#would anyone believe them if they left the town and told people the town was a murder town???

[theshadowrealmitself]

Current thoughts: Group on vacation together and deciding to go to an indoor amusement park type thing that claims to “scare people to death” and the goal is to go the correct path through it to come out alive

And let’s be real here, it is actually a deadly place where all the actors are legit gonna kill them if they take the wrong path, everyone knows this except for people new to the town

So the hotels that people check into will hold their rooms for a bit to give them a chance to win, but it’s been forever since anyone’s won, if they even have (not even the townspeople win, since the path always changes), so the hotel is already mentally thinking about what to do with all the belongings in the rooms

They’re completely unprepared for one of the guests to walk in with prizes and stuff saying they won the amusement park maze thing, apparently this person had the time of their life and never once knew they were in legit danger

Now it’s just tense in the lounge area as that guest waits for the rest of their group to come back and everyone else knows their group isn’t coming back

[ahsokaismyqueen]

Orange Juice Pairing - Tyler Owens x Female!Reader Summary - When it's time to interview a group of storm chasers for your new book, you get sent back to your hometown. You never would have guessed one of the people you'd be interviewing would be your ex boyfriend. And you might still be a little in love with him. Word Count - 13k my god I'm sorry Playlist Warnings - 18+ ONLY. Tyler Smut. Language

Everything looked the same, but somehow different. 

You hadn’t stepped foot in this town in ten years, and you were nervous as hell to be here now. This town held a lot of memories and people that you hadn’t visited in a long time. If your agent had told you where you had been going before putting you on the plane, you probably would have asked if there was somewhere else, some other storm chaser group that wasn’t based in Arkansas you could interview. She believed that she was doing a nice thing, surprising you with a trip to your hometown. 

You didn’t have the heart to tell her that it may be your hometown, but it also was home to your worst memory. 

A sigh left your lips as you pulled up to a familiar gas station, and pushing the memories out of your mind, you put the car in park. 

The Tornado Wranglers. That was the group of chasers you would be talking to. Your agent had insisted that they were the best of the best. Apparently they had a very large YouTube following, and their leader was, “charismatic and oozed charm”, according to your agent. He was also the hottest cowboy she’d ever seen. 

Those words brought a faint smile to your face, and you pulled out your phone to text her. 

Landed, and am currently waiting at the gas station. 

A few moments later, a response came through. Any sign of hot cowboys yet? 

You let out a laugh. Not yet, but I’ll keep you informed. 

Your fingers settled on the door handle. There was no reason to put this off anymore. You were here, and you were going to have to face what was out there, for better or worse. You opened the door and climbed out of your car. 

It smelled the same. The gas station had been updated to be more modern, but the faint scent of gasoline and rice from the farms remained. Walking inside, you found little had changed. There was an updated register, a few more products offered, but that was about it. When your eyes caught sight of your favorite candy, a grin spread across your face, and you found yourself reaching for them, even though you hadn’t had them in years. 

You didn’t recognize the cashier, which you were grateful for. A part of you had almost expected everyone you knew to pop out of nowhere as soon as your feet touched the ground. Now you realized how ridiculous that was. In fact, you might go this whole trip without setting eyes on a single person from before. Thanking the cashier, you made your way back outside right on time to see a large red truck turning in followed by a camper that was blaring a Tanner Adell song. You couldn’t see the driver of the truck because of the cowboy hat and sunglasses that partially obscured his face, but the guy in the passenger seat recognized you at once. “Hey! That’s her!” You could hear him say it since his window was open. 

The guy pulled to a stop, and the one in the passenger seat ran around the front of the car. His hair was dark and shoulder length, but covered with a baseball cap, and the bottom half of his face supported some facial hair. He was dressed much like you expected a tornado chaser to dress, shirt and shorts in different shades of dark green with a bandana around his neck. “Hey, I’m Boone.” He said, holding out his hand for you. “I gotta say, I’m a big fan.” He said the last part in an almost whisper, like he didn’t want anyone else to hear him. 

Which, considering you wrote romance books, he probably didn’t. Not the first man to say something similar to you, you nodded with a sincere smile, shaking his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. You guys are the Tornado Wranglers I’m assuming?” 

“Yeah, that’s Dexter and Dani.” He said pointing to two people that were exiting the camper behind them. “There’s Lily.” He said, pointing to a girl getting out of another car that you hadn’t even noticed. “And this is our fearless leader, Tyler.” 

At that moment, the world around you slowed down. In fact, you were pretty sure all the air was sucked out of your lungs. It couldn’t be him. Out of every person in the world you could be working with, it couldn’t be the one . . . But he took off his cowboy hat, and even though it had been ten years, he was unmistakable. You would know that face anywhere, after all, you saw it all the time in your dreams. 

For a moment, you thought he might not recognize you. It had been ten years, you’d both changed in that time, but the moment his eyes landed on you, he knew exactly who you were. He said your name, pure disbelief in his tone as he took a step forward. 

You nodded, unsure of how to respond. The two of you hadn’t left on the best of terms, but there were so many years before that. So many beautiful memories that you’d never be able to forget. Half of you wanted to run and hide, the other half (okay maybe more like three fourths) wanted to run into his arms. How could you do that though when you were the one who left? 

Tyler didn’t hesitate though. You watched as a slow grin formed on his face that turned into a bright smile, a smile that never failed to make your heart skip a beat, and the next moment he was hurrying towards you. Within seconds you were wrapped up in a hug so tight your feet weren’t even on the ground anymore. 

God it felt good. You slid your arms around his neck, hugging him back just as tight, and let out a little laugh as he spun you around. Your eyes closed automatically, and you realized at that moment while you may have written about the way Tyler made you feel, it was nothing compared to the actual emotions. You remembered how his arms always felt like home, and it was no different now. They must have some sort of magic, because no matter how long it had been, they brought your mindset right back to the teenager who was crazy in love with her boyfriend. 

After what was probably too long, Tyler put you back on the ground, slowly and a little too intimately for the strangers his team thought you were. In fact, he didn’t even fully let go of you, keeping his hands on your hips. You found yourself unable to let go of him too though, your hands resting on his forearms as he stared at you in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re here.” 

“I can’t believe you’re here.” You said, squeezing his arms. “You’re a storm chaser?” It made perfect sense when you thought about it. Tyler had always had such a good instinct for weather. You couldn’t count the amount of times during school when he told you football games were going to get canceled because it was going to storm. He was never wrong. You just never expected him to quit bull riding. 

“Yeah, got a meteorology degree from U of A and everything.” Tyler said, and your breath caught in your throat. Not just because his thumbs had started stroking your hips, but because of his words too. 

Tyler had done it. He had done what you had always known he was beyond capable of doing. The shy smile on his face, the love, care, and pride you still, and always would have for him rushed to the surface. Overwhelmed with emotions from the past, you felt tears fill up your eyes as you looked at him. “I’m so proud of you, Ty.” You told him, and you meant every word. 

There was no other way to describe it. He was beaming, and god you had forgotten how beautiful that smile was. It was like the sun, almost too bright to look at. 

“I get the feeling you two know each other?” 

You had forgotten that little aspect of being with Tyler. How everything else would disappear the moment he looked into your eyes. You took a step back from him, letting go of his arms even though every part of your body wanted you to keep touching him. His hands lingered on you for a moment, but then he let go as well. “I guess you could say that.” Tyler said, “this is the girl that broke my heart ten years ago.” 

“Wait,” one of the girls, you were pretty sure it was Lily, stepped forward. “I thought that girl’s name was-”

They knew your name. Tyler had talked about you enough that they knew who you were. “That is my name. My writing name is a pseudonym.” You admitted. Heat rushed to your skin, but there was no malice in Tyler’s voice or face. He was just looking at you with a fond smile, as if lost in the same memories you found swirling around in your mind. 

“So, you’re a big time writer now, huh? You always did tell the best stories.” Tyler said. 

“Man, you should read them. In fact, now that I think about it, one of the main guys kinda reminds me of-” Boone started to say, but you cut him off. 

There was no way you were ready for that conversation. “So, um, where did you guys want to talk?” You spoke up, trying to change the subject as subtly as you could. 

The look Tyler gave you said he saw right through your bullshit, but he didn’t comment on it, just grinned mischievously at you. “How about Frankie’s?” 

Of course he would suggest Frankie’s. It was the bar that the two of you used to go to all the time after rodeos. There were a lot of memories of playing pool, laughing with friends and dancing to whatever band was playing there. While you weren’t sure you were ready for all those memories to hit again, the draw of going back there with Tyler was too much. “Okay,” you agreed. “I’ll meet you guys- ”

“No need for that. You can ride with me.” Tyler said, patting the large red truck. 

Being in an enclosed space with your ex boyfriend definitely didn’t seem like a good idea. “Oh, that’s not-”

“It’s really cool. You’ll want to take a peek. He customized it all himself and everything. This baby can drive straight into a tornado.” Boone said while Tyler continued to grin at you. 

“Research is what you’re here for right?” Tyler asked you. 

Yes. That was a good reminder for yourself. You were here to learn about the essentials of storm chasing for your next book, not to spend all your time thinking about how good Tyler looked after ten years. “Right,” you agreed, and then watched as Tyler walked all the way over to the passenger seat and held it open for you. 

“Well, in that case, right this way ma’am.” 

————————

To your slight surprise, Tyler kept everything professional in the truck. He showed you all the features, and you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by it all. It was impressive, not only what he had thought of, but had attached himself. “Is this normal? I mean do a lot of storm chasers have vehicles they’ve rigged up?” 

“Nothing like this.” He said with pride in his voice as he grinned over at you. “I spent years putting this thing together.” 

“When you do something, you always go big.” You teased, smirking at him. “Remember that time in high school when we just wanted to fill the principal's office with ducks, and instead you said we should fill the whole school?” 

Tyler scoffed. “Of course I do. I got a month of detention for that because Belinda ratted me out.” 

“You did stand her up for a date.” You reminded him. 

“Yeah well,” Tyler glanced over at you again. “You needed me.” 

Your cheeks heated as the memories of that night flooded your mind. It hadn’t been long after your Dad had passed. You had gotten stupid drunk at a party that he hadn’t wanted to go to. You had been walking home, stumbling home really, when a familiar truck pulled up beside you. It turned out that Tyler had been waiting nearby for at least an hour after feeling like something was off. 

He held you in his arms in that truck for hours while you cried, letting out emotions you’d been holding back for months. Then he took you home and snuck into your bedroom to hold you some more. The next morning you told him you didn’t want to be just friends anymore. He told you he hadn’t wanted to be just friends for a long time. 

The two of you were inseparable from that moment until the day you left. Almost as if he could sense where your mind was, a palpable tension filled the truck. 

You weren’t ready to talk about it though. 

Thankfully you were saved from any further discussion as your phone went off with a text. It was from your agent, checking in again. 

“Boyfriend?” Tyler asked. 

You shot him a look, trying to bite back a smile. “That’s not very subtle of you.” 

He sent you a look right back. “Wasn’t trying to be.” 

“Agent.” You answered, choosing to ignore his response. “Who I now have to awkwardly tell that the ‘hottest cowboy she’s ever seen’ is actually my ex-boyfriend.” 

“So you really had no idea?” Tyler asked. 

You shook your head. “Not a clue. I didn’t even know where I was going until I got to the airport and she sent my travel information.” 

“Gotta say . . . I’m surprised. I never thought you’d step foot in the town again.” He said, pulling into the small parking lot. 

Glancing up at the building, you bit your bottom lip. “I wasn’t sure I would either.” 

Frankie’s was exactly what you would picture when you hear the words, “small town bar”, but as soon as you walked in, you couldn’t help but smile at the familiarity. It was big for a small town bar, featuring bars on both sides of the room, plenty of tables, as well as a couple of pool tables, and a stage with a small dancing space in front of it. Most of the furniture was wooden and looking a little rough, but they kept the lighting dim enough that it wasn’t very noticeable. There weren’t a whole lot of people, but there was no band playing, and it was a weekday night. It put you a little more at ease. 

“This place hasn’t changed a bit.” You said, looking around. 

Tyler shook his head in agreement. “That’s why I love it so much. Feel like I’m right back into my early twenties when I walk back in here.” 

“That was a long time ago for you.” You teased. 

He clutched his chest, scrunching his eyes at you and giving you a wounded look, but there was a playful edge to it. “Ouch. So you do still have some bite to you.” 

You smirked at him. “You bring it out in me.” 

Tyler’s frown turned to a grin as he placed his hand on the small of your back, sending chills down your spine. “Let’s grab a booth for everybody.” 

The next several hours consisted of you asking the Tornado Wranglers crew every question you wrote down as well as thought of. They not only answered honestly, but never talked down to you like you were stupid for not knowing something either. You loved the relationship that they clearly had with each other. They treated each other like family, with their own strengths and weaknesses that the other members of the team either supported or built upon. You knew immediately it was something you were going to want to include in your book. Not only that, but they were hilarious, and since they knew who you were, they seemed to be ribbing Tyler extra hard. 

“All right, you know damn well that was an accident.” Tyler said, pointing a finger at Dexter who was laughing hysterically along with the rest of the table. 

“I don’t know, it doesn’t sound like an accident to me Tyler.” You said, raising your eyebrows at the man sitting next to you. 

Tyler narrowed his eyes at you and bumped your knee with his under the table. “Now don’t you start.” 

“Hey, don’t be rude to our guest.” Dani said. 

“Too late for that. He hasn’t even gotten her a drink yet.” Lily spoke up, shaking her head at him in disappointment. 

“Oh, you don’t have to-”

Tyler shook his head. “No, they’re right.” He started sliding out of the booth. His hand reached up and gave your shoulder a squeeze. “I’ve got you.” 

“I notice he didn’t ask you what you wanted to drink.” Dexter said with a little grin after Tyler made his way to the bar. 

You bit your bottom lip. You hoped he remembered. “We’ve known each other a long time.” 

“Okay, now that he’s gone.” Boone leaned forward, putting his hands on the table. “One Last Rodeo. Theo. He’s based on Tyler isn’t he?” 

Heat rushed to your face. So Boone definitely had read your books. Looking back on it, it was pretty obvious that your first book had been based on Tyler. You were heartbroken, and trying to find a way to get it out on the page. The book was your way of coping with your breakup and how you wished it would have ended instead of the way that it did. By the time someone wanted to actually publish it, you realized how obvious the similarities were, and it was one of the reasons you wanted to write under a fake name. Since Boone had read your book, and now knew that Tyler was your ex . . . It couldn’t have been hard to put together. Still, you couldn’t bring yourself to admit it outloud. “A writer never tells her secrets.” You said. 

They were all grinning at you though. “Oh, look how flushed her face is.” Dani said. 

“It’s definitely about him.” Lily said. 

You opened your mouth to deny it, even though it seemed pointless, but before you could you were interrupted. “Here you go,” he said, sliding back into the booth and putting a glass filled with an orange drink in front of you. 

“What is that?” Boone asked, “some kind of tropical-”

“Orange juice.” You answered, smiling over at Tyler. “You did remember.” 

Tyler gave you a look of disbelief, like he was insulted. “Of course I did.” When he saw the confused looks of his friends he explained, “she doesn’t drink.” 

“Twelve years sober.” You said. “Not something I’m against anyone else doing, it’s just not for me.” Tyler slung his arm over the back side of the booth closest to you, and you had to fight the immediate urge to lean back into his embrace. The rest of the team was smirking at you, and you lifted the glass to your lips to take a sip. “So I’ve just got one more question for you guys.” You said trying to change the subject. 

“Fire away.” Dani said. 

“Why do you guys do it?” That was what you really wanted to know. “I grew up here. I know how dangerous, how scary these things can be. Why do you guys willingly risk your life for something that seems to have no real reward?” 

There was silence around the table for a moment, and you made sure to avoid Tyler’s face. When you had written these questions, you had no clue he was one of the ones you’d be asking, and this question hit a little too close to the reason for your breakup. You didn’t think you could look at him if he answered. 

“We like to help.” Lily said. “That’s a factor. We sell these shirts, and we use the money to get people stuff like food and water.” 

“Then there’s just the beauty of it. Yes, it’s dangerous and destructive, but there’s also something incredible about it as well. There’s so many factors to tornados we don’t understand. Seeing them come together in person is . . . Indescribable.” Dexter added, while they all nodded their heads in agreement. 

“There’s the adrenaline too.” Boone spoke up with a grin. “I’ve never felt more alive than when we’re chasing.” 

Your body tensed at his words, memories of your last argument with Tyler trying to invade your mind. Once again, you felt sure he could sense what you were thinking as you felt his gaze on the side of your face. 

“It’s hard to put into words without actually seeing it.” Tyler said. “You should come on a chase.” 

That made you look at him, your eyes wide in shock that he would even suggest it. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“Why not?” Tyler leaned towards you. “Scared?” He asked with a smirk. 

“Yes.” You answered honestly. 

“Ah, you’d be perfectly safe with Tyler. He’s got a knack for these things.” Boone said, and you looked over at him to find him grinning at the two of you. “You’d barely be in any danger at all.” 

You didn’t doubt that, but heading straight into something that could be so destructive had never been your thing. Hell, you hadn’t even gotten on a horse until Tyler talked you into it. “Still, any danger is too much danger for me.” 

Tyler shrugged. “The offer is there if you change your mind.” Tyler said, and you knew him well enough to see the flash of disappointment on his face. 

Weirdly, you felt a little disappointed in yourself too. 

————————

For the past hour, you’d been pacing around your motel room. Tyler had driven you back to your car, then followed you to the motel that funnily enough, him and the rest of the Wranglers were staying at as well. It was the only motel in your hometown, but knowing that Tyler was a few doors down from you made you anxious. 

God, seeing him again had been your worst nightmare and best daydream all rolled into one. It was so easy to think that after ten years you were over someone. Then you see them again, and everything comes flooding back. All the beautiful memories and all the mistakes you wish you could take back, and there were a lot of mistakes you wished you could take back with Tyler. You’d never loved anyone the way you loved him, and you didn’t think you ever would. Seeing him again had reminded you of that. 

Letting out a sad sigh, you sat down on your bed. Then there was Tyler’s invitation and disappointment. You hated disappointing him almost as much as you hated disappointing yourself. It had taken several years of therapy and hard work to not be so scared of ending up with the same fate as your father. You had grown though. You had learned about yourself and the things that caused those reactions. While getting close to a tornado was definitely dangerous, you knew that Tyler would take care of you. You also knew that you didn’t want to miss out on any more experiences in your life because you were afraid. 

You stood up, not allowing yourself another moment to try and talk yourself out of it, and left your room, knocking at the one three doors down. 

Tyler answered, clad in his white t-shirt and jeans, and smiled when he realized it was you. “Hey, what’s up?” 

Good lord was there ever a moment when this man didn’t look incredible? You swallowed, then nodded. “I changed my mind.” 

He leaned against the doorway, eyebrows raised in confusion. “About what?” 

You took a deep breath. “I wanna go on a chase.”

Tyler beamed. 

————————

It took three days for a storm to come through that Tyler felt good about. They had done some chasing in that time, but Tyler hadn’t brought you along because he said they hadn’t been the “right one”. The wait made you anxious, but you trusted Tyler’s instincts, and every night they were back at the motel ready to tell you about their day. You thought that they might eventually get bored of all your questions, but they were not only great, but amazing storytellers as well. You could see why their YouTube channel was so popular. 

Not that you spent a whole day watching it while they were gone or anything. 

Finally though, the day arrived and you found yourself standing outside by Tyler’s truck waiting for the team to join you, your heart pumping a little faster than normal. “Morning!” A voice called, pulling your attention away from inspecting Tyler’s truck again, and you saw the man in question heading towards you with a paper sack in one hand and an iced coffee in the other. “Haven’t talked yourself out of this yet?” 

You shook your head. “Nope. I’m doing this.” You smiled as Tyler handed you the coffee and bag. “Did you seriously get-?”

“Your breakfast sandwich and coffee? Yes, you need fuel for the road.” Tyler used his now free hands to open the door for you. “Hop on in, and let’s get going.” 

“Wait,” you said, glancing around. “Is everyone else meeting us there?” 

Tyler leaned against the door, and you watched as he looked at the sky behind you, then turned his gaze back to you. “Nah, I gave them the day off. I didn’t want you to have to deal with pressure from them if we get there and you decide not to do this.” 

You bit your lip. He was always so thoughtful. Back when he knew you, he would have had to drag you to this truck kicking and screaming, which he never would, and the fact that he wanted to save you some embarrassment in case you decided not to do this was just like him. Unable to help yourself, you reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. “Thank you.” You said sincerely. 

“Well,” you inhaled sharply as Tyler took a little step closer to you. “I’ve got to admit, getting you alone for the day also played a factor.” 

Your eyes widened and a shy smile formed on your face even while your mind was spinning. Over the past few days there had been brief moments where you thought Tyler might have been flirting with you, but you talked yourself out of it. Now though . . . Was there actually a chance this man still wanted you? He couldn’t. Not after how you had treated him. It didn’t make sense. “You might end up regretting that, you know?” You told him. 

Tyler reached up, and your whole body froze as he brushed some hair behind your ear. “I’ve never regretted a moment I’ve been with you.” 

His response took the breath from your lungs. “Ty . . .” You didn’t know what to say. Your heart was beating so fast it hurt. How could he possibly not regret that night? The night that you broke his heart? 

“I’ve missed you calling me that, you know?” He smiled at you, and then took a step back. “Come on, let’s get going.” 

Once again, you wanted to say something, but what? Nothing sounded right in your mind. So instead you hopped up in the truck and watched as he closed the door behind you. 

————————

“Can I be honest?” You asked him several hours later. 

“I didn’t realize you ever weren’t.” Tyler joked, sending you a smirk. 

You swatted at him playfully. “I didn’t expect all the waiting. What happens if nothing comes?” 

“Oh, something’s gonna happen.” He insisted, looking at some clouds in the distance. “Don’t you have any faith in me?” 

While he was kidding, you didn’t stop the serious words that slipped past your lips. “You know I have all the faith in the world in you.” 

Ty’s smile turned from something joking to something genuine. “Even after all these years?” 

You smiled at him. “It never stopped. I always knew you were destined for great things.” You admitted, and it was the truth. In fact, you’d never been more sure of anything in your life. 

“Just not riding on the back of a bull.” He replied, and though he winked at you, the mention of one of the reasons from your breakup filled the air with tension. 

Then the question that you had been dying to ask since you first saw him burst from your lips. “Why did you quit?” 

Tyler looked at you then, and you knew that look well. He was reading your expression, your eyes, your body language. He’d always been able to tell what you were thinking simply by looking at you, and this time was no different. “It wasn’t because of you.” He said, reaching over to place his hand on top of yours and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I mean, you were part of the reason, but it was more about me realizing you were right, and I could do more with my life.” 

He knew you had been carrying that guilt of wondering if you were the reason he quit something that he had loved so much. He told you that you weren’t, but you still frowned, looking out at the darkening sky miles away. “I wish I’d said it differently.” 

There was silence for a moment as you two watched the storm, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt more reflective, and your thoughts were only confirmed when he spoke up. “Do you ever wonder where we’d be now? If you’d stayed?” 

If only he knew . . . “I guess that depends.” You bumped your shoulder against his. “Would you have proposed by now?” You teased, but a part of you wanted to know the answer. 

Tyler grinned at you, an adoring look on his face. “Oh definitely.” 

A flush heated up your face as a pleased smile fell on your lips. “Then I guess we’d be married and driving each other crazy.” 

“Not to mention being driven crazy by the kids.” Tyler added. 

You let out a laugh. “After ten years, you still want three kids?” 

“Three is a good number.” He defended. 

You rolled your eyes. “You know I have this friend now. She just had her fourth. Going over to her house almost makes me not want any at all.” 

“That’s because she has four. Three, perfect number.” Tyler said, holding up three fingers. “Four?” He added a finger. “Now that’s just asking for trouble.” 

“Especially if they were your kids.” You added, grinning over at him. 

“Ah, we could handle them.” Tyler said with a wink in your direction. 

A vision formed in your mind of what he was describing. Three kids, all of varying ages, but in your mind it was two boys and one girl. The boys would be almost an exact copy of Tyler, blonde hair and blue-green eyes, dimples and charming smiles. Troublemakers, but also sweethearts who cared deeply and loved life to the fullest. Then the little girl. She definitely had a majority of your features but with Tyler’s smile. She would have Tyler so wrapped around her finger it would almost be embarrassing. Then there’d be Tyler and you, watching all the craziness unfold from your back porch with a glass of sweet tea in your hands. You were happy. You were loved, and you were home. 

At that moment, you realized you never wanted anything so badly in your life. You wanted it so badly your chest literally ached with it. Looking over at Tyler made it hurt worse. You thought being away from him would make the love you had fade, but it turned out, the opposite had occurred. In fact, seeing him watch the sky with a content smile and talking about what could have been made you realize you loved him more now. You had loved him in high school, you’d loved him in his early twenties, but this was different. You were different and so was he. 

The question was . . . Would he take you back if you tried? You knew you didn’t deserve it. You were the reason the two of you broke up. If you were in his shoes, you didn’t think you could forgive yourself. Tyler had always been a better person than you though. 

Was it worth a shot trying? 

“Hey,” Tyler pulled you out of your thoughts, lifting your hand and pointing it to something in the distance. “Do you see those clouds?” 

You looked out to where he was pointing your hand and frowned. Those definitely looked dark, and they were . . . “Are those spinning?” 

“That’s the updraft, and it’s cycling.” He told you. 

“And that means . . .”

“That means-” Tyler stood up, put his baseball cap back on his head, and held out his hand to help you off the bed of his truck. “We’ve got a winner.” 

————————

You were going to throw up. At least it felt like you were. Not five minutes after you guys reached the storm did a tornado touchdown. Tyler said it was rated for an EF1, so it would be safe to drive into. Well, as safe as driving into a tornado could be. As fast as your heart was pounding, and as sick as you felt you might be, you leaned forward to get a better look out the window. You couldn’t deny the beauty in it. “I’ve never seen something so amazing and scary at the same time.” You admitted. 

“It’s incredible isn’t it?” 

As nervous as you were, the look on Tyler’s face made you smile. God you hadn’t seen him this excited since he had been on the back of a bull. “It is. Especially when it doesn’t look like it’s going to kill me.” 

Tyler laughed, and he pulled to a stop. “Nah, this is just an EF 1. This and the truck are going to keep you completely safe.” Tyler said, reaching to tug at the harness he had secured so tightly to your body that you felt like you couldn’t take a deep breath. 

As you watched the tornado race forward, you felt your heart rate start to kick back up and took a deep breath. “And you too right?” You asked, biting your bottom lip. 

He parked the truck and faced you, a rare serious expression crossing his face. “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” 

At that moment, you realized you did. Tyler would never willingly put you in danger. He cared about you too much. If he said it was safe, it was. “I do.” You agreed, taking a deep breath, well, as much as you could in this harness. “Let’s do this.” 

The grin came back to his face full force as he started pressing buttons on his truck, anchoring it down into the ground as the tornado got closer and closer. “You’re gonna love this.” 

”Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Even though you knew you were safe, there was nothing quite like a tornado heading straight towards you while you’re stuck in place. “Tyler . . . This is crazy.” 

It was getting closer and closer. Only yards away, and your heart was pounding harder and harder in your chest. You didn’t even think. Your hand reached for his, gripping it tightly as the tornado hit the truck. 

Tyler gave your hand a reassuring squeeze, “look up.” He called over the wind, and you did as he asked, leaning towards your side of the car to see out the window. 

It was the most incredible thing you’d ever seen. You could see all the way up the funnel to the clouds above as the vortex passed over you. You’d never seen anything like it in your life, and a laugh of disbelief left your lips as you watched it pass over you. When it was done you looked over at Tyler, shock all over your face. “Was that real? Did that actually just happen? Did I just see inside a damn tornado?!” 

Letting out a chuckle at your questions, Tyler nodded. “You sure as hell did.” 

You let out another laugh yourself and started unbuckling all of your straps. You needed one last look to convince yourself that you had done it. Once you were free, you hopped out of the truck, running around the back to watch it keep going through the field behind you. You heard the truck door close again, but you didn’t turn around, still mesmerized, until you felt Tyler’s hand on your shoulder. 

“So, how do you feel?” He asked. 

His question was loaded for so many reasons. Years ago, he never would have gotten you close enough to even see a tornado, much less let it speed over you. You were so proud of yourself for doing this, but also sad. How many other life experiences had you missed because of how your father’s life choices had traumatized you? There was no good way to answer his question, so you just did what you wanted to. You jumped up, latching your arms around his neck, and your legs around his waist. 

Of course he caught you easily, laughing as he spun you around and held you close. One of his hands rested on your back, while the other cradled your head against his shoulder. After a moment, he let out a content sigh. “I’m so proud of you.” 

You clutched tighter to him. He had no idea how much those words meant coming from him. Tyler had seen you at your absolute worst, when you had no one but him. You had clung to him then, leaning on him more than was healthy until you knew that you couldn’t anymore. It made you want to cry, knowing how far you had come and that Tyler could see it. You pulled back to look at him so he could see your watery smile too. “I’m proud of myself.” 

The butterflies in your stomach were doing somersaults as he looked at you. His fingers tightened in your hair, and you felt his arm muscles tense against your back. There was tension in the air, no doubt about it, and you found your eyes drawn to those familiar soft lips. You wanted to kiss him. A part of you wondered if it would be the same, or even better because you both were older. You weren’t sure, but either way, you wanted to find out. When you saw his eyes glance at your lips too, you knew he was thinking the same thing. Unable to help yourself, you let your fingers tangle in his hair, pulling yourself the slightest bit closer to him until your noses were brushing. 

Then his phone rang. 

Whatever spell the two of you had been under broke. Tyler slowly let you down to the ground, but reached for your hand, tangling your fingers with his and keeping you close. “Hey, Boone, what’s up?” 

You glanced down at your hands with a soft smile. Tyler’s hands were big and calloused from work and bulls, but they felt nice. You brushed your thumb on the outside of his palm, and he gave your hand a squeeze. 

“Yeah, we got one. She handled it like a pro.” Tyler told him, grinning over at you. There was a bit of silence for a moment as the phone conversation continued. “Let me ask her, and I’ll let you know? All right, sounds good. I’ll see you soon.” He hung up the phone and tugged you a little closer again. “Feel like celebrating seeing inside your first tornado?” Tyler asked. 

————————

Three hours later you found yourself in new clothes, freshly showered, line dancing between Dani and Boone. You were almost crying from laughing so hard, and your face hurt from smiling so much. It blew your mind that two weeks ago you were sitting in your apartment in South Carolina feeling alone and stuck with writer's block. Now you were back in your hometown, having a blast, writing faster than you had in years, and desperate to get back together with the man who was watching you from the booth, an adorable smile on his face. Feeling a little bold after your almost kiss, you sent him a wink as Boone spun you around, causing his smile to widen. 

“You guys are disgustingly cute.” Dani said as the song slowed down and the three of you started to exit the floor. 

Heat rushed to your face, and you found yourself asking the question you’d been wanting to ask for days. “Why have you guys been so nice to me anyway? Tyler’s your best friend, and I’m his ex. I broke his heart, but you’ve been nothing but kind to me since the start.” 

Boone and Dani exchanged a look. “Yeah, you’re right. If it had been another one of Tyler’s exes we probably would hate you.” Boone said, shrugging his shoulders. 

“But you were the one who got away for Tyler, and he’s never said anything but great things about you. Plus,” Dani reached out and patted your shoulder. “It's kinda obvious the two of you are still in love with each other.” 

The words hit you like a truck, and then you felt stupid for not realizing it before. You looked at the man sitting at the booth again. This time he was talking to Dexter, his expression animated, and his hands moving wildly with his words. Of course you still loved him. You never stopped. You buried it, hid from it so you could try to better yourself. When you left, you knew you weren’t good enough for him, you probably still weren’t, but now you knew you could love him like you were supposed to. If he was open to it. Boone and Dani made it seem like he was. He had given you signs that he was at least interested . . . The only question was how could you show him that you wanted it too? 

An idea hit, and a small smile formed on your face. “I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute okay?” You said to their confused faces and headed to the DJ stand. You gave him twenty bucks, which he gladly took, and promised your song would be next. By the time you’d made it back to the booth where everyone was seated, Never Leave by Bailey Zimmerman was playing. 

You approached Tyler, who was looking at you curiously as you held your hand out to him. “Dance with me?” You said, biting your bottom lip. 

A surprised, but happy smile formed on his face. “Yes ma’am.” 

It was not your and Tyler’s first dance. Probably wasn’t even your hundredth, and dancing with him was as effortless as remembering how to ride a bike. One of his hands rested on the small of your back while the other took yours. You placed your hand on his bicep, giving his arm a squeeze. You didn’t want to say anything. The lyrics of the song could do all the talking for you. Tyler led you around the floor with ease, and as the song went on, you could see the moment the words started to sink in. He leaned forward, his forehead pressing against yours,  and he whispered your name so reverently it made you close your eyes.

“Just listen,” you said softly, tightening your grip on his hand, letting the song say the words you wanted to. Tyler’s arm pulled you even closer until it was almost hard to dance, your bodies pressed against each other. Your heart was pounding so hard you were sure he could feel it against his chest, but you didn’t care anymore. You were laying it all out there now. 

As the song ended, you felt Tyler’s lips against your forehead, soft and lingering. Warmth exploded throughout your body, and you pulled back to look up at him. 

“Come back to the hotel with me?” You asked, your thumb caressing his arm, almost pleading with your voice. 

Tyler’s hand reached up to cup your cheek, and you immediately leaned into his touch, your whole body craving it. “Are you sure?” He asked. 

You nodded. There was nothing you were more sure about right now.

He took a step back from you, grabbing your hand and tugging you back to the booth where everybody else was sitting with knowing eyes. He told them that the two of you were leaving. You tried to ignore them, but you couldn’t help but grin when you saw them giving you a thumbs up or silently cheering as Tyler had his back turned. 

The ride was quiet, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, it was more filled with tension, and the two of you kept glancing at each other and smiling. He never let go of your hand either until he parked at the motel and came around to open your door. Before you could get down though, he stopped you. “This is what you want right? I don’t want to misinterpret what I think is happening here or pressure you in any way-”

You placed your hands on his face and leaned closer, interrupting him with your first kiss in ten years. 

For a moment, he didn’t respond. It was clear you had surprised him, but then his hands gripped your hips, and he was kissing you back. 

It was even better than you remembered. It had been good back in late high school and your early twenties, there was no doubt about it. Something about now was different though. Maybe it was because you were older, maybe it was because it had been so long, or maybe it was because you felt healed. Whatever it was, kissing Tyler now blew every kiss you’d had before out of the water. 

It was a short kiss, chaste, just to reassure him that you did want him, but when you pulled away the two of you were still breathless. “Am I crazy or was that incredible?” You asked, your hands sliding down his face to his chest. 

Tyler laughed, but nodded, his own hands dragging down your thighs and resting on your knees. “It was,” he replied, but then a smirk fell on his lips, “but we can do better.” 

Not one minute later, you were trying to open the door to your room, Tyler’s large hand low on your stomach as his lips left soft kisses on your neck from behind. You could barely concentrate as heat pooled where his hand rested, and you could not get the key in the door as he kissed a certain spot on your neck. “Ty,” you said through an exasperated laugh. “If you keep doing that I’ll never get us in this room.”

He took the key from your hand, but didn’t stop kissing your neck. You closed your eyes in pleasure as he did, letting him take over the door situation, and in a frustratingly short amount of time, you heard the door knob turn. Your eyes snapped open, turning in Tyler’s arms to find him smirking at you again. 

“How the hell did you do that so easily?” You asked, weaving your arms around his neck as he carefully backed you into the room. 

He shrugged, shutting the door behind him. “Guess you were just too distracted to focus.” 

You playfully glared at him, “I was not-” but you let out a gasp as he suddenly spun you around, pinning you to the door with his body. 

He didn’t say anything for a moment, just smiling at you as his hands rested on your hips, his thumbs brushing under your shirt to touch heated skin. “You were, but it’s okay. I liked it.” 

Well he had certainly become more confident in the years apart. Not that he ever wasn’t, but you could definitely tell a difference. However, you had gained a little bit of confidence too, and you smirked at him. “Oh, I can tell.” You replied, pushing your hips forward to press against the hardness you felt. 

Tyler bit his lip at your movements, his hands gripping your hips harder. “We don’t have to do anything. I want you to know that.” 

It drove you crazy, how he could go from being sexy and confident to sweet and respectful within a minute. You slid your arms up his chest and around his neck, tugging his head down to yours. “I want to.” You told him. “Do you?”

He let out a breathless chuckle, “You have no idea how badly I want to.” Tyler said, “I’ve wanted to since the moment I saw you at that gas station.” He told you, his nose brushing against yours. 

Tyler had been wanting to get together with you for that long? Your heart started thumping wildly in your chest, and you let out a sigh as his warm hand slipped up the back of your shirt pressing you against him. “You know, I don’t look the same as I did ten years ago.” You admitted, a little bit of insecurity leaking out as you thought about the last time the two of you were together. 

He shook his head, and his hands left a trail of heat as they slid down your back to grip your thighs. “You look better.” 

Your hands slipped into his soft hair. “Now, I know that’s not true.” 

You let out a nose of surprise as Tyler used his grip on your thighs to lift you into the air with his body, smirking up at you. “I think you’re forgetting . . .” His lips found a spot on your neck that he had always kissed, a spot that made chills explode over your body and made a soft moan leave your lips. “I know this body better than anyone.” He whispered in your ear. 

Tyler was right. He had been with you more than anyone else, seen every part of you bare. So what if you didn’t look the same as you did in high school. You were sure he didn’t either. Based on what you felt against your body though, you didn’t think that was a bad thing. You let your hands trail from his hair down his neck and to his chest, noting how his body flexed under your touch. “I think I might need a refresher on yours.” You teased, biting your lip as you played with the buttons on his shirt. 

He raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his lips. “Oh, is that what you need?” 

With fingers that were much steadier than what you felt, you unbuttoned a couple of the top buttons from his shirt. It wasn’t much, but enough to slip your hands into and touch his heated skin. It was the first time you had touched him, really touched him, in so long, and it made you ache for so much more. You pressed your forehead against his, “Right now I need everything you’re willing to give me.” You admitted honestly. 

“Well then,” Tyler’s hands slid down to your ass, holding you close as he started carrying you to the bed. “It’s a good thing I’m willing to give you everything.” He said as he placed you gently on the bed. 

His words made your heart stop for a second and a huge swell of affection for him filled your heart. You wanted to tell him that you still loved him then. That you wanted to give him everything too. The words wouldn’t come though. Not yet anyway. 

So instead, you tried to say them with a kiss. You sat up, grabbing his face in your hands, and tugged him down to meet your lips. The first time you had surprised him, and it took him a moment to respond. That was not the case this time. He kissed you back at once, moving your lips in a dance the two of you knew well. While the first kiss had been sweet, this one was full of passion and tenderness. You let out a little sigh when his lips parted and attempted to pull him closer. It had been so long since you had gotten to really touch him, and you didn’t want to waste another second not doing it. 

He complied, climbing into the bed on top of you, settling between your thighs and letting out a strangled groan as you pushed your hips up into him. He pressed his own against yours and you let out your own moan at the delicious friction. 

The sound made him pull away however, and you frowned, since that was the opposite of what you wanted right now. You watched him as he sat up, his gaze traveling over your body with such intensity you could feel your face heating up. Tyler’s hands rested on your stomach finally, tugging up your tank top so slowly it made you want to just yank it off yourself so his hands could be all over you. Waiting turned out to be worth it though, because as soon as your shirt was off, he started kissing down your neck. Your eyes closed as his lips went lower, and you arched your chest against his mouth as he got closer to one of the spots you wanted his mouth the most. 

“Have you been with other guys?” 

That made your eyes snap open. Those were not the words you expected to come out of his mouth when he was about two seconds away from putting his mouth around you. “W-What?” You said breathlessly. 

But he didn’t seem upset or anything, just genuinely curious. In fact he was grinning at you, his hands resting on your bare hips. “It’s been ten years. You have, right?” 

“Is now really the time for the, ‘how many people have you slept with since me?’ conversation?” You asked, raising your eyebrows at him. 

Tyler leaned down, pressing his lower body against yours again as his lips hovered over yours. “I don’t care about the number.” He said, shaking his head. “I just want you to know I’m about to kiss the memory of anyone else from your body.” 

His words took your breath from your lungs, but you tried not to let him see how much they affected you. Your arms slipped around his neck, fingers sliding into his hair. “You’re talking a lot of game for someone who hasn’t initiated a single kiss.” You teased. 

He chuckled,close enough that his lips brushed yours for the briefest moment. “Isn’t it better if you have to wait for it?” 

A soft smile fell on your face then as you ran your fingers through his hair. “Ty, you haven’t kissed me in ten years. Haven’t we waited long enough?” 

He leaned back so he could look at your face, smiling at the look you were giving him. “Yeah. I think we have.” 

Finally, he leaned forward and kissed you, setting your whole body on fire with the intensity of it. Your lips parted almost immediately, and his tongue slipped into your mouth, exploring you thoroughly. His hands did the same, heat trailing after them everywhere he touched. 

You knew then, as the two of you kissed and your body, and heart, felt close to combustion, that this was it for you. You had been with other men in your time apart, and none of them had ever come close to making you feel like this. Back when you and Tyler had first started dating, you thought he might have been the one, but now you were sure. So no matter what happened tomorrow, or even after that, you knew that Tyler Owens was going to be it for you. 

To your shock and surprise, you didn’t find that scary at all. 

A breathless sigh left your lips as he slowly pulled away, and he smiled down at you, brushing some hair out of your face. “God you’re beautiful.” 

You had always remembered what he was like in bed, how sweet he could be, but hearing it again was a different story. He had always made you feel so comfortable and sexy, you were so glad to know that none of that had changed. “I missed you.” You blurted out, heat rushing to your face at the confession. 

But his smile just widened, leaning down to press a kiss against your jaw. “You’ve got no idea . . .” He started kissing down your neck again. “How much I’ve missed you,” he said, and you couldn’t help but squirm a little as he kissed down your stomach, your breath coming a little faster as his kisses got lower and lower. Your hands tangled into his hair, biting your bottom lip and arching up into his hand as he started unbuttoning your jeans. 

You lifted your hips as he slid your jeans and underwear down the rest of your body, casting them aside somewhere in the room. You didn’t really care where. Tyler kissed back up your body, pausing for a moment on your bra, the last article of clothing you were wearing. After giving him an encouraging nod, he unclasped it, tossing it somewhere too, leaving you completely naked. 

He stared at you, and you felt heat following everywhere his gaze went. His gaze didn’t make you uncomfortable though, it made you feel . . . Desirable. While his eyes looked you over, your eyes watched his face, biting your lip as your hands slid up and down his arms. “You know you’re wearing too many clothes.” 

Tyler grinned down at you. “You wanna help with that?” 

You sat up then, returning his smile. “I would love to.” You took your time, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and taking in every bit of skin that was revealed. Tyler had been fit when the two of you were dating, but now? He looked like he’d come straight out of a magazine. Once his shirt was unbuttoned, you let your hands trail down his chest as you leaned forward to press a kiss to his neck. You felt his whole body relax as your hands slid back up his hard muscles to push his shirt off him, and you trailed your lips across his shoulder and down his arm. 

As soon as his shirt was off him, you made your way back up his arm, pressing gentle kisses every few inches until you reached his face again. He was smiling at you, and you couldn’t help but press a peck against his lips, then another until he had his arms wrapped tightly around you, holding you against his warm chest. Letting out a sigh, you kept your forehead against his for a second, soaking the moment in. 

“I never thought we’d be here again.” Tyler said, shaking his head as his hand dragged up and down your bare back. 

“Me either.” You admitted, letting one of your hands comb through his soft blonde hair, “but I’m glad we are.” 

Tyler didn’t say anything, but leaned forward to meet you in a kiss that said everything he needed to. It told you how much he missed you, the familiarity of his lips moving in rhythm with yours. It told you how badly he wanted you when his tongue slipped into your mouth to caress your own. Then his lips weren’t the only thing showing how much he cared as he gently laid you down on the bed, never letting your lips disconnect. 

It was illogical, but you hoped his lips never left you again. You were drowning, no, floating in him, submerged but safe in the warmth of him as his body laid on top of yours. Your legs automatically wrapped around his hips, and a moan left your lips as the two of you came into contact. 

Tyler pulled away then, but he didn’t go far, leaving kisses down your chin and neck. “You keep making noises like that, and this is not going to last as long as I want it to.” 

You let out a breathless laugh, tugging at his hair. “The noises are your fault, Owens. You’re the one with no-” you let out a gasp as his lips found your breast, pleasure burning straight to your core. “-Self control.” You panted. 

He gave your nipple a gentle bite, causing you to whimper, before he pulled away to look up at you. “Sorry, what was that about self control?” Tyler asked with a smirk playing on his lips. 

“That you have none.” You said, arching your hips up to rub against him for a moment, making him groan against your skin. “But I don’t think I have any either when it comes to you.” 

His smirk turned into a smile, and his lips found your breast again, immediately shooting even more pleasure through your body. 

Nobody really talks about what it’s like to have sex with someone you used to date years ago. Tyler knew your body so well, he knew exactly how you liked to be touched, and what spots would drive you crazy. It was so easy to fall back into it. On top of that though, the two of you had been with other people in the last few years, and you had more experience and confidence than the kids you used to be.

There was no hesitation in Tyler’s hands as they explored your body, and none in yours as one dragged down his back and the other tangled in his hair, holding him against you. You let out another moan as his hand moved from your inner thigh and a finger slid inside of you. 

He let out another groan as he discovered how wet you were, and leaned up to press his forehead against yours as he added a second finger in. “Are you already ready for me, sweetheart?” 

You nodded, bumping your nose against his. “Do you have a condom? I wasn’t anticipating-”

“Having sex with your ex-boyfriend in a motel room?” Tyler grinned as he reached into the back pocket of the jeans you forget he was still wearing and pulled out his wallet, reaching in to take out a condom. “Guess it’s a good thing I’m always prepared.” He said with a smirk. 

You rolled your eyes playfully, but secretly you’d never been more thankful. If the two of you had to stop now to run out and buy condoms, you might’ve lost your mind. You slid your hands down his well defined chest, biting your lip at the muscles you felt there before stopping to rest on the belt of his jeans. “You’re still wearing too many clothes though.” You reminded him. 

“Weren’t you supposed to be helping me with that?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at you. 

Narrowing your eyes at him, you started undoing his belt. “It’s not my fault you distracted me with how hot you are.” 

He laughed, moving your hands out of the way to get his jeans off faster. “Why do you think I got your clothes off so fast? Can’t get distracted if they’re already off.” 

“Guess I’ll just have to remember that for next time.” You teased, sliding your hands back up his chest to rest on his shoulders. It was only when his body froze that you realized what you said. The two of you stared at each other, and you had no clue what to say about your implication of a next time. You didn’t even know if he’d want a next time . . . 

Tyler didn’t let the moment linger though. He shoved the rest of his clothes off and leaned down to kiss you, hard, and all consuming in a way that erased every thought from your head except how much you needed him. Your legs wrapped around his waist, and you let out a gasp as your hips came into contact. 

You had forgotten how big he was. 

Almost as if sensing your thoughts, he pulled away slowly from your lips, barely leaving a centimeter between them as his finger trailed up and down your slit for a moment. “You can take it. You’ve done it before.” He whispered, and then slipped three fingers inside of you. The sudden intrusion sent your nails digging into his shoulders and heat exploding across your body. “If you can take that, you can take me.” He assured you, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. 

He was going to ruin you. Part of you thought he already had, since every other time you’d had sex, he was always on your mind, but now you were sure of it. Nobody was ever going to get you more turned on than Tyler Owens. You nodded, because it seemed like he was waiting for an acknowledgment, and attempted to pull him closer with your legs when his fingers slid out of you. “It’s just - it’s been a while.” You admitted.

Tyler gave you a gentle smile. “For me too.” 

His words shocked you for a second, but then you realized they shouldn’t have. Tyler had never been a one night stand kinda guy. As confident as he was, even before the two of you had started dating, he’d only ever dated girls he felt a genuine connection with. The fact that he still felt that with you enough to want to do this had emotions clogging up your throat. You let your hands trail down his body again, taking the condom from his hand and slipping it on him, your gaze never leaving his face as you enjoyed the sight of his reaction to you touching him. “Then let’s not wait anymore.” You said, guiding him towards you. 

He didn’t need any more encouragement. He pressed forward, and you let out a sigh as he slipped inside of you, your head falling back against the pillow. It was a tight fit, there was no doubt, but he moved slowly, showing, once again, how well he knew your body. Any time you tensed up, he paused, though you could feel by how tense his muscles were how much he was holding back. “That’s right,” he would tell you when your breath started to come faster. “Remember how well you take me?” 

Oh God you did. He fit inside of you like no one else. Even years later he filled you up just enough to not be painful, but more than enough to be satisfying. Another gasp of air left your lips as he pushed more inside of you, and you could tell he was almost completely in. 

“You’re doing such a good job.” Tyler said, leaving another kiss against your skin. “Made just for me.” And while his voice was soft, it was also strained from effort. 

You opened your eyes as you felt him push forward again, and dug your nails into where they had rested on his shoulders once more as he pushed completely inside of you, letting out a sigh of pleasure as he did. 

There was nothing like this. Absolutely nothing. You moved your eyes from the ceiling to find him looking at you like you’d just hung each star in the sky for him alone. “Tell me what you’re thinking.” He said breathlessly. 

Did he really expect you to be able to think right now? You couldn’t think enough to have a filter if you opened your mouth, and you knew that was partially what he wanted. So you let the words slip from your lips. “I’m thinking about how no ones ever felt as good as you do.” He rewarded your words with a little thrust of his hips that had you gasping. “I’m thinking about how you’ve ruined me for anyone else.” Another thrust, this one harder, and you tightened your legs around him. “And I’m thinking about how much I missed you, Ty.” You said softly, letting out a whimper as his hand slid up to your breast, cupping it and letting his thumb caress your nipple. 

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Just watching as your hips jerked against his, desperate for the pleasure only he could provide, his eyes locked on your face as if he was committing it to memory. “Would you believe me if I told you I was thinking about all those things too?” 

You didn’t have to think about it. You nodded, moving your hands from his shoulders to tangle in his hair. “I know.” 

Tyler leaned down to meet your lips in a bruising kiss as he thrust inside of you, starting a slow and steady pace that continued to pick up speed with every passing minute until you couldn’t keep up the kiss any longer. Your head fell back against the pillows, and your eyes closed in pleasure as his warm, calloused hand traveled down your body to where the two of you met. “Eyes on me sweetheart.” He said, and pressed his thumb against your clit. 

“Fuck, Ty!” Your eyes snapped open and your chest arched into his, tugging on his hair at the overstimulating sensation. His hips stuttered for a moment as you felt yourself clench around him, but he kept up the movement of his thumb, tracing circles around it. The pleasure was almost too much. You could feel it building inside of you, desperate for release, and you clung tightly to him. “I can’t- I’m-” You couldn’t even get the words out, too overwhelmed with feelings. 

“It’s okay, you can let go.” He said, “I’ve got you.” He assured you, never ceasing his pace or his finger. 

His words triggered your release, almost as if you’d been waiting for permission and you moaned out his name as it washed over you. You clung to him like he was a liferaft, holding you in above water as you clenched around him. You heard him groan your name, saying how good you were, and within seconds you felt his body tense, falling over the edge with you. 

As the pleasure faded from your body to satisfaction, you didn’t want to let him go and groaned in discontent when he pulled back and out of you. He chuckled and leaned down to press a soft kiss to your forehead. “I’ll be right back.” 

You sighed, opening your eyes as you watched him head into the bathroom, unable to believe that you had just had sex with such an attractive man, even if he was your ex. He was more than an attractive man though, or just your ex. He was Tyler. The boy you gave your heart to ten years ago who never gave it back. A tender smile was on your lips as he came back to you with a damp washcloth and started gently cleaning you up. 

“You okay?” He asked, the hand that wasn’t cleaning you up resting on your thigh and rubbing the skin there. 

“I will be once you get back in bed.” You replied, and your smile widened at the pleased expression on his face. You let out a laugh as he tossed the washcloth aside and hurriedly climbed into bed, spooning you against his back. 

He nuzzled into your neck, leaving kisses against your skin as he made himself comfortable against you, and shivers exploded across your body as his hand rested on your stomach. “Comfortable?” Tyler asked, pressing another kiss to your cheek. 

Being in his arms again? Comfortable didn’t even begin to describe it. As cliche and embarrassing as it sounded, for the first time since you’d come to your hometown, you actually felt like you were home. “Perfect,” you replied, scooting back even more into him. 

And you meant it. 

————————

You woke up cold, but oh so satisfied. Part of you wondered if last night had been a dream, but you knew that your body couldn’t lie like that. You definitely had the post sex ache. You stretched your limbs out and rolled over, wanting to curl back into Tyler and maybe sleep for a few more hours, but you were met with nothing but sheets. 

Frowning, you opened your eyes, letting your fingers drag across the fabric. It was cool, so he’d been gone for a while. It was only when your eyes drifted up to the pillow did you notice the scrap of paper. 

Stay. 

It was written quickly, almost as if an afterthought, and you frowned at it. Did he really think that he had to ask? You got out of bed, and found a tshirt in the floor. Slipping on your underwear and the tshirt, you sat down at the small table and grabbed your laptop. You’d been writing like crazy lately on a new book, and you’d definitely woken up feeling inspired this morning. 

You weren’t sure how long you sat there typing. It was a great distraction from your thoughts, and when you got into the zone, it could be hours before you realized you hadn’t stood up from your chair. You weren’t so in the zone though that you didn’t hear the doorknob start to turn. 

Tyler entered, once again looking entirely too good in his dark brown button down, jeans and cowboy hat. He carried a familiar brown bag and cup of iced coffee in his hand and held a cautious smile as he looked at you. “Brought you some breakfast.” 

You held out your hands to take it from him, eagerly sipping at the iced coffee as he sat down at the seat across from you. “Thank you, I needed this.” You said, leaning back against your chair. He was watching you, that cautious look still on his face making you nervous. Was he regretting last night? Was he trying to figure out the polite way to tell you it had all been a mistake? 

“What are you thinking?” He asked, and the sudden question threw you off, you didn’t even have the chance to think about throwing up a filter. 

“I’m thinking that I hope you’re not regretting last night. I’m also thinking that you’re too far away.” You admitted, frowning at the distance between the two of you. 

His whole body seemed to relax at your words and the smile that you knew and loved fell back onto his face. He held out his hand to you, and without hesitation you took it, returning his smile as he tugged you out of your chair to sit sideways across his lap. You buried your face in his neck, letting out a contented sigh as he wrapped his arms around you, and held you close. “Better?” Tyler asked, one of his hands tracing up and down your outer thigh. 

You nodded, tightening your arms around him. “Much better.”

The two of you sat in silence for a few moments. You knew the conversation that needed to be had, but you had no clue how to even begin to start it. Should you blurt out how you feel? Should you ask him how he was feeling? Tyler beat you to the punch though with a statement that stopped your mind in its tracks. 

“I read your book.” 

Your body froze as your brain took a moment to process his words. Once they did, heat rushed to your face, and you pulled away to look at him. “How did you even-”

“Boone. He gave me a copy pretty much right after you showed up.” He said, and his hand gave your thigh a squeeze. “I noticed some . . . Similarities.” 

You bet he did. More than enough to be embarrassing. You bit your lip, knowing the question that he wanted to ask, and decided to go ahead and give him the option to ask it anyway. “What do you want to know?” You finally said. 

For a moment it wasn’t the new Tyler that you’d been getting to know over the past couple of weeks that was looking at you. The confident, caring, intelligent tornado wrangler. It was young Tyler, the bull rider who wanted nothing more than to ride his fears and bring you along for it. “I guess I’m just wondering why they got their happy ending, and we didn’t.” 

Just because you anticipated it, doesn’t mean it hurt any less. “Ty . . .” You placed your hand on top of his, gripping it in yours. “I wrote that book two years after our breakup. I wasn’t ready to be her then. There were . . .” You took a deep breath. “A lot of things I was still holding onto.” 

“But if I had quit when you asked me to-”

You were shaking your head before he could even finish his sentence. “I never should have asked you to do that.” You let go of his hand to take his face in your hands to encourage him to keep his eyes on you. “Tyler, our breakup had absolutely everything to do with me, and nothing to do with you.” This confession had been sitting on the tip of your tongue for years now, and you finally had the courage to say it. “I looked at you, riding those bulls, and all I could see was my dad. It scared me.” You admitted, caressing his cheek with your thumb. “Drunk, constantly concussed, and soon to be dead either from one or the other. I know that’s not you now, and I should’ve known it back then, but I was too damaged.” 

Tyler looked sad, his hand still caressing your skin. “I would have fought for you.” 

“I know.” You said, and you did. You knew that Tyler would have fought to stay by your side until the end if you hadn’t pushed him away. 

“You were everything to me back then.”

God it hurt. Remembering the look on his face when you had walked out that door. You still had nightmares about it, but like you had struggled to learn, there was nothing you could do about it now. The two of you sat there for a moment before you finally got the courage to ask the question you’d been wanting to. “What about now?” You asked. “Think we can make it?”

A small, disbelieving smile formed on his face. “Is that an option?” 

You nodded. “At least I hope it is. That ball’s in your court Tyler Owens. I’m the one that broke your heart.” You said, sliding a hand down to rest over his heart. “So . . . is that an option?” You asked, biting your lip as your heart started thumping heavily against your chest. God what if you’d just said all that and spent the best night of your life with him for Tyler to say it wasn’t worth the risk? That’d you’d done damage beyond repair? 

Tyler didn’t give you time for your thoughts to get any more out of control. “Oh, it’s definitely an option.” He said, and his bright smile had your heart fluttering. “In fact, I’d say it’s my preferred option.” 

You could barely believe it, even after last night. “You really want to give me a second chance?” You asked in disbelief. 

His smile turned soft, and his hand covered your own on his chest. “Sweetheart, I’d give you all the chances in the world.” 

And then, because you didn’t know what else to say, you leaned forward and kissed him. 

Once again, everything was the same, but somehow different. A better different.

[tj-is-down]

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy (Tyler Owens x Reader)

Back again with another random fic for y'all. This is not proofread, so don't hate me!

Summary: Tyler and the reader have been on and off "together" for years now, keeping it secret. Until, suddenly, one of them decides they might want more.

Word count: ~2.1k

Warnings: None except some swearing, and reader is described femininely in this one.

Here’s the thing about Humble Creek: everybody knows everybody. A small town made up of just under five thousand, there was nothing that anybody could do in secret, because if one person knew, then it was just as if they’d taken a bullhorn and announced it to the entire town.

Which made Y/N’s life all the harder. See, she did have a secret, and although it hadn’t gotten out yet, its secrecy was held in the hands of a monster. A tyrant, a tool, a pain-in-the-ass douchebag with a cowboy hat and a Texas accent.

Tyler Owens.

Y/N had known he was trouble since they were kids. Growing up on rival ranches, they were destined to be enemies, and even more so, to blur the lines. Y/N had never trusted him. Not because their families were constantly fighting, as she believed everybody deserved their own chance to prove themself, but because he had fucked his up, royally. 

In elementary school, middle school, high school, Tyler was always the talk of the town. Always with a girl on his arm, Tyler was confident, and everybody else was just putty in his hands. Y/N told herself she didn’t understand what people saw in him. 

She lied.

It started in eighth grade, when Tyler showed up in a too-big tux and a bouquet of flowers he’d handpicked from his family’s garden.

“You wanna go to the dance?” He asked, grinning cockily. Even then he knew how to charm, before he even knew what charm was.

Y/N’s dad had said no, absolutely no way, but Y/N was in her rebellious phase and so this only pushed her to say yes. She went out right then, in her mud-stained t-shirt and jeans, and they’d walked to the school together at seven p.m. and walked home together at nine. He’d kissed her cheek goodnight and she’d wiped it off, embarrassed.

“You’re annoying, Owens.”

“And you’re pretty, L/N.”

On the next Monday he came to school with Cherry Lee.

Y/N tried to be mad. She tried to hate Tyler, to swear that she’d never talk to him or think about him or even look at him ever again. But two months later, when Tyler and Cherry broke up, he’d knocked on her door when he knew her parents weren’t home and, against her better judgment, she’d let him inside.

They’d been on-and-off “together” ever since.

Now, Tyler wasn’t single for long intervals, usually just a couple of weeks here and there, and he would never cheat, nor would Y/N let herself become a homewrecker (no matter how fragile the relationship), but when Tyler showed up on her doorstep, bouquet in hands and that look in his eyes, she knew she couldn’t say no. 

She was an adult now, but still, she couldn’t resist those eyes. Tyler had been single since before leaving for college, and when he came back it was like he’d never left. Sure, now he had a truck, a big name, a crew, and a YouTube channel, but he still had those eyes, and his family still had a garden with a never-ending supply of flowers.

He showed up on her door one morning, after her parents had left for church.

“Can I help you?” She asked, opening the door. As always, a t-shirt and jeans, dirty from the morning’s work on the farm.

“You’re not at church?”

“You knew I wouldn’t be.”

“Well, maybe the two and I can practice praying on our own? I think the first step is kneeling down; you wanna start?”

Y/N went to close the door, but Tyler’s hand reached out to prop it open.

“Come on, Darlin’,” he said, laying the accent on thick. “You want to go for a drive? I’ll buy you a coffee.”

“Hold the coffee,” she said, walking past him. “I’d rather not have anyone see us together.”

He grabbed her waist and stood behind her, kissing her neck. “We’ve been doing this for years, babe. No one’s gonna find out, I promise.”

She leaned her head towards him, breathing in the scent of firewood mixed with his cologne. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“You gettin’ sappy on me?” He asked. Though his voice was soft, she could feel his smirk.

“Nope.” She pulled out of his grasp and got into the passenger seat of his truck. “We going, or are you just gonna stand there looking all doe-eyed?”

“For you, I’d stand here all day, sweetheart.”

“Just get in the car, Romeo.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

*** 

They drove for a while, to the outskirts of town, when Tyler stopped the truck and leaned over. He kissed her lips, hard and slow, putting his hand on the back of her neck to pull her closer. She reciprocated, holding his bicep, moving her mouth in tandem with his and letting herself fall into him.

“Why are you being so love-y today?” She asked after they separated.

“I can’t show my girl some love?”

“Is that what I am? ‘Your girl’?”

He shrugged. “Is that so bad?”

“You’re annoying, Owens.” She pushed his shoulder.

He mock-pushed her back as he said, “You’re pretty, L/N.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Seriously, though, there is something I wanted to talk to you about—”

Y/N scoffed. “Are you about to ask me out?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Okay, good.”

“Would that be so bad of me?”

“Kinda.” Y/N breathed a laugh, but when she saw Tyler’s face, serious and a little upset, she stopped. “I mean, it’s not like we have the best thing going on here anyways, and I just don’t want to be—” She paused, about to say heartbroken, or used, or a placeholder for when you find someone better, but Tyler cut her off.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He started the truck, engine roaring to life. “It was dumb, nevermind. I’ll take you home.”

“Tyler, you know what I meant—”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re just messing around, right? That’s all this is, just messing around.”

He didn’t say another word on the ride home. 

He dropped her off, barely waiting for her to shut the truck door before he drove away.

***

Tyler didn’t answer any of Y/N’s calls or texts for the next few days. Y/N was upset, barely leaving her room checking her phone obsessively for any sign of Tyler Owens. She even started watching his YouTube channel, but there hadn’t been any uploads for over a month. Nothing on Instagram or Facebook, either.

Her mother yelled up the stairs to her one night, calling her down.

“That’s what you’re wearing?” Her mom said upon seeing Y/N.

“This is what I always wear. Why?” Y/N was suddenly self conscious, confused as to why her parents cared what she wore in the house.

“Tonight’s the fair,” her mother responded, attempting to jog her memory.

“You’re helping us run our booth?” Her father tried.

“Ah, shit,” Y/N mumbled, remembering. “Do I have to go? I totally forgot.”

“Of course you have to go!” Her father said. “We need the three of us there; it’s a family ranch, remember?”

“Besides,” her mother added. “The Owens’s will be there. We can’t let them get a leg up on us! If you’re not there, Tyler will be running the show for sure.”

“Well, maybe not,” her father said. “He’s doing the kissing booth, remember?”

“The what?” Y/N said. “Tyler’s doing a kissing booth?”

Her father nodded. “To raise funds for his family’s ranch. He and his whole ‘team’ will be there, whatever they’re called.”

Y/N paused for a moment, trying to wrap her head around it all. Was that what Tyler was trying to talk to her about the other day? The kissing booth? But why would it matter what Y/N thought about it?

Her mother ushered her up the stairs. “For Pete’s sake, change into something nice, and quickly!”

Oh, shit.

***

The Humble Creek Fair was bustling with energy. People from nearby towns came to see what it was all about, and it was always the most popular time of year.

Y/N sat at her family’s booth, eyes peeled for Tyler. She kept checking her phone to see if he’d answered, but when she didn’t get any notifications she decided to take matters into her own hands.

“I’m going for a walk,” she said to her parents.

They both nodded, and her father added, “Make sure to see how the Owens’ booth is doing. I want to make sure we’ll still be in business next year.”

Y/N looked around for the kissing booth, and when she saw a long line of women, she followed it to the front. She walked around to the back of the attraction, but didn’t see Tyler anywhere. It wasn’t until she’d nearly given up entirely when she heard a voice behind her.

“What are you wearing?”

She whisked around, coming face-to-face with Tyler, who was holding some sort of weird meat on a stick.

“What are you eating?”

“Pork leg, fried and marinated in pickle juice,” he said, shrugging. “I’m hoping it’ll make my breath smell bad so less people come up. Now, back to you.”

“What about me?”

“You’re wearing a dress. You never wear dresses. ‘Jeans and a t-shirt, that’s me,’” he says, doing a poor impression of her.

“I don’t sound like that.”

“Yes you do, but that’s besides the point. What’s your deal?”

Y/N shrugged uncomfortably. “I wanted to, I guess.”

Tyler looked at her dead-on. “You look nice, Y/N.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been texting you for days. No response. But now that I’m here, all I get is, ‘I look nice’?” 

“What else do you want from me?”

“An answer, Tyler. What’s your deal? Why didn’t you tell me about the kissing booth?”

“I tried to, but then you came at me with all that ‘this is a bad idea’ crap, and I figured you didn’t want me to tell you. Or you didn’t care if I told you or not.”

“Okay, so—”

“Wait.” He stops her. “Do you care?”

Y/N kicks the ground. “If I did?”

“If you did,” he said, stepping closer to her. “I’d drop the pork leg and kiss you.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’d eat the pork leg, and I’d kiss a bunch of people who aren’t you, and I’d feel like shit about it.” He took another step closer to her, nearly closing the gap between them. “Please say you care.”

“Ugh,” she scoffed. “You’re gonna make me say it? You can’t just, like, infer from the situation?”

“I’m really bad at inferring things,” he said, a cocky grin on his face. “So, I’m gonna need to hear you say it.”

“You’re annoying, Owens.”

“You’re pretty, L/N. Like, so pretty. But I do need to hear you say it, and I’m also gonna need you to—”

“I care, Tyler. Now shut up and kiss me, or I’m gonna take it back.”

“Can’t take it back, babe. It’s set in stone.”

In one fluid motion, he dropped the pork leg, grabbed Y/N by the waist with his other hand, and pulled her into a kiss. It was deep and passionate, not like any of the other times they’ve kissed. They kept it going for as long as they can, holding their breath until they couldn’t anymore, and then they pulled apart, gasping for air with their foreheads touching.

“Will you go out with me?” He asked her, still struggling for air. “Like, on a real date, not just driving in the truck?”

“I guess,” Y/N said, teasingly. “If I have to.”

“I mean, you don’t have to. But if you do, I’m gonna need you to wear this again.” He grabbed her and pulled her closer to him, if that’s even possible. “Because, if I’m being honest, L/N, this is the hottest I’ve ever seen you. Like, I didn’t think you could get hotter, but here we are. Speaking of, can we go? I really want to go somewhere with you. Like, privately.” He winked at her, and she scoffed, rolling her eyes again.

“Don’t you need to raise money for your farm?” She asked him, gesturing to the booth behind them.

“Fuck the farm,” he said. “Save a horse, ride a cowboy, yeah?”

“Fuck off,” she said, pulling him into another kiss.

“Seriously though, can we go?”

[angelpregdreams]

a blessing

content: rapid fpreg, cult-y vibes, labor, birth, birth of an entity's offspring, uhhh not-super-happy ending???

wc: 2500+

When she was a little girl, Dove would be brought to sit in the middle of the town once a month. Her nanny, the person charged with her care and preservation, would painstakingly ensure she was sitting still and kept her eyes averted from the townsfolk. Dove’s veil was always drawn over her face, obscuring her from being viewed fully by anyone. 

That was her life. From birth to her first bleed, Dove would have to sit and be stared at once a month. Her nanny never gave her the reason for the action, nor did she explain why it suddenly stopped when blood came from her body. 

Dove sighed and fiddled with her fingernails now. Realizing that it was far more common for those in her home to avoid answering her questions, than it was for them to give her any answer - let alone one she could believe. It was a point of contention she had been headstrong about, especially lately. Everyone had gotten quieter around her and it had begun to weigh on her mind, making it the only thing to fill her days. 

Her nanny, Wynn, was the only one permitted to talk to her once the sun had set, and being kept locked away in her room most of the day, it all left very little access to any conversation. Dove tried not to dwell on her loneliness, but as the years continued to pass by and less and less people were allowed to even be near her…it was getting harder to ignore.

As she continued to worry at her nails, Wynn came around the hallway - giving the girl a hard look as she did so. “Stop picking, Dove. You know better.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dove replied instinctively, pulling her hands apart so she could tuck them up under her thighs. “Forgive me.” 

Wynn nodded once, the hard look fading as she stared at the young woman. The nanny came up to the chair Dove sat at, holding her hand out. “You’re forgiven, sweet girl. Forgive me for being so strict. It has been…a long week.” She said, squeezing Dove’s fingers as the woman put her hand in her’s, “it will all come to pass.”

“I know,” Dove said, although she wasn’t quite sure she did know anything, “am I due for dinner soon?”

“Not tonight, sweetling. Tonight…” Wynn trailed off, tugging Dove up from her seat, “tonight, you will be a part of a feast.” 

Excitement made Dove’s eyes grow wide, eagerly rising to meet her nanny. A feast meant more people, and less rules. Being a part of a feast was always a highlight for her, as it broke up the monotony of the exceedingly dull every day. 

“Now come on,” Wynn continued, “let’s get you dressed.”

Nearly an hour later, Dove finally joined those in the massive dining hall, taking her seat at the foot of the table, which was customary. She was dressed in pure white, her veil, nearly opaque, and drawn over her face. There was no ability to see her face, but her dress was revealing. A deep V showed off her cleavage, her body displayed through the nearly sheer, white dress she was placed in. Wynn had her clothing picked out for her already, meaning Dove simply had to deal with it.

Those around her chatted happily with one another, all of them dressed in dark blue. Dove tilted her head in slight confusion, knowing the dark color was only used to indicate nights of honor. Now that she considered it, she was unsure of what this feast was intending to celebrate. 

Dove looked for her nanny, but couldn't find her familiar face. Heart beating rapidly in her chest, she began to worry. Has the night finally come? She wasn't warned at all, no one…no one told her. Tears pooled in her eyes but she sat back in her chair, knowing no one would be able to see them. 

For hours, food was passed around, people spoke in jovial tones, and some even came up to her directly. Dove did enjoy the attention, fawning under those that would actually look at her, however she began to notice the heavy absence of Wynn the longer the night went on. 

When her nanny finally reappeared, the dining hall went silent. 

Dove swallowed thickly as Wynn strode towards her, the woman's heels clicking with each step. She flinched when her nanny reached out a hand for her to take, but didn't recoil away. Wynn's hands were soft as always, and silently, Dove appreciated that constant. She led her out of the dining hall, the feast’s guest trailing behind them just enough to let Wynn speak to her quietly. 

“You will be introduced to Our Lord tonight, sweetling.” Wynn whispered, guiding Dove out into the courtyard. “You know what is expected of you, yes?” 

Nodding, Dove responded with words a few seconds later, “yes, nanny. Remove my clothing, except my veil, then I climb onto the altar. After that I lay on my back, close my eyes, and open-” She stumbled over the last few words, feeling her stomach twist awkwardly, “a-and, open my legs.” 

“Good girl,” Wynn praised, patting her hand. She stopped at the edge of the grass, looking at the hedges that made up the Altar Garden before glancing at Dove. “You were raised to do this, my sweet girl. You're a woman now at 25…and being a woman is very hard. But you know your body is built for this…for what it will go through.” 

Her nanny released her hand, looking away and back to the hedges, silently urging her to go forward on her own.

Dove hesitated, feeling the eyes of the rest of the guests on her back as she deliberated stalling as long as she could. One of her feet moved forward on its own and suddenly, Dove was walking past the hedges and into the garden properly. Silently, she came around the corner, stepping into the private garden. Her eyes never left the altar in front of her, but her body trembled slightly in fear.

Remembering her duty, Dove nodded once to herself, resolved to her fate - whatever that may be.

With shaking hands, she plucked her shift over her shoulders and let it slip to the ground. Her body bare, but her veil still in place, Dove released a breath to will away her nerves. It didn’t work, she realized, as she was climbing up to the flat surface of the altar to the Stag Lord. Her muscles were still tense, even as she laid out on her back. There was a moment where her body felt like it was falling as she spread her legs apart, causing her to gasp in shock and try to catch herself. 

Dove blinked quickly, suddenly aware of her body, still laying flat on her back and not falling from the sky. Only now she wasn’t alone - the guests from the feast were at the foot of the altar, knelt in reverence from the view between her spread thighs. She knew she couldn’t move, she was always told not to move on the altar until she was given permission to do so, but the urge to snap her legs shut was strong and one she had to fight. 

Attempting to regulate her breathing at her sudden panic, Dove dug her nails into her palms, trying to keep herself grounded. 

It didn’t help when her belly began to feel warm, a soft coiling of comfortable warmth pulled at her core. Unable to contain her gasp of surprise at the rolling of her stomach, Dove snapped her mouth shut after it happened. Someone had heard it in the crowd and several murmurs broke out amongst the guests. Her cheeks red from embarrassment after her outburst, but happy to have her face be hidden, Dove closed her eyes again and began to pray.

The tugging and coiling in her belly was distracting and she fought the urge to wiggle her hips, unsure about the feeling she was having. Her womanhood tingled and she gasped, tossing her head back onto the stone under her. 

The crowd only seemed to become more exuberant as her noises got louder, Dove not really understanding but doing as she was told, remaining on the altar.

Just as quickly as the warmth came and made her belly flip in excitement and…anticipation, it disappeared. Leaving her in a panting mess, Dove blinked away shocked tears, urging herself not to cry. Either in excitement or nerves, she wasn’t sure, but she prayed not to break down into tears.

The crowd seemed to come back to silence as the minutes passed, and through the small bit she could see through her veil, they returned to kneeling positions. It looked like they were in prayer, some of them weeping through their words. 

Dove’s brows came together in slight confusion, first at the prayers and then by the sudden pressure building in her belly. She grunted and wiggled her fingers slightly in discomfort, the pressure nestling deep in her core and adding weight to her middle. Dove blinked, watching in slight wonder as her middle began to swell outwards, more and more pressure building between her hips.

Making a noise of displeasure, Dove spread her thighs wider apart in an instinct she couldn’t describe. “Wha-what is…?” She was able to get out before another coil wrapped around her belly making her whine in desperation. The weight continued to grow, but instead of answering her worried pleas, the guests continued their prayer. Even as Dove begged for them to explain what made her belly swell outwards so much it put strain on her hips and lower back. She felt a constant stream of tears on her face, moving and shifting uncomfortably under the new weight, but she never got off the altar. In all of her discomfort, Dove never disobeyed. 

“She’s blessed.” One of the guests whispered, the only words she could catch before the swelling continued. This time her belly looked full term and a few weeks, the pressure in her womb was new and unfamiliar. Something felt like it sat directly between her hips and the weight of it forced her legs as wide apart as they would go, her cheeks burning in shame at her display. The crowd didn’t seem to mind however, their eyes downcast even as they murmured amongst themselves. 

Dove wasn’t sure when the pain started, but the weight in her belly shifted and she felt a sudden gush of fluid from her womanhood. She whined in embarrassment, screwing her eyes shut as if to will herself away from this place, away from the eyes on her that felt too heavy to be human. Dove grunted, feeling her newly swollen middle clench in pain. Her focus on the crowd around her began to wane and she turned inward, feeling every shift in her belly from whatever made it swell outward. 

The pain made her insides clench, and she felt something settle deep between her hips. It made her cry out in surprise, the spread of her body around what was coming out making her body flinch. Her womanhood felt like it began to pulse, an ache creeping between her hips. 

“A blessing!” Someone cried out, the only words she caught before another pain made her groan, and jerk her hips downward. 

She grumbled deep in her chest at the words they uttered in awe. The pain that had attacked her so suddenly felt very much not a blessing. Something felt like it was trying to tear her apart, that whatever was in her womb was going to tear her apart. Dove let out a sharp cry, feeling her stomach tense and the stretching feeling, the one with her hips feeling like they were being stretched apart, increased. In a nearly dazed state, Dove went with her body’s instincts, and pushed. 

It hurt.

Everything in Dove’s body hurt and screamed at her to stop this, but she didn’t know how, except to get rid of what was inside of her. Pushing seemed like the most logical thing to do, the only thing she could think to do in her current state. The crowd of onlookers disappeared from her mind then, focusing only on herself, this horrible pain, and whatever was inside of her desperate to come out. 

Pushing again and again with her pain, Dove screamed and arched her back with the last push, feeling her womanhood spread apart. Her folds parted and when a small sliver of the head was visible, the crowd began to murmur in excitement. It broke her concentration, making her flinch and drop her head back onto the altar with a groan. There was no comfort, even as her body struggled to relax between pains. Dove whined and felt her body tense with another crippling pain, forced to push with it against her will. 

Mentally she was fighting this, but her body was going with what was dealt to her. Frankly, it made her furious. Her devoted service was repaid with this? She thought. The Stag Lord was unkind in his justice.

Dove screamed and pushed, her pussy burning as it was pulled tight around the blessing that was coming from her body. Something was tugging on her womanhood as she pushed down, like her folds struggled to part fully around it. 

“Nughhh!” Dove cried, drawing it out to a harsh scream as she pushed again and felt her womanhood give. The blessing hung out of her, making her drop her knees farther apart as she felt the thing between her legs, tears spilling down her cheeks. 

What was hanging out of her moved and Dove whimpered in surprise. The stretch of her womanhood was lessened now but still it felt too heavy in her core, the weight of it too much for her body to handle. 

Another pain made her moan, eyes screwing shut. The urge to push returned after a few moments of her trying to catch her breath, the pain accompanying it. Pushing gave her little relief, the thing in her fighting every single one it seemed. The noises she made got louder and she couldn’t control how her muscles twitched upon the altar. Dove was far from her perfect self, instead, she was exposed, vulnerable, and disheveled. A mix of angry tears joined her pained ones and she cried out, pushing.

She continued to push even as the pain passed, and her body finally released its hold on the blessing inside of her. It slipped from between her legs, upon the altar, in a gush of fluid. When it cried sharply, like a baby would, Dove felt herself freeze. 

Finally, everything settled into place in her mind and she continued to cry, realizing what had just happened. The Stag Lord had used her purity, taken it, and brought forth his offspring with it, and it made her sob. 

The crowd erupted in cheers and cries of happiness. The blessing between her trembling legs also cried out, until it was shushed by someone just out of Dove’s vision. Wynn approached her and brought a thin sheet to cover Dove, whispering sweetly in her ear. 

“You did beautifully,” Wynn cooed, “you’ll do even better next time.”

[pyro-les]

One purpose - Rio Vidal X angel of love reader

1.8k words - warnings: none

Based on a request by @baysha1822

Taglist: @thecavalrywife @hannah-0730 @believe-in-magic13 @jenniferjareauwife @wandasreallover @thesharkwhalewhoohooooo @acutenobody

Rio and Y/N had been close friends since childhood, both growing up in the same village. They both had relatively normal childhoods, growing up in a time where few people even knew about magic and those who did weren't exactly offering to teach it to anyone. But Rio had always wanted to learn and so Y/N said she would too, if Rio wnated to learn then she would help her. Rio never told Y/N the real reason she wanted to learn magic,instead padsing it off as a curiosity, just something fun to learn. But in the inside she thought that if she could maybe, just maybe she would be able to protect Y/N if it ever came to it. Rio's family had all died of a viral illness when she was barely into her tween years and she had been the only one not to catch it. Surely it was her fault that they died if she had of caught it instead maybe one of them could live, but they didn't and she vowed she would help the only person she had left.

Y/N had always been against the common rules, the idea that women didn't get a say in who they had to marry, it was much more a business proposition then a vow of love. She had always said how she wouldn't marry whoever her parents told her to, that instead she would marry the person she actually loved. However it wasn't until they were older that Rio had realised who she had been talking about all those years. It wasn't until she had looked her in the eyes and asked Rio to run away with her the day her parents told her she was to marry that Rio knew for sure Y/N felt the same way about her as she did Y/N.

For months they traveled searching for a way to find out more about magic, finding quite little until they discovered some old scrolls, teaching them small spells and the history of magic. It spoke of cosmic beings and how as time went on more and more people were chosen for these divine roles that became more necessary as the population of humans grew and grew. It spoke of people who made great sacrifices and were in reward given an important job and an immortal life. They were both fascinated by these beings, wondering how many there were and what each job entailed.

They continued to learn, their knowledge growing exponentially aswell as their love for each other. As it drew on to be almost a year after they had first escaped and the missing posters of them spread and spread they started to grow more fearful they would be found, that their new life of freedom and love would be over far too soon. What made it all the worse was that they had started seeing wanted posters too, not just asking for them to return home as they missed them but ones that spoke of anger and violence.

Their fears had turned out true as one day they ventured out to a market local to where they had been staying for awhile. They moved around every few months but this town had been safe so far, very few wanted posters and they had been careful to cover their faces as much as possible when in public aswell as removing any posters they spotted. It was unlikely they would be in any danger here, atleast that's what they had thought. But when a man had spotted them and tried to grab Rio they were proved wrong.

Y/N had retaliated by blasting some of her magic towards the man. It had freed Rio but now they had a whole new problem, everyone in town watched as the man stumbled back in pain, yelling witch to everyone in town. Y/N ran to Rio, helping her up as she had been harshly thrust to the ground by the man as he was attacked.

They both looked up to see countless angry faces closing in, people were fast to change their views on people the second they realised they were different from themselves. Rio looked to Y/N, wordlessly making a plan. They quickly grabbed each others hands and started to sprint as Rio sent out a burst of powers towards the angry citizens in an attempt to keep them back.

Y/N cursed the layout of the town, the market being in the centre made it difficult to escape to the forest. If they could make it there they would likely be able to escape the angry mob that was currently chasing them. As they turned another corner hand in hand their eyes simultaneously widened as they saw some gaurds approaching them on the other side of the street. How had they gotten there that fast? It had been only a matter of minutes since the man had recognised them and the small towns garrison had already been summoned. They turned back around but saw the villagers from before catching back up, the blast of powers not being enough to stop them, if anything it only fueled their anger. "What do we do?" Y/N turned to Rio, fear in her eyes.

She looked back at her lover with pity and a look of hopelessness, she didn't know what to do. They couldn't run anymore, she had saved her from her family but she couldn't save her now. "I don't know." Rio spoke defeated. "I don't know hun. I'm so sorry." She said again quieter with tears welling in her eyes.

"It's not your fault." Y/N said quietly, leaning her forehead against hers. The fact that they hadn't been caught already was outstanding, but she could hear the heavy footsteps as the towns small army rushed before them, she had to do something fast. "I love you." She spoke before turning towards the army, putting all of her energy into her powers bursting out all around her. It created a huge blast knocking down everyone who had been chasing them. Rio started to smile seeing that they now had a way to escape, her relief was quick lived though as she saw Y/N fall to her knees only moments later.

"What's wrong? Y/N what happend?" Rio shouted as she dropped to her knees herself to grab Y/N by her shoulders. She didn't understand what happened, she was fine a moment ago and no one had got close enough to hurt her before she struck them down.

When she looked at Y/N's face she saw how pale she had suddenly grown, all of the life and colour practically sucked out of her. Putting a hand to Y/N's chest she felt how subtle her breaths were, she knew she didn't have long left. It was all happening so quickly, only an hour ago they were living their best lives and now Rio didn't know if she could live on. Y/N had always been there for her. When she lost her parents Y/N was there to help her through the pain, when she had told her she wanted to learn magic Y/N was right there with her too, when everyone was against them they always had each other, so how could she manage without her?

She didn't think she could, if Y/N wasn't with her than there was no point in her fighting back, instead she just sat there cradling Y/N's body in her arms as she felt her heart beat slowly die out. The world grew darker around her as Rio still sat there with tears in her eyes clutching Y/N's lifeless body like her life depended on it. It took her awhile to actually notice the slow change of her surroundings, so caught up in her grief she barely looked up but when she finally did her eyes widened in shock. It had barely been midday when they had left and it was now it was almost pitch black, Rio knew this wasn't natural.

"Hello?" She called out unsure, a raspiness evident in her voice from her crying.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, Rio snapped her head back trying to work out who it was, gasping when she saw. There Y/N stood with a soft smile on her face. Her lifeless body still laid limp in Rios arms but here she was standing next to Rio. "How?" She whispered, looking up to her lover.

Before Y/N even had a chance to try answer a voice echoed from all around them. "You've been chosen."

They both had similar looks of confusion on their faces, what was this and what did they mean?

"You have both shown immense acts of self sacrifice and devotion. You're individual journeys will reflect in your new roles. You will be tasked with a job of great importance and in return you will be granted immortal lives and indestructible bodies aswell as cosmic amounts of power, if you accept these roles of course."

They both looked at each other in surprise, they hadn't expected anything like this to come after death. They hadn't known what the afterlife would be like if there even was one but even in all the different believes and expectations they had heard from others there were never any stories of anything like this happening. But now they were faced with an ultimatum, to take on these roles or, well they didn't really know what would happen if they didn't. Head into the unknown and hope for the best, that's all they could guess.

"What are the roles, what would we have to do?" Y/N asked curiously, looking around as she still didn't know exactly where the voice was coming from.

"For you, Y/N you would be the embodiment of love. A guide to all forms of love and passion to mankind, you would inspire all people to fight for you love just as you did. Your whole life you have fought for love with every inch of your being, it being your drive for everything you did and even your reason for sacrifice. And for you Rio, you would guide souls to the next realm. Your resilience in life even when faced with other people's death and your ability to persevere to get what you want Is incomparable. You have shown that you know what it truly means to be alive and by proxy understand death, there is no better person to to help souls cross plains then you."

Rio and Y/N both listened quietly, they had no way to respond to this, they never knew their drives had meant that much,that anything in their life had this much influence in the grand scheme of things. But they would never refuse such an offer, not just to be able to stay together forever but to help people so much. Both witches jobs were incredibly different yet equally as important and interwoven. So with one last glance to each other they nodded and shared a smile, wordlessly agreeing to the terms and with a bright flash of light they felt the change as they stepped into this new era of their lives.

A/N: please let me know if you'd like this to be a mini series. Hope you enjoyed!

[camillelespanayesbtch]

Seven Devils All Around Me (18+)

Summary: It isn't your fault you like the feeling of power, the sensation was addictive, and although it never worked out well for those around you, it certainly worked well for you. You weren't to blame that people seldom survived attacking you, it was their fault after all. But you can only run for so long before your misdeeds catch up to you, and where will you be left after? It's dangerous to walk certain paths alone as a young witch.

Content: Eventual smut, graphic depictions of murder and violence, character death, power imbalance, manipulation, addiction, grief, discussion of sexual violence (r receiving) (I will add more as I think of them)

Word Count: 4690

Agatha Harkness x fem!reader

Chapter One

You hum to yourself as you follow the marks you carved into the trees, a hidden path you had created that left those who follow you believing you were the perfect victim, blissfully unaware of the danger that followed you. You could hear the boys talking among themselves, their gleeful snickering as they think about all the things they could do to you now that they had you alone and unaware. Like most evenings, the forest was a cacophony of sound, there wasn’t an inch of space where there was silence, every crevasse had sound, even the ants clicked to one another to inform the other of the crumbs of bread that were left abandoned on the floor of the community hall that hosted giants. The leaves crunch underfoot, small twigs snapping as you step on them, continuing to hum the tune until you come to a clearing in the forest.

There was a space where no leaves were, a perfect circle that had been made over years of the same trick, black as the night sky is dark. “Look boys,” Douglas says with a grin, “She’s made a spot for fucking, just for us.” He moves closer to you, the others surrounding you as well, all of them giving each other encouraging looks. They didn’t believe the stories about boys going missing because every coven had tales like that, even the girls were told tales about their powers being taken when lured to walk the witch’s road, but everyone believed that it was just the danger of the road and not one of their own doing it. “I wonder if her tits are as big as her top makes them look,” Douglas says, advancing on you quickly, his hands twitching by his side as he thinks about tearing your shirt from your body.

“I’ve seen them through her window when she changes,” Clint says, “They’re small, no bigger than a handful, but at least they’re perky.” He cracks his knuckles, his eyes glinting dangerously. This wasn’t his first time taking what he wanted, and it wouldn’t be his last, just like the other boys he was with- if he sees something he wants, he takes it. His mother did raise him to be respectful towards women, especially those in the coven, but she always spoke about you as being the exception. You were the freak of the group, the one people whispered about, warned the kids to stay away from least you corrupt them. So, really, what he and his friends were about to do wasn’t a bad thing, it was deserved. “We should take pictures and add them to the wall.”

“We should take pictures and add them to the wall,” you mimic, turning to face them. “Didn’t anyone tell you not to keep trophies? Or was that too much for your tiny little boy-brains to comprehend?” You run your fingers through your hair, letting out a sigh as you shake a few knots loose. You were hungry, and these boys would be enough to last you a few weeks. Sure, they weren’t as powerful as the elders, too jumped up on the testosterone coursing through their bodies to focus on mastering the craft, instead relying on brute force to get things done. “Didn’t mommy teach you better? Or even your fathers? No, I suppose not. No, daddy left you boys behind, didn’t he? Went off to go fuck some young maiden the next town over,” you make a vulgar gesture, thrusting your hips before laughing when you see the group clench their fists in anger. “Oh no, did I hurt your feelings? What’re you gonna do? Blast me?”

It would only take one. It only ever takes one, but they didn’t know that. Of course they didn’t know that they barely knew how to groom themselves let alone see the signs of a trap, to even see that sometimes there is truth in the tales they have been told since childhood. You mightn’t have believed the ones about the Purple Witch, but you wouldn’t deny that there is something alluring about her. The ability to take someone’s powers? You wondered what it felt like, if it was as addictive as watching people burn, using their own powers to cause their deaths. “Lucas and Clint, hold her down,” Douglas orders, his eyes burning into yours.

The two boys he orders raise their hands, their magic shooting from their hands and wrapping around your wrists. They both were smirking until they see the lopsided grin on your face, a darkness settling into your eyes. You breathe in deep through your nose, tilting your head back up to the sky as your eyes drift shut, feeling the warmth starting to spread through your body and bloom out from your palms, “Oh boys,” you exhale. “Silly, stupid, little boys.” Your head rolls forward and you open your eyes to look at them, a fire burning in your eyes that makes them take a step back. “Didn’t you hear the stories? Didn’t your mother tell you not to go into the woods at night?”

“She’s just- She’s just bluffing,” Douglas stutters, “She’s just trying to scare us.” He puffs his chest out in false bravado before moving closer to you, his hands coming up to tear the front of your blouse open, but he hisses in pain, pulling his hands back. Your body had grown hot to the touch, as though he had just put his hands over the hot embers of a campfire, “What trickery is this?”

“You haven’t figured it out, have you?” You yank your hands free of Clint and Lucas’ magic, grabbing a handful of Douglas’ shirt, and pulling him so his body was against yours, a feral grin spreading across your face. “Smell that?” You lean in, taking a deep breath as the scent of burning fabric starts to fill the air, “Maybe you can feel it. It’s getting hot, isn’t it? I wonder if I’ll see eyes explode this time like popcorn.” You stare at him intensely, your hands glowing like magma as you start to cook him from the inside out, feeling his energy seeping out of him and into you. You let out a content sigh a the sensation, watching as his eyes go wide, his skin turning a deep red before starting to melt from his muscles and bones. He cries out in agony, trying to get away from you, to put the fire out inside of him but it was of no use, and soon he falls to the ground, his body quickly going up in flames. “Now,” you smile and turn to look at the other boys who were looking on in horror, “Who’s next?”

“You’re a monster,” Clint says, clenching his fists, “He didn’t even do anything to you! We were just playing!” He was quick to attack you, seemingly forgetting what he had just witnessed you do to his friend. You eagerly drink his energy up, your body glowing like a reactor before his body turns into barbecue. He claws at his clothes, trying to remove the flaming fabric from his body as he writhes on the ground, his screams drowning out the music of songbirds. You wonder if the woods would muffle the sound so it didn’t carry to the houses that lived along the edge of it, that the neighbors wouldn’t have their windows open to let the warm spring breeze in. Then again, if you didn’t want them to hear, you simply shouldn’t be doing what you are, but you couldn’t help yourself, could you? You enjoy it too much. You enjoy luring men into the woods, using their own powers to burn them alive as some sort of penance for all the women burned before you because their power was seen as a threat.

You take a few breaths to calm yourself, looking at your hands, they were turning black, tendrils creeping up your forearm and tickling your inner-elbow. This happened every time, the only evidence of your crimes. They were easy to hide though, you wore long-sleeves, and had a pair of gloves that your mother gave you to protect you from the judgmental gaze of your coven. Your mother wasn’t consciously aware of what you were doing, thinking you were just going into the woods to practice your craft, but she couldn’t deny it was suspicious that boys kept going missing whenever you did.

The remaining boys fall quickly, you wave your hands, letting out a hot blast of fire that turns their remains to ash. You knew the rain would disperse the ashes, returning them to the earth and helping to keep the forest alive, although your circle never grew back- the grass has remained dead and black for years. You were in your twenties now, and you had been doing this since you were sixteen. You do the buttons back up on your blouse then pull your sleeves down, doing the cuff buttons up so the sleeves wouldn’t go out of place. You flick your hair from your face, a smile settling on your features as you start to head back, humming to yourself once more.

As you walk, you stop occasionally to pick some flowers for your mom, making a bouquet for her. Your father wasn’t around to do this for her, not that he had done such thoughtful things when he was alive, that had always been your thing. You loved making your mom smile because it meant she wasn’t worrying about anything which had become her normal. If she wasn’t worrying about you getting in trouble, she was worrying about the coven being run out of town, and if she wasn’t worrying about that, she was worrying about taxes which only seemed to go up every year. It’s not that you couldn’t afford the taxes, she had been around for centuries, she had more than enough money to cover them, but it was still an unnecessary stress in her life that she simply did not need. If you could get away with it, you would burn the tax collector alive, maybe even roast him over a fire like you would toast a marshmallow.

“You can’t help yourself, can you?” A familiar voice asks, disappointment evident in her tone. “I tell them- I tell them every meeting that it isn’t you, that my daughter would never bring harm to her coven, and every time you go out and prove me wrong.”

You look up from the flowers you were examining, your features falling, “Mama… I- They attacked me,” you explain. “I was just coming here to practice, like you always want me to. And they followed me, taunting me, telling me all the horrible things they were going to do to me.” You turn your head slightly, just enough to see the open area out the corner of your eye that was a few hundred feet away by now before looking back at your mom. You try to smile, holding the sad looking bouquet out for her, “I picked you flowers. Your favorites. I know you like having fresh flowers in the house because you like when the bees-“

“Enough,” she cuts you off, “Enough,” she repeats, softer this time. She walks closer to you, a sadness on her face as she gently takes your free hand in hers- your skin was like charcoal, and still hot to the touch like the furnace in winter. Her heart aches painfully in her chest, why was her only child like this? Had she done something wrong? Those questions hurt her; how could she think so poorly of you? She loves you dearly, she would do anything for you, absolutely anything for you, why couldn’t you do this one thing for her? Her touch was soft, cooling your burning skin as she runs her fingers over it, your skin slowly turning back to your normal shade. She turns your hand over so your palm was facing her, running her finger in a circle on your palm, a small smile tugging on her lips, “Round and round the garden,” she whispers, “Went the teddy bear, one step,” she walks her finger up your forearm, healing as she goes, “two step,” another step onto your bicep, “Tickle you under there,” she says and gently tickles your underarm, a soft giggle escaping her. “You used to squeal whenever I did that to you as a toddler.”

You can’t help the quiet giggle you let out, unaware of the tears spilling from your eyes, “Mama,” you whisper back, “I’m not a little kid anymore.” She gives your arm a squeeze at that, looking pained by the reminder. You rest your hand over hers, looking remorseful immediately, “I know- I know I’m still your little girl. You still make my boo boo’s better.” You look down at your hands, they were no longer black as tar, and you could see the blue and purple of your veins on the backs of them instead of a deep red that glowed against the black. You felt a knot form in your stomach, “They’re gonna kill me, aren’t they, mama?” You ask her quietly, a waver in your voice. “For what I’ve done- They’re gonna burn me.”

Your mom blinks back tears but it was futile, the salty liquid running down her cheeks, “When they find out,” she replies softly, “Yes. They will.” She raises her hand to tenderly stroke your cheek, and as always, you lean into her touch. Her thumb brushes against your rosy skin, wiping away any tear that dared to fall. She didn’t know how long you would both have together, whether she could wash your hair and braid flowers into it, or whether now was the only time you two would get. “Why couldn’t you stop?”

“I can’t help it, mama, you know that,” you answer, your eyes closing as you relax into her touch. Her hands never caused the same pain and suffering that yours have, they have always healed and protected. There was never a moment where she didn’t help someone, where she turned them away when they showed up to the door pleading for her to make their sick child better. There was always a spare bed for the child or adult to recover, your mother watching over them during the night to ensure their condition didn’t worsen. You. You had always been the one to hurt, to harm, to inflict suffering and pain. Your mother, try as she might to get you to do things for the betterment of the coven such as burning the fields to return the nutrients to the earth, or helping start the bonfires for when there was a community barbecue, even trying to get you to take out the wolves that threatened the farm animals, but it never satiated you.

It wasn’t until you turned sixteen did it become a problem, but she brushed it off because you had been terribly bullied, she kept brushing it off when the first group of boys went missing. She had moved you both after that, found another coven. Six months of peace before it happened again. Every time, you would come home with blackened skin and a bouquet of flowers. She never had to worry about running out of dried flowers for her potions, the basement was full of them, your peace offerings to her. You always were so sincere in your apologies, and she believed you every time, why wouldn’t she? “They deserved it,” you add, “They were going to hurt me.”

“Not every single boy was out to hurt you, surely, sweetheart. What about Tommy? He was always so kind to you, he tutored you. You were friends.”

Tommy had been your friend two moves ago, you two had bonded over being excluded from most of the college class you were enrolled in, even the lecturer refused to acknowledge you in class. You both were good students, handing your assignments in on time and not once even asking for an extension. You thought you were just friends, you told him you only liked women, and he told you he was okay with it. You had gone over to his house one afternoon to study for an upcoming exam, the two of you were in his room on his bed reading notes when he had asked you if you’d ever kissed anyone before. The question made your skin crawl, “No,” you had answered, “I haven’t.” He got this look in his eyes at that answer, his hand had come up to turn your head to face him before he leaned in to kiss you, his tongue forced its way into your mouth, pocking and prodding your throat. You had frozen; your eyes wide as he assaulted you. It wasn’t until he had pulled back did the anger kick in. You don’t really remember much of what happened, only running out of the house as the fire department showed up to extinguish the flames, two of the firefighters checking over you for injuries. You had told your mother what happened, what he did, and she had brushed it off, saying it was just how it was done- nobody needed to ask for permission to kiss, it was spontaneous. You had cried in your room that night, you didn’t understand why your mom didn’t see why it was wrong of him to do that to you. She knew you liked women, why on earth would you ever want some man to kiss you?

“We- You know what he did to me, mama. He hurt me. He hurt me,” you tell her, more tears falling onto your cheeks, “He knew I didn’t like him like that. Every single one of them deserved it.” That wasn’t true, there had been a couple of groups you took out because you enjoyed the thrill of it, the screams, the feeling of power that filled your system. Even thinking about it now made you giddy, your pupils dilating as though a drug was coursing its way through your system. “You have to believe me, mama, please.”

Her hand falls from your face, “We should head back. You need a shower, and I’d like to braid your hair.” Her voice was cold, the older woman turning her back on you, not even taking the flowers from your hand. She usually hummed with you, the same song she sang to you as a child, but tonight the only sound was the owls hooting in the forest. You wipe your eyes on your sleeve, holding the flowers close to you as you follow along behind her. You hum quietly to yourself, looking up into the trees to see the glowing eyes of birds watching you. There was something comforting about them being so attentive, like they were looking out for the inhabitants that called the woods their home, even as they swoop on the mice that scamper across the leafy floor. It was the balance of things, and even as they eat the mice, they too would return to the earth and continue the cycle anew.

When you get home, your mother sits on a chair and has you sit on the floor between her legs as she starts to braid your hair, her fingers working deftly. She carefully takes the dried flowers and works them into your hair, willing the protection to keep you safe when the leaders come knocking. Only now does she hum, the strands of gold that hold the flowers in place starting to glow. She new deep down this day would come, that moving towns, cities, states would only get you so far because the tales that were told about a witch of destruction would catch up to you, that one coven was going to be smart enough to figure things out and realize it is one of their own. “You’ve always had such beautiful hair,” she murmurs, adding another flower to the braid and tying it into place, “Ever since you left my body, you had a mop of hair on your head. Whenever you woke in the morning, your hair was all over the place, and it would take so much water to tame it.”

“I’ve seen the photos,” you reply with a giggle, your eyes closed as you relax, enjoying the calming sensation of your mom braiding your hair. There had been times she had yelled at you for not brushing your hair, threatening to cut it all off if you didn’t want to take care of it. She had always apologized afterwards though, blaming her anger on something that had been said in a coven meeting as she carefully brushed the knots and tangles from your hair. “How long do we have?”

Your mother doesn’t look up from your hair, the wards she had set around the house were starting to crumble, only meant to slow them down, “Not long, my dear,” she picks the hairtie up and ties the braid off, securing a crystal in with it. “There,” she says, running her hand lightly over her work before you turn to look at her, your eyes holding the light of a thousand flames, “My beautiful girl. If you survive, you know you must never return.” Her hand caresses your cheek, her eyes held the river of life which you always loved looking into because you could feel the cool refreshing water wash over you, keeping you calm.

“I can’t leave you behind, mama. I can’t- I promised you that I would look after you,” you rest your hand over hers, they were the perfect balance. It always made you laugh how whenever her hands were cold, yours were burning hot, and on the rare occasion hers were warm, yours were colder than the glacier high in the mountains. You didn’t want to leave her behind, she would be an outcast unless she participated in your execution which she was unlikely to do because despite everything you have put her through, she still loves you and you knew there was nothing stronger than a mother’s love. “I can’t go without you.”

“You have to, sweetheart. You must find your own path, in a coven that will understand you,” she pulls back from you when the front door flies open, standing up she calls out to them. “She’s in here!”  She looks at you, pain visible in her eyes, “She killed them! I saw it with my own eyes. No daughter of mine shall harm our coven.”

You felt your spirit break, unable to realize she was doing this for a reason, to keep herself safe, to keep you safe from seeing her harmed. “Mama-“ You start, struggling against the witches as they bind you with their magic, “Mama, please,” you beg, “Please don’t let them do this to me. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to do it, mama.” The women haul you to your feet, the magic tightening around your wrists behind your back, cutting off the circulation to your hands.

“I saw the look in your eyes, Yn. You enjoyed it.” She follows the other women out of the house, the path to the stake lined with other members of the coven holding burning torches. “I’ll bind her to the stake,” your mother tells the women, “To make up for what I have done. I have let this coven down too many times before, I won’t let it happen again.” Her magic felt different this time as it wraps itself around you, your hands pulled taut behind the stake, the cold no longer soothing, instead it felt icy, the frost burning your skin. She couldn’t look you in the eyes, she didn’t want you to see how much this was hurting her, and she didn’t want to see how betrayed you looked as she prepared to watch her daughter burn.

“I never thought I’d see the day, Theodora,” the elder-witch comments, “Preparing to burn your own flesh and blood after so long of defending her. Had this evening turned out differently, you would be on that stake along with her, there is no doubt about that.” She gestures for the others to surround you, a group of six women all part of the higher counsel, and every single one of them deeming you guilty. There was no room in their coven for someone like you, someone so dangerous, someone without remorse. Were they unbiased in their judgement? Four of them were not, all having lost a son to you. The other two had daughters, but even they feared that one day your hatred would spread to women. Although whenever their daughters had caught a glimpse of you, their cheeks turned as red as a rose, and a carefree giggle escaped them which they thought was arguably worse. “Get into position, Theodora. It’s time.”

“Mama please,” you beg, “Please. I didn’t mean to. I can’t control it. Please.” You look at her, desperate for her to believe you one last time, “Please, mama. Tell them. Tell them that I didn’t know what I was doing. That I didn’t mean to. That they hurt me too.”

Your mother wanted to stroke your cheek one last time, to wipe your tears away but she couldn’t do that, not anymore. She breathes you in, inhaling the floral scent of the shampoo you used before stepping down from the platform and joining the other women encircling you. “I should have let you burn the first time,” is all she says.

The elder-witch gives a nod, everyone raising their hands in preparation, “Begin!” She commands, their powers shooting out of their hands and hitting you full force, a pained scream tearing itself from your throat. It felt like your insides were being roasted, your skin prickling from the heat. It was agony, you had never felt anything like this before and you wanted it to stop.

“Please!” You scream, your head falling back against the stake, “Stop! I can’t-“ You could feel that familiar sensation starting to build in your stomach, and it wouldn’t be long until it broke free. “Mama- Mama run!” Your face was wet with tears, your head tipping forward, your eyes making contact with your mom’s. She couldn’t run, you both knew this, but you hoped this last time she would break the rules for you. The binding around your wrist starts falter, the women behind you noticing it.

“Elder- Her bindings! She’s going to break free!” One of them exclaims yet she does not stop her attack on you, none of them do because they hoped that if they continued, you would finally burn.

The elder-witch encourages them to push through it, “She is glowing! We are close! Keep going!” Your mother knew what was about to happen, finally she meets your eyes, mouthing an apology to you before the blast happens, all the women letting out agonizing screams as the fall to the ground ablaze. You slump somewhat against the wooden stake, your hair blowing in the draft created from the fires, your skin flush a deep red and your hands glowing brighter than the sun. You didn’t want to hurt them. You didn’t mean to, you begged for them not to do this. You warned them you couldn’t control it. You were going to wallow in that feeling until you remembered your mother. You look around frantically, counting the bodies: seven. Your mother-

“Mama-“ You jump down from the pedestal and rush over to where she had last been, sinking to your knees as you desperately try and put out the flames. She was unrecognizable, her skin blackened and burned. “Mama, I’m sorry,” you sob, cradling her burnt body close to you. She was the only person to look out for you, the only one to have stood by your side, and you had repaid her by killing her. Your tears drip from your chin and onto her corpse, the tears evaporating before they even touch her skin. You look down at her, “I’m sorry.”

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Mistakes

Summary: You were tired of men making decisions for you. Even though they had your best interest at heart, all they ended up doing was breaking your heart more and more. After reuniting Joel with his brother Tommy (your Ex who left the QZ without telling anyone including you) in a town called Jackson and an overdue argument with Joel Miller you finally confess your feelings for him, spending the night with the older brother, only to wake up alone in an empty house with him and Ellie gone.

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem. reader (former Tommy Miller x fem. reader)

Wordcount: 6.4k

Rating: E

Warnings: angst, pining, feelings, Joel Miller not being good at those feelings, past heartbreak, current heartbreak, mentioned of miscarriage, more angst, also some smut (unprotected sex), kissing, mentions of violence, stitches, blood

A/N: this summary sucks but I have no idea how to make it better. Let’s hope the fics doesn’t suck like it lmao

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It was like entering the twilight zone when the gates opened.

People were wandering the streets with smiles on their faces. You could hear children's laughter. Some people stopped and nodded towards you as you passed by them on the horse the people who had found you had put you on. 

Your gaze always slipped back to Ellie and Joel in front of you. Watching them closely. 

The woman who had talked to Joel, Maria, had not given you much more information other than to follow them after she learned Joel’s name and that he was looking for his brother Tommy. 

But you had seen in her face that she recognised the name. 

If you were honest with yourself you never believed you would really find him. Tommy. 

It had been such a long time since Joel had heard from him last and the only reason you agreed to join him in his search for Tommy was because you were scared of losing the last connection you had to your previous life. 

Tommy, Joel and you grew up together. 

When you thought of them you thought of summers at the Miller’s pool. Of thirteen year old Joel trying to teach five year old you how to swim while six year old Tommy kept trying to pull you under the water. 

The little shit. 

Of course as you turned older your interests changed, yet you all still managed to spend at least a week of the summer break together out for mischief. 

And then it all changed when Tommy Miller kissed you. 

It was after Joel left for College and if you were honest with yourself you had been crushing on him for a while at that point. 

You and Tommy had been together for two years before you found him kissing another girl. 

God, you had been so heartbroken back then. 

He had been your first real boyfriend and a tiny part of you thought he'd be the man you would marry and have kids with. Sixteen year old you had her life planned out to the dot. 

It had taken years for you to accept him as a friend again. 

Joel and you had become closer in the meantime. He’d told you all about his plans to open his own business and that he wanted to propose to his girlfriend. 

You were also the first person he told when he learned that he’d become a father. 

He had been scared but so happy. 

And you knew from the moment you saw him hold Sarah for the first time, that he would move heaven and earth for his little girl. Nothing would stay in his way. Not when his girlfriend left him with a toddler, not when both of his parents died, leaving him to deal with everything on his own. 

Sarah was his whole world. 

Until the world ended. 

The years after that were dark and painful. That was the excuse you used, that you needed to feel something different for at least a little moment, when you started to sleep with Tommy again. 

Which went on for years even after you made it to the QZ.

Until he left without a word. 

Leaving you and his brother again to pick up the pieces. 

“Tommy!” you heard Joel shout and your eyes followed his gaze, his horse stopping as he jumped off. 

He looked different. Older than you remembered him. But there walking down the steps was indeed Tommy Miller. 

Joel had found him. 

His eyes found yours as he hugged his brother, whispering your name in disbelief. 

For a moment, a small moment you were beyond relieved to find him alive and well. Anger replaced that feeling pretty quickly. He was alive and well and in a fucking functioning town without ever sending a fucking message?

You had stopped counting how often you had been almost killed on this mission to find him because Joel and you thought something had happened to him and he needed saving. 

You closed your eyes, swallowing your anger, finding Ellie watching you when your eyes opened again. 

“Let’s have something to eat,” Maria said next to you and you gave her a sharp nod, leaving the Miller brothers behind. 

You hated the fact that you cried when you were angry. 

Tears were streaming down your face as you showered under the warmest fucking water you had felt in years, scrubbing your body furiously. 

The nerve he had. 

Not only was he perfectly fine, no he was married and about to be a father. 

You didn’t like the way his wife Maria kept glaring at Joel not trying to be sneaky about it. 

You could only imagine what he had told her.

He used to blame Joel for what you all had done after the outbreak on your way to the Boston QZ. You had always argued about it in the privacy of the shitty apartment you shared back in the QZ. Because Tommy was a fully grown man when he killed those people. He could have stopped and left. But it was easier to blame someone else for the decisions he was too scared or cowardly to make. 

You could only hope that you’d be out of here first thing in the morning before you’d explode. 

Of course life had other plans. 

You walked into the house across the street just as Maria tried to warn Ellie about Joel. 

“But there are clearly things you don't know about Joel,” you heard Maria say. You stopped outside the window to listen.

“Oh, like how he used to kill people? I know about that,” Ellie said.  

“So then you understand my concern.”

“He doesn't do that anymore,” Ellie defended him. 

“He stopped killing people?” Maria asked and you rolled your eyes. 

“Innocent ones. And Tommy did it, too. Are you worried about him?” 

You chose that moment to walk into the house, finding Ellie sitting in the kitchen, Maria cutting her hair. 

“Tommy was following Joel. The way you are now,” Maria said looking at you. 

“No offence but you have no idea what you are talking about,” you said and she raised her eyebrow. 

“I think I do,” she said, putting the scissors down. 

“Yeah? You are comparing a fourteen year old girl to a fully grown man who had all the time in the world to step away and stop what we did back then. But he didn’t. He never stops. He’s a fucking…” you stopped yourself, taking a deep breath. 

“He told me about you. About how he regrets leaving without a word,” Maria said. 

You scoffed. 

“Sure he does. He always regrets doing things after he did them. That’s why he never sent word that he’s alive.”

“That’s my fault. And he didn’t know that you’d be coming to look for him,” she said.

“That’s what family does. We look out for each other. But maybe we’re not family anymore. Come on Ellie,” you said and she got up from the chair immediately, walking towards you. 

“Stop,” Maria said and you sighed. 

“I’ll take her to the movies and you…. I think you, Joel and Tommy need to talk.”

“You’re angry,” Joel looked up at you as you sat down next to him. He was trying to fix his boots. 

“I thought I wasn’t anymore but…. Fuck look around this place? I’m just so… Fuck I really want to punch him,” you groaned and Joel chuckled. 

“I know the feelin’,” he sighed. 

You let your head fall against his shoulder, closing your eyes. 

You felt his lips on your temple. 

„You gonna tell him?“ He whispered. Your opened your eyes, shaking your head. 

„Don’t think he would care,“ you mumbled. 

„I think you would be surprised,“ he said quietly.

You both sat there in silence for a moment. 

„I’m weak,“ Joel said after a moment. You sat yourself up, your head turning to look at him. 

„What do you mean?“ 

He sighed, not looking up at you as he focused on fixing his shoes. 

„Lately, there are these moments where the fear comes up outta nowhere, and... my heart... feels like it's stopped. And I have dreams. Every night,“ he said quietly. 

You carefully put your hand on his shoulder.

„What kinda dreams?“

„I don't know. I can't remember. I just know that when I wake up... I've lost somethin’,“ you saw the tears in his eyes. You knew something had changed in the last weeks. He was more quiet, staring of in the distance when he thought you weren’t looking. 

„I'm failin' in my sleep. That's all I do. It's all I've ever done is fail her again and again. I fail you again and again. I see you die ever single night in my dreams and I…“ you put your arms around his shoulders, tears running down your cheeks. 

„I can’t protect you anymore,“ he whispered and you tensed.

„I’m gonna… I’m gonna ask Tommy to take her. I’m just gonna get her killed. Both of you. I know it. I have to leave…“ you did not give him a chance to continue, jumping up from your position. 

„You gonna ask Tommy to take her? What about me? You gonna just…. Let him take me too? Because you know I won’t leave her. We’re all she has Joel,“ you said, your voice getting louder. 

„You could stay here. It’s safe. You would be safe…“ he said but you shook your head. 

„Stay here with Tommy? Super happy Tommy who finally got the right woman pregnant?“ You yelled. 

He said your name, pleading but you shook your head. 

„You know, I should have seen this coming. I knew I would end up alone. First him, now you… I really thought that you felt…“ you shook your head, „How silly of me to think it would be different with you…“ you laughed bitterly, stubbornly brushing the tears away. 

You took a deep breath. 

„One day you are gonna wake up and realise that the only reason why you feel so alone, is because you pushed everyone away. Because you think you don’t deserve to be cared for. Tommy, Ellie…. Me….,“ you shook your head before you looked at him. 

„Don’t bother asking Tommy. I’m gonna leave with her first thing in the morning. You’ll never gonna see either of us again,“ you said before you turned around, ignoring him calling after you, hoping you’d made it back to the house before you broke down. 

You hadn’t even crossed the street when you heard your name being called, Tommy’s familiar voice startling you. 

You just walked faster, not bothering to stop. 

„Please just…“ you felt his hand on your shoulder and you whirled around, glaring up at the man you once loved so much. 

„Leave me alone,“ you gritted through your clenched teeth, before turning away from him. 

„It’s what you Miller’s do best,“ you called over your shoulder before you made your way back to the house. 

You laid awake in bed when you heard the door open. 

You had told Ellie in the most gentle way that it would only be you who would take her to the fireflies. Of course she had questions, and you promised her to answer every single one once you were on the road. 

She had fallen asleep rather quickly before you made your way to the biggest bedroom. You just laid down on the bed, fully clothed staring at the ceiling as the hours passed by. 

You were broken, you had been for a long time. 

The only thing you could always count on to keep you going was Joel. 

He was your rock and part of you always thought you were his. Even when he was with Tess or any other women. At the end of the day, once he needed someone to talk, to really talk to, he always came to you. 

He held you when you found out you were pregnant after Tommy left. 

He was there when you woke up in pain, he was there when you found out you lost the baby.

He was always there. 

And along the way you fell in love with him. 

You turned your head to look at Joel who was standing in the door just looking at you. 

It was like there was something in the air all of the sudden, the hairs on your neck standing up as his eyes moved over your body, his gaze lingering on your lips. 

„I’m sorry,“ he said quietly, slowly walking towards you. 

When you didn’t say anything as he stopped in front of the bed he slowly sat down, reaching for one of your hands. You were too tired to fight him.  

„You were right,“ he started, his thumb running over the back of your hand, his head turned down. 

„I keep pushing you away because I’m so fucking scared to lose someone else I…,“ he shook his head. 

„I care about. I care about you so much, it scares me. It would kill me if something happened to you, because I was to weak to protect you. And I… I can’t lose you. I just can’t. I wanna keep you safe and….“

„Joel….“ You interrupted him and he looked at you as you slowly sat yourself up so you were kneeling on the bed next to him. You reached the hand he was not holding up, your fingers brushing over his cheek, his eyes closing slowly as he released a shuddering breath. 

Your hand lingered on his skin, your fingertips rubbing over the corner of his lips and his eyes flipped open, finding yours. 

„You know I love you, right?“ You whispered and his eyes softened for a small moment, before he nodded. 

„Then please let me in and let me love you,“ you said before you leaned in and kissed him softly.

He tensed for a moment before one of his hands came to the back of your head, deepening the kiss, pulling you closer, his other hand on your back. 

„Joel,“ you gasped, your hands pulling at his shirt until he parted from you, taking his shirt off. You let your hands wander up your chest before you pulled your own shirt off, leaving you in just your old bra.

„Fucking beautiful,“ he whispered before he kissed you again, slowly leaning over you until you were laying in bed with him above you. 

Joel slowly kissed down your throat, your chest until he gave all his attention to your breasts. He sucked on your nipples through the thin worn fabric of your bra until you sat yourself up, almost making him fall off the bed, both of you laughing as you took it off, a groan leaving his mouth, one of his hands palming himself. You bit into your bottom lip before you got closer to him, your fingers opening his belt buckle, then his pants. 

He stopped you before you could get any further. 

„Let me make you feel good first,“ he whispered, kissing you forehead. 

„Later,“ you said, looking at him, something in his eyes darkening as he saw the lust in yours. 

Within seconds you both were naked and he just looked at you in awe as he knelt between your parted legs. 

His hands wandered up your thighs, his fingers running shivers over your whole body, your back arching. 

„Please Joel,“ you whispered, your hands coming to rest on his hips until he finally leaned down and kissed you, one of his hand wrapped around his cock as he swiped the head through your wet pussy, teasing your clit with it, making you moan.

He lined himself up, kissing you deeply as he slowly entered you inch by inch, both of you panting against each others mouths.

„Shiiiit, you feel perfect. Fucking perfect,“ he grunted before he began to move, thrusting slowly inside of you, his arms wrapped around your body, his lips all over you. 

No matter how close he was, you wanted him closer, your arms wrapped around his back, pulling him against you as he continued to fuck you deeply. 

He kissed away the tears that escaped your eyes, overwhelmed at finally being so close to him. Holding him. Feeling him. 

He made you cum twice before he pulled out and came with a groan of your name, his cum spilling all over your stomach. 

He cleaned you up after, holding you close, kissing you until you fell asleep. 

While he watched over you, praying to whatever god there still was, that you would forgive him. 

You didn’t stir when Joel left your bed after he watched you sleep until the room slowly filled with light at the upcoming sunrise. 

You didn’t feel it as he kissed your forehead before he slowly got up from the bed and got dressed, grabbing his bag. 

You didn’t hear his whispered „Forgive me“ as he stepped out of the room.

You were sleeping so deeply you didn’t even hear Eliie argue as Joel walked her out of the house.

Not looking back towards the house you were sleeping in. 

The first thing you noticed was that you were warm. You hadn’t felt warm in a long time. Smiling to yourself you slowly opened your eyes, frowning immediately as you noticed how bright it was outside. 

Your eyes found the old cock on the bedside table, widening as you noticed that it was already around noon. 

„Shit,“ you cursed, your head now turning to the other side of the bed where Joel had laid next to you only to find it empty. 

A uneasy feeling washed over you as you took the room in, finding it vacant of anything that belonged to Joel. 

Suddenly fully awake you jumped out of bed, dressing yourself within seconds before you walked out of the room and across the hallway opening the door to the room Ellie had been asleep in. 

Empty. 

Your breath came in short pants, your throat squeezing tight, the beginnings of a panic attack making their entrance as your hands started to shake. 

Shaking your head you tried to get your lungs to fill with air, your back leaning against the wall behind you. 

Tears were springing into your eyes.

He wouldn’t just leave you after last night. Right?

Not after he….

A knock on the door let you jump up, running down the stairs, opening the door to find the wrong Miller brother standing in front of it, his expression one you could read without words. 

„He’s gone, isn’t he?“ You whispered. 

Tommy only nodded. 

Taking a deep breath you looked up towards the ceiling, shaking your head slowly. 

„Talked to the council. You can stay here as long as you want. Gotta take up some work at some point but there’s no rush…“

You scoffed. 

„You must be really delusional if you think I am going to stay here,“ you said, looking at him. You were still angry, but more so tired. Tired of always being the second choice.

He said your name, almost pleading. 

„I’m sorry for not telling you before I left. I thought it was easier to just… rip the bandaid off. I knew you’d be okay. You’re one of the strongest people I ever met. And I… I just couldn’t stay there with Joel and….“

You wanted to tell him then. 

To tell him that he broke that strong person he thought you were. 

Finding out the day after he left that you were pregnant with his child, broke you. 

And you couldn’t tell him that to this day you blamed that the stress of him leaving made you lose the baby you never got to meet. 

It wouldn’t help anyone to tell him. 

„I am going to get my stuff and I want a horse and some supplies. Then I’ll be out of here. I can’t keep doing this…“ you said. 

„No, No please stay. I want to… I want to make this right between us. I promised Joel I…“ Tommy began, but you held a hand up, stopping him. 

„Maybe you and your brother should try talking to me before making all the decisions for me. A horse and some supplies. You owe me that much. After that I’ll make sure we never cross ways again,“ you didn’t wait for his reply, turning around and marching up the stairs to pack your stuff. 

An hour later you were settled on top of a horse called Diamond. Tommy had gotten you the supplies you asked for, even a first aid kid and walked next to you as the gate opened. 

„Where are you gonna go?“ He asked. 

„Away,“ you only answered, even though you had a clear destination in mind, before you took one last look at him. You saw his wife standing on the end of the street, watching you. 

As you looked back at Tommy you realised that you felt nothing for the man who was looking up at you now.

„I know you love him,“ he startled you. 

„Pretty sure he loves you too, so once you found him, don’t be too hard on him. We Miller’s a stubborn bunch of people who only want to protect the people we love. Even if it ends up hurting them even more,“ he said, keeping his eyes on you. 

„Take care of your wife,“ was all you said before you kicked your legs to ride out of Jackson. 

The town you found shelter in seemed abandoned enough to rest until this blizzard passed by. It should’t be more than a days ride to the university of the fireflies now, but you could not make it in this storm. So you bunked down in a abandoned house, the windows and doors already barricaded making sure Diamond, your horse, had something to drink and eat in the garage before you bunked down in the surprisingly tidy house next to it. 

You even found some food, including long expired peaches that brought a small smile to your face as you thought about how much Ellie would love them. 

It was on the next morning that you heard a noise outside. You made your way into the garage, finding Diamond getting nervous too.

You petted her nose before you slowly risked a glance outside of the broken window of the garage, your eyes widening when through the heavy snow falling outside, you could make Ellie out on top of a horse. 

You put your jacket on and opened the door, startling the girl who now had her riffle pointed at you. 

You held your hands up and her shoulders fell as she realised who you were, starting to sob. 

It was then that you noticed that the horse she was sitting on, was dragging something behind it, the air leaving your lungs one one gasp as you realised that it was Joel.

And he was not awake.

„How long?“ You asked Ellie, willing your fingers to warm up as you dug through your first aid kit. 

Ellie had helped you carry Joel inside. Now she was sitting on the little sofa, her tears still running down her cheek as she watched you. 

„Three hours ago? Maybe more? I don’t know. We… We were at the university and we…. We were almost out when that man….“

You were closer to the university than you thought then.

You were dying to walk over to her to soothe her, but Joel was your first priority. He looked very pale, his lips blue from the cold. With shaking fingers your unzipped his jacket, fighting down the whimper as you saw how much blood he was still loosing, your hand immediately pressing down to stop the bleeding.

Ellie had made a good job with the bandage she had put on his wound. 

He didn’t even stir. 

„It was a broken baseball bat. He… he pulled it out and he was okay at first but then he… he… he fell and now he’s not….“

„Ellie,“ you said and she looked at you with wide wet eyes. 

„You did the right thing. He shouldn’t have pulled it out but there’s nothing we can do about it now. I am… I am gonna try to fix him, okay?“ You said, nodding as if to make yourself believe that you could. 

She mirrored you.

„Can I help?“ Ellie asked. 

„There’s a bathroom upstairs. Get as many towels as possible and then get a bucket with snow from outside. Snow from the top. We need…. We need to clean him. But I don’t have… We….“ You took a deep breath, stopping your ramble.

„Towels and snow, got it,“ she said, throwing her backpack down before she made her way upstairs. 

You took a deep breath, sucking your bottom lip in. 

„Don’t you die on me Joel Miller, I still have to yell at you“ you whispered as you leaned down, to kiss his temple before you used the scissors of your first aid kit to cut his shirt open. 

It came to you on the day after, that the only stitches you ever did were on Joel Miller’s body. You had stitched a cut on his upper arm almost fifteen years ago. Then a bulled wound on his hip.

But that was nothing like what you were dealing with here. 

You had used the little bottle of disinfectant to clean his wound as best as you could, before you stitched him up and he had not even moved a muscle through all of it. 

It was sometime during the early morning hours that he stirred, waking up only enough to ask after Ellie, falling back asleep immediately when you came into his line of view, his whispered name on your lips. 

You and Ellie had pulled him in as many blankets as possible to get him to warm up. 

It was like you checked the wound hourly to make sure it wasn’t bleeding anymore and somehow in the early hours of the afternoon it seemed to stop. 

Ellie was spending almost all her time outside in the garage with the horses after she woke up. She wasn’t talking much, but she had told you that she was glad you had found them. 

A groan made you jump up and you found Joel’s eyes flutter open, taking in his surroundings until his eyes focused on you, whispering your name, his voice hoarse.

„How are you feeling?“ You asked softly, coming to kneel next to him, your hand on his cheek. 

„Like I got stabbed by a bat,“ he groaned and you felt the tears springing into your eyes as you smiled sadly. 

„Not the time for jokes Miller,“ you said and he sighed, his head turning in your hand.

„Ellie?“ He asked. 

„In the garage with the horses,“ you said and he nodded slowly. 

„'Am sorry,“ he said and you shook your head. 

„It’s okay,“ you said and now he shook his head. 

„Was a shitty thing to leave,“ he grunted. 

„Yeah it was. And I am gonna yell at you for that, but only once you are all healed up,“ you promised with a small smile, your fingers brushing over your skin. 

The door flew open and Ellie ran in with wide eyes. 

„There was someone out there,“ she said and your eyes widened before you got up while she knelled down next to Joel who was trying to get up.

„Wait here with him and do not let him get up,“ you instructed Ellie as you made your way out into the garage. 

The windows of the whole house were barricaded so the only way to actually look outside were the broken windows over the garage door. 

You carefully stepped onto the chair you had found inside to look out of the window and you could see three men walk down the street, as if they were looking for something. They didn’t look like they were raiders, not carrying any kind of bags or supplies on them. And only one was holding a handgun. You were glad that it had continued to snow during the night, covering up all the tracks that led to the house. 

You watched as they rounded the block, noticing how thin they looked as they walked back the way they came from, unease washing over your body. 

„They must be around here somewhere. How far can they get? Rodrick fucking stabbed him with his bat,“ you heard one of them mutter as they walked past the house, your heart stopping. 

They were looking for Joel.

For Joel and Ellie. 

You had to get out of here. 

You watched them until they had left the street, before you got down from the chair.

Still in your thoughts you made you way back inside the house.

The longer you thought about them the more uncomfortable you became. You had the same feeling a couple times before, the last time just before you made it out of Kansas City, a city you only barely survived. 

Both Ellie’s eyes and Joel’s were on you when you entered the room. 

„It would be better for Joel to stay here and heal but…“

„We have to leave?“ Ellie asked and you nodded. 

„I…They are looking for you. I heard them talk,“ you said as you knelt down on the other side of Joel who was looking up at you. You put your hand on his forehead, noticing that he was running a little hot. 

You would need medicine for him. You only had some expired aspirin. That wouldn’t help him if his wound got infected. 

„We’ll leave first thing in the morning,“ you decided, hoping that it would be for the best.

It was a four day ride back to Jackson.

Four days that felt like four weeks. 

Joel had been strong enough to get on his feet on the morning you left and both Ellie and you had helped him up into the saddle before you got onto the horse in front of him, using two belts you had found upstairs to strap him against you, his arms coming to wrap around you.

You heard every groan of pain he let out as he tried to keep himself up on the horse. 

On the second day, once you were far enough away from the town you felt him burn up, mumbling against your ear, his head resting on your shoulder. 

It was getting harder to keep him on the horse with you, Ellie riding next to you, her worried eyes always on Joel. 

More than once he told you to just leave him and get both you and Ellie to safety but you and Ellie were having none of it. 

When you saw the gates of Jackson you were almost crying, Ellie galloping in front of you even though you called after her to slow down, hoping they wouldn’t just shot her on sight. 

But then the gate opened and for the first time in a long time you were glad to see Tommy Miller running towards you, already yelling commands out. 

The next hours were a blur. 

You pretty much passed out the moment you knew Joel was taken care off. You woke up to beeping in a dark room, only a little lamp on the table next to the bed you were laying in,  your eyes immediately finding Ellie who had cuddled on the bed next to you. You carefully put an arm around her before you noticed someone else in the room. 

Joel was laying in the bed next to yours, the constant beep of the monitor telling you that his heart was still beating. 

You closed your eyes, releasing a shuddering breath as you tried to keep the tears in that were threatening to escape your eyes. 

Ellie shifted in your arms and she turned around, her arm sneaking around you, her eyes looking up at you. 

„Thank fuck you’re awake, these people around here are weird,“ she said and you huffed a laugh, hugging her closer. 

„How long…?“ You asked but she interrupted you. 

„We came here yesterday just before dinner. Breakfast was two hours ago? I’m not sure,“ she mumbled. You both jumped when the door opened, your head turning just in time to see Tommy walk in, followed from an older man. 

„You’re awake,“ the man said and you sat yourself up, the sudden move making your head spin. 

„I’m Carl, I’m the town doctor,“ he introduced himself to you before he walked over to Joel.

„Is he gonna be okay?“ You asked.

„Thanks to some medication and some generous blood donations,“ he eyed Tommy, „he should be making a full recovery. Nice stitches,“ he complemented and you released a relieved breath.

„You should have seen the blood transfusion, it was super gross,“ Ellie said with a shudder that made you laugh. 

„I want you to rest too. You were severely dehydrated. That must have been some exhausting couple of days for you,“ he said, giving you a small smile before he looked at Tommy and left the room. 

It was quiet in the room for a moment as you tried not to look at Tommy. 

Ellie suddenly sat herself up with a hum.

„Weeeeeell this isn’t awkward at all, so I’m gonna go and get us some food,“ she announced before she jumped off the bed and left you alone with the Miller brothers. 

For a long time the only noise inside the room was the constant beeping of Joel’s heart monitor.

„Why did you leave without saying anything?“ You finally asked and Tommy shifted in the chair he was sitting in. 

„I couldn’t stay. Joel was…. He was getting more and more reckless. Then there was the fucking drugs. I wanted to… I though I could make the world better. just couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t watch him destroy himself any longer. And I am sorry I didn’t tell you. You didn’t deserve that,“ he said and you nodded. 

„I know the things we all did were horrible. They haunt me too. And Joel…“ you look at him, sleeping in his bed. 

„He was never the same after Sarah,“ you whispered. 

„We all weren’t. We just dealt with it differently,“ Tommy said and you nodded. 

„Are you gonna stay?“ He asked and you sighed, looking at him. There was no point in keeping a grudge anymore. Not after what happened. You were safe. Ellie was safe. Joel was safe and hopefully close to being okay again. 

„I have to tell you one thing,“ you decided. He deserved to know why you had been so angry. Why you blamed him for every single bad thing that happened after he left. 

„Okay,“ he said, nodding at you. 

„On the morning after I found out your left, I also found out that I was pregnant,“ you said quietly, seeing his eyes widen, before he took a deep breath. 

„I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad, I am telling you so you can understand why I was so angry and hurt,“ you explained. 

„I can’t keep blaming you for every bad thing that happens to me,“ you whispered. 

„What,“ he cleared his throat, „what happened?“ He asked. 

„I lost it six weeks after you left,“ you said with a sad smile, your finger brushing the tear away that ran down your cheek. 

He looked wrecked.

„I’m so fucking sorry,“ he shook his head, his hand running through his hair. 

You shrugged. 

„It just wasn’t meant to be,“ you sobbed, cursing to yourself as you turned your head to hide your face against the pillow. 

„Fucking hug her,“ you both heard Joel grunt and you almost jumped up, your head spinning again. 

„Joel, thank fuck,“ Tommy said before he jumped out of his chair as he saw you get out of bed on shaky legs. His arms held you up as you stumbled towards Joel’s bed who gave you a painful smile. 

„Come on, let’s get you into bed,“ Tommy whispered before he helped you sit down, pulling your legs up onto the bed as you carefully laid down next to Joel, his right arm opening for you. 

You put your hand on his chest, careful to not hurt him as you inhaled his familiar, if somewhat sweaty, scent. 

„I’ll leave you two alone,“ Tommy said as he looked at the both of you, but you were already asleep. 

„I’ll take care of her,“ Joel whispered before he kissed your forehead. 

Six weeks later

„I fucking hate math!“ Ellie groaned, letting her head fall against the table.

„Language!“ Joel called from the kitchen and she rolled her eyes while you held back a giggle. 

„Nobody likes math,“ you assured her, your arm wrapping around her shoulder. 

„Why do I have to learn it then?“

„Because that’s just the way life is. We all have to learn shit we don’t want,“ you said, you both laughing when Joel again called you out on your cursing. 

„I am a fully grown adult, Mr. Miller, leave me alone,“ you yelled towards the kitchen, only to hear his footsteps seconds later before he appeared in the door, both of his hands on his hips, giving you an exhausting head shake. 

„What am I gonna do with you?“ He asked before he walked over. You let go of Ellie’s shoulder as he stepped closer, his lips coming to kiss your cheek.

„Ugh gross,“ Ellie gagged, jumping out of her seat. 

„I’m gonna go and ask Dina to help me with math!“ She said, running out of the house, the door falling closed behind her. 

„She forgot her homework,“ Joel said, now kissing your neck. 

„Mmmmmhhh….“ You nodded, tilting your head to give him more space, his lips wandering up your neck. 

One of his hands sneaked to the front of your shirt until his palm softly palmed your breast. 

„Think you’re up for some…. Biology?“ He asked and you giggled, getting up from your chair to turn around, your arms crossing behind his neck. 

„Birds and bees again?“ You said, playfully annoyed while he nodded, all serious, before you both broke out in laughter. 

„We gotta work on your flirting, Miller,“ you said before you kissed him, shrieking when his fingers pinched your ass. 

„Love you,“ he mumbled against your lips and you smiled. 

„Love you too,“ you whispered before you let him guide you towards your bedroom. 

[six-eyed-samurai]

SUMMARY: Somehow Giyuu's son has disappeared somewhere - chaos ensues because there's no way he's telling you he lost your child. A/N: I'm back and I'm beaming another Giyuu fic is in town! (<<anyone who catches the song reference wins a free request of anything they want to see Domestic!Giyuu and Co doing). I really enjoyed writing Zenitsu this way because he's just so 怪叔叔 coded (for non-Chinese, 怪叔叔 roughly translates to "weird uncle" but there's not really a word for it in English, so basically a creepy relative) WARNINGS: um, too many references to other anime if you catch them (name them all to get a free scenario) SUNNY'S TAGLIST: (comment if you wanna be added or removed) @abadonkori @therabbitthatpostthings @ezekieleen @giyuusluht @bisforbuse MASTERLIST/PREVIOUS FICS

There were about three times that Giyuu can recall directly lying to your face.

The first time was when you were still pregnant with Koji and got hit by cravings in the middle of the night. Your emotions had been skyrocketing, leaving you a sulky mess when Giyuu tried to reason with you that 3 a.m. really wasn't the time to eat daifuku. It was unhealthy, he said, perfectly poker-faced. It could not, you reasoned, be because he ate them all. It could not because you had (quite fiercely) told him not to eat it and Giyuu didn't even like that particular flavour of daifuku anyway. He didn't, which was why he stopped eating about halfway through…leaving about one or two for you.

So far you hadn't found that out. Don't worry, Giyuu still feels bad for gaslighting you into thinking there were only originally two left. Definitely not six.

The second time was about the seriousness of his injuries after a tougher than usual mission before you two married. Actually it should be more of a collection of little white lies, because Giyuu never wanted to worry you and did his best to play down his injuries every time. But this time he nearly had his legs sliced off and was suffering several more crushed bones - not something he could easily hide from you, so it was a little extreme but he wrote you a letter telling you not to come because the Demon's Blood Art was infectious.

So far you hadn't found that out either. Neither did Kocho, but he almost regretted it from her million “My, my, Tomioka, it seems like everybody's avoiding you lately” though he later found out it was because you genuinely believed him and told everybody.

And the third time was today. Funny enough the lie he felt the worst about. Felt so bad he nearly chickened out and made Tanjiro tell you…if he hadn't remembered the boy couldn't tell a lie to save his life.

It was just eight words. Eight words.

“Where's Koji by the way?”

“…he's outside playing with Tanjiro and his friends.”

Eight words that made Giyuu want to bang his head against a wall and meekly apologize to you for all eternity.

Because somehow he had managed to lose his only son.

He was going to lose his ability to remain poker-faced soon as you beamed brightly at him. “That sounds fun! But I thought you all were training?”

“We took a break.” Giyuu squeezed your hand and leant down to press a kiss to your forehead. “You're supposed to be asleep anyway. Get well soon.”

“Mhm. I'm not that tired.” You roll your eyes. “Can you bring in Koji later?”

“…sure…”

He hoped he didn't look too obvious.

***

Perhaps a little backtracking would be helpful. You had recently received severe blood loss from the last mission you were sent on that landed you a stay at the Butterfly Mansion. It wasn't too bad as you got to spend a little more time with Giyuu and your new baby boy but finally Shinobu had shooed (for such a short woman she could really push people around with great force…) them both out citing you needed rest “without you making goo-goo eyes at her all the time, Tomioka. You must be such a bad influence on your child.”

To which he responded by blankly staring at her. “I don't think I'm a bad influence…”

“If you'd like to think so, Tomioka. Now scram.”

At any rate he had brought Koji out with him to training with the Kamaboko Squad as they were known. He had left the baby on a blanket on the engawa with various toys littered around to keep his attention occupied; Koji hadn't quite mastered the art of walking yet, so Giyuu was reasonably confident he would be alright, evidenced by the quick checks Giyuu would take in between swinging a sword with the boys.

Swinging a sword, honestly, would be lying as well. Giyuu couldn't fault them for wanting to play with Koji - even though for whatever reason Inosuke kept trying to give him acorns and called him every other variation of his name…ranging from “Genji”, “Koto” and “Muji”.

(The closest he got was calling him Toji, but Giyuu was still confused as to why he also added a “Fushiguro” at the end…)

“Look! The tiny Ban Ban Haori took my gift, Gonpachiro! AHAHAHAHA, YOU CAN BE MY MINION, DENJI!”

Giyuu yanked the grass blades and said acorn away from Koji’s drooling mouth. “You're not supposed to be feeding him that…spit it out, Koji, no, don't swallow!”

Not that Inosuke was listening. He was dumping even more acorns onto the ground, in fact. Thankfully Giyuu's mini-me was fancying chewing on his dad's finger a little more.

The yellow haired one wasn't much better. Zenitsu kept trying to befriend Koji…who did not want to befriend him. Whether it was because of Zenitsu’s expressions or questionable decibel volume or him calling himself “Uncle Zenitsu”, no matter how many times said slayer fawned over the baby or tried to play with him Koji’s lip would quiver, his eyes would tear up and inevitably the wailing would start.

So obviously Giyuu solved the problem by “politely” telling Zenitsu to go away.

(Later on you wouldn't understand why Zenitsu kept glowering at your husband; Giyuu would defend himself, deadpan as he said Koji did not like him therefore he should get out of his sight.)

At least someone in the group has a brain cell and experience with little kids. Of them all Giyuu trusted Tanjiro the most with his child. Koji seemed to adore the red haired boy, wanting to burrow into his lap all the time and curiously tugging at his hanafuda earrings. Hardly surprising, seeing as Tanjiro was more than happy to indulge in his uppies and not attempt to throw him in the air like Inosuke or poke him a little too harder like Zenitsu. He even put on a little puppet show for him with the scattered plushies.

Koji seemed to adore Tanjiro a little too much, actually. Giyuu decided to make them all go back to training after Koji rejected his hold for Tanjiro’s uppies.

But they ended up spending more time getting distracted over petty arguments rather than training.

The boar-head was cackling in that weird maniacal way of his. “Manjiro and Monitsu will never ever land a hit on me!!! I'm the King of the Mountains, no one will ever best me!”

Giyuu closed his eyes and sighed quietly before smacking the wooden sword upside on Inosuke's head. But-

“HUH? WHAT'D YOU SAY ABOUT ME?! IT'S NOT FAIR, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE USING TWO SWORDS! I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU UP-”

“Inosuke, again, my name is Tanjiro-”

“WHAT, TSUKISHIRO?!”

“COME HERE! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR BUTT!”

“Zenitsu! Stop trying to eat Inosuke's head!”

“BWAHAHA! HE COULD NEVER! THE TINY ONE BITES HARDER THAN HIM!”

Too late. Sigh again.

“You're not even one yet and you're the sanest here, it seems.” Giyuu retreated to let them fight it out (it was the third time already), seating himself next to Koji, who cooed and tried to crawl onto his lap, dropping his plushy.

“Why did I even agree to this again?” Probably because Tanjiro asked - he really was going soft.

“Bleh.”

Giyuu nodded. “You get it.”

***

Tanjiro just about jumped Giyuu when he exited the room you were in, closing the door with a twitching eye (he really can’t believe he managed to lie to you), more than ready to help his friend and mentor track down the missing child by making Giyuu go over everything again and again. “So are you SURE that was the last time you saw Koji then?”

“AHAHAHAH! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU MANAGED TO LOSE YOUR SPAWN!” The laughter dies down as it fully hits Inosuke. “…wait, you lost Ojiro?”

“OH NO! TOMIOKA’S GOING TO GET MURDERED BY HIS WIFE!”

“I-” Giyuu short circuited. “You’re right, Agatsuma. (y/n)’s going to have my head on a platter.

“HOW CAN YOU BE SUCH A-”

“Calm down, everyone! Koji couldn’t have gotten far, he can’t walk without stumbling and he crawls most of the time, right? And since we already checked outside Koji must be inside the Butterfly Mansion!” Tanjiro patted Giyuu’s shoulder. “We’ll find him, Giyuu-san!”

“I BET I’LL BE THE FIRST TO FIND HIM!” Inosuke hollered before…leaping onto the wall and scuttling off down the hallway. “YOU’RE ALL LOSERS TO THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS! I SHALL FIND MY MINION!”

At this point Giyuu couldn’t even be surprised. “I’m more worried about if he’s fallen down or hiding somewhere or got stuck some place or something worse.”

“It’s alright! We can ask Ms. Aoi and the Butterfly Girls to help or if they’ve seen Koji!”

“There’s no way he could’ve run off by himself anyway.”

***

“No, sorry, I don’t think any baby came into the kitchen, Tomioka-san.”

Giyuu’s shoulder slumped. “I see.”

“I’m sure you’ll find him soon, Tomioka-san, Tanjiro, Zenitsu!” The three girls that were always around piped up. “We’ll keep an eye out for him though!”

“Aw, that’s so cute of you guys!”

Giyuu let Zenitsu bask in the three girl’s praises for being so kind to help the Water Pillar look for his son and turned back to Tanjiro and Aoi, who was tapping a spoon against the table thoughtfully. “There’re lots of rooms where he could’ve hidden. Have you checked?”

“Yeah, we have, but there’s no sign of him anywhere,” Tanjiro sheepishly answered.

“How did he even disappear?”

He didn’t know it but the despairing look on his face was rather pitiful. “I don’t know. I turned around to check on him and he just wasn’t there.”

“You didn’t hear him crawl off?”

“No.”

Tanjiro suddenly interrupted. “Oh hey, Aoi! Are you making mochi now?”

“Um…yes?”

“Giyuu-san! Didn’t you say Koji likes the smell of them? Maybe he’ll come out if he smells some!”

“What kinda idea is that?” Zenitsu scoffed, before remembering every other method had failed. He deflated. “Alright, it might work.”

The girls oohed and aahed. “We’ll help!”

“That’s actually a good idea, Tanjiro. You can have some, here, and good luck! I hope you guys find him!”

Privately Giyuu thought they were treating Koji like he was a dog and not actually, you know, a human BABY perhaps…but if it worked, it worked, so he let himself be roped into the plan.

***

It did not work.

Despite the odds at this point Giyuu was convinced a demon had kidnapped his baby. Every room in the house had been investigated. All of them had literally gotten on their hands and feet, calling out and cooing out Koji’s name. Inosuke had even dropped down from the ceiling to give them all a heart attack and announce that he could not sense “Tiny Todoroki” anywhere.

Giyuu was ready to pull out his ponytail. Where on earth could his son possibly even go? Kocho’s Estate wasn’t even that large! He hadn’t even heard so much as baby babble or Koji’s crying. In fact it might be the Kamaboko Squad who would be crying if Kocho ever discovered the mess they made turning everything inside out and upside down trying to figure out where a baby could’ve crawled off into and potentially gotten stuck in. What on earth had he done to deserve this horrible state of affairs?

What had he done to Koji that would make the baby want to vanish into thin air?

Well, whatever it was, he was terribly apologetic about it.

He didn’t know it but his head was hung in repentance as Giyuu approached the door to your room. The Kamaboko Squad and the three Butterfly Girls were behind him in awkward, contrite silence. It takes a village to raise a child, maybe, but apparently it takes waaay beyond a village to FIND a child. Giyuu felt a little bad they all got stuck trying to fix his mistake, so if any backlash happened from your end - though he doubted it - he’d do his best to take the most of it.

“It’s not really your fault Koji ran off, Giyuu-san,” Tanjiro tried to say reassuringly.

“It absolutely is. I should’ve checked on him more,” Giyuu replied gloomily and on that depressing note he entered you room.

“Yuu!” You tossed aside your book and reached out your arms. He obliged, even in the painful angle he had to sit in to lie his head against your chest, but you stroking his hair was enough to make up for it. “I’m so bored here, can’t you convince Shinobu I’m fine already?”

“You nearly fell down the stairs when you felt dizzy yesterday-”

“No, I nearly fell down because the floor was wet! I’m fine, I swear!” You huff and fell back against the pillows, scratching away at Giyuu’s scalp. “Anyways, where’s Koji? I wanna see my baby.”

“Our baby.”

“Right, sorry, Yuu. Where is he?”

Darn. Giyuu had hoped you would be distracted a little longer - for something, anything, maybe a miracle to happen - before he would have to reveal the truth to you.

He groaned loudly and face planted into your blanket-covered stomach. “(y/n), lovely, please don’t be mad at me. I did my best to-”

“Try and give Koji a bath but he did such a terrible job, (y/n) dear, that I had to take over.”

Alright, Giyuu knows he was praying for something to save him, but of all things - KOCHO?!

The Insect Pillar’s smile widened viciously at the sight of Giyuu’s shocked face as she glided to your bedside, mirroring those of the Kamaboko Squad and Butterfly Girls’ outside. A freshly showered Koji, with his puffy baby hair stuck to his forehead from water, giggled in Shinobu’s arms, kicking and squealing.

“Hi, baby! Did you miss mama? Mama missed you, y’know, mhm, I know.” You took Koji into your own hold, blowing raspberries onto his stomach. “Did Yuu do a good job of taking care of you? I think so too, heh.”

I think not, Shinobu’s eyes wickedly gleamed.

I think not too…Giyuu blinked back. While you were distracted he quickly got to his feet and crossed over to the other side to pull Shinobu aside.

“Thank you.”

“That, Tomioka, was the stiffest thanks anyone has ever given me.” Shinobu covered her chuckles with an airy hand. “No need, but try not to make me cover for you again or lose your son?”

“I - I will, but where did you even find him?”

“Well, well, Tomioka, I thought you all were done for training and went outside, but instead I found him crawling off the engawa and rolling in the mud, so I had to bring him in and give him a bath. Then I saw you all running around trying to find him and figured it must’ve looked like he just disappeared to you all when he was playing in the puddle.”

Giyuu glanced back at you and Koji and quietly vowed to never lose any of you, no matter the circumstances, whether it be to demons or simply because you had wandered off due to boredom. If missing you both for just a few hours had done such a number on him, he never wanted to find out what happens if…

“…I guess I owe you one now, Kocho,” Giyuu acknowledged.

“You can start by cleaning up the mess you made of my house, Tomioka.”

***

BONUS:

You actually nearly found out about Koji’s brief disappearance earlier when a boar leapt down from the ceiling and nearly gave you a heart attack.

“AHAHAHAHA! THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS IS BACK!”

Instinctively you jolted back and almost screamed loud enough to wake the dead if you hadn’t recognized the intruder. “Inosuke?! What - what are you - what were you doing up there?!”

The boy in question grunted, head swiveling around. “…this isn’t the right room.”

“What? What right room?”

“Gotta go, gotta look for Toru Oikawa!”

“Who?!”

[starkeyslust]

𝐀 𝐓𝐎𝐗𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐍.

𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌. 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧, 𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙨. 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙.

𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝.

𝙧𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮/𝙣 𝙮/𝙡/𝙣, outer banks’ hottest couple. the couple everyone idolized and wished they could be. girls all over the island wanted to be her. guys all over the island wanted to be him. the parties, the drugs, the love, the money. what more could anyone want on the island of outer banks?

one look at the couple would leave you questioning how two people could be so picture perfect. driving their fancy and brand new cars, never dirty and never a scratch or dent. always smiling, showing off loads of pda on any occasion. looking like they stepped right out of a romantic comedy movie. the type of couple you would watch on the tv as a child and only dream to have the impossible.

she was a walking goddess. from her shining smile to her sweet angelic laugh. her hair was shinier than anything anyone’s ever seen. she smelt like heaven. her perfume was intoxicating and left anyone who smelt it in another mindset. she seemed to never have a pimple, a bad day, never a hair out of place. her skin was buttery smooth, shiny and clear. some would say she quite literally was glowing. always dressed in luxury brands, heels on any occasion, the newest and most expensive handbags with matching jewelry. her nails never having a chip. always manicured to perfection, toes painted white. she didn’t need to work, her family had it all. she had money up to her head, swimming in the bills. she just got to prance around town, going to every shop in the mall, just to go home to her prince charming.

he was the guy every girls wanted since he hit puberty. standing at six foot four, built with muscles that would have any girl fainting. his cologne reeked of money and power. his deep husky voice made anyone melt in their spot, fawning over his even deeper chuckle. his smirk was extremely attractive and caused far too many girls to squeeze their thighs together. his captivating ocean blue eyes holding an intimidating gaze but at the same time, all anyone wanted to do was dive into them. he was every girls dream man. the type of guy they wished to marry as little girl dressed like a princess. although his flaws were out in the open for anyone to observe. everyone in outer banks knew of his explosive tendencies. his willingness to fight anyone who ticked him off in the slightest. his haunting cocaine addiction that only added to the ticking time bomb inside of him. his deep hatred for pogues never went unannounced. if you weren’t his friend or fawning over him, you hated him.

he would die for you and he’s told you that far too many times.

what more could anyone want? a picture perfect life straight out of a fairytale with just the added bonus of a boyfriend who would fight any guy who even gave you a sideways glance. 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙮𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡.

keep your eyes up as you traverse the driveway, past the gates and up the steps to the front door. don’t bother knocking, no one’s going to answer. turn the knob and open the door. watch the true rafe cameron and y/n y/l/n unfold right in front of your eyes.

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as many are lead to believe, rafe cameron is an explosive shell of a man who can’t handle his fragile masculinity being threatened. unafraid to scream in anyone’s faces if they try to test him. didn’t matter if it was his family, friend, man or woman. even his girlfriend. right?

let’s actually scrap that. that’s how he was before he met you. y/n changed his life around. he felt he was able to control his anger better. he could talk things out without a fight unlike his previous ‘relationships’. he felt calm when he walked the halls of his childhood home for once in his lifetime. only because he knew he was walking to him room where you resided. you and your warm embrace. your angelic laugh and cosmic smile. he felt like he was living in a fan fiction, a dream. in reality it was a nightmare, a horror movie.

six months and six days is all it took for y/n to change. you were a nightmare dressed as a daydream. you knew the game all too well. how to dig deep into his brain and feelings. you knew just the way to make him feel safe and secure. to back down. lose his confidence in defense. he won’t fight back anymore. that was something you are confident in. an confident you should be.

the first time it happened, it was a sunny saturday afternoon on topper thornton’s boat. rafe was talking with kelce while you and topper were at the front of the boat. he had just broken up with sarah and he always had his eye on you. rafe had been alerted by your all too familiar flirty tone and even flirtier giggle. it made his head snap to you guys, only to be met with your hand feeling up his bicep. he didn’t want to accuse you in front of everyone, but he was twitching to say something. an excuse later, the day was cut short and you were back in an empty tannyhill with no one but rafe.

“were you fucking flirting with topper?”

that set you off. how dare he accuse you of flirting with his best friend? “what the fuck rafe? why would i ever do that?” you asked in disbelief, anger bubbling all too quickly. although you knew that you were and you didn’t care. you would do what you pleased. he wouldn’t hear that from your lips though.

that was your first real fight. one sentence caused a full on screaming match between the two of you. one sentence caused rafe to find out who you really were behind those sparking eyes and perfect face. he should’ve known it was too good to be true. he would never get his happy ending. a guy like him didn’t deserve it.

before he knew it, you were grabbing the closest thing to you and chucking it with a strength he never expected you to have. it was a glass statue. one that shattered upon impact and left him littered with glass shards in his delicate skin. the impacted areas began to bleed nearly immediately and you just walked away. he would clean up the mess he started on his own.

he broke a seal that day. every little thing began setting you off that he did wrong in your eyes. which was nearly everything. the slightest tone change or glance in the wrong way and he would earn yet another bruise to his body. you were stronger than your small body gave off. way too strong. a slap, a punch, something thrown, it didn’t matter. you were doing one or all on the daily at this point. he put up with the torture for months.

rafe began crying more than he was smiling. he was left to clean up your mess on his own, bandaging himself up, crying from the pain as he showered. the hot water hitting every spot causing a burning sensation that made his body feel like it was on fire. he was living in hell everyday with you.

not once would he fight back. he knew you would run with it and twist the story. your father was more prominent than his and would do anything for his little girl. his life would be ruined way too quick if he put his hands on you. he took it with pressed lips and dull eyes that held nothing but pain and sorrow. the love that once lit up his eyes slipped away, taking his bright blue hue with it. leaving nothing but dull gray regret in its place.

it was only a few days after your thousandth fight that you began using his cocaine. you told him he didn’t need it and needed to stop anyways. it formed an addiction in your veins that left you high everyday, unable to function without it. it only made you meaner, stronger. the bruise here and there turned into bruises littering his body daily.

he had even ended up in the hospital once. he had nightmares about that day. you were cutting up some fruit when he set you off and your first instinct was to throw the knife directly at him. it hit just next to his heart by pure magic and he was rushed to the hospital.

you spent hours of your life putting makeup on his visible bruises to hide what you truly were behind closed, locked, and bolted doors. he was forced to act happy and in love. the pictures you two posted kept up the idea of just how perfect you two were. no one even batted an eye and the two of you. why would they? you were perfect together after all.

you sat at his desk, snorting lines while he was in bed rest from the stab wound. you starved him and would leave to be with topper. he could fend for himself after all. he was a grown man who did nothing but push your buttons. like a little kid in an elevator.

he would be in too much pain to move so he laid there until he was able to get wheezie to bring him something. he would open instagram or snapchat just to be met with pictures of you and topper. waterworks began like clockwork.

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he would rather be dead than live another day as your boyfriend.

after being hospitalized again, rafe cameron had decided he had enough. once he recovered, he stood across the living room from you. he wasn’t backing down this time. he was fighting back.

“y/n you can’t keep doing this to me! you’re going to kill me! i never did anything to you to deserve this kind of treatment. i fucking loved you and you had the audacity to flirt with my best friend!” the blonde boy yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

you could only laugh, crossing your arms across your chest in a testing manor. “you’re a big boy rafe. you can handle it. i told you time and time again that i never acted in any flirtatious way towards topper.”

“that’s bullshit. i see all the shit you two post. no best friends post like that. especially when one of them are in a relationship.” he scoffed, rolling eyes following. “i’ve had enough of it y/n. i have no feelings but hatred for you now. i’m fucking done!”

“you’re done? good luck rafe. you can never leave me and you know that. your father will be pissed you fucked up such a big business deal for him.” you said, laughing at the audacity this boy had.

“i’ll tell him what you’ve been doing. why im really in the hospital, why his shit is really broken almost daily. i’ll tell the police, your family, everyone. you’ll be the one with nothing. i would rather be dead than with you another minute.” he threatened, narrow his eyes. his heart was racing a million miles per hour. his anxiety was through the roof and quite frankly, he was scared.

“oh yeah? you’re going to tell everyone? listen to me carefully rafe cameron.” you snapped, tone dark and senile. you began stepping closer to him. he only backed up in response until he was against a wall. he was trapped as you got in his face.

“you are nothing without me. you’ll have no friends left. everyone will believe that you’re just the same coke addicted, hotheaded, fucking piece of shit you’ve always been. you were always getting in fights and suddenly that just stopped? oh no. no one will believe that. you’re just an insecure little bitch with daddy issues. ward would never believe you and he will never love you rafe. you’re no sarah, get that through your thick skull. all that matters when it comes to you is that you see through this business deal for him. do you really think anyone will believe a little boy that can’t do anything right? a little boy that could never do anything right in the public’s eyes. keep talking your bullshit and see where it gets you.” you ranted, voice holding venom. a dark twisted laugh escaped your perfectly glossed plump lips. “if you would rather be dead, than so be it. i’ll make sure that happens. you’ve always said you’d die for me.” you said, a smirk growing.

your eyes were devoid of emotion, almost pitch black. he had never seen them like that before. he had never seen you turn into a full blown psychopath. he seemed to have really pushed you over the edge this time. he had a feeling he would never get his happy ending. he was about to meet his end today. there was no way out of this. he signed his death contract the day he asked you to be his girlfriend and you said yes. he realizes that now. slowly as the minutes pass, he comes to peace with his inevitable death at your hands.

he was at peace with the fact he would never feel his fathers love. his friends aren’t his friends. you aren’t who he fell in love with. he was never good enough. just a fuck up. a disgrace to the cameron family name. you were right in the end. you always were.

─────────────────────────

rafe cameron’s death was the talk of the island. not a single soul wasn’t talking about it. you were painted as the grieving girlfriend who was the victim in all of it. an autopsy was never performed on his body. his death was passed as an overdose from cocaine. after all, he had loads of it in his room and all over his desk. his friends warned him about his addiction. it would kill him. only they didn’t realize it was a different addiction that would kill him.

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𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙮’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨!

first fic! it went a completely different direction than i had planned but that’s alright! what do we think? i also haven’t proofread it yet, so excuse any typos! <3 hope you enjoyed it!

[xkaidaxxxx]

I don’t gotta be the one,no.

fem reader x Katsuki Bakugo

Mentions: NSFW! Squirting, dirty talk, overstimulation, virgin, fluff, etc.

“Congrats on being #1. I’ll take my title back next time.” Bakugo said, flicking your forehead. “Well good luck with that loser.” you replied walking away. He watched you leave the building.

You and Bakugo have history. Not a romantic one. He’s been commenting rude things to you since you were both kids when no one was around. You never told anyone because you were a big girl and would be the #1 hero someday. You’re #1 off and on competing with Dynamight.

“ Hey girl, how are you feeling you’re number 1 again!” Mina said, holding your arm as you both walked around town. “ I actually feel amazing. Let’s go out tonight and celebrate!” you said happily. “ Hell yes! We can invite our besties! You should’ve seen the look on Bakugo’s face. Hilarious. He was shocked and upset as fuck. I think he has a thing for you as well. He was checking you out when you walked out of the building. He was looking at you like he wanted to pounce on you.” Mina said. “Mina. No. He’s with Izuku. You’re crazy. Plus he’s my bully and rival. I will not fall for his ass.” you replied. “ He dumped Bakugo 4 months ago since their schedules were not meeting enough to be with each other. Izuku and I talk about romance. I never brought you up so don’t worry.” Mina said walking into your home with you.

“ Denki, you have a girlfriend. I need advice. I can’t believe I’m asking you for advice.” Bakugo said, handing him a beer. As he took the beer from Bakugo they both receive a message from the group chat informing them about the karaoke party you planned to celebrate.

Denki: Can’t wait see you there N/N

“ Anyways, what do you need advice on?” Denki asked, opening his beer and taking a nice amount into his mouth. “ Y/n. I don’t know when the hell I started liking her romantically. How do I confess to her?” He asked, leaning against the counter. “ I owe Kiri and Sero money. They totally called it. Mhm. I suggest to be honest. Don’t let your pride win for the love of god. You’ve known her since childhood. She’s a tough gal. She doesn’t like it when people beat around the bush. Tell her straight up. Don’t be a wimp. If she rejects you then don’t give up.” Denki said with a smile and a thumbs up. Bakugo felt determined and ready to let you know how he truly feels. “Denki you’re actually good at this dating thing. I’ll tell her tonight after the celebration.” Bakugo said. He checked the time. 8pm already! “ Let’s get going extra!” he rushed out the door with Denki thanking the gods for getting a self locking door.

The entire group showed up within 30 minutes. The first one to sing was Sero. He set the party to be wild and everyone loved it. Everyone let loose. Drank but nothing crazy, however, you definitely let loose and alot. When the clock hit 2am everyone was safely in their homes. Mina and Denki being love whispers vanished, leaving you with Katsuki.

“ You have to shower. I left clothes for you in the bathroom. Go on now.” Bakgo ordered. You don’t take orders from that jerk so you decided to be a bit of a naughty issue. “ K-Katss I can’t shower. Not on my own. Heelppss me.” you whined. He gulped holding you up as the warm water ran down your naked body. He turned away as you scrubbed your body and rinsed up. “ Kats do my back? Please?” you said. You were a bit sober so you had your balance back. He scrubbed your back respectfully, avoiding seeing your ass. Once you were done he left the bathroom and you got ready for bed. You sat on the bed looking around the room as he showered. His walls were a light shade of gray and his curtains were black. He has a great bookshelf, the books and other documents placed there made you guess he has his own home office. You admired his decorated room. He then walked out of the bathroom in only sweatpants. You couldn’t help but stare at his body. His muscles flexing and his abs making you feel a bit hot. You thought maybe you should get back at him from all the verbal bullying.

He got into bed laying down. “ Kats, I need you.” you whispered to him as you straddled him. You grinded against him. You gasped feeling his cock against your already wet pussy. He groaned, placing his hands on your hips. “ f-fuck. This isn't a g-good idea y/n.” he replied. You felt his cock harden. “You’re hard, Kats. You’re not being honest.” you replied, taking the shirt he allowed you to borrow off. You wore no bra. He stared at you. He loves the view. “S-Still I barely even know you….I do know you….but - fuck, you’re so beautiful.” he said. You smiled as his face flushed up. “ You can touch me. Please play with me, Katsuki.” you ran your hand through his hair. He bucked his hips upward with a shaky breath leaving his mouth. “F-Fuck no. Wait. We shouldn’t go too fast y/n. Let’s take things slow.” he finally said honestly. “ Oh Kats, you're so cute. We don’t gotta to be in love, no. I don’t gotta be the one, no. I just wanna be one of your girls tonight. Daddy, please take me tonight.” you said kissing him afterwards. You bit his lip.

A kiss is all it took. He quickly took you off him undressing you. You spread your legs revealing your wet pretty cunny. He slapped it which made you gasp in pain and pleasure. “Nasty little girl.” he commented. “ I’m all yours Katsuki Bakugo.” you said. Making you orgasm many times is how he’ll show you he loves you. He wasted no time. Bakugo held your thighs leaving hickeys behind. You knew he was teasing you and so you forced him to go down on your pussy. He came just from you gripping hair and tugging on it. He was a bit embarrassed. You couldn’t let go of his hair. Bakugo sucked on your clit, he flicked his tongue on it, slurped all your juices. “ Y-yes j-ust- Ahh! Kats!” you exclaimed from the intense pleasure. He hummed lost in thought. His focus was on making you orgasm and making sure you wanted more.

Your body was hot and twitching. He heard you scream his name and finally let go. He then put you on all fours. “Cum inside me daddy.” you said, wiggling your ass asking for it. He spanked you with full force making you yelp out. It was painful but it turned you on. He slowly penetrated you with his tip, making you moan. He continued. You felt so full. “Move Kats. I need it. I want it.” you said whining. “ Oh y/n, you’re so cute but I’m only halfway in.” he whispered in your ear. You knew he hade a fucking smirk on his face. He pulled out and slammed in making you moan and legs weak. Of course he held you up thrusting deep within you. “ K-Katsuki. Oh fuck.” you spoke as your cunny took him all in. He groaned thrusting faster. Your arms gave up, you fell straight onto the bed. He smirked fucking you like there was no tomorrow. You had multiple orgasms in that position. You loved how he didn’t stop after fucking you dumb.

Your head was pressed up against the pillow. You were drooling and moaning. “ You want it baby? You want me to fill you up? Make you my little housewife?” he asked, spanking your ass which made you squirt. You nodded, managing to reply with a “yes please” . He gave one last thrust, deeply releasing his cum. He painted your gummy walls white. He groaned and placed his head on your shoulder trying to calm down. You milked him dry, clenching around him. “ Y-yeah baby milk me dry. I’m all yours baby.” he said. After a few minutes he pulled out and laid next to you. Your mind was lost within the strong pleasure you were feeling. He sat up taking you in his arms. He held you. “Sshh baby it’s okay. I’m here.” he whispered. You were silent and slowly calming down. “ You were such a good princess. I love you very much.” he said. It took you a few minutes to finally come back. “ Was it too much?” he asked, caressing you. “It was perfect. I enjoyed it a lot.” you replied blushing. “ Can I be honest with you?” he asked, making you look at him. You nodded your head. “ You’re my first y/n.” he said. Your eyes widened. “ Y-Your my first too. I got brave…it was supposed to pay back from all the bullying.” you replied. You looked at the soaking wet sheets. You spotted stains of blood. Bakugo saw as well and panicked. “Holy shit! I hurt you! I’m fucking sorry. I’ll be careful next time I swear!” You giggled. “Kats it’s fine this sometimes happens when girls lose their virginity.” He sighed relieved. “I love you y/n. You’re all mine.”He said kissing you softly. You kissed him back. “I love you too. Kats.”

Bakugo wasn’t experienced but porn taught him a few things. Who would’ve thought he’d last for many rounds. The best thing about it was he was very vocal and gave it his all.

You took him very well. You were finally living your fantasy. Wanting to be fucked senseless by a strong and dominant man with tattoos. The books your read created many fantasies you hope they become reality later on with Bakugo.

After this night everything would be different. You’re all his. You milked him dry and you’ll have his baby or babies. Twins run on your side of the family.

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Hope you enjoyed this story

I take requests <3 :)

[aphrogeneias]

Rockstar Eddie sending assistant reader secret admirer flowers maybe? Maybe it’s when they’re not touring, back in town for a bit.

Idk if that’s the vibe or not but I think it goes with the secret romance vibes

-💛

pairing: rockstar!eddie munson x assistant!reader

warnings: yearning. a ton of yearning. tooth-rotting fluff.

You'd never been one to be sad on Valentine's Day.

If you weren't already in a relationship, you were working too much to even think about it. Life on the road didn't give you the luxury of going all out on holidays, for the most part.

It made you happy, though. To see everyone in the crew calling their girlfriends and wives, planning dates for when they see each other next, sending them a letter in the mail, signed with all their love.

To see Rick, the perpetual bachelor, go on dates with a different woman every year, swearing he's ready to settle down this time. He'd ask you about yourself, “A nice girl like you doesn't have a date on Valentine's? I don't believe you, honey.”

You would tell him the same thing every time. “Worry about yourself, Rick. You're not getting any younger.”

If anyone else asked, you'd just say you were too busy. Too busy taking care of other people, seeing the country, looking for yourself in the process — and you always meant it.

This year, however, it had you slumping around the house, wrapped in a warm blanket and roaming your own home like a ghost. You were there physically, but your heart was somewhere in a small town in the Midwest, visiting his family before the next leg of the tour.

Selfishly, you wanted him here. You almost asked him to come with you, but you knew how much he missed home, with the way he'd been counting the days to see his uncle, his friends, and who were you to take that from him?

The longing took hold of your heart anyway, squeezing it tight in your chest, as you curled into yourself on your couch, not really paying attention to the romantic comedy playing on your TV set. It rained outside, the pitter-patter against your windows almost lulling you into sleep.

You pictured him there, wrapped around you on the couch. His warmth enveloping you, arms tight around you. In your kitchen, making coffee, helping you bake, washing the dishes. In your bed, messing up your sheets. His laughter booming across the walls, his whispers in your ear.

A golden halo around his wild brown curls. Your Sun, your Star.

A knock on your front door brought you back to reality.

Groaning, you stood, taking the blanket with you as a cape, dragging behind you as you crossed the living room. When you opened the door, there was a soaked delivery boy waiting for you, but he wasn't the first thing you saw.

In front of him, there was a bouquet of roses. A dozen, half of them red, half of them black, wrapped in brown paper, and tied with a pristine white bow. Dazed, you almost didn't hear the boy call your name, and last name, before asking to sign the paper on his clipboard.

“Who… Do you know who sent them?” You asked, giving him back his ballpoint pen.

“They're not signed. Have a good day, miss!”

As he left, and your door seemed to close itself behind you, the first thing you did was reach for your phone.

With your flowers still in hand, clutched to your chest, and the receiver on the other, you dialed the phone you had memorized, but rarely used. The one that was slipped into your back pocket by a heavily ringed hand, one you were told to call if you felt lonely.

Now was as good a time as any.

The gruff voice that answers after a few rings was not his. “Hello?”

“Wayne? Uh, this is…”

“Oh, I know exactly who this is. I was expecting you'd call.”

“Were you?”

The older man chuckled on the other side of the line. “The boy’s been talking about you all day, but he didn't want to call. Said you'd be too busy to sorry about his sorry ass. Figured it wasn't true, but you know how stubborn he is.”

“That he is.” You agreed, and there's an exchange you can't quite figure out at the other end. The phone rattled a bit, and a voice saying “your girl’s on the phone” came through, followed by more rattling.

“I'll let you go, kid. Happy Valentine's Day, there's someone who's desperate to talk to you.”

Without being able to help yourself, giddiness rising through your chest like butterflies, you giggled. “Happy Valentine's, Wayne.”

The next person to talk to you sounded a bit breathless. “Hey, sweetheart.”

The hand that was holding your heart tight let it go, and let it soar through your kitchen, as if it grew cartoon-esque wings. “Hey, Eddie. Do you, perhaps, know if I happen to have a secret admirer, I got these beautiful flowers but sadly, no note.”

“Oh, I don't know. You must steal hearts wherever you go, could be anyone.”

You could hear the smirk on his lips, practically feel his stare across the line. “Aw, that's a shame. I was thinking of returning the favor, but maybe he doesn't like me enough to make himself known.”

“Maybe he likes you enough to keep it a secret, who knows who else might be listening.”

With a sigh, your understanding came through without any more words needing to be said. It laid thick in the air. “I miss you."

“I miss you too. Did you like them?”

“I love them.” You answered immediately, simply. Maybe it was time to be sincere. “I'd love having you here more, though.”

“Baby, you're getting sick of me next time I see you, just you wait. The flowers are more of an early apology.”

“A threat, more like it.”

There it was, the laugh you loved more than anything. “Yeah. A threat, whatever you want to call it.”

“Promise me, then?”

Biting your lips in anticipation, you waited for his reply. Eddie’s voice came heavy with meaning, “I promise.”

Your heart and the cartoon wings that carry it through your ceiling spinned, and spinned, and spinned.

[silent-stories]

Out of the castle

(Eddie Munson x F!reader) fantasy au

It's dangerous to leave the castle without any protection, without guards. This is what you had been told your whole life and yet, until that moment it was the only way you had found to have fun, relax and spend some time alone, without anyone telling you to walk with your head held higher, how to eat or what to say.

You had the opportunity to feel the grass under your feet, the sun's rays on your face and the wind in your hair, smell the scent of flowers and spices, meet new people or walk through the town market without everyone staring at you or worse, bowing.

You had never understood that stupid gesture that made you feel extremely embarrassed every time. You lived in a castle doing almost nothing every day and you were born with the privilege of getting to learn how to read and write while the common people worked hard to feed their families, sometimes giving up their daily meal for the sake of their children, and they were the ones who bowed when they saw you?

They deserved much more respect than you and your family.

However, your parents didn't seem to understand it.

You didn't know how far you had gone from the castle that morning, but that had never worried you since its towers were visible in every part of the the city, and perhaps the kingdom, from how tall they were.

The narrow path you had walked, wound through the trees and the leaves formed a green roof over your head, filtering the sun's rays. The ground was soft beneath your feet, covered in moss and some dry leaves.

You thought that if your mother found your muddy boots hidden in the closet again, she would kill you and the kingdom would be left without heirs.

The clearing you had reached was surrounded by many tall oaks and a lake, calm and serene, stretched out in front of you. The crystal clear water reflected the blue of the sky.

The frogs croaked undisturbed and some birds, hidden among the branches, were singing.

It seemed like one of those fairytale places that you only read about in books and you wondered if there were sometimes fairies there. You didn't know if they really existed or not but you had read so many legends about creatures like them, that you had started to believe them.

The "crazy" old man who preached outside the bakery a few days earlier was sure to talk to them every night.

“I thought I was the only one who knew about this place.” A voice coming from behind you almost made you fall into the lake. Luckily it didn't happen: you can't teach a princess to swim.

Turning around, you looked at the young man in front of you for a moment. He was wearing a beige shirt (buttoned the wrong way), dark pants with a seam on one knee, and a brown belt around his waist. He didn't seem to have any bad intentions and looked at you with only slight curiosity painted on his face. His curly hair was messy and his brown eyes were still staring at you.

"Since we're both here, I guess you were wrong." You finally spoke.

He softly chuckled under his breath. “How did you find this place?”

“I was just…exploring.”

"Mm." He looked at you like he thought you were lying. “Well, I often come here to fish, so as long as you don't steal my fish, you are allowed to stay.” He added with a smirk.

“Allowed” You repeated to yourself, chuckling. You almost wanted to say that that place was technically yours, considering that one day you would be queen, but you didn't.

"Wait a minute," he said, his eyes widening, "we've seen each other before."

"Oh, I don't think so." You were quick to deny. "I don't leave my house much, I like... reading and painting."

You closed your eyes for a moment, sighing. They were the richest activities anyone could mention, dammit.

"But we did!" He exclaimed as a smile formed on his face, dimples on his cheeks, "You gave me a gold coin a month ago."

He was definitely prettier than any man your father wanted you to marry.

You shrugged. "I don't remember."

So he was the boy singing sat on the sidewalk that everyone was ignoring that evening.

"That's impossible! I was playing my lute outside a shop and you left a fucking gold coin in my hat! My uncle and I got three meals a day for a week thanks to that, and I even bought new boots! I never had the chance to thank you because a moment later you were already gone and I always wondered how the hell you managed to have such a coin and why the hell you decided to give it to me but now-" his babbling suddenly stopped.

"What?" You asked.

"No way." He murmured. "God, I'm so stupid!" He added, suddenly starting to bow.

That was always the worst part.

"I'm really so stupid. I don't know how I didn't notice before, I beg you to forgive me, I never meant to disrespect you and I'm deeply sorry for any-"

"No no no. Please stop. Don't." You grabbed his arm before he could bow.

He stopped mid-action, his knee almost about to meet the ground, and looked up at you, surprised.

"I'm serious, really. There's no need" You added, helping him up.

"But you're the princess." He murmured, confused.

"I know. But it's not that important, really."

It sounded funny, you had to admit that.

When he stood up and you realized you were still holding his arm, you let your hand fall to your side.

“So I won't have my head chopped off in public?”

You laughed.

"I'm serious!"

"I'm sorry. No, your head will be on your shoulders for a while longer."

"Okay, in that case." He grabbed your hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss that barely touched your fingers. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess of Hawkins. My name is Edward, Eddie to my friends, at your service."

“Call me Y/N, please.” A smile was on your lips caused by his theatrical ways.

"Wow." He murmured then, looking at you.

"What?"

"It's just... really weird. Seeing you here. Alone. Without twenty men ready to rip in two anyone who comes near you. Why aren't you...?" He raised an arm, pointing to the castle towers visible despite the tall trees. "I won't take 'I was exploring' for an answer."

"I ran away."

Eddie looked at you in surprise.

"I'll come back. I always come back. I have to. But sometimes I need time outside that castle. I can't spend my life locked inside those walls when there's a world to explore outside. So... I was really just exploring, actually."

"You have any idea how many people could like- kidnap you and return you to your family in exchange for chests full of gold? Assassins, pirates, hitmen..."

“Oh god, you sound like my family!”

He chuckled. "Sorry."

You never thought you'd find a friend outside the castle walls, someone you could talk to as if you weren't the heir to the throne and yet that morning, you spent it all talking to Eddie on the shore of the lake that only you seemed to know.

You realized that maybe Eddie could become your first friend ever.

You liked the way he laughed at your jokes and how he rolled his eyes, apologizing every time you scolded him when he called you “princess.”

"Do you know that your shirt is buttoned in the wrong way?"

"Princess, you live in a castle. You don't know the latest fashion trends."

You loved the way his brown eyes had so many shades of gold when they were hit by the sun's rays filtering through the leaves.

You liked the way he could weave fantasy with reality and confuse you, leading you to believe that the magic he claimed to be true actually existed.

"Of course fairies exist! They are small shiny beings and are only kind to those who are kind to them. A bit like all of us, isn't it?"

You liked his humor, sometimes you wondered if he did it on purpose or was he was just like that.

"What about dragons?"

"You telling me you've never seen a dragon?"

"You telling me you saw a fucking dragon?"

"Hey, you know that for a princess you talk a lot like the people who work at the port, sometimes?"

And after hours, when you realized that if you were gone too long, they would find out about your absence, you had to say goodbye to him.

"Do you... do you think I'll see you again?" You asked then.

"Hey, I told you. I come fishing here often. And you can find me sitting on some sidewalk playing my lute."

You laughed. "Of course. See you then."

"See you."

You laughed when he gave an awkward bow.

The moment you started to walk away, you remembered something.

"Hey, Eddie!" You called out to him, before pulling a gold coin out of a pocket in your dress and tossing it to him.

He caught it.

And like the time before, before he could thank you, you were already gone.

[hannamoon143]

Hi I was wondering if you could do an IN x reader angst to comfort. Any plot is fine! I really need it but no pressure in writing it! <3 Thank you <3

Do you trust me?

pairings: bf jeongin x fem reader

genre: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: anxiety, trust issues, kinda family issues, slight cursing once, crying,

a/n: @0omillo0 this is for you now <33, i just hope you are alright since you said u rlly needed this. take care of yourself luv, and feel free to talk to me.

Did you deserve this? The same question kept running in your mind over and over again.  Did you deserve these kind words? Did you deserve this grade? Did you deserve to feel what you were feeling? The answer was not sure for you. You wanted to believe yes, but deep down you felt like you didn’t. Why? That was a good question. Maybe it was from the trauma of your family. Your parents yelling at you for everything, punishing if you didn’t have perfect grades or made mistakes. Or maybe it was from your siblings who kept laughing at you, and calling you lazy. Or maybe from your friends, that changed often, because you seemed to not be able to hold friendships for long.

The truth was you didn’t know that either. You felt like you knew nothing to be honest. Years spent trying to find out who and what you wanted to be, wasted by other people saying you wouldn’t make it anyways. And where did everything get you?

You were sitting at the floor in your little apartment, pressing your palms to your eyes so you wouldn’t cry.You hated this feeling. But what you hated even more was that you thought it would work out this time.

Your best friend of now 2 years, Sarah, left you. And she didn’t let you slowly down, no she pretended like everything was perfectly fine, until one day she suddenly told people horrible things about you, making people whisper when you walked by, making them mock and laugh at you. At first you didn’t get it. You were confused when people whispered and chuckled when you walked by. That was until you saw a message in the anonym group of the town u lived in. There were most people your age in and someone had spread a horrible messagge about you. In the message was written that you were a drug dealer, and that you had something with the boyfriend of your best friend going on, and as if that wasn’t already horrible enough, there was something that hit u deeper. There was written that you sold drugs to your own siblings and that was why your parents kicked you out and that was why you were living alone now.

After that you knew who wrote that. You never told anyone randomly you lived alone. Tob e honest only two people really knew about this. Sarah and your boyfriend jeongin It wasn’t that common to entirely have broken the contact to your family in that age.

Of course all of the things written were lies. But the last thing… The reason you didn’t have any contact to your family anymore was that they were horrible. For years you excused their behaviour with things like „they also live for the first time“ and „everyone makes mistakes, i have to be strong for them.“ But one day you realized it wasn’t normal. How they’d yell at you for bad grades or make mistakes when you were just a kid. How they’d ignore you after.  And the worst was you once made the mistake to open up to them. You told them how you were feeling, and that you couldn’t keep living like that and your friends were all fake. They laughed at you. Said you were a child and had no right to say these things. Since you were met with these things so early it was always really hard to keep friendships working for you. You had bad trust issues, and you just weren’t able to believe someone really liked you, and you often cancelled meet ups, so you could rather study, or you were just too drained. So friends came and go. Over the years you just totally distanced yourself from everyone, because you didn’t want to trust anyone anymore. That was until you met two people. Your boyfriend jeongin and sarah. Actually you never understood why jeongin liked you. You were boring, were anxious and had trust issues and you were isolating yourself a lot. He liked to go on parties, you cancelled them. You loved spending cozy evenings with him. You sometimes watched movies or you were reading together, and always when one of you would like a sentence, a quote or even a whole page, then you would read it to each other. You remembered quiet nights, spent reading…

Your head was laying in his lap, a blanket wrapped around your body. You could feel his fingers gently brush through your hair, while you listened to his honey voice reading his favorite pages from the book he was reading to you.You closed your eyes, enjoying the moment. And sometimes when there would be a quote you related to, you would tell him your feelings, thoughts and story to it.

For you, things like that were enough. You loved quiet moments. Moments where nothing bad seemed to exist, where only the cozy quiet and jeongins voice reading pretty words was heard. And he said it was enough for him too, but you always were convinced that he wanted more. That he wanted to go to parties, to introduce you to his friends.

But for some reason he seemed to stay with you anyways.

And for sarah… everything seemed so perfect. Meeting with her was actually fun and also if you couldn’t quite talk about your feelings with her you still had fun. So you made the mistake and told her of your family and living situation.

So that was where it got you now. You shouldn’t have trusted someone again. You couldn’t make this mistake over and over again. Everyone was the same.

Your throat tightened and now you couldn’t hold your tears back. You sobbed, hugging your knees to your chest. Why were you always making the same mistakes over and over again. What were you supposed to do now. The whole little town thought you were a mean bitch now, but you didn’t have the money to move somewhere else. You felt like the ten year old child you once were again. Betrayed by already too many people, sitting in your small room, crying.

But after a while, you fell into a uncomfortable sleep on the cold, hard floor.

When you woke up you were sweaty. You had a nightmare and right after you heard your phone somewhere chiming. A bit confused you stood up, stomping your foot. „Ahh shit!“ you cursed, but you found your phone so you just sat down at the floor again looking at it.

12 missed calls from „Ayen💗✨“ 23 unread messages from „Ayen💗✨“

He must have seen the anonymous message now. You leaned your head against the wall, turning off your phone. Only the pale moonlight was lightning the room a bit, and you felt cold despite your sweatiness. You had a heavy headache from crying so much earlier. You tried to think of what do now. Should you just ignore jeongin? Maybe it would be the best for him. That thought was washed away when you heard a knock on your front door. No he couldn’t just come over. You just sat silently on the floor. Should you open? You sighed, standing up and slowly going to the door. You slide down to the floor, leaning to it. You realize your voice is hoarse when you say: „What are you doing here?“

„Y/n? Are you okay? Please let me in, i was so worried about you.“ He sounded relieved but desperate. You sighed, but kept quiet.

„Y/n please let’s just talk alright? I just want to know what that in the anonymous group was. I am not accusing you of anything, as i know you well enough to know you would never do any of those things. So please, let me in, i’m not here to judge, just to talk.“

You listened to his words. So he didn’t believe it. But no matter how sweet his words sounded, you just couldn’t trust anyone anymore. What if he would betray you like sarah did one day too? You didn’t see it coming, so why would you with jeongin. You finally decided to speak up. But it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

„I think we should break up.“

„…What? Y/n what are you talking about, are you serious?“ his voice grew more and more desperate. You kept being quiet, leaning your head to the door. Thankfully he couldn’t see the way tears were streaming down your pale face again.

„Y/n god please open the door, let’s talk, we can talk this out, please i promise i won’t ever judge you but don’t do this. Don’t break up with me in the middle of the night through a closed door, just because your scared. Let me in, and we‘ll talk about it, and then you sleep a night over it and you can think about it again. And if you want to really break up with me then, then okay, but not like this y/n…“

The worst thing was he knew you too well. He knew that you were doing this because you were scared. Scared of your future, scared of your problems, scared of ever trusting somebody again. It was selfish and not fair towards him. You knew that, but just ending things seemed easier, less painful. You wiped your tears away.

You slowly stood up, unlocking the door. Jeongin seemed relieved, and his eyes softened when he saw you. You realized you probably looked horrible. You had cried yourself to sleep, and forgotten to remove your mascara, and you were still wearing clothes from yesterday, and even in the dark lightning he could see your red puffy eyes, with the fresh tear streaks.

„Y/n…“ he softly said, and stepped in wrapping his arms around you. You didn’t move but also didn’t pull away. Actually it felt good. You didn’t notice how touch starved you were until now. Your body began to tremble, and warm tears rolled down your face again. You felt stupid for crying so much

„you know you can always talk to me right?“ he asked, pulling back a bit to look into your eyes. He lifted his hand, brushing the tears away with his thumb. You looked away, humming, because that was exactly the thing that got you here. That you thought you could talk to people, and trust them.

„I don’t want to talk now okay?“ you mumbled.

„Is it because of sarah? I know she wrote it in the group chat, one of my friends ist he admin and can see these things. Look, that’s horrible, and there is no excuse that could come up for what she did, or why she said that, but it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. And these people talking about you behind your back are just random people, believing everything on the internet. They don’t know you. But i do. Please don’t let this get to you“

You wanted to just do what he said. But you couldn’t. All the things on your past proved that it seemed to be your fault. Why else would things like this always happen to you?

„jeongin, it’s not that easy. I know you only wanna be nice and stuff but i don’t wanna tell you all this.“

„what? You think i’m „just being nice“? Seriously y/n? You should know i’m not just being nice. I never said it maybe but i love you. With my whole heart.“

You lift your head up. What? That was something you didn’t hear in a really long time. You weren’t even sure if someone ever said these three words to you. You didn’t remember your parents ever saying that, and your friendships were never lasting long enough for someone to actually say this.

„Do you trust me?“

What? You looked at him confused again. Why did he ask that? It was as if he saw right through you. Exactly the one thing u thought u would have to ban from your life. Trust. And your wonderful boyfriend asked for it.

„I- i don’t know i… i can’t, i want to but i-„ you stuttered,slowly, looking down. You were sure he was gonna be mad. I mean who wouldn’t trust their boyfriend right?

But he just smiled at you. A gentle, tender smile, that made you feel warm. He wasn’t gonna get mad?

„It’s alright love. You don’t have to answer right away. I know trust is something big for you to give, especially after this incident. But i’m ready to work for it. I will do everything to someday gain your trust. Just let me show you that there are trustworthy people. I will prove it to you. Let me love you and gain your trust y/n.“

What he said was beautiful. You didn’t quite know what to respond. Jeongin seemed to know what was going on in your mind, and he said the right things, in his tender, caring way. You couldn’t fully trust him immediately, but slowly, in little steps you would heal and build trust again. And you didn’t have to do it alone. But was he really willing to stay even though you would have to convince yourself that it was alright? Would he be patient for you? It was something that you couldn’t imagine in your mind. But he sounded serious about it.

Maybe you could give him and yourself one more chance. Maybe you could slowly gain confidence to trust someone fully again. Your mind was screaming against it, but your heart didn’t. Not at jeongin.

„Okay, and… i love you too“

„And even if you think it’s your last time trusting someone again y/n, it will last till forever falls apart. I won’t ever let you down“

Little did you know that time, that his words were meant entirely serious. And he kept his promise.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buddie: "Evan" vs. "Buck" - Parallels of Margaret & T.K. 1.0 vs. Phillip & T.K. 2.0

The video below includes a few examples of Phillip, Eddie and Tactless calling Buck "Evan" and IT'S EASY TO HEAR THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THEY SAY IT. Phillip and Toy Story sound like they're scolding him while Eddie said it with love, emotion and caring. ALSO, I ADDED THE PART WHERE BUCK TOLD HIS DAD TO CALL HIM BUCK! That's why it's interesting Buck hasn't told Tree stump to call him "Buck" in CANON yet.

In a recent post I completed about Buck's "In Another Life" journey being continued in Season 8 (linked here), I mentioned I would do a separate post that included details regarding the parallels between Phillip and Timbuktu that would illustrate how their wardrobes are similar and their clothing in the different episodes proves it. The same way Phillip calls Buck "Evan" Transparent does it too and like I mentioned in my original post, I believe he's doing it because he's supposed to be teaching Buck something.

Reminder both Phillip and Margaret are TEACHERS! However, the audience didn't learn this information until 6x11 when Bobby said it at the end of the episode. Well, I said Tyrannosaurs Rex is supposed to be a GUIDE/ADVISOR to Buck and people in those roles are there to teach and support the person they're assigned to. Therefore, it makes sense that Phillip's and Temu's clothes are similar.

While watching 8x5, I kept trying to figure out why Tonka Toy's wardrobe looked different from the way it did in season 7 and when I realized he wore a plaid shirt twice, I immediately remembered who else wear's them. It's Buck's dad, Phillip. He wears them ALL THE TIME! Usually he has a sweater, cardigan or a blazer on top of them and they always cover most of his shirts but THEY'RE ALWAYS THERE and they're in plain sight. Reminder, Phillip calls Buck, "EVAN" and he usually does it with so much disdain that anyone who hears him whenever he says it can tell he's aggravated or annoyed with him.

I've placed pictures of Phillip from different episodes beside one's of Toy Story to illustrate this point.

In the first picture, Phillip and Margaret are talking to Maddie because she told Buck about Daniel. They told her she had no right to tell him and Phillip just let Margaret become unglued the same way she always does when she's talking about Buck and Daniel. It's also the part where he explained Buck being born was the reason why he packed them up and moved them to Hershey. In the second picture, they're in the hospital looking at Buck but reminder, they weren't in the room when Buck's found family entered later in the episode. In the third picture of Phillip (at the bottom), they had just arrived in L.A. because Maddie asked them to come and in the fourth photo, it was a flashback and it's when Margaret told Buck, "Don't be stupid, Evan." The pictures of Tinseltown are from 8x5 and 8x1. He wore plaid shirts in both of them. The one at the top is of him visiting Buck in the hospital after he dislocated his left shoulder and the one at the bottom is of him at Eddie's house before Chris' online birthday party.

Additionally, in 8x5 (below), Tree Branch was wearing another shirt that matches a color Phillip wore on two different occasions. It's a dark red almost burgundy color and Tonsilitis wore one in 8x5 while he was supposed to be helping Buck after he dislocated his shoulder. Reminder, it's the part where he told Buck he'd had enough screen time and it was time to turn off the computer. Also, he turned the lights out on him.

The first picture of Phillip is from "Buck Begins" and it's a flashback from the night Buck INJURED his arm after he crashed his motorcycle. Phillip asked him, "Evan, what were you even doing in that part of town?" It's also the night Maddie gave him her Jeep and told him to go and be happy. In the second picture, Phillip is at the firehouse with Margaret (they showed up unannounced) and he's telling "Evan" that it wasn't his fault that he couldn't save Daniel. It's when BUCK TOLD THEM, "It's BUCK! The people who know me call me Buck!"

I did a post a few years ago about the way Margaret and T.K. 1.0 spoke to Buck and I included some information about the way their wardrobes were similar too (linked here). It's the same story with both T.K.'s because in the pictures below, Margaret is wearing a reddish color sweater over her blouse but reminder, she was yelling at Buck for almost dying. In the picture of Taylor from 4x8, it's when she called Buck, "Needy". In the second set of pictures, Margaret is wearing a purple shirt and she's yelling at Buck because he was sitting in a tree. After she did, he fell down and broke his left arm. Taylor is talking down to Buck while wearing a lavender (shade of purple) blouse but reminder, she was upset with Buck because he climbed up the crane after Eddie was shot.

The point of this post is to illustrate what the show has been doing this whole time with T.K. 1.0 and T.K. 2.0. They're paralleling both of them with his parents. Taylor used to yell at Buck the same way Margaret did and now Trespass is talking to Buck and calling him Evan the same way Phillip does. Everyone who's ADMITTED that Buck prefers to be called "Buck" and not "Evan' fully understands that Tree branch calling him by his legal name is JUST PLAIN WRONG!

The one-time Eddie used his legal name, it was to let Buck know he is needed and that his life is NOT EXPENDABLE. (Related post linked here.)

THERE'S A REASON WHY THE SHOW ONLY LET'S TOMBSTONE CALL BUCK "EVAN" INSTEAD OF HIS CHOSEN NAME WHICH IS "BUCK".

Just saying!

[destinyisastar]

Static Death

Summary: In Static Heart you died in your sleep but how? How did you die if it wasn't from sickness? What lead to your death?

This could be read as a prequel from Static Heart, this won't be a series, but I'll go back to it every now and then. (Read Static Remains for part 3.)

Alastor x Wife Reader

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Alastor died three days ago. He was shot in the head with his body ripped apart by the hunter’s dogs. He was supposedly found next to a corpse of a local man. There was a shovel and an open grave nearby.

You had no idea what was going on when you awoke from the sounds of knocking. Two police men were at the door.

“Are you the Wife of Alastor Hartfelt?” The taller of two said.

“Yes, did something happen? Is my Husband okay?” you asked worriedly.

 The two men looked at each other, “Its better if you come with us Mrs. Hartfelt.”

Once you arrived at the police station you were immediately questioned.

“Where were you two hours ago?”

“At home getting ready for bed.”

“Where was your husband?”

“He told me he would be working late at the radio station.”

“Are you sure about his whereabouts?”

“Yes, I’m sure, what are you implying?”

“I’m saying can you confidently tell me you knew where he was?”

“Yes, I’m positive! Where’s my husband?”

“Your husband was found dead alongside another man!”

Your eyes widen, your breath is knocked out of you.

“What…..?”

“We have reason to believe that your husband was the Bayou Butcher, we have people over there right now searching for more bodies, along with your property!”

“NO! No there’s no way that he…he’s that serial killer, my husband is a sweet gentleman. He would never do such a thing!”

“You say whatever you need to make yourself feel better! We know the truth and we’ll have the proof soon enough!”

The police searched the area where Alastor was found and located over 50 bodies.

While you were being questioned, the police searched your house. In the basement of your humble adobe, the home you shared with your loving husband, were blooded knives and a long sleeve tainted with dried blood.

The police kept you at the station till they finally figured out that you had no idea of your husband’s evil deeds.

Now its three days after his death.

You wanted a funeral for him but of the two funeral homes in your area neither of them wanted to host a ceremony for a serial killer.

Serial killer.

Your husband is, no… was a serial killer.

You begged and begged, shoved money in their faces until one of them looked at you with pity.

It was just you and the priest. No one else showed up. He was buried near a tree across the bayou from your home. Away from anyone that could damage the grave

After the priest left, you stayed near the grave. Kneeling down resting your head on the cold stone, placing a final kiss you stood up walking away from your dear husband, your dead and buried husband.

Making it home you went straight to your bedroom, collapsing on his side of the bed. You immediately began sobbing.

“How could you do this?!”

“Why did you do this?!”

“Alastor!!”

You eventually cry yourself to sleep.

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In another part of town, a woman was cleaning her shotgun.

“Disgusting, horrible man. He deserves more than death, hell… I hope he’s in hell forever.”

The woman grabs a photo on her nightstand.

“Don’t worry my love,” she caresses the man’s face in the photo, “I won’t let that filthy broad walk on this earth.”

She presses a kiss on the photo. “Neither of them deserves to live!” she places the photo back on the nightstand. “That filthy woman knew what that killer was doing!”

“I’ll make her pay.”

“I’ll make sure they’re both in hell”

The woman stands up with her shotgun in hand and looks into the mirror.

“I’ll kill that bitch.”

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The woman stands at the door of the Hartfelt household. She reaches for the knob and finds that it opens easily.

She maneuvers through the halls quietly and finds a door ajar.

Pushing the door lightly, the woman steps into the bedroom. On the bed lays a disheveled broad clutching on to a pillow, her face dried with tears.

“I hate you.”

The woman loads her gun.

“You are filled with the same evil as that husband of yours.”

The woman raises her gun, pointing it at the figure on the bed.

“Burn in hell!”

A blast is shot through your head, blood splatters across the room.

Your life among the living is no more.

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Hope you all enjoyed!

destinyisastar 2024

Word Count: 737

(no one asked for this, but I just wanted to make it :D)

[blacklegsanjiii]

This one is about ASL x Fem!Sanji

Like, with Sanji is common boys flirting with him, and they already are jealous, but Fem!Sanji?!

The girl is being flirted with by boys and girls, at first it was only boys but after they turn teens girls start to flirt with her too. And let me tell you, the girls probaly were even more flirty and straight forward.

As they grow up the amount of girls flirting with their girlfriend grows too. ASL, Makino, Zeff and even Garp and Dadan just know Sanji is too pretty for her own good.

Okay so, Fem!Sanji my beloved oblivious blonde, she's so dumb and has a self image so skewed she doesn't believe anyone would flirt with her. She's not used to overt affection and then is only used to her boys doing it with her. They also don't flirt with Sanji, not in the way most normal people think of flirting. They actively fight for her attention and hold onto her and carry her around. Sanji is so used to her boys vying for her attention most interactions will go over her head. The Baratie is famous not just for the food but the gorgeous blonde who works there and for the trail of heart break she leaves across the East Blue. It's hilarious. Sanji will be waiting tables and is left a bunch of den den numbers on the receipts that get staked at the end of the day. There's a betting pool with the employees and the regulars about how long the banned list is going to be at the end of the month. It's an unfortunate state that the Clown of the East Blue is winning but ah well.

It's not as bad as when Sanji takes her boys on supply on runs. Sanji has so many extras piled into her shopping it confuses her, the women will often try to lure Sanji away into the makeup stores and perfume stores as if her boyfriends won't follow her until their dying day. Dadan keeps trying to explain to Sanji that she draws a lot of attention to herself because she's not from the East and everyone can tell that. She's pretty and her hair is like a cloud of curls and fluff that's incredibly soft. Sanji thinks so poorly of herself that she's lucky she somehow managed to pull three feral jungle boys to date her and she only thinks it's because of Zeff and Garp. Dadan wants to strangle her.

It doesn't matter who is blunt and straightforward because Sanji just doesn't believe them whatsoever. She doesn't even believe her boyfriends half the time and it only gets worse after they start heading out. First Ace, then Sabo, then a few years later Luffy who somehow manages to convince Sanji to go with him. Everyone loses the betting system for who Sanji sets off with. It's a wild and funny joke to the betting pool because of course the clown won after the shitshow that was Orange Town. But Sanji keeps getting flirted with. Loguetown sees her being offered good luck charms left and right, some expensive which she hands off to Nami when asked. Nami smiles and sells the trinkets back except for this aquamarine one that Sanji had explained is said to bring good luck to sailors and she lost hers piercing her boyfriends ears because they wanted something of hers to take with. Nami is confused by the statement because Sanji is dating Luffy and Sanji is looking at her with a smile before Nami puts the earrings on Sanji while blushing madly because yeah. She's cute. Nami gets glared at by Luffy afterwards and told Sanji is his girlfriend and Nami agrees and asks what's wrong with what she did and Luffy pouts and says people do that to Sanji all the time, it's annoying. When the question is asked by Usopp how often this happens Luffy shrugs and says it was worse when all three of them were there with Sanji to everyone's confusion. Who are the other two?

They find the first one on the way to Alabasta by giving Luffy's older brother Ace a lift and watch him drape over Sanji and plant kisses on her. Ace and Zoro are pack mules for a resupply at an island before they make it and Zoro watches Sanji get hit on over and over and her not realize as Ace glares at everyone who does. Then some random guy puts a necklace on her and Zoro watches Ace pull Sanji after giving the guy some beri and Zoro follows helplessly because Ace looks upset and is telling Sanji she can say no and Sanji is arguing he was just being nice. When Zoro asks Ace about it he sighs and tells Zoro about how Dadan used to say Sanji was too pretty for her own good. Then Zoro watches Ace set a large bouquet of flowers some girls are giving Sanji on fire. Ace says he and his brothers were never good at sharing as Sanji stomps angrily towards them and land a solid kick against Ace's stomach. Zoro tells her to quit flirting and gets one of his own. Ace sighs and says Sanji doesn't know what flirting is, even if someone hit her on the head with a two by four. Zoro thinks she's dumb.

Robin watches Sanji get vast discounts on her suits, more than Nami could bargain for. The seamstresses and tailors tend to take her measurements with too many touches and lingering fingers that make Robin watch the girl closely. She laughs about it with the crew, about how the blonde doesn't understand what's happening and Luffy says she's always been like that and except for the one time some guy grabbed her or something and she kicked him so hard he flew into a tree or something and it was the first they saw Sanji do that and Ace asked for him to get kicked and Sabo choked on his spit so badly that he turned blue. Then Zeff kicked them off Baratie because of it. Robin asks about the girls and Luffy says they were always the worst because Sanji's never really been around girls except Dadan and Makino, he thinks Sanji has a sister though but he's not sure. Chopper goes to talk to Sanji about several things which leave her red faced throughout dinner.

When the crew, all of them, meet Sabo and Koala they watch Koala stumble around her words and steps when she catches sight of Sanji. Robin and Luffy giggle as Sabo smirks. Sabo takes the two ladies out to lunch so that he and his girlfriend might catch up and he wants to see how down Koala is for Sanji. He doesn't account for them being served by a waitress and her and Koala fighting for Sanji's attention and Koala speaking over him because maybe she didn't hear that Sanji is his girlfriend and what that means and what she's doing because Koala and the waitress keep trying to one up the other, Koala with stories and the waitress with samples of dishes and desserts. Sabo watches with slight glee as the meal ends and they make it of the restaurant and take Sanji back to the crew. Sanji giving a very sweet to Sabo and him promising a date soon just the two of them as they wave goodbye and the Strawhat crew leaves.

"No fair you got a kiss." Koala whines.

"Completely fair, I've been dating Sanji for years." Sabo argues.

"You just met her today like I did." Koala argues back.

"Koala, I am a very jealous man and it took all my strength to not burn down that restaurant and run off with Sanji. I've been dating her since I heard what dating was in Windmill Village. I already share her with Ace and Luffy." Sabo sighs. Koala's eyes widen as she does the math. "Yeah, last I heard Ace lit someone's kimono on fire in Wano and Luffy regularly punches people. But you're doing so much paperwork when we get back for flirting with my girlfriend after I said she was."

"Fuck."