#'guys its NOT a copy of spy x family stop saying that'

[the-kneesbees]

is...is it not common for people to know what a trope is...

[fallen420]

Rebel Spy - Chapter 1: The Child

Mando x OC

Summary: Aurora life becomes lonely after the war ends but when a familiar Mandalorain needs her help who is she to refuse

Series Playlist 

Prologue 

It's a nice breezy day on Naboo. I walk into one of the many cantinas, I order a drink, and I sit down in one of the booths in the back. I take out a book and begin to read.

Ever since the empire fell 5 years ago I've resided on the planet I always dreamed of living on, Naboo. The people are nice, the scenery is beautiful, and almost no crime happens here.

The door to the cantina opens and I can feel people around me getting tense and I hear whispers. I look up to see what the fuss is about and I see the same silver Mandalorian from Tatooine in front of me. Behind him is a floating pod of some kind. It's closed so I can't see what's inside.

I put the book down as he sits across from me. "I'm not here to hurt you, Aurora."

He remembers my name. It's been years how does he remember? He only ever saw it on the tracking forb.

"That's what somebody who wants to hurt me would say."

"Look Jabas dead anyway. You're safe." I look up into his visor feeling the weight being lifted off my shoulders. He adjusts in his seat then says quieter, "I need your help."

"Help? Me? You want my help? Why me?"

"Because you owe me."

"I can't be the only person in the galaxy who owes you something."

He takes a moment, "I have this...kid." He glances at the pod still floating there.

"You have a kid? A Mandalorian has a kid?"

"It's not mine mine. I..."

"Adopted it?"

"Sure."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Watch it while I collect bounties. Help take care of the ship. Stuff like that."

"Okay. I'll do it."

"Really? Just like that?"

I look around and shrug "What else am I doing?"

-

We start to walk back to his ship, "So can I actually see this kid?" He walks in front of me while the pod floats by his side. Why I chose to trust him, I don't know. I mean he let me go the last time, yeah but he's still a Mandalorian. It's not like my life was super fun and exciting anyway might as well babysit a mystery kid and hang out with an even more mysterious Mandalorian.

"You can on the Razor Crest where it's safe."

"Razor crest?"

"My ship."

"Ohh.."

He stops walking, "Wait. Don't you have a family to say goodbye too? You're not coming back who knows how long."

I look at him confused by the sudden burst of - caring. Very out of character for a Mandalorian. I shake my head no, "Nope. No family."

He turns around and walks forward again.

-

He closes the door to the ship and he finally opens the pod. It reveals a green baby with big eyes and ears. It's cute but also kinda ugly. "I was not expecting that."

I wave at it and coos while waving back.

"Where'd you get it?" I ask looking back at the Mandalorian.

"He was a bounty but I uh- I couldn't it."

"Mhm, so Mandalorians do have hearts."

He doesn't acknowledge my statement. "This is the fresher," he says pointing to a tiny room with a toilet and a small shower. "This is where you will sleep." he motions towards a tiny cot. He points into a room with the door closed. "That's where I sleep. Don't go in there."

"Wasn't planning on it."

"I'll give you half of what I get from collecting bounties for taking care of the kid." He begins to walk towards the cockpit.

"Wait," he stops, "What do I call you?"

"Mando." He climbs the latter.

I sit down on the cot and the kid looks up at me and coos, "This should be interesting."

-

The first night I get woken up to the ship shaking around. I check the kid who is still somehow asleep. I stand up holding onto the wall so I don't fall down. I make my way up to the cockpit.

"What the hell is going on?!" I yell over the shooting as I sit on the co-pilot's chair.

"We're being shot at."

No shit.

Mando dodges the blasts well.

"What can I do?"

"Nothing."

"Hand over the child mando,"  his voice comes out the intercom.  He hits one of the engines and sparks fly around. "I might let you live."  

He hits us again.

"Hey you know you might want to uh shoot him back." He hits us again and alarms go off and Mando presses some buttons. "Look you fly, I'll shoot. Just get us behind him and I'll get the fucker." He nods and I grab hold of one of the guns,

"Hold on," Mando says and he flips us upside down dodging blasts, "Come on,"

"I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold."

"That's my line," Mando pulls the ship back and it grazes over the other guy's ship knocking out his gun. Now that we are behind him, I aim my gun and shoot. It hits his ship square on blowing it up. Mando looks at me and nods as a way of saying thank you.

He clicks a few more buttons, "Losing fuel." Then the power shuts off.

"Great." He gets up and clicks a button behind my chair. He sits back down clicking more things and the power turns back on, "Stars, this thing has a lot of buttons."

He turns on the radio, "This is Mos Eisely tower. We are tracking you. Head for bay three-five, over."

"Copy that," Mando says, "Locked in for three-five."

"Mos Eisley," I chuckle a little, "Ironic." I stand up with a yawn, "Well, while that was exciting I should get some sleep."

-

I was able to sleep for a few hours only to be awakened by the child's whines.

"Good morning," he coos back, "Hungry?" I stand up to grab him something to get

Mando climbs down the ladder from the cockpit, "Good you're awake."

"Good morning to you too."

"I found some work it shouldn't take me long to catch this bounty." I nod, "You stay here and watch the kid." He hands me a comlink, "If one of us gets into trouble we can use that to communicate. And somebody will be working on the ship outside. Do not let them see the kid."

"Got it," I say putting the comlink in my pocket. and with that the leaves. I turn back to the kid and hand him his food, "Looks like its just us."

-

I play with the kid for a while, read my book.

I take a shower in the tiny fresher. I look in the mirror to see my pink hair is fading away. Soon it'll be back to its natural color. I glance over the scars that cover my body from the war. I get dressed and decided the kid and I could use a good nap.

We wake up to hammering from the ship being repaired. I decided to make myself useful clean up around here. I grab a rag and start dusting the shelves.

There's another room that Mando didn't show me. Curiosity gets the best of me and I open it. It opens and reveals a weapon room. He has blasters along the walls. "Woah." I pick up one of the smaller silver blasters. They feel new considering the pre-empire old ship.

I put it back but it wasn't balanced and falls. But it doesn't it the ground.

I blink to make sure I'm seeing it right.

Yep.

It's floating.

I look back at the kid who has his little hand out. Then it hits me.

He's using the goddamn force. I've only seen it once before but what else would this be.

I grab the gun and put it back carefully this time. He puts his hand down and slumps in the pod.

"Are you a-? Did you just use-?  Where did Mando find you?"

-

"Help!" I hear a woman's voice scream outside. Immediately I close the kid's pod and I grab the gun I looked at earlier, I grab the bullets and load it. I hear struggling and then the door opens but I already have my gun pointed at whoever it is.

A guy has a gun pointed to the women, who I assume was fixing the ship, head. They stand on the ramp while I still stand on the ship.

"Where's the kid?" He asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Drop your blaster or I shoot her."

I weigh my options. I mean yeah I don't know her but I still don't want her to die.

I remember the comlink in my pocket but if I reach for it who knows what he might do.

"I wouldn't try that I have a clear shot of your head right now." I don't

"Give me the kid."

"I don't have a goddamn kid. You got the wrong ship buddy."

Behind him I see Mando approaching slowly trying not to make his presence know.

"No, you see if I get that kid and that Mandalorian I'm gonna be famous."

It takes everything in me not to laugh at this arrogant kid.

Mando can't shot him without him shooting her on reaction.

"Ambitious there. Let's make a deal, let her go and we'll talk mhm? "

"How do I know you won't kill me?"

I sigh before putting the blaster down and putting my hands up, "Let her go."

He throws her to the side and before he can speak Mando shoots him and he falls to the ground.

The woman looks at both of us, "Thank you."

"The kid?" Mando asks me.

"Right here."

"Good," he hands the women credits before climbing onto the ship and closing the hatch.

"Where did you get the blaster?" he asks. I point towards his weapon room thingy. "Keep it."

"Are you sure?" He just nods, "Thank you."

[heli0s-writes]

IV. I’m in the mood for love

Summary: Beyond the sass and the crass lies a tender moment Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes A/N: Maybe I wrote myself into a pickle? Idk but I teared up a little at the end. Also this is the most politics I’ll ever put in my work-- let’s keep it civil and chill if we disagree.

Foot in Mouth Syndrome Masterpost

 It’s a miracle that you had worked up the courage to trot downstairs to return the only covering that separated two bare-ass naked men from your eyes. And not to mention yourself, who was only covered in a towel, too.

You make Steve stand so far around the corner of the doorframe that all he can do is stick out his hand. Bucky rustles the shower curtain impatiently and makes a comment on how “non-hyperverbal” you’re being and you’re too nervous to even respond back. When Buckyeye starts looking at you and the swinging white hem at your shins, you shoo him up the stairs before he gets any other bright ideas.

“Didn’t know you were such a prude.” Bucky comments later as you fiddle around in the kitchen, “But I guess it makes sense-- you still have those stuffed animals on your bed.”

You bristle and glare at him, “Just because you didn’t have a childhood doesn’t mean I can’t.”

It’s a little too mean, and you hear the venom that shoots right into him as soon as it leaves your mouth. “Sorry.” You comment. Damn it. He grew up in the fuckin’ Great Depression where everything was dusty and shit.

“Not all of us can travel the world eating caviar at the ripe age of four.” Bucky snarls. Ugh. Why’d he have to do that?

“Oh, fuck you.” You retort the same time Steve sharply calls Bucky’s name to reel him back in. It doesn’t work, as Steve knows, because when you and Bucky get into it—you get into it.

“You wish, princess. Wait, you’re such a goddamn prude, anyway--”

All Steve can do is cross his fingers and bark, “Buck!”

It’s too late. You’re across the room before Steve can say much else and you’ve launched yourself over one empty couch and straight into Bucky sitting on the other. The force knocks it slightly and it teeters before flopping back with a muffled thud.

Buckeye begins to run around in circles, unsure of the kind of play this particular moment is.

You have no idea what you’re doing, and you doubt you even want to—or can-- hurt him in any way, but you are so finished with his bullshit. You death-grip his hair as you jab both knees into his abdomen. Bucky moves to rip you off, but you clamp your teeth over his wrist and he yelps.

“Fuck you!” You scream, “fuck you so much! I—ow! I fucking apologized, you—Ugh!”

Buckeye, ever the perfect audience member, begins to bark to the rhythm of your screeching and aggressively nudges Bucky’s foot with his snout.

Soldat’s metal hand pushes your face back until its tilted up to the ceiling and further beyond, precariously suspended. The only thing keeping you from cracking your skull on the coffee table is your clinging to his hair. Steve’s concerned expression is upside down and his arms are outstretched, trying to determine the right configuration to pry the two of you apart. “Get that fucking! Aluminum foil finger the fuck away fr---”

“Shut up!” Bucky’s palm smashes against your mouth as his legs wrap around your back until you’re a squished human pretzel inside of him. You’re too crushed even to make any sounds and behind you Steve is sputtering vowels and consonants but not stringing together any real words. Finally, he nearly shrieks,

“Bucky! Jesus! You’re gonna actually kill her!”

Yep. This is how you’re gonna go, you think. The Winter Fucking Soldier has officially had enough of your bullshit, too, and he is going to bear-hug you to death. Who would have thunk it? Your fingers disengage and fall uselessly over his arms.

When time begins to slow and your soul starts to yeet itself from your body, Bucky blessedly lets go. “You’re bluer than I was in cryo.” He sneers.

Steve gasps, scandalized by the comment. For whatever reason, he’s covered Buckeye’s ears, too. You would send him an incredulous look, but you can’t feel your face.

With a pathetic whistle of air, you flop backwards and hang upside down over the couch, thighs gripped tightly by Bucky, heaving deep breaths until your lungs feel like they might burst through your rib cage. No wonder you are not a superhero—fuck the hubris, you are physically not built for this shit.

“I think I’m gonna vomit.” You mutter when Steve’s face begins to spin alongside your dog who slobbers all over your nose. Bucky yanks you up by the front of your shirt and the cough that blasts from your mouth goes right into his face. His smug expression twists into one of disgust and you take the moment to waggle your eyebrows suggestively.

Your sour mood has fled and now that you’re absolutely sure you cannot kick his ass—you return to the one thing you do know you’re capable of:

“Hey, baby. Is that a glock in your pants or are you just really happy to see me?”

To drive your point home, you bounce on his lap with a wide grin, wiggling your butt in exaggerated motions.

“Okay! That’s enough!”

Steve scoops you up and plants you back on the other side of the coffee table. “That’s too smart! Too smart!” He scolds as you pat your bottom and then curtsy. Bucky only huffs and crosses his arms, refusing to meet your gaze. Ha-ha. Winter Soldier, meet your match—Ass Woman. No, that just sounds like a porno.

“Alright, fuckers.” You declare, stepping over to the built-in bookshelf around the flatscreen and retrieving a leather-bound copy of The Wizard of Oz. “Ready for chili?”

They watch you open the front and stick your hand inside the false pages and retrieve a roll of bills. “What?” You ask nonchalantly. “Oh—shut up, Barnes. Like you guys really need me to pay back the vet fees. Technically, my tax dollars pay you.”

Steve shakes his head no. So, you casually toss him the roll of cash and then pull out another one.

“Jesus! Will you put these back?”

“Look,” You say, “For every month I don’t come home my mother puts another wad in this box.” You show them the pile of rolled bills, each encased in varying sizes of rubber bands. “She thinks it’ll ensnare me, but joke’s on her, the more I’m away the more there is to spend. She’s not very smart—a consequence of never having to think for herself.”

“And you’re fine with spending it?” Bucky ponders. The relationship you have with your family grows more confusing the longer they spend in your parents’ house. The memorabilia littered in your childhood bedroom seems to suggest that you aren’t completely detached from your family or your childhood. The way you respond to being home is paradoxical, too—disgusted at the excess one minute, reveling in it the next.

“It’s just fucking money. They make so much of it. I couldn’t bankrupt them if I tried. My father has offshore accounts in the fucking Caymans. I literally could not.”

They both pause before Steve speaks up, “Are you an only child?”

You frown. “No.” Then you aggressively push him by the shoulder and toward the exit, motioning for Bucky to follow. “It’s fucking Skyline time.”

Suddenly, you pause at the door and turn around to put both your hands on your hips. Looking both of them up and down, you shake your head impatiently. Steve is wearing his civilian Captain America outfit again. And Bucky, honestly, Bucky looks like someone cosplaying Bucky.

“Who dressed you?” You demand, exasperated, “You guys like, do spy stuff? It’s baffling to me that you don’t get caught immediately. Steve—khakis?”

Upon being admonished, he scoffs and looks around, “What’s wrong with my khakis?”

“Will you please tell him something?” You ask Bucky, who only rolls his eyes as if to say, you’re fuckin’ telling me. When it’s obvious that Steve’s poor choices are solely the result of him being an old fuck with no fashion sense, you mumble. “At least switch shirts. I’m going to take Buckeye out… please… fix this.”

-

When you come back, the sight of Steve wearing black and Bucky wearing light blue is so discomforting you cover Buckeye’s eyes. “It’s okay, boy.” You whisper loudly. Bucky flips you off but fixes the hem of the shirt he’s sporting. Steve—for whatever inexplicable reason, has decided to tuck… You quickly yank his shirt from his waistband and shake your head. “Christ, why are you like this?”

--

Untucked and uncomfortable in black, Steve looks at the menu as if the letters on it were runes from an ancient past. He doesn’t understand at all what Skyline Chili is or why it is. They’re coneys—this he does understand. But the rest of it—nope. Why would anyone ever need that much cheese? Bucky mirrors his sentiment by shutting the menu and crossing his arms.

The small bowl of oyster crackers in the middle of the table is being torn apart as you shovel handful after handful into your mouth. There is an inordinate amount of hot sauce sprayed on the top of the crisps, and you wipe your hands haphazardly on a napkin when you’re finished.

“Okay. You feelin’ spag or nah?” You ask, not even looking up. “Spagbol.” You continue, “Spag-y. SPAGHETS!” Then, in a terrible and very offensive Italian rendition, you pinch your fingers together and enunciate, “Its-a-spha-ghetta!”

Bucky slumps down into the booth until you stop. Steve puts his hand over his eyes.

“Why would you put chili on spaghetti noodles?” Bucky hisses.

The waitress arrives right after his question and you reach over to take his hands into your own— still reeking of peppers and vinegar from the hot sauce. “Shh,” You say almost tenderly, “Adults are talking now.”

“I hope you rub your eyes with that hand later.” Bucky snarls.

“I’ll cup your balls with it, instead.” You respond.

The waitress whimpers at the conversation she’s just stumbled into.

--

Six coneys arrive and as well as two plates of spaghetti. You explain to the boys that the Skyline specialty is steamed buns, mustard, special secret spice chili, raw onions, and hella shredded cheese. The noodles come with the same, sans mustard, and if you’re feeling extra frisky— beans. One plate is extra frisky today. Then you unscrew the cap to the hot sauce and shake the shit out of it onto everything.

They are bewildered at the sheer excess of American consumption as you shove almost half a coney into your face. Cheese flops down onto your plate.

“I think I’m gonna vomit.” Steve whimpers.

“Big baby, wimpy, Stevie can’t eat the cheesy?” Between mouthfuls, you’re still a dick. “Just try it! What are you, six?”

He glares at you and then sends a puppy-dog look to Bucky who already is lifting a coney to his face. You take another bite and watch them do the same.

Immediately, Steve coughs. Bucky starts laughing so hard he drops the pile of shredded cheese all over the table. You tuck into the overflowing plate of spaghetti, hot noodles melting the cheddar on top into an amalgam of gooey yellow. “I can’t do it.” Steve groans, “This isn’t right. This isn’t what God wanted.”

“God is dead, bitch.” You reply, “There is only Skyline Chili.”

--

“So what’s your deal?” Bucky asks from the couch.

The three of you have returned back to the house, winding down for the night. It’s eight now, and you’ve driven them around the city just to show them the sights. The gentrified downtown with its bustling crowd of young, white party-people interspersed with streets of dilapidated buildings and homelessness. There’s a bitterness to your voice when you talk about the changing scenery—but a kind of sadness, too. You admit you don’t really know the solution. The business brings in money to the city, but all the people left behind are really getting left behind.

You show them the more relaxed areas, like Over the Rhine and point out its massive brewery. You promise to take them there soon. There’s also the famous Cincinatti Zoo, and King’s Island, where you swear is better than where Steve wanted to go- Coney Island #2. There’s no point in taking him there, you declare when he starts to sputter, because he only wants to go to shit all over it, and because King’s Island is way cooler.

“What do you mean?” You ask back, flipping through the stations with your feet propped up on the coffee table. Steve and Bucky are sitting side-by-side under a blanket. There is a bowl of chips and hummus shared in their laps since Steve refused to eat during dinner and is now very cranky.

“All of this. Excess. Money. And then... you.” he waves to the house, then to you, sprawled out carelessly on a leather couch in mismatched pajamas. Buckeye’s head is faithfully in your lap, big eyes peering up at you, as if he’s waiting for an explanation too.

“You hating on my penguin top and pumpkin bottoms or what?”

“C’mon...” Steve beckons, knowing that your deflection is just another cop-out.

So, you groan, because they’re teaming up on you and after almost three months it’s bound to happen. They’ve told you so much about themselves already. You’ve learned all about the personal lives of the Commandos, the war stories, serums and experimentations, the cryo, the trial after the Triskelion... the blood, and sweat, and all of Steve Rogers’ tears.

“Well... it’s not as exciting as you think it is.” You mutter, tugging on Buckeye’s ear, finding the texture comforting under their persistent gaze. “Just a dumb girl born into an obscene family.”

But you tell them, truthfully and genuinely. Your family has old money- oil, or steel, probably both. As a result, you grew up in the lap of luxury, private schools, language programs, singing classes, dance lessons, horseback riding, trips to Europe and Asia, enormous birthday parties and a line of suitors as soon as you started growing breasts. The worst part, you admit, is that you loved it.

The picture they picked up in your room was from junior prom, and the date was a boyfriend- family friend- you’d been with for about six months, and he already planned on proposing. That was just how it was. Rich people marrying other rich people continuing the line of one-percenters.

Really, you say, your family was maybe the 10 percenter-range. As rich as maybe low A-list movie stars, not quite Jeff Bezos. But you know him, too.

“What changed?” Steve wonders out loud for both him and Bucky.

“Living in New York.” You half-smile at the memory of Union. “After Ohio State, I went to Union for my graduate studies and it blew my shit wide open. But that’s what happens when you start opening yourself up to other realities.”

You tell them about the immense struggle the first year at Union, feeling ostracized and realizing that your life is nothing like most peoples’ lives, and then beginning to frame your understanding of the world in a different way. You tell them you got mugged once and you felt like you probably deserved it.

“Then the election happened.” You sigh, and they both groan at the reminder. “As you know... it’s just been downhill and fucked. We had a big falling out here over Thanksgiving holiday.”

You didn’t come home in almost two years. You took out loans, you worked two jobs, took a full course load and wrote a thesis, and then went on to your Doctoral program. Your parents reached out to you and you eventually came half-way back into the fold.

“And spending their money?”

Most of the money you get you give to the local shelters. “That’s just direct action, baby.” You laugh. “We go at it, all the time. But you know, I figure... If I have to live in this shit world, might as well be a bastard about it.”

That earns a hearty chuckle from both your guests. “Jesus, that explains a lot.” Bucky grins as you nuzzle Buckeye and plant a kiss on his wrinkly face.

It feels so much better now that you’ve aired all the dirty, 1000-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets.

Steve hops up from the couch and runs downstairs, “Be right back!” He yells. You and Bucky narrow your eyes at the trail he’s padded into the carpet. In the distance, you can hear his rummaging and then thumping footsteps back up into the living room. He’s perfectly in one piece, because he’s Captain Damn America and nearly flying up a flight of stairs ain’t shit.

“I figured this would happen.” He grins, holding up a metal flask. “It’s time to break out the Asgardian mead.”

--

The three of you are drunk on whiskey and space-juice, tumbling around the downstairs living room. You are banging on the piano keys, tapping out a stuttering and off-kilter rendition of The Magic School Bus theme song while they wrestle. Why is it that no matter how old boys get, they still love to wrestle? Around their legs is Buckeye, running around in circles and panting, like a racecar at the Indy—only making left turns, having the time of his life.

“Get a fuckin’ ROOM!” You scream, throwing another shot down.

“You mean your room?” Steve laughs back, head under Bucky’s arm, tapping uselessly on his ribs.

“Captain America, fuckin’ in my room. Carve that on my grave, baby.” You mutter, as the piano lid slams down and you take a bow, knocking the bench over with a crash. “Oops.”

“Thas direct action, baby.” Bucky parrots you, “You’re so fucking lame.”

Buckyeye leaps into the air and licks him on the face. “Fuck!”

“Yeah, defend my honor, Buck!” You whoop. “Not you!” You point to Bucky, who flicks you off with a cackling laugh. The sound of it flutters into your ears like a ghost- leaving cold trails down your back. Suddenly, you get an idea.

“Hey-- you guys on Twitter?”

--

They sit crosslegged on the floor flanking you as you scroll determinedly through what seems to be endless tweets. There are other tabs open, too, of compilations of these. Thirsttweets, you explain. The internet loves and wants to bone the hell out of Captain America. Some of them want the Soldier there too—just watching, apparently.

Steve is seventeen shades of red and a little bit of purple. Bucky keeps cursing under his breath and at one point, you think, is reciting Hail Mary. It’s a million times worse than your playlist.

Who’s Got the Biggest Dick in Baseball is nothing compared to captain america could spit into my mouth and id say thank you

“I would never!” Steve gasps. “Or that!”

The tweet in question says: ruin my life big dorito daddy

“What does that mean?” Bucky groans, a little ruffled by all the lewd attention Steve is getting.

“His back is shaped like a Dorito, duh. Don’t get jealous, big boy. You’re next.”

For whatever reason, Bucky’s tweets are way worse. Maybe it’s his persona—that redeemed baddie type of thing. People eat that shit up like chips and dip—and apparently want to eat him too.

As long as I have a face, Winter Soldier has a seat rearrange my guts, Sargeant Sexy When will James Buchanan Barnes put his fist in me? WHEN? I didn’t know I was into getting choked until I saw that metal arm.

You snort whiskey into your lungs in the middle of reading one out loud and spend the next five minutes with your insides on fire. Steve has his head in Bucky’s lap and there are tears coming out of his eyes both from Bucky’s clenched jaw and you, crumpled into a heap spewing amber.

--

A jazz tune belts out from the surround sound system. Steve has picked a Music Choice station from the seemingly endless list of cable possibilities and of course, being a nostalgic thing, chose Swingers — wait, Singers and Swing. Your brain is loopy with joy.

“Didn’t you say you took dance lessons?” Steve asks nonchalantly.

“Uh-huh,” you sigh on the floor, legs crossed over Buckeye as you pull him down on your tummy. Rolling side to side with you, your dog begins to groan and flop, aggravated at your antics.

“You know, Buck used to dance.”

“Uh-huh, you sure did, didn’t you, big baby?” You kiss Buckeye on the nose.

“Bucky. Bucky, not Buckeye.”

He returns from the restroom with his hair pulled away from his face, changed into a long sleeved soft shirt and sweats. “What?”

“You used to dance!” Steve urges with a flick of his wrist, “Get on out there!” He waves his finger to the carpeted living space where you are spread-eagled, trying your best to keep your dog next to you. Damn it, you want cuddles!

“You want me to lead her? Stevie, I couldn’t lead the girl to water if she were a horse.”

“I am not a whore!” You cry indignantly, shooting up from the carpet and knocking Buckeye over with a yelp.

“A horse! Jesus H. Christ, ya deaf!”

You probably are, you think, as the music slurs itself into one long whine. Bucky grabs you by the hand anyway, determined to prove some point to Steve. He turns you around until you face him and takes a second to start on the right beat.

It’s like a switch has flipped and he becomes all step and sway as he moves to the music, leading you, too. Some vestigial memory digs its way out of your muscles from all those damn dance lessons and your feet point and tap along with him, hips rocking when he spins you around and pulls you back. A grin slowly breaks across his face, big and lopsided, all teeth.

You feel like a little puppet in complete submission to him as he expertly uses the perfect amount of momentum to change your course.

Laughter bursts forth from your mouth as you whirl dizzily around Bucky, hands clamped tightly in both of his. The room is a blur of colors and the blue of Steve’s eyes, watching.

At one point, you stand hip-to-hip side-by-side and kick your feet together before he takes you by the waist and dips you low. You’re breathless as he laughs, mirroring your puffs of warm air from above, wild with motion— his hair slipping from behind his ear to hang over your forehead.

“Holy shit you got moves.” You proclaim as the song finishes and he tugs you up with a satisfied chuckle. A slower melody comes on and you move to return to the couch where Steve is sitting with Buckeye, but Bucky tugs you again, closer.

He places one hand behind your back, resting on the ridged thread-bare waistband of your pajama shorts, and the other one he holds up to his chest. You blink away the fuzzy spots from your eyes and peer at him, looking so far away even though he’s just inches apart. His expression has changed, dropping into something distant and removed and staring straight through you.

You see it now. He’s not Bucky anymore.

It hits you like a bag of bricks, that this is James Barnes, in all his glory as a beautiful Brooklyn boy. Out dancing with a girl. Laughing, just like this: bristled, square-jawed and cleft-chinned. Wide, pouty lips. Bright steel eyes. Before he was a soldier, he was just a boy.

Before he was The Soldier, he was just a boy.

His chest rises and falls slowly as he takes a deep breath. The crooning in the background is tender, melodic, with the singer’s sweet voice pining for her loved one accompanied by delicate plucks of a piano.

Once, too, he pined.

The tears in your eyes spill over when you press your mouth to his. Bucky lets go of your hands and you catch his face with them, instead, holding onto his head, fingers grazing his ears and neck and brushing away his hair. You kiss him as if he might be shipped out to war tomorrow. It hurts even more to know that he probably had a night just like this, in the arms of a girl he loved, right before his entire life changed.

And then, you tear away and look at the couch where Steve sits, chewing on his lip, red-eyed too. You sob uncontrollably when you rush around the table and into his arms. He wraps them around you, pushes his face down into your shoulder.

“I love you guys.” You whisper, curled up in Steve’s lap, because the story of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter was never explicit in the history books, but you know it too. “Oh God. I’m so sorry it’s like this. I’m so sorry.”

Steve forgets sometimes, that they were ripped out of time. He forgets the torment and tearing of Bucky’s entire being. They busy themselves in tomorrow and moving forward so much that they bury how the things that made them also broke them.

You are clinging onto his shirt, crying for him now, for both of them. Two handsome soldiers, living, dying, resurrected again. Having only each other to know and hold.

Sergeant Barnes of the 107th closes his eyes and presses his lips together. When he opens them, he is Bucky Barnes of the terrible, modern age once more. He crosses the room quietly, as he always does, as he was made to do. He sits down next to Steve as you look up at him with love and sympathy and so much sadness he can’t stand it. He links his hand in yours and smiles in a way that cracks your heart right open.

“Don’t get weird, kid.” Bucky whispers with moist lashes. Your laugh is strangled when it escapes your throat, all wet and whine as you squeeze his fingers tighter.

“I love you. You don’t understand.”

Steve breathes a sigh into your shoulder and rubs his damp cheeks on the penguin print of your sleeping shirt. From next to him, Buckeye looks up quizzically and gives his arm a long, slow lick.

“Yeah, yeah,” He mutters, swatting at your dog’s snout lovingly, lips pressed into your collarbone. Then, he kisses you too, tipsy and torn open. In the background, Julie London sweetly croons:

If there’s a cloud above and it must rain, we’ll let it.

But for tonight, forget it.

I’m in the mood for love.

Next Chapter

[underoossss]

More Than A Mission - H.O [Epilogue]

Masterlist

Spy AU

Pairing: Spy!Harrison Osterfield x Spy!reader

Warnings: some swearing and huge amounts of fluff

A/N: Here it is y’all, the last chapter of these two wonderful characters. It’s been a ride, and I loved writing every bit of this. It’s very hard to say goodbye, I’m going to miss them but I hope you like this. Thank you for reading💖💖There’s probably typos in this but I’ll read them over tomorrow probably lol, bear with me.

The soft crashing of the waves and the salty breeze make you sigh in content and close your eyes for a few seconds before opening them again to a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is hot and high in the sky making  the turquoise sea in front of you glitter. It was a busy day at the beach in Montecarlo, which meant you had to be extra alert while scanning your surroundings. So as you lie in a beach chair, white rimmed sunglasses on top of your nose and a book in your hands, you watch people come and go. Families, waiters, groups of friends, rich people jet skiing, there was a little bit of everything but so far no sign of your target.

“How’s everything looking over there?” Harrison speaks through the earpiece in your ear, that was strategically covered by a strand of hair.

It has been a little over a year since the Marioli case, and Harrison and you have been inseparable ever since. You have worked many cases together as partners, all of them successful missions and the FBI has never been happier to have their best agents back. Your missions ranged from cold nights in the streets of Paris, early mornings in Los Angeles and hot days in Bacelona, everything to try to make the world a little safer. It felt like old times, the only thing that changed was going back to your shared bed at a hotel or your shared apartment by the end of the day and not having to hide your feelings anymore. And thank the heavens for that. Now, both of you had been assigned to go undercover to arrest Johnathan Blanche, a rogue agent who stole confidential files and is planning on selling them at a party in Montercarlo’s most luxurious hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts forgotten for the sake of not being discovered, you were now Mr. and Mrs. Blazier. Two rich newlyweds on their honeymoon, who loved the beach, jazz music and had close ties with the most important families in England. Harrison is now forced to wear brown contact lenses while you had to wear a wig to keep your identities hidden during the assignment, just in case someone recognized you and blew off your cover.

“Nothing unusual, which is good since I can actually try to enjoy my book and the sun.” You say under your breath, sighing in content once more. “And yes I know my British accent isn’t the best.”

“I think its cute.” He chuckles and you can picture him smiling to himself. “Anyways, nothing unusual from the bar side of the resort. But now that I’m coming back…”

You furrow your eyebrows and sit up slightly, wondering if Harrison saw Blanche somewhere on the beach. “You have eyes on the target?”

“Nope, only on the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. White rimmed sunglasses, black and white stripped bikini, and I think she’s reading the new Michelle Obama book. Wow.” There’s a hint of a smirk in his voice like he knows how his words make your cheeks burn in a second.

You chuckle and shake your head after he’s done describing you and you shrug your shoulders since you know he can see you. “You should give her your phone number.”

“Do you think she’d give it to me?” His voice is teasing and you just want to kiss the smile off his face as you roll your eyes.

You smile, the perfect answer in your mind already. “Probably not.”

“Ugh, you guys are gross.”Another agent, Bryan, who was also synced to your earpieces teased the two of you. The two of you chuckle, picturing him dying of boredom at his post giving out towels and your flirting not making anymore interesting.

You turn your earpiece off as you see Harrison approach you out of the corner of your eye. His breathtaking body fully on display, his silver chain resting on top of his toned chest and shoulders and those abs… You lower your sunglasses slightly to have a better look, enjoying the way his curls move with the breeze and how hot he looked with those black sunglasses and dark green swimming trunks. And to think he’s all yours.

“You’re impossible you know.” Harrison smiles and presses the button on his earpiece turning it off before handing you a pineapple cocktail. He leans down to brush his nose against yours and places a kiss on your lips.

Your stomach does flips when his lips meet yours and you smile once you pull away, sending a wink his way. “You love me though.”

“Hopelessly.” He shakes his head, moving towards the chair beside you and sipping on his cocktail. “That’s why I married you Mrs. Blazier.”

You set your book down on the glass table by your chair before turning towards Harrison, feeling his loving gaze on you even though it was covered by his sunglasses. “And I you, Mr. Blazier.” You take a sip of your cocktail before holding your right hand out for him to hold. Harrison does in a second, his fingers playing with yours as you look around you, trying to see if you spot Blanche or any of his bodyguards walking around. It’s a beautiful day, even criminals can appreciate that.

Your gaze drifts back to your intertwined hands, perceiving Harrison’s mind racing as his thumb brushed against your knuckles back and forth, pausing over the fake engagement and wedding ring every now and then. You give his hand a light squeeze, bringing his gaze back to yours. “Everything okay, love?”

Harrison nods his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts, and places a kiss in your hand. “Just thinking about how lucky I am, that’s all.” His shoulders move up and down as he shrugs before he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes as the warmth of the sun bathes him in light. “I love this job, and what makes it better is that I get to do it with you.”

“We’re both pretty damn lucky then.” You smile, squeezing his hand before letting go and picking up your book. Your eyes go back to his relaxed profile next to you, heart doing jumping jacks while you smile at the sigh, before you spot your target six chairs over. “Babe?”

“Hm?” He sits up slightly, pushing his sunglasses down his nose.

“Target spotted.” You nod your head slightly towards Blanche’s direction before looking down at your book. “We can’t let him out of our sight, the first chance we get we follow him.”

“Copied.” Harrison nods his head bur furrows his eyebrows a second later. “What if he goes back to his hotel though? We can’t risk  sneaking in during the daytime.”

“Chill babe, we can easily plant a bug on him. We just need to confirm he’s going to the party tomorrow night so we can stop him.” You smile softly at him, taking his hand once more before and squeezing it softly. You pretend to adjust your sunglasses and activate your earpiece again, “Anyone undercover as a waiter, we found someone who needs a bug on their drink.”

Harrison can’t help the smile that comes to his face when he looks down at your face resting on his chest. Your eyes are threatening to close as the soft rocking of the hammock lulled you to sleep. It seems unreal he gets to see two completely different sides of you, brave and fierce when on a mission but also incredibly soft when you’re alone. A warm breeze blows from the sea down in front of you to the wide balcony you were currently resting in, soft music playing from his phone. After listening in on Blanche’s conversation during the afternoon until he confirmed his assistance to the party, all agents decided to call it a day  and decided to rendezvous the next day to go over the strategy to get the documents back. This left the rest of the night free for him to relax next to you and enjoy the short trip to paradise work had sent the two of you on.

Harrison’s left hand holds your right one over his chest, his eyes roaming freely over your features. The t-shirt that covered your body, the movement of your shoulders as you breathed softly, the barely there sunburn on your face and your slightly wet hair from the shower you took around 30 minutes before. You were perfect and if someone were to tell him many years ago that he would be able to hold you like this in Montercarlo of all places, he would’ve laughed. His thumb brushes back and forth over your knuckles, pausing its movement when it gets to the two bands on your ring finger and lingering there for a while before resuming his previous movement. His mind drifts back to the blue velvet box perfectly hidden in his suitcase, the same way it has been since the moment he got the ring. He needs to get better at not showing he’s thinking about marrying the girl of his dreams, you had already picked up on something back at the beach and would eventually figure it out if he keeps this up. He can’t help it though, not when he’s so lucky to have you.

A familiar knock on the door makes Harrison move his gaze away from you and towards the bedroom. You groan slightly in his arms before shifting so he can stand up, knowing the secret knock meant it was one of the agents outside the door. Harrison places a kiss on your temple and laughs when you pout before he stands up, arms going above his head as he lets out a yawn. The wooden floor is cold under his feet as he reaches the door and checks the keyhole to see Bryan on the other side.

“Good evening, Bryan. Are those for us?” Harrison nods at the two black suit bags and an envelope the red haired man holds on his left hand.

“Yup, just arrived for you along with the invitation. You’re officially on the list for tomorrow’s event.” He hands all three things to Harrison. “They told me to tell you they’re already paid for so don’t worry if anything happens to them.”

Harrison furrows his eyebrows but settles with shrugging his shoulders, “Thank you Bryan, have a good night.”

“Same to you.” Bryan gives him one last nod before leaving.

Closing the door behind him, Harrison moves back inside the bedroom smiling when he spots you sitting on the bed waiting for him. “Are those our clothes for the party?” Your eyes light up in excitement.

“They are, and this is the invitation for Mr. and Mrs. Blazier.” He puts the suit bags side by side on the bed and he opens the envelope to check its contents. “They sound like a hot couple don’t they?”

“Oh and they will look ten times hotter wearing this.” Harrison hears you open the bags before a gasp leaves your lips. “Harrison these are designer.”

“Well, we’re supposed to be one of the wealthiest couples in England.” He moves to the invitation inside the room’s safe before turning back to you and settling in bed as you examined the gowns. He nods appreciatively at the burgundy suit in front of him, the pocket square matching the dress you had on your hands.

“And the people at the party will be able to know if it’s a Dior or a Forever21 dress in a heartbeat.” Harrison smiles when you nod to yourself before standing up and holding the dress in front of you for him to see. “Do you like it?”

The dress was a beautiful champagne color, embroidered with what looked like tiny crystals, it had long sleeves and a flowy skirt. Harrison knew it was safe to say he couldn’t wait to see it on you so he nods his head eagerly, “You’ll look like a goddess wearing that love.”

“You think so?” You smile at him, taking both garments and hanging them in the walk-in closet next to the bathroom.

“Absolutely.” He holds his hand out to you before standing up, unable to push the image of you in a white dress to the back of his mind as you move to close to him. “How could you not when you already look like one right now.” He lets his hands move to your waist, giving your sides a light squeeze.

“Smooth, Osterfield.” You brush your lips against his, leaning back when his lips chase yours. “I think you’ll look amazing in that suit too, by the way. I can’t wait.”

Harrison hums in content when you finally kiss his lips, his mind going blank for a second and only focusing on the feeling of your fingers in his hair and your soft lips. “Dance with me?”

“Always.” You smile brightly at him, arms going around his neck as you start to sway side to side. Harrison’s heart flutters inside his chest when you rest your cheek on his shoulder, humming the song that plays from the balcony. “Please be careful tomorrow.” Your voice is barely a whisper but he hears it.

Harrison pulls you closer to him and kisses your temple. “I will. This isn’t a hands on mission anyway love, and you’ll be by my side all the time. I’d say that’s very safe.”

He feels you chuckle against the soft material of his t-shirt before you relax against him once more. “I know, but still.”

“Everything will be a success, you’ll see.” Harrison smiles as the two of you continue to sway. Your reflection on one of the balcony’s door catches his eyes and he can’t help but let his smile widen at the sight. You looked so good together and he wants it to be that way forever.

There’s a sense of déjà vu in the car as an agent drives the two of you to the Hotel de Paris, the most luxurious in Montercarlo and the venue for tonight’s party. You hold Harrison’s hand and squeeze it tightly to calm down your nerves. There was no reason to be afraid, this mission wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the Marioli case but the idea of so many civilians in that ballroom made you anxious. What if there were casualties and people got hurt, what if Harrison got hurt. You move your gaze towards his profile, his eyes looked ahead  as the hum of the engine and soft music filled the car. His dark blond curls were only slightly pushed back per your request, always being partial to a softer look on him, and his face was occasionally illuminated with the street’s lampposts passing by.

You had spent the day planning out the whole evening with the SWAT team, who are currently at the hotel and will wait for the signal to arrest Blanche. There were two possible places where he had the document, the most likely location would be on him, but he could have a copy in his suite. You were to say the keyword when it’s safe for the SWAT team to enter the ballroom and arrest him while another part of the team raids his room. Hopefully it will be a successful and clean mission, but there was still the matter of Blanche’s bodyguards and business partners. It was a mixture of ex-convicts and mob leaders, which could make things go south in a seconds if things didn’t go according to plan.

Your hand leaves his as you open your clutch, the slightly worn down picture of the two of you coming into view when you take it out. The perfect mission and your lucky charm. Shortly after the Marioli case you had both exchanged back your charms given the fact that you were together again, each brush of hands and every kiss being a reminder of the other’s presence. Harrison had gone back to wearing his necklace and you started putting the picture in your back pocket once again. It gave you ease, and it helped you picture a successful mission whenever your felt anxious. How does he know you so well?

“I don’t even remember who took this.” You smile shaking your head, “It just appeared in my office the next day and I’ve carried it with me ever since.” Your fingers play with the edges of the picture before turning it around, the words My lovescribbled on the back fully on display make you look back at Harrison once more.

“Every time I missed you I saw the picture and remembered the good times we had together.” He leans closer to kiss your cheek, a soft smile on his face.

“I got into the habit of playing with your chain.” You confess softly, fingers coming up to his face. “Every time I put it on I felt you were still with me.”

The agent driving you clears his throat, announcing you were about to arrive to the hotel and you nod your head, putting the picture back into your purse. It was showtime, and as the two of you stepped out of the car and the curtain rose, you felt determination flow through your veins. You linked your arm with Harrison’s, posing in front of some cameras by the front door before being asked for your invitation.

Harrison reaches for the inside pocket of his burgundy suit jacket, taking out the envelope you were given the night before. The tall security guy takes a look, his gaze coming up to look at the two of you again before handing the invitation back. “Have a good night.”

“Thanks, you too.” You smile, your hand slipping into Harrison’s and pulling him inside to the ballroom. “Wow.”

You had to contain your amazement as you looked around you. Big and beautiful flower arrangements decorated the entrance, creating a big tunnel that lead into the party. Gorgeous crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings as well as strings of flowers that cascaded above the dance floor. The tables displayed expensive silverware and smaller flower arrangements similar to the ones decorating the entrance, and the band by the dance floor dressed in neat white and gold embroidered suits. “Babe, are you seeing this?”

Your gaze follows the expensive and glamorous gowns the guests were wearing, mentally thanking whoever got your dress for helping you fit in. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Eh, I’ve seen better.” Your hand moves up and down as Harrison shrugs and you chuckles, turning to look at him.

“Really now?” You smile up at him, raising an eyebrow.

He smiles back, turning to his side and sliding an arm around your waist. “You outshine all of it, so yes, I’ve seen way better.”

Your stomach flips at his words and your gaze shifts down to your intertwined hands before you look up again. “I-”

“Oh my god, you guys must be the Blaziers!” Someone speaks up behind you, the sudden noise making you jump slightly where you stood.

Squeezing Harrison’s hand you turn around, a smile on your face as you move closer to his side and remember everything you had made up about the British couple. Harrison is the first one to speak up, the arm around you holding you close. “Yes we are, and you are?”

“Oh Samantha and Gabriel Walter.” Samantha smiles, taking a sip from her champagne flute. Her bright red hair falls just above her shoulders in a low bob, contrasting with the white long sleeved dress she is wearing and making her brown eyes stand out. The man by her side, her husband you assume, wears a black suit with a velvet jacket, his bowtie and handkerchief white like Samantha’s dress. He wears thick black rimmed glasses and a cartilage piercing on his left ear. “We heard about your wedding! They said it was gorgeous.”

You smile at her enthusiasm, pushing some of your hair behind your shoulder and nodding. British accent don’t fail me now. “Yeah, it was. Just a private ceremony but we wanted it to be beautiful nevertheless.”

“Let me see you ring! It’s a Forevermark one right?” She takes another sip of champagne before handing it over to Gabriel. He chuckles and kisses her cheek, stealing a sip of champagne as she steps closer and holds out her hand.

Taking a deep breath you show her your left hand, holding back a laugh when she gasps. “Harrison really surprised me with this when he proposed. I’ve never seen one so beautiful.”

“How did you propose?” Samantha asks letting go your hand and taking her champagne back.

“Babe…” Gabriel gives her a look.

“No, no it’s fine.” Harrison speaks up, smile on his face. “I bet you expect it to be a grand proposal with fireworks and a planned speech. It was the complete opposite.”

You bite your lip as you get ready for Harrison to tell his side of the story, butterflies appearing in your stomach once again at the thought of him proposing. You look up at him and every bit of love you feel for him shows in your smile. “I loved it anyways.”

“I know love.” He kisses your forehead before addressing the couple in front of you once more. “We were in Paris for a short getaway and I had everything planned, the place the time, where I was going to stand everything. But when you feel like it’s the right moment, you just have to do it you know. So the first morning in our hotel room, we were getting ready to go out, or at least I was…” Harrison’s gaze meet yours again and you smile.

“I walk out of the bedroom to the living room and she’s sitting out in the balcony, bathed in sunlight and eating French toast. I don’t know what it was about that moment, but I had never felt more in love with her. I knew I couldn’t wait any longer to ask her marry me.” Harrison’s gaze is soft and his eyes scan your face with the same dreamy look he’s had since he bought the engagement ring he’s hiding in the inner pocket of his suitcase. It was very hard not letting it slip that you knew, but not quite as hard as wondering when he would ask. The answer would be the same though, yes.

“Yes.” You smile, “I saw him get down on one knee and the first thing I said was ‘yes’.”

He leans down and kisses your cheek, smiling against your skin before turning to the couple, “So, yeah. It ended up being better than proposing in front of the Eiffel Tower.”

“You guys are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Samantha sighs dreamily, “I love it.”

Gabriel links his arm with Samantha’s. “Come on, honey, I think you’ve interrogated them enough.” He shoots the both of you a kind smile, “Congratulations, both of you. We’ll see you around.”

“Bye!” The two of you smile before you look at Harrison appreciatively. “We’re so great at this.”

Harrison’s hand comes up to cup your cheek, his lips capturing yours in a kiss that leaves you breathless before he nods. “We are.”

“What was that for?” You chuckle. “Not that I’m complaining.”

He shrugs. “Couldn’t help myself… Oh, heads up there’s Blanche.”

Harrison subtly looks to his right, which makes you do the same. Just as he said, Blanche had arrived with two other men and sat down at one of the tables by the band. Clever, that way the music drowns out what they’re saying. He had styled his platinum blond hair to the side and wore an expensive looking navy suit with a velvet jacket similar to Gabriel’s. “It looks like trading state secrets is a good business after all.” You mutter sarcastically, raising your eyebrows at Harrison which makes him chuckle.

“Come on, we can’t just stand here and look at him.” Harrison grabs your hand, tugging you along to the dessert table you had been eyeing since the beginning. “We need to mingle and I know you want a mini cheesecake.”

“I gotta say, I can’t say no to that.” You laugh softly while shaking your head. He knows me too well.

The two of you had ended up getting two plates full of mini-desserts, from brownies to truffles and cheesecake, before making a quick stop at the bar to check in with the agent placed there. He had notified you that the bug was in place and slipped an earpiece for both of you so you can also listen into their conversation. Once they were subtly placed in your ears, Harrison took you hand again and walked towards the table with your names on it. It turns out Gabriel and Samantha were sitting at the same table, which had made for some interesting conversation even though you had to lie almost throughout all of it.

“Would you like to dance?” Harrison smiles as he feeds you the last mini brownie on your plate. His hand moving to push a strand of (fake) hair behind your ear which makes you lean into his touch.

“I’d love to, and guess who’s conveniently sitting near the band.” You smile, standing up and offering him your hand. “Oh this song.”

Harrison smiles at you while you smile dreamily when the band starts to play La Vie en Rose. “Talk about romantic.” One of his hands holds your waist while the other gives you hand a gently squeeze.

You sigh in content, leaning your head against his shoulder while you move along to the music and close your eyes to take the moment in. The man you loved holding you close in a fancy party, perfect music playing and an engagement ring just waiting for the right moment to be shown. If it wasn’t for the mission you’re currently on, you’d enjoy it even more. Dammit Blanche, you just had to ruin the moment didn’t you. You raise your head from where it was resting against Harrison to look up at him, the look on his face making your stomach flutter.

“I love you.” He whispers, his forehead pressing against yours briefly before he raises an arm to spin you around. You twirl in place and sigh once more when he wraps his arms around you once more, his chest pressing against his back.

“I love you too. So much.” You open your eyes and the moment is suddenly gone. You had tuned out Blanche’s conversation, leaving it to the other agents but regret it the minute you see him stand up with some of his men and a new guy tagging along. “Shit. Harrison look.”

You quickly grab his hand and move towards the dessert table, turning the volume on your earpiece up. ‘Gentlemen, I think we have a deal. If you could follow me?’

“SWAT we have movement. Subject is making its way to the bathroom and the deal is happening now.” Harrison speaks into his phone, nodding his head a couple of times before ending the call. “They found copies of the document in his hotel room and online locations but they’ve been recovered. The rest of the team should be here in 3, 2…”

Right that second, a group of armed men with the SWAT logo on their vests walk through the flower entrance and get to Blanche before he could make it to the bathroom. They neutralize the two men he had brought with him and cuff all of them in a matter of minutes. No casualties, only a lot of scared rich people.

“Did you guys just see that?” Samantha asks walking towards you, clutching her chest. “How are you not shocked?”

“I am so shocked.” You say to Harrison, pretending to be shocked and casually eating another chocolate and mint truffle. “We had it worse at our wedding ceremony… Crazy ex you know.” You shrug nonchalantly.

“One hell of a party am I right?” Harrison asks Gabriel who nods slowly, a little spaced out and probably about to pass out.

You can’t help but hum and dance a little on your bathrobe as you finish washing your face back at the hotel. The party had started back up after the arrest and no one had been harmed in the process. You and Harrison had talked to the SWAT team for a little bit and agreed to sign some paperwork the next morning before eating dinner and heading back. We gotta stay for the food, babe, you never leave before the food. Harrison hand merely agreed with a nod of his head and a kiss to your lips. Anything for you, he had said, and your knees had been weak for a moment.

“Hey babe?” Harrison’s head pops in from the bedroom, making you look up as you let down your hair.

“Hm?”

“Let’s take a walk on the beach, its nearly sunrise.” There is a sparkle in his eyes and you have to contain the smile threatening to appear on your face, is this it?

“Sure, let me change and we can go.” You nod your head and wait until he disappears back into the room to take a deep breath. What if this is it? Your heart pounds against your chest while you slip a beige summer dress on and put on your flip flops. “Ready?” You ask Harrison and yourself when you reach for his hand once outside the bathroom.

“Yup.” He beams, and that smile could kill you right there.

The walk towards the elevator, the pool deck and down to the beach was overall quiet. After being surrounded by so many people and having to talk so much throughout the night, you were happy to just enjoy each other’s company.

The salty breeze was warm, even at 5am, and the crashing of waves was soothing while you walked hand in hand. You controlled your heart rate to avoid giving away how nervous and excited you were, you didn’t want Harrison to know you knew. You felt like you were in that Friend’s episode when Rachel and Joy don’t want Monica to know they know. Only that this time it wasn’t about someone else’s relationship, it was about the man of your dreams proposing to you. You can’t help but smile and lean closer to him at the thought, a forever of this. How are we so lucky?

Harrison stops walking after about 10 minutes and you turn back to him in question. “Everything okay?” You bite back a smile when he reaches out and pulls you flush against him.

“Everything’s perfect, you know. You’re here.” His nose brushes against yours, and you don’t hide the sigh that leaves your lips at the gesture. “I can think of something that’s make it better you know.”

“Hmm, and what’s that handsome?” Your lips peck his softly before pulling back to look at him.

“Well, um, it be even more perfect if you’d marry me.” He drops down to one knee and reaches into the pocket of his pants for the blue velvet box.

A knot forms on your throat when he smiles shyly at you as he opens it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring in it. Your face is taken over by a smile and you can’t help being surprised because nothing, absolutely nothing would’ve prepared you for this moment. Not even knowing he was going to propose. The sun starts to make its way up the horizon and the first shades of purplish-orange paint the sky above it. “Harrison?”

“I love you. With everything I’ve got. I love you every minute of every day and I can never stop thinking about you. You are in every dream and every song I hear, I love it when we’re together and how well we know each other. I can’t help but be in awe of how smart, fierce, brave and perseverant you are in everything you do. You’re everything I’ve dreamed off Y/N, and I know I can live without you because I’ve had to do that before, but I don’t want you.” His eyes are tearing up and you only realize yours are too when you nod your head and feel the tears rolling down your cheeks.

“Yes.” You smile, nodding again, “Of course I’ll marry you.”

You let out a teary laugh as Harrison picks you up and sweeps you off your feet before kissing you. “I love you, so much.” He murmurs against your lips while you cradle his face in your hands and kiss him softly.

“I love you too.” A smile makes its way to your lips mid kiss, when you realize the actual proposal was better than all the different scenarios you had come up with. You pull back, your cheeks are hurting but you don’t care as Harrison slips the ring on your third finger and kisses it lightly. Your gaze meets his once more and something in your eyes makes his furrows his eyebrows.

“Did you know already? That I was going to propose?”

“No?” You take a step back and grin innocently before turning around and running away when Harrison starts to chase you. “Okay maybe yes. Yes I did.” Harrison’s arms capture you and tickle your sides making you surrender.

“You did huh?” He picks you up and easily sets your legs around his waist. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Of course I did, I’m a great spy you know.” Your lips leave tiny kisses across his cheeks, “And I didn’t say anything ‘cause I wanted to know what you’d do.”

Harrison laugh when you shrug, his head thrown back a bit before he shakes his head. The sun had risen while you chased each other around and Harrison’s hair turned a gorgeous shade of gold under it. You can’t help but kiss him again before he pulls back to look into your eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah but you love me.” Your fingers run through his hair briefly before you press your foreheads together. “And I love you, that’s why we’re so good together.”

“Yeah we are.” Harrison smiles and in that moment everything is perfect and you both know it’ll continue to be.

Thank you so much for reading! (crying while I write this)

tagging: @parkerpuff @marvelousxtsh @ganseysblues @spiderboytotherescue @deleteidentity @fairydustparker @marvelousxtsh @sincerelymlg @hazhasmycoffee

[greatkinglulu]

How To Dance 101 - [Ben Hardy One Shot]

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Latina!Reader

Warnings: mild smut, maybe?, some goofiness.

A/N: Hi there! Since some of you liked my Seasons one shot and the snippet from my fic, I figured I’d write this thing that just popped in my head last night.

It was another quiet Saturday night in your and Ben’s flat. Ben had been back home for two weeks now, after the press tour, and he had been trying to get his sleeping schedule back to normal, as well as spend as many hours as he could with you, his girlfriend, and Frankie.

After a few glasses of wine, the food was in the oven, Frankie was fast asleep on Ben’s lap, as he played some video games that you couldn’t quite master yet, and you decided to fold a freshly washed load of clothes, which were mostly your boyfriend’s. You made your way to your bedroom, put the basket that contained everything on the bed, and started to fold item of clothing after item of clothing. In the process you managed to steal a couple of Ben’s old shirts that you loved. He wouldn’t mind, they looked better on you anyway, he’d say.

After a few minutes, you decided the silence was too loud and so you grabbed your phone from the bedside table to play some music out loud. By that time, the wine had made its way to the top of your head, and not thinking too much about it, you opened Spotify and played the first Reggaetón playlist that you could find. It brought back memories from your hometown, your friends and family. You had moved all the way from an Spanish-speaking country to London, England with Ben less than six months ago. So you usually found yourself missing your loved ones and skyping them almost everyday.

As the memories twirled around your head, you couldn’t help it but dance a bit clumsily to the rhythm of the songs, while you kept folding piles of clothes.

From the lounge, Ben could hear something, but he couldn’t make out what it exactly was. He paused the game he was playing and slowly removed Frankie from his lap, laying her on the sofa. He slowly made his way down the hallway, and as he aproached the half closed door, he could hear that sound getting louder. It was music. But nothing he had listened to before. He could catch a glimpse of you moving around the bed as he got closer, so before completely opening the door and stepping in, he decided to spy on you for a few moments. He was biting a smile as his eyes scanned your body that was swaying to the beat of the music. He felt something flickering inside him. He was slightly aroused. Ben couldn’t believe his luck; he had hit the jackpot.

He licked his lips before opening the door and entering the room. “What are you doing?” He eyed you once again, only that this time you were aware of it.

Your back was facing him, so when you heard his deep voice, you jumped out of your body. “Ben! You nearly killed me!” You abruptly stopped moving while you tightly clutched one of your shirts. He calmly sat down on the bed. “I-I was just... you know putting this away.” 

You grabbed your phone again to pause the music, when Ben grabbed your wrist softly. “No. Keep playing that. I like to see you dance. I actually didn’t know you could do that with your body...” He trailed off, voice huskier than usual. You noticed the wine from earlier had started to affect his behaviour.

You raised your eyebrows at him, slighly amused still folding stuff. It seemed like it’d never end. “Well, you have a lot to learn yet, pretty boy.“ You laughed. 

“Is that so?“ Ben replyed from his spot, not taking his eyes off of you for a second, since you had started to swing your hips again without noticing. It was something that ran in your blood.

“Yeah...“ You paused for a moment what you were doing and walked over to him. “In fact, get up.“ You offered Ben your hand. “I’m gonna teach you how we do it back home.“

Your boyfriend looked up at you, startled. “You what...?”

“C’moooon.“ You insisted. “You don’t get to be the only one who can see me dance like that when I’m slightly tipsy. I wanna teach you a thing or two so I can look at you dancing to this, too. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.“ You took both his hands in yours and got him up, now moving even more, deliberatly.

“But Y/N, you know I can’t dance.“ Ben whined and pouted.

“Don’t worry, babe. I won’t tell anyone. What happens here, stays here.“ You laughed a bit and gave him a smile. “I promise.“ You whispered near his ear, sending shivers down his spine. You gave him a peck on the lips and he blinked a few times, dazed. 

“Okay...“ He huffed, not sounding too convinced, and as a new song started, you positioned both of you in the middle of the room, him behind you.

“Usually, the girl follows the guy, or they’re in sync, but now you’ll follow me.“ You instructed. You grabbed Ben’s hands and put one on each of your hips. “Now try to move to the right, and then to the left. It has to be like a flowy move, okay? Copy me, pretty boy.“ You waited for the right beat and started swaying your hips, Ben following you as best as he could. He moved a bit stiff, but you were impressed nonetheless.

“Am I doing it right?“ He whispered a bit embarrassed, still focused on being coordinated. He was aroused, but he wanted to impress you, so he tried to restrain himself a bit.

“You’re perfect.“ You looked at him sideways and gave him a reassuring smile. As another song with more sexual lyrics that you could understand came on, you started to grind against him, as you should have done right from the start. His fingers now making his way under your shirt just to touch the skin of your hips and his grip got stronger.

He let out a low groan, and you giggled. You turned in your place, now facing Ben, and you could see in his eyes how hungry he was, but not precisely for food. Eyes darker, pupils blown with excitement. You put your arms around his neck for support and his hands wandered from your hips to your ass. He held onto it for dear life. You didn’t mind, you liked it. “Wow, we’re handsy now, aren’t we?”

“You’re driving me fucking insane, baby.“ Ben squeezed your ass a bit as his eyes moved from your eyes to your mouth a few times. You kept grinding on him and you could start feeling something growing now. Without giving it too much thought, he crashed your lips with his in a slow, heated up kiss. He might not be a great dancer, but he definitlely knew how to work with his mouth.

Soon enough, his tongue was dancing with yours, and you took advantange of that to walk Ben backwards till his legs hit the bed and he fell. Without breaking the kiss, you both crawled onto the bed and now he was laying on it with you straddling him. The kiss kept getting heated by the minute and you could feel Ben was completely hard now as you grinded purposely on him this time.

He moaned your name from the back of his throath as he broke the kiss gasping for air, you were panting, too. “You have to stop doing that.” He grabbed your tighs harshly trying to make you come to a halt.

“Stop doing what?“ You asked innocently, a smirk glued to you face as you tried to keep moving.

“You know. Stop grinding on me. Now.“ You’ve never seen Ben like this, and you liked it.

“Yes, sir.“ You saluted him, laughing.

Now that both of you were breathing more steadily, he took off your shirt, discarded it somewhere and dragged your face back to his and he kept kissing you. He moved his lips to your jaw and he grinned against your skin, as you moaned after he had found one of your sweet spots. He kept trailing sloppy kisses down your neck, biting sofly from time to time, your fingers tangling on his soft curls.

You moaned his name a few times in pleasure, til the smell of roasted chicken hit your nostrils and your eyes shot open. “Ben... Ben... Ben!”

He knew your tone had changed to a worried one, and he stopped working the base of your neck. “Did I hurt you, love?”

“No,“ you tried to move from him, but his hands were glued to your butt firmly. “but the dinner’s gonna burn. Let me go get it out of the oven.“ You patted his chest softly with one hand.

“No!“ Ben protested. “Let it burn. We’ll order something...“ He went back to your swollen lips. 

You giggled and spoke against his lips, “Ben! Let me and my ass go! I’m not wasting that after all the effort.” His grip loosened and he sighted frustrated, rolling his eyes. “We’ll resume this after dinner, pretty boy.”

“But, Y/N,“ he whined like a little boy. “I have a problem down here, I can’t even walk!”

“You know how to solve it. I’ll be in the kitchen.“ You retrieved your shirt and put it back on.

“Oh, c’mon! It’s not fair!“

“I’ll make it up to you.“ You winked at him and dissappeared into the hallway that led to the kitchen, letting your boyfriend alone.

Tag list: @rogerandhishair @drowsyroger @wereallkillerqueens @roger-taylor-owns-my-wigg @apinkwhisperscollector @16wiishes @wolverinesbeer @i-am-sarah @lizgarxo @royalrhaposdy @70srogertaylor @lfcbvb @thelottiebook @rogerbuttersmyeggroll @mclfanatic @stanrogertaylor @notmejustmymind @yeah-its-cooper

[darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts]

Winter Escape

Ok, guys, I hope you are all having fun and enjoying yourselves. I have created as planned a festive short modern AU for you all. The unplanned part came after I reached the end and characteristically for having something of an indecisive brain I have ended up creating another select your own ending tale. This is different... there are 4 alternative endings. I really hope you all like them ^^ - Aerion x

Warnings: Snow, fluff, Aerion’s humour spread liberally throughout, some strong language. 

Masterlist

---

Winter Escape

I was starting to think this whole modern technology thing was a bit of a curse. It had started with Sasuke sending me a text saying he needed help and it somehow snowballed into a group video chat with everyone. I have no idea what they expect me to do at the minute I just feel like I’m witnessing a badly filmed sketch show. 

Nobu looked like he was sitting at his desk about to tell someone they were fired. Hideyoshi was trying to scrub something off of Mitsunari’s face with a cloth. Masa looked like he had attacked a bag of rice flour. And lost. 

Ieyasu was doing something with some Petri dishes because he was in the university lab finishing up some research papers. Mitsuhide was talking to people off camera. I don’t even want to know what he is doing, to be honest. Kenshin was sitting with Shingen on a sofa arguing about something. Yukimura appeared a short while later and smacked Shingen on the head with a rolled-up paper. 

My phone chimed next to me and I saw from the screen it was Sasuke. Sliding the screen to reveal it, “I’m sorry even I’m at a loss as to how it got this bad. I would have thought it a scientific impossibility but …” I laughed which caused all the others on camera to fall silent and look at me. Oops. 

We had all moved away to different locations after college. Some went on to university and some of us, myself included went to work. It was a boring weekend that felt like it echoed the boring week I had just spent in the office. It was nice to see the guys like this. It really is like we never split up. 

“What is so funny?” Nobu was the first to ask as he drank some coffee. 

“Huh? Oh, nothing.” I stuttered as I tucked my phone back in my pocket. 

“She got a text from someone and it made her happy.” Mitsuhide wasn’t on screen but I could hear his smirk in his voice. He always was a damn psychic. 

“Who was it? A Boyfriend?” Masa laughed as he asked. 

“Boyfriend? What?” The collective outcry from my laptop speakers was almost comical. Come on guys, would it really be such a shock if I did get a boyfriend? 

“Whoever it is better to be prepared to be questioned by us. After all, we won’t tolerate some random guy swanning in and playing tricks with our little Princess.” Shingen relocated himself on the sofa looking every inch like a parent about to give a lecture on dating. Kenshin looked like he was searching for something to use as a weapon to go out hunting. Oh no, you are the last guy I want to give me a lecture on relationships. And if I don’t do something about ‘Mr always ready to fight’ this is going to be a problem. 

“Hang on a minute. There is no one “swanning in”. There is no one playing tricks, except possibly Mitsuhide.” From almost out of nowhere Mitsuhide appeared back on camera. It was almost perfectly timed with Hideyoshi looking at the monitor for the chat window when Mitsuhide appeared suddenly Yoshi jumped in his seat. This caused Mitsuhide to smile even more and Hideyoshi to glare at the white-haired menace. “And since when did I become “your” Princess?” I could feel the pout on my face even without any of them pointing it out to me. I mean I love them all but sometimes they really are so overprotective its comically insane. 

“You’ve always been “Our Princess”, Fireball you know that.” Nobu smirked. 

“Yet another nickname I really wish you wouldn’t use.” I sighed. I have no idea why I thought growing up would mean they dropped their nicknames for me. Wishful thinking I guess. 

“Ha-ha, come on Kitten it’s cool. Anyway, while we’re all here what’s the plans for the Winter Vacation?” I have no idea what Masa is playing with it looked like some sort of thing used in a sci-fi movie for an alien autopsy. 

“Do we seriously have to spend all the holidays together?” Ieyasu asked. 

“It’s tradition. Besides, I’m interested that you would suggest we don’t when the alternative is spending the entire time with family instead.” Shingen replied in his usual light-hearted way. He’s good at handling people. 

“I retract my question. Just try to pick somewhere quiet I want to do some reading.” Ieyasu indicated what looked like a stack of medical journals and was that a novel from the best seller list? Surely not. 

“Oh, that is such a good idea Ieyasu I’ll join you, there are some new books I have I want to read.” Mitsunari’s voice was clear as a bell. Unfortunately, the tune it played always got on the fluffy haired medical student’s nerves. 

“I didn’t say I would read with you.” Ieyasu spat. 

“Mitsunari you are not spending your entire time with your nose in a book you will be getting some exercise too.” Hideyoshi informed the loveable bookworm. Which earned him a set of big puppy dog eyes from Mitsunari as if to silently beg him not to take away his books. Oh, that’s too cute. 

“And eating. Wherever we go better have some good food.” Masa had vanished from the camera but appeared again with a tray in his hands covered in freshly baked gingerbread cookies. Great, now I’m hungry. When did I eat anyway? 

“Are you incapable of thinking of anything other than your stomach?” Ieyasu asked. Don’t you start on about… oh, he meant Masa. 

“Of course I can. I also think about the ingredients and how they are cooked.” Masa’s retort earned him several giggles and a round of laughter from the others. If it had been an intended joke I would have praised him highly for his ability to deadpan better than Sasuke, but knowing Masa he was being deadly serious. 

“Well if we must go somewhere, I think it should have snow. It is winter after all.” Kenshin stated. 

“What a shock Lord Icy wants snow.” Shingen shuddered as if the thought of snow made him feel the chill.

“What did you just call me?” Kenshin took the rolled-up paper from Yukimura’s hand before Yuki could stop him and hit Shingen on the head with it. 

“Guys come on. Let’s just make our suggestions and then let a neutral party decide.” Sasuke raised his voice a little on the microphone. He was at his part-time job working security so he looked a little like something out of a spy movie. The earpiece he had lit up with a green light in his ear. I think I may have lost count of how many times he’s made some reference to mission impossible movies when he has called me at work. 

“Exactly lets… Erm, Sasuke why do I get the feeling I AM the neutral party?” I trailed off mid-sentence as I suddenly realised who Sasuke was going to suggest. Seriously? 

“Because you have always been the only one capable of controlling this bunch.” Sasuke stated. It was true I had always found a way to settle them down eventually but I don’t think it’s always me. Is it? 

“Hey man, you make us sound like a pack of animals.” Yukimura piped up as he somehow managed to free the rolled-up weapon from Kenshin. 

“In your case Yukimura I’m not sure we could argue any different.” Mitsuhide said with a deep grin. He knew it would get a reaction and he just had to stir the pot. 

“Ok, now that is just rude.” Yuki predictably responded and with that our group chat erupted once more. This is going to be a long night. 

--- 

The conversation rattled on long into the night. A list of suggestions was written down by Sasuke as they were being said and then he copied it into a group mail so we could all see it. Our group of eleven was not something that was easily accommodated anywhere with short notice. But after a lot of debating that was if I was honest basically an organised argument. It was decided we would go to a lodge in the mountains. 

Nobu had contacts we all knew it but looking at this place I was wondering exactly who the contacts he had might be. It was a Ski lodge and spa. There were about forty rooms and as well as the spa facilities, that included a pool and sauna. A massive open plan seating area with a stone fireplace greeted us on our arrival. It was so bright in there too. A whole wall in the room was occupied by large panels of glass revealing a stunning view of the slopes and the rest of the landscape. The trees outside looked like they were frosted as the sun caught the snow that dusted them. Basically, the whole place felt magical. 

“Wow.” I couldn’t help but let out a sigh as I looked around the place. 

“If I knew this was all it took to impress you Fireball, I’d have brought you here earlier.” Nobu said as he gave a smug smirk. 

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe we are staying here for the rest of the holidays.” I could have been annoyed by him but chose to ignore it and just be honest. It really is amazing here. 

“I can’t believe he got the whole place with staff and it’s only us staying.” Yukimura spoke from by the doors as he was handing over some of the luggage to the staff. 

“Yeah exactly what kind of Devil’s contract did you pull to get this?” Shingen asked, brushing snow off from his jacket after placing his bags down. 

“Nothing special. The owner owed me a favour I simply made a request.” Nobu spoke as if it was totally common to have things like this happen. I suppose it is, after all, it’s Nobu. Even in school, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do anything that was standard normal person stuff. 

“Uhuh, sure you did.” Yukimura shrugged and went to help with more bags. 

“Well, I know what I’m doing before we hit the slopes.” Masa declared as he dumped his bag on the ground with a thud. Honestly, I think he is incapable of being subtle. 

“And what is that?” Kenshin asked from behind him as they both apparently had walked up the incline to the building together.

“Putting dibs on the best room.” Masa said with a feral grin on his face. It was a familiar challenging look we had all become accustomed to. Everything is a game to him. 

“What?” There were a few exclamations before several of the guys broke off from the group and went running into the facilities like children. I couldn’t help but smile. 

“Remind me why I’m on vacation with that idiot again?” Yasu mumbled before brushing past me and walking calmly at his own pace in the direction of the rooms. The sounds of laughter and occasionally insult filled the air with a friendly atmosphere. 

--- 

After choosing rooms we all found ourselves outside dressed in our winter wear. Masa wanted to hit the slopes but eventually let himself be convinced that it was too late in the day to do that so naturally, the next best thing was apparently playing in the snow. 

“What is that?” Yukimura laughed as he pointed at a snow mound that had a hat on it. 

“A snowman.” Yasu mumbled. Building the things was not something he had suggested and he was only doing it because I had said it would make me happy if everyone took part. 

“That is a snowman?” Yuki looked stumped as he squinted at the snow blob. 

“Damn dude and I thought your drawings were terrible.” Masa called out from his sculpture that looked like it should have been in a competition. 

“No one asked for your opinion.” Yasu huffed and lobbed a snowball hard in Masa’s direction. 

“Oh, now that is a declaration of war.” Masa laughed as he ducked just in time to miss the ball hitting his head. He quickly formed a ball of his own and returned fire. 

“If its war you want its war you’re gonna get!” The flying snow had begun to involve the others in the snow fight. And quickly the group was divided into what looked like camps.

Nobu had taken up a position at the rear calling out orders like a general on a battlefield. Hideyoshi was close to him with Mitsunari making more ammo and working on some defences. Mitsuhide had typically vanished from the scene. Masa who had been targeting Yasu had now paired with him against Kenshin who was creating snowballs and attacking at a speed that resembled a snow storm. Yuki was laughing until one of them hit him in the face. This had Shingen laughing like a hyena until something similar happened to him and he stopped to glare at Yuki who was looking at his now empty hand wondering if he really did just throw, the snowball at Shingen. 

“Guys, come on!” I tried called out over the din they were creating but obviously, I wasn’t being heard. “Jeez, it’s the Monopoly Massacre of 2003 all over again.” 

“[Name] over here.” A voice called out from behind me and before I had a chance to turn, I was wrapped up in a pair of strong arms and pulled out of the way of some renegade snowballs. 

“Eek!” I let out a cry as the world tilts around me. 

“Sorry I should probably have given you more warning.” It takes a moment to realise that I am staring at the solid chest and broad shoulders of Sasuke. His face is as expressionless as ever but his eyes have a look of concern. Everyone always said he was difficult to understand but I never had a problem really. He was the first one in the group of guys that I had met after I transferred and whilst he was too smart for his own good, there was no way you could call him expressionless if you looked at his eyes when he spoke. 

“It’s ok thanks I think you saved me from death by a thousand ice crystals.” I gave a little awkward laugh and tried to back away a little to us both space. But his arms around me tensed and I found myself locked in position. “Erm… Sasuke?” 

“[Name] I… I’m sorry I know this isn’t…” As he stumbled over his words his eyes never left mine. Those molten brown orbs reflecting me as he tried to process words. 

“Sasuke what are you doing back here?” A quizzical icy voice appeared next to us which sent a shiver right up my spine. Again I went to move but Sasuke held position.

 “Protecting the Princess. Did you notice that some of your ammunition nearly collided with an innocent bystander?” Sasuke answered Kenshin’s question with a question. It was rare to see him act so assertive. 

“No, I didn’t as they weren’t mine they were someone else’s. I would never do anything to hurt her.” Kenshin drew close enough to press against my back and if I wasn’t feeling tense before I certainly was now. Great stuck between Mr Protective and Mr Obsessive. It’s not the worst place in the world but can this get any more awkward? 

“Is this a private party or can anyone join in?” The melodic deep voice rolled like caramel over us as the tall redhead strode into the gathering as if nothing at all was out of place. “I have little interest in what you think you are doing but it looks like the Princess is a mite uncomfortable.” Actually, I was sort of thinking it was nice here sandwiched like this… warm and… what and I thinking!? 

“I agree so If you two will leave I shall attend to her myself.” Kenshin stated as he put a hand on my shoulder tilting me towards his chest behind me. 

“And why should we leave? You leave and I’ll look after her.” Sasuke said as he locked me even tighter in his arms. 

“I wouldn’t dream of allowing our fair lady here to be looked after by a guy who thinks it is perfectly acceptable to give a girl pickled plums as a gift.” Shingen who was no standing at my side took hold of my hand lightly playing his thumb over my knuckles as he glared at Kenshin. 

“Er, guys? I’m really ok so we can just head back.” I raised my voice a little so I could be sure they all hear me. How did it come to this? 

The three men fell silent the atmosphere was something you could have cut with a knife each one was holding firm in a now silent exchange of wills. Well, that answered my question on how this could get any weirder. 

--- 

We eventually made it back to the lodge and I was in my room when a firm knock rapped my door. 

“[Name] it’s me.” 

---

Winter Escape Alt End 1 (Shingen)

Winter Escape Alt End 2 (Kenshin)

Winter Escape Alt End 3 (Sasuke)

Winter Escape Alt End 4 (Group)

[canyousevmyheavydirtysoul]

You’re My Bodyguard, Not My Owner. (Chapter 1) (Brendon Urie x Reader)

Note: It’s back. Also, I hope you guys appreciate me, ‘cause I have a math test today, and I spent the entire weekend getting this fic ready instead of studying. You’re welcome.

On the surface, having a spy for a father might seem like the coolest thing in the world. And sure – at certain times, it could be. But there was so much more to it that no one would ever think about.

As a little girl, your parents chose to keep your father’s real occupation concealed from you, if just for the time being, in order to give you a somewhat normal life; they had no desire for you to get caught up in the cruelty of the hidden world.

They were wonderful parents, always going above and beyond to ensure that you were happy, and to give you as much of a typical upbringing as possible. Yet, the fleeing from town to town and city to city at seemingly random occasions in the dark of the night did nothing to aid their cause, and you grew up less normally than they would’ve liked.

It was hard for you to understand at the time – why you couldn’t have sleepovers or play dates every weekend like other children your age – but you never questioned them about it and soon enough, you had gotten used to not getting too attached to people. Or to places, for that matter.

It was only once you had hit sixteen that your father had enlightened you about everything. Your family had been living in a small, secluded town about an hour and a half outside Washington D.C. and everything in your lives seemed to be stable – the need to flee hadn’t arisen in over three years, you had made a wonderful group of friends, and your life was as close to normal as you were able to get.

The night you found out about your father’s real occupation was one you would never forget.

 Chestertown, Maryland. Five years earlier.

It was just after dinner and the three of you were doing the dishes, the usual weekday routine. There wasn’t much conversation, just a bit of small talk, but as you packed away the last plate and hung up the dishcloth, your father said something that made your stomach do cartwheels.

“(Y/N), could you meet me in my office in five? There’s… something I’d like to talk to you about.”

His request caught you completely off guard, and you involuntarily let out a tiny gasp. You had never been in the office before. It was off limits to everyone except your father, so the fact that he was requesting your presence in that room was daunting, to say the least.

“Your-your office?” you spoke, checking to see if you heard properly.

“Mhm,” he nodded, drying his hands with a paper towel, “that okay?”

“Uh… yeah. Yeah, of course, dad.”

You must’ve looked and sounded absolutely terrified, because your father let out a laugh as he reached over to rub your shoulder and place a kiss on your forehead as reassurance.

“Don’t look so concerned, you’re not in trouble. I just… well, you’ll see. Five minutes,” he reminded as he backtracked out of the kitchen and made his way to his office.

~

After throwing on some pyjamas, you turned on your heel and headed out of your bedroom and down the glass staircase that was situated in the middle of the house, turning left into the west wing of the house when you reached the bottom.

Trudging slowly along the mostly unlit hallway, you stopped in front of the door to your father’s office. Your fingers slowly grasped the icy cold brass doorknob and you bit your lip nervously, hesitating slightly before turning it.

Upon entering the secluded room, your nostrils were immediately met with the smell of pine and the crisp sensation of air conditioning. The room was foreign territory, since you’d never been inside the office before, and your eyes scanned the spacious room intricately, taking in every inch of the place. You weren’t sure if you’d ever have the opportunity to be welcomed back, and you wanted to make sure you memorised every detail of its inside.

“Thought you might like it in here,” your father’s voice drew your attention away from the room and you gave him a sheepish smile, “I modelled it after one of your designs, actually,” he added, scanning over the room himself.

You furrowed your brows at him; you’d never designed anything in your life, let alone the interior of a room. Noticing your confusion, he cocked his head in the direction of the left wall where a framed portrait was hanging.

Interest piqued, you took rushed steps towards the picture, a big grin forming once you got a good look at it.

“Wow. I was such a terrific artist,” you remarked sarcastically as your eyes landed on the inscription heading the page.

My Future House. (Y/N) (Y/L/N)

“You actually did quite a commendable job,” your father argued, standing up from his desk and moving to join you, “I mean, look at how it turned out in real life,” he gestured around the room, which now that you had seen the picture, you realised was a mirror image of your ‘design’.

“Mm. It’s pretty.”

“Have a seat,” he instructed, shooing you to the dark brown leather sofa in the middle of the room and taking a seat in the armchair opposite you.

“I know you said that I’m not in trouble,” you started, lifting up your legs and tucking it underneath you, to the side, “but this scenario seems an awful lot like that time I got a talking to for cussing at that lady in the supermarket when I was six.”

The side of your father’s eyes crinkled and his lips twitched upwards into a half-smile as he leaned forward, elbows rested on his knees and fingers steepled just under his chin.

“I promise you it’s not a repeat of that incident. Unless you’ve been cursing at people while grocery shopping?”

“Not in the last month, no,” you replied, a hint of a smile on your face; you shared a chuckle. “So why did you call me here, dad?”

“Do you know what my job is?”

You pursed your lips while you contemplated your answer. “I know what you do for a living,” you answered, and his brows arched ever so slightly, “You’re a software developer; that’s how you make your money. As for what your job is – what you do as a profession – I have no idea.”

You earned a full smile from him this time. “Sometimes I forget how incredibly smart you are,” he muttered, more to himself than to you, “You’re right, snowflake. I make my money from developing software, but it’s not the career path I’m entirely skilled in. Which, obviously, you’ve noticed. You wanna hazard a guess as to what it is that I do?”

“Well, from what I can gather from everything that’s happened in our lives – the constant relocating, the secrecy, the lack of relationships with other people – my best guess is that you’re James Bond.”

A short chuckle escaped your lips and you expected the same reaction from your father but when it didn’t come, and he simply stared at you with a serious face, your face fell.

“Seriously?” you gaped, nearly falling off the couch out of shock.

He cocked his head to the side. “In a sense, yes.”

“What the fuck?” you exclaimed, widening your eyes and clamping a hand over your mouth as you realised your slip. “Uh… I mean, what the fudge?”

He chuckled and waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry, your mother had the same reaction. Although,” he looked up to the ceiling as if replaying a memory in his head; another chuckle came through his lips, “she kinda repeated it over and over and over and over.”

You giggled, resting your elbow on the couch’s armrest and placing your head in your hand. “Yup. Sounds like mom,” you agreed. “So wait… you’re…” you trailed off, not being able to find the correct words.

“I’m a spy, (Y/N).”

“Like James Bond?”

“No,” he shook his head before smirking at you, “I’m better.”

You laughed loudly, whether out of amusement or disbelief, you didn’t know.

“Let me explain…”

And then he told you everything. More specifically, that he was a spy that worked for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division – or as they were more commonly known as, SHIELD.

You’d also learned that he was among the top ranking SHIELD agents, and the leader of any and all missions connected to battling Hydra, a Nazi-descendant terrorist organisation, and SHIELD’s biggest adversary.

It was clear to you when he spoke that your father was tremendously passionate about his work, and that behind you and your mother, it was what mattered most to him.

You had to admit that his loyalty and dedication was admirable. It couldn’t have been easy to live a double life for nearly four decades, trying to give your wife and daughter the normal life they deserved while simultaneously protecting them and the rest of the world.

A part of you felt as if you should be angry with him for not letting you have the stereotypically ordinary life, but you knew that he did the best that he could. You were like your dad in essentially every way; you were practically his carbon copy. You had his mannerisms, his values, and most importantly, you had his mind-set. You knew that what your father was doing was for the greater good, and you knew that if you were in his shoes, you would’ve done the exact same thing.

“W-wow,” you exhaled heavily once he had finished explaining, “Dad, that’s… intense.”

“You don’t know the half of it, snowflake,” he murmured, sighing as he ran a hand through his thick head of hair.

He noticed that you were still furrowing your brows as you looked at him, and he smiled at you to try and ease your mind. Your dad had excellent genetics; he was pushing forty, yet he didn’t look a day over twenty-five. But when he smiled at you, he looked even younger – like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and rejuvenated him.

“I have something else for you,” he announced as he stood up and recovered a tiny blue box from the drawer of his desk.

You perked up as he drew nearer, eager to see what was inside. He carefully removed the lid and reached two fingers inside the box to lift out a beautiful necklace, one with a snowflake charm.

“I know that this doesn’t even remotely make up for what I’ve hidden from your for all these years but…” your dad lifted the necklace to place around your neck; you gathered your hair in your hand to give him better access, “take it as a promise. I promise that there will never be any secrets between us ever again. I love you, snowflake.”

Chestertown, Maryland. Present day.

Noticing the black SUV with tinted windows standing in the driveway where your father’s car would normally be, a wave of dread washed over you and your heart felt like it was sitting in your throat. You recognized the vehicle as one of SHIELD’s; the fact that one of them was currently parked in your parents’ driveway almost guaranteed that something awful had happened.

Entering through the front door, you could hear muffled voices coming from the living room. You shrugged off your coat and hung it up on one of the hooks in the entryway before following the sound of the voices.

Upon your entering the room, all three agents’ heads snapped towards you, the two who were sitting noticeably uneasy on the edge of the white leather sofa standing up.

“What’s going on? Where are my parents?” you questioned, your voice involuntarily coming out urgent and panicked.

“(Y/N), maybe you should sit down,” Agent Coulson spoke gently. Advancing towards you in an attempt to guide you to the sofa.

“No, I don’t want to sit,” you took a step back, voice becoming more and more unsteady, “Answer my question. Where are my parents?”

The next few minutes went by in a blur. As soon as Coulson started speaking, your head began to spin as your vision became blurry and you could feel your legs starting to give in, prompting you to lean against the doorframe for support. You felt sick to your stomach.

Letting out a gut-wrenching sob, you sunk to your knees as your heart shattered into a million pieces.

SHIELD HQ, Washington D.C.

SHIELD headquarters was infinitely bigger than you’d ever imagined. You felt irrelevant and tiny, curled up in Coulson’s glass-walled office. After receiving the news of your parents’ deaths the previous night, SHIELD thought it best if you were brought in so that they could monitor you while simultaneously provide you with protection.

Staring through the transparent material at everything yet nothing at all, your fingers toyed with the necklace you wore around your neck. You could hear your father’s voice in your head.

“I’ve had many great achievements in my life, (Y/N). But you are by far the best one.”

 You hadn’t even noticed the stream of tears cascading down your cheeks until a rough, calloused hand held out a box of tissues.

“Now would be a good time to fill you in on everything. If you’re feeling up to it, that is.”

You sighed and stood up. “Might as well get it over with, no?”

~

“As Agent Coulson has already told you, your parents were murdered by a Hydra operative. His real name is unknown, but he’s known as ‘The Asset’,” The Director spoke with determination, though apprehensively.

You rearranged yourself in your chair; a wave of nausea washed over you upon hearing the words “parents” and “murdered”. The thought screwed with your mind completely.

“We know that your father was onto something big. So big, that there was a possibility that it could take down Hydra once and for all. Everyone knew that your father didn’t trust easily – in fact, there were few people who he trusted at all – so unsurprisingly, he didn’t share his intel with anyone.”

The Director stood up from his chair and walked around his desk to stand in front of you.

“Okay, well, you at least have a lead on this Asset guy, right?” you choked out, swallowing a lump that started to form in your throat.

“No, unfortunately not. He’s as evasive as ever.”

You nodded slowly, disappointment coursing through your body.

“Although, we do have an idea about who his next target might be.”

“Who?”

“You.”

“Me?” you questioned in disbelief. “Why would he want to kill me?”

“Because, (Y/N), you were one of the very few people your father trusted completely. It’s not unlikely that he’d have shared some information with you, whether you were aware of it or not.”

“My father wouldn’t have done that. Not if it put me in danger.”

“While it’s true that he would’ve done anything to ensure your safety, if he knew that Hydra would come after him, he would’ve taken precautions. He would’ve hidden his information somewhere safe. Somewhere no one would know to look unless they knew him as well as you did.”

Stunned into silence, you gripped your hair in disbelief. The Director kneeled so that he was eye-level with you and placed a protective, reassuring hand on both of your shoulders.

“No one will hurt you, (Y/N). My priority from now on is ensuring your safety. But I need you to think. Think long and hard. Think about everything your father has ever said to you and try and see if you can get any idea about what he was working on.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Nick, but I can’t.”

He studied your face intently for a few seconds before nodding lightly.

“I understand, (Y/N). But if you happen to think of anything…”

“You’ll be the first person I come to.”

He smiled at you before standing up and striding towards his office door.

“Well then, there’s only one more thing before you go.”

The Director opened the door, and a man, presumably an agent, walked in. He entered the office and stood with his feet shoulder width apart, hands clamped firmly behind his back, like a Marine. You took in his appearance, and decided that it was highly probable that he’d had some form of military training. He certainly had the stature and aura for it.

He had dark hair, styled upwards in a quiff-like fashion. His jaw was taught and sharp, giving his face perfect structure. His cherry-red, plump lips were set tightly in a thick line, brown eyes gazing into yours in a soulful, almost intimidating way.

“(Y/N), this is your bodyguard for the next little while, Agent Brendon Urie.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Thank you for reading x

Taglist:

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@laerkers

@peters-vlogs

@brendon-is-my-daddy

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[thebookrat]

I heard you guys: I don't highlight contemporary books enough. I tried to give you PLENTY of them this go 'round (and of course, some v. excellent fantasy), but there were so many book deals available, I might have to do a part 2 update mid-week! Check out all of the many, many excellent books to load up your ereaders with, all for super cheap, I don't think anything went over 2 bucks this time! -- and many are FREE FREE FREE!) So when you're done drinking your Cinco de Mayo margarita's and ready to do some drunken online self-indulgence, why not save a few $$ and load up on some deals instead? ;)

ALL BOOK COVERS ARE CLICKABLE AND TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE DEAL!

I mean, COME ON.

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court--but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms--and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future--and the future of a world cleaved in two. With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies. But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected. This stunning, lyrical fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies a war, and what it means to truly love.

An epic fantasy filled with adventure, intrigue, and romance from Incarnate series author Jodi Meadows. This duology is perfect for fans of Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. When Princess Wilhelmina was a child, the Indigo Kingdom invaded her homeland. Ten years later, Wil and the other noble children who escaped are ready to fight back and reclaim Wil’s throne. To do so, Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate the Indigo Kingdom palace with hopes of gathering information that will help them succeed. But Wil has a secret—one that could change everything. Although magic has been illegal for a century, she knows her ability could help her save her kingdom. But magic creates wraith, and the deadly stuff is moving closer and destroying the land. And if the vigilante Black Knife catches her using magic, she may disappear like all the others. . . .

In Ink and Bone, bestselling author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library—and rewrite history... Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London. But Jess’s home isn’t safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon Jess must choose between his friends, his family, and the Library, which is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control...

Get it. Get this whole damn series. Trust me.

Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape . . . and even less of being together. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komisar that she has a magical gift, and the Komisar's interest in Lia is greater than either Kaden or Lia foresaw. Meanwhile, the foundations of Lia's deeply-held beliefs are crumbling beneath her. Nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to her, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom she always believed to be barbarians but whom she now realizes are people who have been terribly brutalized by the kingdoms of Dalbreck and Morrighan. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her very sense of self, Lia will have to make powerful choices that affect her country, her people . . . and her own destiny.

Lia has survived Venda—but so has a great evil bent on the destruction of Morrighan. And only Lia can stop it. With war on the horizon, Lia has no choice but to assume her role as First Daughter, as soldier—as leader. While she struggles to reach Morrighan and warn them, she finds herself at cross-purposes with Rafe and suspicious of Kaden, who has hunted her down. In this heart-stopping conclusion to the Remnant Chronicles trilogy that started with The Kiss of Deception and The Heart of Betrayal, traitors must be rooted out, sacrifices must be made, and impossible odds must be overcome as the future of every kingdom hangs in the balance. New York Times-bestselling author Mary E. Pearson's combination of intrigue, suspense, romance, and action makes this a riveting YA page-turner for teens.

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. But when you're the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. And when two society girls go missing, there's no one more qualified to investigate. Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious gentlemen, and solve murder with only one clue: a strange Egyptian scarab. The stakes are high. If Stoker and Holmes don't unravel why the belles of London society are in such danger, they'll become the next victims.

For the free, my darlings. For the FREE.

WINNER of the NATIONAL READERS CHOICE AWARD for best YA of 2015 Alexis Wyndham is the other type of Queen B—the Queen B*tch. After years of being the subject of ridicule, she revels in her ability to make the in-crowd cower via the exposés on her blog, The Eastline Spy. Now that she's carved out her place in the high school hierarchy, she uses her position to help the unpopular kids walking the hallways. Saving a freshman from bullies? Check. Swapping insults with the head cheerleader? Check. Falling for the star quarterback? So not a part of her plan. But when Brett offers to help her solve the mystery of who’s posting X-rated videos from the girls’ locker room, she’ll have to swallow her pride and learn to see past the high school stereotypes she’s never questioned—until now.

Rachel can't believe she has to give up her Saturdays to scrubbing other people's toilets. So. Gross. But she kinda, sorta stole $287.22 from her college fund that she's got to pay back ASAP or her mom will ground her for life. Which is even worse than working for her mother's new cleaning business. Maybe. After all, becoming a maid is definitely not going to help her already loserish reputation. But Rachel picks up more than smelly socks on the job. As maid to some of the most popular kids in school, Rachel suddenly has all the dirt on the 8th grade in-crowd. Her formerly boring diary is now filled with juicy secrets. And when her crush offers to pay her to spy on his girlfriend, Rachel has to decide if she's willing to get her hands dirty...

Did you snag the deal for book 2 a couple weeks back? Now you can grab book 1 for FREE!

In A THRONE FOR SISTERS (Book one), Sophia, 17, and her younger sister Kate, 15, are desperate to leave their horrific orphanage. Orphans, unwanted and unloved, they nonetheless dream of coming of age elsewhere, of finding a better life, even if that means living on the streets of the brutal city of Ashton. Sophia and Kate, also best friends, have each other’s backs—and yet they want different things from life. Sophia, a romantic, more elegant, dreams of entering court and finding a noble to fall in love with. Kate, a fighter, dreams of mastering the sword, of battling dragons, and becoming a warrior. They are both united, though, by their secret, paranormal power to read other’s minds, their only saving grace in a world that seems bent to destroy them. As they each embark on a quest and adventure their own ways, they struggle to survive. Faced with choices neither can imagine, their choices may propel them to the highest power—or plunge them to the lowest depths. A THRONE FOR SISTERS is the first book in a dazzling new fantasy series rife with love, heartbreak, tragedy, action, magic, sorcery, fate and heart-pounding suspense. A page turner, it is filled with characters that will make you fall in love, and a world you will never forget.

Also gloriously FREE!

Zachary Degaud was twenty three when he died. The problem was, he didn't stay that way. Present day, he's just another vampire with another unremarkable story. That is, until he manages to provoke a two thousand year old witch named Katrin, who wants to make him pay in the most horrible way imagined. Along with his brother Sam, newly made vampire Liz and their only witch ally, Gabby, his only chance for survival is to summon the ancient and unpredictable vampire known as the Witch Hunter. Zac is just looking for a way out of his psychopathic witch problems, but instead will find himself falling head first into a blood feud that has stretched thousands of years. Aya has been asleep for the past 150 years, until she was awoken by a haunting call. The witch she has been hunting for thousands of years, Katrin, has resurfaced and marked a young, annoyingly arrogant vampire by the name of Zachary Degaud. Unless she does something, he will die a slow and painful death. He has given her an opportunity to end the witch, but does she want to help him or leave him to his fate? Zac will get under her skin like no one else has and she just might find herself making the ultimate sacrifice before he is gone forever. They will both have to choose sides and look deep within themselves before the end. But, what Zac learns about himself, will surprise him most of all.

This synopsis needs to be cut down, my god, but again: IT. FREE.

I was born to die... But to defy fate is to control your own destiny. Little did I know that I was entering a world of ritual and magic and that my blood needed to be spilled so the witches’ legacy could be complete. Vampires. Witches. Werewolves. Supernatural Creatures. Dramatic Revelations. A Ritual Sacrifice. Ancient Artifacts. A Cold-hearted Serial Killer. Spilled Blood. Secrets. A Hidden Heritage. A Love So Deep. Supernatural Bloodlust. A Dangerous Curse. An Uneasy Alliance With A Dangerous Vampire. Legends of vampires and shape-shifters have been around for centuries, so Taylor Sparks isn’t too worried when the rumors start to fly. When Taylor learns secrets that are beyond terrifying, they threaten to destroy her entire world. She is born to die... But to defy fate is to control your own destiny. She warns her crush to leave. But how do you forget someone who is aligned with your soul? They fight against the witches, the vampires, and the werewolves. They know the consequences. They know the risk. But they don't care. Nothing will get in the way of these two star-crossed lovers. Taylor finds out she’s a KEY player in a dangerous game created 1,000 years ago that will give the witches and werewolves the upper hand against the vampires. Blood will be spilled and secrets will be revealed in this action-packed thrill ride and paranormal romance. Will Taylor dive into a paranormal world she knows nothing about to be with the one her heart can’t live without? Or will her life spiral out of control when she learns her blood is needed, just the serum necessary to lift an ancient curse from a group of supernatural beings and give the witches back their magic? Werewolves will serve as her guardians and protect her until the first full moon of the new year, the night of her sacrifice… Will she accept her destiny? Or will she refuse to let evil swallow her up?

For fans of Hex Hall, The Magicians, Practical Magic, and Food Wars! Anise Wise loves three things: baking, potion making, and reading her spellbooks in blissful silence. She might not be the most powerful witch, but enchantment is a rare skill, and her ability to bake with magic is even rarer. Too bad no one wants witchcraft on their campus. Anise’s dream of attending pastry school crumbles with rejection letter after rejection letter. Desperate to escape her dead-end future, Anise contacts the long-lost relative she’s not supposed to know about. Great Aunt Agatha owns the only magic bakery in the US, and she suddenly needs a new apprentice. Anise is so excited she books it to New Mexico without thinking to ask what happened to the last girl. The Spellwork Syndicate rules the local witches in Taos, but as “accidents” turn into full-out attacks on Anise’s life, their promises to keep her safe are less and less reassuring. Her cranky bodyguard is doing his best, but it’s hard to fight back when she has no idea who’s the enemy. Or why she became their target. If Anise can’t find and stop whoever wants her dead, she’ll be more toasted than a crème brûlée. Who knew baking cakes could be so life or death?

This one's kicking around on my shelves! I did a First Impressions of it awhile back and really liked it, and have been meaning to go back ever since.

Thoughtfully imaginative and action-packed, Steeplejack is New York Times bestselling A. J. Hartley's YA debut set in a 19th-century South African fantasy world “A richly realized world, an intensely likable character, and a mystery to die for." — Cory Doctorow, New York Times-bestselling author Seventeen-year-old Anglet Sutonga lives and works as a steeplejack in Bar-Selehm, a sprawling city known for its great towers, spires, and smokestacks – and even greater social disparities across race and class. Ang’s world is turned upside-down when her new apprentice Berrit is murdered the same night that the city’s landmark jewel is stolen. Her search for answers behind his death exposes unrest in the streets and powerful enemies. But she also finds help from unexpected friends: a kindhearted savannah herder, a politician’s haughty sister, and a savvy newspaper girl. As troubles mount in Bar-Selehm, Ang must discover the truth behind both murder and theft soon – or else watch the city descend into chaos. YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book Booklist Top Ten YA in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Also kicking around on my shelves somewhere!

Just about everyone knows a family like the Radleys. Many of us grew up next door to one. They are a modern family, averagely content, averagely dysfunctional, living in a staid and quiet suburban English town. Peter is an overworked doctor whose wife, Helen, has become increasingly remote and uncommunicative. Rowan, their teenage son, is being bullied at school, and their anemic daughter, Clara, has recently become a vegan. They are typical, that is, save for one devastating exception: Peter and Helen are vampires and have—for seventeen years—been abstaining by choice from a life of chasing blood in the hope that their children could live normal lives. One night, Clara finds herself driven to commit a shocking—and disturbingly satisfying—act of violence, and her parents are forced to explain their history of shadows and lies. A police investigation is launched that uncovers a richness of vampire history heretofore unknown to the general public. And when the malevolent and alluring Uncle Will, a practicing vampire, arrives to throw the police off Clara’s trail, he winds up throwing the whole house into temptation and turmoil and unleashing a host of dark secrets that threaten the Radleys’ marriage. The Radleys is a moving, thrilling, and radiant domestic novel that explores with daring the lengths a parent will go to protect a child, what it costs you to deny your identity, the undeniable appeal of sin, and the everlasting, iridescent bonds of family love. Read it and ask what we grow into when we grow up, and what we gain—and lose—when we deny our appetites.

Fairy tales are life.

From wicked queens, beautiful princesses, elves, monsters, and goblins to giants, glass slippers, poisoned apples, magic keys, and mirrors, the characters and images of fairy tales have cast a spell over readers and audiences, both adults and children, for centuries. These fantastic stories have travelled across cultural borders, and been passed on from generation to generation, ever-changing, renewed with each re-telling. Few forms of literature have greater power to enchant us and rekindle our imagination than a fairy tale. But what is a fairy tale? Where do they come from and what do they mean? What do they try and communicate to us about morality, sexuality, and society? The range of fairy tales stretches across great distances and time; their history is entangled with folklore and myth, and their inspiration draws on ideas about nature and the supernatural, imagination and fantasy, psychoanalysis, and feminism. Marina Warner has loved fairy tales over a long writing life, and she explores here a multitude of tales through the ages, their different manifestations on the page, the stage, and the screen. From the phenomenal rise of Victorian and Edwardian literature to contemporary children's stories, Warner unfolds a glittering array of examples, from classics such as Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty, the Grimm Brothers' Hansel and Gretel, and Hans Andersen's The Little Mermaid, to modern-day realizations including Walt Disney's Snow White and gothic interpretations such as Pan's Labyrinth. In ten succinct chapters, Marina Warner digs into a rich hoard of fairy tales in their brilliant and fantastical variations, in order to define a genre and evaluate a literary form that keeps shifting through time and history. Her book makes a persuasive case for fairy tale as a crucial repository of human understanding and culture.

A classic.

This Newbery Honor-winning, hilarious Floridian adventure involves new kids, bullies, alligators, eco-warriors, pancakes, pint-sized owls, and more. A New York Times bestseller! Everybody loves Mother Paula’s pancakes. Everybody, that is, except the colony of cute but endangered owls that live on the building site of the new restaurant. Can the awkward new kid and his feral friend prank the pancake people out of town? Or is the owls’ fate cemented in pancake batter?

Three months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness. When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it…even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers…and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands. The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike.

In the explosive third volume of The Hundredth Queen Series, the queen of fire faces off against a demon of ice. Despite the odds, Kalinda has survived it all: Marriage to a tyrant. Tournaments to the death. The forbidden power to rule fire. The icy touch of a demon. That same demon now disguises itself as Rajah Tarek, Kalinda’s late husband and a man who has never stopped haunting her. Upon taking control of the palace and the army, the demon brands Kalinda and her companions as traitors to the empire. They flee across the sea, seeking haven in the Southern Isles. In Lestari, Kalinda’s powers are not condemned, as they are in her land. Now free to use them to protect those she loves, Kalinda soon realizes that the demon has tainted her with a cold poison, rendering her fire uncontrollable. But the lack of control may be just what she needs to send the demon back to the darkest depths of the Void. To take back the empire, Kalinda will ally with those she distrusts—and risk losing those most loyal to her—to defeat the demon and bring peace to a divided nation.

From the bestselling author of Catching Jordan comes a new teen romance sure to appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen. SOME RULES WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN. Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different... This summer she's a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He's the first guy she ever kissed, and he's gone from geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt...with her. Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn't that easy...

For twelve-year-old Emily, the best thing about moving to San Francisco is that it's the home city of her literary idol: Garrison Griswold, book publisher and creator of the online sensation Book Scavenger (a game where books are hidden in cities all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles). Upon her arrival, however, Emily learns that Griswold has been attacked and is now in a coma, and no one knows anything about the epic new game he had been poised to launch. Then Emily and her new friend James discover an odd book, which they come to believe is from Griswold himself, and might contain the only copy of his mysterious new game. Racing against time, Emily and James rush from clue to clue, desperate to figure out the secret at the heart of Griswold's new game—before those who attacked Griswold come after them too.

Sang Sorenson’s father abandoned her and her sister, leaving them to fend for themselves for months. He’s returned, and finds Sang is missing. He demands she return. Right now. Will he call the police if she doesn’t? Her Academy team doesn’t want to risk losing her ghost status and she doesn’t want to put them in danger, so she reluctantly returns home, but is comforted that she will still be monitored by them. But the second she opens the door, she discovers her father has made changes that will affect her entire future. His decisions will make them a normal family. Normal is no longer what Sang wants. It would kill her Academy career before it ever started. Not to mention it would end the special, new, and still-fragile relationships with the guys. Sang struggles with her family, her identity, and where she truly belongs. Now that the entire team knows about their romantic relationships with her, tensions are mounting, tearing the team apart from the inside. Only, Dr. Green isn't going to lie down and roll over by playing by the rules. Not anymore. Not while Sang is at risk. His heart can’t take leaving her in that house one more minute. He needs her. They all do.

Twins Crystal and Amber have the same goal: to be the first in their family to graduate high school and make something of their lives. When one gets pregnant during their junior year, they promise to raise the baby together. It’s not easy, but between their after-school jobs, they’re scraping by. Crystal’s grades catch the attention of the new guidance counselor, who tells her about a college that offers a degree in automotive restoration, perfect for the car buff she is. When she secretly applies—and gets in—new opportunities threaten their once-certain plans, and Crystal must make a choice: follow her dreams or stay behind and honor the promise she made to her sister.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia comes a fast-paced teen series where one girl learns that in a world of intrigue, betrayal, and deeply buried secrets, it is vital to trust your instincts. It all starts with a text: Please, Wylie, I need your help. Wylie hasn’t heard from Cassie in over a week, not since their last fight. But that doesn’t matter. Cassie’s in trouble, so Wylie decides to do what she has done so many times before: save her best friend from herself. This time it’s different, though. Instead of telling Wylie where she is, Cassie sends cryptic clues. And instead of having Wylie come by herself, Jasper shows up saying Cassie sent him to help. Trusting the guy who sent Cassie off the rails doesn’t feel right, but Wylie has no choice but to ignore her gut instinct and go with him. But figuring out where Cassie is goes from difficult to dangerous, fast. As Wylie and Jasper head farther and farther north into the dense woods of Maine, Wylie struggles to control her growing sense that something is really wrong. What isn’t Cassie telling them? And could finding her be only the beginning? In this breakneck tale, New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight brilliantly chronicles a fateful journey that begins with a single decision—and ends up changing everything.

Know of any deals I missed? Let me know in the comments! via The Book Rat

[underoossss]

More Than A Mission H.O [2/4]

pairing: spy!Harrison Osterfield x spy!reader

SPY!AU | masterlist

A/N: I hope all of you like this second chapter! I love writing this story so much you can’t even imagine 😩❤️ Enjoy some cute tropes and two oblivious fools! Feedback or comments are always nice! (idk if I saw all of my mistakes but I hope I did! If I didn't sorry!)

Some people say they can’t pinpoint the exact moment they fell in love. You had heard it multiple times, the old “I don’t know when it started” and the “It started long before I even realized” family and friends always seemed to say that about the people they loved. But for you? For you it wasn’t like that. 

When it came to Harrison Osterfield, your feelings were like walking down a long hallway with old and new memories you made together hanging from the walls until you reached a dark room. Its too dark to see anything at first and you’re too unsure and afraid to move until something happens and switches the lights on to reveal your best friend in front of you. You see him there smiling and the ground underneath you crumbles because that smile had never made you feel like that before and you love it. In that moment you let yourself fall and you love him.

In reality, it didn’t happen in a dark room and there was no hallway, there was only a hostage extraction simulation and guns with paint balls in them.

------

“Lopez, Richards, I need report on the first floor.” You spoke through your earpiece as you ascended the stairs for the third floor of the building. The paint was chipping from the wall on your right which made tiny pieces of paint fall on your shoulder  and the wood under your foot creaked loudly with your next step making you wince. “Johnson, Davis, second floor report. Guys, skip this step.” You spoke to your team behind you as you continued to move.

Four pairs of footsteps followed you upstairs, guns ready and ears sharp for any sounds. After clearing the first two floors and coming to the conclusion that the hostages must be on the third, you had left parties of two behind to give you any updates and took the rest of the team with you to finish the mission. Harrison was right behind you and behind him in a neat line was Nadia Rodriguez, Tyler O’Connor and Stephanie McDougall. The five of you had been together since you started the academy so you trusted each other to complete this mission and pass the simulation.

“All clear in first floor, exists covered.”

“Second floor secure, Davis is guarding the stairs.”

“Good, now Lee, I need eyes on the third floor. What are going up against?” You held your hand up for your team to stop as you heard movement down the hallway. The dark blue walls had concrete spots where the paint was falling from and there were lighter rectangles on them from the paintings that must have been hung there before. Sunlight streamed from a hole in the ceiling and small particles of dust could be seen floating in the air as everyone held their breath and stood still. You lowered your hand once the movement subsided and continued to walk down the hall only to stop when it split into two separate ones.

“The two paths lead towards the same room according to the blueprints.” Lee spoke on your earpieces, “There’s a door to the right and one to the left. There’s a heat signal coming from inside so that’s where the hostages should be.”

“Thanks Lee. Keep me posted.” You lowered your gun and turned to your team, “Alright guys, we’re almost done so here’s what we’ll do. Osterfield, you and Rodriguez come with me to the right and O’Connor takes the left with McDougall. We’ll go in through the right first and the left team enters on my signal. All of you copy?”

Your eyes met Harrison’s and you knew right away that he could read how nervous you actually were, if this went south it was mainly on your head but everyone else could fail because of you. He gave you a nod, his gaze reassuring and his lips moving upwards to form a barely perceptible smile. No one else would’ve seen it but you were best friends, so you noticed small things like that. “Copied.” They all replied in unison and took their place on each side of the wall before stepping into the next hallway.

“Stay alert for any movement.” You turned your head for a second to address everyone before you were shoved to the side at the sound of a gunshot. A perp had been guarding one of the doors and had aimed his shot at you but there was no paint on your vest, Harrison’s however was decorated with a blue stain in the middle of his chest.

The human mind works in odd ways, your brain knew it was only a fake bullet but your heart took a blow nevertheless. Your mouth fell open in shock and anger boiled up in the pit of your stomach while you raised your gun to shoot the perp between the eyes, staining his protective goggles along with part of his nose and mouth. “Rodriguez go to the door, I’ll be right there. You two, be ready.”

You motioned Nadia to move towards the door behind you before instructing the other two 15 feet across from you to do the same with their door. Your right hand was closed in a tight first as you leaned down to Harrison’s eye level as he sat against the chipping wall. “Why would you do that, Osterfield. You knew I needed you to be in there with me.”

“Because the team needs you. You keep all of us going, YN, you’re our secret weapon.” Harrison’s smile was blinding and you felt your stomach do twenty jumping jacks in a row while the ground crumbled underneath you. “Now go and save those hostages.”

You nodded your head, unable to form coherent words as your feelings twisted your throat into a knot the size of your fist. You stood up and walked towards the door where Nadia waited for you, sparing a last glance at Harrison who sent a wink your way. Well shit, I think I just fell in love.You shook yourself out of your thoughts and gave Nadia a signal before you kicked the door open, you had some hostages to rescue.

-----

The cool October air bites at your cheeks as you step out of the taxi and walk towards the hotel in front of you. Your black ankle boots scratch the pavement underneath you and the scarf around your neck hits you in the face as you wheel your suitcase behind you, sunglasses perched on top of your nose and coffee balanced on your left arm. A pattern had been found between the appearances of certain members of Marioli’s cartel that linked them to 28th street and 3rd avenue. According to special intel, their rendezvous point seemed to be in an apartment building conveniently placed diagonally to the Hotel Beatrice. Director Diaz had organized for the hotel to free the room closest to the apartment building  so that Harrison and you could stakeout the location and hopefully find a way to discover the where Folini and Marioli’s deal will take place.  

You push your sunglasses back over your head as you reach the front desk. A tall man in his  mid-forties greets you with a kind smile when you approach him, his hazel eyes hide behind big black rimmed glasses and his hair is covered in a thick layer of gel. “Good afternoon miss, how can I help you.”

“Hello, I have a booking under the last name Roberts.” You smile as you set your suitcase next to you, place the coffee down and lean your elbows on the counter.

“Oh yes, your husband is already upstairs. He arrived about thirty minutes ago, room 408.” He types something in the computer in front of him and clicks the mouse a couple of times before he hands you a key card with a smile. “I hope the two of you enjoy your stay, your room service is already paid for.”

“I’m sure we’ll have a lovely time.” You offer him a smile back, glancing down at his name tag to address him by his name and remember it out of a habit. “Thank you very much Lionel, see you around.”

With a small wave you head towards the elevator and wait for the doors to open while looking at you surroundings. The building has an old ambiance to it, a big staircase with elegant but old golden banisters sits to your left, leading towards the mezzanine and various paintings decorate the dark green walls. You get to notice a beautiful lamp hovering over the lobby’s waiting area before the elevator’s ding takes your gaze away from it as you step inside the cart. Your hands sweat all the way to the fourth floor, and your grip on your suitcase’s handle is so tight your knuckles turn white and your palm hurts. The thought of staying in a hotel room with Harrison for a couple of days wants to send you into a frenzy but you manage to tone down your panic while you find room 408 and open the door. Toning down your panic, however, goes out of the window when you spot the bed in the middle of the room. Only one bed. A queen bed. One.

You take a deep breath to calm down, hearing the shower running inside the bathroom and willing your heart to stop beating so loudly before Harrison saw you. “I’m so screwed.”

Harrison didn’t make you nervous, he was your best friend for heaven’s sake, youmade yourself nervous. After not seeing him for so long, all your practiced behavior around him was long forgotten and you were lost when it came to not letting him know how you felt. You forgot how to hide it and the thought of him finding out and it interfering with the mission and your friendship was enough to make you crawl into a hole and die. With another deep breath you kick off your boots, set the coffee on the desk and your suitcase next to Harrison’s opened one before you walk towards the table with all of the case’s information. You notice a folder full of pictures and flip it open to check the contents inside. Several men are in the photographs, walking, standing while waiting for the traffic light to change, talking on the phone.

You turn one photograph around, Marioli’s men: subject #16 [12:00am]is scribbled behind it along with the date and place of the photograph. The one you were currently holding was right in front of the hotel as the man in the odd baseball jersey walked into the apartment building. You sit down on the middle of the bed, crossing your legs under you and start organizing the pictures by location in front of you. Your feelings were pushed to the back of your mind as you tried to find a connection between everyone photographed other than them going into the same apartment building or the excessive jewelry hanging from their necks.

“Oh you arrived!” You hear a smile in Harrison’s voice as he opens the bathroom door and walks out towards his suitcase. “Early as usual.” His teasing tone makes you tear your gaze away from the photographs, ready to retort that it was the first time you were late to any meeting when your words get caught in your throat. The sight that greets you is definitely a sight, but not one you were expecting.  

He wore only grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips as his back faced your way. His skin still had droplets of water scattered over his back and his muscles, those damn muscles, moved as he looked for something in his suitcase. Your eyes followed every moment, finally having a close look at how toned he had gotten in two years specially when his biceps flexed as he put a t-shirt on. Thank god. You realize your cheeks are burning and your jaw is about to reach the floor when Harrison starts turning around to face you. With another deep breath you take your thoughts away from his almost perfect body and pretend to concentrate on the pictures in front of you.

“This is the first time I’m late Harrison.” You speak up as you continue to distribute pictures by location  and lining them up from closets to furthest distance from the apartment building. “Besides, I brought coffee.” Your shoulders move up and down and you don’t even dare to look into his eyes in fear of getting flustered and having Harrison ask what was wrong. Oh nothing, just the usual, I’m in love with you and you looked really fucking hot without a shirt one so I think I might blush if we make eye contact.

Harrison looks at the two coffee cups that you had set on the desk before chuckling and looking your way fondly, not that you saw it anyways, since your focus on was on the pictures. “Do you always bring coffee to make up for being late?” There’s amusement in his voice and something else, which makes you look up.

His eyes are soft, like they always seem to be whenever he looks at you nowadays which makes a shy smile appear on your face. “No… I bring it in hopes you’ll forgetthat I was late…” Your eyebrows furrow as you finish speaking while your eyes scan over the pictures and find a connection.

“What’s wrong, what did you find?” Harrison speaks up as he moves to sit next to you but you hold your hand up so he would let you concentrate.

“All of these men… their t-shirt match their original location. Look,” You say scooting closer to your partner, “This guy walked from 23rd street to the 30th and he’s wearing a 23 in his t-shirt. I thought it was a coincidence because they’re not all wearing the same shirt but this guy walked down from 42nd and his baseball jersey has a 42, this one’s t-shirt has a 19 and many of them are wearing the same t-shirt again.

“So they have a sort of uniform to keep track of the people in each location where they have a hideout.” Harrison picks up two pictures of two different guys that were wearing the same t-shirt with a 30 on it.

“And they all report back to the main headquarters that are right in front of us! Those are only Marioli’s men though and half of the pictures in this file, we still need something on Folini to tie everything together-”

“And  find out where the deal will take place.” Harrison nods his head, turning to look at you before his face breaks out into a smile. Yours does the same at the way the two of you still manage to finish each other sentences and put all the pieces of the puzzle together after two years of being apart. “Nice find, Y/N.”

“Thanks, Haz.” You look away from the beautiful blue of this eyes and back at the pictures, your hand pushing a strand behind your ear while you tried to keep your emotions at bay. “Come on, we can use this wall to put all of these and the rest of the pictures up. And grab a coffee I was late getting your favorite.” Your shoulder bumps into his making him chuckle and shake his head before the two of you got up from the bed and got to work.

-----

It took the two of you almost three hours but all of the pictures were finally sorted and taped to the wall. You had found a weekly pattern between all of the men that were photographed, and identified Folini’s men by a tattoo all of them sported on the side of their neck. The tattoo design matched Folini’s cartel’s crest that he always wears on his pinky finger that had been pictured on a different occasion. You and Harrison worked in sync, making notes and connecting pictures and clues with a red string once you saw a pattern. Your heart fluttered every time your hands would touch and your cheeks burned every time Harrison smiled at you when you made a new discovery. It was as if nothing had changed but things had actually changed, you realize now how in love you had been and still are with him. Even after two years, your feelings hadn’t lessened at all, if anything they felt stronger than before and now your heart ached because he was so close but so far at the same time.

“Today was great, I’ve missed this. So much.” Harrison speaks up as the two of you lied in bed. The room was dark except from the light coming from the lampposts outside of the hotel that illuminated the floor next to your side of the bed. Your eyes were tired and your body craved sleep, the clock on the nightstand read 12:35 but you couldn’t go to bed. Not until you got something off your chest, something you worried about every day since Harrison left.

“I’ve missed you.” You say softly, your hands gripping the comforter tightly to keep yourself from tearing up. “I truly have, Harrison, and I need you to know that.”

“Y/N-”

“No. I-I didn’t write as often when you were gone and I know that but please don’t think it’s because I didn’t want to or because I didn’t miss you. They, um, they told me not to bother you, that this was important to you and to cut all ties with your life here was better… so I followed those orders.” You squeeze your eyes shut and calm your breathing as you talked so that Harrison wouldn’t know you were crying, especially not about something that happened so long ago.

“I know.” Harrison whispers back after a few minutes and shift in his place to face your back. “They said the same thing to me so I guessed you had received similar orders. There wasn’t one second that I thought you had forgotten about me, Y/N. Just like there wasn’t one where I didn’t miss you.” His voice is quiet, also inaudible but you heard it

You felt your shoulders relax at his words, you felt your stomach do backflips and you felt his eyes on you. Without another word you turned around, facing Harrison in the dark but staying at an arm’s length. This doesn’t mean that he’s in love with you, remember that. His hand reaches out until it touches your face, his thumb wiping away the tears that fell down your cheek.

“Don’t cry, we’re back together again. Y/N and Harrison, the FBI’s finest… Bad guys’ worst nightmare.” Although you couldn’t see Harrison’s smile, you knew it was there, unwavering, comforting and never failing to bring one on your face as well.

You let out a soft laugh, both in relief and in response to his dorky self. “Remember that time with the hostage extraction test? We were top of the class… You, um, you took that fake bullet for me.”

“And I’d do it again if I had to, because you’re the one who got our team to the top. I couldn’t let that guy fake-kill you.” Harrison’s thumb caresses your cheek softly once more before he brings his arm back to his side. His eyes are scanning your face, you can feel them on you and you hold your breath at the feeling growing inside of your chest. Why does he make me feel this way, one sentence and I’m a lovesick mess.

“We should- We should probably go to sleep. Big day tomorrow.” You clear your throat and turn back to face the hotel’s door. Your feelings were making their way to the surface and you needed to sleep before you confessed them all to him, well, more than what you already said. “And Haz? I’d take one for you too.”

“I know.” He whispers, waiting a couple of seconds before turning to face the other side as well. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Night, Haz.”

----

You wake up the next day  feeling warm and well rested under the covers, you feel safe and comfortable and you never want to leave the bed again. You want to ignore the alarm going off on the night stand and keep on sleeping. Your pillow is too soft to abandon it, it’s as if it was keeping you close to it, never wanting to let go and you sure as hell don’t want to either. The pillow starts moving underneath you though, it shifts a little to the right and suddenly the alarm stops and silence fills the room once again. You open your eyes slowly, and furrow your eyebrows when you see Harrison’s navy blue t-shirt underneath you. The warm feeling that surrounded you minutes ago were his arms that were holding you close to him. His heartbeat is steady under your ear and he chest rises and falls with every breath he takes. Alarms go off in your head as you realize what was going on, you were cuddling Harrison Osterfield. Your face was buried in his chest, your legs were tangled with each other and your hand was holding his next to your head. What?

“Good morning,” Harrison’s voice is raspy with sleep which makes your chest flutter at the same time your brain tries to find a way to make the situation less awkward. You dare to look up at him, dazzling blue eyes heavy with sleep and a soft smile grazed his features. It was as if the universe was looking for the most cruel ways to make you fall even more for him when you knew it wasn’t the same for him. It’s giving you a glimpse at how it would be like to wake up in the arms of the man you loved, and doing it so while you were awake so that you knew that it was never going to happen. Your heart aches for him while simultaneously breaking because of him.

“Umm… hi.” You offer him a sleepy smile back before letting go of his hand and pulling away from his embrace. This is so embarrassing. “Big day today, I... I gotta pee.” With that you get off the bed and move towards the bathroom to collect yourself and give your heart a break from the torture it was going through. How am I going to survive 5 more days like this?

While you panicked, paced and panicked some more in the bathroom, you were unaware of Harrison’s own racing heart. Unaware of the frown that had come to his face when you had hurried away from the bed. Totally and completely unaware that all your fears and wishes matched his and that whatever hopelessness you felt, he felt it too.

One wall separates the two of you, three words are fighting to be uttered by your lips and the same thought goes through both of your minds:

  I’m so fucking screwed.

tagging: @notimeforthemessenger @stephie-senpai @peeterparkr @katherine-liz @starksparker @upsidedownparker @spiderboytotherescue @girl-in-the-chair @hazhasmycoffee @bisexualupin @valar--m0rghulis @madmadmilk @tom-hollands-eyelash @randomfandom3599 @marvelousxtsh @unmbrellaspidey