?

where will this go in s5?

unless we get an amnesia plot, s5 Max ought to have a specific brand of El-loss trauma very similar to Mike's, considering she most likely died thinking El had already been killed trying to protect her. (I'm 100% sure she never saw and 90% sure she never heard El in the mind lair with her so it probably looked like she was dead or at very least "gone")

seems very safe to say s5 will require El to endanger herself in order to save Max, and I'm very eager to see how this arc plays out in terms of Max's reaction to that (will we get a scene where Max actually tries to dissuade her?) and whether we'll get any kind of madwheeler handshake type moment about that.

I'm not saying Max and Mike will or should reach equilibrium in the end, but I am enjoying that they've both ended up sliding towards the middle ground since their argument. Mike has learned to better respect El's agency and independence, and now Max has learned that sometimes she too prioritizes El's safety.

so! Max starts out all starry-eyed over El, thinking superpowers are the solution to everything, only to become more and more inclined to help and protect the girl she originally thought of as a superhero. can't tell you how much I love this progression.

.

now let's talk about Mike

unlike Max, Mike never expected El to be invincible or save the day all on her own. it might have a lot to do with first impressions (which looks like she needs taking care of: the rainsoaked nonverbal child lost in the woods, or the MTV punk who just hurled a monster through the window?)

Mike does encourage El to use her powers to find Will (after she volunteers her ability and willingness), but just the void-searching, screwing-with-electronics type stuff. he never encourages her towards telekinetic battle; she does all that unasked. he never expects her to fight for them in any way that seems to seriously endanger her. in fact, he makes effort to protect her at those times.

season 2, he worries for El when she goes off to the lab to close the gate, in contrast to Max figuring she can take care of herself. Mike formulates the plan to draw away the demodogs to make it safer for her.

season 3 is the big argument where Mike's seemingly the only one concerned for El's safety, accusing everyone of being careless with El's powers and treating her like a machine. (intriguing that the actual word "superhero" wasn't invoked in this scene)

although Max makes valid points in this argument, bias from her trust issues causes her to take her points a bit too far. the same thing is going on with Mike. he makes valid points, but has bigtime loss issues that cause him to err in the other direction (arguing El is risking her life "for no reason" when literally the world is at stake).

in fact, throughout the series, his concern for El's safety looks chiefly motivated by his own fear of loss.

"I don't want her to die looking for the flayed"

oh boy does that line tell us a lot. he says "looking for". not "fighting". y'all see the size of the can of worms?

Mike worries about her dying not in combat to save the day, but from searching the void for too long and dying from strain of power overuse. which raises the question:

if Mike is worried about power strain... shouldn't it have been a concern when she had to close the gate last year, which was 1000x more strenuous?

El's battery-drainage has been common knowledge since s1, so either:

s2 Mike didn't realize closing the gate would take lots of power (doesn't make sense; Hopper told them the gate had gotten huge), OR

is there some reason Mike would've become even more El-loss-motivated by 3 than he was in 2, even though he got to "keep" El at the end of 2?

yes! the reason is Will.

in s2, Will was in jeopardy. Mike's response to the El-gate-closing plan wasn't "oh no, El, don't! you might die or get brain damage!" it's "okaycool but let's make sure Will is safe first." when he does fret for El's safety, he specifies that it's the demodogs he's worried about. he makes no mention of power strain.

in s3 the world is at stake again, but suddenly now Mike is all "oh nooo we can't let El strain herself" regarding a comparatively extremely-low-power-intensity task (plus El is older and presumably stronger since s2). the key variable is that this time, Will is fine.

Mike has always cared about El's safety, but back when Will was at stake, he was able to overlook power strain on her as regrettable but necessary. right now, with Will's safety a non-issue, Mike is free to make El's safety his top concern, even to the point of judging all the others for acting basically like he did in s2. priorities.

anyway, back to the greater subject:

none of his behavior in the first few seasons looks much like the way someone would treat a superhero.

if Mike has always understood that El needs help and protection, why does he get all superhero-y about her by season 4?

has he grown increasingly awed by her powers as they've strengthened? is Mike's arc the inverse of Max's, with him regarding El as more of a superhero over time? I don't think that's it.

I think framing this the same way for Mike as for Max is wrong, and misses what's really neat about this contrast.

we have to think about why each of them liken El to a superhero in the first place. it's not for the same reasons.

Mike and Max admire different qualities in their favorite superheroes.

Max superhero name drop: Wonder Woman Max is a girl from a broken home who's felt abandoned, rejected, or abused by every male figure in her life, so we can see the obvious appeal in a strong, independent super-woman. (isn't WW's Lasso of Truth also just what a girl with trust issues would want?)

things like relative invincibility (I know WW isn't literally invincible but like, compared to a regular person), female independence, and ability to defend herself (esp from men) are defining superhero qualities to Max because they're a mix of what she has to be, and what she wishes she could be. she probably imagines that if she were WW, she wouldn't have to worry about anyone or anything that's making her life suck the way it does. WW is MM upside down. coincidence????? (yes)

that's what Max thought El was, early on, hence genuinely thinking El could take care of herself in the sauna.

so does Max just stop thinking of El as a superhero? not necessarily in every sense. right around the time Max is letting go of those preconceptions, another El-WW commonality becomes evident: El helps save the world not with superpowers, but with compassion for Billy.

a mainstay of the Wonder Woman character is the dichotomy of her dominant force aspect and her nurturing humanity: her overwhelming belief in love, empathy, compassion, and having a strong conscience.

I'm not sure whether to think El told anybody how she got through to Billy at the end. but if Max does know, then there are still Wonder Womanly things for her to admire about El's actual character, even if she doesn't think of her as a superhero anymore in the defining sense.

Mike superhero name drop: Superman invincibility is more of a Superman thing, but not one I see evidence that Mike esteems in Supes, wishes for himself, or expects from El.

the qualities I figure Mike admires in Superman are evidenced by the ones that reflect in his own character: things like loyalty, protectiveness, strong sense of justice. nobody thinks his powers aren't cool, but I sense the real allure for Mike is the way Superman uses those powers for good. that's how Mike would use powers if he had any.

I think such qualities are also what he likes about El. I'm giving him a huge benefit of doubt here, because he hasn't made this clear textually. but in the monologue, I see now how he's calling her a superhero for her character, not her actual powers. he admires her for her loyalty to her friends, her commitment to fighting for good, her constant choice of love over hate - all that jazz. stuff that really does apply with or without her powers.

Mike superhero name drop: X-Men when Lucas says El is a "weirdo, not a superhero" Mike doesn't deny her weirdo-ness, he defends it, in other words saying someone can be both.

the X-Men are outcasts due to genetic mutations, so their appeal is obvious among a group of nerds who are bullied and called freaks over a variety of prejudices. through an X-Men lens, Mike can find strength in the discrimination and struggle to fit in which the party faces in real life.

this all applies to El too, who faces definite struggles from not fitting in, getting bullied and called a freak as well.

two indicators that Mike meant it specifically in an X-Men way when he called El a superhero during their fight:

one: this conversation started with her talking about how she is different, doesn't belong, and everyone thinks she's a monster.

two, Mike's word choice. he's already referenced his bullying, but his use of "mouth breather," a s1 throwback word referring to Troy ("I was tripped by this mouth breather Troy") links his thought process back to the X-Men conversation specifically (which took place on the heels of Troy bullying the party).

Mike didn't call her a superhero like "they don't have telekinesis and you do, so you rule and they drool!" he meant "yes you are different from everybody else, and I know that sucks a lot of the time, but the way you use your unique qualities to fight evil is what makes you awesome, like the X-Men!"

Mike superhero name drop: Mister Fantastic

the first person whose superpowers Mike praises isn't El. it's Dustin! he thinks the hyper-flexibility Dustin gets bullied for is cool, kind of like the stretching powers of Mister Fantastic.

I don't know Mister Fantastic so I had to look up what his deal is, and was intrigued to find this:

.. although his cosmic ray powers are primarily stretching abilities, his presence on the Fantastic Four team is defined by his scientific acumen, as he is officially acknowledged as the smartest man in the Marvel Universe.

rather reminiscent of Dustin, the genius child who's always explaining magnets and the plot to everyone else? looks like his "superpower" is not the only reason Mike likens Dustin to Mister Fantastic. just like El's isn't the only reason he likens her to Superman.

anyway, Mike thinking of El as a superhero isn't the problem per se. the problem is him never articulating that he doesn't mean it in the hurtful way

Mike's had two big scenes where he REALLY needed to make this clear to El, and didn't (if I'm even on the right track here).

El doesn't know jack about superheroes except that they have powers, so when Mike calls her that, she has no idea he could be referring to anything other than her powers. you can't tell me she ever read a comic for him or listened to him talk about Superman. I can't remember El ever even politely feigning interest in Mike's interests.

the only time she's ever listened to anyone lore dump about superheroes was Max about Wonder Woman, and if my above reading is accurate, early s3 Max probably focused on superpowers more than character.

the closest we ever came to E listening to Mike talk about a "superhero" he likes is:

it's not like he extolled Yoda's bravery or anything. just telekinesis. so it's little wonder what her takeaway is here. all she has to go by is what he says out loud.

and when Mike reassures her, unprompted, that she'll get her powers back at the end of s3, it just reinforces her notion that telekinesis is really important to him.

when actually, I think Mike just says that because it's important to her. she's lost a part of herself and he wants her to feel whole. (whether El truly wants her powers back for her own sake or because she fears she's not valuable to others without them is another conversation - point here is, Mike saw her try, fail, and look upset about it, so he reassures her.)

ps, I do like how reaching that teddy bear for her serves as a micro illustration of the way he's willing to help reach goals in conventional ways instead of relying on her powers.

but yeah, again, clearly she thinks he means her powers when he calls her a superhero and she answers "not anymore".

which leads to a question I've yelled at the tv more than once: why didn't he just clarify as soon as El said "not anymore"? this whole thing could've been nipped in the bud?

I think he doesn't even realize the miscommunication.

his intent with the superhero "compliment" might just be so obvious to him that he doesn't realize it needs clarification for her.

"but how could he miss the miscommunication? what else than her lost powers could she mean by "not anymore"?" maybe Mike thinks she DOES already understand that he means the superhero thing in terms of admirable character. so, when she says "not anymore", maybe he thinks she's referring not to her lost powers, but to her lost standing in his eyes since hitting Angela?

I've pondered before about how maybe Mike's admiration of El's Supermanly "unwavering moral code" is why he was so upset that it apparently wavered after Rinkomania.

he didn't say anything to clarify after "not anymore" because he is still sorting out those feelings.

I'm not sure Mike realizes even after the "I have gone to become a superhero again" note (which he reads after finding out El is in training to get her powers back).

his reaction to the note isn't "oh no, I didn't mean superhero like that!" but rather seems all about his regret about El leaving him behind as a result of his failure to force an "I love you". (ah, the old fear of loss disguised as romantic love again)

I don't believe he'd fail to apologize/clarify if he realized the way that this hurt El. he can be an ass, he can be stupid, but he does reliably own up to his mistakes and apologize.

I used to think the "with/without your powers" line in the monologue meant he was aware of the miscommunication, and was trying to clarify. but he did such a bad job clarifying that it makes a lot more sense if he actually still hasn't clocked the issue at all. I gotta think he couldn't have been dumb enough to say the superhero thing again unless he still didn't get how it was hurtful in the first place.

he does have El on a pedestal. it's just not because of her powers.

the monologue is largely selfish, and doesn't land well for El, but it's not the worship-of-superpowers Mike is so often accused of. he's locked onto the "I love you" thing, caught up in his own fear of loss, and completely missing the optics for her.

the superhero thing can be cleared up with a single conversation. the true underlying issue, which would still persist, is this "extraordinary vs. ordinary" dynamic in his mind which isn't serving either of them well. he's got low self esteem from viewing himself as some useless loser compared to her; and the last thing she wants is another guy considering her extraordinary, which has been a horrific liability all her life, and she just wants normalcy.

reason #7519 why 🦴.

in conclusion: Mike and Max having different Super-El arcs is the good arc for both of them

as Max sees El needing protection, she comes to realize that powers don't grant the kind of freedom/safety that she daydreamed would go along with being a superhero in real life. so for Max to decreasingly regard El as a superhero is a positive thing.

as Mike sees El continue to loyally fight against ever-greater forces of evil and the social struggles that come with her uniqueness, he continues to admire the same qualities in her that define his favorite superheroes. so for Mike to still/increasingly regard El as a superhero is a... well-intentioned, potentially positive thing. (it can be, if he takes her off the pedestal and explains this in a way she can understand.)

[the-badger-mole]

How the High King of Elfhame Got His Seneschal's Photo

Well, this was a waste of a trip to the mortal world. I leaned against the brick wall of the cafe I'm waiting in front of and bite back an annoyed groan. After all, I knew coming here on the strength of a fourthhand rumor was a long shot. Still, when Randalin told me that he'd heard from his valet who'd heard from the servant of one of the gentry families of the lower courts that there was a rumor of a kidnapping plot against my brother amongst the solitary fae, I thought it best to look into it myself. Now that I know the rumor was just the product of someone's overactive imagination, I wish I had just let one of the spies from the Court of Shadows look into it .

The fact that I probably wouldn't have trusted anyone else with this mission isn't a thought worth acknowledging.

I look down the empty street, expecting the Roach at any moment. Not for the first time, I wish for some way to travel between Faerie and the mortal world without needing to rely on one of the Folk to escort me. I would have asked Vivi if I knew how quickly this little side mission was going to be done. Oh, well.

A dark car pulls to a stop about half a block away from me. I note it absently. After all, I am not waiting on a car. Ten minutes later, I'm starting to get impatient. The Roach had come with his own agenda, I knew, but he had led me to believe that he would be done with his errand long before I was done with mine. I hope he'll show up soon. It was really starting to get cold, and I am not dressed for the weather. I shiver and pull my hoodie closer around me. Maybe, I consider, I should consider making it policy that anyone coming to the mortal realm should carry burner phones so they can stay in touch. Knowing when the Roach would be here would make waiting a little more bearable, at least.

The sound of the car door opening draws me out of my thoughts, and I realize that a man has emerged. Then I realize he's heading in my direction. My hackles go up immediately, though I try to calm myself down. He may not be coming to me. He may just pass me on the way to someplace else.

He does not pass me.

"This isn't a place for loiterers," the man says gruffly. I snort at that.

"If I see any I'll let them know."

"Oh, a joker."

"Only on occasion." The man sneers at me.

He's not dressed the way I picture mortal thugs dressing. He is in a brown leather bomber, but his jeans are clean and crisp, as if he ironed them as flat as he could that morning. Even I know that is unforgivably geeky. On his feet is a pair of shiny black dress shoes. Not boots, or sneakers, like I'd seen on gangsters and evil bikers in movies. The man is also inexplicably wearing a pair of dark mirrored sunglasses, although the sun had very nearly set.

"Why don't you show me your hands?" He phases it like a question, but it sounds like a command. I ignore it and turn my gaze away from him. In my pocket, I turn my fingers against my wrist, feeling the hilt of my dagger there. Let him try me.

"I said show me your hands!" When adding volume to his voice doesn't work, he reaches for me, presumably to force me to obey. The shock on his face when I grab his wrist instead is deeply satisfying. His yelp of pain when I twist it to an unnatural degree is even more so. My dagger stays where it's hidden up my sleeve. I don't need it for him.

Down the street, the car opens again, on the passenger side this time, and another man emerges, running towards me and his friend. Well, a fight will keep me warm, anyway.

"Freeze!" the man shouts. He pulls a gun from his waist and points it at me. Internally I groan as I reluctantly raise my hands over my head. How did I forget about guns?

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"You're where?" Vivi screeches on the other end of the line. I flinch away from the phone receiver and glance around warily, certain that the police officers can hear my sister.

"I'm in jail," I repeat. "I need you to come bail me out." Vivi goes silent and I swear I can hear her pinching the bridge of her nose. Then, to my surprise, she laughs.

"Alright," she says at last. "Give me an hour."

"I've already been here for three!" I complain.

"Tough!" Vivi cackles. "I have to drop Oak off at a party, and I need get a card for the birthday boy first. You'll be alright. And if you get a prison tattoo, make sure it's a cool one."

"Viv!"

"I'll see you soon." Vivi is still laughing as she hangs up. I have to choke back a growl of frustration as I slam the receiver back onto the cradle.

"Finished?" the deputy who'd escorted me from my cell to make my one phone call.

"Finished," I sigh. A few moments later, the iron bars slam shut behind me. I am not alone in the cell, but the woman on the top bunk is in deep slumber, if her bone rattling snores are anything to go by. Then the smell of her hits me. This must be the drunk tank, I realize. With a huff, I sit on the bottom bunk and wait.

And I wait.

And wait.

One hour passes without Vivi showing up. Then two. At two and a half hours, I get up and pace the floor. Surely they'd give me another call, I think. But then, who else would I call besides Vivi? It was almost a miracle that I remembered her phone number. I never even tried to memorize Heather's. Besides, even if I had, Heather was probably with Vivi, or stuck at home. They only had one car between them.

Finally, as the clock was about to mark the third hour since I'd called my sister, I hear a commotion outside of the cell block.

"What do you mean I can't see my sister? I am here to bail her out. I have the cash right here!" Vivi's voice carries back to me, and I almost cheer in relief.

"Vivi!" I call.

"We're here, Jude!" Vivi yells back. Then her voice goes low. I can tell she's talking to someone, and finally they seem to come to an agreement. Then they are headed in my direction. Vivi appears behind the sheriff and she is the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. I'm so happy to see her that I don't see who's with her for a moment. It's not Heather who is standing behind her. It's Cardan.

Seeing him here, in the mortal realm- in a mortal police station of all places is so jarring, I can only stare for a moment. Especially since he's in a ridiculous red silk shirt with pearls at the cuffs and collar. Then I turn back to Vivi.

"Por que lo trajiste?" I demand in harsh whisper.

"Llegó a mi puerta y no me dejaria salir sin él." Vivi shrugs. "It was faster to bring him."

"That doesn't sound like you're grateful to see me," Cardan says, raising his brow.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him. I'm not angry. I'm too confused for anger, and I guess he sees that in my face, because he's not nearly so defensive when he answers.

"The Roach came rushing back to the palace raving that you'd been kidnapped," Cardan said. He eyed my cell distastefully, keeping well away from the iron bars. I have to force myself not to shrink in embarrassment. "And here you are indeed being kept captive for ransom. It wouldn't be very gallant of me to leave my seneschal imprisoned."

"Estaba furioso," Vivi tells me with an amused glance at him. "Tengo preguntas para ti luego. A lot!"

"Hey, pal," the sheriff cuts in. "Bail ain't ransom. She was arrested, not kidnapped." Vivi shakes her head, ignoring both men.

"Jail, Jude?" she sighs. "Que hiciste, hermanita?"

"Nothing!" I hiss back. "No hice nada. Es solo que él tiene una lasca en su hombro!" I jerk my chin towards the sheriff without looking at him.

"Little lady, assaulting an officer is not a little chip on my shoulder," the sheriff says. Vivi and I fall silent and stare at him. He shoots us a smug smirk. "Yeah, I speak Spanish, too." Behind him, I see Cardan is also smirking. His brows go up in amusement.

Little lady? he mouths silently. I scowl and shake my head at him. No. He will absolutely not make that a thing. I am not above ordering it so.

"You assaulted an officer?" Vivi is doing her best to sound disapproving, but she is barely keeping the grin off of her face, or the laugh from her voice.

"I didn't know he was an officer," I explain for for feels like the ten thousandth time tonight. "Some guy approaches me and starts making vague threats and I'm just not supposed to defend myself? He wasn't in uniform. He didn't even show me a badge!" At that, Vivi whirls on the sheriff, all amusement gone from her face.

"He didn't even identify himself?" she almost yells.

"W-well, h-he...he was only trying to warn her not to loiter," the sheriff stammered. "That block has had some issues with vandals recently, so plain clothes cops patrol there."

"I wasn't loitering. I was waiting for my ride." I press myself to the bars and glare daggers at the sheriff. "Then this random guy comes over and starts demanding to see my hands. I wasn't vandalizing anything! Tell me where that falls under protect and serve."

"Let my sister out!" Vivi demands. "Whatever your officer got was well deserved, it sounds like."

"It sounds like he got off lightly." Cardan's voice is deceptively airy. There's a coldness in his eyes that I know from experience means nothing good for the sheriff.

"I already told you, I can't let her go," the sheriff huffs. "Assaulting an officer is a felony, and a judge will need to set bail. She's in there until Monday." My jaw drops in shock. It's Friday. He expects me to stay in this disgusting cell for two days? Before I can protest, Cardan speaks again. This time when he speaks, the anger is tinged with glamour.

"I believe you'll find that you can let her go tonight," he says.

"I...I can let her go..." The sheriff's voice is distant, as if he's talking in his sleep. "Yes...I...I can let her go tonight. Just be sure to show up to your hearing on Monday."

"There won't be a hearing on Monday," Vivi says, her voice taking the same ineffable quality that Cardan's had. It was always strange watching the Folk glamour mortals from this end. Normally, I'm not a fan, especially of my sister doing it. But I cannot spend the weekend in a jail cell.

"Ri-ight," the sheriff agrees. He goes quiet for a moment and I suppose it's during this time that his brain supplies a good reason for letting me leave. He blinks his eyes rapidly, as if waking, and he shakes his head. Then he unlocks the cell and holds it open for me. "You're free to go."

"Wait, he still has my dagger," I say as I step hurriedly out of the cell. The sheriff closes it slowly behind me and stares at my cellmate thougthfully. She had been snoring loudly through this entire exchange.

"By all means let us retrieve it," Cardan drawls. "We all know how naked you feel without a weapon." Vivi rolls her eyes and enchants the sheriff again. A few minutes later, he's brought my sheathed dagger out from the evidence locker, and thrown away the plastic baggie it had been stored in. I wonder if he will get in trouble for this, then I decide that I don't care. I shouldn't have been arrested in the first place.

"Hey buddy," the sheriff calls Cardan aside. His brow goes up. At the informality of the address, I suppose. Still, he's intrigued enough to move closer. Whatever glamour Cardan had put on the sheriff seems to have left him with the impression that he and the High King were friends. He grinned mischievously at Cardan and hands him a manila envelope. "I figured you'd want a souvenir of your girlfriend's time as a felon."

"I'm not his girlfriend," I huff rolling my eyes. Cardan accepts the envelope nonetheless. I'm too tired to care, though. It must be near dawn, and all I want is to go home and sleep.

"What did he give you?" Vivi asks as we make our way to her and Heather's car. Cardan opens the envelope and pulls out a glossy picture. It's my mug shot. A flash of hot rage rolls through me, and I have half a mind to go back inside and show the snarky sheriff what assault with a deadly weapon truly looked like.

"I need ten copies of that!" Vivi howls with laughter. "I'm sending this to everyone!"

"No you're not!" I say, snatching the picture out of Cardan's hand and stuffing it in my pocket. "We are never talking about this again."

"Oh, honey," Vivi laughs again, throwing her arm around my shoulder. "You know that's not true." I grumble something vaguely threatening as I climb into the backseat of the car, but I know she's right. At least the photo evidence will soon be gone. I plan on burning my mugshot as soon as I can.

Later, in my rooms at the palace, I intend to do just that. Only when I check the pocket of my hoodie, it's gone. It must have fallen out in the car.

-:-:-:-:-:-

In his room, Cardan pulls out the photograph the sheriff had given him, and smooths it out. It's not very wrinkled, despite having been shoved unceremoniously into Jude's pocket. The woman herself stares up at him, holding a black placard with Duarte written in white block letters and a series of numbers beneath that. Loose strands of hair had fallen from her simple braid to frame her face, and she looks like she'd just been through a battle. Cardan supposes that wasn't far from the truth. Despite her apparent disarray at the time of her arrest, she manages to somehow look both imperious and sullen at the same time. Cardan grins at the image, knowing that Jude might actually kill him if she knew he had it.

Some months later, when she is in the middle of carving a space for herself in his room (their room, he corrects himself), Cardan is proven right.

"Are you serious?" she demands, snatching the framed photo from among his things on the dresser. Her eyes are alight with anger when she rounds on him. Cardan only chuckles in reply.

"Well, I could hardly commission an official portrait of you without drawing some uncomfortable questions," he tells her. "Besides, I don't think any painter in Faerie or the mortal world could capture your essence quite as succinctly as this."

"Get rid of it!" Jude orders him. His wife didn't need any magical binds to get Cardan to do whatever she wanted. He would swim the entire ocean to bring her the fruit of the trees that grew in the Court of Teeth if she wanted. But in this, he would have to insist on his own way. He crosses the room and gently pulls the picture from his wife's resisting hands.

"I would sooner throw my crown in a tar pit," he tells her. At her indignant shriek, he laughs again and kisses her forehead. The novelty of having the privilege to do so hadn't yet lost it's luster, and Cardan suspected it would be a very, very long time before it did. "Have I ever told you how adorable you are when you're angry?"

"I thought I was terrifying," Jude says, crossing her arms and scowling at him. Cardan shrugs.

"Who said you couldn't be both?" He smirks at her as he goes in for the final blow, "My little lady."

Now there's a part 2

[bingbongsupremacy]

Pt. 3

Pairing: Father! Eddie Munson x reader

Warnings: I've never been on tour so the set up with how it's planned is probably wrong.

Series Summary: Years ago you and Eddie used to be friends. After you graduated, you two fell out of contact. After years of not speaking to each other, Eddie offers you a job you can't resist; be a nanny for his little girl.

Part Summary: Being a nanny for the child of a famous man is a lot harder then you expected. Will you be able to handle it?

*Not Proof Read*

Tag List: @maskofmirrors @saucypeanuttt @hugdealer

Pt.1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3

******

This is it. We're going to fly.

I look out of the small airplane window beside me. We're so high up.

The sky is bright blue with minimal clouds. That helps relieve some of my anxiety. At least we don't have to worry about a tropical storm or something.

We're still so high up though. If someone were to fall off the plane, even when it was touching the ground, it definitely wouldn't be pretty.

In a few minutes we're going to be thousands of feet in the air. That's terrifying.

" You alright? " Eddie's voice breaks through my thoughts. He glances up at me from a random rock magazine in his hands.

I nod stiffly, pulling my gaze from the window. I take a small breath to help myself calm down. " Yeah, I've just never been on a plane before. I guess I'm a little nervous. " I admit while beginning to play with my fingers. " Flying over the ocean is freaking me out a bit. "

Eddie sets his magazine on his lap and turns his full attention to me. " It's going to be alright. I've done this a million times. Nothing's happened then and nothing will happen now. Just try to distract yourself. " He reassures me. " Here. " He pulls out another magazine, this one also about metal music news. " It's band stuff so I hope you don't mind, but it might help to take your mind off of everything. Plus there's a pretty fire crossword puzzle in the back. " He says with a grin, trying to help me feel better.

I smile at him. " Thanks, Ed. "

Eddie's grin widens at the use of his nickname. " Why of course, m' lady. " He exaggerates a playful bow in his seat.

I roll my eyes. " You're a clown. "

" Actually, I prefer the term Jester. " Eddie laughs at my reaction. He glances to the chair next to him where Rose is curled up against the arm rest. The look of pure adoration in Eddie's eyes sends a flutter of happiness through my body.

He loves her so much. He's matured a lot since High school. I never would've pictured him to be this responsible. It's amazing what having a child can do to a person. He just wants the best for her.

" She's a great kid. " I compliment.

Eddie nods in agreement. " I'm very lucky. She's put up with a lot, especially with the tour and everything. "

I wonder where her mom is? I haven't heard Eddie mention anything about her and Rose never calls her.

" If you don't mind me asking, " I begin cautiously. " where's her mother? "

6 months seems very long for a kid to be apart from their parent, especially when they're as young as Rose.

A flicker of anger crosses Eddie's expression.

Worried I offended him, I try to fix it. " You don't have to tell me. Sorry, that was very personal, I shouldn't have asked. "

Eddie shakes his head. He gently pulls the blanket around Rose's small shoulder. " No, you didn't do anything wrong. " He sighs. " It's...it's a long story. "

Overhead the pilot announces that we will be taking off. My hands clamp onto my arm rests as we suddenly begin to move. I refuse to look out of the windows, focusing my attention on our conversation. " Well, lucky for you, I don't think I'll be going anywhere anytime soon. " I nod towards the window. Out of the corner of my eye I can see the ground rush by. We're going to fucking fast.

When we pick up from the ground my stomach drops. A weird unsettled feeling courses through my body. I try to ignore it.

It's okay. It's just a plane.

Yeah a plane thousands of feet in the fucking air.

Eddie seems to pick up on my distress. He leans forward in his seat, as well as forward as the seat belt will allow him to go, and he pats my knee. " It's gonna be alright, Y/N. " He glances over at Rose who's still sleeping and very much unbothered by what's going on around her. " Her mom is a model I met at a party a few years ago. We dated for a bit and then we found out she was pregnant. " Eddie sighs. " She wasn't that interested in being a mom, her career was just taking off. We tried to stay together at least until Rose was born but she wasn't happy. We decided it was best if we broke up. She isn't around much. She's still out there 'finding' herself. She's supposed to come see one of the shows when we get back into the States. She wants to see Rose. We'll see how that goes. She doesn't even bother with child support so I wouldn't be surprised if it's too difficult for her to make it out to see Rose. " He doesn't sound like he carries much belief in the woman.

" I'm so sorry. " I send him a sympathetic look. " That's very rough. "

Eddie shakes his head. " It's alright. I've got Rose and Rose's got me. She doesn't need anyone else. " He tenderly brushes a strand of hair out of the young girl's eyes. " Besides, now she's got an awesome nanny who will be there for here when I can't. " He sends me a smile.

" Of course. "

I've only been around the little girl for a little while but I'm starting to grow more and more protective over her.

Eddie and I continue to talk and eventually, my fears of flying begin to subside and I can finally relax.

It's nice catching up with Eddie. It's been so long since we've seen each other. I forgot how easy he is to be around. In many ways he's changed but in so many others he's exactly the same. He's kind and funny. He cares about what I have to say.

Things my ex struggled with at times.

I don't even realize when I begin to fall asleep. The peaceful atmosphere along with Eddie's soft voice lull me into a hazy state.

" Y/N? " Eddie's voice feels distant and quiet.

I don't respond, my lips feeling too heavy to move. I manage to muster up enough strength to crack my eyes open just enough to see through my lashes.

" Can I get a blanket please? " Eddie asks a nearby flight attendant. She quickly returns with a blanket which he opens up.

I hear the faint click of his seat belt as he takes it off. He shuffles around for a moment before leaning towards me.

My eyes, too heavy for me to keep open, close completely. I feel Eddie's gentle hands tuck the soft blanket around my shoulders. His touch is light as if he's scared of waking me up.

" Sleep well, Y/N. I'm so glad I ran into you. " His voice is so quiet I almost miss his words.

Too exhausted to think over his words, I let my mind slip into darkness, the feeling of safety and comfort completely surrounding me.

I missed Eddie.

*****

" How the fuck did they find out we were going to be here? " Eddie's slightly panicked voice.

My eyes widen at the sight in front of us. Dozens-no hundreds- of people are gathered around the entrance of the hotel we're supposed to be staying. Some are carrying large cameras with blinding flashes that go off as they snap pictures of the car. Others are loudly screaming and carrying signs. Everyone is loud and their eyes are desperate for a chance to see or be noticed by one of the boys.

" Someone must've leaked where you're staying. " Eddie's body guard, Tony, sighs. " Don't worry Ed, we'll get you guys in there safely. " He leans over to say something to the driver.

Eddie turns to me. " I forgot to pack sun glasses for you guys so this is what we're going to do. I'm going to get out and cover you two with my jacket. Keep her face hidden. Try not to look into the flash, that shit can blind you. " He pulls a pair of sunglasses out of his backpack and slips them on. " Trust me, it's not fun stumbling around while not being able to see. Don't worry about the bags. I'll send someone back to grab everything. "

I take Rose out of her car seat and pull her hood up. Eddie waits for me to get ready before he finally opens the door.

Noise floods into the car and the light is so much brighter than what the tinted windows let through.

I'm terrified. The crowd looks uncontrollable and hungry for the attention of Eddie.

The hotel's security struggles to keep a clear path for us to walk through. They firmly tell the crowd to back up but their voices only end up blending with the chaos of the screaming fans and inquisitive paparazzi's.

Eddie keeps true to his word. As soon as he's out of the car he turns his back to the crowd and holds his jacket out.

I hurry towards him, terrified of being in this mess longer than we have to be.

One of Eddie's arms snakes around my shoulders to block out the flashing lights. I tuck into his side, pulling Rose closer.

I keep my head down to watch my feet and keep an eye on Rose who's now restlessly twisting in my arms. The noise and lights are too overwhelming for her, she looks like she's about to burst into tears.

" Daddy! " She squeaks while trying to reach for the man. I struggle to keep a good grasp on her.

" It's okay, Rosie. It's okay. " His voice is calm, but I can tell he's nervous. His body is tense against mine and he's basically holding onto my shoulder for his life.

" Eddie! Who's with you right now? It this a new partner? " Someone shouts from around us.

" Is Rose there? How old is she now? "

" What do you have to say about the band that allegedly copied one of your songs? "

" Show us who you're with! "

Questions dart through the air causing an overwhelming feeling to flood me. There's so much going on.

" Back up! Back up! " Tony demands ahead of us.

" Please give us some space. We're just trying to get into the hotel. " Eddie's voice is forcibly polite.

It'll be over soon. We're almost there, right?

Damn it this walk feels like it's taken an eternity. The entrance really didn't seem this far away from the car.

Out of the corner of my eye I spot of hand reach under the jacket. It roughly yanks me back, causing me to slam further into Eddie. I let out a small gasp in surprise, my eyes widening.

Eddie firmly holds me down so I don't fall backwards, both of his arms grabbing onto me. " What the fuck! " He exclaims, pulling me further towards him and away from the person who grabbed me.

The jacket slips down slightly and I'm able to peek out over the top.

Rose is now full on sobbing, terrified of the sudden rough movements. Her small hands cling onto my shirt, looking for any form of comfort. The top of her head slightly peers out from between Eddie and I revealing one of her tear filled eyes.

I pull one of my hands over her face, trying to bounce her slightly.

I don't know what the fuck to do? How am I supposed to comfort a child when I don't even feel safe myself.

Eddie's livid. He sends a rough look towards the paparazzi who yanked me. " What the fuck is your problem? Don't touch them! Back the fuck off, you entitled piece of shit. We're fucking people! My daughter's right here! You could've hurt them both. " His grip around me is tight and protective.

The man's eyes widen in surprise. He's momentarily paused from taking pictures. " Hey man, I didn't mean anything buy it. I was just trying to get your attention. "

" Well you fucking got it. " Eddie snaps.

I haven't seen him this mad since failed Mr. Ryan's chem class for the 3rd time.

" Eddie please, let's get inside. " I beg the man.

Eddie's eyes shift towards us. His anger seems to morph into slight concern at the sight of our state. " Yeah, I'm sorry. Let's go. "

He sends one last nasty look towards the man who pulled me before we continue towards the hotel.

Eddie was right. These lights are blinding. If Eddie wasn't holding my shoulder's I'd definitely fall.

We finally make inside and I let out a breath of relief.

The doors close behind us and immediately security guards stand in front of them to block the entry of the nosy mob.

Eddie lets go of me and immediately reaches for his daughter. He shields her from the windows by blocking everyone's view with his back. " Oh, baby. " He mumbles with guilt. " I'm so sorry. Daddy's sorry. " He gently rubs circles into her small shaking back.

We make our way further in to the hotel and finally out of the view of the mob outside.

The crying seems to have worn out Rose because by the time we reach the front desk she's passed out. Not that I blame her, the whole day's been exhausting.

We collect our keys from the front desk before beginning our journey to find our rooms.

" This was a mistake. I shouldn't have brought her here. What if she's like traumatized now? She's too young for all this crap. " Eddie mumbles in concern.

" Hey, she's going to be alright. " I try to reassure him. " She's a strong little kid, she'll be okay. Don't beat yourself up too much about it. "

Eddie doesn't look like he believes me. Instead of voicing his concerns further, he chooses to nod and remain silent.

We finally come across the massive suite we're staying in. As soon as we enter we're greeted by a large common area with a beautiful gift basket full of treats. To the side is a small kitchen and bathroom.

Eddie disappears into one of the other rooms, one I'm assuming is a bedroom.

I make my way into the other room and a rush of exhaustion hits my body. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I saw the bed.

I abandon my backpack near the door and flop onto the bed. A small sigh escapes my lips as I close my eyes to block out the bright lights.

This is going to be harder then I thought.

[incorrect-fnaf-quotes]

Rabbit Restoration Project: |15|

Opening your eyes, it seemed that, rather than being sprawled out across the couch, you were back in the bedroom, underneath the covers.

Wasn't I...? Lifting your head up from both of the pillows, you glanced around, but there wasn't much of anything to see--it was your bedroom, everything had already been seen.

A part of you, at the very least, had hoped that if the door was opened, then you could see just a little bit. But it wasn't. You were met with a shut door, concealing the rest.

He must have moved me in here at some point during the night. How come? The blanket felt so comfortable, begging you to remain there just a little longer, but the attempt was useless--it was kicked off.

How did I not wake up from that? I woke up from... Your thoughts trailed off, and a blast of blurry memories came rushing through your mind. The break-in.

In a way, it had almost felt like a dream--some part of a nightmare--and the memories of it would be quick to fade upon waking up, and then, you would simply forget all about it.

But it wasn't a dream--it had been real. The rest of you knew that it had to have been. Unless I mention it to Springtrap, and he doesn't have a clue about it...

Springtrap. You hopped out of the bed, taking a quick moment to check the time. Yesterday, there had been a lot that you hadn't ever expected to happen--a break-in was certainly one of those things.

Truthfully, it had never crossed your mind before, even if the situation had been mentioned by others before. I don't really have anything worth taking... not that they'd know that, though. They just randomly chose my place, probably.

Well, how much would an animatronic be? Would they be worth a lot? Some, at least? You shook your head back and forth, to push the thoughts back.

Springtrap... despite being aware of the fact that the rabbit was with you, you certainly never imagined an animatronic arriving, and choosing to assist--far less than a break-in.

There had been a few, brief instances after retrieving the rabbit, where you had managed to upset him--but even then, he had never actually done anything to you.

The dream that you had experienced was still in your mind in bits and pieces, rather than completely disappearing. It almost reminded you of that--with how aggressive he had been.

Why did he help me out last night? Was it just so that I could finish him? You stretched, and crossed the room, getting closer to the door. Would he really want that to be done before he easily leaves?

With a hand on the handle, you swung it open--maybe a little too hard, as it hit the wall--but you tried to ignore the sound, and simply took a few steps out.

Closing the bedroom door, you glanced around, and took notice to the fact that all of the windows blinds--at least the ones that you could currently see--were wide open.

Sunlight shined through every single one of them, making your house a little brighter than you were certain that you had ever managed to see it.

He's been opening all of them to look out. What exactly does he like to see? You didn't feel like doing it right away, but maybe those--at least a few--should be closed back.

I'll probably ask first before doing it... would he be upset if I did that? What even makes him upset? A smell shoved its way through your nostrils. It took you a moment to realize what it was: toast.

"Springtrap?"

"Here." The rabbit responded, voice seeming to originate where the kitchen was located.

What is he doing...? Picking the pace up, it wasn't that long before you popped into the kitchen, glancing around.

Springtrap stood in front of the main counter, eyes narrowed. There was a paper plate placed down there, with two large pieces of toast in the center of it.

The rabbit was holding a small knife, and you slowly blinked, watching as he fiddled with it, trying to successfully put some butter on both of the pieces.

Oh, my God. He... made me breakfast? He made me breakfast?? How does he know how to do that? Your mind was yelling about surprising sight, but you just began to inch closer to the rabbit.

Why is that what's surprising me right now, instead of practically anything else?? Last night? Unless that really was a dream... Having finally finished, Springtrap held out the plate towards you.

A bit slowly, and continuously glancing between the rabbit and the plate, you reached for it, nodding. "Um... thanks."

Springtrap nodded.

Lifting up one of the pieces, you took a single bite of it, but didn't even begin to chew. "Okay, how?"

"Hm?" Springtrap tilted his head.

"How do you know how to make toast? What else do you know how to make?"

The rabbit just blinked at you. "Toast is quite simple. A lot of the food around here is."

You just muttered something, before taking another bite--and actually chewing it this time. It was good toast, at least--you'd give him that. He didn't horribly burn it.

Swallowing, you frowned. "Well, I've still got a lot of other questions, rabbit."

"Of course you do." Springtrap leaned against the counter, hands folded. As the rabbit spoke, it didn't sound like he seemed all that annoyed.

"Last night..."

"It did." Springtrap's fingers slowly tapped against the top of the counter, a little sigh escaping from him--in the way that you would do when remembering something nice.

"What?"

"Last night, you fell asleep before the movie finished," Springtrap began to explain more clearly. "And I simply chose not to wake you. You'll still be working on me, and you will certainly need the sleep."

"When the film was done, I found myself bored, so I decided to take another look around..." When he noticed your look, the rabbit added: "Don't get yourself twisted. Everything's spotless."

Springtrap cleared his throat, but his voice just seemed a tad raspier in response. "I kept returning to the living room, wondering when you would awaken again, but I suppose that you must have been quite comfortable."

Listening to the rabbit's explanation, you continued taking larger bites of one of the pieces, making a large mess on the plate. Why did he want to see when I was up?

Springtrap wheezed--a noise, much like everything else with him--that you found yourself quickly getting used to. "So, I busied myself in that earlier room, researching just a few little things here and there..."

"Researching what?-"

The rabbit simply ignored you. "When I heard a commotion coming from there, I already had some doubt that it would be you." He leaned a little closer. "And you know the rest."

"Right. Right..." Your eyes drifted past the plate, and down towards the floor. The frown hadn't disappeared--and during his explanation, it only seemed to grow. You set the plate down.

"That intruder..." You swallowed, "Whoever it was, you attacked them." He laughed about it. "Did you... um..."

"Get rid of him? Is that what you want to know?" As the rabbit asked the question, his tone was horribly innocent, and partially sounded as if Springtrap were accusing you. "If I saw the light fade..."

You couldn't tell if he had trailed off or not, but your body shuddered slightly. His eyes were raised towards the sky, and the rabbit began to pace, like he was thinking it over.

He chuckled, the rabbit's tone suggesting that he was incredibly proud of himself. "Perhaps I did, perhaps I did not... but I am certain that nobody will try something like that again."

You sucked in a breath, eyes shutting, as more thoughts began to flood in.

Springtrap reached forwards, placing a hand underneath your chin, and pulling you closer--but the thoughts were not disrupted, and your eyes remained closed. "You are still scared... I can still taste it."

An amused hum emitted from Springtrap. "There's no need to worry. I was helping you, wasn't I? If I wanted to do anything to you, then, well..."

Slowly, your eyes began to creep open, the voice escaping from your lips being rather quiet and slow. "You... would have already done something by now...?"

Another hum from the rabbit, and he removed his hand from underneath your chin--only to briefly pat at your shoulder. "Correct. You got it right. Amazing for you."

He had pulled you closer in the earlier action, and as you paid close attention, that wasn't the only thing being given any sort of focus, you realized.

Your face was still quite close to the animatronic's--having failed to try and move away yet. You were staring into the gray, glowing eyes of the rabbit.

Feels like we're about to kiss with how close he is... if someone walked in on this, what would they think? The moment it began to form, you shook your head--like a dog that was wet. We aren't doing that.

The doorbell rang, and while it had been so sudden that it caused you to flinch, it was just what was needed to finally turn you head away, and take a few steps backward.

Springtrap huffed, seemingly annoyed about something, but you didn't pay the rabbit all that much attention in the moment.

Walking away from the rabbit, you began making your way over to the front door--the metallic stomping following as closely behind as possible.

Springtrap was walking so close, that if you abruptly stopped without him realizing it in time, he would probably bump straight into you--which would certainly cause you to stumble.

Although, reaching the door, and getting a grip on the handle... thankfully, that's not what happened.

You tried to open the door once--before realizing that it was locked. With a huff, you flicked it, before trying a second time--opening the door with enough force to make it hit the wall behind it.

Although, you managed to still hold it in place, and the door wasn't completely opened--partially because Springtrap could be hidden behind both yourself and the door.

The ones who watched you work seemed fine with it--they all just seemed curious... but you didn't feel like letting anyone here know about him--people who could easily bug you.

Would I get in trouble if anyone from the horror attraction figured out he's here? I mean, I'm fixing him up, at least. You stared out through the opened door, eyes narrowing.

Unfortunately, your little hope for who saw the rabbit was already starting to have a complication.

Standing just outside, and glancing around a little bit, was Nora. She seemed bored--as if she had been waiting around forever, but you knew that she had only just arrived.

When she noticed you peeking, the woman grinned, and clapped her hands together. "Hey! There you are, man!"

"Um." You quietly chuckled. "Hey there, Nora. Now's not really the-"

She didn't listen. The woman, already beginning to talk about something that you didn't understand, managed to push the door open wide enough, and stepped inside.

You reached over to try and grab her--to push her back outside--but the woman was already out of your reach, and just pacing around in your home, a bit of a distance away.

Groaning, you glanced back at Springtrap, who simply seemed to be focused on the woman. The rabbit wasn't exactly small--so he couldn't exactly be hidden behind you.

You doubted that he could successfully leave, too. Even if the rabbit went as fast as he could--and somehow wasn't seen, Nora would still, at the very least, hear him--like before.

"Nora..."

She didn't seem to hear you--since she was still talking about a different thing--but her head still spun around to meet you. "So, what would you say is-"

When her voice--and legs--came to a halt, and Nora's eyes went wide, you already knew what--who--your neighbor had just spotted, looming in the back.

"...Huh!?" She threw her hands up, and wildly pointed behind you. "Hey- what is that??"

You blinked, and a strained laugh struggled through you. "What's... what, Nora?" Yeah, that will convince her. Way to go.

"That giant green thing behind you?? Why is it staring at me like that..." She backed up a little. One quick glance behind yourself, and it seemed that, with narrowed eyes, he was glaring. You sighed.

But just as quick as it had been done, you whipped your head back around to face her. Did she see me do that? "There's nothing there, Nora. I don't... um. Please leave."

She just stared at you, frowning.

"It's... one of my ghosts?" You tried again, shrugging.

"Boo." Springtrap snorted.

The woman shook her head. "That really doesn't seem like any sort of ghost to me..."

"Okay, okay, fine! I knew that wouldn't work..." You threw your hands down in annoyance, and from behind you, there was another amused snort.

"You see... I just kind of took this robot rabbit. I found him on the sidewalk after some haunted house burned down-"

"The... the Fazbear's Fright thing based off Freddy's?" Nora's response was so quiet. "It didn't even get the chance to open up."

Springtrap let out an exasperated sigh, and the glare seemed to lessen. "Finally, someone who knows something!"

You ignored him. "...And as it turns out, this rabbit is pretty sentient... weird, right?" You were purposefully speeding up the words. "But, anyway, I took him with the idea of restoring him, y'know, what I usually do."

Nora just kept blinking.

"There's a lot of strange things about him, and last night, he might have seriously harmed some guy that broke into my house, but, um..."

"Wait a second-" Her eyes went a little wider as she tried to process more of your explanation.

"Anyway, everything's fine, don't tell anyone else about the rabbit!" Voice quickening even further, you reached forwards, grabbing Nora by the arm, and began pulling her towards the door.

"Wait-"

"I really, really wish you'd stop bursting in, and that you would have bought the ghost story!" You took in a deep breath, before a smile cracked. "...Goodbye!"

You said it a little louder than intended--but a part of you didn't care. Maybe that would fully get the point across. With a sigh, you pushed Nora out onto the porch, and shut the door quickly.

A few seconds later, you remembered to lock it.

"Well..." Springtrap hummed, "That was certainly amusing to watch."

"Shush."

@ravenmccookies @mcfries123 @spaciebabie

[chaoticpolarity]

Ok, I just saw Sonic 3, and I'm gonna talk about it under a Keep Reading, so spoilers ahead on the movie and my thoughts

I'm still a little insane off the adrenaline, so my thoughts may change later, but this is what I think fresh off the experience.

It was REALLY GOOD, but I'm not going to lie to myself and say that it was incredible and met all the criteria. I'm gonna get the negative-ish out of the way first, then I'll rave, okay? Okay. Gerald Robotnik also played by Jim Carrey basically fell into the trap I was worried about, in that he was kind of just another Eggman in a slightly different coat of paint. The two Robotniks are very different flavors of insane at the point in which we meet them in SA2, so, while I hoped Jim Carrey may prove he has some range as a Robotnik, I was a bit let down, but not entirely surprised. He wasn't BAD, per se, but he sort of shone a spotlight on how I'm not the hugest Jim Carrey Eggman fan anyways. That's my opinion, of course; I know some people really like Jim Carrey as Eggman, and again, he's not bad.

Also, I know we as fans were told that Shadow and Maria's story would play a big part in the movie, but...I have to say, that's the real sticking point for me with this movie, especially with Shadow Generations to compare it to. Did anyone notice that Maria's influence on Shadow was really muted? It was there, and he clearly cared about her a lot, and I did like how they showed Shadow was alienated from the scientists and had doubts about his potentially being a monster. But Maria wasn't portrayed as sick, she didn't show any love for the Earth (probably because they changed the story and location of the lab, cuz that wasn't the ARK), and so she didn't really influence Shadow's taking care of the Earth after she was gone. Which sort of made her loss...pretty generic, in all honesty. Like, I know Maria was fridged in the canon material, but the movie actually made her feel MORE fridged in not giving her as much of a voice for Shadow to be influenced by and for Gerald to twist around and ignore.

Anyways, I think that's the negatives out of the way; let's get more positive now, shall we?

Compared to the previous movies, the dumb silly moments were actually weirdly enjoyable despite the cringe. Like, during the Eggmen's laser light show dance, I said, out loud, "I hate that I kind of like this," lol.

I was actually kind of surprised at how they subverted some of my/our expectations on how Sonic and Shadow interacted, especially near and at the end of the movie. To make Shadow be the one to Sort Of talk Sonic down, and then Sonic talk Shadow down, and then have Sonic be the one to lose his Super form and plummet to Earth, while still having Shadow "die" in the end...lots of twists and turns there! I did like their little quiet moment on the moon, admittedly. I knew it would probably happen, cuz Shadow needed to switch sides, and Sonic was gonna be the one to do it with the absence of the girls, but it was still nice.

The "Talk about a low budget flight" moment TOOK ME THE FUCK OUT??? Like, I did not expect them to go full reference at that moment, but OF COURSE SONIC WOULD SAY THAT THERE.

ALSO, I EXPECTED AN ORCHESTRAL REMASTER OF LIVE AND LEARN, BUT I DID NOT EXPECT THE ORIGINAL CRUSH 40 MIX TO PLAY AT FIRST, LIKE HOLY SHIT???? LMAO THAT WAS KIND OF AWESOME.

Anyways...now let's talk about the part where I actually screamed...which was, of course, the mid credits scene. Here's a play-by-play of how I reacted: "Oh shit, Metal Sonic! ...Hmmm...I'm a little disappointed, not gonna lie, since that's technically another "guy" character, and I was hoping for at least Amy...wait...wait a minute, weren't Amy and Metal Sonic introduced in the same game? wAIT-" *Amy appears, busting up the Metals with her Piko Piko Hammer* "YES!!!" But yeah, like, holy shit, fears of it being a trilogy averted! Also, since the end-credits scene confirmed Shadow didn't die, and is in a different locale than everyone else...and Amy Rose is introduced next movie...that means there's a VERY real possibility that Rouge is coming along too!!! YAY!!! Anyways, I rate the movie an 8/10 as a Sonic fan (different rating if it was for being a movie). Better than the previous two, which were a 6/10 and a 7/10 respectively. Not exactly what we all hoped for out of a Shadow story, but not bad in any ways, just sort of diluted compared to the source material.