#where my sadie loving ladies at

[queenshelby]

Daughter Dearest (Part Four)

Pairing: Cillian Murphy (47) x Step! Daughter (21)

Warning: Infidelity, Smut, Dysfunctional Family

Tag List will be updated soon! Please comment and engage! Thanks so much xxx Thank you @blondie-22 for some amazing ideas...

Over the next few days, Cillian made a conscious effort to distance himself from you. You noticed the change in his behavior, the way he would avoid eye contact, his brusque responses, and the forced smiles. 

He was nice enough, but it was clear that there was some kind of wall between you, and you wondered whether your mother had something to do with it. Maybe she was upset that he treated you well or maybe she knew that, perhaps, you had too much in common. 

Your mother had always enjoyed her new status, as a wife of a Hollywood actor, and she wasn't afraid to use it to get what she wanted.

Free designer clothes, constant attention, and invitations to red-carpet events which, quite obviously, Cillian himself hated and so did you.

You hated all the attention and publicity so much that you had distanced yourself from everything to do with it and, whilst Cillian had been known as a lady's man in the past, since Sadie was born, he became somewhat domesticated.

Your mother, on the other hand, seemed to thrive on the attention. She loved attending parties and events, pretending as though Cillian was some sort of ‘trophy’ husband and this always made you wonder what he actually saw in her when they met.

Your mother was, and still is, incredibly attractive, but surely, this couldn't be enough to keep a man like Cillian in a loveless marriage for so long?

As far as you knew, Cillian was a good person. It just made no sense as to why he wouldn't leave your mother, who you despised, and find someone who genuinely cared about him.

You watched him from afar, sitting on the couch by himself, trying to make sense of the situation. You couldn't quite figure him out and, despite the distance he so evidently tried to keep from you, you still felt drawn to him somehow.

He had just had yet another argument with your mother, and as usual, she had stormed off without talking things out, leaving him on his own with you in the house. 

You took this as an opportunity to join him, wanting to offer some form of support or comfort, unsure of whether or not he would accept it.

"Hey," you greeted him softly, as you took a seat on the chair opposite him, trying your best not to make things awkward between you two.

Cillian looked up from where he was seated, a pained expression on his face, and you couldn't help but feel a tug in your chest in response.

You had known that things between your mother and him were complicated, but you hadn't realized just how much until now. 

He wiped at his face with the back of his hand, and you could see the exhaustion etched deep into his features. 

"Hey , you okay?" you asked, your voice softer now, and you could feel the concern oozing out of every word you spoke.

Cillian sighed before taking a deep breath. "Yeah, just the usual," he replied, attempting to force a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. He looked absolutely drained, and all you wanted to do was wrap him up in a warm embrace and tell him that everything would be okay.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you asked tentatively, not wanting to push him but feeling the need to help in some way.

His gaze lingered on you for a moment, looking as if he was debating whether or not to open up. Finally, he let out a sigh and began to speak.

"I appreciate it, but no," he said with a distant look in his eyes, stumbling over his words. "You are my stepdaughter, and it would be quite inappropriate for me to discuss the issues between your mother and I with you."

You nodded in understanding, feeling the distance between you two widen. "Of course," you said with a small, reassuring smile. "But if there's anything you want to get off your chest, I am here."

A silent moment passed before Cillian replied, "I appreciate that, Y/N", before telling you that your mother had decided to go away with Cliona, on a retreat, while Sadie was spending some time with her grandparents in Cork.  "Your mother will drop Sadie off in Cork and then travel down to Kerry, to stay at our holiday house for the week with Cliona," he explained, as you frowned in response.

"How convenient," you then chuckled as this, in itself, did not surprise you. Your mother had a habit of walking away from her problems rather than facing them. On top of that, in recent days, she had referred to you as a criminal and voiced her concerns about Sadie being around you, which  hurt you deeply - both as a daughter and as a prospective role model for the young girl.

"I wouldn't take it personally Y/N," Cillian assured, his gaze locked with yours. "It's got nothing to do with you," he began, searching for the right words to explain, but you simply interrupted him. "It's because of me, I think," he then added but you shook your head. 

"It's got everything to do with me. She doesn't want me to be around her and her family as, apparently, I am a bad influence for Sadie," you replied, anger seeping into your voice, though you managed to hold back the tears.

"I am sorry Y/N," Cillian murmured sympathetically, unsure what else to say, but before he could even attempt to speak another sentence, you carried on. 

You sighed deeply, shaking your head in frustration. "Do you know why I am here, Cillian?" you asked, curiosity piqued in your voice.

Cillian sighed again, running a hand through his hair before looking at you. "Because  your mother was worried about you, I suppose," he answered, his voice heavy.

"No, I am here because, if I had gone into custody instead, this would have given her a bad reputation, even though I didn't know about the goddamn drugs in my bag! I don't take fucking drugs and I don't sell them either but, of course, she wouldn't believe that,"  you explained, anger and frustration bubbling in your voice.

"Well, for what it's worth, I do believe you," Cillian said, clearly meaning it. 

"That's something I suppose," you chuckled slightly, though you weren't entirely convinced that your mother would ever see things from your perspective.

A silence unfolded between the two of you, as Cillian tried to find the right words to say. Finally, he spoke, "You know, Y/N, you and your mother are very different people. You are creative and you clearly think in different ways to her which is something she might feel threatened by sometimes."

You looked at Cillian, surprised at this new perspective. "I never thought of it like that," you admitted, your voice quieter now. "But it's more than just her being threatened by my choices - she doesn't support me either which, as my mother, she should," you told him before letting out a deep, exasperated sigh.

Cillian nodded, understanding your point of view. "I think that's fair," he agreed. "But, you know, sometimes people struggle to understand or accept what they don't know or can't relate to. It's not ideal, and it certainly isn't an excuse, but it does happen, even in families."

You nodded, taking in his words. "Yeah, maybe you're right," you conceded. "And I appreciate your perspective on this, so thank you."

Cillian smiled warmly. "You're welcome. And I appreciate your offer earlier too. It means a lot," he said, his voice warm and genuine. 

"You are welcome too," you winked, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled slightly at your gesture, and it was then that he realised that, in the coming days, with everyone else gone, it would be much harder for  him to maintain his distance from you despite his decision to do so.

As such, on the day of your mother's and sisters' departure, you found yourself roaming around the house, finding yourself staring at Cillian from across the room, engrossed in a book or with his nose buried deep in his scripts.

You noticed how his eyes darted towards you occasionally, as if he could not tear himself away, but then he'd turn away, as if to shut out the thoughts that plagued his mind.

You watched as he continued to wrestle with his inner demons, and you couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to suppress the same feelings that you were trying to ignore for the past two weeks. 

Unlike Cillian though, you eventually decided to take an initiative and bring this strange awkwardness to an end now that your mother and siblings had gone. 

"You know, if you wanted me to, I could cook something nice, and we could watch a movie again? Maybe this time, without interruptions," you suggested, hoping to ease the tension and reach out to him, breaking down that wall he had erected around himself in these last few days, for whatever reason unknown to you. 

You saw the surprised look on his face, and you wondered if you had crossed some line by proposing this. A few moments of silence passed before he finally spoke up, "Yeah, I would like that," he replied, the edges of his lips curling upwards slightly.

You couldn't help but feel a small sense of triumph at having breached that wall between you two.

"Great," you said, your voice light and cheerful. "I'll start cooking then. Do you have any preferences?"

Cillian thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, anything you make will be great," he assured, his voice steady and confident.

You smiled at him, feeling a warmth spread through your chest.

"Alright, then, I'll surprise you," you replied as you turned on your heel and headed towards the kitchen.

"Do you want help?"  Cillian called out from the living room, but you shook your head.

"No, I've got this. You just relax," you replied, grateful for his offer but determined to make this meal a surprise for him.

As you moved around the kitchen, chopping vegetables and stirring sauces, you felt a sense of happiness that you hadn't experienced in a while. It had been so long since you had cooked a meal for someone else, and the thought of having dinner just with Cillian made you smile but, just as you turned on the stove, the power went out.

"Shit," you cursed as you stood there in the dark just before Cillian came walking in with his phone, using it as a light source.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he approached you, having heard you curse. 

"Power's out," you replied as you looked at him, struggling to hold back your smile.

He chuckled slightly. "I can see that," he said before asking whether you had hurt yourself. 

You shook your head. "No, it's just... I got startled and now the stove went out before I could cook dinner," you explained, your eyes darting towards the stove in disappointment before looking back at Cillian.

"It's fine. I am not hungry yet and I doubt that the power will be out for long . I'll light some candles and we can wait it out," Cillian said, as he moved around the kitchen to gather some candles and a lighter before you both returned to the living room for now.

Within a few minutes, the living room was filled with a warm, soft light, creating an intimate atmosphere between the two of you. You both sat down on the couch, slightly closer than usual as Cillian spoke up.

"Uhm, we could play a game to pass the time, if you want?" he suggested, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

You smiled at him, appreciative of his effort to make the situation less awkward.

"Sure, that sounds fun," you replied. "What kind of games do you have?" you asked him, raising your eyebrows curiously.

"I have a few board games and card games," Cillian replied, pointing to the cabinet where he kept them. "You can take a look and choose one that you like."

You nodded and got up from the couch, making your way towards the cabinet. You scanned the games, trying to decide which one to play. Suddenly, you felt Cillian's presence behind you, and you could feel the warmth radiating from his body. You turned around and looked up at him, and your gaze locked for a brief moment.

There was a rush of anticipation and maybe even a hint of longing in your eyes, and Cillian felt a rush of emotion that he wasn't sure he should be feeling.

"Some of them are incomplete, I think. Sadie keeps pulling out the pieces," Cillian said with a sheepish grin before adding, "but this one should still work."

He handed you a game of monopoly and you immediately shook your head.

"I hate monopoly . It takes ages," you pouted, playfully, causing Cillian to chuckle, still kneeling right behind you.

His breath tickled your ear, and you felt a shiver run down your spine before you pulled away quickly, trying to ignore the flutter in your chest.

"How about this one?" you then asked as, from the back of the cabinet, you pulled out a game that you and your twin sister used to play together when you were young teens.

"Truth or dare? Really?"  Cillian asked, looking at the game in amusement. "I haven't played that since I was a kid."

"It's a fun game," you replied, grinning mischievously. "And the best thing about it is that you don't need to think of any questions or challenges. Plus, you get to score points, depending on what you choose," you explained. 

Cillian raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Alright, let's do it," he said, holding up the box.

You both sat on the couch once again, the soft glow of the candles casting a warm light upon your faces. You picked up the deck of questions and challenges, shuffling the cards and laying them out evenly on the table between you.

"Let's begin," you said, flipping over the first card. "Truth for five points or dare for seven points?" you asked Cillian , a grin playing on your lips as you eyed him expectantly. He looked at you with half-lidded eyes, a similar grin on his face.

"Truth," he said, playing it safe, a twinkle in his eye that made your heart race. You had chosen cards randomly, so you had no idea what dares were on the other side of the deck, but the thrill of the unknown was part of the fun.

"Alright. I will read it out to you," you then said, flipping over the card that read; "What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever done in front of someone?" 

You looked at Cillian, raising an eyebrow teasingly.

Cillian laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck, "I can't believe I am about to tell you this," he said, looking into your eyes. " But, when I first started acting  andI had just finished filming a movie, I was invited to an after-party. I was still new to the whole scene and was feeling nervous, so I had a little too much to drink and I may have hit on the director's wife pretty badly without knowing it. Needless to say, we never worked together again after that," he told you, causing you to chuckle.

"Ouch , that must have been terrible for you," you said, still chuckling.

"Yeah, just a little," he replied with a smile. "Now it's your turn. Dare for five points or truth for three?" he asked, turning the tables on you, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Uh, dare," you said without hesitation, eager to see what kind of challenges this game would present you.

"Alright then, here's your dare." Cillian smirked as he slid the card over to you.  "Go outside and sign the national anthem on the top of your lungs,"  he challenged, gauging your reaction.

You quivered at the sight of the card, wrinkling your face and letting out an embarrassed laugh. "No...no, no way," you pleaded, kicking your feet under the table.

Cillian pushed the card towards you again. "Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, you wanted to play this game, not me," he cajoled, watching you warily.

"Fine," you giggled, before motioning for him to come with you so he could watch.  At least that way, there would be a witness to corroborate you hadn't actually lost your mind. Cillian smirked playfully at your response, shaking his head slightly as he followed you to the back door.

You stepped outside into the cool night air before taking a deep breath in a nervous attempt to steady yourself. You glanced around, checking to ensure that none of your neighbors were able to hear or see you before belting out the national anthem in a loud voice filled with forced confidence.

You sang as loudly as you could without completely losing all dignity, feeling slightly awkward and self-conscious as you did so.

Cillian stayed with you the whole time, barely managing to control his laughter and, once you'd finished, he clapped loudly, teasing laughter spilling from his lips. "Well done," he quipped, bowing slightly. "I am sure you are already regretting to have chosen this game," he  playfully teased, watching you as you somehow managed to compose yourself again. You somehow found the energy to slap him on the arm playfully before marching back into the house, closing the door behind you.

"Alright, you're up," you taunted, sliding him another card. "Dare for ten or truth for eight?" you asked, trading the dares for higher stakes this time.

"Hmm… dare," Cillian hesitated, looking thoughtful before he finally agreed.

"Alright, dare it is," you confirmed before reading out the card. "Have a deep and serious conversation with an item or furniture," you  said, reading out the dare with equal parts excitement and challenge.

Cillian looked at you for a moment, then back at the card in his hands, before giving a resigned sigh. "Alright, let me see..." He stood up, walked over to the large floor lamp in the corner of the room, and looked up at it as if it were a person. "Greetings, dear lamp," he said in a serious tone, making you burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, you're ridiculous," you said, wiping tears from your eyes.

Cillian chuckled, not taking his eyes off the lamp. "Yes, I know," he said, still serious before talking to it, not flinching once. He was in the zone in an instant, just as one could expect from a professional actor . "Tell me, lamp, how has your day been?" he asked, causing even more laughter to spill from you, but he carried on, having a talk with the lamp for almost two minutes, giving you an Oscar worthy performance, full of passion and commitment.

Once his dare was complete, you both sat back down on the couch, grinning at each other. "I can't believe I just watched you talk to a lamp," you said to him, shaking your head in amazement, still amused by it all.

"You asked for it," Cillian replied, smiling.  "Now, I think it's your turn again," he told you and you looked at the cards, eager to outdo Cillian's performance. 

You chose dare again and your dare was to allow Cillian to blind fold you and feed you something weird from the fridge. 

Although slightly creeped out by the idea of being blindfolded, you didn't want to back down now, not when you were having so much fun. You agreed and Cillian quickly found a scarf in the living room drawer, tied it around your eyes and rummaged through the fridge for the strangest thing he could find.

There wasn't really much there and he decided to make it easy for you, choosing an olive, after having watched you pick them off a slice of pizza before.  "Okay, open your mouth," Cillian instructed, placing the olive delicately on your tongue and there was something quite erotic about this.

You closed your eyes behind the blindfold, focusing on the sensations; the taste, the texture and the slight pressure in your mouth as you closed your lips, with Cillian's fingers  just barely brushing them as he let go of the olive.

"Well?" Cillian's voice broke through the silence, his voice shaking a little.

You giggled behind the blindfold. "It's good!" You lied, your words muffled by the olive, hating the taste but enjoying this new, odd experience.

You then pulled down the blindfold and smiled at Cillian who still marveled at the feeling of your lips against his fingers.  "A lie, you didn't like it at all, did you?" he asked, smirking.

You shook your head. "Nope, olives are terrible. But I liked you feeding me," you almost blurted out

before catching yourself. You considered how the momentary contact between your lips and the tip of Cillian's fingers sent a wave of heat straight to your core. You looked down, your cheeks slightly flushed. Cillian wore a sly smile, his eyes shining in the dim candlelight.

"It's my turn now I think," Cillian then simply said, clearing his throat nervously and you nodded before asking him 'truth or dare'.

Cillian chose truth and you read the question to him. "What is something you would do if you knew there were no consequences?" you asked, feeling the electricity in the air between you two as you shared a moment of silence while he contemplated the question.

"I would probably do something really stupid, like acting upon some feelings that I shouldn't have for, uhm, someone...I suppose," he stammered  , staring down at his hands and avoiding your gaze. "I mean, feelings can be complicated, right? And sometimes it's better to hold back instead of causing unnecessary drama."

You nodded in agreement, trying to keep your voice neutral. "I know that feeling," you said, clearing your throat as well as you both sat in silence for a moment, knowing that there was a bigger elephant in the room, but neither of you were sure how to address it. It was Cillian who broke the silence. "I would probably kiss someone I shouldn't be kissing," you muttered, staring intently at him. A fire ignited in Cillian's eyes as he looked at you, and you could feel the tension building between you two.

After mere seconds then, Cillian leaned in closer, brushing a stray hair from your face. Your heart raced but you maintained your composure as that familiar encroaching fire took over you once more.

He leant in close, his breath hot against your skin as, almost suddenly, the lights turned back on.  The room flickered to life, casting a harsh glow upon the two of you, causing you both to pull away from each other.  Cillian cleared his throat, looking away as he muttered something under his breath. "Uh, maybe we should call it a night," he suggested, standing up from the couch, leaving the truth or dare game behind.

You nodded in agreement, still feeling a little flustered from the near-kiss. Your heart beat like a wild drum in your chest as you tried to steady yourself. You couldn't believe what had almost happened between you and Cillian. It was wrong, wasn't it? You couldn't help but think otherwise though.

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[heavenlymorals]

what do you think if arthur’s partner was against/doesn’t follow a traditional relationship? would he not go through with that type of relationship at all??

Hi anon 🥺❤️❤️

Believe me, I want to say yes- I'm a feminist from a very anti-feminist culture, so I just want to say yes, he would stay with you and love you either way, but my heart says no.

And to be honest, I don't think it'd ever come to that point either because Arthur would never want to be interested in a woman like that anyways. He makes a lot of snide comments regarding Sadie in cutscene and in antagonizations/greets. He is VERY mean to women performers if you antagonize them ("This ain't ladylike!" "Go cook someone some supper! "Go back to the kitchen!"). Antagonize lines are just as canon as greet lines and it's honestly super clear what he believes because of these lines.

He believes in gender roles, point blank period and he gets visibly annoyed or even angry when both women AND men refuse to conform to it.

He makes fun of John for not taking care of his family and for making excuses for that and he gets pissy at Beau when he wasn't there to get Penelope from the cabin.

Note the women that he is or was CANONICALLY interested in. There is Mary, who is very much a lady of her time and wouldn't even bother trying more traditionally masculine roles. There is also Abigail. Abigail is a hard worker and in the epilogue, she helps out John in terms of making money and getting the ranch started but she was still mostly just a housewife, but in RDR1, she is ONLY a housewife as John knows what to do and Jack has grown up to take up his share of the work.

The women he's interested in are women who believe in what he believes. Now, do I think Arthur wouldn't mind if you knew how to hunt, skin, shoot a gun, ride a wagon, and all that? Yea, he would feel very comfortable if you knew how to take care of yourself when he's not there and I doubt he would care if you occasionally do it, but all the time?

I just doubt that.

Also, let's look at it psychologically. Men being able to take care of their families by themselves was not only the standard, but men would also get punished socially by other men and women if they aren't able to do that. The woman would also get shamed too. Pride is a huge thing in American culture and back then? It extended to that too.

Arthur puts extreme value on a "man being a man" to the point where he'd call other people out on not being that even if it's none of his business, so that would extend to him too.

A woman having to work because the family and man are struggling like Abigail does? Sure, fine, but wanting to take on non-traditional roles just cause? Absolutely not. Arthur just doesn't vibe with that, even in canon.

Love back then wasn't like love now. Love back then was going into a relationship with the intent that you already know what you need to do for your partner in terms of the culture back then. Love now is about the person and working things out along the way.

Thank you so much anon, love dissecting gender roles 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️

[literatecowboy]

The King With No Name

8. Do You Trust Me?

Part 1

Next part

Summary: König - the king of Caldera - has been called upon by your father to choose a bride from his daughters in order to establish an alliance to keep peace over the lands they rule. When he arrives, he is enraptured by you, your father’s eldest child - an unconventional woman by all standards. He pursues your hand in marriage, doing his best to make you fall in love with him like he has fallen in love with you - much to your dismay Author's Notes: fucking finally. Also this is long sorry. Also, would people be interested in reading a kidnapper!konig fic? Warnings: Arranged marriage, SMUT, betrayal, pining, ultimate wingmanship

-----

You wasted away slowly as you sat in König’s castle.

Each day dragged on but the weeks seemed to fly by. You were allowed to do nothing alone - soldiers stood outside your door and on the balcony as you slept, forever vigilant. They remained outside of the bathroom as you bathed, the maids entrusted with your care keeping a watchful eye on you as you washed.

You ate with others watching too, though they did not eat with you. You were no longer allowed into the barracks or onto the training grounds, no longer allowed to leave the castle at all, and the silence warped your dreams into nightmares. 

Some of the men who guarded you looked upon you with pity, others neutrality, some kindness. The ones you loathed the most were the ones who stared at you with fear behind their eyes - it was not fear of you, but rather, what your husband would do to them if you were to escape. 

You watched out the windows during the day as the world bustled around you, as others lived their lives in normalcy. You coveted any news that reached your ears about the conflict - König was winning, of course, beating back his enemies and pushing them out of his lands. But there was no word of your family - of Sadie, of Lydia, of mother or father or even Henry. 

Ferdinand was a common figure in your nightmares. 

—

König hadn’t shown his face back at his castle, but he had returned to the city several times. It was Wilhelm who visited you one evening as you sat by the fire, cleaning the bow you hadn’t used in what felt like forever. 

“My lady,” he called softly as he approached your seat. You didn’t react, not bothering to look up at him. 

“My lady, I’d like to speak with you about König,” he attempted cautiously, sitting down across from you with a sigh. You looked up sharply. 

“I have no words for my jailer. That is all. Go,” you demanded, looking back down at your bow. Wilhelm sighed quietly. 

“What would you do to help your people?” he asked after a moment, fixing his gaze heavily on you. 

“More than just sitting here, rotting away in a castle that doesn’t belong to me,” you spat, glaring at Wilhelm. 

“I’d like to give you that opportunity if you’d only hear me out,” he said. You sat stock still, not having to think it over for long. 

“Then speak.”

“Come away from this castle with me to see König. Lay with him again,” Wilhelm said, his cheeks turning pink. Your mouth fell open. 

“You’ve come all this way, lied to me about being able to help my people, and dangled freedom over my head so you could demand that I have sex with König? You’re a bastard and König is worse. I have never lain with him and I never will. Leave me alone!” you snarled, rising from your seat and stalking towards the door. 

“Wait! Please, I should have explained myself. König misses you, misses your touch. He hasn’t said it but I can see it in him. He’s more violent, more angry, more impatient. He’s starting to become reckless. I need your help to focus him!” Wilhelm yelled. You picked a book off of a shelf and hurled it at him. He ducked it just in time. 

“Fuck off!” you shrieked, snatching your bow from where it lay and storming out of the room and toward your bedroom, your guards following close behind. 

—

That night was hot, and after returning from your bath, you noticed that your maids had not built a fire in your fireplace. Once the bustle around you had settled and you had been confined to your bed, the guards had left to stand watch around the entrances to your room, leaving you alone. 

You blew out the candles one at a time as you did each night, and after waiting some time under the covers, the castle quieted. As the moon rose outside you dressed as quickly and as quietly as you could, tightening the straps on your armor and pulling a hooded cloak on over your clothing to hide yourself. 

With your weapons by your side, you stepped into the fireplace, gazing up the chimney and catching sight of the stars above. The climb wouldn’t be far, and judging by the roughness of the stone walls, it wouldn’t be that difficult either. 

As you hauled yourself out of the chimney and found your footing on the roof minutes later, you dusted the soot from your cloak and looked around. 

There were no guards on the sloped roof so you crept forward, moving as quickly and silently as you could across the tiles and to one of the tall towers near the outward edge of the castle. 

As you climbed down the ivy and landed on the ground, the tower door swung open and you nearly ran right into Sheriff Klein. He gasped but you clapped a hand over his mouth, your other hand finding your knife in it’s sheath. 

“Shh. It’s me,” you hissed, glancing around. Klein nodded, his eyes wide. 

“Stay quiet,” you murmured, pulling your hand from his mouth slowly. 

“How did you escape?” he hissed, glancing around and checking to see if you were followed by any guards. 

“That’s not important. I need you to get me outside of the walls. You owe me, Klein,” you whispered, pointing at the hitched prison wagon that waited just beyond the shadow of the castle. He sighed. 

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To save my family.”

—

Sheriff Klein stopped the wagon in the trees not far outside of the city and unlocked the back, tugging the iron door open and offering his hand to help you out. You wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly. 

“Thank you, sir. I believe we’re even,” you said, pulling back and offering him a smile. He returned it. 

“Come back to us when this is all over. I could use a woman resourceful as you helping me keep the city safe,” he said, unhitching one of the horses from the wagon and offering you his reins. 

And then you were off, riding bareback with only your bow and the knife on your belt, heading for home. 

—

Several days of riding took you through the carnage of war and past burnt-out villages and farms, their survivors hardly sparing you a glance as you headed deeper for the grassy plains of your homeland. As you rode, you passed the thicket where you and König had spent your first nights together, where he had slain the wolf and saved your life. 

Soldiers passed you occasionally but none seemed to recognize you as you blurred past them on your horse. As night fell on the day you reached the outskirts of your home, you set up camp, hitching your horse to a tree and building a small fire. You’d hunted a rabbit and ate the leftover meat for dinner and laid out on a bedroll you’d taken from a dead soldier as the fire died out slowly. The woods were quiet when it happened. 

König pounced on you from out of the darkness, terrifying your horse and sending it kicking and tugging until the lead broke and it took off like a shot. 

You screamed and thrashed as he pinned you to the ground, forcing your arms above your head as he buried his nose in your neck, inhaling deeply. He slotted his hips between your legs, grinding himself against you roughly as he kissed at your collarbone. 

“Oh maus, how exhilarating it has been to chase you across my lands. I have missed you,” he groaned. 

“Get off of me you fucking psycho!” you screeched, kicking at him and thrashing in his hold. He drew back as if wounded and you scrambled away from him. 

“Maus, have you not missed me? I am sorry for what I have done but–”

“But nothing! You kept me caged like some pet bird! Is that all I was to you? A pet? A decoration? Just a pretty thing to distract you and put down when you get bored?” you shouted, drawing your knife from your belt and thrusting it at his throat. 

“Oh, liebling, you are my heart, my reason to live,” König said breathily, gazing up at you from his knees. You were struck by the memory of the first time he’d come into your bedroom and your heart thundered at the thought as you pushed the blade forward. 

“Go away. I’m going to go save my family because you clearly aren’t capable,” you hissed, tears starting to flow freely down your cheeks. 

“Not capable?” König barked out a laugh, looking taken aback. “I have killed hundreds for you, maus. I near your castle each day. My men rip through the enemy with ease. All of this I do for you, for your honor,” he breathed.

“My honor is my own to forge, and you locked me in that dreadful castle!” you shouted, punctuating your words with wild stabs from your blade. He caught it in an armored hand and took it from you with ease, throwing it aside.

“Maus, I must do what I must to keep you safe,” he said, rising to his feet and taking your hands. You looked deep into his eyes. 

“Do you trust me?” you asked. 

“Of course, maus.”

“Do you want me to love you?” you breathed. He stiffened, his grip tightening. 

“Yes.”

“Then trust me, König.”

—

You rode into the war camp on the back of König’s stallion just as proud as the horse was. König trailed behind you on foot, watching with stars in his eyes as you shouted a greeting to his men, a great cheer splitting the night air as they caught sight of you in your battered, road-weary, armored glory.

As you dismounted in front of the largest tent, Wilhelm came to greet you, a smug look on his face. You froze. 

“You madman. You planned this, didn’t you? Riled me up at the castle so I’d break from my chains and ride out on my own?” you asked. He raised his hands and laughed, shaking his head. 

“I’d like to apologize, my lady, truly. I was doing only what needed to be done. But in all seriousness…have you never lain with König?” You laughed and smacked him in the chest before you hugged him, shaking your head. 

“The poor Sheriff must think so oddly of me now,” you chuckled. Wilhelm quirked an eyebrow. 

“He wasn’t in on it, my lady. I figured I’d leave the details up to you.”

You passed into the tent to collapse into a proper bed a moment later, the tent flap falling shut behind you. König approached Wilhelm, watching as you disappeared. 

“Does she hate me?” he asked, his gaze unfocused as his mind raced. 

“Hard to say. I wouldn’t push your luck though.”

—

König came into the tent a little while after you’d settled into bed and sat down on the end of it, working at the straps of his armor. It was quiet. 

“I…I am sorry. What I did was not right,” he said after a moment, setting his armor aside and turning to make eye contact with you. 

“Thank you for apologizing,” you said softly, rubbing your eyes and yawning. 

“I would like to sleep with you, maus. To embrace you. I will not touch you inappropriately. I…I have missed you,” he admitted. You thought it over, biting your lip and sighing. 

“I missed you too, König, but I don’t know. You scared me in the woods…” you admitted, curling up into a ball and shivering. He dipped his head respectfully. 

“I trust you, maus. I will sleep outside,” he said, rising and heading for the tent flap. Your heart sank slightly and you surprised yourself by calling out.

“Wait. I changed my mind. Sleep here,” you called out as his hand met the canvas. He paused and turned to you, his eyes wide. 

“Anything you wish, maus. I…give me one moment.” He stepped further away from the bed, taking his shirt off and letting it rest over the back of a chair before pausing. 

With a deep breath, he took his hood off and let it fall. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at you, his eyes brimming with worry and uncertainty. You sat up slowly, silent as you took him in. He was beautiful. 

—

The next morning you woke up nestled against König’s chest, his strong arms wrapped protectively around you. You watched him sleep for a time, tracing his facial features with your eyes and his scars with your fingertips. 

When he stirred and his eyes cracked open, you encouraged him with a gentle kiss on the cheek. Then he was awake and kissing him back, your eyes fluttering shut as he pulled you closer to him. He grasped at your hips and pulled you up so that you could straddle his lap. You could feel his erection throbbing against your core and you groaned softly into the kiss. He slid his hands up your shirt slowly, breaking away from your lips and looking at you with wide eyes. 

“Maus, I do not want to make love to you for the first time in this place where my men might hear you,” he cooed, squeezing your breasts gently before his hands dropped back to your hips. 

“I wasn’t planning on it. I’m still mad at you,” you murmured teasingly, running your fingers through his hair as you pulled him in for another kiss. 

“You are making it difficult to resist you,” he admitted with a laugh, laying you down gently on your back and climbing on top of you. Your lips met again and you slid your hands up his bare chest, teasing at the hem of his trousers before pulling away. 

“Consider how difficult it will be to resist me once you’ve proven your love to me and this fighting is over,” you purred, pushing gently against his chest. He backed away from you with a soft groan, watching as you got up and undressed. His breathing got heavier as he watched you dress and he got up, hugging you from behind and nipping at your neck. You laughed and shooed him away before leaving the tent and his view. 

—

It was cold outside and the morning was foggy. You armed yourself and headed to the edge of the camp to meet Wilhelm, looking out over the cliff and down upon the city and the castle you’d once called home. 

The city seemed deserted - villagers had been imbued with the good sense to flee as König’s armies marched closer. Ferdinand no doubt paced in the castle, plotting his resistance. Little hope was left for him now, and you were determined that he’d be dead by the time the week was over. 

You wondered about your sisters, your parents. Were they alive? Were they being cared for? Had your father resisted at all when Ferdinand had seized power?

“You want to sneak in. I can see it in your eyes,” Wilhelm said as you approached, his arms folded across his armored chest. 

“I grew up in that castle. I snuck out nearly every night. I know more nooks and crannies and passageways that could lead me inside than even the rats,” you admitted, sitting on a large rock and watching the guards on the walls. 

Had any resisted? Were any still loyal to you? You knew these men, their families. Would they kill you on sight or be loyal to your cause?

König approached, his armor clanking as he came to stand beside you and rested a gloved hand on your shoulder, gently guiding you closer to him. 

“Would anyone be able to detect you if you went in?” Wilhelm asked. König stiffened but said nothing, he merely rubbed your shoulder gently. 

“Not unless I wanted them to detect me. I suspect that once the men can see me I might be able to sway some of them to my side. I think that I can take down Ferdinand from within,” you said. 

“I think it’s worth the attempt. It’ll be faster than a full-out siege and do less damage to your castle so there’s less damage to be rebuilt when you take it back. The only danger would be if they were to take you captive,” Wilhelm said cautiously, watching his hooded king for a response. 

“They would not kill me, at least, I do not think that they would. If they have my family in there, I have to try to get them back,” you said. 

“Maus, will you ride with me?” König cut in, taking your hand and helping you rise. You nodded and shot an apologetic look to Wilhelm as you followed him out of camp and to the area where the horses were kept. He lifted you onto his horse and climbed on behind you and you rode off into the woods. 

“If this is what you wish to do, I will not stop you,” he began. You rode together for a little while in silence until you found a little clearing filled with flowers far off the beaten path. He laid out his cape for you and sat down, opening his arms to you.

“I wish that you would not, but you are a capable little maus. You can scurry quietly,” he said with a small smile. “But you must have a plan for when you go in, and you must allow me to charge in with force should anything go wrong.”

“It would be good to have a failsafe,” you admitted, stepping closer to him as he wrapped his arms around you and sat you on one of his massive thighs. 

“Then you should go tonight after the sun sets. I will bring men along the sides of the castle and should there be a commotion inside, we will storm it. Where will you go in?” he asked. 

“There are some catacombs far beneath the castle that open near the river. I can creep in there and nobody will disturb me. I will be let out into the dungeon, where hopefully I can find my family,” you said. 

“I trust you, maus. I love you. You must promise to me that you will come back to me safely,” he murmured. You rested your head against his chest plate and nodded. 

“König?” you asked softly after a moment, gazing up at him. He looked down at you curiously, and you slid your hand under his hood, cupping his cheek gently. 

“Make love to me.”

—

He was gentle as he helped you out of your armor and laid you on your back, leaning over to kiss you as he fumbled with the straps of his own and let it fall into the grass beside you. He only broke the kiss to tug his shirt and hood off in one motion. You wrapped your legs around his hips as he crawled on top of you, locking your lips together and gently tracing his fingers against the skin under your shirt. 

You pulled it off as he reached your breast and leaned down, taking one of your nipples into his mouth as they hardened, caressing and kissing your breasts as he drowned himself in you. 

You pushed your hips up to grind your core against his erection with a groan, feeling him grow even harder as he leaned up and kissed your neck, his gentle, teasing touches making you writhe. 

He paused to tug his pants down, allowing you to sit up and do the same. You crawled on top of him as he tossed both pairs to the side, straddling him and moaning as he gripped your hips and ground you against his erection, grunting into your ear softly. 

You moaned as he bit your neck and sucked at the mark he’d made feverishly, lapping at the bruise with his tongue as it formed. Your core throbbed and pulsed and he laid you back down gently, carefully pulling your panties down your legs and tossing them away. 

He pushed your knees apart gently, hunger in his eyes as he gazed upon your core. In an instant he surged forward, kissing up your leg and inner thighs before licking a long stripe up your entrance, making you toss your head back as your back arched, crying out in pleasure. 

König grasped you by the hips and pulled you forward, shoving his tongue deep into you and rubbing his nose against your clit. You throbbed against him, your arousal coating his face as he devoured you like a starving man, palming himself through his boxers as he listened to your moans and gasps of pleasure. 

“Oh, König!” you cried, your back arching and your toes curling as he kept going, his eyes flickering open to hold your gaze. Your entire body was hot as if his touch was a flame and you shivered as you saw the desire and love in his eyes, feeling your stomach tighten. 

König pulled his tongue from you with a groan and gently inserted one of his long, thick fingers. It felt better than anything you’d ever felt before - the sensation was alien and overwhelming, and as he pumped the finger in and out slowly, he brushed against a spot that made you mewl loudly, whimpering as you angled your hips so he might brush against it again. 

“Do I make you feel good, maus? Tell me how you feel,” he purred, inserting a second finger and pumping them faster, angling them so they just barely brushed against that spot with each thrust. 

“So good! Oh my god!” you cried, gasping for breath as you felt your orgasm building. König leaned down and sucked on your clit slowly, pushing his fingers directly into the spot you wanted him to hit so much. 

“Fuck!” you came loudly, crying out, moaning and whimpering and panting as your body spasmed. König gently pulled away from you as you came down, crawling over you, kissing you and wrapping you tightly in his arms. He’d freed himself from his boxers and you glanced down, your eyes widening. 

“Are you…are you going to fit inside of me?” you asked in a small voice, heat rushing to your cheeks as you looked up at him. He cooed, kissing your collarbone and running his fingers through your hair. 

“We can wait, maus,” he murmured in your ear. The tip of his cock brushed between your folds and bumped against your clit and you gasped, pleasure rushing through your body again. 

“No, no, no more waiting,” you gasped, pushing your hips up to meet his. He groaned as he ground his cock against your wetness, eventually guiding the tip into place and pushing in just a little bit. 

You cried out as he slid into you slowly, stretching your walls and making your eyes water from pleasure as you adapted to his size, panting softly as you watched him enter you. 

“I love you so much, maus,” he moaned, wrapping his arms tightly around you as he bottomed out, staying in place as he wrapped his arms around you, cradling you gently as he kissed you. 

You deepened the kiss, wrapping your legs around him gently and holding onto his shoulders, your nails digging into his skin as you adjusted to his size. His first thrust was slow and experimental - he watched your face for any expression other than pleasure as he pulled out slowly and pushed back in. 

“Give me more,” you gasped, your eyes rolling back into your head as he took you, bucking your hips up into his thrusts encouragingly. 

He buried his face in your neck and moaned, setting an even pace as he thrusted in and out of you, gently cupping one of your breasts in his hand as the other held your hip steady. 

“I’m not going to - not going to break!” you cried out, the pleasure overwhelming as you reached down to rub your clit while he fucked you. He looked up at you, his eyes hazy with pleasure and love as he picked up the pace, slamming his hips into yours more roughly and with greater speed. 

Morning light burst through the clearing and turned you golden as you made love, the slapping of skin on skin and moans mingling with birdsong echoing through the beautiful clearing. 

“I want to make you feel so good, maus,” he growled into your ear as he picked up the pace yet again, kissing you roughly before leaning down and biting your neck to mark you. 

“Fuck, you are!” you cried, feeling another orgasm building in your stomach. 

“Cum for me, my pretty wife. Tell this forest who loves you, who is making you feel so good,” he growled, biting your breast as his thrusts lost their rhythm and he moved wildly against you. 

“König!” you cried as you came, your back arching as your body spasmed, clenching tightly around him. He moaned your name as he came at the same time as you, his last, sloppy thrusts burying his cock deep inside of you as he filled you. 

You caught your breath together, embracing and kissing before König slowly pulled out, rolling off of you and pulling you into his side to snuggle. He pulled his cape around your body to shield you as he held you, stroking your hair gently as you rested against his chest. 

“I love you, maus,” he whispered as he watched you doze off. You could only mumble something in assent as you drifted to sleep.

-----

Taglist: 

@0mint-chocolate0, @elowynnlane, @littlelovebug98, @saturnknows, @passdaweedgaara, @lexuria, @numnuts, @nothingkillsyoulikeyourmind105, @acynicalcat, @poohkie90, @glitterypirateduck, @babyspice6, @hazelnutbitch, @rilamon, @p1nkliquor, @zeennnnnnn,

[blanche-elizabeth-devereaux]

Embroidery inspired by the ladies of RDR2

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to Tombstone Redemption this year ���� but I still wanted to make gifts for each of the actresses on the panel! I picked a quote and an item that I felt represented each of their characters and then created design around it (the abundance of flowers is simply because I enjoy making them lol)

(counterclockwise starting at the bottom right- Tilly, Sadie, Grimshaw, Mary-Beth and Karen)

I know I'm missing a few! I still have ideas for Abigail, Molly & Mary (technically the set isn't complete yet). However, I decided to focus on these characters first, since their actresses were part of the Tombstone lineup. And thank you SO MUCH to @arthur-kilgore for taking everything with them & gifting it on my behalf ♥️

Details & close ups under the cut!

Tilly Jackson: "That's Mrs. Tilly to you"

(please ignore the water patch - it was still drying)

The necklace was her item request in the game, and I loved the contrast her quote showed (& thank you @big-boah for helping me decide ♥️). There was such a great difference between the last time we saw her in chapter 6 and when John finds her again in the epilogue. Her obvious joy is amazing and exactly what Arthur wanted for her.

Karen Jones: "I just want someone to see me"

The bottle represents her struggle with loss & drink, and the quote was spoken in a moment of vulnerability with Sean. This is one of my favorite quotes to come from the entire game, actually. Karen is normally viewed as a determined and tough character, as one of the only women to actively do guard duty, but we briefly saw behind that mask. The reality of her inner struggles, even before Sean's death, was heartbreaking.

Mary-Beth: "Try... try to do the good thing"

The book is obviously to show Mary-Beth's ambitions and eventual career as a novelist. Her optimism always seemed genuine in the face of the gang's terrible circumstances, but not blindly so. Her words to Arthur during the gang's final stages felt like a great representation of her character.

Susan Grimshaw: "My camp, my rules"

The heart is supposed to show how much love she held for the gang, even behind a mask of anger. The entire scene where she forces Arthur to wash is both hilarious and insightful. You can tell it's her form of care - rules equal safety. When she says "my camp" she really means "my family"

Sadie Adler: "I ain't no scullion!"

I wanted something that represented the first spark of fight we saw in her, which, for me, was during her fight with Pearson in chapter 3. She asserts her role in the gang, wielding both experience and determination. The passion, anger and pain in the face of her grief is one of the reasons I love her character so much.

[sentientcave]

Presenting Sadie Blackmoore-Price in Nobody Does it Better

Sadie wouldn't have worn this dress if she'd known that her ex-husband, SAS Major John Price would be here.

Read on AO3

Contains: Trips down memory lane, Attempts to rekindle a failed marriage, Set in the future (roughly 2032), Oral sex (F and M receiving), P in V sex, Unprotected sex (don't do this), Brief daddy kink (You can't tell me John Price doesn't love being called daddy I simply will not believe you), Tabloid mentions, Sadie is a politician (Politicians in real life aren't sexy but this is a fantasy world where the UK Secretary of Defense can be a hot MILF), One mention of possible stalking.

~7.1k - Minors and Ageless Blogs Do Not Interact -

Sadie felt his presence before the big hand landed lightly on her back. Before he leaned over her and spoke, his deep voice rumbling like thunder. “Excuse me, gents, was wondering if I could borrow the lady for a moment.”

They evaporated in an instant. John had that effect on people.

“Hi, John.” Sadie didn’t bother looking at him. Or resisted looking at him, rather. At an official function like this, he’d be wearing his dress uniform, and it always reminded her, rather unfairly, of their wedding day. And that always reminded her of him pulling her away from the reception to absolutely wreck her with his fingers and tongue, until she was so frustrated that she ended up dragging him off to their hotel room and riding his cock, both of them in too much of a rush to get undressed.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he purred, his rough fingertips gliding over her exposed back. She wouldn’t have chosen that particular dress if she’d known John would be there. “You look gorgeous.”

She turned her head slightly, eyebrows raised. “Don’t give me that, John. Your last girlfriend was nearly Scout’s age.”

“Keeping tabs on me, are you?” He steered her to the side of the room with just the barest pressure, all too easily despite her efforts to remain aloof, unaffected.

“Of course I am. I thought you were in the states this week, running those joint combat exercises with the marines.”

“Hm, is that why you wore this dress? Because you thought I was all the way across the Atlantic?” His touch skirted up her spine, hand settling on the back of her neck. “Who are you trying to impress, darling?”

“Kate and Michelle are here.”

“Ah, so they are. You hopin’ to take them home?”

Sadie shrugged, heat gathering high on her cheeks. “Might be.”

“Think I can change your mind?”

“No.”

His fingers squeezed slightly. It took everything she had not to melt all over the floor. Even after all these years apart, he still knew how to play her body like a fiddle. He leaned in close, his breath tickling her ear. “Are you so sure? I’m fairly confident that I can, and we can’t both be right.”

“What makes you think that?” Sadie scoffed, glancing around the room, looking for someone she could flag down or start a conversation with to escape, but every time she made eye contact with someone, they quickly looked away. No one quite brave enough to consider pissing off Major Price by interrupting his little reunion. It was a shame he was still so effective. It would be one hell of a power play if she could get his ass fired.

“Because you won’t look at me. I know this uniform reminds you of our wedding night.” He smiled when she finally looked over, exasperated. “There’s my Sadie.”

“John, I’m not your anything anymore. Haven’t been for a long time.”

His hand dropped to her waist, and he tugged her along beside him. If she’d had any sense, she would have shoved him away and gone home alone immediately. It wasn’t as if she was going to get any networking done with John hanging over her shoulder and making everyone nervous.

“You’ll always be mine, Sadie. You kept my name, didn’t you?”

“That doesn’t mean anything. It was for Scout—”

“Hm, that might’ve flown as an excuse ten years ago, Sadie. You’ve been married and divorced since then. Could’ve taken his last name. Could’ve dropped mine.” Somehow, he’d guided her into a side hallway, gotten her alone and isolated before she could regroup. He backed her against a wall, strong arms caging her in. “But you didn’t. Are you going to tell me that your rings aren’t hung on this little chain?” His blunt fingertips followed the thin necklace, halting short of where it disappeared under her dress.

“I hate you.”

He slipped a finger under the chain and pulled it free, her engagement and wedding rings clinking against each other faintly. “I really don’t think you do, darlin’.”

He let the rings fall, on the outside of the dress now, her inconvenient sentimentality brought to light. Sadie took a deep breath, glaring at him, readying a tirade that would make him wish he was in America like he was supposed to be.

All of those keen soldierly instincts told John exactly what she was going to do, so he struck first, diving in for a kiss before she could tear him to little pieces. And he kissed just like he used to, too much tongue, enthusiasm bordering on desperation, like he would perish if he didn’t get a proper taste of her.

For years, Sadie had been so careful to not let him get his hands on her, keeping doors and distance between them, making sure their daughter was always present when they had to be in a room together, to keep John from getting too handsy, dressing conservatively so he couldn’t stroke his clever fingers against bare skin. He’d ambushed her tonight, gotten under her guard before she’d even known he was there.

She had always known that the instant he touched her like this that she’d be helpless, all good sense thrown to the wolves as she returned the kiss, clinging to his shoulders to pull him closer, knocking the beret off his head as she ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair. He didn’t even have the decency to go bald, like most men their age. In her opinion, he looked better than he had when they were married— The last few times he’d come sniffing around looking for another chance, she’d nearly given it to him. The muttonchops would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, but it had taken considerable effort on her part not to drag him inside by the collar and kiss him senseless the first time he’d shown up with that precisely trimmed beard with a bouquet of her favourite flowers in hand (gladiolus and roses and carnations, something he’d picked out specifically, not out of some catalogue). She’d kept the flowers, and slammed the door in his face.

When her husband asked about them, she’d lied through her teeth and told him that she’d picked them up for herself on the way home.

John kissed his way across her jaw to her ear. “You still livin’ in that big flat on Knightsbridge?” he purred.

“Oh, um—” a familiar voice squeaked nervously, pulling Sadie and John’s attention to the nervous face of Sadie’s assistant, a bubbly, round-faced young woman named Emily. She eyed John with the sort of wide-eyed wariness that one might usually reserve for a wild animal. “Sorry, Madam Secretary. The French ambassador was looking for you. But I’ll, um, tell him you’ve gone home early?”

“Yes, thank you, Emily,” Sadie said, as professionally as she could with John still unashamedly feeling her up.

“Have someone bring her car around, would you, pet?” John asked, smiling wickedly at the poor girl.

Sadie nodded when Emily looked a her for confirmation, and watched as she fled the hall as fast as her sensible flat shoes could take her. “John, you couldn’t behave yourself for all of one minute?” she asked tiredly.

“Certainly not. Got about twenty years to make up for.”

“You’re not going to manage that in one night,” Sadie said, laughing and then gasping as he kissed across her collarbone and back to her neck, tongue dragging across her pulse. “And you’re not getting more than one night.” He hummed, unconvinced, teeth finding purchase at the junction of her neck and shoulder. She hung on to him tightly, the solid bulk of his body the only thing keeping her upright. “John, come on, let’s go wait for the ca-a-ar,” her voice broke on the last word as he pinched her nipple through the fabric of her dress. “John, please, just wait till we get home.” She regretted the phrasing instantly. “Back to mine, I mean.”

Too late. He pulled back to look at her, eyes shining with clear, wicked intention. “Home, huh?” He pressed his forehead to hers, so that she couldn’t escape looking right at him.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh? But it’s what you said, isn’t it?” His fingers closed around the rings, and he tugged lightly, snapping the thin chain, his other hand tracing along the outside of her left arm to find her wrist. The chain slipped through his fingers to the floor.

“John, what are you doing?” Sadie asked.

“Something I should’ve done years ago,” he replied, lifting her hand so he could slot the rings back onto her finger. He brushed a kiss across her knuckles, eyes sparkling. “Now, lets get home hm? Want to see if that pretty cunt tastes as good as I remember.” He stepped back, keeping his hand closed around hers so that she couldn’t take the rings back off to fling them at him, and stooped down to grab his hat, fixing it back into place.

“John, we’re not together again, this is not going to be— John!” She squeaked, a thoroughly undignified sound, as he scooped her off her feet, holding her against his chest in a bridal carry. “You’re going to make a scene!” she hissed. “Don’t— No, don’t go that way!”

The stares that landed on them as John carried her through the main room were humiliating, to say the least. She accidentally made eye contact with the French ambassador, who winked at her. He’d probably only just gotten her excuse from Emily, and now he knew that she was lying and leaving with her ex-husband. She was sure to be the centre of some truly ridiculous gossip for a little while.

John smiled wolfishly, pleased as punch that they were getting looks, striding across the room like he owned the entire world. He’d always been arrogant, so sure of himself, and it had only gotten worse, twenty years of experience telling him that he could have anything he wanted, so long as he possessed the will to reach out and take it. He was laying claim, telling everyone in the room, her colleagues, friends, acquaintance and strangers, that she was his. Maybe in his mind, she had never been anything else.

“You’re awful, you know that, don’t you?” Sadie asked. “I should never have married you.”

“I know. But don’t say that. We’d never have had Scout if we hadn’t.”

“That’s true. I suppose I’m glad we did then.” As if Sadie could ever regret their daughter, that was so much like her, and so much like John, and somehow so much better than the both of them.

"We could have more. It's not too late," he murmured, leaning in close.

Sadie caught the gleam of a camera lens and quickly put her hand up to obscure as much of John's face as she could, realizing half a moment too late that she'd just flashed her wedding rings at the bloody press. "John, I am forty-six years old. I'm not having more children."

He smiled. "Sure I can't convince you? Another girl, just like Scout? Or maybe a son, as smart and driven as you are, my nose and your eyes." He ignored the few shouted questions and loaded her into the car that idled beside Emily. "Thanks, duck," he said, sliding in beside Sadie. "I've got her from here."

"Do you need a ride home, darling?" Sadie asked, leaning across John and speaking through the rolled down window. "I don't want to leave you all alone. Ben can drop us at my building and take you home."

Emily nodded and slid into the front seat. "Thank you, ma'am. I was going to call a cab."

"No, absolutely not. I know Ben would be happy to drive you anywhere you need. Don't hesitate to ask him." Sadie reached forward and patted the driver on the shoulder. “Right, Ben?”

He grinned at her through the rearview mirror. “Of course, ma’am. Miss Emily is my second favourite passenger.”

“He’s angling for a raise,” Sadie said to John, laughing. “And he is about due for one, by my accounting.”

“Wouldn’t know, ma’am,” Ben said blithely.

John’s hand landed on Sadie’s thigh. He’d always been a bit of a jealous bastard, even in situations like this one, where it made no sense for him to be. Even if Ben were not her employee, he was at least fifteen years younger, and she was fairly sure he had a little crush on Emily. But what did she know, really? She had never been that good at identifying those kind of feelings, in herself or others. Always had to rely on what people told her. She recognized fear, ambition, could spot a lie like it was lit up with a neon sign. When it came to love, she compared everything and everyone to John, and no one ever matched his intensity.

There was no doubt that they would be fighting within a day, and that she’d throw him out after three, on the outside, but there was still something between them. He had that same mischievous glint in those blue eyes as he had the day they’d met at some house party one of her friend’s older sisters had thrown. John had been a friend of a friend of the sister’s boyfriend, there more by chance than anything else. He’d punched out some creep that had been all over her, and of course, that meant that she was his girl, from then on.

Other than a kiss that shook her whole world to it’s foundations, the first few months of their relationship had been conducted by letters and emails and text messages, each with separate conversations. He was smart, as well as handsome and tough, and he wrote directly, bluntly, dryly, interspersed with sentences that read more like poetry. The sky is red, this morning, like the dress you wore, like the lipstick marks you left on my collar. I thought missing you would feel blue.

How could she do anything except jump into his arms when she saw him next?

He asked her to marry him three times-- She'd said no the first two, because she was young, still in college, still figuring herself out, and yes the third, because he was persistent, because he loved her, because he wanted to know she'd be taken care of if anything happened to him. As if there was any risk, really. She came from a wealthy family, old money on her father's side and new on her mother's. Her parents made him sign a prenup, and bought them a house as a wedding present. Or bought Sadie a house, rather, and John lived there whenever he was home. The distance might have chafed for anyone else, but Sadie liked having time to herself, to focus on school, her friends, the summer work at her father's arms manufacturing facility. John was like a vacation from everything else, a whirlwind that hit a few times a year.

Then he'd started talking about family, about having kids, about turning that pleasant whirlwind of affection into a tornado that would last all year, all of every day. She'd aborted the first pregnancy, too scared to tell John-- She still hadn't told him-- but she didn't have the same excuses when the next pregnancy took root. Sadie graduated eight months pregnant with Scout.

The problem with being a mother, was that she was expected to put so much on hold. John had been out in the field when Scout was born, and she'd been alone for the first few months, barely holding it together. John's mother had been a great help, coming a few times a week to help her tidy up and make sure she was eating, but she resented John his freedom. She hated him for being far away, for fatherhood changing nothing for him and everything for her.

John’s facial hair tickled her ear when he leaned in close. They were just pulling up to he building now. “Where’d you go, Sadie?”

She let him help her out of the car, and bid goodbye to Ben and Emily before responding. “Just thinking about where it all went wrong.”

He sighed, hurt flashing in his eyes. “Come on, Sadie. You don’t want to think about that.”

“Someday, I’d love to stop thinking about it,” she said, forcing a laugh.

“I know where it went wrong,” John said, crowding her into the lift and pressing her up against the wall before she could press the button for her floor. “I never should have let you kick me out. Should’ve worked it out right then and there.”

“Your way of working things out never fixed anything, John. Just made us forget a little while.” She sighed, smoothing her hands down the front of his jacket. “Maybe you should just go. This is a bad idea.”

John quickly leaned over and hit the button for the top floor. “It’s not a bad idea, Sadie. We still belong together.”

That kind of talk was the exact reason why she shouldn’t even consider rekindling anything. He wanted a night or two of passion to mean something more, and she couldn’t let it be more. But the lift doors opened, and he ushered her out into her foyer, kissing the back of her shoulder and neck while she unlocked the door. He didn’t give her a chance to try to shut him out, using every dirty trick he could think of to keep he off balance. She offered him a drink, hoping to prolong things, talk for a moment, and he accepted, but he pushed her over the back of her couch as soon they reached it, and sank to the floor behind her, pushing her dress up over her hips.

“John!” she complained. “That’s not what I meant by—” The sharp snk of a blade opening, the back of the blade running along her skin cut her off. He sawed through the silky fabric of her panties in seconds, rather than contend with the garter clips and stockings. He’d always had a thing for garter belts.

“Sorry?” he asked. “What were you saying?”

“I—” She bit back a whimper as he licked across her cunt, the tip of his tongue parting her folds to taste her. His hands slid up her thighs to her ass, squeezing appreciatively.

“Didn’t quite catch that, love.” His voice was a bit breathy, like the smallest taste of her was enough to knock the wind out of him.

“Oh shut up, John,” Sadie said crossly. “You’re doing that on purpose!”

He chuckled, biting down hard on her ass. Probably intentionally trying to leave a mark, the bastard. For all his bluff and bluster, he knew just as well as she did that this was only temporary, and he wanted to make sure she remembered it for a long while afterwards. She tried to kick him, but he just caught her leg and pushed it up and to the side, giving himself more room as he pressed his face to her cunt and started feasting on her, groaning.

The sounds he made were filthy— It was almost impressive how much John could make it seem like eating pussy was more for him than for her— and it seemed more that he was getting reacquainted with a long lost love than actively trying to get her off. Still, he knew exactly what he was doing, like he’d memorized the steps to have her come apart on his tongue, tight circles around her clit with the tip of his tongue, hard sucks that he pulled away from with a slick, wet pop, licking into her hole and lapping up arousal, growling and groaning, hands holding her in place with a bruising grip.

He brought her to the edge three times, but didn’t tip her over. He wanted her begging. It wasn’t enough for him that she was practically sobbing into the couch cushions, breath catching, crying out desperately. Well, she wasn’t going to entertain the notion. “John, if you don’t make me come in the next thirty seconds, I’m going to kick you out and call someone who will.”

He laughed, surmising that she didn’t exactly have a list of casual lovers that she could call up on a moments notice (not entirely accurate, with Kate and her wife in town), or maybe thinking she was joking (she wasn’t), but he picked up the pace regardless, sliding two thick fingers into her cunt and replacing his tongue with his thumb. “Impatient as always,” he chastised her. “You can come, baby. Come all over daddy’s fingers.”

His voice was so sexy now, roughened by age and years of smoking. It was hard to say if it was that growled command or the over-stimulation, or the way he curled his fingers inside her that sent her into cataclysm, but she came hard, legs shaking, muffling her cry in the cushions. He continued the cruel-clever movement of his fingers to draw out her orgasm.

“Fuck, gorgeous girl, I missed this pussy. Just as tight and wet as I remember.”

Sadie pushed herself up on shaking arms as he withdrew his fingers. She tried to think of something appropriately cutting, but she hadn’t come like that in ages, and it was a bit flattering to think that she had changed so little in all the years. He had changed— Not just the timbre of his voice, but the patience of his touch, the way he sought to unravel her completely, show her that experience had only made him better.

He wrapped an arm around her and dragged her upright, onto legs that wobbled like a newborn fawn, still recovering. He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck, breathing her in. “Can’t believe you still wear the same perfume,” he said wistfully. “I like this one.”

“I usually don’t. I felt like doing something different.” Sadie swatted at him playfully, laughing despite herself when he rubbed his face against her shoulder. “John, your beard is soaked,” she complained.

She could feel his grin. “And who’s fault is that?”

“Yours! You decided to grow that silly thing.” She turned in his arms, tipping her head to the side while she studied him. “I do think it suits you.”

“Yeah?” He puffed up slightly from the praise, eyes sparkling with mirth. “You don’t think I look old now?” he asked, keeping his tone light, hiding real insecurity under that teasing facade.

“No. Seasoned. Experienced, maybe. But not old yet.” Sadie carded her fingers through his hair, smiling to reassure him that she meant it. “I think you look better now than you did twenty years ago.”

Something in his eyes turns soft, loving. “You think so?”

“Of course I do. Now stop looking at me like that.” She kissed him, tasting herself on his lips, salt and sweet. “You know we can’t get back together, John. You only think it would work because you’re just remembering the good parts. I know they were really good, but there’s no road back.”

“I’m not askin’ for things to be the same, Sadie.” He brushed his knuckles against her spine, the other hand anchored on her hip, keeping her close. “Maybe things could be better now.” He swayed, moving her along with him, turning slow circles like they were dancing.

“John,” Sadie said softly. “I can’t give you what you need. You still want a family, more kids, a wife who wants to be at home to raise them with you. We can’t turn back the clock, and even if we could, that wasn’t the life for me then, and it’s definitely not for me now.”

“I still love you.” And god help her, he meant it.

“I know, John. I love you too. I always will. But—”

He kissed her again, a long, lingering one that sent prickles down her spine. He didn’t want to hear it, still wanted to draw out the delusion a little longer. “Let me take you to bed.” He spoke with a voice laced with devotion, near zealotry. Too stubborn to stop worshipping at the alter of their failed marriage, still trying to rebuild a house that had burned down long ago. John Price hated to admit defeat, hated to be wrong.

“Alright,” she whispered it back, as if trying to sneak it past good sense and self-preservation. Those parts of herself would have to cede ground tonight, relent enough for them both to get this out of their systems.

Once more, with feeling. Just one night for them to pretend that what was broken could be fixed, that there was something to rebuild on that old foundation, even though they both knew better.

John picked her up again and carried her to her bedroom. Funny that he remembered the way so well, even though he had only been to the apartment a handful of times, and not once had been invited to her room. Of course, knowing John, he’d broken in dozens more times and been over every inch of the place. Something that probably should have bothered her, but just felt par for the course. He might have still been in love with a girl long gone, but she knew well the kind of man her first husband had become. A General in all but name, someone who controlled the battlefield, commanded respect, and saw obstacles as inconveniences overcome with enough grit and determination. Boundaries were just lines in the sand, erased and rewritten on a whim.

He set her down and turned her, undoing the buttons that held the halter straps of the dress around her neck, and then ran his hands over the sides of the dress, searching for the zipper. He found it quickly, and Sadie let the gown slip to the floor, her heels clicking as she stepped free from the pool of silky material and turned toward John, turning her face up for a kiss while she loosened his tie and he shed his jacket, throwing it behind him blindly. She took her time with the buttons of his shirt, revealing an expanse of dark hair thick over powerful muscle. Yet another part of him that had improved with age.

John tossed the shirt in the same direction as his jacket, and stilled her hands when she reached his belt. “Greedy girl,” he said smugly. “But you’re going to have to ask nicely if you want daddy’s cock.”

An old tactic that used to fluster her. At least all of his tricks didn’t still turn her into a useless puddle of need. Sadie kissed him again, nipping at his lower lip, fingernails dragging down his neck lightly. “Please?”

“Please what, sweetheart?” he asked.

Her fingertips trailed down his chest. “I didn’t make you beg, did I?”

“No, you just made me wait twenty bloody years.” John grinned, cupping her face and pulling her in for yet another kiss, like he couldn’t get enough of her, reminded of simpler times, when they both were young, optimistic and in love. No one kissed like John did, like he needed her more than air. His fingers carded back into her hair, scattering pins all over the floor, her careful updo undone. He steered her backwards until her knees hit the bed, and pushed her down gently, pulling his mouth away from hers as he straightened back up.

“You know why I stayed away, John. We both needed to move on. And you did.” She hooked her fingers into his belt and tugged him closer, parting her thighs so he could stand between them. The rings on her finger winked at her in the low light, reminding her that it wasn’t him that had struggled to move on.

As if there was anyone else that even compared.

She kissed his stomach, appreciating the soft layer he’d accumulated over the past few years of desk work, hands planted on his thighs. She looked up at him through her lashes. “Are you going to let me take care of you?”

“Since you asked so pretty,” he said, his beautiful hands finally dropping to the belt buckle, making a show of freeing his cock while she waited impatiently. He gave himself a few rough strokes, his other hand settling in her hair to keep her from leaning forward until he gave her the go ahead. She hated to admit it, but this was the cock that she measured all else against. Thick, just the right length to fill her completely without it becoming painful, and pretty, uncut, the tip flushed pink. “Show me that tongue, Sadie,” he growled.

She obeyed, opening her mouth wide and sticking her tongue out for him.

He tapped his cock against her tongue, smearing salty pre across it. She tried to dip forward and take him into her mouth, but John held her back by her hair, grinning down at her. "So eager for me. Did you miss this cock, Sadie? None of your little boyfriends ever compared, did they?"

"No," she said, and it was the truth. No one had ever compared to him— It seemed unfair that she'd met him so young, that he'd ruined her for anyone else before she even knew how rare men like him were. He was flawed, yes, deeply flawed, and she'd never been soft enough to accommodate his sharp edges, but he made love the same way he made war, fully, completely, with his entire being. "None of them have even been half as good."

That seemed to please the proud, jealous animal in his chest. His blue eyes glittered with satisfaction, and he let her lean forward to close her lips around the tip of his cock.

The sound he made when she did ran down Sadie's spine like electricity. Another thing she’d always liked about him. He was appreciative as she licked and sucked and stroked his cock, vocal, growling out praise like he couldn’t bear to stop, a litany of good girl, and fuck, just like that, and god, you look so beautiful like this and more that she could barely make out, like he had lost his ability to enunciate the moment she swallowed around the tip of his cock. It was tough to take him that far— Her jaw ached already from the effort of keeping her teeth away from sensitive skin, but it was worth it for the way his knees shook, the hands buried in her hair gripping so tight that she couldn’t help but moan.

That was what pushed him over the edge. The thought that she enjoyed it as much as he did. “Fuck, Sades, m’gonna—” He couldn’t even finish the sentence before he came, spilling thick, hot spend over her tongue. She swallowed it down, licking any trace of it from his too sensitive cock, until he growled and pulled her away. “Bloody hell, you’ve learned some new tricks.”

“Of course I have.” She leaned back on one hand, watching him shed the rest of his clothes while she ran her other thumb under her bottom lip, rubbing away the pale remnants of lipstick that had been bright red earlier in the evening, until John kissed most of it away. There was probably some smeared on the couch cushions too. “It has been twenty years.”

John dropped down to one knee and picked up her foot, unbuckling the strap of her shoe and easing it off. “Far too long, darlin’. Missed you somethin’ fierce.” He dug his thumb into the arch of her foot, humming contentedly when she sighed and sank back onto her elbows. “There’s never been anyone that compared to you either.”

“Flatterer.”

“I’m serious, Sadie. No one. I hate that we weren’t together all this time. Should’ve been better for you. Should’ve listened more.” The blue of his eyes in the low lamplight was sincere, piercing, like he needed her to understand just how grievously sincere he was, how much he meant it.

That was John, though. A man that couldn’t give up his vices, no matter how much they hurt him. Conviction that would outlive the earth and all the stars in the sky. At the end of the universe, it would just be John, gripping tight to what remained, jaws sunk deep into what he couldn’t bear to let go of.

“I let you go for a reason, John. Love isn’t always enough. You wanted me to be something I wasn’t, and I couldn’t be what you needed. I could hardly be what Scout needed. I probably failed there.” She reached out, brushing her fingertips through his hair and down the side of his neck. “I wanted you to find someone else. I was a bad wife and a terrible mother.”

His eyes dropped, hands moving to take off her other shoe, mouth set in a grim, unhappy line. “You weren’t. I should’ve been there. You kept telling me you needed me there, and I didn’t listen.”

“It’s in the past.” Nothing could be changed at that point. Sadie wasn’t sure that she would have changed anything. “You have to forgive yourself, John. It’s not your fault things didn’t work, and it’s not mine either. Sometimes People just don’t belong together. We would have made each other miserable.”

“I still think we could make it work.”

“Ever the optimist,” Sadie teased. “Let’s not worry about tomorrow, John. Let me show you how much I missed you.”

That spurred John to his feet. “You just did, darlin’. I think it’s my turn again.”

They settled closer to the head of the bed, his arms wrapped around her possessively while they kissed. Some of the frenetic energy of earlier was gone now, need giving way to want. The enthusiasm from earlier was still present, but John set a languid, easy pace as he licked into her mouth, matching faded anamnesis to new reality, committing every detail to memory. His hands roamed, pulling her tighter against him, as though hoping to pull her into his own skin, desperate for reconnection, apprehensive of the severance they both knew would come. His touch was none too gentle, palms pressed firmly to skin as he explored every inch of her. He needed to map and catalogue the terrain, ever the soldier, familiarizing himself with the field of battle.

She allowed herself a similar exploration, skimming her fingertips over powerful muscle, petting through he thicket of hair on his chest, tracing new and old scars alike. The foundation was much the same, but the topography had changed, the unkindness of the years writ plain across his skin.

Her fingers wandered further down. It was hard not to break the kiss with a smile when he made a soft sound of surprise. Was he so unused to initiation? Perhaps that was the downside of partnering with younger women not yet comfortable with their own desires. Although Sadie was fairly certain that she’d never had any trouble taking what she wanted. Sentiment echoed by John when he pulled back slightly, grinning, as she wrapped her fingers around his cock again. “Impatient girl,” he grumbled. “Some things really don’t change.”

“I don’t recall that being a problem for you.” He was already half hard, twitching with interest at just a few gentle strokes, tip nudging against her thigh. “But we are getting older, aren’t we?” she asked, biting back a laugh at his scandalized expression. “I can be patient for you, daddy.”

His eyes sparked hot again. That was still a sure-fire way to get his engines rumbling back to life, his cock swelling under her fingers. “I don’t think you can, sweetheart. S’not in your nature.” He knocked her hand away, making room between their bodies for his thick fingers to slot between her legs. “So fuckin’ wet. All from takin’ care of me?”

Sadie nodded, hooking her leg over his hips to give him more room. “You always make it worth my while.”

John’s fingers parted her slick folds, rubbing soft circles around her clit, kissing her again, drinking her whimpered reactions from her lips, too greedy and covetous to waste them on the room around them. He brought her to the brink, focused on her clit until her legs started shaking, until she tucked her head down against his chest, too dizzy to let him steal any more of her breath.

“You gonna come for me, sweetheart?” John asked wickedly, curling forward so he could kiss the spot in front of her ear. “Need you to before I fuck you. Be a good girl for me.”

Sadie pressed her face into his chest, nails digging into his shoulders, a desperate attempt to ground herself before he had her arching into his touch, crying out, toes curling as her orgasm tore through her body, leaving her shaking and blinking away stars.

His touch slowed, turning gentle to coax her through it. “There we go. Good girl, Sadie. Always so perfect for me.” Satisfied that the last echoes had begun to fade away, he rolled on top of her, one hand planted on he bed while he lined himself up with her sensitive cunt and pushed in slowly, his eyes glued to her face, searching for any hint of discomfort. He stilled for a moment when he hilted fully inside her. “Fuck. You still feel like heaven, Sadie. Still feel like you’re made for me.”

Although she was loathe to admit it, she felt the same way. He felt perfect inside her, just thick enough for the stretch to burn pleasantly, just long enough to fill her completely without ramming into her cervix on every thrust. No one fit just right except John, as if he had carved out a place for himself all those years ago, and she’d always been waiting for him to come home. She pitched her hips up to give him a better angle, winding her arms around his neck so she could drag him down for another kiss. He started to move slowly, shallow, grinding thrusts that hit every sensitive spot inside her, as though he couldn’t bear to pull away even for as long as it took to push back in.

"John, please," she murmured against his lips, hardly moving away enough to speak.

John reared back and hooked her legs over his arms, gripping her hips tightly so he could drill into her with purpose. She pressed her hands against the headboard to keep them from inching up the bed, a breathless laugh turning to a moan. He watched her though half lidded eyes, the fondness in his expression countering the almost animal way he fucked her, hips snapping into her hard, hitting that spongy spot with every thrust, all the accuracy of a sniper even now. “I love you,” he growled, one hand sliding across her hip, thumb zeroing in on her clit. “Has anyone ever made you feel like I do, Sadie?”

She yelped, overstimulated, but arching into his touch anyway, greedy for anything he could give her still. “No one,” she panted. “Never.”

“That’s right,” he dropped down, folding her legs up toward her chest, hardly interrupting his pace, although the change in angle had Sadie crying out, legs shaking. She wrapped her arms around him to keep him close, manicured nails digging into his back. “You’re still mine. You’ll always be mine.”

In that moment it was hard to argue, especially with her own body agreeing with him, her cunt gripping him tight in response to his possessive words. She pressed her face into his shoulder rather than answer, biting down hard as everything reached a crescendo, muffling her scream. John groaned in her ear, the sensation of her coming around him, of her teeth buried in his shoulder hard enough to bruise sending him over with her. She could feel the hot throb as he came inside her as deeply as he could, filling her up as if he meant to mark her as his forever, like he forgot their age and still hoped to make good on his dreams of breeding her again, picking their life up from where they dropped it so long ago.

Sadie let her head hit the mattress, but didn’t let go, arms and legs still locked tight around him. He panted, kissing her neck, more of his weight dropping down on top of her as his limbs grew heavy.

After a moment, he pulled himself together enough to untuck his head and kiss her again, until she finally let him go.

It was strange how they fell into a familiar routine after, cleaning themselves up, brushing their teeth side by side, watching each other in the mirror, just like they used to. He teased her for having so many little bottles of goop to layer on her face after she washed up, but he didn’t go anywhere either. They changed the sheets, laughing about the rather pronounced wet spot they’d left, and finally fell into it, wrapped up together to sleep.

Sadie slid out of bed in the morning, gently untangling herself from John. He made a grumpy, sleepy sound, cracking open his eyes in the weak gray light.

“Come back here,” he grumbled, reaching across the bed, fingers brushing her back, not quite fast enough to snag her and pull her back in. “Not done with you.”

“I’ll just be a moment. I’m going to start coffee so it’s ready when you are done with me.”

John rolled onto his back, tucking his hands behind his head and watching her pull a robe on, blue eyes hot. “I never will be.”

Sadie sent a fond look over her shoulder and padded into the kitchen, making coffee on auto-pilot, snagging her phone out of her abandoned purse to check her emails quickly on the way back to the bedroom. Nothing pressing, although a text came in just as she was about to set it down. John snagged her around the waist and pulled her onto the bed, curling around her to peer over her shoulder.

Scout: Hey, what the hell is this?

Sadie laughed as she opened the link that came through a moment later, tilting her phone so John could see the picture better. One of the pictures that had been snagged outside Westminster last night, with John carrying her, a red circle in the corner of the image a zoom in on the rings on her finger, with the headline Sadie’s Choice.

Scout: I’ll save you the read, but apparently you’re quite the heart-breaker in the house of commons.

Scout: Are you and dad getting back together?

John kissed Sadie’s shoulder, tugging the phone out of her hand and gently tossing it onto the side table. “You can answer that later. I’m not quite finished making my case.”

She let John pull her down on top of him, still smiling as she kissed him.

It couldn’t hurt to hear him out.

Image Credits: Title Card 1 - 2 - Dividers

Graphics made in Canva by me!

[wizard-on-whales]

Modern AU! for rdr2 characters

These are my headcannons for each character and what I think they would do in modern times.

Characters included: Arthur, Micah, Dutch, John, Abigail, Mary-Beth, Karen, Tilly, Sadie, Strauss, Charles, Susan, Bill, Lenny, Hosea, Sean, Molly, Javier, Swanson

_______________________________

Arthur Morgan: 

He works a blue-collar job. He would most likely be a ranch hand, but for some reason, I can also imagine him being a plumber or welder. In his free time, he does art and sells prints on Etsy. He is still an old-fashioned gentleman (In a good way), and all of the ladies he meets swoon for him, but he is a himbo and doesn't realize they are practically in love with him. They will give him the most obvious hints, but he will think the women are just being nice. 

Micah Bell:

He's the creepy uncle that you avoid at every family gathering. He hasn't had a job in like 15 years, and no one knows how he can still pay his bills. And he also always smells like lingering alcohol and cigarettes. He will lean too close to his nieces and say extremely concerning things everyone would choose to ignore. Im also getting the vibes that he went to prison for several years, but no one knows what for.

Dutch Van Der Linde:

He sells people scams or owns a pyramid scheme business. Similar to Scentsy products, he somehow convinces all of these people to buy his products to sell to other people, telling them they will get rich by selling these products, but, in reality, he's screwing them over and making most of the money himself. 

John Marston: 

If we are talking about early Red Dead 2 Marston, he still lives in his parent's basement and plays video games on his PC all day. He also watches Andrew Tate and would try to boss Abigail around and tell her he's an alpha male. (She'd slap him and tell him to get over himself) Late rdr2 and rdr1, he's grown out of that mindset and has become a working family man. Potentially also a welder, like I said for Arthur. But any high-paying physical job works.  

I feel like Abigail, Mary-Beth, Karen, and Tilly would all have a mom group they host every week to discuss their child's newest achievements. Their husbands think that is all they do at the meetings, but they also have in-depth conversations about women's suffrage and how the world caters to men. They think of ways to better the world and bring more women together to discuss these topics and bring light to issues regarding women. The girls would run a pretty popular Facebook group where they let other women express their opinions on those topics. (Arthur is a part of the Facebook group and likes every post he sees and comments shit like, “You're doing great, ladies! Keep up the good work! 😁🥰👍”) 

Sadie would probably occasionally attend these meetings (Although I dont see her having children, she would go for the cheap wine and to hang with her friends). Sadie would also go for the in-depth conversations and bring new thoughts to the table because she is a CEO or manager for a very successful company. She would share her experiences of what it's like to be on top of the men who work for her but still be looked down upon by them simply because of her gender. She would also probably share tips on that Facebook page on how to create a successful business without having to attend years of college and give tips for all stay-at-home moms who want to be more than just moms and wives. (She would also be the cool rich aunt)

Leopold Strauss: 

He would do the same thing. He gives loans to people who he knows won't be able to pay back the money, and then when the bill comes, he'd ruin their lives and probably end up breaking up families/ relationships and send people to jail for not paying back the money in time. 

Charles Smith:

I can see him being a park ranger or working in any conservation field. Potentially even a firefighter who deals with all of the forest fires that happen in places along the West Coast. He’d also be one to do something similar to what he did in the game, but he would work with the local native tribes against companies to try to win back their lands before it gets plowed over for an Amazon factory or something. 

Susan Grimshaw:

I can see her being the mean substitute teacher who yells at everyone to get to work, and then when someone does something slightly wrong, she would yell at the whole class and be like, “In all of my years of teaching, I have never seen a class behave this badly.” Either that or she would work at the front desk of the business Sadie runs. Miss Grimshaw would NOT play with anyone who would try to be rude towards her. 

Bill Williamson: 

Ehem…a police officer. I feel like this one is self-explanatory. But he would mostly sit in his car and do nothing his entire shift. Occasionally pulling someone over for speeding. If they are a white dude, he'd would let them off with just a warning. Poor Lenny would probably get the ticket. 

Lenny Summers: 

I feel like he would be the one to graduate high school early and go to college as soon as possible. I dont know exactly what he would choose for his degree, but I feel like it would be something involving politics. Maybe that wouldn't be his major, but he would take a government class. Or Potentially going into journaling. 

Hosea Matthews:

He's the retired grandpa who used to work in a factory where he made a surprising amount of money and was able to retire early. He spends most of his days walking up at 5 in the morning to watch the sunrise and read the morning paper. And he’ll spend every opportunity he gets to take his kids or grandkids fishing. And if you stay at his house overnight or for the weekend, he gives you a bowl of ice cream every night before bed and recounts every story he could think of that happened from the last time you saw him. (Some of them are surprisingly concerning, but he is one of those badass grandpas)

Sean Macguire:

Similar to John, Sean would spend most of his time gaming on his PC and arguing with children on COD or Fortnite. But he also works at a local bar as the bartender and won't hesitate to argue with the drunk assholes and would slap a bitch if needed. But he also embarrasses himself by flirting with women who will give him dirty looks or tell him that they are gay. (I feel like Karen would also work late-night shifts at the bar with him, but shes also taking online college classes because she wants to be a social worker) 

Molly O’Shea:

Instagram and TikTok influencer 100%, and lots of brands like to sponsor her and send her free stuff (Mostly because of Dutch’s business.) and she posts videos of her and Dutch, and everyone in the comments freaks out about how he is grooming her because of their age difference but she denies it all and says that they are actually in love.  But then she would post a video to that one sound, “My god this reminds me of when we were young.” And Molly be like 8, and Dutch be in his mid-to-late 20s. 

Javier Escuella: 

He’d be a musician. He would have started out in a shitty garage band with Sean and John or something, but then he’d realize he actually wants to be a serious musician while the other guys were just messing around. So he’d leave and make solo music that blows up, and he ends up going on tour, and making a lot of money and becoming hugely successful. 

Reverend Swanson:

The preacher you always see in the corner of the bar Sean works at. And if you went up to him and started talking to him, he’d tell you the most profound things. He would tell you about his life when he was younger and what happened that made him lose hope, but he would motivate you to never give up. He’d be that person you meet by chance for a few seconds that you would never forget. Hosea probably invites him to go fishing with him from time to time. But instead of fishing, Swanson stares at the water ripples in silence. Hosea would let him sit in silence and let Swanson enjoy the company and the time to think while being sober. 

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

[scarfacemarston]

Ok, hiiiii!!!

Right, so I’ve noticed Sadie doesn’t get enough fanfics and I have a little idea if that’s all right 🤭🤭

Ok so hear me out, after Sadie gets with the reader once she’s been able to find herself love and not been so traumatised anymore, she asked the reader to marry her because she doesn’t want to loose them like she lost Jake (specifically fem!reader, if it’s all right?)

Yep! Here ya go. :D Content warning: Gun violence and gunshot injury. Non-graphic. Bullets whirled past you at lightning speed. It was supposed to be an easy smash and grab, in and out, super easy. Wrong. You, Sadie, and Arthur had staked the scene out the night before, noting every possible point of entry and exit. You were thorough - but not exhaustive enough.

It started easy enough creeping up to the impressive homestead, but despite all the time spent scouting, there was a hidden covered window on an unseen third floor - a lookout room. It wasn’t long til you heard a voice announcing your presence - and then the rain of bullets began, causing you to duck for cover.

Sadie had taken the lead as usual, causing you and Arthur to share a look and sigh. She always was a firecracker. Things were going ...okay. The three of you had finally carved out an escape route when you heard the frantic shout of your name and copious amounts of cursing. Then, you felt it. The dull throb and the burning, the red seeping through, wetting and sticking your skin. Time seemed to slow down; why had Sadie and Arthur’s voices seemed so far away?

You heard Sadie let out a furious roar before your eyes rolled back, and darkness took you. 

From there, time was a blur. You felt pressure on your hands, and Sadie’s voice called for you to hold on, her voice sounding increasingly desperate.

“I’m fine,” you slurred.

“You certainly ain’t fine, young lady! Gettin’ shot ain’t fine!” Arthur chided.

You felt a calloused small hand cupping your chin.

“Come on. Hold on, baby. I’ve got you. Don’t you dare die on me, or I swear I’ll kick your ass in the next life.” Sadie threatened, but the panic was evident.

Everything was a blur, from hearing murmurs from Hosea and Grimshaw discussing how to best remove the cloth from your shoulder to hearing arguments between Grimshaw and Sadie.

“I ain’t leavin’ her! I shouldn’t have…..” to hearing the frightening words, “Hold her down.” 

A damn shame the pain wasn’t a blur. You remembered crying out and later a cool cloth on your head … Someone….it had to be Sadie, whispered words of encouragement.

“Come on, they’re almost finished. You’re being so brave. So damn brave. Just a little longer.” You gave Sadie’s hand a weak but present squeeze before passing out again.

Next thing you knew, you were awake, resting on a cot in Sadie’s tent with a bandaged shoulder and clean clothing. You glanced around, ready to prop yourself up - 

“No, don’t you dare try an’ sit up.”

You tried again.

“Come on, stop it. Damn you’re stubborn as a mule.” You heard Sadie’s voice ring out and a light shove on your good shoulder.

You grinned toothily.

“Think you like it that way. Stubborn. Keeps you on your toes.” You slurred, your voice hoarse.

Sadie sighed before giving you her canteen.

“That what you think? Drink up.” Sadie ordered. She sat at the edge of your cot, staring at the ground. Sadie wasn’t the most talkative of women, but this was something different. Her shoulders were tense. Sadie had something to say. You wondered if she was going to admonish you for not being careful enough.

“Look, I ain’t good at this. All of this.” Sadie said, gesturing between the two of you.

“It’s a wonder Jakey and I…..that we became a thing. When he died, I felt like my world had gone dark. Like the sun would never rise again. Then I met you and my world seemed a little lighter. We took our sweet time gettin’ to where we are now, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now the sun is back and it’s all because of you. But today? Shit, I thought I lost you. There was so much blood. I felt I couldn’t do nothin’ but shoot. Sometimes, I feel like that’s all I’m good for.” Sadie said with a humorless laugh.

“I ain’t the prayin’ sort. Not at all, but I prayed today. I already lost one love, I can’t lose another. I can’t. I’ve never done this before, and can’t say I ever saw myself doin’ this, but you somehow make me do a lot of things I’ve never done before.” Sadie smiled slightly.

She reached into her pocket, fidgeting with something before revealing a gold band with a light blue stone. 

“It won’t be the same as a man and his woman, but I think we have our own special thing that no one can take from us. Will you do me the honor of bein’ my woman? My gal for the rest of our lives? You make my day a lot brighter, and I’d do anythin’ to make you happy for the rest of your days.” Sadie held up the ring, hopefully willing herself to keep eye contact.

You clapped your hand over your mouth and gasped.

You thought about marriage as a girl. Most girls did, but you always expected it to be what girls were “supposed” to be thinking about. Then you met Sadie, and your world turned upside down. You always had feelings for women, but Sadie was something else. You didn’t know women could even have something like marriage until Sadie came back with a book about Boston Marriages.

Sadie shuffled her feet, bringing you back to reality. Shit, you had been thinking too long.

“Of course! Yes, of course I’ll be your woman. I never thought it was ….I never thought this day would come!” you said with a splitting grin and a heart full of love. You laughed joyfully, causing Sadie’s shoulders to soften, a wide grin of her own stretching her features as she relaxed.

"Oh, Thank God. I don’t know what I would have done if you said no. I woulda managed, but I woulda felt mighty awkward.” She chuckled.

You reached out for her, hoping for an embrace before hissing in pain. Sadie rolled her eyes. 

“What am I going to do with you? Let me.” she huffed before wrapping you in her arms before planting her lips to yours.

END

[b00kdiary]

Wildest Dreams (III)

ACOTAR The Batboys x Plus size reader

Where the reader finds herself gaining the attention of the most notorious males in Prythian and it seems that even her wildest dreams couldn't prepare her for the night they would share.

Notes: This has Rhys, Cassian and Azriel with a plus-size reader since I literally couldn't decide who it should be and thought that the best fantasy in the world would be all three :) Here's to all my thick, fat, plus-size girlies who want some bat-boy love too xo

Warning: mature themes (18 +) swearing, body-image issues, smut and the bat boys being utterly infatuated with their thick, beautiful lady

Part I Part II Part IV

“This is where you live?” I muttered, my eyes scouring my surroundings in disbelief.

I lifted my eyes to the right, meeting Rhysand’s gaze, my brain forcing me to not focus on his hand trailing aimlessly at the nape of my back. He smiled, shrugging modestly as he nodded as if this wasn’t the most extravagant yet cosy home I’d ever seen.

“It’s beautiful,” I said softly, turning back to the ornate red-carpet and wood-panelled walls. The males remained silent behind me, allowing me to take in the room and I glanced back, trying not to overwhelm myself as realisation set in.

The realisation that I was here alone with these three males.

Rhysand had winnowed us all here after I had accepted their invitations, using his Daemati skills to tell Sadie where I was going- I could still see the shit-eating grin she gave me from across the floor as we left.

I had felt exhilarated after saying yes, exhilarated and needy as my words seemed to ignite a fire within them too, as if they envisioned the night ahead we’d share. And yet, now that I stood here, alone, unprepared, uncertain with them before me, that confidence dwindled into ashes.

They seemed to notice it too, their body language easy and unthreatening as they stood before me.

Rhysand stood tall, hands tucked into the pockets of his pants, eyes soft and patient upon me. My gaze travelled to Cassian who sat on the arm of the sofa, a warm smile playing on his lips at my stare. And then finally my eyes moved to the left, where Azriel stood, arms folded, back leaned against the wall, watching me as keenly as I watched them.

I tucked a strand of loose hair behind my ears as the silence lingered on and I couldn’t help the way my fingers fiddled and pulled, knowing that this was not the kind of interaction they were used to.

We all stood too far away and wore way too much clothing.

Rhysand huffed a breathy laugh and my eyes drew from their haze as I looked at him, my cheeks heating at the knowing smile he wore, amusement and interest dancing in the shine of his purple eyes.

“Would you like a drink?” Azriel suddenly asked, his voice quiet. I paused, not expecting the question but I nodded slowly, smiling timidly in acknowledgement of my nerves.

“Yes, I would, if it’s not an issue,” I said, trying to even out the shaking in my voice as I spoke. Azriel nodded, pushing off the wall and began moving towards me, to the room in the back.

“Why don’t we all go? I could do with a drink and getting to know Y/N darling better” Rhysand spoke, and I felt a rush of relief flow over me at the words. My eyes met his, and from the small nod and quirked smile, I knew he was doing this for my benefit.

“My Lady” Cassian smirked, walking toward me and hooking out an elbow for me to take. I giggled, slipping my arm through the loop, and nestling myself up against the hard, strong muscles and warm skin.

“Well, thank you, Lord Cassian” I winked and he chuckled, his head throwing back, momentarily revealing the strong column of his throat. I tried to not make my stare obvious as he began leading me through the adjoining doors into a room with a large oak table.

Azriel had brought out a bottle of red wine and began setting down four glasses, filling them all up swiftly. I observed him as he moved, so graceful with his shadows dancing around him, and he somehow managed to look beautiful even while doing a task as menial as pouring drinks.

Noticing our entrance, he smiled and began to walk over, his feet ever silent as he stopped, handing me a glass. I took it, whispering a thank you and as my fingers passed him I felt the scars and roughness brush against my own.

I paused, brows furrowing as I looked down at his hand, still outstretched.

I had heard rumours of the Shadowsinger’s burns and yet from the severe scarring it seemed that whatever he had endured was far more horrific than any gossip had detailed.

Azriel didn’t move as I stared at his hands and I didn’t allow myself to appear disgusted or pitiful or anything of the sort. Instead, I reached out my shaky hand and traced a soft line of my fingers over the back of his hand and down his fingers, following the jagged and red scarring.

He shivered, so small it was almost imperceptible but I felt it, and as I raised my eyes and locked them with his I felt a small whoosh of air escape his lungs as if he had been holding it in this entire time.

There was little to be said, nothing that could ease that wound so I smiled, a smile that was genuine enough that I knew he could see the words unspoken in it, see it in my eyes as I watched him. He didn’t reply, merely nodding his head, a small tint now staining his structured cheeks and a smile tilting at the corner of his mouth.

We pulled away from one another, and as Azriel turned back towards the table, I noticed that Cassian and Rhysand had already taken their seats. Rhysand sat at the head of the table, his body leaned back and thighs outstretched with Cassian before him on his right and Azriel taking a seat on the left.

I inhaled deeply, gripping the glass tightly in my hand, conscious not to shatter it from the butterflies swarming in my stomach. I walked silently, intending to sit at the chair beside either Cassian or Azriel but as I moved past Rhysand, his hand gripped mine, his fingers curling gently around my wrist.

I turned, surprised and I chuckled lightly at the smirk that lined his lips.

“Yes, Rhysand?” I asked, quirking my brow up at him and he smirked fiendishly, tugging my hand to pull me toward him.

“I fear I cannot bear to part with you darling” He muttered, purple eyes shining with mischief and teasing as he dragged me over to him.

I rolled my eyes, as I got closer to him, my thighs brushing his “I’m sure you’ll manage-“

I gasped out in shock as he pulled me onto him, his hands swiftly snaking around my hips to settle me on his thigh. I gawked as my hand instinctively flew to his shoulder and it was a miracle that my wine didn’t go flying over him.

“Much better,” He said simply, grinning as I stared at him in bewilderment before taking a casual sip of the wine in his hand.

I heard the amused snickers of both Cassian and Azriel and as my eyes moved to them they flashed wolfish smiles at me, eyes raking over how I sat on Rhysand’s right thigh, my arms clutching onto him for support and my thighs clamped shut.

I was as rigid as a board and I’m sure I looked ridiculous.

I glanced down nervously at Rhysand’s thigh, my body tense against the powerful, thick muscles contorted under me. He didn’t appear to be struggling under my weight and barely seemed to acknowledge me at all.

Rhysand merely sat there, smirking, sipping from the glass in his left hand while the right was wrapped around my waist, his long fingers drawing faint circles against the material just under my breast.

I shivered at the touch, so casual and smooth and yet, it ignited a fire and need within me.

“Are you-“ I breathed, turning my head to fully look at Rhysand, who raised a brow at me “Are you sure I’m not hurting you?”

I started snapping my head back at Cassian laughing, loud and bellowing and my heart plummeted into my stomach like a stone in the sea. I grimaced, my face burning with embarrassment and suddenly I wanted the ground to swallow me up and spit me out somewhere that wasn’t there.

“I’m sorry” Cassian snickered, clutching his chest and I tried to hide the burning in my eyes “Rhys may be smaller than me, but even I can tell that he’s held swords heavier than you.” I paused at his words, my breath stalling as confusion filled me and I looked up quickly at the general.

“Honestly angel,” Cassian said, his face softening “Surely, you don’t think that Rhysand’s that weak?”

The words were quipped jokingly and I felt Rhys shake under me, laughing lightly, Azriel’s lips shifting too. I almost did laugh, but I shook my head, solemn as I looked down at the glass in my hands suddenly finding the liquor more interesting.

“The males I’ve been with…” I paused, a small bitter scoff escaping me and I knew I didn’t need to continue. There was a silence after my words, a silence strong enough that I could hear my heartbeat in my chest.

Why did I say that?

I heard a glass clink against the table, and then a hand was at my chin gently tilting my head up to meet with a familiar sky of purple. I saw the sincerity and resolve in Rhysand’s face as he watched me, that hand now caressing against my cheek soothingly.

“Those males were assholes” He started simply, and my brows rose at how gravelled his tone was. “For any man to see you, to have the honour of being with you and not treating you with the respect and reverence you deserve, he is no real male.”

My breath stuttered as I stared, so captivated by his words, by his eyes and I could not stop how my body seemed to melt against him, seemed to fall into his comfort and warmth.

“Y/N you are many things, intelligent, funny, loyal, kind,” He said, listing off all the things that he had gathered in the last few hours since we had met, and those words lit my heart. “But you’re also utterly beautiful, and perhaps few have said it, perhaps they’ve said otherwise.”

His eyes sparked, dark and dangerous as he saw my expression drop, and saw exactly what males had said to me before. I would have felt embarrassed, and humiliated by that truth if not for how adamantly his eyes sparked in denial.

“But I can speak for myself, and my brothers when I say that we appreciate every inch of you, we desire every inch of you and even if you cannot understand it, it doesn’t cease to be true.” His words became almost as soft as a whisper, and when his eyes lowered to my lips, lowered and flashed with want, I knew exactly what I wanted too.

And I would not hesitate to take it.

I moved with surety, simply placing the glass of wine on the table before turning, my head shifting forward and to the side as I brushed a sweet and needy kiss against Rhysand’s lips. He sighed, a content exhale as his hand cupped my cheek and his lips moved against mine with more resolve.

It was gentle yet consuming, the kind of kiss that made my head spin and my body utterly numb. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of his lips against mine, his tongue sweeping teasingly and his hands caressing me, holding me like a lifeline.

I could faintly taste the sweetness of the wine on his tongue and I moaned quietly, my body shivering at the deep groan that reverberated in Rhysand’s chest in response. My fingers grip the fabric of his shirt tighter as his tongue fans over mine, and his hand digs possessively into my waist, trapping me against his chest.

My brain was beginning to fog over, and my body igniting with need and pleasure as Rhysand slowly pulled away, his teeth dragging across my bottom lip as he did so, eliciting a gasping mewl from my lips.

I fluttered my eyes open, flustered and breathless as I met Rhysand’s gaze and I felt a deep unrelenting shiver rush over me at the thrill I saw in his eyes.

I bit my lip, the realisation that Cassian and Azriel watched us drawing me back to reality and I felt guilt riddle me that I wasn’t being fair with my attention. I drew back slightly, shifting to maybe move to Cassian or Azriel but Rhysand’s arm tightened like an iron grip around me.

“Your brothers are going to think you’re being greedy, High Lord” I purred as I looked back over my shoulder and Rhysand’s deep, low laugh in reply made me feel dizzy.

“I don’t know, they seem like they’re enjoying themselves” Rhysand shrugged and instinctively my head turned forward, eyes shifting to the two silent, immovable males before me. They sat, eyes dark, smirks feral and I could smell the arousal and desire in the air as they kept their gazes locked upon me.

“In fact” Rhysand continued and I could hear the smile in his voice, “I think they might even have some pointers.”

I blinked, my brows furrowing in confusion but I slowly understand what he meant as I felt Rhysand begin kissing against my neck, wet and sucking against the skin there. I huffed a breath, my eyes fluttering shut for a moment as he closed his lips and flattened his tongue against a soft spot.

“Keep your eyes on us sweetheart” Azriel muttered, his voice clouded and the authority behind it made me quickly bat them open again, a blush tinting my cheeks at the approving smirk he gave in response.

Rhysand continued kissing his way down the curve of my neck and as he settled my back against his chest I sighed, my chest rising and falling heavily at the feeling of his teeth grazing the sensitive skin there.

His hands began to wander, playful, careless glides of his finger over my sides, up and down my thigh kneading the flesh there, between and under my breasts, everywhere but the places I needed him.

“Rhysand” I groaned, sneering in annoyance as yet against his fingers trailed over my breast skimming the sensitive and pebbled nipple, but he didn’t stay there for long.

He laughed, kissing my collarbone and my back arched as his hands trailed high up to the apex of my thighs.

And stopped.

I groaned, growling low in my throat as my annoyed scowl flickered to the smirking, arrogant High Lord under me. He blinked, raising his brow in a challenge and I couldn’t help how my thighs clenched in response.

“Rhysand’s being very mean,” Cassian tsked, chuckling and as my eyes flicked to his he grinned, licking his lips as he leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees. “Give our angel what she wants.”

“And what’s that?” Rhysand asked, his voice dripping with faux innocence, his nose brushing the length of my throat. I bit my lip, holding back my gasp even as my cheeks began to heat with embarrassment.

“She wants you to touch her,” Azriel said quietly, hypnotically “She wants you to really touch her.”

My breaths began to stutter as Rhysand’s right hand grazed under my breast and he began tracing one long-ringed finger over my breast and across my nipple, visible through my dress.

I exhaled harshly, watching as he traced circles around the sensitive bud, his touch going from barely there to firmer. The room was silent as his hand moved up and he cupped my breast in his large hand, his fingers pinching my nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

A moan slipped from my lips as he tugged, a content smile gracing his face as my body began to shiver slightly under the ministrations of his hands at my breast.

“Is that better, angel?” Cassian cooed, his hand coming up to rub at his face, his eyes unable to leave the hand that cupped me. I breathed out as Rhysand’s fingers played with my other nipple, rolling the bud in deft circles.

“No,” Azriel said, a knowing glint in his eyes as he cocked his head “It’s not enough, is it sweetheart?”

I swallowed once, my eyes captivated by his gaze and despite how hot my face felt, I shook my head in agreement, revelling in the smirk Azriel gave me.

“No?” Rhysand asked, his voice whispered against my ear.

I bit my lip in anticipation as his hand left my chest and slowly, so tauntingly slow, began descending my stomach. He drew casual and lazy circles against the flesh of my stomach as he glided lower, and I wasn’t sure if I was more breathless at the fact he was touching my stomach or that he was getting closer to where I needed him most.

He paused at the slit at the side of my dress, revealing the skin at my thigh and if moved, the underwear I wore beneath.

“Here?” He breathed, biting the lobe of my ear gently when I didn’t respond. I watched his hand, watched with desperation as it stroked near the seam of that slit and rested there.

“More” I pleaded, not caring how desperate I sounded.

“Tsk” Azriel shook his head, enjoying my pleas “Such a needy girl.”

“She is a needy girl” Rhysand agreed, his fingers slipping under the dress for a second before stroking back out again. I sighed, screwing my eyes shut in a mixture of pleasure and frustration, my body wound so tight, I could barely think.

“Come on, look at her” Cassian sighed, impatience lining his handsome face. “Give her what she wants… what she needs Rhys.”

Rhysand cocked his head and I glanced at him, nearly pouting at the taunting smirk he threw at me. But my body settled, melting as his hand slipped completely under the dress and cupped right against my clothed cunt.

“Fuck” He growled, slipping into an uncontained sort of provocation as the palm of his hand pressed against me. I moaned quietly, and his body trembled under me “So fucking wet.”

I didn’t hesitate to shift my position as Rhysand’s other hand guided me to spread my thighs, so that one lay sprawled over his thigh, exposing my simple black thong to Cassian and Azriel. Nerves bubbled in my stomach at the vulnerability but as they stared, infatuated and as Rhysand ran his fingers over the slit, my mind went blissfully blank.

It seemed that no one had the patience for mocking anymore, not as Rhysand’s hand lifted and traced over the band of my underwear.

“May I?” He asked quietly, nuzzling into the curve of my neck affectionately.

“Please” I whispered.

He groaned low in his throat as he slipped those deft fingers passed the material and into my thong.

I inhaled as he ran a finger over me, the rough callouses of his battle-trained hands rubbing against my most sensitive part eliciting breathy moans from my lips. Rhys exhaled deeply, his eyes blazing as he ran two fingers down, collecting the wetness there.

“Rhys” I sighed and I felt pure male satisfaction from him as he messily rubbed my wetness up against my aching clit.

“Fuck” I heard Cassian groan, his voice husky with appreciation and I blinked my heavy eyes open, my body lighting as the two males intently watched me, their eyes glued to the spot between my legs and Rhysand’s hand slowly circling within.

“Faster” Azriel commanded, his face hard and eyes unmoving I arched my back and screwed my eyes as Rhysand followed his words, two fingers rubbing swift circles against my clit.

I writhed, unable to keep my eyes open as pleasure rocked through me, my hips grinding back and forth as I ride Rhysand’s fingers, his lips at my neck encouraging and indulgent. His pace is firm and steady, rubbing against a spot that has my thighs clenching from how good it feels.

“Cauldron, Rhys I can’t-“ I whimper, my head now back against his shoulder, one hand gripping the material of my dress while the other dug my nails into Rhysand’s forearm.

“That’s it” He praised gruffly, his other hand coming up tugging at my sensitive nipples.

“I think she’s close Rhysand” Cassian mused and I could hear the pleased grin on his lips.

“Are you darling?” He asked, his fingers never stopping, his body pressing me unbelievably close to him as he muttered hoarsely against my ear. “Are you close?”

My legs began to tremble as that familiar chord within me tightened and my breathing began stuttering out as I shook my head, my lips parting to say yes but my brain was too fogged over for any words to leave my mouth.

My lips gaped open again and I felt that chord within me snap as Rhysand’s fingers shifted a little to the left. I gasped, moaning and writhing, my hips bucking as pleasure and release coursed through me like a tidal wave. Rhys hummed in approval, his fingers continuing their punishing pace against me.

“Look at how good she looks, moaning while she comes all over your hand brother,” Azriel said, and the dirty words had my back arching and hands fisting as I rode through the pleasure sparking through me.

I exhaled and inhaled sharply, my chest rising and falling as Rhysand’s fingers slowed, guiding me through my high before eventually stopping. I tried to even out my breathing, focusing on the smooth feel of Rhysand’s wet fingers now on the skin of my thigh and I slowly blinked my eyes open, lifting my groggy head from his shoulder as I did so.

My face was flushed and my body still trembled from the aftermath of Rhysand’s touch as my eyes locked with a grinning Cassian, a more subdued but satisfied Azriel and then back to Rhysand, who lifted his lips in a gratified lazy smirk.

“You look pretty worn out darling” Rhysand noted, smug and smirking and I rolled my eyes at his male satisfaction, even if he was in fact right.

“Sure you can handle two more Illyrian males tonight?” He cocked his head and images appeared inside my mind again.

Cassian, his hands gripping my waist as he wrapped his lips around my nipples, teeth tugging against the hard flesh. And then of Azriel, on his knees before me, head between my thighs, scarred hands holding down my flailing hips.

I shivered as the promised images dissolved and reality came flooding back, Rhysand’s filthy and seductive grin rippling over me like electricity.

I smiled softly, turning my gaze to Cassian and Azriel, both of whom looked on the edge of their seats, bursting with restraint and appetite.

“It’ll take more than that to burn me out,” I shrugged, raising my brow at them in a challenge.

And I felt my toes curl in anticipation as both their eyes lit with fire and they smirked.

_____________________________________

@queenofangrymoths @satellitesunshine @highlady-ofillyria @ladespedidas @illyrian-dreamer @magical-mischief-makers @lyracarvahall @ummmmmwat @eerievixen @bitchyinternetinfluencer @meritxellao @rachelnicolee @fanfictioniseverything @queen-of-arda @magdalenka @bunnymallowo @azzydaddy

[nthspecialll]

The Lady Of The Manor

The Lady Of The Manor is a book written in red dead two by Mary-Beth and as the nerd I am I read the one chapter we have access to. Overall it is a story about the fair lady Susan Grade whose husband was murdered by the criminal David Vincent, however she falls in love with him, and in this book there are some striking similarities to the gang.

Firstly, the names, the very first thing I noticed was the fact that Susan Grade and David Vincent sound a lot like Susan Grimshaw and Dutch Van Der Linde and the fact that their personalities match as well. Susan is an independent woman who is fair but strict, David is criminal but he is charismatic and it is made quite clear in the story things are not the way that they look.

We don't know a lot about Grimshaw's past but we do know she had a fiance who died and whom she loved, I cannot say that the characters are a representation of what really happened between Dutch and Susan and her fiance, but it is Mary-Beth that Susan talks about her him with.

In the story, we are also introduced to Mr. Mellon who is a police officer, again the name matches up to Agent Milton and Mellon actually proposes an offer similar to Milton. Telling the David character that if he surrenders then maybe he could survive and not get executed, similar to Milton offering to Dutch that if he surrenders then the gang might be allowed to go.

Another interesting thing about Mellon is that while he is a police officer he is described as "the most hated and feared man in all of England" and David, a criminal who is "the most wanted man in England and France" is seen as charismatic and noble, which reflects the way Mary-Beth viewed the law as a criminal herself.

David also lets Susan know that it is actually in fact not him that Mellon wants dead but Susan due to the fact that it would rise Mellon in the hierarchy, while it does not reflect what happened with Grimshaw and Dutch, it reminded me of "it is you they want Dutch" "always is" although Susan replied "me?"

As previously mentioned, it becomes clear that the situation with the dead husband isn't as seemed, because you get hinted at the fact that the husband might have been a bad dude and that David killed him to protect Susan, this is quite similar to how Dutch kills when he sees a cause in it and that they both love to save pretty ladies in need.

Another link between David and Dutch is the very last line "David Vincent smiled and led the lady away across the rooftop of the castle, to the safety in the islands," a dream very similar to the one that Dutch fed the gang with Tahiti and the pacifics.

Now to a few smaller things I found interesting, the line "I am a thief, a murderer, a sinner and your only hope of survival, follow me" which immediately made me think of the line that Arthur spoke to Sadie int he first chapter where he tells her "we are bad men, but we aren't them."

Secondly, we have "Susan Grade, born a peasant and risen up to the lady of the manor," a line which would not reflect Grimshaw but instead Mary-beth who was a run away and a gang member for many years but in the end got a big house with beautiful decorations due to her books.

Lastly, a few lines I found interesting and found too meaningful to mean nothing but can't quite put my finger on.

"She would destoy David Vincent in order to stop loving him." I find it quite chilling especially when those two characters have so much in common with Dutch and Grimshaw.

"David Vincent, the infamous Black Knight." Black Knight? Calling someone a Black Knight means someone who "[...] is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry," aka a person who hides their identity so that their acts are not traced back to them. Dutch was, as John said, "quite a colorful character" going directly against the Black Knight idea, however that said there were many years in which it seemed Dutch did in fact not do any crimes. Or who knows, maybe he did? With a character that is so based on a person Mary-Beth had known it seems strange to put something that is so out of line for them.

This conversation "I am sorry about your husband but it was a fair fight," "a fair fight? You shot him in the back!" "I never did but we shall come to that later." A reminder that her husband was not yet cold, meaning it happened recently, and if she is there so soon she was most likely also in the area while it happened. Did she not see what happened but assumed that David shot her husband in the back?

[mamaestapa]

Epilogue: Nine Months

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: Y/N Y/L/N moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for a new start. Move in day arrives and she discovers something terrible...the apartment complex gave her the wrong lease. Instead of living with who she originally was supposed to, she's now living with the hottest quarterback in the NFL, Joe Burrow. Y/N is stuck living in the same apartment with him for a year...which the two are not thrilled about. However, as time goes on, they realize that maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could happen to them. Will Y/N and Joe stay enemies, or will they find themselves falling in love?

•chapter summary: Instagram posts and stories from the past nine months of yours and Joe's life. A great way to wrap up the end of this series❤️

•word count: 1k

•warnings: pregnancy, childbirth, lots of fluff. Witney Carson, Lindsay Arnold, and Sadie Robertson are the face claims for these posts :)

series masterlist

——————————————————

November 2023-May 2024

November 20, 2023

liked by bengals, itsmemacee, and 879,990 others

tagged: @yourusername @joeyb_9

yourusername and joeyb_9- Unexpected, but so, so loved. Baby girl coming April 2024🩷

comments:

bengals- A BABY BENGAL!!!

burrowsbae- I am SOBBING

nfl- Congratulations!

joeyb_9- 🩷🩷

robinburrow- SO excited to meet her!!!!❤️❤️❤️

itsmemacee- Can't wait to spoil this sweet babe🥰

joeburrowfan- NOOOO. That's enough social media for me today.

erinandrews- This is so exciting!! Cannot wait to meet her😍

y/njoestan- I CALLED IT. SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS😭❤️

shiestysbae-i need like four margs and five business days to recover from this news

traviskelce- Congrats y'all!

lahjay10_- Welcome to the daddy club Joey B

jblova- @lahjay10_ Joe's always been in the daddy club wym

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December 12, 2023

@yourusername instagram story

story replies:

itsmemacee reposted second slide:

itsmemacee- cant wait to see baby girl in those outfits!!🥹

y/njoestan reposted first slide:

y/njoestan- omg the bump😭

jb9lover reposted first slide:

jb9lover- I CANT. this is too cute.

January 10, 2024

@yourusername instagram story

story replies:

joeyb_9 reposted story

joeyb_9- I’ve yet to feel her kick

bengalsbabe reposted story

joebrrr reposted story

joebrrr- this is so cute wtf

yourinstagram reposted joeyb_9 story

yourinstagram- she’s just a lil shy

February 14, 2024

liked by samhubbard, yourusername, and 500,009 others

tagged: @yourusername

joeyb_9- Best Valentine's Day yet.

comments:

yourusername- The perfect day. I love you sooo much❤️

burrowsbae- Joe posting on V-day? Y/n must feel so special rn

bengals- Happy Valentine's Dey!

samhubbard- Enjoy your day with the girls, Joe!

shiestysbae- sometimes i forget she's pregnant lol

body_by_hollyyy- Joe🥹 This is SO CUTE😭🩷

joeyb-9- @yourusername ❤️

robinburrow- Miss you three!❤️❤️❤️ (and Bean)

yourmomsusername- Y/n/n, you are glowing!! Miss you sweetie. Happy Valentine's Day to you and Y/n!❤️

alisonkuch- I've haven't been this excited for a baby to be born since ours. Our babies will be besties🤍

teehiggins- Counting down the days...

loganwilsonlb- @teehiggins We all are. So impatient to meet her

emhubbard- @yourusername I think these guys are more excited to meet this baby than you and Joe😂🩷

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February 22, 2024

@yourusername instagram story

story replies:

joeyb_9 reposted story

joeyb_9- ❤️

y/nandjoeupdates reposted story

y/nandjoeupdates- Joe and Y/n saw their girl today!🥰

labjay10_ reposted story

lahjay10_- @joeyb_9 girl already looks like you

March 10, 2024

liked by emhubbard, body_by_hollyyy and 204,119 others

yourusername- My heart is so full. Had the best day celebrating Baby Burrow with the best people. She is already so loved!🩷

comments:

emhubbard- Such a fun day!

itsmemacee- So fun celebrating you and the little lady🩷 You’re going to be the best mama!

robinburrow- We’re ready for you baby girl!!!!❤️

burrow.updates- Looks like a fun day, Y/n! Where’s Joe?

body_by_hollyyy- Literally the BEST day!!! Can’t wait to meet the sweet little lady!!🥹🩷

joeyb_9- She’s already so spoiled.

cincystyles- Beautiful baby shower, Y/n! Hope you enjoyed the clothes we sent for your sweet girl🩷

brittwill- So cute!!

samhubbard- While y’all were having fun…the rest of us were putting a nursery together. She’s already got all of us wrapped around her finger!

yourusername- @samhubbard @loganwilsonlb @teehiggins @lahjay10_ thanks for helping Joe!😉

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April 17, 2024

@yourusername instagram story

story replies have been turned off

April 24, 2024

@joeyb_9 instagram story

story replies:

joeburrow9fan reposted story

joeburrow9fan- Baby Burrow is here AND Joe and Y/n are engaged!! Congratulations🎉

yourusername reposted first slide

yourusername- My little family❤️

bengals.updates reposted story

bengals.updates- Joe is a dad AND he’s engaged! So happy for these two.

April 28, 2024

liked by loganwilsonlb, nfl, and 900,000 others

tagged: @yourusername @joeyb_9

yourusername and joeyb_9- Josie Lee Burrow🤍 04/24/24

comments:

robinburrow- My beautiful granddaughter!! We love you Josie🩷

bengals- Welcome to the Jungle, Josie!🐯❤️

loganwilsonlb- Congrats guys! She’s beautiful.

itsmemacee- She is the sweetest!!! Congratulations you two!❤️

emhubbard- Josie girl! Cant wait to meet her❤️

shiestysbae- SHES SO CUTE

jb9lova- SOBBING. Congratulations!!!🥹

heykayadams- What a cutie!!

nbsmallerbear- Congrats Joe and Y/n!

lsufootball- Congrats! (and Geaux Tigers)🐯🩷

lahjay10_- I can't believe ur a daddy @joeyb_9

patrickmahomes- Congrats!❤️

body_by_hollyyy- JOSIE LEE!!😭🩷 She is TOO cute, congratulations guys!!🥹

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May 1, 2024

@yourusername Instagram story

story replies:

bengalsbabe reposted story

bengalsbabe- I just KNOW the tumblr girlies are losing it rn over this pic

joeyb_9 reposted story

joeyb_9- How I'm spending my off-season...❤️

May 4, 2024

liked by bengals, yourusername, and 455,090 others

tagged: @yourusername

joeyb_9- My girls (not pictured: Bean, who is also included in that).

comments:

yourusername- We love you so much Joe❤️

joeburrowfan- look at those little blue eyes🥹

susieevans- So sweet!

beanburrow- Mom and baby sister🥹

bengals- Best girl dad🩷

carolthelandlord- I remember when the two of you came to my office and begged for me to do something about your lease...you hated each other for a while LOL. It makes my heart so happy seeing the two of you together with a baby❤️ cray how much changes in a year!

robinburrow- Such beautiful girls! You are one lucky guy, Joe❤️

christenharper- My heart🤍

itsmemacee- I don't think I've ever been so happy for two people! You, Y/n, and Josie are the perfect little family🥰

bengalsbabe- I am so happy for them. Joe deserves this so much

joeyb_9- @yourusername and I love you and Josie

joeburrowupdates- And they lived happily ever after...😉

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hey loves!

i wanted to do this as an epilogue instead of a written chapter. i thought it would be sweet! plus, i had some anons ask for a couple more instagram posts before i finished the series :)

so, it’s official, welcome to the jungle is COMPLETE!!

if some people are interested, I may write some little imagines to go along with this series! like instagram posts, written imagines--from any timeline in this series. so if you have an idea for a little imagine post Josie or something for when Joe and Y/n were still roommates, i'll happily write it ;)

i already wrote the long thank you paragraph in the previous chapter, so i’ll save your time. but i just want to say thank you again. thank you so much for all of the love, support and encouragement you all have given me as i wrote this series. it was a blast and i’m so glad you all enjoyed it as much as i did!🤍🤍

tags: @jackharlow @ilovejoeburroww @dandelionwrites8 @ijustcrypretty @sinners-98-world @a-moment-captured @stainednailpolishremover @spooky-stoner @xoxokiaraaxoxo @kkrenae @hallecarey1 @jordyn14

[painypaintbrush]

You said sadie doesnt like to visit fanny

Is there any specific reason for it? Is fanny just unkind to her/doesnt know what to do or is this one of those cases where the child grows a grudge against one of the parents as a coming mechanism?

In your art she looks pretty upset/angry is that her usual state? Is she like that around sadie too?

Your ver of the rabbit household intrests me alot <3

Sadie doesn't like going to Fanny's because she tries to make Sadie act and dress more feminine and completely demolish her tomboy behaviors.

And Sadie being the rebel she is doesn't follow stereotypical gender norms as one of her rebellions.

Fanny wants Sadie to be more girly because she's an exact copy of Oswald, basically his twin reminding her of the man she lost. So she believes that if she acted like a "true young lady" those traits would begin to fade

Fanny is very sassy and has quite the attitude. So most of the time she can be rather irritated especially towards Oswald who keeps enabling Sadie's behavior and style. She loves her daughter and truly believes what she's doing is for the best.

Thanks for the ask! I'm happy you enjoy my versions of them <3!!

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

Fallin’ In Heart First - Cole Turner x Country Singer!Reader

A/N: This is pretty much inspire by HEART FIRST by Kelsea Ballerini so definitely check it out!

Summary: Months after their break up Cole is still moping over Sadie, that is until he hears a certain voice

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: Fluff! Simp Behaviour!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics​

Masterlist

“I have just the thing you’re looking for,” Cole says with a small wink, pointing to the customer who was at the stall.

He reaches out to grab just a plain jar of honey before presenting it to the allergy-suffering customer. She raises a brow in confusion as she takes the jar from him “honey?”

“Yep have some every day, in your tea or on your breakfast, it’s made locally using local pollen so it allows your body to get used to the pollen before allergy season kicks in” Cole explains pushing his hands into his jeans pockets.

The customer studies the jar for a moment before shrugging her shoulders “Worth a shot” she admits before passing over some cash for it.

“Used it all my life and it’s saved me,” Cole says with a small wink.

The lady lets out a small snort of laughter as she shakes her head and puts the jar of honey in her bag “Well thank you” she chuckles before turning and walking off to another stall.

Cole watches as she goes, she was pretty cute, almost certainly his type but his heart just wasn’t in it. He watched as she paused at the nearby flower stall and began admiring the cactus. Something that instantly made Cole sigh deeply as he was reminded of her.

“Oh my god that’s like the millionth sigh this morning!” Mattie exclaims loudly, pulling Cole from his thoughts.

“No, it's not” Cole argues turning around to face his younger sister who was reclined back in her chair.

“Uh yeah it is, you do it whenever you look over at the plant stall” Mattie says pointing over to the stall in question.

“No, I don’t” Cole states with a small scoff shaking his head at her.

“Yeah, you do!” Mattie laughs “Aren’t I right Dad?”

“Yeah you are sighing a lot, you can sit down if you’re asthma is acting up coleslaw” his dad offers making Cole roll his eyes.

“It's not his Asthma it's him still wallowing over Sadie,” Mattie says sending Cole a knowing look.

“No, I’m not, I’m over that” Cole argues but even he could hear how unconvincing he sounded.

Mattie burst out laughing shaking her head at him “You do hear yourself right?”

“Mattie leave him alone, he thought Sadie was the one” his dad chastises lightly.

“Yeah just like he thought Bonnie and Laurie and Peggy were the ones” Mattie mutters under her breath.

“Look Coleslaw we’re doing alright here, why don’t you go take a break, explore the rest of the fair?” His dad suggests.

“Dad I’m fine” Cole sighs.

“And that’s a million and one” Mattie smirks.

“Fine, fine I’m going” Cole exclaims holding his hands up in surrender, grabbing his inhaler as he stormed away ignoring his sister’s laughter.

Cole didn’t really know where to go, the annual county fair was always massive. He knew his dad needed a new part for the tractor so maybe he could go get that, or see if the book stand had anything interesting on agriculture.

He was just walking past one of the bar tents when he heard angelic-like singing that had him freezing. Turning in the direction of the singing he ducked into the large bar tent which was full of people enjoying local cider and listening to live music.

Cole gently pushed his way through the crowd so he could see who was on the small stage. His heart skipping a beat when he finally saw the singer. You were absolutely stunning, perched on a stool in a long floral dress, daisies carefully weaved into your hair. You had a warm smile on your face as you expertly strummed your guitar and sang about love.

Cole was completely enamoured and when your gaze met his the rest of the world melted away and it was just you and him in that tent. You sent him a bashful smile, glancing down for a moment before your gaze returned to him.

For the rest of your set your gaze repeatedly met his and Cole couldn’t help but think you were singing directly to him. So when you finally finished and began packing up Cole didn’t hesitate and made his way straight over to you.

“Hey,” he greeted, shoving his hands in his jean pockets nervously.

You glanced up from your guitar case, a smile growing on your face and you rose to your full height “Hey” you echoed.

“I um just wanted to say I really enjoyed your set, you’re voice is beautiful” Cole says smiling nervously over at you.

You nibble your lower lip and look down bashfully “Thank you” you smile looking back up at him.

Cole gives you a small nod of his head as silence fell between the two of you. He didn’t want to leave but he just couldn’t think of anything else to say. He began to turn away when he spotted a sign for a local cider and instantly spun back around to face you.

“Can I buy you a drink?” He asked suddenly.

You startle slightly at his outburst but a warm smile soon grows on your lips “Yeah that sounds nice”

“Perfect, great,” Cole says with a sigh of relief.

You let out a quiet chuckle as you close your guitar case and pick it up “let's go” you grin.

“Here let me,” Cole says quickly taking the case from you “I promise I won’t drop it”

You let out a loud warm chuckle at that “Don’t worry I trust you…” you say tailing off at the end.

“Cole. I’m Cole, Cole Turner” Cole finishes holding out his free hand.

“Y/N” you smile shaking his hand and Cole could swear he felt sparks fly.

Cole held out his arm signalling for you to go first, smiling, trying and failing to stop himself from doing a little happy dance when your back was turned. You then glanced over your shoulder at him making him quickly recover and flash you a smile.

When you reached the bar Cole ordered two ciders for the both of you and then set down your guitar case. As he did do he noticed all the stickers from different states and cities across the country.

“Are these all the places you’ve toured?” Cole asks as you took a large sip of your cider.

You quickly swallowed and shook your head “No, I’m not much of a traveller far too much of a homebody, my family is just pretty large and spread far and wide so those are just from when I’ve visited them” you explain.

Cole hums nodding his head “I get that, I did a bit of travelling across Europe not too long ago, it was fun but I definitely liked being home and back in my comfort zone”

“Need a holiday from your holiday” you chuckle making Cole laugh.

“Yup exactly that” he smiles “So you don’t travel for your music?” He asks arching a brow.

“No it's just a hobby, I don’t have any real desire to ‘make it’, I just enjoy doing stuff like this and I love my job too much to give it up” you explain.

“What do you do?” Cole asks tilting his head slightly.

“I’m a librarian, so diving into fantasy worlds and romance novels is enough travel for me” You smile bashfully as you take another sip of your cider “What do you do?”

“I’m a farmer, but I have also written a book on the history of agriculture, it was published a few months ago now” Cole answers as he takes a sip of his own cider.

“Wait.” You say holding out your hand “Cole, as in Cole Turner?”

Cole furrows his brows “Yeah….” He says confused.

“I’ve read your book!” You exclaim.

Cole’s eyes widened in surprise “You have!?” He says shaking his head in disbelief, he thought he’d be the only one who’d ever read it.

“Yeah! It came into the library and it looked interesting so I gave it a read and it was really cool! You have a way with words” you explain smiling over at him.

“Thank you” Cole smiles bashfully “but if anyone has a way with words it's you! I mean your songs, god… I’ve never heard someone summarise love and falling in love like you”

“Thank you, not everyone would agree, I’ve been called a hopeless romantic,” you say with a small shrug of your shoulders “Well that's putting it nicely, I’ve been called needy, incessant texter, leading with my heart rather than my head… but I guess I am someone who’d do anything for love”

“I get that,” Cole says with a small nod of his head, making you look back at him with an arched brow “I once travelled halfway around the world after a girl who I went on one date with and didn’t hear back from only to find out she’s a CIA agent and get dragged into her mission to recover a weapon of mass destruction, there were bounty hunters and everything” he rambles looking down at his cider.

Silence fell between the two of you making Cole worry that when he looked back up that he would see a look of horror on your face. But when he did eventually look up he just saw a warm smile on your face.

“You fall in love fast don’t you Cole?” You ask with a smirk, Cole could only nod and swallow nervously “Well I’m glad I’m not the only one” you smile holding your pint out for a toast.

A wide smile broke out on his face as he joined you in your toast. Yeah, he fell in love fast but this time he was sure that he’d met his match, his equal, his soulmate.

Sharing is caring so please reblog if you enjoyed this and maybe even leave a comment to make my day!

Masterlist

I don’t have a taglist so follow @secretswiftymarvelfanlibrary​ and turn on post notifications to be kept up to date!

[bobbie-robron]

Teen Karl!Robert’s ladies…

These are some general comments and not very in-depth.

Ollie… a friend for a long time with zero romance of any kind. They just drifted apart as the character was slowly being written out. Shame since a true friendship would have been nice for Robert.

Lucy… Robert’s first girlfriend where he never got further than snogging. When it was time to write out Lucy and her family, Robert got the short end of the stick as he wanted to sleep with her and she really didn’t. They went with humiliating him in the end.

Nicola… while she ‘popped Robert’s cherry’, it wasn’t long before SHE wanted rid of him as he was getting more enamored in her. Nicola wound up using Syd to have Robert see them together. This made Robert mistrustful of women in general.

Elaine… she was decent with some dry wit but once again she and her family were being written out (if they ever need a legitimate long-lost child, perfect candidate here as they were sleeping together before she left) so where to go from there? Get him involved with someone who was out of his reach.

Katie… this pairing came out of nowhere (at least to me) when both started to have growing feelings for each other even though involved with others (namely Andy and Elaine). Robert himself didn’t want to hurt his brother (they made peace with each other) but the pull was too strong and so the affair and eventual official hookup (this was NOT like when Robert wanted revenge against Andy when he returned with a new head on his shoulders, they fell in love against their own better judgment). Katie needed to be written out and enter him sleeping with Sadie again (after having ended things with her months ago) to accommodate that departure.

Sadie… Forbidden fruit with no strings attached (Katie was not enough apparently as Chrissie was later, my own interpretation, so enter Sadie). But the writing seemed mixed here. Robert didn’t want to hurt Katie as he was happy with her yet… almost right away, he was back to sleeping with Sadie. Needed more insight on this turn as he willingly helped her with King information via an unsuspecting Katie.

Donna… simply should have remained as friends without the sexual benefits as with Ollie. They had a longstanding friendship since they were kids that was destroyed by hooking them up unnessarily. The way they were presented on screen, they never came off as boyfriend/girlfriend other than in Donna’s mind that first go round.

Victoria… they had their moments which were not as often as they should have been and you could see that Robert loved his sister yet the producer went to the extreme when he and Katie started their affair and wanted to make sure she didn’t say anything. It’s unfortunate that his exit led to a nine year separation between the two. Robert, in the end, became collateral damage (for his own exit) for having protected his sister (as Jack and Andy most certainly would have done if they were around).

And we still have some time remaining before Karl!Robert’s exit for him to go after Debbie.

[rheapankow]

Devils in the Details

paring(s): jj x mom!reader

summary: You never liked JJ Maybank. He was arrogant and sometimes rude. To sum it up, trouble. But he was your daughters' surf instructor. The best on the island and only the best for your girls. But what what happens when one of them lets family secrets slip?

warning: abuse, one cuss word

┌──────┐

He rolled his icy blue eyes. "You're a kook, I don't think money is an issue for you babe. I expect it by the end of the morning when you pick them up or else I'm going have to drop them." The woman's heart stopped as she looked to Matilda and Mercy, fear locked in their green eyes.

"I'll get what I can."

"And be here by noon. I'm not a daycare." With that, he ended the discussion and focused on the girls. "Come on girls, let's put some zinc on. I got pink and purple for my two favorite princesses." They cheered and clung to his leg.

If y/n hadn't watched the previous sessions, she would say he hated children and hated his job, but that was the furthest from the truth. The joy in his eyes when he worked with students and seeing them conquer any task. Tilly could go on for hours about how amazing he was. Mercy  on the other hand just stared at him and worshiped the ground he walked on.

The soft eyes filled with tears, losing any last ounce of dignity. There is no way she could get that money. Full kook, yes. Money, no. Not hers at least. Y/n's dreadful husband, Rafe, sat on a pile of it, checking every expense made, berating every choice made for thier kids, leaving everything to him. She had a small sum on the side that was hidden away, but all of that went to Mercy and Tilly. If he could just wait for Rafe to leave, y/n can sneak to the safe to take a little. She sat in her tinted black Escalade, formulating a plan.

The clock on the dash read '10:45am' as the car sat in the driveway of a multimillion dollar home, all thanks to her husband. As terrible as Rafe was, the luxury made up for where he lacked. Was that a selfish thought? Did that make me a terrible person? It didn't matter at this point. Mercy and Till remained at the forefront of y/n's mind. Protecting their innocents from the sins of their father consumed her mind daily.

"Rafe?" Y/n called out. Despite not seeing his car, you couldn't trust the silence. "I'm home." Once scoping at the place, she raced to his office safe located behind the sail boat. Rafe was simple, his passwords simpler. '6969.'

Y/n skimmed a small stack of cash covering enough for next session of lessons, gas, and ice cream for the girls.

"Excuse me miss?" A small elderly voice call from behind.

Her heart sank, praying the maid wouldn't pass on the information. "Oh Claire I didn't know you were here!"

"Mr. Cameron doesn't like people in here."

"I'm his wife, he knows." Y/n prayed a false bravado would be enough to hide the shaking hands.

"Yes ma'am." Once she left, y/n raced backed to the surfing shack with thirty minutes to spare. That's enough time to finish her latest novel. Enough time to escape from Rafe's wrath when he finds out what she did... again.

Y/n was pulled away from reading by the sound of giggles getting closer. "Mom!" Tilly called out as the door opened. "Please tell me you have the money. He's going to tech me how to duck dive and we're going to go even deeper!"

The lady muster up a smile and said she handled it. "Do you mind getting Mercy buckled so I can give it to him?"

Tilly nodded enthusiastically. For only being five, the girls more advanced than the average kindergartener. She's curious, adventurous, and can't forget funny. Mercy on the hand is cautious yet full of wonder and a deep love for her sister. Mercy does what Sadie does and surfing is just that. The joy it brings seeing both girls eager to learn. Next thing y/n knew they are going to be competing against each other.

"Excuse me, JJ?" Y/n's demeanor was timid, scared he might explode at any second.

"You can just put it on the table and head back to figure eight." The comments were not new, but it still shocked y/n. Didn't he know she grew up just right down the road, didn't he understand she had to work ten times harder to be where you are. Too bad JJ only saw two things, money and women.

"Do you even want to work with my kids?" Y/n let out a heavy sigh. "I don't understand why you have this deep rooted disgust towards me?"

"Your kids have more talent in their pinky toe than I did at that age. They are going to go far in surfing. I hope to be the one to teach them. I don't disgust you, I need to make rent and a living. And I hate your husband."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, be better. I'd hate to have to drop them." Y/n's heart sank even further.

"See you tomorrow." With that, y/n walked out, worried about heading home. By the rate her phone was blowing up, Rafe knew. A storm was coming.

—

Y/n did her best to hide the bruises scattered on her, but nothing compared to the shiner and gash on her cheek. "I slipped in the shower" she told the girls, trying to laugh the abuse off for the sake of saving face. That was the easy part. It's the adults that poke holes in every syllable.

"Mommy, are you going to walk with us?" Tilly shyly asked. Ever since the young girl work up, she's been more soft spoken, always close by.

Y/n looked into her eldest daughter's eyes. The glimmer that once was there was gone. 'Does she sense her mother's pain?' The agony engulfed the young mother. "Anything for you girls." Y/n scooped both girls into her arms and began the short journey. "I think you two are getting a little too old for this. I'm not what I used to be." She teased, ignoring the wounds on her ribs.

"Good morning ladies!" JJ made his way to the small group of three. Mercy was the first to run to JJ and engulfed him in a hug. He gladly accepted it. He loved his job and loved all the kids he instructed, but these girls were his best. They were full of life and joy making every lesson fun; a breathe of fresh air.

Tilly cautiously walked over in an uncharacteristically manner. Her eyes sunken back and darker. JJ tried to signal to y/n but she was hidden behind a sun hat and glasses. "I'll be over in the boneyard reading until is time if that's okay?"

Y/n's body slumped over, hiding her face. A mannerism that JJ did not miss. "You can go run errands like usual or something as long as you are back by noon."

"No, I'd like to be close to my girls." JJ ignorantly dismissed her and took the girls to go get their wet suits.

"How are we doing today?" JJ began engaging in conversation with the girls.

"Mommy made tuna mac!" Mercy excitedly screamed about her dinner.

"Was it delicious?" JJ had now turned his question to Tilly.

"Yes." Her shoulders dropped at the thoughts of last night.

"Anyways let's go stretch and then we can get out on the water. Waves won't last all day."

Throughout the session, JJ kept a closer eye on Tilly. Maybe she was coming down with something. She was adamant on continuing the class, not wanting her daddy's money go to waste. As if Rafe wasn't snorting it up his nose like it grew on trees.

"Mister JJ?" Tilly looked at him. "Are you safe?"

The instructor got on a knee to look her in the eyes. "What's up, t?"

"Teacher at school says to talk to someone safe if you need help." JJ glanced at Mercy who was building a sand castle during the break, then back at the older child.

"I am safe, but have you talked to your mommy about it?" He didn't want to overstep his job title, but also didn't want the girls to not trust him.

"I can't." He gently grabbed her hand to encourage her to speak. "Mommy lied to me."

JJ wanted to chuckle but Tilly's eyes showed immense depth of hurt and betrayal. "What makes you say that."

"She says she slipped in the shower, but last night I heard daddy say something mean to mommy. And when I went to go check on her she was sleeping on the floor and had blood on her face." JJ's eyes widened, not wanting to jump to conclusions. "I think daddy hurt mommy. He always hurts mommy."

JJ understood being in Tilly's shoes, but where does he go from here? Should he call cps and watch the family be torn apart? Or should he confront y/n about it? All he knew is he couldn't not do anything. "Would it help if I talk to mommy about it?"

"I don't want her to get sad. I didn't know who else to tell." Tears began streaming down her face. "Help please." The girls sobs reminded him of his own, each cry more heart shattering than the last as she collapsed into his arms. "I'm scared."

JJ did his best to calm the child, but he knew the last ten minutes were going to be less productive and more play. "How about you stay here and play with mister John B and mercy while I go make sure mommy is alright? How does that sound?"

She nodded, slipping out of his arms back to the sand. "Bird, you got them for a second? I need to talk to y/n for a bit." He nodded confused but took charge. Having a kid of own, John B has become great with kids, all those dad tricks.

Y/n leaned perched up against a tree, nose tucked into a book. The sound of the blonde headed man snapped her back to reality. "Y/n?"

"Oh is the session over already? I guess my mind has been somewhere else." Every movement was curated perfectly, shielding her face from his gaze.

"We ended a little early. I, um, wanted to talk to you about Tilly." He stumbled over his words. The last thing JJ wanted to do was make her feel unsafe. How many times has he made comments about how perfect her life was? How many days has he treated her with contempt all because she had what he didn't. Maybe their story has more in common than he thought. 

Y/n was worried about what Tilly said, the young girl is incredibly smart and picks up on everything. What if she-

"Y/n. Please look at me?" JJ's typical cold tone was warm and comforting, something so pure and trusting. As she looked up, her glasses shifted allowing a clear view of her face. Something else JJ didn't miss, something he never imagined.

Hues of blue and black littered her skin. A deep cut ran along the bone. JJ let out a gasp. "Y/n."

"Don't. Just leave it alone." Her voice shook.

"Tilly told me she went to check on you and you were passed out." Y/n's heart stopped. “That didn’t happen. Kids make up stories all the time. Over active imagination.”

“Y/n.”

“I slipped in the shower. I’m fine.” The desperation to believe the lie was evident. “I’m okay, really I’m-”

JJ’s voice became softer than before. “Y/n, please.”

“No, I-” The levy broke through the cracks. Tears began pouring down her sun kissed cheeks.”

For the second time that morning, JJ held another human in his arms. “It’s going to be okay.” He reassured her the best he could. “You’re not alone.”

Once the storm blue over, the lady composed her self. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I’ve been where Tilly and Mercy have been, except my mom had enough sense to get out, not enough sense to take me with her. I don’t want the girls to be collateral damage.” He leaned in close with a soft smile. “Don’t tell anyone, but I have a soft spot for kids. Especially ones as sweet as yours.”

“They are pretty great.” Y/n took a deep breath. “Did you turn out alright.”

JJ chuckled. “Oh fuck no. She tried to smile, but feared for the future too much.

“I don’t know what to do. They love their dad. I can’t just take them and go. Rafe has all the money. I have a little from teaching, but it’s for the girls. Everything I do is for them, but it wouldn’t be enough for us.” JJ felt the guilt rest on his shoulders. He couldn’t wait one more day for her to get the money, she probably had to sneak money away. Now she’s beaten, bruised, and broken. It’s his job to fix it.

“So let’s come up with a plan. You open a separate bank account, find a better teaching gig or pick up tutoring, prove to yourself you can do it. Then when you feel steady enough, find a place and make an escape plan.”

“Easier said than done.”

JJ nodded. “I know I haven’t been the friendliest person, but I’m here to support you now if you’ll let me. It’s not easy, but I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through. If I can help it.”

Y/n looked deep into his eyes for the first time. “I’m not sure if I want to do this.”

“For Tilly and Mercy.” JJ offered his hand to help her up. “One day at a time.”

“Yea something like that.”

JJ and y/n walked back. The seasons were changing, a new tide was coming. “Change isn’t easy, but you’re going to get out.”

With that, everyone went their separate ways. One day at a time.

└──────┘

A/n: part 2??? Feedback would be so appreciated:) - Rhea

Tag list: @multifandomwhore-003

[adidastain]

love to hate you

90s matt stone x fem!reader (named Sadie)

warnings: arguing, suggestive themes if you squint really hard

notes: first person perspective (I, me, my, etc.), this is part one of a series mwahaha cliffhanger

word count: 2539

—

The time was 7:54 PM. That marked six hours since I’d last sat down. 

It got to the point where I could barely move more than three feet in any direction. I was perched next to the camera, watching each take while the director spectated from the monitor, just a few feet away. 

We were on Take #5 of the second shot of the entire scene. I knew at this rate, we would still be here shooting the tail end of this scene at 9 o’clock. But Trey was picky, and it was my job to make sure he got what he wanted out of each take. 

“Cut!” he shouted, exhaling heavily. I trudged over to where he was standing, keeping my back straight so as to not look so tired in front of all my colleagues.

“What do you think?” I asked him, standing at his side just a few inches away. Trey stared into space, gnawing on his fingernail as he thought deeply. 

“What’s the time looking like?” he asked me, words muffled by his hand. 

“We should wrap up this scene by 9 and be done for the night,” I sighed. 

He stood in silence, staring at the actors on set as they waited for his call. 

“Okay,” he sighed. “Let’s move on.”

“Moving on!” I echoed. Thank God. Trey walked onto the set, standing in front of the actors to explain what he wanted for the next shot. 

I moved as quickly as I could over to the table off to the side, grabbing a water bottle for myself and chugging it. I so badly wanted to sit down for just a minute, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to let myself. 

“What’s going on?” I heard a voice behind me. I turned my head, seeing our producer with his big silver glasses and curly hair, towering over me. He had his skinny, muscular arms crossed over his broad chest. He was obviously peeved. 

“Setting up the next shot. Where have you been?” I asked, subtly leaning against the table. Matt and I didn’t really get along most days. We didn’t get along at all, actually. I didn’t really understand why, but as long as he stayed out of my way, I couldn’t care less what he thought of me. 

“Signing your checks,” he spat. I turned my back to him, walking away towards the set. I approached the cinematographer, before Matt put his hand on my shoulder to prevent me from moving any further. 

“Did we get the shot?” Matt asked me, raising his eyebrows. 

“What does it look like?” I hissed, gesturing to our surroundings. I turned my back to him again to help the camera crew move around. 

Matt disappeared shortly after. For someone who was nowhere to be found during rehearsals and shooting, he cared an awful lot about what I was doing. I knew he was busy with scheduling and budget stuff, but he was Trey’s right hand man on most of their projects, so it didn’t make sense why he wouldn’t make time to see it all happening. 

Perhaps that’s why he was always up my ass on set. Even then, he had no reason to get such an attitude when talking to me. So many people told me how professional he was on set before I started shooting with them; if he was so professional, then only God might know why he treated me the way he did. 

While I waited for Trey to finish running a rehearsal for the camera, I kept a close eye on the time. 9 o’clock was a huge stretch at this point. Granted, we did make a lot of progress for one day. 

I noticed Matt talking to a lady in the corner. She looked professional; she had on a black blazer and held a binder tucked underneath her arm. I stared for a moment, thinking about what they could be talking about. It was almost quiet enough to hear, since all the buzz from PAs and crew members had died down for the rehearsal. Matt was leaning down slightly so he could hear whatever the woman was saying. He was… looking at me. 

I looked away. Are they talking about me? God. He better not be saying anything bad. I was good at my job and he knew it. I knew it. 

Soon, we called for quiet, and we were back to shooting. Trey opted to do a continuous take and have actors run their lines multiple times, so they could just pick up if they forgot. The scene was almost three pages long, so there was a lot of dialogue and no doubt that they would slip up. 

And of course, as expected, one of the actors called for a line a few times. I was actually really happy. Doing a single continuous take would save us so much time. 

After we wrapped up the shot, Trey called for everyone to take five. 

“‘Scuse me,” I heard a voice next to me. It was the lady that Matt was talking to just a few minutes ago. 

“How can I help you?” I asked, giving her a smile. 

“Can you come with me for a moment?” she asked. 

I followed her to an empty portion of the room where most of the gear was camping out, waiting to be used. Matt was standing there next to a door to another room.

“It would seem that you and Mr. Stone have been having some problems, no?” she said, gesturing towards Matt. He stared me down, chewing on the inside of his cheek. I felt my body burning under his angry and slightly intimidating gaze.

“I guess,” I said. “I’m not sure why.”

“Me neither,” she said, sporting a fake smile. I could see now how caked her makeup was when her skin wrinkled with her grin. “Care to explain, Mr. Stone?”

I was honestly shocked. I guess she was acting in my defense. Perhaps his unprofessionalism stood out to her; I realized that she was probably a supervisor from a big production company. 

“I think Sadie is slowing down production. That’s all,” he said calmly. I hated the way his voice sounded. It was deep and nasally and he always had such a snobby tone. 

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I argued, furrowing my eyebrows. “My job is to keep things moving. We would’ve been stuck shooting that same shot over and over if I hadn’t said anything.” 

“Well if you would just let Trey get what he wants, we wouldn’t have to take time every day to reshoot scenes from the day before,” Matt said, raising his eyebrows. 

“There’s clearly a misunderstanding here,” the lady huffed, rubbing her temples. “I want you two to work it out between yourselves. Right now. Personally, I’m embarrassed for you. Fix it.” 

Matt sighed, looking down at his feet. I laughed on the inside. 

The woman took a step closer to me to whisper, “I don’t know what his problem is. I think you’ve been doing just fine. But the way you’re reacting to him isn’t helping anybody in this situation, so figure it out.” 

I nodded. She walked away, leaving the space between Matt and I filled with nothing but silence and tension. His glare was throwing daggers at me. I couldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t scary most of the time. I swallowed, trying my best to keep it subtle so he wouldn’t notice.

“So what’s your deal?” I asked calmly, shifting my weight from one heal to the other. 

“I told you what my deal is,” he said. He licked his lips. “Not very good at listening, are you?”

“Did I say or do something that’s been affecting you outside of work?” I said, laughing. I was truly at a loss for words. What on Earth could I have done to make him hate me so much? I’m not friends with anyone in the cast or crew outside of shooting, so why did it matter? Trey seemed to be fine with me. Maybe Matt was jealous? 

“You’re fucking up our project, Sadie,” he hissed. “Not to mention you just fucking humiliated me in front of the exec from Universal!”

My jaw dropped open. He sounded like such an idiot. I humiliated him? “You started it! I was just doing my fucking job, Matt!” I exclaimed, keeping my voice as hushed as possible. “When have I ever gotten in your way, hm? Give me an example. Go ahead.”

“Every single day,” he laughed. “You won’t let Trey just do his thing. This thing’s gonna turn out to be shit by the time we’re done and it’s gonna be your fault.”

“Who hired me, Matt? I wanna know,” I said. He hired me. I knew that. He knew that. “I think you ought to have a strong word with him. He looks like an idiot right now.”

“You’re lucky you were even considered,” he said. Matt crossed his arms and leaned closer. “You don’t have shit in your portfolio.” 

“If you don’t back off and let me do my job, there’s only gonna be more shit,” I said lowly, gritting my teeth. 

“That won’t happen. Don’t forget who signs your checks, sweetheart,” he growled.

He was just a few inches away from me now. At this point I could feel his breath covering my face. 

“Fire me,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “If I’m such a nuisance to this project, fire me.”

“Alright, then. Leave.”

“Say ‘you’re fired,’” I instructed. 

“Get the fuck out of here,” he said, laughing softly. “Be my guest.”

“You’re scared, Matt. I know you are. I can see it in your eyes,” I grinned. “You’re scared you’re gonna look bad in front of the execs for firing me without reason, hm? Say it.”

“You’re fucking fired,” he said, raising his voice. He had no need to; my face was less than a foot away from his. I jumped slightly, not expecting the sheer volume with which he spoke. 

The entire set went quiet for a brief moment. I felt my face start to burn as I realized that every single person in the building probably heard that. Now I felt like an idiot. Matt leaned away from me, crossing his arms and staring me down. I could see a smirk curling on the side of his lip. Never in my professional career did I want to hit anyone more than I did in that moment.

I swallowed back tears, trying to compose myself before I actually turned to walk out. I could see Matt’s broad, muscular chest rising and falling rapidly. Perhaps he felt a rush of adrenaline for finally putting me in my place. 

“Good luck finishing this scene by the end of the hour without my help,” I muttered, ramming my shoulder into his body as I pushed past him to get through the exit. 

I grabbed my backpack from the hallway and stormed outside. Of course, it was raining. How cliche. 

Once I was in the safety and quiet of my car, I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe that asshole actually fired me. I know I encouraged him to do it, but I didn’t think he actually would. He was so fucking confusing all the time; I trusted my judgement and my judgement was wrong. 

I put on a crewneck over the tank top I was wearing as I tried to take deep breaths and calm down. I was confident that they wouldn’t get the rest of shooting done within the next two weeks without my help. Fine, they could suffer all they wanted. They only had one person to blame and it sure as Hell wasn’t me. 

Just to make my life even better, the location of the set was a good forty minutes away from where I lived, so the drive home sucked. It was late, I was exhausted, I was cold, it was raining, Matt was an asshole, Trey was probably in shambles. The whole sundae with the whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and the cherry on top. 

It was well after 9 PM when I got home. I looked at the clock in my kitchen and wondered if they’d finished filming as I watched the second hand tick. Whatever. I shouldn’t care. 

I set all my stuff down in my bedroom and turned the water on for a hot shower. I felt really gross, from sweat, tears, snot, and rain water. I thought about the Universal lady giving Matt a verbal beating about his unprofessionalism. The thought made me smile as I got undressed and stepped into the shower, every bit of tension and stress in my body melting away as the hot water poured over my skin. 

I pictured his face turning red with embarrassment as she told him how immature and unprofessional he was. Call it cruel, but imagining him getting verbally beaten by a big company really relieved my stress. 

My mind circled back to our dispute from before I left. I didn’t understand why he got so fucking angry at me for no apparent reason. Maybe after I started teasing him, sure, but before? I was defending myself. If he was so worried about me sabotaging his and Trey’s project, then he was far from ready for working in Hollywood. 

It was ridiculous, honestly. I couldn’t even do anything to ruin the creative aspect of the film with the position I held. I was the 1st Assistant Director, for God’s sake. All I was there to do was prevent people from wasting time and keep things moving. I couldn’t fathom what Matt would have had such a major fucking problem with. 

I found myself less relaxed again. Weirdly, I wondered what Matt was doing right now. Maybe he was getting scolded by the exec, maybe he was getting scolded by Trey. They’d probably (hopefully) finished loading out by now, so maybe he was driving. Maybe he was in the shower too. Maybe he fell asleep at the wheel and drove off a cliff and ended up in a fiery car crash on a remote beach. Maybe they were still filming. Maybe he was in the shower, washing his hair or his body, just like I was…

I cringed and turned the water off, ringing my hair out. I shook my arms and legs and stepped out of the shower, quickly grabbing my towel and smothering my head with it. Matt had been on my mind the entire night since I left, but truthfully, I didn’t care that much. I was way too tired and honestly relieved to not have to get up at 6 AM the following morning and film for another 15 hours again. I smeared the rough fabric all over my body as I walked down the hall to my room. 

That’s when my doorbell rang. 

I froze. What time is it? Who the fuck could possibly at my door this late anyway? 

I ran to my room, throwing on a baggy T-shirt and some fuzzy pajama shorts and running over to my door to peer through the peephole. 

A loud groan escaped me when I saw who it was. 

The last person I wanted to see at my door at any hour of the day, let alone past 10 PM.

[lady-charinette]

(for this: https://www.tumblr.com/lady-charinette/723936178046418944/ask-game-based-on-this-poll-you-can-send-me-asks)

twiyor forced to fight? 👀 hope you’re having a good day!!! 🫶💖💞💝💗

OH that one slaps! I love me a good angsty fight between two loving spouses! ^_^ Aw, I hope you're having an awesome day too Sadie!! :D

----

“Yor…” Loid’s voice quivered, taking a step back.

Before him stood his wife, his for-Operation-Strix fake married wife, and she had stiletto daggers in her hands and a dark, unfamiliar expression on her face.

No, Twilight knew that expression well, had seen it in the faces of many men, both young and old, in the faces of the experienced fighters in the frontlines.

He had seen it when witnessing his sergeant’s eyes following the trickle of blood as it escaped their enemy’s mouth.

He sees it when he looks in the mirror too.

“Finish him, Thorn Princess. You know what’s on the line.” Shopkeeper’s low, deceptively calm voice sounded from the cover of shadows. It seemed to be all around them like a phantom.

Twilight’s fist clenched, the leather of his gloves groaning in protest. “Yor! Please listen to me, we can find a way to escape. We don’t have to fight!”

A voice Twilight didn’t want to acknowledge as his own quietly whispered in the corner of his mind: ‘I don’t want to fight you.’

Yor’s mouth turned into a thin line, raising the blade close to her face. “Loid, please. Run.”

It took a second.

No, half a second.

Even he could barely keep up.

A ringing.

White noise.

One swing of the blade.

A burn.

No, a cut.

With reflexes honed from grueling training, Twilight used the wall as leverage to jump over Yor’s next attack, but she seemed to anticipate his moves.

Turning faster than his trained eye could keep up, Yor turned her torso and threw one dagger up in the air.

It nicked his suit, a hair’s breath away from drawing more blood from him.

Twilight noticed too late the dagger missed him on purpose.

The actual hit knocked the air out of his lungs.

Yor’s heel dug into his stomach, the force slamming him straight into the opposite wall with a sickening thud.

Thorn Princess wasted no time to gain her footing and dash towards Twilight. The spy was no crumpled heap on the ground where she had thrown him.

A presence much darker and subtle barely tickled her senses.

Behind her.

Yor turned on her heel, muscles tensing to land a right hook at her opponent before her fist got caught in a much larger hand.

Twilight’s form was almost completely hidden by the shadows, the overhead lamp swinging softly to move her husband in and out of the light.

Much like her emotions that night.

Yor was used to sensing killing intent from her enemies towards her, the assassin within her was confused why she didn’t sense any from her husband, despite him appearing like an apparition of death itself ready to claim her soul.

Was this the last thing his enemies saw before Twilight the spy ended their lives? Thorn Princess didn’t envy them.

Twilight’s expression softened immediately, his grip tight but not painful on Yor’s hand. “Yor, we have to end this fight.”

The steel of her weapon caught the light once it hit them and Twilight swung his head back to dodge the upward thrust aimed at his throat.

Twilight put as much distance between them as possible, knowing it would be an easy feat for his wife to close that distance. He needed time.

“Yor, please, I can contact Franky, I’ll make sure Garden can’t hurt you or Anya! You won’t be forced to live like this any-“

“-You don’t understand!” the blade caught his eyes as Yor’s fist tightened around it further, but she made no other move to point it at him. Her eyes seemed to burn holes right through his skull. “I fed and clothed Yuri with this job! It’s the only thing I can do that I’m good at, Loid! My abilities…they, I can’t work like this at City Hall!” images of mocking faces entered Yor’s mind, memories of people ridiculing her for her lack of skills in everything but killing. “These hands…they can’t do anything else but kill…”

Thorn Princess wasn’t one to be caught off guard, but she was. Her body was too quick for her mind to catch up with.

The sharp point of her blade was turned up before she registered Loid crossed the room towards her.

The blade dug uncomfortably into his forearm, soaking the material of his suit in his blood, but Twilight ignored the burning pain in favor of holding Yor’s hands in his. His gaze finally caught hers and held it. “You’re wrong, Yor. These hands…they dress and bathe Anya every day. They make our dinner and buy the food we eat. They clean Bond after he comes home from playing at the doggy park the whole day. They gently carry Anya to bed when she accidentally falls asleep in the living room watching Spy Wars past her bedtime.” Twilight slowly rubbed his thumbs across Yor’s knuckles, feeling the bumps and callouses from fighting, but sensing their restrained power.

Yor was holding back.

Twilight smiled. “…They stroked my hair while I was having dreams about losing my mother in the war. They welcome me home and take my coat after a long day at the hospital. They patched me up after I got roughed up from a secret mission…I never knew these hands to be anything but kind to us, Yor. Maybe inanimate objects didn’t get that same treatment but…these are your hands, Yor! The hands that you love and protect with and kill. All these years, you’ve worked this job for the same reason I work mine: to protect the people that are dear to you.”

Droplets of liquid slid down over their joined hands and Twilight lifted one hand carefully to wipe away the tears falling down Yor’s cheeks. “These hands aren’t just good for killing, Yor. Just like you aren’t only good for killing. Just like I’m not only good for killing either.”

Yor’s- Thorn Princesses’ defenses slowly crumbled, the edge vanished from her eyes like mist in the wind and finally, Loid could gaze at his wife’s face without the looming threat of death hanging over both of their heads.

“Hey.” Loid leaned his head down to touch his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, nuzzling into her.

The sharp clang of metal hitting the solid ground echoed in the barren room as Yor dropped her dagger to curl her hand around Loid’s, pushing her forehead up against him in return. Yor’s watery “Hey.” made Loid wipe the remainder of her tears away and blink back the onslaught of his own.

Nuzzling into each other, assassin and spy allowed themselves this brief reprieve before Yor’s words washed over them both like a shower of ice shards.

“They have Anya.”

Taking a deep breath, Loid slowly straightened his back with his eyes still closed.

Opening them again, Yor knew it wasn’t her dear husband who stood before her.

It was Westalis’s greatest spy and Ostania’s greatest nightmare staring vowing a slow death to any who stood in his way.

And then Twilight spoke, words that caused Thorn Princess to pick up her weapons again. “My communication lines were suddenly cut, I suspect Garden isn’t the only one playing a hand in kidnapping Anya.”

The glare of the mighty Thorn Princess could topple the bravest men and send them begging on their knees. “If I may, I think I’ll have to take more lives today, including that of your colleagues.”

While Thorn Princess fixed her gloves, Twilight ripped a part of his suit to still the bleeding on his forearm. “Casualties are unavoidable on both sides, you have my full permission, Yor.”

Despite the use of her name, it was Thorn Princess’ gaze that glared daggers at the prospect of killing her husband’s fellow spies.

Together, both spy and assassin rushed to save their daughter from both Garden and WISE.

Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it :3