#just gotta run a few errands and then i should be good to settle in with tv/computer and some yarn and get to them

[direwombat]

been taking a bit of a writing break in order to work on crocheting a gift for someone but once that's done i should hopefully be back at it

[theworldofotps]

Best Memories (T.W)

Pairing: Hook x Reader Word Count: 1,262 Description: Hook never wanted you to know what he did for a living.

Trigger Warning: Includes character death. I'm so sorry for what you're about to read but I hope you enjoy it regardless. Thank you @new-zealand-chic for reading over this for me beforehand to let me know if it was worth posting. You can thank @madhatterbri for picking the character. ________ Tag list: @omg-im-such-a-masochist​ @melissahausen​ @new-zealand-chic @writtingrose @99hook @madhatterbri @sjwrites22​ @sassymox @mrsacklesevansmgk @xladyxfatex @adamcolesbaybay @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch​ @demonqueen29​ @itsicantbelievethis666​ @lilred91 @rebellious-desires @claymorexpunisher @letsgivethisonemoreshot @ava-valerie​ @shortyiceheart​ @serpantscorpio8497​ @thatpanpal​ @thatnerdwriter​ @wrestlersownmyheart​ @vebner37​​ @seeingstarks​ @whenimakeitshine1234 @legit9thlunaticwarrior​ @blaquekitty @ironshamelessyouth​ @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin @ripleyswhore @moonrosekk @xbreezymeadowsx @alyyaana  @elevennbloom @melblacc @alliwant456  @mcreignsera @auburnwrites​ @aews-four-pillars If you wanna be added to the list lemme know.

Hook taglist: @wickedval _______

“Mamas wake up.” A soft voice whispered in your ear as warm lips pressed against your cheek and neck a few times, a groan left your lips as you tried to snuggle deeper into the blankets. “More sleep.” You whined, you were so tired the night before had been filled with the two of you love making and you were more than happy to just lay here together resting. “I know but I gotta get up my dad needs me to run a couples errands for work and I want some love from you before leaving.” Tyler pressed a kiss to your shoulder as he slowly worked on waking you up, when your eyes finally opened the were met with the sight of him grinning at you. His hair flopped over his eyes and all messy from your fingers running through and tugging it. “Good morning beautiful.” He said pressing his lips to yours as you mumbled back a good morning, stretching you couldn’t help but blush as his eyes followed the sheet falling off your chest.

“You look good wearing my marks.” The smirk in his voice was evident as he referred to the love bites he had left scattered across your skin; the most recent one being on the left side of your chest directly over your heart. “Well you seem to enjoy giving them so I’m glad you think so.”

“Can’t pretend like you don’t enjoy them mamas you’re almost always moaning my name when I’m giving them.” You smiled watching as he climbed out of bed still completely naked and walked to the bathroom to shower. Laying in the bed you shifted on your side as you listened to him hum. The sun had just started shining through the windows, so you knew it was still early. When he finally returned from the shower with a towel around his waist you whistled wiggling your brows.

“Behave I don’t have time to get you.”

He chuckled dressing quickly then walking to the bed and leaning over to kiss you deeply his hand resting on your cheek.

“Be safe, call me if you need anything and I should be home by six.” Kissing him back you nodded stroking his jaw lightly with the tips of your fingers.

“You be safe as well I mean it I don’t want you coming home with stiches in your knuckles.” “I’ll do my best.” He laughed giving you another kiss as you exchanged I love yous and he left the bedroom. Settling into the blankets on his side you yawned rubbing your eyes as you listened to his fading footsteps. The front door closing signaled to you that he had left, and you could finally go back to sleep. Tyler never wanted you to know what he really did for work, told you it was best that his girl didn’t get mixed in with those types of things. Apart from he did some stuff with his dad that was all you really knew. So, when Anthony showed up at your shared apartment later in the day looking stressed and begging you to come with him to the Senerchia home you knew it was serious. “What’s wrong?”

“Tyler got hurt.”

Was the only thing that he told you as you slipped your shoes on and grabbed your keys. The tight feeling in your stomach only grew as you followed him down to his car and buckled up. Watching out the window as he weaved through the crowed streets of New York. His knee bouncing in anticipation as his eyes darted around, the feeling of dread grew as you got closer to Taz’s house.

Anthony parked and the two of you exited the car quickly making your way to the front door, not bothering to knock Anthony opened it for you. Motioning to follow him he led you up the stairs and to a room you were most familiar with. Tyler’s room.

“I’m sorry Y/n.”

He whispered squeezing your hand and stepping back you paused for just a moment, fear gripping you as you searched his face. Pushing the door open you spotted Taz and his wife surrounding the bed, the room was quiet apart from some labored breathing and soft crying. Looking up Taz’s eyes were filled with tears as he motioned for you to join them, standing he took your hand.

“I’m sorry y/n, I’ve tried everything I could and so has the doctor there’s nothing more that can be done.”

“What happened?”

“Ambushed, he tried to fight them all off, but it was no use he’s barely hanging on but said he wanted you.”

It felt like you couldn’t breathe as you listened to him and after a brief word with Tyler’s mother, they left giving you privacy. Tears sprung to your eyes as you looked at the love of your life laying motionless in the bed. It looked as if every breath he took hurt, and you were sure it did. Walking over you knelt next to him and gently stroked his cheek. His eyes opened and despite the pain he felt Tyler smiled softly seeing you.

“I was hoping you’d make it in time.”

His voice was weak as he spoke labored gasps and breaths as you took one of his hands, it was covered in blood, but you didn’t care.

“Anthony got me here as quickly as he could.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no no you don’t need to apologize this isn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it is, I thought it was just the one guy and I fell into a trap did everything I could but.”

He coughed wincing as tears of pain spilled down his cheeks your own tears flowing freely as he finally relaxed back on the bed. “I want you to be brave for me, okay? Don’t distance yourself from the family, they’re going to help you get through this. I’m sorry I don’t get the chance to love you for the rest of our lives like I promised.”

Tyler said as his thumb brushed across your engagement ring, your heart felt like it was being squeezed as he lightly tugged your hand. Encouraging you to climb onto the bed with him you carefully did so holding him gently.

“I love you.” “I love you too y/n so much.”

There was a moment of silence before you whispered to him the vows you had spent the last three months writing. The slight smile on his face brought a sad one to your own as he did the same, he carefully wiggled off his ring and gave it to you. “Take the chain.”

“Ty I can’t.”

“Take it baby, I want you to wear it with my ring please.” You gently lifted his head holding back the gasp at the dark blood staining his hair and pillow as you removed the gold chain and put it in your pocket. Tyler lifted his face for a kiss and frowned seeing how sad you were.

“You know, they say that after the body dies the brain lives on for several minutes replaying your best memories.”

“Really I didn’t know that.” You sniffled wiping your face as your forehead gently rested against his and he couldn’t help but kiss you once more he knew it was about to be the last. “I just want you to know that my several minutes are all going to be about you.”

He whispered, and just like that he was gone the brightest light in your world was snuffed out leaving you alone in the dark.

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

chapter 21

tags: @illiana-mystery, @eclecticwildflowers, @eroticaplush, @onedirectionlovers2014

warnings: swearing, Dan meets readers friends, slight time skip, mention of heart attack, mention of doctor visit

Fiddling with my keys as we rode the elevator up, Dan covered my hands with his.

“you showed them a picture of me right?” He asked. I nodded. “You told them about me. So it should be alright. It’s just them meeting me in person.” He squeezed my hand.

“I know.” I sighed as we headed out into my hall.

“(Y/N).” Bill said as he opened the door. “Oh. Are you two…staying here?” I shook my head as we walked into the apartment.

“no. Just picking some stuff up. Gonna stay at dans. Need some more stuff.” I admitted as Dan followed me into the living room. “Uh you all behave yourselves. But Dan these are my friends.” I pointed at everyone. “Bill. Kevin. Angie. And Jackie.” They each waved as Dan sat down on my couch. “And this is Dan. Yes that Dan. Behave.” I warned them as I went into my bedroom to pack another bag. I heard muttering from the living room as I tossed clothes and toiletries into the bag without rhyme or reason. I spotted some of dans clothes and grabbed another bag to pack those.

“there you are.” Bill said as I walked back into the living room with the bags. “We were just talking about ordering dinner before you two head back out.” Dan looked at me, eyes sparkling.

“I uh don’t feel like cooking.” He said as I rolled my eyes and leaned over the back of the couch.

“yeah alright. What y’all thinking?” I asked my friends. Angie smiled at me as dan leaned his head against my arm.

“pizza?” Kevin asked. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Oh right. Sorry. Gotta be sorta healthy.” Dan grumbled as I ran my fingers through his hair. “Panera?” We all nodded. “Write down your orders people. Getting delivery.”

“Uber eats?” I asked as I picked the bags back up. Kevin nodded. “Cool. Tally up the bill and add a massive tip.” Kevin gave me a look.

“I’ll have you know I tip very well.” Kevin said.

“yeah when one of you dumbasses answer the door they need that massive tip. So whatever you tip, double it. I’ll add it to my price.” I glared at everyone before hefting the bags onto my shoulders. “I’m taking these down to the car.” I kissed dans cheek as everyone awed. “Ah shut up.” I laughed as I left to put everything in my car. Heading back up, I checked my phone to update my parents. Knocking on the door to my apartment, Dan let me back in.

“have everything you need for a few weeks at mine?” He asked as we went back into the living room, his hand on my back.

“yep. And if I need anything I can always come back or just buy it.” I shrugged. Dan nodded and we sat down on the same couch as before. “So I take it you all get along?” I looked over the group in front of me. My concern was met with smiles and jokes. Curling into dans side, I nodded happily. We left after dinner and I got set up in dans apartment. When we were settling in for bed, I finally voiced what had been bugging me all day.

“I’m glad…” I broke off and shook my head as my voice cracked. Dan held his arms open and I curled up against him. I gripped his night shirt as I started to cry. Dan kissed my head and held me equally as tightly.

“I know. Me too.” He whispered. I looked up at him, tears trailing down my cheeks. Dan pulled me up into a kiss and it took all my willpower to pull away before it got too heated. “It’s going to be a long few weeks.” He groaned. I laughed before putting my head on his chest, lulled into sleep and security by his heart beat.

The week went by fairly quickly, making dans doctor appointments and being incredibly domestic. One night, after I had gotten locked out while running an errand Dan made a decision.

“we should head out and get you a key tomorrow.” Dan said as we settled in bed. I nodded.

“Sounds like a good idea.” I said as I laid down next to him. Dan nodded and wrapped his arm around me. “First thing in the morning?” He nodded again. The next morning, we went out to get the key.

“so which one are you getting?” Dan asked as they were copying his key. I looked over the options. “And before you ask, I don’t care what you get. As long as it works and you don’t have to wait in the hallway for me to let you back in.” Chuckling, I wrapped my arm around his.

“what about the tie dye one?” I asked. Dan nodded.

“if that’s what you want.” He shrugged. “I thought you’d go for the magic kingdom one.” I laughed as I leaned my head against his arm.

“you know me well. But I like the tie dye one more.” Dan chuckled and kissed my head.

“sounds good.” He agreed before taking his key back. Dan reached over and put his hand on top of mine.

“Dan? Dan fielding?” Dan turned at the voice and his eyebrows went up. Squeezing my hand, he reached out to shake the persons hand.

“patty. Long time no see.” He said. “Uh sorry. Patty Douglas, this is (Y/N)…” Dan faltered for a second. “(Y/L/N).” I looked at him confused for a second before shaking patty’s hand. “Patty and I were uh…well…” he squeezed my hand and but his lip.

“we were engaged. I called it off.” Patty said, giving Dan a smile. “I’ve figured it out Dan. It doesn’t terrify me anymore.” Dan nodded.

“I’m glad. What did you do with all the money then?” He asked. I looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what their relationship had actually been like.

“I still have it. I just…” she shrugged. “I only use what I need.” Dan smiled at her.

“good. I’m happy for you.” He said with a nod.

“what are you doing here?” Patty asked. “Not that I’m not happy to see you. I actually was trying to figure out how to contact you. I was thinking we could maybe…” Dan started to shake his head. Pattys face fell. “Try again.”

“as much as I would have loved that patty, I’m already taken. (Y/N)’s my partner.” He held up our joined hands. “And I love them very much. We’re here to get them a key to my apartment. I was actually hoping to ask them something later but uh I guess…” Dan looked over at me and patty smiled.

“I understand.” She patted his arm and Dan smiled softly at her. “Good luck Dan.” She turned to me and offered her hand. “You’ve got a great guy there. Don’t lose him.” I nodded as I shook her hand.

“thanks. I’ll try my best.” I looked up at Dan and squeezed his hand. At that moment, my key was ready.

“we’re uh…going to be on our way.” Dan smiled at me. “Nice to see you again patty. Maybe we can catch up…” patty nodded and we started towards the exit.

“so engaged.” I said. Dan nodded.

“yeah.” He sighed as we got into the car. “We knew each other for two weeks. Met during a case. No one…” Dan shook his head. “No one understood why I wanted to marry her. No one understood why I was dating her. They all told me I was a jerk. An asshole. I think one of our bailiffs called me a sleezepuppy. Whatever that is.” He chuckled. “Everyone thought I was after her money. But they didn’t spend time with her. They didn’t…get to know her.” I nodded as I played with the key in my hands.

“two weeks isn’t a long time Dan.” I pointed out. Dan nodded.

“Yeah.” He agreed. We fell into silence as I continued to play with my key.

“so what was it about her?” I asked after a minute. Dan chuckled again and looked over at me.

“lots of the same things that drew me to you.” He answered. “Unique sense of humor, beautiful eyes, puts up with and calls me out on my bullshit. Things like that.” Tentatively reaching over, he interlocked out fingers as he held my hand. I looked over at them on the center console. “She also let me take care of her. She uh she didn’t do well without money. But I liked her anyway.” I nodded.

“so why’d she break it off then? Sounds like you two had something special then.” I asked, squeezing his hand.

“her father offered me $50,000 to break off the wedding.” Dan said. “I turned him down.” I looked over at him in shock.

“you turned him down?” I asked. “The Dan fielding who, at the time, would do anything to make a quick buck turned down $50,000?” Dan chuckled as he nodded. Picking up my hand, he kissed the back of it.

“glad to know you have confidence in me.” He laughed. “But yes. I did. I actually cared for her. Very much.” I nodded. “Then he threatened to cut her off and she was hysterical over the idea. Couldn’t live without money. Told me she was once at home for a week with just canned food and couldn’t work the can opener so she nearly starved. I…well…” he shrugged. “She called it off and I actually was heartbroken. Not that I let anyone know it really. Hadn’t seen her since then. Until today.” I nodded. “(Y/N), it was a shock to see her but no one. No. One. Can compare to you. I love you and I don’t want anyone else but you.” I nodded again.

“I love you too. But Dan…” I looked over at him again. “Did you forget my name? What was that about?” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair awkwardly.

“Uh let’s chalk it up to shock.” He said, something shining in his eyes. “Please.” I nodded slowly. “I’ll explain it to you one day. I promise.”

“ok.” I agreed. I started the car and headed back to his apartment.

“(Y/N)?” Dan asked when he made sure that the key worked. “That thing I wanted to ask you?”

“Yeah?” Dan smiled at me from over by the door.

“will you stay here with me? Permanently?” He asked, playing with his fingers.

“Are you…asking me to move in with you?” I asked, fidgeting with my key ring. Dan nodded.

“will you?” He asked. Smiling to myself, i nodded.

“yes Dan. I’ll move in with you.” I agreed, looking back up at him. Dans smile grew as he raced over to me. Dipping me back, Dan kissed me passionately. I squeaked as I dropped my key ring and wrapped my arms around him, burying my hand in his hair. Dan pulled me back up as he slowly broke the kiss, continuing to peck my lips.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” He whispered. Laughing, I hugged him tightly.

“I love you too Dan.” I giggled. He kissed my head and picked me up slightly as he hugged me even tighter.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He muttered. “I never thought I’d love someone enough again to want them to move in with me. To actually live with someone again.” I pulled back when he put me back down. Reaching up, I cupped his cheek and I smiled when he leaned into it.

“we don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I whispered. Dan shook his head quickly and turned to kiss my palm.

“I want this.” He assured me. “More than I’ve ever wanted anything else in my life.” I smiled and shook my head.

“Dan fielding. Romantic.” I teased. He chuckled before pulling me into another kiss.

[goodlucktai]

(I feel like I should finish your prompt first but. These ones are so good....feel free to ignore if you have too many asks but 29 or 33 with chocobros...?

PROMPTS LIST

33. “Are you SURE I can’t punch him in the face?” “Yes.” “What if I just break his nose a little?”

ik i just did this one for natsuyuu but...........chocobros

x

They're somewhere in Duscae, near enough to the coast that each breeze carries a hint of the sea, on another errand for another stranger to scrape together enough gil to eat tonight.

They've stopped at the last little roadside cluster of shops before the countryside stretches far and wide and wild, stocking up on what meager supplies they can afford.

Noctis has never lived this way before. He's never gone to bed hungry before. Neither has Gladio or Ignis, for all their world-weariness and the general practical knowledge and common sense they walk around with that far surpasses Noctis' own.

Ignis can budget with the best of them, and Gladio is willing to eat literally anything at any time, but Prompto is the one who gets it.

He chats at length about all the times he's had to get creative with pasta or rice because it was all that was left in his pantry. Back in high school, when he could only work part-time. When someone should have been taking care of him, and instead he was left to figure out how to stretch a tiny budget much farther than made sense.

"Come on, Iggy," he said once when they were out shopping, half-laughing. Like he thought Ignis was joking. "Fresh produce? We've got like a hundred gil between the four of us and we're totally out of restoratives."

And Ignis paused, and glanced sidelong at him. He put back the crisp, flowery vegetables and pulled out his little notebook and asked for suggestions instead. It took Prompto a few minutes to convince himsef that Ignis was taking him seriously, but now they like, bond over canned fruit.

"I'm gonna kill this catoblepas with my bare hands," Gladio says with feeling, leaning against the car. "I'm so godsdamned sick of pasta. Don't tell Iggy I said that."

Noctis rolls an energy drink between his hands absently, brow furrowed. It's tricky business, and he's not very good at it just yet, but home-made elixirs save them a ton of gil. He feels guilty when they have to spend their money on something he should be able to do himself.

"I'm telling him," he says without missing a beat. "He'll never forget, and he'll give you shit every single time you make cup noodles from now on, forever."

"I can't stand you," Gladio tells him seriously.

The bell above the door of the convenience store rings brightly, and Noctis glances up to see Ignis and Prompto walking out looking a lot more cheerful than they did going in.

Gladio's face does something very subtle and specific when he sees them, there and gone in a second, before Noctis can pin it down and figure it out.

"What are you two chucklefucks up to?" he calls over. Ignis immediately narrows a disapproving stare at him, but Prompto beams.

"I got a commission, sort of!" he says.

"A commission?" Noctis parrots, sending the energy drink back to the Armiger.

"Sort of?" Gladio adds.

"While we were checking out, the store-owner saw my camera, and seemed really into it," Prompto says. "Since, you know. It's unique."

Noctis does know. The digital camera hanging at Prompto's side has been with him since Noctis first bought it for him three years ago. He would rebuild it every so often, bowed over a collection of impossibly tiny parts spread out carefully across a dish towel at the kitchen table in Noctis' apartment. To call it unique is a bit of an understatement.

Gladio frowns, sensing where this is going a split-second before Noctis does. "And?"

"And he offered me money for it! Like, more than it's worth probably. A lot more."

"I don't see how that could be possible," Ignis says smoothly, leaning through the open window of the Regalia to put the shopping bag in the backseat. "Since your camera is clearly priceless. Which is what I explained to the man."

Noctis relaxes, glad that Ignis and Prompto have bonded over shopping to the point that neither of them want to do it unless they can go together-- because if Prompto had been in there by himself, he 100% would have sold his camera. He would have hated to do it, but he would have done it. It's like he thinks he owes his friends something just for letting him exist.

"Good looking out, Specs," Gladio says gruffly. Prompto waffles a bit, looking torn between pleased and embarrassed. Noctis decides to rescue him.

"What commission, though?" he asks.

"Oh, right. Well, he was kind of bummed about the camera, but he asked if he could see some of my photos, and Ignis said we had time-- "

If it were literally anyone else, Noctis thinks, up to and including and especially the Actual Crown Prince, Ignis would have said they were in a hurry and not to show off.

"--and he seemed really impressed! With the photos! I told him we were going to take down a catoblepas, and he asked why, and I said for some cash, I mean, clearly," Prompto adds, gesturing at the four of them and their general road grime. "So he, ah-- well he's never seen a catoblepas up close before, and he said if I could get some good pictures of it, he'd pay me for them. He gave me a figure, and it's, like, better than some of the jobs I've done for Vyv."

He's delighted, clearly. He likes feeling like he's pulling his own weight. Noctis is always so relieved when Vyv calls, not because of the inherent payday, but more because it puts this light in Prompto's eyes that Noctis would easily climb a hundred volcanic mountains for.

"Damn, Prompto, at this rate you'll have funded our whole trip," Gladio says. He doesn't ruffle his hair anymore, because Prompto actually hates that, just sort of scrunches his fingers through it instead. Prompto doesn't hate that at all. It's adorable.

Sometimes in the early morning, when he and Noctis are the last to drag themselves out of the tiny camper, they'll do their affirmations together:

"Gotta be our best today," Noctis will say, and Prompto will put on this absurdly determined expression, bed hair hanging into his eyes and cheek still creased pink from the pillow.

"Gotta get those hair scrunches," he'll reply gravely.

"What else did he say, Prompto?" Ignis says in a pleasant tone of voice that Noctis hasn't trusted since he was seven years old.

"Um! Nothing. Nothing worth repeating, anyway, you know." He is looking completely away from them now, an avoidance tactic if Noctis has ever seen one. "Woah, is that really the time? We better get going if we wanna catch that cow before it gets dark!"

He turns toward the car and runs into Gladio's arm instead.

"He suggested that Prompto's talents would be put to better use in different company," Ignis says, his voice carrying clearly over Prompto's whine of 'nooo, Iggy, let it go.' "He said that if Prompto ever got tired of our lifestyle, his door would be open."

Ah, Noctis thinks, followed by, ouch?

"Oh, fuck that guy," Gladio blurts. "Let me go talk to him."

"No!" Prompto clings to his arm, throwing all his weight into keeping Gladio in place. The Shield, who could bench Prom's entire body weight in one hand, lets himself be detained anyway and pretends to be annoyed about it. "Ignis, why are you causing trouble right now?" Prompto says frantically.

"Transparency is important in a relationship," Ignis replies.

"There's transparency and then there's causing trouble. Noct, tell them."

"I think Gladio should go talk to him," Noctis says immediately. But then Prompto looks betrayed, and it makes Noctis feel awful. "Ugh, okay. Okay. We're leaving. Ignis, Gladio, that's an executive order."

"Are you sure I can't punch him in the face?" Gladio grumbles.

"Am I-- yes, dude!" Prompto half-laughs nervously. "Very sure!"

"What if I just broke his nose a little?"

"Then that would be treason, I guess, cause Noct just said no."

It's with the standard amount of bickering and noise that they climb into the car, the top rolling up over their heads as it starts to drizzle. Ignis pulls smoothly back onto the cracked asphalt road and reaches over to turn the radio on; a peace offering. From the backseat, Noctis can see the corner of Prompto's smile, framed by a flyaway piece of yellow hair.

They live this way now, but they didn't always. Noctis used to have the run of the whole Citadel, had his own penthouse apartment, grew up dodging banquets and lavish dinners. It's not like he likes sleeping on the ground and having nothing to eat. It's not like he chose to lose his home.

But it could be worse. It's not a bad way to live, just Noctis and the people he loves best and these countless hours together. There's a lot of hard work and sometimes he goes to bed hungry but he knows he'll remember these days forever. He knows he'll miss them.

"Hey," he says, over the quiet sound of rain on the windows and the catchy synth-pop crooning out of the speakers. "Don't ever sell your camera, okay?"

Prompto says, "I mean, I wouldn't ever want to."

"Seriously," Noctis presses. He doesn't want to let it go. It feels important. "Your pictures are-- they mean the world to me, Prom. I can't even tell you."

His friend looks bewildered. He's half-turned in his seat, and his eyes stray to Gladio, then jump to Ignis, then settle back on Noctis. Whatever he's looking for, he seems to find it, because he smiles.

"Okay, weirdo," he says, "one fully-documented roadtrip, coming up. I won't leave anything out."

Noctis is counting on it.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Attack Of The Winter Wolf: Prologue

Summary- 7.1k Alpha Steve x Little One Reader. The Alpha gets upsetting news from Natasha. Not ready to share yet, when you want to leave the compound for a quick errand, Steve asks you not to. Thinking it was all settled, he is caught by surprise that you chose to do the opposite instead. 

Warnings- Alpha and Little One getting into a heated argument. Also some furniture might have some damage due to the Alphas strength. 

A/N- Hello everyone! I’m excited for the next installment following Welcome To The Pack and hope sincerely that you all enjoy the continued life of Alpha and Little One. You all have been so supportive and encouraging. I really love all your thoughts and suggestions when it comes to this series. I welcome and encourage them, please don’t hesitate to drop a message. Wolf Picture Request at bottom by @bostongirl13​. Thank you for sending in the inspiration babes.Divider made by @firefly-graphics​, be sure to check out her selection.  Much Love and Happy Howling. 💙🐺

Masterlist 

Steve was in the bedroom closet, finding the clothes he needed for spending a day out in the snow, the temperature dropping low for even the shifters' naturally heated bodies. Just as he was finishing buttoning the last shirt over the layers, his cell phone chirped with a message from Natasha. Quick to go check it, knowing that she was slowly making her way back to the area after tracking there missing packmates all over the country the past few months. The Alpha was looking forward to her either returning home for a while or having some good news to pass on. Unfortunately her message made his good mood quick to turn to one of worry, as it was short and vague. 

S, call me. 

Quick he pulled up her number and not even a single ring issued when Natasha answered with her usual “Rogers.” 

“What's going on Nat?” 

“Well I’m closer than you think. Another pack was destroyed overnight. Barely any survivors, Alpha missing.” She continued on, the details worrying him further. 

“So what… Do you have any idea of who it is? Is it…” Steve didn't even want to voice it. Didn't want to think it could be his best friend and his missing members of his pack. Natasha was quiet on the other end before she started calmly, clearly having thought of how to answer this. 

“I can’t say for sure Steve, but the trail I’m following keeps intersecting these attacks. Everyone I’ve seen is brutal destruction and we both know he has the power himself to do that. Let alone with someone as strong as Wanda, Pietro and Clint.” 

Steve felt his throat tighten a bit at the news, the Alpha hyper aware now, wanting to check their borders for any signs of intrusion. It was an inner war, he wanted his family back and safe, but it sounded like they were a danger to all of them now if what she was saying was true. 

“Okay, I hear you. If you come closer let me know. Stay safe.” 

“Warn the pack Steve.” Natasha left with that last warning before hanging up and Steve sighed, pocketing his phone and rubbing at his face for a moment, worried about what this all meant. 

You were currently searching the cupboard for sugar. Out of everything to run out of. You thought to yourself as your hands fell to your hips and you scowled a bit at your situation. Going to the fridge, you added yet this other thing to your long list of supplies needed. Absently your hand went into the box of Cap’n Crunch you had been snacking on. For whatever reason it became your go to comfort food after a Heat, which you just finished. That too was empty.

Another thing on the list, another reason to go to town. 

Jotting it down, Steve was messing with the buttons on his flannel, and you side eyed him a moment. The Little Wolf, still feeling the lasting effects of the heat immediately perked up sensing the Alpha nearby. 

<Mmh he looks… huge.> 

It's because he’s wearing extra clothes, down girl. 

The Little Wolf purred instead, her head resting on her paws while admiring her Alpha across the room while he was making his way through the living area to the kitchen.

You were still standing at the list, chewing your lip while Steve brushed past you, taking a nip at your neck on the way to the coffee pot. “What are you thinking so hard about Little One?” 

“We are just about out of everything. I know it snowed heavily last night, but I could take the truck down easily and take care of it while you are up at the lumber yard?” 

Steve paused a moment, the phone call he just had with Natasha replaying in his mind. Pouring the majority of the pot in a thermos, he flicked off the coffee maker and placed the last of the coffee in a mug for you, pushing it in your hand. “How about we go tonight when I get back. I don't want you on the roads alone.” 

You gave a shrug as if it wasn't a big deal but Steve caught your chin, looking in your eyes. 

<Make sure to insist she stays home.> 

I'm not commanding her. 

<Then you should tell her why> The Alpha countered and Steve internally growled at his wolf. 

She doesn't need to worry about it. Steve was sure to keep the bond cut off between the two of them so the Alpha didn't pass over. The Wolf bristled and Steve could feel the hairs on his neck stand up, but he didn't have the time. He was doing what he felt was right in the moment, as he wanted to be able to really discuss it with you and how to approach it with the rest of the Pack. Perhaps a bit of him was just not wanting to break the blissful peace bubble. “Wait till I get back, please? I won't be too late.” Placing a kiss on your lips, sure to nip on your bottom lip in an apology to the small huff you pressed into the kiss and let you go to grab his jacket, his phone ringing. Before you got another word, he dug it out of his jean pockets and scowled at it. “Shit… Okay, I really gotta go Little One, I will see you tonight. We can go out to dinner so don't have to cook.” And then he was gone, leaving you there with your list and a hot cup of coffee in your hand. 

Your hand fell to your hip and you sighed. “What even just happened?” The Little Wolf stretched and started grooming herself now that she wasn’t distracted by her Alpha nearby. 

<I think he asked us to stay home and didn’t give you a chance to deny him.> 

You grumbled at how slick your Alpha was.

The morning wore on, you have done everything you could think of around the house when finally you felt cooped up. Working your lip, you make a decision to go anyways, sure that the only reason Steve wanted you to stay was because of the possible snow on the roads. But by now they should all be plowed and cleared. 

Your Little Wolf stirred awake while you went to shrug into a jacket and headed out the door towards the garage to get one of the trucks. <I thought Steve wanted us to stay home?> 

He did, but it's not all that bad out now. Your eyes wandered up to the bright sun. Looks could be deceiving, as warm as the sun looked, it gave no warmth on that winter day. Ducking into the garage, you grab a pair of keys off the pegboard and reading the label, you figure out the pickup that they went to. The Little Wolf started kneading her paws a bit while pacing, flicking her ears back and forth in a bit of unease. 

<You sure we should go? He did want us to stay.>

It will be okay, calm down, would ya? You retorted while starting up the truck and was soon pulling out of the garage and turning onto the road heading down the mountain. 

Halfway down the road though the truck started to shudder and whine, stalling out. Your foot shifted from the gas to the brake to start to ease it to a slow while it kept jerking. “What the fuck.” You growled out, the wheel jerking as if it wanted to do the opposite. But you weren't having it, and with a final pull, the truck shuddered to the side of the road, giving an exhausted sigh before it cut off dead. 

“I can’t believe this.” You sputtered while trying the key, which resulted in a pathetic whine from the engine and then completely dead again. Slamming your hands against the wheel in frustration for a moment, you felt your pockets for your phone, but of course it just occurred to you that it was charging, on your nightstand. The Little Wolf paced back and forth since you were agitated, huffing out without saying anything. You snapped before she even could. 

I know… Just our luck the truck breaks down this time. You don't have to say anything. 

<I wasn't going to> She retorted and retreated into your subconscious, leaving it quiet in your mind. Grabbing your bag, you got out of the truck after leaving the hazard lights on and debated just making the shift and letting the Little Wolf take you back home. 

A truck pulled up alongside of you and one of the pack members rolled down his window, an older wolf named John. “Y/N, you okay?” 

“Yea, the truck broke down.” You motioned over your shoulder towards the truck now useless on the side of the road. John craned a look over his shoulder. 

“How about I bring you back up? I can have it hauled back up once we get back.” 

Breaking out in a relieved grin, you made your way around, and soon enough John was dropping you back off in front of home. Making your way inside, you kicked off your boots and went to go change back into comfy clothes. 

Steve was rubbing his hands together while they got another truck loaded and the chains in place. His hand rubbed appreciative at the base of the tree, the rich maple with its rings. It was always one of his favorite woods to work with. But this order was being made into premium wood for sale across the country. Giving Sam the thumbs up they could pull out, he watched the truck leave the plot when his cell phone rang. Digging it out, he had hoped it was his Girl, just to talk to you and hear your voice. But the number was one of the pack members, which he promptly answered. 

“Hey John, whats up?” Steve asked as he started towards the next load. 

“Oh just wanting to let you know I'm taking the Mater. Your missus was driving down to the store and it broke down on her.” That's when Steve’s footstep faltered. 

“Where is she now? Why didn't she call me?” Steve’s voice sharpened, demanding answers from John. 

“She’s back home, I just dropped her off. I'm sure she will be calling you soon Alpha.” 

He immediately turned from his original goal, softening his voice while talking to John. “I'm sure, thank you for giving me a heads up. I will catch up later to take a look at the truck.” Passing by one of his crew, he passed along that he had to head home and that they should get the last truck loaded for the day.

You had just changed into your sweatpants and hoodie when you went to grab your phone and dialed Steve’s number. But it just went to voicemail, which you left him one asking him to give you a call back. 

It wasn’t needed, because moments later the front door slammed shut and Steve’s voice bellowed out your name. “Y/N, where are you?” 

You hopped up from the bed to go greet him but the Little Wolf whined in warning, lowering as she picked up his tone. You didn't hesitate though, holding up your phone. “Hey I was just leaving you a message.” 

“Uh, a bit late isn't it?” Steve's hands fell to his hips, his tone leveled as he looked down at the counter a moment and then lifted back up to you, his eyes blue fire at the moment. You wanted to drop back a moment, which you did. But then you hitched your chin up. 

“Your phone was off Steve.” 

“Why were you even out Little One?” He snapped and you winced at the use of his name for you. “I said to wait for me.” 

“Steve, you are overreacting. It was only a few miles down the road and John gave me a ride home.” You folded your arms over your chest and straightened a bit to keep from making yourself smaller and look like you were subduing to him. 

That didn't deter your mate though. “You went out after I said not to.” Steve growled from deep in his chest, his fingers gripping the kitchen island till his knuckles went white and the wood groaned in protest while his fingers made permanent dents along the edge. Subtle but there. “How do you want me to react to that Y/N? You could have been hurt, gone off the road. You didn’t even have your fucking phone on you.” 

“Stop talking to me like I'm a child Steve.” You snapped back at him, feeling your temper rising and the Little Wolf pacing around, whining sharply in distress. Your arms hugged around yourself in a protective manner, but you wouldn't shy away from this, not like you might have in the past. You weren't just some pack member, you were his mate. Your chin lifted a bit in defiance, holding onto that fact that if anyone got to defy the Alpha, it was you. “Might have forgotten, but I'm a grown damn woman who can make her own decisions.” 

With that he turned, advancing on you. A shiver ran through your body at how menacing he looked, his features set in harshness, broad shoulder and a stagger to his stride as he crossed the rooms to reach you. “You sure as fuck didn’t act like it when you took the keys hanging on the peg. The truck that only half works, lucky it even had fucking snow tires on it or else you would be down the side of the mountain. Not to mention who might have come across you.” The Alpha was raging in Steve’s mind at your recklessness, that this new threat he had not entirely come clean to you about could have been out there, ready to just take you away from him. 

“How the fuck was I supposed to know that specific truck was being repaired on? Seems like half the shit here is constantly getting fixed.” You bit back in anger, not actually meaning it, but you didn't want to fess up to you being wrong, and he was right. Not yet anyways. “And what's that supposed to mean? Who would come for me Steve? Hmm?” You rounded on him, stepping up to poke your finger in his chest just to piss him off that much more. 

The taps against his chest didn't phase him any, he had much worse with his ex and some part of him was a bit shocked at how you were arguing back with him, knowing that months ago you wouldn't have dared to out of fear. Now here you were, fighting back without hesitation. “You didn't answer me about the phone Y/N, You couldn't even call me to tell me that the truck broke down the side of the road. What the fucks the point of having it if you are not even going to use it? What would you have done if John wasn't coming back up? You didn’t even tell me you were leaving, just fucking left without so much as a-” 

Your own temper was rising the more he spoke, effectively feeling like he was treating you like a child, not his partner. Your eyes rolled at him while snapping your teeth in a snarl. “Oh I don't know Steve, guess I could have shifted and strolled home. Or am I even allowed to do that, Alpha?” You knew it was a low blow, implying that Steve really restricted you from anything. He hadn't even made it a command for you to follow, he simply said this morning to stay home. No impulse for you to follow behind it. But at this point you weren't thinking that. “I forgot the fucking phone this one time Steve.” 

That little eyeroll of yours had Steve’s temples throbbing at that point. Sure that his blood pressure was rising just as fast as this conversation between them was. Your dismissal at the dangers you had put yourself in made him grit his teeth trying to keep from shouting at you. “You’re an Omega Y/N, the Alpha’s Omega who was just out of heat. Any shifter outside of the pack could have smelled that and went out of control.” Now he was shouting, a deep rage burning in his chest. “You never think of your safety Y/N!”  

You glared at him, shaking in your anger at your mates brashness in belittling you. “You don’t think I don't know that Steve?” You yanked the collar of your shirt to show off a faded scar, satisfied as you saw some of the rage shrink from his face seeing the mark on you, turning to guilt at his accusation. Your voice was raised just as much as his was at this point. “Trust me, I won't forget how people can be.” You let go of your collar and tug it back in place. “Not ever. Not even those we should trust.”  

Steve growled out and whipped away from you, fisting his hand in his hair for a moment in frustration. “You know that's not what I mean Little One.” 

“But you still said it, and you can't take back words Alpha. No matter how much you want to.” You wiped at the angered tears on your face and breathed out. “I gotta get out of here, I can't breathe.” 

This turned Steve around just as quickly, his brows arched. “Where the hell are you going?” He asked as you were tugging on your coat and stuffing your feet in your boots. 

“Out, away. Natasha’s. Just as long as you are not there. I need space right now from you.” All you knew was you wanted to be alone and was opening the door when Steve planted a palm against the wood, shoving it shut again. “Let me the fuck out Steve, Now.” You pushed against his chest, and this time he didn't resist, stepping back as you opened the door and slammed it behind you, trudging off the porch. Steve was quick to follow you out. Standing on the porch while watching you walk away. Any nearby packmates openly stared at the scene in shock, for they had never heard Steve and You shout at one another. 

You flinched when you heard Steve snarl in rage and the snapping of railing on the porch, but you didn't look back while holding your head up high, making your way past others before you snapped out at them. “Don't you have something you should be doing?” Which set off the flurry of activity again until you made your way across the compound to Natasha’s and let yourself in, shutting the Pack and Steve away for now. 

Steve could feel himself losing patience with himself. He went back inside and slammed his door hard enough to rattle the cabin windows, locking himself away from the world for the moment. 

It wasn't long till it spread to the others that the Alpha and his Little One were fighting. Sara was the first to approach Natasha cabin, softly knocking on the door. “Y/N? Can I come in?” she waited, listening intently, but heard nothing that invited her to come in. Defeated, she retreated back to her home, shaking her head at Sam. 

Sam tried next with Steve, less subtle then his mate had been. His fist pounded against the door, bellowing Steve’s name. When there isn't an answer, he went around to the back to see Steve brooding on the back deck overlooking the lake. Making his way towards the Alpha, who was leaning forward, his elbows planted on his knees, and his hands fisted together that he had his mouth pressed against as if lost in thought, Sam was careful in his approach. Everything vibrating from him said caution to Sam. Leaning against a railing, Sam cleared his throat. “Sara sent me over to come check on ya.” 

Steve just grunted in response, his eyes not breaking from the lake. 

“Gotta say man, that was quite the argument you two had.” Sam shifted a bit, hoping Steve would snap out of it and respond, but the Alpha didn't make any notion he was paying attention. “Y/N wouldn't answer the door, we figured she was still cooling off. Wanna talk about what is going on between you two?” 

Steve finally sighed and shifted to lean back, his legs stretching out before him. “She was reckless, not taking her safety into account. Anything could have happened. There are rogue wolves possibly in the area. She didn't have her phone.” Steve just released his frustrations up in the air and Sam cocked his brow. 

“Okay, and what? you lost your temper? Did she even know there was anything for her to worry about such as rogue packs?” Sam nailed it on the head and Steve clenched his jaw, glaring at his friend. “Don’t give me that look, what's the first thing you did? What you have done in the past I bet. Instead of talking, you let your worry and anger take over.” He shrugged a bit. 

“Fuck off Sam, I don’t need this shit.” Steve growled at him and Sam put up his hands to placate him. 

“Just give it some thought Steve. Of course you had every right to be worried as hell, I would have been furious and scared if it had been Sara. Hell that had been Sara a time or two, just like I have done dumb shit with her. Just remember who Y/N is before you lay out your anger on her man. Maybe tell her why you were so pissed off in the first place.” Sam shifted from where he was leaning against the railing and started back down the steps, letting the Alpha sit with his words. 

After the silence got to deafening, Steve pulled to a stand. Shedding his clothes on the porch, he was quick to shift to the Alpha. Shaking his fur out and stretching his head back to get his muscles stretched, he bounded off the porch and disappeared from sight into the forest. 

Sara waited another day. But the rumors of you locking yourself in the cabin and the Alpha disappearing overnight into the forest had made the rumors become crazier with every passing word. Within a night the word was that you were leaving the pack and Steve was going to cut the bond. 

So Sara made her way up the steps again, this time she knocked loudly and waited. She heard a shuffle, but no answer. “That’s it Y/N, I'm coming in.” And with a twist of the door handle, Sara walked in and looked around the dim room before she went over to the main window and pushed the curtains to open and let the light in. There was a groan from the couch, in which Sara twisted to see you wrapped in a blanket. As well as a bottle of vodka on the coffee table. “Oh girl, what are you doing?” 

You groaned at her words and hid your head when Sara approached, removing the bottle and taking a whiff of it before wrinkling her nose. “Fuck I forgot that Nat liked this shit.” She muttered while going to pour the last fourth of the bottle down the sink. 

“What are you doing here Sara?” You groaned while flipping the blanket off your head, and she rinsed the bottle before putting it in the recycling. 

“Think it's obvious, coming to make sure you are okay. Be a girlfriend, let you cry on my shoulder about how annoying your man is, all that good stuff. Then tell you to get your shit together and go home.” She stated as she worked on getting the coffee pot started, searching Natasha’s cupboards till she could find what she was looking for. 

“Oh is that how it goes.” You blinked your eyes trying to adjust to the light. “But I assure you I'm fine.” 

“Right, why you and Steve had a shouting match the whole pack is talking about, and for the first time ever you slept away from Steve’s. Sounds fine to me.” Sara listed off while measuring the coffee and starting it. She twisted to lean against the counter, looking at you as you shuffled into the kitchen, rumbled clothes and tried patting down your hair while trying to look perfectly fine even though you had red rimmed eyes. 

“Okay… we had an argument.” You sniffled a bit, your Little Wolf brushing against you to make you feel better. 

Sara gave a sympathetic smile and circled an arm around you while you rested your head against her shoulder. “Actually a big one and he hasn't tried to come over and anything. Last night I was so damn mad at him I drank most that vodka wanting to yell at him more, and now I have a raging headache and don't know what to do.” 

Giving a rub on your back, Sara let you go to pour you a cup of coffee and pressed it into your hands while leading you back to sit down. “Talk to him. Steve might be hard headed but once he cools down, he typically can be reasoned with.” 

You stared down in your coffee cup, going to sip from it and take out some of the pounding from behind your eyes. “Ugh, never let me rage drink again.” 

Sara snorted a bit. “Girl, you go to rage drink, you best be coming to get me for that.” She teased and nudged you lightly with her shoulder, which you chuckled softly. 

“So everyone heard us huh?” You groaned out and she nodded. 

“Heard it and added to it. Right now everyone thinks Steve kicked you out and that you're leaving for good once you got your shit packed. What happened anyways?” 

You shrugged. “Honestly, I didn't think that it was going to be a big deal. Steve wanted to come to town with me because he was nervous about the snow, he claimed. But it was just a quick trip to grab some groceries. So I didn't think he would really care. Grabbed the keys, of course to the truck that he and Sam had been working on, it broke down the side of the road. Forgot my phone, since it was just a quick trip. Luckily Jonathan was headed back up and gave me a ride. He called Steve to let him know.” 

Sara listened, once in a while patting your knee with sympathy or shaking her head. The she wolf knew the Alpha was over protective of those he considered his, but You hadn't even made it off the mountain. Only going a few miles at that point when the truck had broken down. “I can see why you would be mad at Steve. He didn’t need to go off like that and let his temper get the best of him.” 

You wrinkled your nose while picking at your fingers. It felt really unnatural to you to be staying at Natasha’s, really just wanting to go back home now. But you had no idea if Steve was still mad at you or not. That was the worst feeling, thinking that your mate was angry at you. “I know he was just looking out for me but fuck it made me feel stupid, like a burden to him that he has to take care of me all the time. I still don’t even know why he is really all that mad. Sure forgetting the cell phone was stupid on my part, but plenty of the pack travel on that road. It was minutes before I was found and helped.” You rubbed at your face. “So the pack is really worried we will split up?” 

What if some of the rumors are true? Your thoughts darkened and the Little Wolf rumbled a bit to make herself known. 

<Don’t. You know better than that.>

Well he was really mad, what if-

<Y/N, shut it down now.> She snapped out while pushing up to make a stand against your negative thoughts swirling. <Steve didn’t even make you leave. You walked over here to cool off.> 

Sara spoke up, drawing your attention back to her. “You know how rumors go. They catch any trouble in paradise kind of thing and it blows up.” She scooted over closer and wrapped an arm around your shoulder. “You both have cooled off. Maybe it's time to go back home and talk to him? I'm sure he misses you as much as you miss him.” 

The Alpha dodged off the usual trails he followed not wanting to come across any others that might be stretching their legs and started making his own through the heavy February snow. He didn't wander far though, because he felt your sorrow on your shared bond. It made his ears flatten against his skull and his staggering gait circled him back towards where he knew you were several times during the night, sure to check on Natasha’s several time to be sure you were safe. Even now he could catch the scent of you from the cabin that didn't belong there. It belonged at his cabin, with him. Where he could wake up and bury his nose in your neck, and feel your soft body welcome him. Where you sang in his kitchen unaware he was listening. Or curl up on the deck with your book pretending to read, but you were having private conversations with the birds and squirrels coming to the feeders, lost in your own little world. Again he circled Natasha’s cabin, his muzzle lifted to try to find you again, his ears twisting back and forth, searching you out. Your voice was muffled with another’s, but it was there and the Alpha sighed. 

He hated the temper that flared so strongly and suddenly. Yes he was upset and his fear at how reckless you had been had flared into this ugly thing that pushed you away. Now it was time for him to make it right, bring you home. Pacing around the cabin, he paused at the steps and settled down to sit. The Alpha let himself sink into the bond, reaching out to meet his Little One gently. He felt when You were aware he was close, the sadness easing a bit but still cautious. 

You paused what you were saying when warmth blossomed through you and a bit of a foreign ache. Sara tilted her head watching you as your jaw snapped shut and you rubbed at your arms. “Y/N? What is it?” 

“Steve is close.” You said under your breath and Sara gave a small knowing smile, being familiar with that sensation with Sam. 

A deep howl started just outside of Natasha’s front door and you felt a rush rise up in your throat, the Little Wolf aching to answer him back. You went to the front door and eased it open to see the large Silver Wolf singing at the door, when he heard the creek of the door open, he gave a slight thump of his tail against the packed snow and tilted his head looking at you. Folding your arms over your chest, you stepped out further with a soft. 

“Alpha, what are you doing here?” 

He pushed to a stand and gave you a play bow, his tail curling over his back while swaying in a wag, enticing you to join him. You went down the few steps and he mouthed your hand, tugging it gently to join him. Running your hand over his head, your hand rubbing deeply at his softer ears and giggling when you saw him get a blissed look at your touch, you shook your head. “Okay okay.” Quickly you tugged off your clothes, tossing them behind you. Which Steve leaped up to catch, still very much in a playful manner till the front of Natasha’s place was littered with your clothes and the Little Wolf was prancing around the Alpha, who was nipping at you twisting around to keep up with her. 

Sara stepped out onto the porch, leaning against the railing watching the two of you play with one another, chuckling when Steve rolled you to your back and stood over you stiff legged, which you played as the good little submissive wolf, nuzzling under his chin and whimpering. It lasted all of five seconds before you heaved against him to knock him off balance and twisted to bolt off, leaving the Alpha chasing after you out of sight. The woman shook her head with a snort at the two of you and proceeded down the steps to gather your abandoned clothes to take back to your proper cabin. Making sure Natasha’s place was closed back up. 

On her way towards Steve’s, Sam caught up to her with an arm around her shoulder. “I see it worked.” He grinned and she leaned slightly into her mate, letting his scent and warmth surround her. 

“Of course it did, they are both just too damn stubborn and needed a slight push.” Sara said as she started up the stairs and let them in to drop Y/N clothes on the coffee table, turning towards her mate and wrapping her arms around him. “Were we ever like that in the beginning?” Sara wriggled her brows teasing and Sam let his hands rest on her hips, pulling her in closer, chaining nips and kisses over her face till she was nuzzling into him. 

“Babygirl, of course we are still like that. Remember last week?” 

Sara smacked against his chest with a laugh and pushed against Sam to get them back out the door. “You are such a pain in my ass Wilson.” 

“Yet you keep me around still.” He grinned while they left, both of them feeling accomplished that Steve and You were now interacting once again. 

“For now, till I find me another stud.” Sara shrugged and Sam tickled her sides to get her laughing. 

You paced along the tops of frozen snowdrifts, Steve following along nearby but not risking to follow you into the deeper snow as he was much heavier and would sink where you wouldn't. He kept up easily with you though, familiar with where you were leading him and when you rolled off the embankment to land next to him, he took over. Nudging you with his muzzle and steering you towards the thinning trees, you both broke out onto one of the lake's beaches. 

Here the wind picked up, lifting loose snow to twirl around across the ice that the lake had turned into. You both bounded onto the lake, chasing after the swirls of snow with snapping jaws and bounding leaps into the air. Powered haunches folded underneath you before you leaped into the air, landing heavily on your forepaws and rolling into a run which the Alpha streaked past you and dug in his claws to keep from slipping too much. He was quick to turn back though and slide alongside you, this time you picked the way you two traveled together, slowing down to an easy going lope. It wasn't long till you both ended at another beach further away from the compound. This one scattered with old weathered logs that you balanced beamed along, Steve jumping over them easily till you both circled back into the forest that was muffled with fresh snowfall. 

Easing you both back home, when you hit the deck and scrambled up the steps, the Alpha was right behind you and shifting to ease open the door leading into the bedroom, which you were quick to run into the bathroom and shifted back yourself to turn on the hot water. 

Steve silently joined you in there, the both of you stepping under the hot water. Steve twisted your back to his chest, sliding chilly hands along your skin while you tilted your head back into the water, sighing as the heat felt good on your chilly body. He dropped a kiss to your shoulder while grabbing the shampoo bottle and squirting a generous amount on his palm. 

“Step out of the water Little One.” He rumbled and you obliged, his hands working the soap into suds and massaging into your scalp. You sunk into that relaxed state where you let Steve simply take care of you, moving the way he eased you back and forth in the water. 

Steve rumbled gently with content now that his Little One was back with him, knowing he was going to have to tell you why he snapped in anger. But right now having your trust was everything and he did his best to make sure you had just what you needed. Even needing to do the same for him when you turned and insisted on washing him. 

The soap foamed against his chest as you followed the familiar path you've traced countless times now while talking in bed, pressing in close and back up to wrap your arms around his neck and hug yourself in close, nuzzling in against his neck. It wasn't sexual in nature, just the desire to be close, your fingers skating over his upper back and sighing against him as his warmth and scent wafted over you, making you feel calm for the first time in a couple days. “Little One, we should probably get out.” He left off the ‘and talk’ but you knew that it had to happen. With a nod, you back up for him to rinse off. 

Afterwards he twisted the knobs off so they could dry off. Gathering a fluffy towel, he whisked it over your body till the majority of your skin was dry. He might have left a few tempting drops on your shoulder that he lapped off with a stroke of his tongue, just further marking you as his. 

Once you both left the bathroom, Steve eased into his leather chair across the room, and tugged you into his lap, his hands soothingly stroking your thigh. You let your arm ease around his neck, watching as he traced your legs with the gentlest touch, you never would have known those hands could be capable of anything else. “I'm sorry I left Alpha. I didn't mean to make you worry.” You broke the silence and cold blue eyes lifted to warm looking at you, the furrows between his eyes deepening which you smoothed a thumb over to smooth back out, make him relax. He caught your wrist and brought your fingers down to his lips, just pressing them against your fingers till he sighed against your fingertips. 

He needed to tell you because you deserved to know. “Little One, I wouldn't have normally reacted that way. Just that morning Natasha called me to tell me some news that had me worried and I should have told you. I was trying to spare you from worrying.” 

Now it was your turn to furrow your brow, a bit of a frown tugging on your mouth as you pulled your hand back from him to rest your hand against his chest. “What? What did she tell you?” 

You could see his jaw clench a bit, hating that this perfect bubble that your lives had been since Pierce would be taken away. Tilting your head forward, you nudge your nose against his, and his forehead leaned against yours a few seconds till he drew back to speak. “Some rogue wolves are taking out Alphas. There are some survivors but the packs get destroyed in the process. Natasha keeps running across the attacks while tracking Bucky and the others.” 

You gasped out, your eyes widening in surprise. “You don’t think it could be…?” You drifted off, not even wanting to say the words and Steve shook his head. 

“I really don't know Little One. Fuck I hope not. But Natasha said that they were efficient in their attacks. Bucky and Clint both have the training for it. Wanda and Pietro are powerful in ways beyond being shifters. I need to talk to the rest of the Pack. Especially since they are heading this way, warn others in the area.” 

You nodded, your touch against his chest feeling the vibrations of the rumbles of unease rising from his chest. “Means you will have to contact Stark.” 

Steve sighed, resting his hand against your hip and sliding you in closer till you laid your head on his shoulder. “He would do the same for me.” Since the incident last fall, Steve and Tony had kept away from each other, well within their respective boundaries, but Steve wouldn't let that keep him from warning him of the imposing danger. 

“What do you think the whole Council will do?” You questioned next. 

Steve couldn't help the growl that escaped him then, the Alpha mimicking it himself with great distaste at the supposed council that was supposed to help the Packs. 

“Whatever the fuck they want I suppose. As long as they don’t try to interfere with us.” He rumbled out and you shifted in to bite gently on your mark at the crook of his neck and shoulder, giving a gentle lap of tongue to calm your mate once more. The Little Wolf crossed the bond to be closer to the Alpha, nuzzling the growling intimidating beast till he settled back down. “When I found out you were gone… Fuck Y/N, all I could think of was what if something happened to you.” He sighed out his confession now to his anger and you let it sink in, thinking of how it had affected him. You had heard what had happened when Pierce had injected you and you went under. Steve lost his tight control and almost attacked anyone coming close to you, if it wasn't for Bucky, who knows what would have happened then. 

You cupped his face and turned him towards you, kissing him slowly, drawing it out while you poured your love for him into it. “Thank you for finally telling me, I understand now why you were so upset.” 

Steve sighed against your mouth, inhaling your scent like a healing balm to his fears at what might be coming to their borders. “I will do better I promise Little One.” 

You simply hugged around him tighter and committed how he felt to memory, all that power kept in check against you. “We both will Steve.”

[lovely-angst]

It’s a date

10.13.20

it’s good to be back in kacchan’s arms

It had officially been over a year since your break up with Bakugou. 

The end of your relationship had become rocky and the two of you just couldn’t keep the relationship stable no matter how hard you tried. Though it was mutual, you thought you could heal and move on after a few weeks, but here you were, a year later, still hung up on the man. 

You learned to slowly understand that whatever the two of you had, it was in the past and that it was time to move on. The single life wasn’t terrible either, but somehow, you found yourself thinking about how much more fun running simple errands would be with Bakugou.

It didn’t help much that the two of you still went to school together, thankfully, in different classes. It also didn’t help much that all of your classmates knew of the previous relationship. It seemed as if everyone was rooting for the relationship—how devastating it must have been to hear the news. 

Thankfully, being a third year in the hero course kept you busy enough to keep your mind from wandering back to Bakugou. Though lately, you’d been thinking about him a lot.

You would hear from some friends about how Bakugou was doing, how he would get amazing internships with some amazing heroes. Of course, he would, he was just that great. 

It didn’t help much that you would see him in the hallways from time to time or when your classes would meetup to train. Did he always look so cool when he wore his hero costume? You weren’t sure, but you didn’t want to keep on thinking about him. 

The relationship ended for a reason, there was no point on going back.

-

” Hey, (Name)?” Hearing your name called, you glanced upwards to find a few of your friends with large grins on their faces. “So we know you’ve been single for a while now, but I thought I could set you up on a blind date this weekend? What do you say?” 

Your eyes widened as you blinked at them, speechless. “Blind date?” you repeat, still in disbelief. 

Giggling, she nodded, “Don’t worry, he’s no creep. He’s actually in the hero course at Shiketsu High,” she informs, but the hesitant and worried expression doesn’t leave your face. “He said he’d love to meet you, I think you should give it a try,” she says with a small, supportive smile and you couldn’t help but give in. 

With a sigh, you nodded, “Fine, I’ll go.” You had no intention of pursuing another serious relationship, but it didn’t hurt to meet new people. 

So, here you were, standing in the busy city of Tokyo as you glanced down at your phone for the hundredth time—an hour passed your meetup time. Sighing, you quickly shot your friend a text, giving her an update of the date like she had asked. 

‘Got stood up :^\’

Putting your phone away, you glanced down at the outfit you had put together for the date you were supposed to go on. And to think you tried to dress up a little nicer too. 

Trying to calm the building anger inside of you, you found an empty bench away from the hustle and bustle of the city. As soon as you sat down, you couldn’t help but begin to pity yourself. 

-

“I knew today would be perfect for some icecream!” Kirishima exclaims happily, walking out of the ice cream shop before chomping into his icecream cone before letting out a pained scream over sensitive teeth.

Bakugou rolled his eyes as he held his simple vanilla cone in one hand. Though he’d hate to admit it, Kirishima was right. Today was a good day for some ice cream, especially from how busy he was in the past week. He deserved a well relaxed day like today. 

Just as Bakugou was about to dig into his icecream, Kirishima spoke up, “Hey, isn’t that (Name)?” 

His red eyes shot up to where his friend was pointing before he laid eyes on you alone on the bench, looking quite, dejected. 

“I wonder what she’s doing all alone?” Kirishima questioned curiously as the pair watched you from across the street. “Date gone wrong?”

“As if,” Bakugou scoffed, stuffing a free hand into his pocket. “Why don’t you go talk to her? Ask her if she’s okay?” Kirishima suggests, but Bakugou glances at him with narrowed eyes. “What? Why me?”

Kirishima shrugs, “You know her better, plus you’re just asking her if she’s okay!” Bakugou glared at his friend before clicking his tongue annoyingly, turning away to walk in your direction. 

“I’ll swing by in a few minutes!” Kirishima replied as bit into his ice cream once more. 

Each step Bakugou took, he wanted to turn back and tell Kirishima that approaching you was a stupid idea, but before he knew it, he was already standing in front of you.

Noting a pair of shoes slide into your view, you raise your head to find Bakugou staring down at you, thinking intensely. Before you could manage a greeting, Bakugou interrupts the silence. 

“Why are you looking all depressed here alone like someone who had just been ghosted on a date?” He questions and you know it was his way of trying to be comforting, but all you could do was sigh and give him a shrug, a sad smile on your lips. 

“Well, I have. Just got stood up today,” Bakugou’s eyes narrow before you glance back down at your nails, “It’s not a big deal though, it was a blind date my friend set me on, so I don’t know the guy, but I wasn’t expected to be stood up.” 

Bakugou stared down at you before deciding to settle down beside you, a good length keeping the two of you apart. 

“Blind date or not, it doesn’t matter,” Bakugou glances at you before offering you his icecream, “Here, I haven’t touched it yet. You seem to need it more than I do,” he says gently, your eyes wide as you focus on the vanilla swoop. 

“What? Just because I’m a girl, you think I need some ice cream to cheer me up?” You say playfully, taking the ice cream from his hands before giving it a lick. 

“Don’t act like you never ate ice cream when you were upset,” he snickers and you give him a small smile. 

“Hey bro!” hearing a voice call out, you notice Kirishima running towards the two of you with a wave. “Oh hey, (Name)! How have you been?” 

“I’ve been better,” Kirishima frowns at your response, “sorry to hear. Well, if it makes you feel any better, Bakubro here can spend the day with you. We were gonna hang, but Kaminari sent me this urgent message telling me to meet up with him at the arcade to play some DDR, so gotta run!” 

With a wave, he sped off, leaving you alone with Bakugou once more. You glanced over at Bakugou, who looked just as confused and slightly irritated at the news. 

“You don’t have to hang out with me, you can head home, I’ll be fine,” you say, standing up, Bakugou following your actions. “You have the rest of the day free, let’s go for some lunch. I haven’t had anything to eat yet.”

A smile forms on your lips as you give him a nod, “I haven’t either, lunch sounds great.”

Walking side by side with Bakugou was comforting, like all those days ago when the two of you used to date. Granted, it was sort of awkward because the two of you are no longer in a relationship. 

Tossing the last piece of the cone in your mouth, you glance up at Bakugou, “Hey, thanks for the ice cream. I guess I needed it more than I thought,” you say, Bakugou giving you his signature shrug. 

“It’s nothing. Didn’t know you were going on dates with guys you didn’t know, didn’t anybody tell you about stranger danger?” he joked, causing you to frown at him. “I only accepted the date because my friend was really bugging me to go. Plus, she said he was a good guy and he is in the hero course as Shiketsu, so how bad can he be?” 

Rolling his eyes, Bakugou scoffed, “He stood you up, so much for a good guy,” Ignoring his comment, the two of you made it to a tonkatsu curry shop before settling down to order. 

“What can I get you two?” The waitress asked, pouring the two of you some water. Bakugou studied the menu in his hands for a minute before speaking up, “One spicy tonkatsu curry for me and one mild for her,” he states, handing the menu back. 

“Sure thing,” as soon as she was a good distance away, you gawked at Bakugou, “How’d you know that’s what I was going to order?” 

“I know you can’t handle your spice as good as me,” he states nonchalantly, “I guess you haven’t changed much.” Crossing your arms, watching him drink his water, “Oh yeah? Since when?” 

“Since we last dated, obviously.” Hearing those words come from him, your cheeks flush lightly before you grabbed your water for a quick sip. “Getting shy there, princess?” 

His teasing caused your face to flush more and noticeably this time. He still knows how to wrap you around his finger. 

You didn’t think Bakugou was going to stick with you for the rest of the day, opting out to head home sometime after lunch, but here he was, standing beside you with a warm cup of hot chocolate in his hand, watching the sun go down with you. 

“This shit is too sweet,” Bakugou complained as he finished taking a sip of the sweet drink. “You didn’t have to get that drink, Bakugou,” you reminded, keeping your hands warm on the cup.

“Yeah, but you kept going on and on about how good this drink was. It couldn’t be that good and I still stand corrected,” he shot back, you rolling your eyes with a snort. “Whatever you say, princess.” 

Just as Bakugou was about to shoot another comment, the street lights and the hanging lights that hung around the trees lit up as the sun finally went down. Your eyes widened with an excited squeak left your lips. 

Your hand fell onto Bakugou’s forearm as you looked around delighted, “Katsuki, isn’t it pretty?” 

His heart jumped at the sound of your voice calling his name. He thought he was never going to hear you call for him again, but it sounded just as lovely as it did before. 

Maybe even more so now than before.

“Katsuki?” He repeated, your head turning to glance up at the male. Jumping at the realization, you quickly removed your hand from him before settling it on your cup, pushing your hair away from your face embarrassed.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to call you by your name! It just-” 

“It just what?”

With your lips pressed in a tight line, you tried not to show your panicking heart as you held your cup tightly. Though you felt so small and embarrassed from being caught, a rush of bravery flew through you. 

“It reminded me of the dates we used to go on when we were together,” you confessed, glancing back over at the beautifully lit street. 

Bakugou was glad you weren’t focused on him right now, you’d see how flushed he’d become from your words because you were right—it did feel like a date from the time the two of you were together. 

A ringing fell upon the quiet silence between the two of you before you reached into your pocket to pull out your phone, your face falling from a quick read of the message. 

“My mom wants me home now,” you say, trying to hide the sadness in your voice. “I’ll walk you to the station,” Bakugou quickly chimed in, your smile soothing the ache in his heart. 

The walk to the station was a quiet one as the two of you walked together no words exchanged. “Everything was going so well until I had to screw up and call him by his first name. Now he definitely knows I’m not over him after a whole year!” you scream mentally. 

“Thanks for hanging out with me today, Bakugou. I’m actually glad I got stood up for once,” you say, trying to lighten the mood as the two of you stood outside the station. 

“It’s nothing,” he replied, one hand stuffed in his pocket as the other held his not so hot, hot chocolate. “See you sometime,” you say, giving him one last smile before turning to walk into the station. 

“(Name),” Bakugou called out, watching you turn around, “I’m free next weekend if you are, for another cup of hot chocolate,” he says, watching the smile grow on your face.

“I thought you didn’t like hot chocolate?” you chuckle and Bakugou gives you a shrug, “Guess we have to find the perfect cup, huh?” Another giggle escapes your lips, fueling Bakugou’s heart.

“So, it’s a date?” you ask curiously with a playful smile, awaiting his response. “It’s a date.” Raising his cup, you followed in suit, raising your cup as well, “See you next weekend!” you say before turning around to catch your train. 

Smiling to himself, Bakugou turned around, walking back home, taking a sip of his too sweet hot chocolate, “It’s a date.”

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 12

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: You want to make a run into town, but you're forced to take one of the Guardians with you if you want to leave. Guess who get's the pleasure of annoying you? If that wasn't bad enough, someone decides to show up at your door...

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: For my records, this is day 17 of the Guardians living with reader.

Word Count: 6,751

"Where you going?"

You turned and looked towards the source of the voice, Peter's voice, coming from a door to the kitchen. You had just grabbed your keys from the kitchen counter and you were finishing up the short list on your phone.

Obviously you had intended to quickly run your errands the other day when you planned to take the raccoon corpse into town to be tested, but when Fury showed up having brought his own doctor and lab to test the raccoon on site, and also sentenced you to wearing your arm in a sling, you obviously hadn't done that.

It had been a couple days since then, you having wanted to get used to the sling a little bit before attempting to drive. You knew it still wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, but you really wanted out of the house.

"Just running into town," you say, not paying him much mind.

"Why?" he asked, his tone weighting the word, almost as if he wanted to tell you that you weren't allowed.

You look up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Because I need to? Ya know, check the mail, pick some stuff up, post a few bills?" You knew it could all wait, and the bills could be paid online if you really needed to, but he probably didn't know that. "Unless you need something I really don't see what it is to you." You weren't meaning to sound like a dick, but he was acting weird. You didn't like his tone, and his weirdness was only emphasized when you start to approach the doorway to exit the kitchen but he didn't move.

His eyes briefly went to your arm in the sling-brace. "Don't you think you should be taking it easy?"

That's what it was. Knew it. You roll your eyes so hard one might think they'd get stuck. "I'm literally fine." You make a shooing motion but he still doesn't move. Sighing, you make your way toward the other door, only to hear him jogging up the hall to meet you there, the sound making you pause before completing the distance, rolling your eyes before continuing on to see he had indeed done just that. You awkwardly cross your good arm with the one in the sling. "Can I help you?" you say irritably.

Gamora entered the kitchen from the other doorway and you looked to her. "Can you please make your boyfriend stop being annoying?" you ask.

"I'm afraid that's impossible," she quipped with a slight smile, "Why? what's he doing now?"

By now Peter had entered the kitchen through the doorway he had been blocking. He ignored Gamora's quip about him being forever annoying and said, "She's trying to leave, I don't think it's a good idea."

"Well, lucky for me, you're not my boss," you say, admittedly a bit childishly.

Peter then donned a smug grin. "You're right. She is." He nodded in Gamora's direction, referring to the task Fury had assigned Gamora, essentially making her your babysitter as punishment for you neglecting to seek medical attention for your arm.

Your nostrils flared in irritation at him bringing it up and Gamora gave him a look that clearly stated she was uncomfortable. No one had mentioned the incident since the first day. You, because you didn't want to be reminded Fury was treating you like a child, and the others for pretty much the same reason, seeing no reason to provoke you, especially since you were seemingly behaving. (Again, aside from Rocket, but you had taken to keeping your earbuds in for most of the time, so if he did act like a dick to you it often fell on deaf ears.)

"Peter, I really doubt Fury intended for us to keep her locked inside." Gamora said, having assumed Peter was only wanting to refuse to let you go out for a walk, which she didn't understand, because he hadn't said anything when you took one the other day.

"Well I really doubt she's supposed to drive like that."

Finally understanding the issue Gamora grimaced. Peter was probably right.

Just then Yondu and Kraglin came into the kitchen looking to make something to eat, but saw the tense atmosphere.

"What's goin' on?" asked Yondu with a raised eyebrow. He hadn't heard any fighting coming in, but the way you were standing between Peter and Gamora almost implied someone was getting into it.

Peter spoke up, stating how you were looking to make a run into town and how he thought it was a bad idea for you to drive, only he phrased it to group him and Gamora together as having the thought, which prompted Gamora to say back to him that she actually hadn't given her opinion on the situation yet.

Yondu eyed you, or more specifically the brace on your arm. "Can ya drive like that?"

"Yeah." you reply. It was true, the arm in the brace wasn't the one you'd need for changing gears or signaling, so you should be fine, even if truthfully it'd be better if you didn't.

Yondu shared a glance to Kraglin and then shrugged. "Don't see a problem then." He turned toward the pantry, Kraglin following his lead, before he added, "Long as ya take Quill with ya."

You blinked. "Excuse me? Why would I- That's not- I'm not-" You were caught off guard and were now sputtering, clearly not thrilled with his addendum.

Yondu grinned at Kraglin, who was wondering where the elder was going with this, before saying nonchalantly, "If you're too nervous to take a passenger like that, then ya don't need to be going alone."

"I didn't say that!" you countered, pushing down the fact that the thought actually had entered your mind. "Maybe I just don't want to be annoyed by him- and I actually don't know if I can take him. That was never discussed." Again, this was also true. The topic hadn't come up. You had no idea if they were allowed to leave the property. Sure, for some it seemed obvious that they couldn't go into public, but you truthfully had never asked and had consequently never been told.

"He's Terran. Not like you'll run into issue there. I s'pose we could always call yer boss and ask..." His tone was laced with a grin as he turned back to face you with a Terran fruit he'd come to enjoy. A pear, he believed it was called. He was sure you wouldn't go for calling Fury, and he was right.

"No, we don't need to do that," you say irritably. Last thing you wanted to do was call Fury for something like this when he was already unhappy with you.

"I do think it'd be better if someone went with you," Gamora finally spoke up. "It couldn't hurt, at least." She was actually leaning towards the "don't let the Terran with an injured arm drive" party, but part of her believed you'd probably be fine and wanted to soften as much conflict as possible. Being transported in SHIELD vehicles she had seen how the insides operated, and it didn't look so complicated that you'd need both arms. It's not as if you were piloting a ship, and if you did wind up needing help, she was sure Peter could figure the vehicle out well enough.

You give her a mournful look and Yondu speaks again.

"But if yer still set on goin alone, I'm sure Gamora there won't mind callin' that Fury feller. Bet ya just wanna get away so ya can take that brace off without gettin in trouble," he said cooly with a grin. Catching the frown Gamora threw his way he added, "An' if she don't, I can always do it myself."

You tilted your head at the man, expression a mix of confused irritation. "First off, no, I'm not just leaving to do that. Secondly, who do you think you are? My mom?" you snarked.

"Nah, but yer acting like a kid. Somebody's gotta knock some common sense in that stubborn head of yers." Yondu replied, unfazed by your attempted insult as he took a bite of the pear and nodded once more to your injury.

You didn't get it. Why would he care? Why did any of them care?? Was it guilt? Because you wouldn't have been injured if they weren't there? You wanted to ask but settled for just sighing in defeat. You looked Peter over. He wasn't wearing a shirt with any alien writing on it, so at least he wouldn't get any funny looks for that. "Fine," you relented. "Get ready."

Peter let out a triumphant laugh and said he was already ready to go.

You took a moment and opened a couple drawers before finding what you were looking for. "Take these just in case." You tossed him a pair of black sunglasses. "You'll look like a douchebag, but you're probably used to that."

Peter let out a, "Hey!" but you ignored him, making your way past the others to the front door, telling Peter to hurry up.

***

"Can I drive?" Peter asked as the two of you walked to your vehicle.

"Absolutely not." you answered back with an incredulous glare.

"Why not? It'd be easier to let me drive than you try to drive with your arm in that."

"Because I seriously doubt you have a drivers license," you begin to say. Peter opened his mouth to retort but closed it again when you added, "that would be valid here." You open the driver's side door and add, "And because I don't even know if you know how to drive."

"I'll let you know I've been flying a ship since I was ten!" Peter countered.

"I don't care." you reply. "You're not driving. I can't risk us getting pulled over and you not have a license. You're fully free to stay here if you have a problem with that." You gesture back towards the house.

Peter disappointedly huffed but got in the passenger seat. You won this round.

***

Once you and Peter had left out the front door Yondu grimaced. "Might've miscalculated that one..."

"What'dya mean?" Kraglin asked. Gamora also gave him a funny look.

"Thought fer sure tellin' her to take Quill would've made her see that stayin' put wasn't that bad."

"Wait, you were trying to use reverse psychology??" Gamora asked, clearly annoyed.

"If that's what ya want to call it." Yondu shrugged with a frown, watching through the window as you pulled away down the drive, making sure the vehicle looked like it was driving straight. Luckily for you, it was. Otherwise he was fully prepared to whistle and spear a couple of your tires. Kitchen window would've needed replacing too if that happened, seeing as it was closed.

"Doesn't matter what I call it! It didn't work!" Gamora scolded. "If you didn't think it was a good idea you should have just taken our side instead of trying to play games and sending Peter with her!!"

"What'dya mean 'our side'? You were saying she should take someone with her too!"

"I didn't mean it!" Gamora snapped back.

Kraglin looked uncomfortable, not liking the feeling of being stuck in the room while the two of the more intimidating Guardians argued. Not wanting to draw attention to himself by leaving he just stood there and nibbled at his protein bar.

"Calm down, missy." Yondu said. "It'll be fine. And if not, Quill's got one of those phone things SHIELD gave us. Boy can handle himself."

Gamora glared but didn't speak any further, choosing instead to grab an apple off the table and head to her room. Yes, it likely would be fine, but it didn't mean she felt good about it.

***

After several minutes of driving in silence Peter tried to make conversation.

"So... lotta trees out here..."

"Uh huh."

"You make these trips into town often?"

You shrugged.

"I can see you don't feel much like talking..." Peter said awkwardly. You obviously weren't pleased with taking a passenger.

You turned on the radio in response.

Peter tried again after a few minutes when the music cut to a commercial break, trying a different tactic. "So, why are you afraid of doctors?" he asked, turning the radio down.

You gave him a strange look. "What? Where'd you get that idea."

He went into how you seemed tense when the doctor was checking you over when Fury came, and then recounted an incident that had happened the other day.

You had been reading in the sitting room when Mantis came in. You overheard her tell Gamora that her throat hurt, and so you pulled a lozenge from a drawer in the nearby table, telling her to suck on it and to tell you if it still hurt in an hour. If it did, you'd contact SHIELD to inform them she needed to see a doctor. Hearing this, Kraglin had piped up and asked why you would see that Mantis got a doctor straight away, but you had to have one forced on you. You gave him a look before telling him that it was different, and left the room before he could ask how.

"I only just put the two together." Peter said. "It must be because you're scared of doctors."

"No," you said flatly. "I'm not scared of doctors. I just didn't need one. If Mantis was sick, she would have needed one."

"But you did need one." Peter countered. "And Agent Hill told me about what you did in Romania. You needed one then too. Why would you do that to yourself unless you were too scared to go see a doctor?"

You exhale out your nose, annoyed that Maria had been telling him your business. "I'm not afraid of doctors, ok? It was an important job. There wasn't the time to stop and say 'Oops, will ya look at that, my appendix needs out. Better put the job on hold so I can find a doctor.' Not when I can do it myself. Happy?"

"She said you nearly died. That doesn't sound like being able to do it yourself. You can't do things like that. It's insane."

Your face hardened. Who did this guy think he was? Telling you what to do, you barely knew each other! "What's insane is a crime ring that traffics children to the wealthy elite for sexual favors," you snap at him. "So I guess I'm sorry if I wasn't willing to compromise the job to go lay in a damn hospital bed."

Peter didn't know what to say to that. He still thought you were insane for performing surgery on yourself, but he couldn't quite find a suitable argument after what you just said. After a moment he asked, "Did... did they get out?"

You knew he meant the kids. You swallowed. "Most of them. I don't want to talk about it." You turned the music back up, and Peter let it go.

The two of you rode in silence for a good bit longer before Peter turned the music back down again to speak.

"How much longer until we get where we're going?" he asked.

"Not long. Another ten minutes maybe. Why?"

"I need to take a leak."

You almost roll your eyes. "Why didn't you go before we left the house?"

"I didn't have to go then!"

A huffed laugh escaped your throat. "Seriously? You're like a toddler." You shake your head and say, "Do I need to pull over? I can if it's an emergency."

Peter almost pouted from the toddler comment. "No, I can hold it."

"Alright. Suit yourself."

About five minutes later you come up to a town, and a few minutes after that pull into the lot of a shop, the first stop on your list.

"I just have to run in here and grab a few things, they'll have a toilet you can use." you say as the two of you got out of the car, adding, "Don't forget those sunglasses. I don't want to take any chances."

He rolled his eyes but put them on anyway.

Upon entering the store you told Peter he'd find the toilet in the back and told him you'd be looking in the spices, pointing in the direction he'd find you when he was finished. You debated going along and waiting for him since he was technically your responsibility, but you decided against it. The shop wasn't too large so you trusted he wouldn't get lost on his own.

You split off on your separate ways and you grab a hand basket before heading towards the spices. You had only browsed for a short while when suddenly Peter was back at your side. "That was quick." you said to him, locating two of the spices you needed and dropping them in your basket.

"Door said it was out of order." Peter replied, sounding almost pouty.

You shook your head and said, "See, this is why you go before we leave the house." You find the last spice you needed and give him a knowing look as you began walking away from the spices.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a kid!" Peter said indignantly, following you as you left the aisle.

"Don't act like one." you reply, turning to find the cleaning aisle. SHIELD had been kind enough to include other basic things like toilet tissue on their supply drops, which you had been grateful for with eight other people living in your home, and the Guardians had already come with their own toiletries like toothpaste and soap, but you were seemingly on your own for cleaning supplies. You were now running low on dish and laundry soap. Gods, there was always laundry now. At least they did their own. Mostly.

"You're one to talk!" Peter retorted, gesturing to your arm.

You glare over to him as you walked. You swore, if you heard one more time about how you were acting like a child just for being stubborn about not seeing a doctor...

"Ow! You did that on purpose!"

"Did not." You said flatly, though you absolutely had smacked him with the basket on purpose. Not super hard or anything, but enough for him to feel it crack him in the knee.

He pinched you on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Didn't do it on purpose." Peter mocked.

You were by the dish soap now and so you set the basket down to grab a bottle. However, you were sure to flick Peter on the back of the head before you did.

"You did not just flick me!" he said irritably, retaliating by giving your exposed side a couple quick squeezes.

Your arm jerked down fast as lightening, having been just shy of grabbing your preferred bottle of dish soap. Your cheeks were burning and you looked around as you scolded him in a whisper-yell. "We are in a public shop! Don't you dare start that!"

"You started it," he countered smugly. However, his the smugness was wiped off his face when you gave him a taste of his medicine.

"See how you like it then!" you say, using your good arm to return his actions. You hadn't been positive it would work, but you weren't disappointed to see the playing field leveled when it did.

Peter's eyebrows shot above the sunglasses, his eyes widening as he crippled away from the touch and grabbed your wrist. "Don't! I told you I had to pee!"

"Oh." You had been so busy bickering it had honestly slipped your mind. "Sorry."

"Truce?" Peter offered, releasing your hand.

"Yeah, fine. Truce." you agreed, reaching up to finally grab the bottle of dish liquid, a little embarrassed as you realized how much like children the two of you had just acted. "Just hurry up and figure out if you or your friends need anything before we leave," you say, making your way down the aisle to grab the laundry detergent.

It was Peter's turn to look embarrassed, only for a completely different reason. "Actually, now that you mention it- if it's ok, I was wondering if they sell... "certain"... things here?"

You put the detergent in the basket and begin to head towards the pharmacy section, realizing it wouldn't hurt to pick up some bug spray and more of that gel for the bites. Mantis had a bad habit of getting bit by midges, and most of the others had started falling victim to them as well. You didn't look at Peter as you walked, saying, "You're going to have to be way more specific than that, dude."

Peter's cheeks we turning noticeably pink by the time you looked at him when he said, "You know... um... the things... for "special moments..." he used air quotes and looked quite uncomfortable, even with the sunglasses hiding his eyes. "Um... you know... uh... When two people like each other very much..."

You wanted to cover your mouth to hide your grin, but one arm was stuck in a sling-brace and the other was too busy holding the grocery basket. "Are you asking if they sell condoms here?" You tried really hard to bite back a laugh, but a tiny chuckle slipped out. It wasn't that he was asking for them that was funny, it was the way he seemed like a teenage boy about it, all nervous and such like you'd call his mother on him.

Peter's face was bright red now. "Don't laugh! Just- never mind."

"No, it's totally cool. It's just funny. I mean, we're adults, you can ask for them. Like, at least you're being safe about it." Suddenly feeling in a better mood and wanting to tease him you say, "Unless... do we need to have 'the talk' young man?" Now you really couldn't hide your giggles.

"So not cool!" Peter pouted, hiding his face in his hands.

You nudged him in the arm and pointed him down that aisle and told him he could find what he needed there. You continued up a couple aisles to grab the bug repellent and itch cream.

You met back up and he wordlessly threw what he had retrieved into the basket, barely looking at you as he did so. You held back giggles at his behavior and asked if he knew of anything else you needed to grab before checking out.

Peter shook his head, and you can tell by his expression he's eager to leave the shop and go back to the house. You almost feel bad for laughing, and you get an idea.

"If your friends liked the Oreos I can pick you up some more. We'll pass that aisle to get to the checkout anyway."

Peter nodded and you grabbed another double sleeve of Oreos before walking to check out. You only hoped you wouldn't get stuck with one of those chatty cashiers.

Wouldn't you know it, of course you did. You weren't super familiar with the cashiers despite frequenting this store, but you had become familiar with the fact that you didn't care for the one who's line you got stuck in, not realizing you had until it was too late.

Normally you feel for retail workers. You knew it was a tough job, but this one cashier just didn't know how to get the hint that not every item he scanned needed a comment.

Laundry soap? "Ooh! Great taste in scent!" Spices? "Someone likes cooking! Anything good tonight? Yum Yum! Ha ha!" Bug spray and itch cream? "Oh those nasty midges are out again. I feel you, haha." Cond-? Oh fuck. "Oh ho! Someone's getting luck-ay tonight! Am I right, my dude?" He winked at Peter, who noticed you looked like you wanted to reach across and murder the cashier.

Peter chuckled nervously and tried to smooth it over. At least, that's what you thought he was attempting. "Oh- aha- no. We're not together. We're uh- She's my sister."

You snapped a glare at Peter as you thrust your payment to the cashier and grabbed one of the two bags before storming off, telling him to keep the change. Peter grabbed the other bag and left the cashier standing there, who at least finally had the decency to look embarrassed by his comment.

Peter caught up with you quickly.

"Don't call me your sister. I barely know you," you say grumpily. That wasn't really the full reason it upset you. Peter wasn't your brother. Your brother was gone. Peter didn't get to call you that.

"Sorry, I panicked," he said.

You brush him off. You knew there was no way he could know. "Whatever, let's just leave. Sooner we finish in town sooner we can go back to the house."

You made your next stop to a nearby petrol station to fill up your car and give Peter a chance to find a working toilet. After the two of you successfully completed both tasks respectively, you stopped by the post office to grab the mail and post your bills while you left Peter in the car. On your way out of the post office you caught glimpse of someone across the road and a brick fell in your stomach when they waved, indicating they clearly saw you. You nodded back out of politeness but hurried to get in your car.

You buckled in and looked in the rearview mirror, only to see the person, a middle aged woman in a flowery blouse, walking towards your car, still not quite to the road yet, and waving her arms trying to get your attention.

"Fuck," you say, putting the car in gear to reverse before stopping to put it back in drive to finish pulling away. This would be so much quicker if your arm wasn't in the damn sling, but you still managed even with having to completely stop to remove your hand from the wheel to safely change gears.

"What?" Peter asked, turning to look out the back window once you began to pull forward.

"Don't worry about it- and don't look back!" you scold. You take a peek in your review mirror to see the woman gesturing in defeat, thinking you hadn't seen her trying to get your attention, and you let a small relieved sigh.

"Who was that?"

"No one." you replied.

"So you ran away... from no one. Sure."

You shoot him a look and turn the radio back up, clearly signaling that you weren't about to discuss it. The rest of the ride was spent in silence.

***

Once home you told Peter to put his "special" items (yes, you called them that, air quotes and all, just to embarrass him) in one of his pockets unless he didn't mind advertising them to the rest of his friends. You had assumed he'd be embarrassed if they were just on display for the others based on how he acted in the shop, and the fact that he obeyed implied to you that you were correct.

Once inside you and Peter made your way to the kitchen to put things away. He had refused to let you carry both bags, and you didn't fight him.

Sitting at the table were Kraglin, Yondu and Rocket. On the table were five empty bowls and an empty tub of ice cream.

You sat your bag on the counter and began pulling out it's contents to put them away. Honestly you were slightly bummed that they had finished off the whole thing, if you had known that you might have picked some more up while you were in town, but you didn't say anything about that. You did, however, say something along the lines of "Looks like you guys had fun without us."

Kraglin, who knew you didn't like the house to be messy and knew they were expected to keep up after themselves, began gathering the bowls to put them in the sink, to the eyeroll of Rocket.

"Yup. Ya two missed the party," said Yondu with a chuckle. "I'll admit, that ice cream stuff ain't bad." He then said to Peter, "Yer girlfriend is the only one who didn't want any."

You froze in place, your eyes widened. It hadn't clicked before. Your mind had been preoccupied with other things. Ice cream. Five bowls. There were seven people left at the house. Gamora hadn't wanted any. Tiny Groot probably shared with someone else. Yondu literally said he ate some. That meant... fuck.

You turned around to face them. Looking right at Yondu you say, "Uh, how long ago would you say you guys had the ice-cream?"

"Not quite half an hour ago, why?"

You bit your lips before saying, "Do none of you think to read labels before you eat things?"

Kraglin rolled his eyes playfully as he sat back down. "What? Ya mad we ate your snack?" he teased.

"No no no-" you state, holding up your pointer fingers like a teacher instructing the class on why they were incorrect. You didn't know if you wanted to laugh or groan. Probably the later. You look over at Peter, who held a slight grimace on his face. You say to him, "You know what ice cream is?"

Peter nodded. He remembered ice cream. He also knew the moment Yondu claimed to have eaten it what the problem was.

You look back to the others. "Any of you know what ice cream is?"

Yondu and Kraglin exchange a strange look and Rocket rolls his eyes, wanting you to get to the point.

"It's basically frozen milk."

"Ah." Yondu says, clasping his hands on the table and dipping his head with a slight wince of understanding. He was about to have a bad time. Kraglin and Rocket now share a look that can only be described as 'Crap..." (No pun intended)

Disbelieving laughter bubbles up your throat as you bend below the sink to retrieve a can of aerosolized air freshener and plop it down on the table in front of Yondu. "That's for you, for the inevitable. Use it." You walk to haphazardly throw the contents of your grocery bag in the pantry, leaving your mail on the counter and grabbing your earbuds. "Make sure to open the windows... I'm going for a walk, because there's no way I'm sticking around to deal with that again," you say, giving a mock salute as you make your way out the back door, leaving the guys there to deal with what was sure to be the horrible aftermath of their oversight.

*** You finally came back a couple hours later to find all the windows still open, but no one outside, and decided that was probably a good sign.

You cautiously re-entered the house to find that no bad smells seemed to have stuck around and decided to go look for survivors, but first you needed a snack. You were starving.

You ate a pop-tart just for something quick and then found everyone in the sitting room. Feeling in decent humor you said, "Oh good. You lived." This earned groans from the others. They weren't really annoyed with you for abandoning ship, so much as they were annoyed that Yondu would have messed up and ate dairy for a second time. Well, Peter was a little annoyed that you had just left him there when he hadn't been part of who caused the issue, but he'd get over it.

Your phone started to go off, startling you and a couple others in the process. You checked the caller-id and recognized the number. "Nope," you say aloud, ignoring the call.

"Who was that?" Peter asked.

"No one," you reply, only for your phone to chime with a text almost in response. You open the text and your eyes widen before you make your way quickly but calmly to the windows to shut them and draw the curtains.

This, of course, gathers the attention of the Guardians.

"What's wrong?" Yondu asks, perplexed by your behavior.

"Nothing," you answer at first, before turning to face them and amending it to, "Nobody's home," and continuing your task with the other three windows, still trying to retain a semblance of being calm.

The others watched as you made your way about the room, sharing perplexed glances. Once finished with the final window at the back of the room you started heading towards the door when Mantis grabbed your hand.

"Are you ok? What can we do?" she asked, concerned. "Please tell me?" She could feel you didn't want to ask for help, but she hoped her asking nicely might work.

You barely glance at her, don't notice her antennae are glowing. "I'm fine. If you want, I could use some help shutting the rest of the windows and curtains, please and thank you." You pull away and head to the hall, where they can see you draw the curtains on the front door shut through the sitting room doorway.

"I know you said you can ease people into compliance, but I didn't think you could actually make people do things." Peter whispered to Mantis. He naturally just assumed that's what happened. You, miss "I don't need help from anyone!" had actually asked for help. Clearly that wouldn't happen without some Mantis mojo. The closest you had come to asking for help was the first time Yondu had dairy and you wanted Peter to help open the windows, but still, that was less asking for help and more of telling him what to do if he wanted to live.

"I can't." Mantis replied. "She was genuinely asking. She's very nervous."

Peter shared a look with Gamora and Drax stood up from the couch to follow you, and the they followed him along with Mantis.

Yondu and Kraglin stayed in the sitting room with Rocket, who told himself he didn't care about whatever this nonsense was about and continued to play with Groot. Kraglin and Yondu exchanged puzzled looks, because unlike Rocket they were genuinely curious what was going on to make you as nervous as Mantis claimed. Why were you batting down the hatches for?

In the kitchen Drax helped you close the windows and curtains. As soon as he heard Mantis say she felt you were nervous he felt there must be a good reason and that he should probably help you, just in case.

Then you started shutting out the lights, and this increased the other's concerns.

"What's going on?" Gamora asked, authority in her voice as she followed you out of the kitchen. You may be their host, but she still felt they had a right to know what was going on, if they were in danger.

"Nothing." you say, shutting off the lights in the hall on the way to the sitting room.

"If it was nothing you wouldn't be doing this. Something is wrong. Do we need to call SHIELD?" She asked more insistently, not believing you.

You turn to her irritably at the doorway. "No. We don't need SHIELD," you say, flicking the switch to turn the sitting room's light off, much to the puzzlement of those inside.

"I will if you don't tell us what's wrong."

Just then there was a knock at the front door, and you visibly startled in response before freezing in place and whisper yelling, "Quiet!"

The other's obeyed, not sure what else to do or what was going on.

Peter quietly stepped out of the kitchen where he had been peeking through one of the curtains when he thought he could see the dim glow of headlights through the fabric. He saw a blue car pull up next to yours, and out of it stepped a tall man in a light grey sweater and a woman in a floral print blouse. She looked familiar.

"Hey," Peter whispered across the hall, "It looks like that woman from earlier. The one you ran away from."

"Shut up." you hissed.

Gamora looked at the two of you in confusion, but didn't say anything, didn't get the chance, because the knock sounded again and a woman's voice could be heard from the other side of the door calling your name.

"We know you're in there." said the voice. It wasn't angry or confrontational like the others might expect for someone you were apparently hiding from. "Your car's in the drive and we saw you shutting the lights out when we drove up."

You grimaced.

"We just want to talk." It was the man's voice this time.

Peter and Gamora looked at you expectantly, and you shook your head at them. Drax was now standing behind Peter in the kitchen doorway, Mantis having already moved past him to stand next to Gamora in the hall with you.

"Yes, we just want to talk." The woman's voice again. "We saw you in town today, we've been thinking about you."

By now Yondu and Kraglin had made their way closer to the door to better hear what was being said. They didn't care if they were being nosy.

The man spoke your name now, questioningly, as if to ask if you could hear them. "Ok, we understand if you don't want to see us, but please listen; We forgive you, and we're sorry."

You take in a breath, trying to mask your feelings with the others near. They were looking at you. Gamora's face had softened, wondering what the man meant. Forgave you for what? Sorry for what?

"We shouldn't have blamed you for what happened. We know that now." came the woman's voice. "We've had a lot of time to think it over, and we were wrong."

The man spoke again. "We were just hoping you could find it in your heart to forgive us, too."

You felt your chest tighten and you eyes burn, and so you clenched your jaw and your fists, unwilling to show any emotion to the space-strangers in your home, but they noticed anyway.

Peter gestured to get your attention and mouthed, "Open the door."

You shook your head, and he gave you a confused look. You nodded your head towards Mantis and Gamora as if to say, "Um, not with aliens in my hall!" Although that wasn't completely the reason, and you had the feeling he could tell, as he only sighed and frowned slightly in response.

After a pause the woman spoke again. "Alright. We understand you may not be ready yet. Maybe another time. We're still at the same place when you're ready to speak with us. Hopefully that's soon. We'll be going now."

You waited a few moments before approaching the door, and the other's thought you might finally be going to talk to the couple. You didn't, mostly to Peter's disappointment. Instead you peeked through a sliver in the curtains to watch them leave, not pulling away until their vehicle was gone.

As soon as you stepped back from the door Peter asked, "What was that? Who were they?"

"Nothing and no one," you answer, not meeting anyone's gaze as you flicked the hall light back on and walk towards the stairs.

Mantis grabbed your hand, but you pulled away, telling her that you weren't in the mood to hold hands right then and you were going to go take a shower. She just looked down sadly in response, but you wouldn't look at her to notice.

No one stopped you as you walked upstairs, and when you were out of earshot, Drax whispered to Mantis asking what you had been feeling just then, having noticed Mantis had been reading you when she grabbed your hand.

The other's listened in to her answer as she mournfully replied. She hadn't been able to touch you for long enough to get a full reading, but there had been one dominant emotion when she did touch you. You had been sad.

This only rose more questions from the team. Had the couple been been angry with you? What had you done? Why would their forgiveness have made you sad?

Weren't most people happy to be forgiven?

The sound of your bedroom door opening and shutting travelled down the stairs, followed shortly by the same noise of the bathroom door as you entered for your shower.

Yondu almost thought he could hear the faint sounds of crying before the noise was drowned out by the sound of a shower blasting on.

[saynotoshityouhate]

Bluebird

Words: 1568

Summary: Your new relationship with Adam Sackler is put to the test when a close family member passes away. 

Tags/Warnings: angst, crying, death of a family member, funerals

Author’s Notes: This is based on an experience I had earlier this month, unfortunately. You could say I’ve been going through some shit lately. I found this helpful to write it all out - and although Sackler wasn’t there, I was surprised and overwhelmed by the support of my friends. 

____________

You ended the call in shock and began to cry, almost forgetting that you were on a date. You looked up at the man sitting across the table. “Uhhh, kid? Everything okay?”

You had been dating Adam Sackler for a couple months when you heard your grandmother had passed away. Things were going really great - he was funny, charming, and a perfect match for your quirky personality. You felt absolutely terrible that you basically shut him out over the next week, as you were so incredibly busy seeing to the arrangements for the visitation, funeral, and the various meals that went along with it. As the oldest grandchild, you felt an extra responsibility to do more to support your family, often at the expense of your own emotional and physical well-being. Adam tried his best, calling you (he wasn’t much of a texter), stopping by your apartment, bringing you Gatorade to replenish your electrolytes...he really was too good to be true. You just didn’t know how to process your own emotions, let alone let someone else in on those emotions. You didn’t want to burden anyone. Regardless, you didn’t have time to burden anyone - there were phone calls to be made, meetings to attend, and the guy at the flower shop was being a real pain in your ass. 

It was the day before the visitation and Adam had come by your apartment to bring you dinner from your favorite Chinese restaurant. You sat quietly on the couch together, eating directly out of the white paper cartons. You felt Adam’s intense gaze on you constantly, as if he was trying to read your mind - since you certainly weren’t going to share. “Kid - you good? What’s goin’ on in that pretty little head of yours?” You answered with a mouth full of orange chicken. “Nuffin’ I’m fine,” you kept your eyes focused on your chopsticks, avoiding those hazel eyes. “Graaraggghhhaaarrrrr” Adam slammed his beef and broccoli onto the table with a loud groan, standing up from the couch. He began pacing the living room, hands in fists, primal noises escaping his plush pink lips. “Adam!” You shouted at him, setting your dinner down as well. “When are you going to knock off this ‘I’m too evolved to possibly need help’ act? I’m working my ass off here to get you to let me in! Let me help you, Y/N, you’re doing too much! Please!” Adam knelt down in front of you, grabbing your hands and looking up at you with his puppy dog eyes. You slapped his hands away, standing up and stomping across the room. “I am not too evolved! I’m fine - I told you that. Multiple times! And if you can’t understand that, maybe you should just leave. I have so much work to do for tomorrow, and you’re distracting me with your drama.” You pointed at the door. “Y/N...come on…” he sat back on his heels, eyes wide with worry. “It’s probably best that you just go...I’m sorry.” You opened the apartment door for him. Adam stood up to leave, walking towards you. He leaned in for a kiss, but you turned your head away. He settled for a kiss on the cheek, and a squeeze of your shoulder, as he exited. 

You locked the door, and leaned your back against it for support as you felt your entire body weakening. You closed your eyes and slid down the wall, collapsing into a puddle on the floor. Your body heaved with sobs so intense you didn’t even make a noise. Your eyes were screwed shut so tightly, but the tears still flew out of your eyes, soaking your face and shirt. You pulled your knees tight to your chest, the pain from the weight of the week slightly relieved by the opening of your shoulder blades. Opening your eyes, you completed your breathing exercise which usually worked to calm you down. In for four seconds, hold for four seconds, out for eight seconds. Repeat until calm. Your breaths began as shaky and stuttered, eventually evening out, causing a release of tension across your face, shoulders, and back. You could have kept crying for hours, but as you told Adam, there was too much to do. Thinking about Adam made your eyes well up again, but you shook it off. Focus. Pushing yourself off of the floor, you headed to the bathroom to splash cold water on your face. 

You barely slept that night, tossing and turning, thinking of the work to do the next day. You’d wake up, remembering something you hadn’t done yet, and roll over to write it on the notepad you kept on your bedside table. Looking in the mirror in the morning, your face was puffy and eyes bloodshot. You groaned. What a horrible day this was going to be. You took a quick shower and pulled yourself together as much as possible. You had three errands you had to run before getting to the funeral home to set-up. Getting into your car, you had a chance to look at your phone for the first time and saw two missed calls from Adam. Setting your phone on the passenger seat, you promised yourself you’d call him after the day was over. Choking back tears, you went through your day. With each item you crossed off the list, two were added. Your resolve was at risk of failing, but there wasn’t time to let that happen.

At 4:00pm, the doors were opened, letting in the friends and family who had arrived to pay their respects and share their sympathies. You stood tall and strong in the front of the room, wearing a simple, conservative black dress and sandals with the slightest heel. You knew you were going to be running around, and comfortable shoes were a necessity. You greeted the crowds of family and friends with hugs and handshakes, smiling at the compliments and accepting the words of sympathy. “You look just like her when she was younger.” “She was so proud of you.” You swallowed the lump in your throat, smiled, and said thank you before moving on to the next person. One hour into the two hour event, your cousin elbowed you in the side, pointing towards the door. “Who’s the giant? Someone from grandpa’s side of the family?” 

You immediately burst into tears. There, towering over a sea of white haired aunties, was Adam. Wearing a brown tweed jacket, blue button down and green tie, he was scoping the room in search of you. When he found you, he began swimming through the crowd of elderly visitors. “‘Scuze me! Fuck! Sorry! Oof!” You couldn’t help but laugh through your tears. Finding his way over, he stood in front of you, slightly out of breath. “Hey, kid.” Through your sobs you replied, “You came.” He sighed. “I’m always going to be here for you, kid. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” You crashed into him, wrapping your arms tightly around his chest, resting your forehead on his sternum. You stayed here and cried for what seemed like hours, Adam squeezing you back, while also managing to rub your back and stroke your hair. Adam stood by your side the rest of the evening, arm wrapped around your waist to hold you steady. You caught yourself introducing him as your boyfriend, to which he looked down at you and smiled, squeezing your waist in approval. 

He drove you home that night and you asked him to stay, where he held you all night, his large body intertwined with yours. When waves of sadness crashed over you during the night, he rubbed your back and walked you through your breathing exercises. He made you breakfast in the morning, where he asked you to tell him stories about her. He listened intently, smiling and laughing, and at one point even shedding a few tears. He stood tall and strong next to you at the funeral, smiling up at you as you read a bible passage in front of the entire church, kissing your cheek when you returned. In the car, after everything was over and done with, you turned to look at him. He chewed his lip as he drove through the crowded downtown streets, his dark shaggy hair falling into his gorgeous eyes. “I’m sorry I pushed you away, Adam.” You began to cry, reaching over to put your hand on his thigh. “I can’t imagine having done this week without you. Thank you - for everything.” He reached down to hold your hand in his. “Thank you for letting me in, kid. I was fucking scared, seeing you burnt out like that. You gotta talk to me, Y/N, you know I love the sound of your voice.” He squeezed your hand and pulled into a parking spot. “I’m sad this week is over - it means she’s really gone.” You looked down into your lap, tears spilling onto your cheeks. Adam wiped a tear off of your cheek. “You know she’s floatin’ around here or some shit - you just gotta be open to seeing her. Like over there!” He excitedly pointed to a bluebird that had landed on the railing of your front stoop. You smiled, taking a deep, cleansing breath, as you both sat in silence watching the bird before it gracefully flew away.

A/N: special thanks to @agirlwhoisaphantom and @weareallstoriesintheend​ for their support this past month. I wouldn’t still be upright without them. 

[softcallofdutyimagines]

More Then a Woman | Frank Woods x Fem!Reader | Chapter 2

Summary:

The line of business brings Woods back to the CIA offices, only this time with his long time friend Alex Mason in tow. It's been quite some time since he's seen you, and in his mind, it's all for the better. But, when yet more errand work sends you on a mission to seek the Sargent out, and with a little help from Alex's social input, Woods is forced to brush against some rather confusing emotions.

Tags: Slow burn

Chpt 1 | Warnings: None except Frank and now also Alex's language

Woods and Mason walk leisurely through the halls of the CIA offices, making their way to the nearest exit after a status report with Hudson. Frank, who zoned out within roughly five minutes, is getting the abridged details from Alex. Something about a task force and the cold war, not much to go on yet, but Woods will take anything that isn’t pretending to be an average citizen all day.

Alex wraps up quickly and the two slip into friendly chatter. Most of which is snarky remarks at Hudson’s expense. As they go back and forth, Mason tells a good one that has Frank doing that hacking, bark of a laugh. He looks away to wipe a tear, committing the joke to memory so he can taunt Hudson with it later, but as Mason’s laughter begins to fade, a new sound fills Frank’s ear.

A pair thud quietly from down the hall in a half step pattern that could only indicate a pair of heels. Ever the ladies man, Frank’s gaze lingers a little longer to scout out who the approaching individual could be, only to see, to his terror, that it’s you.

“Who are you looking a-?”

“Fuck! Move”, Woods cuts Mason off with an urgent, but hushed voice before gruffly shoving him into a darkened side office.

He closes the door sharply, then whips around to peek through the blinds to see if they were spotted as Mason tries to steady himself. Alex dusts off his shoulders as Frank retreats further into the room beside him, “Alright, I don’t think anybody sa-”

“Woah woah woah, stop. The fuck is wrong with you, huh? What was that all about?”, Alex motions to the doorway, greatly and understandably annoyed.

Frank thinks for a moment. How can he explain this?

It’s been a few weeks now since he last saw you, which… was actually the first time he saw you… But, that’s all to his master plan of avoiding you, of course. It’s just, he really needs to find a way to patch things over with you. Ever since those parting few words he left you with, he's honestly surprised you didn’t sign his ass up for a psyc eval list. Damn, that’s the last thing he’d need. They’ll never let him hold a gun again if they got those shit show results back.

“So there, see? I just need to make sure she doesn't think I’ve lost my shit, and this whole thing can blow over. I’m just… not fucking sure what to say!”

Alex squints his eyes, trying to make sense of the bullshit he's just heard. The bad news is, his good old pal is one fucked up son of a bitch, but the even worse news is he doesn't have the time nor the patience to try and come up with something placating to say to the old Sargent. Instead, Mason settles for some reasoning and hopes it sticks.

“Look, if she hasn’t said anything yet, then I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. Now can we get out of this place?”, he takes a few strides towards the door and reaches for the handle, before being jerked back by Frank.

“Were you not fucking listening? It's too risky! Let’s at least let her get out of ear shot first, huh?”

“Did you fucking hit your head or some shit? I’m not waiting in here all day damn it! How about this, the faster we get out of here, the less chance you’ll have of running into her, ok? So we should leave. Now.”

Woods seems as though he’s about to protest, but Mason is already halfway out the door. The Sargent swears under his breath, but follows swiftly after his long time friend. For Frank’s sake, Alex sets the pace to a hustle as he power walks through the halls. So far, so good, as they weave around corners and hurry through the labyrinth of offices and meeting rooms, until…

“Sargent? Sargent Woods, wait a minute please!”

His heart flutters quickly at the sound of you calling his name, a sensation he hasn't experienced in... decades, at least. He thinks he’s never been so nervous for that to happen in his entire life. So, wh-?

“Ah, there you are”, you take a quick huff of air, a slight bit winded from the sprint you did to catch up, “Agent Hudson sent some papers down the line and I’ve been told to give them to you, he said you should still be in the building”

Hudson… Of fucking course.

Miraculously, Frank manages to bite back a few choice words he has in mind and accepts the document with a muttered thanks. He flips through it quickly while you and Mason strike up a quick conversation. It appears to be a transcript of the meeting the three of them just have, most likely kept on record for security purposes, but released to him ‘just in case’ he missed anything. His jaw twitches in agitation at the passive reprimand. Funny.

“-hat’s a nice dress you’ve got there… The color really brings out your eyes, you know”

A snippet of Mason’s conversation with you makes its way to Wood’s attention. You laugh politely and then with amusement as Alex bends down to get a good look at your irises, “In fact, they almost look… Yep! Wow... that is one beautiful shade of-”

Woods snaps the folder shut, shattering the mood, even as you shyly twirl a bit of your hair at the attention. “Alright, well thanks, but we gotta get going”, he makes a pointed look at Mason, before half leading, half dragging the man out after him.

Alex wrenches his arm free and shoots one more comment over his shoulder as he walks along, “Maybe some other time!”, he laughs. And as you giggle back and affirm that yes, that would be wonderful, Frank truly becomes concerned he might have a stroke from all the blood roaring in his ears.

At last, the pair finds their way outside and Frank starts to relax.

“Damn. You know, I’m not that type of guy or anything… But if I wasn’t married? ...Woof”

Woods stops dead in his tracks, and suddenly, he finds himself going from 1 to 1000 again. He whips around on his friend, “Hey, what the fuck Mason? ‘If I wasn’t married’, if you weren’t married what, huh? What's that shit supposed to mean?”, Frank gives Alex's shoulder a little shove, hard enough to stagger him, but gentle enough that it could be interpreted as playful.

Thankfully, Alex takes it as the latter. He rubs his shoulder in mock hurt, “Geez, calm the fuck down Frank, I’m just joking. And anyway, why do you care? Did you claim dibs when no one was looking?”

Alex walks on, thinking nothing of the comment as he does, instead a little bewildered at what’s come over his friend. It isn’t like him to get so defensive over just some woman. Not even if he was getting her in bed.

“Yeah… Well, maybe I just don’t think you should be saying shit like that, alright? Besides, you don’t even know her”, he jerks a thumb back towards the looming CIA offices.

Alex digs out his car keys, “Pft, know her? Like that’s ever stopped you before”, he scoffs. The two climb into Mason’s car as he starts the engine and buckles up. He sets one hand on the wheel and the other on the gear shift, before pausing briefly. Alex turns to Frank and takes a long look, “...Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You’re not acting like yourself Frank…”

The Sargent snorts, “Aw come on, the fuck are you talking about? I’m fine! Let’s just… Let’s get out of here, huh? Hanging around Hudson always fucks me up, you know?”

Mason sits back in his seat slowly, trying to decide if he buys the story. Maybe he doesn’t entirely, but he’s willing to let it go for now. “Heh, I hear that. How’s some beers sound?”

“You know what? Sure. Hey... but only if you’re buying!”, more barks of laughter escape him as they drive off. Honestly? He’ll take anything to not have to think about why he’s so fucked up over you right now.

[boxofbadaddiction]

Just Call Me Cupid

Fred Weasley x Reader

George Weasley x Reader(Platonic)

This story is inspired from a request of my F.R.I.E.N.D.S Themed Prompt List:

Prompts: 15, 24 & 25

"Could you be anymore annoying?"/"Maybe I can make it up to you by...taking you roughly in the barn."/"[Y/N or Character] DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!"

Warnings: Swearing (always)

-Part One-

You know how the story goes. Three mischievous Gryffindors bonding over pranks and countless detentions. Becoming inseparable during their first year, and sticking together through thick and thin. That was the relationship between Y/n y/l/n and Fred and George Weasley. She fit into their lives perfectly. Her humour was exactly like theirs. She liked the same sports. Had the same classes. The same friends. Although one would wager that y/n held all the common sense of the three, always sure to rein the Twins in if they were edging too close to a line they shouldn't cross.

They used to joke she were the "Missing Triplet". Unknowingly separated from them at birth. They'd even gone as far one year to dye her hair fire orange, referring to her as Y/n Weasley for months.

With every passing holiday the Twins would bring y/n home with them. Her home life wasn't particularly grand, it was adequate in a way but had nothing on life at the Burrow. Molly welcomed her everytime with open arms. It wasn't uncommon for her to stay the entire holiday, start to finish, as she got along so well with the family, all of whom loved her like their own sister and, in Mr and Mrs Weasleys case, own daughter. So of course this Summer would be no different.

As the second week of their holiday came around; Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Y/n and even Hermione found themselves left to their own accord for the day as Percy and Mr Weasley had work and Mrs Weasley had errands to run.

The group woke to a fully prepared breakfast waiting for them and a completely chore-free schedule, a rarity in this home.

"Morning all" y/n greeted cheerily as she entered the kitchen. "Someone's happy this morning" "I'm happy every morning, Georgie." She replied as she made her way around the table with a spring in her step. "Oo, toast!" She exclaimed reaching for a single piece balancing on the edge of Ronald's plate, which earned her a stern slap across the wrist from the boy. "Damn. Relax! It's not like I went for a piece of bacon..." "Careful, y/n/n" began Harry from beside her, "that's a sure fire way to lose a hand." He joked. "Oh, right! I'm so sorry I forgot!-"

"RONALD, DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!" everyone, aside from Ron, shouted amusedly before falling into loud laughter. This had been a long running joke amongst the friends and family after Ron had yelled the line at dinner one night years ago. Y/n had to grip the back of Rons chair to stop from falling as he scowled at the groups mockery. "Oh sod off. HEY!" Y/n stole a piece of bacon from Rons otherside while he had been distracted. "Payment for one viscous assault on your favourite sister." She goaded taking a bite from the crispy piece of meat. "You're not even related." "Not yet." Smiling across the table she shot George a wink. George grinned, tongue pressed to cheek as his brow raised amused by her insinuation, in response he pursed his lips blowing her a kiss.

Y/n finally made her way around the table to a vacant seat by Freds side, chuckling lightly at Rons uncomfortable expression.

"Wow y/n, can't believe you'd really settle for the less-attractive Twin." Fred feigned insult as George threw a piece of crust at him. "I didn't. Otherwise I would have chosen you, wouldn't I?" She smiled innocently.

Fred's jaw dropped open in shock at her words. Though he fought hard to contain the smile and laugh forming on his lips, Fred was unsuccessful, cheeks grinning as a chuckle made it's way from his throat.

"WOW!" he placed a hand to his chest, "wound me why don't you?" He looked back to his gathered friends and family, all of whom were laughing at his dramatic reaction. "That's my girl", George spoke fondly, leaning back in his chair, hand hung behind Fred to y/n as they low-fived.

"Some 'best friend' you are." Fred continued, "and GINNY! I can't believe you would laugh at such a heinous lie! I thought we were closer than that!" Ginnys face were so red it near rivalled her hair at this point. Fred turned his attention back to y/n to find her face a similar shade, light joyful tears brimming in her eyes. He stuck his bottom lip out in a fake pout. "Awwe...Freddie..." she tried to speak, "come on, you know you're my favourite" she leant into his side - hugging his arm - placing a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"OI!" her 'future husband' protested, "I'm right here!" "Sorry Georgie, gotta keep my options open. You know how it is."

The remainder of the meal was spent discussing how to fill in their first day home alone for the holidays. Everyone was excited at the prospect of a potential Quidditch match, except Hermione - the only one who doesn't play the sport, and the sloppy ground outside from the past days rain didn't appear very inviting in her opinion. Their plan was thwarted regardless as Ginny reminded the Boys of their current grounding.

Fred, Ron and George had all been forbidden access to their brooms and Quidditch equipment for two weeks, after accidentally breaking a kitchen window with a bludger - released too soon near the house. In the end everyone simply parted into their own groups.

Ginny and Hermione disappeared to her room, Ron and Harry to his, while the remaining three spent the day outside.

Fred, George and y/n were partaking in some 'friendly' bits of competition to occupy their time. It started innocently enough; "let's see who can throw a Garden Gnome the farthest". But naturally, as all three individuals were highly competitive, it escalated. It was all out War by the afternoon.

Basically, they were now running around, breathless and sweaty, chucking mud cakes in their "opponents" direction. A total free for all.

As a cramp set in y/ns ribs she sought shelter behind a shrub by side of the Burrow, trying desperately to spot either Twin and failing. She was thankful however for the opportunity to catch her breath. That was untill...

"Tired are we?" Startled by the sudden voice y/n jumped eye's locking with those of George who stood far too confidently before her, hands tucked behind his back, as he smirked. Y/ns eyes widened, this couldn't be good. Her eyes quickly scanned the surrounding area. No sign of Fred. That definitely isn't good. She began stepping away slowly from the redhead infront of her who cocked his head at her movements slowly following. Smile only growing as he lowered an arm revealing a metal pail filled with sludge.

"Oh God. George, please no!" Her arms came out in defence, "I'm begging you...Georgie, please don't!" Though worried and pleading she couldn't help the nervous smile and giggle that came to the surface. Eyes staring into his "I'll do anything! Mate, please just...put. down. The bucket."

George let out a long sigh, contemplating, as he swung the pail loosely in his hand staring to it's contents. With a dramatic roll of his head and a groan he dropped the bucket by his feet. "Oh thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" Y/n repeated, relieved. "Had you done that I'd never get my chance..." Georges brows furrowed, "chance for what?" "THIS!" Y/n scooped up a large mud patty from her feet, hurtling it directly across the side of his face, laughing maniacally. Though as George slowly scooped away the gathered muck on his eye, flicking it off his fingers, she couldn't help but feel bad. A little anyway. Offering a half-hearted apology as he wiped away the dirt by his mouth.

"Oh you're sorry, are you?" He began advancing on her again, "to think I took it easy on you, my 'loving' wife-to-be." He added sarcastically. Y/n gulped as she noticed the new found determination held in his gaze. Laughter turning nervous as she backed away. "I'm sorry. Maybe I can make it up to you by...taking you roughly in the barn?" "Mmm tempting. But I have a better idea" he smirked wickedly. Y/ns face dropped as she made to run, but she wasn't fast enough, George wrapped his arms around her body holding her tight in place. "Not so fast, love." He lifted her from her feet walking blindly back towards the house. "No! Please no!" She whined through giggles, "Geoooorge" "It's not me you should be worried about, sweetheart." He whispered to her ear. Huh?

"Oooooh FREDDIE!" he called over his shoulder. FUCK! Where was Fred!?

George turned sharply on the spot and y/n suddenly found herself face to face with one Fred Weasley, complete with bucket. Only this one wasn't the same from earlier, it was bigger. And filled with...what was that? Oh god. Ice.

"Woah y/n/n, you look really flustered. Reckon you might need to cool off." He grinned. "Freddie, I was thinking exactly the same thing." Georges grip on y/n tightened as she began to squirm furiously. Pleading them not to. Fred raised the bucket in his arms as she slipped to the ground, George pinning her down and tugging back the side of her shirts collar.

Fred leaped into action, pouring the buckets contents over her exposed shoulder so the ice would fall down her back as well as down her chest. Y/n squealed at the brisk temperature change. Breath hitching and shuddering in response. The boys jumped back as she scrambled to her feet, shaking the material of her shirt to lose the ice still clinging beneath it. Various curses and insults being shot to the twins whilst doing so.

"Prats." She shivered, "the both of you. Prats." All three couldn't contain their laughter at this. George excused himself for a moment to rid his eye of a few pesky grains of dirt under his eyelid.

He dunked his head under the tap of the kitchen sink in order to rinse his eye, and face while he was at it, clean before filling himself a glass of water having become quite hot from all the running he'd done this afternoon. A sudden yell pulled his attention out the window.

Chuckling as he watched Fred frantically running from y/n who held the bucket of mud George had threatened her with earlier.

Fred was running backwards with his arms raised trying desperately to bargain his way out of his punishment. George could only just make out the conversation carrying on in the moment.

"Come on, said I was sorry didn't I?" "Why don't you put the bucket down and I'll run you a bath" "I have a stash of chocolate frogs upstairs you can help yourself to!" George was amused by that line in particular as he knew for certain that stash was well and truly gone, days ago, as he and y/n had helped themselves to it whilst he showered.

Fred were a fairly safe distance away as he out manoeuvred his friend easily with such long legs and lack of bucket. He probably could have kept up their little dance for some time, enough for her to admit defeat, if he had not tripped back over his own feet. George snorted at the sight, water nearly shooting from his nose, as his brother fell flat on his back. Y/n seized her moment. Standing above him with bucket raised smiling.

Many 'please's, and 'y/n's and of course countless 'no's falling from Fred mouth, all in vain as the bucket tipped above him. Contents hitting directly to his chest and covering him in filth. George really wished he had a camera right about now.

"What are you laughing at?" Ginny had appeared, grabbing a glass of water for herself. "Y/n getting revenge." "Why aren't you out there?" "To avoid exactly that happening to me." The two watched as Fred stood, wrapping himself around y/n to smear mud over her body as well, swaying them side-to-side dramatically as he did so. Muffled shrieks came from her mouth which was pressed tight against his chest.

"Mum's going to have a field day with you three." Ginny commented, placing down her cup as she ascended the staircase. George inhaled sharply as his jaw clenched at the thought. His eyes scanned the yard...they had made quite the mess. He wondered if they'd ever be allowed to play Quidditch again. Or even be allowed out of the house for that matter. His thoughts were cut short as his attention fell back to his brother and best friend.

They'd stopped rough-housing. Y/n pushing back from him with a huff. She stood before him with a pout, covered completely in muck. Fred was laughing haughtily at the sight as he took a step forward, sweeping a dirty piece of hair behind her ear. His fingers delicately traced her cheek bone and down toward her lips which had parted slightly as she stared at him. His head was hung towards her as he gazed back, hand now resting just below her jaw. Both slowly leaning closer...

The moment was over as quickly as it'd began, by Fred clearing his throat and dropping his arm, both hands finding his pockets and standing back a pace. He had said something about needing a shower to which y/n laughed awkwardly, avoiding any further eye contact.

"Ho-ly FUCK!" George exclaimed to himself as realisation hit him like a bag of bricks. "They fancy one another" his eyes were wide. How hadn't he noticed before?

The way their eyes seemed to linger on one anothers a tad longer than two friends would. The shameless flirting. The "innocent" light touches. How Fred always had his arm over her shoulder if he could. The quick kisses to their cheeks. The blushing. The way Fred tensed, white knuckled, when boys were 'too friendly' with y/n. The way y/ns teeth would grind as girls would fall over Fred. It all seemed so obvious now.

Without a second moments thought George bolted up the stairs.

Hermione and Ginny sat cross-legged on her bed, chatting casually about the upcoming school year and what excitement it may hold, when the bedroom door violently swung open. Slamming into the wall, one hot, sweaty and very much out of breath George clung to its handle.

The girls stared wide-eyed at the sight. "...yes?" Ginny asked curiously. Her brother was a sputtering mess, attempting to speak through deep burning breaths. "F-Fre-and y/...Fred and y/n!" He gasped, arms waved and flailing dramatically trying to make them understand him in his frantic state. "They-they're...they fancy one another!" He finally exclaimed before clutching his side painfully, "Oh, cramp".

Ginny and Hermione looked at one another with identical blank stares before shrugging simply, "We know" they spoke. "You KNOW!?" "It's pretty obvious." Said Hermione. A deep, frustrated, sigh left Georges throat, his head rolled and he flopped heavily into the small space between both girls, the action causing them to bounce.

"Could you be anymore annoying?" Ginny groaned but George ignored her, "This is unbelievable." "Is it though?" His sister questioned. "They're always all over one another. Always staring when they think the other's not looking." "Not to mention they're perfect for one another." Hermione giggled " "He stops her from stressing too much over school work, keeps her out of her shell when she's struggling. And she very well may be the only person on the planet capable of settling him down when he gets worked up."

"Do you think they know?" George asked, eyes fixed to the ceiling. "Not a chance" "Absolutely not." The girls answered. "Look how long it took you to realise, and you're their best friend." Added Hermione causing Georges brows to furrow. She had a point. They'd spent nearly every day together since they met in their first year. Practically attached at the hip and yet it only clicked now.

He couldn't quite wrap his head around how he was feeling at the moment as too many thoughts flooded his mind.

Was he worried? Excited? What if they dated? Would they hang out with him less, as a result? Would it work out? What if they broke up!?

"My best friend and my brother..." he wondered aloud, tone sceptical. The girls remained silent as George thought, chewing his cheek. The atmosphere was tense as they worried over his reaction. That was until a wide smile crept its way across his face. "My best friend and my brother." He spoke louder, more assured, with a curt approving nod. "I'm gonna make it happen." He stated matter-of-factly as he lifted himself from the bed, making his way to the door.

"And how, pray tell, are you going to manage that?" "Easily, my dear sister." George looked over his shoulder as he grabbed the doors handle, "Just call me Cupid." He winked, quickly shutting the door as he left with a smirk.

[thiswasinevitableid]

88. I dropped my watch in an open grave, jumped in to get it, and while you were visiting your dead grandmother, you saw me climbing out of the grave (credit to @enchantedcass)

Indruck, sfw or nsfw, please!

Here it is! This is technically SFW, though there's some discussion of sex and a bit of steaminess at the end.

“Here, these are fresh.” Indrid sets the wildflowers on the small, stone marker, so covered with moss and worn with age that no one can read it. He only knows where to find her because he watched from the Barrens as she was put in the ground.

Temperance Leeds. His grandmother, the one who narrowly avoided accusations of witchcraft, the only human who ever set foot deep enough in the trees to bring him food, to drape blankets over his shaking shoulders. She never forgot him, and he shall return the favor as long as he lives.

There’s a thump of earth behind him and he whirls; it’s midnight in a graveyard, who could possibly be here? The ghosthunters usually wait for darker nights to come. In his periphery, a hand rises from an open grave.

Great, if the dead rise he’ll probably be blamed for that too.

“Fuck” A young man pulls himself from the grave, staring at his cell phone, “c’mon, please don’t be fuckin cracked.” Light illuminates his face and sighs, “thank fuckin christ.”

The light disappears and he blinks, eyes adjusting to the dark. Indrid, too caught up in working out why he’s in the ground, hasn’t bothered to hide as he should. The human notices.

“Uh. I. Uh. Dropped my phone checkin the time. I, uh, definitely wasn’t smokin in the off limits, uh, fuck, graveyard I, uh, I fuck, promise I’ll clean up my beer bottles I mean, uh, fuck.” He scratches the back of his neck, “please don’t call the cops?”

“Can you see me?” Indrid cocks his head.

“Yeah?”

“And you are worried about me alerting the police?”

“I mean, guess we’re both breakin the rules but I kinda figured you were staff here because of the clothes.” He gestures to the ensemble Indrid cobbled together from clothes lines.

Indrid stands, stretches his wings, flicks his tail and watches the human slowly notice the color of his eyes and the outline of his horns.

“Fuck. Look, man, whatever you are, I swear I won’t tell, I’m just tryin to keep busy, please, my folks are already worried about me-”

“I’m not going to harm you.” Lightning cracks through the sky, flashing his shadow across the frightened human, “I just wanted you to see me clearly.”

Rain patters on the leather of his wings. The man looks up at the sky, face seeming even younger as it fills with resignation. Indrid recognizes it’s source.

“You have nowhere to go, do you?”

“No. I, uh, decided I wanted to get outta town and never come back, made it as far as here before I ran outta money.”

Indrid offers his hand, watches the man’s face zero in on the claws, “You may spend the night with me, if you wish. My home is a ways into the woods, but it is dry and warm.”

“Okay.” The young man replies softly, letting Indrid help him up as the dirt turns to mud. Indrid shelters him as best he can with a wing until they reach the cottage. Indrid kneels by the fireplace, lumps kindling into a pile as the young man sets his backpack on a chair.

“Nice place. Gotta admit I was expectin somethin more dilapidated. On account of the whole, uh, y’know.” He gestures to Indrid’s horns and cloven feet.

“It was much like you expected, once upon a time. But a human named Arlo Thacker took pity on me and helped me build it with the aid of a few friends. There.” The fire flickers merrily, “that should keep us warm. You may--ah, what are you doing?”

The young man has removed his jacket and shirt, revealing what Indrid recognizes from human magazines as a sports bra. His hands are now on the fly of his jeans.

“You said I was supposed to, uh, spend the night with you?”

“Yes, in that you may sleep here to be safe from the weather and any who might wish you harm. Not so that you may keep me warm. So to speak.”

“You’re not gonna fuck me?”

Indrid flicks his tail, surprised, “You would offer yourself to me, looking like this?”

The man nods in a way that suggests he’s run a calculus in his head and decided Indrid’s desire was less abhorrent than some other option. Indrid crosses the small living room, bringing them face to face. He reaches out a hand, runs his claws through black hair until the human closes his eyes. Then his hand slides to cup his cheek, one nail tracing fond little shapes on the skin as the man sighs. Against his better judgement, he tilts his head down to nose the dark locks; smoke lingers there, just as alcohol hangs on his breath. He’s so warm, so willing and so very soft. Indrid wants nothing more than to undress him further, carry him to his cozy bedroom and discover what sounds come when he fits their bodies together.

“What’s your name?”

“Duck. It’s a nickname.”

“A charming one. But no, Duck, I will not take such advantage of you. I may be called a devil, but I do not believe in making one trade their body for basic kindness. Come along, the bedroom will allow you more privacy.”

“Thanks.” Duck sways, and Indrid senses a weariness he’s not certain a good nights rest will fix. Tomorrow he will be sure to be gone when Duck awakens, leaving his dry clothes and a map back to town outside his door so that he can do what Indrid can dare to; leave the Barrens and find a life waiting for him in the world beyond.

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

There are some days when Duck thinks his encounter in the woods was a dream. The hand-drawn map he keeps folded among his books tells him otherwise.

He’d come home after that night, made his peace with Kepler for a few years more, and often awoke from dreams where he was pushing through brush in pursuit of a strange shadow. He never cites these as a reason for his taking a job at a state forest in New Jersey that includes the Barrens.

Now, he’s decided to upgrade from his apartment to a house in the woods that’s been listed for over two years and is a goddamn steal because of that.

“As you can see, there’s another residence across the clearing; that’s why the company that built this lovely dwelling was able to do so. They intended to build a nice little community here.”

“The fact that ain’t happened got anythin to do with the reason I gotta stay the night before I make an offer?”

Ned’s smile falters, “Indeed, dear boy. I like you, so I’ll be forthcoming; we’ve never seen anyone in the other house. But they have most certainly seen us.”

Duck settles in for an uneventful afternoon and evening, reads his book and considers whether he could fit some windowboxes on the house for garden space. It’s not until it’s pitch black outside that it starts; footsteps on the roof, followed shortly by red eyes peering in through the living room window.

He opens the front door, the undergrowth rustling hurriedly to his left.

“Uh, hey there. You may not remember me but, uh, we’ve actually met before. About ten years ago. You uh, you let me stay the night?”

Only some crickets, unaware of the tension in the air, reply to him. Then the bushes grow two, ruby red flowers.

“Duck?”

“Yep. Y’know, you never told me your name. If we’re gonna be neighbors, feels like I oughta know what to call you.”

A shadow moves from the trees, stopping when it reaches the light spilling from the windows. He’s as Duck remembers him; short horns sprouting from a mop of silver hair, claws on his fingers and black wings folded on his back. His skin is a swirl of ashy grey and ember red. And his face, while striking, is human. That was the part that always tripped Duck up; the Jersey Devil was always drawn with a goat or horse face, making him question whether that’s who he met all those years ago.

“Indrid. My name is Indrid.”

“Nice to see you again, Indrid.”

The other man smiles, and Duck knows what will replace the mad hunt through the brush in his dreams, “Likewise.”

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

“You know, she had three more children after me. None of them suffered the same curse.” Indrid kicks idly at the long decayed remains of his family home. Their nightly walk brough them close to it this time around, and Duck had been curious. His interest is never prurient or morbid; Duck wants to get to know Indrid, not his legend.

“That fuckin sucks.”

Indrid chuckles, “I do enjoy how you put things so plainly.”

“I’m serious, what kind of folks put their kid out when it’s a baby? I mean, mine weren't always the fuckin parents of the year but at least they understood lookin after me was part of the deal.”

“It was a different time.”

“Fine, but I’m still judgin the hell outta them.”

Indrid looks fondly down at the human, “That’s as fair a fate for them as any.”

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

“It don’t weird you out?” Juno indicates Indrid’s house from where she and Duck are sitting on his front porch. The twin Adirondack chairs are a new addition, as the warmer months mean he and Indrid spend ample time trying to see the stars through the treetops.

“Nah. Indrid’s a real good neighbor when he’s around. He’s uh, from an old family so he don’t gotta work. Part of why he keeps such weird hours.” Duck wishes he could introduce them; it’d be nice for the three of them to have dinner before Juno heads south again. But Indrid has several centuries of shitty human encounters that dig under his skin like splinters, and Duck will never push him to ignore that pain. Besides, there will be other visits.

The summer and fall pass in much the same ways last winter and spring did. Duck works in the park, visits friends in town, runs errands, and generally goes about all the mundane moments that make up a life. Then he spends his evenings in one of the two cottages, or walking alongside Indrid on long-overgrown pathways.

The hardest part of it all is not mentioning Indrid in every single conversation; Duck is already tempting disaster being unable to lie and the neighbor of a cryptid. He doesn’t want to also drive his friends up the wall talking about said cryptids art, or his laugh, or the little herb garden Duck is helping him grow.

They’re in the stretch of days between Christmas and New Year, and Indrid has just finished opening the gift Duck brought him; a thick, soft sweater that Duck stitched a “I” into the front of along with a few little pine tree patches. Indrid smiles at him and notices that Duck’s sweater is done in a similar fashion (in fact, everyone in the Newton family wears one like this). The grin turns bashful and Indrid rubs his cheek against the fabric.

“Thank you, Duck. I, ah, I’m sorry I do not have anything to give you. Holidays are not my strong suit.”

“Just gettin to see you is enough.” Duck stands to refill his tea, Indrid’s gaze caressing his back as he moves through the room. He almost hadn’t gone home, had offered to stay and keep Indrid company. But his friend insisted, reminding him that while it felt odd to be without each other, they both had spent plenty of time apart and been fine. All the same, when he got home yesterday Indrid was knocking on his door before he even put his bag down.

Duck didn’t mind at all. No more than he minds when Indrid sleeps with his head in his lap or strokes his hair while they read on the couch.

The cryptid stokes the fire as the snow gives way to sleet, streaking the windows with icy drops.

“Goodness, what a frigid night.”

“No kiddin.” Duck sets his mug down, turns just as Indrid gets to his feet, “can’t say I mind, kinda reminds me of the night we met.”

The colors of Indrid’s skin make a blush difficult to spot, but Duck’s learned which dip of his head and quirk of his lip means it’s there.

“‘Drid? Did you ever think about that night? Because I did. I, uh, I do.”

“Yes.” Indrid’s tail twitches.

“What do you think about?”

“I, ah, I...you first.”

Duck crosses the creaking floorboards, looking up into red eyes, “I think about how safe it felt when you brought me here. How when I woke up, I felt like this was some kinda weird sign, that I needed to rethink some things and that’s how come I went home, which turned out to be a good call. And” he smirks, “I think about how I was drunk and desperate enough to ask the fuckin Jersey Devil if he was gonna fuck me.”

Indrid blushes once more, studies the ground as Duck touches his shoulder, “I must say that is the part that dominated most of my thoughts. Not right away; for the first few weeks when I thought of you I only hoped you were alright. Then I would let myself imagine that I had been devilish indeed.”

Gently, Duck raises Indrid’s hand and cradles his cheek with it as they did that night, “What would you have done, devil of mine?”

A snicker, “I will answer that only if you tell me whether you are angling for the demonstration that I think you are.”

“Damn right.” He closes his eyes, heart swelling and skin prickling as Indrid steps closer and nuzzles the top of his head.

“I would have asked if you were tired of running. If you wanted a home. And would you like to make it here, so that we could keep each other company. I know in my heart this would have been a selfish offer. I am glad I did not make it, did not trap you here, resign you to a fate that was not what you would have chosen freely.”

“I’m pretty fuckin free these days.”

“And that all on it’s own fills me with joy. But yes, there were nights where I wished I’d been selfish.”

Duck tips his head up, brushing their noses together, “Say you made that offer and I accepted. What then?”

Indrid cups his face with both hands. The kiss is chaste, Indrid sighing against his lips as he twines his claws in his hair. Duck wraps his arms around his waist, lightly teasing the edge of one wing.

“Then” Indrid murmurs, “I’d carry you to bed.”

“Yeah, that part woulda been easier when I was seventeEEN” he laughs as Indrid scoops him into a bridal carry with ease. He’s never been in Indrid’s bed, so he giggles again when he discovers it’s ten times squishier than his own. The cryptid sinks onto it with him, guiding him so they’re face to face on their sides.

“May I undress you?”

“Knock yourself out, darlin.” Affection deep and warm as a thermal spring wells up in him as Indrid carefully removes his sweater and shirt before dainty setting his claws to work on his fly. When Duck is down to his boxers, hunger enters Indrid’s eyes for the first time.

“Oh you are divine.” One hand strokes his leg, pausing at the crease of his thigh each time it reaches there. The other curves along his belly up to his chest before caressing his face, the black claws making his skin seem oddly pale and very fragile in comparison.

Duck touches the hem of Indrid’s shirt and the cryptid freezes.

“‘Drid? Is this okay?”

“Do you...truly wish to see me unclothed?”

Duck surges forward to kiss him as he rucks up his shirt, the movement a sufficient answer for Indrid to raise his arms and let him pull the sweater and battered shirt beneath it away. His skin here is the same swirl of colors as the rest of him, but there’s a dusting of peach fuzz fur across it. It’s delightful under Duck’s tongue, though the little keen of pleasure from Indrid is even better.

“It’s strange” Indrid traces hearts and zig-zags with his claws along Duck’s sides as the human continues kissing his chest and neck, “I thought that seeing you like this would so overwhelm me with need that I’d beg to have you this instant. But it seems I feel much the same way I did in my fantasies of that night.”

“Oh” Duck reaches up to toy with the base of a horn and Indrid groans happily before continuing.

“Had you stayed, knowing you were now mine, I’d have taken my time. Nestled you under the blankets, opened you up on my tongue until you were weak from pleasure. That way it would be easy to take you when I was ready. Perhaps on your back, so you had me to hold onto if you needed. Or on your belly, so you would be even more sheltered from the cold, cruel world by my body and wings. And I’d stay there for hours, make up for decade after decade of touch starvation by glutting myself on your young, willing body.”

“Holy fuck, ‘Drid.” Duck pulls him down into a kiss, “christ that’s a fuckin good image.”

“Mmmm” the cryptid licks his cheek, “it is, isn’t it. But since you are not going anywhere, and we are not limited by the confines of my imagination, I am even less inclined to rush. Will you indulge me with just kisse tonight?”

Duck brushes silver hair from his forehead, planting a kiss there when he’s done, “Of course.”

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

The morning brings several feet of snow and announcement that those who can stay in their homes and shelter from the ongoing storm should. The pines drop heaps of white across the ground, and frost makes the windows so icy it’s better to draw the curtains and stay curled up in the dark.

Duck doesn’t mind at all.

[murderousginger]

Poison On My Lips

Peaky Blinders fanfic

Cops & Robbers Part 5

Warnings: Fluff. Steamy kisses. Touch of Angst. Drug use. Nudity. They’re criminals guys, they do bad things.

Note: This is almost exclusively pandering to myself. I blame the hormone flux. Hopefully you all enjoy. 😂

Word Count: 4,099

Tagging: @imagine-that-100​ @bellinitini​ @rae-you-gotta-be-kidding-me​ @theshelbyclan​ @peakascum​ @sweatydragoncloudknight​ @hrhbella​ @annaninae​​

You sat quietly in the dimming light at the foot of Tommy's small bed, looking around at the weathered striped wallpaper and the sparse decorations. You had made sure to sit far enough down so no one could see you unless they entered the room. Your hand grazed the plaid wool blanket on the bed and you took note of the wooden chair beside the nightstand next to the head of the bed to your right. 

You knew he had recently bought Polly her own house, and Ada one in London to raise her son in after Freddy's death, but he hadn't gotten around to himself just yet. Arthur and Finn still lived in the house with him, so it wasn't empty, but it was far less filled than it was before.

It was a nice enough room, but it was easy to see that Tommy barely spent time in it. This was where he went to sleep and nothing much else. He had made sure to make his bed before he left the room, likely a leftover instinct from the military. The wall across from the head of the bed was empty with remnants of the wallpaper that was stripped off, like he had hastily removed it in the night. 

There were no images of women, no books laying about, no photos, nothing to suggest he ever spent time in the room. Just a little nightstand with one drawer. A bottle of whiskey, a glass, a half used candle and an ashtray cluttered the top. You eyed the drawer, noticing that it was barely open. 

Curiosity got the better of you and you leaned over and opened the drawer the rest of the way. Small bags of brown rocks, odd utensils, and a large pipe littered the inside. Now you understood why the candle was there if he didn't spend time awake in his room. 

At that moment, you heard the door downstairs open. You moved back to your spot at the foot of his bed, but left the drawer as it was. You jumped as a loud crash erupted downstairs then sat frozen as you listened for more noise, praying that whoever was searching for you had not ventured to wreck Tommy's house next. 

Footsteps echoed on the creaky stairs and Tommy walked into his room without hesitation. He stopped beside the wooden chair as he noticed your dark form at the edge of his bed and he stilled. The silence was deafening.

"(Y/N)?" Tommy said in a soft voice. 

"S'the only place I could think," you answered hoarsely. 

You looked up at Tommy, the only light dim behind him. You realized that you couldn't see any of his features, but had known him by silhouette alone. 

"My neighbor stopped me," you continued. "Told me men claiming to be coppers were waiting in my home."

"Campbell," Tommy growled before he leaned over and lit a match to light the candle on his nightstand. Soft light illuminated the hard angles of his face as he straightened back up. 

The shadows cast dark bruises along his face that reminded you of a few weeks back when he had returned after claiming to be in London and had held business in Camden Town. 

"A boy came to us yelling about coppers flipping the Peaky girl's home," Tommy said finally, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with the candle before sitting next to you in the bed. "We've had everyone looking for you on the streets for hours."

"After killing a man, I went walking," you said lightly, but the words were bricks in your gut. "Decided to do some thinking, so I borrowed your spot."

"John told me," Tommy said gravely, inhaling his cigarette. "I didn't mean that for you, (Y/N). I didn't."

"You wanted proof, King Tommy," you said, steadily growing in hysterics. "Blood on my hands is the best sort."

"They weren't there for the death," Tommy said. "They were there because you're too close to me."

"For the murder," you corrected. 

"For the murder," Tommy said softly. "Your throat. Does it hurt? John said Wilks lifted you up by it. Gave us a scare."

"Pretty sure I'm bruised," you said, numbly reaching for Tommy's cigarette and wrapping your lips around it. 

Tommy watched but did not react. You inhaled and the harsh smoke burned your lungs. You choked, realizing you never took up smoking because you never learned to inhale. You did it again, choking on the smoke but also feeling a bit calmer. He hesitantly reached for his cigarette and brought it back to his own lips to take a long inhale.

"John said he couldn't get a good shot, so you stabbed Wilks in the leg to drop you," Tommy said, a twinge of amusement in his voice as he blew the smoke above your heads.

"Rather that than John take my head off," you said as a small smile creeped onto your face. 

"You and fucking knives," Tommy said playfully and nudged your shoulder. "Where'd you pick that up?"

"Learned a few things from Pol during the war before she sent me out running errands," you said. "Took to knives over guns. Smaller and quieter. Easy in a pinch."

Tommy hummed, finished off his cigarette and snuffed it in the ashtray. He leaned on you a moment. 

"Am I ever going to know that tattoo on your shoulder?" He asked. 

"John hasn't cracked yet?" You laughed. 

"Smug bastard won't stop taunting," Tommy said as he joined you. 

It had been so long since you heard him actually laugh instead of chuckle. It warmed your otherwise numb heart.

"Sounds like John," you said. "You'd think he'd never seen a tattoo before."

"Not on a woman," Tommy said, meeting your gaze. "Not on you."

"Shelby's aren't the only ones that can sneak," you said slyly. 

"None of that answers me," Tommy said. 

You looked down at your hands in your lap and bit your lip. Tommy softly touched the side of your neck, giving you chills. 

"Lights too low to look at the bruises tonight," he said. "Least so in this light."

"Tommy," you whispered. "If we're asking questions tonight, why do you smoke?"

His eyes narrowed at you as his hand rescinded. 

"Been smoking cigarettes most of my life at this point, (Y/N)," he said lightly, but a low currant of warning hid beneath.

"Not cigarettes," you said softly as you leaned over his lap to pick up his pipe from the drawer.

He watched you sharply but did not stop you. You ran your hand along the long pipe, looking down at it as you hovered over his lap and thought of the drugs within his nightstand. 

"Have you ever taken it with someone?" You asked shyly. 

"It's just to sleep," he whispered, shooing you gently from the drawer before closing it. "It helps with the memories."

You reluctantly sat up, the pipe now in your lap.

"What if I were to take it?" You asked quietly. "With you?"

"(Y/N)," Tommy said as he reached for the pipe but you held it away from him. "You don't need it. I won't let John or Arthur take it. It's not good. Why should I give it to you freely?"

"I'm asking you," you said simply. "Is that not enough?"

Tommy looked at you for a long moment, assessing you. 

"I killed a man today, Tommy," your voice cracked. "Can you be soft with me, just this once? Just tonight?" 

He eyed you frozen to his spot as he wetted his lips. He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes for a beat before looking back to you. His eyes were rounded and his shoulders dipped. He reached for the pipe with an exhale. This time, you let him take it. 

"This doesn't close the door on any of it," Tommy said, although you weren't sure if it was to you or himself. "This won't fix the thoughts. Only runs the shadows off for a night."

You nodded slowly as he leaned back to the drawer and started readying the pipe. You watched his intent expression as he started his ritual. Tommy blocked you out --blocked the world out-- and the only thing important was right there in his lap. 

As he started putting everything away, and the pipe was ready for fire in his lap, he finally looked up at you and hesitated. 

"Just--" he started. "Let me lead. It'll make you relax. You'll have to trust me."

"I've always trusted you, Tommy," you said.

He nodded, picked up the pipe and placed it over the candle and watched intently. He took it off and settled his lips over the opening, inhaling deeply. You watched him hold the smoke for a moment before he leaned his head back and blew it out. 

You watched him visibly soften in front of you. His face slacked as he watched the smoke above him disappear. His shoulders completely rounded as the invisible rod in his back released. He leaned down for another inhale. 

This time, he seemed to remember you were beside him. He held the smoke in his mouth and placed his pointer finger under your chin and guided your face closer to his. Butterflies fluttered in your chest but you let him guide you so close you were nearly touching lips. 

You looked from his lips to his eyes, your lips slacked as his hand circled your jaw and pressed his fingers into the sides of your face until you opened your mouth slightly wider. He exhaled the smoke directly into your mouth and you inhaled his breath instinctually, feeling the smoke enter your lungs and spread a warmth through your body faster than any whiskey ever had. He let your chin go and you closed your eyes.

You understood why people liked it immediately. You felt it go straight through your body and you let it, all of your thoughts and tensed muscles fading into the haze. You floated. You felt Tommy shuffle beside you and heard him inhale one more time before you felt his hand on your neck. You heard the pipe rest on the nightstand with a gentle clang. He pulled you toward him by your neck and you kissed him as he exhaled into your lungs again and you breathed him in. 

His lips were plush against yours and he didn't stop you from kissing him like you thought he would. In fact, he pulled you closer. The smoke creeped out of the corners of your mouths as you turned your body to face him and melted into his touch. His hand stayed on the back of your neck as the other caressed your jaw with his thumb. After a long moment, he pulled back and held you away from following him. 

You opened your eyes, watching the stillness of his face as he opened his eyes to watch you half-lidded. 

"Right," he whispered, wetting his lips. "You should be feeling--"

"Very good, yes," you interrupted, pushing against his hold to kiss him again. 

The feeling of his skin on yours was electric. The haze around you made the contact feel so much more.

"(Y/N)," Tommy said as he half-heartedly tried to hold you back but you pushed again and kissed him. 

You felt Tommy growl into your kiss and you shuddered, hand rising to meet his face. He kissed you back forcefully, and you moaned into his mouth. He immediately ripped you away. Your eyes snapped open to see a very frustrated Tommy.

"(Y/N)," he warned, "A man's only got so much self control."

"You're not a man," you laughed, a smirk on your lips. "They call you the Peaky devil."

"Read somewhere that well fed devils behave better than famished saints," he said as he smirked back at you and released his hold. 

You both watched each other for a long moment until your confidence started to fall. 

"Are you well fed, Tommy?" You whispered, leaning back from him and running a hand through your hair. 

"I'm fucking starving is what I am," he said in a breath and grabbed you around the waist to pull you to him, flipping you onto your back on the bed to press you down into the blankets as he devoured you. 

Your teeth hit his when you collided, but it didn't slow either of you down. His hands immediately began roaming, groping and pulling at you. You squirmed, overwhelmed by the contact as you kissed him in hopes to be completely consumed by him. 

He pulled away and watched you, drinking in what you looked like beneath him, hair disheveled, lips swelled pink, and eyes hazy in the dim candlelight. 

"You could ruin me," Tommy said softly as he tumbled to your side in the small bed. He rubbed his face with a sigh.

"I'm just a foot soldier," you said. 

"Be soft, you said," he whispered as he exhaled a short breath, eyes still covered, "I stopped seeing Lizzie, (Y/N), after the party--"

"Tommy, I--" you interrupted as you turned to him. 

"I know you're closest with John--"

"Tommy--"

"And you ran with him before I told you about Esme--"

"Tommy--"

"And I'm older than you--"

"I'm a virgin, Tommy," you frustratedly spat out before he could stop you. "I didn't sleep with John, because I haven't slept with anyone."

"You didn't--" he started as he dropped his hands and rolled to face you.

"No," you huffed, arms instinctively hugging yourself, "When the war came, the men left. Those that stayed were old, young, or not interested in a Shelby cast off."

"But none of us--"

"There were rumors, Thomas," you said with a sniff, "That was enough."

"Don't call me that," he pleaded. 

He reached for your cheek and you flinched. He hesitated but reached out for you again.

"Tommy sings from your lips," he said, running his thumb over your lips. "Thomas is a curse."

You kissed his thumb before he parted your lips and you grazed your tongue along it. You locked eyes with him and watched his eyes ignite as he looked at you beneath him. 

"Not tonight, love," he whispered. "Not with the opium muddling your thoughts."

"You muddle my thoughts," you shot back with a sigh. "Fine, then better pour the whiskey."

Tommy smiled.

"That, I can do," he said. 

----

Tommy had to go find another candle once the candle on the nightstand burned low. He came back with a couple of them, lighting them all to make a bit more light in the room as you both shared the glass to drink the whiskey. Tommy smoked a bit more opium once the haze faded away as the night went on. He kissed the smoke into your lungs to share his high.

The night felt absolutely invincible. The only people in the world were you two in his room. No cares, no thoughts, only there. Only then.

You both laughed and chatted on the bed, bantering back and forth along the way. You had somehow moved to a position of Tommy sitting on the bed, his back to the headboard, and you between his legs cuddled into his chest. You both were facing his bare wall and he had wrapped his arms around you to whisper something playfully in your ear when you had reached up to cup his face in your hand. 

"Tommy," you giggled, looking at the wall in front of you. "What happened to the wallpaper? It looks like you ripped it down."

Tommy rested his chin on your shoulder as he hummed. 

"I did rip it down," he said as he quieted, staring at the wall closely as he hugged you to him tighter. "Some nights I hear them digging. It was so loud one night I had to be sure."

"Is that why you do it?" You asked. "Why you smoke?"

Tommy hummed in agreement before he kissed your cheek. 

"It doesn't always work," he said softly. "But it's been quiet with you here."

You looked ahead at the wall and tried to imagine what Tommy heard, the digging and clinking noises of metal on rock. The fear. You shuddered.

"None of that now," Tommy whispered into your ear, giving you new chills for an entirely different reason. 

A comfortable silence passed between you. 

"I should make a bed," Tommy said, cutting the quiet. "Downstairs. You'll take this one. I'll get you one of my shirts to sleep in."

"Don't leave me, Tommy," you said, gripping his arm as he nudged you to sit up. "Not tonight."

Tommy sighed as he leaned you back against him. 

"You're bloody stubborn," he mused.

"I'd still like that shirt," you answered playfully. "Maybe you'd glimpse my tattoo in the process. As a reward."

"You'd test the devil himself," Tommy breathed. 

"What do you think I'm doing now?" You teased, leaning forward and glancing over your shoulder at your zipper. 

Tommy raised a brow, his arms unwrapping around you. He reached and slowly unzipped your dress, letting your skin peek through the opening. You slacked your shoulder and the dress fell down your arm, revealing a horse tattoo. Tommy's eyes were enraptured by your shoulder, his fingers shamelessly tracing over it. 

"Now I get it," he breathed before pressing his lips to the horse on your shoulder and closing his eyes. 

He nuzzled your bare shoulder and inhaled your scent before he kissed it again and leaned back. 

"I've one more," you said, "but it's a bit harder to show."

"Worried about modesty now?" Tommy teased, pulling you back into his chest as he buried his face into your hair. 

"You tell me not to test you, and then you beg for testing," you laugh. "Which is it?"

Tommy let you go with a laugh, arms wide away from you. 

"I'll not touch you unless you want it," he said as he watched you sit up and turn around to face him. "How about that?" 

"Show me your tattoos first," you said shyly. "I know you have them."

"I've just the one," he said as his hands dropped and he pulled his shirt off, throwing it in his lap before his hands returned outstretched to his sides. 

You eyed the sun on his chest. You squirmed in your seat with the urge to touch it. You finally gave in, hesitantly reaching out and running your fingers over it. Tommy watched you and smiled. 

"And yours?" He said with a raised eyebrow. 

You looked up through your eyelashes at him and hesitated before you mustered up your courage and dropped the front of your dress and slip. 

Tommy's eyes widened as he saw your breasts, and his eyes narrowed when he realized in between them on your breastbone was a tattoo of a bullet. You both froze for a moment, and you became more self conscious as time passed. You reached for his shirt in front of you, slipping it over your head as you stood off the bed to step out of your dress. 

"I knew this was a bad idea," you muttered as you paced. "I'll go sleep downstairs. I'll --"

"(Y/N)," Tommy said and stood from the bed and grabbed your wrist. "Listen to me." 

"No that was--"

"Why do you have a bullet with your own name on it on your chest?" Tommy said quietly as he pulled you into him. 

"Because no one's allowed to break my heart but me," you said fiercely as you looked into his eyes.

He smiled before he kissed you softly. You immediately melted into him. 

"It's stupid," you whispered as you pulled away, losing steam. "Stupid thoughts of a stupid girl." 

"No," Tommy rumbled. "It's a good reminder. I'm glad I know it. It's fresh."

"Just healed," you laughed mirthlessly before looking down to the floor. Anything to get away from his blue eyes.

Silence. Tommy touched your shoulder before he cupped your cheek. 

"Let's be off to bed, then, yeah?" He said softly. 

"Yeah," you sounded.

----

Finn burst through the door at first light, making you both jump. Tommy held you to his chest as he reached for the nightstand.

"Tommy Tommy we still haven't found (Y/N)--" Finn started before skidding to a halt right in front of the bed. He eyed you clinging to Tommy's bare chest, Tommy's hand around your bare back. At some point in the night, you had overheated and thrown off Tommy's shirt but continued to cuddle with him, enjoying the skin contact. The high and the whiskey had made touch all the more enjoyable in the haze of your mind.

"Fuck off, Finn," Tommy said as he grabbed the ashtray on the nightstand, arm still holding you to his chest. 

"Why've we been searching all night if she's here?" Finn cried. 

"FUCK OFF, FINN," Tommy yelled and threw the ashtray at Finn's head, narrowly missing the teen as he ducked out of the room. 

You heard Finn huff on the stairs. 

"Oy, (Y/N)'s with Tommy upstairs," he yelled, presumably to the other brothers. 

"'Fuck off, Finn.' No one ever fucking respects me," he huffed loudly as he stomped down the stairs. 

Tommy held you in his arms, kissing the top of your head as you both chuckled. You hid your face in his chest and basked in the stillness for a moment. 

"Tommy," you said, raising your head from his chest to look into his eyes, "we should go downstairs to meet them. Tell them the search is over." 

His arm pressed you to him and he caressed your cheek for a moment. 

"I suppose you're right," he sighed softly.

You rolled off of him to let him swing his legs out of bed. You clung the sheets to your breasts as he went to his dresser and grabbed some clothes. 

"Here," Tommy said, throwing you a button up shirt and a pair of britches, "You can wear these home. Better than last night's dress."

You smiled, gathering the clothes and scooting out of bed to put them on. You swam in his clothing, but it smelled of him. You gathered your dress and folded it, holding it in front of you as Tommy touched your face and gave you one last kiss before leading you downstairs. You could feel his walls rebuilding with every step. He would be Thomas Shelby, leader of the Peaky Blinders, by the time he reached the bottom. Your night of being soft was done.

You both stopped at the foot of the stairs to see all three brothers about the kitchen area. Arthur and Finn were sitting at the table, and John looked like he had been pacing. You noticed the table was bare, but things were strewn across the floor. That must have been the noise before Tommy walked upstairs last night.

"(Y/N) was here when I arrived home," Tommy said, looking to each of his brothers. "She was in no condition to be left alone, so I didn't put out the call to stop the search."

"Of course you didn't, Tom," Arthur said through gritted teeth. 

"Looked to be naked when I walked in," Finn mouthed. 

"Finn, shut up," Arthur chastised.

"Is that how it is?" John said, pacing with his head down. 

"You might've seen the horse," Tommy taunted, "but I bet you never saw the other one. Not in that dark water late at night."

John flew at you both. He was across the room in a stride.

"We were looking all night!" John bellowed as he raised his fist and cracked Tommy's jaw, making him fall to the ground.

You immediately dropped to your knees with a shriek to see to Tommy, who looked up at John in shock as his tongue licked blood from his teeth. Your head whipped between the two men. They shared a look that you couldn't decipher. John looked at you broken before he shot Tommy a venomous glare and pointed at him. 

"Again, Tommy?" He said as his voice cracked and he lost steam. "A-fucking-gain?"

John stormed out of the house and slammed the door. Finn raised out of his seat to chase after him, but Arthur pulled him back down. 

"It's not for you to go after him," Arthur said as he looked over to you both pointedly. 

"Let him go," Tommy said, working his jaw. "Let him cool off first."

[heynikkiyousofine]

It’s a little late, but it’s still Sunday, so Chapter 2 is up and going, where we see Inuyasha and Kagome meet, but not the way you expect. Let me know what you think!

Taglist: @bitchywhisperswizard @sailorlolo @master2kboogaloo @enchantedink-ag @skelebeee @dukina @disneysooner @purplegirl152 @lifecolouredpurple @nerdfighteriac @julyzaa @kokomiapologist Like to be added to my tag list ☺️

Love and Flowers Chapter 2

Inuyasha gritted his teeth as the chilled November air hit his sensitive nose and shoved his hands into his pockets to stay a bit warmer, tugging the jacket around himself for warmth. His idea to walk to lunch sounded like a good idea until he realized how cold it was outside. Fall was heading into winter fast, he mused as he laid his ears down under his black beanie when another gust of air breezed past him. Feeling his phone vibrate in his back pocket, he decided he was close enough to the cafe where he was meeting Miroku, he could wait to answer it. He wanted to think more about this soulmate mark situation. It wasn’t exactly something he could hide, he knew that for sure, especially in the arena. But what about the other person? Would they want a hanyou for a soulmate? Why did he get a mark? It wasn’t like they were common anymore, most people deciding that they would find the love of their life on their own instead of waiting for so called soulmate mark. He knew so little about, so talking to his dad later might help, might not. Picking up his pace, he was so engrossed in his own thoughts, he didn’t see the young woman until it was too late.

“Ahhhh!!” A loud shriek filled the air, causing Inuyasha to pin his ears even farther down. The young woman hadn’t even looked up at him, focused on the hot coffee now all over her cream blouse and plum scarf. “Oh great…” she muttered. “Uh, I’m really sorry. I should’ve paid better attention. Uh, are you, okay?” He stuttered, ashamed and afraid. “Oh!” Her grey eyes quickly looked at him, a small blush forming across her cheeks. “I’m okay, I promise. I’m always running into people, did I get any coffee on you?” Inuyasha just shook his head, not knowing what else to say, afraid she might become even more disgusted at him., while she continued to ramble on. “Well good, I’m glad. I’m sorry for running into you.” “You’re good. Uh, I need to get going. You gonna be good?” He asked a little more confidently, not looking away from her gaze just yet. Those eyes were something else, he thought, shaking his head quickly to focus on the situation at hand. “Oh yes! I’ll grab a shirt from my friend inside, thank you.” She smiled at him brightly, her grey eyes shimmering. Nodding, he quickly turned away and headed around the block when he felt his phone vibrate once again in pocket. Where did that thought earlier come from? I didn’t even know that woman. Pulling it out, assuming to be Miroku again, he swiped up on his screen to see a text from him dad. “Your mother would like to know if you want to come over for dinner?” Responding a quick yes, he noticed the other text was from Miroku, saying he was running five minutes late and to go ahead and grab a seat. Sliding his phone away, he turned the corner to the brick cafe, as the young woman behind him rushed back into the coffee shop, both forgetting about the other for now. After changing into an extra shirt Sango had at the coffee shop, Kagome exited the public bathroom just as her phone began to ring in her purse. Quickly pulling it out, she swiped across the screen when she saw her mother’s contact appear. “Hey mama! What’s up?” She smiled to herself, always loving her conversations with the older woman. “Hello dear, I was wondering if you were still planning on coming over Saturday evening for dinner like usual?” “Yes! I’ll head over after my shift at the hospital, around 7, is that okay?” “Of course! Kagome? Is everything okay? You seem a bit frazzled.” Concern clear in her mother’s voice. Sighing a bit, Kagome began to tell her how she had yet again spilt coffee on her blouse while she was out running errands. Looking up as she finished her story, she saw Sango at the counter handing out drinks to customers, smiling. Waving quickly, mouthing a quick thank you to coffee shop owner, Kagome turned her attention back to her mother. “Oh my, well it’s a good thing you had extra clothing dear. Get to your errands, I’ll see in a few -“ “Mama?” Kagome interrupted before she hung up the phone. “Yes dear?” “Do you know anything about soulmate marks?” “The same stories you do, why do you ask?” Biting her lip, “Oh nothing, I was wondering a few things. Do you think Gramps has any books on the subject?” “I’m sure he does,” she began laughing quietly, “He has many folklores and legends in the shrine. Just ask him on Saturday.” “Thanks mama, I’ll see you Saturday.” Hanging up, Kagome signed, before wrapping her scarf around her neck again and waved goodbye, before heading out into he cold air once again. “Ah Inuyasha, thank you for waiting on me!” Miroku smiled at the grumpy hanyou as he settled in the seat across from him. “Should we go ahead and order, my friend?” “Yeah, yeah. How’s the wife and kids?” The silver haired man waved at him to go ahead as the waitress walked up. “They are good. The girls are turning three soon, of course, you’ll be invited to their party. Kin’u and Gyokuto asked about you this morning actually.” He responded, laughing heartily. The waitress returned with two steaming bowls, asked if they needed anything else and walked away, giving the two men some privacy. “Alright, alright. What did you wanna discuss?” Inuyasha asked as he began to dig into his ramen, while Miroku reached for his spoon. Ignoring the rudeness of his client, they began to discuss business details and Saturday’s upcoming fight against a certain wolf demon. “Koga’s gonna try and deter the fight isn’t he?” Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he asked. “Yes, he thinks he’s going to be beat you easily, since you’re a half-demon and all. He thinks this will be an easy win. You have been training correct?” “Yeah, Totosai’s been keep my training rigorous these days. The wolf’s got nothing on me.” “Good, good. Say, Inuyasha, when did you get a tattoo?” Looking up, golden eyes watched as indigo towards his neck, at the branches that had began to peek out from underneath the jacket. Quickly zipping his hoodie back up despite it being warm inside, he looked around to make sure no one heard their conversations, ears flicking beneath his beanie. Deciding it was safe, he leaned forward. “I got one a few days ago, it covers my back. I wanted to ask you about it. It won’t be a problem for Saturday will it?” “Not at all my friend, I was just curious.” Miroku responded quickly, his hands raising up, a mischievous smile spreading. “This won’t be a problem.” “Okay, I gotta go, lunch is on me. I’ll see you Saturday.” Inuyasha threw a couple of twenties on the table, slapping the grinning man’s shoulder as he headed towards the door. He headed south, towards his apartment, needing to change into something more acceptable before heading to his parents this evening. Kagome sighed as she once again stood in front of her mirror, after changing for the third time. She twirled around in her forest green dress, knowing she would just wear a sweater over it, but couldn’t figure anything to do with her hair. She decided wearing it down might be best, so she could cover the mark that was high up on her neck. Looking at herself, she couldn’t help but study her appearance. She didn’t think she was anything to look at. Her eyes were always an odd color, but had always attracted attention. So why did she get a soulmate mark? What was so special about her? It was almost time for her to leave to make it to dinner with her boyfriend. All day, she had managed to avoid his texts, saying she was busy with errands. She technically was, but she didn’t like lying to him. She had decided early this morning that she would straight up ask him about soulmate marks, if he had received on too. She liked the guy. Bankotsu was good to her, made her feel cherished. When he wasn’t flying as a pilot, he made sure he took her out on the town. She was afraid of how to break up with him if he didn’t have a mark, knowing how she felt inside. To her, love was passionate and meant to be. She saw love from her parents, before her father had died when she was young, in their actions and gentle smiles towards each other. She saw the love in Sango and Miroku expressions whenever they play fought or shared a special secret. She was hopeless romantic at an early age. Her high school boyfriend, Hojo, was sweet and caring, but she ultimately ended it with him because there was no passion in it. Heading off to nursing school, she had met Hiten, and had that fiery passion, losing herself to him many nights. In the end though, he only cared about her body, not her feelings and had reveled he slept with most of the dance squad while they were dating. Starting her most recent job at the local hospital, she met Bankotsu one night while he was in town at a bar with Sango and Miroku, they had been together on and off for a few years, Bankotsu never stepping forward with commitment. Kagome didn’t think she wanted to marry him. Maybe it was time to end things with him indefinitely anyways, soulmate mark or not. Sighing to herself, she slid into her black ballet flats before grabbing her purse, cashmere sweater and black scarf before heading out the door. Kagome reached the restaurant quickly, despite her taxi getting stuck in traffic. Reaching for brass handle, she saw Bankotsu inside, gathering herself, she stepped inside.

[happikattwuzheere]

was gonna try and do multiple characters in one post but nope! i have too much to say. also the pictures are all different sizes so its rly hard to get the photoset to look appealing, so we’re starting w/ blue. and also a colored pic of what adam looks like when he’s not a deer. boy’s tryin not to stand out. which goes great up for him right up until it doesn’t. lmao. i’ll talk a bit about him too w/ stuff that didnt get mentioned in the starter post about him and gansey, but this is mostly gonna be about blue. 

SO. 

there’s this fey entity, right? i don’t have a name for them, but they’re not...they didnt START the fey/human conflict, but they are benefiting from it, politically speaking? and when maura was younger, despite other witches being like “girl dont choose sides, we’re witches, we guard boundaries but we don’t choose sides,” was hotheaded and brash and went “ok but fuck that though” and one thing led to another and she ended up getting a curse on her firstborn. Oops. that’s where the kissing curse comes from, here; i’ll get into that much later in a text post probably but gansey’s survivor’s guilt thing doesnt come from him actually dying in this au it’s from something Else, but blue will still kill him if she kisses him, just, for different reasons, it’s an actual curse this time and not something to do with the nature of who they both are. 

her father’s still a tree light, but like, she actually knows that from the outset? because. they live in cabeswater. the tree lights are all around and accept her as one of their own even if she can’t turn into a tree, and as a result of that, she’s got some cool perks. 

a) extremely resistant and/or outright immune to a Lot of fey bullshit 

b) still boosts psychic energies and magical powers like in canon

c) the absolute safest person to be traveling in cabeswater ever, because the forest itself loves her, and also if you mess with her within the borders of cabeswater a bunch of tree lights will physically manifest and be like “hey buddy wanna think twice about that”

but she can’t use magic herself, still, which actually works in the favor of herself and the coven--witchcraft is in a sort of weird spot, culturally, where it’s both feared and often hated, but also understood to at times be necessary, especially by rural peoples like those of the village. im taking a very discworld spin on the witchcraft, because i love discworld and you can’t stop me, and so the attitude is, like. its frightening ancient magic and the church hates it but when there’s an emergency and someone’s on the border between life and death, or something is trying to pass into this world from another, etc etc etc, then you gotta suck it up and call on a witch because they’re the only ones who can deal with those things. so. the coven is tolerated, both because it’s too big and powerful to actually fight but also because it’s extremely needed when you live in a village right next door to fey lands. you NEED someone watching the border. however that doesn’t mean anyone wants to be seen publicly talking to a witch--but blue’s not a witch. she’s a witch’s daughter, but she’s not a witch herself, which is a step removed enough that she can go into town and run errands and also people will maybe pull her discretely aside and tell her if something’s coming up that the coven should know about, and it all works very neatly with her acting as a sort of liaison. very important role she plays, which is why gansey tries talking to her after his initial attempt to speak with the coven directly fails. 

speaking of the coven itself: i’ve been calling it the fox way coven, even tho it probably wouldn’t be called that because there’s no road called fox way that the coven is built on, it’s a big magic house out in the fairy forest, BUT they do have a fox theme because i love foxes and this is a gift i have been given. if people have familiars in this coven, they’re foxes rather than cats, because as wonderful as cats are u cant have them and foxes in the same house that will go bad. but also there’s a v small number of them, like maybe three or four total out of the much higher number of women living there, who are fey blooded like adam, but who become foxes rather than adam’s deer. persephone is one of these! (it’s worth noting the reason why they become the same animal is because of a combination of coincidence, intentional theming, and mostly just because like, virtually all of the residents there aside from persephone are related to either maura or calla) 

anyway the point is, because of this, blue’d seen enough feyblood transformations that when, one day when she was 9 or 10, on a visit to town, she saw the most distressed, disoriented fawn wobbling around frantically and was able to very quickly recognize that that was, in fact, a person who had probably turned into a deer for the first time, and responded by very calmly informing him that she knew who could help and leading him home. this is where those last two pictures come from, and how adam’s apprenticeship started. 

like, there was a lot of arguing from the witches immediately--of course we’re going to teach him how to become human again but we aren’t really going to take him on in the coven are we? he’s a boy, he’s some local kid we know nothing about, what happened to keeping it in the family, he’s the wrong animal and we’ve got a whole thing going on--at which point persephone parted everyone like the red sea, took one look at adam, went “mine now” and despite a lot of grumbling that was the end of it. she took him on a bit of a tour of cabeswater a few days later, after he’d had time to think it over, and he felt so drawn to the forest that he agreed to the apprenticeship.

so he’s technically persephone’s apprentice but like in actual practice he’s being taught by the entire coven lmao, ANYWAY

adam being adam also had a backup plan for trying to get out of the village--even at ten he figured witchcraft might be a first way out of there, he was already thinking about it, but by thirteen when the good ole abuse started (and at which point the last whispers of dissent died out very quickly amongst the coven, nope, adam is one of us now, do you want us to very threateningly hang out in your front yard sometime because we can do that--what do you mean no, let us do this,) he was also like. i dont think this is a guarantee of getting out of here i need a second job. and the thing is, as was mentioned in the original post, the fey blood also means adam’s got issues with iron; it’ll poison him if he’s stabbed with it but it also reacts to his skin touching it like a hot stove. he’s fine if there’s a layer between his skin and the iron, but if he touches it directly, it’s Bad. so ofc this headstrong idiot takes an open spot a t a metalworker’s in the village because adam is the king of making bad decisions. the witches have a betting pool on how long it’ll take him to out himself. “its fine i’ll wear gloves,” he says. “it’s the perfect disguise no one will expect someone with fey connections to work near so much iron,” he says. “i have everything perfectly under control,” he says.

anyway he totally forgets to wear gloves before grabbing an iron tool while his dad and his boss are both in the store and in clear view of him and that’s why he was getting chased by hunters when gansey rescued him 

also he and blue tried dating when they were like 13-14 and it ended about as badly as in canon and they made up later and by the time the story starts they’ve settled into very much being weird siblings. adam starts hanging out with gansey initially to try and basically spy on him, figure out why he’s here, but ends up rly liking the guy and deciding his reasons are sincerely to try and help people, and he tells this to blue who starts immediately accusing him of having a crush on the lordling and being a class traitor, because she does NOT like gansey at this point and really the nobility all prefer wizards to witches which is a stupid idiot decision and frankly the fact that this lordling is apparently enamored by some random deer is hilarious to her, but even moreso is the fact that adam actually defends the lordling to her, like, “wow adam its hilarious that the lordling’s friend thinks that you have charmed the lordling because from my perspective it looks the other way around” “shut uuuup you’re not listening im serious, like, yeah ok he put his foot in his mouth really hard when he talked to you but im telling you i dont think the whole i-wanna-understand thing is an act” “idk if i can trust you through those rose tinted glasses buddy. tell me again about that time he called you princely?” “oh my god” 

this is turning into rambling but. thats the gist of the witches and blue esp thank u for coming if u made it this far here’s a bonus persephone fox 

[bonelessbloodfreak]

WILLOW

a destiel fic, 2192 words, T, love confessions, based on Taylor Swift obviously 😌

Summary: Dean and Cas find comfort in each other, finally having the space and time to build their happiness around each other. They’re in love. It’s what they deserve. They just have to figure out how to say it.

Link: ao3

“You’re everywhere Cas.” Dean says, and Cas doesn’t have the energy to try to understand what he means. It sounds an awful lot like a complaint, but Dean wasn’t complaining about Cas. Not really.

“So you want me to leave then?” Cas says, more of a statement then a question, looking up at Dean with a piercing gaze. Although the bite of the question is there, Cas finds that he’s able to keep his expression blank, unwilling to let Dean see the extent of his emotions. He’s not offended though.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Dean grumbles, he crosses the room with a hand running through his hair. Cas tilts his head up like he’s challenging that statement and Dean sighs. “I want you here, Cas. Of course I do.”

“So why don’t you act like it?”

“I’m- Fuck Cas, I’m not good at... at-“

“Wanting something for yourself.” Cas finishes for him. Dean looks scared, but he doesn’t deny it.

“I want you here. And I’m sorry if I made you feel like you didn’t.”

“I understand, Dean. You’re selfless to a fault. You gave everything you had to Sam, you’ve sacrificed your life for strangers even when they don’t deserve your kindness. You deserve some good for yourself. It’s not repayment, it’s not because of anything. It’s just because you’re human, you get to be selfish too sometimes.”

“Cas Im plenty selfish.”

“Not with things like this,”

“What is this?”

“You tell me,” Cas lifts an eyebrow. He’s hesitant too though. He’s nervous. Dean licks his lips and nods to himself before looking right at Cas.

“I want you here Cas. But I want you to want to be here.”

Cas gazes at Dean softly, his smile gentle. Looking at Dean, he has every freckle committed to memory. He has Dean Winchester memorized. He could get lost in looking at Dean. He has many times before.

He looks desperate, his eyes hopeful and scared and a little bit angry. His face is the most open Cas has seen from him in a while, he’s letting himself feel, but even more, he’s letting Cas see. He’s still as beautiful as ever. Still Dean Winchester. Maybe this is his breaking point, and maybe he’s already hit his breaking point. Maybe this is the beginning of rebuilding. That makes Cas heart flutter up in hope.

“I want to be here Dean.” Cas says. Dean nods finally and offers a sincere, but tight smile.

“Good. You’re staying.” So Cas drops his duffel bag back on his bed and nods. He’s still not sure this is the best decision, but he looks at a Dean again and thinks that if Dean never stops looking at him like that, he’ll never try to walk away again. He wants this. Of course he does, but he knows Dean and he knows he’s not going to get it.

Maybe it was selfish of him to want someone who so clearly isn’t ready for this, but Cas is tired of being selfless. Like he told Dean, they could both use some selfishness on the grand scale. Cas thinks Dean is pretty grand. And maybe he’s wrong. Maybe Dean is ready.

He thought leaving, even if only for a few weeks, would save him some hurt. Maybe it would give him the space to get over Dean in his newly human form. It had all hit him at once and it left Cas feeling bare and shaken. Now graceless, he couldn’t control his desires, he couldn’t regulate his body the way he used to be able to. He couldn’t stop his cheeks from flushing when Dean smiled at him. He couldn’t stop his heart from jumping when Dean hugged him. He couldn’t stop goosebumps rising on his arms when Dean let his hand rest on his back.

Then they had fought. It was stupid and petty, but Cas took it as an excuse to get some space. Get ahold of his emotions because he knows getting over Dean is out of the question.

Dean doesn’t let him leave. Cas is glad.

Dean nods, Cas Can see the hesitation and the fear and the hope and guilt and... everything. He can feel the way Dean has been ripped apart countless times, every day since he was four years old. Cas feels like he’s been torn apart as well. They can smooth over their scars together, heaven and hell know they themselves have been the reason for some of them.

The next few days are still tense, but not with anger. Dean seems to have realized that an emotional boundary was crossed and Cas has realized it too. Dean isn’t ignoring him anymore, for which he’s glad, and he values spending time with Dean, even if every glance sets his heart on fire.

Dean teaches Cas to cook and soon enough they’re moving around the kitchen together like they were made for each other. They still haven’t acknowledged it, but Dean puts his hand on Cas’ hip when he goes around him, and Cas lets Dean feed the sauce to him when he taste tests it, rather than simply taking the spoon himself.

Then they’re going on errands together, Dean says he needs to show Cas how they do things, show him which brand of shampoo they like and where to find the good beer. But then Dean continues to accompany Cas, just because it takes half the time with two people and when Cas finds some odd organic snack to try, Dean gets to bicker with him about it.

Dean let’s Cas drive sometimes, and he says not to tell Sam. He also says not to tell Sam that they rotate who chooses the music, and that sometimes on Deans turn, he chooses Taylor Swift.

Cas can only imagine how they must look to the world around them. Like they’re falling apart, crashing and burning, going out in loud explosions of light and dust and fire. Like they’re falling into each other rather than apart. They’re crashing down, but they’re building a new foundation on the debris. They’re communicating for once, and they must look like they’re late to the game, maybe this should have happened years ago, but for once they’re self sacrificial relationship has become healthier.

They’re moving, but they’re moving together, roots strongly woven into the ground, going far deeper than anyone might expect. Or maybe everyone expected it.

Cas has nightmares now that he’s human. He knows Dean does too, but neither of them seek comfort with each other. Another line to cross. Sometimes they talk about it. Dark kitchens and cold coffee and whispered tears with shaking hands. It’s over quick and when they end up in their separate beds, it’s feels even more lonely somehow.

One night Cas has his head on his pillow, eyes closed, he’s on his side facing away from the door, but he hasn’t slept yet. He hears the door open and he can feel the shift of air. He doesn’t need to look to know it’s Dean. He’s about to sit up when the floorboards creak and the door clicks shut again. Then there’s a dip in the bed and Cas rolls over lazily. Dean stands up again and wipes his palms on his pajama pants.

“Sorry.” He whispers. Cas squints up at him in the dark and lifts the blankets for him.

There’s only a moment where Cas can almost hear all of Deans thoughts, if only he were still an angel, before Dean crawls under the covers next to Cas. He keeps space between them, but Cas is too tired for his shit, he throws an arm around Dean’s waist and rubs his hand over Dean’s shoulder.

“Nightmare?”

“Yeah,” he says. Cas knows he doesn’t want to talk about it, so he just nods and pulls Dean closer.

They both fall asleep easier that night.

In the morning, Cas wakes up to a hand in his hair and an arm around his shoulders. Dean is awake and Cas guesses he has been for a little while now.

“Morning.” Cas grumbles and Dean chuckles.

“G’morning,” he whispers.

They go on a hunt that day. A ghoul a few hours away. Sam and Eileen ride in the backseat together so Cas takes shotgun and Dean lets him pick the music. He puts on Dean’s top 13 Zepp traxx.

When they get back it’s past dinner and they all shower and clean up which means it’s late by the time they’re all settled, but Dean cooks a meal anyway, calling Jack from his room and they all eat at ten pm together.

The hunt was tiring, so Sam and Eileen go right to sleep, Jack takes over the Dean-cave and Dean lets him. He isn’t ready to go to bed, so he gets his jacket and goes outside.

He sits in baby for a little while, no planning on going anywhere. Cas joins him, tapping on the window to let Dean know he’s there before he climbs into the passenger seat.

“What are you doing?” Cas asks.

“Sitting.”

“For any reason in particular?”

“Not really.”

So they sit together in silence. It’s not sad, actually they feel happy for the first time in a while. Cas let’s himself think about it, this feeling. Dean makes him happy. Dean has always made him happy. The silence doesn’t last long though, and this time it’s Dean who interrupts it.

“Thank you. For staying. For saving me. And Sam. For... just for everything.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Dean. I’m happy to do all of that.”

“I know. But I don’t want you to, okay? No more ‘happy to bleed for the winchesters’ shit, got it? You don’t deserve that. I’m not gonna ask that of you, not if I don’t need to. You gotta take care of yourself, man. I appreciate it, but I’d rather have you alive, so no more sacrifices.”

“No promises. And you too.”

“Fone.” Dean nods. “No deals, no dying, just... living. Finally, now that we get the chance.”

“I think we deserve this.” Cas nods.

“I hope so. You deserve more than this,”

“I don’t want more than this though.” Cas says. Dean smiles and nods like he knew Cas would say that.

“I’m glad you stayed.”

“I would’ve come back.”

“Still.”

“I’m glad I stayed too.”

They look forward again and there’s not much to see, but the quiet is comforting. Neither of them want to go back inside, it would mean they go to separate beds and separate rooms and Cas thinks he’d rather not sleep at all.

“It’s late.” Cas whispers.

“It is.”

“Do you think you’ll have nightmares again?”

“Probably.” Dean shrugs. They aren’t looking at each other, Dean is picking at his fingernails and Cas is staring down at the dashboard.

“Me too.”

“We could always... I mean... it’s nice to have someone else there sometimes.”

“It is.” Cas agrees.

“I like my memory foam though.”

“I have no attachment to my bed.” Cas shrugs.

“Good.”

“Good.”

Cas looks at Dean who still doesn’t look back, but he’s smiling and blushing and Cas is secretly aching to reach across the seat and hold Dean’s hand. Begging Dean to take his hand. Cas would throw all his plans out the window for Dean. Technically he has before. He’s thrown out a whole army for Dean. He would do it again too. He’d follow Dean to the ends of the Earth.

Cas gets the sense that Dean would do the same for Cas.

Dean looks back at him and neither of them look away. He reaches out and takes his hand. Thumb smoothing over his knuckles.

They head back inside and they don’t talk about it, but Dean loads up the dishes into the dishwasher and Cas wipes down the counters and then Dean turns and leans back against the counter, Cas does the same across from him.

They’re not quite chest to chest, but they’re close enough to touch and Dean looks scared. Cas feels serene, but his heart is wild. Dean swallows.

“Cas, I-“

Cas reaches a hand to Dean’s arm, calming him. Dean smiles shakily.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers. Cas shakes his head and takes Deans hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing his knuckles gently.

“Don’t be. You’ve always done what you thought was best. As have I. We deserve this.” Dean nods, tears springing to his eyes. He steps closer and hugs Cas, holding him like he’s never been held before. Cas could die happily in Deans arms.

When he pulls away, it’s with hands on the other’s face and lips quickly finding each other, gentle and slow and full of emotion.

“I love you, Dean Winchester”

“I love you too,” Dean says, voice cracking.

They’re both grinning through tears and kissing again. They’re both walking towards Dean’s room.

It’s easy, but Cas isn’t surprised at how easy it is to be with Dean. They’ve fought through life and death and more death to get here. They deserve a little bit of easy.

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Sand In Your Shoes

2 YEARS LATER 

He lets himself have few pleasures these days.

Hiding from the Empire as a wanted man means that the comforts he knew on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple are, for the most part, long behind him. 

Now, there is sand, and there is his little hut in the middle of nowhere. 

And there is his very old caff maker. 

Which is broken. 

This will not stand.

A fresh cup of caf every other day is one of his few indulgences, and by the Force, Obi-Wan Kenobi will not be denied.

So Obi-Wan Kenobi packs up his caf maker, and hops on the bantha he’s been using to get around (he’s lost his left leg, and getting around is still difficult even with the mech replacement two years later), and rides into Mos Espa. 

He’s heard some of the farmers talk about there being a little fixit shop on the far edge of town that does marvelous work, quickly and for reasonable prices. 

That seems nice. 

When he gets into Mos Espa, he leaves his bantha and heads slowly towards the edge of the city, and the little fixit shop with it's big window in front and dusty sign that reads "repairs."

When Obi-Wan steps in, he finds an incredibly tall woman in lightweight clothing, her long, dark hair swept up away from her face. She's clearly Hapan, though how she got all the way out here, Obi-Wan wouldn't know.

How anyone winds up on this giant sand trap of a planet…

Suddenly he misses rain. And snow. And Satine and Anakin and Ahsoka and everything all at once. 

Amazing how the grief hits at inopportune times. 

"Can I help you?" The woman asks, stepping away from the shelf of electronics she's organizing. 

Obi-Wan shakes himself out of his thoughts. "Er...yes. Yes, please, I…" he fumbles around clumsily in his sack, pulling the caf maker out. "If there is any way to repair my caf maker…"

She nods and gives him a surprisingly kind grin. It looks out of place on her rough features, but it's welcome. "Of course, of course. My repair tech for today is running late, but should be here soon. Have a seat."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan nods gratefully, and carefully sits on one of the benches carved into the building, looking around. 

“While we wait, I’ll start a ticket for you,” The Hapan woman says, stepping behind the counter and pulling out a beat-up old datapad. “Name?” 

“Er...Ben,” he tells her. “Ben Kenobi.” 

She nods and types it in. “Broken caf maker...I’m guessing this is a job you’d like done as soon as possible?” 

Obi-Wan grins sheepishly. “Yes. Yes, please.” He takes a breath. “Is this your shop?” 

“Mhm,” she tells him as she keeps typing into the datapad. “Been here about ten years now.”

“That’s quite a good run,” he comments. 

“Well, we’re good at what we do around here,” she tells him. She huffs and checks the chrono on the wall. “Except, apparently, for timeliness.” 

“Is your technician often late?” Obi-Wan asks conversationally. 

“Ah, he’s got a two-year-old,” she waves a hand with a slightly annoyed grin. “Single dad. I try to be understanding about it.” 

Obi-Wan nods. Padme’s twins would be around that age now. He hopes they’re at least doing alright. The last time he saw Padme, she was holding her newborn babies. 

Anakin’s babies. 

When he’d heard the transmission from Mandalore...that both Ahsoka and Anakin had died under Order 66, he had broken down into tears for his apprentices. 

No. 

His family. 

Those days just before leaving Coruscant for the last time had been…

“Sorry I’m late! Li Sh’ka.” 

It’s a deep, clear voice that rings through the shop. One Obi-Wan can’t believe he’s hearing.

“Finally!” the woman - Li Sh’ka, snaps with a chuckle. “Where have you been?” 

“Luke had a blow-out,” the man says as he settles a little boy onto the counter. “We’ve been working on potty training but so far, he’s a little afraid of the toilet.” 

Obi-Wan watches the man in wonder. He has deeply tanned skin, and short, blond hair. Tall, and blue-eyed. 

One arm.

Scar bisecting one of his eyes. 

Obi-Wan opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out as the man continues not to notice him.

“Kids,” Li Sh’ka grunts joking. “I gotta make a run across town. In the meantime, we’ve gotta customer with a busted caf maker.” She grins at Obi-Wan. “You’re in good hands, Ben.” 

He manages the slightest of nods, his eyes still trained on the new arrivals. 

As Li Sh’ka leaves, the man snaps up the datapad as the little boy lays down on the counter. 

“Hot,” he says. 

“I know, buddy,” the man says as he reads over the information. “We’ll get some water after I’ve finished helping Ben Ke-” 

He stops. His eyes slowly lift from the datapad to the bench, wide, disbelieving. “No...bi…” 

Obi-Wan shakes as he gets to his feet, his mech leg feeling heavier than ever. He somehow manages to get words out, though he has no idea how. “You mean to tell me,” he croaks. “That you have been here the whole time?” 

The man - who is absolutely Anakin Skywalker - just keeps staring. 

“Hi,” the little boy says, sitting up. “Hi.” 

Obi-Wan takes a deep, cleansing breath and wishes for about the sixth time that morning that he could reach into the Force and gather his calm. “Hello there,” he says, smiling at the little boy. 

“Daddy says hi,” the little boy tells him solemnly. 

Anakin drops the datapad and quickly hops over the counter, bum rushing Obi-Wan and flinging his arm around him, causing the older man to stumble backward. 

“I knew you were alive,” Anakin sniffles against his shoulder. “I knew it.” 

It takes Obi-Wan a long moment to return the embrace, his eyes still wide with shock. “My caf maker is broken,” he says in a horse tone. 

Anakin gives a watery laugh and pulls away, patting the other man’s shoulder. “Hand it over.” 

“Where is your other arm?” Obi-Wan asks as he hands it over. 

“Around,” Anakin tells him, stepping back behind the counter. “Luke, this is your uncle Obi-” 

“Ben,” Obi-Wan snaps. “I’m going by Ben now.” 

Anakin nods slowly and sets the caf maker down on the counter. “Ben. Your Uncle Ben.” 

Luke lights up and flings his little arms into the air. “Unca!” 

Obi-Wan smiles sadly and strokes Luke’s shaggy hair. “Yes, I remember you. I was there when you were born. Little one.” 

Anakin looks at him with such emotion. “I’m so glad,” he says quietly. “That one of us was there for Padme.” 

Obi-Wan swallows. “We...we have so much to talk about.” 

“We do,” Anakin nods as he gets to work, his hand shaking a little. “But I’ve got an entire day’s work to get through before we can. Where are you even living?” 

“Past the Jundland Wastes.” 

Anakin gives a low whistle. “That’s far.” 

“Why? Where are you living?” Obi-Wan asks, looking concerned. 

“The other end of Mos Espa.” 

“Anakin!” 

“I have a toddler,” he says. “I need to be near resources, and I know how to hide in crowds. I barely look like I used to anyway.” 

“You could be staying on the Larrs farm,” Obi-Wan says. 

“That’d go well,” Anakin grumbles as he keeps working. “Obi-Wan, really. I have this covered.” 

“Yes, until the inquisitors get here,” Obi-Wan grumbles. 

Anakin lifts an eyebrow at his old master. “And which one of us is still wearing his old Jedi robes?” 

Obi-Wan’s mouth closes.

Anakin smiles widely. “I missed you, Master.” 

Luke reaches out and tugs on Obi-Wan’s outer robes. “Blankie.” 

“He’s been sleeping with mine as a blanket since he was a baby,” Anakin explains as he keeps working on the caf maker. 

“Back!” Li Sh’ka calls as she steps back in. “How is the repair going?” 

“Fine!” Anakin says quickly. “There’s just some sand where there shouldn’t be. A good clean-out..maybe replace one of the grinders. We should be good to go.” 

“Good,” Li Sh’ka nods, grinning at Obi-Wan. “Parts and labor, that’ll be fifty credits.” 

“A fair price,” Obi-Wan nods, fumbling with his pack again. 

“Li Sh’ka, Ben is an old friend of mine,” Anakin tells her. “I had no idea he was in town until I looked up and saw him.” 

“Oh yeah?” Li Sh’ka says, looking at Anakin. She then turns to Luke. “He a friend, bud?” 

Luke, again, raises his arms in excitement. “Unca!” 

She laughs and ruffles Luke’s hair. “Okay. Naberrie. You can knock five off the price for him.” 

Obi-Wan gives his former apprentice a judgemental look, mouthing ‘Naberrie?’ 

 “Maybe he can take Luke out for a walk while we’re working.” 

“I’d...I’d rather not,” Anakin says. “I heard there’s some bounty hunters in town this week, and you know Luke. He says hi to everyone.” 

Li Sh’ka nods, chuckling a little. “I suppose that’s true. We wouldn’t want him getting sold to the Hutts.” 

“No,” Anakin says grimly. “No we wouldn’t.” 

“No,” Luke repeats. “No no.” 

Li Sh’ka nods. “You okay manning the fort? I’ve got a few more errands to run. I’ll bring back some lunch.” 

“Sounds good,” Anakin nods. “We’ll be here.” 

Once she leaves again, Obi-Wan gives him a pointed look. “Naberrie? Really? You don’t think that’s suspicious?” 

“Me? you’re the one who didn’t even bother changing your last name,” Anakin hisses. “ Ben Kenobi? You don’t think that’s a little noticeable?” 

He waves a dismissive hand. “Are there really bounty hunters in town?” Obi-Wan asks. 

“We’re on Tatooine. There are always bounty hunters.” 

Obi-Wan grins just a little, and watches Anakin as he pokes and prods at the caf maker. He feels both younger and older than he has in years. Watching Anakin tinker with some electronics just like old times...but with Anakin’s two-year-old son watching as well, it almost feels like a completely new experience. 

He smiles anyway.