daizedndconfused

[daizedndconfused]

please continue band on the run!!! it was toooo good!! but in the mean time, maybe some cole angst? 🤭

can’t remember to forget you

a/n: aww tysmm i will!! pt 2 is in the works fs. i’ve never done angst so i hope this is okay?? i kinda just ran with whatever.

characters: cole brookstone x fem!reader

type: angst

warnings: hurt no comfort

synopsis: you and cole need to move on

word count: 1.8k

He was there when you left work. And when you went to get bubble tea after work. And while you ran tedious errands. Only when you stepped into the threshold of your apartment complex did the weight of his gaze disappear.

You never saw him, though you didn’t expect to. Being stealthy was the basis of his entire job after all. But he could never hide from you. You were with him long enough to know when he was tailing you.

So far it was mostly weekends and two or three weekdays. There were many times you wanted to confront him but in the end you could never actually bring yourself to face him. You still weren’t sure if it was for your benefit or his.

In the back of your mind you knew it wasn’t healthy. It had been three months after all since you’d last spoken and it seemed neither of you was keen on moving on. But that didn’t mean you wanted to get back together. You had your reasons for walking out of your relationship, reasons you had still yet to disclose to your friends.

Sparing a glance out your window, you saw the silhouette of a dragon getting smaller and smaller, its back turned against the city.

The worst thing about both dating and breaking up with a ninja was that they were everywhere. It was like breaking up with your coworker–no matter what you would see them at least once a day whether you liked it or not.

I’ll do it tomorrow, you convinced yourself. Tomorrow, you’d finally tell him to stop shadowing you.

It wasn’t like he followed you every hour of every day, usually just when you were alone on the street. It was like he was making sure you got to wherever you were going safely since he couldn’t physically walk with you anymore like he used to.

“Cole?” you startled, blinking rapidly at the sight of your boyfriend leaning against the outer wall of your office.

He looked up, his hazel eyes lit up as they landed on you. “Hi, gorgeous!” Cole bounded over to you and scooped you up in his arms giving you a quick twirl before he set you down gently.

“What–what are you doing here?” you asked. “Shouldn’t you be patrolling?”

It certainly looked like he should be–clad in his gi, Cole threaded your fingers together and led the two of you through the crowded city.

“I am,” he responded. “I’m making sure this lovely citizen gets to her favorite bubble tea place okay.”

Fighting a smile you raised a brow. “I’ve never had bubble tea.”

“Hence why this place will be your favorite,” he said confidently, leaning down to kiss the top of your head.

You shook your head with a quiet giggle. “How do you think Wu will feel when he finds out you spent patrol with me?”

“Don’t worry,” Cole winked, “he doesn’t have to know.”

“Cole,” you said sternly.

“Trust me,” he said as the shop came slowly into view. “I’ve got the police station in my ear at all times. If something comes up I’ll know about it.”

You shot him a skeptical look but he chose to ignore it and instead dragged you into the shop.

Ever since then, your daily routine after work has been to head there hand in hand as you talked about your work drama over boba you never thought you’d like.

You didn’t confront him the next day. Or the day after. In fact, the days started to stretch into weeks and though Cole still tailed you from time to time the frequency became less. You hoped that meant he was moving on.

Especially since you had a date that night. It was with a friend of your coworker’s you had met a few times when you all went out after a particularly tough day. You had seen him a handful of times since your break up with Cole.

One day, he asked you to dinner. You had no reason to deny and so here you were, in the nicer part of the city at an equally nice restaurant with a handsome man sitting across from you making you laugh like you hadn’t in months. You almost forgot what it was like to enjoy someone else’s company like this.

You assumed you would have had more fun if you didn’t feel the constant suffocation knowing Cole could see you from the large windows surrounding the restaurant.

There was no reason to feel guilty, you knew that. It had been almost four months, you had every right to go on a date. It was just hard. And it felt wrong.

Your date was the epitome of the perfect gentleman as he walked you home and ended the night with a soft kiss on your lips. After he turned to leave, you all but ran inside and made it to the safety of your apartment in record time.

You took your time changing into your pajamas and making yourself a cup of tea. Once the kettle had started to scream at you and you had a warm cup in your hands, you made your way to the window leading out to the bright city lights of Ninjago.

Heaving a sigh, you lifted the frame and propped yourself up on the sill, your back resting against the right side of the frame.

You gave him two minutes. Then five.

When he didn’t show himself you decided to take the initiative.

Tilting your head up slowly, your eyes landed on the dark figure sitting on the roof of your apartment building, legs hung over the side. You couldn’t see his face but you didn’t need to. You felt his hurt from four floors down.

“Come down,” you said softly into the night. Any normal person wouldn’t have heard you from this distance but Cole had never been normal.

The figure stood slowly before scaling the fire escape gracefully. Hooking his knees on the railing above you, you came face to face with an upside down Cole.

Your breath caught in your throat. This was the first time you had actually seen him in months. Your heartache crashed into you all over again.

“Hi, honey,” you whispered.

His hazel eyes tore away from you. With his mask and hood up, you couldn’t see the bottom half of his face but you committed each and every one of his facial expressions to memory. If you needed to, you could draw the type of frown that was currently hidden behind the dark fabric of his mask.

You waited a few more moments for him to speak. He didn’t.

You sighed softly through your nose, cradling your mug for comfort. “Cole, we need to talk.”

His eyes found yours once more.

Giving him a shaky smile you continued, “You can’t keep doing this.”

Cole’s expression turned pained. “Doing what?”

You shook your head softly at him before slowly reaching towards him. You waited for him to pull away, but when he didn’t you reached for the top of his mask and pulled it away from his face.

Cole's strikingly handsome face came into view, wearing the exact frown you had predicted.

You patted the spot on the window in front of your feet.

His eyes moved to the spot and slowly but surely he came to sit next to you.

“You know what,” you said. “You can’t keep tailing me. It’s not healthy–for either of us.”

Cole sighed and dropped his head, hands clenched atop of his strong thighs. “Is this because of your date tonight?”

“Among other things.” You held out your mug towards him as a peace offering.

His head lifted, but not by much as he looked from you to the mug. With a defeated shake of his head he accepted the tea and took a small sip.

“We’re really over?” His voice came out distant and hollow, void of all emotions. And when he looked at you his eyes were glossed with unshed tears.

You reached out slowly and squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry honey, I just couldn’t anymore.”

Cole’s grip on the mug tightened as he looked up into the sky.

“It’s just…” you bit your lip trying to find the right words. “I’m not cut out to date a ninja. I thought I was, but I think I just got distracted by you. And I know you tried to make it easier for me, but…”

You squeezed your eyes shut and turned your face away from him. You didn’t trust yourself not to cry if you looked back at him.

Dating a ninja was harder than you had thought. The euphoria of Cole’s presence washed away quickly once your face was plastered all over the internet, when he went off on dangerous missions for days at a time that you didn’t know he would return from, when dates were constantly cut short because someone just had to rob a bank at that moment.

You realize it must have hurt for him to realize his girlfriend was breaking up with him because she couldn’t keep up with his lifestyle, but it was the truth. You tried to stick it out for a couple months, but getting kidnapped was the last straw.

Some gang had learned of your relationship with Cole and got to you one day on your way home from the grocery store. It was quite possibly the most terrifying four days of your life. You broke up with Cole shortly after that.

“You need someone stronger than me,” you told him after finding your voice once more.

“I don’t want someone else,” he pleaded.

“But you need someone else.” Your voice broke mid sentence. “I can’t date a ninja and you can’t not be one–”

“But what if–”

“No,” you cut him off sternly. “You can’t quit. Not for me. I refuse to be the reason Ninjago is a ninja down. It’s not worth it. There’s only one you. There’s only one person who can do what you can. No one else commands the earth. The people need you. And I will too, but not as your girlfriend. Not anymore.”

Cole ran his hands through his dark hair. The same hair you ran your own fingers through when he’d come to your place after a particularly tough patrol.

“I’m sorry,” you sniffed, trying to make yourself smaller.

Eventually, Cole nodded and held out the now empty mug, making sure your fingers didn’t brush when you grabbed it.

“You’ll forget all about me one day,” you promised as he stood on the platform of the fire escape.

He didn’t look at you when he said, “No, I won’t. I can’t.”

Only when his dragon was out of sight did the tears start flowing down your face in a steady stream.

You went out with the same guy again. And again. And again. Despite yourself, you started to fall for him, in a completely different way then which you had fallen for Cole but the end result was all the same.

Since the day on your window, you never stepped foot in that tea shop again, and you could no longer sense the ghost of Cole watching over you. For better or worse, he had completely vanished from your life like dust in the wind.

[daizedndconfused]

Where still getting a part two of that Cole x reader story "thievin’" right 🥹...

yes you are!!! tbh it’s one of my favs i’ve written so far 😁🫶

[daizedndconfused]

Hi!! I don’t want to put any pressure on you but if you can, could you make a part 2 of the thief fic you made?!?! It was so good!! But once again don’t feel pressured!!

yesss ofcc!! this has been on my mind honestly and dw it will be happening (hopefully soon!!)

[daizedndconfused]

Friend, you’re about to be known as a Cole x reader blog, lmao….and I might contribute 👉👈. Feel free to ignore but if you’ll hear me out.

Imagine Reader and Cole go to visit his dad bc he wanted to meet Reader. His dad quickly realizes that Cole is head over heels with reader, but reader doesn’t seem to reciprocate. Like reader is kind, warm and polite, but seems more restrained unlike Cole.

So his dad gets concerned that it’s kind of uneven; one party seeming more “invested” than the other and it causes a bit of friction. Then he realizes that Reader is as affectionate as Cole, just that they’re not used to expressing it in front of others, just in private. Then Reader and his dad start over, getting along while leaving Cole confused as to what changed, lmao.

sorry it’s like weirdly specific but it’s been bouncing around in my head. 🫣

eye to eye

a/n: i’m so so sorry this took so long im going through my inbox rn and trying to answer as fast as i can!! but that aside i really loved this prompt because i feel like a lot of people are nervous about meeting their partners parents which can lead to some tension. i am totally fine with being labeled the cole x reader blog that’s what i’m here forrrr

characters: cole x fem!reader

type: fluff

warnings: none/not proofread

synopsis: you meet cole’s dad for the first time and get off on the wrong foot

word count: 3.4k

Your knee bounced up and down uncontrollably as you waited for Cole to enter the kitchen. To your left, Kai and Jay played a game of chess and watched as you panicked silently.

This day had been coming up for weeks–everyone knew about it. Partly because you and Cole had to get permission from Sensei to leave the monastery unattended. Normally if there isn’t an immediate threat or patrol, you need Sensei’s permission to enter the city alone.

Cole, the responsible guy he is, explained the reason for your leave weeks in advance to Wu after bringing the idea up with you first. Unfortunately, that also meant you had been stewing in your own head for the weeks that led up to this weekend.

“What if he hates me?” you blurt out, the suffocating silence of the kitchen finally getting to you.

Kai’s hand paused over a chess piece at the sound of your voice and he looked at you with an are-you-kidding kind of expression.

“What?” He all but scoffed. “He won’t.”

He moved one of his pawns forward.

“You don’t know that,” you countered, laying your cheek down on the wooden table’s surface.

“And you don’t know he’ll hate you.” Kai rolled his eyes then frowned as Jay captured the pawn he had previously moved.

“But–”

“What’s not to like about you?” Jay asked, his eyes never straying from the black and white board. “You’re a ninja, you save the city, you’ve saved his son more times than I can count, Cole loves you, and–”

“Still!”

Jay and Kai traded unimpressed looks as you chewed nervously on your lip.

However, you didn’t have very much longer to stew. Footsteps you recognized all too well had begun to approach the entrance of the kitchen. You shot up immediately, hoping to appear relaxed despite what you truly felt inside.

The sight of your boyfriend had put an easy smile on your face and eased up the tension in your chest. You and Cole had been through so much together, surely you’d be able to handle staying at his father's for the weekend.

Cole ran a hand through his hair and readjusted the black backpack resting across his shoulders that contained overnight clothes for the both of you. His expression mirrored your own as he caught your eyes.

“Everything’s all set,” he told you. “Ready to go?”

You threw on the bravest face you could muster up and stood from the table with a small nod.

“It’s a short flight.” Cole wrapped an arm around your shoulders when you were close enough. “Less than twenty minutes.”

You took a deep calming breath before wrapping your own arm around his waist. “Okay.”

Cole searched your eyes for a moment, as if he sensed your apprehension. Eventually, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head and the two of you made your way towards the exit of the monastery.

“Have fun!” Jay called after the two of you.

“Good luck!” Kai offered.

You shot him a glare over your shoulder until they were no longer within eye range.

If Cole caught onto the subtle anxiety swimming below the surface of your mind, he didn’t let on. Instead he summoned his dragon quickly and the two of you mounted easily as you took over carrying the pack for the both of you.

Cole squeezed your calf reassuringly before flicking the reins of his dragon, and you shot towards the sky, your stomach lurching in the process.

The weather was nice for flying. Sunny with a few clouds here and there and little to no wind aside from the usual air resistance due to movement.

Leaning your head back with your arms wrapped firmly around Cole’s middle you let the sunshine beat down on your face. Perhaps it would help ease your worries. Flying always helped clear your head, it was one of the many reasons you and Cole were so perfect for each other.

You’re just hoping his dad sees that as well.

Eventually, you started descending over a neighborhood a few minutes outside of Ninjago City. Below you saw a group of kids playing a game of street hockey and another drawing patterns on the sidewalk with chalk.

As the shadow of Cole’s dragon blocked the sun for a moment, they looked up and pointed at the dragon. You could practically hear the gasps of awe from your current altitude and you waved down to them.

Eventually, they too faded into the background and suddenly both your feet were on the ground in front of a small one story beige house. There were flower beds below the windows on either side of the door and you couldn’t help but admire how well kept they were.

“All good?” Cole asked, squeezing your shoulder.

The anxiety in your stomach said no, but your mouth said yes.

“Trust me, he’ll love you,” Cole assured you. “He can be a bit of a hardass but that usually ends as soon as it starts.”

“Mhmm,” you hummed, never taking your eyes off the door, almost fearing his dad was watching you in front of the little peephole.

Cole scanned you from head to toe before walking towards the door. He raised his hand to knock before shaking his head and ringing the doorbell. A melodic ‘welcome’ came from the little speaker below the doorbell.

You giggled a bit as Cole shook his head with a sigh.

Not long after, the door swung wide open to reveal Cole’s dad. He was on the smaller side and the first thing you noticed was the cane he leaned on heavily as he hobbled forward to embrace his son. Other than that he looked extremely well kept, neatly combed hair and a small mustache with no stray hairs in sight.

“Ah, and you must be the girl my son has been raving on about!” Cole’s dad guessed.

You stepped forward quickly, not wishing to make his father move unnecessarily.

Thrusting a hand out you smiled politely, “That’s me, sir. I’m (Y/N).”

Lou nodded enthusiastically and returned your gesture with the hand not resting on his cane. “Well it’s very nice to meet you. And hey lucky me! I get two ninjas for the whole weekend. How often does that happen?”

“Not as often as I’d like, Mr. Brookstone,” you admitted as he led the way inside.

Lou barked out a laugh before turning back around to look at Cole. “I like her, she’s funny.”

You let out a breath of relief as he turned around. Cole’s arm snaked around your waist and squeezed one of your hips comfortingly. Craning your neck to look at him you nodded.

On the walk to the kitchen you noticed all the pictures of Cole hanging up on the wall ranging from all possible ages. You’d have to ask his dad later for a copy of the one of him pouting while inside what was clearly a dance studio.

The two of you slid into seats next to each other at the kitchen table as Lou went to put on a pot of tea.

“Oh, would you like some help?” You offered. Seeing him do things without help and mostly one handed made your heart ache, but it seemed like he had a good system going.

“Oh no dear,” Lou waved a hand. “If I can’t put on a thing of tea on my own I should be in a home.”

“Dad,” Cole scolded through a snicker.

“Nonsense, Cole and I would gladly come help you out,” you said.

“Pah! Please, you’d have to drag my son here by his hair,” Lou laughed.

“Hey!” Cole sputtered. “You’re making me sound like a dick, I visit.”

Lou turned around, leaning back on the counter for support. “Well sure, now you do. Only took you getting a girlfriend to do so, hmm? Should have fixed you up ages ago if that was the case.”

You laughed as Cole slung his arm across the back of your chair. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Doing my best,” Lou smirked and removed the kettle from the stove before bringing it over to the table where teacups had already been laid out. He placed the kettle on a cloth before taking a seat in the chair across from the two of you and pouring you both a cup of tea.

Cole grabbed a cup and handed one to you. You nodded as a thank you and took the cup carefully from him, your fingers avoiding each other.

Across the table you felt Lou’s eyes watching the two of you like a hawk and you suddenly became aware that you were slouching. You straightened your back quickly and folded your hands over your mug resting on the table. Lou cocked his head at your movement before Cole asked him how he was doing.

Conversation flowed well between the three of you but no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t relax. Not even with Cole’s comforting touches that his father seemed to pay very close attention to. Everytime Lou’s eyes saw his son touch you in some way he’d look back at your face causing you to tense up and bristle away from your boyfriend.

Lou narrowed his eyes at you before turning his full attention to Cole who was telling him about the mech he and Jay have been working on the past couple weeks.

“It’s amazing, Mr. Brookstone,” you chimed in, realizing you hadn’t said anything in a while. “Cole’s been working really hard on it.”

Lou’s proud smile fell slightly when you opened your mouth and he hummed absentmindedly at your input, barely even looking at you.

Your face fell like a kicked puppy and you clenched your fists atop your thighs where they had been for the past hour.

Everytime you tried to add to the conversation, Lou would either pity hum at you, ignore you completely, or look you up and down before turning back to Cole.

What went wrong? Things were going so well when you first walked it. You couldn’t think of anything you could have possibly done to offend him. Hell, you’d barely spoken even when Cole tried to involve you in the conversation. Maybe it was your nerves.

Cole looked between you and his father confused at the rough tension suddenly between you two. He wanted to say something to his father but you shook your head fervently at him when you caught his eye. Reluctantly, he complied with your silent request.

Cole looked at his watch before he said, “I’m gonna go put our stuff in my room.”

Lou nodded as Cole stood from the table. Your heart hammered in your chest as you looked up at your boyfriend.

Don’t leave me! Your eyes screamed. Please for the love of the First Spinjitzu Master don’t leave me alone with him he hates me!

Cole didn’t seem to get the hint. Instead he leaned down to attempt to give you a peck on the lips. You glanced at his father across the table and saw his eyes narrowed into slits. You jerked away from Cole who nodded before planting a quick kiss on your forehead instead.

As he left you heard Cole’s father scoff before he stood from the table to gather all the empty mugs.

“Do you need any help?” You offered weakly, confidence completely shattered.

Lou glared back at you. “No, I don’t think I do.”

You slumped back in your chair, defeated. “Tea was lovely, thank you.”

“Mhmm,” he hummed.

Your leg bounced up and down at his subtle hostility.

“Uh, Mr. Brookstone–”

“Look,” Lou cut you off, “I appreciate you coming all this way and all but nobody is forcing you to stay with my son.”

Drawing in a breath of surprise your mouth popped open as confusion slammed into you like a semi. What?

“Are you really his girlfriend? Or did you just come here to pacify dear old dad because I kept asking when he’d start thinking about getting himself into a serious relationship?” Lou turned his back to the sink and leveled you with a hard stare.

“No, I–”

“Because if there’s one thing I know about my son, it’s how much love he holds in his heart. And I can clearly see he has a lot of it for you with the way he talks about you and the way he is around you, but I’m not seeing the same in you.”

This wasn’t the turn you thought this trip would take at all. To be honest, this was probably one of the worst possible outcomes. You were too stunned to even speak which probably led him to think he was correct and so he kept going.

“If you’re leading him on for whatever reason, just do me a favor and end it quickly after you leave because he’s too good for that.” Lou turned back around to the dishes as soon as Cole came bounding back into the kitchen.

Before he could say anything he noticed your somber expression and made his way over to you.

Okay? His eyes spoke volumes.

You nodded meekly, keeping your head down and your trembling fingers clasped tightly together.

You suffered the rest of the evening in mostly silence. The three of you moved from the kitchen to the living room couch where Cole had his arm around you but you were still stiff as a board, hands folded neatly in your lap.

Again, his father seemed to be glaring holes at you, making the anxiety sink deeper and deeper into your stomach to where it was practically paralyzing you.

Once it got late enough for the two of you to sneak off to bed, Cole prodded you immediately.

“Okay, what the hell?” Cole asked, not bothering to close his door.

“What?” You asked quietly, taking off your makeup in his bathroom.

“I’m not an idiot, you were quiet all day,” Cole said as he walked up behind you, looking at you in the mirror. “Did he say something to you?”

Your lower lip trembled as you shook your head, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. Cole sighed outwardly through his nose before placing a kiss on your temple and turning to fetch your pajamas from your shared bag.

He placed them on the counter next to you as he changed into a baggy T-Shirt and boxers while you put on one of his spare shirts and sleep shorts with little stars on them.

Cole laid down on his bed, splaying his arms out wide for you to fall into. And fall you did. You all but crashed into his arms, the events of the day weighing down on you.

Cole let you lay on his for as long as you needed but he didn’t miss the way you practically clung onto him like a koala. Instead, he waited for you to come around and stroked your hair, planting small kisses on your head every now and then.

Eventually you voiced your concerns to him and the conversation you had with his dad when he left. More of the verbal lashing you got and less a conversation to be honest.

“I just,” you trailed off, biting your lip, “I want you to know that I do love you. So, so much like I genuinely couldn’t imagine my life without you. You know that right?”

“Of course,” Cole ran a hand up and down your back soothingly.

“Am I a terrible girlfriend?” You mumbled into his neck.

“No,” Cole chuckled. “You’re just not big on PDA. Especially when you’re nervous. I guess my dad was just used to being very lovey dovey with my mom all the time and when he saw you weren’t he probably assumed the worst. Don’t take it personally, okay? I can talk to him tomorrow if you’d like?”

“No,” you shook your head. “I don’t want you to fight with your dad just for me. I’ll live. I love you a lot. Just not in front of people. I’m used to keeping our relationship pretty private with all the publicity we receive anyway. It’s just a force of habit at this point.” You wrapped your arms around him like a large teddy bear and placed a kiss to the base of his throat.

“I know,” Cole squeezed your hip again. “Don’t worry about it, okay gorgeous?”

You sighed heavily but nodded anyway, giving him a kiss goodnight.

No matter how hard you tried you couldn’t sleep. You tossed and turned all night and didn’t get more than four hours of sleep you were sure. Eventually you gave up and waited for the sun to rise so that you too would be able to get out of bed reasonably.

As soon as the first light blue light touched the cracked of Cole’s blinds, you quietly peeled yourself away from his sleeping form and exited his room to make yourself a cup of calming tea.

You froze in your tracks when you saw Lou already dressed and ready, sitting at the kitchen table with his own cup of tea reading the newspaper.

You stepped backward, prepared to sneak back to Cole’s room when Lou’s eyes snapped up to you.

Unlike yesterday, his eyes softened and he beckoned you forward. “Come, have a seat.”

Swallowing harshly you forced yourself to make your way to the table. Cautiously, you lowered yourself into the seat opposite him. Lou placed his mug down on the wood and folded his hands on the table atop his paper.

“I owe you an apology,” he said softly.

Your eyes snapped up to his. Well, you hadn’t expected that either.

“Sir–?”

“Please,” he raised a hand, “call me Lou.”

You smiled lightly, worried you were about to be woken up from a dream. “I don’t understand.”

Lou nodded but continued. “I understand I was cold to you yesterday and for that I am truly sorry. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and I can be quite dramatic. What can I say? I had a flair for the theater.” He laughed softly and you joined him. “But that’s no excuse. I jumped to some unfair conclusions. I realize I had expected your relationship with my son to be like the one I had with my wife, but times are different. There weren't people watching our every move when we went out like they do with the two of you.”

You nodded sadly. In the past, you and Cole had some issues with the press which sparked your boycott of PDA until further notice.

“I heard your conversation last night,” Lou admitted. “I was on my way to the laundry room when I heard you two talking. And I know you love my son a lot. He’s lucky to have you.” Lou reached across the table and squeezed your hand.

“I really do,” you assured him. “With all my heart. I love that boy.”

Lou laughed softly. “I know. So, shall we start over?”

“Of course, no harm done. I understand wanting to protect your children.” And that was the truth. Plus, Cole was Lou’s only kid, and after his mother left, Cole was almost all he had left. Of course he didn’t want to see him get hurt.

“How about some breakfast?” You offered, standing from the table.

Cole woke up hours later to the familiar sound of his dad’s favorite record blaring through his record player and the smell of fresh bacon. He also quickly realized you weren’t in bed and judging by the lack of warmth coming from your side you had left a while ago.

Shrugging on some pants, he dragged himself to the kitchen of his home and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. His girlfriend was at the stove making all sorts of breakfast food, enough to feed his whole neighborhood, while his dad sang along to the record and told a joke occasionally that caused you to laugh.

How long had he been sleeping? Last he remembered you and his dad were on some rocky road. Shifting his eyes to the clock he saw it was only nine thirty in the morning.

You twirled around the music and halted when you caught sight of your bleary-eyed confused boyfriend who kept looking from you to his father and so on.

“Morning, honey,” you wrapped your arms around his waist before leaning up on your toes to press a kiss to his lips.

“Uh, morning?” Cole blinked multiple times to make sure he wasn’t still asleep.

He caught the eye of his dad over your shoulder.

She’s a keeper. Like your mother, his dad mouthed.

Cole grinned and hugged you back enthusiastically, lifting you off your feet and spinning you around as you giggled uncontrollably.

[daizedndconfused]

band on the run

a/n: i wasn’t gonna make this a series originally but i think i have to at this point cause im at 7k words and im not even close to being done. and i thought who actually is gonna read this if its like one part with 20k words hahaha. but anyway i love this idea and the dynamics i created i just hope it doesn’t flop but oh well you can’t win every time. not my usual content ik but hey free will is amazing. anyway the title is based off a song that inspired this fic i recommend listening to it it’s amazing. i guess that’s all i got if you wanna be tagged in the next part lmk i can do my best

characters: john marston x teen!reader x arthur morgan (PLEASEE FOR MY SANITY THIS IS NOT ROMANTIC ITS STRICTLY PLATONIC… just you’ll find out okay it’s cute!!)

type: fluff!! also spoiler free!!

warnings: mild swearing and mild blood but that’s it

synopsis: you’re from the city and go out of town with your brother for a business trip, little do you know something’s waiting for you and somehow you find yourself separated from him and now in the care of two men who have agreed to help you get to saint denis to find your brother

word count: 5.4k

part 1 |

You’re not really sure how you got here. Well, maybe that’s a lie. Technically you got here via train. A lot of them.

A few days ago you were living your best life in New York with your brother, but now the city was nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, your parents died a few years ago when you were eleven, leaving you with your older brother who was twenty one at the time.

It’s not as if he minded, or thought you a burden. In fact the two of you were very close–even before your parents passed. And it’s not as if they left you with nothing. No, if anything it was the complete opposite–they left you with more than you could ever imagine.

Though, no matter how much you pestered your brother, he’d never give you an exact amount. All you knew was that the two of you were going to be just fine financially.

However, two soon became three when your brother married the girl he’d been in love with for years when you were thirteen. You too, of course, love her. She was the complete opposite of your brother, and you think that’s why they fit so well together.

While he was cold and cruel with a rough exterior, she was nothing but golden hair and smiles as far as the eye could see. In a way they balanced each other–light and dark, push and pull, sun and moon.

You were young at the time, not naive, you knew how your parents built their wealth. Your family had been wealthy for generations–mostly due to your family’s involvement as New York's oldest and most feared crime syndicate.

Obviously, you grew up immensely protected and well cared for. Your parents may not have been the best people out there, but they did what they had to to make sure you had everything you needed. In their favor, they had a very healthy work-life balance.

That also meant you learned how to shoot a gun by the time you could stand the recoil, and play cards even younger.

Your father used to say that a young woman such as yourself should always know how to hold her own, and not depend on anyone for safety. He prepared you for all the worst possible case scenarios: how to escape rope bindings with nothing but your own hands, shooting a moving target head on every time, and basic hand to hand combat should you find yourself without a weapon.

However, he never prepared you for the situation you currently found yourself in.

Your brother had gotten an urgent business letter, requesting his presence out of state–a place called Saint Denis. You’d never been outside of New York, and you all but begged your brother to let you accompany him.

Eventually, after a lot of pestering, and some encouragement from his wife, he reluctantly agreed. However, your sister-in-law would not be coming on the journey either. She claimed she had no desire to sit in on his boring meetings and listen to him yell at people while they quivered in fear.

That and she was pregnant.

Ever since they found out your brother’s naturally protective demeanor increased tenfold. She was put under constant surveillance, and he almost canceled this trip due to her condition.

Ever the voice of reason, she assured him she would be fine, and that some sibling bonding would be much needed between you. After careful consideration and a lot of compromise, he agreed.

But after what happened on the journey, you’re not sure he’ll let you outside of New York any time soon.

It’s not like it was your fault–it was bad timing.

After two long and boring train rides, your brother informed you that you would only need to switch trains once more before you reached your destination. Your face practically lit up at his words, the energy slowly returning to your body.

Your brother laughed at your childish antics, the two of you making the most out of your so far boring trip.

Once your train rolled to a stop at some random station, you were the first one off the train, desperate to stretch your legs a little.

“Don’t go far, please!” Your brother called out as you skipped onto the surprisingly busy platform.

You turned to assure him you were fine, when you bumped into a stranger's chest.

“Apologies,” you jumped back quickly, dusting off your simple shirt. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

Looking up, you saw that the chest belonged to a gnarly, strong, black haired man with a scraggly beard. His beady eyes peered down at you, and you felt yourself shrink slightly under his gaze.

A lot of people back in New York didn’t love when children made mistakes, and though you didn’t think of yourself as quite so young, others would beg to differ.

He seemed to fall in that category.

“Well you ain’t from ‘round here now are you?” The man sniffed, a thick Irish accent present within his words.

“Uh,” you laughed awkwardly, backing away slowly. You looked around fervently for your brother, but it seems you wandered farther than you initially thought. He was nowhere in sight.

The man cocked his head, looking you up and down as if he recognized you.

“You look familiar,” he drawled.

“Oh, that–that can’t be.” You swallowed thickly. “I’m from New York City.”

Realization snapped in the man's eyes.

“Aye, I knew I recognized you.” The man barked out a laugh. “Got wind of your brother’s little visit to our end of Hell.”

Your heartbeat sped up within your chest as it started to click for you as well.

The accent, dark hair, and the brand on his pistol. He was an O’Driscoll. A gang you were familiar with, but not by much. They weren’t based out of New York, but boy did they stir up trouble when they visited.

Whenever there was a report of an O’Driscoll in town, your brother spent a majority of his time putting out fires and bullets in their heads. They had even started targeting some of your businesses in retaliation.

Your brother assured you it was nothing for you to worry about, and that he could deal with a couple of cowboys too far from home, but you were in their territory now.

“Care to point me in the direction of him?” The man lunged forward, seizing your wrist in a bone crushing grip.

You flinched, the fear imminent in your eyes. It was your unarmed teenage body against a grown man with arms at his disposal.

But as always, you acted quickly. You may be smaller, and younger than him, but that just meant you were all the more quicker.

You quickly twisted your wrist in a circle, successfully shaking the man’s grip as you dodged his other attempt to make a grab for you. Ducking under his arms, you wove through the sea of people who didn’t so much as stop twice at the sight of a grown man chasing a young girl.

Why would they?

“Joey!” you called, but you didn’t have time to look around for your brother with the O’Driscoll hot on your tail.

There was no response from him, and you were running out of places to run. Luckily, the platform was in the middle of a forest. You decided that losing him in the trees would be your best bet.

Leaping off the platform, grateful you decided to wear a pair of trousers, a button up and a vest to fit the local attire–you sprinted for the trees. The heavy footsteps and constant yelling behind you told you the man was still chasing you.

“Get back here you little shit!” He yelled after you.

Like that’s going to happen, you internally rolled your eyes.

Pumping your legs as fast as they could go, you wove in between the maze of trees, the nightfall surrounding you making it all the more easy to hide.

Checking briefly over your shoulder, you saw you had put a good amount of distance between the two of you. Even though he had a gun, the O’Driscoll clearly needed you alive for some reason, meaning he wouldn’t dare shoot you.

Making a split second decision, you picked up a rock, as well as a handful of dust, and threw it over your shoulder, straight at the O’Driscoll’s face.

You heard a cry of outrage come from behind you. Quickly, you located the sturdiest tree and scaled it as swiftly as you could.

You made it decently to the top, ignoring the splinters in your palms and blood across your cheek where a few tree branches had cut you.

Huddling against the trunk of the tree on a branch that barely supported you, you attempted to catch your breath as slowly and quietly as you could.

Below you, the O’Driscoll was swearing profusely, furiously rubbing at his eyes. You covered your mouth with your hand, desperate to quiet your breaths as he stood.

The O’Driscoll looked behind every tree within a few feet around you, but luckily he didn’t think to look up.

Not very bright these O’Driscoll’s.

With one last dramatic curse, and a swift kick to a nearby tree, he stomped off back towards the train station that was no longer in sight, even from your position in the tree.

You drew in a shaky breath, leaning your head against the rough bark of the tree. Your limbs were wobbly, and your mind was scrambled, but you didn’t move from your position. To do so would be a stupid move.

You weren’t sure how many of them were at that train station, or how they knew you guys would be there, but they did. You just hoped they didn’t get your brother.

No, they wouldn’t. Joey was much too smart for them.

It took a while for you to calm yourself down, but once you did, your mind and body both felt tired. You didn’t entirely trust yourself to sleep in a tree and not fall to your death, but you were so exhausted you didn’t care at that point.

Your eyelids felt heavier and heavier until darkness covered your vision. However, your rest was very short lived. Whether it was the sun, or the anxiety in your chest, it felt as though you had just closed your eyes when they flew open again.

Dawn painted the sky, and your muscles were achy from spending all night up in a tree. Stretching as best you could in the awkward position, you started your careful descent down the tree.

Once you were back safely on the ground, you quickly took off in the opposite direction of the train station. Going back was out of the question–there were most likely more O’Driscoll’s lurking around and you’d prefer if they didn’t catch you.

So here you were. Miles away from New York, in the middle of buttfuck hillbilly nowhere, completely alone. Not ideal.

Wrapping your arms around your stomach as it started to growl, you promptly ignored the hunger beginning to stab at your gut. If you could just find a source of water, the odds are you’d be able to follow it to a town of some kind where you could get help.

However, after hours and hours of wandering, your feet aching in your boots, all you had come across so far was a few rattlesnakes, and a lot of deer. The deer didn’t stick around long after catching sight of you.

As the sun started to dip, so did the temperature. You didn’t expect it to get as chilly as it did. You mostly likely didn’t notice it last night because of the adrenaline pumping through your veins, but there was none of that now.

It was just you to keep yourself company and warmth. As the sun set lower and lower over the mountains, you couldn’t help but feel extremely out of your comfort zone.

You had been taught a lot of survival skills, but none of them involved making a fire, or a camp in general. You lived in New York for God’s sake, why would you have had to know how to start a fire?

You dragged your feet behind you until you physically couldn’t stand it anymore. Too tired to climb another tree, you instead made yourself comfortable curled up against the trunk of a tree.

Shivering, you attempted to make yourself as small as possible to conserve body heat, but it might as well have been useless. The cold seeped through your clothes and to your bones. Nothing but a fire would thaw you now.

Tears of frustration sprung at your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. You already looked like a mess, you didn’t have to make it worse by crying.

Another sleepless night had you waking at the crack of dawn. You didn’t want to get up. In fact, you’d rather do anything but. Walking was tiring, and you didn’t even know where you were going or hoping to find.

Your internal battle was short lived when a snap of a twig near you had you on high alert. Peering through the trees, you met the eyes of a beautiful doe munching on the leaves of a low hanging branch a few feet from you.

“You’re no O’Driscoll,” you attempted to joke, though your voice was hoarse and scratchy from the lack of water.

The doe did nothing but stare blankly back at you before eventually trotting away. Taking that as a sign, you slowly dragged yourself away from the tree trunk and continued your tedious trek.

This day was just as slow as the previous two. Walking, snakes, more walking, deer, but luckily no sign of wolves. You weren’t sure what you would do if you encountered the beasts. Probably take to the nearest tree again.

By the time midday rolled around you were just about ready to start throwing rocks at your surroundings and screaming at the top of your lungs.

That was until you heard voices up ahead. Diving behind the nearest bush, you listened closely. It sounded like two men…but they were arguing.

“I never shoulda listened to your sorry ass!” one of them accused.

“Oh right, so now this is all my fault?” the other shot back.

“Well it sure as hell ain’t mine,” the man with a gruff voice laughed humorlessly. “You asked me for help, remember?”

“I musta forgot,” the other man scoffed, “Arthur Morgan doesn’t make mistakes. Arthur Morgan is perfect in every which way. Arthur Morgan–”

“You shut your mouth, Marston before I go and do it for you!” The gruff man yelled.

Cocking your head curiously, you peered through the leaves of the shrub. Beyond you, in a clearing of grass surrounded by more and more trees, were two men sporting roughly the same attire.

The one on the left had long black hair that extended to his shoulders, and a stubble beard to match. Even from far away, you could see there was something off about the way his facial hair grew in. There were a few spots where the hair didn’t grow at all.

Odd.

By the way he was standing, and they way they hadn’t stopped bickering, you assumed this man was the one being blamed for something you knew not.

The other man had lighter chestnut brown hair that wasn’t quite as long as his companions. His facial hair was just a touch longer than the other man’s, but his was even in every way. And with the way he was glaring at the other guy you’d think he was trying to set him on fire.

Unbeknownst to you, you had subconsciously been leaning forward to get a better look at their faces that you didn’t notice you had snapped a branch on accident.

Two pistols wiped in your direction immediately.

“Don’t shoot!” You yelped, jumping up quickly from the bush, both hands raised in surrender, praying they wouldn’t shoot you on the spot.

You were mildly impressed that they were able to hear the branch snap over their obnoxious arguing, but they must live life in a state of constant vigilance if they picked it up.

The men’s expressions turned to that of surprise, but they didn’t lower their weapons. They most likely weren’t expecting a sixteen year old kid to be the one spying on them.

To be fair, you had only just gotten there and they were technically in your way.

“Uh, hi there,” you waved pathetically.

The man on the left let out a tired sigh and holstered his pistol. The other man didn’t. He continued to look at you from under the brim of his hat, his dark eyes barely visible.

After a moment the black haired man said, “Ease up, Morgan. It’s only a kid.”

“You remember what we were like when we were kids?” The man–Morgan?–scoffed but reluctantly discarded his weapon anyway.

“That don’t mean everyone is,” the other man reasoned, though neither one of them took their eyes off you.

You were honestly a little flattered they thought of you as that much of a threat.

Morgan hummed, crossing his arms over his chest.

You figured now was as good a time as any to start talking. Plus, you didn’t catch sight of an O’Driscoll tag on their pistols, so at least you were safe for the time being.

“Sorry,” you lowered your hands slowly. “I was just passing through. Thought you might have been the people who were after me. Didn’t mean to be eavesdropping.”

The black haired man scratched at his jaw, and seeing up closer you noticed the places where his hair didn’t grow was due to what looked like scars that were still healing on his face. They were only slightly pink still, but they wouldn’t fade all the way that much was certain. You assumed based on their position that they looked like animal wounds.

“After you?” he repeated. “Who’d be after a kid your age?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Mister.” You shook your head with a tired sigh. “But if they wanted to make me run they succeeded. Barely slept a wink for almost three days, no food or water neither.”

“I can tell,” Morgan observed.

You gave them a tired smile. “Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll be on my way.” You failed to mention the part where you had no clue where you were going.

You attempted to take a step further in order to pass them but Scarface stopped you.

“Where abouts are you headed then?” he asked.

“Marston,” Morgan warned lowly.

Scarface ignored him, patiently awaiting your answer.

“I’m, uh, not sure,” you admitted sheepishly, scratching your temple. “Saint Denis? I think.”

He nodded in response, looking back at his friend. Morgan shook his head, a firm no in whatever psychic conversation they were having.

“How old are you?” Scarface asked, turning back to you.

“Sixteen,” you blinked.

Scarface looked back at his friend triumphantly, eyebrows raised.

He clapped a hand on your shoulder. “Don’t worry kid, we’ll take ya where you need to go safe and sound.”

“Jesus Christ,” Morgan muttered, shaking his head and looking up to the sky.

“Oh, it’s no trouble sir,” you reassured him. “I’m sure if you point me in the right direction I’ll be able to figure it out.”

“Not out here you won’t.” Morgan piped up this time. “You ain’t from ‘round here kid, that much is obvious. You won’t make it another day. I’m surprised you managed two on your own.”

You wanted to argue with him but he was right. You were teetering on the edge already as it was.

“Perhaps you’re right,” you laughed awkwardly.

“Sit down, kid,” Scarface led you over to rest your back against a boulder. “Have some water.”

You opened your mouth to tell him you didn’t actually have any water, but a canteen being thrown into your lap had your words dying in your throat.

But it wasn’t Scarface that threw it.

“Thank you….” you trailed off.

“Arthur,” he muttered. “Morgan.”

You nodded, uncapping the top and taking a deep swig, thankful for the liquid returning moisture to your dry throat.

“And you are?” you asked, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, looking at Scarface.

“John Marston,” he smiled kindly.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” you said honestly.

“And what are we supposed to call you?” Arthur asked. “You got a name or something? Or ya lose it on the way over here?”

John shot him an exasperated look.

“No, no, I gotta name,” you said. “It’s (Y/N). Santangelo.”

John rose from his kneeled position beside you immediately like you suddenly grew another head. He and Arthur exchanged looks–Arthur’s more of a what-have-you-done kind of way.

“Of all the strays to pick up of course you chose this one,” Arthur waved a hand in your direction.

John winced, looking back at you with what you can only pinpoint as hope.

“You ain’t happen to be from New York, do ya?” John asked.

“Yeah,” you confirm, a bit confused. “Brooklyn.”

At the men’s extended silence you decide to help them out a little bit.

“It’s in the city.”

“Well aware,” Arthur responded.

“Yeah? You ever been?” you asked, eyes alight with hope.

“Nah,” Arthur shook his head. “Heard plenty about your kinda folk though.”

“What about ‘em?” you asked, discarding the now half empty canteen of water off your lap.

“We ain’t stupid, kid,” Arthur chuckled lightly, though it didn’t seem like he found anything amusing. “Everyone and their mama’s have heard ‘bout your kinda people.”

“Oh.” You shrank back against the rock.

A brief flash of fear crosses your face. Did you trust the wrong people? Were they bounty hunters? Maybe they were working for the O’Driscoll’s–helping them find you.

“Knock it off,” John smacked Arthur’s leather clad shoulder lightly. Then to you he said, “Don’t worry kid we ain’t the law. And we certainly ain’t turning you in nowhere.”

“Thanks,” you dragged your knees up to your chest, resting your chin on top of them.

There’s an elongated silence where you could hear John and Arthur speaking quietly to one another. You tried to pretend it wasn't about you, but you’ve caught a few bits and pieces and it most definitely is.

You really hope they’ll let you stay with them–you don’t have anywhere else to go. Plus, they seemed like okay men. Better than most in the city you’ve encountered anyway.

“Alright, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Arthur said as he and John finished their debate. “There’s a river just up ahead. We’ll go there, make a camp nearby, crash for the night, then get a move on.”

You nod fervently, opening your mouth to assure him you’ll be no trouble, but he held up a hand and continued speaking. “We’ll get you to Saint Denis. Odds are someone’ll be able to help you out there. Deal?”

“Deal.” You shot to your feet, a wide smile playing at your lips. You felt as though you were a street dog who had just found a temporary home. Again, better than being on the actual streets.

“You’re ridin’ with Marston,” Arthur stated.

You shot said man a grateful nod. He returned it just as enthusiastically.

The two men let out a series of sharp whistles, and soon the clop of horse hooves became louder and louder until two beautiful horses stood in front of you.

You let out a noise of awe. You’d never actually ridden a horse before. Back where you're from, they just pull things behind them, you don’t see a lot of people riding them through the streets.

John chuckled a bit at your awestruck expression as he mounted an auburn horse with a light mane and tail to match.

Arthur did the same with his own all black horse.

You approached the side of John’s horse, plotting how you’d go about getting on. It was tall–much taller than you realized.

You could feel the two men giving you weird looks. Well, more like Arthur giving you a weird look, and John trying not to laugh.

“You ain’t ever ridden a horse before?” John asked.

“No,” you admitted, face turning a bit red. “We don’t–I mean the horses are normally used for pulling back home.”

From over John’s shoulder Arthur not so discreetly rolled his eyes.

John however, extended his hand down towards you. “Grab on, I’ll hoist you up. Just put your foot here for balance and swing your other leg over.” John pointed to the place that would offer your foot the best support.

Nodding, you grasped his hand. John pulled you up as if you weighed nothing, it startled you at first. Recovering quickly, you placed your foot on the stirrup before swinging your other leg over the horse’s back until you were sitting comfortably behind John.

“See? Not so hard.” John said, patting his horse’s neck.

“Indeed,” you agreed.

“Feel free to grab on if you need some extra balance,” John said over his shoulder before turning back to Arthur. “Ready when you are.”

“About damn time,” Arthur grumbled before kicking his horse forward.

John rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Very dramatic, that man,” he joked before he too urged his own horse forward.

You were going to laugh, but the sudden jerk in movement had you lurching forward and grabbing onto John to prevent yourself from falling off.

“Alright back there?” John asked, taking notice of your death grip on his dark jacket.

“Think so,” you responded as the horse’s pace increased to an even trot.

“Alright,” John drawled. “Just let me know if you’re about to fall off.”

“Will do,” you assured him. “Might be sooner than you think.”

“Ah you’ll be fine,” John assured you. “Plus, I’m the one doin’ all the hard work.”

You peeked over his shoulder to get a grasp on what the ‘hard work’ entailed. From where you were sitting, it looked like all he was doing was holding the reins.

John chuckled when you voiced so, claiming the horse was doing most of the work.

“What are you doin’ all the way out here anyhow?” John asked, tailing closely behind Arthur.

So far, you liked John. He was easy to talk to. You two had been making small conversation for the past few minutes as you rode.

Arthur on the other hand didn’t seem as inclined to join. You weren’t quite sure if it was because of you or John. He didn’t seem to like either of you at the moment.

“Business” was all you revealed.

“Business?” John echoed skeptically. “What kinda business?”

“The kind I’m not supposed to talk about with strangers,” you responded. At this point, your death grip had been reduced to one hand clutching onto his jacket while the other laid on the horse’s back below you.

“Strangers? Come on now, you and I go all the way back to this afternoon.”

You shook your head with a mix between a scoff and a laugh. Your response was cut off when Arthur veered off the road, heading for a river you hadn’t noticed you’d been coming upon.

The horses soon slowed to a stop just off the bank–a secluded spot hidden by trees and fallen logs.

Arthur dismounted his horse, hitching it to a nearby tree. Releasing John’s coat and leaning back to make some room for him, he swung his leg over the side of his horse before offering you a hand.

You weren’t foolish enough to refuse his help.

As enjoyable as your first horse ride was, you couldn’t help but be relieved at both feet being back on the ground. Stretching out your shoulders, John and Arthur got to work quickly setting up camp using the materials on the backs of their horses.

You felt a bit bad watching them do all the heavy lifting while you stood there like a statue.

As John bent down to remove some things from his pack, you tiptoed towards him.

“Give me a job,” you stated.

John tossed a look over his shoulder. “A job?”

“Yeah, I feel a bit useless,” you admitted, moving the sand beneath your feet around with the toe of your boot.

John turned back to his pack with a small laugh. “You’re a kid, don’t worry about it.”

You rolled your eyes at his back, but no matter your pestering, he wouldn’t budge.

Eventually, you gave up on trying to wear him down, and instead tried your luck with the broody man who still hasn’t said as much as a word to you since your departure.

“Hey, Arthur?” You asked, peeking over the side of his horse as he rummaged through his saddlebag.

Arthur turned his head towards you with a blank look on his face. The only thing you got out of him was an eyebrow raise, but not a drastic one.

“Need any help?” You offered lamely.

“From you? No.” He grabbed a hunting knife and turned his back on you.

You didn’t let him go that easy. “Come on. It’ll go faster if I help. Just give me something to do. Something small!”

Arthur let out an annoyed sigh. “Alright, fine. How ‘bout you go get the fire started.” He nodded to where John had already gathered a small pile of wood.

“Okay, fire. I can do that.” You nodded, trying to convince yourself more than him. “Thanks, Arthur.”

He didn’t respond as you turned towards the pile of sticks, completely confused as to how you were supposed to go about this.

Sitting on your knees on the sand that wasn’t at all cushiony, you stared at the sticks. Maybe if you looked hard enough they’d ignite by themselves. Somehow, you doubted that.

Looking around for some type of rocks to bang together, you couldn’t find any that weren’t wet from the river.

You had spent so long looking for a rock that you didn’t realize John and Arthur had already set up a small camp for the three of you.

“Havin’ some trouble?” Arthur coughed as he and John stood behind your seated position in front of the wood.

Glaring at the wood you leaned back on your haunches, frustrated. “There aren’t any rocks anywhere!”

“Good thing that ain’t the only way to start a fire.” John stepped forward, striking a match and tossing it into the pile of dried grass below the wood.

Flames erupted from the dead grass and spread quickly to the wood, thus creating an effective fire.

You turned to glare at the two men sporting shit eating grins. The most emotion you’d gotten from Arthur yet.

“You had matches?” You demanded.

“We got everything,” John said as he heaved himself onto the ground near the fire.

Scowling, you leaned back on the log they had dragged over to your makeshift camp. Arthur sat opposite you and John, one ankle crossed over the other as he struck a match with the heel of his boot and lit a cigarette.

“You gave it a good shot,” John shrugged a shoulder against the log to your right.

“Don’t patronize me.”

Arthur laughed around a cloud of smoke.

Though you had spent today more on horseback than on foot you were still equally as exhausted. The hunger didn’t help with that.

John laughed as your stomach growled, turning to fetch something from his satchel.

“Here, eat this.” He handed you a roll of bread and a piece of meat wrapped in a cloth.

You didn’t object. Snatching the food from his outstretched hand you tore into the bread first, finding it only the slightest bit stale but still completely edible.

Neither of them spoke while you ate. Perhaps they were still mad at each other. It certainly seemed that way.

But it wasn’t your place to intervene. Instead, to keep yourself occupied you hummed a soft tune under your breath, foot tapping along to the rhythm in your head.

Maybe you were just happy, happy that though you were sleeping outside once more, you wouldn’t be freezing your tail off. Luckily, John had a spare tarp for you to lay on for the night.

Laying on your back, you looked up at the night sky. It was much different out here–more stars, less clouds, no smog to hide the beauty of nature you often forgot existed. You found yourself smiling as you drifted off to sleep, the crescent moon mirroring your expression from high above as your blinks grew more elongated by the second.

[daizedndconfused]

so i lied!! sorryyy but in case any one wants to knowww this is what i’m currently working on. i just started this game and im actually obsessed??just made it to chapter 4 and i’ve already cried! again not at all my usually content (something other than cole?? crazy.) but so far im in love with it—the ideas been in my head for so long. but i didn’t expect it to be this long (5.2k words) and im not even close to being done. maybe ill make it a mini series??

[daizedndconfused]

hello!! how are you?? i was wondering if i could request something to do with cole brookstone 🫣

please could it be something about him and the reader have a sleepover at the readers house and its just fluff!! you could write about them making dinner together or something

idk if you’d be down to write this and i hope i’ve done it right, this is my first time requesting anything 😭

slumber party

a/n: hii ofc you can!! i’m doing good thanks sorry this took a while haha but thanks for being patient with me <3 this was such a cute prompt btw i had a lot of fun writing this

characters: cole brookstone x reader (established relationship)

type: fluff!!

warnings: none (not proofread)

synopsis: you sneak cole into your house for a sleepover while your parents are out of town

word count: 2.5 k

Your boyfriend was perfectly punctual. So when the clock struck four the rap at your window didn’t come as a shock to you.

Smiling to yourself, you got up from your bed and bounded over to your curtain covered window. Sliding away the light fabric, the grinning face of your boyfriend waited for you, perched on the roof below.

“What do you have against the front door?” you asked as you swung the window open.

Cole gracefully hoisted himself up and vaulted into your room, his landing ever so silent.

“It just doesn’t feel right.” Cole gave you a quick peck on the lips, pulling away with a lovesick smile. “Hi, honey.”

“Hi, Cole,” you smiled at the term of endearment, linking your fingers behind his neck.

You and Cole had been planning this weekend for months. Being eighteen and finishing up your senior year of high school, your parents still weren’t extremely open to your boyfriend spending the night.

To them it didn’t matter if he was a ninja with honor practically flowing from his bloodstream, the bottom line was he was your boyfriend and therefore no sleepovers. Apparently his boyfriend title outranked his ninja status.

Who knew?

But none of that mattered this weekend. This weekend your parents were out of town for a wedding. Of course they suspected you’d pull something like this, but before they could even bring it up, you told them Cole was going to a training camp that weekend as well.

A lie, but a necessary one. That meant you two had the whole house to yourself for the entire weekend. You were giddy just thinking about it.

“What did you tell the elders?” you asked him.

Your parents weren’t the only problem. If either of you thought Wu, Garmadon, or Misako would be fine with this stunt you guys were pulling–dead wrong.

They loved you, seeing as you had been to the monastery countless times, but they were like Cole’s parents. And they also didn’t approve of sleepovers.

“Got everyone else to cover for me,” he assured you. “As far as the elders are concerned I’m violently sick and extremely contagious.”

You shook your lead with a laugh. “You better hope they don’t try to bring you medicine.”

Cole shook his head. “Locked it and snuck out the window. And I told Jay to tell them I brought a bunch of medicine into my room so they didn’t have to.”

“Very smooth,” you complimented.

“Yeah, come one give me some credit.” Cole scooped you up bridal style. “I can lie when I have to.”

“Which is usually never.”

“Only when it means I can spend time with my beautiful girlfriend,” Cole beamed as you two flopped down on your bed.

“Aren’t you the charmer?”

“Always have been.”

“Lies,” you poke his cheek resulting in a shared laugh. “So, whole house to ourselves. Whatever should we do first?”

The two of you looked at each other. Twin smirks on both your faces.

“Are you done yet?” Cole huffed from below you, doom-scrolling on his phone. You peeked over his shoulder a few times and saw that he was watching edits of himself. Both liking and saving them too.

“One second,” you mumbled around the cap of your marker. “So impatient.”

“I’ve been laying here for hours,” he complained.

“Hour–singular,” you corrected, removing the cap from your mouth and clicking it back onto the marker. “You’d know that if you went to school.”

Cole turned his head and shot you a glare over his bare shoulder. You laughed at the sight, ruffling his dark hair.

“You and I both know Misako homeschools us.” Cole attempted to get up, but you pushed down on his shoulders from your position–straddled over his lower back.

“Wait!” you insisted, leaning over his back to snatch his phone out of hands.

He protested slightly, but it was back in his hands in no time. You had just used it to snap a picture of the artwork you had done on his skin.

“Is that my dragon?” Cole asked, a hint of awe in his tone.

It was indeed. Using a marker that was one hundred percent safe for skin, you tested out a new design on your boyfriend. The idea had been in your head for a long time, you just didn’t have a suitable canvas until now.

“Mhmm,” you confirmed, pecking his cheek, looking at the picture on his phone.

The earth dragon’s strong wings stretched over the width of his broad shoulders while the dragon’s body and tail resided down the expanse of his back, ending just above his waistband.

“That’s a crazy amount of detail.” Cole zoomed in on the head of the dragon where you had drawn out his crown of spikes and added texture to most of your drawing.

“Maybe I’ll give you a tattoo one day,” you shrugged, climbing off his back allowing him to throw his shirt back on.

Cole was no stranger to tattoos. In fact, he had some. A few small ones here and there, but he told you if you ever got your hands on professional equipment, he’d let you give him a tattoo.

He even has your initials behind his right ear. You remember staring at it for hours after he finally showed you.

“Come on,” you patted his back. “I’m starving.”

“Starving means food, I’m in.” He hopped up immediately, following you down the stairs and into your kitchen.

The two of you forged for something you could make a meal out of. Luckily, your parents had just restocked all the groceries since they were going out of town.

“How does pasta with a side of salad and garlic bread sound?” You asked from within the fridge.

You felt a presence walk up behind you, and suddenly your boyfriend’s strong hands were on your hips, his front pressed against your back.

“I’ll eat anything you make, gorgeous,” he said, breath brushing against your left ear as he reached up and grabbed the lettuce and dressing from the top shelf of the fridge.

You turned in his arms and gave him a quick kiss. “Pasta it is.”

“Want me to–?”

“You can put the lettuce in a bowl and add the dressing.” You cut him off quickly.

Unfortunately, it seemed like that was the only task he could complete successfully. Throwing things into a bowl he could do. Anything else? Not so much.

You don’t mind much. Not everyone’s a good cook. And you personally find it much more fun with his company.

You saw the slight pout on his face, but he knew you were right.

“You can add whatever else you want if you can find it in the fridge,” you said over your shoulder while grabbing the pasta from the pantry and a few more things to make the sauce recipe your mom taught you.

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved a dismissing hand while the other grabbed a larger bowl for the salad.

Laughing softly, you made your way back to the stove to boil some water, and get started on the sauce.

You were in the midst of stirring and setting a timer when music flowed from the speakers built into your ceiling. Turning around, you saw Cole sat on one of the barstools, phone in hand as he nodded along to the song.

“Elvis?” you asked, pointing upward.

Cole nodded in confirmation. “Suspicious Minds is one of my favorites.”

“Mine too,” you smiled before leaning over to check on the boiling noodles.

It wasn’t long before you were being spun around. Taken aback, you almost tripped over your own feet, but he was there to catch you. He always has been.

Hazel eyes met your own, and you couldn’t help but mirror his elated expression.

“Dance with me?” he offered.

You just pulled him closer in response. One of his hands curled around your waist, while the other gently clasped your hand that wasn’t planted on his shoulder.

Unsurprisingly, Cole was a good dancer. Other than the fact he had amazing balance being a ninja, his father taught him to dance as a kid. While Cole didn’t love it like his father did, he loved dancing with you.

The two of you sound around each other and between the counter and the island as Suspicious Minds continued to play from above.

Neither of you could keep the grins off your faces, and you couldn’t help but laugh as he dipped and spun you. His strength just made dancing with him all the more entertaining. He could lift you with one hand above his head if he wanted.

However, the blare of the timer you had set had your feet faltering to a stop and ducking under his arm to check on the things at the stove.

You gave the sauce another quick stir before lowering the heat before moving to strain the pasta. Before you could get to it, Cole had placed a dish towel on either side and carried it to the strainer in the sink.

Steam wafted up into the air as he tipped the pot over the bowl of the sink.

“Thank you,” you sing-songed as he returned the strands of pasta to the original now water free pot.

“No problem, gorgeous,” he gave you a heroic smile before moving to take the garlic bread out of the oven as well.

Watching as he carefully slid the bread out of the hot space, you couldn’t help but be thankful that you caught him first before some other girl beat you to it.

“What is it?” Cole asked as he placed the tray on one of the unoccupied stovetops.

“Nothing.” You shook the lovesick expression off your face. “Taste this for me.”

You lifted a wooden spoon up to your boyfriend's mouth. He complied immediately, always eager to sample your cooking.

“Thoughts?” you asked.

“Amazing as always,” he responded with a nod.

“You flatter me,” you shook your head, tossing the spoon in the sink before combining the pasta and sauce into one pan.

“Flattery or honesty?” Cole asked, leaning against the counter as he watched you work.

“I suppose I can always rely on you to be honest with me,” you admitted.

“Damn straight.”

You laughed, announcing food was done. Cole fetched the two of you plates and held one out for you. You accepted, and per his insistence, got first dibs at the food you had cooked.

Soon, the two of you were sat at the island, eating your dinner side by side. Cole praised your food, and you laughed, insisting he only likes it so much because he can’t cook to save his life.

After you two had finished, Cole wouldn’t even let you touch your plate, claiming since you cooked he’d do all the dishes. You protested at first, but after he quite literally carried you out of the kitchen and into the living room you gave up.

Instead, while he did the dishes, you were looking for a movie to put on for the two of you. But you didn’t stop there. It was almost like a girlfriend ritual to make your boyfriend do skincare with you, and while you weren’t overly into skin care, you did have a few face masks.

Cole stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes landed on what was in your hands. Pore strips. You’d put them on him before, and though he denied it, his eyes started to water when you peeled it off him.

“No.” He crossed his arms.

“Please!” you begged. “It’s good for you!”

“Lies, that’s just what they want you to think so you keep buying them.”

You didn’t back down, and eventually, you dragged him over to the couch and placed a pore strip over the bridge of his nose.

“Why do I let you do this to me?” he whined.

“Because you love you,” you said, patting his chest.

“Sad but true,” he sighed dramatically.

You gasped in fake offense before he tackled you back onto the couch, tickling your sides briefly. To compensate him for the pore strips, you picked one of your mutually favorite movies to put on.

However, when the thirty minutes for your strips were up, you had to chase Cole down around your house. Eventually, you caught up, reassuring him you’ll be gentle this time.

He eyed you skeptically, but stayed still anyway. You began to remove the strip from his nose, but almost every time you moved it, he’d wince.

“You’re so dramatic!” You laughed.

“I’m not! This shit hurts!” Cole leaned his head back, blinking furiously.

Slowly, you managed to get the strip off his face, but you had to stop him from scratching at the exposed place. To show him it wasn’t that bad, you removed your strip in one fluid motion. It hurt a little, you had to admit, and it made your eyes water slightly, but you powered through it.

“What happens when a villain slaps a pore strip on you, then what?” You asked as you two made your way back down stairs.

“Then I die a hero’s death.”

The rest of the night you two had spent watching your favorite movies with a bowl of popcorn between the two of you. At one point, you had put on one of your favorite sad movies, and when the main character died, Cole gasped and threw a piece of popcorn at the TV.

After the movies, you found one of your old Just Dance discs. It didn’t take a lot of concing to get Cole to do it with you. Somehow, he beat you every round to the point where you took to tripping him in order to win.

After another loss, you suggest a switch in games that led you to Mario Kart. Unlike Just Dance, he didn’t beat you once at Mario Kart. Not even when he covered your eyes with one of his hands.

Eventually, well into the late hours of the night, you two dragged yourself up to your room where Cole put on a pair of pajamas he kept at your house, and crashed into bed.

Soft morning rays bled through your half closed curtains as you buried your face further into the warmth of your boyfriend next to you. Cole’s soft breaths were ruffling the hairs on the top of your head, and his arms were wrapped around you as if he was afraid you’d disappear during the night.

Stretching as well as you could, you scratched at his scalp lightly, not wanting to wake him. A triumphant grin spread across your face. You had just gotten away with your boyfriend sleeping over at your house!

A cleared throat had your eyes shooting open. Your gaze landed on both your parents standing in your open doorway. Your father’s brows were raised, arms crossed as he tapped his foot while your mother was doing her best to conceal a smile.

“You’re back early,” you forced out a laugh, attempting to slide the covers higher to cover Cole’s body.

“And you’re grounded–three days,” your father deadpanned. Letting out a tired sigh he continued, “Breakfast is downstairs when you’re both ready.”

Your mom gave you a wink before following your father downstairs. You could tell neither of them were genuinely upset.

Well, you almost got away with it.

[daizedndconfused]

soo i have a few wips in my drafts one of them is a request but the other one is like so not my usual content at all but i’ve had this idea in my head for a long time im so excited. maybe ill post a little blurb about it tomorrow?? stay tuned!!

[daizedndconfused]

Actualy crying because I can't find any bizzaro x reader on this site. I'm scared I may have to venture out into the depths of fanfic sites. My timbers have been shivered. How's your day going????

haha oh nooo i’m sure you’ll find one eventually (i’m sure ao3 has some they have literally everything) my days been going good!! just really tired haha also super cute drawings you sent me a while back!! i’ve been strangely busy these past few weeks and for some reason can never get enough sleep 😔

[daizedndconfused]

fandoms ill write and you can request for

ninjago

cole brookstone

kai smith

jay walker

zane julien

lloyd garmadon

percy jackson

percy jackson

jason grace

leo valdez

marvel

peter parker

bucky barnes

steve rogers

tony stark

shang-chi

stephen strange

harry potter

harry potter

ron weasley

george weasley

fred weasley

draco malloy

marauders

james potter

sirius black

remus lupin

regulus black

barty crouch jr

evan rosier

haikyuu

kageyama tobio

hinata shoyo

tsukishima kei

nishinoya yuu

sugawara koushi

oikawa tooru

iwazumin hajime

bokuto koutarou

akashi keiji

ushiwaka wakatoshi

kuroo tetsurou

kenma kozume

atsumu miya

osamu miya

mha

izuku midoryia

katsuki bakugou

shoto todoroki

denki kaminari

eijiro kirishima

tenya iida

tokoyami fumikage

aizawa shouta

keigo takami

rdr2

arthur morgan

john marston

[daizedndconfused]

thievin’

a/n- idk why im up right now but yay first post of 2025 who’s hyped?? ik i’ve been like mia for a bit but i blame my ps5 for that. also back in school!! awesome (can you tell im crying) lmaooo anyway this is defo gonna be like a mini series so get ready okay lots of love everyone hope you keep up your resolutions if you do em<33

characters- cole brookstone x thief fem!reader

type- eh fluff kinda/enemies to lovers type beat you’ll see

warnings- very mild suggestive comments (not proofread)

synopsis- you’re a thief living in the most run down part of ninjago. you’re doing everything you can to make ends meet, but sometimes you gotta bite the bullet and take a gamble. in order to make a little extra cash you’re sent on a mission to steal a very priceless artifact—the most high risk heist you’ve ever been on. you encounter a certain ninja during your outing and you just can’t help yourself to a little bit of fun upon meeting him. will he let you go? will you succeed in recovering the artifact? or will it be your head on the line instead?

word count- 3.1k

Being poor was okay. Obviously, it wasn’t the ideal spot to be in, and sure you’d prefer to have money and not have to worry about whether or not you would be able to feed yourself tomorrow but you can’t have it all, can you?

Everybody thought Ninjago was the most gorgeous city–clearly they’ve never visited your side of town. You personally didn’t think it was an awful place to live, but it definitely isn't what people would expect out of the great ninjago city.

Nevertheless, it was home. Well, home since your parents died and you were left to fend for yourself. Technically, your mother died during childbirth, or shortly after. You didn’t really like to ask your father about it. It seemed insensitive.

The loss of your father was more recently caused by an unsuspected illness you didn’t have the funds to get treated. You lost him seven years ago, and you miss both of them immensely, even if you never knew your mother–she still held a place in your heart, and your blood.

Plus, it wasn’t as if you were completely alone. The loss of your parents and your home only hindered your spirit for a few months. But eventually, you had to grow up. You had only yourself now, and you needed to start getting your shit together.

That’s how you found yourself living in a narrow alley with nothing but a few blankets to separate yourself from the hard concrete, and a tarp above your head held up by hopes and dreams in case it rained. Courtesy of a girl you’d met three years ago–Henley.

You did what you had to to survive, the both of you did, but your version of ‘work’ was a tad more illegal than Henley’s. While your friend chose to work at some manufacturing factory that paid maybe ten cents an hour, you quickly developed the skill of ‘soft hands.’

Just a little something you picked up in the few years before befriending Henley. Plus, living where you did at the time, it was customary for your father to teach you martial arts, and teach he did. He often pushed you to your limits, making sure your senses were always on high alert.

Though now you supposed you were grateful for it. It made it easy to navigate the crowded streets of Uri–the poorer side of Ninjago that most people decided to ignore.

The early morning sun beat down on you, somehow finding its way around the tarp above your head.

Groaning you rolled over, hoping to block out the rays and catch a few more hours of sleep.

“Morning,” Henley yawned from beside you.

You mumbled incoherently back at her.

“I’ve gotta get going, work starts soon,” Henley told you. You heard her scooting closer towards you.

“Why d’you work at that shithole?” You grumbled, still not fully awake. “They barely pay you, Henley.”

You could practically see the expression on her freckled face. She was most likely staring down at you with a torn and somewhat somber expression.

“It’s the only place that would hire me,” she muttered. “You know that.”

Squeezing your eyes tight you then sat up, stretching out your back. Upon opening your eyes you came to find out your assumption was correct.

“Yeah,” you nod. “Which is bullshit by the way. Any web company would be lucky to have you.”

Henley shrugged a shoulder. “Well, beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Then it’s a good thing we haven’t stooped that low,” you reassured her. You left the unspoken yet out of the sentence.

Henley smiled, brushing back her mane of curly red hair. “Okay, now I really need to go. Please, be safe today, and try not to get caught. I really don’t know if I can stomach breaking you out of jail again.”

“In my defense,” you said as she stood to leave. “There may have been some alcohol behind the reason that asshole caught up to me.”

Henley fixed you with a look that said, Good luck, before she looked up and down the already busy streets and made her way to the factory.

You gave yourself a few more minutes before heading out onto the streets. As usual, Uri was already busy at like eight a.m on a weekday. Stall owners were yelling at anyone passing by as if the volume would persuade people to stop and buy a useless trinket they didn’t need.

Still rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you wove through people, fluid like a leaf in the wind. It was almost too easy to nick people’s wallets this way. In Uri it was almost impossible to walk anywhere without brushing shoulders with someone. Lucky for you, the jacket you wore held many pockets to store your ‘finds’ on the street.

After palming a few wallets on your way to possibly the best looking building in this part of town, you opened them up to find nothing much. Out of all the wallets you lifted, you got a whopping thirty dollars.

See that was the issue with living in a poor neighborhood–everyone you stole from was also poor. Not a great match unfortunately.

Sighing, you made your way towards the tallest building in Uri. It also just happened to be where you’d pick up a way to make some extra cash on the days that were really slow. Just from waking up this morning you knew today would be one of them.

The only issue is, the jobs you’re given are risky, and so you try not to do them as often.

The guards posted outside of the doors let you through without any issues. At this point you’d been coming here sporadically for about five and a half years. You were the best and most reliable thief Malina had.

A few doors, some hallways, and an elevator later, you stood in front of the woman herself.

Malina stared at you with a victorious glint in her eyes, her head resting on her intertwined fingers. “And here I thought you broke up with me.”

“Ah, you know me,” you shrugged, shoving your hands into the pockets of your jacket. “Always comin’ back.”

“Now that I can always rely on.” Malina leaned back in her big leather chair, one long leg crossed over the other.

Malina was the only successful business owner in this Uri. Shockingly, she got most of her wealth from illegal schemes and black market dealings. Which is why she needed you.

Malian didn’t waste any time in throwing down a file on top of her spotless desk.

“It’s all in there,” she waved a gloved hand, her diamond bracelet twinkling in the light of her office.

You reached for the file and flipped it open to survey its contents. Your eyes widened as you continued further and further down the papers clipped together. This job was impossible.

Usually, nothing is impossible for you. However, in the past Malina only ever had you stealing jewels from old guys on their deathbed, or artwork from museums, and sometimes some random priceless artifact guarded in an equally random warehouse.

Apparently this time she really wanted to put you to the test.

“This is a joke,” you said, flipping the file shut.

“How so?” Malina asked, dark brows furrowed in innocence.

“Look, you give me work, and I’ve always appreciated that,” you told her honestly. “But stealing from the Royal Family is my one way ticket to a lifetime in prison.”

Malina pouted at you. “And here I thought my star employee never got caught.”

You scoffed out a laugh, tongue in your cheek as you looked up to the heavens for patience.

When she didn’t back down you finally spoke. “What else you got for me?”

“Unfortunately,” Malina said, though her tone didn’t suggest she found it anywhere near unfortunate, “that’s it.”

“Bullshit,” you challenged.

Malina raised her hands. “I’m serious! Work’s been booming lately.”

Crossing your arms, you rolled your eyes. The two of you stood unspeaking, staring at each other as you weighed your options.

On the plus side, if you did this job successfully, you and Henley might be able to afford an actual apartment. A shitty one, but it was better than the alley. Plus, you might also be able to afford the first few months of rent before you get a real job and force Henley to quit hers at the factory.

Closing your eyes you reluctantly agreed. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

Malina’s grin widened into an eerie expression, her pearly white teeth shone almost as bright as the diamonds around her wrist. “I knew you would. Clothes are in their usual place.”

You nodded and spun on your heel, hightailing it out of Malina’s office. Thankfully, ever since you all but pledged your loyalty to her, she’d provide you with some living essentials occasionally. Things like showers, a hairbrush, basic needs like that.

But when she sent you out on a mission, she made sure you were set up for success, and the rest was on you. Opening the wooden wardrobe at the end of the hall, you were greeted with the familiar sight of the dark clothing you typically wore on outings such as these.

You picked the uniform off the hanger and quickly found the nearest room to change in. Even though you wouldn’t be leaving until nightfall, you still would rather put it on now as it helped you even in Uri. With the hood and mask covering the bottom half of your face, the only thing you could really make out was your hair and eyes.

You spent most of the day on the roof tops, going over the blueprints of the palace Malina provided for you, along with the guard rotations. Pacing along the edge of an old rundown building, you slowly came up with a plan. Though, the object you had been assigned to steal was a bit odd. You expected jewels, or even the crown, but instead you were sent after a golden hourglass, with equally golden sand inside.

You didn’t know the properties or importance of the object, but to be honest, you didn’t really care. You just wanted to get the job done and over with so you could return home and finally place a roof over your head after seven years of sleeping under the open sky.

As soon as the sun set beyond the city, you set out. Of course, you left Henley a note explaining you might not be back tonight–and that you might not be back at all–but you assured her not to worry.

It took a while to get to the good part of town, but a few subway trains later, you finally made it. And what a difference it was.

Instead of yelling and aggressive haggling, there was light chatter, laughter, and the buzz of technology reverberating around you. Not to mention the colors. Almost every sign in Ninjago was neon, and sometimes you couldn’t help but get a little sidetracked looking at all the beautiful things you’d never get to experience yourself.

Eventually, you found yourself by the palace. Fishing out the timetable of the guard rotations, you determined that the east side of the castle would be the most unprotected in about two minutes–meaning you had to be quick.

Quick you were. You managed to get to the east side and scale the wall in a minute and thirty. Tiptoeing around the outer wall, you made sure to keep your eyes on the guards below. So far, none of them noticed you.

Finally, you landed on the tiled roof. By memorization, the hourglass would be located in a mostly open room on the top floor. Carefully maneuvering around the roof, making sure to not make too much noise, you managed to unlock the window and pull it open.

Thankfully, it didn’t make much noise. Letting out an internal sigh of relief, you quickly tied a rope on one of the support pillars of the palace and threw it over the side of the window. Directly below the window was an obnoxiously large potted plant that would do well to hide you from view.

You briefly wondered if you’d be able to climb back up with rope one handed, but instead you figured you could bring a cord to secure the hourglass onto your belt loop.

As usual, you landed on the red wood floors without a sound. As much as you wished to stick around and admire the impressive castle you’d only ever seen in newspapers, you had a job to do.

Heart hammering, you peeked around the plant to find two guards–both with their back towards you.

It feels almost too easy, you thought as you crept towards the hourglass displayed on a pedestal.

Once you got close enough, you took a few moments to inspect the pedestal. There was a very possible chance of the hourglass being placed upon a weighted pressure plate that would set off the emergency alarms if removed, but after looking at it, the stone surface looked entirely even. There most likely wasn’t any extra security around this artifact, but in the off chance there was, you’d have to be ready to run.

Calming your mind, you swiped it quickly, preferring to take it and bolt in case the alarms went off.

You got three strides in before your luck ran out. All around you alarms had started blaring, alerting every guard on the premises. However, by that point you had already tied the glass around your waist and were ascending the rope.

You could vaguely make out the alarmed voices of the guards chasing after you, and as soon as you heaved yourself onto the roof, you sliced the rope with the knife in your boot. Two thuds and pained grunts were all you heard before you bolted.

Guards were climbing up at every point, but what they had in size and brute strength, you had in speed and agility. Being quick on your feet was like second nature–and you really should send a letter to the Royal Family to invest in some guards. These ones weren’t all that good at their job.

You hoped over them in groups, and it felt like you knew the palace layout better than they did. You knew exactly where to step and when to step, that by the time you landed on the other side of the walls, you knew you had one.

You grinned and laughed triumphantly as you jumped across the rooftops. The guards got further and further away and you blame the adrenaline in your veins for what happened next.

Suddenly, something tangled itself around your ankles, sending you tumbling to the concrete of an apartment complex.

“Son of a–” you winced, cradling the wrist you had landed on at an awkward angle.

Sitting up quickly, you reached for the rope wrapped around your ankles when a boot beat you to it.

“I don’t think that belongs to you,” the stranger spoke.

Looking up slowly, you mentally cursed yourself at the figure standing above you.

The Earth Ninja.

Why the hell were they at the palace? Why did they care about some petty robbery, wasn’t there some maniac trying to destroy the world that they should be busy with at the moment?

“What? The outfit? It doesn’t–borrowed from a friend.” You leaned back on your palms, looking up at the Earth Ninja’s strikingly gorgeous face.

He wasn’t wearing his mask tonight, leaving all his features on display–brown eyes that you guessed were a gorgeous shade of hazel in the light, shaggy but well kept hair as dark as the sky above, and a build that could rival the strength of an ox.

Cocking your head, you pushed your hood back and mask down, letting him see your roaming eyes and approving smirk.

“I need that.” He pointed to the golden hourglass at your hip. Apparently he didn’t find your jokes very funny.

“No, I need it,” you countered. “How else am I supposed to keep track of the time? I don’t have a watch.”

You shoved your hands up, rotating your wrists spastically to emphasize your point.

The Earth Ninja leaned down, but you didn’t back down. “Just hand over the glass, and I’ll tell them you dropped it trying to flee.”

You too leaned towards him, the both of you so close your noses were almost touching. In the ninja’s favor, his expression didn’t falter.

“I told you, I need it.”

“And I gave you an ultimatum,” the ninja returned, his eyes hardening. “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be.”

“Aw, but where’s the fun in that?” You smirked with a wink.

You saw his facade crack slightly as he twitched back every so slightly. That was all the hesitation you needed.

As the two of you went back and forth, you had been discreetly severing the rope binding your legs, and you quickly wrapped them around his waist, flipping him over onto his back. The Earth Ninja landed with a harsh exhale. You leaped off of him quickly before he could counter your surprise attack.

He was a ninja, and you knew there was no way you’d be able to beat him at hand to hand combat, but you could avoid him. Your thought was proven when he was back on his feet and into a fighting stance a split second after you created distance between you and him.

The Earth Ninja raised a curious brow at you over his raised fists. “Who are you?”

“Funny I was about to ask the same thing,” you laughed. “But, I think I’ve got something that could help me out with that–Cole L. Brookstone–what’s the L for? Oh well, six-foot five inches, black hair, two hundred and ten pounds–” you broke off looking him up and down. “Well you certainly don’t look over two hundred.”

Cole’s eyes widened as he lunged for you, and the wallet in your hand. You jumped back from him easily and continued to read off his driver's license.

“Hazel eyes, nineteen years old–oh cute we’re the same age–”

“Give it back!” He demanded, reaching for you again, only for you to slide under his legs and appear behind him.

“Born on October 25th–” another attempt to grab you had you using the rope previously used on you against him, binding his wrists, and legs making him fall on his ass.

You then hopped onto the roof of the entrance hallway of the building, and sat on the edge, legs swinging in front of you.

You continued to flip through his wallet, “Restaurant receipt–you know you don’t have to keep those. Lifetime subway pass, oh you lucky bastard. Gift card you’ve probably had for three years, credit card–very shiny, one fifty in cash and–” you paused upon seeing the last item in his standard leather wallet.

Sliding your eyes down to the boy your age, you raised a brow at him, almost laughing at his red face you could see even in the dark.

“Why do you have a condom in your wallet?” You giggled.

Cole momentarily stopped struggling against the rope and had the decency to look away, embarrassed.

“Emergencies,” he grumbled, glaring up at you.

“Ah, right,” you sucked air through your teeth before tossing it back down on his lap.

Flexing his arms, he snapped the ropes like they were ribbons and did the same with the ones binding his legs.

“So, it seems we're at an impasse,” you sighed.

“No,” he stood, “we’re not.”

“Au contraire, you’ll never catch me. You had your shot, and you blew it.” You pointed at him accusingly. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that I’m very slippery. And I assure you–you chase, and I’ll run, and I can keep running for a damn long time.”

It would become a game of cat and mouse you knew would go on forever.

“Surely you don’t expect me to just let you walk away with a priceless artifact from the Royal Family.” Cole crossed his arms.

“Exactly–impasse.”

The stubborn boy shook his head, black waves flopping. “No, I–”

Before he could finish his sentence, the dart was already buried into his arm.

Cole startled, looking down at the tiny metal needle sticking out of his right bicep. He gave you an unimpressed look before reaching with his other hand to pluck it from his body. However, his hand was halfway there when it went limp by his side.

Cole’s brown eyes went wide as his legs too started to wobble, and shortly after the rest of his body gave away.

He once again landed on the ground with a dull thud.

Smiling slightly you gracefully jumped down from your perch and made your way over to him to retrieve your dart.

“What the hell is that?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“Just a numbing sedative,” you responded, pocketing it. “Don’t worry it’ll wear off in like an hour.”

“An hour? Hell no, help me up.”

“Hmm, tempting,” you deadpanned, but you did prop his back up against the wall of the roof in a sitting position.

Cole glared at you, and you smirked back.

“I enjoyed our little game of cat and mouse my friend,” you patted his cheek before standing to full height. “But I’m afraid I must be going. Places to be, money to be made–you know how it is.”

“Hey! Wait!” Cole called to your retreating back.

But you didn’t. Instead you leapt down to the adjacent roof and all but skipped back to Uri, happy that you weren’t caught, but you weren’t entirely mad about meeting the Earth Ninja either. Secretly, you hoped he'd track you down–where round two of your game would take place.

[daizedndconfused]

extra info

soo for one i have a book on wattpad called stone heart it’s a cole x fem reader ofc and odds are it’s gonna be a long one so go checked it outtt

my user is also daizedndconfused same pfp and everything

REQUEST ANYTHING DONT BE SHY!!

i love when people pop into my inbox makes me feel special hahah just be patient with me and please please please read the rules before requesting it makes it easier for everyone

[daizedndconfused]

fandom masterlist

ninjago

percy jackson

marvel

harry potter

marauders

haikyuu

mha

rdr2

[daizedndconfused]

ninjago masterlist

cole

mornings are the worst ༊*·˚

linked ༊*·˚

new girl ༊*·˚

first snow ༊*·˚

cole in a relationship ✧.*

dates cole would go on ✧.*

thievin’༊*·˚

slumber party ༊*·˚

eye to eye ༊*·˚

can’t remember to forget you ༊*·˚

kai

nothing yet…

jay

nothing yet…

zane

nothing yet…

lloyd

nothing yet…

headcannons

gifts id give them ✧.*

༊*·˚ = fic

✧.* = headcannon

[daizedndconfused]

What gifts would you give the ninjago characters? Hope ur having a happy holiday

aww thank you!! i had so much fun haha but let’s get into this

gifts id give the ninja

kai

to be funny id give him like an absurd amount of hair gel with his name and face on it i think it’d be hilarious

as a genuine gift i’d get him fireworks. THIS MAY SEEM ODD BUT HEAR ME OUT. he’s hot headed we all know that and i feel like he’d have so much fun going into the middle of nowhere and lighting a bunch of fireworks

i’d ALSO get him tickets to a rage room. personally i’ve never been to one but k really want to and i think kai would THRIVE. he gets to whack the shit out of things for funsies and LEGALLY!! what could be better??

cole

id get him a record player and some old records to go with it

i’d also get him a new guitar because (again if you read my fics yk how i feel about this) he’s probably been wanting a new one for so long but doesn’t actually ask for one cause they’re expensive (DONT CARE ILL BUY IT!!)

i would get him lego lily flowers because…yk that was his moms name and they’ll never die cause they’re legos

jay

a new video fr or like a gift card for game stores cause he needs to play something new im begging

i’d also get him legos but like i’d get him a really big one that’s at least 1000 pieces cause he goes through that shit sooo fast

anddd id get him a lightsaber because ik he’d have fun with it

zane

to be funny (again cause i’m hilarious) id get him a snow cone maker

as a genuine gift i’d get him a STACK of beautifully bonded classic literature along with some cute sweater cause they’d look good on him ik it

lastly i’m getting him a heated blanket… he’s gotta be tired of being cold all the time just be cozy pleaseeee

lloyd

i’m giving him an entire comic book series (or at least a good chunk cause there’s so many in one series

i’d also give him a cute framed picture of when he was a kid because my poor boy did NOT get enough of a childhood

on that similar note i’d give him things he used to like as a kid like action figures cause he defo collects them

nya

my girl nya gets an old motorcycle that i found for cheap that she can take a part and make better. ik she’ll add whatever the hell she wants to it and make it an absolute MACHINE

i’d also get her a leather jacket with like a little lightning bolt on one sleeve and a drop of water on the other she loves jay after all

again to be funny id get her a do not disturb thing to put on her door cause she needs rest sometimes and ALSO one of those little mini punching bags cause home girl also has some anger issues

[daizedndconfused]

OMG WAIT HOW DID UR FINALS GO??? my exams arnt done, I finished my pre exam exam (bc why is that a thing where I live) and I've still got 3 sets to go. Love the stress. HOW U DOINGGGGGG

exams went great tho!!! passed all of them thank goodness

[daizedndconfused]

Cole content deprived(tm) back at it again, may I req Cole with a reader who's zanes younger brother? Like zanes dad found them and decided to take care of them, so when the ninja catch them cuddled up playing video games or sm and there relationship gets outed, zanes just kinda like :0 (in a very zane way)

Tysm for the content I'm actualy so Cole deprived(tm) right now

ahh sorry lovely i don’t write male reader as of right now 😔