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downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le · 7 months ago

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Inevitable (Alex Summers x Reader)

Inevitable (Alex Summers x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 13,014 Warnings: violence, angst, fluff, death, injuries, mentions of unable to have children, sad ending, implied sexual actions Spoilers: I guess the plots of X-Men First Class, Days of Future Past, and Apocalypse but the films have been out for years so don't at me.

This is the story of Y/N L/N and Alex Summers - of Aura, the girl who could turn invisible and manipulate energy around her, and Havok, the boy who could generate and blast plasma from his body. A boy destined for destruction, and a girl who could prevent it.

Their story was always inevitable.

I'm going through an X-Men rewatch and I forgot how much of a chokehold some of these characters had me in, especially from the First Class era. As you can probably tell from my previous stories, I have an soft spot for the tragic ones, so here is my little story of Alex Summers who bloody deserved better.

1962 - C.I.A. Mutant Division

Y/N looked around at her surroundings as she followed Erik and Charles down corridor after corridor. She'd never met C.I.A agents before, let alone stepped inside one of their facilities. But Erik and Charles aren't C.I.A., she reminded herself as she took in the bland concrete walls and cold, harsh lighting above her. They were like her - mutants.

She hadn't believed them at first when they'd told her just a few hours ago inside the cafe she was closing up for the day. It had been a busy day and she hadn't had time for a drink of water let alone any reasonable break. She thought she was hallucinating when the two had entered the cafe, prattling on about how they knew who she was.

It was only when she demanded they prove it - that they were like her - and the taller one (Erik) had lifted every piece of dirty cutlery in the store and had them float into the foaming sink to be cleaned that she believed them.

That was almost seven hours ago, the drive from New York to Virginia giving the men more than enough time to bring her up to speed on what they were doing and why: they were gathering other mutants like her to stop another war from starting.

As she followed the two men through the facility, only now did she start to have doubts about their intentions. For all she knew, she was going to be experimented on and tortured, possibly killed.

'If we'd wanted you dead, we would've made sure of that back in New York,' Charles suddenly said without looking as he and Erick led the way.

'What? How did you-' Y/N started to ask, but cut herself off as she remembered what Charles' gift allowed him to do.

Y/N noticed her surroundings starting to change. Instead of a war bunker, the corridors started looking more home-like and the lights grew warmer. As they approached a big orange door, Y/N heard voices speaking and laughing in the room beyond. They sounded... happy.

Finally, Charles looked at her and spoke, but not with his mouth. I promise you, Y/N, he said into her mind, freaking her out a little bit, you don't have to be scared here. You don't have to hide who you are from the people beyond this door. Here, you can be free. Happy, even.

Y/N looked between Charles and the door for a moment, imagining whose faces belonged to which laugh, which voice. She imagined herself doing those same things, and that was what convinced her that she was in the right place.

'Are you ready to meet your new family?' Charles asked aloud this time, to which Y/N nodded and Erik opened the door.

Y/N was met with six people sitting around a coffee table chatting and laughing while having a few drinks. She took a moment to admire them all - a short girl with dark hair and visible tattoos all along her shoulders and arms; a red-head who seemed to be doing a lot of the talking in the group; a man with charcoal skin and broad shoulders in a tight grey vest-shirt; a boy with glasses who looked really shy next to a gorgeous blonde girl who could very well have been a super model; and a blond boy in a dark t-shirt and leather jacket who had the smoothest smile Y/N had ever seen.

They were the perfect picture - how could she possibly interrupt that? Y/N was about to leave when suddenly Charles called for everyone's attention and that smooth smile from the blond was now aimed at her. Her heart thudded in her chest, embarrassment at being caught flooding her cheeks and she just had the visceral response to hide, hide, hide.

'Everyone,' Charles started proudly as he motioned to Y/N, 'this is Y/N. She will be- Wait, where did she go?'

Y/N watched as everyone looked around the room even though she she hadn't moved. Both Charles and Erik looked at her, but they didn't seem to see her. That's when she looked down at her hands and found her entire body covered in a translucent light only she could see. And that could only mean one thing.

'Sorry, I'm right here.' Y/N concentrated hard on revealing herself and when she could no longer see the translucent light, she knew she could be seen again.

'Whoa,' the red-head said, his mouth gaping in shock.

'That... is wicked cool,' the broad-shouldered man exclaimed.

'As I was saying before,' Charles said, sounding sheepish at forgetting her ability, 'this is Y/N. She will be joining you all and her gift... Well, we will leave that to her to discuss that with you all. Erik?'

'Yes,' Erik replied, and then the two of them were gone, closing the door behind them and leaving Y/N standing all alone.

Y/N was usually a confident person - she had to be as a waitress - but having six pairs of eyes staring at her so intently had her wanting to hide again. The beautiful blonde stood up from her place on the white couch and sauntered over to her. Y/N found herself looking up at the woman, who seemed to have legs for days and the most beautiful smile as she approached.

'I'm Raven,' she said, holding a hand out in greeting. When Y/N shook her hand, she gestured to the couch. 'You've come at the best time. We were all just about to discuss our gifts with one another.'

Y/N was quickly dragged to the couch and plunged into an in-depth conversation with the six. After only a few minutes, Y/N felt as if she'd always been there, talking and laughing and joking around and becoming more confident. Although, she couldn't compete with the blond boy with the smooth smile from earlier, now known as Alex Summers.

In the short time she'd heard him speak, she'd deduced he was the cockiest man in every room ever. No wonder he was put into solitary confinement, she thought when he mentioned he was picked up by Charles and Erik at his army base. He's probably been the instigator of more than one fight.

'We should think of some code names,' Raven suggested enthusiastically. 'We're technically government agents now. We should have code names. I want to be called Mystique.'

'Damn, I wanted to be called Mystique,' Sean, the red-head, groaned in fake misery, causing everyone to laugh.

'Well, tough. I called it,' Raven said, then her voiced changed as she physically did, eliciting gasps from the group as she now sat as an exact replica of Sean. 'And I am way more mysterious than you.'

The group gave her a round of applause as she morphed back into the beautiful blonde, but now that she'd revealed her gift, Y/N wondered if what she showed everyone now was her true form or just another disguise.

One by one they went around the room, showing off their abilities and coming up with names for each other. The mood somewhat soured when Angel asked Hank who he wanted to be.

'How about Bigfoot?' Alex jested as he took another sip of his coke. His condescending laughter communicated that it wasn't a nice joke, and that didn't sit well with Y/N.

'Well you know what they say about guys with big feet,' Raven said, eyeing his own feet before she continued, 'and, um, yours are kind of small.'

Alex's smirk dropped instantaneously as the group laughed and oohed at Raven's burn. Except for Darwin, who rounded the group back to the topic at hand.

'Okay, okay, settle down now,' he said. 'What can you do, Alex. What is your gift?'

'How about being burnt by women?' Y/N murmured just loud enough for the group to hear, earning another round of laughs and a hard glare from Alex. Y/N held his gaze with a smirk in challenge, taking a sip of her own drink. He might've been top dog back in army bootcamp, but Y/N didn't like bullies, especially if they were meant to be teammates.

Alex eventually dropped his glare, his whole demeanour changing as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. 'Um, it's just... It's just that... I can't do... I can't do it in here.'

'Can you do it out there?' Darwin asked, and when Alex hesitated to answer, the rest of the group started goading and pleading him to show his abilities. Y/N even found herself intrigued. What could Alex do that he needed open space for?

The group cheered victoriously as Alex gave in to peer pressure, put his drink down and climbed through the broken glass courtesy of Sean moments before. As Alex set up outside, Y/N joined the others who leaned out the broken window to watch him.

'Get down when I tell you,' Alex said as he lined up in front of the bronze statue that's head still smoked - courtesy of Angel's fireball during her demonstration.

'Get back,' Alex said, and Y/N leaned back with the rest of the group, but they all apparently were too intrigued and so they all leaned out from behind the wall to watch him.

Alex went to make a move until he realised the group hadn't listened to him. 'Get back!' he warned again, but when no one moved, he faced the statue again. 'Whatever.'

Y/N found herself gaping at Alex as he seemingly powered up, red rings of plasma rotating around him until he slung them out into the open space but uncontrolled. The last one hit the statue, slicing it on a diagonal that had its head and part of its torso falling to the grass in flames.

The group erupted in rounds of applause as Alex walked back to them. He appeared more confident now as his teammates applauded. Y/N figured he wasn't used to that. Perhaps that was why he'd been in solitary confinement as much as he had been.

'Well, I'm glad you did that out here,' Darwin said, looking at the wreckage slightly worried. 'You've caused... a bit of chaos.'

'I can't control it, unfortunately,' Alex said, looking at the damage he'd caused. 'I'm hoping that might change one day.'

'Don't be ashamed of your gift, Alex,' Raven said, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 'You're amazing.' She looked to the rest of the group. 'We all are.'

When Raven did that, Alex's attention fell onto Y/N again, a skeptical look on his face. 'So what about you? Do you do anything useful or do you just disappear when you get a little embarrassed?'

Y/N's cheeks heated with anger. Who the hell was he to judge her? He didn't even know her.

'At least I don't cause havoc with my gift,' she bit back, motioning to the flaming buildings and statue.

Where a normal person would look at the damage and wince with remorse, Alex had the audacity to look at his handiwork and laugh in amusement. 'Havoc. I like that. Maybe that should be my code name, except change the c to a k so it looks cooler written down.'

Y/N rolled her eyes while the others complimented how good a name it was. But she had to admit it was a fitting one, just a shame he turned her insult into a name for a hero.

Y/N released a sigh then held out a hand to the fires in the courtyard, concentrating on grasping the energy in the air. After a moment, small bubbles of white energy appeared and Y/N was vaguely aware that her new friends had gone quiet as she forced the bubbles to encapsulate the fires. With a flick of her fingers, the bubbles started shrinking, depriving the fires of oxygen and eventually extinguishing them.

When Y/N turned back to the group, she found them all gaping at her in wonder and shock.

'Well, that was cool,' Angel said, earning hums of agreement from the others.

'What exactly did you just do?' Hank asked.

'I don't really know what it is,' Y/n answered honestly. 'But, I think I can manipulate energy or something like that. I can create those force fields, and as you saw before...'

Y/N let the energy hide her, and she relished the shocked faces of her friends as they could no longer see her. Feeling cheeky, she ran at Alex then dropped and swiped his legs out from underneath him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

He landed with a resounding thud, his breath escaping him in a loud, 'Oof,' as he did. Only then did Y/N reveal herself, looking down at him with a smug smile.

'...I can turn invisible.'

The others clapped in appreciation of her demonstration while Alex looked up at her in annoyance. Y/N offered her hand to help him up and surprisingly he took it and together they pulled him to his feet.

'So what, you can control, like, the Force, or something?' he asked.

Y/N rolled her eyes. 'This isn't Star Wars, asshole. It's more like... I can feel the aura of the energy around me and I connect with it and then use it to my will.'

'That's it!' Angel exclaimed suddenly. 'That's your name!"

'What is?' Y/N asked, confused.

'Aura!'

'Aura.' Y/N tried it on her tongue. She had to admit, it had a nice ring to it.

'Aura, Havok, Banshee, Darwin, Angel...' Raven said each of their new code names as she looked at them, grabbing a drink for herself from the table. She looked to Hank. 'We'll find one for you soon, Hank,' she reassured, then pointed to herself. 'And Mystique.' She raised her drink high and everyone else did the same. 'Here's to our new life. Here's to being our true selves.'

'Here, here,' Sean said as they all clinked their drinks together in solidarity.

'So, what do you think?' Alex said just to Y/N as seperate conversations between the others started. Angel switched on some music and her and Raven jumped on the coffee table to start dancing.

'About what?' Y/N asked.

'Are you going to be your true self here? With us?' he asked, and there was a little challenge in his question, as if he really wanted to add Or are you going to hide away?

Y/N had so far lived her life in constant fear. But Erik and Charles said they needed her, that the world needed her. Perhaps it was time to stop hiding.

Y/N flashed Alex a small smile, reflecting his challenge in her own eyes. 'I don't think you could handle the true me, Havok.'

Alex's grin widened devilishly. 'Try me, Aura.'

1962 - X Mansion, pre-Cuba

It had been weeks since the C.I.A Mutant Division facility had been attacked by Shaw, that Angel had chosen his side, that Darwin had sacrificed himself in the effort to save them all, Angel included.

Egos bruised and hope extinguished, Charles had brought those who remained back to his mansion to train for the upcoming battle with Shaw. Which is what Y/N was doing with Raven when Charles entered the gym requesting her presence in the war bunker.

'You want me to what?' both Alex and Y/N exclaimed together in the bunker, gaping at Charles because he'd clearly lost his mind.

'You heard me,' Charles said nonchalantly, walking to stand in the middle of the room. 'I want you two to spar while you, Y/N, protect me. Expand your range of concentration so you can control different energies at once, manipulate numerous fields doing different things simultaneously. Alex now has the tools he needs to control his power so he won't be as volatile as he once was.'

'Hey now,' Alex said, clearly offended.

Charles offered a mediocre apologetic smile before readdressing Y/N. 'You have to push the limits you have set for yourself in order to become stronger. I can sense your full potential hasn't even been scraped at yet. How about we try today.'

Y/N looked between Charles and Alex, who also looked at Charles like he was crazy. But there was an air of truth to his demands. Shaw was no novelty mutant, and neither were Angel and the other mutants following him. If Y/N didn't do this, she would be their next victim, and what kind of teammate would she be if she died too early?

Y/N eventually nodded her agreement. 'Okay, let's do this.'

'You sure about this?' Alex asked her.

'Aw, is big old Alex Summers worried about hurting me?' Y/N taunted, though she didn't really know why. His concern was sort of sweet.

It disgusted her.

Alex's concern scrunched up in annoyance on his stupidly beautiful face. 'No. I just... Oh, screw this. Fine let's spar, L/N.'

Y/N went to stand at one end of the bunker and Alex at the opposite end. Charles planted himself right in the middle of the two, looking too casual for Y/N's liking. Did he really have that much faith in them?

'Whenever you two are ready,' Charles called out, rocking on the back of his heels in anticipation.

'Okay,' Alex said hesitantly as he fired himself up. His new chest plate helped him to control his plasma so he surely would hit the professor if Y/N didn't do something.

Just as Alex fired, Y/N placed a force field over Charles and the plasma blast bounced off it and straight back at Alex. Alex had to duck quickly as his own blast came hurtling back at him, and Charles let out a small laugh as the blast made a small dent in the wall behind Alex.

'Well this is going to be fun,' Charles said, and the fight truly begun.

Alex would sling shot after shot at Y/N and the professor, but Y/N deflected every shot and held the force field around the professor soundly. At one point, Y/N managed to to turn in visible while Alex was distracted and landed a few blows.

But Alex managed to knock her back, the blow forcing her to reveal herself. She had no time to worry about being exposed however, as Alex powered up for what seem to be one giant blast. Y/N managed to bring up a force field around her as the blast connected, but instead of bouncing up off it, the plasma seemed to sink into the force field.

Y/n looked around in confusion, feeling the energy flowing stronger through the force field and increasing with every second. She was vaguely aware of someone calling her name - it sounded like Charles - but the energy was becoming too much to hold up now.

Y/N let out a cry as she released the force field, and the shockwave it sent through the bunker sent both her and Alex flying to opposite ends of the bunker.

Y/N smacked into the solid brick hard, sending an intense throbbing through her head as she hit the ground. Her vision blurred and she felt drained of power like never before. Two blurry figures were in front of her, their mouthes moving but not saying a word. She thought they were saying her name.

After a few more seconds, her hearing came back to her as well as her vision, showing Alex and Charles kneeling beside her with worry on their faces.

'Y/N, can you hear me?' Charles asked, scanning over her body for any injuries.

'Are you okay? Can you hear us? Say something,' Alex said, eyes searching her face for any sign that she understood anything they were saying.

Y/N hummed in reassurance and his worry dissipated into relief. Alex quickly helped her into a sitting position as she gathered herself. 'Well,' she breathed out, giving Alex an amused smile, 'that was... fun.'

This elicited a laugh out of both men as they helped her to her feet. Y/N was very aware of Alex's hand holding her steady on the small of her back as they both listened to Charles.

'My! You two create quite the show,' he exclaimed with an enthusiasm that kind of scared Y/N. 'Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant work, you two. You have both grown in leaps and bounds these past few weeks. I daresay you will both be quite powerful when you fully master your gifts. Now, take the afternoon off, possibly head to Hank in the lab for some patching up and look overs. I will see you both first thing tomorrow.'

'He sounds like a professor talking to students,' Alex muttered after Charles had left.

Y/N shrugged. 'Well, we kind of are students, so I guess that would make him our professor.'

The two shared a small laugh and both their eyes slipped to his arm, which was attached to the hand that still pressed gently against her back. Alex quickly dropped his hand and Y/N took a decent step away from him. Well now it's awkward.

'G-Good fight,' Alex finally said after seconds of silence, unable to meet her eyes. He did the thing where he rubbed his neck and Y/N's stomach did a little flip at how cute the gesture was.

Quit that, she told herself, then realised she hadn't responded to him. 'Y-yeah. You too. Sorry... for sending you into the wall.'

'It's okay. I've been hit harder,' he said, and his cocky smirk was back. Something about his statement rubbed Y/N up the wrong way, like he was undermining her ability. That was a pretty decent fight they just had.

Y/N just huffed and stormed out of the bunker. 'Whatever,' she muttered as she left him behind.

'Hey,' Alex called out as he ran to catch up with her. 'What's wrong? You want me to apologise too? Okay, I'm sorry for sending you into the wall, too. There? Happy?'

'You know,' she started, stomping up the stairs that would take her to the first floor of the mansion, 'you can be such a jerk, Alex.'

'What are you talking about?' he asked, and he had the audacity to sound genuinely clueless.

At the top of the stairs Y/N finally stopped to let Alex catch up. She didn't care that he was taller than her, she looked up at him with annoyance in her eyes. 'You can never admit that someone could be better than you, let alone that they could be your equal.'

His face screwed up in confusion. 'What? That's not what I meant. Where did you get that impression from?'

'You think yourself superior to us all, and for what? We all have gifts, Alex. We are all special and useful and powerful. Yet you make fun of Hank, you belittle me. What is your problem?!'

Alex stepped towards Y/N, closing what little space there had been between until she felt his breath brushing her heated cheeks. 'You know, I was just about to pay you a compliment but forget it.'

'I wouldn't want a compliment from you, Alex. They're more like insults than anything,' Y/N said then stormed off.

'Princess!' Alex called out after her in a last ditch effort to have the last word.

'Jerk!' she answered over her shoulder.

'Coward!'

'Asshole!'

Y/N finally entered the lab and Hank was already looking at her crossed arms.

'You know, you two really need to take your fights outside,' he simply said, already reaching for his equipment to check her health.

Y/N raised a brow in a silent question, to which Hank responded, 'The walls and floors to this place aren't as thick as they appear.'

Downstairs where Y/N had left Alex smouldering, a certain telepath entered Alex's mind. Well that's an interesting flirting tactic.

'Oh, piss off,' Alex hissed aloud as he walked in the opposite direction towards his assigned bedroom. Y/N was the most aggravating person in existence. Flirting with her was the last thing on Alex's mind.

I don't know, I think you two would make a rather nice couple, Charles interjected again.

'I said piss off!'

1962 - Cuba Beach

Y/N was locked in a fight with Riptide when she saw Alex and Sean crash onto the beach, Angel having shot them down. As she went to attack, Alex shoved Sean out of range as he unleashed his uncontrolled plasma rings, his chest plate missing.

He caught her wings, slicing them in half and sending her flying to the ground, but as Alex helped Sean to his feet, Y/N spied Angel get to her feet, rage in her eyes and fire burning in her mouth.

Alex's back was turned. He would never see it coming.

Y/N, rejuvenated by the threat, turned back to Riptide and conjured up a large energy wave and sent it hurtling at Riptide. He tried bringing up a wall of wind to counteract it, but the wave was stronger and sent him into the side of the uprooted submarine. He fell to the sand with a hard thud and didn't move.

Y/N immediately ran for Alex and Sean, hands raised and conjuring up a force field around her friends just as Angel spat fireball after fireball at the two of them. The fireballs bounced right off the force field, angering Angel even more as she turned her attention to Y/N.

Before she could attack, Y/N trapped Angel in another force field, raised her off the beach, and sent her out over the ocean where she finally let the force field drop. It hurt her to hear her old friend's scream as she fell into the deep water, but Angel had done this to herself.

Y/N turned back to the boys. 'Are you two okay?' she asked, looking over them for any injuries. All she could find was Alex's bare chest and a hole in Sean's wing suit.

'We had it covered,' Alex said, his tone annoyed.

Y/N scoffed. She couldn't believe it. He was still being a self-righteous jerk in the middle of a battle?

'I just saved your life, asshole,' she said, stepping towards him in anger. 'Maybe you should be thanking me instead of complaining like a little boy.'

'Get down,' he said, his eyes on something over her shoulder, but she didn't care. He wasn't listening, but she would make him.

'Don't you tell me what to do you self-righteous jerk-'

'I said get down!'

Before she knew what was happening, Alex was pushing her behind him as he sent plasma rings at Riptide, who Y/N obviously hadn't knocked out entirely and was lining up to attack her from behind.

Riptide saved himself from being sliced like the statue back at the C.I.A. with a small tornado, but the impact from the plasma rings sent him flying over the submarine and out of sight.

'And I just saved yours,' Alex said as her tuned back to a shocked Y/N. He was panting heavily, obviously not used to exerting so much energy in such a short time frame. 'Now we're even.'

The way his words were haggard from his lack of breath made his voice raspy and Y/N hated how much the sound tingled up her spine pleasantly.

Y/N opened her mouth to retort at him - tell him how stupid and reckless and irresponsible and idiotic he was - but she couldn't find anything to say, and so snapped her gaping gob shut in indignation. The two just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, eyes locked as so many unspoken emotions passed between each other.

Until Sean walked in between the two of them, shaking his head in disbelief. 'Damn, get a room, you two,' he said, his tone both disgusted and amused as he started walking back to Charles and Moira still on the crashed jet.

'We're not-' Y/N started.

'It's nothing like-' Alex interjected at the same time, but Sean was already out of earshot.

Y/N and Alex looked back at each other, both their cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Alex was the one to finally break the silence. 'We should...' he trailed off as he gestured after Sean.

'Right,' Y/N immediately answered, grateful for the change in subject. They still had a fight to win, otherwise the whole world would fall into another war.

Y/N and Alex followed Sean swiftly, happy to leave the awkward interaction behind them. But even after the fight, Y/N didn't know about Alex, but maybe there was a little truth to what Sean's words implied. It wasn't that Alex was unattractive. He was just... infuriating.

But he had saved her life, put his body on the line protect her. That meant he cared for her in some capacity... right?

1967 - X Mansion

'You're what?!' Y/N exclaimed, standing up from her seat in the middle of Charles' office.

'I'm sorry, Y/N, but I have no choice,' Charles said, his voice sad and exhausted.

Y/N should've seen this coming. She'd seen the signs. How Charles had let his hair grow out, how the shadow of a beard grazed his jawline. How he lounged in his wheelchair instead of sitting with his usual perfect posture. And the hope and colour of his eyes had faded to loss and hopelessness.

'Yes, you do,' Y/N argued, slamming her hands on his desk. 'You can choose to keep fighting. You can choose to keep helping and teaching. You can choose hope, Charles.'

'There is no hope left, Y/N,' Charles replied, dejected as he looked anywhere but Y/N's eyes. 'Erik was right. The world is not meant for mutants. The world does not want mutants.'

Y/N walked around the desk to kneel before his wheelchair. 'You can't truly believe that, Charles,' she said trying to catch his gaze. 'After all you have done, after everything we've been through, you cannot believe that. Look at what you've achieved!'

She gestured to the room, but she meant the school as a whole, whose corridors buzzed with students who possessed unique powers. Admittedly the numbers had dwindled significantly because of the Vietnam War, with most of the teachers and the older students being drafted. Y/N had managed to not be drafted so far, and had dedicated every second she had to teaching. She was now in her late 20s and had learned all she could as a student. It was her turn to teach the next generation what it means to be a mutant.

But regardless of numbers, there were still children who needed help. They couldn't close. They just couldn't.

'Please, Charles,' she said, placing a gentle hand on his cheek to guide his eyes to meet hers. He looked in so much pain - a pain Y/N couldn't see but she could certainly try to understand. 'There is still hope. There is still good in the world. We just have to find it again.'

Charles didn't say anything at first, and Y/N took that as a sign that maybe she'd gotten through to him. Since beginning her teaching career, Charles had become like an older brother to her. He hadn't given up on her when she didn't believe in herself all those years ago, she wasn't going to give up on him now.

But Charles gently took her hand away from his face and turned his chair so he faced away from her. 'Hope is a human error. I've already made up my mind, Y/N. I suggest you forget about all of this and go live what life you have left. God knows society won't allow you a full one.'

Y/N remained crouching, too shocked to argue, too horrified to be angry. As Charles turned his back on her - busied himself with his bookshelf - Y/N left the room in a daze, still unsure what had just happened. That's how she felt for the rest of the day as she taught and supervised, students constantly asking her if she was okay as she usually wasn't as silent as she was.

Y/N easily deflected the questions, but she couldn't ignore the breaking of her heart every time she spoke with a student, saw them master an ability, ask a question. How would she break the news to them? A more accurate question would be how could she? They looked up to her, to Charles, to all of them. Some of them had no homes to go back to, no families that accepted them or no families at all.

By the time the last bell rang, Y/N was on the brink of breaking down.

It was now late at night, the children well and truly asleep. But Y/N remained awake, walking the mansion, dreading breaking the news tomorrow during the assembly. God knew Charles was in no condition to break the news himself even though he was the headmaster. And Hank hated public speaking despite being a teacher. No, she had to do it, but she'd be breaking hundreds of hearts in the process.

As she reached the front foyer, looking around and remembering her first few days there, remembering the first few days of the school opening and it being full of enthusiastic and excited children, tears welled up in her eyes.

They'd just started to slip when the front doors clanged open. Y/N immediately went into defensive mode, her hands lighting up as her mutation activated

Alex threw his hands up in faux surrender. 'Whoa! Easy Y/N, it's just me!'

Y/N breathed a long sigh of relief as she let her hands drop. 'Jesus, Alex. You mind knocking next time? What are you even doing here? It's two in the morning.'

Alex was also a teacher at the school, but he sometimes slept off campus as his family home was just a few suburbs away. He usually didn't slip back in until just before class though so this encounter was a little surprising.

'I needed to see the professor,' he said, then his face scrunched with worry as he looked over Y/N. 'Were you just crying?'

Y/N quickly turned her back to him to wipe away the tears that had escaped. 'I'm fine. It's nothing.'

'No it's not,' Alex said, and he took quick steps until he stood beside Y/N. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and managed to turn her to face him. He looked down at her with such concern Y/N felt more tears welling up.

He was a dick. From the day they'd met he'd solidified that for himself. But the past five years had seen him mature, grow, change in ways Y/N had no idea he was capable of. She saw how gentle he was with the children, how fiercely protective he'd become of them.

And while they still clashed and fought like cats and dogs, they'd found comfort in each other more than once. They would always laugh on the terrace late at night as they had a nightcap, downloading their days to one another; Y/N would occasionally bring Alex food when she knew he hadn't made it to lunch because he was so busy with work; and Y/N would wake up sometimes from nightmares to Alex comforting her.

Out of all the original X-Men group, those two had become the closest. With Charles busy running the school, Hank busy with his lab, Raven, Erik, and Angel off recruiting for their Brotherhood, and Sean deciding to go see the world, Alex and Y/N only had each other.

'What's wrong?' Alex asked so gently. 'What happened?'

Y/N couldn't get a word out, her heartbreak finally bubbling to the surface as tears and sibs wracked her body.

'Hey, hey, hey,' Alex said as he pulled her tight to his chest, arms wrapping securely around her, hands rubbing up and down her back soothingly. Y/N clung to him for dear life, the only part of her body she could control as she continued crying. 'It's all right. I've got you.'

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Y/N had no more tears to cry. When she finally pulled away, there was a dark patch of tears staining his white t-shirt that he wore under a plaid overskirt. 'Sorry about that.'

'Don't be. Ever,' he said, and Y/N had never seen him so serious before. 'Now, what's wrong?'

'Charles is closing down the school,' she said, voice dejected.

'What?' Alex looked up the stairs then back to Y/N, confusion and anger morphing his features. 'I'm gonna go talk to him.'

He made to run up the stairs and no doubt give Charles a piece of his mind, but Y/N quickly grasped his wrist and halted him. 'You can't,' Y/N said. 'He's already made his mind up.'

'Like hell he has,' Alex seethed, making to leave again but Y/N pulled him back.

'Alex,' she pleaded with him, 'believe me if I could change his mind I would be up there right now doing so. But... he has no hope anymore. The war has dwindled us thin. He doesn't see the good in the world anymore. That's not something we can give back to him. He has to find that again on his own.'

Alex looked ready to argue, jaw clenching as he looked between the stairs and Y/N. But Y/N slipped her hand into his and squeezed it gently and his features softened. He rubbed the back of his neck - as he always did - as he let out a defeated sigh. 'So I guess there isn't any point in informing him that I've been drafted for the war?'

Y/N's eyes bulged and her heart rate spiked with fear. 'You what?' she asked, but she'd heard him correctly.

His jaw clenched as if he didn't want to elaborate. 'Got the call this morning. I'm just surprised it's taken this long for them to find me again.'

That's right. Y/N sometimes forgot he had been in the army just before they met. 'When do you leave?' she asked.

'Two days from now,' he said regrettably.

Y/N never considered herself an emotional person, but tears welled up in her eyes again. 'It's just not fair,' she said, breathless as she tried to keep the tears back. 'You deserve to be free. You deserve to be happy, Alex.'

'Hey, hey,' he cooed, using both hands to cradle her head and neck, forcing her eyes to meet his. 'I'll come back. I promise. And who says I haven't been free and happy?'

He swallowed thickly as his eyes scanned over Y/N's face, hesitating on her lips before looking back at her eyes. Y/N felt then something change. In the air, between them, possibly both - she couldn't quite tell. But the way he was looking at her, how he held her so preciously, had her heart racing.

'The past five years here have been the most free and happy I've ever been,' Alex admitted. 'Training and teaching with Charles and Hank... and you. You have given me a home away from home, a new family. You've protected me when no one else would; you've laughed and cried and fought with me, for me...'

He leaned in closer now, as if there was a gravitational force pulling them together. 'I will come back, Y/N. To you.'

Alex Summers was a dick, but he was also a kind and loyal man. A man silently laying out his heart before her despite their previous disagreements.

'Promise?' she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

'Promise,' he said, and with that confirmation Y/N stood up on her toes to lock her lips with Alex's.

His hands cradled her face still as he held her to him, their lips melding harmoniously as they kissed. This had been building in Y/N since day one when he'd flashed her that smooth smile that sent her stomach into somersaults. Every fight (verbal or physical), every conversation, every drink they shared, every looked that passed between them, it had all been leading to this.

They finally pulled apart but pressed their foreheads together as they caught their breaths.

'I've been wanting to do that for a long time now,' Alex admitted, his words breathless.

'How long?' Y/N asked, curious.

'Since day one,' he answered, then let out a small chuckle. 'I didn't know it at the time, and when I finally did I never wanted to admit it. I think Charles and everyone else knew before I did.'

'It was the same for me,' Y/N assured him, and Alex smiled brightly before he pulled her in for another kiss.

The rest of the night was spent catching up on lost time. Y/N was thanking Charles that all teachers' rooms were at the other end of the mansion to the students' rooms. Y/N and Alex managed an hour of sleep before the rays of dawn warmed them awake.

'We probably shouldn't have done that,' Y/N said, tracing a finger along Alex's toned stomach.

'We were pretty quiet, I thought,' Alex said, stopping threading his fingers through Y/N's hair to press a kiss to the top of her head. 'Though, you did get a bit loud when I-'

'Shut up, asshole,' she said, giving him a slight shove that sent the both of them into a quiet giggling fit. Once they'd both calmed down, Y/N returned to tracing Alex's abs. 'I mean, we shouldn't have done that because you're leaving in two days.'

'Yeah, we certainly have great timing, huh?' Alex tried joking but when Y/N didn't laugh, he sat up in bed bringing her with him. 'Hey, I told you I will come back. Nothing's going to stop that.'

'You can't assure me that,' Y/N countered.

'What was that whole thing about having hope?' Alex questioned, and when Y/N couldn't find an answer. 'I believe in us, Y/N. I have hope. You taught me that. I will come back. I promise.'

Y/N still had her doubts but she allowed herself to play into the fantasy that it would all end up okay, and she leaned in for another mind-melting kiss.

'Okay, Alex,' she conceded. 'But just know you're still an asshole.'

'And you're still a princess. But you're my princess.'

As the two got ready for the day, Alex asked, 'So what are you going to do? When the school closes down.'

Y/N had been thinking about it since Charles told her and hadn't been sure if it was the right thing to do, but she had to try. 'I heard that Raven has broken off from Erik and is going about their cause on her own. I'm going to go find her and bring her home.'

'That's going to be dangerous,' Alex said, his tone worried.

'And going to war isn't?" she countered. 'Raven is like my sister. I've got to help her. There is good in her, she's just angry at the world. You're right. I have to keep hoping, even if everyone else has lost it. Because we are worth it.'

She walked up to Alex to cradle his face as he had done so many times the night just gone. 'We are worth it,' she whispered.

Alex placed a hand of his own over hers, pressing it closer to his face which had only gotten more handsome over the years. 'You're amazing, you know that right?'

Y/N just smiled before bringing him in for another kiss. When they broke apart she took a moment to contemplate his face then laughed.

'What is it?' he asked, an amused smile on his lips.

'We're just two idiots, aren't we?' she said, her tone bordering on sad. 'All that time wasted on arguing. All seems stupid now in the face of danger and death.'

'I disagree,' Alex said as he took her hand and headed for the bedroom door. 'I wouldn't change that time for the world. I am who I am because of that time, and you were always so cute when you were mad.'

'Hey!'

1973 - X Mansion

Y/N breathed a sigh of contentment as she stood out the front of the mansion, all tidied up and ready to reopen.

'I forgot what it used to look like without the overgrown weeds and dusty windows,' Charles admitted as he looked over the entrance too.

'Now whose fault would that be?' Hank asked with a smug smirk on his lips, but it quickly dropped with Charles' side eye.

Y/N smiled at the familiar banter. It had been a long six years full of struggle and pain and loss since Charles officially closed the school. But a man called Logan from the future had convinced Charles of something Y/N had been unable to, and while Y/N hadn't be able to bring Raven home, she'd been able to help their future and bring Charles back to life.

It had taken a few weeks to clean the mansion up with just the three of them. They had no one else to ask. Logan was missing, Raven too. Erik had gone into hiding, and Sean and Angel and most other mutants had been subjected to and killed by Trask's cruel Sentinel trials. None of them had a chance to say goodbye, and that very thought haunted Y/N even now.

And Alex... Last time Y/N checked, Raven had freed him and other mutants in the army who'd been locked up from the rest of the soldiers for some reason. No doubt for experiments. Y/N had been on base that day, but she'd gone to another bunker with other mutants. Her and Raven had stayed behind after that; Y/N never got even a glimpse of him, but Raven said he was okay and that he missed her.

'That doesn't matter now,' Y/N said. 'What matters is we're doing what we were meant to be doing all along. Speaking of which...' Y/N turned to the two men kind of sheepishly. '...I actually can't start teaching again just yet. I have to go.'

'What?' Hank asked. 'Why? We need you here.'

'I know, and I have every intention of coming back,' Y/N hastily reassured. 'I just... I need to go find someone.'

'Who?' Hank asked, but Charles was looking at her knowingly.

'It's Alex, isn't it,' he asked, but it wasn't really a question. Besides, he'd probably read her mind.

Y/N nodded. 'He used to call me from base every two weeks, send letters once a month. But then the calls stopped coming about a year ago, and so did the letters. I didn't even know if he was alive until Raven and I went to his air base. But I didn't see him, and now I need to find him to see if he did make it home after all.'

Charles looked at her and he smiled, the action caught somewhere between pride and sadness. 'You really love him, don't you?' he asked softly.

Y/N found the same smile stretching across her lips as she nodded. 'Very much so.'

Charles chuckled softly as he looked away, then somewhere over her shoulder. 'Very well then, off you go. But... something tells you'll find him closer to home than you think.'

Confused, Y/N turned to follow where he was looking over her shoulder and saw a black Cadillac pulling into the driveway. It wasn't until the driver pulled up in front of the building and stepped out that Y/N realised what Charles meant.

Alex Summers stood facing her from the driver's door, smiling smoothly at her as he pulled off his aviators. 'Hey, princess,' he said, his tone somewhere between his usual swagger and pure relief.

Y/N flew down the front steps and over to him. He held his arms out expecting a hug, but all Y/N saw was red as she lined up to slap him square across his face. The sound was crisp and cut through the air, silencing even the birds.

Alex was stunned as he turned back to her confused. 'What the heck was that for?'

'How long have you been home' Y/N asked, ignoring him.

'Um, like, a month? I don't really know-'

'And you didn't call me? Let me know you were okay?'

'I was kind of busy consoling my family since I've been gone for like six years,' he argued, rubbing his cheek. 'And you seemed to be busy too. You know, saving the world and all.'

Y/N couldn't argue with that, but she still wanted to be mad at him. He had her all worried for nothing. 'You still could've called me.'

'I'm here now, aren't I?' He reached a hand out to clasp hers and she allowed him to puller her closer with it. 'Trust me, there wasn't a day that I didn't think of you, wishing I was back here with you. I'm sorry if I made you worry.'

His genuine tone softened her anger until it was nothing but relief and joy at seeing him. She pressed her forehead against his own and smiled. 'Like you said: you're here now, right?'

With that, the two connected in a long awaited kiss that reflected all their longing and love for one another. They were so enthralled with one another that they didn't hear a word of Charles' and Hank's conversation happening just a few steps away.

'Wow,' Hank said, trying not look at his long-time friends making out in front of him. 'Alex and Y/N. Not going to lie, did not see that coming.'

'Oh, I did,' Charles said smugly, though his eyes reflected the happiness he had for his close friends. 'From the moment they met, I knew they were inevitable. You didn't need to be a psychic to see that coming.'

1978 - Alex and Y/N's house

Y/N sighed as she unlocked the front door to her and Alex's house. They'd moved in together about a year ago, hating constantly going between the school and Alex's old apartment. He hadn't returned as a teacher to the school after the army as she had, and so found a place of his own. But one night they'd both realised they didn't want to keep figuring out whose place they would spend the night at. They wanted a place for themselves, and the rest was history.

Y/N kicked off her sneakers, grateful for the relief she felt as she walked into the lounge room where her feet sunk into the carpet. Alex seemed to have had an early mark from his office with the U.S. Military, as he was in the kitchen cooking. His soldier days were thankfully over, but he'd been promoted to a desk job which didn't really suit him but it paid well and he could actually try and make a difference from there. For both humans and mutants enlisted into the army.

'Hey, princess,' he said, stirring up some sauce that had Y/N almost drooling for.

'Hey, baby,' she said tiredly as she came up behind him and cuddled him, breathing out a content sigh as she attempted to meld into his back.

'Wow,' he said with a chuckle, 'no asshole today? You've definitely had a bad day.'

'Don't push it,' Y/N warned, but it was an empty threat as she didn't move a muscle. Alex was always so warm, and now that it was winter she craved his presence even more. 'You didn't have to make dinner.'

'I know,' he said nonchalantly, continuing to stir the delicious smelling sauce. 'But I figured if you weren't home by five, you'd had a hard day.'

'Aw,' Y/N cooed, squeezing his torso slightly tighter. 'Alex Summers, you can be so thoughtful, you know that?'

'Besides,' he said, finally putting the sauce bowl down and turning in Y/N's arms to face her, a cheeky smile on his lips, 'you take forever to cook and I want to eat at some point tonight.'

Y/N's smile dropped. 'I take it back. You are a jerk.'

'That's nothing new,' he said as he pulled her in for a loving kiss. Y/N really enjoyed their more fervent kisses - the ones that left her breathless and hungry for more because she just couldn't get enough of him. But this - the gentleness, the care, the love transferred between their lips - calmed and grounded her. Reminded her she was at the best place in the world: home.

'Why don't you go have a shower, relax, and I'll have dinner ready by the time you come out?' Alex asked after they ended their kiss, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in comfort.

Y/N shook her head. 'While that does sound like a wonderful time, I'd rather help you cook the rest of dinner.'

'You sure? It's nothing special or hard. I can handle it-'

'Alex,' she interrupted, heading for the drawer with all their aprons, 'I have spent all day at a desk or in a classroom looking at paperwork and marking grades. I want to help. I want to spend time with you. It's treat enough that you're home before the sun sets.'

She tied her apron up, rolled up the sleeves of her dress shirt and reached into the pantry 'Now, let's get this pasta cooking.'

The rest of the night was relaxed, with Alex and Y/N chatting about anything and everything while they cooked. They continued chatting during dinner, and Y/N laughed at Alex spilling red pasta sauce all over his cream shirt. Before they knew it, bed time had fallen upon them.

Y/N was just brushing her teeth as she was explaining how her day was going to go tomorrow. 'Now remember, I'm going on an excursion with the kids tomorrow to the national history museum so I won't be home until six, I think.'

When Alex didn't answer, Y/N asked, 'Alex? Did you hear me?' He didn't answer again, and so Y/N spit out the toothpaste and hurried back into their bedroom.

'Alex? Why aren't you-'

Y/N's heart almost stopped as she was met with Alex Summers on one knee, holding a delicate but beautiful ring up to Y/N.

'Believe me when I say I had a different plan in mind for this,' he said, eyes hopeful and the twitches of a fearful smile pulling at his lips. 'I had it all planned out and was going to do it when we go on our trip next month. But those places don't mean anything to us: here does. In our home.'

To Y/N's surprise, Alex's eyes welled up with tears as he continued his speech. 'Tonight was perfect, and I realised... that I want to have a night like tonight every night. You are too good for me, Y/N. I can be a jerk and an asshole and self-centred and rash - but you take it all in stride and put me in my place and I thank you for that.

'I love you, Y/N. And I want to love you - fight with and for you, explore with you, live with you - for the rest of my life. So, Y/N L/N... will you marry me?'

Alex never cried, so seeing him get emotional opened the floodgates in Y/N's own tear ducts. Y/N clasped her mouth as both sobs and joyous laughter escaped her, leaving her a blubbering mess.

Y/N wiped away her tears and flashed Alex the most loving smile she could manage. 'What do you think? Of course I will marry you, Alex Summers.'

Alex breathed a sigh of relief and his tears of joy finally fell as he stood up and embraced Y/N. Y/N couldn't hold him any tighter it seemed, couldn't pull him close enough even when there was no space left to close between them. But finally they parted and Alex slipped the delicate ring onto Y/N's finger. It shimmered in the low lamp light coming from their bedside and Y/N couldn't imagine anything more fitting.

'It's beautiful, Alex,' Y/N said, still sniffling.

'Anything for my princess,' he muttered into her hair as he held her close.

Y/N laughed into his chest before craning her neck back to look up at him. 'You're locked in now, asshole. No take-backsies.'

Alex laughed. 'Don't you know?' he asked, leaning down to capture her lips in another loving kiss. '...I was always in it for the long run,' he said after breaking away, warm breath fanning across Y/N's cool skin.

1983 - X Mansion

Y/N was just leaving her classroom when four students came flying by.

'Hey!' Y/N called out, and the four students stopped.

'Sorry, Mrs. Summers,' Jubilee said, a bashful expression on her face.

Y/N eyed who else was with Jubilee. Jean Grey, and the two new students: Kurt Wagner and her brother-in-law Scott Summers.

Y/N placed her free hand on her hips as she looked at them skeptically. 'And where are the four of you off to in such a hurry at this time of day?' she asked, noting how it was the middle of the day.

'Uh...' Jean started, looking unsure.

'We were just off to the library,' Scott interjected, his voice confident and full of bravado. 'To study.'

Y/N narrowed her eyes on Scott. Scott was not the studious kind, and usually she could read Scott like a book. But since his mutation kicked in and he'd had to wear the ruby quartz glasses, it was hard to tell what he was truly thinking.

'That's right!' Kurt added over-enthusiastically, and the others nodded in agreement.

Based on their adamant responses, Y/N knew something was up. But she released a sigh and waved them off. 'Okay, but don't study too hard then.'

'Yes, Mrs. Summers,' Jean and Jubilee said together, then grabbed Kurt and headed around the corner and out of sight.

Scott was just about to do the same when Y/N called out to him. 'Hey, Scott.' He stopped and turned, his lips pulled down in a frown, possibly worried that he'd been caught out. But she just smiled and said, 'It's nice to see you've made some friends already.'

Relief and genuine appreciation split his lips into a smile. 'Yeah. Me too,' he said, then he took off after the others, their laughter bouncing off the walls of the old mansion.

It genuinely made Y/N happy to see Scott making friends. He was usually the reserved type, making small rebellions but certainly not as loud as his older brother. He used to be the kid that got picked on at school, so to see him actively engaging with other kids was promising.

It was the changing period between classes and so all the students were milling about the halls as Y/N made her way down the steps to the front foyer. She had a free period so she was in no hurry.

What she didn't expect to see, once the children had cleared, was Hank and Raven of all people standing together in the foyer.

'Raven?' Y/N said in disbelief, a baffled smile adorning her lips.

Raven and Hank seemed to have been engaged in a serious discussion, but she returned Y/N's smile and opened her arms for an embrace. 'Hey, Y/N.'

Y/N accepted the offer and embraced her long-time friend tightly. 'Oh, it is so good to see you, Raven. It has been too long.'

'Yeah, since seventy-three I believe.' The two women pulled apart but held hands. Raven ran her fingers over Y/N's hands and her fqace changed to shock and happy surprise. 'Oh my God, you got married?!' she exclaimed, bringing Y/N's left hand up to inspect the delicate diamond.

'Yeah. Alex and I just celebrated five years,' Y/N said, her words taking on a sad tone.

'Five years...' Raven dropped Y/N's hand, a sad expression on her face. It was then Y/N recognised that Raven was in the skin she'd worn for years to fit in with society, not her natural blue. There was slight betrayal and hurt on Raven's face too.

'We tried finding you, Raven,' Y/N said, grasping tight to her friend's hands. 'I wanted you there. Truly. You just... Well, since D.C. I imagine you've been busy.'

Raven's betrayal morphed into shame. 'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I would've loved to have been there. For you.'

Y/N knew she meant it, and so she flashed Raven a smile and said, 'It doesn't matter now, though. You're here now, and it is so good to see you. Speaking of which, why are you here?'

'I came to speak with Charles about Erik,' Raven admitted, the two women finally releasing each other's hands. 'I think he's in some trouble.'

'I was just telling her Charles and Alex were out,' Hank added.

'Well, they should be back in the next hour, I think,' Y/N said. 'Why don't we wait in Charles' office until then.'

As they all waited, Y/N and Raven decided to catch up. They discussed everything from the school to Raven's personal missions as a vigilante for mutants to Y/N and Alex's marriage.

'I must admit, I always knew you two would end up together,' Raven commented, a knowing and cheeky smile on her face.

'No you didn't,' Y/N argued. 'Did you even know Alex and I back then? We fought like cats and dogs!'

'Still do, depending on the day,' Hank muttered as he drank his tea.

Y/N flashed him a hard glare before turning back to Raven.

'Oh come on, it was practically inevitable you two would end up together,' Raven countered, laughter dancing on her words. 'But I'm happy to hear you two are happy. You're some of my oldest friends and you deserve happiness.'

'Thank you, Raven,' Y/N said softly.

'So, how many do you have?'

Y/N raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'How many what?'

'Kids. I can only assume you've got an army waiting for you at home...' Raven quietened as she noticed Y/N's demeanour change. Her smile dropped and she sunk back into the couch more. 'Did I say something wrong?'

Y/N shook her head and tried smiling for her friend, but tears welled in her eyes. 'No, you didn't. It's just... Alex and I found out we can't have children about a month ago.'

'Oh, Y/N.' Raven didn't know what to say or do. She just reached a hand out was a grateful that Y/N took it for support.

'We've been trying since we got married,' Y/N explained, wiping the tears away before they even fell. 'When nothing was happening, we decided to go see a specialist. But I guess even being a mutant doesn't make us immune to human genetic failure.'

She gestured to the closed doors that led from Charles' office to the school beyond 'Besides,' Y/N continued fondly, 'I have hundreds of kids already to deal with,. Children of my own would just complicate that probably.'

Raven just hummed in agreement, but said nothing more. No doubt she could sense or even see Y/N only meant half of what she said. Y/N truly loved each and every kid at the school, but it broke her heart to know she'd never have a daughter or son that had her eyes or Alex's smile, her wit or Alex's bravery.

Before they could dwell on the sad matter any further, the doors to the office opened and in came Charles, Alex, and someone Y/N thought she'd never see ever again.

'Moira?' Raven said as the three entered the room, standing to her feet in shock.

'Raven?' Charles asked.

'I'm sorry, have we met before?" Moira asked, cluelessly smiling at Raven, then Y/N and Hank.

Soon enough, Raven and Charles needed to converse privately and so Y/N, Alex, Hank, and Moira stood in the foyer awaiting their decision. Hank took one for the team and took Moira for a bit of a tour around the school while Y/N and Alex stayed in the foyer to talk.

'Never thought I'd see you step inside these halls during school hours again,' Y/N said cheekily.

'My brother and Charles are the exceptions,' he said, and when Y/N pouted he added quickly, 'and of course my beautiful wife.'

'Hmmm, sure asshole,' she said, before allowing him to kiss her briefly.

'You know you can be so mean sometimes,' he said as he pulled away.

'That's why you love me though, right?' she asked.

'Hmmm, sure princess,' he mirrored her earlier comment, earning a light slap to his shoulder as they devolved into laughter.

'So, how's Scott doing?' Alex asked, genuinely concerned for his little brother.

'Don't worry,' Y/N reassured him. 'He's fitting in just fine. Although he said he was going to study just before...'

'Oh, he's definitely doing something he shouldn't be then,' Alex said.

After a moment of silence, Y/N said, 'I was talking to Raven just before... about us not being able to have children.'

The topic always made Alex more protective, and so he placed his hands on her arms and started gently rubbing them up and down slowly. 'You okay?'

'Yeah I'm fine, but it did get me thinking... why don't we look at adopting?'

Alex looked halfway between shocked and happy when she said it. 'Are you sure?'

Y/N nodded. 'Why not? There are so many kids in this world that have no homes, no families. We could be that for them.'

Alex smiled brighter than he ever had as he embraced her so hard he lifted her off her feet with joy. 'I love you,' he said as he finally put her down, then looked at her as if she was the light of his life. 'We're gonna have a family.'

Y/N nodded then pulled him into a short kiss, just as Hank and Moira finally came back to the foyer and Charles' office doors opened. 'Y/N and Hank, you are dismissed from classes for the rest of the afternoon,' he said. 'We have to find Erik.'

~~~

It all happened so fast.

Someone hijacked Cerebro and controlled Charles momentarily, taking over the world for just a split second. Raven, Hank, and Y/N were finally able to wrench Charles free of the power and then Charles commanded Alex to destroy Cerebro.

The incident left the whole group, except for Moira, panting and drained as they exited the flaming room. Charles was unconscious in his chair, giving no signs that he was okay.

Y/N sensed a change in the area's energy force, and looked down the hallway to where a portal was opening. 'Uh, guys...'

The rest of the group followed her gaze to where five figures stepped out of the portal, one notably being an old friend.

'Erik,' Raven said softly, realisation dawning on her face too late. He was not here to be friendly.

Before anyone could react, Erik reached out to Charles' chair and brought him in to their portal which was firing up again.

'Charles!' Raven called out.

The winged figure protected Charles as the others stepped in front of him as barriers. Not that any of Y/N's group chased after them - wait, one person did.

'Alex, no!' Y/N said as her husband ran past her. When he didn't listen, she chased after him.

'Alex!' Hank called out behind them.

'Hey, asshole!' Alex called out to the blue man standing out the front of Erik's group.

The portal reopened around Erik, Charles and the other figures, the blue man stepping out in front to say, 'All will be revealed my child.' His voice was haunting, echoing all around them in a way that emanated power. He was not a standard level mutant.

But Alex still ran, and Y/n sensed he was charging up to fight.

'Alex, don't!' Y/N was almost there, could reach him in another few steps.

'Wait!' Hank called out, but Alex was lining up, red plasma already bursting from his chest. 'Stop!'

Y/N finally realised Hank's fear. While she was trying to stop Alex from chasing after mutant much stronger than all in the room, Hank was more concerned as to what was just beyond the doors Erik and Charles stood before.

Y/N's fingers just grazed Alex's shoulder when he let out a powerful plasma blast. But Erik and Charles disappeared into the portal before the blast could reach them, instead allowing it to burn through the metal doors that lead into the jet hangar.

Y/N pulled Alex behind her as the explosion happened. She threw up her hands and conjured a force field that surrounded the entire hangar just as the fire was about to reach her face. The strain was immediate as well as the heat, and Y/N almost crumbled as the explosion bounced and rolled around in the bubble.

'Y/N!' Raven called out, and Y/N felt hands on her arm and shoulder as Alex came into view.

'Baby?' he asked, eyes apologetic and frightened.

'I'm okay,' Y/N managed out, breathing deeply as the strain increased. 'Get everyone out. Now.'

'We can't just leave you here,' Hank argued.

'We won't,' Alex answered. 'I'll stay with her. Let me know when everyone is out.' When Raven and Hank didn't move, Alex said, 'Go!'

Once they'd gone, Y/N said, albeit with a strain, 'You should go, too.'

'I'm not leaving you,' he said, the weight of his hand on her back ever present. 'Hank and Raven can get the kids out themselves.'

'I'm not just talking about the kids.' Y/N managed to tear her gaze from the swirling explosion just beyond her force field to look Alex in the eyes. 'Go find Scott. Make sure he's okay.'

'I trust Hank and Raven,' Alex said.

Y/N's hands shook and so she turned her attention back to the force field. 'Alex, I don't know how much longer I can hold this. And I'd rather you not be here in case-'

'Don't say that.' Alex moved more into her vision so she didn't have to break her concentration. 'I put you in this mess, I will see you through it. You're the toughest person I know, Y/N. If anyone can hold this, it's you.'

Y/N saw on his face he truly meant it, but her hands shook harder now and the fire was pushing against the field more. Y/N swallowed a groan because as much as she didn't agree with Alex, she had to try.

Every second counted.

But every second was torture.

In reality, it was only five minutes before Hank notified Alex that the school had been cleared. But Y/N's vision was starting to spot black and her entire body now shook. Sweat rolled down her face and exhausted tears threatened to spill over.

Alex's phone buzzed and he answered the incoming call. 'The kids are all out,' Hank said, his crackling due to the horrible service of the lower levels. 'We're coming back for you.'

'Don't!' Y/N strangled out, groaning as the strain increased. She was aware of Alex's gaze on her so she turned slightly to look him in the eyes and saw something that she didn't want to see.

Hank kept talking. 'What? No, we're coming back down-'

'It's okay, Hank,' Alex said calmly, his eyes never leaving Y/N. 'Just... keep them safe.'

'Alex, wait what-'

Alex ended the call and Y/N could've screamed with frustration. 'No,' she whispered. 'You're not staying with me.'

'You never planned on getting out of this alive,' Alex stated. 'Did you?'

'I've made my peace,' Y/N explained. 'You need to be here for Scott.'

'You are my wife, Y/N!'

'And he is your brother!' Tears finally spilled as her powers began to wain. 'He is young and scared and he needs his brother so please Alex, go!'

Pain and indecision whirled in Alex's eyes as he looked from her to the doors that would save his life. Y/N couldn't hold on much longer, but she'd make sure he would get out. Tears spilled down his gorgeous face. Even after all this time he still looked as he had when him and Y/N first met, apart from the hair of course.

Resolve and love and apology was on his face as he finally looked back to Y/N, and he said, 'Scott will understand.'

He was really doing this. He was really going to die with her.

'I can't protect us once I let this field down,' she strangled to say, tears and pain and regret threatening to overwhelm her. 'I have nothing left, Alex.'

'You've done enough,' he said gently, then manouvered himself to stand between her arms so he was face to face with her. He cradled her face in his hands then pulled his lips to hers for one final kiss. 'I'm sorry,' he whispered, tears streaming down his face.

'I'm not,' Y/N replied, and despite their situation she smiled as brightly as she could. 'We had a pretty good run, didn't we?'

That finally brought a smile to his face. 'We sure did, princess.' He looked into her eyes, his gaze unwavering and the way he held her was heavenly. 'I love you.'

'I love you,' Y/N answered, then her energy emptied completely and she fell into Alex's arms.

They held each other as fire engulfed them and the mansion exploded, unable to be torn from each other even at Death's door.

1983 - X Mansion, post Apocalypse Battle

Scott Summers stood before two headstones with X's on them that had been put up in the school's courtyard. Both had his last name.

Alex Summers

Havok

1941-1983

Husband, Brother, Friend, Hero

Y/N Summers (neé L/N)

Aura

1942-1983

Wife, Teacher, Friend, Hero

Scott took his glasses off to wipe his tears. He hadn't been able to fully process his loss thanks to Apocalypse, but now that the school was rebuilt and he was back at school, he was more than aware of Alex and Y/N's absence.

He felt a hand slip into his, and he put his glasses back on to find Jean smiling sadly at him. 'I'm so sorry, Scott,' she said, and he didn't need to be a mind reader to know she truly meant it. 'I never met your brother, but Aura - Y/N, spoke often of him and their heroics at our age. He sounded amazing.'

'He was,' Scott said, looking back to his brother's and sister-in-law's graves. 'He was my hero.'

'They both were heroes.'

The two teens turned to find Hank, Raven, and Charles - now bald from the battle - strolling and wheeling into the courtyard respectively. Charles didn't speak again until the three of them reached the teenagers. 'Even as children, I knew they would be heroes. And in a society where mutants weren't trusted, even feared... They saw the best in the world. Always.'

'They gave everything they could to this school,' Hank added, eyes watering behind his glasses as he looked over his friends' graves. 'They were some of the best people I know, even now.' Hank allowed a tear to fall but he laughed. 'Even if your brother was a bit of a dick, sometimes.'

'Only sometimes?' Scott said, and the group laughed and the weight of grief on Scott's shoulders lifted slightly.

When it grew silent once more, Jean said, 'But is this to be our fate? Where we fight for a world that doesn't want us? Is a premature death only inevitable?'

'Death is always inevitable, Jean,' Raven said gently, and walked up to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 'But if Alex and Y/N proved anything to us all is that it doesn't matter what time we have on this earth; it's what we make of it. While we can, we will fight for a better future. For all of us.'

Jean nodded then turned back to the graves along with everyone else. Resentment and pain and loss roiled within Scott as he looked down at where his brother and sister-in-law rested. 'I wished he hadn't died,' he admitted, because that's all he truly wanted.

'Me too, Scott,' Charles said, wheeling up beside him. 'He loved you very much, though. Always spoke about you - about how you were to do great things with your life. I truly believe that, you know.'

'At least he died doing what he loved,' Scott said as he gestured to the rebuilt school. 'Protecting mutant kind.'

The group was silent for another few minutes, just reflecting on their times with the two people in the ground. Then Hank ushered the two teens back to class, and after sometime Raven left to go teach also.

Charles remained for a while longer, unable to leave his friends that he'd buried, that he'd gotten killed. Some small part of him wished he'd never sought them out to join the X-Men. They could've lived quieter lives, safer lives. But we wouldn't have been happy, Charles could practically hear Y/N say with that hopeful smile of hers, and Charles smiled at the thought.

And besides, if he hadn't recruited the two, Alex and Y/N wouldn't have met. And wouldn't that have been a true disservice to his students to never have witnessed such hope and love.

Or maybe they would have. After all, like he'd said, they'd been inevitable from the start.

And maybe Jean was right; possibly, a mutant's life was to inevitably end prematurely. But Raven was also right.

Charles touched Alex's headstone, then Y/N's, tears pouring down his face. 'Thank you, friends,' he whispered tearfully. 'Rest well. You've earned it.'

As the years went on, and the school took on more students and the gardens grew higher and wilder, Charles sought to personally keep his friends' graves clean and tidy. He told each student the tales of his fallen friends, the ones he was unable to bury as well. He made sure that the First Class of X-Men were not forgotten, and that their dream of a better future lived on in the next generation.

Sometimes, as he grew older, Charles saw a little bit of Alex and Y/N when he saw Scott and Jean. It broke his heart to know that Alex would never see his little brother become an excellent hero such as Alex, or that Alex and Y/N wouldn't grow old alongside him and Hank and Raven.

But their spirit lived on anyway, and maybe that was the inevitability of it all in the end.

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eddiesxangel · 7 months ago

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Be Quiet Darling | Eric x Reader

Cw: aqpdo, porn with an end of the world plot. Oral (m receiving), p in v, use of breeding, no use of pronouns for reader but reader has breasts and a vagina.

Wc: 2k

The city loomed in darkness; its once vibrant streets were now shrouded in an oppressive shade of gray. Following the invasion of New York City, layers of ash and soot blanketed every surface. Despite the efforts of millions to escape, a few thousand souls remained trapped within its confines.

You were among the few thousand who were not so lucky to be stranded in the city, hiding underground in the basements and parking garages.

The bunker was the only place you could call home. It was a sealed-off parking garage located on the lower levels of a towering skyscraper. Months had passed since you had seen the light of day, and the absence of natural light had become the new normal. Quietness enveloped the bunker, and you longed for the sounds of the outside world. Anything but the rumbles of the military battling those creatures. Those aliens who had ultrasonic hearing could still hear you even though you were deep in the ground.

Even if you couldn't speak, you bonded with the people around you, mainly the law student you met named Eric. He had made an impression on you. An ever-growing crush was forming, and you didn’t know how to deal with it. The world was ending, but Eric was in your mind twenty-four-seven. You wanted to be near him; you longed to hear his voice; you wanted him to hold you and tell you everything would work out, that you’d escape this place and live happily ever after with the white picket fence.

Only in your fantasy would that happen, but it was nice to hold onto that dream as you learned the military was on its way to the last remaining survivors. They radioed the bunker to say it wouldn’t be easy, and you may die as the death angels were waiting and hunting still. There were thousands of them in New York State; even up north near the Canadian border was invaded.

The plan was to move everyone at dawn; it was going smoothly, and you and Eric stuck together throughout the march. Holding hands as you silently made your way through the rubbled streets that once held so much life, then the worst happened. Someone sneezed, and they were on you in an instant. Eric pulled you, and you ran with him. Neither of you knew where you were going; the subway was your best bet. You found a staircase that wasn’t barricaded and stumbled your way down as quietly as possible.

It must have been hours. You and Eric were hiding in an isle of an abandoned shop, munching on a bag of cookies that hadn’t been broken. Half an hour ago, you heard the sirens warning you to stay put. It sounded awful in the streets above. The sounds of guns and bombs, the shrieks of the creatures, echoed through the underground tunnels.

You mouthed, “I’m scared,” tears breaching your lash lines.

Eric nods, and you can see his eyes are wet before he reaches over and cups your head into the crook of his neck. You both silently cry before you lift your head and do the unthinkable at a time like this. You kiss him.

Surprisingly, Eric kisses you back, but you’ll take anything from him that he will give.

The moment your lips touched, you felt his weight sink into you, like he wanted this just as badly as you did. You desperately wanted Eric to hold you, tell you everything would be okay, and protect you from the abovementioned monsters.

Your hands found his waistband and tugged on the belt loops to pull you in closer. You knew it would be so stupid to do anything else; you could die in an instant, but your primal need to procreate and survive was taking over.

His hands grabbed your waist as he pulled you closer to him as well, so close you could feel how hard his cock had gotten. You both have wanted this for so long, but you dare not utter a sound as the passion grew stronger.

Your hands bravely went lower, and Eric pulled away, looking at you with those eyes that make your heart race. He bobbed slowly to confirm this was okay, and you slowly pulled the zip to make as little noise as possible.

Eric’s chest fell up and down with each breath of anticipation as he watched you so close to where he wanted you to touch him the most. Through all of this madness, he had fallen deep and had for you and yearned for your affection. All he wanted was to hold you, for you to tell him that it would be okay, that you both would survive this and live happily ever after.

You fold down his dress pants and hold back a giggle when you see his cowboy boxers. He rolls his eyes in embarrassment; of course, these were the only other pair of underwear he could find this morning. However, that didn’t deter you from kissing him deeply. You kissed him passionately, letting your tongue slip past his plush pink lips as your hand ran the outline of his cock through his corny boxers. His endearing ways made you want him much more now that you’re alone, hiding from what was above.

Eric wanted to let out a moan so badly when your fingertip grazed the head of his cock through the thin cotton. He was already leaking so much precum there was a little wet patch that had formed. You circled it with your thumb before you slipped your hand under the waistband and pulled it out.

The lighting in the small store was dim, but your eyes had adjusted so you could see what you were working with. You smiled to yourself as you observed the thick shaft in your hands. Your pussy clenched around nothing as visions of him stretching you out flooded your thoughts.

“So big,” you mouthed, and Eric bashfully looked down, shaking his head. You hooked your index finger under his chin for him to look at you again, and you nodded yes while biting your lip.

You don’t break eye contact as you sink down to take him in your mouth.

The moment your hot, wet tongue touches his head with a kitten lick, he has his fist in his mouth to stifle the noise he was about to make. You would have begged him to hear those moans in any other situation, but you’ll now yearn in silence.

You want to praise him, tell him how good he was for being so quiet, and tell him how strong and handsome he is.

Eric ran his hand over the top of your head, gripping your hair l, surprising you a little. Your soft sweet teddy bear of a man taking a little bit of charge on how you sucked his cock was so hot. He only puts a little pressure on your head to take him further and releases the tension when you take him the furthest you can. The velvety walls of his shaft guided against your tongue so smoothly that you loved feeling him in your mouth. You couldn’t wait for him to split open your pussy.

A small gasp escaped his throat that sounded like a “fuck,” but you stopped and froze in place to make sure that nothing heard it.

You looked at him through your lashes, and he mouthed a “sorry.”

You pulled up off him, and he thought he had ruined it, thought you no bother trusted him to continue, but when he saw you were unbuttoning your jeans and lifting up your top, he relaxed his tense shoulders.

“Please,” you mouthed, as sores your legs wide for him to come between. You wanted to feel him inside of you, and you didn’t know how much longer you had.

Eric nodded his head percussively as he crawled towards you, and you lay down, resting your head on an unopened cardboard box.

You hold in a moan as Eric kisses your exposed body. He started at your lips and worked his way down your neck, to your shoulders, to your breasts, staying as he paid close attention to each nipple. He looked up at you with those big brown eyes as he sucked and flicked your sensitive buds. Your pussy grew wetter by the seconds as he kissed your tummy and stopped right above the tufts of hair that led to your needy pussy. You wanted nothing more than to have him go down on you, but your need to be filled was stronger.

You shake your head before he can move an inch closer, and he looks at you in confusion. Eric knows he gives amazing head. He wants to feel you cuming on his tongue for him, to taste him, but when he sees your plead for him to fuck you, he can’t say no.

You watch as Eric nods and aligns his cock yo to your entrance. You watch his face as he slowly sinks into you, your pussy aiming him in so tight that he lets his mouth fall open but doesn’t dare let out a sound as you kiss him. With an elbow propped up beside your head, he takes your face in the other as he ungulates his hips to thirst up into you with such precision.

The way he slowly rolled his hips so that he couldn’t make a sound made you want to cry out. It felt so good. You haven’t felt good in weeks. You slowly leaked a few tears as it was all so much to handle. You break as you hold back a sniffle, and Eric kisses your tears away; he coos you silently, whispering so lowly that he’s got you, that you’re doing so well for him, how you’re taking his cock so good.

You wanted to beg him to fill you with his cum, that you’ll be so good for him, that you love him, that he’s all you have left in this world. You want to be his so severely that it hurts. Even now, as his hips roll into yours, as his cock is hitting that spot deep up inside you, you want to scream that you want him to mark you, claim you, breed you.

But you can’t. All you can do is kiss him and pull him in closer; your feet wrap around him, making his thrusts sharper as your pussy clamps down on his thick hard cock that is making you see stars.

Your wet pussy threatens to echo throughout the tunnels of the subway, but Eric slows down and reaches down between you to circle your clit. You let in a sharp breath as he massages your swollen bud. You’re so close you can feel it. You stare at him, not daring to look away to break you into reality.

Right now, it was you and him. Nothing else mattered. You both needed this to feel something other than fright and loneliness.

As you unfold for him, you and Eric stare into one another’s eyes. A silent scream of pleasure doesn’t dare leave your throat, but you let your jaw fall open and arch up into your orgasm. Eric wants to tell you so badly that you did so good for him that your pussy feels so delicious as you cum on his cock. The way you clamp down on him has his head spinning as well, your hot spend coating his cock, making your wet walls all that much warmer, tighter and wetter for him. He can’t help but release himself deep inside of you.

With heavy breath, you both lay there in silence, unable to say anything, but you both know that it was good, great, fantastic sex. Eric kisses you again for confirmation, and you gladly roll your hips into his softening cock before he pulls out.

What could be between the two of you with words could be amazing, but for now, this is what you have to survive.

#eric aqpdo #eric a quiet place day one #eric aqpdo x reader #eric aqpdo x you #joe quinn x y/n #joe quinn x reader #joe quinn x you #smut #Eric aqpdo smut

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welcome-to-green-hills · 1 month ago

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do u have headcanons of how do you think Shadow and Maria celebrating each other's birthdays now knowing they've been together for 3 years🥺

Hello, my dear!❤️✨

I’m more than happy to give you some headcanons about Shadow and Maria’s birthday!

Since Shadow didn’t necessarily have a birth, Maria has come up with possible days for Shadow to celebrate. There’s the day that he fully emerged from the meteorite, the day that he left his bio-chamber, and the day that they’ve met. Maria leans more to the day that they’ve met due to celebrate the birth of their friendship.

One of the friendship bracelet that Maria wears is one that Shadow has made for her. It took multiple attempts to make, as well as a slew of swear words trying to figure a pattern and the size of her wrist. He wanted to surprise her, but needed help with the knot. She never once took it off.

For one birthday, Maria gifted him a collector’s set of Sherlock Holmes novels to read when/if he has downtime from testing. What she didn’t anticipate was that Shadow would read the entire collection in one night with a list of questions to ask her about the characters. That’s when she knew that he had a love for books and mysteries.

For one birthday, Maria had a wonderful idea for bake Shadow a chocolate cake in the bunker’s kitchens. She made sure that she could sneak in without anyone noticing her and create the delicious cake that she envisioned in her mind (it had all the bells and whistles with every candy topping on it and sparklers). Long story short, Maria is not allowed to bake in the kitchen by herself anymore. The kitchen cannot take anymore fires and holes through the ceiling.

Shadow, being very small and having no money, tried his best to make Maria a drawing for her birthday once year. He’s not very good at drawing, but he draws excellent box-y figures that represent the two of them. Maria’s favorite drawing that he’s made was the two of them together riding a dinosaur through New York City.

Maria loves to take photographs of the two of them on their birthdays. She takes a “healthy” amount of them from the hour of her waking up, to the highly blurry photos of Shadow trying to run away from the flash, and to them devouring cakes by themselves. Shadow is very fortunate that Maria did. He keeps the ones that he found in the crater close to his heart.

For Shadow’s birthday, Maria hoped to start the tradition of getting Shadow a jacket with a patch that correlates with the year that an album came out (due to his newfound love of music). He has three that Maria made herself for him to wear on a letterman jacket.

Since Shadow can’t leave the bunker. He gets discouraged over the idea of trying to find Maria something to give on her birthday. He wants to give her something to show his appreciation for her being a great friend and sister to him, but always struggles on what to do. That is… until he noticed one of the scientists making paper stars while he was in a testing session. He made multiple paper stars to put in a jar, plucked a quill out from his head, and gifted a jar of glowing stars for her to keep. “It’s so you can continue to make wishes,” as he said to her. (This also plays off the paper stars that Maria makes for Shadow whenever he’s feeling down).

Maria’s idea birthday cake is a replica of the melting cake from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty with different flavors of cake in each tier, as well as sparklers. Shadow is perfectly content with a box of Razzles (his favorite candy), but absolutely takes chocolate cakes. Although chocolate cupcakes and dirt cups are easy to steal and are a close second.

The best birthday that the two have ever had was when they’ve spent the day together in the blanket fort. The two watched movies and ate snacks, and created a bucket list of all of the places that they would have loved to travel to. While his list may have a few lines, he appreciates her three page list of all of the places and things to do. After awakening from stasis, Shadow makes sure to fulfill all of the things on her birthday bucket list. He makes sure to especially do a few on the day of her birth to celebrate her life lived.

Post in Reference to Years that SCU!Ark Siblings knew each other for

#sonic movie 3 #sonic movie #sonicmovie3spoilers #sonic movie 3 spoilers #sonic spoilers #sonicspoilers #ark siblings #shadow the hedgehog #maria robotnik

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burntsaltsblog · 9 months ago

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cruelty - billy butcher x reader

༺༻∞ ✧༺༻∞ ✧༺༻∞ ✧༺༻

details: butcher is being a real ass, so you decide to run away for a bit <3

༺༻∞ ✧༺༻∞ ✧༺༻∞ ✧༺༻

"Well, if ya' tried putting effort into any of these missions, then the rest of us wouldn't have to carry you around like dead weight."

Butcher's words hung in the air before piercing me. I met his gaze, waiting to see if he'd display even a tiny ounce of regret, but his face remained stoic, and his eyes bore into mine unapologetically.

No one said anything, and a tense silence encompassed the group. Everyone was waiting to see if I had a rebuttal to defend myself against Butcher's harsh accusation.

But I had nothing to say. For weeks, Butcher had been unusually nasty towards me, a complete switch from our old dynamic. Instead of his praise that I'd grown used to, he'd hurl nothing but criticism and bitter insults my way. And what made it worse was that he was charming to everyone else. Well, as charming as Butcher was capable of being.

The whole situation was disheartening and confusing because he and I used to be quite close. Yes, we had a significant age gap between us. But those years didn't hinder our ability to connect over our love of bizarre humor and sarcasm.

The rest of the boys assumed that we had had some misunderstanding or disagreement, but nothing of the sort had transpired. I had tried approaching Butcher to coax the reasoning for his cruelty out of him, but he brushed me off, refusing to give me the time of day.

But today was the last straw. I refused to linger any longer in an environment where I wasn't wanted or appreciated. Wordlessly and full of resolve, I turned on my heel and headed for the comfort of my room.

"Kid, wait," MM called, trying to fix the situation, but it was useless. I slammed my bedroom door behind me and slowly sank to the floor.

I didn't bother stopping my tears as they shamefully slid down my face. Through my blurred vision, I pulled out my phone and composed a text to an old friend.

Me:

Hey, do you still need help this weekend?

I used to be a drug dealer and ran in various questionable circles to support myself before I joined The Boys. But I still had friends from my former life that I kept in touch with, and every once in a while, I'd dip my toe back into the drug scene when they needed help with an extra burdensome deal. And right now, I was desperate for any excuse to get out of here.

Alex:

Have you changed your mind about joining?

Me:

Yeah, I have. It's an out-of-town one, right?

Alex:

Yup. We'll be gone for at least three days, so pack a bag. And you can crash here tonight because we have to head out early in the morning.

Grateful for the impromptu getaway, I packed my small duffle bag with my spare pair of black jeans, sweaters since it was getting cold outside, and other essentials like face wash and my phone charger.

Considering it was just past midnight, I didn't have to wait long before I heard the guys mumble goodnight to each other from the other side of my door before they all retreated to their respective rooms.

I waited five minutes to be safe before opening my door and peering out. The common room in our bunker under the pawn shop was empty, and I took it as an opportunity to sneak out. I tiptoed up the old wooden stairs and breathed a sigh of relief after bolting through the old store and out the door, letting the chilly New York air blow across my face.

The walk to Alex's apartment was short because I was already close to that side of town. And I arrived soon enough with my duffle bag in tow.

"You look like shit," Alex said, opening their apartment door and quickly letting me in.

"Well, hello to you too."

Alex snorted as they pulled me in for a hug before directing me towards the couch I would be sleeping on that night.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" They called, heading into their room to rest for the night.

I dumped my bag on the floor and fell onto the couch. It squeaked loudly in protest, and I felt several springs dig into my spine. But I wasn't complaining. Anything was better than sharing a wall with Butcher, knowing the hate he now carried for me. Besides, he snored terribly loud, which the entire group complained about daily.

After some extensive tossing and turning, I fell into a fitful sleep.

༺༻

"Rise and shine, motherfucker!" Alex yelled.

I jerked awake before immediately falling onto the floor. The decades-old carpet did little to cushion the blow, and I groaned loudly as my head throbbed in protest.

I peered up at Alex from my place on the floor and saw them holding two coffee cups. "Want some?"

"Yes, please." I rose gingery before sitting back on the sofa and accepting one of the steaming mugs. I took a small sip and nodded thanks to my friend.

"We need to get on the road in twenty minutes because our first client expects us to arrive at eight tonight. And I don’t want to be late so we can make a good first impression."

"I think the eighteen pounds of coke you're selling them should help win their approval," I said, taking an enormous gulp of the caffeinated beverage.

"Speaking of coke, I need you to help load it into the car. Come on."

༺༻

"You gonna answer that?" Alex asked from the driver's seat on our way to Bardstown, Kentucky.

"No. It's probably just spam."

Alex glanced from the road ahead to give me a knowing look. "I don't think any spam caller would ever waste their time calling the same person two hundred times."

"It's not my fault they're dedicated to their job," I mumbled.

My friend chuckled, shaking their head.

I rolled my eyes and finally peered at my phone after ignoring its constant ringing for six hours. Hughie had texted me a wapping eighty-seven times and called me fifty-one times, which wasn't surprising because he did tend to be a phone stalker. I scrolled through his messages, landing on the most recent one sent three minutes ago.

Hughie:

Look, I get that you're pissed at Butcher, and that's probably why you left. But please let us know that you're safe. We're freaking out over here.

I sighed heavily before I forced my fingers to type out a response.

Me:

I'm fine. I'm out of town helping a friend. Sorry to worry you. I'll be back on Monday.

I pondered over the words before deciding to go ahead and send it. It was a little colder and more direct than how I usually communicated, especially to Hughie. But I knew he'd understand.

Hughie's reply came within seconds. But before I could read it, the notification of an incoming call covered my screen. A lump formed in my throat when I saw Butcher's name flashing in front of my eyes. My thumb hovered over the 'accept' button before I shook my head and hurriedly declined the call. I am sure he only called to yell at me for disappearing, and I wasn't in the mood to be reprimanded by him.

"I can drive the rest of the way," I offered, returning my focus to Alex.

"No thanks, I'm good," They responded like I knew they would. Alex was very particular about driving and refused to get into an operating motor vehicle unless they were the one behind the wheel. I respected that, but it still felt like the right thing to do was offer so it didn't look like I was putting the burden of transportation on them.

My phone vibrated, notifying me that I'd received another text, and I reluctantly viewed the message.

Butcher:

I know you ignored my call.

Ok? And the sky is also blue. I'm so glad he's able to notice the obvious. At least there's nothing wrong with him in that department.

Just as I decided to ignore his text, his name lit up on my phone again, signaling another incoming call. I slumped in my seat, and groaned under my breath. Again, my finger pushed the red icon, sending him straight to voicemail. Not even a second later, Butcher began to call for the third time.

"You know," said Alex, "If you answered the phone, they might stop calling."

"I'd answer if it was anyone else. I refuse to talk to this particular person."

"Alright, have it your way," they muttered, changing lanes.

We fell quiet, and the only sound was my phone as it buzzed with a final text.

Butcher:

Please come back.

༺༻

"I'd say that was pretty successful," I declared as we pulled into our Kentucky motel the next day. We had just finished our final deal, and while it was a little tedious, Alex's client ended up being happy overall with their purchase and promised they'd do business again.

"Yeah, thank God," Alex replied, cutting the engine after pulling into a parking spot. "I'm just grateful you were there. I think your presence was a great influence. You're still a legend in the drug community," they smirked.

I laughed lightly. "I'm happy to help anytime."

"Watch out because I will hold you to that promise."

We piled out of the car, and I waited out front while Alex headed in to get the key to our room. It was just past one in the morning, and I glanced over my shoulder, staying on high alert.

Alex exited the front entrance and dangled a key triumphantly. After entering our room, we each fell onto a twin-sized bed, and I watched as Alex almost instantly fell asleep.

I curled up on the wrinkled comforter for a few minutes before sitting up and rummaging through my bag for my phone; it had died a couple of hours ago, and now was my first opportunity to charge it.

I had received a text from Hughie asking if I was ok, to which I replied that I was, and I hadn't heard from Butcher since I'd blocked him last night when he proceeded to call me every thirty seconds, disrupting my sleep.

With nothing else to do, I slipped my jeans off, stashed my handheld in the bedside drawer, rolled under the covers, and attempted to sleep.

༺༻

"That was fun. We should do it again sometime," Alex said as they pulled up to the pawn shop.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, it felt like old times."

We hugged before I got out of the car and looked up at the one building I wanted to avoid more than anything. Three days wasn't long enough, and I genuinely considered asking Alex if they wanted a roommate. But their jeep was already speeding down the road, so I had no choice but to enter the pawn shop and descend the familiar steps.

"You're back!" yelped Hughie as he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me. I stumbled back before gaining my balance and returning the hug. "Yeah," I replied lamely.

I nodded to Frenchie and MM before they both turned to Hughie. "You ready?" MM asked, and Hughie replied that he was.

"D'accord, let's go," Frenchie said, and the three of them passed me as they headed upstairs and out of the pawn shop, leaving me alone with Butcher, who stood by the couch.

"Y'alright?"

I ignored his question and headed for the solitude of my room.

"Oi, I'm fuckin' talking to you." Butcher barked, and I heard his boots stomp in my direction. He wrapped a large hand around my arm, spinning me around. "Don't ever fuckin' do that again, ya' hear? You 'bout did me fuckin' head in, running off like that."

Butcher's face was inches from mine, and his warm breath fanned out across my cheeks and neck, causing goosebumps to flare. "I guess you forgot that I can take care of myself," I muttered bitterly as I wrenched my arm from his grasp and pushed the door open to my bedroom. Much to my dismay, Butcher followed me in.

"What's with the fuckin' attitude?" he demanded, crossing his arms. "You're acting like a right twat."

I whirled around as I threw my bag onto the floor, my nostrils flaring. "Oh, so you're allowed to have an attitude, but I'm not?" I glared daggers at him. "Get out."

"No. We're gonna talk," Butcher pressed, standing his ground.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Well, too fuckin' bad, sweetheart. I ain’t leaving until you tell me what kind of stick is up your bum, and why the bloody hell you fucked off for three days without telling anyone."

"It's a free country, and I'm allowed to go where I please," I shot back. "Besides, I figured I'd give you all a break from carrying my dead weight around. I hear it can be quite tiring."

Butcher's mouth opened before he closed it, taking a beat before speaking, "S’that’s what this is about, eh? The fact that I called you dead weight the other night? No offense, love. But if a comment like that was enough to drive ya' out of town, you've gotten too sensitive."

"It wasn't just that one comment, William. It's the fact that you've been terrible to me for weeks now, and the shittiest part of it all is that I have no idea what I've done to deserve it!" I exclaimed, panting slightly as my shoulders rose and fell. Butcher raised a brow, and I scoffed, flopping on the bed. "Forget it. Now, would you mind kindly fucking off and leaving me alone?"

I turned away, and Bucther sighed quietly. A couple of seconds passed before the bed dipped behind me.

"M'sorry, alright?" he said quietly.

"Whatever, I don't even care anymore," I muttered, picking at the skin on the side of my nail.

"Yes, ya’ do."

My stomach flipped as Butcher carefully reached up and brushed the hair off my shoulder. "I didn't realize I was hurting ya' so much. I thought I was doing what was best."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, turning back to face him. A calloused finger traced my cheek before his hand fell limply in his lap. Even though Butcher never slept more than a couple of hours a night, this was the first time I'd seen him look truly tired.

"I needed to push you away, and I figured a bit of tough love would do the trick." Butcher's hazel eyes met mine. "I realize I may've gone a bit too far."

"But why would you want to push me away? I thought we worked well together." My voice grew softer. "I thought you liked me."

"Oh, love, my feelings for you go way beyond like."

My thoughts became jumbled as I tried to comprehend what Butcher was saying, and I struggled to form a response, but it all ceased when he cupped my face in his hand. I instinctually leaned into his touch, and my eyes drooped, feeling serenity from the simple contact.

"M'sorry. M'so fucking sorry," Butcher apologized again. But this time, I saw emotion in his eyes. "You're the most precious thing in my life, and the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt ya'."

His lips gently grazed my forehead, placing a soft kiss there before continuing. “I'm no good for ya', doll. God only knows I'd fuck up an angel like you. In me own messed up head, pushing you away was the only way I could protect ya'."

"That's not true," I whispered, shaking my head, but Butcher didn't look convinced. "And even if it were true, I wouldn't care because I'm no saint either."

It was quiet between us, and our breaths were the only thing filling the small space. My gaze roamed Butcher's face before it fell on his lips, and I swallowed audibly.

"I want you, Billy."

Butcher looked torn. There was a deep crease between his brows, and his breathing grew quick as the seconds ticked by.

"I'll ruin you." His voice was rough, full of gravel.

"I'm already ruined."

Butcher's resolve began to fray before it split wide open, and his lips crashed into mine.

༺༻∞ ✧༺༻∞ ✧༺༻∞ ✧༺༻

not my best work, but i hope you enjoyed it!

-xoxo

#billy butcher #billy butcher brainrot go brr #the boys billy butcher #billy butcher the boys #billy butcher x you #billy butcher x reader #karl urban #karl urban try not to serve challenge #the boys tv #the boys amazon #the boys fanfic #billy butcher imagine #billy butcher fic

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mrsbarnesblog · 1 year ago

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Bucky Barnes Masterlist

ko-fi ao3

⭐️ - personal favorite

❤️‍🔥 - smut

🩷 - fluff

🖤 - angst

⭐️❤️‍🔥Jersey - College! Bucky Barnes x Reader

Natasha’s idea of getting a jersey with Bucky’s name turned out to be much better than you expected. (3.2k)

⭐️❤️‍🔥Push Him - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x PR Manager! Reader

When you became Avenger’s PR manager, you basically got your dream job, but one particular man, who had been staring at you every single time you were around, made you wonder whether it was because he hated or liked you. (6.8k.)

⭐️❤️‍🔥Stay quiet for me - Modern! Bucky Barnes x Reader

Bucky fucks you while your parents sleep in the next room. (1.6k)

❤️‍🔥Little games - Gamer! Bucky Barnes x Reader

You really need to calm down, so you get under Bucky's table while he's playing with his friends. (1.4k)

🩷Sandcastles - CEO! Husband! Bucky Barnes x Reader

Bucky is always working overtime, but when his best girls really need him, he leaves everything behind just to make you happy. (1.6k)

❤️‍🔥 New purchase - Mob! Bucky Barnes x Reader

You just got a new expensive lingerie set and decided to tease your mafia boss boyfriend with some sexy pictures. (2.3k)

⭐️❤️‍🔥 Firewood - Lumberjack! Bucky Barnes x Reader

When you decide to chop wood in your backyard, your hot neighbor, who happens to be a lumberjack, offers you some help. (4.8k)

🩷 I can't let you get hurt - Brother's best friend! Bucky Barnes x Reader

You have just moved to New York, where your adopted brother Steve has been living for 5 years. Desperate to make new friends, you give the dating app another go. You didn’t even think that you would have to ask for help from the person who has not left your thoughts for the past month - your brother’s best friend. (3.3k)

❤️‍🔥 Don't hide - Mechanic! Bucky Barnes x Reader

Somehow you ended up in a storage room with one of your dad's mechanics. (1.8k)

🩷 My everything - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

The last thing that Bucky ever expected to see was the love of his life from the past trapped in one of the Hydra bunkers in the cryofreeze chamber. Yet here he was almost two days later, staring at your still unconscious body through the window at the medical wing, imagining the horror and disgust on your face when you found out that he was no longer the innocent and happy boy you knew before. (6.8k)

⭐️🩷Personal pillow - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

You confront avengers when they start teasing Bucky about being too soft. (1.6k)

⭐️🩷 I trust you - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

When Bucky comes back from a mission with a knife wound there is only one person who can convince him to get help. (3.5k)

⭐️🩷 You deserve the world - College! Bucky Barnes x Reader

You were in a relationship with a man who had never truly cared about you, but after catching him cheating on you at a friend's party, you eventually decided to end things with him. The good news was that there was always someone who wasn't going to let you go through it alone. (4.6k)

🩷 Barbie - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

Bucky takes his best girl to watch a Barbie movie and then spoils her with gifts. (1.3k)

❤️‍🔥 Wakanda - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Avenger! Reader

You visit Bucky in Wakanda, and the hidden feelings are finally coming out. (2.7k)

Requests

We could've done it earlier - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

When one of the new recruits started following you around and being too persistent, Bucky decided to help you by kissing you right in front of that guy. Though he didn't realize that he wouldn't be able to stop. (2.3k)

Night - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

You wandered around the Tower at night because you couldn't sleep. In the common room, you find Bucky sitting in the dark and decide to share an ice cream pint with him.

Snowman - Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

When the first snow of the year had just covered the whole of New York City, you tried to convince Bucky to play outside with you. He couldn't find the power in himself to say no to you, even if it's his least favorite time of the year.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes #bucky fanfic #bucky x reader #bucky x you #james bucky barnes #marvel #james buchanan barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x you #bucky x y/n #james bucky buchanan barnes #bucky barnes masterlist

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alexsoenomel · 6 months ago

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Date nights with Sam Winchester would include:

Usually you would go on dates every week depending on how much free time you had.

Sam was the one who would usually plan the date but sometimes you would surprise him.

You both liked simple things but sometimes would treat yourself with a fancy dinner or an art exhibition/ museum.

"Wear something nice. I'm taking you somewhere fancy." He told you once before taking you to nice five star restaurant after you almost died on a job back in New York City.

He would always tell you how beautiful you looked and how lucky he was to be with someone like you.

"You're too kind Sam." You would say blushing.

"I'm serious you're magnificent."

Sometimes date nights were staying in the bunker eating popcorn and watching a good movie.

You loved resting your head on his shoulder and keeping him close.

During your period days he would usually buy you junk food and let you pick a movie.

Sometimes dates would just be staying home and reading books.

Sometimes you would just go and have a drink in the nearest pub.

You both loved getting drunk and having discussions about current social issues, politics and philosophy.

He loved learning from you and listening

you talk.

His eyes would always sparkle whenever you spoke, especially when he was drunk.

"Why are you smiling? I'm talking about serious shit."

"I'm so in love with you it's not even funny."

Date nights were just a reminder that he loved you just as much as you loved him.

Whenever he would wear a suit for a fancy dinner date you would end up having sex in Dean's Baby because wine made you horny and he was too hot for his own good.

Sam loved the fact that you were down for anything and he would always try to be as creative as possible with date ideas.

You once went to an arcade.... with Dean.

"I'm really enjoying this date with your brother, Sam." You laughed.

"He didn't hear the part where I said I want to spend time with my girlfriend."

Once you went camping for the weekend and Dean thought you were both insane.

You would rarely go to the movies because you both preferred watching them home.

Once you went to a rage room after a difficult hunt (it was your idea and he loved it)

If you were in the middle of nowhere in a musty motel you would take Dean's car and just drive aimlessly.

It never mattered where you two were going nor what you were going to do, as long as you were together that was all that mattered.

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lumosinlove · 6 months ago

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On The Line

Part Five

Once again, Logan was on his back with his chest heaving, only this time it was on the hard court, not the clay. After a moment and a brief shadow falling over him, someone lay beside him with a huff. Logan peeked out eye open to see the way the sweat tracked down Leo’s temples.

“Well, damn.” Leo asked. “Lo?”

Logan smiled. He’d picked that up from Finn. Now the nickname came at him from both of them, morning and night. Soft and loud. Finn, hollering from the side of the court. Pick your feet up. Lo! Pick your fucking feet up! Logan wondered if Leo could imagine, or wanted to know, how it sounded when Finn said it in bed. Little breaths of his name every time their bodies drew together. Sometimes Logan lived for those sounds. He wondered what it would sound like as Le instead, which Finn had taken to saying.

“We’re about to be yelled at,” Logan said.

Leo snorted. “Oh yeah. Three, two…”

“Hey, hey,” Finn shouted from court-side. “Did I say you could stop?”

They’d been doing sprints. Logan knew it was good for his game overall, but the sun was hot today, and Leo’s long legs were hard not to look at.

“He thinks he’s so tough,” Leo whispered.

Logan laughed lightly and glanced at Finn, who was walking towards them.

They had to leave in just under a week for New York. The draw had worked out so that, if all went to plan, he and Leo could meet on the court. Logan had been trying to reconcile training with Leo, knowing he’d have to beat Leo, and trying to find the right moment to kiss Leo.

He felt a light kick to his foot. “Hey. Hey, hey.”

“Come here,” Logan sighed, he held out his arms. “It feels good on our backs, the ground’s warm, allez.”

“You want a hug when Leo’s gonna whip your ass in a couple weeks?”

“Ooh,” Leo said. “He’s not wrong.”

Logan groaned at sat up, turning to glare at Leo, who just smiled that sunny smile at him and held up Logan’s hat which had fallen off. Logan snatched it and reached out a hand to Finn.

“Help.”

Finn hesitated and Logan shook his head. “I wouldn’t pull you down with your knee, Rouge.”

Finn’s palm fit into his and helped him up. Logan completed the motion with a push up onto his toes for a soft kiss to the corner of Finn’s mouth.

“Lunch,” Finn said more softly. He curved his fingers through Logan’s hair, feeling how hot it was from the sun. Then, he reached out a hand to Leo. Logan watched their palms clasp as Leo got back to his feet. Finn gave Leo three hard taps to his chest. “You might be able to beat him now. Just you wait, Sunshine.”

“Oh, I’m waiting,” Leo laughed. He mimed tapping a watch on his wrist and began walking towards the house. He turned, arms outstretched. “This place is like a zombie bunker. You could so easily never leave!” He grinned once more, and jogged towards the pool.

Finn looked at Logan with raised eyebrows. He leaned close as they collected the water bottles.

“Lo,” was all he had to say, slightly pleading, for Logan to nod.

Logan hushed him. Finn’s hair was sweaty when he pushed his fingers through it, ending with his arms looped around his neck. He kissed him hard, and when he felt Finn’s matching grin he knew he’d read his mind. The quick nip to his lip meant he wanted Leo just as bad, and he was also running out of patience.

“We could never leave,” Logan said.

Finn smiled. “It does feel like that.”

It had been difficult to think about the outside world, when Logan had first brought Finn here. Finn had been an anchor, a magnetic field—at Logan’s home the pull of him became ten times stronger. Logan had wanted nothing other than Finn in his arms. Finn between his legs, Finn pressed up against his back. In his memory, those first few days were a swirl of Finn’s laugh and smile, his hands and his body. Evening, easy matches. Hikes up to lookouts. Morning coffee and pastries. Long drives and finding small diners to stop at. Finn’s skin against his mouth, Finn’s needy breaths and low moans. Sweaty sheets and cool showers. Whispers in the kitchen at midnight making toast and box mac and cheese, Finn standing between his legs with Logan on the counter, laughing in the moonlight. It was pleasure so blinding that Logan’s hearing turned cottony and he seemed to regain awareness—woken up?— later with Finn overcome too, his entire weight heavy on Logan’s body, and still inside him. Logan hadn’t known it was possible to feel so close to someone. Curled up and sugary.

Finn was remembering, too. His laugh was soft and whispery as he dipped his kisses down to Logan’s neck. Logan closed his eyes. The sex had been quiet and mindful of Leo lately. Quick, too. Logan liked it drawn out. He wanted to not have to be mindful. He wanted Leo to know exactly what was going on because he was there, too.

Logan knotted his fingers into Finn’s t-shirt and needed so badly he could taste it.

Finn hissed a breath in through his teeth and wrapped an arm around Logan’s shoulders, directing him towards the house. He pressed a kiss to his temple.

“You make me crazy,” Finn said in a low voice.

Logan grinned and locked his arms around Finn’s waist to squeeze.

They ate by the pool, then decided to spend the heat of the day in the weights room and save the rest of their court training for the evening when it had cooled down. Leo was gorgeous shadows and lines in the relief of the bright lights.

Their game would have gone far too long if Finn hadn’t called it. It would have turned into something that tired both of them out rather than helped them. Logan tried to think past all of this and into the future where Leo would be his opponent once again. They were a bit famous for it now, their maddeningly even match ups. Their hours and hours of tennis. Even the crowds get tired, commentators liked to say. Imagine how those two feel!

Except Logan didn’t get tired. Not really. Physically, sure, but in his heart of hearts, he got more riled, more competitive, with every point. The longer it lasted the more he wanted to win. The more glances he stole at Leo, the higher his adrenaline peaked.

Logan rolled his shoulders as he finished up in the master bathroom. He felt good. Pleasantly sore in his shoulders and thighs. Cool in the light AC coming in from the bedroom. He flicked the light off and found Finn with his reading light on and his glasses slid a little down his nose so he could read lying down.

Logan tugged off his t-shirt and threw back his side of the covers. Finn made a pleased sound. He took off his glasses and set his book down.

“Hi,” Finn said as he flicked his light off. “Hi, yay, hi.”

No sooner had Logan leaned back into the pillows than was Finn rolling over and throwing his arm over Logan’s chest. He pushed his nose into Logan’s neck and Logan felt everything in him release. Finn’s quick bursts of kisses to his jaw, his hand running up and down Logan’s abs and chest.

“Hi,” Logan tucked his fingers into Finn’s hair. He reached out to tap Finn’s hip until Finn hooked his leg over his hips, too.

They were quiet for a moment. Just breathing. Logan looked down as Finn’s closed his eyes. He could feel him thinking, about to start the spill of all of his thoughts. He traced light fingertips over the scar on his knee. It was as familiar to him as anything now. White with age and raised under Logan’s touch.

“I don’t know why,” Finn mumbled. “But that always feels really nice.”

“I know,” Logan said.

Finn’s laugh felt rumbly against his chest and Logan squeezed him tighter.

“You know this is my favorite part of every day,” Logan whispered. “Right?”

Finn picked his head up to look at him. “This is?”

Logan brushed a thumb over the indent his glasses left on his nose sometimes. “Yeah.”

“I didn’t know that.” Finn pushed himself up on an elbow, eyes delighted. He leaned forward for a soft kiss, nudging their noses together.

“I love your nose,” Logan whispered. Freckles. Pointed. Glasses-imprinted. “Regarde moi.”

“I am looking at you.”

“Ah,” Logan said. “I knew you understand me more than you say.”

Finn just leaned forward and bit gently at Logan’s jaw. “I am always looking at you.”

“This is my favorite thing in the world,” Logan said. “This. And—we want Leo.”

“Mhm,” Finn grinned into another kiss. “When did we get so greedy?”

Logan laughed but put a hand to his face to keep him where he could see him. “Finn.”

“I’m listening,” Finn said. “I’m getting hard, but I’m also listening.”

Logan pressed a hand over Finn’s mouth and Finn kissed his palm, bit at his pointer finger. Finn’s brown eyes looked at him over his own tan knuckles, scraped up from a brush with the hard court.

“Wanting Leo isn’t because you’re not enough for me,” Logan said. Finn blinked in surprise, lips parting. “You’re everything to me.”

“Oh,” Finn said softly. He pushed further up on his elbow. “Baby…I know that.”

“I know you probably would,” Logan said. “But I wanted to tell you anyway.”

“You too,” Finn said. “You know that. When I first met you, I would have never thought I’d get to…” He looked down at their bodies, intertwined.

Logan nodded. “Ouais. But…you tell me these sorts of things all the time. I just…” He shrugged, smiling a little. “This is the best part of my day.” He closed his eyes when Finn pushed their foreheads together. “Love you.”

“Love you,” Finn whispered, and his kisses turned to waterfalls down Logan’s cheeks and neck. “Love you, love you…”

Logan closed his eyes and basked in it.

“Do you think,” Finn whispered. “This could be Leo’s favorite, too? Some day. Soon.”

“What, hearing you talk and talk and talk…”

“Duh.”

Logan smiled up at the dark ceiling and thought of Leo, just in the other room. “Yeah. I think it could be.”

“Out!”

“Non!” Logan pointed his racket at Finn. “That wasn’t fucking out.”

Finn pointed his water bottle back at him. “You gonna lose it at me? Cause if you’re gonna lose it at me, you’re going to have to give me twenty thousand dollars.”

Leo laughed from the other side of the net, his hands up in victory. He had won the mini-game they usually ended practice with. It was about 50/50 between them. Infuriatingly so.

Logan squinted at the betraying line, furious that they weren’t on the clay court and he couldn’t see the ball’s mark as proof he was right. At least, he was pretty sure he was right.

“Does this mean dinner time?” Leo asked. Logan looked over and watched him give his racket a quick spin against his palm. “Cause I love winning and all, but mostly I’m fucking starving.”

Logan just tossed his racket towards Finn, who caught it deftly with a grin.

“Yeah, Le, it’s dinner time,” Finn said. “Where should we take him, Lo?”

“Actually,” Leo spoke up before Logan could reply. He straddled his way over the net with ease. Logan and Finn glanced at each other. Those long legs.

“There’s something I want to make you.” Leo reached behind his head and undid the white cotton band keeping the sweat from his eyes. “Something new. I got the fish from that cute market this morning. Thought we could be outside with the grill, since it’s a nice night.” He raised his brows at Finn. “It’d go nice with margaritas.”

“Well, damn,” Finn said. “You take home to a five-star hotel.”

Leo reached out and flicked the brim of his baseball cap up. “Thanks, Red.”

Logan had to go pick up all their spare balls then, just to hide the look on his face. Not that he really wanted to hide the look on his face. Red. Did Leo know Logan called—of course he did.

“Wow, look at that,” Finn said from the sidelines. “Superstars doing the dirty work.”

Logan looked to see Leo cleaning up his side of the court and laughed. “We’ve been doing your dirty work all afternoon, Rouge.”

Finn narrowed his eyes at him, knowing exactly what he was doing. He waved Logan off with a hand, grinning, and began the trek back up to the house.

Leo met him at the benches near the net. With his own bottle empty, Leo grabbed Logan’s for a long pull. Logan put his back against the chain fence and waited his turn. The neck of Leo’s t-shirt was a damp gray from his sweat.

“Good game,” Logan said, watching a bead join in darkening the color.

Leo held out the bottle for him. “It’s getting easier for you to say that to me.”

“Shut up.”

Leo grinned, hooking his fingers in the chain fence so he could lean over Logan. “When we first met, you couldn’t even tell me your name.”

“You knew my name.” Logan looked up at him, back against the bumpy metal. “You threw food at me.”

Leo gave the fence a playful shake, jostling Logan, then pulled back, bashful. “I got nervous.”

“Ouais, I know.”

Leo just laughed as he turned away. He shouldered both his own and Logan’s bags, and they followed Finn.

Leo fit. Seamlessly. Logan hoped he knew just how seamlessly. Logan looked forward to things he never had before. He looked forward to grocery shopping if Leo was there. He looked forward to runs because there was Leo beside him now with his stupidly long legs and telling him to keep up.

He didn’t like to think about what existed outside of their bubble. He didn’t like it when Leo retreated somewhere to take a phone call from his team.

Just then, it was outside to pace the pool with an AirPod in his ear. Finn was sitting on the sofa with a book and Logan walked around him, tracking Leo’s movements out the window. He did little jumps every once in a while like he was waiting for a serve. He mimed backhands.

“He looks upset.”

Finn turned a page. “You know windows work both ways, right?”

Leo wasn’t looking at him though. He was staring into the dark blue pool water, eyes vacant. He nodded once in a while, argued some, nodded again.

“Finn, what are they saying that makes him look like that?” Logan mumbled.

“That’s not how windows work,” Finn said, and Logan hit him lightly on the back of the head. “Lo, they’re probably talking strategy, business, whatever, it’s not exactly fun. Lucky you, I know you so well I can think like you. Leo’s team might do stuff he’s not exactly happy with.”

“His coach never smiles. Never celebrates.”

“I know.”

“I don’t like it when they tell him what to eat when we take him out to dinner.”

Finn sighed and closed his book. “I know, baby.” He reached out for Logan’s hand, guiding him to sit on the edge of the sofa beside him. “He’s happy here, though.”

Logan jumped, eyes wide. He put both hands on Finn’s chest. “You should take him.”

Finn raised his eyebrows. “Right. ‘Hi Leo, we would like you to be our boyfriend, also may I work for you?’”

“It worked for us.”

“Yeah…We were naked and in love already, were we not?”

“So?”

Finn laughed, bringing Logan’s knuckles to his mouth. “Little bit different, but whatever you want.”

“I—” Logan looked up when the patio door slid open.

Leo stepped through, snapping his AirPod case closed. He looked far more tight-shouldered than he’d been before.

“Hey,” Finn said, tilting his head back to see him. “What’s up?”

Leo sighed and came to sit on the back of the sofa. “Nothing really. Oh, is it okay that I’m sitting on this, sorry—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.” Finn took his reading glasses off. “Everything okay?”

Leo thought for a moment, wavering his head back and forth. “They think I’ve been here for too long.” He’d looked at Logan. “Think I’m giving up all my advantages on you.”

Logan knew he’d worried about that, but it just felt plain stupid now.

“I’m not going to suddenly be able to read your mind,” Logan said. “Every shot is different.”

“That’s basically what I said.” Leo rubbed his hands over his face. “And then they were just kind of like, why are you still there anyway, like—haven’t you overstayed your—”

“No,” Finn said firmly. He reached up and put a hand on Leo’s knee. “No, you haven’t. You know you haven’t.”

“I know, but they don’t. They don’t know you two, and they don’t think we’re training as hard as we are.” Leo looked down at Finn. “My Coach really doesn’t like that I’m—” Leo rolled his eyes, “under your thumb.”

“Oh for the love of—no.” Finn tossed his book onto the coffee table. “That’s not true, but Le, I also don’t want to make things bad for you. What can I do to help?”

“Ouais, me too,” Logan said. “I don’t like that he doesn’t trust you.” Because that’s what it was. Leo’s team seemed to think of him as a machine rather than a player. “It’s also—not like you’ve been here for months and months.”

Logan wouldn’t mind though, if he stayed that long. Or forever.

“If I called him?” Finn asked. “We could just sort out that I haven’t changed your training plan at all.”

Leo flashed him a small smile. “Yes, you have.”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. How do you feel about how we’ve been training? That’s all that matters.”

Finn asked them these questions every day, but didn’t seem inclined to stop. Logan loved it. How’s that? That feel okay? Got one more rep in you?

Leo always looked so taken aback by Finn asking him what he wanted. Sure, Finn told them to sprint, to run a drill again, pushing them harder and farther, but there was the flip side of jogging over to them with water, breaks to jump in the pool, or how’s that ankle that was bothering you doing today?

“Finn…” Leo said now. He looked out the window, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’ve never felt better.”

“Good,” Finn said. “Well, that’s something your team should know.”

“If I tell them that, it will just piss them off.”

“It’s not about them,” Finn said. “Seriously, I’ll take that bullet for you. They can’t touch me. Want me to speak with them?”

“He’s really good at talking to people,” Logan added. “I’m horrible at it.”

Leo laughed. He had a hand pressed to one of his cheeks, blue eyes bright and glancing between them. “He can get pretty mean.”

“What’s the worst he can do? Hang up on me?” Finn shrugged. “Good for him.”

“Really?” Leo asked softly. “I…” He nodded, short and sweet. “Okay. Thank you. Seriously, thank you.”

Finn clapped his hands together and send Leo a smile. “I’ll go before dinner. Be right back. I have some other stuff to check on anyway.” He swung his legs down to the ground around Logan and kissed him on the cheek. As he walked around the back of the couch, he took a surprised Leo’s face in his hands and pressed a kiss to his cheek, too.

“Oh,” Leo said, laughing.

Finn grinned. “See you in a bit.”

Behind Leo’s back, Finn sent Logan a wink.

Leo let himself fall down onto the couch while Logan settled himself into the warm spot where Finn had been.

“You found yourself a good one,” Leo said after a moment. “A really good one.”

“Ouais. I try to deserve him.”

Leo kicked at Logan’s shin in a way that was probably meant to be protesting but only tangled their legs together. “You do deserve him. You’re a good one, too.”

“So are you,” Logan said. A small, sharp hit of fear bloomed right in his chest. “Leo?”

Leo tilted his head. “Logan.”

“You’re not seeing anyone. Right?”

The question seemed to take Leo by surprise. He straightened up a bit. “Am I—no. No, I’m not. Why?”

Logan could feel his face getting hot. He looked down at where he and Leo’s socked toes were touching. That shouldn’t make his heart pound as hard as it did. “Just—If there was someone missing you, I would be—um. Sad.” Logan shifted, then realized Leo could probably feel it every time he moved and tried to hold still, wrapping his arms around his knees.

Leo stared at him. Slowly, his mouth pulled into a bashful smile. “Well…No one misses me. But sounds like maybe you…would?”

“We would.”

“Is that why you keep wiggling your toes at me?”

Logan’s laugh took him by surprise and he squeezed his eyes shut, head falling against the couch. When he looked again, Leo was smiling at him. He wiggled his socks and Logan did it right back.

While Finn disappeared to the office, they started on dinner. Finn would probably make a few dinner reservations for when they were in New York, too—Logan hoped for three people. They’d see Finn’s family and hopefully Logan would take his matches all the way and…maybe come back to the hotel at night with Finn and Leo both waiting for him? Or, if he was knocked out, he’d get to sit in the stands with Finn’s hand on his thigh and watch Leo take it all the way home.

“What are you thinking about so hard over there?”

Logan looked up from where he was supposed to be shucking corn for Leo. He had a paper grocery bag between his knees and some corn silk sticking to his calves. He pulled off another smooth green husk.

“Nothing,” Logan said. “Just always feels like a lot, thinking about traveling.”

Leo was wearing one of those blue shirts that matched his eyes perfectly and cutting up some fruit. “All we do is travel.”

“Je sais, but I like being home. I always did, mostly so I didn’t have to talk to anyone anymore or answer fucking questions about why I’m so angry all the time and why I don’t have a coach and why, why, why…”

“Amen,” Leo said, and Logan flicked a smile up at him.

“But it’s different now with Finn with me. He’s…” Logan pulled another husk. “All I did was play tennis and think about tennis. Now I think about…”

“What do you think about?”

Logan laughed, shaking his head. “ That it’s nice being at home. With someone. This has been nice. Right?”

“Lo.” Leo raised his eyebrows and went to take a bowl down from the cupboard. He seemed to know exactly where every little thing in this house was, as deftly as if it were his own. “You know it’s been nice. Really nice.”

Logan looked down, pleased. He messed with a healing blister on his finger from his racket, pressing his nail against the forming callus. Finn would smack his hand away if he saw him doing that—Leo just threw a blueberry at him.

It’s been perfect because you’re here. Logan drew in a slow breath. Maybe he shouldn’t do this without Finn here, but he’d die if Leo didn’t know. I would miss you so badly if you left—

Leo held the bowl out to him, now filled with various fruits. “Here.”

Logan paused, blinking. “What?”

“That’s to hold you over so you don’t steal all my chopping while I start on dinner.”

Logan just stared at it. Leo’s beautiful, tanned fingers. The perfect cubes of mango and watermelon. Bananas. Wedges of orange. There were even mint leaves sprinkled in from the garden.

“Hello?” Leo laughed, giving the bowl a small shake. “Here.”

Logan took the fruit bowl, but he set it down and slid off his counter stool. Leo watched him, confused, as he rounded the kitchen island. Logan pushed up as high as he could on his socked feet, took Leo’s shoulders in his hands to pull him down, and kissed him.

It felt a bit like Finn’s first kiss. A kitchen, not a locker room. Logan hadn’t been simmering with frustration only moments before, but his blood still cooled into an easy river. He’d surprised Leo, he could tell that much from the way he was holding his breath. The way, when Logan broke the kiss just enough to look up at him, his blue eyes were wide. The way Leo let his breath out in a rush and put his hands on Logan’s waist—two warm centers of gravity.

He pulled Logan flush against him in one motion. When Logan sucked in a breath, Leo angled his jaw and turned the kiss warm and needy. Logan knew his head was tilting back, pliant for it, but he couldn’t help it. It felt good. Better than good. Leo’s hands felt massive, and he smelled like the hot sun and rubber of the court.

“Wow,” Leo whispered in between one kiss and another. “After everything, this is what gets me a Logan kiss? Fruit bowl.” Another kiss, ducking down so far that Logan should be embarrassed, but he wasn’t. On the court, maybe he clocked other people’s height as a disadvantage for him. Here, it was just plain nice. Preferred. “Fucking fruit bowl beats everything.”

“Everything?” Logan breathed.

Leo smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

Logan ended up perched on the counter with his ankles locked around Leo’s waist. It had probably been a couple minutes, but Logan swore the sun had lowered some in the sky. His lips felt kissed raw and he wanted more. He wanted to wake up with that nice redness on his jaw like he got from Finn’s scruff. Eventually Leo’s mouth began working just below his chin and Logan had to make a sound, broken low in his throat as it was as he blinked at the warm, dimming kitchen in a daze—and met familiar, toasty brown eyes.

How long Finn had been standing there, Logan didn’t know. He was leaning against the kitchen doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. His cheeks and ears were pink and his lips looked shiny from being bitten.

As Finn rubbed a thumb against his bottom lip, he looked back at Logan, even when Logan ducked to get at Leo’s neck. He scraped his teeth there, gently, softening it further with a kiss just the way Finn liked. Leo moaned softly and Finn rested his temple against the doorframe like it was too much. Logan never wanted him to look away. He wanted to press himself into Leo’s hips, kiss his salty skin, and keep Finn looking at him like that.

“I know you’re there,” Leo managed to say just before Logan kissed him again. His words turned Logan’s kiss harder, desperate. It felt like he was going to burst with how much he wanted this. How long had he wanted this, even without entirely realizing?

How long had Leo wanted this?

Finn?

“I know you know,” Finn said. His voice was unwavering. Logan didn’t know how he did it, but it sent Logan’s heart kicking, as did Leo’s soft laugh. For the first time in what felt like hours, Leo pulled back and looked down at Logan. Logan reached up, pushing his fingers through his blond hair. He wanted him back that close again, but paused. The sight of him. He looked like he did after a match that went his way. Adrenaline and sun and happiness.

“Sunburned,” Logan said.

Leo shook his head, smiling. “All you.” He turned towards Finn, and Logan rested his head on his shoulder to look, too. Finn looked like he was breathing fast. Logan could see him worrying the inside of his cheek. His brown eyes were dark, mostly pupil, and Logan felt hooked just like he always did when he discovered what got Finn. He likes this, he thought. He really likes this.

“Finn…” Leo swallowed. “Tell me I read all the signs right.”

“The signs?” Finn repeated. He walked forward towards them in strong strides. His fingers pushed gently through Logan’s dark hair, tilting his head back. “There’s your sign. Look at Lo.”

“I’ve been looking,” Leo replied. “Now, I’m looking at you.”

Finn laughed and ran a hand over his face. “What the fuck happened? I left you two alone for not even an hour.”

“Fruit bowl,” Logan said, not that that would explain anything to Finn. Honestly, he felt a little tipsy off of Leo’s kisses alone.

Contrarily, Finn’s lips parted in understanding. “I see.”

Logan scoffed. “See what?”

Finn’s hand was still in Logan’s hair, now at the base of his neck, where he squeezed with a smile. “You’re a pretty intense person to try and understand, but once one can crack your code…” His eyes slid to Leo. “Nice one.”

“I actually wasn’t even trying right then.”

“Trying?” Logan asked. “What do you mean you trying?” He gestured to Finn. “We’ve been trying.”

Finn and Leo exchanged another look in front of Logan. It was the easiest, most exasperated pair of smiles Logan had ever seen. Logan looked between them, trying to figure out what they were beginning to laugh about. Even without knowing, it began to bring a smile to his face.

“Quoi?” he asked, but they didn’t look away from each other. “Hey, what?”

Finn didn’t give him much more room to wonder. His left hand tightened in Logan’s hair, effectively stealing his breath, while his right slid behind Leo’s neck and pulled him in, still laughing. He fit their mouths together like he’d done it a thousand times.

Logan wasn’t sure he was really breathing, watching that. Watching the way Finn kissed. He knew how it felt, he knew how good it was, but seeing it was something else. Seeing it and not being jealous was something else.

He reached out and put his fingertips against Finn’s cheek, his jaw, feeling him kiss Leo, then let his hand fall to press over Leo’s chest. Finn’s palm pressed harder into his neck, and Leo’s hand found his hip again and yanked him right up against him, just as Logan had been, as they kissed. Logan tightened his legs around Leo and pushed his mouth against the cotton of his t-shirt while he watched.

Leo laughed a short, disbelieving breath, his lips parting as Finn’s became more insistent. Leo’s hand pressed into Logan’s thigh, supporting himself, but Logan wasn’t sure he knew just how high up his palm was as his fingers bunched up his shorts.

“Have you two kissed?” Logan heard himself say, because there was no way this could be the first. Had he and Leo looked that good, just now?

Finn took his time answering, Leo chasing his mouth—oh, did Logan ever know that feeling.

“We have now,” Finn finally said.

Leo pressed his hand over his eyes. “What the fuck.”

Finn nodded. “Yeah, yeah, it took us—”

“It took you long enough!” Leo burst out. “What the fuck, we’ve been flirting our fucking asses off for weeks. For a year. I thought I was just being stupid for a while, but not many married couples flirt back, you know.”

“We’re not married,” Logan said.

Leo huffed. “Well—not technically, maybe.”

Finn dropped Logan another wink, like he had in the living room.

“We flirt back,” Logan said. “But we’re—us. We weren’t sure you’d want…”

“Oh, weren’t we though?” Finn said. “Weren’t we pretty fucking sure?”

“Recently. But before, I didn’t think…”

“Go ahead,” Finn said, at the same time as Leo said softly, “What, Lo?”

Logan looked between them.

“I didn’t think it was allowed.” He reached for Finn’s hand on his neck and took it in his own. Married couple. He touched his ring finger. “I have so much already. I didn’t think I was allowed to want more, that’s…Is—Is…”

“Is this something you can have,” Leo said for him. “Or is it just something you want?”

Logan looked up at him, surprised. “I…”

“If it means anything, I’ve stayed up so many nights with that particular question. Especially recently. And I come to the same conclusion each time.” He tilted his head briefly to rest his temple against Finn’s. “If it wasn’t okay, why would it feel this much like a life that I could have?” He turned his head to look at Finn, jaw sharp, mouth soft. Finn’s eyes darted to each part and plane of his face and Leo swallowed before continuing. “It doesn’t feel like lust. Doesn’t feel like a crush. Believe me, I’ve had both for you two.”

Finn smiled softly, pushing his chin forward for a barely-there kiss.

“Feels like a life,” Finn whispered.

Leo nodded. He turned back to Logan.

“Does that help?” Leo asked, then he dropped his voice and took Logan’s face in his hands. “Did I get it right?”

Logan wanted to try what Finn had tried. He put his chin up and let Leo kiss him soft as paint strokes.

“I think,” Finn said, leaning into them. “You got it word for fucking word.”

Evening would turn to sunset would turn to dusk, and Logan needed this night to stay as long as it could. Leo let him down from the counter and held him tight against his body for a moment. There was something sharp in the point of Finn’s canines when he smiled at them, and when Leo pulled away to start on dinner, Finn’s hands found Logan’s hips and he pulled him backwards, back flush against Finn’s chest. He kissed Logan’s neck over and over and over.

“Game,” he said between each kiss. “Set,” he said, and Leo began to laugh, getting it. “Match.”

“You think you’re the winners here?” Leo looked them up and down and gestured to himself. “I won.”

“Mm, non,” Logan said. “It’s definitely us.”

Leo pulled back on his smile, turning to the pantry.

“Chop this for me, O’Hara,” Leo said. “I’m still cooking you dinner.”

Finn caught an onion Leo tossed against Logan’s chest.

“You want to…eat?” Logan asked.

Finn laughed. “Why, did you have some plans?”

Logan thought of those kisses. Leo’s hand on his thigh. “Ah…Non.”

With his free hand, Finn pushed two fingers into Logan’s jaw to turn his head for a real kiss.

“You sweetheart,” he whispered.

Logan reached up to flick his cheek. “I feel like I missed a large part of this game.”

“You didn’t miss any of it,” Leo said, pushing the silverware drawer closed with his hip. “You maybe were a little oblivious sometimes.”

Logan spluttered as Finn slapped his ass then stepped away to take a cutting board down and pull a knife from the block. “To what?”

“Mostly a whole lot of Leo-Finn eye contact,” Finn said, and sliced in. “Oh Jesus, I’m gonna cry. Thanks for the worst job.”

“Aw, I’m sorry. Come here.” He kissed him, quick. An every-day kiss. Finn pumped his fist in victory and Leo rolled his eyes.

“Eye contact?” Logan asked.

“Yes, Lo,” Finn said. “Once I was for sure you were on board—oh fuck, here it comes.” He pressed an elbow over his face. “Ow. Ow, ow, ow.”

Logan walked forward and pulled Finn’s arm away. His eyes were all teared up, turning the brown to syrup. “Once I was on board—”

“He basically gave me the green light with those brown eyes of his,” Leo said. “I mean, not so many words were spoken, but actually,” Leo pointed a fork at Finn. “You kissed my neck in the pool one day.”

“Yes…” Finn sniffed, eyes closed. “I lost some willpower for a second, sorry.”

“Well, no, don’t be sorry,” Leo said.

Logan reached up and wiped a tear from Finn’s cheek. The onion was beginning to sting his eyes, too and he squeezed one shut to look at Leo.

Leo laughed. “Oh my God, look at you two. Hopeless. Okay, here, one second.”

He disappeared through the doorway to who knew where.

“I think he knows this house better than me,” Logan said.

Finn blinked down at him, Logan sniffled and tried to look up at him, but eventually Finn laughed, gave up and closed his eyes against the burn. He pressed their foreheads together instead.

“Did that really just happen?” Finn whispered. “I love you. Way to go, Tremblay.”

“It was easier than I thought. I didn’t know he was so—wanted us, too? I was worried he didn’t. Or wouldn’t. Or not as badly as we…”

“Oblivious.”

Logan punched Finn in the arm. “I’m not.”

Finn pulled back and looked down at him. He wiped at Logan’s damp cheek.

“Look at you,” Finn said. “How could he not want you?”

Logan leaned forward onto his toes, palms flat on Finn’s chest. “What was that about me having codes?”

“Grumpy until Finn kisses you.” Leo strode back into the kitchen as he spoke. “Irritable until someone brings you food after a workout. Happiest when someone is touching you somehow—but you’d never admit it—and always, always, worried,” he stopped in front of Logan, “about the people you love.”

“That’s not a code,” Logan said.

“It is when you need to know what you’re looking for,” Leo said.

“Looking for? Looking for when?”

Finn tighten his arms around Logan’s waist. “When you’re hoping to make the legendary, tough-as-nails Logan Tremblay melt in your arms.”

“Been there,” Leo said.

“Done that,” Finn added.

They clasped hands like they did sometimes on the court and Leo held up three objects. “Candles. For the onions.”

“I have candles?” Logan mumbled. He couldn’t imagine where they had come from.

Before he could really blink, Finn had dimmed the lights and there were five candles set up around the kitchen, giving it a soft glow. Onions were sizzling soft and fragrant in a pan along with oil and mushrooms. Logan felt a little dizzy. Finn put his hands on Leo’s hips to step behind him and mimed forehands to him when he handed him objects like a zucchini to chop or a wooden spoon. Logan stayed on his counter stool, making his way through the fruit and leaning back into Leo’s chest when he came over to wrap his arms around him from behind.

They moved out to the patio and pool when it was time for the grill, leaving behind the pleasant, smoky smell of blown-out beeswax in favor of charring vegetables and fish. The sun had turned the world and its pool reflection orange and Finn put a glass of white wine in his hand. Logan’s mind turned slow, watching the way Finn slipped his arm around Leo’s waist. He wouldn’t stop touching Leo, and Logan wasn’t sure how, but it felt like he could feel every slip of Finn’s fingers over Leo’s back and shoulders. At one point, when there was nothing left to do, Leo turned quick and pinned Finn against the stones of the house to kiss him—they were the harder kisses of a late, hot night, and stood stark in the lingering sunlight they were bathed in now. Finn looked over at him while he was catching his breath, Leo having left him with a smile to go plate their dinner.

Wow, Finn mouthed at him, and Logan had to rest his cheek in his hand just to feel how hot it was.

The solar lanterns went on around them as they sky turned to purple and blue. Logan was hungry, a deeper sort of hungry. Their empty plates stacked on the table in front of them and Leo’s mile-to-go tanned legs were stretched out and crossed on the table. Logan maybe looked at them for too long, because when he looked up, Leo was watching him.

“One more code,” Leo said. “Quiet Logan.” Leo raised his eyebrows at Finn for answers.

“Furious or horny,” Finn said. “Occasionally both.”

“I’m not furious,” Logan said, just to be difficult.

Leo let his head rest back against the canvas cushion of the patio couch. “Oh, no?”

“Non.” Logan finished off the last sip of his wine and looked into the glass. “What did the other eye-contacts say?”

Finn’s arm stretched behind Leo along the back of the sofa, and Leo’s eyes flicked up to look at him.

“Lots of silent conversations, you and I,” Finn said. He curved his wrist to tussle with the golden ends of Leo’s hair.

“Hm.” Leo thought. “First it was Finn making eyes at me and me trying to be, like—is this in a gross cheating way or—but he’s Finn and you’re you and he’s obsessed with you so there was no way.” He pointed his glass towards Logan. “I mean, then you started making eyes. But I also kind of thought you just kind of…”

“Stare really hard at everyone he looks at,” Finn finished.

“Exactly.”

“What?” Logan cut in.

“In a cute way!” Leo said hurriedly. “It’s also really hot. I mean, not across the court—across the court it makes me want to strangle you.”

Logan couldn’t help it. He laughed. “I make you want to strangle me? You do the annoying shirt thing before every serve!”

“What annoying shirt thing?” Leo asked.

Finn laughed. “Lo, baby, that’s not so much annoying as it is…frustrating.”

Logan just stood up and picked up the hem of his shirt, pretending to wipe sweat up his face. “As if we need you to flash your stomach every two seconds.”

Leo looked delighted. “Oh, you don’t like that?”

“It’s not needed,” Logan said, crossing his arms and moving to stand in front of Leo. “It’s a distraction. I mean, who are you Sascha Zverev?”

Leo narrowed his eyes, obviously biting back a smile.

Finn had his knees spread, relaxed as he looked up at Logan, too. “Furious and horny.”

Without sitting up, Leo flatted his hand low against his stomach and pushed up the hem of his shirt, revealing a light sprinkling of blond hair and his tanned, toned stomach. “Now that you told me, I guess I’ll have to stop using it on the court. Unfair advantage and all that.”

Finn hummed and reached forward. He hooked a palm behind Logan’s closest thigh and pulled, sending Logan forward and straight into straddling Leo’s lap. Logan caught himself, hands on Leo’s bare skin. It had sent both of their breaths out of them in a rush. Leo was grinning, almost too widely, and panting through a light laugh. His hands curved over Logan’s lower back. Finn leaned back again and took a sip of his wine.

Leo was warm beneath him, and he didn’t seem to mind the weight so Logan let himself relax, sinking off of his heels and fully onto his lap. Leo squeezed his hips in reply.

“This is much better than eye-contact,” Leo said, but the last syllables were quiet and jumpy because Logan had started pushing his palms up his chest, under his shirt. He flipped his palms up and gripped the fabric. Leo didn’t need him to say anything. He sat forward enough for Logan to pull it over his head. The gold chain he wore spilled like water back to his throat, but Logan only had a moment to look before Leo was doing the same to his shirt. Logan shivered at the feeling of Leo’s hands on his bare ribs. Blue, blue eyes met his. Leo’s face held a timid, burning fire. He breathed in, trying to press into his hands, and Leo’s fingers slotted into the spaces in between seamlessly.

Logan looked at Finn. He had set his glass down and had that hand resting low on his stomach, thumbing the band of his shorts. He arched a brow at Logan.

Leo, when Logan found his blue again, was breathing more shallowly now, lips parted. He liked feeling Leo breathe beneath his hands. He liked being able to see where the sun touched his skin.

Logan leaned forward slowly, holding Leo’s gaze, before ducking his head to take that gold chain between his teeth. He pulled gently until Leo’s head tilted back for him, baring his neck, and then pressed his lips there right over a pounding beat.

“Huh,” Leo breathed. “That belonged to my grandfather.”

“D’accord,” Logan said, pressing his lips over the metal, now warm. “What do you want me to do, thank him?”

Leo’s laugh was loud and breathless. Heat spiked through Logan’s entire body when he felt Leo’s hand, large and warm, cup the back of his neck. “God, Logan.”

Logan pulled back to look at him, leaning into his hands. “What’s my code now?” Logan pushed his hips down and watched Leo’s eyes flutter shut then open again. “What am I thinking now?”

Leo just laughed and pulled Logan to him.

Warm. Leo’s mouth was warm and sweet with the wine. Something pushed against Logan’s shoulder and the world went a little lopsided. Logan though it was just Leo’s kiss making his head spin until he felt his back hit the soft cushions of the couch and realized it had been Finn pushing them. He laughed into Leo’s mouth, letting his lips drag down his neck, and opened his eyes to see Finn kneeling beside them.

Finn looked like he had looked in the kitchen, flushed as he leaned forward to kiss Logan quiet again, only dragging his mouth out of Logan’s reach to kiss Leo.

“Your knee,” Logan panted. “Don’t—” He broke off, watching them kiss. “Don’t kneel like that…”

Finn didn’t reply, but Leo made a concerned sound and pulled back.

“O’Hara,” he said sternly.

“Well, then get me off the floor.”

“You pushed,” Logan said.

Finn rolled his eyes and stood up with a groan. Logan hooked an elbow around his legs, keeping him there so he could press kisses to the scar. When he looked up, mouth on his skin still, Finn looked more flushed than before. Logan thought it was him, but then he noticed Leo’s hand, pulling at the strings of Finn’s shorts.

Leo’s teasing smile brought Finn sinking towards them, but Logan wasn’t sure which one of them kissed Leo first.

Time pinned and froze. A note on a door in Finn’s handwriting that Logan might’ve just kept forever. One of Finn’s steamed-up hearts traced through windows at him. Logan wanted to sign his name on the scene in front of him. He wanted to magnet it on a fridge, wanted Finn to seal it on that bulletin board he kept in the office with all of their plans. He wanted to fold it up and keep it in his wallet. He wanted a video, a grainy one that would smudge Leo’s blue eyes as he looked up at Finn with his fingers digging into his pale hips.

It was finally dark outside, and Logan wanted to relive the way the three of them had stumbled through the house a thousand times. Finn pushing Leo against a doorframe, Leo stopping Logan with his arms wrapped tight around his waist to kiss him until Logan felt he’d have to ease them down to the floor right there. Finn’s heaving chest in the light coming in through the moon with Leo gasping beneath him was a movie in itself. Logan didn’t know what to do with himself half the time. He ran his fingers over every inch of skin exposed. Kissed the sounds out of Leo’s mouth, watched Finn’s face in a way he’d never gotten to before. He was gorgeous like this, shoulders braced with his hands sinking into their bed, red hair sticking to his temples. Sitting up and back in a way that made Leo’s back arch and let Finn pull Logan under one arm. It wasn’t a kiss he got from Finn exactly, more like he was using Logan to try and catch his breath, to steady himself.

Logan let his eyes slip closed and turned blindly for Finn’s mouth. He felt Leo’s hand on him and reached down to hold his wrist, just to feel the way it moved. Quick and sure with his strokes as he was on the court. When he stretched out along Leo’s side, he could feel the snap of Finn’s hips in the way Leo’s body shivered. They had been giddy earlier, laughing and tumbling, but at one point Logan had been pinned so tight between their bodies that the laughter broke in his throat and some sort of fever had lit inside him. He needed closer and again. He needed them kissing each other over his shoulder and feeling like he’d been drenched over his head in something this sweet smelling.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He swung his leg over Leo’s hips and was up, balanced on Leo’s chest. His world was Leo’s voice, oh, Lo, yes, yes, and Finn’s chest to lean back on once the two of them sent Logan sinking again, plunged him into his own personal, warm, weightless, sea.

Next he knew, their breathing sounded as rhythmic as the AC, and Logan was on his side, but he was sure, somehow, that his head was at the wrong end of the bed. He was warm, though, perfectly so, like someone had thrown the comforter over him. He opened his eyes and found Finn beside him, on his back. He was panting hard, chest rising and falling quickly, and Logan tried to piece out exactly what had made him like that. He meant to lay his palm on Finn’s heart, just to feel, but his muscles didn’t quite obey and he ended up slapping it there, making Finn jump.

“Jesus fuck,” Finn said. His breathing paused as he swallowed around a dry throat, then took up again. His hand covered Logan’s. “Hi. Hi, baby.”

“Leo?”

“Ya,” Leo’s voice came, somewhere from the head of the bed so Logan had to raise his head. He was in a mess of pillows, bare and breathing as hard as Finn was. Logan frowned at him. He felt as calm and serene as morning waters.

“You might have missed some action at the end there,” Finn read his mind. “But you looked so peaceful and…and I just needed…” Finn looked down the bed at Leo and laughed. “Well, that one more time. Jesus, Knut.”

Leo grinned and let his head fall back into the pillows.

Logan pushed himself up onto his forearms and tried to shake some of the fog from his head. He hadn’t been asleep exactly. Just…everything had felt good. The sheets. Their hands. Their sounds. He remembered, now that he was thinking about it, feeling safe with their warm voices right there, their hands on him even as they were drawn together. Finn’s gentle words, separated by kisses Logan hadn’t quite been able to open his eyes to look at. You know you read the signs right. You know you did. We’ve wanted you. You should have seen Lo the first time we really talked about it, I thought he was ready to go and find you right then. The way he lights up whenever you call. The way he quiets on the court when he plays you, you push him so well. I’ve wanted you. I thought I had it all until I watched you walk right up at that ball and ask to dance. Oh my God, you’re brave, you’re brave, of course we want you.

Already, Logan knew when one of them was missing. He could feel it when he woke up sometime later. He heard the bathroom door squeak slightly and opened his eyes. Finn was asleep, rolled onto his other side with the sheets slung low across his hips. Leo had pulled boxers on and was crossing back from the bathroom. Leo saw he was awake and jogged over to him quicker, making Logan laugh and check to make sure he hadn’t woken Finn. When he turned back, Leo was sliding back under the sheets and Logan shuffled over to press close to him. Sharing a pillow like he’d done a thousand times with Finn.

“Your blue eyes look different in the dark.”

“Hm,” Leo whispered back. “Different how?”

“I don’t know, I like it, though.” He ran a hand up and down Leo’s bare side. It was cool, no lingering warmth from the bed. “You’ve been up?”

Leo sighed and shrugged like he was resigned to it. Logan inched closer. This was new.

“I know all about your routines and your days,” Logan whispered. “But I don’t know about your nights.”

“Guilty insomniac here,” Leo whispered, then smiled. “Sure you still want me?”

“Shh,” Logan soothed. “Of course I do.” Leo humphed and pushed his cheek into the pillow, but his eyes did flutter closed as soon as Logan began rubbing his back. “Of course we do…”

“I was mostly joking,” Leo whispered. “I just—I don’t know, something keeps me up.”

“You’re worried about something?”

“No, no,” Leo said. “I mean, sometimes that’s it. Mostly, it’s just—there. I’m just awake.”

“What can I do?” Logan asked. He traced a thumb over Leo’s full bottom lip. “I’ll do anything.”

That soft mouth smiled right into Logan’s touch. “I know you would, sweetheart.”

“Pst, pst, pst, pstpstpstpstssst,” Finn grumbled suddenly, then rolled over to press against Logan’s back, throwing an arm over him to reach Leo. “I’m getting you up for a run at six, go to sleep.”

Leo gasped even before Logan could. “You are not.”

“Now it’s five for talking back.”

“It’s three in the morning right now. We’ve been asleep for two hours.”

“Maybe we should just get up now then,” Finn said, and Logan could feel that teasing grin.

Logan elbowed Finn gently in the ribs. “Go away, no cuddling for you.”

Finn just tossed a leg over them, and Logan watched Leo’s eyes brighten as Finn peppered a dozen hard kisses over Logan’s neck and shoulder.

“Oh, baby, you don’t know how to send me away, nu-uh,” Finn whispered. Logan felt a weak little tug of arousal in his gut, not enough to be urgent, but, God, Finn. Finn would always do Finn things to him. Then, just as suddenly as he’d woken, Finn was leveraging himself over both of them and locking Leo between their bodies. “But my Leo’s not being sleepless, not on my watch.”

“Hm,” Leo said softly, eyes slipping closed. He let Finn tuck his knees up behind his own, let Logan stretch his arm out under his head to act as a pillow instead. “Well…If there was ever a place I could sleep…”

“It’s right here,” Finn whispered, lips against Leo’s shoulder. His brown eyes flit to Logan. “It’s right here.”

“Can I have some of those peppers?”

“What…” Logan and Finn looked at each other. “What peppers?”

“Those,” Leo said softly.

“Peppers,” Finn repeated to himself, then laughed. “Oh, peppers.”

He started slow, placing gentle kisses to Leo’s neck, then got faster as he reached his jaw and cheek.

“Peppers,” Logan mumbled, watching Leo’s pleased smile.

Logan settled a kiss on the corner of Leo’s mouth and blinked in the blinding, rolling urge to tell Leo that he loved him. Now, before their breathing all evened out and he’d have to wait. But Leo was falling into a lull again and Logan didn’t want to ruin that. On Leo’s hip, Finn’s fingers found his and locked tight. Finn squeezed once, twice, brown eyes so dark and deep in the night. Logan squeezed back, hard, finally understanding.

#on the line lumosinlove #o'knutzy #finnlo #lelo #sunfish #tennis au #o'knutzy week 2024

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