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[mybworlds]

CHAPTER 2

Pairing: Tim Rockford x F!Reader (no use of Y/N) Summary: Tim Rockford usually works alone and has a bad temper, one day after another woman was found dead he started to believe there's a serial killer around, maybe a useful help will come from an aspiring mystery writer. Series warnings: use of you, violence graphic, slow burn, angst, fluff, mutual pining, eventual smut (18+ MDNI). Masterlist

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After almost a year that you know Tim Rockford, you learned to handle his bad temper, his nicknames he gave you and his colleagues, you learned to accept even his sometimes piercing gaze toward you, but when you met him you found him distasteful.

In fact, after his comment the day you met, Parker invited you to come in and introduce yourself to the Detective, you timidly entered on tiptoe and extended your hand, but he didn't shake it, but he merely looked at it and then looked at your face with a raised eyebrow and a disgusted expression painted on his face. For sure, you turned purple; no one had ever looked at you like that or made you feel like a complete nothing like he did at that moment.

“Give him some time,” the Commander tried to encourage you and then took his leave, closing the door behind him and leaving the two of you alone. You were about to turn your back on that obnoxious man and go back to Parker and say that you thanked him, but that you couldn't accept working with or, better yet, be inspired from a guy like that Detective. You couldn't learned from him in a hundred years. Despite this deep discomfort, you didn't move, just stood there in the middle of the room with that man going up and down the room and looking at you with an annoyed look. Again.

“I'm sorry if I'm bothering you,” you tried to justify yourself in an attempt to make you accept, but the man in response huffed and turned his back on you, ignoring you. Your words are caught in your throat, an unpleasant grip made the pit of your stomach contract, and you resumed sweating from discomfort. You really didn't know what to do or say, you lowered your gaze. It was not going to be easy to deal with him, it was clear.

“First,” he told you after several minutes causing you to look up at him, he has his back to you, “Don't wanna ya standing there in the middle of the room, I lose my focus.”

You looked around undecided where to settle down so as not to disturb him, you found a chair and were about to go there, but after just three steps, he blocked you again “Second, that's my chair and ya don't touch it.”

You were about to open your mouth and ask him then where you could sit, but he resumed “Third, dumb questions get on my nerves; so if ya have nothing clever to say shut up.”

Fuck, what a temper!

“Anything else?” you dared to ask him, finally he turned his back to you. He still had that damn disgusted expression on his face, but this time you noticed a flash behind those dark eyes “Or is that not a clever question?” you added, looking him in the eye.

His lips ruffled in a grin, to this day you would define it amused, but when you met him it was hard for you to say if he found that your question amusing or annoying.

“Yes, there's more.” he replied completely ignoring the second question “Fourth, this is my office and I'll run my business my own way, I don't share things with anyone, not even if ya were Jessica Fletcher,” he snarled taking a step toward you.

When you think back to the many nicknames he gave you from the first moment he saw you, you'd laugh because in his own way he established contact with you right away: yes, at first was a non-trust and even contempt contact, but better than being ignored altogether. There were his colleagues, in fact, who were called by him with a snap of his fingers because their names were not important to him and their faces least of all.

You looked around looking for a grip, anything to get the man in front of you to calm down, but at that moment you found nothing worthy of your attention and so, your eye fell on his evidence board, on the faces of all those women and it was impossible for you not to notice at once the expression in their eyes.

“Whatcha doing?” the Detective asked, “No, no, no I know that look, don't start crying in my office, for goodness sake. It wouldn't be a good start.”

You huffed and smiled, “Instead things are going very well, aren't they?” he looked at you making his gaze wander over your face first and then over your figure “Anyway, I was observing women's faces,” you said approaching the evidence board and reaching out your hand to one of the photos, he blocked your hand in the air wrapping it in his and you stiffened.

“No, no, I'm the only one who can touch the pictures, so stop,” he barked.

“Can I talk and breathe at least?” you asked him with wide eyes.

You felt what you would have called a chill today, but the first day you ignored him altogether. Too caught up in the shame of being recommended, embarrassed at not being accepted by that Detective, scared to be in a setting so far from what had been your world up to that point.

“I have a feeling ya'd talk anyway, so be my guest,” he said.

“Thank you.” you replied using almost his same tone of voice “Did you notice the women's eyes?”

Rockford went back to looking at the pictures, “Yes, and…? What d' ya wanna me to notice, Nancy Drew?”

You glancing him then replied, “They all have a peaceful look, as if they were ready to die…” you started to say, but he extended a hand toward you in midair and you stopped immediately.

“Don't give me any fucking comment, please.”

“I meant, those who are about to die, they don't have that look,”

“And what d' ya know about that'?” he asks turning completely toward you with his hands on his hips “How many crime scenes have ya been to? How many dead bodies have ya seen?” he shook his head, "You know nothing and ya pretend to understand something just because my boss asked me to or else I wouldn't have let ya stay here," he added as he walked past you and toward his desk.

You breathed deeply, “You know, Detective, it's true I don't know anything. About dead bodies, about murders, about crime scenes, I don't know how to act in these moments it's true, but maybe I can give you an opinion from my outside, my place of inexperience.” you offered.

He huffed with a half-smile, “And let's hear it, what else would ya notice?” he asked pointing his finger toward his evidence board.

“They're all very young, what, 25-26 years old?” you asked as you looked up at him.

“24, then?” he asked, intertwining his hands.

“All 24?” he nodded.

You looked carefully at all the photos, beyond age and expression at first glance nothing seemed to unite them. I mean, they weren't all blondes or brunettes or redheads, they weren't all skinny or fat, they had nothing in common apart from age. Then one thing struck you, at first glance it would have escaped or seemed insignificant, and instead.

“What is this?” you asked as you brought your nose closer to a first picture.

The Detective reached out to you, “Where?” he asked putting on his glasses.

“Here,” you replied pointing to a spot near the hairline, “it's something bright red like there's a cut,” you then looked at the other photos bringing your face closer to the photos as well “it's there too,” you then observed the other photos “did you notice them, Detective?” you asked observing the man next to you who took a magnifying glass to check whether or not your observation was correct.

“I need to call that damned Coroner,” he opened the door to his office “rookie?” he barked, making you jerk and widen your eyes.

Moments later the young man who accompanied you by Parker ran up to him, poor guy you were beginning to understand why he was always scared!

“Call me McNail and tell him I'll be there in half an hour,” then he looked over at you, “we're on our way” he rectified with a grin on his face.

You found yourself swallowing fearfully.

The Coroner was a man in his 50s, he looked friendly and greeted both of you with a handshake and a warm smile, McNail asked Rockford if you were a new colleague, but he dismissed you with “She's just an intern, a few weeks and she'll be gone,” you behind their backs looked up and shook your head. You've wanted to bite back, but it was not the time.

Down there in the morgue it was freezing, there were two carts and lots of cold rooms exactly like there are in TV shows, you breathed slowly hoping not to vomit and that Rockford wouldn't make jokes about your increasing pallor. McNail pulled out the last two bodies on the two carts and discovered their faces. They were very pale, two broken lives, you had a contrite expression “Is this the first time you've seen a dead body?” the man asked you.

You nodded almost unable to speak, while Rockford rolled his eyes.

“It's normal, empty your mind, focus on all the details and then confront with your boss,” he advised you calmly. The Coroner invited the two of you to put on your gloves and then took a half step back.

You nodded and looked at the first young victim, eyes closed, lips puckered, hair withered, the autopsy incision, you inhaled and exhaled deeply, while the two men looked at you, one annoyed and the other encouraging. Then, you brought a hand closer to the victim's body, you observed a tattoo on her neck in the shape of a small star, you observed the three earring entrance holes, then the perfect incision made by the doctor, finally you noticed the scratch on her forehead, it seemed to be made by a skilled, precise hand.

“Doesn't that look like a scratch…intentional?” you asked turning to the Detective who reached out to you bending over making you find yourselves very close together as he approached, you noticed a small necklace well disguised by his shirt, who knows if it was a religious necklace or some other kind.

“McNail, could it be a scalpel?”

The man approached, “Yes, I cannot rule it out. If it had been a scratch from a fall I should have found soil or some other trace, but nothing,” the pathologist answered you.

You nodded, then you noticed another small hole at navel level, “Was the girl wearing a piercing?” you asked turning to the doctor.

“Yes, her effects are still here,” he replied, holding out a sachet, which you made to take, but which Rockford promptly grabbed first. Among them were a necklace with an infinity symbol, three earrings and the piercing as you had noticed.

“Do any of the tests show anything by any chance? Drugs, alcohol, medication?” Rockford tsked “I don't think I asked for anything unusual,” you added with a doubtful look.

“No, don't worry! In fact, there were considerable amounts of a powerful sleeping pill.”

“And that was the cause of death?”

“Drowning.” he answered.

“And the other girl?”

“Suffocation.” the doctor replied, “First she was stunned with chloroform.”

“So,” you said, “24-year-old girls, they are killed for no reason after being sedated. Why? Where were they found?” you asked turning to the Detective.

“At different points in Austin, nothing that would suggest a specific place that has any significance to the serial kiler.”

“Rockford, are you really convinced about the serial killer?” asked McNail, slipping his hands into the pockets of his lab coat.

“Yeah.” he replied, nodding, “How 'bout ya, colleague?”

“I agree. What I fear is that he may strike again.” you replied, exchanging a glance with Tim, who this time returned a concerned look and at the same time almost shocked.

[mybworlds]

Chapter 2

Paring: Joel x F!Reader (NO Y/N)

Warnings: pre!outbreak and post!outbreak, AU (there will be some characters, Joel's backstory is different), no Sarah, no Ellie (maybe!), a lot of flashback (at least in the first chapters!), age gap (reader is approx. 10 yrs younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, SMUT, unprotected sex, creampie, oral sex (m and f), fingering, masturbation (m and f), language, attempted SA, trauma, death and violence.

Rating: M

Masterlist

Word count: 3.6k

Summary: You work in the Millers' company, you are their friend, you have a job you love, your coworkers esteem and love you. Your life is perfect. Suddenly, one day, you wake up in the hospital, you are alone surrounded by silence and strange noises, your door is barricaded, but what happened? And what happened to the world out there?

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Thanks @saradika for the divider and the banner.

Thanks @vase-of-lilies for the banner.

JANUARY 2014

You suddenly wake up and turn toward him, toward Joel, facing a man you remember so different from the way he's now, he gives his back to you, you observe him intent on putting something in a backpack, you don't know what exactly it is, it's all still so confusing. You turn in a supine position and look up at the windows, it's almost dark and it's raining. The only light comes from the street, it is dim and flickers.

You observe the apartment for what you can and notice the flaking paint off the walls, the broken appliances, some of the tiles torn off, you remember that as soon as you stepped foot in this place, you fainted and the last thing you remember was Joel's strong arms grabbing you preventing you from hitting your head.

You really struggle to reconcile your memories with what you see today, coming here you walked at a brisk pace and Joel insisted over and over again to avoid the main roads because controlled by FEDRA, but more than anything you struggle to reconcile the memory you had about Joel with the man you are standing next to today.

"Hey," Joel says noticing that you are awake, you see him leave what he was doing and approach you, you furrow your brow as you look at him, he strokes your forehead, and you, in an almost unconscious gesture, close your eyes "I was scared to death when you fell into my arms," he adds, you open your eyes again and look at him. His brown eyes are still the same, but something in his expression is changed.

"What happened? What…? I'm so confused…" you say letting a moan escape your lips and closing your eyes, you touch your head and feel it getting bandaged, he takes your hand and squeezes it between his, you look into his eyes feeling a weird feeling. It's not fear, it's something you can't even quite define, you sigh and find yourself swallowing without stopping looking into his eyes.

You can't remember much, everything's hazy.

"I can only imagine how ya might feel right now," he tells you and you find yourself nodding, "however, ya have to trust me, what I tell ya, okay?" he adds.

You hesitate about your answer, you just look at him for a long time in his eyes, in those eyes that…

"I'm sorry," you say as you sit up, but your head hurts so much, "but I don't … I don't know…"

"Wait, ya need to stay down," he says placing a hand behind the back of your head and making you lean your head back against the pillow "I get ya a painkiller," he adds moving away from you for a moment, you see him crouched in front of what you imagine is his backpack and you see him intent on digging and pulling out a packet of painkillers "here it is," he says opening the packet and rolling a pill into the palm of his hand "take it," you look first at the tube and then at him, his eyes, "trust me."

"Trust me." this word run through your head like a distant echo of something already lived and that's what it gives you the confidence to open your mouth and take the pill, then with one hand he holds your head up and helps you drink some water from a bottle, "Trust me."

You lie there until you feel light-headed again, "What happened?" you ask him as you open and close your eyes, you hear your voice almost muffled to your own ears, you feel his hand squeeze yours tightly, they're so warm, so big, "I don't know exactly when or where it all started, but since that day everyone's life has gone downhill. Some say it was a fungus taking over the host, some say it's a virus created in a lab, some think it's a parasite found in some foods. In any case, many, millions of people from what I know turned into things they call runners, some call 'em clickers, some call 'em in different ways depending on the stage of infection. Don't know, but what matters is that a bite is fatal 'cause ya become one of 'em." you swallow, widening your eyes, Joel squeezes your hand just a little tighter "I know 's overwhealming." you nod looking at his face, he caresses you "want ya to know that as long as I'm around, I won't let anyone hurt ya."

You nod, "But will there be a cure? A vaccine that can be created, right?"

A great eerie dread makes its way through you, you're afraid, you're cold, "Joel," you reach for his hand in the dark, he immediately grasps your hand turning his gaze toward you "is this your home?"

He looks up from your face to the window behind you, his eyes are sad "Scientists, doctors all over the world have already tried, but nothing seems to stop this."

"Is this happening everywhere or just here?" you ask scared.

"There's no place that hasn't been hit. No place is safe anymore."

"No, my home was on the other side of town, too far from the hospital. I wanted to be there when..." he says, but then stops abruptly.

Your head gets lighter and lighter "Mhm, mhm," you mumble "Joel?" you say "Talk to me some more." you add, closing your eyes.

"'bout what?" he asks, you feel him so close, you can't open your eyes, you're so tired.

"What did we do before the hospital? We worked together, right?" he caresses your head, it's such a sweet gesture, so intimate in a way.

"Yes, we were a good team, and you were the most dogged and capable worker of all. You, Tommy and I were friends as well as colleagues..."

JANUARY 2012

"Please," Joel says holding the door open for you, you smile at him lowering your gaze for a moment and then look up to the venue, it's a very nice, refined, cozy place.

"It's a beautiful place," you say when he moves a chair to let you seat, you smile looking first at the warm colors of the venue and then you dwell on the beautiful man in front of you who finally invited you out, you are so excited that you are afraid to say or do something wrong that might ruin everything, he smiles at you and seems just as nervous as you. It's so different Joel away from work, the worker Joel is precise, even rigid and prickly at times; while the man in front of you is shy, sweet, actually he always has been with you, aided by the fact that you work well - those are not your words, but everyone starting with Katherine and your four department colleagues, and then including the executive and monitoring team and finally Joel and Tommy themselves apart from your mutual liking and affection.

Joel taps his fingers on the table, he should order something to drink, but he is too focused on watching how you arrange your hair on your shoulders, how you curl a strand of hair around one of your fingers, how you smile as you lower your gaze, he finds it so tender and sexy that he has to pull himself together, he always found you sweet and delicate, precise and decisive, strong and resolute, a fatal mix in his eyes. He has always found you beautiful since the first time he saw you in that alley, eyes full of fear, fearful of him and Tommy, and today inviting you was an achievement in his eyes.

"I'm glad ya accepted my invitation," he says, looking at you stealthily.

"If the boss calls!" you joke with a shy smile lighting up your eyes, and when that happens, Joel can't help but smile too.

"was hoping ya'd say ya were pleased to receive a friend's invitation, I mean…we met before work, right?" you nod nervously bringing your hands to the table "If it bothers ya…"

"Oh no, no, no." you interrupt him by settling better in your chair "Forgive me, I didn't mean to snap or be rude, it's just…"

"Afraid that someone from work might see us together? If there's a problem," he says interrupting you "Tell me and I'll set him straight." he adds, you know he would be capable of it, Joel would really do anything for the people he cares or loves. You smile shaking your head, "My door 's always open for ya, remember." he adds again taking your hand in his "Don't get me wrong, it's just that... I love ya and I want ya to be able to work as peacefully as possible and feel as comfortable as possible." you can't help but look at your joined hands, your hand clasped in his, at how big, warm and enveloping is, at how this gesture is so intimate and familiar.

Joel's heart beats fast in his chest, he takes great pleasure in seeing that you did not avoid his touch, that you are not bothered or said words full of annoyance.

"I love you too, Miller."

JANUARY 2014

"I don't remember," you tell him in a light voice, almost as if you were speaking to him in a dream. You feel his hands wrapping around yours, "Don't worry, it'll take time, but ya will remember," he says trying to soothe you about this your confusion.

"Do you know how I feel?" you say again, "Like I'm surrounded by thick clouds of fog, what you've told me is like I've lived it in a dream. I wish I could remember everything you are telling me, but..." he nods lowering his head, then he looks up again and kisses your forehead in a gentle gesture, you instinctively close your eyes savoring his soft lips on your forehead tickled at the same time by his beard.

"Ssshh, don't worry," he says still smiling at you weakly "If necessary, I'll tell ya everything since we met, ya don't have to worry about that."

"Joel..." you whisper "when, I had the accident? Was it before everything," you say looking around, "ended?"

"Happened on the second day, all of Seattle went crazy, stores besieged, pharmacies, people were out of control." he pauses squeezing your hand tighter between his "It was the end of the world, the cancer that hit us was spreading like wildfire, everywhere. Children, women, men, the elderly, no one could escape it." he adds.

"And how did we survive?" you ask again, your head getting lighter and lighter.

"It was ya, from the moment ya heard about these fevers and mysterious attacks, ya started stocking up on canned food, protein bars, water, medicine, anything that could be useful for survival. Ya immediately informed Tommy and me, but also other colleagues of yours. Only Tommy and I listened to ya though, the others thought ya were being influenced by the news from TV." he concludes "Now no more questions, rest. Let's continue later."

"Promise?" you ask, by now your voice a pale echo.

"Promise. Trust me." he says, caressing your head once more.

"Trust me..." you repeat and then give in to the drug-induced sleep.

Suddenly you wake up when you hear gunshots, "Joel!" you're in complete darkness, you feel your heart in your throat "Joel!" you cry out frightened and getting up suddenly, Joel reaches you "Hey, hey, hey," he takes you in his arms hugging you "ssh, quiet, baby, I'm here!" you hide your face in the crook of his neck, his hand in your hair "ssh, ssh, ssh, it's okay, I'm here, I'm here." he smoothly repeats, as outside the gunfire continues, you cling to him throwing your arms around his neck, shaking.

"That was the plan," he also whispers in your ear "I was coming to you to get ya, everything was ready. I had even packed my backpacks," you feel his hand tighten just a little more in your hair "then Tommy called…"

You hear inhuman screams and gasps, those same gasps you heard in the hospital, followed by gunshots and more human screams.

"I don't understand…" you are going to say, but he shushes you again by holding you to him, you close your eyes feeling your heart beating hard in your chest "please take me away, I don't want to be here," you whisper in his ear.

"Tommy…" you repeat his name "He's… your brother, right?" you ask, pulling away from him by loosening your grip.

"Yes, the two of you were-- you are very close." he tells you "That morning, he was in a bar and I don't know what he was doing there, but the fact is that he got into a fight with a couple of drunks, or so he said. You as soon as ya heard that he was in danger, you rushed over."

"What about you? Were you with him? I called you, what happened?" you ask looking into his eyes for what is possible.

Joel caresses your cheek in a distracted gesture "No, but you told me on the phone what happened to my brother and I reached ya right away. Tommy was fighting with such fury, I'd never seen him like that…I didn't think twice about…" he swallows "killing that person, that one was growling, making non-human sounds." he looks you in the eye "It was hell in the city, people running, people screaming, people storming stores, violence. We were no longer us, none of us were anymore." he concludes.

You turn your head the other way to the window from which the screams came, now there is only the pelting rain and a few flashes of lightning lighting up the sky. Whatever happened, it's over. Joel follows you a half-step away "Don't look out the window, it's dangerous," you look at him or, rather, half-turn toward him "people, those who survived, are like crazy. Everyone is trying to survive as best they can," he adds again.

You have a headache again, but you do your best to push away that throbbing pain "And why didn't you leave? I mean, I could never wake up and you could have abandoned me in that hospital with those... those things and go away, why didn't you go away?"

He reaches out to you taking your head in his hands, "I could never, never leave ya. I came every day, I'm the one who at one point, when I saw that you were starting to wake up, I unplugged all the monitors because you were showing all the signs of healing. Before to do that, I did the crazy thing of documenting myself in the library. I couldn't leave you there, I would never allow that."

"But why?" you insist again.

"Because -- because we're friends, you and I, even though you don't remember."

You find yourself blinking, "How did I end up in the hospital? Was it in that bar you were telling me about?"

You can't see his expression clearly given the almost total darkness surrounding you, "There was a widespread confusion, inside that bar, outside, people were running, some people started showing signs of infection and attacking others, then there were pile-ups and a car smashed through the glazing of that place, you were ahead of us and it hit ya."

You lower your head, close your eyes, and for a few moments you feel pain, screaming, your light-headed, someone calling you repeatedly, someone shouting to take you to the emergency room right away, then it all fades.

"How long was I in that state?" you ask in a whisper.

"Almost four months." he replies "You were lucky, you broke your legs plus various bruises," he adds, caressing your head.

You step back and go back to sit on the couch, taking your head in your hands, "Tommy, why isn't he with you? You-- you said the three of us were friends, but then where is he?"

He sits next to you barely making the couch squeak, "We took ya to the hospital together, there they told us they would take care of you and for a while we stayed with ya, then the contagion spread there too. Tommy and I got separated there in the ER, he just yelled to me that he would do anything to join Maria in Jackson."

"Maria? Jackson?" you ask confused "Who is Maria? His, uh, wife? His fiancée? Do I know her?"

"No, no, he met her outside of work, I don't know if he ever introduced her to you. I don't know her. Let's just say I was very strict with him from that point of view," Joel replied, sighing loudly.

"He loved having good time, I guess," you state.

"Nice guess, baby." says Joel turning to you and gently stroking the back of your head "How's your head, rather? Do you still have pain?"

"No, pain no, but I feel slightly nauseous." you answer.

Joel stands up, "Listen, under normal circumstances, I'd take ya to a doctor. Chances are you weren't ready for everything you've already done or listened." he tells you "You hungry?" he gets up and takes a jar from his backpack "We could eat one of these Van Camp's Pork and Beans, what d' ya think?" you nod "For two? " you nod again, at that moment a first loud clap of thunder echoes along the city streets and in that dingy apartment, you and Joel find yourself silently eating from those tin cans, every now and then he glances your way perhaps to make sure you are all right and have no meltdowns of any kind. When you finish eating, Joel takes the tin cans and leaves them on a shelf in the kitchen, walks you to the bathroom door fearing you might fall or get dizzy; he leaves you a small flashlight advising you not to point at the window for any reason and then closes the door behind him giving you some privacy.

You almost feel like you're in a blender, all these events of the past and present swirling almost meaninglessly in your head, you have a lot of confusion: you, Joel and Tommy were friends, according to him, Tommy left, Joel stayed. Why did he stay? Joel did not answer your question yet. Also, Joel said the three of you worked together, but what did you do? Were you an engineer, an architect, a factory worker, a doctor, an astronaut, who were you?

FEBRUARY 2012

"I'm saying this for you, there's something between Charlotte and Joel!" Jane says again while the two of you are waiting for the bus "Think about it, Charlotte was very nervous last month after talking to Joel and he, who's not funny at all, treats her badly, but the worse he treats her the more she seeks him out!"

"I don't understand your reasoning, if a person treats another badly then it's not love!" you insist.

"Forget 'bout love, but what if just it's sex?" she continues, you feel a painful grip, luckily the bus arrives at that moment and you can hide your tears and that sense of inadequacy and inferiority that is making its way inside of you "Sorry, but I don't want you to get hurt. I'm glad I realized who Tommy was, a guy who likes to have good time! Unfortunately, I think it's a Millers characteristic..." by now you don't listen to her anymore, you can't nor you want to believe that the sweet and shy man you dated three weeks ago at the same time is dating someone else, no, you don't want to believe it, what you always believed you can well read are Joel's eyes, his words and actions may lie, but not his eyes. His eyes inspired and inspire you trust and affection, you can't believe he can pretend like that.

Your stop is only a few blocks away, you get off the bus and head towards the company building, you swipe your pass to get into the elevator and get on, Jane apologizes for being so direct with you, but you just tell her a don't worry, it's okay, but the your tone of voice is distant, she understands because she doesn't insist. When the doors open, Charlotte is the first person you see, and she is glowing that morning, handing you a coffee, and you don't know if Jane's words made you paranoid, but the fact is that the way she speaks and what she says seems to you an obvious allusion to you, to Joel, to Tommy, to your friendship. You try not to show yourself piqued by his tone and words, you don't want to have a case of hysteria and run to Joel to ask him if it is true that he dates Charlotte off of work, rather you focus on work and put all your thoughts on hold. On the other hand, you and Joel are just friends, he can see whoever he wants, it's you who have a big crush on him.

"Everyone's attention, please," Katherine says after almost five hours of hard work, "these are Kyle and Arnold, from now on they are part of the team, so I invite you to make 'em feel welcome right away, if you need anything," she says turning to the two men, "ask me or her," she says pointing at you and immediately mentioning your name, the two men look at you and you can't help but feel flattered and at the same time a little embarrassed, then Katherine invites them to settle at their desks and later she will explain to them the work they will have to do.

Kyle is a young man in his late thirties, he has blond hair, bright eyes, lean body, and a very simple look. Arnold is in his early forties, he's bald, brown eyes and a hint of a mustache and beard, broad shoulders and a athletic build. They all greet you with a handshake and a big smile. Well, that's the best way to start working together!

The day thankfully spends pleasantly and all of you spend your break together, you find out that your two new colleagues are very nice and friendly, Kyle is from Texas like the Millers - and that's a point to his favor - Arnold is from New York and told you many stories from his youth in the Big Apple, stories that made you laugh out loud, when you turn to the elevator, you see Joel who pretends to look at some papers he had in his hands and presses the elevator button and leaves.

JANUARY 2014

Joel doesn't know exactly why he remembered that very day when the two new interns arrived, perhaps he remembered about of your sweet smile and your loud laugh that made him smile and brighted his days in such a dark time when there is no reason to be cheerful.

He doesn't want to be intrusive, but he is genuinely concerned about you, maybe he should have been less direct about what is happening to all humankind, maybe you need a little more time, although time is precious in this reality and it may be short.

You open the door, your head and eyes down and your flashlight pointed at the cracked tiles, then you look up, "Tomorrow, if you want we can go, anywhere you want."

Joel finds himself nodding and smiling at you "I'll keep you safe, I promise. Trust me."

[mybworlds]

Chapter 11: The party

Pairing: The Hound x Sansa Stark

Summary: Arya, Sandor and Sandor arrive in an unknown village where there's a party. Sansa meets a handsome young man triggering strange thoughts in Sandor who wonders about their relationship, Arya notices all this and can't stop herself from commenting on their strange relationship.

Chapter Warnings: language, attempted rape hint

Masterlist

Before to start... thank you to follow me, please remember English is not my first language.

Thanks @vase-of-lilies for the banner

The next day, they stopped at an inn, there was a party in that remote village, there were storytellers, jugglers, musicians, none of the three of them knew what the party was about: Sansa once knew everything about it, she did everything to know what the others were celebrating so that she too could take part in it, but that time Sansa knew nothing.

The village was not among the richest ones they had been to so far; however, the cheerfulness that exuded from the pale, emaciated faces of the people who animated the streets of that unknown village made Sansa smile. There, the girl could finally buy a dress; it was not like the fine clothes she left behind in King's Landing or Winterfell, but at least she was covered and could avoid Arya's comments, the stares that some of the men were giving her, and Sandor's gradually more intense stares. She loved parties, even if the ones she loved were parties of a very different kind! In spite of this, she was enchanted in observing strange colored fruits with aphrodisiacal powers, a salesman said, or in observing strange wooden objects at the end of which there were small dangling colored feathers, it was Arya and the Hound who pulled the girl away. "For tonight we stop here." the Hound declared. Sansa was pleased and smiled, at that moment her eyes fell on a boy with dark curly hair, an upturned nose, and full lips, he was not like her prince charming, but he really came close. He was handsome, she thought. The dark-haired boy looked up and noticed her watching him raptly, so he decided to dedicate a song to her, a song about a young maiden with hair kissed by fire. Sansa smiled: no one dedicated a song to her in a long time. The first and only time was when a storyteller dedicated a story to her about the beauty of a future princess of the North. "My sister is like this," Arya said somberly. They were at that inn for a few hours, Arya and the Hound were sitting at a dusty old table eating and drinking, he mostly drinking. Sansa, on the other hand, was laughing and dancing sinuously beside the commoners who laughed and shouted contentedly at the fleeting joy that the drums, harps and lutes conveyed to the dancers. "What do you mean?" he asked her, gobbling down another big gulp of red wine. "All she has to do is blink a little, smile and everyone falls at her regal feet," she spat venomously without losing sight of her older sister. "Are you jealous or am I wrong?" the Hound asked her, looking away for just one fleeting moment from the little girl with long red hair. "Me? About that lying princess? Not a bit." she spat in an aggressive tone. "Sure." he commented, however, not believing his tablemate's words. He watched as Sansa, elated, danced. It was regal even the way she danced, even how she smiled. Sandor watched her rapt, "I'd say that's how it went with you, too, right?" Arya resumed. "What?" he asked caught out. "You like my sister." that was not a question, Arya was sure "I've seen the way you look at her. You want her before you kill us, scarhead?" she provoked him violently. "Careful, you brat." he admonished her in hopes of making the young girl beside him stop. "Or what? Afraid of the truth?" the little girl resumed "You fool!" Arya railed and then got up and went outside, something told him to follow the younger Stark who just walked away, but something else told him to stay there. Sansa was fucking beautiful that night, in addition to being damn drunk, and everyone was eating her up with their eyes, including that boy she immediately eyeballed as soon as they got there. Sandor called himself a fool; it was obvious that she was looking at a good-looking young man who also spoke well to her, who especially spoke sweet words to her; on the other hand, she deserved that.

Sansa was having a good time, she was as happy as she had been in a long time, even accomplice to a few too many drinks. She allowed herself to be persuaded by Lian, the boy who immediately attracted her attention, to let loose and enjoy herself. He sung to her and danced with her, and she felt happy. She could not even remember how long it had been since she experienced such a feeling. It almost felt like feeling good again. However, from time to time she found herself looking at Sandor, "Hello Stranger." greeted her Lian "You look beautiful." he certainly was a straightforward guy, Sansa thought as she lowered her gaze slightly embarrassed. "Thank you." she said simply. "What is such a rare beauty doing in such a village? You ain't from around here." "No." she replied offhandedly only to remember in a glimmer of lucidity about what the Hound told her which means not to talk too much and especially not to reveal her identity for any reason in the world. "Where are you from?" he asked her, taking a glass with some amber liquid with a spicy smell. "You?" she replied. "Cape Kraken, I live in a small village." he replied, Sansa frowned. She cast another glance toward the Hound who was drinking more and more, she sighed and then looked back toward the good-looking boy: in doing so she noticed a coat of arms, a tree and three snakes entwined around it. Sansa whitened and looked toward the young man who noticing the change on her face asked her if she felt well, she asked, "Is that your banner?" Lian turned his head toward the direction indicated and he replied, "Yes." Sansa looked at him with disdain "What's going on?" he asked interdictedly. "Are you their leader?" he asked again. "Leader?! I lead them, but … I don't like to call myself leader." "Your soldiers attacked me and were about to rape me in the woods." she blurted out as she stood up, he stopped her by the wrist "Let me go you're hurting me!" she shouted, but without arousing anyone's attention since they were all too busy singing, dancing, drinking and eating. "Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for-- for what they did. They have all been punished." "Liar! My friend punished them!" Sansa never attacked someone before. That attitude would be typical of Arya: strong, resentful. Sansa was not like that, but she became: her experiences up to that point and the Hound's harsh words like slaps opened her eyes. Sansa learned what to do with those people she did not know: no fine words, no ceremony. She was a Stark of Winterfell and would be respected, by noble or commoner alike. But most of all, she wondered how long she considered the Hound her friend?

"The only two survivors have been punished, please, princess, believe me." "I'm not a princess," she objected harshly. "But you are as beautiful as one, your skin is so … perfect, your lips …"

Was that young man courting her? If Sansa had spoken like that a long time ago, she probably would have blushed and fallen at the man's feet, but today… oh, for a moment she deluded herself that she could be as happy again as she was when she was in Winterfell with her whole family, but that illusion had lasted but a blink of an eye: reality immediately reminded her of what she was actually experiencing. Her eyes caught a movement: the Hound gotten up and was heading upstairs, he was going to the room they paid for that night, she would have liked to reach him, stop him and drag him there with her, but Sansa did not. "Stop." she told him in a firm voice, "Your flattery don't interest me." "Because of my men?" "I'm not interested," she replied hastily and turned away from him. She was too tired to continue drinking or dancing or hearing singing, so she went up the stairs and opened the door to the room, the one she learned with embarrassment a few hours earlier that she had to share with her sister and the Hound; when she opened it, however, she saw not her sister, but only the Hound abandoned in a chair drinking. "I thought you were already asleep." Sansa looked at him and seemed to him as if he suddenly aged despite being not too much older than her; she approached him and resumed, saying, "Why don't you sleep?" "I couldn't." he replied simply and slurring the two words. "Why?" she asked her. His hair fell uncomfortably in front of his face and she, maybe it was the thrill, reached out to push those strands of hair away and caress his face, he reacted in a way that made Sansa wince: he grabbed her wrist and stood up abruptly. "You frighten me," she said, looking toward his face hidden by hair. "You shouldn't be…not of me…" he said letting go of her wrist and placing a hand in her hair "…Sansa." she looked him straight in the eye: it was the first time he called her by her name and not using one of the usual nicknames. She found herself swallowing hard, the air around them became charged with a strange and unfamiliar force and neither he nor she knew what to do, Sansa looked as if she wished she wanted to do something or expected something, but she did not know what to say or do, Sandor knew against what to do, but was afraid to do it with her. She was not just anyone, she was not just some whore found in the first brothel, she was Sansa Stark, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. Shit, that little girl totally clouded his mind! "Sansa?" he called her in the semi-darkness and she pointed her blue eyes into his gray ones "I'm going to kiss you." he warned her, if she wanted she could have pulled away and run out, maybe she could have even yelled at him, but Sansa didn't move, she just stood there waiting and he asked her "Do you really want this? Do you really want this kiss?"

Was he, Sandor Clegane, really asking for someone's wish? The world and its order were being completely turned upside down.

And so, was this what it felt like to kiss someone, she thought as his imperfect lips rested on hers, is this really what it felt like? Surrendering and strong at the same time? Sansa thought for a moment about her mother, when she used to talk to her about how beautiful it was to love and be loved by one's lord, she hoped and dreamed with all her heart that the lord her mother spoke of would be a knight in a shining armor and on a white horse would lead her to his castle where they would live together as happy as her mother and father. Life, however, gave her a man in a dark armor always smeared with blood, with long dark hair and a weathered face, a man always ready to bite and attack, but a faithful, fearless and strong man. Sandor held her close by wrapping one arm around her and with the other slipped a hand through her hair. When Sansa opened her eyes, the light illuminated the room and she was alone there, lying on the bed wearing the Hound's cloak, her head ached and then she remembered that kiss… but had it really happened or was it the effect of alcohol that revealed to her what she really wanted? That is, to kiss and be kissed by him. By Sandor Clegane.

Before you leave... thank you for reading and if you want consider to like, reblog or leave a comment, or if you want you can leave me a pm. I leave with this question, Sansa and Sandor shared a kiss or it was a dream only?

[mybworlds]

Pedro photographed by Monique Carboni during backstage of King Lear on Broadway (2019)

[mybworlds]

What we know about Gladiator II:

- A few months ago, Scott, appearing via video, said the sequel was “more extraordinary” than the first one. Once people finally laid their eyes on the footage, the praise was universal. It's set 20 yrs later the first film;

- there are astounding shots of Roman landscape, various scenes in the Colosseum;

- Joseph Quinn is an unrecognizable psycho, he's blonde he plays Emperor Caracalla;

- It’s a revenge story. Pedro Pascal’s character is Paul Mescal’s stepdad. One day Pascal is sent to battle and Mescal’s wife and mom are murdered. Mescal, a noble journeyman, goes to the capital to seek revenge and fight his way to the top of the chain. Denzel Washington’s puppet master, the true villain of the film, oversees everything and is impressed by Mescal’s talents;

- Pedro as a Roman general forced to become a gladiator after he wanted to stop sending men to war and yes there's gonna be a brutal fighting to the death between his character and Paul Mescal's in front of Joseph Quinn 😱 people defined him bloody; Pedro and Paul’s characters having moral consciences and rejecting their roles of contributing to meaningless death, only to both be condemned to fight each other to the death in the arena as punishment;

- Description of the first images of Gladiator 2: "I remember that day. I never forgot. That a slave could take revenge on an emperor", says Paul Mescal's character. A boat battle is seen taking place in the Colosseum. Paul Mescal and other gladiators fight ferocious monkeys. “Anger is your gift,” Denzel Washington told Paul Mescal. Washington and Pedro Pascal watch Mescal fight a rhino. The song "No Church in the Wild" plays. The filming ends with a brutal fight between Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal;

- Paul Mescal plays a nobleman who renounced his privilege (his character is ispired by Maximus). He was defined as JACKED out of his mind;

- Denzel Washington's character as a shadowy operator manipulating everything;

- Plus gladiators fighting sharks, rabid baboons, even a rhino. It’s a very cut and dry revenge story, but no less thrilling. The monkey gladiator scene is being described as “gory” and “absolutely insane” with monkeys ripping off faces and bones.

- Early word is good on this one, which is said to follow a very similar blueprint as the original, but also stands out as its own unique take.

Post being updated...

The pic is not new, Ik, but gives an idea of what unfortunately I fear we will (re)Watch 😱😭

[mybworlds]

CHAPTER 10

status: ongoing

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

summary: your life is full of 'must'. You live with your overprotective mother who controls every aspect of your life. You have a dream, to write romance novels, but love - real love - you haven't found yet. Your mother has even decided what you must do in your free time: play music. One day, however, when you go to your music teacher's house, you will have an unexpected encounter and from that day on things change…

Masterlist

rating: 18+ explicit (minors, DNI)

Before to start... Thank you for your support, for your likes and reblog, thank you, thank you, thank you ❤️If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging and leaving comments 🫶 if you don't like it don't be rude and keep going. 😉 Please remember English is not my first language, so please be merciful! 🙏

Thanks @vase-of-lilies for the banner and thanks @saradika-graphics for the divider.

Joel shortly after invites you to close your eyes and you obey by covering your eyes with your hands, when you feel his bed fold under his weight and he tells you that you can open your eyes, you see in front of you in his hands a brand new computer with a small rosette on it.

You widen your eyes and in a whisper you say, "Joel, but…today is not my birthday…I…I…don't…" you are totally speechless, you stare at that appliance as if it is one of the most precious things you have ever seen, then you stare at the man sitting next to you who knows how to warm your heart even with these seemingly trivial gifts, but not for you.

"Sssh, it doesn't matter 's not your birthday," he says putting the computer on the cover "you told me you had a computer and I thought you didn't have it anymore to talk about it in the past and then I know you want to write. And so I thought…" you don't let him complete the speech because you throw your arms around his neck feeling your eyes pinch with joy.

"Oh, Joel. I…" you don't know what to say, this gift is totally unexpected. You hide your face in the crook of his neck for a few seconds as he lays his hand on the nape of your neck in a sweet gesture, then you look at him, "Thank you-- I don't know what to say. But, how…when…?"

He smiles lowering his gaze for a moment "Remember when I wrote ya I was still in the other city and wouldn't finish work until 5?" you nod "Well, actually I was already here, but I was deciding which model to buy. Actually I know nothing 'bout computers and I hope I got ya a good model."

"Oh, Joel," you squeak, "you know I can't take it home with me, though," you remind him regretfully.

He shrugs his shoulders, "Leave it here, he'll be our little secret."

Thankfully it stopped snowing, slowly snow and cold are giving way to sunshine and beautiful days. It warms your heart to feel nature reborn and blooming again. Although there is a constant gray cloud over your head: your mother and her behavior. Indeed, going back to your home, expecting to be the same as before, acting the same as before, praying with your mother before meals and before bedtime causes cramps in your stomach. You are no longer the little girl who used to submit to your mother's will to please her, that obedient little girl who did and said whatever her mother wanted is no longer there. Of course, you have respect for her and her role, but many things you no longer tolerate or want to do: it's unbearable. Before for you to do everything she told you seemed almost right, almost normal, today for example having her drive you to work and feel her look at you until she sees that you are inside, has become too much. You'd like to let her know that it's probably time for her to let you fly away, but you already know what her response will be: honey sooner or later you will, but as long as you are under my roof that will not happen. Maybe it would be time to think about getting away, leaving your home, but to go where? It's true you work, but you don't earn that much, sure you put some money aside, but you could never afford rent, not yet. Also because you haven't worked for many months. You could go to your friends, but for how long? You don't want to be a burden to either sweet Kristen or feisty Gina or that meddlesome Helen, you couldn't stand the look in their eyes of someone who can't wait to have their freedom back.

"Excuse me can I have this coffee!" a customer blurts out rolling his eyes and shaking his head "These kids today!" he adds in an exasperated tone.

"Yes." you say. Today, all these thoughts only make you go in slow motion or get your order wrong.

The customer finally leaves. It's almost 1 p.m. therefore not many people come anymore, and so you have the luxury of sitting mournfully on one of the bar stools. You look at the incoming e-mails, hoping to find the e-mail sent for that job as an assistant librarian, but there is nothing but e-mails containing advertisements or requests for shipments of supposed packages. You block the phone.

Joel is out of town again, apparently there is some new construction to be completed, he told you about this other job that will take him out for about three weeks, then come back and then leave again. He has told you he will be back a few days just for you, and that can only please you. You are not a couple it's true, but he makes you feel as important as if you were his other half and you like the idea of being someone's other half, the idea of being his other half makes your heart beat fast for joy. Since he showed you how to touch yourself, you do it often. When your mother is away of course, you tremble at the idea that she might find you with a hand in your folds pleasuring yourself and moaning the name of a man she knows is your music teacher only. You never would have believed that day almost three months ago, when you first met each other on Tommy's doorstep, that he would become so important, that slowly he would become a fixed thought in your days. You love him, very much. That's for sure. If you thought so that day in his parents' cabin, today you are certain. You don't want and cannot do without him. At the same time, however, you feel guilty toward Jack; it's true you are not often seeing each other, but you call each other every night and often write to each other. You are very confused about what you should do and how you should behave toward both of them, but you know that sooner or later you will have to choose.

Jack, that day, gives you a surprise and picks you up outside at the bar. He greets you with a bouquet of red roses and a big smile. He kisses you tenderly on the lips and then wraps his arm around your shoulders.

"How was your day?" he asks you.

"Fine." you reply, smiling at him, "And yours? Still in the library?"

"Yes, but now I've come to pick you up to take you out to dinner," he replies, giving you a kiss on the tip of your nose.

You look at him blinking, looking puzzled. It's a gesture Joel always makes. You swallow.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asks you, noticing your expression.

"N - no, sorry … it's just that I'm very tired. I hope this place is not too far away!" you exclaim, changing the subject by smiling at him.

He barely squeezes his hand on your shoulder "No, it's a block away. All calculated for my princess."

You smile at him. He also gives you nicknames. Can life be even more unfair?

"Are you okay?" he asks once you get into the car, "You look a little absent-minded. If you don't want, we can go to my place or yours, order a pizza, lie down on the couch, and if you want I can give you a massage." he proposes.

You look at him, "You are so sweet. No, dinner is fine," you say rejecting his proposal unable not to feel guilty. He's so sweet, he's attentive, he loves you, he's handsome, but you never went further with him, you never wanted to see him in secluded places. He'd like to, in fact he pushes to see you at his home too, but you always declined. You don't want to.

"Do you know how many exams are now left until the end of my studies?" he asks you, starting the engine and moving away from there.

"No."

"Only six. Do you understand? S i x. Six!" he exclaims happily, the smile lighting up his face making it even more beautiful.

You can't help but smile, "I'm so happy for you."

Jack has a reservation at a very nice, upscale little place, you've heard great things about it from some of the customers at the bar, but until that moment you had never been there. At the entrance there's a very small flight of stairs with tanks-aquariums filled with fish, lobsters and crabs on either side. A little later two waiters greet you with a big smile as they escort you to your table, which is in a dimly lit room. You take a seat and then enthusiastically look around: all the tables have two seats, there is a central sea-colored blue runner, soft pillows with two starfish on each chair alternating with others that are completely blue and still others with little drawings of seahorses on them.

"It's beautiful here," you say looking at him dreamily.

"For my princess this and more," he replies, smiling at you.

You smile and lower your gaze.

"Please." a young waitress says bringing you menus.

You thank her and then she leaves. You decide to get a seafood appetizer and an entrée.

"You know, Jack maybe there's something about me you don't know," you tell him.

"Tell me." he replies in curiosity, laying his phone down next to his plate.

"I like to write." you decide to confess to him hoping he understands how important it is to you.

He smiles "To do what?"

"What do you mean?" you ask him wrinkling your forehead.

"Why do you write? What do you plan to do with it?"

You don't know what to answer suddenly, you have all the words and reasons on the tip of your tongue, but in this moment everything freezes inside you. You seem to hear your mother's words again when she found out that you had enrolled in a writing class and had your own computer on which to write your stories.

"Don't get me wrong, it's great to write, but if you don't take course after course after course, if you don't have specific preparation," he says waving his hands as he speaks, "you're just wasting your eyesight and risking carpal tunnel before you're 35, honey." he concludes with an annoyed smirk.

He has offended you. You feel offended. You look down feeling your eyes tingle, suddenly wanting to run away and tell him to go to hell, not to say those words to you.

"Think about serious things, for example you told me you are waiting for an e-mail as an assistant librarian, now that's an important thing. So you quit that degrading job of yours as a bartender." he comments using an abrasive tone that hurts you.

"That degrading job, as you call it, is who I am, it's part of me." you say using a firm tone even though you feel deeply hurt "Frankly, I can't understand how you can be sweet and then be such a jerk at other times." you add, only then realizing that you're trembling.

"Come on, princess, I'm only talking like this because I know you can have so much more and you deserve better," he says, spreading his arms wide as if to say he wasn't saying anything bad after all.

"Jack, you are studying psychology." you retort feeling your cheeks on fire "Yet you are saying so many horrible things."

"But what's my study got to do with it now?" he asks you with an annoyed air "If you want to quit your bartending job fine, otherwise it's okay. I'm not imposing anything on you, that's all right." he says looking at you almost offended "Excuse me bring us the bill!" he adds turning to a waiter.

You don't talk anymore and honestly better that way. You have nothing more to say to each other. He leaves you in front of the house, you get out of the car without saying goodbye without looking at him and leaving the flowers in his car.

You are mad about what he said to you, at the tone he used, almost as if he from his seat could not bear to see the girl he hangs out with dedicated in doing such a normal job or devoted to activities he says are so unsuitable for you.

"I'm home," you say as you enter and slip off your shoes. When you are in the kitchen, you find a small post-it note "Out with some friends, see you at 11:30."

You drop into a kitchen chair looking despondent, totally despondent. The more time passes, the more you notice the differences with Jack, you close your eyes and think you were a fool for believing he wanted you despite your social, cultural disparity. It saves your phone from a total meltdown. It's Joel.

"Hey babe, 's me," his tone of voice is firm, confident, but happy.

"Hi." you say without any enthusiasm.

"Did something happen?" he asks you, immediately hearing the tone of your voice cracked.

"No, it's okay." you strive to maintain a normal tone of voice.

"Doesn't sound like that to me." he replies.

"Don't worry." you say again, but this time your voice trembles a little and you know that you haven't convinced him and that this time - unlike other times - he will insist.

"Will ya tell me what's going on?" he insists.

"Oh, Joel…" you tell him everything and finally you break down, you never wanted to confide this deep discomfort of yours to him over the phone, but you can't take it anymore just cashing in, you can't take it anymore. It's not fair for you to feel this way. You know he can't do anything given the distance, but you wanted to talk to someone who would really listen to you and not judge you like everyone else does.

"If I could, I would come and get ya right away." he says as you try to control your breathing and strain to control your voice so that you can be heard and understood on the phone "Look, I'll do my best to come to ya in two days, okay?" his tone of voice is concerned and you are really sorry about that. You want to be strong, don't make him worry, but you're exploding.

No, you don't have to do this for me, you want to tell him, but you find yourself saying, "Yes, please, Joel, I feel like everything is falling apart and the only good thing I have is you," you confess to him.

You hear him sigh heavily, "Please don't say that. Listen to my voice, okay, honey?"

"Yes."

"Breathe deeply with me. Inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale." he tells you, you swallow slowly feeling your heartbeat slow down to its normal beat "Now go to the bathroom and rinse your face, I'll stay with ya." he says trying to calm you down.

You do as he told you by feeling guilty for having this breakdown with Joel. Not because it's him, but because for him you would wanted to be different, a grown-up and instead you proved yourself immature and foolish once again.

"What's up, baby?" he asks you after a few minutes of total silence from both of you "I'm sorry ya have to go through this alone." he continues "Why don't ya vent to those friends of yours, maybe they can give ya some advices." he adds.

"That's better now, Joel. You don't have to. I already know what they'd say to me." you say, opening the window facing the street a bit "They'd say stop letting your mother demean you and leave Jack."

"If they make ya feel that way…" he comments "Forgive me, I know your mother is important to ya however I think there have to be limits. She can't make ya feel that way, not at the age of 30! About that other guy… well, I don't know what ya see in him…" he sighs heavily "No, forget 'bout it, I didn't say anything. I'm just sorry you're feeling so sorry for someone who doesn't deserve your torment." he adds.

"I wish you were here now," you tell him deglutinating feeling suddenly pathetic.

"Forty-eight hours and I'll be there, promise." he replies.

"Joel, if it's a problem for you though, I don't want to be a burden or put you in trouble!" you exclaim, your tone of voice slowly becoming less shaky and calmer.

"Babe," he interrupts you, "don't say that. For me to see ya is just a joy. I wish I could be there with ya and hold ya close to me." his deep tone of voice conveys confidence, tranquility.

"Joel, I…" you breathe heavily "sorry, maybe I shouldn't have thrown my fears, my anguish at you, but you are the only one who listens to me, who really cares for me, who doesn't judge me and indeed sometimes even speaks against his best interest." you say going to your room and throwing yourself on the bed, you sigh "I just wish I could be worthy of you. To be strong and…"

"Worthy of me? Hey, hey, babe, ya don't have to think about these things at all. I told ya once before, you only hurt yourself." you hear him sigh "I thought about ya today." he adds "A lot. My mind was somewhere else."

You smile with your eyes closed. "And what were you thinking 'bout me?"

"I was thinking about your eyes, your incredible sweetness despite the fact that life has been so hard on you. I admire ya." you hear him smile, or so it seems from his tone of voice.

"Really?" hearing Joel's opinion of you makes you feel special and it's the first time in the span of a day when someone's words make you feel good.

"Yes. God, how I wish I could be with ya there in that bed and hold you to my chest! That'd be two of us being peaceful." he confesses to you in a slightly cracked tone of voice.

"Why? What's going on?" you ask him wrinkling your forehead and sitting in the middle of the bed.

"Nothing." he only replies, but his tone of voice is no nothing. You know him a little by now, though he stubbornly keeps everything to himself. It's like he has put up a wall so thick between him and the world that talking about it seems impossible for him. You wish you could figure out what it is, whether there is a way to break it down, whether it has something to do with his daughter or his wife or both!

"Joel, please talk to me," you beg him, you hate not being able to help those who help you, you hate not knowing how. Joel has always been there for you, held you, reassured you, helped you come out of that subservient state you were living in, is helping you understand who you are. You'd like to do the same for him.

"Babe, don't distress yourself, just bad thoughts," he tells you.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" you invite him.

"No." he replies dryly, "Sorry. Just used to keeping it all inside. 'S not because of ya, honey." he adds "I trust ya, but I can't talk about it."

You nod, unable, however, to help but feel disappointed at this persistent closure on his part. On the one hand, however, you tell yourself that he probably just needs time. You wonder again how much he has had to suffer for being so secretive, you wonder how terrible his experience has been.

"Please don't be hurt," he adds, not hearing your response.

"Yes, yes, of course. Don't worry." you say quickly, maybe too much, who knows maybe he sensed that everything is not all right as you just told him, but you can't help it.

"Will I see ya in two days?" he asks you in an uncertain tone, as if his lack of openness to you will prejudice your next meeting.

"Sure." you answer him, "I look forward to seeing you." you add, reassuring him immediately.

The next evening at dinner, your mother peers at you for a long time, you look at her, but say nothing. You eat in silence.

When you clear the table and wash the dishes, your mother finally speaks. "Mrs. Bixby stopped me this morning to give me my mail and she also told me something interesting," your mother begins, using a strange tone.

You look at her, "Such as?"

"She told me she saw you in an SUV with some…strange guy."

You swallow, but without showing your face.

Mrs. Bixby is the usual busybody who as soon as she notices something different or peculiar she has to immediately report it. In fact, she must unfortunately have seen you with Joel and immediately told your mother about it.

"What kind?" you ask, playing dumb.

"A man, an adult. Definitely older than you." she is silent for a moment "You have nothing to tell me? You know, I don't want you getting into strangers' cars or hanging out with guys that much older than you."

You shrug your shoulders, "Mom, I'm not dating anyone, don't worry."

Lie, but what choice do you have?

Since your mother started listening to that man's words during her prayer groups, she left that man with whom she was having an affair, she goes to confession every day and demands you do the same. You discussed this point at length as well, but your mother became rigid on this position and won't listen to reason. Sometimes you accommodate her, but other times you respond with categorical no's that lead to more arguments between you.

"Then why did Mrs. Bixby tell me you two seemed very close?" your mother insists.

Your stomach contracts in a painful grip, "Don't know," you only reply.

"Missy, look me in the eye," your mother says in a firm tone.

You turn around and she stands there in the doorway with her hands on her hips, her icy gaze fixed on you. When she does that, it scares you.

"Tell me the truth," she insists again.

"I see no one," you reply.

"I don't believe you, child," she says in an icy tone.

You shrug your shoulders, "I can't help with," you dare to say.

"Who was the man you hugged in front of our front door?" she asks you. Shit, but she wasn't there, but how…?

Your expression must have changed because your mother's expression changes as well, she reaches over and grabs you by your wrist with such violence that you are surprised and let a plate slip from your hands that crashes at your feet, she yanks you with a force you didn't even think she had and starts insulting you and giving you epithets you didn't even think she knew or had ever dared to address to you, she drags you to your room and then locks you in.

"MOM?! MOM?! MOM OPEN!" you scream, clapping your palms against the door, your mother no longer responding. You stand there, your face pressed against the door and your eyes filled with tears.

[mybworlds]

Inspiring...

[mybworlds]

Chapter 2: You're lost in a trance

Title: The Mermaid of the Narrow Sea Pairing: Oberyn Martell x F!Reader (no Y/N) Chapter summary: Meereen, you and Prince Oberyn begin to know each other Masterlist Rating: M Series warnings: age gap, slavery, sexism, praises, violence, blood, death, alcool use, arranged marriage, slow burn, smut, dom/sub dynamics, dirty talk, rape attempts. Extra warning: a vicious brother (oc), Ellaria is a jealous woman in this story. Before to start... thank you very much for your likes and reblogs, if you want to let me know what you think about, I'd love. Today it's been 10 yrs of our beloved Prince Oberyn, time flies. If you want to be added to my taglist let me know.

Taglist: @christinamadsen

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thank you @idontgetanysleep for dividers

You feel as if you are immobilized by his eyes, his gaze, you saw so many eyes on you, eager gazes, and you always felt disgust and revulsion toward those kinds of men so much so that you never trusted any of them, but the gaze of that Prince bewitched you, totally. He wears a robe full of strange symbols in the shape of the Sun, maybe it's a coat of arms.

"Is she a slave?" the young man asks, taking a step toward the other man who nods "The slave my brother wanted?" he asks again for confirmation, his tone of voice surprised almost as if he didn't expect you really were.

"Yes, my Prince," the second man confirms again. Both men look at you, or rather, the young man stares at you, he does so from head to toe, he has an amused look on his face, as if he is thinking about who knows what, as he scrutinizes you.

The man comes back to look at you, you look into each other's eyes, you can't look away from his dark ones, it's as if you are studying each other, you don't speak nor does he move, but you know he would like to touch you, by now you recognize those looks, that's all men think about.

"You're beautiful." he tells you, approaching you with a smile, you furrow your brow as if you are waiting for the Prince to reveal his true nature a few moments from now, namely that of a sleazy little man ready only to satisfy his primal needs and overpower the weaker. He's close, too close, too close, you take a step back blinking your eyes, you don't want him so close to you, you don't. The man stops, he's surprised, you catch this nuance in his eyes, he turns to the elder "Does she understand our language?"

"Yes, my Prince," he replies.

"I don't want to hurt you," the Prince tries again, but you take another half step back. You end up against a wall of that dingy place, your back to the wall, and you swallow without ceasing to stare in particular at the man next to you and without losing sight of the second one either. The Prince turns to the elderly man, "Please bring some food and water and order a bath to be prepared, clean. I don't want a tub full of lice, clean." orders the Prince in a calm tone, barely turning his head toward the man behind him. The latter takes his leave with a half bow and goes out, closing the door, only the two of you remain, you and this young stranger.

"I don't know how you've lived so far," the Prince begins without ceasing to look you in the eye, "but I won't hurt you," he continues, neither touching you nor trying to, and that works in his favor.

You find yourself thinking and lowering your gaze for a moment, "Do you have a name?" he asks without looking away from your face.

You are not my master, though, you think.

You nod slowly, "Would you like to tell me? I promise I'll make good use of it," he adds curious. You lower your gaze, your name... oh, you barely remember it, you barely remember how your mother murmured it when she cradled you in her arms to fall you asleep, the last time you heard it came out of her sweet lips, it sounded like a melody said by her, then no one called you by your real name anymore, only by your current nickname.

The man cocks his head to one side waiting for you to speak, you do. It's a whisper your real name, by now you don't know who you really are, you don't know why you told him, to that man, to a Prince especially.

"No one, however, calls me by my real name," you add, still in a whisper, "they all call me Mermaid of the Narrow Sea," you continue.

Do you have to give him curtsy? You've never done one, does he expect it?

"I prefer your name," he replies with a half-smile and then repeats it softly, you don't know why said by him your name sounds so warm, you don't know why hearing it pronounced by someone like him makes you cringe and swallow "things and people must be called by their names, not by qualities or appellations, I never liked that. I am Oberyn, even though everyone calls me Prince Oberyn." he introduces himself, you look at him.

"No curtsy, if that's what's bothering you," he continues again as if he read your mind "People have to do what they want, not what they have to by some form of compulsion." he adds lowering his gaze for a moment, at that time three beautiful maidens burst in with golden bowls, there is food inside them, lots of it. You don't know what kind of food is, but what doesn't escape you are the languid looks of the three young women, almost certainly prostitutes, and the Prince.

He may fill his mouth with fine words, but he's still a man, you think with disgust.

"You are wonderful, girls," says the man reaching out them and looking them as a lion would when faced with easy prey, the girls giggle. You refuse to watch those shows, you still don't really know what will become of you, it's true the man told you he won't hurt you, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to make you his own and make you like one of those girls he is now touching or maybe it will be his brother - your master - who will do it. You can't trust him, you hear some more laughter, then the three young women leave and you are alone again, you and him. You don't move, you stay in that corner. "Are you hungry?" you nod "Come." he continues, extending an arm as if inviting you to join him.

If he expects you to get on that bed and give yourself to him to thank him for the food, he is wrong.

Is he mocking you, perhaps? Does he want you to imitate him? Absolutely not.

When he realizes you don't reach him, he turns his back to you and lays on the bed on his back leaning on a forearm. You see him bite into those foods with a grace and sensuality that you are forced to look away, swallowing.

There's so much strange-looking, colorful food, you've never seen anything like it. It even smells good!

You don't even know what it is, you approach slowly as if to probe the ground and make sure you can turn around and hide in that corner, he just stands there on the bed grumbling after each bite, it must be good or maybe he's just exaggerating to try to get you to relax.

"It's okay, come on." he repeats as if you were a small animal afraid to get too close to a human being, you look up from food at the Prince who is there on the bed with his legs stretched out eating. You get close enough to grab in both hands what you can and run back to the corner without ever turning your back on Prince Oberyn.

You bite a yellow grape and it is sweet, so sweet. A little whimper escapes your lips, you bite another and another, when you look up you see that the young man is looking at you with an amused look, you look at him with a suspicious frown, "You have to spit out the seeds, don't eat them." he warns you, you look at the grapes you still have in your hands "You can eat them, but they alter the taste of the fruit a little." he adds. You keep eating them, ignoring what he just said, then you move on to an orange fruit, it's soft, strange. You smell it and at that moment the Prince comes down, you immediately run back.

"Don't be afraid," he tells you as he approaches you, "I just want to show you how to eat that fruit in your hand." he adds, "If you bite it like you did before, you risk breaking your teeth or choking. " he warns you, you don't know whether to be more terrified at the idea of having him come near you or the idea of choking, you swallow and remain motionless, your eyes wide open, as he very slowly approaches you, "Here you go." he says splitting the orange fruit in his hands, revealing a large, dark stone inside, you swallow "See?" you look up into his face "Here, eat it."

"You eat it!" you reply suspiciously.

He smiles, "Whatever you say, sweetheart." he says removing that stone and biting into the orange fruit "Delicious. I'll give you the other half." he says again holding out the other half of the fruit in the palm of his hand, you look at the man's tapered hand outstretched toward you and only then you notice a ring to his hand, then the man's face, his features, his eyes, and you don't feel like he's there ready to attack you, but you can't trust him. He is a man.

Quickly you grab what is left of the fruit from the palm of his hand and eat it, eat it without taking your eyes off him. You fear there is some trick on his part, some attempt to get you to drop your guard and then hit you, but he does nothing. He doesn't move, just smiles without stopping looking at you.

"Good?" he asks you, you nod "Good." he comments smiling at you, he definitely wants to try to calm you down, but you can't "I'll take you over there now, you can trust me. The girls will help you wash up," he adds taking a half step toward the door "I'll walk you, I'm not going in, I'll wait for you outside," he adds again.

"Why?" you ask him wrinkling your forehead.

"Why what, my dear?"

You remain for a moment interdicted by these appeals he is giving you, "Why would you accompany me? Are you afraid I will escape?" you ask him, he smiles amused as if you have just said something very funny.

"Although the idea of seeing my brother without his toy amuses me, I do so because I fear you might attack anyone outside of me," he replies.

"Who says I don't attack you too," you say staring into his eyes.

Toy? So, is that what you are? Is this how Prince Oberyn sees you?

He also looks you in the eyes "Because I can tell who wants to do it from who doesn't." he retorts, leaving you dumbfounded "Now, my girl, come." he adds, opening the doors and stretching an arm outward "Follow me. " you follow him half a step away, you could run away, but you are as if hypnotized by him, and yet he is only a man you tell yourself, he is only a Prince, he is no better than others, but nevertheless you can't help but feel captivated by his elegant and sensual ways, his bewitching gaze, his warm and safe voice.

He leads you up to a semi-dark room, you are always on the alert, you don't know what dangers may lurk in that room, but you discover that inside there are four women, a large tub in the center and then jars and sponges all scattered around there.

The women greet and lasciviously look at Prince Oberyn winking at him, the Prince is no less. He smiles and looks at the women as if he is ready to eat them, he walks up to them and holds two of them close to him "Girls, I entrust you with this wonderful flower, take care of her as you know how." he tells them, while one sensually caresses his cheek and the other instead wanders a hand down his back.

The Prince then turns to you, "Don't be afraid, they will be as delicate as feathers." saying that, he takes his leave of you and exits. He'd like to see you without any clothing, he'd like to admire your body, the soap on your shoulders, on your back, he'd like to smell the perfume spreading along your body, he'd like to admire your legs, but he sensed that you would not at all like his presence there in that room, so, before he was driven out of your sight, he took his leave. He would give you time to get used to his presence, he was the one who - despite the fact that of women and men he had known - is very impressed by your frightened and hurt look, just as those strange thoughts were making their way through him, he hears from inside the room a series of strange noises and then little muffled cries, Oberyn smiles, he's sure you are giving those four poor girls in there a hard time.

His, however, is a fleeting smile because shortly thereafter he wonders why he is so patient toward you, on other occasions finding maidens intimidated or too shy he'd dismissed them and sought pleasure and amusement elsewhere and instead your eyes, your terrified look in his presence - and also in his absence apparently - struck him. As he thinks about this, he decides to devote himself to something that can help him distract himself and immediately put aside the thought of you.

He does not know and yet he is so eager to find out and especially to see how you would give his brother a hard time. His brother ... well, if Prince Oberyn was a much-loved, respected and at the same time feared man, his brother Mors was neither respected nor loved, but everyone was terrified of him. Prince Oberyn and his brother Doran managed to a certain extent to control his madness, even their sister Elia managed to keep him at bay to a certain extent, but since she was gone, no one could control Mors Martell anymore. He became an instinctive, violent man, and not only with the servants, even with his family members and grandchildren, everyone was afraid and that's why they kept him away.

She is just a slave, thinks the Prince, what is so special about her?

Oberyn wonders what he would do with you, what he wants from you, how he would treat you, when you would calm down, he will talk to you about him, you must know who his brother is, you must be ready for anything.

[mybworlds]

In my ❤️ always

Happy Oberyn Day! ☀️ 10 years of this Dornish Prince today!

Images via Stainsofpascal IG 🖤

[mybworlds]

Today it's his birthday, my fav silly baby girl 🥹 thank you Pedro to never give up and to make my world so full and happy, I love you, you deserve the world ❤️ happy birthday to my sunshine ☀️

[mybworlds]

Chapter 2

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader (no use of Y/N) Summary: This story sets 15 yrs before The Mandalorian events, Din Djarin is hired by Rebel Alliance forces to protect and escort you, the princess of a dead planet, to your new home. Series warnings: use of you, violence, science fantasy elements, slow burn, angst, fluff, mutual pining, eventual smut (18+ MDNI), trauma. Masterlist Thanks @idontgetanysleep and @saradika-graphics the dividersThanks @vase-of-lilies for the banner

You look at it. Yes, it's that thing. The android that Nanuk turned to. He probably wanted to ask for help to guide you to a safe place, he definitely wanted to save himself too, that must have been the reason why Nanuk turned to him and what it did? It disappeared only to magically return in midair, pull you up with NK - 841 and walk away from there abandoning the man with whom it made the arrangements.

You lost again, first your family, your friends, your civilization, all the Arkanon, you have nowhere to go, nowhere to return to, nowhere to belong, you have nothing, and now you lost Nanuk too. Anger mounts so strong inside you, you've never been angry, your mother told you that such emotions were not reserved for princesses, but right now you really believe that any princess would be angry at the creature in front of her and in fact you hurl yourself at it, you beat hard against its armor hoping not even you in what, of hurting it certainly not since that armor was hurting you, of impressing it you don't really believe or anyway you can't know since you don't see its face, in short your anger mounts even more when you notice it doesn't stop you and doesn't do anything to calm you down, it doesn't hug you or have words of comfort towards you like Nanuk did.

"What's that thing doing up here?" the creature suddenly asks, turning its gaze toward your only friend.

"It's NK - 841." you answer it in an obvious tone.

"We'll land it at the next Planet," it objects making to turn away, but you are lightning fast this time and even in front of it, you still have that anger inside and are willing to beat it up again if need be.

"It doesn't want to hurt you." you try to calm it down, maybe it's afraid it might attack you, maybe it never saw one and is afraid "It's my friend."

"Droids are not friends, they are serious threats to all of us." it retorts again making to get past you, but you move out of the way to prevent it.

"Look, I -- I don't know what droids you've met, but this is NK - 841."

"It's a droid," it retorts.

"It's NK - 841." you retort as well, not about to give up.

It snorts, "It's a droid."

"It's my friend, and friends never leave each other behind," you reply again, it puts its hands on its hips, but it doesn't look in your direction, you hear it breathing heavily and then pass you without adding anything else.

You are glad that you can have NK - 841 with you, with it you have in a way the feeling that you still have Nanuk and a little of your Planet with you, you look at it smiling as it makes beep beeps sounds that make you smile even more then you turn your attention toward the spaceship corridor so much smaller than the Arkanian spaceship you left there in Coruscant and toward the android that is probably on its way to the cockpit. You don't know exactly what to do, but one thing is certain you want to make yourself useful. You are a Princess it's true, but you can certainly learn to survive in space with a robot and an android of very few words.

You follow it and when the creature is entering commands, it must realize you are behind it because it turns to you without a word, you open your mouth, but then close it again, not knowing what to say.

"Where are you going?" you ask it, realizing you asked a silly question.

"Cockpit where no Princess is allowed," it replies turning its back to you.

You open your mouth with a shocked expression, "What? What? How dare you? Now they do this to you on other Planets? You dare to disrespect even?" you can't believe that an android, an artificial being created for so many purposes, can now use even offensive language toward you.

"I don't know what you're talking about." it retorts by entering numbers on a display that causes a hatch to open beyond which it enters and which, after passing through, closes immediately afterward.

"A speech doesn't end just like that, do you hear me?" you yell banging on the hatch "Stupid machines!" you add in a whisper.

"I heard you," you hear it retort.

"Good and I hope they remind you who your masters are and that you can't talk like that just because you are a machine!" you exclaim turning toward the hatch. This time no retort comes "Hey, can you hear me?" you yell.

"I hear you, what do you want?"

"Respect," you reply annoyed by its attitude.

"If that man told me about the bad character of the cargo I would have to carry, I would never agreed."

"And I…? What, cargo?" you go back to banging against the hatch again "I am a person and not a thing you pick up and carry like this from one place to another, do you hear me?" you add, continuing to bang.

"Loud and clear." it replies "Unfortunately." it adds in an exhausted tone.

"Rude." you reply, crossing your arms in offense.

"I'll get over it." you hear it retort in a casual tone.

Oh, Nanuk, but couldn't you find someone else to take me-- wherever this creature has to take me? Why did you turn to him specifically?

"Where are we going?" you ask it.

"Toward our first destination. It's not very far, but I suggest you sit down somewhere if you don't want to throw up on that nice little dress you're wearing." it replies.

You look down at your Arkanian dress crafted from the finest fabrics in hyperspace, shake your head and walk away from the hatch and back down the corridor going to the opposite side, there's a small door that on your approach opens, it's a one-seater bed. Oh, it's gonna be fine! You're beat, you really need to….

"That's my room," the android calls back to you, making you jerk and turn toward it.

"But you don't sleep! What nonsense are you talking?" you are puzzled, but what kind of android are you talking to?

"Little Princess, the rules here are very simple. My ship, my rules. This is my room." it retorts.

"And where do I sleep?" you ask in amazement.

"On the ground you are going to sleep well." it retorts, "And if you've never tried it, do it now."

"You androids sleep on a bed and Princesses on the floor, the world is really going upside down!" you exclaim incredulously.

"Android? I am not an android." it clarifies.

You look at it, speechless for a moment. You assumed it was since it always wears this armor from which only its hands peek out, you thought the armor was metal pieces that made it up, and instead…

"And so, w - what are you?" you ask it looking toward the helmet.

"I'm a Mandalorian." he replies, you furrow your brow "Ever heard of the Planet Mandalore?" he asks you, you remain open-mouthed, you've never heard of it, you shake your head "Ours is a Planet located in the Outer Rim Territories." he explains.

"Are you a servant of Planet Arkanon?" you ask him puzzled.

"Servant?" he repeats in a cavernous, puzzled, almost contrite voice "No." he replies in an annoyed tone "We are no one's servant." he adds in the same tone.

"I'm just trying to understand." you reiterate in an offended tone.

"Of course, Prissy." he retorts your royal title in a piqued tone.

You roll your eyes, "I'm sorry if I've offended you, I just want to understand who I'm left with." you see him lower his gaze for a moment and then add, "Are you wearing the helmet because you're having trouble with the atmosphere?"

"No." he replies.

"So why don't you take it off?" you ask him without stopping looking at him.

"I can't." he replies again "If you want to get some sleep, you can lean there." he adds pointing to his room, which, however, is no longer the focus of your thoughts, but him - the Mandalorian.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" you ask him gently squeezing your hands.

He looks at you, or you imagine he's looking at you, without saying anything and therefore you interpret this as permission to speak.

"Are you and I similar? I mean, are you a human or otherwise similar to humans?" you ask him looking at where you imagine his eyes are.

"Something like that." he replies "Rest, or I won't get my reward." he adds turning his back to you and making to walk away.

"How did you know Nanuk?" you ask him making to follow him.

He stops with a sigh, "I didn't know him, actually. And now get some sleep." he replies, taking a step to walk away.

"But then why did he turn to you?" you insist "I felt like you knew each other."

You hear him sigh heavily "If I had known the cargo was talking so much, I wouldn't have agreed." he replies.

"Again with that word? I'm a person, Mandalorian. Okay, here's what we're gonna do, I don't disrespect you and you don't disrespect me, deal?" you propose, offering him your hand.

He looks at your hand, "Yeah, okay." he replies then turns his back on you and this time you let him go.

You head for the Mandalorian's room, the crib is small, but suddenly it looks very comfortable, or maybe it's the tiredness, too many emotions, the fact is that as soon as you lie down, you fall deeply asleep.

[mybworlds]

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it ♥️

[mybworlds]

Sex with stranger, p. 2 one-shot

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

summary: You, your beautiful sociolinguistic teacher, in his office.

rating: 18+ MDNI

warning tags: porn with lil plot, no use of Y/N, no outbreak, use of 'you', age difference not specified, smut, use of pet name, dirty talk, f & m masturbation, unprotected P in V, oral m & f receiving, if I miss smt please write me.

Before to start... it wasn't supposed to be a sort of second part of my previous one-shot, but I woke up with this idea and here it is, I don't know what came out of it, I hope it doesn't suck.

Thanks @vase-of-lilies for the banner

How the fuck is this even possible?

You keep telling yourself, as you try to take notes as much as you can while straining to forget that you are listening to the man you fucked and he fucked you not even two hours ago and that fucking man is your professor, that professor, not just anybody, your sociolinguistics professor and now how the fuck are you going to follow his next classes and take the exam?

Is he going to be thinking the same thing?

Hard to say, he has an impenetrable look, his words roll off his mouth with a fluidity that enchants you, you should forget that with that mouth he addressed you quite vulgar words and even licked your nipples, you sit in the chair feeling uncomfortable taking notes on Saussure and structuralism.

"Well, class is over. But if ya need clarification, I’m in my office. The door is at the bottom left, thank ya." says Dr Miller dismissing you, as he begins to arrange the books and papers he showed in class.

Everyone goes down the stairs, someone comes to him to ask when he receives, others just to thank him for the class, you stay in the middle of the stairs holding the book and the notebook to your chest, you have to tell him that his class was enlightening? Or you must be as cocky as you were in the elevator?

You used to be allowed to be, you fucked a stranger, but now that you know you fucked Dr Miller is different, does that affect your college GPA? You’re gonna fail on this regardless?

"Class is over." says a voice, his own, bringing you back to reality "D' ya want some clarification?"

Do you want it? Yes.

" Yes." you just answer looking him in the eye.

"Well, follow me," he tells you taking his bag and walking out of the classroom, you follow him. He doesn't say anything nor do you know what to say to him, your footsteps echo in the hallway, you pass a few students from time to time, and Dr. Miller waves to colleagues by raising his hand in greeting. You arrive in front of a door on which there is a plaque with his name on it, you see him slip the key into the lock, turn it, and finally open the door.

"Come in," he says to you and you comply. The office interior is extremely formal, clean and neat just as he looks, you turn back to him and see him turn the key, when he looks up he realizes that you are watching him "So no one bothers us," he adds by way of clarification, you nod.

"It doesn't bother you…" you are about to say, but your words get stuck as you see him move closer to you and close the distance between you and him, he pounces on your lips as with his hands he slides your jacket down your arms again.

"No," he answers you guessing your question, "in fact it turns me on even more." he says towering above you.

For a moment you wonder if he fucked other students before and then dumped them and flunked the exam and that's why they call him a bastard or an asshole, but you don't have time to wonder because feeling his moist lips on your neck makes you stop thinking.

"Aren't you afraid someone will hear us?" you ask him, closing your eyes as he fumbles with the buttons on your shirt, moving away from your neck and looking into your eyes.

"D' ya want clarification on today’s lesson, right?" he asks taking off your jacket and shirt and you guess the game.

"Yes." you reply swallowing.

He leaves you another quick kiss on your lips, then says, as he unzips your skirt "Well, tell me about the notes you took," you are already almost completely naked in his eyes and speaking will be very difficult "I know you have a good memory, I'm listening." he adds starting to kiss you on your breasts still covered by your bra feeling your nipples hardening in response to his mouth.

You close your eyes and swallow feeling your heartbeat going fast "Saussure is considered the father of modern linguistics, he was born in Gen…" it's so difficult to concentrate on your words when his mouth is on your breasts and his hands on your hips holding you still against his desk "Geneva" you manage to say biting your lower lip "in 1857 and died in 1913, he was a linguist and semiotician, he's most famous for his study of structuralism…" you interrupt yourself because he makes you sit on his desk and lay down, oh God… you will never be able to speak if he…

"Go on." he says lowering your briefs showing you to him, he brings your legs over his shoulders and you stare at the ceiling without really doing so, you close your eyes and swallow and then resume "He proposes the study of the language understanding" your voice rises a pitch as you feel his fingers open your folds and his tongue explore inside you "Oh, fuck! " escapes you as you feel his tongue inside you and touching that little bundle of nerves with his angular nose, a louder moan escapes your lips and he pulls away from you "As much as I love to hear you, you must be quiet." he admonishes you looking into your eyes veiled with desire "Rather, you were saying that Saussure proposed the study of the language as an autonomous system, right?" you nod looking at him "Well, go on," he adds lowering himself between your legs again taking you back to let you see stars behind your closed eyes from the strong pleasure you are experiencing.

"It is a system of signs that emphasize the system rather than the individual elements, in fact…. " you stop and a sigh escapes from your lips, feeling his expert tongue fumbling in your folds and his hands on your hips make you gasp, your vision blurring, as you feel the orgasm mounts more and more over you, his hands that reach your breasts freeing them from the bra cups and begin to tease deliciously your nipples turning and twisting them between his fingertips are a coup de grace, you come pressing your hand on your mouth.

Fuck, you came between his lips and it was beautiful.

He helps you sit up on the desk and kisses you overwhelmingly, feeling your arousal on his tongue sends more rushes of pure lust down your spine.

"Are you turned on too?" you ask him looking in his eyes.

He grins, "Judge for yourself." he replies, you look down and see it, it's still covered by his pants, but his huge erection is clearly visible.

"You're making me wet again," you say slipping a hand through his dark hair and kissing him again "You're way overdressed," you add as you begin to undress him by getting off the desk.

"I thought you wanted clarification," he tells you as you slip off his shirt and then move to the waistband of his pants.

"You just gave 'em to me," you say looking at him with a complicit grin, "You are so big," you add as you fully release his erection.

"Seeing and hearing you come turns me on," he confesses.

"And what else turns you on?" you ask as you kneel down and look up into his face.

"Right now?" he asks looking down to you.

"Right now, generally," you urge him, kissing his mushroom tip of his cock and licking along his evident vein.

"Have power over others, see a beautiful girl kneeling in front of me as you are doing now, take you from behind, see the effect I have on you, I want to see your face while I fuck you this time." he responds panting as you begin to suck and lick his huge erection, it's wonderful.

You place your hands on his hips as you begin to pump his erection feeling it if possible grow even bigger between your lips, he begins to moan softly and this sends more rushes of lust making you even wetter.

"How many blowjobs have you had in your life?" he asks as he slips a hand through your hair and pushes your head even further toward him, you are almost afraid of choking, but at the moment you don't care. You look up at the totally distorted features of his face and that pushes you to suck and lick even harder, he moans and growls louder and louder until he puts his hands in your hair letting out a long loud moan, "I'm gonna..." he tries to say, but you know what he wants to say, streams of hot seed invade your mouth and partly on the sides of your mouth, you moan swallowing every drop of him.

"Oh, fuck." he groans closing his eyes.

You turn your lips away from his cock breathing deeply, then he helps you up and takes you to a couch where he makes you lie down. You open your legs to welcome him and he immediately accepts your invitation, he lays his hands on the sides of your head caging you, but you are not at all afraid nor do you pull back, you are too involved, you want to feel him sink inside you. He kisses you languidly a couple of times, then probes your intimacy with his fingers feeling how ready you are for him, you moan closing your eyes.

Oh his hands are so expert.

He kisses your neck while he touches your pussy with three fingers, you moans louder and louder.

"I knew it was even hotter see your face while I was fucking you, little girl." you can't reply, all you can do is receive his touch and feeling your orgasm mount again.

He replaces his finger with his cock inside you. Both of you hold your breath as his cock sinks easily into your flesh.

"You are so soft and so wet," he whispers to your ear.

"You are so big, fuck," you whisper biting your lower lip.

He immediately starts pumping fast inside you, you don't think you will last long, your vision is blurred and you moan without restraint forgetting what he told you earlier, but he does the same, he tries unsuccessfully to stifle his moans and expletives.

Suddenly, Joel holds you by the back of your neck and tilts your head down to make you watch while he fucked you.

It's too much, you're fucked out.

You see his eyes become darker as he looks at your face, your watering eyes and your tits wince at his thrusts.

His thrusts are stronger, deeper as he buries his cock between your soaked folds.

“I love your cunt, 's so tight, so wet for me.” he says while the only noises you hear are his cock sucked in and out of you and his heavy balls against you.

You're totally fucked out, brain foggy as you stare up at him with glazed eyes.

"Oh, fuck I'm cumming." he warns you in a broken voice.

You wrap him by tightening your legs against his hips and making him if possible sink even deeper inside you "Fuck, fuck, fuck," you curse again and again as you feel streams of his hot seed invade you again while you surround his neck with your arms.

You moan in unison as you close your eyes.

"You are an incredible fuck," he comments with his eyes closed placing his sweaty forehead against yours. You would like to retort something, anything, but at the moment words fail you, "Come to me whenever you want."

[mybworlds]

"I don't want you to bow, if that's what's bothering you, people have to do what they want, not what they have to by some form of compulsion."

He may fill his mouth with a lot of fine words, but he's still a man, you think with disgust.

"You hungry? Come." he says holding out an arm as if to invite you to join him. You see him biting that food with such sensuality that you are forced to look away, is he mocking you?

A little sneak peek of the next chapter of my Oberyn ff. A few things may change..

[mybworlds]

THIS IS SO PERFECT

[mybworlds]

Chapter 1: The Mermaid of The Narrow Sea

Title: The Mermaid of the Narrow Sea Pairing: Oberyn Martell x F!Reader (no use of Y/N) Summary: Essos. You are a slave since you were a little girl. One day you are sold to a mysterious man who could be your only chance to escape and be free.

Masterlist Rating: M Series Warnings: Age gap, slavery, violence, blood, death, alcohol use, slow burn, sexism, smut, dom/sub dynamics, rape attempts Extra warnings: there's a vicious brother (oc), Ellaria is a jealous woman in this story.

Before to start... my idea is to twist Oberyn's biography a little bit and intertwine it with the main character's story and what happens in Westeros in the next chapters, so I'm not sure what will come of it. I hope you like this my (new) story.

This is my second story in the Game of Thrones universe, the other is a SanSan, you can find it in my masterlist, I'm a lil afraid to write about Prince Oberyn 'cause I know he's very loved, who doesn't? ;) If you want let me know what you think about.

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Thanks for the dividers @idontgetanysleep

Fire warms your sun-ruined skin, your hair is a shapeless tangled heap, you wear a tunic too small for your body, it's a woman's body now, not a child's.

Your eyes are likened to burning embers especially when you get angry or challenge even with your gaze your masters. You are a slave. You've been a slave since you were a child. Your mother had been captured when you weren't even five, and since then you along with other men, women and slavers have done nothing but roam the eastern continent.

You are a beautiful young woman, your proud look and posture stand out though you are only a slave. For these your qualities, you are called the Mermaid of the Narrow Sea.

People who had enslaved your mother move from place to place, from inland to the shores of the Narrow Sea.

That day you are dragged by those bloody people back to the shores, and on that day the wind blows hard shaking the barren lands overlooking the Sea and shaking the hair of everyone there. You and other women are gathered there by the cliff, all are afraid since they all fear what may happen to them, you don't. You watch raptly as the waves crash on the rocks, then you scan the horizon with a wistful look.

"Soon, very soon we'll see what you are made of," hisses one of the men threateningly in your ear who had also tried in the past to take you by force.

"I'm not afraid." you challenge him by turning your gaze toward the man who raises his hand as if to strike you, but then has second thoughts: hitting you would not scratch you, take that look away, or satisfy him.

"Someday, you damn bitch, someone will tame you," he says grudgingly and then walks away.

"When that day comes, I'll be ready," you whisper, but it's more of a reminder to yourself to never give up and never bend no matter what happens.

You promised to yourself this ever since you witnessed the rape and murder of your mother. Your mother was sold to a prince or king in Westeros, out of the goodness of this prince or king, whoever he was, you were bought too. One evening, however, the man showed in your quarters, your mother, probably sensing what was going to happen, immediately made you hide in a closet filled with sacks of grain, bread and other food making you swear not to go out or be heard for any reason in the world.

When the man was there, you witnessed something that no one should ever see: your mother, the woman who gave birth to you, the woman who loved you, the woman you always saw as your rock, slapped and thrown to the ground and then her screams overpowered by the man's obscene sounds and words.

You closed your eyes and plugged your ears tightly, almost unable to hear after so much you pressed your palms over your ears. When you dared to open your eyes again, you saw the man's sword rise and fall on your mother's neck and blood gushing copiously on the floor, on her clothes and on the man's sword. Your mother choked in her own blood as the man wiped his sword back against the woman's now blood-soaked dress.

When you were able to come out of your hiding place, you found your mother with her eyes wide open in an expression of pure terror painted on her face, from then on you swore to yourself that no one, ever, would touch you, neither a slave nor a merchant nor a king nor a prince.

"She is the Mermaid of the Narrow Sea, gentlemen." you are introduced by a plump man who sells women for a good price in exchange for wine, silk and spices "Beautiful as you can see, she will be able to satisfy your every fantasy, she is an obedient girl who knows her place."

You stare grimly and hard at all the men who stare at you as if you were an animal for slaughter. You see some talking excitedly, others licking their lips as if you were a tasty exotic dish to be put on the table.

"More than Mermaid seems to me to be ready to rip our throats out," someone comments, provoking general hilarity.

"I kill those who provoke me only," you reply venomously bringing down general silence, slaves don't speak, someone hits you from behind causing you to fall to your knees. The men laugh, but this doesn't make you lose your resolve or your hard stare.

You quickly get back on your feet.

People whisper, the plump man tries to sell you in every way, but no one buys you. One of the slavers pulls you away, when you are in a separate place he ties your hands and feet with a very heavy chain, "I should rip that damned tongue out of you!" the man threatens you and then kicks you in the side and walks away. In front of him you didn't react to that gesture, but now that you're alone you squeeze your eyes and moan in pain, you want to see what he did to you, but you can't.

You hide your head between your legs, you don't cry, you never cry, there is no point in crying, you just have to hold on. The day will come when you will be free and you can get rid of these heavy chains.

The next day someone wakes you up with the usual indelicacy and brutality, they release you from the chains and pull you by the arm, "Move, the market has ended and you're staying with us this time too." you don't know if there is disappointment in his tone of voice or what, for you for sure it'll be another terrible trip. You don't know where you will go, but they certainly won't treat you well, they never have. They are not going to start today.

All of you slaves - mostly women - are chained by the wrists, lined up in a row to each other, your slavers are on horseback, only a couple of them on foot and they are there to poke and prod you to walk, not all of you holding their gait. Someone dies under the scorching sun, someone from lack of food and water. Your lips are parched, your eyes burn from the sun and sweat dripping from your forehead, but you don't give up.

Not today.

Not today.

Not today.

You keep telling yourself, this is not the day you die.

Slavers stop to unhook the dead bodies and as you others who were further behind are about to stop too, one of the damn ones trips you and part surprise and part lack of food, you fall forward.

"Oh, you've fallen, Mermaid!" he uses that nickname with the tone of someone who wants to taunt you, you look at him angrily "I was hoping you'd be the next to die!" he adds with a venomous grin.

"Instead I'm still here," you say grudgingly, he's about to kick you, but you can't take it anymore, you block the man's foot in midair who falls backward. The anger, the pain, the resentment built up over all those years until now explodes with a force and violence you didn't even think you had: you pounce on the man by sitting on him and start punching him repeatedly in the face, you lose count of how many blows you inflict on him, his face becomes a mask of blood and he screams, screams attract the attention of the other men who grab you by the armpits and pull you away, in pulling you away you kick him in the middle of the legs and making the asshole scream once again.

"Fuck you!" you scream in exasperation.

"Now I'm going to kill that fucking bitch," the man says holding his face and making to get to his feet and reach you, one of his own stands between you and you hear him say "At the next slave market in Meereen we'll get rid of her, you'll see." this doesn't quite convince him because his eyes land on your face still distraught with rage and he tries to reach you again, the second man insists "There someone will heal your wounds and we're going to drink good wine, I know there's a good brothel too, you'll relax and forget about her." maybe this convinces him because he looks at you with less hatred and then he looks at his companion, you see him smile and his interest in you fades.

You can breathe.

"Be careful," a dark-skinned man next to you says, you look at him suspiciously "that guy, Aziz, is a dangerous man," he continues, referring to the man you hit.

"I can take care of myself," you retort looking at him grimly.

He chuckles "I saw, but try to avoid any more shows, you are too young to die." he looks at your face, "I hope that when you are sold because you will be, your master will treat you better than you have lived so far." you lower your head for a moment and find yourself barely bending your lips upward, you have never really smiled, doing is so strange.

The city of Meereen presents itself splendid and imposing to your eyes. It's the largest city you have ever been in up to that point, you walk looking upward and your eyes wide open in wonder although you know why you are there. What strikes you most are massive triangular-shaped structures, they are gigantic, who knows what they are for! You are in a noisy city, deafening almost, everywhere there are people buying and selling, there are goods of all kinds and types, before long it will be your turn again and the poor unfortunate souls like you.

They make you wear a knee-length cream-colored dress, one of the slavers dares to move your hair and you in response bite his hand earning you a slap in the face, it hurts, especially if he has hit you with a hand full of rings, "I sure hope you leave, you insolent fool."

When they have fixed you and made you presentable for sale, you get out of there. You are in chains again and this time you go to a wide open space that is swarming with all kinds of people, from prospective buyers to the merely curious. You keep your head down. Buying and selling is something that has always made you sick and that you have always refused to listen to; you go up on some kind of stage as if you were there to make a spectacle of yourself, you feel a disgust at those pigs selling you and the equally obscene buyers watching you as juicy meat to be put on the table.

"She is the Mermaid of the Narrow Sea," once again you are introduced this way by a huge man who pulls you by the arm beside him to show you to the audience of shoppers. You stare at the many faces, your head spinning, wishing to be left alone, to escape, but...

"I offer 1,000 copper stars," you hear one man shout, "2,000," shouts a second, you move your eyes from corner to corner, then there is an offer that interrupts all possible bids "10,000 gold dragons," everybody's head turns hearing such a sum. You remain breathless, no one had ever bid that much for someone like you, you try to spot the buyer, but he's wearing a hood therefore it's impossible to tell who he is.

"Sold." decrees the man beside you, you are immediately grabbed by the arm by someone else who hisses grudgingly in your ear "Finally, you damn whore, your time has come, now you will know that we were only docile lambs!"

It's Aziz, you look him in the eyes and with an expression full of disgust you tell him "Finally I've ruined that ugly face of yours, you monster!" he's about to hit you, but he's interrupted once again from another man "Stop it, it's none of our business now, go and collect from the buyer and hand it over to him now, it's none of our business anymore." says the second man barely looking at your face.

You and Aziz exchange one last glance, before he finally - and forever - walks away from you, you will never see him again. You hint a smile.

You are free from his obscene look, his stinking breath, his slimy hands. Free.

Free to go to another cage. The smile disappears again.

You are not free at all, you never will be.

The buyer enters the tent, he still has his hood over his head, and only then does he take it off, he's a man maybe in his fifties, or maybe something more, and then you realize that you can no longer escape the violence that has always marked your life and hollowed out your skin, you can never escape, never.

You are always a prisoner.

"I was just sent to buy you, I'm handing you over to your master's brother," is all the elderly man says to you, you can only nod, you are still a cargo.

The man pulls away the curtain and invites you to follow him, invites? Oh, it would be the first time someone has treated you like a person instead of an animal. You obey, you cannot object. Your hands are still tied and then there are too many people, you want to run away, but not now. Not today.

Just a little further on, there is a palanquin on which the man makes you get on and then he gets on as well. You don't speak, he barely looks at you, you are on alert, you don't know what the man's real intentions are, he might attack you, tempt violence, you don't let him out of your sight. You are ready to snap.

The palanquin stops, the man gets out before you and then helps you down. You are... in front of a brothel, you can't believe it, your master has bought you to make you a whore, your lips tremble and you lower your gaze for a moment, "Come." the man says in a sigh, holding you by the arm, you don't have the strength to resist and at the moment not even the strength to run away, even if you wanted to.

You climb the steps of the building and enter, the room stinks and it's dark. You can hear in the distance the unmistakable sounds and moans of sex, laughter, someone sneaks up totally naked in front of the two of you, you widen your eyes frightened, maybe you should start getting used to it, you will stay there now. Your master probably runs the place, maybe he himself will want to first-- you try to restrain yourself from vomiting at the idea, at the horror of that scene.

You wander between the various rooms until you come to a last room to which the elderly man knocks once, twice, three times with his fist as if it were a signal, someone from inside opens and leaves the door open. The elderly man opens the door completely and lets you in as well, "I have brought what your brother wants, my Prince."

"Hand her over to him don't give her to me," says a bored voice from behind, it's a man, looking out the window, he's rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"My Prince, Prince Mors said to give it to you--"

"To spite me!" he exclaims "He knows how I feel about it, and what does he do? He orders you to bring me a slave he wants! Set her free," he sentences again without looking at you, you widen your eyes, not knowing what to expect.

"My Prince, I'm sorry, but your brother..."

The other man sighs, "I know, but if it were up to me, I would free everyone."

"I understand, my Prince, but without slaves there would be no one left to perform certain tasks and chores," the elder continues.

The two of them keep talking as if you are not there with them, you start to think that maybe if you start walking slowly backwards, maybe... at that moment the younger man turns toward you and you don't really know why, but you almost feel like you've been paralyzed by his piercing gaze: your eyes plant themselves in his, you find yourself swallowing without even knowing why, you can't lower your gaze even though in front of that man's you'd like to, his gaze almost seems to want to burn you inside, it's such a strange feeling, so disturbing, you see his lips stretch upward and then you realize that's the end.

You can't move anymore.

[mybworlds]

Chapter 1

Paring: Joel x F!Reader (NO Y/N)

Warnings: pre!outbreak and post!outbreak, AU (there will be some characters, Joel's backstory is different), no Sarah, no Ellie (maybe!), a lot of flashback (at least in the first chapters!), age gap (reader is approx. 10 yrs younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, SMUT, unprotected sex, creampie, oral sex (m and f), fingering, masturbation (m and f), language, attempted SA, trauma, death and violence.

Rating: M

Masterlist

Word count: 4k

Summary: You work in the Millers' company, you are their friend, you have a job you love, your coworkers esteem and love you. Your life is perfect. Suddenly, one day, you wake up in the hospital, you are alone surrounded by silence and strange noises, your door is barricaded, but what happened? And what happened to the world out there?

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Thanks @saradika for the divider and the banner. Thanks @vase-of-lilies for the banner.

JANUARY 2014

You open your eyes suddenly breathing deeply as if you had just surfaced after a long and tiring dive, your head aches and in a spontaneous gesture you bring your hand to your head which you discover is bandaged.

You feel so cold.

"What the…?" you wrinkle your forehead as you close your eyes, you look at your hands and discover that your red nail polish, the one you like to put on so much, is gone except for a few pale traces, you are surprised to see your hands full of cuts, but more importantly to be wearing what looks very much like a hospital gown. You look around and notice the white walls around you, to your right there's an open window which lets in a biting breeze into the room and closer to you unlit monitors and a medicine cart. There's another empty unmade crib, a night-blue cabinet, a small sink with a mirror to your left, but what strikes you most is the stretcher in front of the door. You sit down, a little groan escapes from your lips, and you bring your hands to your head, feeling it heavy.

How long have you been lying there? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months?

You don't remember.

What are you doing here? Did you come to the hospital for a checkup? Did you have an accident?

You uncover your legs and sit in the middle of the stretcher, your legs hurt so bad, perhaps truly you've been there for days - at least a week, you think!

You place your feet on the ground, but the muscles of your legs don't hold you up and you fall forward, you groan from fatigue and pain, you look around, and only then you notice a chair on which there are women's clothes. You reach the chair with great effort and you wear light-colored jeans that turn out to be very loose, a pink turtleneck sweater and a black jacket. All very loose.

You barely reach the sink and turn on the tap, but not a drop of water comes out. They turned off the water, maybe there are problems with the system or they've suspended the water supply for work, they've been doing a lot of work lately. But how much is lately? You have the answer to your question when you raise your face and gaze into the mirror and look at the reflection of a person who, has your eyes, but whom you don't recognize. Your eyes are hollowed out, your face is extremely pale and pinched, your hair you always wore in a tail and wasn't particularly long, today it reaches your breasts, "But how long have I been here?" it's a whisper.

You look at the stretcher standing there in front of the door, you are about to move it and open the door, but then you hear some noises coming from the hallway. It's certainly the nurses going up and down from room to room in case patients call or maybe it's the doctors who are about to start their rounds and will be coming to you shortly.

The noises though you hear, you realize after a few minutes, aren't normal sounds of footsteps, it's like a slow and crawling step, as if someone is dragging their feet on the ground. You think at first that maybe it's a patient who is walking slowly, but it's the next noise that puzzles you, a gasp, a chilling cry, something that makes your skin crawl and silently back away from there. What the hell is that?!

It must be a nightmare everything you are experiencing, yes it must be. Now you wake up and-- that sound again, you curl up in the corner of the room being careful not to bump into anything. You are still deeply stunned, in pain and now scared.

JANUARY 2012

The alarm clock rings incessantly and you totally stunned turn off that infernal contraption by throwing it across the room causing a big noise, but you still sleepy turn away and go back to sleep.

After what seems like minutes to you, someone knocks on the intercom, repeatedly. He knocks once, twice, three times. You get up with a yawn and barefoot you reach the intercom answering in a sleepy voice.

"G' morning, sleeping beauty, I brought you coffee, will you let me in?"

"Yes, come in." you answer yawning and opening the door to one of your few close friends here in Seattle, you open the door and look in the mirror observing your hair which is a total mess, you run your hand through it and yawn sonorously.

"Here she is my beautiful princess," Tommy greets you by handing you your coffee and giving you a kiss on the cheek.

"You are the best," you say as you pass an arm around his neck and return the kiss on the cheek.

"I know," he replies with a big smile, "if only you could talk to Jane," he adds walking toward the kitchen with his coffee in hand. You follow him by running a hand through your hair and adjusting the top and shorts you are wearing as pajamas. Tommy is home and so you don't get too upset if he finds you like this or if he makes himself at home.

SEPTEMBER 2010

You, Tommy and his brother met one evening a few months ago when you agreed to meet a guy you met online, the evening would have been nice if he hadn't spent it just talking about his mom and how important she is to him; after an hour and a half and after two drinks you were already bored so you made up an excuse and left the club. The car wouldn't start and at that moment you were approached by three young men who looked like they were drunk and looking for a good time; they were making some rather explicit advances when two men - the Miller brothers - approached you and the small group. The two men both had dark hair, the older a string of beard and mustache, and, in the dim area you were in, appeared to be the more muscular of the two. The two invited the young men to go elsewhere to find what they wanted. You didn't know if it was the tone used or if it was Miller senior and his grim look that frightened the three young men the most, fact is that they left you alone. The younger Miller gave you a friendly look and asked if you were all right and what the problem was, you explained to him, also casting fleeting glances at the other man, that the car didn't start. That's when Miller senior, Joel, opened the front hood and started tinkering, while Miller jr. introduced himself and indirectly his brother, you didn't feel very comfortable at that moment since you didn't know exactly what the man was doing to your car, was he really fixing it?

And was the other one - Tommy - trying to talk to you to distract you? What was the intention of both of them?

"I'm sorry, but ya have to leave it here," Joel says, closing the hood, "I'll call a friend tomorrow and get it fixed for ya." he adds, reaching out and only then you find yourself swallowing in fright.

"Don't worry, my brother looks scary, but he's a gentle giant!" he exclaimed patting his brother who grunted as he rolled his eyes "What's your name? You haven't told us yet," the younger asked.

"What are your intentions?" you asked making your frightened gaze wander from Tommy to Joel.

The two brothers exchange glances, "Look," Joel said advancing toward you and causing you to back away just barely, "d' ya think that if we had any bad intentions, we would have rescued ya from those three drunks?" you shook your head lowering your gaze for a moment and then planting it in the eyes of the man in front of you "Well, honey, I know the night hasn't been the best, but I assure ya we won't hurt ya, we are two serious people with a serious job, so we would never do anything stupid. Trust me."

He sounded sincere and his eyes convinced you to trust him, you were right.

JANUARY 2012

"You had a fun night out?" Tommy asks sipping his coffee as you sit down at the kitchen table and place your espresso on the table, you shake your head and reply "No, I was in front of the computer all night trying to get a project done for our next meeting. I wanted to be ready for today, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it." you sip your coffee, narrowing your eyes "Where did you get this coffee?"

"Max's bar was closed, so I've fallen back on one across the street," he replies "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Indeed." you answer, drinking it all in one gulp "Anyway," you say crumpling up the glass and tossing it in the trash "I didn't like what the program I use was proposing so I started messing around with it and result? The computer froze and if it doesn't turn back on today, I'll have to take it to Frank and your brother will rightly get pissed off and say..."

"Hey, hey, hey," Tommy says kneeling in front of you and taking you by the shoulders, "breathe, Joel you know how he is, he has that gruff look, but with you he's sweet and understanding." your stomach contracts in a strange grip, Tommy has noticed your reaction and so to soften your nervousness he grabs you by the chin making you smile "Besides, why don't you talk to Jane and convince her to forgive me?"

You roll your eyes, "Tommy, Jane is a smart girl and she keeps her distance from you. Unfortunately, you have this bad fault: you can't keep a girl. You're a womaniser," you reply to him.

He sighs loudly and then stands up, "Okay, sweety, I tried. Can I watch TV while I wait for you?" he asks you.

"Okay." you reply as you get up as well, "Make yourself at home." you add as you go toward the bedroom where you grab your stuff and then head for the bathroom and take a shower.

When you come out of the bathroom, you are ready to face a new day. You join Tommy in the living room where you find him lounging on the couch watching the news where you see and hear the usual bad news. When he realizes you are next to him, he smiles at you "My favorite girl is ready!" he exclaims turning off the TV and getting up "Bring the house key?"

"Yep!" you reply by dangling them in your left hand "Shall we go?"

"After you." he says spreading his arm making you go forward.

DECEMBER 2011

Tommy was the first to notice your interest in Joel, at first he made little jokes about your distraction, your blushing, but then he thought you were in awe of him although he used pet names with you - when it was just the two of you or the three of you together - and only later he realized. When he clearly asked you if you liked Joel, you remember exactly where and how you and Miller jr. were: you just got off work and Tommy was giving you credits on how you came up with the solution for building a spa, when you were flanked by Joel who greeted you fleetingly and then increased his pace by moving away from you, you were totally dumbfounded, your cheeks turned red and you found yourself with a dry throat, Tommy had to snap his fingers in front of your eyes a couple of times before you regained your words.

"You're not into my brother, are ya?" he asked jokingly, thinking you would answer no; instead, you lowered your gaze, biting your lower lip, and shrugging your shoulders "No! Really? Oh!" he exclaimed noticing your silence "Cool…"

"Please don't tell him. Don't tell anyone." you said looking nervously into his eyes, he smiled sweetly as he placed a hand on your shoulder "I would never," he looked at you and you at that moment could barely hold his gaze, you felt so ashamed "I'd love to have you as my sister-in-law," he added with a smile.

JANUARY 2012

You and Tommy enter the elevator of the Millers' company building, it's one of the most beautiful downtown buildings with panoramic windows, the interior in beech wood, all studied in detail. You go to the fourth floor, he goes to headquarters. You greet him with a small smile, he raises his hand with a smile, then the doors close and you turn your back to the elevator.

"Good morning," you greet Barbara, Paula, Jane and Charlotte, your fellow architects like you engaged in other projects for the company, who greet you warmly as soon as they see you. Barbara is a woman in her thirties, blond curtained hair, blue eyes, impeccable outfit, 12 heel shoes, she always reminded you of one of those cover models, precise and methodical character, if something is not in place she panics; Paula also in her thirties, has red hair and green eyes, a sprinkling of freckles on her cheekbones and is a sweet and smiling woman, ready to give you good advices or to address you words full of thoughtfulness; Charlotte, in her forties, sly eyes and sensual smile, likes to dress provocatively especially if she has meetings with Joel; Jane, the last girl Tommy has his eye on, is in her late thirties and is the most reserved girl you have ever met, discreet, never a comment out of place, never one gesture too many, the least suitable person for Tommy who in contrast is so exuberant at times.

Charlotte calls your name by waving a hand, "Did you manage to finish the project?"

"Not yet, the computer crashed. I'll have to take it to Frank, I'm afraid." you answer by turning on your computer and entering your password.

"Isn't Frank a Tommy Miller's friend?" she asks again without stopping looking at you, you look up at her and find her face resting between the palms of her hands, you nod then return to looking at the screen and start the programs to work "Tommy Miller is a good-looking guy, I'm amazed how he didn't hit on you! " she exclaims, when you look up again you discover that she's no longer looking at you, but at poor Jane who you think had even had a thought about Tommy, but then learning of the young man's not-so-rosy name, desisted.

"We're just friends." you simply answer her without giving her too much rope, luckily her flood of questions is interrupted by Katherine your Head of Sector who reminds you of the next meeting with the Miller brothers and your deadlines which must be before Friday; thus, before the Millers go to New York. Immediately everyone's attention is focused on the jobs assigned via company email, you actually have two projects on your hands, the former and the project.

You have to complete the previous project first and then you can think about this new construction site as your next job, you settle down in your chair and style your hair into a tail, you are about to open the program, when Katherine approaches you calling you by name, you look up questioningly, "There's also an executive summary to prepare, for Friday."

"Uhm… Katherine, I already have two works, I'll never make it!" you exclaim, widening your eyes and looking toward your computer "I don't know if I can do it, I'll make a mess!" you add, abandoning yourself against the back of the chair.

Katherine gives you a sympathetic look, lays a hand on your shoulder "You're the best here, you work twelve hours a day and I've never heard Miller senior complain about your performance, if you need an executive summary check send it to me and I'll take a look, but you've always done a great job so far."

"Thanks for your encouragement." you say with a smile, she tightens her grip on your shoulder just a little more and then lets you work.

Katherine is a wonderful woman, not only physically, but also character-wise, at first glance she seems stern and gruff, but she cares about her job and want that all her work is done in the best possible way.

And you can't blame her, you also care about your work and want it to be done properly. You love it and wish everyone would care of every detail exactly as you do.

Three hours later you send the work to Katherine, your eyes are burning and your fingers are numb, but luckily you've completed the first project, the one you were working on the night before but couldn't complete, you yawn conspicuously covering your mouth, and then get up to go to the machine to get a well-earned cup of coffee.

You were so engrossed in your work that you didn't even realize that your colleague - Charlotte - had wandered away from her desk. In fact, you see her coming out of the elevator doors looking annoyed. She's about to return to her desk, when she sees you and with furious eyes walks up to you and blurts out, "Since you're such good friends with the Millers, tell 'em to put on fewer airs!" she's about to turn her back on you, you don't know what happened, but frankly you don't care, the fact remains that you reply with a "No."

"I beg your pardon?" she asks, reaching out to you again.

"Precisely because I'm their friend, I'm not going to tell 'em such a thing," you reply wrinkling your forehead while keeping a calm tone "I don't know what was done or said to you, but I'm not going to deliver this your message, if you have something to say, talk to the person concerned." you add, even though you imagine who she is referring to.

Charlotte is about to retort, but then reconsiders and walks away mumbling something unintelligible. You start the coffee maker, the machine is faulty, therefore, you must be the one to stop the coffee brewing. At that moment, the doors open revealing Miller senior. You find him looking handsome in his blue suit, the one Tommy once told you Joel uses for important meetings or for meetings with his staff, which matches with his dark hair and eyes. He looks up giving you a fleeting smile, then enters your room where you see him talking to Katherine, you notice that several times they turn to you and it causes you to lower your eyes for a moment and then look back at them. You're curious about what they're saying about you, it's obvious they're talking about you or they wouldn't be looking at you, you think.

Joel nods again toward Katherine and comes out holding in his hands a small folder on which is written your draft, you see him intent on looking at the folder and with one hand massaging his chin, then he looks up at you and you raise an eyebrow caught in the act.

"Ya like long coffee, I see." he says, you look at him puzzled, then he turns his gaze towards the machine and you notice that the coffee has almost reached the brim of the plastic cup, you immediately stop the coffee brewing and then turn a guilty look towards him "No, um…I got distracted…I was thinking about the next project I want to complete in the evening and so…um, the machine is broken. " now you're babbling, but those sweet dark eyes confuses you "Sorry, I'm - the truth is I'm a bit tired." you admit, scratching the nape of your neck in an embarrassed gesture. "S' okay, honey, got it," he says in a soft tone reaching out his hand toward your cheek, you open in your eyes in amazement that he would indulge in such an intimate gesture in the workplace, he must have thought the same since he thinks again clearing his throat by putting his hands in his pockets "later…um, I'll let Katherine know what I think 'bout the project." he says by turning his back on you "Ah, um…was wondering," he says turning back to you and zigzagging his gaze from your eyes to the floor "if by any chance…I mean, yes if ya were free. After-- after work." you find yourself swallowing hard and nodding "Yes, yes." you answer trying not to sound too weird. He smiles at you and you can't help but smile back.

JANUARY 2014

When you open your eyes, you hope it's just a nightmare, you in that hospital, alone, surrounded by those creepy sounds, but unfortunately it's reality. You stagger to your feet, barely staggering, and you look out the window, you shudder from the cold but not only widening your eyes at that disturbing and unsettling sight: the world you knew, everything you knew has vanished, the houses, the buildings, the many buildings you planned, designed, the schools in the metropolis, the parks, there is nothing left. Cars are a pile of wreckage on the streets, shards of glass are scattered everywhere on the street in front of the hospital, two ambulances are overturned and seem to be burned.

You feel as if you have plunged into a nightmare, an extremely real nightmare. At that moment you hear a metallic noise coming from outside, you even seem to catch a glimpse of someone coming up, you back away and hide under the bed, maybe it's an obvious and stupid hiding place, but it's the only one you have.

That's when something starts banging against the door, you hear the stretcher squeak, once, twice, three, four times, until it moves completely and someone comes in: you can clearly see his work shoes and lab coat, it's a doctor, you think about the explanation you're going to give the doctor when you get out from under there and he looks at you strangely, but the sound that comes out of his mouth stops you. It's an eerie verse, your skin crawls and you hope he doesn't see you, you try to regulate your breathing and not let him hear you. Something making the same cry enters your room, it seems to be a nurse or whatever it is. Fear is about to take over when a noise catches your and their attention, something has entered through the window drawing the two people towards the other presence which turns out to be very fast and soon those two creepy creatures stop making those sounds staggering and falling backwards. What you thought to be a doctor and a nurse turn out to be two repulsive faceless monsters, you don't know what happened to them, but it's horrible. The third presence has stabbed them in the head and now copious streams of blood flow from their heads.

You turn your head to the other side and at that moment you hear someone calling by your name, whispering your name and only at that moment you come out from under the bed, the presence turns out to be a man who, as soon as he sees you, grabs you firmly by the arms and then lays his hands on your cheeks "You okay?" he asks you in a whisper.

You blink several times to focus on the person in front of you, his eyes are the same, but his beard is longer and slightly thicker than last time, he's wearing dirty clothes, in some places his jacket is even torn, "Joel..." you whisper, widening your eyes.

"S' me," he whispers "Did they bite ya?" he asks again, you just shake your head, too shocked to be able to answer "G', now follow me, don't make a sound, I'll help ya. Come." he goes on going to the window and slowly climbing over, you see him come out and wait for you there on what appears to be a roof "Put one leg in first," he says tapping with his palm on the window frame, you swallow and then do as he says "come, lean toward me" and you obey by laying your hands on his shoulders as he lays his hands on your waist and you climb over.

You are outside, the air is chilly and the wind bothers you, but you don't focus so much on that as on Joel grabbing your hand and telling you where to put your feet so you don't fall down.

He sits you down on another roof that makes an eerie noise and then slides you down until you hit the ground. He follows you around, your head is spinning, you're confused and scared, you don't know what happened or what's going on, all you know is that you're with a version of Joel you don't remember, you don't know how long it's been since you've seen him, how long you were in the hospital and what happened to land you there, but this is not question time, you must leave now. He grabs and squeezes your hand and confusingly you return the squeeze looking first at your hand and then at him returning a long, worried look, then together you walk away from the hospital.